.a custom dress hanger.

I will be a bride for one day but a Mrs. forever..... so having stuff that says, "bride" is not important to me.

A wedding is one of the few times in your life when you can go overboard on anything and everything. Think about it: What other occasion would you have for buying one of these:


Or one of these…

This would be great for both the bride and her dress and maybe make for some cute pics for the groom’s suit! I am not one who is into the “bride” labeled items, so this is a great! A unique item that you can use throughout your entire marriage- forever!

These are found on the ever reliable Etsy with the seller Lilafrances

.kreativ blogger award.

YAY! Hooray! My first blog award…. It is an honor to just be nom, er… I mean just to have a reader! Just kidding, my following is growing and I am thrilled to give you some entertainment! Moving along…

The dearest, sweet, adorable, fun, knowledgeable and all around great girl Ashley tagged me as a Kreativ Blogger! Yippeee!!! So now you have to endure 7-10 things about me and then, I pass the Kreativ torch onto other bloggers! I "know" Ashley though our coveted wedding forum site and am honored that she reads my blog and then gave me a Kreativ Blogger Award! So thank you, Ashley, for this honor:


1. Ok, I will get this out in the open because if I don’t, then my sister just may do it for me. I watched Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood up until I was about 9 years old. It was fun- who wouldn’t want to visit The Land of Make Believe? Won’t you be my neighbor??

2. I love even numbers. My favorite number is 22 because not only is 2 and even number, but 22 is two #2’s.

3. I’ve been told- from a tarot card reader- that I have a little bit of psychic ability. And I believe her. When my last boyfriend and I broke up, during one of our heated “I can do better than you” arguments, he said, “You are probably going to run off and find some suit and tie wearing guy.” To which I replied, “Yea, and I’ll probably meet him at the dog park.” And I did- both. Everything happens for a reason. So thank you for putting that out into the Universe for me.

4. I love sports. I love the Steelers. And the Yankees. There are other teams I follow as a here and there fan, but if it is live sports, count me in to spectate. However, I have ZERO athletic ability. None. The adage, “You blank like a girl”, that is me. I run, throw, kick, etc. like a girl.

5. I HATE feet. HATE. THEM. Hate looking at them, anything. My feet are quite ugly so it has to stem from that. If you run after me and try to touch me with your feet, I scream and probably cry if you succeed.

6. I am petrified of the dark. There always had to be a light on in the house. If I am going to bed, I have to go and turn on the bedroom light, then come back into the hallway and turn off that light. It started when I was in Italy and went to the beach, it was dark. The ocean scares me because it is so vast and full of deadly creatures.

7. I been both a T2 and a T1 diabetic already in my life. How? Well, I was diagnosed with diabetes at age 29. My idiot endo- who I’d love to share the name with you and if anyone reco’s her to you, RUN FAR AWAY- looked at my and said, “No you are a T2.” She did that by looking at my 29 year old body, all 5 ft., 7 inches and 138 lbs of me. Turns out, the only way you can tell is by an antibody test, which I failed. I am a T1…or 1.5 (Latent Autoimmune/Adult Onset). So now, I am kept alive by a piece of plastic called an Omnipod. So when you have a hang nail or a bad day, just remember, I am kept alive by a piece of plastic.


Here are the procedures connected with the Kreativ Blogger Award:

1. Copy the award to your site.

2. Link to the person from whom you received the award.

3. Nominate 7 other bloggers.

4. Link to those sites on your blog.

5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate.- I may just send them an email!



My nominees for this Kreativ Blogger Award go to:

1. Jenny. We've never met but I consider her a friend- she is humorous, always gives great advice and is a great supporter. She generously donated to the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes! Read her blog here.


2. Kelly. My friend and Zilla. When it comes to friends, everyone needs a Kelly. She is the slap that you need when you really want to be hugged. She is the truth when you want to look in the mirror and lie. But when you want to cry, she will have a tissue and bottle of Merlot ready and waiting. Read her blog here


3. Sarah. My friend and fellow bride, She is hilarious and keeps me entertained via email and Twitter all day long. Read her blog here.


4. Kari. The Crazy Baykah. There is nothing crazy about her, but her energy is contagious. And her cupcakes....even better. Words like addictive and can't have just one come to mind. Read about the good, the bad, the ugly and sweet of being a crazy baykah.


5. TweetMyWedding. This is both an award and a shameless plug. TMW was one of the first places to accept my application as a blogger. What is TweetMyWedding? Well just head on over there and find out. You will be glad that you did.

6. BrideOnBudget. Two words that typically don't fit harmoniously into one sentence. but somehow, Ashley makes it work!! BrideOnBudget is having a fabu wedding without breaking her bank- and she shows you how every step of the way!

7. Becca. Another fellow bride who is also getting married in Vegas. I've been trying my best to help her out and am pretty sure that I am responsible for her bakery selection. Who is it? See above, #4.

.i'm back and feeling alive.

If you are a new friend or blog follower, you aren’t acquainted with my hair color history. I am a red head. Out of a box. It’s true. I will admit it and my stylist will allow me to admit it. She doesn’t take credit for the color…just the low lights.

Once I found Herbal Essences #44…my life changed forever and I have been defined by my hair color. Between that and my height, I easily stand out in a crowd. Because of the color, people remember me from the make up counter, the grocery store and the manicure place.

When I have coupons, I stock up. There was a time when it would have been safe to say that I had…..10-12 boxes stashed away. As someone who uses two boxes per coloring this lasts a decent amount of time.

Earlier this year, tragedy struck and I was unable to locate my color for quite some time. GASP!! So I found some others, they were decent….but a part of me was missing. Luckily, Wal-Mart (yea, yea I know…. You hate that place) seems to be carrying some in low quantities. When I spot them, I buy them. 2 boxes, four boxes, however many they may have.

If I play my cards right, there will be enough to carry me through our wedding in April.

This is great news because I’ve been feeling a little blah the past few months and now I feel complete again. Sounds weird and no, I shouldn’t be defined by a color, but it is so fabulous! It shines, it stands out and random people on the street stop to compliment me. It is a big of a confidence booster; it makes me feel sassy and invincible alive. And it covers the damn grey hair that I found.

Allow me to reintroduce you to Herbal Essences #44. DO NOT buy any of these from my local Wal-Mart. Said with love, of course…..

.results of my procrastination.

If I followed my checklists from various sites like Project Wedding, Wedding Wire, or The Knot, I would have completed this one task back in June. It is now October. What task is this? Finding an Officiant. Tisk-task.

I just figured that everyone would happen to be available on our wedding day at our wedding time. In April. On a Saturday. We attempted to make an appointment with one lovely option and she was booked. Yes, a "she". Her ceremony seemed fabu and her voice was soothing and calming. I could tell that the "she" part sent Mil into a tither but regardless, we are unable to book this lady.

My friend's father is a Rabbi with a great ceremony. No, I am not Jewish. Flo and I are both Catholic with weekly church going parents. I knew deep down that Flo really wanted a Catholic influenced ceremony. Me? Well I could take it or leave it. I want my ceremony outside and that is more important than having it be Catholic. More of my time is spent outside than in church. Or judjah as Ster and I would call it. ::Hi, Ster::

Anywho, Rabbi Craig reached out to several of his colleagues once he heard that we were both Catholic. As luck would have it, today, after I nearly had another- yes, another- breakdown he gave us the contact information of a former Priest who left the Priesthood for marriage. Wow- being married must be something fabu.

Our first appt with him is November 7th. Our initial convos were great and we are quite happy with this connection. Flo finally admitted that he wanted Catholicism to be a part of the ceremony to appease our parents. I can tell you that while, yes, this will make my parents happy, they never would have made mention of it being a non denominational ceremony performed by a Rabbi. This is one of those subjects that was more important to Flo and his family than to me and mine and is why I searched high and low to find something to closely resemble a religious ceremony! :) I knew that it was important to Flo without him having to say anything. Maybe my wifey sixth sense is already kicking in?!?

.jackpot part 1.

In light of my recent negative posts, I decided to pay homage to those I love, those who love me and show you how lucky of a girl I truly am. This is a new segment called “JACKPOT”. Originally, it was thought to be a weekly segment on the same day at the same time. Well it isn’t like anyone hits the jackpot at the casino at the same time on the same day. So the JACKPOT posts will be random. Check back often.

First, I am going to start with my sister. She is my maid of honor. Aside from being in my life since the day I was born, she is responsible for my creative and unique name. If you know what my name really is you will know that is said with sarcasm.

When she was seven months pregnant with my beautiful niece (although we didn’t know it was a girl until she was born), she walked all over NYC with me to go dress shopping. Not sunny, happy NYC, but cold, 40* with wet snow and bone chilling winds NYC. She never once complained, slowed down or asked to stop. She helped dress me, watched each dress become bustled, each veil become secured, etc. She rocks. Period. New Line.

When it comes to the weddings he agreed to be MOH, a title she never wanted because of the amount of work that goes into it. And especially my wedding. However, she is planning and coordinating with grace and diligence.

And that is my fabu sister, S-Zilla

.welcoming the OOT guests.

When you have an abundance of out of town (OOT) guests, a wonderful and thoughtful way to welcome them is to leave OOT bags/gifts in their hotel rooms. Yes, this can get costly, depending on your number of guests, or you can wholesale shop and keep it affordable. Just what do you include in these baskets? They can be as easy or as elaborate as you wish!

.Kate Parker Weddings .

Some suggestions:
Something seasonal: Getting married in the fall? How about some apples or pumpkin seeds for snacks?

Winter: some candy canes or dessert snowballs.
Something satisfying: Bottles of water are always appreciated, so that your guests can avoid the mini bar temptation.
Something local: Vegas poker chips, a pair of dice or something to save your guests the aggravation of souvenir hunting! Coupons, entertainment guides, etc.

Something for anytime: popcorn balls, check mix, boxes of gum, candy and mints.

You can easily spend several minutes buying items at your local warehouse club and separating the items into smaller snack bags or you can go all out and buy individual snacks already packaged. You can spend hours driving around buying local maps and trip guides or you can pull information from the web and DIY your own. I recently came across something that would be a perfect additive to any OOT basket, especially if you are providing maps & local treats:

A radio station guide.

If your guests will be renting cars, nothing can be more frustrating than static all over the radio or hitting every station on their commercial break. Ok, maybe being lost is worse than not having great music?? After receiving the car from the valet during our recent “staycation” at the Lake Las Vegas Ritz, I noticed that there was one left in the car and it provided me with the inspiration that I needed to DIY my own.

Obviously, we are not from out of town, but had we been, this is quite a nice touch from the hotel. Lake Las Vegas is about 20 miles from the heart of Vegas itself, so it makes sense to include this in each car.

If your guests are driving from your ceremony to your reception or even to any sightseeing ventures on their own, not only will they appreciate your OOT welcome gift, but also the tunes you will help them to find.

.cheers and jeers.

Whew…. There are things that you know about wedding planning via checklists in all of the magazines, advice from your friends, shows on WeTV and more. What no one tells you is that you will want to elope several times. You will reconsider every decision you ever made. Your fiancé will drive you nuts about something minor like the font of a DIY sign. You will have high blood sugar from cake tastings. Friends will be offended that they aren’t in your wedding or providing you a wedding service. Everyone will offer a piece of unsolicited advice to you. People will let you down, you will let yourself down. You will re-reconsider your choices, again. Your other will hurt your feelings; your future mother-in-law will hurt your feelings. You will hurt someone’s feelings. Your bridesmaids will drive each other crazy. They will drive you a little bit crazy and forget to order their dress.

There isn’t a guide or magazine to help you deal with these things. It is called life. Life teaches you how to handle setbacks and disappointments.

I think of this today when I look at my phone and realized that not one friend texted me today. What is so bad about that? Well, today is the annual HUGE food festival in Las Vegas. An event that I haven’t missed in years! My dear M-Zilla works for the title sponsor and is at this event every year, all day long. Up until I got lazy, I was looking forward to finding her and having a drink and some eats with her. This was one of the first places that I met her- when I was just a mere fan of hers. Since then our relationship has grown into something special enough for her to be standing up with me at our wedding. We’ve been all of the above to each other and in the end; it has made our friendship grow into what it is now! Too bad i am lazy.... but it is also 90* and parking is a biotch there. And I had a cake tasting today and my sugar is high. Shocking.

But today, none of my usual suspects ever reached out to see if flo and I were going to this Festival. And why it bothers me is because I am generally the planner. K-Zilla and I are usually the planners. Last year I was at this festival with a group of 10-15 friends. K-Zilla waas not one of them because, as diabetics, this is a difficult place to watch ourselves! She has already informed me that she will pass this year too. And today, not-a-one messages or texted to see if we were going. Some of these friends pull the “I never see you anymore” woe-is-me with me and this makes me question why?? Is it because they rely on me/us to plan and keep us together or is it because they generally could give a crap less and just sit back and wait for me to take action.

In my world of being a bride, a blogger, an aunt, a fiancé, a daughter, an employee, a friend and a diabetic, being the planner is an added stress to my life.

Cheers to those who I can connect with here and there all randomly and then it feels like we saw each other yesty! Cheers to those who are on the guest list because they care and they genuinely keep in touch and ask about me- not just the wedding but how I am. Jeers to those who don’t. We may just have to reevaluate our guest list. Again.

It just goes to show you that in this world, you have yourself. I am blessed enough to have myself, my family and friends who are my family. Remember to put your wedding & wedding planning in perspective—life is short, enjoy the moments. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

.and that is when the fight started.

In light of the craptastic, downright shiteous week that I've had, here are some Friday Funnies:

AND THAT'S WHEN THE FIGHT STARTED

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust.' And that's when the fight started.... ............................................ My wife and I were watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend." And that's when the fight started....

I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?" It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?" And that's when the fight started....

Saturday morning I got up early, quietly dressed, made my lunch, grabbed the dog, and slipped quietly into the garage. I hooked up the boat up to the truck, and proceeded to back out into a torrential downpour. The wind was blowing 50 mph, so I pulled back into the garage, turned on the radio, and discovered that the weather would be bad all day. I went back into the house, quietly undressed, and slipped back into bed. I cuddled up to my wife's back, now with a different anticipation, and whispered, 'The weather out there is terrible.' My loving wife of 10 years replied, 'Can you believe my stupid husband is out fishing in that?' And that's when the fight started....

A man and a woman were asleep like two babies. Suddenly, at 3 o'clock in the morning, a loud noise came from outside. The woman, bewildered, jumped up from the bed and yelled at the man 'Holy Crap.. That must be my husband!' So the man jumped out of the bed; scared and naked jumped out the window. He smashed himself on the ground, ran through a thorn bush and to his car as fast as he could go. A few minutes later he returned and went up to the bedroom and screamed at the woman, 'I AM your husband!' The woman yelled back, 'Yeah, then why were you running?' And that's when the fight started...

I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Molson Canadian for $24.95. Instead, she bought a jar of face cream for $17.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the face cream.. And that's when the fight started....

A woman was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to her husband, 'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment.' The husband replies, 'Your eyesight's damn near perfect.' And that's when the fight started....

I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. "I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?"" Nah, she can order for herself." And that's when the fight started....

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table. My wife asked, 'Do you know her?' 'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.' 'My God!' said my wife, 'who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?' And that's when the fight started....

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds. I bought her a bathroom scale. And that's when the fight started.....

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift. The next year, he didn't buy her a gift. When she asked him why, he replied, "Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!" And that's how the fight started.....

.my eyebrows.

As you may have read, this past Saturday was finally brow waxing day. Much overdo.

Here is the before:

Here is the after:

I LOVE my waxer. For real.

.vendor saturday.

Today is going to be one busy day....it doesn't help that I went to bed at 1 am and woke up just after 6 am. Why, you ask? When you find out, let me know.

FINALLY it is eyebrow wax time. Is it just me or does it seem like your hair grows twice as fast once you make the appointment? I made this appointment about 10 days ago, instead of styling my hair, I need to style my 'brows to keep them out of my face. They are so gawd awful right now that my sister commented on them being "rather full". How did she do this? Via webcam on Skype. Yes, you can tell from 2,500 miles away how in need they are of some grooming.

The brow obsession started back in about 6th grade when I realized that my brows resembled Bert's brows.

No, really, I mean it. And NO pre-teen should EVER attempt to fix her own brow. EVER. Doing that caused me about 18.5 years of uneven brows. So now I only trust them to Tessa, my esthetician. She's been caring for my hairs for coming up on four years. One of the few long term relationships I have here in Vegas, so that goes to show you how good she really, truly is.

Dear Tessa,

I am sorry for the beast who is coming to see you today, forgive me, Tessa for it has been about 8 weeks since my last brow wax.

Love,

The NearlyWed

Then.... I can come home, nap-- I should take my flab to the gym, but sweating for 24 hours while your pores are open from a wax is bad news, darn-- so then I will nap and head back out to meet an invite stationer and then a something super special and super secret for our wedding. What is it?? Well I may just crack and spill what it is..... lemme think about that one.

Tomorrow finds us meeting with out wedding planner to discuss what is left to do (a LOT!) in the next 3 months.... and then the final wrap ups that are due in the last three months. Wow.... only two quarters of a year until we get married. Where does the time go?

So I leave you with no exciting photos of today, but stay tuned for my invite inspiration and meeting recap. And maybe, just maybe I will share a secret with you!

.holy october.

In traditional crazy Vegas weather, we went from inferno to ice box in a week. Literally. Two Sundays ago it was 102 this past Sunday it was about 70 and gusty. Yea, I am marrying the weatherman and use words like "gusty".

Welcome October! This is my favorite month and when I truly wanted to get married. However, with a January proposal that I wouldn't change for the world and self-paying for the wedding, October was unrealistic. Instead of stressing over what is left to be done and what needs to be where, I get to enjoy my favorite month along with the cooler temps, yummy wine and candy with friends! That is the only reason why I like Halloween- for the candy. This year, I am going to be the Mad Hattress.

Anyway, I blogged back at 366 days to go and 365 days to go to the wedding. Now, today, I have 200. Where did those other 165 days go? In another 165 days, I will be 35 days away from the wedding. Holy crappers time IS flying.

So this post is not about anything wedding related except the count down is really on.

Enjoy this beautiful weather! Have some apple cider (sugar free of course!) eat some snack sized candy and enjoy the next 25 days of my favorite month.

.my shoes have arrived.

To much delight and dismay, I received my shoes. They arrived via USPS on Monday in a lovely little box for shoes that has since made it's way to my box pile for keeping. Here is my problem with shoes:

1. I HATE, despise, would rather pour lemon juice in paper cuts than be around feet. I am sooo anti-foot it is bizarre.
2. I hate my feet too. Their size and shape. They are a secent size for my height by they are wide. And my arch can reach the moon, it is that high.

Having a to the moon and back arch means that I have to put lots of stuff into my shoes to make them comfy. They need arch supports, padding on teh ball of my foot and usually a good heel wrap also. There can be no cute shots of the inside of my wedding shoes because they will be a mangled mess.

Anyway, the shoes that I settled on:

Liz Rene Couture, Giselle.

Here is how the shoe arrival unfolded:

.our toasting flutes.

Just arrived in the UPS yesty. I am stoked. Clink, clink. Chin, chin.

You can read about and see them here.

What do you think? We ordered and received the flutes...everything else was put on the registry. Obviously there is no guarantee that we get it. So do we buy the cake cutting and service set? Or wait and hope? Decisions, decisions.