All You Need Is Love

Some of you may know that Drew and I travel to Sudan on occasion, and if you're wondering why, watch this:



I've been meaning to post about our involvement with Cornerstone Children's Home in Southern Sudan for some time, but haven't gotten around to it until now. I'm sure I'll write more about it in the future, but for now, please feel free to gush over this video that our friend, Ross, made for my brother and his wife as a wedding present from the kids.

Can't Wait!

I just read over on Joanna Goddard's Blog that Anthropologie is launching a wedding brand in the Spring of 2011!! I wonder if Drew will understand my need to postpone our wedding until next summer... :) But seriously, bridal gowns, jewelry, shoes, invitations, decorations... Can you imagine? I can't and that's why it's so exciting!


I swear, this was my idea. Somehow, the designers at Anthro got into my brain and thought- hey, she's right, a wedding line would be GENIUS! Part of me is so excited right now, and part of me is disappointed that my wedding will fall one year too early! Is that ridiculous? I mean, sure I'm still jazzed to be getting married... but this entire time I've been saying how much easier this process would be if Anthropologie would only create wedding dresses, invites, shoes, etc (as if I could afford all of that... but that's besides the point).

Now if they would only offer gift registry before June...

Predicament

Oh what to do... Yesterday, I started reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You guys, it is so good. I can't put it down. But I'm facing a predicament in that, I am currently halfway through the book. I could easily finish it tonight, and I have the urge to do so. However, if I choose to finish it, then that will mean that it will be over. In 24 hours I will have read a book that I could have let myself enjoy for a few more days. Do you ever do that? Regret reading a book too quickly?

So, do I stop now to prolong my enjoyment? Or do I let myself be completely wrapped up in the story that I finish it in a few hours?

If I do finish it tonight (and I probably will...), can you recommend some books so that I don't feel guilty over letting myself read this one too fast?

Ok, I'm going to read just one more chapter for today... or five.

Lovely

Did you guys get a chance to see this wedding over at Green Wedding Shoes last week? I'm dying over it. The details are just... they are so perfect. Go have a look for yourself.


Dear Wedding Genie/God,

Can I please have a wedding that is as beautiful, cohesive, and put together as the wedding above?

Thanks,
Alie

Hello bloggies. Sorry I've been MIA this week. I've been sick and my doctor thought I had appendicitis, but I don't. Just some mysterious abdominal pains. Weirdly enough, last Tuesday and Wednesday I was doubled over in pain, unable to walk or ride in a car comfortably. And then Thursday morning (after a night in the ER) I woke up feeling 100%. We're still not sure what happened, but I'm on antibiotics and I'm on the mend!

How about I make up my absence to you by sharing some Spring dresses from ModCloth that I'm dreaming about and am totally ready to start wearing already!
Paired with some boots and a belt for a date with my fiance.
Rehearsal Dinner Dress?? Is it okay to wear black to your rehearsal dinner?


To the office (right, I'm still unemployed, doesn't mean I can't plan the outfits I would wear if I had a job).
For a garden wedding (not my own, as a guest).


Do I need a reason for this one? I want it just because!

Dude...

Check out this house, made entirely of recycled materials which totals in cost to $2,200. I'm inspired.


AWESOME house made entirely out of Recycled Materials!

EcoPSYCHOlogist | MySpace Video

Turquoise Furniture

So, lately I've kind of been obsessed with the idea of painting every wooden surface in my house turquoise. It's not that I want all of my furniture to be turquoise. Noooo, certainly not- in fact, I had a friend who's great aunt died and when they went to pack up her house it was entirely turquoise- her walls, furniture, clothing, china, jewelry, etc. True story. I would have loved to have taken pictures in the house, but definitely not to have lived in it. It's just that when I see a piece of wooden furniture, I think- oh how lovely that would look if it were painted turquoise!


Well, Drew is allowing me to satisfy my urge by letting me paint our kitchen table turquoise! I have totally been swooning over this photo for the past few weeks, and I can't wait for it to get just a teensy bit warmer out so that I can happily sand, paint, wax, and distress away in my garage. Any tips on distressing furniture?


I have also had my eyes on a pair of aqua nightstands at a local antique store, and I've decided that if they are still there tomorrow, I am going to get them. If I do score them, I think I'll have to stop with the turquoise furniture for a while, or at least move on to a new color.


links: 1, 2, 3, 4

Grace and William

I wanted to share some of my personal favorites from Grace and William's celebration. It was such a unique experience for Drew and I because these are such good friends of ours. We had just been with them this summer in Tanzania and they were key players in our engagement! We got to enjoy this wedding as both photographers and guests.

While still in Tanzania, Grace collected different African inspired goodies to decorate with. At the end of the night, guests got to take home the fabric stars as a favor, and some of us were even lucky enough to snag one of those great wooden vases (which are made from retired fishing boats from TZ!).


Their ceremony was really sweet, since they had technically been married for a few months before they moved to the States. They walked down the aisle together and both wrote new vows based on what they had experienced together in their first few months of marriage. William wrote Grace a song, and Grace wrote William a poem.


The best part for me, as the photographer, was that since they were already married, there wasn't a ton of stress and nerves before the ceremony. This allowed us to drive all around town to find the perfect photo opportunities.


Thanks for visiting!

Collage

Remember that gorgeous couple that Drew and I photographed in December? The ones who met in Tanzania as expats and fell into an amazing love story? Well, I've just finished editing their photos and I'm jazzed about the outcome. I'm on my way to drop them off, so I can't show you too many, but here's a peek at some special edits that I did for them.


Photographing friends means that I can take creative liberties without really offending anyone. I'll try to post a few more images of their wedding soon.

Obsessed

It's a shame this is such a sad song, because wouldn't it be beautiful for a wedding? I think anyone could sing this song and I'd probably like it, but I especially like this rendition with Mr. Timberlake and Matt Morris. I may or may not have an embarrassing celebrity crush on Justin Timberlake, and maybe a new crush on Matt Morris after hearing this song. I mean, come on, that voice? the hat? and hello, he has a beard. Good thing everything I just described sounds like a carbon copy of my fiance, or I might be in trouble.

Our Save-the-Dates and Yudu Screenprinter Review

I have been so excited to share our save the dates, but I was waiting until all of them had been sent first! It is details like these that I love about party planning.


We're going for a "modern vintage" feel for our wedding, mixing vintage details with modern design. Now, I totally think that Save the Dates are unnecessary for a budget wedding such as ours, but I just love paper goods and I couldn't help myself! I'm hoping that these little gems get our guests excited about celebrating with us!


I wanted to print on both the paper and the hankie, that way if our guests found some clever way to use the hankie (oh trust me, my aunt made us a stuffed bunny out of one...), they still had the paper to hang on the fridge!


You know what the best part is for a bargain-hunter-diy girl like myself? These babies cost us a total of 65 cents a pop! We're trying to save on postage by handing them out in person to those who live close.

Yudu Review:
There are good things and bad things about this machine. The good... It is all self contained, which is super convenient and makes it so easy to print anywhere with a large flat surface (dining room, kitchen, garage, etc). My two favorite features include the light-tight dryer, which you stick your screen in after applying emulsion or washing or whatever, and the tacky printing surface. The tacky surface makes registration so great. I chose to purchase this machine because, since I've graduated, I no longer have access to a printmaking studio. I feel like at this point, it is meeting my screenprinting needs.

The bad... If you are not an experienced screen printer, this machine might seem amazing upon first glance. However, without experience, you may have a really hard time getting it to do what you want. I had to make many modifications to my machine in order to make myself not regret this purchase. If you are an experienced screen printer, this machine might seem a little chincy at first, but with some tweaks, it works pretty well. The screen isn't the best, and it's definitely not made for more than like 5 wash outs. Also the Yudu ink, which they say to only use (of course) is completely overpriced and really dry. I tried it and got really terrible prints, very spotty. After that, I didn't even bother with it, I just went ahead and used Speedball. Also, the emulsion remover works really well and really fast, but bleach works just as well. The emulsion sheets are very convenient, but they don't work as well as good old liquid emulsion. Plus they are super pricey. The squeegee is just terrible. Do yourself a favor and go buy a good squeegee at an art supply store.

I guess it might seem like I have more bad things to say... but I really had a lot of fun using the Yudu machine. If you're thinking of buying one, my advice to you is to make sure you do your research on how to modify it.

Free Clothing

Here is another awesome shirt benefiting relief efforts in Haiti. I'm proud to say that the guys who own this company, Joel and Tim, are really great friends of mine. So sweet to see so many talented friends using their gifts to help a cause.

Check It

Help Haiti Rise tshirts available here. 100% of the proceeds go to Partners in Health. What a small but great way to help contribute toward relief efforts in Haiti. They're only $15!

Six Ways You Can Help Haiti

Go here.

Dream

This is a dream of mine. Swimming with whale sharks. They are herbivores, and very docile!

Grey Dresses

I told my bridesmaids that they should pick their own dresses. I figure, let them buy a dress they actually like for a price they can actually afford. Plus, I didn't want to deal with finding a dress that looks good on 6 different body types. I did, however, want to steer them in the right direction, so I made this dress guide.

I told them, "You are each choosing your own GREY dress to wear for the wedding. Find something that will flatter you and allow you to be in a tie for the SECOND hottest girl at the party (emphasis on second). It’s not a big deal to me that the color of your dresses match exactly, in fact I’m sort of going for the opposite effect. I just want you to feel fabulous in what you are wearing. I’ve tried to do a little research for you, because I don’t want this to be stressful. Below I have made some suggestions of styles I particularly like, though I definitely want you to be in something YOU like too."
I also said, "My personal favorites are #7, 11, 12, 16, 17 and 18. Can you tell I’m kinda into ruffles right now? Things I’m not into and it would be sweet if you could avoid: jersey knit, black details on the dress (though white is okay), and hoochie mamas. I understand that many of you are on a budget (who isn’t?). So I tried to appeal to all levels of spending. Many of these
dresses are on sale, so if you like any of these, feel free to go for it! Otherwise, I’d really love to see your dress before you decide to buy. I’m willing to bet that there will be some fun dresses that come out for spring, but if you don’t like being a Last Minute Lucy, then I’d start now!"

Links: 1 ,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

Crying

I'm not sure how I've missed nieniedialogues in all my years of blog stalking, but I just came across her blog today. I also just read her story here. I am crying. You should read it and have a good cry, too.

Cue the mouth watering:

This is what I have been craving for, oh, the past two weeks or so. Since the last time I had some.

Chicken Tikka Masala Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of Boneless Chicken Breasts
¼ cup of Plain Yogurt
3 tsp. of Ginger (Adrak) (minced)
3 tsp. of Garlic (Lehsan) (crushed)
¼ tsp. of White Pepper
¼ tsp. of Cumin Powder (Pisa Zeera)
¼ tsp. of Mace
¼ tsp. of Nutmeg
¼ tsp. of Green Cardamom Powder (Ilaichi Powder)
¼ tsp. of Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirchain)
¼ tsp. of Turmeric Powder (Pisi Haldi)
3 tbsp. of Lemon Juice (Nimbu Ka Arakh)
Margarine (melted – for basting)
4 tbsp. of Vegetable Oil

Ingredients for Sauce:

• 2 pounds of Tomatoes (chopped)
2 tsp. of Green Chillies (Hari Mirch) (finely chopped)
2 tsp. of Cloves (Loung)
8 Green Cardamoms (Choti Ilaichi)
2 tsp. of Ginger (Adrak) (julienned)
1 tsp. of Fenugreek
5 ounces of Tomato Paste
10 ounces of Tomato Puree
2 tsp. of Ginger Paste (Pisi Adrak)
2 tsp. of Garlic Paste (Pisa Lehsan)
1 tbsp. of Red Chilli Powder (Pisi Lal Mirch)
Salt (to taste)
3 tbsp. of Butter
2/3 cup of Cream
Honey (Shehed) (to taste)

1) Whisk together all of the ingredients (not the sauce ingredients) in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and bake for another 2 minutes.

2) While doing this, make the sauce. Deseed and chopped green chilies. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water. Add ginger and garlic paste, green chilies, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir. If the sauce tastes sour, add honey to taste. Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken.

Serving Suggestions: Serve Hot With Plain Rice, Chapati Roti or Nan

Chicken Tikka Masala is the most famous Indian dish in the world, why isn't it made in the home more often?

In another somewhat related note, I've been trying to get Drew to go to culinary school since the moment he mentioned he might have some small interest in it. How amazing would that be? I will never let go of that dream. Our relationship is a bit unconventional in that he does the majority of the cooking, and I do the majority of the fixing/building. So, don't be fooled: the fact that I posted this recipe just now certainly doesn't mean that I'm actually going to attempt it.

Hand Embroidered Note

from Craftzine.

Salt and Pepper Shakers

I have this new obsession over finding the perfect salt and pepper shakers. The problem is that a year or so ago, I found this amazing pair at Anthropologie. They were robin's eggs, and one sat upright and the other on it's side. They were on major sale, but I just didn't need them at the time, so I didn't get them. I've regretted it ever since!

These next few are nice, but they will never be able to replace my longing for the robin's eggs.

Vita Salt and Pepper Shaker, MichikoShimada, $28

Wood Salt + Pepper Shakers, Branch, $56
Whale Salt and Pepper Shakers by Johnathan Adler, Bloomingdales, $48

Egg Salt & Pepper Shakers, Neatorama, $7.95 (!)

Circus Pony Salt and Pepper Shakers, BROOKLYNrehab, $20
Finally, I came across this sweet tutorial from Design*Sponge for how to make your own salt and pepper shakers! Out of russian dolls! How great is that?

Yudu Screenprinter

Oh man, I am so jazzed. I am about to leave to go pick up this:
so that I can make these:


I've been putting this off for far too long! Our wedding is only 5 months away, and maybe it's a little too late to send save the dates, but I don't care! I'm sending them anyways, because I'm in LOVE with them!