Life In Color

I call it yummy

I am having so much fun spinning right now. It is the perfect wintry craft activity. Easy to talk to people, not necessary to really focus on what you're doing, and so instantly rewarding. And now that I figured out how to not over twist my yarn I don't have to wash and set the twist before I knit. Maybe I still should, but I haven't had any problems yet!

Anal Amber

So I have this problem with wedding registries, many of them bug the crap out of me. Either everything is a) not my taste (obviously this is my problem) or b) ridiculously huge. So when Bj and I set about registering I wanted to make sure that we only put things on the lists that we needed. I mean, we're not going to advertise for it in our invites, and I want to make sure we get the most important things first. So how did I end up putting $579 worth of picture frames on our Pottery Barn list? I justified it with a scale drawing, that's how. At Macy's we were very good, china, pots and pans, just basic stuff. Then at Williams and Sonoma we went a little more crazy (apple peeler anyone?) and now it seems I really have no self control.

See part of the problem of these registries is that they give you 10% off to get the rest of your stuff after you're married. This is where the picture frames come in. I have nothing up on my walls right now. The craft room has a map, a painting, and two boards, but it's the most decorated in the house. I want a place to display all my photos and things, but I don't really have one right now, besides the little phone cupboard. So when my mom and I found these photo frames at Pottery Barn yesterday ideas started popping into my head. We had a store clerk following us around with a pad and pen since there little scanner wasn't working. I just kind of pointed at things and let him add them (oh my god it was so much fun). But then I had a little bit of remorse this morning so I went back to check on the registry and make sure I didn't get anything too unnecessary. This led to the chart, which let to adding even more frames to the list, but you know what people? I'm not sorry. I now have planned a six foot by three foot wall of wonder!

2 good ideas

1. Perfect re-heating with an old crock pot lid (1.99 goodwill) as told to me by a fellow thrifter:

2. Wash all fabric as you acquire so that you are ready to go for any and all projects:

My Hawaiian stash all clean and ready for projects. This worked out way better than last time.

Mascot

Leave it to some nice snowy weather to get me crafting. I worked last night on my living room curtains (they have been just pieces of fabric nailed up for over a month now) while waiting for Brent and Emilie to come home. They went with my dad and step mom to Cali for Thanksgiving, and Emilie is staying with me this next week until the rents come home (they are staying for the country music awards in Vegas I think?). It was a very long wait due to the very bad weather. See the thing about snow in the Valley is that, well, we don't really get it that often. When we want snow we just drive and hour up to the mountain and ski, sled, snow shoe, whatever. But when it hits here the problem is that it's usually really wet snow, and so it just turns the roads into big lanes of black ice. After Emilie came home at 1:30am I was praying they'd have a snow day. I got up and checked at 6, and it was a two hour delay. Then as we were getting ready for the day they canceled school completely. Sweet. It looked so pretty out this morning, every little twig covered in snow. Now it's melting, and Emilie's at her boyfriend's house helping put up their Christmas decorations. I still have one member of the family here with me:

Seriously, this dog is just too cute for his own good. And handy too, I never here the doorbell ring down in the Ribbon Jar, and Buddy gives me a quick little bark to let me know someone is there! In addition to the curtains, I'm putting up the few Christmas decorations I do have, my nativity (here it is set up last year), and the small nativity from my grandma:

I filled up the bowl below it with some bulbs Sciarrino and I got at the ghetto-ist of sales last summer. Plus my one dollar candle holders at another sale:

Don't you love that lounging Santa on the e? I do think vintage Christmas decorations are one of the hardest things to find, as they tend to be much loved, and also passed down generations, instead of sold. Also cheering up my place:

Flowers my mom brought for Thanksgiving. The only vase I own is holding kitchen utensils so my mom grabbed this canister to put them in. So darling sitting on the vintage high chair. While working today I'm running "quick" loads of laundry; fabric from the Hawaiian haul so I can start Christmas gifts, my tree skirt, pillows, I've got lots of plans for it. I'll be back to knitting tonight though, as Em and I will probably head back to my dad's for the rest of the week. I'm mean hey, it's got a stocked pantry, and cases of diet coke. Plus I haven't actually left my house for a few days, and I'm starting to feel like a hermit.

Mark Your Calendars

March 31st is our official wedding date! Lots to do, like find the ceremony site, but we do have the reception place picked out, the grand ballroom at the Governor Hotel. Bj and I met with a woman there and then we met with our planner to discuss more details. I am getting so flipping excited for the wedding, the dress, the place, it's all coming together. We also registered at Williams and Sonoma, um, registering? So fun. Of course I had to go out it with a little bit of a plan. I had gone through everything to find out what I needed, and also registered for everything that I borrowed from my mom for Thanksgiving.

Other than that I took a little break and spent a lot of time this weekend spinning and knitting:

I love knitting with hand spun, it so much more interesting that regular yarn. I also made a curtain for my kitchen window. I'm going to make more curtains up today hopefully, since I'm sort of snowed in:

It's really coming down. The sun just broke, so we'll see if it melts off, but it's supposed to be really cold again tonight. It's so cool, my mom and I were squealing when it started to really come down. I think I'll have to make a nice crackling fire tonight, and do some cooking:

Turkey Success!

I did it! I coordinated and cooked a big Thanksgiving feast right here in my little cottage! When I first got the place I was so excited that I shouted out, "I'll do Thanksgiving!" with out really thinking what that entailed. Then I got engaged and it kinda fell to the back burner so this last week I really had to get my ass in gear to get everything done. I went to the grocery store, and luckily they were nice enough to help me find all the things on my list that I had no idea what they looked like (fennel bulbs?!?!). After getting all stocked up Bj came over the day before and help me with some last minuet things, like hanging a new curtain rod, raking the leaves, etc. I stayed up too late on Wednesday and the only reason I popped out of bed Thursday morning was because of the nightmares I'd had that night that I got up too late and didn't get the turkey in until 11. But no fear, I stuffed that bird and shoved it in the oven just in time. I had cut up a bunch of stuff the night before so I really just had to figure out what giblets were and stuff like that. I made the turkey, two stuffings from scratch, gravy from giblet broth, acorn squash and fennel and mandarin salad. My mom and Bill brought two kinds of cranberry relish, wine, and a green bean and hazelnut dish. Michele and Brett brought the potatoes, salad, and the entertainment (baby Violet, and a cool new version of Cranium). Bj's parent's brought dessert. It was so much fun!

Bj's appetizers.

and the other side:

It was so great to have everyone bring something. We ate at about three, and then chatted, played a game, had dessert. And afterwords Bj said I was going to make a great wife, awe! So sweet!

Conversation Starter

I mean, I think I can carry on a conversation with just about anyone, but I've still got that tickly throat thing and I want to spread the conversation around the table Thursday. Do you know of any site that has cool conversation starters? Or do you have a good list going somewhere? I found this book and this one, but no one near me carries them.

Oh and on a totally unrelated note, I got out the newsletter today, with a coupon for 20% off any size order Friday. If you didn't get it, or aren't signed up just enter "turkey" to get the deal from midnight to midnight at the Ribbon Jar. Tell them Amber sent you (ha ha, that was funny in my head).

The "one"

And now for a little wedding business. You know you can plan a wedding in less than five months, but it takes some serious hustle. Decisions have to be quick and precise. I thought I was doing all the important things first, like venue, but it turns out dresses take for freaking ever so it's a good thing I went shopping for one yesterday. How weird is it to see yourself in a wedding dress? Weird. Awesome, but weird. My mom and I headed up to Portland mid-day and met with Michele and baby Violet where we had a quick lunch and then we set off. The first place we went to I did like one of the dresses, but I wasn't like super excited about it. My mom and I did cry when I put my first choice on:

I can show that picture because we ended up going to Ania Bridal Collection downtown and I did find the ONE. It is very different than this, and so freaking awesome. Sciarrino had perfect timing and came in just as I put it on. I tried on a bunch of others, then the one again. The woman who was helping us was so awesome (if you go here ask for Maura!). They have a long walk you can take right towards a mirror so you can see how you look walking down the asisle. At that point I was bubbling over with excitment and I sqealed out, "I can't wait until March!" I got some shoes on to see what I looked like with a little heigth (seeing as how Bj is a foot taller than me):

Very tres chic, no? I felt like the wicked witch of the west. All in all it was a wonderful day. The only thing that could have made it better was my matron of honor, Ceara, being there. But I called her when I put the dress on and got to hear her squeal, which is always fun. We also picked out the bridesmaid dresses. I decided to go with a black satin version of this. I was going to do this olive green color, but I thought black would look better on everyone. Plus we are having the rest of the very few guests at the ceremony wear green (the ladies, men will be in white tie) so it will still be really fun. I will also have my niece as a flower girl (which I always said I didn't want, but I love her so much, and I think she will be awesome at it), and my favorite little munchkin:

Miss Violet! I can't believe how she's grown.

I {heart} Paperzone

Seriously, I only went to Paperzone to stock up on some larger poly bags for Ribbon Jar, but they were having this sale and... Plus I was with Sciarrino and we picked up some papers and envelopes to play with for the wedding invites. So I ended up with some awesome paper and some stamps I've been wanting forever, all on sale. And a lot of cool ideas for the invitations. I played around for a bit last night while the boys were in line (and yes they did get Wiis). I got out Ali's latest book and used a few of the layouts as a starting point.

This started out as a lift from the layout on page 71. I've had most of these supplies for a while: random cardstock, Lil Davis tag, Scrapworks sticker strips, Chatterbox vellum, Fastenater staple things. The heart is punch from some cool new paper and I stocked up on my favorite Basic Grey paper. I had the letter paper, but I can't remember who its by.

This one started as a lift from page 91. Oh I have a new favorite thing to do people. And it's called printing Illustrator files on my little printer. Dude it's no secret that I love this little printer, I print all my 4x6s on it and it totally rules, but now I figured out that you can print any 4x6 file on it, including Illustrator files. I flooded a sheet with blue and then typed white text. I printed it out, and then I was obsessed with the left overs so I printed out a sheet of just color and cut the title out with my Quickutz (Studio classic). Other supplies: Autumn Leaves embossed paper, Ribbon Jar ribbon, Pebbles, Heidi Swapp, and Scrapworks sticker strips, Bazzill KI Memories cardstock, random rubons, Lil Davis wooden frame, and of course some of my new stamps.

Ahh scrapbooking happiness, you can't beat it.

edited to add:

One more I whipped up while watching an old x-files episode. Love the x-files man. Anyway, no lifting here, it's an Amber original baby. The picture is from an old collage project. Other stuff: new paper from the zone, the red/orange is from a big sheet, and the green is KI Memories, fortune cookie quote, Heidi Swapp ghost letters, Making Memories rub-ons, a piece of metal, an Avery label, and a left over print sample Sciarrino gave me.

Waiting for Wii

Outside Fred Meyer's at 7 pm they cracked and had to call me for blankies and a little table to play poker on. They'd been their three hours already and they (from left; my cousin Ryan, Bj, and Brent) have five more still. I'm getting married to a nerd. But a cute one. And after all, I think I might be more excited then him to try out the Wii, and I'm the one whose nice and warm and scrapbooking right now. hehehehe I win.