Now a Mrs.!

Hello blogging world!  I'm back!  Ish!  We have some down time, so I'm going to give a quick highlight post of how the wedding went (and who knows, maybe a couple G-rated honeymoon shots as well).

First of all, OMG. You know how in the movies prom is this magical thing but in real life it's almost always awful or at least way less dramatic than you expect? I sort of expected getting married to be similar...like, after all the stress and planning it would be good, but not great.  Well, mine was great.  So there.  :-P  Everything, down to every last little detail, was EXACTLY as I hoped it'd be.  Every single one of my vendors came through in glorious fashion (even the food was amazing!) and there wasn't a drop of rain to be had (but it was overcast, so no one is squinting in pictures....perfect!!!) Not a speck of drama, and the only "hitch" was when the ring bearer walked down the aisle...without the rings!!  I didn't get to see that, but I'm excited to see the pictures...I hear the look on the best man's face was priceless.  :-)

Without further ado, here's a rundown, picture-style, of how the weekend went:

Thursday night, my brother ("The Boy", or just "Boy") got a little silly with the photobooth props. No alcohol, just sibling sillies.  For his sake, I won't post any more without permission. Suffice it to say, they're going in the scrapbook.  I love that kid.

Earlier that night, we'd had a great dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin who I don't think I've seen in about 3 years. Good times.  I'd forgotten how much fun they are to be around. :-)

My dad and father in law (woah), bonding over plane stuff.

The Boy practicing his solo, The Prayer, which he played right after our vows.  It was absolutely magnificent.  This kid is so stinkin' talented, I can't even explain.  He was adorably worried about it, but when it came time to perform it was just breathtaking.  I hope we have a video of it I can share later...he's really something.

Thursday day (sorry, these are a little backwards), we delivered the cake topper to Cosmic Bakery in St. Albans, VT...check them out on facebook, they did great work.

 Friday, we went out for breakfast for my mom's birthday, then they went and toured Ben & Jerry's while I went up to the vineyard and set up a few mock tables for the caterer.

 I also set up directions signs (yes, those are hand-done letters...with stencils, but still.  Hello, marker high! :-})

 Here are the escort cards/favors and the beginnings of the guest book scrapbook.

 All the crap I brought in, laid out on the dance floor.

 Mock up of the centerpieces and napkins.

 After that, Mom and I went to get our nails done. Everyone laughed when I convulsively giggled when they rubbed the bottom of my feet.  Not funny, folks!  Hyperticklishism is a legit medical condition! :-)

After that, we headed to the rehearsal, of which I have precious few pictures at the moment.  There'll be more...because my photographer is amazing.

And there was much rejoicing.  That ribbony monstrosity is my rehearsal bouquet, believe it or not.

 After rehearsal, we went to the rehearsal dinner, which was a great time.  MOTU's sister put together a slideshow of all manner of embarrassing childhood pictures for us.  The eerie part was that we had so many similar pictures...guess we were raised in similar families, in the same era.  :-) After dinner we went to the bar at our hotel to hang out with family who wasn't part of the wedding but was in town.

 I've never seen my grandmother so happy.  This was the first time all her kids and grandkids were in the same place at the same time since her youngest got married, 12 years ago.  It was cute seeing her so thrilled.  :-)

Saturday was the big day. I woke up at 330.  Not because I had to, just because.  I saw the sunrise on our wedding day.

 Finally, after playing with my phone for about 4 hours, it was time to get ready.  As I mentioned, Margaret, photographer extraordinaire as she is, was there to document the whole process.

 Even The Boy being classy.
I had him running errands for me (even going to the ATM with a pin number I couldn't remember correctly lol) like mad, but mostly I was just grateful to have him there for support, from the start. Seriously, best little brother ever.

 Mom got her hair done too.

 This is Savannah, my flower girl.  Cutest damn thing ever.  When she saw my dress, she looked at me and said, "Is that YOUR dress??" I said, "yup!  What do you think?" She said, without hesitation, "You DEFINITELY need a crown then!" Too stinking cute!!  She had a tiara she wore all day.

 Martha, my mother in law, getting all dolled up.  She put this whole thing together, including food (which I was eternally grateful for, but didn't think to get a picture of). I so lucked out on the in-laws front.  :-)

 One of my bridesmaids, Alishia.

 My maid of honor, Anna, getting her hair done.

 Taking glamor shots of my dress.

 Margaret, as always, working her butt off for the best angle.

 Then, suddenly, it was time to go to the church!

Good looking bunch, huh?  Boy, Dad, and Mom.

Savannah and I discussing whose dress was prettier and which flowers she liked best.

Mom and Savannah

Quick glamor shot of yours truly.

The boys all lined up, looking dapper in their morning suits.

After the grand opening of the doors.  Took all my willpower not to race down the aisle and smooch Nick (MOTU).

Boy playing the Responsorial Psalm.

Savannah and Jen, MOTU's sister. LOVE this picture.

Here we go!

Best man ready for his big moment.

Ring #1

Ring #2

You may kiss the bride!  After this smooch, everyone was cheering and I couldn't help myself, so I stole another smooch which no one expected, so no one captured (except on video) lol.  What can I say, I love the guy!

Mr. & Mrs.!

During the formal pictures, it became abundantly clear that my veil had a life of its own, and even the slightest breeze made for a hilarious candid moment. This is, I think, my favorite picture from the whole day so far.

This one (taken by Margaret) is a close second.  I've only seen a couple of the professional pictures though, so it's entirely possible this is the worst since she's the best! :-)

Now on to the reception...here's the cake.

And the dessert table.  Allenholm pies...yummmm.

One of the tables, in full glory.

The guest book table, which turned out better than I hoped!  Everyone really took to the idea, and the whole thing looks amazing.  The pictures were all super fun, and some of the props even ended up out on the dance floor later in the evening.

My cousin Faith and her daughter Libby.

Ringbearer (Faith's son), Patrick.  Too cute!

Man, I'm going through just a fraction of the pics from the reception and it's hard to cherry pick just a few so y'all won't be bored (which, if you're not already, kudos! lol)

We stayed at a B&B just up the road from the vineyard, so we decided to park Helen there and walk back. It was like being a celebrity, there were half a dozen cameras flashing at us as we walked back down the road!

OK,just a couple more:

Flower girl and ring bearer dancing (they're cousins). Too cute.

Dad giving his welcome speech. Isn't he handsome?

First dance as Mr & Mrs.

After a dress change, dancing with my uncle.

Trust me, there will be plenty more pictures later on, but this is what I've got for now.  It was, hands-down, the best day of my life so far.  I've never felt so unconditionally loved and supported as I did that day...it was humbling to see how many people came from all corners of the continent to celebrate with us, and I can't express enough how grateful I am that we're surrounded by such positive influences. We have really great families and wonderful friends, and in the end...that's what makes it worth it. :0)

Oh, one parting picture:

The gift from MOTU's friends.  Shockingly useful.  :-)

Quilt Therapy

Yesterday was a meltdown kinda day.  You know how it is.  Fortunately, I wasn't alone and what perked me up was partly reading a description of someone else's meltdown and partly making another quilt top.

I finally got around to using the charm pack of Verna I won months ago from Heidi for a Friday Night Sew-In.  It's pretty.  Not sure what I'd do with actual yardage, but it's pretty as a set.  This, I think, is going to be a lap quilt for someone for Christmas.  It's just the top for now, but I have big plans for doing some actual quilting along the border (as opposed to my usual stitching in the ditch approach, which is classic and simple but not terribly imaginative).

I also pulled out some fabrics from my stash last night for something I'm going to call "Slime & Snails & Puppydog Tails".  It's definitely going to be a boy's quilt.  Not sure how big or what design exactly, but it'll be an Etsy quilt when it's done.  I'm excited to start making stuff to sell once this wedding dust starts settling. I've added a few new things to the shop, but they're all custom work, nothing I could ship out tomorrow.  Well, not unless I stayed up all night to get it done.

I still need to get the programs done, but the direction signs, at least, are done.  3 lefts and a right. I also need to get more core board to make a display to encourage people to sign the guest scrapbook and use pictures from the photo booth.  I probably need to collect supplies to let people decorate it and a box to let people put their contributions in if they don't feel like putting them in the book themselves. 

Anyway, that's the news from Lake Woebegone. 

Down to Just Fingers

I was wondering when the panic would set in...there it is. Everyone keeps telling me to keep breathing and not to freak out if things go wrong, etc etc.  While I appreciate the advice and well-meaning behind the words, I feel like turning around and reminding them of how THEY (if they're married women) felt a week and a half before their wedding, and if they were "calm" and open to the idea that the whole day might be a train wreck.  While I am confident that my day will go just fine and that I'll roll with whatever happens, I'm also confident that that relaxed attitude will be well-earned because I've sweated out all the details and freaked out about every little thing for the past 5 months.  So yes, I get that it's going to be a magical day and that anything that goes wrong will be laughed about later, but just let me bask in the stress and the hard work that's going into it, ok?  If I weren't worried about things, it would mean that I don't care about them. Stressing, at this point, is normal and valid and while I'm doing my best to keep it to a minimum, I don't feel at all bad about letting it get the better of me on occasion.

Anyway, off my soapbox.

I can count on just fingers now how many days left until I'm a Mrs.   That's awesome.  MOTU and I have been keeping each other going, alternating stressor and stressee, and it's just reminded me over and over how glad I am that I get to marry him.  When times get hard, we're there for each other the way we need to be, and that's critical.  He's a good man and I'm a lucky girl.

Here's our song:



I'm mostly done with stuff. I need to make 2 more directions signs and I need to make a trip to the Halloween store to get funny hats, but that's about it. All the reception decorations are done and in boxes, ready to be loaded in the car.  All the ceremony decorations are the same.  The programs still need a little work, but they're getting there and if I had to ditch the effort they'd still be ok.  All the wedding party gifts and florals are in boxes, ready to go.  I haven't at all started thank you notes yet, so if you've sent us something and haven't heard, please be patient.  I've been trying to make sure to let folks know we at least got stuff and are grateful though, even if the handwriting isn't on the card yet.

In other news, we're officially NOT a Marine family!  It's be TOUGH for MOTU the past couple weeks because the decision wasn't ours to make, but in the end...I can't hide the fact that I'm relieved and thrilled to have him with me for the next year instead of far far away! For the sake of his privacy, I won't go into details, but suffice it to say God answers prayers, even silly little ones.  :-)

And finally, obligatory pet pics: 

Kini wanted very much to be in on the conference call I had this morning.

She's just so very excited about customer process management software. Wouldn't you be?

Anyway, that's the news.  Might be sparse posting for a while, with all the chaos coming up and such. 

Design Delivery Monday

The problem with having design wall Monday is that invariably I've actually completed a lot over the weekend, and by Monday morning I have nothing on the wall. I'll have more up later tonight and probably even more than that by Wednesday, but for now this is sort of a view into the past. 

First up, bibs!

 The complete set, post first washing.

 Straight lines

 RAWR!

 Baby Raptor

 Hunter

Next up,  a friend asked me to make a quilt based on a book she reads to her soon-to-be three-year-old. I had a lot of fun shopping for the fabrics and putting this one together.

 The squares are 6 inches finished.

 Design wall (and bed)!

 Finished top!

 Finished quilt and book from whence it came!  After a few hundred washes, it'll look more like the one in the book lol.   (I have an email out to the author requesting permission to use this image...if she doesn't want me using it, I'll remove it immediately.)

For Joseph!

I swear, this isn't unexpected

In the past few months, it seems the only one who hasn't been completely shocked by my ability/tendency to sew/craft/make stuff is my mom.  Maybe she had the genetic heads up and should've been shocked too, but I really don't understand what all the fuss is about.  This isn't really "new" per se, it's just a different symptom for an underlying diagnosis: I am an engineer to the core.

Let me explain.

When I make something, only about 10% of it is me saying "ooh, that's pretty!" The other 90% is doing the math (guess what, I have a scientific calculator in my sewing room.  It's not buried under other stuff either), putting puzzle pieces together, and figuring out how to "do it better".  Quilting, making, etc...it's just a puzzle to me.  It's taking something I see already made, then making it myself.  The first time is always a little rough, but then usually I have a good idea of how to make it (or at least the process) a little smoother, better, etc next time. 

The mental...space?...that I go to when I'm creating is the same space I used to go to when I worked with (not for) Matlab.  I'd spend hours staring at the same stuff on the same whiteboard, erasing and marking, tweaking until it was perfect, then coding coding coding.  It's the same now...I stare with what probably looks like a vacant look at fabrics, but really my wheels are turning and it's a process similar to what Stephen King described in Bag of Bones (something about movers in the attic...I can't remember exactly).  Generally, both processes involve(d) having multiple sources of white noise (MOTU, I'm sure, gets sick of me leaving radios and TVs on all over the house, but that's how I roll) to keep me focused.  It's a strange system, but even now, the thought of that atmosphere is soothing.

Anyway, that's my story.  It shouldn't shock anyone out there that quilting, for me, is textile mathematics. 

A couple quick pictures:

 Zoey, probably fixated on my necklace (again).  Cutest set of claws west of the Mississippi.  So hoping Alishia will decide she'd make a great "wedding gift" for us lol.  Definitely getting a kitten next time I get a cat.

 Teaser pic of my first attempt at free motion embroidering.  Yes, Mom, that's my handwriting when I try.  :-)  I still use cursive sometimes.

 Pew decorations are done.  Pretty lame, but they serve the purpose - little punch of color down the aisle.  (Incidentally, can anyone else not believe that's TWO WEEKS from tomorrow???)

My rehearsal bouquet, made from shower ribbons.  Friendly reminder of how very loved I am.  :-)  Life is good.

It's Our Month!

Ho man, suddenly I can count the days by subtracting today's date from 25.  Anyone got a paper bag?  Eep. 

Anyway, here are few pics of what I've been doing for the past few days:

I started the guest/scrap book:

 First page

 Back of first page. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the guest book exactly...the thing is, we're having a photo booth and I have a lot of scrapbooking paper that I'm hoping to use for backgrounds.  I have little slips of paper with leafy cutouts that people will be able to sign, then glue in next to their pictures.  So maybe I'll put the book there for inspiration, then leave a stack of the scrapbook paper out for people to play around with and then put the pages in later?  Hm.

 I started on the favors/escort cards - they're little glass picture frame coasters.  The picture size is the same size that the photo booth we're having will put out. 

 These aren't the napkins...yet.  They're the center linens (I still don't know what to call them exactly) that go under the bottles.  That's one of the napkin rings though, which I got from Stylishstems.  I'll have 120 or so of them after the wedding that I'll likely be reselling (with Toni's permission, of course) so if you want some, let me know.

 Here's the centerpiece (unhemmed) for the head table.  I added a white border to make it a touch more "bridal", but then it blended in with the table, so I'll have the brown stuff underneath to offset it.

 This is what I'm hoping the cake looks like.  We'll see.

Shelby never sleeps on the porch, but she was camped out there this morning when Kini needed to pee.  It was quite comical because Kini really had to go, but didn't know what to do about Shelby (who's not been particularly friendly to her in the past).  Eventually she just ran over her and Shelby just laid there.

I think that's about it.  Tonight I'm hoping to get the rest of the center linens done (8 left - the binding strips are all pressed, I just need to cut the squares and pin like the dickens).  If I get that done and have time left (after working out, packing for UT (hellloooo girls' weekend!!!), cooking and eating dinner, and aiming for a pre-midnight bedtime, which I haven't accomplished all week), I'll start working on....(queue Wheel of Fortune style To Do list)...programs.  I need to emboss the leaves on them.  On about 85 of them.  6 leaves a piece, 3 colors...it's tedious but it really makes them special so it's worth it to me.  I could also fix the boutonniere I broke (what, I wanted to make sure they're Ford tough...they're not.  Don't sword-fight with them.), make the pew decorations, make the directions signs, keep working on the escort cards (seriously, they're not that hard...it's just each coaster is part of a set of two, which is in a little plastic box, with a bow around it, inside a cellophane wrapper, inside a bigger cellophane wrapper with 5 of its friends...so 4 layers of packaging removal later, I can finally remove the "For You" card and put in a name card).  Or just sleep.  That'd be good too. 

Anyway, now you know my to do list (oh, did I mention I also need to cut, sew, and bind 3 more bibs for MOTU's coworker by next weekish as well?  "Need to" is maybe too strong for that, but "want to very badly, if for no reason other than to stop doing wedding crap non stop" fits.)

On that note, back to work.  w00t.