#360: a real conversation.

(looking at a postcard from a friend who traveled to greece)

him: is it strange that i'd rather be in the woods than look at ruins?

*silence*

me: i'd rather go to a spa.

*silence*

#359: i eat crap.

my diet is shameless. or more like...shameful. i consume more fried foods per year than probably all of you combined. exaggerating i am not. and i don't do it for the convenience or the cost. or even the nookie. i'm just truly madly deeply addicted to grease and lard.

one of the things i try to eat more of these days to counteract my addiction is...cereal. granted, i prefer the sugary kinds...but cereal (even the sugary ones) is quite good for you. especially compared to country fried steak and eggs (which is what i had for breakfast today)...and especially these days, with a lot of brands focused on fiber (definitely could use more of that if you know what i mean) and protein.

so. when i saw this little project, i could almost hear my heart asking me to be kinder to it. have i found my motivation to say no to bad foods? eh, probably not. but i do think this project could potentially strongly motivate me to eat more cereal. and i think we can all agree that a real breakfast can only do a body good.

now. if only i could come up with something brilliant to put inside the box...



craftzine via elizabeth anne designs

#358: not so awesome.

first, let me say thanks for all of your comments on post #357. i asked because i'm sorta kinda at a crossroads...a semi-twixter, stuck between adolescence and adulthood, not in a "financial needs" capacity but more in a what-is-the-purpose-of-my-life way. maybe quarter-life crisis is a better description. in any case...

1) i'm in banking.
2) i do not love it.

like many of you, i appreciate being able to pay the bills, afford some luxuries, feel independent and call my own shots. but also like many of you, i don't have the cajones (edit: cojones!)-of-steel to drop everything and just go. for. it. i've got the paycheck-umbilical cord. and...even worse...is that i'm not really sure that i even know what i'd want to go after, if i so happened to grow some cajones (edit: cojones!) overnight.

so...thanks to everyone for sharing. i truly enjoyed getting an inside look at what you guys do regardless of whether it garners your "love"...and i'm also truly inspired by those of you who've discovered your passion...had the courage to dedicate yourself to it...and simply love what you do.

this blog thing really just blows my mind sometimes.

so...on to the real point of this post and what was "not so awesome". i had a dream the other night. that it was my wedding day. and after the ceremony, there were like 5 people at the reception. the music was bumpin' and the bartenders were armed and ready...and the dance floor was empty. it was just me, roaming around, wondering WhereTF everyone was. turns out everyone had left. gone home. before the party had even started.

why am i already having these kinds of anxiety-ridden dreams, right? it's. so. not. awesome.

#357: totally unrelated.

1) what do you do for a living.
2) do you love it.

#356: enter this contest.

to win a honeymoon in jamaica.

i did (...enter the contest, that is). because i can.


via brides.com

#355: a.a.

i got burned when i first showcased the american apparel bandeau dress. but guess what. now they have a (less slutty...) non-pencil version.

am i crazy to think it could totally work as a bm dress? you can wear it 15 ways. yes. 1 dress, convertible 15 ways. here are the 3 ways i think could especially be appropriate.




$43 makes me holler. available in 19 colors and...yes, she'd absolutely be able to wear it again. *wink*

who's with me.

#354: e-i-e-i-oooo.

from once wed

dreamy.

question is...where can i find a barn in the middle of l.a.

#353: pinky promise.

i just made the fiance promise NOT TO LOOK AT THIS BLOG for the next 8 months. i just can't have him snooping around when i'm sharing my makeup/hair/dress ideas.

and he'll stick to that promise if he knows what's good for him. if you know what i mean. if he knows what i mean. if i know what it means.

#352: red lipstick.

my skin color's what you could call...mocha-ish. i'm tan. perpetually. and it's not really a problem except for the fact that i can't pull off red lipstick.

and sometimes, especially these days when i'm totally feeling the 1920s, i just really want to wear red lipstick. not burgundy red. i'm talking flame-thrower, clown makeup red.

but...le sigh...with my skin tone/color, that kind of red just doesn't work. i even think it gives me a bit of a shadow 'stache. know what i'm talking about? and not to say i resemble j.lo in the slightest...but have you ever seen her with firetruck-red lipstick? no. because what looks good is the nude glossy glossy.

but i think i'm ok with that. because i just found my hair/makeup inspiration picture. it includes a bit of the flapperistic feel minus the red lipstick.


from blogger brides.

ahem...not to say i resemble n.port in the slightest either...

#351: what does spotted dick taste like.

you may have noticed that i've mentioned that i have 4 maids. when i was thinking about how to 'ask them', i briefly considered asking via a warm, heartfelt phone call (they're all about 400 miles away from me). but, ultimately, i decided that something so easy as a phone call would only be stifling my extraordinary creativity...and what good could come out of that.

so i decided to do something a bit vulgar and silly. you know. kind of like me.

so i mailed each lady a card. on the front, it said "what does spotted dick taste like?" on the inside, it said "come find out." along with a date, time and a place.

when we were all gathered around and sipping 'tinis, taking shots and noshing on fried chicken and fries (yes, i made the trip to be there in person)...i presented each of them with a personalized card and a gift.

the card was filled with reminders of our unique friendship throughout the years and ended with "...and would you do me the honor of standing by my side..."

and the gift:


well. let's just say we all had a good laugh. and i must have done something right because they all said yes...

#350: "newbie mistakes" series, post #3: spending 'with benefits'.

we're not having an october wedding. fiance pointed out that it's only fair to our out-of-towners to give them enough notice to be able to join us. and...i agree. so that means we're going to host an april 2009 wedding. which means i have 8 en.ti.re. months to plan. drag.

maybe it's because i've been compiling ideas for over a year now. or maybe i'm just totally impatient. or maybe it's because i prefer to make fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants decisions and not think about things for too long. {case in point, i bought my wedding dress at the sample sale. and no, it's not the margherita. but yes, it sure is an amy kuschel design. lord. did i just f*ck up our $10k budget. perhaps. but that's an entry for another day.} but i'm kind of feeling like LET'S GO GO GO GO GO GO GO! and...8 months just...sounds almost close to forever.

getting to the point, today's post is neutral to the actual decision i made in buying my wedding dress and centers more around the misstep in how i paid for it.

fiance and i have always known that we would be paying for our own wedding. we're both children of standard middle-class families and whilst we would appreciate (and accept) any monetary gifts from our parents, we do not want to be dependent on nor expect any financial help from our families to throw our bash.

and though the wedding industry would have you believe otherwise, spending $10,000 on one day to jumpstart the rest of your life...is a lot. but, regardless of whether you're spending $10,000 or $800,000...and especially if you're funding it yourself...you should absolutely make it work for you.

oh hello mileage-earning credit cards.


from southwest

the mistake i made? being ill-prepared to make wedding purchases.

you see, i bought my wedding dress myself. fiance and i had never discussed how we would make our wedding purchases. well i guess it's because we're still 8 months out...and uh, also because neither of us in our wildest dreams thought i'd go to my first sample sale and come out with my wedding dress. eh, but i did.

so with the understanding that wedding purchases are going to pop up (sometimes unexpectedly) in the upcoming months, we agreed to the following action plan. i don't have a mileage card. but he does. so he's going to get a second card in my name asap so we could wholly take advantage of the mileage benefits. this makes sense to us because 1) it'll make the purchases easy to keep track of and 2) the benefits will be piled onto one card instead of being split between the two of us which will hopefully end up in more rewards.

mo' money mo' mileage.

#349: when you need a helping hand.

i'm researching l.a. restaurants and came across something that could possibly help me narrow down my options. so naturally, i took advantage of it.

i submitted something like...I'm looking for a restaurant to host a reception in either October 2008 or in April 2009 for approximately 120 guests. I'd prefer a Saturday evening event but am flexible if the cost differential is significant. The food and beverage minimum cannot be greater than $10,000. Thank you.

i'll let you know how (un)successful this turns out to be.

Source:
Got Group? Got Questions? Need Help?
Call us toll free at: 1-866-627-7067
Email: info@losangelesrestaurants.com

From Intimate Dinners to Large Parties:

Are you planning a special event but can't handle every detail? Let our professionals take care of it. Whether it's a small family celebration or a large corporate event, our experienced staff can help you plan the perfect, unforgettable evening at one of Los Angeles' finest restaurants. No party is too big or too small and best of all, our service is FREE. Our goal is to make your evening as special as possible.

Benefits & Services:

We will help you choose the ideal site from over 150 fine-dining establishments for your event. Whether you're looking for an intimate garden setting or a grand ballroom for your event, we can help you find the ideal spot that fits your every need. And most importantly, there are no hidden charges and no fees as we work for the restaurant on your behalf.

#347: oh hi margherita.

the "margherita" from amy kuschel.

i'm heading over to their sample sale this week. from what i can tell, their least expensive dress is $1600. take 60% off and it'll run me about $640.

but you never know.

maybe i'm meant to be there when i'm there.

#346: crazy thought.

i haven't booked or decided on any of my vendors. hell. i haven't even really talked to or met any of them. hell. i don't even have a list of all of the vendors i will need to hire for whatever reason.

but i was just thinking...if getting married THIS OCTOBER would at all be realistic...

*shrug*

#345: if there was ever a reason to wear strapless.

...this would be it.


from brooklyn bride

so simply elegant it hurts, right?

of my ten toes, maybe about 2 of them are on the bandwagon for the strapless wedding dress. but with a necklace like that, i'm sure the other 8 could be convinced.

#344: 21 and over.

image from here

dammit, father's office! why do you have to be a "bar" and allow ONLY 21 and over in your establishment regardless of whether the entire place is rented out or not. WHY.

i love food so so much and was feeling rather uninspired wedding-wise which prompted this randomish post. it was an experiment with no planned outcome, really.

but then the comments came in. and a couple of you mentioned father's office.

father's office. the home of the world's most awesome burger, yam fries (+aioli dip), and a gajillion trillion beers. i love it, fiance loves it. our friends love it. my family would love it. the kids would love it. i love it. i've been to the montana location many times (teeny place) and had heard about the opening of their new culver city location (bigger place!). so i did some research.

the good news: they do private parties! montana holds up to 78 and the helms location holds up to 150!

the bad news: i have no idea how much it costs because i got shown the hand when i told them not all of our guests are 21+.

the neutral news: they're starting a mobile father's office (a'la the in-n-out truck...) but it hasn't been created yet.

fiance and i are a bit crushed because the thought of having a FO reception made us so warm and tingly inside. but that's ok. where there's a cloud...or when a door closes...

you know what i mean.

#343: the *o*.

what? dresses at overstock.com?

i happened to buy some bed sheets from overstock eons ago and now i'm eternally on their "clearance!" "half off all markdowns!" emails. i usually trash such notifications but today decided to browse through their dress collection. i looked at all of the dresses and nothing really caught my eye...but i did like this little number.


$55.99 from $156.01

i have half a mind to glam up my bridal party in different dresses. i have four maids...and somehow they are all blessedly about the same size (myself included), meaning clothes and shoes are swapped or gifted more often than not. so...the other day, i came up with this idea...that it would be close to awesome to get 4 non matching but somewhat coordinated dresses and just let each gal choose whichever dress she wants.

i like the silk print dress and could imagine any of the gals looking rather smashing in it. the other 3 dresses could have any combo of the purples or goldishes...solids, prints, silk, non-silk...etc.

the bm dress world is my oyster.

#342: "f" is for "foodies".

sasabune
yu n mi
mastros
lawry's
campanile
la cachette

what are some of your faves in the greater los angeles area? just brainstorming.

#341: oh romona.

via once wed.

she's selling her romona keveza dress for $850 if you're in the market for a wedding dress that's less than $1000.

the dress caught my eye, ergo the 2-word ode to romona...but so did the bride's hair. i think i'm starting to like the loose, side swept look.

note to self: let my hair grow.
note to fiance: stop reading my blog please.

#340: light up the night.

$9.95 for a set of 3

i think these would look festive hung high in the trees with mason jars decorating the tables.