Bridesmaid Dress Dilemma

According to all of those timeline and checklists out there for the Bride To Be it is time to start thinking about what my gals will wear. I don't know if I am the only Bride out there that feels this way but I am absolutely dreading it. I don't know if it's the closet full of two-hundred something taffeta and chiffon that I will never wear again (sorry ladies, but it's true) or the idea of getting 8 girls to agree on something but this task has been totally hanging over my head and I have been putting it off for as long as possible.

My first thought was to let everyone pick out their own cocktail dress in the same color family and to have an ombre look and everyone in a dress of their choice. Thinking something like this:

http://www.theweddinghunter.com/2012/01/02/hunted-bridesmaid-trend-mis-matched-bridesmaids/

I love the way everyone is different but they all coordinate so well. I love the idea that everyone gets to pick their own dress and feel comfortable in it. A friend of mine did this with black cocktail dresses and it just seemed like one less stressor. The awesome thing about black is that it is easy to match and even the differences in materials weren't super noticable.

via Facebook

Although, as a part of this bridal party I felt a little stressed about finding a good dress that was going to blend with the others and that would meet the standards of the bride. Just me?

Well, after lots of research and debating (just with myself) I have narrowed it down to two options. Option A being risking it and using Little Borrowed Dress, where the girls have the option of renting their dress for $50 or buy it for $150 but won't be able to try it on unless they go to NYC or Option B where the girls can pick any dress they want from Bill Levkoff as long as it is short and chiffon and they will be able to try on their choices at any store that carries his line, likely with a price tag of $150-$200. Both options have tons of different styles so I would still be able to get the look of everyone looking slightly different in the same color.

So, if you were a bridesmaid which would you prefer? Renting and risking or buying and trying?

I'm running out of time to order and am still so torn and none of the girls seem to have a big preference.

Sandy

Just a quick note to say I hope everyone stays safe during Sandy. Apparently we still haven't seen the worst, although what we've learned about our new homes ability to withstand rain is a little troubling.....


Here's hoping that we make it through with just these three leaks and keep our power.

In(vite)spiration

Everywhere I go and everything I do I have visions of wedding stationary bouncing around in my head. I love being crafty and have been thinking about trying to make my own invitations. So, courtesy of my serious Pinterest and Etsy addictions, here are some of my favorites invitation inspirations.

Source: stylemepretty.com via Malia on Pinterest

I love all things kraft paper as you might have noticed here, and I especially love the unique size and string accent. 

Source: beyondbeyond.co.uk via Malia on Pinterest

Here's another spin on the kraft paper that I love. Ahhh...such a modern print yet still a bit rustic.

Source: ohsobeautifulpaper.com via Malia on Pinterest

What a sweet little doily accent. And the Tiffany Blue...swoon!

Source: etsy.com via Malia on Pinterest

A little bit of kraft and doily. Best of both worlds?

Source: hindsightbride.com via Malia on Pinterest

A little burlap, lace and tiffany blue. This is heaven.

So many ideas, so little time. I could probably go on forever. What are your thoughts on the kraft paper, lace, burlap, doily, and tiffany blue accent? Do you lean toward traditional or more modern? I can't wait to start experimenting!

Engagement Shoot

I never thought I would be the one to say this, but I LOVED taking engagement shots (and I know Jon did too)! It as way less stressful and awkward than I thought it would have been and I can not thank Emily from Tell Chronicles more for making our engagement photo session so much fun. Both Jon and I were so pleased with how the pictures came out and we are so excited to see how the wedding pictures turn out. So, without further ado... here are some of our favorites.

Thanks, again, Emily! We love them!

A Day In The Life

Where have I been you ask? Oh, you know just keeping myself super busy with working full time and part time, taking classes, moving, unpacking and wedding planning. It seems like being busy is the new in thing, everyone has their own versions of busy and two of my favorite bloggers to follow, Mrs In Training and Tea Time With Tess have recently posted blogs documenting a day in their life, so I thought it would be a good way to get back in to this whole blogging world after a month off. So, here it is, a day in my life.

5:45 am

Wake up and nudge Jon who is still sleeping. His alarm usually wakes me up at 5:35 am so I had to make sure he knew he was running late. Oops!

5:46 am

Jon jumps out of bed and I roll over to the middle of the bed, making sure to take as much real estate as possible.

6:00 am

Wake up again, this time to Jon kissing me goodbye. As much as I would love to have not woken up again, I totally love this part of his morning routine. And then I roll back over and go back to sleep.

6:30 am

Ugh! It can't already be time to wake up....hit the snooze button in hopes that it will time travel me back to early morning so I can catch more zzzz's...

6:45 am

Alarm rings again and I force myself out of bed and down stairs to feed the very hungry, must never get fed, totally neglected cat.

6:50 am

Back upstairs to hit the showers and get dressed. One wonderful thing about being a preschool teacher is that they don't judge you on how you look on a Monday morning. I grab my most comfy skinny jeans, a fitted tee, cardigan, scarf and pull on my Uggs. I throw on some quick make up and put my hair in a pony and then I am back down stairs.

7:20 am

Flip on the Keurig, pack myself a quick lunch and then head out the door.

7:25 am - 8:20 am

Uggh...the dreaded commute. Who knew 11 miles could take so long!?!

8:20 am

Pull in to school and get in to my classroom. Plug in the lap top and get busy with the emails from the weekend. I get everything prepped for the day and the afternoons team meeting and pull down the chairs for my kiddos.

9:15 am

Man, time goes so fast when you are trying to get things done. Time to grab the kids off the buses for a busy day of Morning Meeting, Yoga, Circle Time, Centers, Playground, Lunch, Library and Free Play.

1:15 pm

Kids on the busses. Throw together the last minute prep for the team meeting and squeeze in some eating.

2:00 pm

Team meeting time.

3:30 pm

Team meeting over, although the next one is already on the books. So much to do, so little time. Grab my computer to check my email and write some quick sub plans since I am out for a training tomorrow.

4:00 pm

Sub plans, attendance and lunch order forms all laid out and ready to go. On my way out the door and off to job #2.

4:15-6:15 pm

Hanging and working hard with another little friend who I work a home program with two days a week. Lots of smiles and giggles today!

6:15 pm

Back to the car for some more driving...at least this time it's taking me home!

7:00 pm

Arrive at Target....thank goodness I remembered that the cat is out of food. He would have been one angry kitty tomorrow morning. Picked up a couple of goodies for myself! Yippee!

7:30 pm

Home sweet home! Time for dinner with my man! Yummy turkey burgers await me! He's seriously the best!

8:00 pm

Break out the computer to check the syllabus for my next class. Panic. Holy moly this is going to be the worst 7 weeks of my life! Two discussion boards and 5 assignments due in Week 1. Don't have the courage to look at weeks 2-7.

9:00 pm

Take a study break to move upstairs. Unpack a couple of boxes in the office and clear out some space on the desk. That is what it's here for right?

9:20 pm

Back to studying.

9:45 pm

Take another break to check email, print out two contracts for wedding vendors. Seriously, I have no motivation for this homework. Review, sign and leave contracts to be scanned once I am ready to pay deposits.

10:00 pm

Back to studying. Print out this weeks articles. I can't read them on the computer. I get totally lost......

11:00 pm

Get ready to call it quits and decide to get back in to the blog......

11:15 pm

This girl is tired! Time to wrap this up and get in bed! Tomorrow is another big day with an all day ATS training off site to be closely followed by Responsive Classroom training and then a late night Skype date with my Californian classmate.

Love,
Malia E

Our First House!!

It's official, we are the proud owners of our first home! I am so excited to get packing and move in. We have been so lucky by having a fantastic realtor, great mortgage broker (let me know if you need a recommendation) and even though there were a few bumps in the road (like the tenants still moving out when we went over to do our pre closing walk through- or leaving stuff in the backyard to pick up in a covert op) we are so pleased with how things turned out. Here's a few pictures to tide you over until we get moving (literally!)....

So exciting to see the "SOLD" banner across this picture! 

Another view, loving the bay window in the kitchen. 

The new key!

Here we go....

Well....hello there! 

More to come! 

Love, 

Malia E

Be Our Guest

My friend Miriam and I have known each other for over 15 years now. We met in middle school and were fast friends. We have seen each other through the high school years, we were college roommates and even worked together after college. We have been together for a lot of life's big moments and I was so thrilled when she asked me to be Co-Maid of Honor at her wedding.

Miriam has always been a fan of Beauty and the Beast, and we even went to see it in 3-D last winter, at least we could be adult about it by going at a dinner theater night showing and ordering a bottle of wine to enjoy during the movie. Although, in hind sight this might not have been the best plan, insert tipsy twenty somethings singing along with Lumiere and the rest of the house mates to "Be Our Guest" at the top of our lungs. 

Anyway, when it came to planning Miriam's bridal shower, I knew that I wanted to somehow incorporate the Beauty and the Beast theme without being overly toddler. My friend Rachael and I worked hard to develop a parisian themed bash for the bride and it could not have been more fun!

In sticking with the theme, the invitations and color scheme included red and gold yellow. We pulled out a spread of the "characters" and added in a picture of the bride and groom an a framed copy of the invitation.

The entry way

The characters

We had a fantastic spread, thanks to Rachael and her parisian themed menu.

Delicious red wine marscapone cupcakes

The mimosa bar

The bride, getting the party started!

The bride and the high school girls.

We had a wonderful time celebrating Miriam and her upcoming wedding and I can't wait for this weekend's big bachelorette party and to stand by her side next month when she says, "I do!" 

Love,

Malia E

**Man, I really need to get better at this whole taking pictures thing!