Online Shopping Saved My Life

Hey everyone! As you can see from my lack of blog posts, I am busy and stressed.  This time of year is always a killer.  BUT, it's April 30th, which means I am close to the light!  Normally I would have reached the light by today but because of the good old Heartbleed Virus, the tax deadline has been extended to May 5th.  Yayyyyyy. 

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

Between dealing with tax season, trying to wrangle RSVPs out of everyone, spending the last five days shuttling between a dance competition and work, and tackling our wedding to-do list as the weeks fly by, I've been more than a little frazzled.  We do have a huge support system around us and people are always offering to help, but there are some things you just can't delegate and I seem to be smack in the middle of a giant list of those types of to-dos.  I even took this selfie the other day when I was right in the thick of accomplishing wedding tasks like a boss:

 

Straight up.

What has been my saving grace throughout this experience has been the magic of online shopping.  If there's two things I have very little patience for, other than the flagrant misuse of the words "your" and "you're", it's shopping and running around.  I'm not someone who likes to spend an entire day driving from store to store, meandering around inside looking at things, humming and hawing over what to buy, and coming home with carefully and painstakingly selected purchases.  I like to get in, make a beeline for what I want, haul ass to the cash register (bonus points if I walk extra fast to beat someone into the line) and get outta dodge.  And nothing gets my blood boiling faster than if a store doesn't have something I want, or worse, they do carry it but are out of stock.  ANGER. 

This is why online shopping is the single greatest thing ever.  You can peruse from the privacy of your own home, where your path is not blocked by people who are too lazy to support their own body weight so they lean on their cart and sloooooowly amble through the aisles.  If something is out of stock, it's listed right there on the website and you know not to buy it, instead of driving all the way to Polo Park only to make it out of the parking lot, through the mall, into the store and to the devastating sight of an empty shelf, only to be cheerfully told that the store on the other side of the city has one in.  You click on a few things, enter your credit card info and it's sent right to your doorstep.  Heaven.

 

WIN.

So here are some of the things that have been delivered to me and some that are in transit!


Guestbook, Schmestbook

I'm not sure why I abhor the traditional wedding accessories so much.  Maybe it's because I am naturally rebellious, maybe it's because I hate the idea of being the same as every other bride out there, maybe I just want to be different for the sake of being different. I dunno.  But when I thought about a guestbook, I just thought, for what?  Yes, absolutely it's nice to have the names and well wishes of all the people you invited to your special day.  But in an ugly white book with lace and ribbons on it that you're never going to look at again ever in your life?  No.  Enter the magic of online shopping.  All you have to do is Google "guest book alternatives" and voila!  You have access to every creative idea that every creative bride has ever come up with.  So I ordered this:

 

Awe!!!

It's a shadow box that has our initials and wedding date personalized on it, and inside are paper hearts that guests and sign and put their well wishes on.  Then when the wedding is over, there is this insert that you can arrange the hearts on into one big heart, and display it in your home!  Comme ca:

 

Super sweet.

The only problem was, these paper hearts are literally the size of a quarter.  There isn't enough space to write a first name on one, let alone anything else.  So luckily I enlisted the talents of a very awesome lady with a Cricut to cut me out some decent sized paper hearts.  Yay!

 

So cute, but WAY too small.

Bridesmaid Swag

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  Being a bridesmaid is the worst.  It's a thankless, expensive, tiring pursuit of nonstop work and even if you are lucky enough to be in the wedding party of a bride who's not batshit crazy, you still want to tear your hair out at the end of it all.  So at the very least, you should walk away with some decent presents.  I bought these bags from The Wedding Shoppe to hold the gifts:

 

These totes are totes awesome.

 

And these robes from Wedding Prep Gals to wear the morning of the wedding:

 

Anything with rhinestones and I'm in.

And not to leave my buddy Grambo out, but he doesn't have any use for a white tote bag or a satin, bedazzled robe (and least I don't think he does).  So I got him this ultra masculine initialed man's toiletry bag:

 

Super manly.

And then I'm going to fill the totes with all kinds of cool gifts!  And probably just fill Graeme's with a bunch of liquor bottles, because that's kinda how we roll.


Sparkle Sparkle

My "something new" is coming from my grandmother (GOB....I guess?) and she graciously offered to buy me my earrings for the big day.  This one was a no-brainer.  To the Swarovski website I went!  Gah....my love for Swarovski knows no bounds.  And when I saw these Talesia drop earrings, I was smitten.  

 

Even the packaging is lovely!  Sigh...

 

 

 

 

Squeeeee!

 

I love sparkly things!


Pillow Schmillow

Again, the idea of the normal white pillow being carried by the ring bearer didn't appeal to me.  I honestly cannot put my finger on why.  It's not that I don't like the pillows.  I like them okay.  I just want to be different.  It's weird!  Anyway, I found this ring box for Matthew to carry that I LOVE, from Flowers and Favors.  It's sleek, it's personalized with our names and wedding date and has a cute little Mr. and Mrs. division in there.  It didn't come without its challenges, because of all the sites I found this on none of them shipped to Canada and I was getting ready to send FOB down to Pembina to pick this up.  But then I got reckless and paid $33 for shipping on the last site I found because some tasks just need to get DONE already.  Like Eric told me, it's a good thing I'm cute.  ;)

 

 

 

Adorbs.

 

That's all for now!  But there is more coming in the mail so stay tuned!  ;)

And just because I'm feeling SO EXCITED because I just came from a dress fitting, here's a peek at the blingy hairpiece I got for my wedding ensemble:

 

Wheeeeeeee!

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!



~M

Shower Power

We're rounding the final corner toward the wedding and up and coming is Big Event No. 3 - the Bridal Shower.  And of course, this installation of Inspired Bride wouldn't be complete without a not-so shocking reveal from yours truly...

...I don't like bridal showers.  Or baby showers.  In fact, I kind of avoid them at all costs unless absolutely necessary that I attend.

(And in other news, water is wet and the sky is blue.)

So when it came time that my MOB and MOH and bridesmaids started talking to me about a shower, the idea was a little scary.  My first thought was, "Who the hell would want to come to a bridal shower for me, those things suck."  And then the idea of ME being the one sitting up on the lily pad being worshipped with exorbitant amounts of presents and wearing a hat made of bows?  Forget it.

 

Never.

 

 

I guess the reason why I don't enjoy myself at bridal showers and the reason I struggle with my own, is that the typical bridal shower is SO not me.  I'm not a girly girl, I don't ooh and aah over things, I don't enjoy crustless sandwiches, small talk, being in a room full of people I don't know, tooty-fruity punch with .05% alcohol, laughing at the guest of honor's abject humiliation, or spending a Sunday afternoon in a hot church basement smelling diapers that have pretend shit in them and trying to guess what kind of pretend shit it is.  But like so many other things involved with weddings, you're expected to do what is typically done and not deviate from the norm, unless you want people staring at you like you've just suggested you want to go do naked cartwheels in the church parking lot. 

 

At first I just thought I was going to skip it.  There's no way I can pretend for an entire afternoon that I'm enjoying myself in a room that looks like it has been decorated by a monster that vomits pink streamers.  And the eye-rolling, long sighs, constant checking of the iPhone and too much wine consumption?  1000x worse for you to do when it's your OWN shower, methinks.  However, I was filled with a little bit of hesitation because I had an overwhelming feeling that I did want to do something - all my best lady friends in one room at once?  YES.  With cupcakes?  RIGHT ON.  So I started talking to my bridal team and we came up with a way for me to still have the full bride experience of a shower while cutting out all the lameness.

 

 

Hahaha!  I just can't.



 

So number one priority:  Booze.  This is a must.  Re. Quired.  Sorry if this makes me look like a raging alcoholic, but wine makes most things better.  I can't deal with a stuffy, hoity-toity afternoon event where we are served mesclun greens and puttanesca if there isn't at least a mimosa within reach.  And for myself, if someone wants to stick me in a room with 30 people I don't know, there better be some means to liquor me up.  So it's only fair I extend the same courtesy to others.

 

Second, no lame games.  No bridal shower bingo, no "take the clothespin when someone says wedding", no mad libs, nothing of that nature.  It's bad enough being invited to a bridal shower, without being forced to participate in some ridiculous exercise like "let's see how many of these incredibly common items are in your purse."  I'm intensely competitive, and any of my friends will admit I'm not any fun to play games with because of how seriously I take it.  I once schooled a group of 12 year olds at Harry Potter Scene-It.  At Christmas.  It was their game they just got for Christmas.  I take winning very seriously.  And even I can't get into these pointless games that are played at showers.

 

 

 

Let's not.

 

 

Next...music!  To me, silence can get extremely awkward.  It's usually during long drawn out silences that I will break the tension by saying something inappropriate because I just can't take it anymore.  And the hush that falls over the crowd at a shower when the bride is opening her painstakingly wrapped shoal grey bed linens?  Probably right before I spill my wine, break the glass, slurringly giggle "whoooops" and get the death stare from the trio of women in polka dotted dresses who finished their mad libs 15 minutes ago.  So I am all for having some sweet Top 40 tunes at the shower.  If I'm gonna eat a crustless sandwich, at least I can do it while shimmying to "Blurred Lines".  It's a party!  We need some music!

 

And last, you can't beat MOB's cupcakes and you KNOW they're going to make an appearance.  So now, this is sounding awesome to me.

 

 

Am I right?

 

 

I have to say in all seriousness though, that the outpouring of love and congratulations that has come in since we got engaged has been absolutely wonderful.  And it has been awe-inspiring to see my family and bridal party come together for me and put together these experiences for me that have made this process even more amazing.  Just look at these insanely beautiful shower invitiations:

 

 

GAHHHHH

 

 

This process has made me so incredibly grateful and happy - it's one thing to feel loved by the people closest to you.  It's on a completely different level to feel loved for exactly who you are and to have it celebrated and to feel totally supported.  Not once did any of my bridal team tell me that I needed to change my views and alter my plans.  I never once have felt pressure to conform to societal bridal norms.  You don't want to do a bouquet toss?  Cool.  You want to have beer at your bridal shower?  Done.  You want your bachelorette in Vegas?  Let's go.  You want a guy in your bridal party?  He's game.  You want to put shoes on your bridal registry?  Power to you!  How COOL is that?  I love everyone!  I'm so excited for what's to come in the next two months.  And I can't wait to knock back a few with all the wonderful awesome women in my life at my shower, which I know is going to be totally rad.  ;)

 

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

 

 

~M

Wheeee!

Quick post today, but I just wanted to share a shoe update! 

I finished one of my shoes last night, and I am so happy with how it turned out.  I have been stressing about the whole shoe thing, because I really, really wanted them to be perfect.  I'm definitely happy about my shoe choice, but I was nervous about how they were going to look with the heel strassed.  

 

Wine?  Check.  Let's get down to biz.

I love strassing at my dining room table, because the lights overhead are halogen bulbs and they really bring out the sparkle in the Swarovskis.  It's like being immersed in glittery heaven.  Once I started, I got on a roll pretty quick and finished the heel in about three hours.  I was in the zone, seeing only this -

 

Yay!

 

 

And this - 

 

Necessity.

 

 

And of course this -

 

Zero personal space.

So without further adieu, here is a little video of the finished product!  The sparkle factor is amazing, I can't wait to finish the other one!

 

And then, it will be on to little Aislin's shoes!  Strassed like Auntie's, to match.  :)

 

Gah!!! So tiny and cute...

 

 

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

 

 

~M