Today we have:
40 days until we fly home to Maine.
60 days until the wedding.
Trying to concentrate on our meditation and deep breathing in these last few days after a stressful week.
This weekend was filled with:
late night river walks
watching tango dancing on the bridge
a Subway sandwich trip
future life planning over iced coffees
naps
Breaking Bad episodes (very addicting show, ha ha)
car rides with the windows down
origami cranes
to-do lists
blooming lily in the garden
This coming week will be filled with:
first grade speaking exams
summer camp preparation
turbo fire workouts
lettuce wraps
more river walks (as long as the rainy season holds out)
wedding projects galore
Cheers to the 2 month countdown!
June 18, 2012
June 14, 2012
Confessions of a Tom Boy
If you didn't know me, you might think that because I am seemingly obsessed with my wedding that I would be of the girly-girl persuasion. While I LOVE crafting and projects and flowers and pretty things, I am a tom-boy at heart.
This whole wedding business has caused a sort of conflict in my mind. While I have always gravitated towards comfort (re: t-shirts and comfy pants) and natural beauty (re: no make up and lack of hair style), my wedding has turned me into an etsy-searching, dress shopping GIRL. Of course I haven't fully converted to the "other side", and I don't plan to, that's just not me. But I am realizing that if I am going to be a true girl for once in my life, my wedding should be it. If I spent so much time figuring out the style of my wedding dress, and shopping online for a perfect necklace to match, then I should probably take the time to make sure I fit the bill.
So last week commenced "operation beautification". On a typical trip to the store for essentials, I decided to purchase some products to help in the process:
HAIR
My hair is thin, and getting thinner every year. I have had a problem with weak locks and split ends. So I picked up some damage therapy product:
FACE
While I usually get a little bit of acne once a month (ahem), for a while my face has been fine. But NOW with the increase in humidity, I find myself sweating all day, which has caused a little extra bit of skin issues. Heat + humidity + exercise = unhappy face. So I bought some trouble therapy skin products, which will hopefully help combat the issues I've been having:
NAILS
I have very thin, flimsy nails that never seem to grow more than a tiny bit. While I do keep up with some filing and nail-painting every now and again, I bought a new Emory board, and not shown is a cuticle trimmer. Hopefully this will remind me to work on my nails a few times a week leading up to the wedding ^^ I also bought a new pumice stone for my feet.
You might not think this is a big deal, but if you know me, you know that it's something. I have 9.5 weeks left until the big day, so hopefully I will be looking and feeling my best by then! I figured if I am going to eat healthy and exercise, I mine as well concentrate on my skin, hair and nails as well. It certainly can't hurt!
This whole wedding business has caused a sort of conflict in my mind. While I have always gravitated towards comfort (re: t-shirts and comfy pants) and natural beauty (re: no make up and lack of hair style), my wedding has turned me into an etsy-searching, dress shopping GIRL. Of course I haven't fully converted to the "other side", and I don't plan to, that's just not me. But I am realizing that if I am going to be a true girl for once in my life, my wedding should be it. If I spent so much time figuring out the style of my wedding dress, and shopping online for a perfect necklace to match, then I should probably take the time to make sure I fit the bill.
So last week commenced "operation beautification". On a typical trip to the store for essentials, I decided to purchase some products to help in the process:
HAIR
My hair is thin, and getting thinner every year. I have had a problem with weak locks and split ends. So I picked up some damage therapy product:
While I usually get a little bit of acne once a month (ahem), for a while my face has been fine. But NOW with the increase in humidity, I find myself sweating all day, which has caused a little extra bit of skin issues. Heat + humidity + exercise = unhappy face. So I bought some trouble therapy skin products, which will hopefully help combat the issues I've been having:
NAILS
I have very thin, flimsy nails that never seem to grow more than a tiny bit. While I do keep up with some filing and nail-painting every now and again, I bought a new Emory board, and not shown is a cuticle trimmer. Hopefully this will remind me to work on my nails a few times a week leading up to the wedding ^^ I also bought a new pumice stone for my feet.
You might not think this is a big deal, but if you know me, you know that it's something. I have 9.5 weeks left until the big day, so hopefully I will be looking and feeling my best by then! I figured if I am going to eat healthy and exercise, I mine as well concentrate on my skin, hair and nails as well. It certainly can't hurt!
Puzzle Pieces
A few more pieces to the wedding project puzzle have arrived!
Here are some pics of a few more items that have been recently delivered to Heather's house:
Matt's mom and Heather went out and purchased a bunch of burlap to make runners for the tables at the reception! They have taken on the task of cutting the material, sewing the edges and air drying it all out so it will be awesome come wedding day. I think it's going to look so good with our blue, white and green flowers!
The ribbon and dowels also arrived for the ribbon wands. We got TONS of ribbon from an amazing online sight (papermart.com). Each 100 yd. spool of ribbon was like $6.00. The dowels we ordered from Jo Ann Fabrics online sight. Now all we need are eyelet screws and we're good to go for that project as well!
Not shown in this post are 13 dozen mason jars! The first batch to arrive at the house ended up being completely shattered, so after a few phone-calls, the second shipment arrived good as new.
Exciting!!! ^^
Here are some pics of a few more items that have been recently delivered to Heather's house:
Matt's mom and Heather went out and purchased a bunch of burlap to make runners for the tables at the reception! They have taken on the task of cutting the material, sewing the edges and air drying it all out so it will be awesome come wedding day. I think it's going to look so good with our blue, white and green flowers!
The ribbon and dowels also arrived for the ribbon wands. We got TONS of ribbon from an amazing online sight (papermart.com). Each 100 yd. spool of ribbon was like $6.00. The dowels we ordered from Jo Ann Fabrics online sight. Now all we need are eyelet screws and we're good to go for that project as well!
Not shown in this post are 13 dozen mason jars! The first batch to arrive at the house ended up being completely shattered, so after a few phone-calls, the second shipment arrived good as new.
Exciting!!! ^^
June 13, 2012
DIY: Invitations
Here they are, the pictures of our finished invitations. I'm missing a few shots of what it looks like all put together, so I will add those to another post.
As you can see we carried the crane theme over onto our invitations by putting two cranes at the bottom.
A few family members have let us know what fun it's been to try to make the crane. While obviously a lot of people are failing miserably, it has definitely served as a conversation starter! We've had a lot of laughs when people have asked if they need to complete a crane in order to enter the reception. Too funny ^^
While the map has the church and the reception labeled and a few major roads, it's more of a fun thing to look at than a useful item in the invitation. It just gives people an idea of the area.
First, I'd to reiterate that our South African friend Claire designed the various pieces. We were in charge of printing, cutting and assembly. So technically, it's not a 100% DIY project, but regardless, it was a TON of work.
Here are the pictures of the finished product:
Here are the finished pocket-folds, twine, origami paper, RSVP cards, the invitation itself, the map and a how-to card with origami crane instructions.
 |
| The actual invitation |
As you can see we carried the crane theme over onto our invitations by putting two cranes at the bottom.
 |
| the invitation, crane to-do and map |
 |
| close up of the origami crane instructions |
 |
| close up of the pocket folds |
 |
| close up of the map |
Here are a few shots of the invitation and my ring:
Not shown in detail is the small RSVP card that you can see in the first picture. The card instructs guests to RSVP by going to our wedding website or calling my mom.
And that's basically it! They came out WAY better than anything we had ever imagined, and are absolutely thrilled. The response we've been getting regarding the invitations has been great, it feels good to know how many people appreciate our hard work and creativity ^^
I will post more pictures later of what the entire package looks like together. Stay tuned!
June 12, 2012
Luck.
Look at this picture I found on someone else's blog that just so happens to coincide with our wedding day!
sweet ^^
June 11, 2012
RSVP
So now that the invitations have been circulating for a week and a half, a lot of our guests have been responding via email and phone to let us know that they received them, so that's awesome! The post regarding the invitations will come soon, maybe today or tomorrow, once I upload the photos of the finished products ^^
The best part about guests receiving our invites is that the RSVPs have already started to roll in! Because the majority of guests are using our website and online form to RSVP, we have been waking up every morning ecstatic to check emails. It's been a lot of fun so more, and we can't wait for more to come in.
To keep track of it all, of course I have a google doc:
As each guest RSVPs, we highlight with either blue (YAY!) or red (nay) and then include the following information (from the form they fill out):
1. names of those attending
2. how many people are attending
3. how many vegetarian meals they would like
4. how they RSVP (what number email or if they called my mother)
The yellow highlights are when we first made the doc and are for people that most likely can't make it because of distance or situation. We were trying to get an idea of the total numbers, but it's still too early on to tell!!
RSVPing to a wedding is so exciting. I absolutely LOVE getting invitations in the mail, and find a lot of happiness in RSVPing.It's nice hearing from people that they have enjoyed our invitations as well. Even though a lot of our family and friends can simply tell us that they're coming, or it's very obvious that they're coming, it's still so nice to receive a confirmed RSVP email. Besides, we included a blurb asking guests to give us some advice about our wedding/marriage and those have been so fun to read!
Once we get the majority of RSVPs we can then start to plan out seating charts, etc. Fun fun!
The best part about guests receiving our invites is that the RSVPs have already started to roll in! Because the majority of guests are using our website and online form to RSVP, we have been waking up every morning ecstatic to check emails. It's been a lot of fun so more, and we can't wait for more to come in.
To keep track of it all, of course I have a google doc:
 | |
| names have been censored to protect the innocent, hehe ^^ |
1. names of those attending
2. how many people are attending
3. how many vegetarian meals they would like
4. how they RSVP (what number email or if they called my mother)
The yellow highlights are when we first made the doc and are for people that most likely can't make it because of distance or situation. We were trying to get an idea of the total numbers, but it's still too early on to tell!!
RSVPing to a wedding is so exciting. I absolutely LOVE getting invitations in the mail, and find a lot of happiness in RSVPing.It's nice hearing from people that they have enjoyed our invitations as well. Even though a lot of our family and friends can simply tell us that they're coming, or it's very obvious that they're coming, it's still so nice to receive a confirmed RSVP email. Besides, we included a blurb asking guests to give us some advice about our wedding/marriage and those have been so fun to read!
Once we get the majority of RSVPs we can then start to plan out seating charts, etc. Fun fun!
June 10, 2012
Searching for S(e)o(u)lice
Today on a whim Matt and I took the slow train to Seoul. We had a few things in mind, mainly eating at our favorite breakfast place (one of the only true American breakfast places in Korea), and shopping for bridesmaids gifts. We ended up:
1. Going to Gangnam for Buttermilk pancakes, veggie omelets and free re-fills of actual brewed black coffee! Anyone living in Korea knows that this is huge.
2. Taking the subway to Sam Sung station and wandering around COEX mall, one of the largest and nicest in Korea. I absolutely LOVE the Totoro store there, it's so fun! ^^
3. Stopping off at Myeongdong for some clothes shopping. We didn't end up getting a lot, since we'll be home so soon, but I did score a freshly squeezed lemonade in a bag
4. After a bit of clothes shopping we headed to Insadong, a great place to buy traditional Korean gifts. My mom and aunt Katie have been there and we've been numerous times for Christmas gifts etc. We accomplished a lot, and to finish off our amazing food day, enjoyed a subway sandwich for late lunch/early dinner.
Exhausted from our 5:00AM wake-up, we slumped into our seats on the train and enjoyed a nice 2 hour nap on the way back to Daejeon, arriving home at 8:30PM. Off to bed to gear up for another week of school and city-wide debate competitions! 7 More weeks until Maine ^^
1. Going to Gangnam for Buttermilk pancakes, veggie omelets and free re-fills of actual brewed black coffee! Anyone living in Korea knows that this is huge.
 | |
| it's almost impossible to find this anywhere in Korea |
2. Taking the subway to Sam Sung station and wandering around COEX mall, one of the largest and nicest in Korea. I absolutely LOVE the Totoro store there, it's so fun! ^^
3. Stopping off at Myeongdong for some clothes shopping. We didn't end up getting a lot, since we'll be home so soon, but I did score a freshly squeezed lemonade in a bag
4. After a bit of clothes shopping we headed to Insadong, a great place to buy traditional Korean gifts. My mom and aunt Katie have been there and we've been numerous times for Christmas gifts etc. We accomplished a lot, and to finish off our amazing food day, enjoyed a subway sandwich for late lunch/early dinner.
Exhausted from our 5:00AM wake-up, we slumped into our seats on the train and enjoyed a nice 2 hour nap on the way back to Daejeon, arriving home at 8:30PM. Off to bed to gear up for another week of school and city-wide debate competitions! 7 More weeks until Maine ^^
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