blankie update

I got distracted with other sewing projects for a while this week so the blankie went on hold. I've finally got it pieced together and now all I have to do is the border and threading in the ends! Hopefully by early next week I'll have it all finished :)

HAVE A HAPPY WEEKEND!

all hail the "junk drawer organizer"!

i found one of those "junk drawer organizers" at the thrift store and snatched it up to organize.... well, our junk drawer, of course! it's the kind with all of the little compartments and a smaller tray that sits on top of the larger tray and slides back and forth so you can get to all of the junk below. i have always loved any kind of office supply or storage system, cubby, pocket, or box meant to make my life appear more "together" than it really is. well, this guy proved so useful that the next time i was in the thrift and spotted another one i bought it too.

it sat and sat just awaiting it's drawer and when i began to organize my dressing room it's time finally came! i have now gone and purchased another (as well as some smaller organizing "cups" that click together in any arrangement your drawer needs) to organize

my (everyday) makeup drawer:

my hair do-dads:

baby bobbie pins are hidden in the mini-altoids tin and great for throwing in your purse for 'dos on the go!

and my jewelry:

sorry this one's sideways!

lois is, as always, a great necklace holder and the hand my grandma gave me (okay, i spotted it on her dresser and asked if i could have it -!) is great for my rings.

i used to work as a makeup artist for MAC so i have a LOT of cosmetics. all of the makeup and hair products i don't use all that often are found in the drawer system lois sits on and my hair dryer, straightener and brushes and combs just sit in a basket on the floor by the outlets for easy use.

please excuse the mess of headbands, bows, perfume, and miscellany on the vanity - there's still more to organize!

i know this post isn't thrilling in any way, but the moral of the story is: junk drawer organizers aren't just for junk - they'll do wonders for your treasures too! go get one now. meg says so.

welcome to my lair

last post you got a look at my (previously) UGLY downstairs/basement room and today is the mini reveal of the work in progress to the half of the room designated to my dressing area and clothes storage. though it's not magazine worthy yet... (or ever) it is my pride and joy. for the first time i can *see* and readily retrieve all of my clothing and accessories! for the first time ever i got ready quickly and arrived somewhere ON TIME! it's a miracle i tell ya!

here's what i have to thank for it:

TA- DAHHHH!

my "dressing room"

my vintage vanity with huge mirror provides quick and easy outfit critiques - now i can just hold things up and put together an outfit without having to run into the living room to check in the mirror there - this saves lots of time but doesn't burn as many calories running around like a chicken with my head cut off (that's such a gross saying) -it's a sacrifice i'll make!

*note - i'm not showing you the whole vanity because the mirror was super smudgy and gross and i didn't want you to see me in the reflection cause i was in my jammies*

yes, lois made the move and instead of sitting in the window of the guest room scaring off potential burglars -and my friends and neighbors- she is back to her rightful job of holding my necklaces (and sporting a new "blair waldorf inspired headband i just got at target!)

in this interesting nook by the vanity i keep my little deer collection.

i'm going to paint the inside a nice bright color - any suggestions? comment below!

the shoe closet which you saw in the previous post is seen in the bottom right corner of this pic

here is one of the compartments that i took the majority of the shelves out and instead installed a rod to hang my nicer shirts and vests (i have lots of vests for some reason!)

sweatshirts are stored on top

nice shirts hang

tees, tanks, sweaters, and cardigans are folded and stored in drawers below

in the compartment beside that are:

some bags (the kind you throw magazines in to go to the beach, or produce in at the market, or a blanket in for the park) and my "painting clothes"

skirts hang

yoga tops and bottoms, as well as jeans, pants and leggings

are folded and stored in drawers below

here is a view of those two compartments as well as the drawers i mentioned below them to give you a broader view and an idea of how the built-ins are... well, built.

there is a very small closet that is technically in the office side of the room

i can say "very small closet" now that i have an entire room dedicated to my clothes... but yes, this is the NORMAL sized closet that up until this point i lived with for years.

there i store my travelling bags, hang my dresses and put shoes that aren't pretty enough to go in the shoe closet (ie: tennis shoes, vans, and bummin' around oxfords)

in the two last compartments i kept the shelves in order to store my bags (purses).

i only photographed one side but you get the point....

oh, and in the basket on top are belts that don't hang well and in the drawers below are undies, bras, socks, tights and winter hats & scarves.

finally (whew!) we get to the rolling rack which divides the space and holds my jackets, blazers and hanging belts

i have stored my magazines (most of them anyway) in baskets under the rolling rack for easy reference. i should do a "tear book" so i don't have to keep all of the mags -just the pics i love- but i just love magazines as objects. i love flipping through them and seeing things in the context of the issue, of the month, and the year and time of year... not just isolated images.

i know i am completely spoiled here and i'm sure that once we start a family this whole thing will have to be re-done to make room for kids and their things but until then... i'm going to be selfish and indulge in having all of this space!

** tomorrow i'll show you how i've stored and organized my jewelry and makeup thus far (there's still more to do)

so STAY TUNED!**

mush brain

i know i need to post some pics soon because the words are just getting to be too much! i need a good "outfit post" asap! 

til then, i will fill you in on the day's events:

• we had the inspection on the house today and i think that overall it was what one would expect. there are things that need to be addressed but overall no "deal breakers" - WHEW! we will present them with a short list and then wait and see what happens. who knows! maybe they'll be totally obliging and everything will roll smoothly... see what i did there? turned that mental frown upside down - booyah!
• i went to anthropologie for a little inspiration and visual treat after work. i wasn't intending to buy anything at all, i swear!... but then i spied a lace vest in the sale room that was $9.99! so, small treat for me to ease the stress :) outfit post to follow soon! 
  

thanks for the thoughts and prayers - keep 'em coming! still a bit undecided about the wedding stuff. i reserved the park spaces for september 18th but p has been working such insane hours and i've been so preoccupied with the house stress that we haven't really sat down and decided if we are going to go for it or not. it's my bet that we will, but right now i can't even think about it - my brain is mush. 

was that the "start gun" i just heard?

well, i called just a while ago and finally got in touch with minnie at parks and recreation and let me just say that she is not nearly as nice or as cheerful as amy poehler's  character on the show of that same name! 

she ONLY has friday, september 18th available. 

p's not keen on rushing it (or necessarily having it on a friday) and i feel really anxious when thinking about moving at the beginning of august and then having 6 weeks til the wedding. on the plus side, it would mean i could just get down to the nitty gritty and make some decisions and stop thinking about it so damn much....

after getting the ground back under me (cindy is the BEST) i called back to see what it would take to reserve that date but wouldn't ya know it... minnie is out of the office for the next hour and a half. so, i am thinking i will phone stalk minnie and reserve the date just in case and try to talk to p about it tonight. already i've had 3 folks say with assurance "we can do this" so i'm beginning to drink the kool-aid and think we can.... i don't know. i feel like i can hear the crazy in that sentence.... 

whatever happens, you know i'll keep you posted!

still on hold but hangin' on

so, i know you guys liked the farm, but it was feeling like a stretch making everything happen from such a distance... i mean, there's not even a grocery store within about 30mins of there if you ran out of ice and decided you needed a bag or two more at the last minute, you know?! we both agreed from the get-go that our wedding wouldn't be about the particulars but it really was just a time to celebrate with our family and friends... and we were worried that people wouldn't stick around or have as much fun if they knew a long drive would await them at the end of the day. plus, we love our city and really wanted to have our wedding here. 

so yesterday a client of mine said "why don't you just get married in the park" and i said that we'd thought about it tons but that it really would be nice to have someplace to shelter the food and have better access to restrooms and such. and he informed me that the park we'd been thinking about but haven't used much (that is *right* by our new - knock on wood- house) actually has the outdoor pavillions and ampitheatre AND a "villa" higher up on the back side of the hill accessed by a side street that he'd been to and that it was WONDERFUL! 

so last night after dinner with ellie and brad to celebrate our being under contract on the house, we all drove up there to check it out... and it IS wonderful! 

today i called to get the info and found out that while it's not as dirt cheap as my client claimed, it's still a STEAL in comparison to other wedding venues. it will provide us with indoor and outdoor areas to eat and boogie. and we can have alcohol as long as we hire a city cop to keep watch. and it has everything we need as far as bathrooms and such go. and it has a fireplace! 

the only hang-up is that the lady who books the place, minnie,  is out of the office until monday... and the lady who i spoke with on the phone told me she thought minnie had mentioned that it was booked every weekend til december - boooooo! i'm hoping this lady doesn't know about a secret empty weekend that is just waiting for us to book it ;)

we have already decided that we'll do a friday afternoon/evening wedding if we can't get a saturday... but i know i'd really rather not do a sunday. like at all. 

we had saturday, october 10th as our date mentally, but i just browsed online and found out that the birmingham folk festival will be there on sunday, october 11th and i bet they'll be setting up tents and trash cans and such around the park the day before and we really don't want all of that going on in the background of our outdoor ceremony so we will have to be open to alternate dates. no biggie. 

for now, i will share with you the templates i've made for our invites. keep in mind that i am NOT a graphic designer and that i don't have fancy programs on my computer to design these with - not even photoshop! these are just ideas to give to our graphic designer friend so that he can then make them *magic* in ways i cannot! i've designed two: one for our fun friends and another for "grown ups" and i'm hoping that he will be able to add borders and color and more interest to both so that they look more professional even though we plan to just print them out on our inkjet printer at home :)

my mom is constantly worried about me putting up my info online so please DO NOT stalk us or our wedding - THANKS!

i've been reading up on making your wedding more environmentally friendly and i think that we might pass up the save the date cards and as much mailing and envelopes as we can in order to "do our part". i don't know how it will turn out but i am thinking i will roll these up and tie them with a piece of twine and have a little tag hanging off that is personally "addressed" (to: so and so, with love from meg and patrick) with driving directions and our website on the backside so they can find more info without wasting more paper. and we are going to hand deliver every one that we can - not driving around like fools, mind you... but organically as we see people- because our guest list is mainly the folks who are in our everyday lives. i'll cave and mail the ones i have to obviously. 

and in house news, we have our inspection scheduled for this coming tuesday - so if you think about it, send us some really lucky good vibes that they don't find anything crazy and that we can proceed with ease from here! 

i guess this means that i should take the weekend of from mental planning until i know more info about the wedding venue when i call minnie on monday and have our inspection on tuesday huh?..... i'll work on that.... we'll see! 

in the blackbelt

today we travelled down to the blackbelt of alabama to check out the farm that we are hoping to use for our wedding. it was a GORGEOUS day in the south and the drive was so nice. first we went to the chapel - built in 1859. 





i'm a total weirdo with an affinity for cemeteries so i just had to go over to check it out. the oldest grave we found was from the very early 1800's - i meant to remember the date but there was so much going on in my brain today i've now forgotten it. anyway, here it is:



inside the chapel. it had that "old" smell but it was very authentic feeling and the history is so rich i didn't mind at all.

next we went to the "white house" to check it out as a spot to hold our reception. we are thinking of throwing the front doors open and having tons of candles all over and putting up a tent with seating outside. 



you can't really see it here, but we could use the back porch and the porch area of this little shed to set up the buffet and bar areas. and in between the main house and the shed is a little fire pit that would be great for s'mores :)

selfishly, i'd have to admit my favorite part of the day was stopping by the roadside to pick a wildflower bouquet! pretty, pretty!





and in other crazy exciting news...

we put an offer on the house and should know something by 6pm tomorrow. 

any form of prayer, well wishes, or happy/lucky vibes sent our way will be greatly appreciated! wish us well - we really want this!

freaking out, part one (of a million more to come)

so the madness has begun and i've started looking at other dresses and now my head is all turned around because there are a million different ways to go... country, mod, boho, hippie, classic, ethereal... who knows?! 

the real kicker is that the dress i want most at this moment is this one from fleur wood: 

and it's sold out. 

so this morning i bought this dress from etsy (click to enlarge):

now if only i were a tall gorgeous dark skinned woman with an amazing fro....

 i really wanted this one from shripton couture because it's daisy-like but dressier... but, wouldn't ya know it, it too is sold out:

(this one has amazing details so if you have time click the link to see the other pics of it)

i am thinking that i could do a bit more of a yellow color scheme and that the daisy dress can be both country AND mod if done right.... i'm thinking of super cute pics on my vespa and standing outside a barn...  and if i don't wear it for the big day i know i'll wear it sometime cause it's just so damn cute! TOTALLY DIFFERENT from the first i know, but that's because i can be any kind of gal on any given day so i like all of these styles. how will i ever choose?!

i've been obessed with a mountain bride and snipet and ink these days. amazing sources of inspiration! it's like amazing stylish women did all the legwork for me and found all the best stuff on the internet :)

in good news:

last night p and i went to his mom's to begin making our invite list and it is not as bad as i originally thought. it looks like maybe we can invite everyone we really wanted to without going coo-coo-crazy. she was great about everything. 

AND.... 

one of my clients has a farm about an hour and a half south of us that she has offered for us to use for free for the big day!!!! AND... it has a chapel built in 1890 on the property!!!! we are going to drive down there to check it out this saturday so cross your fingers that it is just what we are looking for so we can get the locale nailed down. once we do, it will then determine a lot more about the # of invites, the theme/feel of the day and even the food and decorating decisions. oh gee, i hope it's what i'm imagining... or at least workable! 

and lastly, i have gone berzerk at the thrift.

this is just the very tip of a very large iceberg.

i stocked up on jars a plenty to make lanterns out of.

and glass canisters to serve vintage style candies in.

and an old school desk so i can totally rip off this idea:

and vintage sheets to use as the backdrops for photos or for tablecloths!

my sweet ellie was kind enough to soak all of the jars, peel off all the thrift store stickers, AND wash them all by hand!

she is a gift from the heavens i tell ya! :) THANKS E! YOU RULE BY MAKING MY LIFE SO MUCH EASIER!

rich like them

part of the new frugality means revisiting what i guess was the old frugality... i've always loved going to the library and i love it even more now that i get to celebrate it as a money saving venture and pat myself on the back for it... i'm always happy for another reason to tell myself "good job"! i've been revisiting the movie section of the library and checking out movies for free instead of renting them AND i signed up for email reminders so that i won't forget when they are due back and accumulate those (unusually) hefty fees. 

recent rentals:

a good funny time waster as always

my first time watching it. robert redford made me swoon despite 

his passionless, stand-for-nothing character.

don't bother. i feel asleep. 

haven't watched it yet... p and i have almost broken down and purchased this one on apple tv seeing as how it's not for rent but then i found it in the library - yay! probably watch this weekend. 

and today i came across this book:

it's called Rich Like Them: My Door-To-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth In America's Richest Neighborhoods by Ryan D'Agnostino

i almost laughed out loud when i saw it because i cannot tell you how many times p and i have driven round the rich neighborhoods that sit just over the hill and joked about knocking on one of the mansions' doors and asking "so, how did you get this rich?".... and i have a feeling this book is going to tell me that most of those people would respond by somehow saying that they too had a crazy idea like that one and just DID IT and got rich... like i'm sure this ryan guy did. i bet if we had actually knocked on those doors and asked those questions we could be collecting old ryan's checks! 

another thing i find funny is that i work in some of these mansions and i know for sure that when ryan went and knocked on the doors the homeowners did not answer - their housekeepers did. And i also know that one of my more.... let's say "interesting"... clients once called the cops on a strange person knocking on their door! turns out it was a girl scout!

kiddding! 

but just barely....

at any rate, i'll be reporting back next week on how we can all be tremendously wealthy and live in mansions - stay tuned!

oh, and i did splurge a bit on some online retail therapy at american apparel yesterday but i am still coming in under the clothing budget i set for myself. i got these things:

striped dress with pockets

grey athletic shirt

basic black mini

three good basics, i think.... AND i got free shipping and 15% off for signing up for the email newsletter. not so bad! 

breaking new ground

today i did something groundbreaking... i got a price adjustment! 

i bought a dress at anthropologie to wear for my birthday and then went in today and saw it had been marked down 50%! whaaaa?! so i went back home and got my receipt and returned to the store for a price adjustment! money back! for nothing! amazing! 

i didn't even turn around and spend that money in the store. i brought it home and put it in my piggy bank :) 

(here, i'll admit that it wasn't because i didn't want to spend it or find anything i like - or because i have amazing willpower.... i just had a low-self-esteem day and didn't like how i looked in anything i tried on!)

lou is gonna be so proud of me!  yay me!

starbucks & racial profiling?

well, I filled out the Starbucks online survey to get my free coffee code and I was totally okay with taking the survey and answering questions about my experience at their store but I was *not* okay with the personal questions about my age, gender and RACE?! i know they probably just use it do decide if they need more "ethnic" folks in their commercials and print ads and such but it just felt so wrong! Luckily, they did provide the option "prefer not to answer" for those questions and I was able to choose that. 

Does anyone else think that it's a bit weird to ask that? I mean, hopefully their employees have had enough sensitivity training (along with some decent manners) not to exhibit racist, sexist, or ageist behaviors while slinging coffee, no? And what do my personal details have to do with whether my coffee was hot, how clean the store was, or how quickly I was served? Maybe alot - maybe S-bux is secretly besieged with human resources problems and racist, sexist, ageist employees... dunno. 

Nonetheless, free drink for me Monday morning.... hopefully that nice girl at the drive-thru won't call me a "smokin' hot old honey with nice tits"... 

or then again, maybe she will...

WOOT!

*much* to my surprise we met with the mortgage broker today and things went swimmingly! nothing is set in stone, but it looks like (fingers crossed) we may indeed be approved for a loan that is larger than our expected budget!!!!

WHOOOO - HOOO!

now, that doesn't mean we are going to run out and buy something at the top of our budget... or maybe buy anything at all just yet... but it does mean that I can exhale knowing I am not an utter failure who will never be "grown up" enough to own my own home.... not that people who don't own their homes are failures or not grown up! geez, that sounded BAD. forgive!

Now a whole new kind of anxiety is washing over me:

- is the house we were originally interested in the right one for us?

- will it get sold out from under us?

- how in the heck do I deal with things like inspections, appraisals, closing costs, etc, etc?

and the biggest questions of all:

- how important is it (financially, emotionally, legally, even socially) that we be married before we take this HUGE step together? 

- am I okay with buying a house together without marriage? what if we choose to never get married? will buying the house make him feel like we have to get married?

all i know, is that it feels like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders just by taking the first step and seeing the broker. 

afterall, KNOWING IS HALF THE BATTLE:

I AMOST FORGOT!!!

I took the expensive pants back to Anthro and (at least for the time being) walked away without purchasing anything else in it's place! This is HUGE people - I'm making history here. 

applause is welcome.

still on track

here's a confession:

i do this all the time - the only difference is that *this time* i've got a blog. 

i go through these spurts where i try to be all organized and strict with myself and my spending but i secretly use it as an excuse to buy new pens, calendars to write down payment dates and due dates of bills, buy magazines or books about money, etc, etc, etc. 

i can usually keep it up for about 2 weeks tops and then i run out of steam. i know it's only been a few days but i really feel like this time it's going to stick... and honestly, i think it's because of the accountability the blog provides. 

thanks for checking in on me and lending me support - it's gonna be tough but i know i can do it!

this evening i spent time on mint.com updating my categories and really setting my monthly budget. i LOVE that site. if you haven't checked it out then do it now. it's scary to see how much i spend on clothing and magazines.... speaking of magazines, one of my clients gave me two of her old issues of Money Magazine to look through and I was so disappointed and overwhelmed. It seems like all of the info in those magazines is geared towards people in a totally different situation than I find myself in. They talk incessantly about 401Ks and stock options - I currently have neither. 

I've been thinking about hiring a financial planner but I want to see how it goes on my own first... see what headway I can make on saving a little money before I run off and spend said money for someone to tell me what to do with it - makes sense?

PROGRESS: 

today i ate both meals at home. faux-turkey sandwich/grapes/nuts for lunch and a faux-philly cheese steak sandwich for dinner - YUM! 

we have an appointment with the mortgage broker this friday and we'll see what that brings - fingers crossed.