Inspiration Board: Citrine and Aquamarine

I love the orange and aqua jewel tones and am envisioning a destination wedding to Greece (or Barcelona like the central picture reminds me of) instead of the honeymoon like we're planning. I would so wear my hair like that and my favorite J. Mendel gown. le sigh...

Postsecret

This week's Postsecret made me happy. Mainly because I find such "saving xyz because my god and my interpretation of him/her/it is the only right one and everyone should live like I say" propaganda to be sickening. Today on my campus there were giant anti-abortion posters set up directly in front of the main entrance to the library at the center of campus. There were signs as you walked up that said "Images of genocide ahead. Some viewers may be deeply disturbed." I was completely insulted. I thought it might be about Darfur or something. But no, it was giant (as in 8x10 foot) posters of aborted fetuses. I objected to 2 things most predominantly. First, abortion is not genocide. Genocide implies the mass death of actual people at the hands of a dictator. Almost no abortions are as late-term as these photos depict with fetuses that begin to look human. But still, no matter how human, still not people yet. I find that insulting to people who are actually dying a cruel death. People who deserve your aid. Secondly, there was no way to avoid the images. The signs advised alternate paths, but they chose a central location for visibility, not convenience of others. It's hard to avoid the most commonly traversed area on campus.

What can I say? Abortion is something I feel incredibly strongly that I and all other women have a right to. Marriage equality falls under the same category. I hope the person who sent that secret sends his/her parent's money to a gay rights advocacy group.

Me and Mr. McGee!

I am procrastinating. I should be leaving right now. I am meeting Mr. McGee in 3 short hours. This is a big time yay! because I haven't seen him in almost a month and a half. We have a date! Crashing on!

I thought it might be time for something a little more playful than my previous, seriously New York-y boards. This one is happy, like late summer near the beach in New England with sunshine and whimsy. I would love for someone to one day surprise me with a room totally full of balloons, Patch Adams style. Until then, enjoy.

Credits: Linda Chaja, Lisa Franchot

Yet another reason

Prop 8 was so stupid. Enjoy. This has a ridiculous amount of stars, John C. Riley (Chicago), Jack Black, Allison Janney (West Wing), Sarah Chalke (Scrubs), a bunch of SNLers and of course, my favorite, Neil Patrick Harris! They really do bring up a good point (and extra points for doing so musically!), granting gay marriage rights would add a lot of cash flow to the wedding industry, among its other, plentiful pros. Yay capitalism!

"Prop 8 - The Musical" starring Jack Black, John C. Reilly, and many more... from Jack Black

Shades of Grey

Inspired by the teaser in classic bride's latest entry, I just had to put together this board. Seems everyone is talking about greys lately, and while I'm too colorful to pull it off at my own wedding, it makes the whole day look very sheik without costing a bundle. Plus, almost black? Very New York.

Credits: Rodney Smith, Kawartha Photography

I would give anything for an awesome photo like that.

I'd just like to say...

I liked it before Kate Walsh decided to wear it to the Emmy's!

Yo Shorty!

If I were the kind that was brave enough to wear a fierce, short dress for my wedding, it would surely be one of these. I've been coveting the DAY Birger et Mikkelsen for a while now and I'll be sad when it sells out and I won't be able to visit online anymore. I wish I was independently wealthy so I could buy it just because I want it. Would that I could.



DAY Birger et Mikkelsen, Movie Silk Dress, $380, via Net-a-Porter.



Badgley Mischka Platinum Label, Lamé Strapless Dress with Tulip Hem, $530, via Bloomies.

All the Single Babies!

This is quite possibly one of the most adorable things I've seen in a long time. You're welcome.

I think I could make this.

This cool Pottery Barn spread just showed up on Apartment Therapy. I really liked the "chandelier" featured in the first photo.



It looked doable, too. Some combination of wire, electricity, vintage paper, letters and office supplies. I'll keep my eyes open for some cool materials and we'll see if I can put my money where my mouth is.

Postsecret

The very first Sunday secret this week was my favorite. I absolutely love True Blood, it's the reason I don't mind the weekend ending! I hope whomever wrote this realizes soon that you can download True Blood so that (s)he doesn't have to keep getting together and breaking up with this guy for his tv on Sunday nights.



I'm really glad that the MaryAnn storyline is finally over. I hope we can have more Eric this week. Alexander Skarsgård, yum. I've read all the books, so I'm impatient for the parts that I like from that and I hope are actually coming (the show changed a lot from the books). I want Sookie and Eric to get it on already!

An oldie but a goodie

So in prep for the wedding (and just because it's the way I am) I've been trolling around for cool, cheap and easy DIY craft projects (wow, that's a lot of adjectives). This one fits the bill. There's instructions here on Designsponge but basically, you just have 4 different colored papers and cut them all into strips of equal widths. 1 strip gets cut to 6" and two each 7", 9" and 11" long and lay them all with the ends aligned. Staple them together at each end and hang! Tada! Ridiculously easy.

L'Shana Tova

In honor of Rosh Hashana starting tonight at sundown, I have a little treat for you. This sent to me by Mr. McGee. You just have to see it to believe it. Apparently it's a church, performing Hava Nagila with fiddles and harmonies and Texas awesomesauce.



It almost rivals one of my all-time favorite movie moments in Keeping the Faith when Ben Stiller (a rabbi) hires a gospel choir to sing Ein Kelohanu for shabbat services.

Inspiration Board: New York

I've been playing with inspiration boards lately. My mom's computer has Pages so when I'm there I use that, but when I don't have access I use the inspiration board at Style Me Pretty. It puts that annoying thing at the bottom that creates their board builder but I only think that's annoying because it goes over the bottom of your photos rather than below the board. It's nice that it automatically links to the credits (if you fill them in when you upload your own photos). So I figured rather than just have my board sit around, I'd put them up here.

This one was the first one I made on SMP. It's New York themed and right then I was really dead set on either a Manhattan rooftop or DUMBO restaurant, like Bubby's. Here goes.

Credits: Twin Lens (2), Twin Lens: Renae & Alex, Oh How Charming! (2), Elizabeth Messina, Oh How Charming & Kiss the Groom, Soiree Floral (3), Soiree Floral, Atrendy Wedding (2), Atrendy Wedding - Love Life Images, James Abel Events (6), James Abel, James Abel, James Abel, Boyfriend/Girlfriend (2), Boyfriend/Girlfriend-Andrea and Jesse

This... rocks.

Sorry, it's late, I couldn't resist the easy pun. I came across this super cool idea via Apartment Therapy. Use moss and rocks as a centerpiece. This is super cool looking, not to mention ridiculously cheap. It would look really great in an outdoor spring/summer wedding with an earthy vibe. Maybe you could mix in some branches, different height and shaped white candles or terrariums to mix things up. I'm not so sure how this would work for round tables but I think it's pretty rockin' if you decide to mix it up and go rectangular. This earns extra points for me because I like low centerpieces that you can see over so that you don't have to squint through a kajillion roses to talk to the person opposite you. That, and I'm a fan of anything this easy to DIY, and this freaking cheap!

If only they came in white...

So, despite not wanting a cookie cutter wedding, there are still some traditions that I'm unwilling to give up. I have this thing about "hotel" carpet. You know, that ugly-ass stuff they put on the floor in every hotel, catering hall and country club? Yeah, not digging it. I do like the idea of the white dress. I mean, it doesn't have to be a true white, I'm looking at off-whites and ivories too. So, when I came across these lovelies, I was totally bummed (for once, I love color) that none of them came in whites. But here they are, nice little bits of inspiration for when I go looking for the real thing.

Credits: Neiman Marcus (2), MyTheresa (2), Style.com (2), Neiman Marcus (2), Net-a-Porter (2), Macy's (2)

I have found the coolest place ever.

It's the Yellow Treehouse and until very recently, it was a functioning restaurant. Unsurprisingly, it's in New Zealand. Apparently it was a stunt for Yellow Pages, a sorta, "look, with us you really can get anything done!" type deal. Despite that, it's incredible. I want to go there NOW. It's not a restaurant anymore, but it will be an event venue very soon (can I get married there, please?).

Plus, it has the coolest website. I want it for my very own.

Postsecret

I couldn't help but post the secret this week that features JoePa. Not quite sure what that means, PSU only lost 2 games last year, one by one point in a fluke, and the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Whatever, PSU represent, nonetheless!




Via postsecret.

Iron and Wine

Last night I did a brave thing. I went to a concert all by myself. I'd wanted to see Iron and Wine for an age, and didn't go the last time I had a chance. So this time, with Ari's encouragement, I sucked it up, bought a ticket (7th to last) online and got in the car. That was the complicated part. I forgot about football traffic. And I was already a half hour late for the start time because I had wavered about going. Now, I live in State College, home of Penn State and the Nittany Lions. I now know, thanks to Mr. McGee that Beaver Stadium (where the lions play) is the third largest stadium in the world and the largest in the Western hemisphere. So, that creates a bit of traffic when those 106,000 people try to leave a town whose entire population is only slightly larger than that. An hour and 45 minute drive turned into 2 and a half. I was an hour and 15 minutes late.

Anyhow, I got there, found some nice boys to direct me once I was on campus and arrived just in time to see the last 5 songs of the opener, Roman Candle. They were pretty good. Then it was time for Iron and Wine. He opened with Such Great Heights. It was funny, the song was beautiful, most of the people knew it, and he asked everyone to sing along several times. But clearly these people didn't quite get the concept of a folk concert, because if Sam wasn't singing, they weren't either, even if they knew the words.



He played a bunch of other songs I really like like "Naked As We Came," "Sodom, South Georgia," "Each Coming Night" and "Sunset Soon Forgotten." Then, I really started hoping he would play my favorite Iron and Wine song, "The Trapeze Swinger" and no less than 10 seconds later, this started.



It was nothing short of amazing. I felt it down to my bones. I was so grateful that he played it. He kept playing. I stopped feeling (as) self-conscious about being there by myself. He played some new songs I didn't know but still enjoyed. Then, just as I began to hope for another song, it started.



It was great. Almost all acoustic. It was the last song of the set, such a good way to go out. He came out and played a short, one song encore. I was surprise though, that people left before the encore even though the house lights hadn't come back on. It was weird. The only real bummer was that the show was so short. He barely played more than an hour. But Iron and Wine was great to see live. Sam Beam's voice is as beautiful and perfect in person as it is recorded, a rare talent and a rare treat for me. If you have the chance to see him in concert, go. He'll be in Champaign, IL on Sept. 19 and in Anchorage, AK at the University of Alaska on Sept. 25.

Last night was incredible. I needed to be reminded how much I love music. I definetely want a live band for my wedding. I was a live band at my whole life, I always want to feel like I did last night. Even a two hour drive in the dark through the mountains felt just fine after that.

Postsecret

None of this week's secrets were particularly happy, but this one sort of satisfied my inner desire for equality. Not that someone's getting cheated on, that's a really shitty thing to do to someone, especially someone you love, but it makes me happy that even paraplegics get laid too.

From Postsecret.

Why I love Joss Whedon: Reason #1

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

"He's Angellus! There's no Edward Cullenus. But no offense, cause he's hot!"

Buffy/Angel: 1 Twlight: 0

I don't know where it is, but I want to live here.

Via apartment therapy.

ETA: Here is the full story. Apparently it's a Colombian restoration with a modern twist. It seems very similar to the gorgeous monastery-turned-luxury-hotel, el Convento, my parents and I stayed in in Leon, Nicaragua last month. It is beautiful and calm, historic and modern. Basically, I just found my dream home.

Sorry for the radio silence...

It was just, I have this big news and was waiting for the time/energy to write a real post about it, but for the sake of keeping the blog alive, here goes:

I'm engaged!

Yep, Mr. McGee popped the question over 4 of July weekend. I am now in the midst of 4 graduate classes, 2 assistantships, 1 part time job, a long distance *engagement* and planning a wedding. I am moderately insane. So, because I can hardly handle 1 blog, let alone 2, I think this will end up being the repository for all sorts of fun wedding-y stuff. Sorry/Enjoy.



On a completely unrelated note, gah.