Two Wishes

It's the Most Wonderful Tiiiiime of the Yearrrrr

Well, yes, the holidays.  I guess.  But also, it's time for Chronicle Books' annual pre-holiday sale!!  This year they're calling it a Friends and Family Sale -- 30% off and free shipping if you use the code "FRIENDS" at checkout.

In the spirit of wedding planning, I thought I'd highlight a few Chronicle wedding titles.  Among several dozen offerings are The Instant Wedding Planner for short-on-time couples, The Knot Book of Wedding Flowers, a couple of groom's guides, and a fun-looking journal called The Newlyweds' Book of Firsts.  On the soon-to-be-published front, I can't wait to check out The DIY Wedding.   And I'm curious about this Worst-Case Scenario handbook, though hopefully there won't be reason to use the knowledge on anyone's big day!  Or, if you're giving CD's as favors, how about a CD packaging kit?:

Chronicle also publishes cookbooks and some interesting titles for your home.  This Kath Kidston home planner is lovely.  And I'm quite tempted by The Space Planner, which gives you little vinyl furniture pieces to move around on a grid -- Colorforms for grown-ups!:

Most of my purchases go to me, me, me, but Chronicle does also offer great gifts.  For example, an artsy friend of mine reported thoroughly enjoying this paint-by-number set.  And I love my box of mini journals, which would be a thoughtful gift for friends or wedding attendants:

But, really, there's no point in singing the praises of Chronicle Books without mentioning their stationery.  I already adore my Angela Adams correspondence cards -- perfect for occasions when you want to send a "real" note but don't need to write much.  And I lust over Heather Ross goldfish fabric -- it's been on my Wists for years! -- so how could I possibly resist the same pattern in a stationery?: 

Last year's label set is running out (you'd be surprised how often labels come in handy!), and I've long had my eye on these Sukie labels as a replacement.  Ooh, and they've started carrying Anne Taintor -- too bad I purchased an organizer last year, because now I can't justify buying another one.  Even if it does say "It's so involved being me" on the cover!:

A warning -- their website seems to be going through periods of technical difficulty.  But the sale code is good through November 28, so you can always stop back.

Do you have any Chronicle favorites to share?

The Cat Is SO Out of the Bag....

True bride's confession: Originally, I never planned to get Mr. T an engagement present. With wedding expenses and the home improvements that surely will come along once we're together in the marital condo, an extravagant gift seemed like an unnecessary additional expense.

But then I watched Mr. T put so much time and effort (not to mention money) into the engagement ring. And in the midst of it all, I fell prey to Travelzoo. Every Wednesday, Travelzoo sends around a list of the best 20 deals the editors discovered that week. The deals are generally a combination of vacation packages, hotel specials, and airfare sales. They are often, though not always, for short-notice travel. And they make me want to drop everything and GO!

Anyway, in the midst of our engagement "process" (while the ring was being made, before the actual Big Day), the Travelzoo email featured a Virgin Vacations deal for a week in Paris. Mr. T speaks French and loves to travel, and he's always wanted to visit Paris. Usually we're hampered by his lack of vacation time, but this deal -- amazingly! -- included Thanksgiving week as a travel option.

Unfortunately, Mr. T was in meetings the afternoon that the big deal came along. Good Travelzoo deals sell out fast, and I knew the opportunity might be gone by the time he was free. So I took a deep breath and just made the purchase. And then decided it would be romantic and fun (and least for me, heh heh) to keep the destination a secret until the day we left....

I've been doling out hints every few weeks, but keeping the ultimate secret was going pretty well. Until a few nights ago, that is! We were on the phone discussing a cat-sitter for our 4 cats, and I said my former roommate probably wouldn't mind, if "we promise to bring her back something fabulous from Par... OH NO!" My brain just froze after the first few letters.

So, anyway, we're off to Paris on Tuesday! And, yes, we're broke from wedding costs and won't be able to afford a thing at the current exchange rates. We even thought about bringing a jar of peanut butter, but are afraid to be mistaken for airplane bombers!

Any suggestions for inexpensive ways to amuse ourselves in the City of Romance?

(Image: Eiffel Tower vinyl wall decal from Etsy seller Holly -- 9.5" tall, $11.)

More Fun With Themes: Stripes

Wedding themes don't have to be high-concept. Sometimes a simple decorative element like "stripes" can tie everything together with panache. (Though, as with most themes, a little can go a long way -- you wouldn't want stripes on everything!) Some examples:

Pictured items from left to right, top to bottom (click on the photo for a larger view):

1. Striped cake with bow, Matty Cakes in Atlanta, GA.

2. Cabana stripe light set, $22.95 at Luna Bazaar.

3. Striped candy can be added to a candy buffet or used as favors. Barber pole lollipops from Karen Smallbone are $3.75 each, but less expensive circus sticks are available from Candy Warehouse for 50 cents each ($48 for 96 sticks).

4. Milano favor boxes ($1.50 each) from Wedding Things have a subtle stripe.

5. Fabulous Oscar de la Renta bridal gown from Spring 2008. (Another beautifully striped gown is Style 2064 in the Destinations collection of Belissima Couture.)

6. Striped table runner, from the portfolio of Rebecca Thuss.

7. Graphic striped ribbon from Midori Ribbon. A broad selection of striped ribbons can be found here.

8. Subtly striped tumblers from the MoMA Store are $35 for a set of 4.

9. While striped knee socks might be a bit much for your bridesmaids, how about a striped sash or wide scarf headband?

10. Patterned paper can be used to create invitations or line envelopes, to wrap bridal party gifts, and/or as an accent for reception decor. Paper from Paper Source, $6.50 for 2 sheets (currently out of stock).

11. Striped sugar packets, $10 for a set of 50, from Plum Party.

12. This 3" striped ornament from Luna Bazaar is $5.95 but would be easy to DIY with paint on papier mache or glass balls.

13. Elegant invitations from Something Special Designs ($2.75 each for 100 invitations, includes full set and envelopes).

Are you having a wedding "theme"? Is there a specific theme board that you'd like to see in the future??

Floral Inspiration

I don't remember where I first came across the blog housemartin.  But I know I started reading it for home and design -- it wasn't until recently that I learned the author is also a freelance floral designer with amazing talent.  I am not generally into flower pics -- they all sort of look the same to me -- but something about her designs appeals to me tremendously.  I can't stop admiring the photos on her blog!  Here are a few favorites from the floral designs she has showcased in recent months :

Her floral design studio, Ink & Peat, is located in Portland, OR.  She'll also be starting a shop under that name in Spring 2008 -- hope there's Web shopping, 'cause I can't wait to see it....

(P.S. Clearly I'm particularly slow, as I just discovered that both Mrs. Bee and Mrs. Lime already posted about Ink & Peat earlier this year. But you can never have too much inspirational eye candy!)

"At Home Cards" Are My New Crusade...

As crusades go, I admit it's not "feeding the starving children of the world."  But here's the deal:

Many of my friends have gotten married in recent years, and I often have a terrible time figuring out whether or not the bride has changed her name.  In theory, at the wedding you'll find out the couple's official names when they're first formally introduced.  But what if you get caught up in the joy of the moment and forget to mentally file away that key bit of information?  And if you miss the wedding, how do you know which name to use in sending a gift?

A few days ago, Mrs. Lollipop posted about a similar dilemma from the bride's side: How does a bride let everyone know that she plans to keep her name?

My friends, the answer to these dilemmas is an "at home card." 

An "at home card" is simply a small card that informs people of your married name and any change to your address after the wedding.  The modern at home card states any combination of the couple's names and address, other contact information such as phone and email, and the date after which the couple will be "at home" (traditionally the date of returning from the honeymoon).  At home cards can be sent either with the invitation or with a wedding announcement; while most descriptions suggest it's more common to send them with an announcement, I would suggest that they're more useful in the invitations.

What do they say?  The traditional wording where a bride is keeping her name might be:

My MaidenName
Herr Tulip
after the fifth of July
1600 Pensylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 12345

Traditionally, no names are listed if a bride is not changing her name.  I prefer the more modern trend of listing names either way, because it makes everything explicit.  However, using "Mr. and Mrs." is an etiquette no-no if the card is sent with the invitations because the married status is not yet official. 

If you're not worried about traditional wording, you can say pretty much anything you'd like!  I plan to use at home cards to inform invitees of both my name change and the fact that I will be moving in with Mr. Tulip after the wedding.  The wording probably will read something like this:

The future Mr. and Mrs. Tulip
will reside at Mr. Tulip's home after the wedding
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC 12345 
Please keep in touch!

As useful as they are, I admit the whole system of at home cards is a bit strange.  The modern version is a weird amalgam of sometimes-modernized wording with a social custom that dates back to at least Victorian times.  Here's a version of an at home card from 1922, as shown in Emily Post's famous etiquette guide.  (She found the cards particularly useful for informing contacts of an address change "in cities not covered by the Social Register."):

Except for the modern addition of city name and zip code -- and of course the bride's first name! -- this is basically the wording used today.  Why this form and wording?  It seems to have grown out of an extremely convoluted system within Polite Society of leaving calling cards with name and address when visiting.  Around the time these calling cards were in vogue, ladies often held specific "at home" days when they held court at home and all visitors were welcome.  (By 1922, Emily Post was lamenting that the "Old-Fashioned Day at Home" had fallen out of vogue in New York City.)  The term "at home" was also used more broadly to mean accepting visitors -- if the lady of the house was not accepting visitors (no matter what her actual location), the butler would greet callers with the news "not at home."  Hence, the cards use the term "at home" and give a date after which you can expect to find the couple receiving visitors. 

Want to know more?  You can read brief summaries of modern at home cards here and here.  And the full text of Emily Post's fascinating 1922 guidebook can be found here.

How will tell everyone your post-wedding name and address?

Well Groomed, Part II

Another of my pastimes in Mr. T's absence last weekend was to read one of the many wedding-related library books I've checked out recently. Namely, Well Groomed: A Wedding Planner for What's-His-Name (And His Bride), by Peter Scott.

Simply put, the book is hilarious! I was reading at a restaurant (note to DC library users -- if you check this out and happen to notice blotches of what looks suspiciously like pulled-pork-sandwich grease ... I know nothing about it) and laughed out loud so many times the other diners started giving me suspicious looks. When you get to that point in wedding planning when your head is starting to spin and you just. can't. face. another. wedding. detail, I highly recommend this quick read.

As a wedding magazine junkie, my favorite chapter was naturally "How Can a Magazine Cost $12.95 and Not Have Pictures of Naked People in It?" Seem crazy that the author compares bridal mags to porn? Consider this list from page 3:

Similarities Between Bridal Magazines and Porn Magazines

1. Both contain lots of pictures of women in outfits they don't normally wear.

2. There are seemingly hundreds of different magazines in both genres, each of which contains exactly the same thing, This fact, however, does not deter you from buying multiple publications.

3. Each gender justifies the purchase as "educational."

4. The ads in each magazine cause you to say, "Seriously -- who would ever buy that?"

5. In a pinch, back issues can be effective.

There are actually dozens of favorite lines and sections that I was tempted to quote here -- so hard to pick just one. Instead, I'll just say "Trust me. Get thee to a library* and check this out asap!"

*(I'm all about libraries. But if you prefer to own, there are 2 copies in the Amazon bargain sale for $4.99. Or the regular Amazon price is $13.22. If in doubt, you can always justify it as a gift for what's-his-name...)

I'll post on more of my favorite wedding books as I finish them. What's your favorite -- anything you recommend that we must check out?

Well-Groomed, Part I

Mr. T was out of town this past weekend, and I used the extra time for a little errand to get ready for our e-pics: I had my eyebrows professionally groomed for the first time.  Specifically, I went in for "threading," which you can learn all about (thanks to Mrs. Bee!) right here. 

As a serious fashion mag reader for many years, I have been subjected at least 643 times to the lesson that well-groomed brows can "open up" your eyes and thereby enhance your appearance without a lick of additional effort.  I finally started plucking under the arch several years back, when I read that people unconsciously respond better to someone with groomed/arched eyebrows because that look mimics the slight eyebrow raise we do naturally when interested in what someone is telling us.  But even once I gave in to plucking, I feared the pros because of the loss of control. What if they did those overly skinny drawn-on sort of brows and declared them perfect??!?

Luckily, I now believe those fears were unfounded.  But here's a mug shot in the bathroom mirror so you can decide for yourself.  (Sadly, there's no decent "Before" for comparison because I avoid photos as a general rule.  Hence the freak-out over the e-pics!):

The main difference is that they look strangely longer than before.  Maybe when the eye isn't as focused on width, you end up looking at length?  As for the rest, I definitely feel pretty, oh so pretty. It might just be thanks to some weird bit of logic in my brain -- models and actresses have thin brows, and I now have thin brows, therefore I now look like a model or actress.  But overall I loooove them!

My facial hair is pale and downy and not actually that noticeable.  But it's definitely there, and photo-prep is giving me crazy thoughts like "do I really want to see lip hair in the photos for the rest of my life?" So I decided to have my whole face threaded while we were at it.  And all I can say is, WOW!  The eyebrows didn't feel like anything, but the sideburns and mustache area were painful!  If it's truly LESS painful than wax, I plan to stay far, far away from wax...  It was also rather disconcerting to feel so much yanked-out facial hair falling down across my face.  I kept thinking, "I'm a MAN, baby!" 

Anyway.  Afterwards, upper lip still burning, I also hit Sephora for some makeup to cover my rosacea red-face.  I recently found the brand Cover FX through rosacea discussion boards and a follow-up with the reviews on Makeup Alley.  Though it's pricey and rather high-maintenance, requiring first a primer and then a powder, most reviewers raved that it stays put and does a great job of coverage while still looking natural in photos.  One counter-side makeover later, I was sold.  Don't know that I'd wear it every day because it feels rather heavy on my used-to-mineral-powder face.  But it should work well for the big photos.

Here are my sources:

Threading:  Okyo Salon in Georgetown, $15

Makeup: Natural FX (light version of the Cover FX foundation) $37 at Sephora

What new beauty routines are you trying for the wedding or your engagement photos?