Thursday, April 15, 2010

Another great JoAnn find

Perfect for anyone with a bird theme! 14.99 and half off until April 17!
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Much Ado.

As the time left until my 9 a.m. (not my first choice of time by far) bridal hair trial next Saturday gets shorter, I find myself thinking more and more about what to do with this stuff on my head I've been growing out since Mr. Calico proposed last June.

My hair is fine and likes to curl. There's enough of it for an updo, but I'm always more comfortable with my hair down, partially because it hides my gigantic ears.


(source: EasyArt.com)

OK, maybe not that bad. But enough to make me self-conscious. The bigger problem, though, on a day in the spring with weather unknown is the frizz.


(source: JacBeauty.com - Remember that Episode of Friends?)

OK, again, I may be exagerrating a bit. But my hair has always had a questionable response to humidity, ranging from a nice increase in volume to goldfish mentality ("I must fill the space I occupy!") This has made me wonder if it can be trusted to stay put in the beach waves I originally envisioned:


(source: Zimbio.com)

So, here are some of my current inspirations for down-dos and ear-hiding updos, including my current favs, the current forerunner, the Eva Longoria Parker updo:




(source: InStyle.com)


(source: ProjectWedding.com)


(source: weddings.about.com)


(source: HairStyleTalk.com)

And then, after all of this research, this morning as I was driving to work and the air from the windows blew my hair across my face, I developed a fear of a new foe: The Wind.

Is anyone trying to outwit Mother Nature with their hairstyles?

Saturday, April 10, 2010

How cute is that?

It's not right for my wedding but this little wooden mail box might be great for someone else's. $7.99 at Joann's.

Friday, April 9, 2010

A little birdie.

[Please see previous jewelry post]

After reviewing photos of my dress, I decided I wanted to incorporate pearls into the jewelry. Pearls say vintage to me, and vintage is the a part of the general wedding theme. A simple strand of pearls and matching earrings would be great. In fact, I already have a set just like that! The problem? They were gifts from my ex. I'm not sure what the wedding protocol is on that, but wearing jewelry that another man gave me on my wedding day just seems wrong. No? And buying a whole new set just seems like a waste of money. So, there went that idea.

Still undecided and obsessed, I spent last evening hunting Etsy for jewelry ideas. I came across a number of items that I loved. Some of them were totally out of my price range. Others were gorgeous but a little too fancy. Some were simple. Maybe too simple?

A few examples of my favorites:


DeniseJewelryDesigns' Garden of Joy Necklace
{http://www.etsy.com/shop/DeniseJewelryDesigns}


kathyoinspirations' The DC Necklace
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/kathyoinspirations]


vsc83's Sterling and White Pearls Bird Nest Necklace
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/vsc83]


WeddingJewels'Infinity Necklace
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/WeddingJewels]


envisage's Birdie Bauble
[http://www.etsy.com/shop/envisage]

I'm still not sure what would look best with my strapless sweetheart neckline. (Mr. Calico, if you're reading, do not go look that up to see what it means!) However, I decided that the option to frequently re-wear the necklace was a very important factor in the purchase. I'm not a big jewelry person. My e-ring is the only thing I wear on a daily basis, along with an occasional necklace. Usually a simple Star of David pendant. But imagine the sentimental value of being able to have that part of the wedding with me. Plus I'd love to be able to wear it the very next day, as we jet off to our Latin American honeymoon... so a piece of any real (monetary) value probably isn't in the cards for me.

So, here's my first purchase:


Lana0Crystal's My Little Treasure necklace
{http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lana0Crystal}

I love the simplicity and the fact that it incorporates pearls without being too fancy. The bird is great for our theme! And may I just say that this seller has been great to work with so far? She answered lots of questions in record time, offered me ideas for matching earrings (which I'm still not sure about) and will replace the garnet flower with one in light aqua. I can't wait to see it in person and try it on. Even if it doesn't make the final wedding cut, I know I'll love wearing it.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

In the GPS era...

... do people still rely on paper maps?

When we (I) got ready to put together our invitation packets, we thought it would be helpful to include a map of general venue location with directions "from the north" and "from the south", since the majority of guests would be coming from those directions.

No problem. I followed this awesome tutorial. I got on Google maps, found a good view of the general area, and about an hour later I had a cute little map complete with major roads, the venue and directions.

Then after we reserved a block of rooms at a nearby hotel (actually THE nearby hotel - not a lot of options on that side of town) I made another map, this time showing the route from the hotel to the venue.

I was so proud of my little maps. Mr. Calico approved them (after I enlarged the text a bit). I printed them out on our recycled paper and off they went with the invitations. About a week later, I got an interesting text message from Sis Calico's best friend.

One of the roads on the map doesn't exist.

This has induced a mild amount of panic. It's not a major road on the map, but it is the road that connects (or was supposed to connect) the hotel area back to the main highway nearby. Apparently, it's there, but there are no signs with the name that's on the maps I made... it's just a road.

This isn't the first time an Internet map has led me astray. I used to work as an ESL/Spanish teacher for a company here in Indy that sent me to various homes and offices around the area. The receptionist always provided a Yahoo! Map to the location any time there was a new class. I was once sent up to Kokomo with a map that led me to a mausoleum. Creepy. And no one there wanted to learn Spanish.

That was why I went with GoogleMaps instead. Of course, that doesn't seem to help in this case.

The directions provided on the hotel map are only from the venue to the hotel and in order to get to the hotel, the guests would have to pass through that area with the unnamed street. So now my question is this: Should I contact all of our guests to provide an updated map? Or should we assume that the guests who are staying at that hotel will figure it out or be using their own GPS anyway?

Monday, April 5, 2010

My latest obsession: The jewelry

First it was the dress. Then the shoes. The Sis Calico's dress and shoes. Now, not having quite resolved that last one, I move on to my latest I-Must-Find: jewelry for the big day.

I love my engagement ring. It's an estate ring and a beautiful piece of art deco workmanship. So, it seems like the easiest thing to do would be to take that art deco theme and run with it for the necklace and earrings:





(jewelry by 1928, both pics from Amazon.com)

I like them, but I'm not sure I love them. The look great with the ring, but... I don't know. I'm not sure I'd ever wear them again, which is also a problem, since I'd love this little "investment" to be for something I can use again and again.

I've also thought of something like this:


(photo from stylemepretty.com)

They (style me pretty) have a great tutorial, but I'm not sure that's a DIY I want to tackle right now. Plus I can only imagine trying to work with that many things that roll around while all the cats are watching me. They can barely contain their excitement when the hot glue gun comes out! I am also torn about maybe wanting to throw a splash of color up there with my ivory dress and moss green ballet slippers.

Any thoughts? Have you let your engagement ring lead the path of your other jewelry? Did you think outside the box on your wedding jewelry and love it (or hate it later on)?

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Our Rustic Birdcage Alternative

Since we're living in an already very full bungalow, Mr. Calico and I are hoping to see lots of cards and envelopes rather than gifts at the wedding. We've registered at Honeyfund.com, so we're also looking forward not only to having our "registered experiences" but also sending out thank you cards with photos of our vacation for those who help us get there.

But, before we could receive any cards, I needed to make a card holder. Somehow, a pile of envelopes just wouldn't look right, you know?

My first thought was a birdcage. Something romantic, a little vintage and not too hard to find, maybe decorated with a few ribbons to match the other decor. Even though Mr. Calico has pretty much gone along with every idea I've had, I ran this one past him and was surprised when it gave him pause.

"But we have a nature-themed wedding," he pointed out. "Does a cage really say 'nature'?"

Uh-oh, I thought. He's right. I brainstormed for other ideas: baskets, a picnic basket, a big recycled glass jar, a bird house. Nothing seemed to pan out. Finally, a poster on the Weddingbee.com boards shared an idea she'd had that turned out to be a little too rustic for her wedding: a stump. I took the idea and went for it! Here's how it went:

My DIY Card Stump
- two round paper mache boxes with lids
- birch bark sheets
- sheet moss
- scissors
- hot glue gun and sticks

A word of warning: I did make one error in this project. The only way to get the cards out will be for us to cut a hole in the bottom of the stump. We've decided to look at that as extra security rather than a problem.

1. Cut out the bottoms of both round boxes, leaving about 1/2 inch around each side.

2. Glue the two boxes together, bottom to bottom. If the lids are removed, you'll have a cylinder.


3. Put the bottom lid back on. (Note: I glued it on.)

4. Cut a hole in the top of the other lid and put it back on. Now you have this:


5. Now it's time to start adding the birch bark. I bought a big box of it from eBay for this and other DIYs, so I first had to look through my stock and pick some sheets that looked similar in pattern and had the right dimensions with the grain going the same way. Once I found what I needed, I trimmed it a bit to square it up, then started hot-gluing it to the cylinder:


I worked my way around:


And finally ended up back where I'd started:


6. Next up: Sheet moss. First, I cut two pieces that would meet in the middle of the top and drape over the edges. Having two halves made it easier to cut the space for the opening, since my particular sheet moss wasn't the world's sturdiest product.



7. The final step was gluing the moss to the top and sides. I also trimmed it a bit and added some pieces where it looked too square, hoping to give it a more organic look. Here's the final result:



I still want to make a little sign that says "cards," but other than that I can cross another DIY off the list.

Is anyone else thinking outside the birdcage?

Friday, April 2, 2010

Let them eat cake.

Ah, the love birds.



No, not us. Our cake topper:


(weddingstar.com)

This was the first thing I bought after we got engaged last summer. I fell in love with it after I saw it in what I thought was the first bridal magazine I'd bought. (It turned out to be the Weddingstar catalog, but was still very helpful!) On some level, we actually built out wedding around it. We don't have colors, just a theme: nature. From recycled paper to compost-able decor and tons of "to be re-used" items, we're trying to have an environment-friendly environment-themed wedding.

But I digress. Where was I? Oh, yes. Cake!

It shouldn't have been such a challenge to find a cake for our birds to perch upon. I liked what I saw in the snippet of cake visible in the Weddingstar shot: the branch and the orange flowers. I scoured the Internet and found this to be the best example I could find, showing the branch I was looking for:


(cake with 3D branch from flickr.com)

As opposed to this:


(frosted-on branch from coolest-birthday-cakes.com. Nice, but not what I'm looking for)

I didn't think it was that hard of a request. I loved the orange flours and the wire paper-wrapped branch. On a simple, three-layer cake with ivory butter cream frosting.

I was wrong.

Bakery 1 assured me it was no problem, but that it would cost a lot extra because they had to be handcrafted. Well, OK, but THAT much extra? No. Not to mention the owner wasn't even there when we came in for the meeting and didn't send us the estimate even after two requests. Fail. (Though their cake was awesome.)

Bakery 2 insisted I should go buy silk flowers, handed us a box of cupcakes and shoved us out the door with a hand-written estimate on the back of a fax cover sheet smeared with cocoa powder. Um, no. Fail. (Plus your frosting - though I know Mr. Calico disagreed - was inedibley sweet.)

Bakery 3 = the winner! They made time for us at a moment's notice as we were sadly leaving Bakery 2. (Well, I was sad. Mr. Calico had a box of cupcakes.) They offered us the samples they had available, gave us a great price quote and set up a time for us to come in to talk about the cake design and taste the flavors we were more interested in. This was accomplished last weekend, in between two Niece Calico birthday parties. Cake overload anyone?

First, we selected our cake flavors:


Yum. Three layers. Three delicious flavors. I was sort of concerned about having two non-traditional flavors, but early polls indicate excitement about the options. Phew!

After that delicious task was completed, we moved on to the design. I showed the cake agent (do they have a title?) the picture, which she had previously assured me would be no problem. She called the designer for a consultation and... problem.

They don't make branches like that. They can do the flat frosting branches and add orange flower bunches like the Weddingstar pic, but that's it. Gulp.

Mr. Calico sees my expression and starts asking all kinds of questions about what they can do. I look around the bakery at all the cake samples, hoping for some inspiration. And then I see it in the window:



Our cake!

Well, not exactly. I don't love the pink flowers or the green buds or the color of the frosting or the topper. These turn out to be mostly easy fixes, except that the branch is pre-ordered and, after several phone calls, we learn only comes in pink. We compromise on the suggestion that the buds can be clipped off and the branch spread out a bit more. I'm a little nervous and, I'll admit, a little disappointed that I'm not getting quite exactly what I wanted. But at least I know it will be delicious, and no one but Mr. Calico and me will know if it doesn't look right. Besides, I doubt that at that point in the day I'll really care if something that's going to be cut up and eaten isn't quite the version I was looking for.

Has anyone else had to do a cake compromise?

If the shoe fits...

What a week! Between the Final Four craziness that is sweeping the neighborhood (Go Butler!) and the beautiful and distracting weather that has descended upon the state, I haven't touched a wedding craft all week. I think I'm starting to have withdrawals, though, since last night I actually dreamed about shaping the moss for the centerpieces. I think that goes back onto the weekend's "to do" list.

Last weekend was a trip up north to visit Mom, Dad and Sis Calico for little Niece Calico's 1st birthday. I cannot believe she is 1! Wow. Time has gone by so quickly.

Also part of this trip was Sis Calico trying on a lot of shoes I'd bought as potential Maid of Honor footwear.

You may remember her dress from a previous post:

(Thanks to Mr. Calico for helping it pose for the camara.)

And here are the contenders:


Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Odell Flower Ballet Flats - Metallic Gold (
image from Target.com)


Restricted Women's Cuddle Flat
(image from Endless.com)


Rocket Dog Memories Thai Silk Knotted Flat
(image from DSW.com)

So, yes, I bought Sis Calico a lot of shoes. We are tall women with big feet in my family, so there's a good chance that at least 1 in 3 pairs of shoes won't fit.

Of course, all 3 fit. And she loves them all! They're all comfortable and she thinks any of them could work. But, we have to wait until her dress comes in (ETA 4/17) to make a final decision. In the meantime, I keep leaning one way or the other, or wondering if any of these will even work.

Any thoughts? Does anyone out there have a perfect bridesmaid flat?

Monday, March 29, 2010

Ohmygosh! I won!! Now what?

Go me! I won the Weddingbee.com blog's BlumeBox gift certificate giveaway!


A BlumeBox

Except... now I don't know what to do with it!

Blumeboxes are absolutely adorable and I love that they're recycled and earth-friendly. Totally fits with our theme! So now how do I incorporate them?

We already have centerpieces that I love.

My first thought was to plant the pine seedling favors in them. But at 2.99 each, that's more than the cost of the gift certificate, and more than plan A would have cost. When we're trying to have a budget friendly wedding, that's just not a smart move.

Any ideas?

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Pointy. So pointy.

Today the box of pine cones I had ordered from eBay arrived. Yea! The pine cones are intended to be part of the centerpiece, general decor in a few other places, and to hold the escort cards to help guests find their table.

Mr. Calico had placed the very large box on the dining room table, so as soon as I got home from the gym I went at it with a pair of scissors. Seriously, there had to be a roll of tape covering the top of the box. Those pine cones were not going to escape! Kudos to the eBay seller, since I imagine that secure packaging is one of the most important aspects when shipping something as fragile and non-water-resistent as pine cones.

Having finally cut through all the clear tape (hey, it's better than red), I opened the box to reveal:



Wow. That's literally a big box of pine cones. Well, the first thing I notice is that they are much bigger than I'd anticipated. I thought they'd be the cute little decor pine cones I saw in my head. These are beautiful, mind you, but they're like the size of my hand. A bit too big for escort cards... I'm not sure.

So I reach in to pick one up and - ouch! Something bit me! What the what??

Uh-oh, I realize as I carefully pick up a pine cone to examine it more closely. Nothing bit me. These pine cones have thorns.



(Not the world's greatest photo, since Blackberry decided to focus on the cabinets behind instead of the cone. Sorry!)

Do all pine cones have thorns? Did I just miss that detail? I can still use them as "untouched" decor, but I can't exactly put escort cards in something that might sort of stab our guests!

Now what?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Two months, 5 days to go...

Two months, five days. Sixty-five days.

Sixty-five days?! I'm getting married in 65 days?? Oy, so much to do!

Tonight's victory: the invitations are ready to go out. Yea! Labelled, stuffed, stamped and ready to be sent out in the morning. And just in time, too! The wedding is May 29... so we might be cutting that a little close. I probably need to read an etiquette book or something. Not much I can do now, though.

Our invitations are adorable. I made some maps and other inserts, but the invitations themselves are a variation of this design from Etsy vendor Little Spark Designs.



She did a great job - I completely recommend her! They were already almost exactly what we (I) wanted, and she was awesome about working with us until they were perfect.

I can't believe it's finally starting to come down to the wire. My to do list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter, Mr. Calico is too busy to help with anything, and I'm getting a little fed up with non-responsive vendors. So many projects... How do I prioritize? The books don't seem to tell you what to do about that. I keep fixating on the ones that interest me, so I'm worried I'm missing a more pragmatic order of accomplishments. (Thanks, Mr. Calico, for the $3 word suggestion!)

And, today, adding to that happy weight on my shoulders, the friend/DJ who had offered to DJ our wedding as his gift to us backed out. Wow. Disappointing to say the least, especially since I had cancelled a meeting this Saturday with a local DJ I had "pre-booked" a few months ago. There was about an hour of anxiety there before local DJ responded that he was still available and willing to meet on Saturday. Phew!

Is anyone else feeling the stress? Has anything helped you out in the last final months? Is there any BIG I might be forgetting??

I guess this makes brides appreciate the honeymoon more. Sure, I'm looking forward to spending time with Mr. Calico and exploring our multiple destinations (more on that later), but I'm also looking forward to a few hours with my Kindle and a nap! :)

Flower Girl, Take 1

Two exciting packages in the mail today: my order from SaveOnCrafts.com and the potential flower girl dress I won on eBay.

The SaveOnCrafts order was disappointing. It's the faux moss mats for the centerpieces, but I'm worried they look too much like astroturf. On the other hand, I was worried about the real moss smelling bad or getting into food, so maybe it's better. I'll consult with Mr. Calico after he gets back home from his business trip. To FLORIDA. That's right - only he could manage to get sent away to Florida for a few days just as the cold and rainy returns to central Indiana.

Anyway, now on to the cuteness:



And a back view:



Please excuse any kitchen randomness. Yes, I hung the hanger from the pot rack. Give me a break! Anyway, I'm excited to see Niece Calico and Sister Calico this weekend, to try on the dress and see if it looks like it will fit in May. I also picked up a pair of shoes for Sis Calico, though I'm not so convinced that I like them with her dress.

Shoes:

Women's Mossimo Supply Co. Odell Flower Ballet Flats - Metallic Gold : Target

Dress:



Any thoughts?

Monday, March 22, 2010

And a 1 and a 2...

And all the way to number 6! Or 8, if we need those two extra tables in the back of my mind.

Oh, Hobby Lobby. How could I forget about you? Tucked away in the back of the shopping plaza, far from the main road, always waiting with you odorous dried flowers, ostentatious home decor and surprisingly large selection of photo frames. And yet, until today, I had.

Having been reminded of the craft store's existance, after work I headed out, armed with a coupon for 30% off wood crafts.

As I entered the store, I noticed that their ribbon by the spool was half off. Score! I found some pretty earthtone shades for the centerpieces (as part of previously described vision) and then headed off in search of the alphanumerical wood section.

First, I found this lovely item:



Wow, thanks. I would never have figured that one out. (What exactly is the purpose of this item? it's an unfinished box, but you wouldn't paint it if it has writing on it... would you?) Well, it did lead me to the next aisle, where I found this:



Numbers! Giant, house number size numbers. Sigh. Well, at least people with digits other than 4 and 7 can shop here. I spent a good five minutes pacing the aisle, staring at the items as if I could magically make little wooden numbers appear.

See these?



Perfect - except they're all letters. :(

With a sigh, I finally collected my disappointed self and headed toward the checkout. I'll have to paint the numbers on, I decide. I don't want to use foam stickers, the only suggestion I've gotten. It just wouldn't fit our nature theme.

Wait, what's this I see? Half off scrapbooking? You are making a scrapbook as our guestbook, I remind myself, and head into the aisle to see if there's anything I'm missing.

And then I see it:


(photo from www.scrapofdifference.com.au)

Look at that! Little three-dimensional numbers! This isn't the exact set I bought, but it's close enough to serve as an example, since the camara has already gone to bed.

I'm so excited! The wooden leaves arrived today, so another step of my DIY centerpiece project is ready to begin: painting the leaves and the numbers. Whoo-hoo!

Has anyone else had a vision they almost gave up on?

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Numbers Get No Respect

I have a vision. It's not a complicated vision. Or at least I didn't think it was. Our centerpieces are recycled glass vases to be filled with decor rocks, filled with a few flowers TBD and placed on a square of moss. Simple and fitting of our nature theme. Each vase will have raffia wrapped around the neck and a painted wooden oak leaf will hang from the raffia, proudly displaying the table number.

Not too complicated, right? True - except for one little detail. I want the table numbers to be raised. Sure, I could just paint them on. But my vision has an element of depth, you know?

So, trusty coupons in hand, I headed out to the craft stores. First up, Joann's. I scored some great bouquet ribbon and a spare vase (we aren't the least clumsy people, Mr. Calico and me) but no numbers. Letters abound. Big wooden letters, little wooden letters. Paper letters, foam letters, clay letters. The only numbers in the store were house number sized. Available in wood or clay, in case anyone is looking, but only in 4 and 7. (Is there a lack of those numbers in Indy addresses or something?)

Next on to Michaels, where I found no numbers whatsoever. What's going on? Don't kids need to learn to count or something?

Any suggestions for the number hunt would be greatly appreciated - help keep the vision alive!

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Check! Mr. Calico has a tux

Ah, men and shopping. Let me tell you, that is one of Mr. Calico's favorite pastimes, especially clothing shopping. Right up there with dental work and Ohio State (sorry to any Buckeyes!). But, after a morning of re-arranging the living room furniture, we (finally) headed out to check one more thing off our list.

Stop 1 was a chain tux shop. We walked in. We waited. Someone eventually greeted us and promised to be with us shortly. We waited a few minutes, then began to wander a bit. We made fun of the paisley tie section. It had now been 15 minutes. We left and went to the Mexican place next door for lunch.

Fail.

OK, so take two. We go to a (very) small tux shop down the road. It smells like french fries. The sales clerk greets us and says she'll be with us in a moment. Did I mention it smelled like french fries? We left, and took a walk to the gigantic formal wear store in the same complex.

Fail.

And take three. Finally - success! An open, airy store that didn't smell like an unhealthy (though potentially delicious) potato product! And, of course, tons of people. We eventually got the host (?) to explain what to do and, with a promise that he would send us a clerk as soon as one was available, we headed toward the men's corner to browse.

Papa Calico went in the intention of looking for a morning suit, but quickly gravitated toward a black suit with large stripes. He loved it. We discussed. He moved on. (That was so not happening...)

Next he tried on a lapel-less jacket. Interesting, very modern. I approved. He approved. And then, he saw it:



The tux! In case it isn't clear from the picture, it's brown! Of course, it looks dapper on him, but with his coloring, he can wear anything except maybe neon orange. And it goes it the wedding theme (nature) and colors (browns and greens) AND the vest and tie are almost the exact shade of Sister Calico's maid of honor dress. But it still surprised me that he gravitated toward that and not a traditional black, or gray, or beige.

Has anyone else's groom chosen a brown tux or a non-traditional look?

Friday, March 19, 2010

Welcome. Bienvenidos. Bienvenue.

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by.

First post. OK, so an introduction, right? I'm... well, call me Lady Calico. Anonymous online living and all. Oh, now a little about me. Hmmm...

I'm the proud holder of a few degrees which let me do two things I love: teach languages and translate them. Go me! Seriously, I love my job.

I also love Mr. Calico. We met in 2008 and we're getting married in May. Very exciting! Of course, all my free time and as much of his as he'll let me steal is devoted to that very thing: our (hopefully) wonderful nuptials.

We've made our home together in a little bungalow in Indianapolis since I left my apartment in more expensive surroundings further north to cohabitate in the name of the recession and our future. The bungalow promises to be adorable and perfect one day, but right now is sort of our cozy home repair project. It's growing on me... when the closet doors aren't sticking shut. Now that the weather's warm(ing), I can't wait to surround it with flowers, or for the magnolia trees to bloom again. Papa Calico is a good homeowner, but gifting the bungalow electronics just doesn't give it quite the same sense of home, you know?

We're both natives of lands further north, which is where we're planning the big day. This alone is an interesting feat, since all of our vendors are at least two hours from us, and has required a few long days (and one day of absolute cake overload).

Great! So now you know a little about me. I guess it's time for the most obvious question, huh?
Why "Twenty-Eight Paws"?

Because there are 28 paws in our bungalow. That's right. We share our little home and our lives with seven cats.

And now the new most obvious question: "Are you crazy?!"

Yes. Yes, we are.

OK, seriously, no. It's just how life turned out. It's kind of like the Brady Bunch of cats. We both had cats when we met and, well, we can't just turn our backs on them, just because crazy cat lady plus crazy cat man equals insane cat couple. They're part of what makes us US... even if it does lead to chaos.

So, as I've already said, thanks for stopping by. I'll be updating with wedding projects and reflections for the DIY-ers and brides to be, as well as cat- and bungalow-related drama. Hope to see you soon!