it's beginning to feel a lot like fall here.

(Jimmy + I)

(Me + My Mom)

(Jimmy + My Mom)

After my alteration appt with david's bridal - I wanted to take some pictures so I got a few of my fiance with my mom, then had Jimmy take some of my mom and I, and my mom take some of Jimmy and I.

Yes, it was a family affair LOL

Truthfully, my mother loves Jimmy and they get along well and they actually have a lot in common, such as the things that i hate which Jimmy absolutely LOVES- my mom seems to love just as much!! Mostly this applies to food, socialization adventure/liking to try "new" things + and fun!!! Hahahha.

After the assorted picture taking, we then all three headed over to Michael's arts and crafts which was next door.

+++

Michael's Arts & Crafts store after Alteration Appt:

Below are a few things we got at michael's. Jimmy actually saw some canvas on sale, so he got two one for me and one for him. I guess he was thinking in the future maybe we might want to try our hand at painting. Neither of us are really artistic in that sense or way altho I think both of us liked to draw/doodle growing up and weren't bad at sketching, but also not artistic like good enough to be an artist or creative inspiration or anything LOL

I found it interesting that he all of a sudden saw something he wanted to pursue as a hobby via Michael's in arts and crafts. especially after the last few trips there he'd rolled his eyes or sounded irritated when I was excited over all the art stuff wanting to buy it!! I wonder what came over him.

Jimmy wasn't feeling very well today and was sick earlier this week with a cold with muscle ache/fever for several days enough to even take off work midweek. I think he is run down just like I have been. It is probably from planning a wedding which has been highly stressful and since it's getting closer and closer to the date- there is more and more to do, stress is heightened and at times it is just tiresome for both of us!

So anyway, here's a few things I got that made me happy:

This pretty fall butterfly clip on decoration. I don't know where I'd put this or if I could use it in my reception hall but just thought it was so pretty and it was cheap so I wanted it for Fall.

....And, here is a "Far East" rubber stamp set I got. It includes pieces that stamp below designs and it includes the black ink. I just thought it would be cool to have and try. It is my first real rubber stamp set and they have so many amazing ones that I was overwhelmed with which one to pick! My next picks would have been the celtic cross styles and the retro looking fashion/european women ones- kind of vargas/nouveau art like style.

After Michael's- Jimmy and I decided to go with my parents where they go to dinner every Saturday. We were all hungry and had a long drive back so felt we might as well!

Below picture of us was taken at Longhorn Steakhouse :)

(Me + My Fiance at Longhorn)

During dinner, my mom told us the cutest story regarding my niece Alexcia. She told us that last week my niece came home from school sick from something she ate at school [apparently it was food poisoning as a few other kids at school contracted the same illness]...anyway while my mom was taking care of her-- she asked for the nemo cold compress I'd gotten for her birthday recently to put on her tummy to make her feel better, but when my mom got it and put it on her tummy, alexcia moaned that nemo wasn't big enough to help her tummy ache...Awww!!!! It just made me envision the tiny nemo on Alexcia's tummy and her saying that with her big saucer like eyes...poor baby!!!!

Luckily, she is better now, but I didn't get the chance to see her this past weekend but since the Tampa team of baseball won this division thingie [don't know anything about sports or care], my fiance will be going to the big game this coming saturday and I will probably just be dropped off to visit my family and niece while he does this, so I suppose I will get to visit her then.

Unless I get sick again. If I do, I will just stay home. I am still worn out from being sick in the past two days and I think I am runned down from all of this. I hope to catch up sometime tomorrow but for now must say goodnite. I spent much of tonite trying to recuperate and regain energy from last nite's illness :/

It's really beginning to feel like Fall here and that seems strange to say when it comes to FL, since it's not known to cool off til late October or early November. I like the feel of Fall though and the crisp air, the breeze. I know it's nothing like the places where snow falls as I've lived in those climates before and I don't soon forget. But I revel in that 'feeling' and find that I always become so nostalgic during the last few months before the year comes to a close. Perhaps it is because I am deep. Or maybe it is because I was born in November and so it just feels like home to me - natural.

I always travel towards darkness even when seeking light. It seems so much a part of me (like nature) that I gravitate toward darkness yet long for light - in so many aspects of my life. Sometimes, I am a total walking contradiction, even to myself!

she's crafty.

michael's arts & crafts

the calm in the storm of world crisis and own personal ills. i could spend days on end in this place, its heaven. i am in love with the wide variety of ways in which one could form a million NEW hobbies just from walking into this store IF one were rich..i wish i were rich LOL

this is scrap booking, jewelry making, card making, pen/marker/art junkie heaven!!

it inspires one to want to create.

i enter yearning to buy everything i touch and see when i enter the store however know am only there for wedding decor and have to force myself to remain focused and disciplined to not go crazy LOL. i leave overwhelmed thinking of the world of possiblilies and how many new hobbies i could begin and enhance if i started becoming a regular michael's customer.

i mentioned this to jimmy on more than one occasion. he does not like the idea. he feels it a waste of money. and thinks i have enough junk at home and that shopping there will make you broke. i disagree and get irritated. because the amounts of frivolous money he spends on his own things [ie concerts, sport games, and eating out] are easily overlooked by the likes of him and are fine and dandy. that annoys me. i see nothing wrong or that expensive about arts and crafts. and think its quite common and a thing most women, many women enjoy doing and do, no matter if rich or poor. some men just don't get it. he's one of those...

anyway a few things we came away with were these:

wedding program making pack, for printer in ivory. rather plain, so i did not take a photo of it.

and this, 'got flowers ' confetti in the prettiest mixture of purple colors that i think will match my wedding colors nicely:

ribbon, tulle, floating candles,stones for wedding.

we went to michael's arts + crafts last weekend and got a few things, i wanted to write about what we got for the decor and floating candle bowls. we havent gotten everything necessary yet but got most things and its a start. jimmy wanted to come back later in the month when he gets paid and has more money to spend.

i will share a few pix of items we got:

this pretty ribbon jimmy picked out in the color amethyst which is gorgeous, they didnt have anything that was identical to 'victorian lilac' and jimmy felt this shade of purple was closest. i feel the two can complement each other as wedding reception colors so we bought one spool to see if its the right thing. we put it next to the davids bridal victorian lilac satin fabric swatch to see if it would look fine together. we both think it looks really good. even if not an exact match. we are planning to use this ribbon to tie bows for the little bubble blowers you and i looked at over at michaels months back. we think it would look pretty. we havent bought the bubble sets yet only cos of lack of money + uncertain of how many we need til we sent the invites out and get replies back. they had enough of these bubble sets that we feel we can wait til next month to buy these wedding favors.



after getting help with a michael's saleslady and being told she was a wedding coordinator and her marriage anniversary was one day after our soon-to be wedding date- we had adequate help and advice from someone with knowledge as we were like two little lost children in the store, not having a clue what to buy for the fabric/bows to be put along each aisle in center of chapel where i will walk down the aisle and flowers will be pinned to that fabric.

she showed us this, below, which we bought one roll of, for now so we could bring and show to our floral appt this coming wkend as we have to provide what the flowers will go on, for publix florist.

the lady advised we get this ivory wired tulle to tie bows which will be attached to some unwired regular ivory tulle [we will buy this closer to the wedding date as we didnt have the money to do it now]. she also suggested we use floral wire to attach florals to the tulle and fabric etc she advised us to use this gold colored wire which would go nicely with the ivory and since there is some gold in my tiara etc.

the tulle is pictured below + then the floral golden wire to go with it:





gold wire-




we then picked up a few things for the floating candle holders idea for the reception tables:

jimmy tried out a sample of this in one of the glass holders and it looked rather nice and with some pretty colored orchid petals on top, we think it will be rather striking. at least we hope so!

here are these simple ivory floating candles. jimmy got these that were linen scented, cos it was the only one and we didnt realize it had a scent. we are possibly going to not use these candles only because the scent is too strong for me, without it lit, it was bothering my nose, allergies and asthma and he was thinking of putting two floating candles to every bowl and that would be approx eight tables. i think it would highly affect my ability to breathe and would make me sneeze so we have to find another store to buy the ivory floating candles where they might carry UNscented ones rather than scented.




we loved these stones which i personally chose to put in the floating candle holder. i found this stone "style" very charming and pretty in color. i liked the earthiness and it has a feel that goes well with all the asian accents our decor seems to be gravitating towards.








and, last, we got this floral ivory paper confetti to maybe use on tables for decoration which i saw the first time going to michael's and really liked. i think its pretty if we can find some way to use it at the reception :)

bridal party stuff + our first bridal registry experience (stressful).

7.18.08

jenni and i met up on the above date at david's bridal to choose her bridesmaid dress. after the first trying, she made her choice and was quite pleasantly surprised how much she loved it and how flattering it was to her figure [she is obsessed over her weight and dieting and i think she dreaded this and expected it to look awful. it actually did not. i actually think im fatter, look worse than her even though i weigh less. shes a bit heavier and more voluptous but at least she has curves to compensate. i feel sloppy for the most part and hate my body.]

jenni ordered her dress and they didn't have the correct color in [victorian lilac] so she had to choose a different color just to see how the style fit her and if she liked it. i didnt get any pix obviously cos it was the wrong color. in any case, maybe i posted it already but in case i didn't , here it is off david's bridal website again :

Btw, the above bridesmaid style dress has a rhinestone clip on the hip. we may take it off or replace it with another type of color clip depending on whether i go with silver or gold toned jewelry.

If i wear gold or more copper oriented jewelry- we both feel the rhinestone clip will clash and will NOT match at all.

personally, i am more of a silver jewlery type person however with a champagne ivory formal bridal gown, maybe the jewelry should be warmer in tone like subtle gold. i found a few necklanes at macy's on sale. both have a champagne/topaz like stone in the design and might complement my wedding gown. im still thinking it over and next time may post pix of necklaces for opinions. one necklace is by monet, and the other by givenchy. both are pretty but not sure if its what i want yet. since i got both for 8 dollars cos the lady accidentally only charged me for one and they were fifty percent off in a big summer sale, if i decide to not go with them, i wont be losing much money - it was a steal of a deal in my opinion! :D

pix from my cam! these are quick ones and hard to photograph so i took a bunch and most are blurry or dont show up well in the pix so this is mainly just to give a hint of what style jewelry i am considering wearing with my bridal gown: [if i go with gold- i will go with an ivory and/or gold type style shoe possibly ballerina leather style- saw two we loved at kenneth cole outlet out by sarasota/bradenton earlier this month]

pix of givenchy style necklace i tried taking today:

---

shannon's bridesmaid purchase and reveal:

Subj:Bridesmaid Dress
Date:7/26/2008 1:59:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Hi April!

I went to David's Bridal and got the dress today. Attached is a picture of me w/the dress and the length of my hair. I might get it cut/trim soon, but my hair grows really fast. Can you send this email to Jen too. I have her email saved in my outlook acct at work and i'm home now.

Thanks and talk to you soon!

How was wedding band shopping?

Hugs!!

---

flowergirls ideas

from david's bridal, we were partial to these flower girl dress styles. my mom is supposed to take alexcia in the next week to order her dress. in ivory. she will be a cutie in whatever they choose - i am sure- because the truth is that she looks adorable no matter what she wears.

here are a few we loved most:

Style FG203 NEW!

[like the girl on right's dress- 2nd girl in pic]
Style FG8580

then we trotted on over to michael's arts and crafts and are thinking of these particular favors:

ivory flower confetti- fancy

bubble blowers

wedding program printing pack

favor bag or item holder/ candy fillers

ivory tulle for bows on chairs

---

and then this--

following day registered painstakingly with jimmy at bed bath and beyond- he made it one of the most stressful experiences coupled with the stores annoying peeping and eavesdropping. most of the fun was sucked out of and left there two hrs later, in bad moods with headaches.

later we felt manipulated and didn't like how the store handled the experience let alone how we had no privacy! we also felt the advice was fake and to their benefit rather than ours and catered to highest priced designer brand items in every facet of the store. we felt pressured to only choose from sections/brands we were pushed to choose from- all highest priced although there were many other lower priced lines.

every step of the way, we were approached, cornered or subtely pushed into choosing the most expensive so it almost felt uncomfortable to go with anything of lesser price because eyes were on us every where we went and every corner we turned was someone to greet us and eavesdrop nosily as to what we were picking and writing down. it was extremely agitating and NOT fun. we didnt even finish there and later in the week had to spend precious time revising our list and deleting several items we felt unnecessary.

for one, they had talked us into the highest priced china and i cant ever see us using something like that much at all. the lady convinced us, well jimmy not me, that china was a must for every married couple and all the get togethers.

we don't have any now at our place so i don't foresee many and think it's kind of unpractical and not my cup of tea. i'm not a formal person or a social butterfly and i prefer it that way. i wouldn't mind now and then having a couple friends over or family a few times a year for special events/holidays but no way would it be in the capacity that this girl was trying to suggest it will be.

jimmy acted like he was not sold on the china thing but then later when we revised our list, decided he wants china just a cheaper kind so apparently he liked the idea more than he wanted to admit, just not the price range that was being offered.

we didn't even get to the kitchen area becos we were so exhausted with the two hrs there and frustrated by having no privacy. he may go back later in the month w/ or w/out me as all the kitchen stuff and cook ware should be chosen by him since that's his love and not mine. he is the cook, not me.

i don't have any clue about domestic things such as that. i have tried of course, recently but if i were given a class on how to cook, what to use, how to measure things or follow a recipe, i would definitely fail.

i am klutzy, hate touching food esp raw or gettng my hands dirty, and find cooking to be boring and torture at once. i am not the typical girl for sure and i have heard tons of criticism from both of my fiance's parents.

i cringe at the jabs they will put in, chime in when they have the chance at the bridal shower and actual wedding because i know it IS indeed coming. be not afraid, though, as i am not afraid to come back with a sarcastic answer to an unwelcome sarcastic remark/jab at me. they know from past replies and irritated tones, that its a sore subject. the more i am pushed, the more i will react the same way.

no one is going to force me to be something i am not or try to mold me into what they want. childish or not, i refuse. they are not my parents and i am not their child. so that is how i feel.

we do plan to go to target- to do a second bridal registry together in the next month. we think it will be more relaxed and much more light hearted fun as we shop there often and love everything there and can always find cool stuff that is not overpriced. besides, it will be more affordable and practical for many of our guests as most are not loaded with money and we both agree bed bath and beyond is pricey for about 90 percent of the people who will attend our wedding and will be out of their range!

below was our bed/bath and beyond email registry welcome email. i put it in here for my own documentation and so i can keep track of all this stuff that is quickly piling up on me!

Dear April and Jimmy,

Thank you for registering with Bed Bath & Beyond. We are delighted that you chose us! This welcome email contains important information and links. We recommend that you save it in a safe place for future reference.



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You elected to have your registry available online at www.bedbathandbeyond.com. Our online bridal registry allows you to update and modify your registry at any time.



ACCESS YOUR REGISTRY: To review or update your registry, please click on the link provided below and enter your personal password. You may also update your registry by visiting any of our stores, by calling 1-800-GO-BEYOND(R) (1-800-462-3966) or by e-mailing us at customer.service@bedbath.com.



Link to access your Registry: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regHome.asp



REGISTRANT INFORMATION: To review your event details including your event date, names and addresses click on View Registrant Information.



To insure that your gifts are sent to the correct address, it is very important that we maintain accurate shipping information. Please take this opportunity to verify that all of your shipping information is correct.



If the information is not correct, or if you move, please update your shipping information online or email us at customer.service@bedbath.com with the updated shipping information.



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Some of the features and benefits available to you at www.bedbathandbeyond.com include:



* Fine Tabletop & Giftware - Online you will find a great selection of fine china, crystal stemware, flatware and giftware from many top name brands! You can now add any of these items to your registry online with just a few clicks. Fine Tabletop & Giftware is also available in select stores, for a store location closest to you, please call 1-800-GO-BEYOND(R) (1-800-462-3966).



* Prompt Updates Our bridal registry is fully integrated, assuring you that changes or purchases made to your registry in-store, online, or at 1-800-GO-BEYOND(R) (1-800-462-3966) are updated everywhere in our registry system.



* Bridal Keepsakes - We offer a collection of wedding-related merchandise that will remind you of your special day for years to come.



* Wedding Wisdom - Tips to help you plan your special day! Plus, useful information for your Wedding Party and Guests!



* E-mail Announcements - Simply log onto your registry under "update an existing registry." Scroll down to the bottom of your registry and click on the e-mail announcement link to use this convenient feature. We'll be happy to send an e-mail announcement to your family and friends, which will include an easy link to your registry. You provide the e-mail addresses, and we'll do the rest!



Bed Bath & Beyond is committed to providing the best customer service. If there is anything we can do to help, please visit any of our stores, call 1-800-GO-BEYOND(R) (1-800-462-3966) or e-mail us at customer.service@bedbath.com. An expert Registry Consultant will be happy to assist you.



All the best,

The Bridal & Gift Registry Staff


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