Honeymoon series; Vol.1

 We finally took a vacation, six months after we were married. This was a weekend reserved for an EJ trip that didn't work out and I insisted that we do something "honeymoon-like." We went to Wilmington and beached at Fort Fisher.

  Then I got this crazy idea: why don't we do a series of honeymoons? For the amount of time and money that most people honeymoon, we can take several short trips to different places. I suggested a minimum of five weekend trips to different places within a year and a half of our marriage (I'm extending our newlywed status for six months because we just now took a trip). I like the idea of seeing many places and spreading it out in time. I've heard stories of people trying to cram too much in to their destination honeymoon and just end up the opposite of relaxed. This is great for us, being between jobs (Shawn) and career changes (me, for the past 4 years!).  I'm thinking of seeing a new city's nightlife, checking out a cabin in the mountains, and a winery with a bed & breakfast. We don't have to go far yet, as long as its not a staycation. Just another crazy twist on tradition for the new Whitmires...One day, I'll show him Europe and the Philippines and one day he'll show me Madagascar and Australia.

  This particular beach trip was just a starter trip. We invited friends and brought Bully, so it wasn't just Shawn and me. We stayed in a cheap motel that allows dogs and packed our lunches.  It was fun and we got some couple time before our friends Brian & Chrissy met us down after a day. Shawn & I had a really good dinner at the Riverboat Landing in downtown Wilmington, with our own private balcony. This was Bully's first beach trip, and well, let's just say that he prefers mountains and trails. I think he thinks of the ocean as a giant bath. He was reluctant to go further into the ocean and didn't realize that he might be able to swim. He did enjoy running away from the waves, though. I'm just glad we could show this to him.

Just look at all our hijinks':

Sweet  Sand Couch!

It's been a dream of his.

At Mixto, Downtown Wilmington

One tuckered out Bully Wooly.

signing out y'all!

Vendor Spotlight: Cake Tasting!

 This past Friday we had our cake consultation at Maxie B's in Greensboro. I pretty much know I was getting my cake from this little local bakery, no questions about it. They have amazing cakes and the best buttercream frosting I've ever had.  I've tried most flavors on previous visits and have filled my slice card once. I am two more cupcakes away from a free one.
So its only natural....

I got to play with my cake fantasies here. I speak in singular because Shawn really could not have been less interested. I'm pretty sure an hour and a half of talking about cakes and cost really pushed his tolerance of uninteresting (to him) matters. I, on the other hand made some rad decisions. I believe a good cake is one of the three most important elements of a reception (or any meal for that matter), the other two being delicious food and drink.  I decided not to have other desserts but a satellite set up of a few different cakes and cupcakes. They will complement the candy bar I will set up.

We picked four flavors and I'll go ahead and tell you now. I won't be ruining any surprise here because you haven't tasted them yet. We picked:
                    Chocolate Sin Cake (chocolate w/chocolate almond frosting),  
                   Five flavor pound cake
                   Italian Cream Cake
                    and Pineapple Coconut
We ate ourselves into a sugar coma. Shawn then started to get irritable and wouldn't let me take the rest home. I only let him exercise this decision because I've made him my personal trainer, though I made it clear that it was a sad waste of cake and if I craved cake this week, I will just go get some. Then we went home and crashed. I actually don't think I'll have those cravings for a while.

                                                             oh yeah.

 

He's thinking I'm insane to spend a good few hundred dollars on cake.

But its all for you and us, so we will let ourselves eat it and love every bite!

Six months and still going strong!

Yesterday was our six month anniversary. We like celebrating the little things.

I left it up to the Hubbs to plan the evening. He made me a nice dinner, to which I was glad to come home after a long work day. He made Chicken Sicily, served with mashed potatoes. He paired it with a nice Marlborough sauvignon blanc. Oooh, let's not forget the salad that he cut from our garden!

 mmm...stuffed  with sundried tomatoes, pesto & feta

After dinner, it was Ice cream and movie night. We saw Date Night, with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. There was a point in the movie when Steve Carrell asked Tina Fey if she can trust him to accomplish a task, and I turned to Shawn and asked, " Am I like this?" I can be a little

intense. Hey, at least I know I am not alone!

I was speaking to my mommy this morning and she asked about my garden. Here's some pics so you can see what we're growing ma:

The romaine of our labor

Our green beans.

 The gladiola bulbs that are bout two weeks old

Dill

more gladiolas & African daisies (i think)

Broccoli

Tomatoes

Sweet and Lemon Basil

marigolds, okra, and gladiolas

Thats mint, to the left of the bull

a pot of cucumber

and this is not a plant, but rather some delicious sangria I am enjoying while writing this ;)

We also have spinach and sunflowers but they were not picture worthy.

And a posting is not complete without some new Bully Wooly pics:

sit.

stay.

aw! a miss!

we love you anyway.

Love, US.

Updates from the Whitmires

So I've made some progress on some reception stuff. Whew. Lots more to go. But now we have:

1. Made a deposit for the venue,
2. Almost Finished guest list,
3. Bought paper for invites & RSVPs,
4. Made a deposit to the caterer: Maria's,
5. Scheduled a cake consultation for next Friday: Maxie B's
6.Researched ideas for decor & tablescapes,
8. Have a designer in mind for 8,
9. Registered for gifts
10. Signed up @ Martha Stewart weddings (have a great auto budget tool)
11. Started painting my cake toppers.

Yes, I've been a busy girl. Shawn, on the other hand, well, let's just say i keep him informed. He's not to party planning savvy. Neither are my friends fiances. This is about the time where I need a gay man in my life.

DIY Planters

from apartment therapy

I am totally gonna make these planters. I have all the stuff just hanging around the house.
Tin cans: check
Wrapping paper: check
shellac: check
tape: check.
A little direction: check. read all about it here

Boot Camp and Breakfast

I am trying to lose 3 lbs. Yep, starting small. My wedding dress is tight around the arms and I want to look spectacular in it for November.

I figure if I give myself a reachable goal I will be more likely to try.
This is because I tend to give up easily, but not this time, oh no. Time to eat better and reclaim my arms!
I have asked Shawn to work out with me, boot camp style. Lets face it, my man is so sweet to me and I can get everything I could ever want from him, but in this instance I need a drill seargent.

So, we have intensified our workouts. More cardio 3x weekly, and better eating habits. If I wine, I expect him to give me a swift kick in the ass (he has my permission).

This morning I made Huevos Rancheros. Baby steps, right? I made it with egg whites and 1 yoke, no potatoes, and fresh cut pico de gallo. Man, Jamie Oliver would have been proud. The fresh flavors were intense and satisfying. Its no beef stir fry, but it was delish!
I stuck a flour tortilla in my small & medium cast iron pans, and broiled them for a few minutes in the oven. If you want it crispier, leave it in longer, rubbing oil in the pan. Just don't let it burn! It was almost as good as the Grit's Border Patrol (stupid name), and the rancheros at the now defunct Bluebird Cafe, in Athens. I like using black beans, with a little cumin.

AND:

My garden is becoming edible! Check out this romaine, I chopped them off for a couple salads and they are totally regenerating:

My plants are like science projects, I check them every day.

The two dress phenomenon.

Oscar de la Renta, Spring '10

So lately I have been hearing about ladies being torn between two dresses in which they want to get married. Some have even bought two dresses.

I was one of these ladies.

(Now, I'm not a wedding gown type of gal. I wanted a classic and flattering dress but I didn't want the white gown that you cherish in your closet forever. It was just not me. My practicality stomps on my sentimentality in this area and it may seem selfish in that I wanted a dress that I could wear again. I mean, if I am buying a dress I want one that I could chill out in, post-wedding season, with a glass of wine in hand and not look like a bride. [In fact, I put it on last Saturday.]

Does that make sense?
Well, it did in my head at the time. I have a closet full of bridesmaids dresses that every bride assured me "you can wear it again!" Truth be told, you cannot wear it again unless you're in another wedding with the exact same bridesmaid's dress. And I am never that lucky. So I, the frugalista, made sure I could re-wear the dress in which I said "I do." However, I didn't mind buying bridesmaid's dresses for my friend's weddings. Its what good friends do. And to everyone who ever wanted the whitest, laciest, most princess-like gown that Monique Lhuillier ever stitched, more power to you. It is about getting what you want , and I have no problem with that!)

Anyway, the point of the story is that with all the dresses out there, it is EXTREMELY hard to find your perfect, heart stopping, husband-to be-jaw-dropping dress. I mean, its something that girls think about since young girlhood. I started thinking about it when I turned twenty (my husband and a few boyfriends ago). How are you supposed to know where to find this piece of fabric that transforms a regular woman into a bride?
My first dress was this J.Crew one, in Champagne:

I bought it because it was on sale and I really loved its simplicity, but it was the wrong size and basically lacked the 'wow" factor. I just imagined Shawn unimpressed so I wanted to show a bit more skin.

And I just loooove my dress. I found it in the stockroom at work, and made a special trip to try it on when I found out it was on sale. And it was off the rack, not a customized Vera Wang, like I once thought I'd have. I guess my priorities changed!

So what do you do when you have bought a dress but really like another. I say go for the one you REALLY want, no matter the price. Skimp on something else. Sell the other one on ebay. Be wary of return policies when you buy your dress! There comes a point, though, when you have to stop searching on the perfect dress , and love what you have. After all, he's gonna love you in it!

Thanks to my sis, Grace and my friend Alison, who inspired this post! Sis I hope you find a buyer for your first dress, and Al, I hope you loooove the dress you chose, despite other temptations!

P.S. J.Crew and Martha Stewart Weddings opened up a bridal boutique in NYC, and are have a giveaway here. And the Martha Stewart Episode with Tom Mora here.

Wedding Cake toppers- another little project I will take on

Remember the post about the Etsy Shop with the cute wedding cake toppers? Well, I found these cuties at the Winston-Salem Greek Festival.

There was a WHOLE room devoted to nesting dolls and I spent some time in there. I found these blanks for a couple bucks, imagination running wild! I love how they're shaped like the dolls. I have been fascinated with them since I saw the dolls open up, spill their their babies, and dance around the mamas in an old Sesame Street short clip.

(Sure, I could have gotten them with the little balls for heads at a craft shop, but I like the story of where I got 'em.)

I just hope I'm not adding more to what I already don't wanna do. At least Shawn & I have our invitation ideas, and the paper bought. Now if only I could buy some time...

The Coolest pictures never before seen:

If you're familiar with Scott Shuman's Sartorialist blog then you have probably marveled in the awesome vintage photos in his recent contest. I think the prize was Chloe look books, it was right after fashion week this year. Anyway, people sent in really amazing vintage photos of family members or whoever capturing a sense of style while simultaneously telling a story.

Well, after raiding my mom's a couple weeks ago, I found her boxes of photos that has become her new project. She's re-organizing them into better albums. Of course, my sister Grace, has three times as much photo material than I. She's the oldest, and when I came around things got tough. C'est la vie.
But I didn't care about my baby pics as soon as I came across these:
This was my mom after high school graduation. My mom had most of her clothes made, dresses were always custom done. Even growing up in a developing Philippines, my mom had a sense of dressing for the occasion. She would never let me wear pants to church, not even those hideous floral bib jumpsuits that were popular for a year sometime in the 1990's. I really wanted one, too. They had banded ankle length hems. WTH?!
Growing up here in the U.S, I have come to the realization that we are a casual society dressing mainly for comfort. Comfort is a huge factor in dress, but sometimes we totally compromise style. I'm not talking about vanity, either. I'm talking 'bout that certain something that make you unique (and hopefully fearless, non-matchy, but mix-y, body conscious, and confident!)
I just love seeing older photos because people had such style. They knew when an occasion was one to be cherished, and had tailor made clothing. Didn't matter that they didn't have much, but what they did have MATTERED!

This dress is totally back in style:

The Beda Dress, Spring 2010.

Well, it never went out of style. Classic Tailoring.

This picture will be how I wan to remember my daddy. He's pretty hip here in his suit and plastic fireman's hat. This was probably in downtown Atlanta in the '70's. I didn't know either of my parents to be this stylish but they were. I guess when your young and child-free you have the world at your disposal. I'm sure this is the version of my dad that my mom fell for.

Look at those bells. He even had an afro. Yeah, my dad had a perm. Not to mention my mom's beehive!

I love the story that these pics tell. I never knew my parents this way, but I love seeing the life that they lived.