Dear unknown neighbor (it could be one of 4),

I went downstairs today to gather my laundry that I put in the dryer last night, only to find it on the counter waiting for me. I thought that you had just taken out the load because it was dry. I was wrong. Apparently your three towels that you forgot in the dryer were more important than my laundry, and my stuff was almost just as wet as when I put it in the dryer. Its not like I am going on vacation tomorrow and need clean clothes or anything.

I actually don’t usually mind waiting for your clothes to dry when I come downstairs and find the dryer running. I don’t even mind finishing the dryer cycle for you if your clothes are still wet. But your situation mush have been more urgent.  I guess I understand your impatience. That clean towel was probably super important to you. I get that.

I’ll just sit upstairs and twiddle my thumbs while I wait for my stuff to dry. Who needed to pack anyway. Certainly not me.

Signed,

Your understanding neighbor.

A gift to one of my co-workers for her baby shower has now made its way on to her son……oooogle the cuteness.

I got really excited when I realized that my wedding was going to be in August. November (which we had originally planned) has some nice blooms too, but its not August. There are so many amazing seasonal blooms during the summer, and the color palate is pretty expansive. So lovely.

Alchemilla, Allium, Alstromeria, Amaranthus, Baby’s Breath , Bird of Paradise, Calla lily, Campanula, Carnation, Chrysanthemum, Cockscomb, Cosmos, Dahlia (might be my new favorite flower), Delphinium, Dianthus, Didiscus, Euphorbia, Foxglove, Freesia, Gardenia, Genista, Ginger, Gladiolus, Hallaconia, Heather, Hydrangea, Hypericum, Iris, Kangaroo paw, Liatrus, Lilac, Casa Blanca Lily, Gloriosa Lily, Star Gazer, Lisianthus, and more oh my!!!

Looking forward to chatting with some florists and getting that locked down too! Maybe their advice will change the color palate I have in mind. Do I work with the flowers, or do I have the flowers work with me. Either way, its gonna be lovely.

Its funny when you start focusing on the little details even though you have so many big decisions to still make in the planning process. What got me today was what am I going to have on top of my wedding cake. There are so many cute ideas out there, and I found a few of them on Etsy. I love how people are not doing the norm anymore, it keeps things interesting.

Wonderful Rubbish’s wedding cake birds

SpiritMama’s Sock Monkeys

The Snippets Frog Bride and Groom

HILDOOM’s Mario and Princess

MiniYou’s Customized Cake Topper

The SmallObjects Custom Wedding Toppers

And…I actually JUST purchased one from The Builders Studio. But I’m not going to tell you which one.

This one was my second favorite.

So this is what I’ve been dreading from even before I knew I was engaged. The guest list. As of today, we have a venue and a date. We are planning a wedding in 6 months, which means that the Save The Date notices need to go out, which means that I need to ask people for addresses, and seriously start thinking about our dreaded guest list.

I know a lot of people. There are alot of people we both love. But how do I make everyone happy? I cant afford a huge, lavish wedding where everyone I know could come. I’m on a budget. So where do I draw the line? How do I let people know that it’s not personal, and if I could invite them I would…its just not in the budget.

Are you offended if you dont get invited to a wedding? Do you understand the logistics behind it or do you take it personally?

Last March I moved out of a house that had 4 people living in it, and we threw epic parties. Our “small” Superbowl party one year turned out 100 people. So much for small. I love everyone I know here, but inviting them all just isn’t possible. We have friends who live out of state, and need to include them in the mix as well, so that makes it even harder.

Do people talk about it amongst their friends? “Hey, did you get an invite to so-and-so’s wedding?” Is that how they find out they weren’t invited?

You have no idea how much anxiety this is giving me. The wedding guest list is asking me to tier my friends. You and you are cool, but sorry I cant afford to feed you. Thats terrible!

Not to mention that there is the whole issue of  how to determine who gets +1′s…but that’s another story all together.

I know that this day is about Mick and I, and I know that stuff like this shouldn’t stress me out…

There are so many aspects to this wedding planning that I love…but asking me to choose between my friends, this part sucks. Consider this my apology in advance.

If only my animals were this into bathing. It’s just too cute to handle.

In searching for venues, we are looking at a bunch of different types of places and packages.

We went to see a Wedgewood Wedding and Banquet Center tonight. One of the advantages to the way that they handle things, is that everything is in a set price. From the ceremony to the invitations to cake to a DJ to flowers and the meal…it includes all of it.

I guess the question is…do I want more choices? Do I want to have more control over the menu by choosing my caterer? Am I good with a wedding cake they provide? The one we checked out was nice…but I’m not sure I loved it. I know that we have four more venues to check out this weekend, I’m fairly certain I will leave one of those with it screaming…PICK ME!

Most of the places we are checking out come with the caterer, bar, and other small things, but none like the above list. One place we are looking at is all BYO. Choose a caterer and bring your own bar. This might work out to be the lease inexpensive way…but we need to compare.

I get the advantages to both. The first, everything is taken care of the second I sign a contract. The second, I need to make more decisions, but they will be MY decisions and not ones that are given to me. I guess we will see once I fall in love (with the venue).

These decisions are the first…but definitely not the most important.

Yes…I know that these are totally attainable, but over the past 4 days, with the terrential downpour that is occuring in the Bay Area, man….do I wish I had some.

I am heading to Colorado next weekend, and have absolutely NO shoes to wear. The failure of boots that I’ve been wearing in the rain certainly wont suffice. So…do I get rain boots? Or do I get a hybrid that is appropriate for the snow too? I definitely need to shop this weekend and next week, and find something appropriate. I’ll share what I get once I get them.

a little cuter than just black…rainboots should have a little flare, right?

These say “Rain wont mess with me!”

If I was 9, I would totally be into these (or if they came in my size)

I just fell in love with these, but at $250, they are a little out of my price range. They have electric controls that keep the inside warm!! These are more snow friendly than anything…but how hot are these?

These are pretty cute….under $100, waterproof and good for the snow…maybe?

We started venue hunting last Friday (that one was a fail). Since then, we have been on a quest to get site visits booked, and all the while trying to get what we want out of the spaces we are seeing. Are they pretty? Are they affordable? Are the food packages and site fees within our budget? If we do it outdoors, is the time of year going to be too cold? If we do it later in the year can we have a ceremony with the sun out?? This is all a bit more nerve wracking than I thought it would be.

All this coupled with the fact that we have an amazing photographer that we are working with, and her schedule has to coincide with the venues availability. We have three site visits this weekend, and while I’m hoping one of them works out, I keep finding awesome new places to try, worried that maybe they will be better than the other ones.

First we are thinking November…now maybe as early as July…ACK! I’m hoping after this weekend, we can make a decision…book the venue, confirm the photog, and just get to have fun with the details, AND THE DRESS!!! Who needs a long engagement anyway.

I’ve had a few commissions recently, and I wanted to share them with you, as I’m not putting them up on Etsy. Commissions are definitely the way I’m going now, in addition to trying to sell what I’ve already got at the Wunzees shop. If you need something for a lil guy or gal, let me know…and I’ll see what I can do!