Books:
Twilight Series
I finished Breaking Dawn over the weekend, the last book in the Twilight series. It was bittersweet. I'm sad that I'm leaving the Cullens behind, but glad to have my reading freedom back. Since I started the series, I've been 100% consumed with it. I even dreamed about them most nights, which I hear is actually quite common. So bizarre. I'm ready to finish the Harry Potter series now. I jumped right into book 5 the other night. I hear the 5th & 6th books are the best & have lots of conspiracy theories to delve into. I can't wait!
Movies:
This American Life Television Season One
Okay, technically this isn't a movie, but I watched it on DVD, so whatever. The series runs on Showtime, which I don't have, so I Netflix-ed it. John & I have been watching it all week. It's amazing. Last night we watched an episode about a 14 year old boy who decided love, girls, sex, et. al. wasn't for him. He liked playing Dungeons & Dragons & video games & thought sex was "barbaric". It was hilarious. At the end they asked him to send a message to the 25 year old version of himself & he basically said at 25 he hopes to live in his own apartment, have lots of video games & to not have a girlfriend. Then he said that if the 25 year old version of himself does succumb to the lure of girls & sex, "to hell with you". I turned to John & made some remark about not getting it, to which he replied, "Kim, you could fill a library with what you don't know about 14 year old boys". So true, so true....
Music:
Of Montreal
John got me the new Of Montreal for Christmas, Skeletal Lamping. I love it! It always takes me a few listens to warm up to a new Of Montreal CD, but I inevitably come around. This one was no different. It sounded crazy the first couple of listens, then I started to really enjoy it. They crack me up. The lyrics on this new CD take ridiculous to a whole new level. I was listening to it while we painted our bedroom a few weeks ago & John mentioned how surprised he is that I like it as much as I do because the lyrics are so..... well, pornographic, honestly. It just makes me laugh. And dance. I love them. So far my favorite tracks are:
3. For Our Elegant Caste
6. Gallery Piece
8. St. Exquistie’s Confessions
TV:
The City
I'm obsessed with The City. It's a spinoff of The Hills, which I did not watch. The City comes on MTV on Monday nights & I freaking love it. I'm sure 90% of the attraction is due to the fact that it's shot on location in NYC & that it loosely ties in to fashion. All I know is, I can't get enough. And.... they just announced yesterday they're going to run a 2nd season. Yipee!
January 29, 2009
January 27, 2009
"Mothership"
How I Became the Bomb just released their brand spanking new music video for "Mothership". It will change your life. Oh, and if you look carefully around 1:49 you might just see someone, or some "clone", that you've seen before.....
P.S. If you still haven't downloaded the latest 3, free songs from their website. Do it now.
How I Became the Bomb - Mothership from How I Became the Bomb on Vimeo.
P.S. If you still haven't downloaded the latest 3, free songs from their website. Do it now.
How I Became the Bomb - Mothership from How I Became the Bomb on Vimeo.
The No-Diet Diet
I've been debating whether or not to re-join Weight Watchers. As I've mentioned about 1,000 times, I lost 20 lbs on Weight Watchers last year, but have slowly gained a good 10 lbs of it back. Weight Watchers is inundating me with emails & special offers to re-join. Now that the wedding & holidays are over, I'm trying to get back into an exercise routine & to stop eating out so much. I'm definitely getting back on track. I'm not really losing any weight yet, but I feel better at least. I always feel like a big, fat slug after Christmas. Anyway, I digress.....
So I was reading Real Simple tonight & had an epiphany of sorts. There's an awesome article in the current issue called "The No-Diet Diet". It spoke to me. I have a good friend (who shall remain nameless) who did Weight Watchers with me & also eventually gained some of the weight back. Unlike myself, she lost the re-gained weight plus some & looks fan-freaking-tastic now. Her secret? She eats less. Not less like what an Olsen twin would eat, but less than she used to eat. She & I are both speed eaters & tend to overeat because of it. She significantly cut her carb intake & pays more attention to how fast she eats & how much she eats. She walks when she has time, but she's not a big exerciser. It's definitely working for her.
This Real Simple article basically says diets don't work, eat what you want, just in moderation & try to be healthy. If I hadn't watched my close friend actually succeed at this first-hand, I probably would have dismissed the article. Now I'm wondering if all these years I could have saved myself so much heartache & fat pants if I had just learned moderation. God, what a depressing thought. I spent an entire year of my twenties not eating carbs. And I was already thin! So much wasted energy. Ugh....
I think I'm going to try what the article suggests & see how it goes. I would love nothing more than to live just 1 day without worrying about calories consumed, calories burned & whether I'm a size 12 or 14.
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/package/0,21861,1841021-1158736,00.html
Thoughts?
So I was reading Real Simple tonight & had an epiphany of sorts. There's an awesome article in the current issue called "The No-Diet Diet". It spoke to me. I have a good friend (who shall remain nameless) who did Weight Watchers with me & also eventually gained some of the weight back. Unlike myself, she lost the re-gained weight plus some & looks fan-freaking-tastic now. Her secret? She eats less. Not less like what an Olsen twin would eat, but less than she used to eat. She & I are both speed eaters & tend to overeat because of it. She significantly cut her carb intake & pays more attention to how fast she eats & how much she eats. She walks when she has time, but she's not a big exerciser. It's definitely working for her.
This Real Simple article basically says diets don't work, eat what you want, just in moderation & try to be healthy. If I hadn't watched my close friend actually succeed at this first-hand, I probably would have dismissed the article. Now I'm wondering if all these years I could have saved myself so much heartache & fat pants if I had just learned moderation. God, what a depressing thought. I spent an entire year of my twenties not eating carbs. And I was already thin! So much wasted energy. Ugh....
I think I'm going to try what the article suggests & see how it goes. I would love nothing more than to live just 1 day without worrying about calories consumed, calories burned & whether I'm a size 12 or 14.
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/package/0,21861,1841021-1158736,00.html
Thoughts?
January 24, 2009
What Not To Say on What Not To Wear
I'm a big fan of What Not To Wear & an even bigger fan of Stacy & Clinton's. Last night they had this 23 year old girl from Philly on, Moriah (her spelling). Moriah was a hot mess. Early in the show, she told Stacy & Clinton that she just started her own business. This "business" is an adult trivia game with erotic questions. Stacy was actually speechless. She just stared at her until Clinton finally said something. It was hilarious.
So they get back to NYC & start going over 'the rules'. First of all, she had never heard of skinny jeans, which was unfortunate because she had the perfect body for them -tall & thin. Then they show her a cute dress with a ruffle detail & another outfit with a pencil skirt. She asks Stacy if the skirt is inside out. Stacy explains the concept of piping.
They set Moriah loose for her 1st solo shopping day. God bless her, she couldn't get any of the terms right. She kept referring to pencil skirts as A-line skirts, which was driving Stacy crazy. Then she picked up this cute ruched pencil skirt & referred to the ruching as "rufflage". It was so funny. She was trying so hard.
Side note: Moriah used the word "sexy" about 1,000,000 times. It was annoying at first, but got funnier as the show went on. Eventually everyone on the show was saying it as much as she was. It was like the What Not To Wear adjective of the day.
All of this being said, she looked amazing at the reveal. Stacy actually cried, which is rare. They turned little Moriah's life around. Hopefully all those new clothes can help her land a better gig than "adult erotic-themed trivia".
Godspeed, Moriah. Godspeed...
January 22, 2009
30 Day Shred
I love this blog. I had lunch with Natalie today & she sent me the link after she got home. I'm glad she did. These pictures are amazing:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html
In other news, I started doing this work-out DVD by one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels. The DVD is called 30-Day Shred. We'll see about that.... I did it yesterday & today. It's only a 20 minute work-out, but there are no breaks in between exercises. The DVD has 3 different work-outs. She says to start at Level 1 & work your way up to Level 3 regardless of what kind of shape you're in. So I'm doing Level 1. It's hard, but the stuff I'm doing is nothing different from what I did in Bikini Bootcamp or Body Sculpt. And I did that for 45-60 minutes. This is just 20 minutes. Man, not working out since November really takes its toll......
It's hard for me to make it to the Y during Session because I like to work-out in the mornings, but to get a good work-out in & make it into work by 7:45/8:00am is virtually impossible. By the time I leave work, it's either too late or I'm just too exhausted. Thus the Jillian Michaels DVD. I'm going to do it during the week & see how it goes. I'll still go the Y when I can, but I'm hoping to see some results from this DVD. If not, I'll do what I always do which is bulk up during Session & deal with it later.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/01/the_inauguration_of_president.html
In other news, I started doing this work-out DVD by one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser, Jillian Michaels. The DVD is called 30-Day Shred. We'll see about that.... I did it yesterday & today. It's only a 20 minute work-out, but there are no breaks in between exercises. The DVD has 3 different work-outs. She says to start at Level 1 & work your way up to Level 3 regardless of what kind of shape you're in. So I'm doing Level 1. It's hard, but the stuff I'm doing is nothing different from what I did in Bikini Bootcamp or Body Sculpt. And I did that for 45-60 minutes. This is just 20 minutes. Man, not working out since November really takes its toll......
It's hard for me to make it to the Y during Session because I like to work-out in the mornings, but to get a good work-out in & make it into work by 7:45/8:00am is virtually impossible. By the time I leave work, it's either too late or I'm just too exhausted. Thus the Jillian Michaels DVD. I'm going to do it during the week & see how it goes. I'll still go the Y when I can, but I'm hoping to see some results from this DVD. If not, I'll do what I always do which is bulk up during Session & deal with it later.
January 21, 2009
Weekend Warriors
This weekend John & I tackled 2 of the 3 upstairs bedrooms. Both bedrooms had 1 wall of wallpaper that needed to be stripped & both rooms needed to be painted -furniture included. We didn't finish it all, but we got a lot done. Saturday we rented a wallpaper stripping machine from Home Depot & got to work. I actually really enjoyed this part. After the week I had, it was very therapeutic to steam a portion of the wall & then rip off long strips of wallpaper. I pretty much did both walls in both rooms myself. The machine was my friend.
Let's take this room by room, shall we. In our room we discovered a window to nowhere that John had to spend a lot of time on. The window was apparently walled up when they added the garage. It just needed a lot of spackling & sanding & eventually some heavy duty joint tape. John wakes up every morning wondering what he can sand & spackle, so this was heaven for him. We pretty much spent all day Saturday working in our room.
Saturday was John's birthday, so we had to wrap up early to get ready for the festivities. We met a group @ Cinco for dinner then everyone relocated to our sawdust-covered house for an impromptu house party. I've been dying to have people over to our new house, but not necessarily the day we spent stripping wallpaper & sanding.... It ended up being fine. Luckily you couldn't really tell how dusty everything was at night. It was a good party. I definitely want to start having people over more often. Anyway.....
Sunday we wake up feeling like crap. We still had to strip the wallpaper in the guest room so we could get the machine back to Home Depot. So I get started in the guest room while John gets our room ready to be primed & painted. Once I get all the wallpaper down in the guest room, I quickly discover that a good 60% of the wall is covered in mold. Yeah, good times. We take the machine back to Home Depot, grab lunch & come back & start priming. We got the primer on & the 1st coat of paint, then broke for dinner. By the time we got back from dinner, I was exhausted, so John stayed up & finished painting & I went to bed. He finished it all. I woke up Monday morning & cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. It looks awesome. I love the color of our bedroom. Carolyn picked it out. She's pretty much picked out all of the colors in our house. She hasn't been wrong yet.
At some point in the immediate future, we'll deal with the guest room. We've been told all you have to do is treat the mold with 1 part Clorox/3 parts water, then you're good to go. We'll see... We also have to paint all of the furniture in the guest room, so that room is going to be another all-weekend project. After that, we're on to the kitchen. At the least, the kitchen needs to be painted. I'd also like to replace the floors & counter tops. Unless I win the Powerball, this probably won't happen anytime soon. Ahhh, one can dream....
Full photostream here:
January 20, 2009
January 17, 2009
2004: A Day In the Life...
John found all these old emails from when we first started dating & forwarded them to me. They're pretty hilarious. A sampling:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: KIMBERLY
Date: Tue, Dec 21, 2004 at 2:07 PM
Subject: oh, a waxing we will go....
To: john@georgetownmasters.com
So I just got back from getting waxed. My waxer is insane. She loved my hair & said it made me look thin & sophisticated. She said I've definitely lost weight & looked 'radiant'. I was telling her how I've been such an eating machine lately & not getting any sleep, etc. & that she's crazy. Then she said, "YOU'RE IN LOVE!" -it was very funny. So she wanted to know all about you & how we met, etc. She said you're the one -that she can feel it & she got all emotional & gave me this big hug. Now mind you -I'm naked from the waist down with my legs in the air while all this is going on.
Thought you'd find this entertaining. I'm now going to close my office door & take a long nap...
-ka
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: KIMBERLY
Date: Mon, Mar 21, 2005 at 1:34 PM
Subject: Re: that first million
To: john@georgetownmasters.com
That sucks about the van. Ashlee said Jeff got to her house around 6:30am, too. I hardly remember you coming by this morning. I wish I had been more awake. Well, maybe I'll get to see you tonight. I'm off on Friday but I think I'm helping my mom move my grandfather back home -that's the day he gets released from Stallworth. Plus my OK grandparents will be here all weekend. Speaking of which, Easter is this Sunday & my mom's cooking a big lunch. I know you'll be tired & still trying to catch up on everything, but I'd really like you to meet my other grandparents.
My weekend was good. Very productive. Yesterday was weird with you not being here. Everyone was at work or watching basketball so I spent the entire day trying to entertain myself. Fairly unsuccessful, but I did watch all 4 Rockys. That on top of Million Dollar Baby has convinced me that I should become a boxer.
Oh, also -the purse snatcher hit a house on Oakland Ave last night. Apparently he's moving over to my neck of the woods. My grandmother called me at work 1st thing this morning to instruct me to move.
I miss you.
-ka
January 14, 2009
Tennessee in the blogosphere
For those of you that care about what happened on Capitol Hill yesterday, here are some links:
January 13, 2009
Breaking News
Again, courtesy of the Tennessean:
January 13, 2009
Williams upsets House Speaker race
In an extraordinary move in the opening session of the state legislature this afternoon, Republican Kent Williams won speakership of the House, beating veteran Democrat Jimmy Naifeh and Republican leader Jason Mumpower, who was widely expected to get the post.Williams has been administered the oath of office, and speaking from the well, says "it's time to end the infighting and the bickering." Boos came from the gallery.
Post Politics has the play-by-play.
January 13, 2009
Williams upsets House Speaker race
In an extraordinary move in the opening session of the state legislature this afternoon, Republican Kent Williams won speakership of the House, beating veteran Democrat Jimmy Naifeh and Republican leader Jason Mumpower, who was widely expected to get the post.Williams has been administered the oath of office, and speaking from the well, says "it's time to end the infighting and the bickering." Boos came from the gallery.
Post Politics has the play-by-play.
1st day of Session
Here's what I'm dealing with today, courtesy of the Tennessean:
January 13, 2009
GOP ready to remake legislature in its image New House speaker expected
By Theo Emery
THE TENNESSEAN
As the 106th General Assembly convenes at noon today, there will be the customary backslaps and handshakes, as well as the stories and pranks, that accompany the giddy start of every legislative session.
But one thing will be different this year: Republicans will be in charge of both chambers, a historic shift that will bring many changes to the legislature, particularly in the House, where everything from committee chairmanships to lawmakers' offices is likely to turn over.
Probably the biggest, and most closely watched, transformation will be the expected switch in who holds the speaker's gavel, which Jimmy Naifeh of Covington has held tightly since 1991, making him the longest-serving House speaker in Tennessee.
Barring a last-minute upset, such as an unlikely scenario in which a Republican defects and votes for Naifeh or a Republican is absent, Majority Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol is expected to be elected speaker. The only other time in the past 140 years that the House had a GOP speaker was in the late 1960s.
Mumpower predicted that, while he's taking nothing for granted, the speaker's gavel would be in Republican hands today.
"This is really the first time in history that this has happened. It is the people of Tennessee who decided that it should be this way, and we will honor our commitment to them by reorganizing the House of Representatives under Republican control," he said.
Despite the long odds, Naifeh recently said he hopes to remain as speaker.
"I am running for speaker. I plan to be successful on Tuesday," he said. "We need effective leadership at this time, and I can provide that."
Will some cross over?
Some Republicans relish the prospect of a GOP speaker, citing what some call Naifeh's heavy-handed tactics of steering bills he doesn't like into dead-end committees and preventing floor votes on bills popular with conservatives, such as a constitutional amendment on abortion.
The major question is how unified the parties are. Mumpower said Republicans were committed to electing GOP leadership; after the election all 50 members signed pledges to vote for a GOP speaker and speaker pro tem.
Asked if Democrats would cross party lines to vote for him, Mumpower said cryptically, "We'll see."
Naifeh said that Democratic Party ranks would hold and that all members of his caucus would vote for him. He, too, was evasive about whether Republicans might vote for him, as up to 13 have done in the past.
"I'm still working on it. Still talking to them," he said late last week.
Gov. Phil Bredesen said he would be happy to work with the GOP leadership and has a good relationship with them.
"Getting through these budget times and getting our state safely through some very rough waters here — I think they're on board, I think they're willing to work with us," he said. "That doesn't mean that we'll agree on every little thing, but I feel good about where we are right now."
Most leaders on both sides agree the budget will be the centerpiece of the General Assembly's actions.
With estimates suggesting state revenue may face a $1 billion shortfall this year and next, lawmakers predict a sobering year, with no leeway to fund new projects or expand existing ones.
Senate will see changes
Changes won't be limited to the House — on the Senate side, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said that there will be no more Democratic committee chairmen in the Senate and that he will strip Sen. Thelma Harper of her chairmanship of the Government Operations Committee.
Ramsey said he was doing so because Republicans had a mandate to lead but also because of the committee's problems in getting its work done. The committee reviews state agencies and recommends whether to extend their lives.
He expressed displeasure with Harper for her support of Democrat Tim Barnes, who is replacing Rosalind Kurita in the Senate seat representing Clarksville.
"I think she would realize that she's not going to be a committee chairman. She spent a lot of time up in Clarksville," he said.
That spurred some partisan sniping: Harper accused Ramsey of disrespecting her, and Minority Leader Jim Kyle said Ramsey was giving her an undignified exit from her chairmanship.
On Wednesday, the General Assembly will elect constitutional officers in a joint session, choosing between the Republican and Democratic nominees. Because the GOP has a 69-63 majority between the two chambers, its candidates will probably prevail.
At the end of the week, the General Assembly will adjourn for three weeks to allow lawmakers to reshuffle their offices and give the governor extra time to hammer out his budget. They will come back when the governor delivers his State of the State speech and the budget, sometime after the first week of February.
January 13, 2009
GOP ready to remake legislature in its image New House speaker expected
By Theo Emery
THE TENNESSEAN
As the 106th General Assembly convenes at noon today, there will be the customary backslaps and handshakes, as well as the stories and pranks, that accompany the giddy start of every legislative session.
But one thing will be different this year: Republicans will be in charge of both chambers, a historic shift that will bring many changes to the legislature, particularly in the House, where everything from committee chairmanships to lawmakers' offices is likely to turn over.
Probably the biggest, and most closely watched, transformation will be the expected switch in who holds the speaker's gavel, which Jimmy Naifeh of Covington has held tightly since 1991, making him the longest-serving House speaker in Tennessee.
Barring a last-minute upset, such as an unlikely scenario in which a Republican defects and votes for Naifeh or a Republican is absent, Majority Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol is expected to be elected speaker. The only other time in the past 140 years that the House had a GOP speaker was in the late 1960s.
Mumpower predicted that, while he's taking nothing for granted, the speaker's gavel would be in Republican hands today.
"This is really the first time in history that this has happened. It is the people of Tennessee who decided that it should be this way, and we will honor our commitment to them by reorganizing the House of Representatives under Republican control," he said.
Despite the long odds, Naifeh recently said he hopes to remain as speaker.
"I am running for speaker. I plan to be successful on Tuesday," he said. "We need effective leadership at this time, and I can provide that."
Will some cross over?
Some Republicans relish the prospect of a GOP speaker, citing what some call Naifeh's heavy-handed tactics of steering bills he doesn't like into dead-end committees and preventing floor votes on bills popular with conservatives, such as a constitutional amendment on abortion.
The major question is how unified the parties are. Mumpower said Republicans were committed to electing GOP leadership; after the election all 50 members signed pledges to vote for a GOP speaker and speaker pro tem.
Asked if Democrats would cross party lines to vote for him, Mumpower said cryptically, "We'll see."
Naifeh said that Democratic Party ranks would hold and that all members of his caucus would vote for him. He, too, was evasive about whether Republicans might vote for him, as up to 13 have done in the past.
"I'm still working on it. Still talking to them," he said late last week.
Gov. Phil Bredesen said he would be happy to work with the GOP leadership and has a good relationship with them.
"Getting through these budget times and getting our state safely through some very rough waters here — I think they're on board, I think they're willing to work with us," he said. "That doesn't mean that we'll agree on every little thing, but I feel good about where we are right now."
Most leaders on both sides agree the budget will be the centerpiece of the General Assembly's actions.
With estimates suggesting state revenue may face a $1 billion shortfall this year and next, lawmakers predict a sobering year, with no leeway to fund new projects or expand existing ones.
Senate will see changes
Changes won't be limited to the House — on the Senate side, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said that there will be no more Democratic committee chairmen in the Senate and that he will strip Sen. Thelma Harper of her chairmanship of the Government Operations Committee.
Ramsey said he was doing so because Republicans had a mandate to lead but also because of the committee's problems in getting its work done. The committee reviews state agencies and recommends whether to extend their lives.
He expressed displeasure with Harper for her support of Democrat Tim Barnes, who is replacing Rosalind Kurita in the Senate seat representing Clarksville.
"I think she would realize that she's not going to be a committee chairman. She spent a lot of time up in Clarksville," he said.
That spurred some partisan sniping: Harper accused Ramsey of disrespecting her, and Minority Leader Jim Kyle said Ramsey was giving her an undignified exit from her chairmanship.
On Wednesday, the General Assembly will elect constitutional officers in a joint session, choosing between the Republican and Democratic nominees. Because the GOP has a 69-63 majority between the two chambers, its candidates will probably prevail.
At the end of the week, the General Assembly will adjourn for three weeks to allow lawmakers to reshuffle their offices and give the governor extra time to hammer out his budget. They will come back when the governor delivers his State of the State speech and the budget, sometime after the first week of February.
January 12, 2009
How I Became the Bomb -3 new songs!
It's that time again. How I Became the Bomb has released another set of songs for you to download for FREE from their website:
Did I mention these songs are free? Did I also mention that they were recorded at Lake Fever Productions & produced by one John Baldwin?
Downloaded the songs, but find yourself wanting more? Then get yourself over to the Mercy Lounge this Friday night (1.16.09) for a FREE show. That's right bitches, free. Free songs, free show. I ask you, what's not to love?
January 8, 2009
“Save a red, eat a gray!”
Baby Squid in the City emailed me this NY Times article today & it kind of creeped me out. Good thing Ted can't read....
In other news, I finished Eclipse & started Breaking Dawn. I just finished Book One: Bella. Edward Cullen, you complete me. What will I do between now & when the 5th book comes out? Some of my more internet-savvy friends read an excerpt from the 5th book online. I thought about trying to do that, but I was on Stephenie Meyer's website & she has this blog post about how upset she is that the excerpt got leaked & now she's re-thinking the whole 5th book idea. Ugh.... If she denies me more Edward, I don't know what I'll do.
January 6, 2009
I'm an Aunt!
My sister gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl last night. She weighed 6 lbs & I think was 18" long. Her name is Jessica Lynn. Both mom & baby are doing great. Pics here:
January 4, 2009
Local Wedding Advice: Nashville, TN
I'm a big fan of personal recommendations. I thought since I just got married & so many of you are planning weddings of your own, I'd pass on a little of what I learned. First of all, I didn't have a coordinator until the final stages of the planning. My mom & I did 90% of the work. Luckily, one of my mom's friends is a wedding coordinator & she offered to help out on the big day. I highly recommend this. You need someone running the show during the rehearsal, the wedding & the reception. It's best if this person is not family, because they will essentially miss everything in lieu of setting up, etc. The woman I used is awesome. If any of you want her name & contact info, leave me a comment with your email address & I'll pass that along to you.
Getting Organized:
I am organized by nature, so this was a no biggie for me. When I first got engaged, I went to Wal-Mart & bought a big Mead Five Star 3-ring binder -the kind that zips up & has pockets, etc. I also bought page protectors & dividers. I bought as many bridal magazines as I could afford & got to work. I organized my binder into the following categories:
Typically the groom's family handles the rehearsal dinner, but I ended up planning ours. Because of this, a Rehearsal Dinner tab would have been handy, but most of you probably won't have to fool with this.
I recommend buying a Martha Stewart wedding magazine & the Real Simple wedding magazine. These 2 magazines were the biggest help. I also had 2 people give me the same book: Wedding Chic by Nina Willdorf. I HIGHLY recommend this book. It was a huge help. The 2 websites I used almost exclusively were The Knot & Martha Stewart Weddings. The Knot is great because you can set up a wedding website for your guests. The Knot also has all the lists you'll need, like a budget planner, calendar, to do lists, etc. I used Martha for all of my etiquette questions. Her guidelines for addressing invitations is spot-on.
Back to the 3-ring binder. I went through all my magazines & pulled out whatever I liked. I'd put the page into a page protector & then put it in the binder. This is a lot easier than having to flip through 1,000 bridal magazines every time you want to see that dress you liked.
Vendors:
Let's talk vendors. I was 100% pleased with all the vendors I used. Here's the breakdown.
Dress Shop:
Bridal Country
3 N. Lowry St, Smyrna, TN 37167
(615) 459-5678
*ask for Helen Wilson
This is a "small-town" bridal shop. It's where I bought my high school prom dresses. I was reluctant to give Bridal Country a try because I'm a snob & I didn't want to tell people my wedding dress came from Smyrna, plus I was sure there was nothing in there that would be appropriate for the type of wedding I wanted. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I went to every dress shop in Nashville, Franklin & Murfreesboro. Bridal Country had all the same dresses & they had them for about $200 less. If they don't have it in store, they'll order it for you. Also, if you're in double-digit sizes like I am, you'll find that no dress shops have dresses you can try on in your size. Not the case in Smyrna. Everyone there is as fat as you are. They had plenty of dresses in-store in my size. I bought my wedding dress there, my bridesmaid dresses there & rented tuxedos for my ushers (the groomsmen wore their own suits). My bridesmaids got either 15% or 20% off the price of their dresses because I bought my dress there.
Photography:
Shutterbelle Photography
http://www.shutterbelle.com/
I knew of Shutterbelle because my sister had used them for my niece's baby pictures. I cared about the photography more than anything else, more than the dress. This is where we decided to spend the most money. I contacted Shutterbelle & set up a meeting. Amanda Hagler is the photographer. I loved her. She totally got what I wanted & didn't flinch when I told her I didn't want 100 pictures of children. Now, I had done my homework. I went through her entire website & made of list of what I liked & didn't like about other weddings she photographed. This not only didn't offend her, it helped tremendously. Amanda was so great on the actual wedding day. I hardly knew she was there. She stayed out of the way for the most part & just did her thing. When she did need to set up shots, she was extremely calm & professional. She wasn't pretentious, she never seemed impatient or annoyed & she made me feel completely at ease. She seemed genuinely honored to be a part of the whole thing. Seriously, I can't say enough about her. I would hire her 100x times over.
Invitations:
Carolyn Burgess Sellers
http://www.squirrelpearl.blogspot.com/
carolyn.burgess.sellers@gmail.com
Luckily, my BFF loves graphic design & designing wedding invitations (among other things), so she offered to do all of our wedding stationary. She did our save-the-dates, wedding invitations & programs. She did an awesome job. I love our invitations. I HIGHLY recommend her. You can see a sample of her work on the website listed above.
Flowers:
Import Flowers
3636 Murphy Rd (Sylvan Park)
Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 297-0397
These guys are great. We went in there a few weeks before the wedding & decided what we wanted & how much we needed to order. Then we called the week before the wedding, placed the order & picked everything up the day before the wedding. Totally easy & very affordable. I was lucky, I had a family friend who offered to do everything for my wedding -bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, reception centerpieces, alter arrangements & aisle arrangements. Because of this, I don't have a recommendation for who to use for your flower arrangements. Almost everyone I know had a family friend who did this for them. I assume Import Flowers can either do this for you or give you some local recommendations.
Hair/Make-up:
Streets Salon
1921 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 341-0049
I used the same salon where I typically get my hair cut/colored. James did my hair & Kara did my make-up. James is my regular stylist, but he also specializes in "up-do's". He also did my friend Sarah Brown-Gann's wedding day hair. He's amazing. I didn't do a practice run. Because I knew James, I trusted him. I just went in on my wedding day & let he & Kara do their magic. Side note: Kara is not the salon's usual make-up artist, so you may have to book your make-up appointment with her outside of the salon. It's a long story, but she ended up doing mine as a favor at the last minute because the person that was supposed to do my make-up decided to take the day off..... Anyway, Kara is very cool & she did an awesome job on my make-up. I felt a little transvestite-ish when I left the salon, but I thanked her later when I saw the pictures from the wedding. She knew what she was doing.
Food:
Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations for wedding cakes. I used a family friend for the catering. She did the best she could & I'm very grateful for her hard work, but I'm not going to recommend her. I think my wedding was too big for her. I didn't know this at the time, but apparently we ran out of food very early into the reception. I opted to not have a wedding cake & had cupcakes & a groom's cake instead. I do have one tip: make sure & tell your caterer up front that you want whatever food (especially wedding cake/cupcakes) is left-over. Our caterer made off with all of our left over wedding cupcakes & groom's cake, which was kind of a deal-breaker for me.
Music:
We didn't hire a DJ or a band for our reception & we used friends for the ceremony music, so I don't really have any recommendations here either. I will say this, pretty much every wedding I attend these days has an iPod providing the music. This is what we did & I have no regrets. We had an afternoon wedding, so no one was really going to dance anyway. A band would have been fun, but more so with a night wedding when people are drinking, etc. Save your money, rent/borrow a PA system & use your iPod.
Equipment Rental:
Stewart's Special Events
939 North Thompson Lane
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
(615) 867-1512
We rented the tables & chairs for the reception from Stewart's. It's easy breezy. They deliver everything to your reception site & come back & pick it up. I got married on a Saturday. They delivered everything on Friday, so my "team" was able to get everything set up ahead of time. Highly recommend Stewart's, especially if you need extras like serving pieces, candelabras, etc.
Gift Registry:
We registered at Macy's, Crate & Barrel & Bed Bath & Beyond. We opted not to register at Target because of their ridiculous return policy. Sorry, Target. I have zero complaints about the 3 places we used. All 3 places have great websites that make it very easy to make changes to your registries online as often as you like. And all 3 places have easy, no hassle return policies. Actually I didn't return anything to Crate & Barrel, so not sure about them. Macy's lets you return anything. You can't get cash, but they're pretty generous with the store credits. Bed Bath & Beyond has quit giving cash for returns. We were able to argue our way into getting the cash anyway, but don't count on getting a lot of cash from them anymore.
Honeymoon:
We didn't use a travel agent. We decided where we wanted to go & did all the research ourselves. We spent a lot of time online reading user reviews for hotels, etc. We booked everything ourselves & had no problems. We went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico & stayed in the Magic Blue Boutique Hotel. We didn't go the all-inclusive route, so if you're cool with finding your own food & entertainment, I definitely recommend what we did. I loved our honeymoon.
I hope all of this info helps. If you have any questions, or if you think of anything I left out, please let me know. Also, I will gladly discuss pricing with anyone that wants to know. My wedding was recent enough that I still remember roughly what everything cost.
Happy planning!
Getting Organized:
I am organized by nature, so this was a no biggie for me. When I first got engaged, I went to Wal-Mart & bought a big Mead Five Star 3-ring binder -the kind that zips up & has pockets, etc. I also bought page protectors & dividers. I bought as many bridal magazines as I could afford & got to work. I organized my binder into the following categories:
- Budget
- Calendar
- Ceremony / Attire
- Guest List / Invites
- Photography / Music
- Reception / Food
- Flowers / Decorations
- Gift Registry
- Honeymoon
Typically the groom's family handles the rehearsal dinner, but I ended up planning ours. Because of this, a Rehearsal Dinner tab would have been handy, but most of you probably won't have to fool with this.
I recommend buying a Martha Stewart wedding magazine & the Real Simple wedding magazine. These 2 magazines were the biggest help. I also had 2 people give me the same book: Wedding Chic by Nina Willdorf. I HIGHLY recommend this book. It was a huge help. The 2 websites I used almost exclusively were The Knot & Martha Stewart Weddings. The Knot is great because you can set up a wedding website for your guests. The Knot also has all the lists you'll need, like a budget planner, calendar, to do lists, etc. I used Martha for all of my etiquette questions. Her guidelines for addressing invitations is spot-on.
Back to the 3-ring binder. I went through all my magazines & pulled out whatever I liked. I'd put the page into a page protector & then put it in the binder. This is a lot easier than having to flip through 1,000 bridal magazines every time you want to see that dress you liked.
Vendors:
Let's talk vendors. I was 100% pleased with all the vendors I used. Here's the breakdown.
Dress Shop:
Bridal Country
3 N. Lowry St, Smyrna, TN 37167
(615) 459-5678
*ask for Helen Wilson
This is a "small-town" bridal shop. It's where I bought my high school prom dresses. I was reluctant to give Bridal Country a try because I'm a snob & I didn't want to tell people my wedding dress came from Smyrna, plus I was sure there was nothing in there that would be appropriate for the type of wedding I wanted. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I went to every dress shop in Nashville, Franklin & Murfreesboro. Bridal Country had all the same dresses & they had them for about $200 less. If they don't have it in store, they'll order it for you. Also, if you're in double-digit sizes like I am, you'll find that no dress shops have dresses you can try on in your size. Not the case in Smyrna. Everyone there is as fat as you are. They had plenty of dresses in-store in my size. I bought my wedding dress there, my bridesmaid dresses there & rented tuxedos for my ushers (the groomsmen wore their own suits). My bridesmaids got either 15% or 20% off the price of their dresses because I bought my dress there.
Photography:
Shutterbelle Photography
http://www.shutterbelle.com/
I knew of Shutterbelle because my sister had used them for my niece's baby pictures. I cared about the photography more than anything else, more than the dress. This is where we decided to spend the most money. I contacted Shutterbelle & set up a meeting. Amanda Hagler is the photographer. I loved her. She totally got what I wanted & didn't flinch when I told her I didn't want 100 pictures of children. Now, I had done my homework. I went through her entire website & made of list of what I liked & didn't like about other weddings she photographed. This not only didn't offend her, it helped tremendously. Amanda was so great on the actual wedding day. I hardly knew she was there. She stayed out of the way for the most part & just did her thing. When she did need to set up shots, she was extremely calm & professional. She wasn't pretentious, she never seemed impatient or annoyed & she made me feel completely at ease. She seemed genuinely honored to be a part of the whole thing. Seriously, I can't say enough about her. I would hire her 100x times over.
Invitations:
Carolyn Burgess Sellers
http://www.squirrelpearl.blogspot.com/
carolyn.burgess.sellers@gmail.com
Luckily, my BFF loves graphic design & designing wedding invitations (among other things), so she offered to do all of our wedding stationary. She did our save-the-dates, wedding invitations & programs. She did an awesome job. I love our invitations. I HIGHLY recommend her. You can see a sample of her work on the website listed above.
Flowers:
Import Flowers
3636 Murphy Rd (Sylvan Park)
Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 297-0397
These guys are great. We went in there a few weeks before the wedding & decided what we wanted & how much we needed to order. Then we called the week before the wedding, placed the order & picked everything up the day before the wedding. Totally easy & very affordable. I was lucky, I had a family friend who offered to do everything for my wedding -bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, reception centerpieces, alter arrangements & aisle arrangements. Because of this, I don't have a recommendation for who to use for your flower arrangements. Almost everyone I know had a family friend who did this for them. I assume Import Flowers can either do this for you or give you some local recommendations.
Hair/Make-up:
Streets Salon
1921 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 341-0049
I used the same salon where I typically get my hair cut/colored. James did my hair & Kara did my make-up. James is my regular stylist, but he also specializes in "up-do's". He also did my friend Sarah Brown-Gann's wedding day hair. He's amazing. I didn't do a practice run. Because I knew James, I trusted him. I just went in on my wedding day & let he & Kara do their magic. Side note: Kara is not the salon's usual make-up artist, so you may have to book your make-up appointment with her outside of the salon. It's a long story, but she ended up doing mine as a favor at the last minute because the person that was supposed to do my make-up decided to take the day off..... Anyway, Kara is very cool & she did an awesome job on my make-up. I felt a little transvestite-ish when I left the salon, but I thanked her later when I saw the pictures from the wedding. She knew what she was doing.
Food:
Unfortunately, I don't have any recommendations for wedding cakes. I used a family friend for the catering. She did the best she could & I'm very grateful for her hard work, but I'm not going to recommend her. I think my wedding was too big for her. I didn't know this at the time, but apparently we ran out of food very early into the reception. I opted to not have a wedding cake & had cupcakes & a groom's cake instead. I do have one tip: make sure & tell your caterer up front that you want whatever food (especially wedding cake/cupcakes) is left-over. Our caterer made off with all of our left over wedding cupcakes & groom's cake, which was kind of a deal-breaker for me.
Music:
We didn't hire a DJ or a band for our reception & we used friends for the ceremony music, so I don't really have any recommendations here either. I will say this, pretty much every wedding I attend these days has an iPod providing the music. This is what we did & I have no regrets. We had an afternoon wedding, so no one was really going to dance anyway. A band would have been fun, but more so with a night wedding when people are drinking, etc. Save your money, rent/borrow a PA system & use your iPod.
Equipment Rental:
Stewart's Special Events
939 North Thompson Lane
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
(615) 867-1512
We rented the tables & chairs for the reception from Stewart's. It's easy breezy. They deliver everything to your reception site & come back & pick it up. I got married on a Saturday. They delivered everything on Friday, so my "team" was able to get everything set up ahead of time. Highly recommend Stewart's, especially if you need extras like serving pieces, candelabras, etc.
Gift Registry:
We registered at Macy's, Crate & Barrel & Bed Bath & Beyond. We opted not to register at Target because of their ridiculous return policy. Sorry, Target. I have zero complaints about the 3 places we used. All 3 places have great websites that make it very easy to make changes to your registries online as often as you like. And all 3 places have easy, no hassle return policies. Actually I didn't return anything to Crate & Barrel, so not sure about them. Macy's lets you return anything. You can't get cash, but they're pretty generous with the store credits. Bed Bath & Beyond has quit giving cash for returns. We were able to argue our way into getting the cash anyway, but don't count on getting a lot of cash from them anymore.
Honeymoon:
We didn't use a travel agent. We decided where we wanted to go & did all the research ourselves. We spent a lot of time online reading user reviews for hotels, etc. We booked everything ourselves & had no problems. We went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico & stayed in the Magic Blue Boutique Hotel. We didn't go the all-inclusive route, so if you're cool with finding your own food & entertainment, I definitely recommend what we did. I loved our honeymoon.
I hope all of this info helps. If you have any questions, or if you think of anything I left out, please let me know. Also, I will gladly discuss pricing with anyone that wants to know. My wedding was recent enough that I still remember roughly what everything cost.
Happy planning!
January 3, 2009
An Aunt Sooner Than Expected
As most of you know, my sister is pregnant. She's scheduled to deliver on Jan. 22nd. Well, she found out yesterday she's leaking amniotic fluid. They told her to take it easy this weekend & drink a lot of water. She goes back to the doctor on Monday. If the condition hasn't improved, they're going to move the delivery up to next week. They told her she'll be full term in 2 days, so if she has to deliver, everything should be fine. My sister is naturally very worried & very stressed. Her biggest concern is that the baby isn't fully developed & will end up with health problems. The nursery is ready enough, but not as ready as she'd like it to be. Plus, the 1 baby shower she's having is next Saturday. I talked to her last night & she said she's going to get a pedicure today & then my mom is coming over on Sunday to help her with the nursery. I think everything will be fine. My sister & I have the same doctor & she's a very good doctor. I don't think she'd do anything to put either my sister or her baby at risk.
So I'm going to be an Aunt again at some point between now & Jan. 22nd. For those of you that know my sister, please send positive thoughts her way. I'll let you know what happens next week.
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