Showing posts with label Seasonals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seasonals. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
M+S Wedding Tips - #3 Tradeoffs
The weather is just beautiful! Days like this get me into the holiday mood. There's just something really romatic about this time of the year. Janice and I went by Liscomb yesterday and they already had holiday candles out! I love the holidays, but I also like to enjoy each month's festivities. We're in October and to me that means, I still have 2 months of wedding planning, yay! Thankfully, my bridesmaids are really helping with a lot, so I have very little stress.
Now back to wedding talk...early on, I realized you can't have everything. I received so many tips from married folks, who are so great at helping and giving really useful tips...but something I just learned on my own is that you really have to prioritize early on what is most important to you. We talked about 3 things we each felt were important to us. Combined they were, we would have a spectacular time, that our guest would have a great time, and that the wedding would be beautiful...ie, the atmosphere.
From the very beginning we had some difficulties staying within our budget so that our guest would have a great time, like increasing the alcohol budget, entertainment budget, etc. Trading off the band for the dj was a big hurdle for me. But, in the end, it was either the band and some other high ticket items, or we get married next year. That just seemed ridiculous, so we made the tradeoff and now, it's not really a big deal anymore. I think once you start letting go a little bit in exchange for what you really want...it makes your decision making a little bit easier.
Something a few married folks said to me was, "it's just one day". That is probably one of the wiset things I've heard. You often think, well this is my wedding day! And that's normal. One time, we were fitting Matt's son for a tux and Ethan said, I don't like that...and Matt put his hands on Ethan's shoulders and said very nicely, "son...this is my day, you will wear what I tell you to wear." I thought to myself...even men think it! Anyways, on getting together with one of my married girlfriends, now with a second child, said that she couldn't remember a lot about her wedding anymore, and that day just seemed so unimportant given the stage of life she was in now and that spoke volumes to me.
Before, I really cared about the details, and I still partly do. But, I'm getting to the point where I'm just like...I don't care if this is a typical wedding or if people are bored to tears, let's get this over and done with! So, what I'm saying is, yes it's your wedding...it's your day...it's finally here...but again, it's just one day and after some time, you won't even care about all those things you swear you thought you were going to include in your wedding.
Oh, one more thing, DIY (do it yourself) projects...unless you're saving a ton of money, I would highly recommend you not consider doing these projects, unless you're a master at crafts. Often times, I am finding you do not save that much money, from the time and effort that goes into putting the pieces of something together, getting all the necessary pieces, paint, etc...it's just not worth it! Just buy it. Unless...you are saving quite a abit of money...whatever that is to you. To me, saving $100 on a card box may be worth it, but saving $30 is not. And sometimes, the work that goes into it, really is just a pain in the butt...to me, definitely not worth it. But, I had to fail at a few projects to realize this.
Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Macy's, Payless Shoes, Nordstroms, Minted, and Etsy have been awesome places to shop at!
Now back to wedding talk...early on, I realized you can't have everything. I received so many tips from married folks, who are so great at helping and giving really useful tips...but something I just learned on my own is that you really have to prioritize early on what is most important to you. We talked about 3 things we each felt were important to us. Combined they were, we would have a spectacular time, that our guest would have a great time, and that the wedding would be beautiful...ie, the atmosphere.
From the very beginning we had some difficulties staying within our budget so that our guest would have a great time, like increasing the alcohol budget, entertainment budget, etc. Trading off the band for the dj was a big hurdle for me. But, in the end, it was either the band and some other high ticket items, or we get married next year. That just seemed ridiculous, so we made the tradeoff and now, it's not really a big deal anymore. I think once you start letting go a little bit in exchange for what you really want...it makes your decision making a little bit easier.
Something a few married folks said to me was, "it's just one day". That is probably one of the wiset things I've heard. You often think, well this is my wedding day! And that's normal. One time, we were fitting Matt's son for a tux and Ethan said, I don't like that...and Matt put his hands on Ethan's shoulders and said very nicely, "son...this is my day, you will wear what I tell you to wear." I thought to myself...even men think it! Anyways, on getting together with one of my married girlfriends, now with a second child, said that she couldn't remember a lot about her wedding anymore, and that day just seemed so unimportant given the stage of life she was in now and that spoke volumes to me.
Before, I really cared about the details, and I still partly do. But, I'm getting to the point where I'm just like...I don't care if this is a typical wedding or if people are bored to tears, let's get this over and done with! So, what I'm saying is, yes it's your wedding...it's your day...it's finally here...but again, it's just one day and after some time, you won't even care about all those things you swear you thought you were going to include in your wedding.
Oh, one more thing, DIY (do it yourself) projects...unless you're saving a ton of money, I would highly recommend you not consider doing these projects, unless you're a master at crafts. Often times, I am finding you do not save that much money, from the time and effort that goes into putting the pieces of something together, getting all the necessary pieces, paint, etc...it's just not worth it! Just buy it. Unless...you are saving quite a abit of money...whatever that is to you. To me, saving $100 on a card box may be worth it, but saving $30 is not. And sometimes, the work that goes into it, really is just a pain in the butt...to me, definitely not worth it. But, I had to fail at a few projects to realize this.
Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Macy's, Payless Shoes, Nordstroms, Minted, and Etsy have been awesome places to shop at!
Purchased - Vintage Ball Mason Jars from Etsy
DIY - card box (supplies from Hobby Lobby & Home Depot)
DIY - Ring box (supplies from Michael's & Home Deopt)
Purchased - Table no (supplies from Michael's & Home Depot)
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
M+S Wedding Tip #2 - The Venue!
The most stressful period about wedding planning for me was the very beginning when we were trying to figure out dates, guest count, reception venue, ceremony venue, wedding party, dresses, suits, honeymoon, etc. But, once you've figured out your budget, try to stick to it as much as you can. I realized early on, there are things I have no idea how much they cost, but a tool like theknot.com will help with rough estimates.
Now that the budget is set, it's time to select a date and venue! I know, you already have your date selected, but really some venues may not be available. The date and venue are really one item that needs to be figured out together, which brings us to tip #2 - finding a venue for the date. Looking back, I thought finding a venue, for a specific date, was the most stressful task. Your guest count needs to be considered and to also be able to hold a ceremony and reception was also not easy to find. I knew I wanted an outdoor wedding, so I googled for weeks, hashed out dates, considered the budget and found 1 possible venue. Then, I realized I wanted a garden and after surfing and calling around, 3 weeks later, after considering a few others, we finally settled on Ouisie's Table. It is the perfect spot. Not only did it have a outdoor garden for the ceremony, but it also was a very charming restaurant for the reception. They also have great food, can hold up to 200+, and they provided vendors and had an in-house florist, baker for the cake, an events coordinator that will help with a lot of the planning. If you need additional contacts for a live band, photographers, musicians, djs, etc, they also have. Although, I did find my own photographer and dj, it's nice to have the resources.
So I realized through all of this, I really love one stop shops. It is so convenient and if you're on a fairly short time line like we were, it's so helpful and such a relief! I might be paying a little bit more for the in-house florist and cake, but in the end, it was minimial for the benefit of allowing the venue to handle it.
Beautiful isn't it? Ok come back and visit for my next tip on weighing options and tradeoffs.
Also, other places I considered but due to unavailability and some other uncoordinateable details, we bypassed...but for someone else, they would be the perfect spot.
Tiny Boxwood's - beautiful, my most favorite, but guest count was 85, and they were booked for 2013.
Houston Zoo - I saw pictures of a wedding done here and it was gorgeous! But, due to the season, they would have festive lights in the trees, no ceremony accomodations, plus they had a $5000 rental fee on top of the typical fees.
Veranda - loved this spot initially, but then realized I really wanted a garden surround. Veranda is a semi-outdoor venue. I've seen really nice weddings done here as well. And they provide a free room for the couple.
Now that the budget is set, it's time to select a date and venue! I know, you already have your date selected, but really some venues may not be available. The date and venue are really one item that needs to be figured out together, which brings us to tip #2 - finding a venue for the date. Looking back, I thought finding a venue, for a specific date, was the most stressful task. Your guest count needs to be considered and to also be able to hold a ceremony and reception was also not easy to find. I knew I wanted an outdoor wedding, so I googled for weeks, hashed out dates, considered the budget and found 1 possible venue. Then, I realized I wanted a garden and after surfing and calling around, 3 weeks later, after considering a few others, we finally settled on Ouisie's Table. It is the perfect spot. Not only did it have a outdoor garden for the ceremony, but it also was a very charming restaurant for the reception. They also have great food, can hold up to 200+, and they provided vendors and had an in-house florist, baker for the cake, an events coordinator that will help with a lot of the planning. If you need additional contacts for a live band, photographers, musicians, djs, etc, they also have. Although, I did find my own photographer and dj, it's nice to have the resources.
So I realized through all of this, I really love one stop shops. It is so convenient and if you're on a fairly short time line like we were, it's so helpful and such a relief! I might be paying a little bit more for the in-house florist and cake, but in the end, it was minimial for the benefit of allowing the venue to handle it.
Beautiful isn't it? Ok come back and visit for my next tip on weighing options and tradeoffs.
Also, other places I considered but due to unavailability and some other uncoordinateable details, we bypassed...but for someone else, they would be the perfect spot.
Tiny Boxwood's - beautiful, my most favorite, but guest count was 85, and they were booked for 2013.
Houston Zoo - I saw pictures of a wedding done here and it was gorgeous! But, due to the season, they would have festive lights in the trees, no ceremony accomodations, plus they had a $5000 rental fee on top of the typical fees.
Veranda - loved this spot initially, but then realized I really wanted a garden surround. Veranda is a semi-outdoor venue. I've seen really nice weddings done here as well. And they provide a free room for the couple.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
M+S Wedding Planning Tip #1 - Tools!
If you hadn't noticed, I have been a little absent from blogging about my life in the city...since I've been a little preoccupied by other things, like planning a wedding! If you're like me and thought planning a wedding would be fun, fun, fun...well, I'm going to share some of my realities of planning a wedding from now till the day, which hasn't been so much fun, fun, fun as I thought. But, not to scare you all, but hopefully, this will be a fun series to follow and learning something wouldn't be so bad either.
First, a little background, Matt and I got engaged early August of this year. Based on reception availability and weather, we decided November 23 would be the most optimal and it is also our 1 year anniversary, which was a meaningful date for us. That gave us 4 months to plan, which is a little short, but definitely doable, by my married friend's accounts.
The hardest thing is knowing where to start, so that brings us to my tip #1, get on theknot.com! It is a one stop shop and will really help you prioritize your timeline and tasks. The first thing you should do on theknot.com is to set your budget. I think it's good to talk to friends and others about their thoughts to get a good idea of where to set your budget. It's a big reality check when you start talking finances with your significant other. It can definitely be a source of harmony, contention, or frustration. Pictured here is our website that we created through theknot.com. They also provide quick tools to create your own domain for your knot website.
This will be the only tip that is unrelated to the city specifically, but I think it's a very important one. I will mostly highlight tips related to Houston that can or may help with wedding planning. In an effort to make each post readable and doable, I will only post one tip at a time.
Ok that's it for now...
First, a little background, Matt and I got engaged early August of this year. Based on reception availability and weather, we decided November 23 would be the most optimal and it is also our 1 year anniversary, which was a meaningful date for us. That gave us 4 months to plan, which is a little short, but definitely doable, by my married friend's accounts.
The hardest thing is knowing where to start, so that brings us to my tip #1, get on theknot.com! It is a one stop shop and will really help you prioritize your timeline and tasks. The first thing you should do on theknot.com is to set your budget. I think it's good to talk to friends and others about their thoughts to get a good idea of where to set your budget. It's a big reality check when you start talking finances with your significant other. It can definitely be a source of harmony, contention, or frustration. Pictured here is our website that we created through theknot.com. They also provide quick tools to create your own domain for your knot website.
This will be the only tip that is unrelated to the city specifically, but I think it's a very important one. I will mostly highlight tips related to Houston that can or may help with wedding planning. In an effort to make each post readable and doable, I will only post one tip at a time.
Ok that's it for now...
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Nutcracker Market!
Always something fun to do this time of year. Susan and I spent 2.5 hours browsing, sampling and we both made a few purchases. This year I got a reindeer, some baby shower digs and some awesome lotions from Savannah Bee Company. This year for this weekend only, so if you missed it this weekend sorry, but you'll have to wait till next year. My feet are pooped!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Annual Pumpkin Patch!
Micah
Sophia
Micah & Sophia
Matthew & Ethan
Susan & Spencer
Christian, myself & Lola
Lauren & Matt
The Yus'
Myself, Lola & Cody
Myself, Lola, Cody, Susan & Spencer
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Farmer's Market @Highland Villages
I love a good farmer's market, which this was not. It needs more oomph! More vendors! I love the idea of tables set up for shoppers to buy and eat immediately. The Canopy/Shade booth was definitely a good one with their chocolate croissants. It was something nice to do after church.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Money Cat Brunch
November 2011, OKRA Organized Kollaboration on Restaurant Affairs was founded by Montrose's best restaurant/bar owners bringing back Money Cat Brunch fundraisers. Money Cat chefs and collaborators Yu, Justin Vann, Ecky Parabanto, and David Buehrer got back together for another Money Cat Brunch at Paulie's January 8, 9am-4pm.
After brunch is over, attendees are encouraged to walk to either Poison Girl or Anvil, where all drink sales from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. will go to support OKRA and by extension the independent restaurants, bars, and other branches of the food industry in Houston.
They had quite an interesting array of menu items including a dish described as "guts & glory" and other scary and unappetizing descriptions. The one dish we oohed and awwed about was the Rice Cake dish. That was delicious! Reminded me of the Rice Cake dish from Tan Tan, but even better!
It was defnitely an interesting event, if you get a chance to go, do...it's fun.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
BHLDN
Christmas Joy!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Christmas Complete!
Merry Christmas all!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Smells Like Christmas!
Merry Christamas y'all!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Korean Festival
I heard last year, this event was not so great. As I'm walking in, my friend, Rebecca, who went last year, says it looks about the same. I think all festivals are like somewhat the same, right? Eat, walk around, and music entertainment. This festival had all those pieces, but I understand what she meant, it feels like it's missing something. Overall, I still thought they did a good job.
They had huge tents set up for food and the concert section. It's true, there's not much to do but eat and sit around, but I guess when you're with good company, it gives you a reason to get out and spend time together. I was impressed.
They had huge tents set up for food and the concert section. It's true, there's not much to do but eat and sit around, but I guess when you're with good company, it gives you a reason to get out and spend time together. I was impressed.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Christmas Boutique at the Houston Country Club!
The Christmas Boutique held at the Houston Country Club and invited by Michele B and I was told it was supposed to be like the Nutcracker Market, to which I was about to decline, but I heard it was supposed to be a really exclusive thing, much better than the Nutcracker Market and since Michele was inviting me and Angela, I decided to go. Wow, was it better...much than the Nutcracker Market! Much smaller in scale, but much better.
But before I go into detail about the boutique, check out the invitation. Wow...interesting...
I didn't want to look like a freak and take a photo of everything I liked. But, I got business cards! So if you need a baby shop, oh my gosh, they had such cute stuff!
Itsy Bitsy Boutique
Susan Watt
3414 Eastside St
Houston, TX 77098
theitsybitsyboutique.com
Perriberri
2805 Bee Caves Rd, Suite 414
Austin, TX 78746
perriberri.com
coupon code: Holiday15 (offer expires 12/15/2010)
I did purchase some toffee, sooo good. Enough in this package to share with a host of folks. Too much for one person for sure.
Out of the Oven
Sheri T. Farmer
2380 Tammy Drive
Sulphur, LA 70663
They deliver! Ok, that's enough for this entry. Happy Shopping!
But before I go into detail about the boutique, check out the invitation. Wow...interesting...
Lorraine Abercrombie decorate these trees! They were like Christmas trees on sterioids! I can't believe she did this, it was really nice and every inch of each tree was covered!
Nice spread, I know, but amazingly I had only a small plate and was full.
This is a really bad photo, but I really liked the way this tree was decroated. It had hydrangea, burlap bags, very simple, very French Country, totally my style.
Maybe 50-60 booths in all. I found several booths I liked, pictures below of my favorite things.
Sorry, shots overexposed and you can't see the detail. I thought this diamond and gold pretzel necklace was so quirky and fun, $600. These crosses were really nice too, I think my friend Rebecca has a similar cross to the one on the right, $300 or 400 something, I forget. The one in the middle was cute too, diamonds were not full diamonds, I'm not sure how to describe it, you see a lot of the gold, less diamond, $500 something. You can't see the size, but they were all very dainty, very small, probably less than half an inch.
I really liked these too. They were very small and dainty. The S of course. They can do it in gold too.
I thought this was cute too, gold and small diamonds.
Shelter Wade Jewelers
7373 Broadway, Suite 106
San Antonio, TX 78209
Itsy Bitsy Boutique
Susan Watt
3414 Eastside St
Houston, TX 77098
theitsybitsyboutique.com
Perriberri
2805 Bee Caves Rd, Suite 414
Austin, TX 78746
perriberri.com
coupon code: Holiday15 (offer expires 12/15/2010)
I did purchase some toffee, sooo good. Enough in this package to share with a host of folks. Too much for one person for sure.
Out of the Oven
Sheri T. Farmer
2380 Tammy Drive
Sulphur, LA 70663
They deliver! Ok, that's enough for this entry. Happy Shopping!
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