#227: help me...

11th hour problem, ladies.

the b.f. is THE HARDEST person to buy a gift for. the guy is not materialistic, not a sports fanatic, not a video-gamer, not into massages and stuff, not a huge concert-goer.

he's sentimental, loves food (like me), appreciates nice things but isn't drawn like a moth to a flame to them (unlike me).

so besides the most obvious choice of 'nice clothes'...what could i get him? i was thinking about a gift certificate to a cooking class (that way, i'd get to go too) but...is that sentimental enough? i want to give him something that'll make him go "oh. my. god." because that's how he makes me feel...you know, pretty much every day.

if i got him a new car, i think it'd really knock his socks off. but then again, i'd have to sell everything i have, including the clothes on my back, to do that. so...

...on to plan b.

what are you getting your babe?

#226: knock off.

but not quite. ABS is all about creating affordable knockoffs, right? well, i don't which designer ABS is knocking off here but a zexy short french net veil and wild red lips would set this attire on fire. for a wondrous $378.


from brooklyn bride.

#225: p'owned.

have you ever seen that? "p'owned"? i never understood it. i still don't. but i'm just throwing it out there in case someone would like to enlighten me.

the very fun linda of silly little mischief tagged me a couple of weeks ago. i'm really an uninteresting person so instead of making up 7 more random tidbits 'bout myself, i'll refer you to when i got tagged the first time around. all of these continue to be true...and i'm guessing will be for a long long time. (except the cigarettes. i've set the quit date of 1.1.08!!!)

and then...abby over at weddingblogawards.com gave my blog the award for being the most dedicated. ME! DEDICATED! hollerrrr! thanks abby!

#224: doing good.

hot diggity, readers! thanks for all the sweet info on the photog post! i looked at some of the sites you suggested and voila, came across this picture. (great picture, don't you think? packages start at $800. i know. w.o.w.)


photo by aaron almendral.

favor and charity rolled into one? i dare say yes. i think this is such a fantastic idea. on a rather self-indulgent day, it's a great reminder to have one foot on the ground and be grateful for everything we are and have.

there's 'livestrong' of course...but i've also seen pink bands, red bands, blue bands, purple bands, etc. all supporting various causes. it could also be used as a paperweight for place cards with some ribbon or in pretty see-through pouches.

cheese warning: inspiration rocks and all of your suggestions frequently inspire me. i may not be able to write about them but i read ALL of your comments, sometimes over and over again (OCD), and always explore the possibility of your ideas. thank you.

#223: the photog.

i was inspired today by miss tulip of weddingbee. she posted her engagement photos and boy oh boy, did i love them.

so you all know about my huge crush on jessica claire. but her prices (though worth it in spades, i'm sure) give me major sticker shock. her packages start at $7,500. GULP! that means i would have to do everything else practically for free to stay within my budget. though i think that maybe if i were to sweat blood (like buckets of it), perhaps i could make it happen, i'm also all about being a comfortable, easy going bride the day of, you know?

so, when i saw that miss tulip's amazing photos were done by punam bean photography whose packages begin at $2,500, i felt...hope. not only did i HEART the images, but i got a sense of the photographer's style and personality on her site (i'm guessing she's a 'her'...) and needless to say, i likey'd!

so i've decided i want to start hunting down photographers via looking at more and more blogs aka photog blog stalking. brooklyn bride has a list of photogs oh her site so i figure it's a great starting point for this little mission of mine.

jillian kay starts at $2,400
the image is found starts at $4,000 for coverage and packages at $5,500.

hm. and then none of the other sites post their rates. and so the search continues...

what is the ABSOLUTE max you would spend on a photographer, keeping in mind that you love photography and that it's uber important to you? or, what's the max percentage of your budget you would allocate to photography...er, if your budget was $10,000?

#222: small and big.

from jessica claire.

i like this idea. you like?

#220: ferrero steal my heart.

i don't know a SINGLE person who doesn't like these bits of yummy. what a great (and economic!) favor/place card idea.


from knottie pbell

#219: off-white, white, beige.

did you know you could filter dresses on nordstrom.com by color? well you can, and i did. it was pretty much a treasure trove.


$228 calvin klein.


$178 calvin klein


$568 tadashi


$360 bcbg


$295 tracy reese
(side note: gosh, if they had a floor length version, i'd be all over it.)


$368 david meister

#218: hey mr. dj...

happy december everyone! december happens to be my FAVORITE FAVORITE FAVORITE month in the entire universe. i'm on an (un)healthy high for 31 full days straight. it's pretty fantastic.

so, i was considering what kind of music i'd walk down the aisle in. canon d? NEXT! i'm too abnormal to walk down in classic wedding music. here are my top choices. the song would play during the boys' entrance, the lighting of the candles by the mothers, the bridesmaids' walks, and then...for me.

that's right. 1 song. no switcheroo when the doors open for me. just. 1. song.

the frontrunners:
songbird - eva cassidy
by your side - sade
make me whole - amel larrieux
no one - alicia keys

any other suggestions?