Okay, this is just the weirdest thing I think I’ve ever seen and just had to post it. This girl is auctioning off a “bridesmaid position” in her wedding on Ebay. So that part seems sort of odd to me but the crazy thing is that the bidding is up to $4250. Definitely the most creative wedding fundraising I’ve seen. If anyone wants to bid 
or just check this out, go see for yourself at Ebay.
Hey everyone, happy Monday, hope everyone’s weekends were relaxing. I actually took off an entire weekend from work, something I don’t think I’ve done in months. It was great to be able to relax (a little) but now I have just 2 days to get ready for my next trip to DC. I’m shooting 4 weddings there in 2.5 weeks so it will be quite a crazy time but hopefully I’ll pick up some good Unbride inspiration at some of the weddings that I can share here.
But before I take off to go out of town, I wanted to announce that my Aunt Debbie has just opened up her very own shop at Etsy. It is a line of Eco Friendly jewelry and her designs are really beautiful although grossly under-priced if you ask me. So there you go, a great deal for bridesmaid gifts or any other occasion. Be sure to pick one up before I manage to talk her into raising the prices. If not then definitely stop by and tell her which items you heart.
This earthy rustic hearth is one of my personal faves…
Thanks ladies!
Since this has been such a busy time for both Gary and I, we’ve both found that we have been eating a lot of bad for us foods, or at least food that is just totally lacking in any type of real nutrition. We were eating carbs carbs carbs all the time, like PB & J sandwiches for dinner or we would go out and spend $80 on dinner out of pure laziness. Once we realized that this lifestyle was eating away at our wallets and adding to our waistlines, we decided to try something new and found Fresh Dining.
We started getting our meals delivered on Monday, lunch & dinner (delivered every morning fresh, not frozen) for both of us and since then our lives have changed. After eating the right amounts of lean protein and lots of diverse veggies, we are both starting to look and feel different. I have actually lost 3 pounds this week without a single trip to the gym. I have been meaning to go but it’s been like 100 degrees out every day and I’ve been trying to avoid going outside at all. Anyway, needless to say we both feel like we’re onto something and I highly recommend this to anyone else out there who feels just too busy to be able to shop for and cook healthy meals for themselves. Here’s the menu we’ve enjoyed so far this week…
Monday
Lunch - Smoked Turkey Breast w/Brie, Blueberries & Toasted Hazelnuts on a bed of Mixed Greens
Dinner - Charbroiled Beef Coulottes with Sautéed Yellow Squash, Broccoli & Port Wine Demi
Tuesday
Lunch - Chopped Italian Salad w/Blue Cheese, Tomato, Lomo, Avocado & Italian Herb Vinaigrette
Dinner - Herb Crusted Wild Caught Sole with Seasonal Vegetable Ragout and Lemon Dill Aioli
Wednesday
Lunch - TLT Lettuce Wrap w/Apple Jicama Salad & Toasted Cashews
Dinner - Roasted Lamb Loin w/Pineapple Reduction, Lentil Medley & Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Thursday
Lunch - Caribbean Chicken Salad with Jerk Pesto Vinaigrette
Dinner - Pork Tenderloin w/Summer Ale Demi Glaze, Caramelized Cauliflower, Black Eyed Peas & Roasted Peppers
One thing that I’ve noticed is that apparently Fresh Dining knows that at 120 pounds, I don’t need to eat as much as Gary who is 180 pounds. This is one of those things that I’ve struggled with. When I cook, I divvy out equal portions to each of us. I think that the feminist in me believes that is quite fair. Sometimes Gary will get one extra little spoonful of something since I know he’s bigger. But Fresh Dining measures out your portions according to how much you should actually be eating based on your size. So I longingly stare at Gary’s generous portions and can get a little bit jealous. But then after I’ve eaten I feel better about it knowing that I haven’t stuffed myself into a food coma once again. I think I tend to treat food as more of a hobby and entertainment value than as actual fuel for my body. Something to remember I guess.
So I know we’ve been engaged for over a year but I’m sorry to say that we are major slackers on some of the wedding planning stuff and despite being in the under 4 month countdown, have yet to send out save-the-dates. But I am happy to say that they are in the works. They are going to be black t-shirts with our wedding logo on them and a tag with all of the necessary info. My amazing designer/ friend Ellen designed the logo as well as the tags. The tags have come in and I’ll photograph them soon but here is the design she did.
I know I’ve been gone for a while but I have actually been making some progress towards planning this wedding and I have lots to fill you all in on. This week I’ve been having my own little crisis over what shoes to wear. Since my wedding gown is scheduled to arrive in just over a month, I suppose I have that long to figure it out.
Anyway, stupid me never ordered those cute patent leather mary jane’s from JCrew and now the season is over and they are no longer available so I’m back to square one.
So here are my current front runners for wedding shoes, both by Stuart Weitzman.
I think they are both adorable but they break my height rule of being more than 3″ high…these are both 3.5″. I just don’t want to spend my wedding day with sore feet so I guess the question is, how high is too high?
What do you ladies think?
If anyone stumbles on any cute fuschia heels that are 3″ or lower, please please let me know!
Some of you might remember me mentioning one of my favorite stores in the past but coming up on June 21st, Mimi & Hy, a general store for the fabulous will be celebrating its 1st birthday. So I hope to see some of you LA ladies in Studio City at the big party. They have lots of great gifts for bridesmaids and fun stuff to pick up for yourself as well. They are even offering free valet parking so there is no excuse not to go.
For all those brides-to-be who secretly desire to be a wedding planner or all those ladies who planned their weddings a year ago but can’t give it up quite yet, this is your chance to learn what it takes to make it as a professional wedding planner. Washington D.C.’s top wedding planner, Laura Weatherly, not only will be teaching the tricks of the trade and the secrets of her success in the 2-day Ultimate Wedding Planning Seminar on July 19th and 20th in Old Town Alexandria (right outside of D.C.), she will be giving one lucky blog reader 50% off of the seminar fee.
This contest is only open to readers of participating wedding blogs. If you are serious about breaking into the field of wedding planning and would like to attend the seminar for a steal, send your name, email and the blog you saw this on to Laura directly at laura@engagingaffairs.com. She will accept submissions until June 15th and then will draw the name of one lucky winner. In the meantime, check out the seminar website at www.ultimateweddingplanningseminar.com.
Good luck!
I’m sure that there are probably lots of you out there. I hear of so many girls these days who plan their own weddings and think “hey, I could do this for a living.” Well it’s not as easy as some people think, especially to make it look easy and pull together a complicated event seamlessly. It is a true art form and I am lucky to have a couple of the very best in the biz helping me to pull my own wedding together. One of them is my very good friend Laura Weatherly who has been named among DC’s top wedding planners for as long as I can remember…even being singled out a number of times as the very best in the biz by Washingtonian Magazine. (I’m sure she’ll blush as she reads this but it’s true) Anyway, all of you new and aspiring wedding planners out there are about to hit the knowledge jackpot because Laura has finally decided to give a long awaited 2-day seminar about the ins and outs of wedding planning. You will not only get Laura for two whole days but you will actually leave with a cd of templates that will help you to do everything from create timelines and request proposals to develop budgets and run initial consultations.
Anyway, this upcoming workshop is called The Ultimate Wedding Planning Seminar and is scheduled for July 19th and 20th in the suburbs of DC. Laura gets countless emails from hopefuls every week so this class is going to fill up fast. So quickly go visit her website to sign up. Even if you’re not in DC, this one is totally worth traveling for!
And all of you ladies who have your own blogs, please feel free to repost this. Thanks! xo
As per Kelly’s request, I figured I would post the questions she posed to Gary that I had to answer at my shower…my answers and his answers. I think I did pretty well.
Kelly: Day, month & year of first meeting?
Justine: January 2004
Gary: Justine and I met, or should I say I was blindsided and caught off guard in January of 2004. I can’t recall the exact date because times, dates and years had no meaning before we met…or maybe I just forgot the day. Justine will know the day because she was in LA for a Gary Fong seminar.
Kelly: Day, month & location of first date
Justine: January 25th, 2005 - Fred 62, The Dresden & Yamashiro
Gary: Here is when it all starts to come together. Our first date was on January 25th 2005. The date started when I picked her up at Michael & Kay’s house in Studio City, went over the hill to Los Feliz, saw Marty and Elaine perform at the The Dresden, had dinner at Fred 62 and took a drive to Yamashiro, a Japanese restaurant at the top of the Hollywood Hills.
Kelly: First impression of Justine?
Justine: He thought I was a Goddess.
Gary: My first impression of Justine was “Michael, you never told me about JUSTINE???” She was in sweatpants and a ponytail, holding a massive camera taking pictures of Zoe and Henry in their dining room. I still have the exact image in my head. I remember trying to play it cool because I was so taken by her. My impression was “this girl is stunning, and artist, AND Michael’s sister…I am screwed.”
Kelly: Favorite thing about Justine?
Justine: I am unintentionally funny.
Gary: My favorite thing about Justine is Oliver! No seriously, I would have to say Oliver. Did I just say that? My real favorite thing about Justine is she makes me laugh like no one else-even when she isn’t trying.
Kelly: Your favorite trip with J?
Justine: Laguna Beach & hanging out with Jerry
Gary: My favorite trip with Justine is our drive across country when she moved from DC to LA. Close second is our Thanksgiving 2007 trip to Desert Hot Springs. Or it could be Heather and John’s wedding in Jamaica? Or our east coast trip to DC, New Jersey, NYC, Boston and back. There are too many to pick one!
Kelly: Your favorite movie?
Justine: Annie Hall
Gary: Annie Hall
Kelly: Your favorite book?
Justine: There are too many to guess, our living room is a library of Gary’s books.
Gary: My new MacBook that Justine bought me. But if you are looking for an actual book with pages I would have to say any book about Elvis Presley, Andy Warhol, Charles Manson or Howard Stern. Oh and The Secret. Mix those books up in a blender and it says a lot about me.
Kelly: Your favorite tv show?
Justine: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Gary: Curb Your Enthusiasm
Kelly: Funny pet peeve about J?
Justine: I am messy
Gary: My funny pet peeve about Justine involves bottles of Arrowhead water in the backseat of her car. It used to be bottles of Arrowhead water and mapquest print-outs but now that she has an iPhone with GPS it’s just the bottles of water.
Kelly: When did you know she was the one?
Justine: January 25th, 2005?
Gary: The likely answer would be when she surprised me at the airport in DC with an overnight at the Ritz Carlton or when she threw a surprise birthday party for me our first year together, or every one of my friends in Los Angeles telling me point blank “do not f*ck this up”, or when Oliver got sick in the middle of the night and we had to go to the doggie emergency room. Thos are all reallly great “the one” answers, but the truth is, in retrospect I knew pretty early on, like the first week we were together when we couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity and randomness of how we met. I think we couldn’t stop laughing because we both knew “this is it.”
I’m still glowing from the outpouring of love from my shower as well as from my very awesome blog readers. I figured I would share a few of the very generous gifts that we’ve received. Since I did all of the registering solo, this is also my way of sharing with Gary what we registered for since he has no idea. So Gary, here you go, all of this stuff is on the way.
I did notice that I registered for an awful lot of glasses that hold alcohol of some sort. I may need to rearrange the kitchen cabinets to hold all of them.