Pantone Bridesmaid Dresses

I was pretty stoked when I saw this over at Style Me Pretty

Dessy, the Bridesmaid dress company, has 190 different colors of dresses to choose from so that you can match your wedding colors perfectly. You can even order copies of the swatch to leave with your florist, planner, venue, etc. How clever! They win, clearly.

Alfred Sung Style D440, color::majestic.

This is my favorite dress from their site right now. This is a bridesmaid dress I would wear again and again. Hear that, unmarried friends? I would really consider buying it anyway. Does anyone know what it retails for?

Oh, and graphic folks totally geek out over pantone books. So buy your favorite design person one today. Or me, because I don't own a pantone book but I can pretty much guarantee my life would improve tenfold if I did. 

101 in 1001

I'm thinking of embracing the 101 in 1001. I know there are tons of other bloggers, photographers especially with the lists of 101 things to do in 1001 days and it seems so much more achievable than something I only have a year to do. I think it may take me 1001 days to come up with 101 things, so please feel free to comment with suggestions.


If you are interested in following suit, here are some examples and resources to get you started:


Day Zero - declares itself home of the 101 in 1001. You can create a list there if you want a place to keep up with it. I'm planning on having a lot of items with multiple checkpoints (like, if I plan on doing something once a month, I need to have 33 done by the end of this adventure), so I'm not sure if such a site will help. 


For fun, some of my favorite goals from the lists of Tiffany Zajas (fellow photog in Nashville that I went to High School with way back when), Jessica Claire (no explanation necessary).
italics are sidenotes by me.


Tiffany:

source

25. Learn how to make fondue. 
I have a fondue set that we received as a wedding gift from Garrett's mom but I haven't used it yet!
27. Get a sewing machine.
Garrett's actually getting me one, he wants me to pick it out though, so I haven't gotten around to it just yet!
34. Go on a train ride.
G and I have been talking about taking the amtrak to New Orleans for months now, and I say we do it!
42. Stay in a bed & breakfast.
57. Learn how to shoot a gun.
I just love that this is one of Tiffany's goals. I shot a few different guns for the first time in 2007 and really enjoyed it, and would enjoy getting good at it, but guns really do freak me out.
72. Send a care package to 3 people. 
73. Encourage someone to make a list!
Tiff, you can check this one off!

source

82. Learn how to use my new Diana F+ camera.
I have a Diana too! And ridiculously I have used up 5 or 6 rolls without getting any developed. Yet.


Jessica Claire:

6. Sell my wedding stuff on ebay

I have a ton of navy teapots and teacups that I desperately need to get rid of. But the thought of counting them, photographing, listing is daunting. anyone nearby want to make me an offer? There are at least 12 teapots and probably 20 something cups and saucers. 

Julia Child (source)

33. Take a cooking class

My plan is to coerce my in-laws' next door neighbor to take me on as a student (she used to work for Southern Living and is writing a cookbook!)

43. Get a new passport with my new last name

Apparently this will cost me $75. ugh. But I want to reserve our next out of the country trip under my real name.

source (by Annie Liebovitz)

55. Have a Martha Stewart looking dinner party or tea party

Now that I'm married I am desperate for a styled party. so hopefully I'll have time in the next 1001 days.

94. Get fresh flowers for my house

I've been wanting to do this more often, just buy and arrange some flowers to make our place more lovely!

98. Randomly send someone some small item they mention wanting

If I mention wanting a shootsac, will Jessica Claire hear me? Haha I just think unexpected nice things are great. If you ever want to make someone's day, tip someone at an icecream shop or fast food restaurant that wouldn't usually receive tips at all $5. It's a cheap way to see a shocked happy face.

What would be on your 101?

New Conversation Hearts:: NO good

This is a ridiculously frivolous post. I like candy that other people find loathsome. Basically, I like all candies, and while I prefer some to others I'm just addicted to sugar. Candy corn and conversation hearts. Oh man, and those little candy pumpkins too. I like kitsch. Plus, conversation hearts have evolved over the years to say 'fax me', email me, and the most current 'text me'. It can't get much better.

image via charlotte's fancy

The point is, while Garrett and I were in California for the BCS National Championship (more on that later), I bought a box of conversation hearts at a Walgreens and they were fruit flavored. The green was sour apple. It was really, really bad. There was no warning on the box that there were new flavors and it was the necco brand. So, I may have to go find some Brach's this year. I did buy some necco wafers to feed my craving for the traditional flavors, most of which are the same. And the pink tastes exactly like Pepto which is bizarre. And now that they make pepto in a chewable tablet, they are almost identical.

photo by me

Has anyone else noticed the disappointing flavor switch? (oh, and don't worry, I wrote in to complain)

EDIT:: Here is the response to my complaint::

January 21, 2010

Dear Mr./Ms. Cummings,

Thank you for writing to Necco,  I wanted to personally thank you for all of your input on our new Sweethearts.  They are a great US made product and I am glad to hear you are a longtime fan. Over the years, our number one product requests have been around producing a more flavorful and softer product. Sweethearts have been America’s favorite Valentine’s Day candy for over 145 years now and we needed to ensure that Sweethearts continue to delight people of all ages.

It’s never easy to change something that hasn’t been changed for a very long time and we appreciate your support as we continue to come up with new flavors and ways to say I Love You. Here’s more information about all of our exciting changes:

Our new softer Original Flavors now include: Green Apple, Blue Raspberry, Strawberry, Lemon, Grape and Orange. The color of the hearts were changed to match the flavors so people could tell what flavor they were eating before they even tried them. The new expressions on the Sweethearts were chosen by over 10,000 Americans at mysweethearts.com back in the summer. The complete list of the top new sayings includes both contemporary expressions like Tweet® Me and Text Me and beloved classics like “Love Me” and “Sweet Pea.” The packaging was changed to make the product easier to find at shelf. And our little 1oz boxes are now slightly smaller with no window, to be more sustainable and easier to handle for tiny kid hands. The back of our 1oz boxes was also changed so that kids could write in their To/From names in pencil.

If you are looking for something to share with the little girls in your life be sure to check out our new Sweethearts Dazzled Tarts with flavors including: Pink Lemonade, Wild Berry Grape, Sour Apple, Watermelon, Extreme Tangerine and Blue Raspberry. These new Sweethearts are dazzled and have crowns and shoes on them!

So, thank you for your feedback and please stick with us. Let us know what you think of our other Sweetheart products. Also, check our www.mysweethearts.com  for free recipe ideas and craft projects.

These stores still have the old flavors.

Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Family Dollar, 99 Cent Only, Freds , Odd Lots, Wakefern,  Sav A Lot.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,


Theresa Denis
Customer Correspondent

So, apparently, I have to go to the dollar store and stock up.

ROLL TIDE ROLL

me and my husband, Garrett after the game!

So, when Garrett and I watched the SEC championship and figured out that Alabama would be headed to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the National Title, we immediately decided we had to be there. An analogy was even made to the When Harry Met Sally scene where Sally talks about how she and Joe were happy they weren't tied down because they could flee to Paris at a moment's notice (and to that hard cold Mexican tile in the Kitchen, haha), but how they never did. It was totally worth it, and it was amazing to be there for the return of the Tide.

I'm not a native to the state of Alabama like Garrett (who was born in Tuscaloosa while his parents were in college), but Garrett's obsession with Alabama is contagious. A lot of people are surprised that he is so in love with football, there certainly is a stereotype of football fans that Garrett does not fit. But, there is something really great about supporting your team to victory. I do laugh, but I love all the little superstitions. I was almost banned from going to the game because the only other Bama game I've attended was the Sugar Bowl last year, which was tragic. I brought up the fact that we left before it was over, and thus as long as we stayed through the BCS bowl it would be just fine.

incase you are unfamiliar, the Alabama A is like the Atlanta Braves', but with a swoosh on top. I only kind of felt like I was advertising The Scarlett Letter. But the A is in white anyway, so I guess I'm clear. Oh, and Bear Bryant (football coach for Alabama for 25 years, taking them to 6 National Championships) wore a houndstooth hat, which is why you see so much houndstooth at the games. I got a kavu houndstooth bag for Christmas and I already have a houndstooth skirt and jacket, just in case.

I was made to learn the fight song and Rammer Jammer before I could go, and I bought Football for Dummies for good measure. I've come a long way since when I first watched a game on tv with Garrett (I did not know what a down was and couldn't even really get the explanation). He's been patient and hopefully it paid off, since I led us to victory in Pasadena.

Our wedding date was even decided with the football schedule in mind, something I would've never thought about without such a fanatic for a husband. You might know what I'm talking about if you're in similar shoes. I'm really glad to be a fan, and there's something so warm about nodding and saying "roll tide" to a compatriot.

The Hurt Locker and District 9

I've been watching a lot more movies lately since Garrett and I discovered the Dollar Theater in Birmingham (and on Stimulus Tuesday [read: every Tuesday] they have $1 popcorn and $1 drinks) and since we became close with Ian, who tries to watch at least one movie a day, and his wife Onna, who loves My Fair Lady more than anything and is having a baby in July. Yay!

So anyway, Ian brought over The Hurt Locker and District 9 from Netflix today. I remember seeing the "Humans Only" posters and stickers around, perhaps while we were in San Francisco in August? well before I knew anything about the movie. It was quite cringe worthy but enjoyable. Hurt Locker was really great, though not something I would've ever intentionally tried to see. I don't usually like war movies and was shocked at how much I enjoyed Band of Brothers. I guess I'm growing up. I can't say that I will ever be one to really judge movies based on their direction or give them a rating out of ten.

Other movies I've seen lately: The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Zombieland, Avatar

Urban Outfitters Music Mondays

It's Sunday but I just got a new computer (major yay!) and set-up my external mail program so that I can get rid of all the junk I never delete, and I found one from urban outfitters (the emails are always really great aesthetically anyway) and found out about Music Mondays. I haven't listened yet but one of the bands featured in a previous music monday (you can download 5 songs for free) is Vitalic, a band I've heard Garrett listening to that I really like. So, I'm planning to catch up on all the music mondays I've missed and I'll let you know my faves.

And just because I think posts without pictures are boring, here are three looks I like available at urbanoutfitters.com.

1. Pins and Needles Peter Pan Blouse, $38.
2. Urban Renewal Sweater Zipper Tunic, $58. The idea behinf the urban renewal styles is that they refashion a piece from vintage fabrics, in this case a "mr. rogers sweater" and "90's blossom dress" + zippers. If I were cool enough, I'd make it myself. Every piece is one of a kind and a slightly different shade. Pretty awesome.
3. Vera Dress, $98

Awesome Wedding Cake dress!

This takes the idea of eating food off of women's bodies to a new level.

The creator is Lukka Sigurdadottir (I totally thought it was a joke when I first read on Reyka vodka's website that women have their dad's name + dottir as their last name, much like Leif Ericson for men, for example. But no, totally true and one more thing to love about Iceland. Plus I like the brand Leifsdottir that Anthropologie sells). Someone please hire a model to wear their wedding cake!

image via neat-o-rama, found thanks to @designcrushing

Going Postal

I made some pretty amazing discoveries lately that have changed my life for the better.

img source

1. My local grocery store, Western, carries stamps. Not in the cutest varieties, but I'm not gonna hate on the liberty bell.

2. The downtown Birmingham post office on 24th st stays open until 8 pm. Now that's just crazy talk! No more freaking out at 4:45 for me!

3. At this same magical downtown location, if you are paying with credit or debit you can buy postage for packages with an automated machine (and reg stamps) so there is no need to wait in line to deal with a less than happy and likely-to-go-postal postal worker. I was informed of this magic machine by a postal worker,  clearly displeased with the growing line of impatient folks.

Life changed.

The Vanishing Sea Lions of san francisco

 I was very sad to read on A Cup of Jo that the sea lions in san francisco have disappeared. You may remember that we were married at the city hall in san francisco and our favorite part of the whole trip was the sea lions! When we went back to go to the Rose Bowl for the Nat'l Championship we didn't visit the Fisherman's Wharf so I had no idea the sea lions had disappeared.  I guess I'm glad I got to see them before they left. And I hope they'll be back.

Here are some pictures I took when we were in San Fran August 2008....

Cick here for the news story.

Thank you notes (and poll)

 I just now (last night) finally finished all of our wedding thank you notes. It was a majory difficult task, mostly because the list of gifts weighed on me the same way a 50-pg paper would. I rarely send thank you notes out for gifts since I usually receive them in person and verbally thank the person when they give me the gift. I really like sending and receiving mail, but it's hard not to sound trite when you are thanking someone for a gift.

some of my thank you notes i purchased from night owl paper goods (right here in Owlabama!)

 No matter how you feel about thank you's, they are definitely viewed as a necessity when it comes to weddings. Older people especially expect them and if you think it will take you a long time to complete them, I would start with the older gift givers first (I didn't follow this and it came back to bite me).

I've definitely been to some weddings and given gifts that I never received thank yous for and honestly it didn't bother me at all. I don't know if that means the younger generations will phase out thank yous, but we rarely rely on written correspondence any more and some people even use the internet to send their invites. I love paper goods and thus would hate to see them come to an end.

 I would never have dared to not write thank you notes (unlike my refusal to write Mr. & Mrs. John Doe on the invites, I pretty much stuck to that unless it was clear that the recipient preferred it), mostly because I know it is indeed appreciated and that there would be no way for me to remember which people I had already thanked in person.

 Emily Post says you have 3 months to send a thank you note. Going by that I'm about a week and a half late on the last few (though the last few were mostly received after the wedding, not sure if that means there is an exception or not).

Just for comparison's sake for the curious, we had about 50 shower gifts and 50 wedding gifts to write thank yous for. How about you?

 And just for fun, if the married folks will vote as to how long it took them to complete theirs:

 How long after your wedding did it take you to send out thank you notes?

• 
  
  
  
  right away, less than 2 weeks
• 
  
  
  
  within 3 months
• 
  
  
  
  just over 3 months
• 
  
  
  
  4-6 months
• 
  
  
  
  a year
• 
  
  
  
  we never finished sending them

view results

Free vote poll

Polaroid's Back & I'm not surprised

When I found out Polaroid would be no more, it took me about 2 seconds to decide that it was a ploy to create demand and I think they succeeded. All of the sudden it was oh-so-cool to have and shoot polaroid, different brands of film came out, but there was a longing for the real thing. So, now it's coming back. I figured the same thing about goccos & their supplies, and as far as I know you can still order inks and other brands of the printer.

huffington post, image and story

I've never had a polaroid camera of my own (my parents had one when I was a babe but I can't say for sure if I ever used it) except for a sticker camera I had in 7th grade. I think I'll buy one this time around, there is something great about plastic film covered reacting chemicals and an instantly tangible photo.

Wedding Recap: Reception Part II

 You wouldn't believe how hard it is to post recaps. I loved my wedding and now I want to move on to life things! And, other peoples' weddings. It's really fun to party vicariously through someone else's vision.  I'm always suggesting blogs to my clients! If it wouldn't require more time than I was physically capable of, I'd love to be a photographer and a wedding planner. And a curiosity shop owner.

 All that aside, I'm looking forward to these final few recap posts, and hopefully by the end of 2010 putting together a wedding album for us. It's a way more challenging process as the bride, and I'll be so glad when I have an actual book to flip through!

 But for now, let the party continue!

Garrett's little cousin Warren is one of my faves. I asked him recently when he was going to go to big school and he replied "when I get big." So cute and so sassy.

We've known each other since first grade. Our blonde hair and blue eyes brought us together even when our height difference threatened to tear us apart. Just kidding, but I'm 5'2" and Stacy's 5'11", so we're height opposites for sure.

Pretty sure this was "to the window to the wall" (Get low). Classic wedding song. I love it.

And this one was either "Shout" which Garrett requested to be played the whole night or 500 miles, which everyone apparently loves to dance to.

Photos by Kristen Stewart Photography and Je Vois Photography, editing by Spindle Photography.

New Year's Resolutions(ish)

i think it's hysterical that the 2010 glasses are such a big issue on the web. here's the original site for this image.

I had a great time New Year's Eve and was definitely really excited about 2010 and the fresh start a new year implies. And then, I felt sick on New Year's Day. I didn't leave my apartment once (Garrett brought me some food) and I just felt kind of icky. My stomach hurt a bit and I was a little dizzy but nothing major. So there went Day 1. Good thing I hadn't written out a list of things to do, that somehow makes me feel like the year hasn't actually started.

I hate promising to do things because I don't do well when I disappoint myself. Instead, here are suggestions to better living, for me, this year. Oh, and exercise isn't even going to appear on this list. It works much better when the thought of working out sneaks up behind me and grabs me, when I'm too delirious to stop it.

1. Cook 3 or more meals a week. This is piddly, but Garrett and I love eating out and the food is so much better than things I can slave over in the kitchen. Thus, we spend a huge proportion of our budget on food and I don't learn any new cooking skills. I got the "How to Cook Everything" cookbook for Christmas and I'm gonna take some baby steps but it's gonna happen. This week? Probably not.

2. Schedule at least one photo shoot a week. I hate getting into a funk after a week or two of not shooting, and now that it's cold it's so tempting to stay inside! But no, we will adventure, and even if it's just for fun, I will get out there and shoot! That being said, if you want to model or schedule any sort of shoot with me, drop me a line: kelly[at]spindlephotography.com.

3. Visit New Orleans, Galveston, NYC, and DC this year. Garrett and I have family/friends in each of those locations and that's a plenty good enough reason to go there.

4. Make a quilt. I've wanted to do this for years and I married the grandson of a quilter and thus this will indeed be the year. I have some fabric, I'm getting a sewing machine (I want to go completely made by hand but not sure if I will for this first one) as a Christmas present from Garrett, and I love quilts more than most other things.

5. Set up a tripod and take (at least weekly) pictures of my hair and/or outfits. I really step it up when I decide I'm going to take a picture of myself and I bought some new hairspray that makes me really excited to play with my hair. I have a big ol bump on the back of my head right now. And it's fabulous.

6. Learn to embroider. It just seems really fun and before too long one of our Birmingham friends will be having a baby! So I may go crazy personalizing outfits and bibs and such. Just a warning, Onna.

7. Go on a honeymoon! I'm not sure if we'll postpone this until 2011 but I think it would be fabulous to at least start planning an actual honeymoon where we leave work at home for a week or two and head off to Belgium, France, Iceland, or somewhere equally wonderful.

8. Host a Sleepover. I miss sleepovers so much, and this will probably have to wait until we move into a bigger place (our lease is up in February and I love our little one bedroom but we need more places to put our things!), but I really want to relive my glory days. Not sure if we should do a co-ed sleepover or if I should kick Garrett out for a night.

We should probably have 2 sleepovers. One thing I've wanted to do for a while is invite my brides over for a wedding themed movie watching night (there are so many to choose from! father of the bride, my best friend's wedding, my big fat greek wedding, wedding crashers). Would it weird you out to be invited to a sleepover by your photographer though?

9. Take a class of some sort. I'd really like to take a crafty class, sewing or printmaking, or even a photography class just to get me back in the groove. Oh, and I am desperately craving a dark room to use. I know it's silly, but film is so much more hands-on and mysterious. I spent many late late nights in college finishing up photo projects in really way too quiet dark rooms, and I honestly miss it.

10. Take my freaking vitamins! I know that iron deficiency and B vitamin deficiency can cause tiredness and I know I'm borderline anemic so there's no excuse for me to be walking around like a zombie all the time when I could just take a vitamin. Plus, I've heard rumor that they have gummy one a days now. Though, I would prefer a grown up one-a-day that tastes like the flintstones.

*edit* just realized that I'd never deconstructed flintstones into flint stones (which is probably why i've always spelled it wrong). bad archaeologist.

Newlywed Christmas

target.com

I am so behind on the holidays. I guess I'm a little overwhelmed with this whole first married Christmas deal, and I spent the entire season behind! We traveled to NC for Thanksgiving (though we had a second turkey meal the next week with Garrett's parents here in Birmingham), we visited Garrett's paternal grandparents/uncles/cousins the weekend before Christmas and then traveled to see Garrett's grandmother in Kentucky the week of Christmas. Then I headed to SC to see my mom's family for a night.

via Black*Eiffel originally from Kate Did

It was nuts. I meant to buy a lot of presents online this year but with all the traveling and busyness my time dwindled and I was afraid I wouldn't get them in time. So I did a lot of stressed out last minute shopping. Not recommended, FYI. I really think we'll try to spend Christmas at home next year (though it will kind of mean having Christmas with Garrett's parents since they live in the same city with us). I really like the idea of Garrett and I starting some of our own traditions (this year we bought a charlie brown tree from Walgreens which was pretty perfect for our limited space, but there was little else in the way of decoration).

via you are my fave from desire to inspire. and yes, i am filling this post with pretties to avoid seeming like a complete and utter pessimist.

During our travels I randomly went to a marriage website I heard about on the radio and the featured article was about splitting time between families and how stressful it is. It is so stressful. Both of you are used to spending Christmas a certain way and one of you has to sacrifice for the other to get that. And it is in no way fair. I've spent this past year away from my family (not to say that I didn't choose to move to Birmingham nor that I don't absolutely love it), so it was really hard to think I had to pick holidays. I was really selfish about it, and I hate that my mind tries to justify it by saying that Garrett's family is here in town and thus can see him whenever they please. Big fat mess.

via oh, hello friend. i am in love with this advent calendar! I never had an advent calendar growing up but Garrett did, I'm hoping I can find or make a good one for next year! this year we had a chocolate one. but we weren't good about eating them and we still have a lot left!

For everyone that will be spending their first Christmas together next year, go ahead and talk about it with each other and your families. There are so many feelings and people involved. And if you want to spend Christmas together, do it. This was our first year together on Christmas Day, and while it was with Garrett's family in Kentucky it was really nice to be together for once. I can't wait until the next Christmas, I'm already feeling like decorating with lights and buying a big ol' tree.

•••

Okay, enough of that, and onto the good stuff! One really fun thing about this Christmas was all the ornaments we received! I know Garrett and I both have a lot of ornaments at our parents' homes but since we didn't have a big tree this year we didn't retrieve any of them. I'm kind of glad, I like the idea of my old ornaments staying on my parents' tree and starting a new one. And, I'm really excited that most of the ornaments we got are vintage style glass blown newlywed themed.

Garrett's Grandpa got us a newlywed set from a Christmas store (Bronner's) in Michigan, and it's so cute. I had never  heard of this tradition so it's really cool that we got it on our first Christmas!

Traditional European Newlywed's Collection
researched by Olga Whitehurst, 1953

photo by me, these are our ornaments!

•A heart signifies love in the home
•A flower basket represents beauty in the home
•A teapot symbolizes hospitality (and our wedding had a teapot theme, so that's neat!)
•A pine cone symbolizes eternity
•A fish symbolizes Christ as well as fertility
•A church or angel symbolizes God
•A house signifies family shelter
•A basket of fruit symbolizes plenty
•A bird in a nest means confidence in the shelter (ours has no nest, and I hope this doesn't mean we'll be homeless!)
•An animal symbolizes peace with nature (ours is a beaver which is super cute!)
•A rose is the symbol of the Virgin Mary
•Santa is the symbol of giving and sharing

We also got some really cute ornaments from other family members. My Grandmother gave us the LOVE ornament on our wedding day, we received the "our first Christmas" ornament with peppermint stripes from Garrett's aunt and uncle on Christmas, and the heart with our picture inside was in my stocking Christmas day, with the photo included (such a small thing but it saves me so much trouble and helped me instantly appreciate it!)

I also received a very cool present as part of the EAD holiday gift swap, I was paired with Emily of the Culinary Couple and received one of her cookbooks! Thanks so much!

I can't wait to hear about all the other Newlywed Christmases and I hope they were more dream than drama!