Gentlemen Prefer Booze

I was rifling through some papers today, looking for stashed tax info, and I came across the receipt for one of Mike's Christmas gifts. I remembered that I intended to share it, since I think it would be a great gift for groomsmen.

I chose this item for Mike because 1. He loves his scotch (or Jack Daniels for that matter), and 2. We have very little cabinet space, so he tends to leave the bottle out on the kitchen counter. I thought a classy, monogrammed crystal decanter would make us both happy. But let me tell you, I had a considerably difficult time finding good quality, reasonably-priced, able to be engraved, non-cut crystal, liquor (not wine) decanters. When I finally found Tom's Glass Works on line, I felt like I had struck gold.





Now, I don't love the website and I don't love all the products, but trust me when I tell you that this guy has the best selection of simple crystal decanters that I could find. And I love that you have the option to get either traditional hand engraving (all done by Tom himself) or sandblasting. Oh, and the very best part? His prices are really reasonable, especially compared to most of the crystal whiskey decanters out there. (Yeah, Michael C. Fina, I'm talking to you.)



Mike's decanter is even nicer than I expected in person, and he absolutely loves it. If we hadn't already bought flasks for his guys (are you noticing a pattern?), I would have definitely gotten them each their own personalized decanter. There are enough to choose from that you could even get each fella a different style if you felt so inclined.

And yes, Tom has beer mugs, wine glasses, and other such alcohol-related items as well.

Unregisterable*

When I was a little girl, I used to dream about registering for fine china and silver. After all, that is what made family and holiday dinners so special. I remember from a young age, helping my mom polish the silver and set the table. I was disappointed as an adult, therefore, when I realized that while china is doable (more on that later), sterling silver flatware is simply too costly these days to expect guests to give it as a wedding gift. Obviously, some people have guests with deep pockets, so they can request whatever the heck they want, but I am not one of those people. So I knew that I would not be registering for silver when I got married, but I figured that I would eventually inherit some from my grandmother or mother. And while I wanted my own set sooner rather than later - how would I host a holiday dinner without silver? - I decided that I could survive.

Unfortunately for my bank account, however, a few years ago I discovered a sterling flatware pattern a that drew me like no other. It was a bit unexpected that I loved it so much, since I normally like plain flatware, and this pattern was distinctly ornate. But the name of the silver company and the pattern had significance for me, and for some reason, I loved the intricacies of its floral detailing. (this picture doesn't even do it justice)

The problem? They stopped making it in 1920. Plus, it was a bit on the rare side. So even if I thought my guests would actually want to buy it for me, there was no where to register for it. I looked into Replacements.com, but the pieces that I ordered from them were over-polished and had had monograms removed (a no-no in silver collecting), so I knew that I was going to have to find this stuff and buy it on my own. I started slowly accumulating pieces, mostly via Ebay. And I am not going to lie, I mean really slowly. My mom tried to help, but last time I checked, I only had enough complete place settings to serve four people. I started to feel like I was never going to have enough pieces to actually host the elegant dinner I had dreamed about.

That all changed today. Today, Mike and I went to the Atlantique City antique show, where I always see my favorite silver dealer. (side note: it's a small world, because he actually worked with my step-mom years ago) Anyway, when he saw me and went to pull out the boxes of my pattern, he asked, "Do you want to be tempted today?" I replied in the affirmative, so he opened the lid of one box to reveal a complete service for 24. *Swoon* Even better, the pieces were in amazing condition. Sanity reminded me that I couldn't buy them all, however, so I started sorting out the pieces I wanted, focusing on knives. It is important to buy them all together, since their blades have usually been replaced at some point and you want them to match. Buying 12 knives was going to be my whole budget for the show, but I decided it was worth it, because you cannot usually find a set like that.

Then, Mike came back from getting a snack, and after asking the dealer a few questions, he made a completely unexpected decision. He told me we could buy a complete service for 12. I almost passed out. Seriously. But I didn't waste any time grabbing the stash and getting it rung up before he changed his mind. I did swap out a few place settings for some serving pieces, though, so I wouldn't have more than I needed. Then I carried an extremely heavy bag of silver around the rest of the show, not even letting Mike carry it, for fear he would take it back.

And now I have 12 complete place settings, plus some extras, and serving pieces. One step closer to feeling like a grown-up.

*this may or may not be an actual word

Fashion Statement

If my wedding was a wearable piece of clothing, it might be this dress.

Edit: Since Mrs. Kiwi over at Weddingbee was kind enough to reference me in her post, I thought I would bump this up, so you all could see what she was talking about. Plus, I have another possible contender to represent my wedding...The Anthropologie Yacht Club dress! Thanks to the local Anthro Store Gods, I was able to find this puppy after all, and I am planning to wear it to our rehearsal and welcome party. True, it is a size or two too small, but hey, so is my wedding dress. Call it extra weight loss incentive.

My paycheck is running in fear...

Because Decor8 just showed me this shop.

Whoa, Nelly. I'm in big trouble.

Paper products can totally brighten my day.

As many of you know, this whole wedding planning process is a bit of a roller coaster, but the good news is that today, I am headed back up!

I just got the proofs for our new invites and I am so excited. They are going to be basically the same as last time, but with a new script font - the Feel script (thanks Miss Lovebug!). Even better is added bonus of the "Welcome Party" invite that we included this time around. I don't want to give it all away until it's printed, but here's a sneak peek...





And because I am completely, shamelessly in love with the original invites, here they are (you know, for reference)...

Hair Apparent

Having chopped a large chunk of my hair off last fall, I haven't really been sure what to do with it come June. I had a hair trial last year, when it was longer, and I liked that style then. In retrospect, however, I think I want more volume in the back. Well, all over really. But my locks aren't so lengthy at the moment, so I am not sure what can be done. Barring extensions, which I would prefer to avoid, I don't think something as intricate as my old inspiration will work.

Today, I found new inspiration, however, in hair icon Keri Russell. Just for the record, I have never *not* loved her hair, even when she chopped it all off. But I completely adore her do from the Oscars this year. I just wish I could find a good picture of the back. Still, it looks pretty loose and free form, so I think I might be able to do something similar...

Here are some other, non-celebrity styles that I currently like:

*Sorry, I don't know the source for all of these. Let me know if you do!

Losing my religion...

Remember when I said that I was sort of sad about the re-wedding, since no matter what, it would never be what it was supposed to be? Well, I got some news this week that is definitely not helping. Bless his heart, Mike waited until I was well again to tell me, but the gist is that his cousin isn't going to be able to come to the wedding. That wouldn't be a big deal, except that his cousin was supposed to be our officiant. *Sigh*

I know that we are already married and, fortunately, he was able to be here to perform that more important, actual ceremony. But I was so looking forward to having him there to help us renew our vows. Now I don't know what we will do. Hire a stranger? Have a friend/family member do it? Go commando?* My brain hurts.

And just when I was starting to get excited again...



* Just so there is no confusion, I meant sans officiant, not sans undergarments.

Way better than cheesesteak.

I would have posted these sooner, but I have been sick as a dog since last Saturday. I mostly blame my germy students.

At any rate, here are my pics from this year's Philladelphia Flower Show, which was a welcome reprieve from winter, as usual. I went with Mike's aunt and we had a great time. Here's the proof.

(Sorry I don't have the energy to do captions, but if you have questions about anything in particular, let me know!)