Come on Barbie let’s go party!

What a weekend! It was time for my dream Barbie bachlorette party! The girls and I had a great time! Here in Seattle we have a huge Torchlight parade to get the city ready for Seafair! The girls picked me up at 6:30 and off we went! We ended up at the restaurant called Toi (where else would Barbie’s eat:)?) the best part was the restaurant was right on the parade route so we were able to have some extra entertainment. The staff at the restaurant was great! Especially our waitress Jane! At around 10 the restaurant begins to change over into a night club. And that was when the real mayhem began! Here are a few PG-13 pictures from the night!
P.S. I am wearing a wig!
Let the fun begin!
"The three B" Bride, Bollywood and Birthday Barbie!

Punk Barbie and Day to evening Barbie

Time to Dance with Chocolate Barbie and fru-fru Barbie

Party Barbie was having fun with Day to evening Barbie!

Me with a Pirate Arrrggggg :)

Had to say hello to Seattle finest! What good sports they were!

By the end of the night Party Barbie feet hurt so Bollywood Barbie gave her a piggy back ride...

Here is the whole group! Including Pretty Barbie, sophisticate Barbie and Black Barbie who I don't have single shots of...

What a great night! All the girls told me the past few days what great time they had and how much they loved the theme! My girls did a great job! I cant wait to show you the invitations they created for the fun night!

Barbie gets a Party

My friends and I always say the invitations set the tone for the event to come. It was no surprise when I saw the invitation for my bachlorette party. Here is what each guest got in the mail.


Mid-way through dinner Birthday Barbie announces that they will need everyone to come up with one task for me to accompish troughout the night. This is her say I have an annoucement...

This is me pretending I cannot hear her.

Here is my list. As you can see I didnt complete them all (amen!)

A few days later Birthday Barbie brought over a CD to me with all of the pictures the the night! How thoughtful!

Maybe...

This past Saturday was our rsvp due date. Out of 160 invited we have 4 no’s, 5 maybes and 10 no reply. The no reply are the least of my concerns, we can call them to find out if they can attend. It’s the “maybes” that had me concerned. You notice I say had. Our final count is due to the caterer this week so a maybe is just too up in the air, I need a yes or a no. So yesterday as I watched a marathon of “whose wedding is it anyways” I got some great tips on how to deal with the maybes and unexpected guests.
Since the maybes were friends of mine I basically said “I would love you to come, but, I am turning in a final count to the caterer, you will be first on my list to show the photos to from our big day!” After I did this I felt better, If they were able to give me a for sure answer of yes or no then great but if there plans were still up ion the air, well then, sorry (the extra plate can be $$$ in our pockets). I didn’t feel guilty or impolite, just relieved that I was now on my way to getting my final count.
Does anyone else have any good suggestion on how you have dealt with your “maybes”?

I love my job!

Yep that is right I love my job. Why? Because we get to leave early today! ha ha ha! Next Wednesday is the start of August, WHOA! That means I will be in my wedding month in a few short days!
Last Friday I knew I had a busy weekend ahead. But this Friday I am pretty sure I will collapse in exhaustion on Sunday. Well here is my Friday manifesto...
1. Pack and move more stuff
2. Call the baker and get the cake finally square away
3. Buy paint
4. Paint the room at the new house :)
5. Buy wig for Barbie bachelorette party
6. Get a final wedding hair cut on Saturday
7. Buy ribbon to finish programs
8. RSVP's due Saturday- Go over guest list Sunday
9. Barbie Bachelorette party Saturday
10. Clean kitchen of the new house :)
11. Curl up in a ball and pass out from exhaustion
12. Start teeth whitening
13. Work out!!!
I am sure I have more to do...But this list is making me want to start my mental breakdown right now (why wait?!?:))
As some of you noticed and may have a new opinion of me, yes that is right a Barbie bachelorette party. No, it's not what you think...OK maybe it is. All of my guests are going to be dressed up like a Barbie! So far I have heard that we will have a 70's Foxy Brown type barbie, 40th anniversary barbie, tennis Barbie, bollywood Barbie and that is just a few! And of course I am bride Barbie!
How are your weekends jammed packed as you get closer to your wedding?

Pretty in Pink

Last Sunday my bridesmaids threw me a pink filled French themed bridal shower. Despite the 75 degree muggy weather the party was a success! They built the color palette based on the dress that I had bought a few months prior and I had told the girls what I planned on wearing, they just ran with it from there. Since I knew I was wearing pink I also had the ladies in my family (my grandma, mom and sisters) wear pink too! On the outside of the building the girls had placed a pink runway for me and the guest to walk in on. Most of the party was kept a secret from me. The food was amazing! We had lumpia, macaroni salad, fried chicken, tea sandwiches, cream puffs, Madeline's, two cakes and the list goes on. They even had a baby pink punch to drink! The pictures are blurry but you will get the idea, here are a few highlights…

Yeah fondue!

Lets just say I wont need to buy toilet paper for a while.




I just love my shoes!

Here is my one of my sisters in her pink!

Kori hard at work making my rehearsal bouquet

ahhhh.... what a fun day!

Ohhh that is so sweet...

My friend Michelle is flying up for the wedding!!! When we decided to have our wedding here at home I knew we would have a few out of town guests that would be able to make it. My friend Michelle who I only get to see maybe once every other year was finishing up her last semester of law school when I got engaged so I knew by the time the wedding rolled around she would be studying for bar exams looking for a law firm to work at and just busy with life over all. When I talked to her last she said she would let me know what her schedule looked like. So when she emailed me and let me know she was for sure flying up I was so happy! I have been so surprised with how many out of towners are making such efforts to be here for our wedding day. Every time I think of it my heart just fills up with happiness!
Have you been surprised by how many people from out of town are coming to your wedding?

Hair Trial

This past Saturday I went in and had my hair trial. I had a slight advantage because I use to work in the salon I was going to while I was in college. I need to have someone that is ok with working on African American hair. Sure some people think just because they can work with curly hair they can also do my type of hair, but that just isn't always the case. I knew I wanted Tim to do my wedding hair for the past 5-6 years. While I was working there this girl came into the salon for an prom updo. Her hair was thicker and longer than mine. She looked like a lion! She sat down in Tim's chair and about and 45 minutes later she was done and she looked amazing! At that moment I told Tim "one day you are doing my hair for my wedding" fast forward many years later to this Saturday afternoon. I had my hair accessory and pictures in hand. The moment I sat down in Tim's chair and showed him what I wanted to do he was sure we could achieve the look I wanted. Here are the pictures I showed him.


Yep the famous Jessica Alba Oscar moment. I just loved this hair! It was classic and I figured it would work with my long face. Here is what I got. *WARNING- I had been packing all day so I look a little oogie in the face but focus on the hair.





I will be playing with veil placement more but here is the front so you can get an idea.

I love it! Tim did a wonderful job and this was just the trial.
Now a quick second review in case anyone likes my hair comb. I got it at this great store out in Tukwila call All About Weddings. They are wonderful! The staff is beyond helpful and knowledgeable about their products and all things wedding related. Their web site http://www.allaboutweddingsnw.com/ doesnt really offer much but that will just mean you should go stop in the store :). Here is a picture of my comb.

Program Peek

This weekend was busy busy busy! I had a lot of projects I was trying to wrap up. In the end I got half way through and I still need to finish some. Here is a sneak peek at the program covers.

It’s my stardream sapphire paper in booklet size A7 and I stamped a modern Eiffel Tower in silver. I used starlight silver by Brilliance. My aunt Pam who is a stamping queen let me borrow her stamp and recommend I get a quick drying ink since the paper is so metallic. The ink drying in about 5 minutes but I allowed them to dry over night just to be on the safe side. I had absolutely no smudges the next day. Here they are some of them drying out.


**This ink is also good to use if you are using vellum.

Busy Weekend

Ok this weekend is going to be a mad dash for me all around town
1. Must start on programs covers. (stamping)
2. Hair trail
3. Start packing (we get the keys Monday!)
4. WORK OUT!!!
5. Start Tear of Joy pockets
6. Finish favor fans
7. Mani and Pedi
8. Bridal shower!!! relax

Next week I not only get to start moving into the house but we are so getting our marriage licence!!!

eBay virgin no longer

I searched to the ends of the earth to find a reasonably priced 2T simple flower girl dress (I even was shopping in Miami for one with no success:(). The flower girl dress I finally found was on eBay! I was a eBay virgin, had never bought anything on eBay before this. But when I found this dress for 24.99! I had to get in on the bidding war!

OK so maybe there was no war but I did win this dress. The shipping was a little pricey at $14.99 but it kept my total cost to $39.98 which was under $40 so I cannot complain! I got this from eBay seller CuteClothesForKids. I ordered it last Saturday the 14th and it was at the house yesterday the 19th. In perfect condition! I am replacing the sash to match the other flower girl dress. But she can keep the pink sash and flower to use another time. Then when I was looking around I noticed they had $15 boys tuxes! Now that is a steal!

Photo Guestbook Review

At the end of last month I ordered my photo guestbook from My Publisher. It arrived in my hot little hands not too long after that (8 days to be exact). I ripped the package open with excitement. And there it was a perfect hardback book filled great moments in our relationship. The photo quality was suburb! And the pages are very heavy duty so I do not have any concerns with the quality of them lasting a lifetime. The cost of this book was $29.80 before tax and shipping (yes we have an 8.8% tax in Washington :() The cover options are good, I choose a 20 page book in navy linen. Here is a picture of the cover. It is 11.25" wide and 8.75" high.

There was some concern with my book from the hive that I may not have enough room for people to sign. We I have decided that will not be a problem. There was plenty of room around some the pages along with the whole front and pack page are blank.
Here is a picture of me turning the page, I wanted to try and capture the paper quality along with the picture quality for you *excuse my hand

The other thing I like is that the page didn't collect a lot of smudges. I looked through it along with 5 other people and I didn't see any smudges on the pages. But they do offer a photo finish to them so that was nice I don't have to worry about fingerprints.

Next I have started a pen test in the back of the book. I will see which pen works best for the pages. Because the pages are more like photo pages I am testing some acid free pens that are safe for photos. Any suggestions on a pens I should be on the lookout for?

My cake final draft

I dropped off my final design for my baker last week. My original cake version 1.0 design was a little too light for my taste. My BM Kori was able to tweak the colors and here is the final pattern.
*the colors appear darker than they are
The color is actual a really jewel toned blue. This is just the bottom and middle layer.

I also mentioned before that I got the idea from the knot magazine. Well I was able to get the original picture back and the cake I saw was by JollyBe bakery located in NY. Her cakes are so pretty. They are hand painted and the designs she has on her website are amazing! Here is the original cake from the magazine.

I think my friend did a great job replicating the pattern! I can't wait to see it next month.

Mi casa es su casa

Ok so our house is not the white house....But in my mind our first home will be just as grand.
And in a few short days we finally are closing on our first house! So exciting! We have never lived together so this will be such a fun new journey for us as a newly married couple. I had some serious anxiety about being a home owner but Mr Butterscotch held my hand through the whole process and now I am over the moon with joy! And believe it or not buying a house was less stressful than parts of planning our wedding have been.
Where are you planning on living once you have tied the knot? Or if you already live together, what is the one tip you can give us for this big adjustment?

Everyone is booked

That is right, I have every vendor booked! Phew! And with less than a month to spare. I just confirmed with the DJ that it is all set and I will have music at the reception. We are meeting with him tonight. I considered having a band but since we are much more of a R&B/Hip hop couple a DJ was the best way to go. I really considered a lot when choosing this important role at the reception. It had to be someone that didn't annoy me and definitely not cheesy. I actually saw on one web site "Our DJ will ever put on a gold vest and help encourage non-dancing guests onto the dance floor" AHHHH!!!! That is my wedding nightmare.
I really like the DJ we hired because they gave us a flat rate for the reception. Most places added on time per hour over 4 or 5 hours. And our DJ is an actual full entertainment service so they also had lighting. I decided to currently pass on the lighting but I can always change my mind. They have a great site that we can have our wedding music preset and even pick out our songs like on itunes. Most importantly they are non-cheesy. Now we get to finalize our wedding song. We have so many songs that bring back great memories that it is really hard to pick just one. I want something timeless to us. Only a few more weeks to go and I will be twirling around on the dance floor at my wedding reception!

My Mom is like Erica Kane

When I was 5 or 6 my mom reminded me of Diana Ross. They looked a lot a like, really glamorous. But at that point in my life my mom had only been married once. Fast forward 20+ years and she is now up to number 5 marriage. Seems like a lot, huh? Well that is because it is a lot! Now when people ask me about my mother and what she is like I still say she looks like Diana Ross but she is more like Erica Kane from All my Children. Each marriage and each divorce has a great story behind it (and yes, she has even married the same guy twice and one marriage that lasted two weeks), but I won't get into that. But what I will say is that for me as a child with a mother that is addicted to marriage, getting married was something that I really took a long time to consider. Mr Butterscotch and I dated for a long time and neither of us were in a rush to get married. At some points neither of us were sure if we ever wanted to get married. I know everyone says they go into marriage thinking "OK this is it forever". But we know forever isn't always forever. People grow apart, people change and love changes. As it is right now Mr Butterscotch and I have been dating longer than any of my mother marriages. While we dated we really took time to let each other grow up together and apart and figure out what we each really wanted in life. Now we both feel very prepared for marriage and what is yet to come.
How did you and your fiance prepare for the "til death dues us part" while you were dating? Do you know any Erica Kanes, and what have you learned from them?

I didn’t mean to do I swear!

It started off as an innocent trip to Target. I decided since my shower was next Sunday (smiling ear to ear!) I wanted to update the registry and make sure were had enough options for everyone in many price ranges. I went to the customer service desk and asked to update my registry the girl helpfully asked me “would you like a copy of your registry now so you can see what you would like to add or remove?” I said “yes”. So off I headed to house wares and as I walking I started to look at the list. And there, right there in my face I saw the word “fulfilled”. What fulfilled, what does that…wait…does that mean… yep someone got us a gift! So exciting! I didn’t mean to see what was already bought and I don’t want to become a registry stalker (although it is so temping). But the happy feeling I felt in my heart when I saw that was amazing. Now I have two other registries that I want to quickly update as well…I don’t even know if I want to be surprised or if its better knowing...What are your thoughts on know what people are getting you?
Has anyone else accidentally looked and seen what been already bought? Do you look or do you want to be surprised at what you get?

Gonna dress you up in my love...

You've got style, that's what all the girls say....Ahh love old school Madonna on a Friday! That also was the song that was going through my head as I ran to the dress shop for my final fitting today at lunch. I was so excited to see how the changes I had made looked and I wanted to see myself in the dress one last time before the big day. Here is a sneak peak of my dress
***If for some reason my fiance has found his way onto here. STOP!!!! Do not look any further! A small hint of my dress is below and I want you to be completely surprised on our wedding day, love you!

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AHHHHH!!!! I love it! Now that my alterations are complete I wanted to give the highest recommendations to my dress shop. La Belle Elaine's in Seattle were superb! I originally ordered my dress back in November with a nice sales girl named Nikki. She was great and she even put up with my friends that came along (long story). Sadly Nikki was leaving at the first of the year but she assured me everything would be all taken care of. She was so good she even picked out this dress since I had orginally passed it by. My dress was due to arrive in May. So when when it arrived here a whole month early I was thrilled! The girls at the desk are always very helpful and every time I called the shop with a question they were able to help me quickly. I mentioned before that I wanted the back of the dress to dip down. The seamstress team at La Belle Elaine's is a wonderful mother and daughter duo. They were wonderful! They both were very helpful and I couldn't be more pleased with the changes made. I would highly recommend the shop and getting alterations done by them. They are also pressing the dress for me I am leaving it there until the day before the wedding and then Maria will press it and have it all ready for me to pick up.

Final fitting

I get to slip away at lunch today for my final dress fitting. So excited! Sadly I cannot post pictures of my dress in case the mister stumbles his way onto here. But I will hopefully be able to give you a sneak peak. Ok now I just need everyone to pray to the weight Gods that everything fits ok.

Fanfare

Back when I was first began planning I decided to dip my toes into the do-it-yourself world. I mean I had plenty of time, right? I set my game plan and decided to do the cake topper, invitations, programs and menu cards/donation favor. Whoa! How the months have flown by! But finally I finished my wedding fan favors. I had always planned on doing donation favors but wasn't sure how I would present it to the guests. We knew we wanted to do something to honor the Butterscotch's uncles that were no longer with us. But so many of the ideas were swimming in my head, as I have mentioned before last year we had record heat in August. That is when I put the idea together to make fan favors. Ta dah...
The paper and punch mimic the same that I used in the invitations. This is the menu side. Yummy....Doesn't it sound good!

This is the donation favor side, I found some great wording suggestions from the actual charities and from other brides.

At the bottom of each fan I drilled a tiny hole in each craft stick. Threaded some ribbon and added an Eiffel Tower charm.

Put a little old fashioned Elmer's glue and there it is, one donation fan.
Cost breakdown per fan
Stardream Sapphire (discontinued from Paper Zone) .24 per A7 card stock
Stardream Opal (discontinued from Paper Zone) .24 per A7 card stock *later cut down at costco at no charge
Craft sticks .05 ($3.99 for 75 at Joanne)
Eiffel Tower charm .42 cent at shipwrecked beads
Glue & ribbon were free already had some
Total 0.95 per fan
WOW!!!! What a savings! Now we have taken our allotted traditional favor budget and used it for a donation towards our chosen charity. The savings is great, but what we are really hoping is that more research will help save lives.
How did you choose you favor for your guests?

Is the puff in???

I have been happily looking at the celebrity wedding pictures for the last few hours. And I noticed with two very recent weddings that the brides veils were really full! Wait, did I miss an upcoming bridal trend? Last year veils were shear or non-existent. But I have seen a few that the puff is back. I personally chose sheer because I had a lot of pretty detail on the back of my dress that I like and wanted to be seen. How did you pick your veil or why are you choosing not to wear one at all?

Sit down and shut up!

With our wedding about one month away we (and when I say we, I mean me) have now started to get the so can I bring a date? And from who you may ask. Family members (and when I say family members I mean my family)! And it's family members that are in no way paying for this wedding. My wonderful father is paying for this wedding from top to bottom and he has had no requests from me, well just one and that was to make sure I didn't spend too much. Now in the last week I have had at least three different people ask to bring a date or a friend. My answer each time is "No, I am sorry we don't really have room". Which is so true. But I really want to say "No, just sit down and shut". Followed by the lecture of "this day is about people that are important to us being there to share our special day and support us in our life long journey, blah blah blah". My RSVP are due back in about two weeks and even then I still have a "B" list of people we are waiting to bump up. People that we like but were not sure if they would be in town in August. So- No you cannot bring the hot date your hoping to get lucky with, and no your best friend from high school that you haven't seen in 40 years cannot come and I am sure your boss that I have never met is great but NO THEY CANNOT COME TO OUR WEDDING! Ah, that felt much better. Why do people feel that it is OK to pester the soon to be wed with their requests so close to the darn wedding day? What are some of your guest requests that people are asking you that is making you pull your hair out?

Ok I am a Junkie

OK I will admit it, I was happy to hear Eva Longoria was getting married before me. Why you ask? Because I am an inspration junkie! I love getting inspiration from other brides. So I was so please to hear that Eva who I think has a cute personal/ red carpet style was getting married. And finally OK magazine has posted a few pics for me to see. And so far it made me ohhhh and awwwww. How about you, what celebrity weddings have you gotten some inspiration from?