new technology you MUST own

Okay, so this is off-topic. But it's also freaking hilarious. From The Onion, via my friend Wil, who got it from some other guy:


Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

inspiration: the real deal

I stumbled across this during my daily blog-infusion this morning, and it just blew me away.

I've mentioned before how much I love A Practical Wedding -- Meg has such a great sense of style, and really keeps Wedding Insanity in its proper perspective. This morning she did a feature on the lovely New England wedding of Rebecca and Thom. I probably would've swooned over their pics anyway, due to my considerable crush on the city of Boston. And her description of their "open mic" ceremony, during which their loved ones were invited to speak about love & marriage, has been filed away in my brain's Ideas folder.

But what really got to me was this quote from the bride: "I knew ... that I am the only person who can ruin my wedding -- by letting the small stuff get to me -- and as long as Thom and I were married at the end of the day, it was going to be the best day of my life (so far!)."

Could you die? Because I sure as hell could. Instead of having a breakdown over non-"perfect" flowers, a less-adept than advertised organist, or anything else that wasn't straight out of Martha Stewart Weddings, she smiled. And had a good time. And still ended up married at the end of the day ... minus the frown lines.

So all of the fabulous women who are going to be present at my nuptual shindig are hereby on notice: Just in case I begin to behave as though I've forgotten these words, please print them out and bring them to the ceremony. And if necessary, roll up the piece of paper & smack me with it until I get the fuck over myself.

dear Craig: luv ya, mean it!

I've been trolling Craigslist again ... and buried in there, among the amusing ("used wedding dress --- paid $5000, asking $4900") and the downright baffling (a screenplay listed by some guy in Wisconsin for $2,500,000 with the opening line "Actually I want more but I can't post any more digits", which then devolved into a rant about Jesus) ... I found some more goodies.

7" tall vases, 15 for $20. Thanks, Sara in Valley Village!


4" tall wide vases, 10 for $25. Thanks, Adrienne in Manhattan Beach!

I also got these care of Bravo Bride. Votive candles holders, 33 for $16 + shipping. Thanks, Terri in Oroville!

All together, I think the reception tables are just about kitted out. I'm planning to fill the tall vases with water, drop a single flower at the bottom, and float a candle on top. These images capture the essence of what I'd like to create:

(images from The Knot)

With the lower ones, I can either try the same thing, or do this:

All this for around $80 so far, with only flowers (one per vase) left to purchase. I'm not going to break my arm patting myself on the back, but I think I did good here.

My last CL find this week was at a garage sale. Somewhere between 10-12 yards of ivory fabric. Hello, aisle runner! All I have to do is hem the edge, and I can even use that iron-on tape if I have to. $20 -- thanks, nice lady in Studio City who's name I didn't get, but who's lovely Australian Shepard puppies slurped me!

And over at the Shameless Pandering Desk: I've read on a few sites about blogging brides who received free printers from major companies (Epson, HP, etc.) to do their d.i.y. projects, in exchange for blogging about the results. Maybe it's because I go out and audition (translation: try to convince people I'm swell) just about every day, but I decided to see if I could get some of that action, too. Everyone I've approached so far has been extremely polite in their rebuffing me ... and HP even sent me a lovely little gift in lieu of my own machine:

I'm now the proud holder of a gift certificate to their new collaboration, hp.com/create and TinyPrints.com. They do all sorts of pretty paper things that you can customize, and they're working with some really great companies like Wedding Paper Divas, moo.com and stamps.com. I can't wait to see what we get from them -- based on what's available & what we need, I'm thinking either Rehearsal Dinner invites (if we have one) or a Directions Card to go with our invites. Either way, free = my favorite price!

edit: Since I don't think we'll have use for so many vases in our home, after the wedding it's all going right back on Craigslist. So's the aisle runner, since I have no plans to monogram it.

"hooray" for more d.i.y.

I'd considered not bothering with programs, as I'm not convinced that they're totally necessary. Does anyone ever really a) become unable to follow the ceremony without the Cliff's Notes, b) commit to memory the names & relationships of the wedding party, or c) keep them? Besides, I just don't think most of them are very interesting. But then I found a template that's also useful, and now we're talking.

Care of the uber-talented Aylee, check this out:

Of course, after I played with the template for a little while, I was feeling seriously out of my league. Fortunately, Mr. UB greatly prefers this simpler (!) paddle fan program.



Seeing as how our venue is outside, and October is usually Indian Summer in San Francisco, I can see myself putting the time & cost of supplies into fans for our guests. There's no way to know how much of the Rotunda will be in shade during our ceremony, and I certainly don't want my aunts to pass out from the heat. (Especially if that would result in their no longer inviting me to Thanksgiving -- those ladies can cook!) And hey -- if it rains, they can hold them over their heads to keep the water off. Brilliant!*
*must be said in Evil Genius voice, a la "breeeel-yent!" for proper effect. And if you have a long mustachio, by all means twirl it between your fingers as you say it.

In other news -- I know I haven't been posting much for the past week. I've been ... well, distracted. And I'm still not sure if it's something I want to discuss here. But I'm back now, I think. Also, I lost my first follower -- someone I didn't know has stopped following my ramblings. The internet is weird.

a happy accident

This just happened: Left side is a plate from Ross ($3.99 on sale) that will be part of my candy buffet. Right side is the bags I found to use for the candy buffet (about $10/100 at bagsandbowsonline.com). Random coordination makes me smile.

fortunately i've found a whole new conundrum

I made it to the jewelry trade show on Friday, and had great success -- I got a super deal on enough gold chain to make b-maid bracelets ($3.85/foot!) and finally figured out what to put on top of those cufflink bases. Green-hued mother of pearl beads, $3 for a strand of twice as much as I needed. So now I'll have these to give as gifts to the groomsmen: (In retrospect, that's a terrible backdrop for the photo -- my apologies.) I really tried to go with something they could use again. Believe me, I spent waaay too much time dithering about going for something a bit "bling-ier", to match the b-maid earrings, plus a few other even sillier ideas. But in the end, I think I did good. Mr. UB agrees.

Are brides "supposed to" give gifts to the groomsmen? I don't care -- I adore all of the guys who'll be standing up with My Guy, and it seems unfair to only give thank-yous to the people standing behind me at the ceremony. Best of all, it came to a total of less than $14 for all 5 pairs.

So, with the attendant thank-you gifts under control, I decided it was time to move onto a whole new problem: Project Honeymoon.

Mind you, I only consider it a problem in the budgetary sense. I have a permanent case of wanderlust, and I still feel the pull of my ex-patriate past at regular intervals. Neither Mr. UB nor I are afraid to fly, and we both love adventure. So it's definitely not the travelling itself that's the "problem." Rather, it's trying to find something that feels appropriately special that we can afford.

Starting with our original ideas, Mr. UB first thought of Italy. Rome, specifically. Which is a place I absolutely want to go with him ... just not for our honeymoon. Why? Because I lived in Italy for 4 years, and Rome was my 2nd home while I was there. So perhaps it's weird (he kinda thinks it is), but I want our honeymoon to be a place that's brand new to both of us, so that we can discover it together. Or alternately, a place where I won't mind failing to show him everything that I love, just in case we never make it out of the hotel room.

My original idea looked like this: Right? Right?! There's just one problem: the part of the world where most of the places that look like this is located, specifically Bora Bora/Mo'orea, is "pricey," to put it mildly. As in most of them start at $900/night. Ouch. (Have I mentioned that I have exquisite taste?)

So: back to the drawing board (aka Google.) I actually got a manageable amount of hits for "Over Water Hotel" once I took out the duplicates. And a few were easily eliminated right away: a lake in Switzerland (not tropical), the coast of northern California (not exotic) and a place in Bermuda (just not "it") are out. There's a beautiful place in Western Samoa that's run by an American couple who dropped out of the game a few years back, and it looks amazing.

source

It's called Coconuts Beach Club, and it's not outrageously priced. The trouble spot is getting to Samoa. It's admittedly less trouble from L.A. than from just about anywhere else besides Australia, but that doesn't make it easy. Even if you don't have a layover in Fiji, the positioning of the Int'l Date Line means that getting there technically takes three days!! Even if you "get them back" on the return trip, it seems like the kind of travel that needs a longer time frame than we're likely to have. Oh, and those flights are about $1000/person. Again: ouch.

And then I stumbled onto this place. It's in Panama. Now, just to prove that I still have a shred of sanity, my first reaction was Panama?!? But upon closer inspection, I have to admit that I'm falling for the place. It's a very small resort, and it's actually affordable. During the time period when we'd be going, those bungalows are under $350/night. And non-stop flights from L.A. to Panama City can be had for under $500/person. You can even get there for less, if you're willing to take a flight with stops. Normally, I'd totally go for that, but I hope we can splurge $100 since it's our honeymoon. Also, we'd probably have to spend a night in Panama City before the island-hopper plane to the resort, and that could be really cool. I don't think I'd want to spend a lot of time there, but one night would definitely be fun.

So now it's time to see what we can actually afford, and try to make it happen. Maybe we can do one of those travel registry things? I much prefer a swell vacation to kitchen stuff. I'll buy my own damn blender.

I hate Hallmark holidays

As a long-time skeptic about the "usefulness" of holidays that are thrust upon us by the Marketing Gods, I try to swim against the tide. Last year, Mr. UB & I stayed in to watch a DVD, and I cooked him a meal. Since he survived the experience, we're doing it again this year. Halloo, tradition!

In that same vein of thought, I can think of no better subject to blog about, on this day that Al Capone thoughtfully stained with blood, than how he & i became He-&-I. To wit: We met in an acting workshop - one of those dreadful pay-to-play places. (In retrospect, at least I got something out of the experience. Besides a higher Amex balance and an Under-5 on Passions that was left on the cutting room floor, that is.)

We did not start to date right away. Probably because I was in a relationship at the time, and therefore only thought of him as That Nice, Funny Guy I Sit Next To In Those Painful Workshops Where I Don't Know Anyone Else. Then one night, I was out with my friend German Girl, and I bumped into him at the bar. We had one of those "I know you, but you're out of context" moments, but eventually figured out how we knew each other. Since we were at a bar in Westwood (that's UCLA territory, for non-Angelenos), he asked me if I was there to watch UCLA in the Final 4 basketball game that night. I replied that, no, I was not. Instead, I was there because my ex-boyfriend's band was about to play upstairs; if he would agree to come up & flirt with me in front of my ex, I'd happily buy him lunch. Yes, ours is the relationship that started on a dare.

Of course, being me, I was actually surprised when he showed up at our table 20 minutes later. I even remarked to German Girl as we left that I'd never seen him be such a good actor (aka "while he was pretending to be into me") in those workshops. To her credit, GG just shook her head at me & sighed.

The story goes on from there -- he didn't realize it was me when I called him, so he thought I'd blown him off; he did such a good job at his assigned task that I upgraded lunch to a steak dinner; when his best friend & roommate met me, he whispered to him, "Dear God, there's two of you!" etc. But whatever -- I'll take it. I never expected any of this to happen. I think I told him during that first dinner that I was happily resigned to growing old with cats. (Have I mentioned that I'm slow to catch on?) And I am so grateful that he came along to fuck up my paradigm, and get me to voluntarily fill my head with all of this silly wedding drivel.

So: Happy Valentine's Day, babe. I'll be over to cook after I finish work tomorrow. And yes, I'll bring the Pepto, just in case.

design contest ... so far

Here's a quick survey of the bridal shower invites that I like the best, as of what's been posted today. First, the one that both Mr. UB & I like: It might be a little too bold for me, but I like the basic idea.

*Side note: for the love of Dog, people, enough with the chocolate brown! It's on my list of Over-Done Stuff I Don't Want, right below polaroid guest books & groomsmen in colored Converse.

Moving forward, I think this one's my favorite (at the moment. Ask me in 10 minutes for a different answer): Followed in quick succession by all of these:


(If we can swap the brown for graphite, that is.)

That's pretty much the order -- based on how long it took me to post them.

Head on over to Minted's critique page, to give feedback to the designers. I promise to post as soon as the general voting begins. Help us get something pretty, okay? Thanks!

designs are up!

Minted.com, who graciously chose us to receive some free wedding stationary as part of a pre-wedding invite contest, has begun posting designs for their current design challenge. Our category is "Bridal Shower", and it's amazing how many options have already been submitted. Please head over to their website, click on "Design Challenge" (upper right corner of the page) and scroll down to "Critique Designs." (And yes, it's equal parts funny & disturbing to see my info with the wrong last name. Hooray for "net anonymity.") I'll post the ones I like the most, once I've had a chance to go through them all.

happy valentine's day, babe

From the hilarious Jen, over at Cake Wrecks: I think that kinda says it all.

because I need to think about good news

Like many other people, I was transfixed and fascinated by the story of US Airways Flight 1549 and pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger. I relate to the whole incident on a very personal level, though -- and not just because of the dozens of times I've flown out of La Guardia airport. My step-father is an airline pilot. He reached the mandatory retirement age a few years ago, but for the last two decades of his career he flew for US Airways.

Because of my family connection, and a personal life-long fascination with airplanes, I wasn't surprised by the plane's ability to stay in the air after losing both of its engines, or its remaining intact during a water landing. I know more than the average person does about what planes can do, and how they work. What has consistently amazed me, though, and moved me to tears more than once, are the actions and the character of Capt. Sullenberger and his crew.

I know, thanks to my step-dad, what "type" pilots are when they're at the controls. To say that ice-water flows throught their veins sounds like a criticism of their humanity ... so instead I'll call it Very Cool Water. It must be the sheer number of hours in the sky that it takes to even become a commercial pilot, let alone be one for several decades -- these guys have seen a lot, and they are over-prepared for every eventuality. And that all makes sense to me in theory. But in reality?

What this man was able to do just floors me. Listen to his list of everything he had to do in order to pull off the landing: keep the wings exactly level, keep the nose slightly up, slow the plane down to just above minimum-possible airspeed, land near boat traffic for immediate rescue ... it just keeps going. All as he was also weighing a return to La Guardia, then trying for a smaller airport in NewJersey, not to mention manouvering between several bridges and ferry boats. All in an airliner with no working engines.

And this whole event -- the entire duration of Flight 1549 -- was barely 5 minutes. Only about 3 of those were after the bird strike.

But it just kept getting better. For several weeks after this happened, Capt. Sullenberger and the rest of the crew resisted the media circus. None of them seemed to think they'd done anything extra-ordinary, or more than "their jobs." Maybe it's because we (understandably) don't like to think about what flight crews are actually trained to do. Maybe it's that the commercial airline industry isn't really a magnet for people who seek the limelight. But even in the face of enormous public interest, no one ran out & hired a publicist to get them as much attention & free stuff as humanly possible. *(I'm talkin' to you, OctoMom.) Their heroism is multiplied by their humility.

I only got around to watching this online last night, because I was at work when it originally aired. But as soon as I did, I knew that I had to post it here. Partly because I do need some good news these days, dammit ... but mostly because we shouldn't forget what this pilot & his crew did just because the news cycle has moved on.

60 Minutes Interview: Part One

60 Minutes Interview: Part Two

60 Minutes Interview: Part Three:


I'm posting the third video because of how moving the "after" part is, but all three are so well worth watching. I dare you not to be moved during the 1st part, when this all-business "pilot's pilot" finally cracks a smile.

.............................................

After I watched this, I decided to check in with how Nie's doing. And then I just completely lost it. Some days, people just amaze me.

weekend round-up

It was quite the busy weekend here at Camp Un-Bride. I didn't get any posting done because my work schedule is such that I'm busiest on Saturday & Sunday ... so Monday is actually my day to get some rest. And on that note, "thanks" to whomever rang my phone at 8:30 this morning. But moving on ...

Early Sunday morning, I drug poor Mr. UB out to the Rose Bowl flea market in Pasadena. I'd told him a few days before that I planned to go, and asked if he wanted to join me. He agreed, under no duress whatsoever -- something I needed to remind him of more than once as I tried to coax, then harangue, then physically drag him out of bed before 8 a.m. He's lucky he's so cute when he's grouchy.

Anyway, we had pretty good luck. I found these, which I'll probably use to decorate the table around our cake: They're real crystal pieces from a chandelier. I can totally re-use these afterwards to make a cool light fixture. (You know, when we eventually figure out where we're going to live.) $5.

We also grabbed two pretty metal planters. I want to use one of them to hold the programs at our ceremony, but got 2 to use later ... again, in the Theoretical Home. Whatever -- they need some cleaning up, but a) I have time for such a project at the moment, and b) the color underneath all that rust (pale green) actually goes with our wedding stuff. (left side is partially cleaned; right side is how we found them)

He thought we should leave them all "rustic" looking. I maintained that "rustic" does NOT equal "rusty", and think they'll still have that cool weathered look even once I finish scrubbing off as much gunk as I can stand. The downside to being "right" about this = I can't make him do the scrubbing. Oh well -- my hands always look like hell, anyway. (It's all the rubbing alcohol from trying not to lose my grip on the pole. You know -- at work.)

We also found one Not Really For The Wedding, But Freakin' Awesome Anyway bargain: It's a Nambe serving bowl. I didn't know what these were until my friend Tolley showed me. They're made from an 8-metal alloy that holds temperature -- hot food stays hot & cold food stays cool. I did add two of them to our registry, even though they're pricey. Macy's has the exact same bowl here for $115. I have this one for $20. To repeat a phrase I've used previously: Booyah.

Today's (Monday's) errands led to another purchase that cost less than planned. I went to buy this pretty guest book that I spotted a while back on the Crane's website: ... only to discover that it's no longer available in this color. I failed to find it anywhere else on the 'net (CL, eBay, etc. -- all the usual suspects) so I decided to see if any of the local stores who carry Crane & Co. products still had one in stock. (Besides, shipping charges = my new Enemy #1.) I struck out in the first place I tried, so I ventured a little further afield to a store in Beverly Hills. And while they didn't have that particular book, which by the way was $39 + shipping, they did have this: The flash over-exposed the photo, but it's cream-colored linen with "Guests" embossed in a simple typewriter-style font. The spool of gray ribbon next to it is the one it came with. I switched in with some green ribbon that I already had. (It's lighter than it looks in this pic). Not only do I like this size(about 10" square) better than the teensy 8x6 books that are out there, mascarading as photo album-sized in their web photos, but check this: "Perfect Guest Book"? I'll say. The store in question is William Ernest Brown on Beverly Drive. The ladies who work there are wonderfully helpful and nice. I spotted (and forced myself to give wide berth to) a large notebook labelled "Cartier Wedding Stationary" on a desk, so if you're on the hunt for higher-end goods, this is your store.

I've been doing more online reading about our ceremony venue, the Palace of Fine Arts in S.F., hoping to find out what the diameter of the rotunda is. I'm trying to see how long of an aisle runner we should get -- since they're priced by length, I don't want one that's too long. Nor do I want one that will end up looking puny if it's too short.

I found the answer to my question (1,100 feet -- I guess we better get the long one) and I also found some amazing Palace-related info. First, there's this image from an ad for the Pan Pacific Exhibition:Thank goodness we didn't do hard-copy Save-The-Dates, because I'd be filled with regret that we didn't use this image on postcards. I'd love to find a way to work this into our programs, or some other element that we'll be making/using. But even more beautiful are the Novagems.

"What are Novagems?" you might ask. Well, if you rely on Google, you might think that they're related to something incredibly nerdy. In fact, I had to look through hundreds of entries that were variations on forums talking about "... so are Nova Gems for Star Captains only or can any1 get em?" to find these:



















"More than 100,000 Novagems graced the Tower of Jewels at the 1915 [Exhibition]. The gems' mirrored backs created an incredible light show when the Tower was illuminated. Smaller Novagems, like [these], were sold as souveniers." poster & quote source

Can you imagine? Because just in case you can't, check this: Click on the picture to see a larger image. Source here.

The Tower of Jewels wasn't one of the buildings that lasted beyond the end of the Exhibition -- all of its structures were intended to be temporary. The Palace itself survived only because the citizens of San Francisco organized to save it. Somehow I think this image would be just as beautiful if it hadn't been so ephemeral ... I wonder what else was lost before there was a camera phone in every pocket to document things?

Oh, and nobody's selling those babies on eBay. I checked.

it breaks my heart, too

I've received a link to this video from several friends, and spotted it on a few of my favorite blogs. In the interest of helping to spread the word:

DON'T DIVORCE MY FRIENDS!


"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Now please go here to sign the petition, and ask the CA Supreme Court to tell that vile Ken Starr to go "divorce" himself.

ribbon palooza, etc.

I found an incredible deal on scoops & tongs for our candy buffet. $0.60 each. I went with big spoons instead of fancy candy scoops because I figure we'll actually have use for these in our kitchen. You know, in the several years of being married, after the big fancy party that lasts one day.

$1.70 each. All at Vine American Party Store.

With slightly more than $1 worth of cream ribbon (total, that is), they now look like this: Total cost: $10.30, and no shipping costs. The website for Vine American is pretty rudimentary, and you can't shop online. But if you're in L.A. and can stop by (and have time to dig) they've got some deals that beat craft stores. By a lot. (Also, no hot glue gun injury this time. I'm improving!)

Next up: supplies for our invitations arrived yesterday. (Side note: our UPS guy is really nice. I should really tell him why he's suddenly seeing me so often, and why there's slightly less room for me in my living room each time he stops by.)
They came with a very nice, unintentionally hilarious note from the person who tool our order. Hand-writted "Thank you!" and signature ... and just below it "*no returns ... no refunds" in the tiniest print. With an actual asterisk. Good thing I intend to keep it, I guess.

Here's what the paper stuff will look like when it's all put together: (The text will be printed on the cream-colored paper ... but in a burst of forethought I decided to run off my samples on plain stuff, until I got it right. And I now have the proper tool for getting the stamp aligned properly, too.) I have 2 options for tying the varying pieces together:


I think I prefer the second one, with just the raffia. Which is fine -- I've decided that I want to keep things as neutral as possible, overall (a reaction to the neckties, possibly?), and I'm sure I'll find another use for the green ribbon. Besides, it only cost $1/spool.

I did a little scrounging for something to put on the cufflink bases I bought on eBay, but came up empty. Then I remembered that Gem Faire is coming back to Santa Monica -- next week, even! Hooray for my flyer that showed up in the mail, complete with Free Entry Coupon. If you want to go, they have 2-for-1 entry coupons that you can print on their website. Or just see when it's travelling trade show goodness is coming closer to your area.

Lastly: some love for all things Google. I thought I'd have to buy some special kind of goo in order to clean the candle holders that I found on Craigslist, until I searched "candle wax removal." Turns out you can pop them in the freezer for a few hours, then basically pop the stuck, melted candle end right out. Yay, free solutions.

**Post-lastly: I just got off the phone with Mr. UB. He went out last night to meet some friends, and learned that someone who used to work at a restaurant with his roommate just started her own catering company. Without him even asking, she offered to cater our reception for cost. Excuse me -- I have to go dance around my living room now.

it was bound to happen

I had my first anxiety dream about the wedding last night. I dreamt that it was our wedding day, and everything had gone perfectly. We were at the reception, having a great time, when I looked at Mr. UB and realized that nobody had done anything to plan the honeymoon. No plane tickets, no hotel reservations ... nothing. And we were supposed to leave in two days.

Not exactly a nightmare, but I understandably didn't wake up refreshed. And babe -- if you're reading this, can we chat about where we'd like to/can afford to go? Kthxbye!

tagged again

The lovely Carol, who blogs at Prima Donna Bride down in South Africa (side note: I'm aching to visit your gorgeous country! I want to go on photo safari & surf) has tagged me. Yes, I'm blushing, and oh-so-pleased to know that there are people who are reading this even though they're not a) in my wedding, b) related to me, or c) being paid by me to raise my readership stats, in some weird attempt to simultaneously inflate my ego and deflate my bank balance. But I digress: Ahem. So these be the rules:

1 Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs who show great ATTITUDE and /or GRATITUDE
(editorial note: guess which one I enjoy more ...)

3. Be sure to link to your nominees in your post

4. Let them know they've received this award by commenting on their blog

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received the award

I nominate these blogs as outstanding for showing great attitude and (one of them, at least) gratitude:

Stupid Wedding Crap

I Hate Planning My Wedding

The Pissed-Off Bride
(ed. note: is anyone else noticing a theme here?)

The Broke-Ass Bride (and yeah, I know that she was named in Carol's post. But I heart her, too.)

One Barefoot Bride

Mr. Un-bride (Because he has to like me back.)

And, just because I'm not only* interested in wedding stuff, *Mostly is not the same as Only. Look it up. I also pick these.

Cake Wrecks (My fiance' is just thrilled when I sing your Unsolicited Jingle. Really. Can I live with you when he throws me out?)

Morphine Life (Trent sings for an amazing NorCal band. Listen & love them, dammit.)

Half-Assed Kitchen (Even I can't screw up their recipes.)

Fuck You, Penguin (Cute animals are awesome. Telling off cute animals is even better.)

Please know that I don't expect any of these people to continue the cyber chain letter of re-posting, etc. I enjoyed it because I'm flattered and I like sharing the love, but I imagine that other people have full & exciting lives, and therefore don't have time for such things.

shopping goodness continues

I have to give props to A $10,000 Wedding for this one: the sale going on right now at Pier One. She tipped me off about it in her blog, and although I had to do some digging, I really did find some great stuff. So much that I went back the next day, when they weren't about to close which made me feel like I had to rush. (By the way, why is it that all the cra-zazies come out to shop just before a store closes? Those poor clerks. Maybe it was because I picked the Hollywood location, but still...) I got a few more of these -- there were already two in the bundle of candle goodness that I got off of Craigslist. Yes, I have something specific in mind for them. Or at least Ania The Coordinator does. Besides, they were $0.08 a piece. I have 12 now.

I also got 5 of these. They didn't match my decor ... ... but now they do. $0.28 each, plus paint I already had = about $1. Lastly, take a look at this:
It's a flower blossom candle holder, in crystal. It's beautiful, and it costs about $88 in the store on La Brea where I spotted it. I did not buy it. I bought this instead: It's a really crappy angle, and my floor is filthy (sorry) so allow me to explain. It's a double-layered star-shaped candle holder. In glass. On sale for $0.18 each. I bought 12. That's $2.16 if you're keeping score. (Which I am, believe me. Ask me about my Excel files. On second thought -- don't. Spare yourselves.)

I also spotted what might be a lovely paper to line our invite envelopes with. I can't get the picture off of my cell phone's online "album", so you'll just have to take my word for it -- it's very pretty. Pale cream with teal blue swirly lines. But I'm leaning heavily against spending $3.50 per piece of 20" x 30" paper. I think I can only get about 10 envelopes per page out of that. Too expensive. Where's all the pretty wrapping paper you can buy by the roll, dammit?! (Seriously, if you know please tell me.)