Breaking the Ice

Before I do a whole recap of Dildo Weekend, I think its best that I break the ice with what is either:
a) the most embarrassing photo of me, ever.
b) the best picture of the night.
c) all of the above.

So, dear readers, I show you this now, with the hopes that you will still love me tomorrow.

(um, I hope the largess of my balls is appreciated, for posting this on the internets for all to see...)

Stick a fork in me...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend! I am back, and whoa, am I poooooped! The weekend was incredibly fun, and from tofurkeys to dildos I have much to report. I feel sooo behind on my life right now though! My reader overfloweth with bloggy goodness to read, my inbox is bursting at the seams, and my brain is just today starting to recover... all the alcohol slowly evaporating away, lending way to clarity. Folks, its been a long four days!

I'm slowly gathering my wits, organizing my thoughts, and planning a great debrief of debauchery. But until then, I'll leave you with a teaser.... MaPo and some of her bridely accoutrements!

Turkey and stuffing and...dildos? Oh my!

Thanksgiving is still one of my favorite holidays, even if my "turkey" is made of soy protein. I just love the comaraderie of a bustling kitchen, the familiar smells of holiday staples, and the warmth of being surrounded by friends and family. Plus, the parade and the dog show are on, in succession! Cuteness overload!

I am thankful for so many things this year, its hard to narrow it down. But here are the big 'uns:

The job is still working out really well. I actually (gasp) like it so far! My office is cozy, my boss is nice and appreciative, and my cup runneth over with fun side projects and opportunities on the horizon. But mostly, I'm grateful for the people in my life. Hunter, of course, for his infinite generosity, patience, kindness and tenderness. My family (3 of whom have birthdays this week!) for their unconditional love and support. Paco, for his innocence and excitement. My friends, for being my family away from home, and for always being game to dance it out in our living room. And you, my bloggy friends, for your support and encouragement as I traverse this path.

But enough with the mushy talk. Because after tomorrow, Dildo Weekend officially begins! I can't wait to see my best friend again, much less treat her to a rollicking good Hollywood time in honor of her final months as a single gal. I couldn't be more excited. Debauchery, thy name is MaPo :)

Have a great holiday weekend, friends! What are you thankful for this year?

How Paco sourced our florist.

Our fubaby Paco is always trying to get into the wedding planning. Its very sweet, but usually he just gets in the way, or knocks things over. You know, the whole lack of opposable thumbs can be a real inconvenience. But finally, he has made his mark on the wedding (pardon the dog-pun), and now he won't stop gloating.

See how smug he is? ;)

Some time ago, we were on an early evening walk around the cul-de-sac near our house, when we met just the cutest little doggie, Ruby and her lovely mom, Sarah.

Ruby was near-death when she was rescued, isn't she lovely?

Paco immediately started laying the mack on her, and Ruby was eating it up. All the while, us grown-ups got to know eachother, and hit it off quite nicely. On our walk back home, Sarah mentioned that she is starting an eco-friendly floral business called La Vie en Rose (so cute!). My spidey senses tingled.

Now we're all fast friends, and Sarah is our wedding florist! I'm so excited because working with friends is the best possible scenario, and she's super talented. Plus, her focus on eco-friendly florals is exactly what we were looking for, and she lives right down the street! How perfect, to have meetings about the floral design, while the puppies get a playdate.

Check out some of these gorgeous arrangements:

(source)

Before meeting Sarah, we had always thought we'd just do the flowers ourselves. But the task was kind of daunting and I secretly wished we'd stumble into an opportunity to use a professional. And stumble, we did! Now I get to have gorgeous, stress-free flowers, and a great new friend in the neighborhood. What could be better?

Have you ever found a vendor in a most unlikely moment?

Smart Chicks Club

Just over a year ago, some of my lady friends decided to take control of their finances, together. They invited some like-minded friends (one of which is moi) and started a monthly meeting ritual called Smart Chicks Club. Each month, a different gal hosts, we all chip in $2 for snacks and drinks, and we get together to discuss our financial frustrations, goals and celebrations... and we have a clothing swap! Most months, we have a guest speaker come in and talk about real estate, investments, financial planning, or health.... usually a friend or friend-of-friend and its always free. What started as a financial club has really expanded into quite a support group! We do try and keep a focus on finances, but we also share our other hopes, dreams, plans and life news. Super cozy.

Every month, I look forward to spending some quality time with the ladies. Its so therapeutic, to feel all that gushy estrogen-y warmth in one room! I always feel better for being there, and have learned some amazing tips, tricks and more to help me keep my moneys (and sanity) under control. Some of my favorite meetings are the ones where we all just catch up and go around the circle updating the group on what's new... but we've had some really useful speakers and activities too. Last month, we made inspiration boards to help keep us focused on our goals. Crafting and girl time? Cozy overload! I highly encourage the spreading of financial information, support and estrogen to keep a sister sane. Start a group of your own and reap the love!

Since I know y'all love a deal, I'm spreading the smart around! Here's some of the best tips I've culled over the past year.

Mint.com
Mint is a superduper money management website that I use religiously. I've never been good at keeping records of purchases, balancing checkbooks, or knowing where my money goes, but now Mint does it for me! Just plug in your bank accounts, investments, loans, etc. and Mint automatically pulls in all your transactions to one place, and puts them into categories such as "shopping" or "fast food" or (eep) "late fees" - but you can customize it however you want. It even creates charts to show you what you're spending your money on, helps create budgets to keep you on track, and suggests ways to save. It notifies me when payments are due, or if an account drops below a certain dollar amount. The best part? Its FREE!

My Open Bar
Ever feel like going out for a drink, but don't want to spend big bar money? Head over to My Open Bar, select your city, and learn where the free (or cheap) booze is happening! From liquor promotion events to art gallery openings and everything in between, you can drink for pennies every day of the week. For example, in Hollywood tonight, you could imbibe some Budweiser for $1 each :) How sweet is that? (sorry, its only available in LA, NYC, Chicago, SanFran, Honolulu and Miami... but they do add cities, so keep checking!)

Farecast
If you're as boggled as I am by the knowing how to get the best price on airfare, then Farecast is your new best friend. They analyze airfare trends and make scientific predictions if the lowest fare for a trip is rising or dropping over the next 7 days. This shiz is genius! When you search flights at Farecast, you're searching flights from more than a hundred airline and travel agency websites, and you can book directly through the one that works best for you. They also handle hotel predictions, to complete your trip, and have a "deals" site broadcasting top flight deals, record low airfares, and last minute getaways on the cheap. I always consult farecast before buying plane tickets, and I put a link on my wedding website so out-of-towners could use it when planning their flights for the wedding!

Retail Me Not
Before you click "submit" on your next online purchase, be sure to check with Retail Me Not to see if there are any coupon codes available for the site. Promo codes of all sorts are shared, and rated, so you know what works. Most times, you can find free shipping codes, or percentages off - great ways to save!

Amazon Prime - now you can share it!
For $79 a year you can get free 2 day shipping from Amazon or $3.99 overnight shipping. The great thing is that your membership is good for up to 4 family members as well. The key is to pool with 4 other “family members” (friends can be family, too) to share the membership. Free 2 day shipping all year for less than $20 sounds good to me! To add a member: Enter the person’s name, relationship, e-mail address and birthday in the appropriate fields and click “Invite.” An invitation e-mail message automatically will be sent to the e-mail address you entered. Note that invited members will need to know the month and day of your birthday to accept your invitation.

I hope these help you as much as they do for me!

I'm a cheater.

(source)

Don't get me wrong: I absolutely LOVE the wedding we're planning. The Magic Carpet Ride theme, the colors, the venue, the "essence" are all just perfect for us.

But, I still can't help my thoughts from drifting.... I can't help it.... I (gasp) fantasize about other wedding choices!

I know, its probably really common. But doesn't it make you feel just a little guilty sometimes? Here's the current object of my fantasy wedding-lust.
(via snippet & ink)

Isn't that just delicious? I wish everything in my life could be infused with those colors, that energy. Its divine. Fresh, juicy, playful, sweet....and simple. Wouldn't it make just a lovely wedding?

But, its just not for this wedding. Y'know?

I'm just going to have to start planning frequent theme parties to satisfy my urge for other designs, I guess! Not too shabby of an idea :)

What wedding styles tempt you away from your one true love?

The Broke-Ass Bride & Bloom

Seeing Mrs. Jellybean's post about being featured in The Bride & Bloom magazine totally reminded me that waaaaaay back when we were first engaged, we were selected for a feature on dancing shoes vs. bridal shoes. The Bride & Bloom provided a pair of each for the 3 brides involved, and a free dancing lesson for us all to test them out and give our opinions on their comfort and style. The best part? We got to keep the shoes, and got a pic in the magazine!


(image source) - look how small his hair is back then!

You can see my shoes were pretty different from one another. The ballroom shoes were pretty comfortable - they were much more cushioned and flexible in the sole, and the heel was sturdy and wide. They just weren't exactly my style for the wedding. However, they did come in seriously handy for our Trash the Dress shoot! The designer pair was stunning.... really, that picture does them no justice. The only problem is that they're horrifically uncomfortable! I can't really wear them to dinner, much less dancing. Sadly, they're just no good.

Ballroom shoes in action - img by Richelle Dante

The dance lesson was really fun, even if I had a hard time not leading :) We were being videotaped and its supposed to be on the B&B website, but alas, it seems to have been vanquished from public viewing. We learned to foxtrot, waltz, and *my favorite* swing! We also got a coupon for one more free lesson to be used closer to our wedding date.

In the end, it seemed we all agreed that if we could blend the beauty of the designer shoes with the comfort of the ballroom, it would be the perfect combo of style and substance. But alas, it seems that never the twain shall meet.... at least not that day :) I'm so glad to have found a pair that is both beautiful and cozy... and I plan to dress them up with some foot petals just to be super-duper sure that no blood is shed.

Are you planning on wearing designer shoes, or dancing shoes? Or have you found the ever elusive perfect blend?

Dildo Weekend, aka MaPo's Bachelorette Fete

My best friend is a true delight of a lady. We'll just call her MaPo, because a) monikers are more fun, and b) she and I used to relish Ma Po Tofu at lunch on a regular basis. She's also standing up in our wedding as The Best Lady (more on this later), and I couldn't be more thrilled!


MaPo with her *other* best friends :)

Ma Po and I met at the Milwaukee Rep, where she was interning with Hunter and me. You may remember me mentioning how my best friend helped me ensnare Hunter into my love-trap... that was MaPo! We've been the best of friends for 6 1/2 years now. In that time, we worked together 3 different times, helped each other move in and out of Chicago, had wayyyy too many margaritas (a product of our weekly fun friday dates, aka Frundates), and practiced random acts of senseless debauchery... quite effectively, I might add.

But one of the most most important moments of our time as friends is the day I introduced her to the boy she will be marrying in just 2 short months. Let's call him Feta, for he is greek (like me!). MaPo and Feta got engaged just months before we did - so we've enjoyed the deep bonding experience of planning our weddings together. Its super cool, having been integral to eachother meeting and falling in love with their future husbands, and getting married at the same time. And I get to be her Maid of Honor! Which means..... Bachelorette Party!!!

*****(MaPo, if you're reading this... you best stop now, or suffer a serious ass whoopin')****

Next weekend, MaPo will be flying in to sunny LA for what we're affectionately terming "Dildo Weekend" which entails a mini-bridal shower and a rowdy night on the town for 6 of us gals. Now, I sure knows how to party, but I'm a little unversed in the way of the bridal shower. Hive, can you help a sister out?

The one thing I do know is that I want to do a "newlywed" type guessing game, and I'm asking Feta to pre-record his answers on video, which I think will be a fun twist. But after that, I'm pretty clueless. Help me gals, you're my only hope! What are your favorite inexpensive, girly and giggly bridal shower games?

After the shower portion, we'll head out. I've got the limo, dinner and the strip club all sorted out, but I still want to find a cool korean-style karaoke bar with private rooms. I've done some research but the question remains - which karaoke club is best? Local bees, your help, if you please! Then its off to a greasy diner for late night breakfast to soak up the liquor in our bellies, before we have a slumber party back at my place to cap off the night. What do you think, sound fun?

I'm so excited to give MaPo the night of her life, surrounded by her girls. Its so fun that she gets a vacation-style bachelorette, since most of us live here, and she could probably use a break from the cold. I hope she loves every minute of it, and I can't wait to post pictures and share the details afterward!

If I had all the moneys...

I'd hang a bunch of these beauties all around the reception, so they'd dance and twirl over our heads during dinner.

It just don't get much more charming and romantic than that.

{image from RoyalBuffet on etsy}

I'm a closet 5-year old.

And this completely gives me the giggles.