Bouquets, Boutonnieres, Corsages

In keeping with the "cheap-as-possible-free-is-even-better-budget," I decided to make all of the bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, the cake topper, and the centerpieces for our wedding. We didn't have a florist, so it just made sense for it to be DIY.

My god daughter's mom and I went to Carolina Pottery in Cary, NC and spent around $60 on supplies for everything listed above. I used maybe half of what we got, but I wanted to play it safe so I got extras.

I browsed Etsy and Pinterest for ideas, borrowed my mom's hot glue gun, and got to work!

My bouquet was unique, in that it really wasn't a bouquet at all. I carried my Grammy's prayer book down the aisle (the same one she carried down the aisle at her December wedding in 1952). The handkerchief wrapped around the flowers was my great-grandmother's, and the lace edging was done by my great-great-grandmother. A bride couldn't get more love and support than carrying 3 generations of Italian grandmas with her on her big day!

The flowers were a faux calla lily, glittery faux sprigs of leaves, some evergreen, and some sparkly strands. 

My cousin, Anne-Marie was my Maid of Honor. Her bouquet was made with shatterproof ornaments with some faux greenery and pinecones. The lace and ribbons were remnants from my mom's sewing box.

I made five men's boutonnieres for: Johnny, his brother (the Best Man), both of our fathers, and my grandfather. I used faux rose buds, faux evergreen sprigs, and faux twigs with little "ice crystals" on them. The bottom was wrapped with florist's tape.

I made two women's corsages for: my mom and my grandmother. I used faux white roses, faux evergreen sprigs, little fake red berries, and the glittery sprigs. My mom ended up wearing hers in her hair.

I would estimate the cost for all the above bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages at less than $20. It took some pre-planning and a few hours on my part, but it was definitely worth it. We saved a couple hundred dollars on these few things, alone.

I like that we got to keep them as "souvenirs," they didn't wither and die in a few days. (I have a great shadow box idea in mind for Johnny's boutonniere.) Also, they had a more personal vibe because I made them.

All professional photos taken by Alex Kaplan. 

Splendid Isolation

Just a proud big sister bragging that Michael has started a blog to share the adventures and overhaul of his home, a 28' sailboat.

He's lived on his boat, Splendid Isolation, for over a year now, with his girlfriend, Claire and their ship cat, Piña.

It's a really cute, funny blog of their life, the work they're doing on the boat, and he also takes and shares great pictures!


There aren't many posts yet, but stop by and tell him Christina sent you :) It's a fun read, I promise!

My Wedding Shoes

Yes, shoes, as in plural.

First, I had these glorious heels. They came from David's Bridal, like my dress. I wore them for all the bridal photos, walking down the aisle, the cocktail hour, and most formal photos.

At the last minute I decided to do the little "I Do" trend at the bottom for some photo ops. I went with bright purple gems, to match my bright purple toenails. The gems were actually strung together, I found them in Wal*Mart's ribbon section, sold by the yard. I asked the girl for 6", so it turned out to be some ridiculous amount like .18¢ and they were a breeze to hot glue on. 

This is me, getting to put the shoes on, as the finishing touch of "getting ready." In case you couldn't tell by my face that I was thrilled, I'm actually squealing in delight. (Sidenote: Johnny's mom chose this photo to be in their parents' album. I love that!)

Before any of the dancing started, I knew I wanted to slip into something comfortable. Since it was a winter wedding, I didn't want to go with the traditional "white flip flops." Besides, why would I wear any other color shoe besides bright green?!

I custom ordered these bad boys from Van's. They cost more than my heels, but I love them and I wear them all the time now that the wedding has passed. Most comfortable shoes I own, as a matter of fact. (Sidenote: I switched to this Target $5 headband once I took off my lengthy veil.)

I cannot tell you how glorious it felt to sit down and kick off the heels and put on these shoes! Brides that wear heels for their entire wedding day definitely deserve an official award ceremony and recognition.

This is my aunt asking me to lift up my dress to show off my shoes. Apparently my grandfather needed visual proof that I, indeed, had bright green sneakers on under my wedding dress.


The Vans even made it into some of our "official" wedding shots.

My Wedding Dress & Veil

Let's do some wedding posts, shall we? It is, after all, the biggest thing that has happened in my life thus far, and the planning and execution of (among other things) is what kept me from the blog for so long!

This is a model in my dress. She clearly didn't rock it to it's full abilities, so I had to show her how it's done.

Consider it rocked, random model. It was an Oleg Cassini and I got it at David's Bridal. Believe it or not, that's off the rack. I was really, really pleased that I didn't have to spend any money on alterations. I was going for the "cheap-as-possible-free-is-even-better-budget" while planning.

The only thing I did to the dress was add beaded straps for $18 because I didn't want to pull my dress up all night (huge pet peeve). Great investment because I felt secure all day and I danced my tush off all night.

Wedding day started with some pictures of the dress, solo:

 

Then it was time for me to get in the dress. This is my cousin, Anne-Marie (aka my Maid of Honor) zipping me up!

After some photos, I realized we had a big static problem. Nothing a little static guard couldn't fix! Thanks for the favor, Anne (I owe ya one)!

Since my dress didn't have a train, I knew I wanted a cathedral length veil to drag behind me. Have you seen the prices on those suckers, though? David's Bridal wanted like $200. For tulle? Not gonna happen.

I found mine on Amazon for $29, even splurged a few more dollars for the fancy, beaded edge to match my $18 beaded spaghetti straps.

This is my brother's girlfriend, Claire, placing the veil ever so lovingly on my head. Claire is a cosmetologist and she did my hair and makeup for the big day. She rocks. I love her, and I love that she played such a huge part in my wedding day and will forever be in the "getting ready" photos with me.

Here's a good "showing off the veil" shot.

And one of us, at the altar fireplace, with the full attire in all its glory.

All professional photos were taken by Alex Kaplan.

My Fitness Pal

If you have an iPhone, or hang around people that are somewhat health-conscious, chances are you've heard of My Fitness Pal.

It's an app that allows you to track your calories and meals conveniently on your phone. You can also use it on a desktop (and see progress charts and graphs), but it's the app features that made me fall in love, and have me using it regularly.

First, it has you enter your height, weight, goal weight, age, and sex. You can also select how many pounds you want to lose per week, or if you want to just maintain your current weight. It will then calculate your daily calorie allowance based on this information. I'm assuming because I'm short and I want to lose 20 pounds at a rate of 2 pounds per week, my magic number is 1200 calories per day.

The first few days were miserable for me. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've gained double digits since the wedding and gotten hooked on meals that are handed to me through a window or served in a little cardboard microwave tray. It was a hard adjustment to go from over 2,000 calories of junk to 1200 calories. But, I went shopping, I planned ahead, and I found my groove. I'm now able to meet my calorie goal, and satiate myself on healthy, filling, nutritious meals.

One of my absolute favorite parts about this app is the ability to scan your food labels. I actually have a tattered, worn copy of a calorie counting book my mom gave me that she used to use. It lists major food companies and their label contents. I tried this and lasted maybe a meal or two in a journal. I suck at math, so trying to read the labels or websites and calculate by the serving size didn't work either. With My Fitness Pal, you scan the bar code of the product, it lets you select the serving size or amount, and when you hit "Add" the math is done for you and it's magically added to your day! (Please note: candy used as just an example, I haven't eaten it ...yet!)

You can also add recipes the same way, then let the app know how many it serves, and just select the meal and your serving size and the information is magically added! All of these food entries are saved, so you only need to do it once. So those peanut butter Cheerios I ate for breakfast? I can just tap on them, entering them with one magic touch of my finger next time I eat them- be it tomorrow or next Thursday!

The other awesome thing about My Fitness Pal is tracking your exercise. Of course, the calories burned is an estimate most of the time, but it's still helpful to see. It records them as calories "earned" and they are added to your daily calorie allowance. You already know that my calorie number for the day is 1200. So, let's say I walk the dog at a moderate pace for 30 minutes, I've "earned" 107 calories- taking my daily allowance up to 1307 calories.

Seeing calories so simply displayed this way - as a "fuel" (essentially what they are, for your body) is really eye opening and helpful. My cousin and I are probably using the whole system backwards. We actually see what we can eat, based on how much we move our asses. Almost like bartering with calories, or earning extra sides with dinner. But hey- whatever way you can find motivation, right?

Which brings me to the last great part- it lets you add friends! I currently have 5 friends added (including Mara) and they're great at congratulating my good days and offering support for moments when I'm frustrated. With or without adding friends, you have the ability to keep all of your information private and viewable for only your eyes.

So, why all this talk about My Fitness Pal? Well, to be honest- I'm really enjoying it. It's something I've found that works for me, I've already seen results on the scale, and it's free. I hope to "check-in" here periodically to hold myself accountable. I'm going to add a progress badge on the side so you can follow along also!

First Dinner!

Hi all!

If you are friends with me on Facebook you will know that the past week has been crazy with us moving into the new house and finally having all of our stuff after 10 months in 2 storage units.

Overwhelming is an understatement.

My mom has been a huge, huge help the past few days helping me unpack, clean, and organize the new kitchen. It's still a total mess, so I'll show you photos in upcoming posts.

But, for now, I just wanted to share our first dinner "officially" cooked in the new house.


A pot roast with all the fixings.

I'm ashamed to say it has been a very, very long time since I really cooked. We moved around 3 times in 6 months, got married, and were house hunting. I didn't have any of my kitchen stuff, and in the last rental house we were living in, the fridge froze everything. And I don't mean a thin sheet of ice on top of a pitcher of juice. I mean, solid frozen ice.

There's been lots of take-out. Lots of eating out. Lots of frozen meals (with the freezing fridge and all..). Barely any grocery shopping, no cooking, and no creativity.

I'm very, very excited to have a beautiful, huge, new kitchen to show you guys and get creative in again. Thanks for hanging in all these months!

Checking In and a Giveaway

I've been lurking behind the scenes for awhile, checking in on a few of you guys. I know that Hannah just had her 20th birthday party, Laura continues to be the Queen of All, thrifting, and cooking away with beautiful views and crazy pets, and Ally is my Pinterest hero - making and creating all kinds of amazing!

I'm plotting and planning my return to food blogging. I have recipes pinned, blogs bookmarked, and an obscene amount of cookbooks scored during my hiatus. I never intended on the crazy turns our lives have taken in these past few months to impact my blog the way it did. Even though I haven't blogged much in these months, it still is very much a part of who I am and an outlet I crave. Stay tuned, I'm excited to show you what's ahead for us in our new married life!

Speaking of wedding, I'm still working on sorting through over 2,000 images provided to us by our photographer. My mom has chosen the photos for their parent photo album, and I made a few small albums for relatives and family friends, but that is about it.

Until I was given the opportunity to review My Memories Suite Scrapbook software. I was so happy to have this resource to be able to do something fun, creative, and lasting with our wedding photos.

I was nervous at first, because it required a download and I thought it'd be hard. I'm not the most computer savvy, I usually call on Johnny for anything beyond the usual e-mail writing and web surfing kind of jobs. When I open Photoshop and see all the buttons and tools I panic and get overwhelmed. I thought this scrapbook software would be the same, but it wasn't.

The buttons are clearly labeled and very easy to use. You can choose a template and it loads itself from there. It's very intuitive and guides you through each step. Helpful bubbles pop up with prompts and tips every now and then.

I also really like that there are unique things to add to pages, such as editing and playing with text, photo embellishments and effects, even calendars!


The few books I'd made were on a web site with free software and it did not have any of these options, you couldn't even change the font. I really liked the ability to personalize and spend time making My Memories Suite book unique and personal to us and our wedding.

I did find it difficult to add one photo at a time, but perhaps as I learn the software more I'll learn a shortcut or easier way to do this. The thumbnails to choose from were small, even for these spry 27 year old eyes.

There were also moments where it ran kind of jerky, but I think that's more a reflection on my computer's ability than the software.

It seems to be the type of thing you could lose yourself in for hours, making your creation "perfect," so plan accordingly!

Giveaway Prize:

1 digital copy of My Memories Suite scrapbooking software (Valued at $39.97)

To Enter:

Please visit www.MyMemories.com and tell me which theme you would love to use to build your next scrapbook! (1 entry, leave a comment below)

Follow My Memories on Facebook (1 entry, leave a comment below)

Follow My Memories on Twitter (1 entry, leave a comment below)

Rules:

That is a chance for 3 entries! Contest will close Saturday, March 17th at midnight. I will announce the winner Sunday, March 18th.

For everyone:

My Memories has generously offered all Dinner at Christina's readers a $10 discount on the purchase of the My Memories Suite software and a $10 coupon good for anything in the MyMemories.com store (combined $20 value)! Just use code STMMMS62904 at checkout.


Disclosure: As part of the review and giveaway, I received a complimentary copy of the My Memories Suite scrapbooking software to download and use. The images and review are my own, honest opinion of using this product.

All wedding photos shown are the work of twoweddingphotographers.com

Let them eat (Wedding) cake!

To be honest, I really didn't care about having a wedding cake when we started planning a year ago. It just seemed silly to spend hundreds of dollars on one cake, especially since neither of us are big cake fans.

As luck would have it, our venue included the cake with our wedding package. I asked about excluding it, thinking we could make our own pies and Christmas cookies. We would have only received a $100 credit, so it ended up being worth it to have a cake!


I looked through the bakery's portfolio and instantly chose "Snowflake Tessie." It was simple and elegant. White icing with some white snowflakes. The topper was understated greenery, which went with my decor. In the sample the ribbons were red, but I knew that'd be a simple switch to my color choice of green.

In September we tasted wedding cakes and all of you guessed correctly - I went with Cannoli!

The thing I didn't count on was having to provide the topper and ribbon! I planned the wedding as frugally as possible, so I actually made the topper myself. I used the trimmed bottom of a plastic bowl, fake greenery I bought to make all the bouquets/boutonnieres, and lots and lots of hot glue! I was so proud of how it came out.

Thankfully, the women at the bakery tied the bows, I would never have been able to make them look so beautiful!

Because cannoli cream contains Ricotta cheese, Johnny chose to avoid it because chances were high that it had whey. Allergic reactions on your wedding day don't sound fun!

Instead of a "first slice," we did a "first bite" with some gingerbread men we bought ahead of time.

Chomp! We each bit off the other's head!

At the end of the day, I'm glad we had the cake. We took the top home and I had a few slices for breakfasts in the days after the wedding, since we weren't saving it to eat together. The rest I froze in individual slices to enjoy with my mom throughout the year when we get a craving!

Wedding Eats

Back in September I blogged about Johnny's and my trip to New York for wedding food tasting! We were so impressed with all of the samples, that it didn't really help to narrow down our choices. After much deliberation, we finally settled on:

(old photo of mine from the tasting)

Passed Hors d'Oeuvres:

• Mini Buttermilk Biscuit with Honey Mustard Glazed Ham and Swiss Cheese
• Franks in Puff Pastry with Honey Mustard Sauce
• Twice Baked Fingerling Potato Stuffed with Bacon and Boursin Cheese
• Beef Tenderloin Medallion on Crostini with Goat Cheese and Oven Dried Tomato
• Mini Mozzarella en Carozza with Pomodoro Sauce
• Oven Roasted Mushrooms with Sausage and Sage Stuffing

Displays:

• Artisan Cheese Table - A selection of domestic and imported cheeses, dried fruits, assorted fruit preserves and honey, crackers.
• Arthur Avenue - A selection of imported Italian meats, imported provolone, marinated artichokes and olives, garlic crostini, breadsticks, mustard, ciliegine mozzarella, and fine extra virgin olive oil.

Sadly, Johnny and I did not get to try (or even see) the displays. We were busy with pictures during the cocktail hour and riding on the merry-go-round, so we didn't make it over to that part of the room. However, we did get to eat all of the hors d'oeuvres because the staff thoughtfully kept bringing a plate with 2 of everything on it over to us.

Buffet:

• Mixed Green Salad
• Assortment of rolls and butter
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Cider Glazed Pork Loin over Braised Red Cabbage with Bacon Jus
• Roast Beef Tenderloin with Carmalized Shallots and Madeira Jus
• Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes
• Apple Glazed Carrots

The buffet was amazing! Everything on it was delicious, especially the beef. I filled my plate and stomach to the brim. Unfortunately, my dress started to feel really tight so I stopped at one plate. I didn't want to be uncomfortable the rest of the night, but boy was it good!