Friday, March 28, 2008

Never a dull moment

I hope that anyone who is anyone in my life would know that I am Big/HUGE on family, particularly my kids. And by "my" kids I am referring to my 5 nieces and nephews who breath life into me every time I even think of them. I am entirely crazy about them. awwww, cute huh? Ya cute, but that's my disclaimer! haha

Today my valliant mom and I herded all the kids over to Moa Children's Boutique in Santa Ana. The goal: Buy suits for Jae, Andre, & Tyree. Keyword here is BUY - not look for or consider, but get-it-off-my-checklist-now, BUY! As with most things that involve the fab 5, it was a rather amusing experience...

I will start with the bad - Shopping with 5 kids. 'nuff said.

[Wait no, that's not all. I would like to sincerely apologize to any parent or caregiver that I have ever given "that look" to. You know... that look when your kid is screaming/running/hiding in clothing racks/laying in walkways/throwing things/etc... that "geez lady, control your kid" look. Seriously, I get it now and I'm sorry. Really sorry.]

The wonderfully good news: Mission accomplished! All kids suits purchased for a fraction of what it would have cost to rent- Moa is awesome! They have a notably large selection of children's formal wear at Markessa friendly prices. Though virtually impossible, I made it a point to not look at any of the girl dresses because here and there I would catch a glimpse of some fabulous little pieces, dresses I would have before considered. However I am still convinced that the flower girl dresses posted previously were specifically made for my girls to wear; they are perfection. Going back to topic ---> The Moa staff is really patient and a whole lot more accepting than I am of copycat tantrums and impatient 2 year olds. We were so pleased with everything and thank God for that, because when mom & I are on a mission, it can get pretty intense.

For all the reasons above, I was unable to take a picture of the little ones but here is Jae, the oldest, pictured in his impressive, high quality suit and of course his new found coolness...


And just to elaborate on how cool he is, I ask him what kind of tie he wants me to get him - brown or champagne? and he says "I was thinking more like that light pink" Holy smokes, he's way cooler than me! When I asked him if we should buy the suit, he asks me how much it is? I give him the quote & he checks his pocket and says he only has $9.00 but more at home and he'll pay me back. So cute! But here's the best part - later in the car he asks me again how much it was. Making it clear that he has been thinking about it the entire time, he regretfully informs me that I might need to talk to his dad about that debt. Hands down - the coolest kid I know!

Friday, March 21, 2008

The Latest & Greatest

OK OK so I have not at all been keeping up on my posts. I'd like to say that its because I have been such a superstar bride to be, but I'm afraid not. The truth is I have spent a significant amount of time lately worrying and stressing, as oppose to being productive. The stress has worn me out - literally. Tonight, while being sick in bed is nowhere on my check list, it has made its presence known :( Consequently, this update would be the only thing I have accomplished in the last 24 hours - eeek!

*First and foremost - our honeymoon plans are official! We will be honeymooning in Maui! We had gone back and forth about the idea of taking our honeymoon right away but finally decided that this is a must. We had some airline credit that we had to use before it expired and during our hotel search we found a God Sent Deal! Soooo looking forward to this!




*Accomplishment #2 - Get ready to "oooohhh & awwwww!" Here is a picture of our flower girls in their beautiful dresses~



How ADORABLE are they?! You would never believe that they were less than $50 from Burlington Coat Factory! They have tons of kids' formal wear, especially since its easter time.

*Lastly, I am SO thankful we sent out those save the dates since I have not sent out my wedding invites yet. (Bad bride!) But I am going to make a personal guarantee that they are so going to be worth the wait ;) More to come on that soon...

Tanya took one look at my to do list on Sunday and graciously offered to handle our slide show and another detail project, which I eagerly handed off. I nearly forgot what a creative perfectionist she was till she emailed me what she had so far - amazing! Sadly, she did more wedding related stuff than I did this week.

Oh I really really hope I wake up tomorrow feeling better! Saturdays are my "girls night in" nights with Linette, otherwise known as our "craft extravaganza/weekly therapy/how did I get myself into this?!/man, we are old" nights. HA!

Before the Theraflu kicks in, can I just offer one piece of advice to anyone planning a wedding... DON'T PROCRASTINATE! Everything, seriously EVERYTHING takes longer than you think it will! Start early, especially if you are on a budget! When you are down to the wire, you don't have the luxury of doing a full on price comparison and you have to start making some quick decisions, maybe not the greatest ones. So plan ahead! - Or - You can just test the ability of your entire well being and stretch yourself way too thin and end up like me - Sick. In bed. On a Friday night. With an ungodly To-Do List awaiting your recovery. G'night ya'll ;)

Monday, March 17, 2008

The Wedding Chicks

Wow, it's been awhile since I've updated. I have been so busy with wedding projects! I will blog about the latest later tonight but I had to share this - the most delightful launch of the Wedding Chicks site, brought to you (and me!) by photographer Amy Squires and Jocey of Joceybella Invites. The site is jammed pack with great reads for all those who are wedding planning! It features tons of uber fabulous pictures, vendor links, and articles written by some of my favorite bloggers :) Be one of the first to check it out by clicking below...

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Groom Gear

We finally found the time to head over to the Men's Wearhouse to check out tux rentals. I will preface by saying that we are huge MW fans; their service is exceptional. However we were disappointed, to say the least, to find that they only had fabric swatches in stores. The process is as follows: make your selection from a catalog picture (lame), get measurements taken, place non refundable deposit, and then pray to God it looks good on you when you pick it up 2 days before the wedding. (preposterous!) Basically it is no more helpful than ordering something online. The MW website has some nice customizing features, but is still not nearly as satisfying as seeing something in person. Our plan B was AfterHours formal wear, but Men's Wearhouse has bought out AfterHours and they do not have the sample tuxes in store either :(

This compelled me to do a full on search only to find that a) there is a serious lack of tux rental options in Southern California, and b) the no samples thing is pretty much a norm in this line of business. Leave it to the male species to not object to such a practice; I can assure you, the whole "take measurement & cross your fingers" approach would never work in a female targeted arena!

THE EXCEPTION: While Friar's tux generally operates the same as above, they additionally offer a FREE Groom Try On. This is a no obligation opportunity for the groom to try on all the styles you're interested in. You just have to preregister your wedding with them, select the styles you want them to order for you, and they will have them in your size for your Groom Try On appointment! Thank you, thank you, thank you Friar's Tux! Practicality and Peace of Mind makes us happy customers :)

Some possible options:

Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Vera Wang of the group

Saturdays have naturally become "project" days. My wonderful bridesmaids are all about tackling the to do list! And I don't even need to ease them into projects; as long as there is wine in the fridge and something sweet to tempt them with, they come ready to work! lol Tonight it was all about ribbons and votives. We are wrapping all the votive holders and cylinders in satin ribbon that matches our color pallette. MAJOR bridesmaid points goes to Miss Dania Carolina who crafted our design scheme in a matter of minutes and on her first attempt, if I may add. Here is what she came up with:


Aren't they fabulous?! I think they hint Vera Wang - clean, delicate, fem, elegant, classic! All words I would use to describe Dania herself! Dania is a fashion designer so when I'm running low on inspiration, I know I can always count on her to save the day with her totally luxe sense of style. Thanks girls for your dedication! (You should've seen their faces when I told them there were 84 cylinders and 250+ votives! Definitely gonna need more wine!!!)