almost caught up

If Ben and I each write 3 thank you notes tonight, we'll be all caught up!

If I cut 30 yards of ribbon into 2' lengths, singe the ends, and use toxic glue to attach them to wooden dowel rods, we'll be all caught up with the ribbon wands.

Water bottle labels, are they really necessary? I'm starting to think they're not...... If I decide that they are, they're a good TV watching activity.

Once we edit the welcome letter and Ben prints it at work (COLOR LASER PRINTER FTW), we can finish stuffing the flat things into the welcome bags and add the snacks and be done!

Programs..... Honestly, I'm tempted to let them sit and rot until my mom gets here. They are really a job best done with someone else, near the printer, possibly with some wine.

my hair is like Hillary Clinton's

because it doesn't move! There is a LOT of hairspray in my hair, I'm going to have to remember my allergy eye drops because the hairspray is scented and kinda makes my eyes itch a bit. Though it could also be the start of ragweed season. Either way, I'm going to have to remember my allergy eye drops.

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the curls will be smaller, so there will be more of them, my part will move further out, and there will hopefully be more volume. 4 hours later and my hair still looks the same, but my head is starting to hurt a bit from all the bobby pins holding my hair in weird places. I need a haircut, not just a trim this time, my hair is getting so long as to give me headaches when I wear it pulled back!

My hair gal also works p/t at Sephora, so tomorrow she's going to play dress-up with my face! She'll be applying my makeup too, and doing a trial run while she's at her other job (so it'll be free!), I just need to buy some mascara or something (which I need a new one of anyway).

After all that freaking out about finding a hairdresser, I hit the stylist jackpot! A lovely, young, Jewish woman will be doing my hair and makeup at the hotel the day of the wedding, for what some stylists were asking for just a full trial!

eeer, there are still 2 MIA RSVPs totaling 5 people

But I'm 99% certain they're all coming. The final tally is 105, including 3 kiddos age 2 and under, and two 5 year olds.

Yey, there will be kiddos in my kiddie parade!

I'm trying not to obsess

The only details left to fuss about are personal appearance. I blogged the other day about trying to find a stylist, and I tried calling a few places, but no one was very helpful on the phone. So, yesterday evening I took to Peal Street armed with business cards. I wrote what I needed, when and where on them, and dropped them off at every salon on Pearl Street with the receptionists. I did find one place that I made an appointment at, but they get VERY mixed reviews online, and I didn't get a warm, relaxing vibe when I was there (I just didn't feel funky enough to fit in). Hopefully, someone from a more traditional/relaxing salon will get back to me and I can cancel my trial on Monday at the funky salon.

HELP!

I'm going to call today and try and schedule my lesson with the makeup artist from the Groupon I bought in June. I also have an appointment at the Clinique counter tomorrow, it's free gift week at Nordstrom! Their new redness reduction foundation is amazingly effective, but a bit too heavy for me. I wonder if I can return the foundation I bought a few weeks ago and get the powder.....

11 AM update:

I got a phone call from a salon that I would go to if it were open on Sundays, but they have an extra $100 travel fee! EEK! Is my hair worth $250 (plus trial), instead of $160 at the funky place (including a trial run)?

I have everything but a hairdresser

To look the most awesome I've ever looked for our wedding, I have everything but a hairdresser. Originally my cousin was going to do my hair, but I'm not OK with her doing it without a trial. Sadly, the hotel's salon and spa has been booked from 9-4 for an entire wedding party (a wedding that isn't even taking place at the St. Julien!). Ugh. I'm f'ed you guys. Who is going to do my hair?! I don't think what I want is TOO complicated, but I can't do it myself. WHAAAAAA!

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Thankfully I have everything else figured out: dress, undergarments, bouquet, shoes, sweater, and most of my jewelry (mom, WHERE THE HECK IS MY BRACELET? IT HAS NEVER BEEN IN COLORADO!)

Oooh, I need to schedule my makeup lesson!

I also need to figure out which antiperspirant actually works, because I'm a sweaty beast. Any suggestions? Secret clinical strength is crap, FYI. And Degree clinical strength doesn't work any better than the regular one after about noon (but I'm sweat free when I wake up and all morning).

Goal for the next -3 weeks: find an f'n hair dresser, book makeup lesson, find antiperspirant that works, avoid stress (AKA sad tummy and pimples), go to bed early and get lots of sleep, drink lots of water.

Have I left anything off the list (other than finishing craft projects)?

I'm a true dork, but not a Degas Dancer

I'm a big dork. At my fitting this morning, I kept standing in the mirror and twirling, clapping my hands, and saying YEY! I have such a cute little shape in my dress, especially now that the seamstress added some light boning and some extra bra stays (thingies that tuck into my bra to keep the dress from shifting).

Is it weird to be so excited about wearing my dress? I guess it just means that I picked the right dress!

(source)

dress fitting, in my REAL DRESS!

Straps: my cute little flowered bra straps will be covered with a 1.25" strap (shown later in the gallery with a polyester proxy), there will be loops to thread my bra straps through to keep the straps from running away on me. I'll also be adding my Great-Great-Grandmother's (or her sister's, no one remembers) brooch on my right hand side, where the straps attach to the dress.

Sweater? No sweater? I'll button it up all the way, but I didn't want to fuss with silk/linen covered buttons and then have to undo them.

Is the veil too yellow?

I feel funny without my necklace, but I think it looks better without.

UPDATE: I went back on Monday, Sept. 20 and the seamstress had sewn on the straps and adding some light boning to the dress so that it lays flatter. She'd also added "bra stays" which are sewn to the lining, just under the top of the dress, and tuck into my bra, one in the middle, one in each cup, and two on my back. They keep the dress up/my bra from peaking out. It looks EVEN BETTER now!

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everything has been ordered

This morning, before it was 90+ degrees outside and we went to TWO sukkah building parties, Ben and I picked out a thank you gift for our parents. I'd already picked out and had my mom pickup gifts for the siblings, but we thought we'd get something awesome but more of a token for our parents. I'm happy with what we picked out. Hopefully it'll be as awesome in person.

We also went to the GoBoulder/Boulder Chamber of Commerce and picked up lots of helpful literature for the welcome bags. Tonight's goal: get the bags labeled. I'll work on stuffing them later, now that I have all the stuffings.

This week I've got another dress fitting (it's a little too big now, just an inch, but yey!) and then a "craft date" with a girlfriend to finish the ribbon wands.

did you know that the wedding is just over 3 weeks away!?

Somehow, since my bitch-fit on Tuesday this has sunk in. Holy crap!

Things are getting checked off the list (with annotations):

• Ben took his suit/tux to the tailors, it will be ready a week from yesterday


• we met with the pre-marital counselor last night, apparently we're happy and well adjusted
  
  
  
  • I was indirectly, and accurately told, that once we have kids I have to remember that I need to put my airplane oxygen mask on first, THEN them. That I can't take care of other people before myself.
  
  
  
  


• My mom claims to have my bracelet (my something old), and I ordered/received earrings to wear


• I have BLUE toenails! They'll be my something blue. I'll see how they look at my fitting tomorrow (hopefully not TOO ridiculous)


• the fabric and pattern have both been acquired for making Ben's kittle. now I just need to DO it

Things that are getting done, but aren't done yet:

• dress fitting is tomorrow!


• vail has been ordered, but not shipped yet. BOO! I was hoping to have it to wear tomorrow. oh well.


• I almost maxed Ben's credit card ordering him 8 pairs of shoes to try on with his tux
  
  
  
  • one pair of the four that have arrived fits well
    
    
    
    • they're patent leather work-boots, made for waiters!
    
    
    • there are still 4 or 5 more pairs en route, hopefully one or more fits just as well and is a bit dressier than work boots, but whatever. I'm just glad he agreed to wear shiny shoes!
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  

Things to work on:

• thank you notes


• welcome bags


• finalizing music selections


• finalizing floral selections


• programs


• signage


• table assignments


• table cards


• making Ben's kittle


• making my bouquet

ribbons, and hole punches, and bookplates, oh my!

We met with Rabbi Marc last night to discuss the ceremony, and I was too stuck in "get 'er done" craft-mode to be very present. Hopefully, next time we meet with him I'll be more in a "Yey, we're getting married!" state of mind than "What's left on my personal checklist of projects-I've-made-up-for-myself?" state of mind. Ugh, then I was a mean snippy person and felt like attacking Ben for everything because I was working on the checklist and he was winding down after a 9+ hour work day. Sorry, Ben! We talked about it and it's all good, but I feel like slime for being such a meany yesterday.....

Tonight, we're meeting with a Jewish pre-marital counselor and hopefully I'll be in a better head space. Ugh. I blame hormones, I'm a girl, I can do that, right?

I can't sleep, there's too much to do!

almost none of craft projects that I have assigned myself have been done, or even started. Unfortunately, this means that I kept waking up last night cataloging what's left. Aaaah, it's starting to happen, my brain is turning into wedding mush!

Hopefully my veil and earrings will arrive in the mail before my dress fitting on Friday morning, and all my prep for Kol Nidre dinner will be done on before on Thursday. Thankfully, I found a recipe that says it's best if left for 24-48 hours in the fridge before cooking, PERFECT!

a virtual flood of RSVPs

Yes, you can see the last bar is slightly higher than previous response bars, we decided to add a few more last minute people, and a few people decided that without their flavors of the month/year/etc. they would be lost and alone, and could they please bring their significant others? I understand my young cousin, and I understand my mom's friend who's going to be visiting her long distance boyfriend and hour away from Boulder while she's here, but my friend, whom I didn't even know HAD a boyfriend? Uuuuh, whatever. I should be nice, Ben and I were inseparable after we met, and I'm not sure more than my closest friends and my grandmother knew he existed until after the High Holidays (when he smashed my foot!).

</rambling rant>

does blogging have a pause button?

Things are starting to happen quickly, like dominoes falling. Today we heard from about many people we'd been waiting to hear from if they were coming or not. We also got our ketubah in the mail! It's beautiful and our names are typo free, woohoo! Kippot have been shipped, welcome bag goodies procured, and crafting dates lined up with a girlfriend.

Tomorrow is Erev Rosh Hashanah, the night when Rosh Hashanah starts. Starting tomorrow night it will be 5771, the year in which Ben and I will be married. Wow. That's a heavy thought. I know that from this blog it looks like I'm obsessed with wedding planning, and that it's all I do; I'm not and its not. Wedding planning is my escape from the sad reality of my employment situation. As a bride with a wedding expense account (thanks mom and dad!) I'm a normal, functioning bride, not an under-employed college grad who is addicted to mediocre TV and might qualify for public assistance if not for all the cobbled together part-time jobs I hold.

Anyway, if you've read this far, I just want to say thank you, and I hope that you'll forgive me for any bad stuff I may have said or done this past year. Its the time of year for forgiveness. May we all have a happy, healthy, and sweet year together. L'shanah tovah, happy new year!

craft time!

We've been hitting up Michael's and Costco every weekend to stock up on crafting supplies and goodies for the welcome bags. So, expect to see awesome programs, home made yarmulke labels, ribbon wands (Ben won't let me have bubbles and Boulder won't let us have sparklers), and all sorts of other crafty goodness.

Here's my current favorite logo for the welcome bags, bonus points if you recognize it's origins:

response tallies

We're still waiting to hear back from about 40 people. Seriously? I understand the few friends who've fessed up to loosing/forgetting to mail in their responses, but what about the other 35 of you? Do you have a new baby or kitty to distract you too?

awkward questions

Apparently getting married lets people feel entitled to ask you weird questions.  Like "Do you plan to have kids?" or "How soon are you planning to have babies after you're married?" or "How late will the wedding go, I want to catch the 6 PM flight out of DIA [which is about an hour away], and I don't want to miss too much of your party." Wow, AWKWARD (the first 2 more than the last). Yes, we're having kids, later. We'll tell you more when they're on the way. None will be born in Colorado, Ben has to graduate first so that we no longer qualify for public assistance by having a family of three or more. Yes, leaving at 4:30 to get to the airport means you will miss at least an hour to 90 minutes of party. Sorry. You'll be leaving right before we parade across the street to the bistro/bar to play pool, eat fried food, and drink beer.



Seriously, who would want to miss this? We've got glow-stick bracelets for everyone and there will be pool, beer, board games and fried food! Sounds like an AWESOME party to me. But, then again it's our party and why would we plan a party that we wouldn't want to go to?

5 GOLDEN RINGS!

Or 2, 3 if you count my engagement ring. Yesterday, after our menu tasting and walk through with the coordinators, we ordered our rings (and my veil and earrings too)! YEY! And I got an email from our ketubah artist that our ketubah has been shipped. YEY! A week from this Monday, we can bring our Domestic Partnership in to the City Clerk's office and credit what we spent on it towards our marriage license! Wow, the wedding is in 36 days. That's not even 5 weeks.

Now, I need to confirm our appointments to go over the ceremony with the rabbi. Call the counselor he suggested and set up 1-2 sessions of pre-marital counseling (we've talked to her on the phone and she doesn't think it'll take us longer than that to go through her checklist since we're "so open and honest, even on the phone").

It is also TIME TO GET CRAFTING! I need to figure out who's doing what so that we can print the programs and make them, as well as who's coming so that we can make table assignment cards, work on welcome bags, and order and print/attach the labels for the insides of the yarmulkes. What else.... Buy balloons and sunscreen, order foundation garments, take Ben to get his suit tailored and help him pick out a tie. Ribbon wands, those need some TLC too, but their Ben's job since he doesn't want bubbles (he's afraid I'll stain my dress and won't be able to dye it and rewear it in March).

Dress fitting, that's the missing piece. I think it'll be the Friday of Kol Nidre. Weird juxtaposition, but my friend from synagogue is coming with me and that's when she's available. Hopefully my veil and earrings will be in by then too. I ordered 2 pairs of earrings, but both came in under $20, so I'll resell them or wear them some other time. I'm apparently picky about my pears and crystals being on gold and of all the millions of earrings only found 2 that were pretty AND affordable. Damn expensive jewelry!

there's going to be tasty food at our wedding

We had our menu tasting today. YUM! We just chowed down on leftovers for dinner, and there's still food left!

Here's a teaser photo, you'll get to eat everything but the smoked cheese tartlet (second from the right):