The cake topper, finished

This was actually a really easy project, I just managed to spread it out over an entire month. D and I have a collection of dia de los muertos figurines that we love, so it seemed like a natural choice for the cake topper, if we were going to have such a thing. I purchased the bride and groom at Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles for $13 each. You can order similar ones online, but no two are exactly alike because they are hand painted, so I always like to pick mine out in person.

{cake topper, finished}

I purchased the round wooden circle from a craft store for less than a dollar and then gave it a quick paint job. The bride originally came with a mantilla veil that was kind of cheap looking, so I yanked it off and gave her a small one I made out of gold netting instead. I made teeny-tiny flowers out of bits of fabric and stuck them together for a bouquet (yes, by this point I knew I was being obsessive, but I was enjoying it).

The biggest stumbling block for me was that they came firmly glued to these little squares of wood and it drove me nuts because it was making them hard to position. I whined about it for two weeks and then started googling. Turns out that heat was the solution! I just aimed a blow dryer directly at the base and after 30 - 60 seconds I could easily pull the figurine off. Then I set them up on the painted circle and glued them down. Perfect.

We've been trying to strike a balance with the wedding - honoring some of D's heritage without making it seem like we tried to throw a cinco de mayo party. This just felt right.

(Note - this is one of those craft projects with hidden costs. I spent $27 to make this, but I already had paint and brushes and hot glue and netting and fabric on hand. If I'd had to buy all of those supplies it would have been closer to $50 and I would have had a ton of stuff leftover)

The suit saga, ended

I realize it isn't very polite to write an incredibly long post, solicit your input, and then fail to follow up on it at all.

The suit search continued for another month, I think, before it was successfully resolved. And by successfully resolved, I mean we KILLED IT. We got the suit of glory for less than any of the other contenders would have cost. It involved the Barney's sale and a little bit of dodgy behavior*.

It's an N. Hoolywood suit, a Japanese design, and it's gorgeous. The tailor took up the hem on the pants and that was it. $10. Done. It clocked in at under $600, which is an excellent price for any suit, much less this one. I sometimes come home and catch D trying on the jacket, for no reason.

I love the detailing. You'll have to wait to see the fit until after the wedding.

I won't bore you with the subsequent dress shirt saga, but mostly because I had exhausted my shopping reserves by this point and D was left to forge on alone. I also abstained from the little brother suit shopping experience, which was thankfully resolved somewhat more quickly.

Oh, and I do have a dress. The story is just way less interesting. I looked online, I made an appointment, I tried on 5 dresses, I bought one. I only had to put an hour of time on the parking meter. It was awesome. It's being hemmed at this very moment, and that was all it needed.

*The longer version - after trying the suit on in Opening Ceremony, D obsessively googled N. Hoolywood, discovered that Barney's does carry some of their line and that the sale was going on. We found the suit (40% off!) but they didn't have the right size. Luckily the NYC store did have it, and they mailed it. We waited a week, praying that the size would be right (the Japanese-US size conversion is a little weird, so we weren't completely sure). It was perfect. And then two weeks later the suit went on double discount, and we started agonizing. Is it worth it to return it and risk losing it forever? It was a very existential dilemma, but we are cheap. So we returned it and purchased it again, which is technically against the rules, but we figured the worst they could do was ban us for life, which would actually be a benefit to our bank accounts. The return-rebuy attack was extremely well coordinated. We entered and left at separate times, communicating by text only. I purchased a diversionary shirt (also, that lip gloss) which I later decided not to return, so there was a slight cost. But we won!

Double chocolate cake with milk chocolate frosting

Back when I thought I was going to make an entire buffet of cakes for our wedding* I realized I should probably test out some chocolate cake recipes. Chocolate is sort of meh for me, so I don't have a giant stash of tried and true recipes. But I'm pretty sure that if you attempted to pass off a chocolate-free dessert buffet to my family, rioting would occur. So I tried.

{milk chocolate frosting}

I made this double chocolate cake, but used this milk chocolate frosting recipe. I'm a sucker for buttercreams with cooked bases. They tend to have a lighter texture and a little less sweetness than a simpler one bowl buttercream.

{crumb coat prep}

The cake was awesomely good. Really. I ate the batter, straight out of the bowl. I ate the scraps of cake that got stuck to the pan when I impatiently tried to remove the cake before it fully cooled. I ate the cupcakes I made with the extra batter. The frosting was good too, but I'd have been happy to eat that cake plain, chocolate lover or not. I'm stashing this one away, for sure.




* The cake buffet was a cherished idea of mine. I love baking, I love making cakes. But we invited 200 people to our wedding. That's a lot of potential cakes. And then I started thinking about where I would store them and how I would transport them, and how much I will probably just want to be sitting on the patio with our friends in the week before the wedding, drinking moscow mules and not frantically frosting cakes. It became a no brainer. We're still having a cake buffet (details to follow, when I have my act together) but I will not be baking any of it. Except maybe some cookies. That wouldn't be too crazy, right? Right?

Saturday, briefly

I had a bridal shower! It wasn't even a little bit terrifying! I don't do birthday parties and I was really nervous leading up to this, but Emily and my sister understand me well and they threw an amazing party with plenty of bourbon spiked punch. Being surrounded by so many of the women I love ended up being pretty awesome. Also, there were ribs and pie.

{balloons!}

{a spread}

{bourbon-peach punch}

{dishing up}

{favors}

Also over the weekend, but not pictured - endless errands, ring shopping for D (!), lots of lists.

We're 2.5 weeks out and not ready. I should probably be freaking out more, but I'm having a hard time getting up the energy.

On music

1. Can DJs take the vocal tracks out of songs? Mine is currently out of town and I don't really want to be that person, pestering him while he's trying to relax or something. I've done a bit of googling, so I might attempt a DIY. I guess my other option is to find a poor college student and pay him to learn some Decemberists songs really quickly. And then hope he actually shows up and everything.

2a. Is Eric Clapton's Wonderful Tonight inappropriate as a father-daughter dance song? I realize that it's about love, but um, most songs are. It has childhood sentiment on its side.

2b. Are there other father-daughter appropriate songs* I should be considering? This is tougher than I expected.

* If you suggest Butterfly Kisses, I will cut you. Seriously, don't.

The weekend, briefly

It was a serious weekend of ups and downs. There was a crazy warehouse sale that resulted in us buying all our wedding vases at a serious discount (yay, Craiglist!). There was epic good beer. There were sweet new family babies. There was lots of driving and a minor injury and some unexpected sources of (non wedding related) stress and Sunday evening found me clutching two fistfuls of frosting and sobbing uncontrollably in the kitchen. But that's giving it all away!

{decor madness}

{planning - LA craft brew crawl 2011}

{casey's}

{seven grand}

{d, brew crawl}

{rachel, brew crawl}

{cole's}

{fleur de sel birthday cake}

{cake disaster 2011}

Weekend notes:

:: Every single minute of this weekend ended up being scheduled, and I suddenly realized that we only have three more weekends until the wedding and they are probably all going to be like this and we still have important life things to take care of, not just wedding stuff. Cue a rising tide of low level anxiety.

:: The LA craft brew crawl was this weekend, and even though we knew the timing was terrible, we couldn't bring ourselves to skip it. It was as good as last year. So good. Totally worth the very precious hours we spent there. Don't worry - we bused it there and back.

:: For the first time in 15 years, I didn't have time to make THE CAKE for my mom's birthday. I thought I was okay with this, because I'd purchased the fleur de sel chocolate cake from Vanilla Bakeshop. On Sunday evening, after a whole day of driving all over two counties and hauling 150 vases around and breaking one and cutting myself, I went to slide this perfect cake out of the carry box and started to drop it. I managed to catch it by grabbing it on both sides, leaving me with two hands full of (delicious) frosting. I think I had about a two second delay in reaction time and then I just lost it. I stood there in front of that cake and cried, loudly, for 15 minutes. I'd like to say that it was cathartic and now I'm ready to tackle the next month like a pro, but I'm still tired and stressed. Such is life.

Luckily, the cake was awesome. I included both photos so you can see the miracle that is cropping. People, you know you should always be taking blogs with a grain of salt, right?

On obsessing

How often have you been to a wedding and thought yeah, that was amazing and it would have been absolutely perfect if only the bride had bothered to tone her arms up a leeeeetle bit more ?

Yeah, me neither. So why did I sign myself up for a month at Pure Barre for an exorbitant cost last week?

People, I know I'm the only one who cares about my arms. Rationally. It's the irrational part that gets me every time. I am sore everywhere.

The weekend, briefly

I'm done with jury duty! It was a civil trial, I'm very glad to have had the chance to serve and see how it works from the inside. I'm also very glad to be done. Things are going crazy around here!

{notes, blinds}

{potstickers!}

{gold fringe}

{cake topper, re-veiled}

Weekend notes:

:: The reply cards are coming in and it's officially exciting. I dive for the mailbox as soon as I get home every day.

:: We're trying to figure out a meal strategy for the next month. Our current plan involves buying giant bags of pre-cut and pre-washed broccoli and spinach and then adding in quick protein. Or eating frozen meals.

:: There is still lots of wedding chaos around - I'm at that terrible place where I have so. many. things started and absolutely nothing done that I can cross of my list. It's a midway point. The fringe is for decoration. The cake topper is partially done (new veil!).

Studying

We are four weeks out, you guys. I'm a little freaked about the wedding stuff.

Seemed like a good time to bone up on the actual marriage bit. Per the wise lady's recommendation ...

{spousonomics}

I will admit that I love economic principles regardless of the topic, but I'm pretty sure you'll like the book even if you don't share my abiding fascination with dorky graphs. It's the sort of thing you should probably re-read every once in a while, as a reminder. It helped me feel way less guilty about the fact that D always does our laundry. ALWAYS. But I don't think I've ever seen him clean the kitchen, and this book is all about smart division of labor, so we're good.

D on bloggy wedding pictures

D: Wow. That looks like someone hung thongs up on the wall.

Me: Uh, that's bunting.

D: What's bunting?

Me: You know, like the stuff that used car salesmen put out, but cuter.

Apparently, someone around here isn't totally aware of all the wedding blog trends. Luckily, this was a purely academic discussion because if I had had my heart set on bunting, I would have had some serious convincing to do. Don't worry - we're having metallic streamers instead.

P.S. Still on jury duty.

Around here

Still on jury duty, still living in an apartment that looks like a wedding exploded, still not doing any grocery shopping. Basically, it's a routine.

{cake topper to be}

{fringey streamers}

{paint swathes}

{painted tablecloths}

I realize that our cake topper is currently polygamous - I couldn't choose between the two men and I decided that whoever gets rejected will still be a worthy addition to our current collection. The lady was chosen because her boobs were the least scary of all the options I saw. She'll be getting a veil replacement.

I've always loved those fringey streamers from Jordan, and we're currently thinking they'll get deployed in a couple of places. We have a few little sore spots at the venue that could use coverage. These are super easy to make.

There will be more on the tablecloths later, but we're both really happy with how they're turning out.

Engagement photos!

You guys, I'm on jury duty. On a case that is expected to last almost a month. And attempting to cram about a million miscellaneous wedding tasks* into my all too brief evenings. I'm going to pop in now and again to hopefully share little stuff, and maybe bounce ideas off of you as I start to lose my ability to make simple decisions** without an undue amount of agonizing.

But for now, I'm just leaving you with these photos from Melissa of Happy Confetti Photography. We took advantage of Mel being in town (to shoot a fabulous wedding!) and we all met up. Choosing the location was a no brainer. We live all the way across the city right now, but historic downtown has always had a really special place in our hearts.  Grand Central Market is my favorite place in LA, hands down and I love seeing it through Melissa's photographs. She took pictures of us too, but it feels weird to plaster our faces all over here. You can hop over to her place and check it out and I'll just squirm self consciously in the meantime.

{grand central market}

{spice stall}

{us in grand central}

{angel's flight}

Actually, the best part about jury duty is that the courthouse is just a few blocks from where these pictures were taken, so I get to walk through the market every day and explore the entire area on my lunch breaks. I'm averaging 4 - 6 miles a day of wandering and it is awesome.

Oh, and if you're in LA, you might want to consider doing yourself a favor and getting tickets to the LA Craft Brew Crawl before they completely sell out. It was the best event we went to last year, no question, and it's a great way to see a little more of downtown. We sprang for VIP tickets this year and I'm already excited.


* I think I managed to talk myself out of attempting to bake and decorate 10 cakes the week before our wedding. And I think that was probably the best move I could have made, even though I'm still telling myself that I could bake just one or two or three or AT THE MOST five cakes the week before our wedding. Plus cookies. 


** Do I wear my hair up or down? I tried to get D to help me analyze this critical issue during happy hour on the weekend and he told me in no uncertain terms to go ask a girl. He may be an architect but he has his limits, clearly.

Wine off

We know nothing about wine, despite belonging to a wine club (which, honestly, we only do because it FORCES us to make a quarterly trip up the coast for the pick up and we like that). For the wedding, I needed wine that was no more than $6 a bottle and that didn't taste like vinegar with a side of dirt.

{wine tasting}

We did this by going to Whole Foods* and scouring their $10.99 or less section. We picked up a few bottles of different varietals that fit in our budget. We went home and sliced some bread and cheese, turned on The Decemberists and started drinking. It only took a single sipping round to determine our favorite, but we had multiple refills of each. You know, to give all of them a fair shot. Riiiiight.

We're going with a Malbec that is slightly over budget but worth it and a Sauvignon Blanc that is almost indecently cheap (but it's actually what I stock for myself at home, so I'm not worried about it). My palate might not be the most refined, but there will be red and white wine available** that I would happily drink myself and that's good enough.



* Whole Foods has a reputation for being pricey but they're actually great for large quantities of wine because they give you a case discount of 20%. We compared prices at a couple of stores but most of the time that discount took them down below Trader Joe's or Costco. AND, if the wine is on sale, the case discount normally still applies. I got my favorite sparkling wine for 40% off retail when they had a sale a few months back.


** Along with margaritas and really good beer. We aren't bothering with a full bar - if guests have very particular alcohol needs, they are welcome to bring along flasks and I will be totally impressed by their sheer awesomeness and self reliance.

Counting backwards

We are really trying to get in gear here, wedding wise. The biggest weapon in my arsenal is the calendar.

{scheduling}

I do this for every big project, not just wedding stuff, but it's particularly helpful in this situation. I printed out our calendar for the next three months and jotted down some important dates (when the invites should go out, when the rsvps should come in, when our deposits are due) and then started scribbling all over it in pencil. I started on our wedding date and filled in that week, then worked backwards, setting deadlines for purchases and decisions and projects. Success is 90% proper scheduling, I think.

Ideally, I'd like to spend the week before the wedding doing nothing but baking and relaxing, so I blocked out the whole week for that. I do know how weddings go, so I'm not expecting it to actually work, but I'm committed to giving it a try. I'm restraining myself and not planning nearly as much baking as I did for my sister's wedding, but it's tough. I enjoy baking and I'd really like to do most if not all of our cakes and cookies. Of course, the back up plan is just to purchase some or all of it from various bakeries a few days before. We're doing a dessert buffet and not having a huge wedding cake and you don't need to pre-order normal sized cakes. We'll see how it works out, but at least it's penciled in.

Currently, D is wrangling with the invitations and I'm a flower making machine (both activities clearly noted on the schedule). We are blowing through all kinds of Netflix in the evenings. I just re-watched both seasons of The Riches, which I loved when it was on. So bummed when it got cancelled.

In love

So, we registered on Saturday, which was both fun and stressful. We're way under the amount of items that the stores told us to register for, but we were adamant that we weren't putting anything on the list that we didn't both need and love. We already have a lot of the kitchen equipment we need and I'm not really interested in upgrading. I think the bulk of our registry is comprised of servingware. Entertaining matters to us, so that makes sense.

China was the hardest part, mentally. I mean, requesting plates that cost $139 per setting seems extravagant and unnecessary. We'd already decided that we wouldn't even consider it unless we found a pattern we really loved. I had found something online that I've been looking at for months, but I hadn't seen it in person and there was no way I was asking for it without handling it first.

And ...

{china}

Sigh.

It's the Wedgwood gilded weave pattern and I adore it. D loves that it doesn't have any cabbage roses on it and that it feels modern. I actually woke up the other night thinking about how much fun it would be to set the table with these plates. I know. It's ridiculous.

China is one of those things that some people don't even bother registering for anymore, which I totally get. But I grew up in a house where we used our china all the time. Really. Any meal that is more than the immediate family calls for china (crystal on the other hand, is only taken out for the big holidays). It helps if the china pattern is relatively simple, so that it works well for casual dinner parties and doesn't need to be paired with fancy linen. I think this will be perfect.

I'm still a little insecure about putting something that pricey on our list, but I figure that people who think china is silly or overly expensive just won't purchase it. I don't know why I'm so worried that people will find our choices offensive. I'd like to say that this wedding stuff makes me a little crazy, but I always feel weird about birthday lists too, so this isn't anything new. I overthink everything, always.

The weekend, (very) briefly

The days are flying and I never seem to catch up - this weekend I barely even managed to get my camera out. We were shopping for 8 hours on Saturday (registering + more suits) and I'm amazed we survived. Luckily, the Macy's we went to had a restaurant in it, so we were able to break for a caprese sandwich and a Fat Tire. We're making progress, but all those little tasks add up and feel daunting.

{scanning}

{fat tire}

{paper flowers mock up}

I did a couple of quick centerpiece mock ups with the paper flowers. I'm happy with how the concept is coming along, but I never commit to a DIY project without stepping back and taking a realistic assessment of the time involved. The idea I have is going to be incredibly time consuming, so we came up with a scaled down back up plan and a back up back up plan. I'll make the final call a month before the wedding.

Suit saga

Okay, so can anyone explain to me why there are whole shows dedicated to wedding dress shopping, when wedding suit shopping is clearly much more difficult? I mean, a suit has a minimum of two pieces that have to fit perfectly. There are endless variations on color and fabric blends and weights. There are different cuts and then controversy over said cuts.

D has a suit and it's fine. But not amazing. And not what he wants to get married in. D is not a big guy and he's an architect, so design matters and he knows what he wants. Slim, European cut, with a shorter jacket than you usually see, something confusing about the lapels that I don't understand. Nothing that looks grandpa-esque or like you might suddenly decide to go yachting for god's sake.

{d - suit shopping}

We tried a couple of routes. D ordered one online at Indochino, after seeing good reviews on the interwebs. He had a Groupon, so it was a decent deal ($300 all told). I took the measurements carefully and we double checked everything. When the suit arrived, it was beyond bizarre. The pants fit, albeit somewhat wonkily. The vest was perfect. But the jacket. The jacket was an unmitigated disaster. It has enormous armholes and is so nipped at the waist and flared at the hips that it somehow manages to create the illusion of an hourglass figure. D took it to his tailor and she laughed hysterically (and confirmed that our original measurements were correct). There is no way to fix it other than completely remaking it.

And the really annoying part? I'm pretty sure we won't be able to return it. We didn't read the fine print and apparently you have ONE WEEK to ask for a refund. Who even has time to pick up a package and try something on and get a second opinion in one week? D is going to try to call and plead his case, and hopefully he'll be able to re-coup something.

To sum up ... I won't say that Indochino is a waste of your time, because the deals are pretty good and plenty of people have had it work out. If you decide to try it, please do yourself a favor and try on the suit the minute it arrives and then initiate the return right away if it doesn't work out. $300 is a good price for a suit you love, but it is a colossal waste of money for a suit you'll never be able to wear.

After that mess, we tried one more online option. Bonobos has a great reputation and I triple checked the return policy (whenever you want, free shipping both ways!) because we were feeling a little gun shy. D picked out three of their suits and had them in a week. After an at home fashion show, I was completely convinced - the man looks great in a suit. They're a little more expensive than Indochino, but still affordable ($560 for the ones D ordered). D was happy-ish, but worried that the fit around the torso could be a little slimmer and they were out of his size in the pants he really liked.

So on Saturday we hit up Nordstroms (fail) and Bloomingdales, where we found a Theory suit that looked pretty sweet. It's this style, but in a different fabric. $895 was a big step up from $560, but the pants were crazy good and a bit of tailoring could have solved some of the jacket issues.

We continued on towards Opening Ceremony. Which, let me tell you, is terrifyingly hipster. As in, finding your way in is awkwardly difficult and when you get in you realize that you probably don't belong there because you're wearing F21 jeans and a wrinkled J.Crew sweater and absolutely nothing ironic and you've definitely eaten sometime in the last week and you just pray that they can't see the crumbs and frosting from the cupcakes you scarfed in the car. (This is probably overly mean - the salespeople were perfectly nice and helpful, but I have never felt so out of place and I was a little afraid of touching anything)

And there, against all better judgment (once we'd seen the price tag), D tried on a suit that blew everything else out of the water, completely. There was no more comparison. Except for the fact that the jacket alone cost more than the entire Theory suit and once you add in the pants it would be almost a month's rent. It isn't available online and I was too intimidated to take pictures in there, so I can't give you a look, which is a shame because it was a thing of glory.

As penance, we stopped at Loehman's, which I despise (specifically, I hate the one near the Beverly Center, which happens to be the only one near us). Luckily we didn't get trapped in the crazy parking structure and we were able to quickly flip through the few available options and rule it out. 

We retreated to Mozza to recuperate and discuss the feasibility of buying an outrageously expensive suit. For the record, I'm game to try figure out a way to make it work, especially because it's commonly accepted that women will spend that much and more on their wedding dress, which you can't use again, and D will be able to use this suit regularly. D is still horrified over the cost (which I totally get - it's a shocking amount of money for us).

I'm at least relieved that we have three options at all different price levels. If D were taller, we'd probably be hitting up vintage stores as well, but vintage shopping for men under 5'8 takes up more time than it's worth, in my opinion. Did I mention that I'm not a patient shopper? This was probably the most epic trip I've ever been on and I only survived because I got fed twice and no one made me try anything on.

So here we are, in suit dilemma land. We're still considering a custom made suit, but from a local source. We're kind of running out of time, guys.

Weekends, lately

Things are a blur here. There has been a tiny bit of baking (all birthday related), barely any cooking (and everything that has been cooked has been roasted), there has been a lack of flowers and some wedding crafting and lots of shopping for wedding attire and tiny cupcakes eaten in the car to sustain the shopping and a reward dinner/snack at mozza (we split the pepperonata pizza and I think it might be my new favorite, but sitting at the bar and watching all the pizzas get assembled really made me wish there was a way I could sample all of them).

{muffins}

{painting}

{paper, dyed}

{lattice}

{rhubarb, sliced}

{double birthday}

{roasted asparagus}

{flowers}

{suit shopping}

{mozza, beer}

{for the road}

{a dozen, depleted}

{eaten}

I'll be trying to get some wedding planning updates posted, because honestly, after family and work that is what is occupying any leftover brain space I might have. Turns out, reading about other people's weddings is more fun than planning your own, which mostly seems to consist of signing contracts and having heated debates over font choices and alignment options and then having mild heart attacks every time we look at the budget. But there's good stuff in there too.