So far I like the pink Cole Haan peep toe shoes with the lizard-y texture the most (lower left photo on the Cole Haan post).
Cupcake frosting brought to room temp in the open air produced a firmer frosting. The one kept in the sealed container had very squishy frosting and seemed to have absorbed too much moisture. Freezer cupcake test results coming next week.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Cole Haan Shoes, I love you
Nike Air in a dress shoe = best invention ever.
The blue and the crisscross pink shoes arrived last night. They're amazingly comfortable and as long as the 1.25" heel isn't too high I will be wearing Cole Haan shoes on Sept. 5.
I can't believe I haven't splurged on Cole Haan shoes before. It's like a whole new world of shoes was right in front of me (literally since S loves the Cole Haan outlet) and I just never slapped down the plastic required to enter that world. I guess I can't retire on Sept. 6th now that I need to replace my entire shoe collection with Nike Air/Cole Haan shoes.
Or after the wedding I can admire from afar and just keep wearing slippers and flip-flops every day....
The blue and the crisscross pink shoes arrived last night. They're amazingly comfortable and as long as the 1.25" heel isn't too high I will be wearing Cole Haan shoes on Sept. 5.
I can't believe I haven't splurged on Cole Haan shoes before. It's like a whole new world of shoes was right in front of me (literally since S loves the Cole Haan outlet) and I just never slapped down the plastic required to enter that world. I guess I can't retire on Sept. 6th now that I need to replace my entire shoe collection with Nike Air/Cole Haan shoes.
Or after the wedding I can admire from afar and just keep wearing slippers and flip-flops every day....
Cupcakes: fridge results are in
Cupcake #2 was placed in the fridge on Saturday. The cake was baked on Friday night, the frosting added Saturday at noon. Time in the open air ~14 hours. Time in the fridge ~48 hours.
The frosting is firm without any condensation. Cupcake looks a little dry. 1/2 is warming to room temp in the covered container, 1/2 on the counter. Humidity level in the house is 69% temp is 70 (yes, it's going to rain).
The pantry test cupcake #3 was dry yesterday according to S's taste buds. I thought it was fine. The frosting held up nicely for ~40, which means that cupcakes could, in theory, be removed from the freezer and frosted Thursday evening.
Freezer cupcake #1 will remain in the freezer until Sunday at the earliest, which if successful, will mean that I can bake AND frost the cupcakes the Friday of the weekend before the wedding. Which also gives me a full week to run off the cake batter/frosting combo. I promise I don't lick my fingers and stick them back in the bowl. Ha.
Purchased yesterday are materials for foam cake testing, which will take place as soon as one of us goes to the grocery store!
The frosting is firm without any condensation. Cupcake looks a little dry. 1/2 is warming to room temp in the covered container, 1/2 on the counter. Humidity level in the house is 69% temp is 70 (yes, it's going to rain).
Taken out of the fridge at 11am. Will taste test at 7pm.
The pantry test cupcake #3 was dry yesterday according to S's taste buds. I thought it was fine. The frosting held up nicely for ~40, which means that cupcakes could, in theory, be removed from the freezer and frosted Thursday evening.Freezer cupcake #1 will remain in the freezer until Sunday at the earliest, which if successful, will mean that I can bake AND frost the cupcakes the Friday of the weekend before the wedding. Which also gives me a full week to run off the cake batter/frosting combo. I promise I don't lick my fingers and stick them back in the bowl. Ha.
Purchased yesterday are materials for foam cake testing, which will take place as soon as one of us goes to the grocery store!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Flashlights, check.
We're the proud owners of 72 mini flashlights. I couldn't specify which colors I wanted, but for less than 25 cents each I'll deal. I figure that we'll have plenty of outside lighting, but wanted to have flashlights for our guests, just in case. I think 72 will be more than enough.
I'm sure they'll end up all over the yard like the used popsicle sticks we would drop everywhere when we were kids.
I'm sure they'll end up all over the yard like the used popsicle sticks we would drop everywhere when we were kids.Cupcakes: testing the stale factor
I made a batch of chocolate cupcakes with baileys irish cream frosting for a party this weekend. We set several aside to "test" the freshness factor. One is fully frosted and in the freezer, one is fully frosted in the fridge and one is frosted and in the pantry. I'm testing for the following:
1. How does the frosting in the pantry hold up after 3 days. Can I frost on Thursday and still have a tasty cupcake on Saturday?
2. How does the frosting hold up in the freezer. This is the ideal situation - can I bake and fully frost these cupcakes the weekend before the wedding and remove them on Friday? This would be the ideal situation for two reasons: I won't be eating cake batter and frosting two days before my wedding, and I won't be a total basket case trying to frost 200 cupcakes and hang 125 lanterns the day before the wedding.
One would think that with the amount of baking I do I would know the answers to these questions. I still need to test this whole process out with cream cheese frosting as well. Or I could go the easy route and just serve vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and forgo the carrot cake. We'll see.
1. How does the frosting in the pantry hold up after 3 days. Can I frost on Thursday and still have a tasty cupcake on Saturday?
2. How does the frosting hold up in the freezer. This is the ideal situation - can I bake and fully frost these cupcakes the weekend before the wedding and remove them on Friday? This would be the ideal situation for two reasons: I won't be eating cake batter and frosting two days before my wedding, and I won't be a total basket case trying to frost 200 cupcakes and hang 125 lanterns the day before the wedding.
One would think that with the amount of baking I do I would know the answers to these questions. I still need to test this whole process out with cream cheese frosting as well. Or I could go the easy route and just serve vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and forgo the carrot cake. We'll see.
Bridesmaids Gifts
I also finished another component of my bridesmaids gifts this weekend, but they're top secret so I'm not going to post photos :)
Getting Started on LED Throwies
I started making throwies this weekend. It was fast and easy and darling S assured me that if I "allow" him to watch the Masters without complaint then he will finish the entire batch of 400 throwies that weekend.
Sounds like a good deal to me! I don't know how he'll possibly stay awake the entire time; the soothing voices of golf announces puts me to sleep within five minutes.
I just hope the rest of the LEDs and batteries show up in time!
just a couple more pairs
So I may have ordered a couple more pairs of shoes.... But, really how could I resist when the "best offer" option on ebay allowed me to offer the seller $8 for two pairs of shoes? I have a feeling this may end up being a "you get what you pay for" situation. Oh well, at the very least I'll have a couple pairs of slippers to offer future overnight guests!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Mo' Shoes! Mo' Shoes! Mo' Shoes!
I bought more shoes today
All by Cole HaanI hope they're short enough for my dress or I'll be really disappointed. Which do you like the most?
Shoes. Help.
I need help finding shoes. I think I want dark blue or navy shoes now. They have to be flat or almost flat. I've searched through every shoe on endless.com, zappos.com and 6pm.com. No perfect blue shoe. I need shoes.
The square toe shoe in the center are the shoes I currently own. The rest are ones that I like, but I'm just not sure about. There is a 365 day return period on all of these shoes so technically I could order them all and try them with the dress at my next fitting in May. But the problem is I think I really want a blue shoe! Which ones do you like the most? Have you seen any other blue shoes in your travels that may be the perfect shoe for me??
The square toe shoe in the center are the shoes I currently own. The rest are ones that I like, but I'm just not sure about. There is a 365 day return period on all of these shoes so technically I could order them all and try them with the dress at my next fitting in May. But the problem is I think I really want a blue shoe! Which ones do you like the most? Have you seen any other blue shoes in your travels that may be the perfect shoe for me??
Let there be light!
Aaaah, success!
Fresh off the plane from China arrived these lovelies
150 LED 10mm diffused white light bulbs and 100 CR2032 batteries. Which we used to create this:
Which we hung in this:
And then stuck in a closet. The result of our test is that a single LED light on a single battery will burn strong for 64 continuous hours. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. We will hang the lanterns in the tent on Friday and they'll still be going strong Saturday night.We also found that three battery bulb combos clamped together with a binder clip cast a nice amount of light in a single lantern. So back to ebay I went to order a few hundred more bulbs and batteries for our ~125 lanterns. We'll have our own version of March Madness going on in the F|S household this week!
More information about using LED "throwies" to illuminate paper lanterns can be found here, here and here.
Vodka and Vodka and Vodka, Oh My!
We're supplying the alcohol for our wedding. And and aviator's wedding will require lots of alcohol (yeah, yeah stereotypical). So what does darling S bring home yesterday? This lovely gift from two of his students:
We've added it to the closet/dresser/pantry full of alcohol. Thanks boys.
We've added it to the closet/dresser/pantry full of alcohol. Thanks boys.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Lights
I'm obsessed with lighting.
Actually, that's a lie. I'm just obsessed. Obsessive compulsive is the real term, I think. But right now the obsession is focused on lighting (thank goodness those napkins are finished). I have visions of 100+ paper lanterns hanging in the tent, either hanging from navy ribbon or with tails of navy ribbon hanging from them. Here's the closest thing to my vision I can find:
photo source unknown
The problem with this plan is actually illuminating the lanterns. Buying strings of electric lights is rather expensive, wiring my own would be a PIA, and hanging the lanterns would mean a very linear display, as above. I came across battery powered LED lights, however, their lifespan is about 12 hours and I don't want the caterer turning on LED lights when we're at the church and she's trying to prep food.
Enter, WeddingBee; the most useful wedding board every invented. A kind member of the bee boards posted a simple how-to that outlines how to make our very own battery powered LED lights that last for DAYS! Check out her post, the photo she shows is much closer to what I'd like to accomplish with our lanterns.
Batteries arrived yesterday and LEDs are en route from Hong Kong. This will be a test-run of 100 lights. If we like them then we'll proceed to make 400: 300 for the lanterns and 100 for our guests to use as flash lights to navigate around the yard (even though we'll have tons of outside lighting too).
Actually, that's a lie. I'm just obsessed. Obsessive compulsive is the real term, I think. But right now the obsession is focused on lighting (thank goodness those napkins are finished). I have visions of 100+ paper lanterns hanging in the tent, either hanging from navy ribbon or with tails of navy ribbon hanging from them. Here's the closest thing to my vision I can find:
photo source unknownThe problem with this plan is actually illuminating the lanterns. Buying strings of electric lights is rather expensive, wiring my own would be a PIA, and hanging the lanterns would mean a very linear display, as above. I came across battery powered LED lights, however, their lifespan is about 12 hours and I don't want the caterer turning on LED lights when we're at the church and she's trying to prep food.
Enter, WeddingBee; the most useful wedding board every invented. A kind member of the bee boards posted a simple how-to that outlines how to make our very own battery powered LED lights that last for DAYS! Check out her post, the photo she shows is much closer to what I'd like to accomplish with our lanterns.
Batteries arrived yesterday and LEDs are en route from Hong Kong. This will be a test-run of 100 lights. If we like them then we'll proceed to make 400: 300 for the lanterns and 100 for our guests to use as flash lights to navigate around the yard (even though we'll have tons of outside lighting too).
Tasty
The syrofoam cake arrived today. Tasty!
Actually, I'll be cutting a small section out of this cake and stuffing it with real cake so we can "cut" this cake with the sword. But this will mostly be for display, decorated with with real frosting and a navy ribbon accent. We have a topper already that just needs a coat of navy spray-paint. On the day of the wedding we'll add a few fresh pink flowers. How hard can it be? S and I don't care if we taste stale cake, it's all for the photos anyway.The real treat will be the cupcakes that our guests will be served. I'm a baker, it's my thing. I've been testing out recipes for months that I intended to give to our cake baker. But, this is one detail that I really want to do myself, so I'll be baking and decorating cupcakes (4 or more varieties) the week before the wedding. I'll just have to keep my fingers out of the batter so we don't have button issues on the big day!
Invitations
I've started to work on our invitations. I saw a post where a bride printed a calligraphy-like font on dark envelopes and then used while calligraphy ink to trace over the printed font. Preso, I present really easy calligraphy:
They aren't perfect, but after being smushed and smashed in the mail I'm sure they'll look just as good as the $3 per envelope option. It took no more than an hour to do 18 envelopes. I had planned to ask my mom & bridesmaid S for help, but I think I can probably finish the whole batch in less time that it would take for me to drag myself to the post office.
I've worked on a design for the invitations, response cards and thank you notes, but I haven't nailed down a monogram yet. I know exactly what I want it to look like, but I just need someone to take it and stick it in a vector program and send me a high-res image. I have a RFP out on elance.com so perhaps I'll find a vendor there. It seems like a waste to spend $$ on this just because I don't have the right program on my computer!
I just received a quote from a printer to print and cut the invitations for us. It's cheap and well worth it. I can just see S and I sitting on the kitchen floor, exacto blades in hand as we cut 2-up invitations to size. Exacto blades and crappy jobs just don't mix well.
They aren't perfect, but after being smushed and smashed in the mail I'm sure they'll look just as good as the $3 per envelope option. It took no more than an hour to do 18 envelopes. I had planned to ask my mom & bridesmaid S for help, but I think I can probably finish the whole batch in less time that it would take for me to drag myself to the post office.I've worked on a design for the invitations, response cards and thank you notes, but I haven't nailed down a monogram yet. I know exactly what I want it to look like, but I just need someone to take it and stick it in a vector program and send me a high-res image. I have a RFP out on elance.com so perhaps I'll find a vendor there. It seems like a waste to spend $$ on this just because I don't have the right program on my computer!
I just received a quote from a printer to print and cut the invitations for us. It's cheap and well worth it. I can just see S and I sitting on the kitchen floor, exacto blades in hand as we cut 2-up invitations to size. Exacto blades and crappy jobs just don't mix well.
Purse & Shoes
I have been looking for shoes for months now. The ones that I originally bought are too "high" for my dress. I wanted either hot pink or navy blue shoes. These arrived yesterday (disregard the peds, of course):
I kinda like them, but I'm not sure if I love them. Thankfully endless.com has a 365 day return period so I'm going to try them with my dress in May. If they don't work then I'll just start the whole process again.
While shoes are a necessary accessory for the wedding day, a purse is not. But, last weekend on our way home from Mardi Gras we stopped at the Coach outlet and I spotted this bag in the clearance section (clearance being a loose term at Coach):
I left and went back to the store twice before I actually bought the purse. Coach also has a generous return period so if I decide that I don't need a purse, this too can be returned. Cute, no?
I kinda like them, but I'm not sure if I love them. Thankfully endless.com has a 365 day return period so I'm going to try them with my dress in May. If they don't work then I'll just start the whole process again.While shoes are a necessary accessory for the wedding day, a purse is not. But, last weekend on our way home from Mardi Gras we stopped at the Coach outlet and I spotted this bag in the clearance section (clearance being a loose term at Coach):
I left and went back to the store twice before I actually bought the purse. Coach also has a generous return period so if I decide that I don't need a purse, this too can be returned. Cute, no?
Napkins
We made the napkins for our wedding. Not just a few napkins, but 160 pink and blue napkins, 8 each of 20 different patterns. Napkins are an easy project, just a little bit time consuming. It took us several days and nights to do them all, but they're done (just in time to clean up the kitchen to put the house on the market).
Here's a photo of the finished goods:
It was difficult to find navy blue prints so we'll just have to rely on the navy table cloths to keep with the "proper" color scheme.
Per S's request I will not post the photo I took of him sewing the napkins as I pre-ironed hems. I must confess that while I ironed all 160 hems, I only sewed about 40 napkins. S is a superstar seamstress -way to go 7th grade home-ec!
Here's a photo of the finished goods:
It was difficult to find navy blue prints so we'll just have to rely on the navy table cloths to keep with the "proper" color scheme.
Per S's request I will not post the photo I took of him sewing the napkins as I pre-ironed hems. I must confess that while I ironed all 160 hems, I only sewed about 40 napkins. S is a superstar seamstress -way to go 7th grade home-ec!
Catching Up
I haven't blogged in months. Once we got the big stuff under our belts we held off on doing any wedding planning for a few months. In the meantime I moved to Florida, planned a kick-ass baby shower for one of my bridesmaids, did a lot of wedding brainstorming and my brother and his g.f. (a bridesmaid) were engaged.
Now wedding planning is back in full force. We're selling our house, moving to D.C. and buying a new house just after the wedding, and brother's wedding is a month or so after ours. Talk about a busy year. We just want to get as much planning done before everything hits us this summer!
Now wedding planning is back in full force. We're selling our house, moving to D.C. and buying a new house just after the wedding, and brother's wedding is a month or so after ours. Talk about a busy year. We just want to get as much planning done before everything hits us this summer!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Cute Ideas
This weekend I was at our mountain cabin with my mom. We stopped at a local home decor shop and found some super cute cocktail napkins with blueberries on them. We bought 160. We also bought a single LED battery powered tea light after the shop owner suggest we make luminaries and hang them from the apple orchard trees. They're very cute!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Churches, Caterers and Future In-Laws
We have a ceremony site, several quotes from caterers and a couple of visits with the future in-laws under our collective belts. AND perhaps the most exciting, at least for me, is an impending move to good old Pensacola, Florida. Not my dream location, but at this point I'd go anywhere to be with S.
The ceremony will be held on September 5, 2009 at 3:30PM at the Yarmouth Meeting House. Here is a photo of the ceremony site:
The reception will follow in my parents' yard in Freeport. From 5-6:30ish we will host a cocktail hour in the front yard with several passed hors d'oeuvres and a few stationary items. We will then proceed to the tented area where several grilling stations will be set-up. Salads will be passed and while our guests enjoy their salads the servers will call individual tables to the grilling stations to be served various meats and veggies.
I spent two three-day weekends at the future in-laws' weekend 'Bay house in Maryland. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Future brothers and brothers' girlfriends were great company. I look forward to many more summer weekends at their beautiful home.
And I look forward to more fun-filled weekends catching our own dinner fresh from the bay!
The ceremony will be held on September 5, 2009 at 3:30PM at the Yarmouth Meeting House. Here is a photo of the ceremony site:
The reception will follow in my parents' yard in Freeport. From 5-6:30ish we will host a cocktail hour in the front yard with several passed hors d'oeuvres and a few stationary items. We will then proceed to the tented area where several grilling stations will be set-up. Salads will be passed and while our guests enjoy their salads the servers will call individual tables to the grilling stations to be served various meats and veggies.I spent two three-day weekends at the future in-laws' weekend 'Bay house in Maryland. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Future brothers and brothers' girlfriends were great company. I look forward to many more summer weekends at their beautiful home.
And I look forward to more fun-filled weekends catching our own dinner fresh from the bay!
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