Sideways & Shipwrecked

So Many Details, So Little Time...

There is literally, less than 4 months until the wedding... and I have way more things to do than a girl who has been engaged for 4 years should have to do. My list should be 3/4ths of the way done... instead it's about 1/4...

There's a lot going on.

I'll be giving you an earful later.

I am making Mr. Wright sit down with me right now to work out a music playlist. 

That's right... at 10:18 p.m. on a Monday night.

When we both had the whole day off and did nothing.

Except have a nice lunch out together for the first time on a weekday in a long time.

Avacado B.L.T's on Hawaiian bread with melted brie and red pepper jelly. 

Yum.

And we went a did some registry stuff, which took so long I wanted to shoot myself in the foot. (For those who know me I can't stand registries. I don't like to ask for stuff, so it was torture.)

Then we did...

Ummm what did we do? I didn't really clean as much as I hoped.

we didn't plan music like I hoped...

we didn't practice cha cha like we said we would...

we did make awesome Kobe Burgers for dinner...

we didn't even empty the dishwasher. 

Woops. 

Leave us alone... we're lazy and just got back from an awesome weekend in the mountains.

More on that and our crazy wedding planning ride later.

Penny Loafers + wedding gown= ?

Before you tell me "No way you are crazy!" hear me out. First, I have always wanted pink shoes under my wedding gown. I love pink and I hate white shoes, so sue me. At the wedding we want to pay tribute to our grandfathers who aren't with us anymore, through pictures and other ways we can think of. I always wished I had gotten to know my grandfather better and I miss him a lot- and of course I wish he could be there on my wedding day... and I think I have found a way he can be. 

When I was in first or second grade I got my first pair of penny loafers. I remember the day clearly that my grandfather gave me the pennies for my loafers- we were out on the porch at my grandparents house and I was about to go home with my mom when my grandfather put the pennies in my shoes. My grandfather died about a year or so later, and I outgrew my loafers. I took the pennies and put them in a ziploc bag and kept them in my drawer like they were a treasure. And I still have them to this day. So, I was thinking I might wear penny loafers under my gown with his pennies in them. I didn't want boring old penny loafers so I found these by Marc Jacobs...

And they are on sale. I also just learned that the common phrase about something old, something new has another phrase at the end of it...

Something old, something new 
Something borrowed, something blue 
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

A sixpence was a silver coin in Britain that was the equivalent of six pennies, but they stopped making them in 1967. So apparently many people will use a nickel, dime or penny in their shoe to honor the poem. So not only would I be completing the last line of the saying, but I would know that my grandfather is with me all day on our wedding day. 

I always wanted pink heels but I am worried that the unleveled ground we will be standing on and the fact that I will be getting in and out of a boat maybe heels aren't such a great idea. What do you think? Is it a strange idea to wear pink loafers under my dress? Should I go the girly route with some cutesy sandals instead?

I am in L-O-V-E...

with Sperry. (Yes, I am still in love with Mr. Wright too, Sperry is not a man stealing my heart, just a shoe.) I have always loved Sperry's Topsiders... and I have to confess...

 

MEN LOOK SO SEXY WITH BOAT SHOES ON.

 

We have been trying to find shoes that would look good with a khaki suit for our wedding and my first thought has always been- boat shoes. After all, we are getting married on the water and our entire theme is a nautical theme.  Why not turn to Sperry for a little added sexiness? :) (Some may say preppy... I say they make a guy look hot- sort of a manly man. What's hotter than a sailor?)

Look at those feet- I can tell he's cute without seeing anything but half of a foot :)

Look at those cute feet :) But anyway, enough about how Sperry makes boys look cute... these are what I fell in love with.

These wellies are adorable... I would hope that it would rain every day if I owned these... or these....

if it rains on our wedding day (which it won't, right weather gods?) I'd want the girls to wear them. So cute.

They could also wear these... but they are almost as expensive as their dresses :(

And they might be a little difficult to get off a boat in? Maybe not? I love Sperry. I have always loved their classic styles, and I found a really cute pair of ballet flats a few years ago for my sister... I just didn't know they had such a wide variety of cute shoes now. Plus, they last F-O-R-E-V-E-R.

 

And no, this post was not paid for by Sperry... I am just in love. If only free shoes were coming my way... for me, my bridesmaids, my love and the groomsmen. Please Sperry? :) 

 

All ads and photos came from Sperry's website.

I haven't found a dress, but....

Well, I really have only looked for a dress that once in April. And that was just to get an idea for styles. I don't want to get a dress until I am smaller... so I'll keep hitting the treadmill! But anyway, I found some earrings I love for my wedding day. I guess I am not really the traditional bride, because these earrings aren't your typical pearls or diamonds. I like something with a little more personality, I guess. Not that diamonds and pearls aren't beautiful- I love them- but I want something a little more unique. 

 I have some Holly Yashi earrings (somewhere...) but never really gave her much thought... until Pioneer Woman had some of her things on her site. I forgot how much I loved her things!!! These are some of my favorite "bridal" earrings....

 

Check out some of her pieces... or all of them! They are GORGEOUS! It makes me wish I had more than one or two pairs of her earrings... maybe for the wedding? :)   

 

Gowns...

I just booked my very first appointment to try on wedding gowns  while I am in Boston... and am not sure what to expect. I'm a little nervous they won't have my size, all the more reason to want to be 1000 pounds lighter for my wedding! But I have been reading about horrible experiences people have, wonderful experiences, overwhelmingly emotional feelings... Does anyone out there have any experiences to share? Can you tell me what to expect? I'm nervous and excited all rolled into one! Hopefully work is slow today and I can start compiling a list of dresses that I love! I am having a really hard time determining what sort of gown I want... what sort of "bride I am"... classic, glamorous... etc. etc. We'll see what I come up with- everyone's insight is appreciated! (I have my dream dress picked out, but it's no longer made :( ) When I gfigure them all out I'll share them with ya'll!

A Shock to the Fashion World

There was a time in my life when I wanted to be a fashion designer… in the worst way. (Among many, many, many other things! Maybe I’ll share the list with you one of these days!) I mean I literally ate Vogue for breakfast… thanks mom for the joint subscription! I guess the idea of wanting to be a fashion designer runs in the family. My mom had wanted to be a fashion designer- she even drove to Texas in her broken down car to interview at a college!- but mothers at that time (or my grandmother rather) said that women were supposed to be teachers or secretaries… and guess what? My mom is a teacher. Probably (not probably she IS) the greatest teacher ever, but I don’t think she followed her creative dream. (And my baby sis is in school to become an architect… designing houses, or designing dresses… what’s the dif? (Besides that a house can fall down around you and kill you, wicked witch style!))

 

Anyway. Thank the lord I don’t live back then… a teacher or secretary? BORING choices… well, maybe not being a teacher- inspiring the creative minds of the future is an amazing, wonderful, under appreciated position (football players get paid more to throw a ball? Say what??) Part of me wants to be a teacher, but I hate the politics of it all now, no room for creativity!- so maybe one of these days I will go back to school and open my own nursery school. I have the application filled out, got accepted… just have not gotten around to that horrible thing parents of college students shudder at… FASFA.

 

Whoa, mega ramble. The whole point of this was how sad and shocked I was to first, hear of Alexander McQueen’s death and secondly, that he had hung himself in his London home the day before his mother’s funeral. He was known to be a controversial designer, a rebel… I remember seeing his designs in Vogue and just thinking, “Wow.” It makes you realize that even if you are a well known designer, creating outrageous fashion and making mucho dinero you may not always be happy. He was so devastated by the loss of his mother (and maybe so overwhelmed by Spring Fashion week starting Friday) that he took his own life.

 

It really shows you that life is precious, and family is even more precious… so appreciate your loved ones, show them you love them and realize everyday is important. It’s also a great reminder that money and fame doesn’t always make a person happy. So anyway, I always thought being a designer would be the ultimate happiness, but it really isn’t what you do, how much you make… it just matters that you enjoy who and what you have around you and appreciate them and show them you love them every single day.

 

Rest in peace Mr. McQueen, you have made a huge impact on the fashion industry and hopefully where ever you are in fashion heaven you are finally happy and with the mother you loved so much.

 

I’m going to leave you with these outrageous designs (and a fashion show clip!) that left an impression on the fashion world, and me, a young little Vogue reader aspiring to be a designer…

 

The famous lobster claw stilettos (far left and far right)... 10 inch heels! Totally crazy!

 

And the ones I want... hey, they were $669 and are now only $169... don't you think they'd be cute under my wedding dress? A little heart for love... you know me, I will totally be wearing hot pink stilettos under my dress, no white shoes for me! Or maybe... polka dot sandals? I so love thes- I could rock 5 inches!!!

UGH. Apparently I can't just post a photo because typepad just wants to keep freezing on me when I upload it... so check them out here!

 

 

xoxo's!

 

Do You Take Mr. Wright... Yes!... I Mean, I Do...

So originally my idea for this blog was to essentially write about what our plans were for our wedding. For people to share their ideas with me, let me know what they like, don't like, etc. etc. However, you know me by now, and I like to go off on tangents. We have set our second date, yup second, which is now July 7, 2011. Gives me plenty of time to plan and look good in a wedding dress... I think. We have already been engaged 3 years and my mind has changed about things probably 20 times or more on different things. That date might change depending on Mr. Wright's school schedule so don't write it in your planner yet... and if you do my suggestion is to just pencil it in. Whoa, shows you how far behind I am... people are probably penning it into their Palm Pilot or Blackberry... while I still write things on a calendar and carry around my Filofax. (Note to self: it's time to get 2010 calendar and Filofax calendar.)

So yeah, anyway, I thought I would just share a bunch of the pictures of the things I love for weddings. I sort of have this love hate relationship with the internet because I get an idea, love it and then find a million and twenty other great ideas online. So here's the scenario: wedding on the coast of Maine. Everything is expensive as far as locations go, so we are going to try and be creative. Ideas? Let me know! I love formal weddings, but as far as ours goes it will probably be more casual, after all, it is a summer in Maine wedding. I am kind of a preppy girl, so I love the Lilly Pulitzer style... Mr. Wright is not so preppy... and I can't blame him- he will NOT be wearing pink and green plaid patchwork ties. But I think a Vineyard Vines tie, such as their sea scallops or whales would look so nice with a khaki suit. If I were a man you wouldn't have to tell me twice that a tux wasn't necessary on a summer day! For my girls I would love Lilly dresses, but they can be so expensive... but these are some I love... this, this, this, this, that, this, especially this, that (minus the men's ties), this, this, this, are you sick of these yet?, too bad!  especially this, (this woman's face made me laugh...)

And then when you put it all together... you get something like this...

Here are some more images on The Preppy Wedding blog... check out the pages in the archives too- great ideas there as well! This was the old one I loved... too formal for a summer wedding. Now we just have to sell Mr. Wright on a khaki or navy blue suit :) I think he and his "boys" would look great, help me out people! :) I'll post more ideas at a later time, but as mentioned months ago Sunday is supposed to be homemade pizza night and we haven't done it since the last post... time for me to think of something to throw on a pizza!

Happy New Year!

2009 wasn't a wonderfully fabulous year for some people, myself included, but one of my New Year's resolutions is to live more in the positive so I just wanted to share some of those wonderfully fabulous things that happened in 2009. 

*Moving to a brand new, large apartment!

*A new found appreciation for duck 

*Our first visit to Charleston- so fabulous (and made me fall in love with Mr. Wright even more- who knew you could fall in love even more!)

*We got to see Jimmy Buffett for the first time!

*We met Clint at JB :) along with lots of other great people this year, like Carmen and Bevan...

*We got to spend an awesome week in Maine and discover the Coastal Botanical Gardens- beautiful!

*Nate and Janine's wedding in Boston- so much fun and so beautiful! So happy we got to share their special day with them!

*Having dinner in the North End of Boston. Always wanted to, just never had the time. Worth the wait!

*Going to Asheville and seeing the Biltmore- a fantastic sight to see!

*Finding an appreciation for history again, thanks Charleston and the Biltmore!

*Amy, Mike and Bailey moving... it didn't make me happy to see them go, but it makes me happy to know they love Asheville so much!

*Having a wonderful Christmas in NC with my mom and sister

* Celebrating our 5 year anniversary... it would have been wonderful even without the flowers and dinner at the Melting Pot... but he just made it that more special!

*Discovering a love of craft blogs, Dooce.com, swap-bot and starting my own blog!

*A crazy Halloween in which we won second place in the costume contest!

*Reading more this summer and days by the pool

*An Ugly Christmas Sweater party that was probably too much fun!

*Being more adventurous in cooking

*Learning tons of new things and finding my way around the sewing machine

*Making jewelry and starting an account on Etsy.

*Being able to go to Maine to celebrate Connie's 90th birthday (Mr. Wright's grandmother)

*Planning our wedding! 7/9/11

*Engagements- always so nice to see other people in love!

*Meeting Caryn and Tyler, fellow New Englanders!

*Having great little dogs!

*Seeing Def Leppard, Poison and Cheap Trick- wild!

*Making memories with lots of great friends and family!

*Mallory, Brooke and Sean visiting!

*Agreeing to move back to NE sometime soon! (Well I guess a year or so is soon!)

 

I could go on and on and on and on.... all in all it did have it's ups and definitely had its downs, but with that new outlook we want mention those *cough cough* my job *cough cough*. I am not a fan usually of odd numbered years so I have a good feeling about 2010! Hopefully everything works out for everyone in the New Year... I've seen and heard some sad stories and feel so fortunate for what I have! Here are some things to look forward to in 2010:

*Katelyn and Jon having baby Hannah

*Alley and Anthony's wedding in August

*Getting back to NE for a visit!

There should be many more, but I am running late to plan for my impromptu New Year's Eve party... and have to work beforehand... ugh. So again, wishing you and yours a super wonderful, totally awesome, fabulous and fun new year... and next decade. Geez, doesn't it feel like Y2K was just yesterday?

 

Happy New Year!