More dresses

Sometimes I feel like all I do is look at wedding dresses online or in magazines. I need to start trying some on already!

I was recently scoping out the dresses on Project Wedding, and here are my four favorites.

Alyce Designs - Claudine for Alyce Designs:7701

It's a strapless, A-line dress, which is sorta surprising for me, since I tend to sway away from them for the most part. However, it's

not very A-line, and the top of it isn't the traditional strapless

that's in style right now, which I honestly can't stand. This looks different and interesting.

Destinations by Mon Cheri:29125

This dress looks a little more like other dresses I have enjoyed, although it's apparently an A-line too. Maybe I was mistaken on what an A-line dress is. I

thought it was those poofy princess ones. Apparently not. I like this dress because it mixes chiffon and lace, and there is also some beadwork around the midriff area.

Mon Cheri Bridals:19232S

This dress I'm not quite so sure about; the sleeves are interesting, but I'm not sure if they make the dress look too

informal. Also, looking at these dresses, I think that I like a "sweep" train better than a "chapel" train. This dress, the first dress and the last dress have a "chapel" train, while the second has a "sweep" train. It just looks like it would be longer and harder to manage, and I don't want to have to worry about stepping on anything too much on my big day, nor do I want any kind of bustle.

David's Bridal:T9612

I always feel a little silly saying that I love this dress, but I kinda do. It's simple, yet not too simple. The lace is very pretty. I love the cut of the V-neck with the empire waste, and although the site says it's "trumpet/mermaid," I don't really see it, but then again, I apparently only just learned what A-line looks like, so I'm not really the expert on dress shapes.

Dessert Bars!

"OH HOW I DIG DESSERT BARS!!"

Ignoring the vegan aspects, this is heavenly. I want all of it. And I want it now.

And again, I'm also too lazy to write a full post, but just go read hers, it says (and shows) everything that I would want to say.



I'd just like to draw your attention to the Chocolate Cake Lollipops in the 2nd and 3rd pictures. Yes. Chocolate Cake. On a lollipop. How delicious.


Both pics from Jesi Haack Weddings/Sweet & Saucy Treats Dessert Bar via the Vegan Bride.

New Favorite

I recently stumbled upon this blog post when Feministing had it on their front page.

Guest Blogger Starling: Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced

It is amazing. I want very much to write a review on it, but I have zero energy right now, so I'll include a brief excerpt from it.

Gentlemen. Thank you for reading.

Let me start out by assuring you that I understand you are a good sort of person. You are kind to children and animals. You respect the elderly. You donate to charity. You tell jokes without laughing at your own punchlines. You respect women. You like women. In fact, you would really like to have a mutually respectful and loving sexual relationship with a woman. Unfortunately, you don’t yet know that woman—she isn’t working with you, nor have you been introduced through mutual friends or drawn to the same activities. So you must look further afield to encounter her.

So far, so good. Miss LonelyHearts, your humble instructor, approves. Human connection, love, romance: there is nothing wrong with these yearnings.

Now, you want to become acquainted with a woman you see in public. The first thing you need to understand is that women are dealing with a set of challenges and concerns that are strange to you, a man. To begin with, we would rather not be killed or otherwise violently assaulted.

“But wait! I don’t want that, either!”

Well, no. But do you think about it all the time? Is preventing violent assault or murder part of your daily routine, rather than merely something you do when you venture into war zones? Because, for women, it is.

Also, the more I read this blog, the more I love it in general. I think they've just won a new follower.

Flowers!

This print on Etsy reminded me that I love ranunculus (ranunculae?). Which, after googling, I found out is commonly called the Persian buttercup. Anyway. They're adorable.

And possibly worthy of a wedding bouqeut?

Maybe.

This blog, Engagemental, has a beautiful post about using ranunculus(ae? I really want to know!) for a wedding. It's super beautiful. Which isn't surprising, because it looks like she found the pictures from InStyle Weddings.

Doxie Art

I want this so badly.

In my dream world, where I have a spacious, sunny apartment, I have several different dog-themed pieces of art.

Sort of like this or this or this.

And we can't forget the ridiculously adorable Christmas cards that I had last year.

Saja Wedding Dresses

I think I'm in love.

With these dresses.

I'm almost contemplating leaving work, just so I can go to their store and try them on. It's right off of West Houston. It would take me less than 20 minutes to get there. But who would go with me? I can't try on wedding dresses for the first time alone.

Soon though. I have to go soon.

Really, I would love to try on all of the dresses. Some of them aren't my style at all, they just look so gorgeous and flowy and nice!

Awesome Groomsmen Gift

I just saw this posted on Etsy, and thought it was amazing!

Part of the description reads "My husband created this custom poster as a gift for his groomsmen. Some of them used to be in a band together, so the theme was a concert poster promoting "The Groomsmen". The concert date corresponds with the wedding itinerary. The picture of the theater was a local venue in Savannah, GA where we got married. The words on the theater marque read 'Will their frontman take the plunge?' You get the idea. It's nice to give your close friends/relatives a more personal gift that involves some thought. Or, you could just get them cufflinks...."

I think this is SUCH a cool idea, and I feel like Zach and his groomsmen would love something like this. Obviously, since it's a custom item, it would be different, but this general idea is super cool.

Wedding Planning Update

We've still made no decisions. At all.

None.

Well, we've decided that we don't usually like traditional wedding cakes, so we're pretty much sure we want a cheesecake. But that might actually be the only thing we've decided on so far.

So I'd like to just keep track of a few ideas for now.

Zach wants something fun, possibly slightly outrageous, and the funnier the better. He'd like something quirky which says "This is Zach and Rose's wedding." Basically, he wants it all to be individualized, and not at all generic. I agree.

While looking at The Knot, I came across some fun ideas, which I'd like to record here, so that they'll be easy for me to find, and to get anyone's opinion on them, if they feel like sharing.






A couple created comic book wedding invitations. More pictures are available at Heidi Ryder's blog, but I just think this idea is so cool.







This is awesome. My whole family is big on pictures. Each of my Aunts and Uncles has at least one wall of their house devoted to family pictures. My dad is special, so he has a whole room. But I would love to have a wall of our families' wedding pictures at the reception. I think that would be so special. Spectacular photo from Julia Newman.




Another idea that I absolutely love is this creative, 3-D photobooth photo wall. It would be beyond perfect. Photo via the incredibly talented Elizabeth Messina.

Cupcake Stop

The other day, I went someplace heavenly.

No, that's not enough of a build-up.

Let me explain. During the spring, I learned of an intriguing business. It's founded on the principles that New Yorkers are always on the move, love sweets, and would be highly entertained if they could hunt down a truck full of delicious cupcakes via Twitter.

This divinely portable cupcake distributor drives around the city, telling people where it can be found. Oh, and the cupcakes? They're amazing. You would think, it's a truck, how high could the cupcake quality be? OMFGSOHIGH! That's how high.

Also, another misconception you might have - the flavors of these aforementioned delicious cupcakes, there can't be that many, right? Or they aren't too creative?

Wrong.

Oh the flavors.

Mint chocolate chip. Red velvet. Chocolate Peanut Butter. S'more. Raspberry Creme. HEAVEN!

The Mint Chocolate Chip was suprisingly minty and chocolatey. The Red Velvet, while not the greatest Red Velvet in the world, was incredibly moist and delicious. The S'more was perfectly chocolatey, with real marshmallow icing (I have no idea how) and graham crackers sprinkled on top. The Raspberry creme, well, this was my least favorite, which means that it was simply delicious, nothing more. It was a regular cupcake with creamy raspberry icing. But my all-time favorite, by far, was the Chocolate Peanut Butter. It was perfection. Warm, moist chocolate cup cake smothererd in a magical layer of peanut butter icing. Oh! I get excited just thinking about it.

Inspiration

I've been trying to get back into the swing of blogging for a while now, pretty much all summer. But I never seem to have the motivation. I think, however, that Kerrie may have found the perfect thing to motivate me. Her most recent blog post about installing Google Analytics into her blog to see if anyone reads her blog, and who they are. I LOVE THIS IDEA!

Also, I have just started grad school at Hunter, and while it looks like it is going to be very pleasantly challenging, I think that I would like to have an outlet to talk about all of my new experiences.

For example, whoever designed Hunter College was a sadist. Do you know how to get to any of the first 7 (or 8, haven't figured it out yet) floors? Escalator. But floors 8 and up are accessible by elevators from floors 3 and up. And to get to the East side? Breezeway on the 3rd floor. Also, I have no idea how or where to get my student ID, which means that I can't access any of the school's facilities like the library or in ground swimming pool.

But it's not all bad. Actually, as soon as you enter the classrooms (granted you are able to find them in the first place - did I mention that the numbering and placement of rooms makes absolutely NO SENSE?), everything is great. I enjoyed each of my four classes this week, three of which are being taught by PhD students. Two of them seem very experienced and knowledgeable, while one seems cute in his inexperience. He seems to know a lot about the topic he's teaching, and he has experience teaching HS, which is what we're learning about - he just hasn't taught people how to teach before, so it'll be interesting. And my last professor is the perfect stereotype of an English professor that it makes me laugh: tall, skinny, pale, wearing a button down shirt and a bow-tie, fluffy white hair and a big white beard. Plus, he forgot half of the syllabus and gave us a "fifteen minute Kant" lecture, which he was quite impressed with.

Overall, a good first week.

Now, how do I find this Google Analytics?