Chillin Wit My Gnommies!

Over the weekend, four of my wonderful bridesmaids threw by beau and I a fantastic co-ed luau party (in lieu of a "shower," as I tend to get uncomfortable with people oohing and ahhing while watching me open presents). The party was a blast and a good time was had by all. I was well aware of the planning and work going into this party, so I wanted to get my friends each something special as a thank you for being so great, but something fun to match their crazy personalities...enter: the gnome. Three out of the four 'maids attended the University of Cincinnati with me, and the other was a Bearcat fanatic regardless - Go Bearcats Go! So I knew these adorable little UC gnomes would be appreciated by the girls - PLUS, it works out that their colors are the same as our wedding palette - Go Bearcats Go! Below is a picture of the finished packaging - complete with these cute little thank you cards I found at my favorite discount retailer, Target.
Thanks again girls! It was a BLAST!

A Moo Point

As many of you may already know, I went the insane route and decided to design, print, cut and assemble our invites myself...thanks to some of my wonderful 'maids, I've had some help in doing so and can now sleep at night without worrying about whether or not I'll get them done. And of course I've also already planned to do the same for other items such as place cards and favor tags. However, I just ran across a wonderful print site - I'll be honest, my attention was caught by their name - Moo - so I thought I'd check it out...prices are reasonable, products are cool AND you can create your very own designs...how cute would their MiniCards be for favor tags or place cards? Or their Note Cards for table numbers? Or their stickers for some unexpected fun?
Go Moo!
(Be sure to check out their blog for even more creative ideas!)

The Claw

Working on my DIY invites - measuring, cutting, cutting, folding, cutting and some more cutting. My hands are now stuck in claw positions, a la Chandler Bing vs. Ms. Pac-Man, but I promise to post the entire process avec commentary once they are mailed out. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for any of the guests before they receive the invites in the mail!

Getting Back To My Roots

Image Source

No, I'm not talking about my hair - being the natural fair-skinned brunette that I am, I never had the confidence to go blond. No, I'm talking about my family roots. I'm an avid Today Show watcher, and the series they ran a couple weeks ago about tracing family roots has really inspired me. It may help that as the wedding day quickly approaches, I find myself remembering more and more those who are with me in spirit, and wondering what they would think of my new venture into family life.

There are apparently a lot of helpful resources online for researching one's family history. The article, "Tracing your own family roots," from the Today Show provides several resources to start with. Ancestry.com seems to have a lot of helpful forms and charts to use on my search.

So, I think that I am going to embark on the journey of figuring out my family tree. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to incorporate it somehow into the wedding...although, I'm not so sure I can convince the husband-to-be that it'd be a good idea for him to do the same thing...to be continued...

Why Didn't I Think of That?!

Being the diehard cookie connoisseur that I am, when I saw this mouthwatering display of cookie confections from The Bride's Cafe, I was very tempted to ditch my current plan for favors. But alas, I am too far into my planning to turn back now. Therefore, I can only hope to convince my maid of honor that a cookie bar is an essential ingredient for the perfect bridal shower! Now where's my milk?

photography by Anna Williams....Martha Stewart Weddings

Here's an article from MarthaStewart.com on how to create the quintessential cookie buffet - oh how I love my Martha!

Fancy A Fan?

It could be the heat, it could be the humidity, but something about the outdoor sauna has got me thinking of fashionable ways to keep cool in sticky situations. Lucky me, I ran across these darling Sandalwood Fans from shoploveme.com. They come complete in these chic little white glass top boxes with personalized labels included. While my wedding's in November and the heat will be hit or miss, these fans are perfect for not only favors, but gifts for the bridesmaids (or bride, even) who gets a little hot under the collar at the thought of such a long walk down that aisle with all eyes on you...