Curtain Crisis

Spring cleaning is complete...just in time to start all over again, I think. In the process, we had a bit of a curtain crisis, specifically curtain shrinking crisis. Now that I've solved it, I think the wounds are sufficiently healed to write about it.

Put simply, FAIL (old curtains, post-wash):









Fixed (new Ikea linen curtains, relentlessly ironed by George but still wrinkled):

Brilliant Sun

I've said I'm not going to check the weather for our wedding day until just before the wedding because there is no need to worry about something I can't change. However, upon realizing that the wedding is LESS THAN TWO WEEKS away (thus within the 15-day forecast), I decided to take a quick look. Knowing that our forecasts usually change right up to the day and are rarely accurate, I told myself not to worry if the forecast was for rain...or for high temps...or for low temps...or really anything other than perfect.

Look at what I found:


Not just sunny, but brilliant sun. Not too hot. Not too cold. PERFECT. I feel like I just checked my grades expecting a C and ending up with an A. You better believe that I will be keeping my fingers crossed that our day actually ends up with the predicted weather. Please...

Guestbook Forewarning

Start thinking of the advice, memories, and stories you want to share with us!

Don't worry - we'll provide you with some paper, pens, and even a camera at the reception.

Labor of Love

Every wedding (at least every wedding that includes DIY elements) has a labor of love - you know, that project that seems so simple but ends up taking a ton of time or just generally being difficult and will be worth it as long as it's appreciated. Meet our programs:

The design process evolved over months until I had just the right wording, font, layout, size, etc. When I finally decided to take the plunge and print to cardstock, everything started out really smoothly. There were no major printing issues. In fact, I started printing after dinner one night (7:30pm) and had all of the pages printed and cut into their respective pieces before going to bed that night. Heck, I thought, if it's this easy, I should be able to assemble them in the morning before I stop for lunch. Wrong.

In the process of assembling these babies, I've killed two (two!) hole punches and spent way too much quality vision trying to get all of my holes aligned and trying to weave the ribbon when the holes weren't perfect (most of the time).

That was early last week. Tonight, I won. I mean, I finished the programs. Now that they're all resting in their home-for-a-few-more-weeks, I feel significantly better about this whole wedding planning thing.

In case you're curious, here are the final statistics relating to the programs:

50 programs
7 layers of paper per program (x 50 programs = 350 layers of paper)
3 holes per program (x punched in 3 sets x 50 programs = 450 holes punched)
1 ribbon per program (x 50 programs = 50 ribbons...each double weaved and trimmed)
25 pieces of paper x 2 cuts per page x 7 layers of paper = 350 cuts to get paper the right size
1 large hole punch per program
1 sticker per program

At least one guest who really appreciates them = it's all worth it.

Spring Cleaning

I'm in the midst of my first exercise of spring cleaning since leaving my mother's very tidy abode. This is the first time in the last five years that I've lived somewhere long enough to need to spring clean, and I figure that this is the best time to do those things that should have been done a while ago, need done now, or might need done in the next several months. Alas, in a mere two weeks the party starts...er, Pierre arrives...and, in three weeks, it's the big day!

It's embarrassing that I'm estimating that it'll take just about every day that I'm not in school during the next two weeks in order to attack the whole house. Meanwhile, my mom could no doubt clean our whole house from top to bottom in two or maybe three days. I've learned most of what I know about cleaning from her, but I still have a thing or five to learn. So goes life...

Today I took to our office with our old vacuum and some trusty Murphy's Oil Soap. Turns out, Murphy's has given my engagement ring a whole lot of shine! It also makes our second floor smell like a Murphy's air freshener. Most importantly, it has given some new life to our office. Here are some photos to prove it:

BEFORE (just after moving in, May 2007)

AFTER (post- painting, recessed lights, and recent spring cleaning)