Bridesmaid's Dresses

Ok so this is the post that has been giving me so much grief with the pictures.  So I snuck them in over my lunch at work and finished up the text at home.  I guess until I figure out what is up with my computer that's how I'll have to be posting.

I had wanted to show our bridesmaids dress shopping experience from about a month ago!  Initially I was going to ask the girls to just pick a grey dress that they liked, but then we decided to go dress shopping to see if there was anything out there that we liked.  At the first 2 stores we didn't have too much luck and the selection wasn't great.  Here's the only one we said could maybe be a contender.  The picture looks much nicer than I remember thinking it was in person.  Very cute and flattering, but we weren't sure about the belt (and it wouldn't be in purple) and the side view wasn't as flattering as the front...

Thank you to my wonderful sister for being my model and trying on any and all dresses I threw her way...while my mum took care of baby Lily.

Off we went to the next store where we had so much more luck (we did stop at another store before this one and quickly walked back out again as all the dresses either looked like they were made from grandmothers-of-the-bride, or like they had been on the racks since 1992). 

We narrowed it down to two final dresses, this being one of them.  Again, not in this colour, but we loved the one strap look for a late summer wedding.  It also had good structure as we kept thinking we'd like a taffeta or some material like this because we've always found it to be more flattering/forgiving...

This one I remember I had tried on for my sister's wedding almost 3 years ago, so we thought it would be fun to have Kyla try it on too.  We loved the rouching (I have no idea how to spell that word) to the one side where the fabric bunches together, but there was just something that didn't make it stand out as much as the dress above...

Again, not this bright orange, although it is a fun colour.

Finally she tried on a dress that, on the rack we nearly passed over because of the material alone.  We had tried on many dresses in this softer, flowier material, and found that it only emphasized everything you didn't want to be emphasized.  But we were in good spirits and thought what the heck, what's the harm in trying it on!...

As if this girl had a 5 week old baby!

And then we fell in love...it was so flattering, so fun, so feminine and we thought it would be a style that most of the other bridesmaids would be comfortable in (what a task alone that is, trying to find something to appeal to 4 different girls!)  At first the sales associate said that if we didn't like it, the strap could be removed, but after more and more gazing, we really liked it.  This one also had the "rouching" above and below the waistband which is really quite flattering.  It was hard to try to picture it in a different colour, we even loved the colour as it was, but we're going with soft grey dresses for a lighter, more summery look.

So all the girls have ordered their dresses and now we wait.  I hate waiting.  I want to see them now!  They're supposed to be in by the end of July and then they'll have to be altered and such but I'm dying to see what they'll look like in the colour we chose!

So that's our wedding installment for the time being, I'll be sure to do more as it gets closer to the date!

Any bridesmaids dresses/shopping experiences worth sharing?  Dress from hell, or ones you loved? 

Help Part 2

Just when we thought everything was right as rain...my pictures are still not working!!  Janice can put pics in my blog posts no problemo, but for some reason I can't.  I'm pretty sure it's not just my less-than-techy-mind because Janice gave me such simple, straight forward step-by-steps, and yet?  No pictures!

So I'm thinking maybe it's my computer??  I'm going to throw it out there...does anyone have ideas as to why blogger isn't interpreting the html codes I'm copying and pasting (from Flickr) into my posts? 

In other news, one thing we're getting closer to settling on is what to do with the front porch.  For a while we were on standby because we both thought that our idea was the best (and probably still do lol) but the reality is that it's our house so we have got to compromise.  We chatted about some solutions last night.  I am willing to do the iron spindle thing, but the only thing I really really don't like is when a front porch looks like a back deck (with plain wood).  So I suggested what about doing the black spindles but painting the wood white.  He doesn't mind the idea look-wise (although I have a hard time picturing it myself, I need to search for some inspiration pics) but doesn't want to paint the wood because any water will cause it to bubble and peel.  But this is 2012, surely there's got to be weather-resistant paint out there somewhere, no??
Anyhoo, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  We got a little more gardening done, did some running around and generally had a more laid back weekend as next weekend is jam packed!! 

I'm off to search for some black spindled-white railinged front porches!

Have any computer tips to share?  Get any gardening done??  Have you painted outdoor wood and has it held up to the elements?

I Love Long Weekends!

Well after a weekend of pestering Janice who was so kind and helpful with my picture issues, I'm still having some trouble.  All of her tips and advice (and yes, even a little video tutorial!) and I still can't figure it out!  She's got one more way to try to help this non-computer-savvy girl out.  If all goes well I'll have picture-posts again soon...Thank you Janice!

We had such amazing weather this weekend I couldn't get enough of it, the sun really is an instant mood-booster, don't you think!?  We got lots of gardening done, which you'll just have to imagine for now.  But I swear we were hard at work!

We started a tiny veggie garden (tiny because I'm sure it won't survive the vicious squirrels we're housing back there and I don't want to waste money feeding those guys).  But we got some corn on the cob which I'm so excited about!  And a strawberry bush, watermelon, peppers, snow peas, tomatoes and some herbs.

Darryl's cousin was doing some gardening of her own and was kind enough to bring us some of her perennials (black eyed susans, succulent, hydrangea and lamb's ear...have you seen that stuff, it actually feels like a little lamb's ear!)  I still have 2 to plant, but hope they'll all survive the transplant from her garden to ours!

Our neighbours were also looking to get rid of 6 root balls of day lillies so we gladly took them and potted them (because I hear they can take over if they are planted in the ground so we'll see how they go). 

We also bought a little braided hibiscus tree.

Long weekends in general are fantabulous, but having such amazing weather was really more than we could have hoped for!

Sorry for the lack-luster post!!

Did you also get to some gardening?  Start/finish some projects?  Or did you just enjoy the weather?

Help!

I am trying to put together a post, for which I have all of the writing done but just need to add a few photos and then this message appeared...

"Whoops! You have run out of space. Purchase more storage.

 

Photos are stored in your Picasa Web Albums account and are included in your 1 GB free quota for photos. Additional storage that you purchase is shared between several Google products and is in addition to your free quota. Learn more"

 

What the heck!?  Has anyone else ever had this happen!?!?!

 

Anyhoo I'll have to fiddle around this weekend and see if I can come up with some solution (that does not require "purchasing more storage"). 

 

Enjoy your long weekend!  We hope to maybe get to some gardening and enjoying the warm weather that is coming our way.

 

What are your plans?

 

 

Mason Jars

Hello!  Hope the weekend was good to you...we went camping and had lovely weather, got to some bike riding and trail walking as well.  Lovely! 

Last week (before my VV trip) we went Garage Saling (how do you spell that!?).  It's something we both highly enjoy, which is nice.  We just drive aimlessly on a Saturday morning and are sure to come by a good number of sales.  Darryl bought a couple of old chainsaws which he assures me are "works of art" and I picked up a box of old mason jars from the 30s from a lovely old man for $2.  We may use them for holding candles for the wedding, but there's also tons of other ideas out there so we're not sure yet...

Here's some inspiration shots I've come across.  We could do something simple like this...

I like the idea of some family members wedding pictures in them too (found here...)

Or maybe we could use them for table numbers like these...

Or maybe one flower floating in it?  (found on pinterest, but can't find the source)...

We have various sizes, so maybe something more like this...

Some of the jars date back to the 30s, Darryl came across a lid that said 1910.   We love old things so this was a cool find for us. 


The trouble is when you start to come across too many ideas that you like and can no longer narrow them down.  That's where I'm at not.  I have to stop searching pinterest!

Any other ideas or fun things you've come across lately on how to use mason jars as centerpieces??

Brooch Shower

I wanted to post about what I had been looking forward to last weekend...I'm sure you've seen them all around blogland and pinterest, and as soon as I saw my first brooch bouquet I knew that was exactly what I was going to have whenever my time came to get married (obviously this was pre-engagement...actually it was last summer to be exact).  I knew it was what I wanted, not because it was the newest trend, and not just because I love all things old/historical, but because the thought of having a little piece of important people with me on the big day (as opposed to some flowers made by a stranger that would inevitably die) was such a lovely idea.  I didn't want to go around and collect all the brooches on my own (although I have picked up a few), I wanted it to be a sentimental bouquet with attachment and story connected to women close to me. 

So that brings us to this past Sunday where my sister held an intimate brooch shower for me.  She put so much thought and so many personal touches into this shower (with a 5 week old to take care of on top ot it!).  As soon as her handmade invites went out, I knew she had a lot of ideas brewing.  They are so creative and beautiful, and even had a tiny little brooch for each invite! 

She even calligraphied each person's name!

Then when you opened it up there was a sweet little poem (mine was a little different than the ones the girls got) and a picture of what a brooch bouquet is, as the guests weren't too sure what I meant when I said I wanted to make one.  Smart Girl!)

Then you could lift the picture and underneath was glued a little envelop that held the actual invitation and contact/RSVP information.  So creative, I love it!

It was such a beautiful shower.  I was greated with a lovely pink punch in an adorable mini-mason jar wrapped in burlap and twine.  Perfection. 

The afternoon started off with a quiz/questionnaire game where Darryl had previously recorded his answers (which was so cool - after I answered each question, they would press play to watch his answer on tv!).  First I had to try to match his answers and then he had to try to match mine.  I did horribly and I blame it on the pressure of being on the spot!  lol  He did much better than I did though and made up for it.

Me anxiously waiting Darryl's answer...the pressure!

The brooches everyone brought are so stunning and touching.  I just love that I will have a piece of all those wonderful ladies with me on the big day.  I loved hearing the story of how each brooch made its way to my hands, whether it was from someone's own jewelry collection, thrifted, antiqued or bought new.  (And check out the amazing boards Kyla made to display them all!  I'm going to find a way to reuse for them at the wedding because they are just too cute...)

My Mum is so cute, she got me "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue" and labeled each box as such.  Adorable.

Something old...

Something new...

Something borrowed (the brooch from my great-grandmother's 3-piece jewellry set that will be returned to my mum after the wedding)...

Something blue...

And even the cake was made to look like a cameo brooch!

It was such a fun afternoon.  I can't thank my sister and mum enough for putting together such a thoughtful, sentimental shower, it's a moment and a memory I will treasure forever.  Thank you!


I've been researching a bunch of different ways to assemble the bouquet, anyone out there ever made one and have some tips? 

Can You Even Stand It?

Haha cheesy title.  Couldn't help it.  On my weekend trip to VV I first saw a great 6 foot dresser that I thought about converting to a buffet - it had 9 fabulous drawers to make up for the lack of storage we have in this house, it had great little legs and some interesting detail...it also had a great bow in its center which caused the center drawers to jam.

I walked away from it and went down another aisle and passed by 2 matching nightstands.  We have gone 2.7 years without nightstands by our bed which is highly inconvenient.  Then I noticed that they were the matching set to the buffet I had turned down.  At $8 a piece I decided to call Darryl and have him come down and see if he liked them too.  While I was waiting for him I had to ward off a drooling mother-daughter team that were eyeing the big buffet and then came by and saw the matching tables I was trying to hide (I had it pulled to the side with my purse on top, clearly claiming them and they still went in for the grabskie!)  I kindly explained I was just waiting for my bf to help me take them home and they begrudgingly walked away.  Phew. 

So, with that...here they are...

Yes, that is the leg of a stuffed bear in our bed

We have touched absolutely not even one square inch of this room since we moved in. Like not even painted it yet. Actually that's not entirely true, last week we did a minor tweek that had major practical payoff that I have to put up here too once I get some pictures.

And yes, that is a club of some sort behind the pillow on Darryl's side of the bed to ward off any potential crazies.  You've got one too...right?

The plan is obviously to paint them, but as of right now we have no idea where we want to go with our bedroom so I don't imagine I'll be getting to them anytime soon.  I'd love to give them a pop of colour instead of playing it safe with just white or something.  Maybe add some pattern with wallpaper over the face of the drawers - the possibilities are endless!  But I love that they have 2 great drawers to fill with the random junk that makes it's way into our bedroom, and I love their pretty little legs.  We may even keep the hardware, I've never seen something like them before so we'll see (maybe give them a coat of paint to bring them up to date).  For now I'm just enjoying not having to reach down to the floor to turn my alarm off every morning.

Nice legs!

Are your nightstands something that you transformed or were they bought new?  Any ideas/thoughts on how to refinish them?  What colours are you loving for master bedrooms lately?

Value Village Finds

After a hair appointment on Saturday I couldn't help but pop into Value Village on my way home.  I was in search of some centerpiece inspiration, but ended up coming home with something completely different.  I'm sure you've all seen pictures similar to this one floating around pinterest and I really love the idea.  We have a couple old suitcases here that I thought would work perfectly (passed down from family members which makes it more meaningful).

source

But then at VV I saw this cute little guy which just happened to be in our exact colour scheme for 4$ so I decided to pick it up and see how it would look with the suitcases we already have here - I like the idea of stacking a few on top of each other.

What are the chances??

We picked up something else at VV that I'll share this week too.  Something we have been needing and putting off for a while now...Also, I'll let you know what I was so looking forward to on Sunday once I get some pictures up.

What did you get up to this weekend - any thrifting like us?

Loving the Details

Now that our staircase is done, there are parts of it that I find myself staring at, focusing on and pointing out to guests.  Here are a few of my favourite things:

I really love how the banister turned out, all the grain just pops...

Seeing as the newel post started out like this...(99% of the trim details had been somehow knocked off over the years)

We are thrilled to see it all gorg now. 

(Initially we planned to have that stained, but because of my epic staining fail, it turned about 10 shades darker than the treads and banister. It was a completely different tone and completely unacceptable to my somewhat finiky eye. So the paint got slapped on and we couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It helps to make the front entrance feel that much more light and airy.)

A couple different perspectives...

The after shots should look better after I've touched up the paint, painted the wall going up the stairs and put some trim back on the window...but for now, it's 1000 times more open and inviting than we've ever known it to be!

Among the many gaps along the stair case, the spindles and paneling was full of them...

So while I was painting, Darryl got out the Dap and started filling the gaps...

Also, the part of the wall that meets the stairs (on the right below) had a huge gap where lath was visible...

So Darryl added some trim to cover it up, it beefs it up a bit too which we like...

(I still have to paint over the Dap that got on the walls a bit)

And finally, on the very first step on your way up, there's the imprint of a child's shoe.  There are two more on the way up as well.  We have no idea how they got there or how long they've been there for.   Creepy a little right?  It's like our perma-ghost.  Don't tell Darryl that though, he does not want any visitors of the supernatural sort. 

I hope you all enjoy your weekends do you have anything exciting planned?  I have something I'm looking forward to on Sunday that I'll share with you next week!

How to Ask Your Bridesmaids 2

Wow, can you believe we're already in May!?  That is just wild to me.  I've got 9 more weeks until I have a bit of a break from work and the count down is on! 

Yesterday I shared one way I asked a friend to be one of my bridesmaids.  Asking friends and family to be part of our wedding party was fun (although it took me long enough - sorry to my sister and Maid of Honour who was patiently waiting to begin planning)  I really enjoyed thinking of different ways to ask them.


The puzzle was a fun and interactive way to ask a friend.  For Darryl's sister, who has a bit of a sweet tooth, asking her with some old school candy seemed fitting...

If I could do this one again though, I would put the "Will you be my bridesmaid?" on a little tag attached to the ring pop, because when she opened it up she didn't notice the writing on the lid, I had to point it out haha.  But still, fun!

I had one more bridesmaid who I asked early on, she lives on the other side of the country and I just sort of blurted it out with her - sorry!  But she wouldn't have liked it if I had drawn it out and sent something in the mail, the wait would have been torture lol.

So there you go, just a few cute, thoughtful ways to ask some of your closest ladies to be part of your big day!

Slowly but surely we are crossing things off of our wedding "To-Do" list.  With 4 months to go, the time is going to just fly by!

Any favourite wedding sites or inspiration you might recommend I check out?  I've been gathering tons of inspiration and photos, but really, can you have too much??