Wedding Sea Creatures!

Seeing as our wedding was over a year ago now, I thought I'd (finally) share the sea creatures I knit. To be fair, although I knit four octopuses for the kids coming to the wedding in time for the wedding (see above), the ones I knit for Sabrina's kids I finished at the end of July, so not thaaaat long ago.

So let me introduce you!

This is the Mega Kracken I knit for Caleb. He's big and squishy.

This is the wee Kracken I knit for Conner, her youngest. He was sooo excited to see him! Conner jumped up and down with him. I won major points that evening. :)

You can see the size difference here:

Last but certainly not least, this is the octopus I knit for Kiera Bella

Peacock Shawl

As a thank you for my wedding photographer, I knit her a shawl. I used the 'peacock' lace pattern from the Seraphim shawl pattern I bought, though I have seen that same pattern elsewhere on Ravelry. The lady who made the Seraphim shawl had it all nicely laid out in charts, so I followed her pattern.

I used a variated yarn that had blue, green, yellow and brown in it. I didn't like the way the yarn knitted up in stockinette, which is why I just did the lace -- it looks just lovely as lace! I knit three repeats of lace instead of the two Seraphim calls for since I was just knitting the lace. When I got to the end of the last chart I realised didn't have enough yarn to cast off!!! I had quite literally 7 inches of yarn left!!

I also wasn't sure how I wanted to start the shawl so I'd done a provisional cast on. Which meant, I needed yarn to finish that edge as well. Doh.

So, I went to Romni with the scrap of yarn I had from the first time I tried to cast on -- this shawl went through a few cycles of modification since I was winging it. I found a lovely yellow fingering weight superwash wool, that was, if you can believe it, the exact shade of yellow as in the variated wool!! Talk about luck!

So I knit one row in yellow then cast off the bottom. I decided to do three rows of seed stitch on the top (which is what I did on the sides as a boarder), and then cast off in that wonderful yellow. I'd bought two skeins as I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But when I stretched out the lace, I realised if I made it any larger my little photographer would be swimming in it. Heck, it fit me well enough!

Anyway, now that my photographer has it, I felt I should blog it. I'm really happy with how it turned out! And she says she likes it. I really hope she does... I wasn't sure what to make her....but since she was so impressed with the shawl I made for myself I thought it would be a good bet.

Knitting - GASP!

I know. It's been a damn long time since I've talked knitting. Don't fall over or anything!

So, last summer I went yarn shopping with my husband. Isn't he sweet coming to a yarn store with me? He was so patient too. Let me fondle all the wonderful yarns. He even bought me the yarn I was sad to put down, bless him! It's by Tanis Fiber Arts (go Canadian yarn!), their Blue Label Fingering Weight, in Seabreeze. It makes me think of shallow Caribbean waters or a sunny summer sky.

I wanted it for a Seraphim shawl. I made one in a buttery, sunshiney yellow last summer, and was so enamoured with the pattern I wanted to knit it again. I should also say, a year later, I still love this pattern, and I still intend to make a Seraphim shawl with this yarn.

I started the shawl last summer, on 5.0mm needles, and got about 20% done before it got close to my wedding, and I had other things I needed to knit. Like finishing the Spanish Armada shawl for the wedding, and knitting wedding octopuses. This spring, when we had a nice warm day, last week, I started knitting on it again. I got to about 25% done, and realised that on the 5.0mm needles I was getting too dense a fabric. I wanted this shawl to be very light and airy, I think that will show off the colours best, and I just wasn't confident that blocking it would stretch it out enough.

I frogged it, and it was painless! Let's hear it for frogging last summer's work! Now I'm going to start all over again with 6.0mm needles and see if that's more to my liking.

Assignment #4

So, assignment #4 is 300 words, open. Write anything you want. I didn't know what to write, so I took the advice of my brother-in-law (I still can't believe I have brothers-in-law! Squee!), and wrote about my groping incident on the Bathurst streetcar a little while back.

Without further ado, here it is: (302 words)

An thin, elderly gentleman with a briefcase fought his way to the back of the streetcar. He sat beside Gwen, a tall, round, thirty-something.

“There was an empty seat in front of the pregnant teacher, but he just had to sit beside me,” Gwen thought, irritated, her claustrophobia kicking in.

She glared at him. He tried to speak to her. The sharp, rank scent of booze accosted her. Instantly, she turned away, ignoring him.

The boys in front of Gwen voraciously ate fat cinnamon buns in brown paper bags. The pretty pregnant woman’s eyes sparkled as she talked with the teenagers surrounding them. They laughed and joked with their teacher. Gwen smiled. “Good kids this lot,” she thought.

Gwen froze. Something was touching her; no, someone. She could feel it on the underside of her thigh, through her jeans. She had to be mistaken. No, there it was again. A distinct sweep of fingers ending in a definite grope. Shocked, unable to make eye contact, she looked at the old man. He was reaching across his body under his briefcase to do it. This was no accident. Her stop was soon, maybe she could wait it out. His hand flexed, rubbing the underside of her thigh.

“Nope, can't do it,” she thought, half-panicked.

Too shy to say anything to him, ashamed of her fear, Gwen got up, staring resolutely forward, and walked the length of the streetcar to the driver.

She paused. “Should I say something?” she wondered. The consequences flashed before her. She would inconvenience everyone. “It was only my thigh,” she thought.

Gwen sat in a single seat, behind the driver. The next stop was hers. She got off the streetcar in a daze. Her brain finally catching up, yelled inside her head, "I WAS GROPED ON A STREETCAR!"

Opinions? Comments? Thoughts? No?

I'm Like an Internet Celebrity Now or Something!

I've finally added some of my wedding pictures to my Flickr account, most so I can share them with the Offbeat Bride Flickr pool.  I eventually want to submit my wedding, though I don't think it will be posted.... I was hoping I might make it into the "look at this cool dress" pile though.

What I got was a wonderful surprise!  Ariel, of OBB, likes my favourite dress picture! Enough to use it!! Squee! And I'm now on the OBB website! woohoo! (below is the image you are looking for)



So excited by this! So very very excited!


I'm also now showing up in the Flickr Pool, which was the original goal, but seeing my image as first has me really happy, and proud somehow.  It's just SO cool after almost a year of reading the site and loving all the wonderful, unique weddings, to see ME as now being inspiration for other brides! Yay!

I most definitely am morbidly obese (that's the clinical term), but damnit, I looked gorgeous on my wedding day! And it's really important to me that other women who are more my size see it's possible to be stunning, and different, and large. And for them to know they aren't the only ones, they aren't alone in it all. 

Planning a wedding, preparing to be married, is huge, and can be totally stressful.  Suddenly there is this whole section of society some of us never knew existed putting all kinds of demands and expectations on us, to be thinner, prettier, more mainstream, more white, more something. It's so damn important to hear other voices! Voices that say, whatever size, skinny, fat, somewhere in the middle, you will look beautiful! And that plaid taffeta party dress you want for your wedding gown? That will be TOTALLY awesome! Offbeat Bride did that for me, and so many other women.  They helped me feel less alone. And they showed me how many different kinds of weddings are out there, right now, happening. I want to give back, I need to.

Sure there are 10,000 photos in the gallery, but how many are fat chicks? How many of those are fat chicks in colour?  I know when I was looking a year ago I had a hard time finding a woman that looked anything like me. There were quite a few plumb women, but most of them had boobs bigger than their head, and amazing hour-glass figures - that's so not me.  So maybe I'll add something different, maybe not, I mean, 10,000 photos! I know I'm just another drop in the bucket, and I'm totally okay with that, I just want to add another drop!

11 Blankets in 2011, or 1+1 Blankets in my case!

So my friend Mio of fantasticmio.com, who is like an insanely fast/amazing crocheter, is doing 11 Blankets in 2011, I thought I'd attempt to join in.  Only, there is no way I could ever knit 11 blankets!  So, instead, I'm going to attempt 2.  I think I've only ever knit one blanket in my entire life, so this isn't going to be easy for me!

I actually have plans for many blankets, so we'll see what I end up with.


One :: Beige Throw

I have some Debbie Bliss Chunky merino wool in beige.  It was supposed to be a wedding gift for one of my closest university friends when she got married back in 2006, but like 3 days after I ordered the yarn I got an email from her to the wedding guests requesting no physical gifts... So that cut that plan down.

I have enough for a throw, and I really really want to knit something with it.  I have a pattern all picked out - Burridge Lake Aran Afghan - but I'm not sure I actually have enough for a small version of it.  All those damn cables really suck up yarn. And it's huge as well, requiring something like 3,000 yards!! I only have 1,500 yards or so. Leaving me unsure how much I could do. But I could likely do the outer panels I like, and just pick a smaller inner panel.

Thing is, I don't actually know who I would give this to! doh.


Two :: Brown and Orange Octopus Blanket

I was given some very retro brown and orange yarn as a wedding gift.  I'm pretty sure there's enough for a child sized blanket.  When I was looking around on Ravelry for what to DO with it, I found an intarsia pattern for an Octopus, and I just thought it would make an excellent centre to a blanket. I'm not sure how I want to knit it.  I'm thinking either log cabin rectangles around the octopus, or garter stitch squares in varying directions. The yarn is too multi-coloured to make it worthwhile to do anything but texture patterns.  Besides, garter stitch is nice and fluffy, perfect for a blanket.

My other thought was to do a lion instead, like this:



This I am planning to knit for Cooper, one of my nephews via my husband. I thought Lion because Cooper was born at the end of July, and is thus a Leo.....

Though if I knit him something, I really need to knit something for Callum, the other nephew, and that won't be easy.  I offered to knit him a blanket, and got turned down by his parents. I only other thing I could knit him is clothes, and I'm terrified to knit him clothes because:
(a) I don't have a clue what size he is (and even if I had a size that doesn't tell me measurements!), and
(b) I have terrible luck knitting for little people.


Three :: Wedding Gift Blanket

Two of our friends are getting married (to each other) this summer, and although we won't be invited to the wedding (it's a money thing, not a they don't love us enough thing), I really want to make them something. And I thought this would be perfect:

It's LionBrand's Cable Comfort Throw in their Wool-Ease Thick & Quick yarn. Hopefully it would be a nice fast knit, and also not freak out anyone's skin due to the high acrylic content.  I'm thinking eggplant for the colour, so a purple just a bit darker than this....  I'm not sure though. I want to ask, but I also want it to be a surprise. doh.


Four :: Minimalist Log Cabin Blanket

I also want to knit myself a blanket.  While looking for blanket ideas on Ravelry, I found this:



It was love at first sight! I want one just the same, or at least close. I just love the colours! I don't even like garter stitch!  I find it hard to do even.  And yet this blanket calls to me.  It says, "Knit me! Love me! Buy a couch so I may adorn it! Knit me now woman! Now! Now! Now! Don't you want to feel my soft yarn slip through your fingers? Don't you want to marvel as I grow, block by block, square by square? You do... So knit me! Knit me now!"  It's a demanding blanket.... lol



I'm honestly not sure which ones I'll get done.... We shall see, I guess?

We're Married!!!!

We're married!  We did it!  Yaaaaay!

I don't have any pictures to share because I was too busy getting married to take any! ;)

All my planning and preparations paid off.  Everything went so very smoothly!  Only two tiny things didn't go as planned:

(1) We didn't end up getting my laptop set up so Neda could skype in.  We just didn't have the time.  Though oddly enough we were running ahead of schedule all morning until about 9am.  But then, that's exactly why I have us extra time!  On the plus side Sabrina and Brian were able to record the ceremony with their fancy schamzy new camera, so Neda will get to see it!

(2) The boutoneires I made didn't sit quite right. They were too heavy, in part, and as my Pa pointed out (he is soooo smart!) I put the pins too low, it would have worked better with them higher.  How he knew that I don't know.  I've got such amazing parents, I do!

And that's it really. Everything else went according to plan, or at least worked out just fine, so yay!  And really, as far as what could go wrong, such minor things as did, really aren't a big deal at all. Honestly, I'm thrilled everything went so very smoothly!

The catering manager said this was the easiest wedding she'd done, and I was the nicest,  least bridezilla bride she's ever had to deal with!!  This makes me very happy indeed!  Chris joked about me being bridezilla, but honestly, not so much.  I was my bitchiest as I was waiting for Chris to do up my dress, and while he was doing it.  Mostly because I felt to dang helpless. Doing up my dress, since it's a corset back was something I could most definitely not do myself.  Giving up control bothered me, but mostly being so helpless frustrated me.  Having to stand around waiting for someone to dress me was the oddest feeling ever! So helpless, so indebted.  I like being able to do for myself damnit. lol.

Everyone loved my dress, was impressed with my flowers, even more so when they learned I did them myself! :D  Chris was my cheerleader and helper the whole day through.  People kept complimenting the wedding, and the things I made, and Chris would pipe up 'She made that too', and everyone would be even more amazed! Heh.  I honestly thought people realised I'd made all the things I did, but they always seemed surprised when Chris told them I did it, so yay!  Go me! The crafty bride!  Judy, our photographer told Chris that I was the craftiest bride she's ever done a wedding for!!  How awesome is that?!

One of my oldest friends, Will, who is the other half of Will and Angie (two of my oldest and dearest friends), who has always been kinda like our big brother, and often 'one of the girls', was just totally amazing for us on our wedding day.  He took care of the music, helped up coral people, drove us out to the picture location, stayed and waited to take us back to the hotel.  Got me food and water when we arrived back at the hotel - I was just so thirsty, and really sad we didn't get to even try our hors d'ourves. I totally didn't ask, he just came out with a little plate and a glass of water! My hero!  Chris said then, he really is like an older brother, and he is.  I wouldn't feel right without saying how wonderful he was, he really made things so much easier for us.  He totally stepped up, like he always does 'cause that's the kind of man he is, and I love him to bits for being such a wonderful man. :)

Now to the events in the order they occurred...

The ceremony was an amazing blur for me.  I remember Carole our officiant reading the part about the teapot that I wrote, and smiling at me.  That was awesome.  She really seemed to get it, which thrilled me.

The pictures went off without a hitch, we got to use the most amazing backdrop of fall colours!  A pond, with changing trees behind, oh it was breathtaking!  The pictures of just us were fabulous. It felt like we got a lot done, and honestly, it really felt like we had three hours with Judy, not just the one and a bit we did have, so YAY.  I really can't wait to see the pictures!!

Dinner was lovely, just... lovely.  The tables looked amazing with all my ornamental gourds against the black table clothes.  Everyone seemed to like the hors d'ourves I picked!  Except for the spring rolls; they were not what I expected either, but that's okay, there was more than enough food!  Dinner itself was great.  The buffet worked out really well I think.  And the fact that we had extra space was awesome - the two and three year old had lots of room to play and run around.

Thanks to Sabrina, everyone signed my guest book.  I got smiles and laughs about my octopus comment (the sign I made said if they didn't sign the guest book, the guest book octopus would get them), and the actual knitted octopuses. The four kids, and their parents seemed very pleased that they each got to take one home! So yay!!  My cousin Malcolm, ever the sweetheart, asked me which one was my favourite, and that's the one he picked!

Everyone just loved the cake.  I received lots of compliments on how good it looked, how professional.  Then they ate it, and were blown away by my chocolate cake! YAY!  I cut the chocolate, bottom layer first, so a lot of people didn't get to try the coconut, but that's okay. Even Chris' shy cousin asked, in a kind of awed voice, if I'd made that chocolate cake, and if I made it often!  I said yes, it's my go-to chocolate cake.  He seemed really surprised and impressed! Woohooo!

The flying pigs, though some loved straight off, most didn't get until I explained - I always said I'd get married when pigs fly...  David and Alice have to be some of my most favourite people, they loved the piggies straight off, and didn't need an explanation to make them awesome. :D  David even mentioned that when I'd written on facebook that I was knitting octopuses for the wedding he'd thought 'this wedding is going to be awesome'!  It really well and truly makes me feel just amazing when people actually get my sense of humour and understand my... aesthetic.  So woohoo!

Everyone said there goodbyes after cake - it'd been a long day for everyone, I was totally okay with this timing!  And by 4:30 we were in a cab and on our way home.   We got to have a nice nap, then Chris made me dinner!  We had snuggles and TV in bed.  The perfect ending to our day - for us.

Five Days till the wedding... FIVE!!

Well, considering it's evening, it's more like 4.5, but still..... FIVE DAYS!!

So excited!  I can't wait to wear these:



I think Chris' band is the coolest thing ever!  Mine is simple, but it's perfect for under my big honkin' engagement ring, and the colour is very very close to that of my pearl, so yay for matching! :D  And best of all, me and Chris' bands match!  That's so important to me, though I don't know why exactly. Something about equality....

Engagement Pictures!

Since it's, you know, seven days before our wedding, I thought I'd finally share our engagement photos. Though, to be fair, we took them at the end of August and I didn't get them until the 22nd of September, so, you know, our timing is off in general here. ;)

We started out the session at Brookfield Place, because I just love love love the ceiling and atmosphere of the place.




I really like this one. Too bad the damn slip of my skirt is showing! :(  For some reason that happens in a lot of the photos of me in this skirt that day.  I wish someone had noticed! =/


I really love how my turtle stands out and I look booby! :D


This one's my favourite of all the pictures of us ever taken. Seriously.  I just love it.  I want it on our wall in the living room, like on a canvas, 3' by 4' or something. :D

Next we sort of re-created our first date.  We went to the ROM where we had our first date...



 

Then we went to the pub where we had lunch...


This is a very first date shot, but I like it cause it's sweet.


This is a very... stuff white people like shot... and... I like it.  I can't help myself! lol.


This one just.. speaks to me...

Then we walked back to the apartment, and stopped in the little park around the corner.


I really really love the trees and light in the back ground here.

There are more, but these were my favourites.  I liked the one on the subway platform, but again, stupid skirt slip showing. :(  And I'm so not skilled enough to photoshop that out!  Oh well, there are lots of other nice ones!

Soon I'll have wedding photos to show you all!  Seven more day!!  Gah!!!! Yay!!  Gah!

Blood, Sweat, and Tears...

So yesterday I tried baking the chocolate cakes again. The first time I got the batter perfect, but my oven was very not level so my cakes came out having risen very unevenly.  Like, insane uneven - one side was half as tall as the other! o.0  So those cakes were cut down, and frosted with a test ganache, and went to work with Chris.  His coworkers seemed to enjoy the cake.  One said he could only have once piece because it was so rich.  Which makes me think he wanted a second but his sweet tooth protested. lol.  I'll take that as a compliment!

Anyway, attempt two saw me rushing slightly, and screwing up the amounts of baking powder to baking soda. Opps.  I tried to fix it, but I don't think that worked perfectly.  Add to that that, for once, I followed the recipe and baked the cakes at 300˚F, which left them dented in the centre!!  Like, the sides of the cake where higher than the middle!! That's never happened to me before!  Totally not hot enough in my oven, obviously!  Cause they didn't fall, they never rose!  When I tried to take one of the cakes out of the pan it broke in half!  That's when I got a good look at the centre and realised it wasn't baked fully or properly.  So in the garbage they went!

I was out of sugar, low on milk, low on flour, so I made a run to the local Metro, and then tried again.  I was setting everything up when Chris came home.  I had the coffee steeping,  the flour/dry ingredients mixed and waiting, and was chopping the chocolate.

I swear to all the gods I love, that I am always very, very careful when chopping chocolate!  I've chopped more pounds than I can count, and I know just how easy it is for the knife to slip.  Only... I was upset, tired, and just plain feeling low.  I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention because I sliced through the tip of my thumb but good. *Sigh*


Here's the bandaged thumb, I'll save you all the gory detalis!

It hurt, I won't kid you.  But the heartbreaking part was that I'd fucked up yet again.  I felt like I couldn't do anything right.  I'd messed up the cakes twice now - cakes that I've baked perfectly many times before! It was frustrating, and depressing that when it counted I couldn't manage to get it right. And now I was adding my blood, and tears along with my sweat to the cakes. o.0  NOT  literally, they were just spilled in the making!  Just in case any of my guests find this. lol. I want to be very clear, the knife was washed before being used again and I didn't get any blood on any of the food.  For a clutz I have fast responses, and put pressure on it before it even managed to bleed.  I also wore a latex glove over my bandaged hand to make sure there was no way anything would transfer.

I'm really, really, really glad Chris was home.  When he realised my yelp meant I'd actually hurt myself - usually my yelp can mean anything from I've dropped a spoon, to I've burnt myself - he came over and hugged me while I cried and hyperventilated.  He was patient, and kind, and just let me cry.  He didn't pressure me, but let me work through it myself before I spoke again.  Then, like the trooper he is, he washed the knife, and finished chopping the chocolate for me, and helped me finish making the cakes.  This is made even all the more impressive by the fact that he'd just come off of a hellish week of being on call, where he was literally on calls almost the entire week; the man did not sleep!

So yeah... Third time's a charm!  The chocolate cakes came out perfectly this time! And I'm going to modify the recipe so it says 350˚F is what works in my oven!!  I also managed to get the coconut cakes done too.  They came out just amazing.  Yay.  So cakes are baked and frozen.  Next week I'll need to ice them, and find a way to keep them in the freezer... right now it's quite full (time to eat what's in there!)  Chris is going to have to help me with the chopping again, because, honestly, I'm not sure I'm ever going to chop chocolate again.


Cakes all wrapped up and in the freezer! Yay!

Time for a food processor!!!!!!!  If anyone has any recommendations for or against any brands/models I'd love to read them!

I'm Really Feeling the Pressure Now

It's coming down to the wire, as they say.

I still have to bake the cakes.
And frost them.
I need to pick a menu and wines.
I need to do a bit of sewing on my dress.
Hell, I need to get thread that matches my dress still!
And somehow get my dress to Toronto unharmed.  No clue how I'm going to manage it.
I have to finish choosing reception music and burn the CDs.
I have to finish putting together the Wedding Programs. Just finished!! YAY!
I have to knit at least one more Octopus.
I need to rope my guests aka friends and family into working my wedding, just a bit.
I have to decide if I'm doing centre pieces. -- I even have the catering manager saying I need something now. o.0
I have to figure out what I'm doing for a bouquet!
I have to make my bouquet and a few boutonnières.
Oh! And I have to pick up Chris' suit from being tailored!
And iron his shirt... I promised...

*sigh*

And somehow I have to do all this in.....under 11 days.  Battling nasty headaches, insane nausea, and all the other crap FMS is throwing at me lately.

Gods grieve me a monkey....

I just don't know how I'm going to get it all done!  I totally should have got Chris to take more time off to help me. Bah. Bah, I say!

Wedding Bouquet Doubts

Since having my Bridal Photo session - which went wonderfully - I've been doubting my original plan for a wedding bouquet. *sigh*

I wanted to do something simple, in red roses, because those are the ones that call to me. Something like this:

I've bought this large crystal buttons to go between the roses and some smaller crystals from a bead sore to add in the centre of the flowers.

But..... When I had my photo session yesterday, Judy surprised me with a bouquet made by a florist friend of hers. It was fabulous!  Red roses with green and white orchids, pink-ish tiny flowers, golden gerbers, this deep red fuzzy flower, lots of green leaves, ivy, and little apples for pete's sake!! Oh, and there was a calla lilly in the centre that was orange tinged with red.  Perfect colour for the bouquet.  Altogether it had a very fall feeling, and totally complimented my red dress!  In fact, the red roses were the colour of my dress!

It was heavy though. OMG. I really don't want my wedding day one to be that heavy!  It was straining my arms! lol.  Clearly I need to go to the gym, but I kid you not it weighed more than my macbook(which is 7 pounds)!!

So after seeing the teaser photo Judy posted on facebook yesterday of my dress with the bouquet, I'm re-thinking my plan.  Judy also told me that her florist friend recommended against the red red roses I love because they are the colour of my dress, and this will just blend into my dress in photos.  *sigh*

Seeing the roses yesterday, in person and in the photo with my dress I know she's right.  I hate it though.  I was hoping the crystals would be enough to bring out the bouquet and make it a separate thing, but I think instead the crystals will just swim in a sea of red.  NOT what I want.

I've looked at black magic roses, which are darker, on the recommendation of said florist, but they are too dark for my liking.  This is a bouquet that uses them, and black-red calla lillies.  I like it on it's own. I like it for a bride in white, but with me in red, and my now dark red hair, I worry it's just too much dark.  Especially with me being so damn pale!

I'm torn between something very simple, and something full of fall colours and flowers.  I know both will look good, but I keep coming back to our theme, or rather non-theme.

We aren't decorating the banquet hall we are having the wedding at - it looks great as is frankly.  It has dark wooden walls, modern photos hanging, awesome modern chandeliers - it has a very European/urban/modern feel to it. It's very us.  Like a ritzier version of us.  The tables will be set with white table cloths, with black ones over top diagonally. Very modern. Very simple. Very timeless.  And that's me.... I always dress in a "classic style", as in, I don't go in for trendy stuff often, and I can't be bothered with fashion, and just want to look nice.  I want that feel for the wedding.  Honestly, I originally wanted a fall theme, but that's just way more work than I'm willing to put in or ask my guests to help me put in.

So, I want my flowers to fit into this modern, simple, timeless theme.  I want to be able to use the crystals I bought damnit! I spent like $20 on them! Shhh.. Chris will have a fit I'm sure.  But I love them, and I think they could totally work in another bouquet... I just don't know what exactly to do.

I've been looking at white bouquets, and all the ones I love have fiddlehead ferns in them, but can I find fiddlehead ferns in the wholesale flower shops I was hoping to get my flowers from? Noooooo!  I can't even seem to find any mention of them on the websites of local florists.  WTH Toronto!!

I love this:

And this:

Honestly, I love the first one the best, it's so eclectic! And bright and dark and fresh!  I honestly would not be able to do that myself though, and I really really want to do my own flowers damnit.

The third one I could totally do, if I could find some damn fiddle heads.  I would use more white and cream roses. I could add my crystals to them and it would look very nice I think. There's hydrangea in there, I could do that, I think I would also like to add some mums maybe, and a few dahlias.  If I couldn't find fiddle heads, and it wasn't a deal breaker for me - right now I'm not sure if it is or not - I could add some dark wheat stalks as a contrast piece, I saw them at the local florists.  I could even add some dark branch limbs, maybe...

I do love fall bouquets though. *sigh*  The bright sunflowers, the dahlias, the mums, the fuzzy flowers (whose name I don't know) that comes in such deep colours, the ornamental cabbages!!  Oh I love those!  But they open a can of worms, so to speak, that I'm not really sure I want to open. I love fall colours, I love fall leaves, I love  mini gourds and little pumpkins! Omg, so cute!  So if I had a fall bouquet I'd want to incorporate fall colours even more. I'd want fake (or real) leaves for the tables. I'd want mini gourds, and tiny pumpkins, possibly in vases, possibly just strewn about the tables.  I'd want orange, red and yellow everything!  I know me.

It would make me happy, but it would cost.  It would also ruin the modern/timeless theme we have going on that we didn't have to even work for! I like that.  I have fibro.  I have very limited energy.  I'm likley going to spend the next week struggling to get my cakes baked(a task that even I could do in a day normally) because I over-extended myself this week.  *sigh*  I really don't need to add more to my plate.

Judy gave me her florist friends email.  Judy said I should contact her and tell her what my budget is and see what she can do for me. She even offered to pick up my bouquet on her way to the wedding! How nice is that?!  Judy is awesome, seriously.

Part of me wonders if she just doesn't think I can do it.  She said it was one less thing to stress about.  But you know, I haven't really stressed about the flowers, until now.  I new what I wanted, and that was that. Now I'm re-thinking. I'm not stressed, I don't think. I have a few weeks, I'm just undecided.  I love flowers though. I'd really like to try my hand at a bouquet.  I don't have anything else planned for the 9th.  I don't think it will tax me too much...

UPDATE:
Since I don't actually remember sharing, I thought this would be the perfect place to show off the bouquet I did end up making. I think my fall themed flowers went great with my red dress. I cannot express how much I loved my bouquet.

Notice the crystal fiddlehead ferns, the pine cones, wheat, and large crystals interspersed with the flowers.

Husband holding bouquet. Notice the bling. I bought an M done in crystals and attached it with black ribbon to the ribbon around the base of the bouquet.

 

I had red roses, white roses, sunflowers, ornamental cabbage, and bright green miniature mums. Colourful, fall themed, sparkly, and so very perfect with my amazing red silk dress! And I made it myself in an hour or two the day before our wedding.
___________________________________________________________________________
Judy keeps telling me I should get a pro to do my make-up.  I'm not sure if it's because she's such a traditionalist, or if she thinks I do my own badly -- that's my biggest worry.  I don't have much experience doing make up, it's entirely possible I don't do a very good job.  But when I see what I've done, I like how it looks, mostly.  I wish I could manage the foundation lighter, but otherwise I think I look good. The foundation isn't caked on, it's just... it feels like my skin is hiding, and I like my skin, other than the damn spider veins I'm getting, and I don't like hiding it, flaws and all.

Maybe I'm just more of a hippie than I ever dreamed I could be??

I seem to look okay in the pictures from our photo sessions though.  I don't know if Judy had to really photoshop me or what, but I seem to look fine... Here is an example I found quickly (one of my favourite from the session):

I look fine right??

*Sigh*  I hate being so damn undecided! Bah! BAH I say!

Finally!!

It's taken a week to get my beloved macbook back, but I have it! :D

I really really have missed it!  though I've not missed working on wedding crap. I really wish it was just all over.  I'm so very done with it all. *sigh*

But if I don't do it no one will, and having silence at my reception it just more than I can bare.

Very Cool Random Internet Finds

First, I must share this cake Chris found somewhere in his travels on the interwebs. It's a 200 lb Octopus Cake.



I love this cake soooooo hard!! I don't think I'd want to eat it, 200 lbs, how much fondant did they use?! But I would so love a. say. clay version of this for our future coffee table! I think it's the coolest thing! Seriously! I mean, just LOOK at it!

Second, in searching for pictures of tiara's I like to give to a friend as inspiration for the tiara she's making for me for my wedding, I found this:



How cool is that?! I think it's sooo pretty, though not pretty enough to pay $640 USD for it! o.0 I would love to make something like it though! It's totally inspiring! If I'd found it with more time before I needed my tiara, I might have tried to source those pendanty bits and asked Shasta if she could work some magic in that kind of vibe.

Oh well. I'm sure whatever Shasta does come up with will be awesome. :) I'm really thrilled she's going to have time to make me something! yay! Hopefully I can get the bits she needs while I'm out tomorrow.

I CAN HAS OCTOPUS!

Here he is in all his knitted glory!!



I just love him! Love love love him! I really hope I can make many more, but we'll see what actually gets done. I am one tentacle into the next octopus however.

I think the purple one will always be my favourite though, as I love the colours.. But I'm sure I will love my other octupuses just as well, in different ways.

He's not very big, but any bigger and I'd never get them done in time for the wedding, it's iffy at best as it is. I think he's just the right size to be an easy project, and totally cute! :D

Here's a picture to give you the idea of his scale:



Yes, he's sitting on top of the DVD case to Persuasion. I was watching it while I was finishing him.

It's done! It's done! It's done!!!!!

Last August I started knitting a shawl, that I was hoping to use at my wedding -- this before he even asked me!!

There have been starts and stops, tears, cursing, frogging, figuring, fudging, fixing... And now, it's done!!!!!!!



Side Detail


Corner Detail


I'm just so damn proud of this! It's by far the hardest thing I've ever attempted, never mind finished!



It's just so... fantastic!! YAY!!!!!

One Month Away!!!

One month from now I'll be at our wedding reception enjoying the delicious buffet lunch with my closest family. I'll be married!!! OMG!

There is still SO much to do. It feels like an insane amount of stuff left to do. I made myself another To Do list, and it's two and a half pages long!! Jesus! I'm not sure how I'm going to get it all done, to be honest.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything I can pass on to Chris to do. Sadly, all I can think of currently is getting him to help me fold and put together the Wedding Programs. Once he finally picks a reading and writes his damn thank you.

I feel like I really have to be on his ass every day just to get him to do the parts he said he wanted to do! I'm terrified to give him anything else to do because I worry it's only going to end up in more work for me having to nag him to actually DO IT. Then I'm sure I'll just get frustrated and worried, and end up doing it all myself anyway. So what's the point, ya know?

I'd get him to help with the music CD burning, but all the music is on my machine, as are the playlists, so really I kinda need to do it. Though I suppose I could get him to babysit it for me while I did other things. Though that's going to have to wait as my beloved MacBook needs repairs and they finally have the part in, so I'm taking it in in the morning. OMG, I'm going to miss my baby sooo badly!

Perhaps I'll get him to book the hotel room. That will take one thing off my plate...

I was going to make myself a bracelet, but I'm kinda scrapping that idea in favor of octopuses. I'm hoping it will be plural anyway. They are fun to knit, and stress free! Right now I totally need some of that. :)

There's actually 7 things on my list that are either for Chris to do or something he can help with! That makes me feel mildly better. Now I just have to try not to drive him crazy pushing him to actually DO THEM.

To be fair, he did spend a good chunk of last night looking at wedding readings, and has a 'short list', so yay! Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will at least have two readings, and that will allow me to do/start other things on my list that are waiting on this.

I have a lot of lists/organizing left to do -- to make sure everything gets done that needs doing, and to make sure we actually take everything with us that we will need. I'm terrified I'm going to forget something! As long as I don't forget the marriage license, the wedding programs with the map to the picture location, and the cake, I think I'll be fine. Oh! And my bouquet and dress. And.. And..

Not thinking about it right now. I will only stress myself out. It will be fine. I'm a wonderful list maker and a very careful packer, it will be just fine.

Wedding To Do List Updated!

Awhile back I posted a Wedding To Do list, and while not a lot has changed, I have been making some progress I feel, and wanted to tick things off on my list here. I love ticking things off on lists. It brings me such joy. I just wish I could tick more of these off!

1. Finish knitting shawl!! --- DONE!! Now I just need to block it. *Sigh*
2. Make bracelet?
3. Make cuff links for Chris --- DONE!
4. Get Shasta to make/buy(?) head band


5. Find cake pans! -- DONE! Using the ones I have instead
6. Make test cake(will there be enough time now??) -- No Need. With change in cake pans, and IVORY(!!) food colouring from a friend I'm sure the cake will be fine.
7. Get Shasta to make cake topper?
8. Make wedding cake
9. Do test bouquet & buttonholes -- no need for bouquet really, I'm sure it will be fine, but I need to know if the buttonhole will actually survive a day!
10. Make wedding bouquet & buttonhole(s)


11. Chris to write his 'thank you' for wedding program
12. Finish designing/writing wedding programs -- MY part is DONE!
13. Make wedding programs
14. Buy 6x4" cards for guest book -- DONE
15. Make sign/instructions for guest book -- DONE!
16. Make container for guest book cards -- attempted, do not like attempt at all. :(
17. Buy pens?? -- DONE


18. Taste test menu options
19. Pick menu for luncheon
20. Pick wines - get help?


21. Pick music for reception & make CDs
22. Pick music for pre-ceremony time & make CD
23. Get Chris to edit processional song
24. Make ceremony music CD


25. Pick & buy wedding bands
26. Get marriage license! -- DONE!! :D


27. Apply/pay for picture permit at Humber Arboretum -- DONE
28. Pick Bridal picture day -- DONE
29. Apply/pay for for picture permit at Gage Park


30. Book hotel room with fridge for night before wedding ->ask about late check-out!
31. Email hotel contact list of questions--room for cake?! -- DONE


32. Chris to pick reading!!
33. Send ceremony to officiant for approval!!


34. Chris to get suit pants hemmed & jacket hemmed, if needed

I finally finished binding off my shawl last night! Squee! Now I have to block it, which means finding room in our tiny apartment to actually lay it out to dry. That's going to be a challenge I'm sure!

I printed the Guest Book cards, which worked better than I'd hoped! I've designed and printed the guest book instruction sign, it only needs now to be framed to be fully done. I'm waiting to get my hot glue gun out to finish that project. Hopefully today! I still need to make the box for the cards, but at least now I have all the materials I'll need. Well, except for glue, I ran out of glue stick working on the Wedding Programs. OMG, so much gluing!

I'm also working on putting together the Wedding Programs. I've cut and folded all the card stock for the covers, I've printed off the cover titles on the 4x6 cards, realised they were so thin you could see the cardstock through them! Then spent more time than I care to really admit, gluing a blank card to each printed card. Thank gods I only need like 40 of these! If it was more I'd go INSANE.

I've made up a list of pre-wedding music, and half finished a list of reception music. I want to get some more... different kinds of instrumentals in there, that Chris is supposed to get for me, so I'm just waiting on that. Then I'll burn the CDs.

I still need to call the Hamilton Parks And Rec people to ask them about permits. I feel it sucks I need a permit for just me and my photographer. And I might end up paying for a permit for two days in a row since we really need good weather to shoot in. Bah.

I still need to make a test cake, and it's truly freaking me out! I don't even have anything to put the damn cake on as of now. I really need a sturdy something to put it on as it's going to be heavy. I'm actually not sure what I'm going to do. I have a 12" square cake board but I'm positive it's not actually going to be sturdy enough to support the cake. It will be fine for the test cake I think, maybe? But I have visions of someone trying to lift the cake using the cake board and the damn thing just cracking and cake going everywhere. What I'd like is a 12" square piece of MDF I could paint and polyurethene - you know, because I don't have enough DIY projects! Maybe I'll call my mom and see if Pa would do that for me, and I'd pay for his materials....I don't mind paying! I just, can't actually get a 12" sq of MDF, nor do I have time to paint it.

Anyway! I've made progress. Real progress, I think. I'm actually at the point where I'm thinking of making a new list as I have other things on the go - crafts for a friend's bday party this weekend, and life crap - that I need it all in one place or I'm going to forget something! And it's likely going to be my taxes, cause, boy, I sure don't look forward to tackling them!

Taking His Name...Is FREAKING ME OUT!

Okay, so... When FH first proposed I asked if I could take his name and he said no. I was a little hurt, I let it go, however, a first for me really. Later I asked him why the idea of me taking his name bothered him. He said he was raised not to expect anyone would take his name... I think it freaked him out too because it made it more 'real'. Eventually I got him to agree to it - I said I wanted to, that I wanted us to be one family and that meant one name.

Now I'm the one freaking out. Big time.

I went to get our marriage license yesterday, and it comes with a info sheet about your options for name change. Apparently if I legally change my name in Ontario, because I was born here, they will re-issue my birth certificate with my new name! My old name would be in brackets beside it, but still!! OMG!

My heart is still in my throat, where it's been since reading that.

I feel like that is a step too far! I want to be Mrs. Awesome, but I don't want to erase Ms.WickedCool to do it! Ya know??

*sigh*

Now I don't know what to do.

I... I may not always like who I am, I know I haven't always liked me, but, I'm still me, I still have a vested interest in me. I'm cool with being Mrs.Awesome from this point forward, but I never thought the gov't would go back and change who I was. That's what it feels like for me. I don't know why I'm personalizing it so but I am.

I'm proud of my last name. It's where I came from. My grandparents took me in when my father basically abandoned me. They didn't have to, but they did. My name is tied to them. And I feel like having their name is tied to my loyalty, my gratitude for them being my parents. I don't want to change my freaking birth certificate!

Logically, a name change doesn't change who I am - a rose by any other name, would smell just as sweet. But it freaks me right the hell out! There is connotation in names, and I don't want for one second for my parents to think I don't love them, that I don't love being their daughter, that I'm not proud of them, and all they've accomplished, and grateful for all they've done and continue to do for me.

So what do I do? Bah. I'm the one that convinced my FH that I wanted to take his name. And I still do. I just... Fuck, why does the gov't have to fuck with my BIRTH CERTIFICATE?!

I wonder if I can apply for a name change with another branch of gov't so they will leave my birth certificate the fuck alone. I suppose I could just keep my old one and cut the new one up into little pieces?? I won't give it to them, that much I will refuse.

UPDATE!

Okay! So finding more information, yay useful gov't sites! I'm going to "assume" FH's name. That info sheet did not represent it well!

I can get my health card, driver's license(if I had one!), Passport(!), bank account's, credit cards, all in my "assumed" name by showing them my marriage certificate(when I get it of course). Wee! This is just want I wanted, and I still get to be me, Ms. Hazelton, legally, while also being Mrs. Wood for all intents and purposes! Best solution ever!

Octopedes! *

I have to admit a terrible secret. I have an unaccountable love for octopedes!! I just think they are the neatest things! I love jewelry of octopedes, I love pictures of octopedes, I love stuffed animals, key chains, fabric, art, what have you, if it has an octopus I'm going to squeal and want one desperately.

So I was surfing one of my favourite sites since beginning all this wedding planning stuff: The Graphics Fairy, and found the most amazing image of an octopus!


OMG! I'm in love! Seriously.

My first thought was, I need to include him in my wedding somehow. Since I'm currently working/focused on the guest book, I thought, Wishing Ocotpus! I can attach get my guest to attach their well wishes cards to him! Yes!

Alas, on further consideration, I don't think it's really viable. I would have to pay more than I'm willing to get him printed at a larger size. And then I'd have to colour him in/fuss with him to get him to look really good. And.... what would I do with him after the wedding? I'd have to throw him out. I'd have added tape to get the cards to stick, and he'd get a fuzzy if I tried to keep him. No, it's just too much work for such a little thing. Sadness.

I really really love this image. He's just so....perfect. I still really want to include him, I just... *sigh* It doesn't make sense to. The rest of my wedding is very classic and elegant. He doesn't fit. But man, do I love him! =/



* Terminology: The Oxford English Dictionary (2008 Draft Revision)[34] lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order); it labels octopodes "rare", and notes that octopi derives from the "apprehension" that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, though it is not.

I personally first thought octopi, I admit, but I wasn't sure, so I looked it up. I think "octopuses" just sounds wrong, so I'm following Chris' brother and using the 'rare' octopedes!