There's a bird in my food!

I never thought I wanted anything more than a few sprigs of lavender to top my wedding cake until I saw this:

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The little birdies that Lauren Alane makes are so cute! I didn't exactly have a "I need to have it" sort of reaction, but the wheels did start a-turnin'. The thing is, I'm not exactly cheap, I just get this crazy idea in my head every once in a (frequent) while that when I see something artsy I like, I can re-create it. There are plenty of instructions on the net, right?

These bird cake-toppers are a perfect example of my ... "initiative". There are several other people who make specifically wool-felted birds, also - great fodder for examples!

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When I first started looking in to the "how-to" of wool felted birds, I thought this was a knitting technique. I'm a pretty seasoned knitter, so I knew that felting (in the knitting sense) meant that you knit your creature loosely with big wool yarn, then throw it in the washer and dryer. The result is a "felted" material (the wool stitches shrink and bind together in the wash!).

I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to knit a bird - at least not a bird that would come out of the wash looking as pretty as the birds in the above pictures!

Then I stumbled on the answer - these were needle felted birds. Even easier! I hopped on over to my local knitting store to get my supplies for test bird. All you need is roving (loose wool), a needle felting pad, and needles.

roving, felting pad, and needles (bottom right)

The basic idea is to roll the roving into a ball, and start stabbing it with the needle. (this doubles as a great wedding stress reliever.)

Once you get going with the stabbing, you can start shaping your creature kind of like clay. I made wings and a beak for my test bird, but no tail yet. This was my first birdie trial, so I'll post full instructions later when I make the real cake-topper birds.

ignore the huge cranium - this was my first felting!

little birdie taking flight!

Be careful for cats when making your cake topper - I hear they like to eat birds!

After the wedding, I plan on sticking some extra wire into the backs of the bride & groom birds to make them into Christmas ornaments.

Where did you find inspiration for your cake topper? Are you planning to make your topper, or buy it? If you've ever needle felted before, do you have any advice for making the finished product look cleaner?

a book to hold our promises

There comes a time in wedding planning when you morph into semi-professional writer. No, I'm not talking not wedding blogging - I'm talking about writing your vows! These are your vows, so the caliber of writing is generally a bit above 7-th grade english class.

The vows are kind of like the crux of the whole ceremony - everyone's dying to hear them, especially your fiancé(e)! I've always thought it a shame when a groom pulls out a folded piece of notebook paper to recite his vows. I have to admit, though - it is quite heart-felt to think of your fiancé slaving away over his words of promise, number 2 nibbled to pieces, whittled to the eraser, and stuck behind his ear!

Still, everything else in the wedding is planned in detail - shouldn't the presentation of your vows be equally beautiful?

Plus there's the rest of the ceremony - will our officiant read from memory? from a 3-ring binder? from a folder?

Ever since I saw this picture (below), I knew it would be the perfect volume to contain our vows and the words (that we're going to write!) from our ceremony.

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The only issue is the sticker price - it's well worth the $80 tag, but a bit steep for me.

Recently, the seller of these awesome books was featured in an Etsy behind-the-scenes video:



While I certainly don't claim to be as talented as Margaux Kent from theblackspotbooks, I think binding a simple book for our ceremony is totally doable!

I've seen at least one other Bee display their vows/ceremony words in a hand-made book:

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Unfortunately, Mrs. Lovebug never blogged about making her ceremony book :( (hey lovebug! more recap posts! ... a year later! :) ).

I've done a little research into this crazy book-making thing, and this is what you need:

1. an awl or needle to punch holes into the pages
2. heavy thread (linen thread is best)
3. thickish paper (cotton would be great for this project)
4. thicker paper (like cardstock) for the cover - I'm going to make a soft-bound book, hopefully like the ones from theblackspotbooks!
5. PVA glue (basically, glue that will hold for a long time) - in the esty video above, she uses neutral pH glue
6. a bone folder
7. linen tape
   
8. a rotary-blade guillotine (unless you want to rip the pages for a more unfinished look, like with theblackspotbooks).
9. ruler or straight edge
   
10. optional - fabric for lining the inside of the covers
11. optional - leather for the cover

I found a great tutorial for basic book-binding and a great resource for supplies online - I think this is going to be a great project! I'm going back to the states for work in late June, so I'll either get the supplies I need then, or have them mailed to me (ouch $$...) sooner. I'm thinking it could be awesome to leave a couple of pages for our wedding invitations and maybe some pictures - who knows, it may turn into our wedding memorabilia book!

How are you going to present the vows and words from your ceremony? Do you have any advice for a first-time book-binder, long-time crafter? What would you fill the rest of your pages with?

I wish I could put this on my registry (warning! humor!)

I want a kitchenaid like little kids want to stick their fingers in the wedding cake!

Doesn't it seem like everyone has a kitchenaid on their registry these days? I really need one, too! I baked brioche and sourdough bread from scratch this weekend, all using my hands. Kneading is tuff stuff!

Sometimes I wonder, though, if my kitchen gadget fiending type-casts me as uber-white. We're under pretty hefty pressure, apparently, to like cooking!

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White people like a lot of stuff, and you can check out the rest of the list here - what a great way to get to know another whitey, like me! (I like that it's a list. As a whitey myself, this helps. We like lists.)

... In order for them to truly enter into whitedom, they need to own the holy grail of white kitchens - the kitchen aid stand mixer (above). They will match this mixer to their kitchen’s color scheme and it will make up the focal point. And much like many religious artifacts, it will remain untouched for months and even years, sitting on the counter to be admired as a testament to their lifestyle. (from this guy)

I don't know where this strong urge is coming from - to want this paddle-tongued steel throne! I know I want it in slate though. It'll probably match my other new kitchen gadgets.

*note - I really really do want a kitchenaid stand mixer! sooooo bad!

What color kitchenaid are you putting on your registry? How do you plan to worship your kitchenaid?

Happy Wife, Happy Life

This is the mantra of Mr. Cubbie's sister, bridesmaid T. It's so true! Say it with me, now:

Happy wife, happy life!

Doesn't that just make you smile? :)

Mr. Cubbie [thankfully] likes to follow this saying. He truly does love to make me happy - even when it means I ask him to read the Offbeat Bride book.

*note - being caught reading a book about brides is not considered "cool" by most guys!

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For those brides out there who are perfectly fine with their taffeta-filled weddings, I think that's fantastic! This book isn't so much about filling your wedding with quirky details, and nixing the favors, it's about empowerment over creating the wedding you dream of. And it's hilarious, to boot!

There's just so many things some guys don't get when it comes to weddings. Our most recent thing is invitations. I want pretty, letterpressed plantable paper invitations that will turn into a keepsake framed in our home. He wants to send out emails. Sometimes it's hard to feel like you have to justify things in your wedding that you know aren't actually crucial. (would people still come to our wedding if we sent emails? Probably yes. Is letterpress awesome? Drool.)

We've been planning our wedding since May 2008. In those twelve (!!!) months, I've thrown a lot of ideas his way, most of which didn't even register. Example - there's an awesome meadow at Westwind overlooking the ocean. Even if we can't do our ceremony there (it's about a mile hike!), we could still do a sunset toast for those who can make the trek. Mr. Cubbie didn't quite "get" the idea of having a second ceremonial-type thing.

When he went to Switzerland a few weeks ago, I sent him packed with the Offbeat Bride book. He read the whole thing while away, and now he can't stop talking about how hilarious it is! And he approached me the other day to tell me he thinks we should have a ring-warming ceremony and a sunset toast (the author talks about hers in her book). I laughed! And then he said, "You already suggested this .... didn't you?"

He's a changed man! Now that wedding planning isn't so alien to him, he's coming to me with all sorts of ideas for the planning! Wedding planning is now approachable for him, and that means he's involved a lot more. And that makes his future wife very happy. And his life all the more happy.

What do you think of the mantra "Happy wife, happy life"? How have you successfully gotten you fiancé involved in the planning process? Is he coming to you with ideas, or has it been a bit of a struggle?

Letting the 'maids dress themselves

I feel kinda funny telling my friends what they should wear. Who am I to tell them to buy a $150(ish) dress they might (probably not) wear again? If my bridesmaids want to all wear the same dress, same color, that's fine by me, but I want them to be comfortable in what they wear to my wedding.

A comfortable bridesmaid is a happy bridesmaid, and a happy bridesmaid is a happy bride! (I know, how self-serving of me.)

Luckily, mismatched bridesmaids dresses are becoming a popular way to inject originality into your wedding day!

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This first pic (above) is one of my favorites - everyone's in a shade of green or blue, and some of them are wearing patterned dresses! It's all about the effect on the whole. If you stick to just one color, that color might become overpowering. A spectrum of one or two colors, when put together, results in a wonderfully rich palette! Plus, I love how this means that you & the 'maids will look the best when you're together as a group!

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I love how these different shades of olive green look together (above)! I guess when you have Rachel Bilson as your MOH, the fashion's a no-brainer!

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Of course, there are a few guidelines you should follow to make sure your "mixed" dresses also "match".

1. Have your bridesmaids wear the same length dress. Whether it's short, long, tea-length - whatever - the length of the dress dictates the formality.
2. Don't stray too far from a simple color palette. I basically have two colors in my palette - rustic red poppy and faded lavender. Since we're getting married outdoors, espresso is a natural option for a "base" color. I'm telling my girls that they should try to find a dress that's in the spectrum between these three warm colors. *Bonus! Send your girls paint chips from the hardware store! This makes the color-selection a no-brainer.
3. You don't need to match necklines. This will come as a relief to your bustier gal-pals!
4. You don't need to match fabric type.
5. It's ok to mix florals with solids with patterns. In the end, it will look purposefully unmatchy-matchy!
6. Though not necessary, matching shoes can bring the entire ensemble together! I'm not asking my 'maids to do this, though.

I'm giving my bridesmaids [near] complete freedom to choose a dress. I am, however, providing them with a suggestion for what I think is a pretty dress, but I'm stressing that they don't have to buy it. If they end up wearing a dress they already own, more power to them! Whatever makes them happy makes me happy.

Then again, for all I know, they might all show up matching in the same exact dress :).

How do you feel about letting your bridesmaids choose their own dress? Do you have any more suggestions to make unmatched dresses look more matchy?

Our French Campfood

One of the best things about our summer camp venue is that the staff is so easy to work with!

They have their own kitchen and staff of chefs, and they'll cater our wedding, if we want (we're not even required to use their catering!). You might think, "um.. Camp food? For a wedding? Really?"

Really! The weekend we toured Westwind, there were a whole bunch of weddingers bopping around the place in preparation for the nuptials to take place that day. Once a couple of them learned that we were there scouting for our own wedding, they got super psyched to endorse the food at Westwind!

You have to remember, this is the Pacific Northwest (especially Portland area). People are really serious about their gourmet food here. Portland is quickly becoming an "it" city for foodies! With restaurants like Wildwood, Toro Bravo, Tabla, Andina, Bijou Café, and so many more, it's no wonder! Seriously - whenever Mr. Bear Cub and I are in town, we have to make a list of all the restaurants we want to fit into our schedule!

So with rave reviews from the local weddingers of that weekend, we decided it could be a great idea to have Westwind cater our wedding. The best part? We have the freedom to design the meal to be completely original.

Mr. Cubbie and I love to cook together, and we're always inspired by new foods we try on trips. When we were in France two years ago, we went to this adorable little restaurant in Lille (northern France) called La Petite Voute. My carbonnade was pretty good (beef stewed in beer with pearl onions and fries), but Mr. Cubbie's Lapin à la Flamande was earth shaking. Bunnies are so tasty!

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Lapin à la Flamande is basically rabbit braised in red wine and a little beer with prunes, shallots, a bouquet garni, Belgian endive, and cinnamon. Believe me, this tastes fantastic.

We thought it would be a fun idea to fill our menu with our own recipes and a few special dishes that remind us of our experiences together. To make things even more special, I thought, "Hey! Why not try to get the rabbit recipe from La Petite Voute??"

I sent them this email several weeks ago (you can laugh at my french if you want :) ):

Salut, Je suis étasunienne - il y a deux ans, j'ai rendu visite à votre restaurant avec mon copain (qui est maintenant mon fiancé!). On a absolument adoré votre restaurant! Surtout, le «Lapin à la Flamande». On l'a aimé à tel point qu'on voudrait faire ce plat à notre mariage en Septembre. Est-il possible que le chef cuisinier serait disposé à accorder une volonté d'une jeune mariée pour son mariage? C'est à dire: de lui donner cette recette pour qu'elle puisse la cuisiner pour le jour de son mariage? Merci beaucoup! On espère de rendre visite à votre restaurant encore une fois un jour! bisoux!

The cliff-notes is that I asked if the chef would be willing to grant a young fiancée a wish for her wedding day - the recipe to his Lapin à la Flamande!

Unfortunately, they haven't gotten back yet. I'm thinking maybe I should call the restaurant (skype), but I really don't think that's going to help much. I found some recipes online, and I'm pretty confident I remember the flavor palette, so we might try to re-create this dish at home!

Have you tried to get a recipe from a restaurant, successfully? Do you have a special dish that you're going to try to recreate for your wedding guests? Do you have any advice for working with chefs on a customized wedding menu?

a dress from my dreams - Part 4 (of 4)

I never thought I'd buy my dress so early in the game! Don't get me wrong, though - I was so happy I got everything I wanted in a wedding dress for well within my budget. The "problem", though, is that I never got closure with my first dress love.

Isn't that so silly?! How can someone want closure with a dress? I swear I'm not crazy - I just really like nice fabric.

The timing for my second-guessing couldn't have been better. My dress arrived in the mail at the end of June (no 6-month wait period! hurrah!), and Mr. Cubbie and I were headed up to Boulder for a 4th of July wedding soon thereafter.

You see, in Denver there existed not only a Monique Lhuillier salon (so I could see what the original Miranda and Scarlet gowns felt like), there was also a Priscilla of Boston salon. I could finally try on the POB 2902!

Even better was that the girlfriend of Mr. Cubbie's best man was coming to the wedding too. Even though we'd only spent a little time together, she was excited to go wedding dress shopping with me!

Mr. Cubbie was a groomsman in our friends wedding, so our time in Boulder was, for the most part, not very abundant. I ended up having to cancel my appointment at Monique Lhuillier, but that didn't really matter - I already owned one of her gowns!

Priscilla of Boston was definitely happening, though. My new girlfriend and I drove down to Denver from Boulder in our CarShare wheels (actually cheaper than renting!), and when we pulled up to the salon, I couldn't believe I was finally getting the chance to try on my dress!

I'm so glad I did. I'm also so glad I had a girlfriend there with me! I put some other gowns by Melissa Sweet in the dressing room, but obviously the POB 2902 was the first dress I tried on.

My reaction?

Well, let's put it this way: I didn't even take a picture. I was that unimpressed. There are just some dresses that look way better on the model. It's such a weight off my shoulders to know (for sure) that this dress wasn't me.

One other dress did peak my interest, though - the Melissa Sweet Tilda

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Mr. Bear Cub doesn't want to see me in any wedding dress before the wedding, so if you're reading, Mr. Cubbie, stop right now!






Mr. Bear Cub - there're cookies in the kitchen! Wouldn't you rather eat a cookie?







....







ok... coast's clear!

You can even see POB 2902 in the background.
I really wanted to love it, but just couldn't.

Turns out I loved the Tilda. The pictures don't really do it justice. The lace on the bottom is cut so that when you walk, it swishes and sways so beautifully! The price tag, at $7000, wasn't so beautiful, though. The Tilda is a new design, so there aren't any used dresses for sale (that I'd found) yet. That's fine by me, though - I already owned a gorgeous designer lace dress!

With this little trip to POB, I left feeling well-assured that my eBay steal was my dream wedding dress. No more second-guessing! I love my dress, and I haven't had dress envy since.

Did you get to try on all the dress styles you wanted? If not, did you ever second-guess your decision? Did you still try on dresses after you bought your wedding dress? How many stores did you have to go to until you found your gown?