Saturday morning, January 19, 2013
currently...
enjoying this long weekend! I felt really unwell yesterday; I was terrified of getting the flu so I babied myself with lots of naps and tea and very little movement and, when I woke up this morning, I had totally recovered. But I still have a full two days off work to use however I want! And yes, that will include lots of cuddles with Charlie even though I'm no longer couch-bound. And speaking of Charlie:
glowing with all the love left in the comments on Thursday's post. It sounds like we all understand that we're really the ones who have been rescued! No matter how we found our dogs or how they found us, we're blessed to have them in our lives. I'm glad there are so many of us out there who are foolish for our pets!
browsing David's Bridal with my mom - we'll talk about this more when I publish a Wedding Wednesday post about my dress search, but I don't plan to spend a lot on my gown and so we're considering a few different ways to keep the cost down. DB is definitely a valid option! By the way, thank you to Joelle for linking to this article defending David's Bridal - I sometimes feel like I should apologize (though I don't know to whom) for not wanting to drop a fortune on my dress, and this helped me understand the power of the wedding industrial complex.
meeting up with Gesci and her husband tonight for dinner! I love all blates, of course, because it's so fun to take a great online relationship and explore it in real life, but Gesci especially feels like a kindred spirit. Charlie and I are already planning our road trip down to North Carolina to visit them - and to meet Sloan, Max. and Mia!
drinking artisanal spirits. My organization has a big gala coming up in March and the alcohol sponsor came by on Friday afternoon to do a tasting, which may possibly be the best way to end a workweek. Everyone now knows that niche beers are worth their weight in gold, so apparently the next step is embracing hand-crafted liquor! My favorites were the flavored "shine" whiskeys from Dark Corner Distillery - delicious and dangerous.
cooking with my dad. To make sure we set aside quality time together, we've each picked a night to make a family dinner. (I do Sundays, Mom does Tuesdays, and Dad does Thursdays.) Dad's not confident in the kitchen so his fall-back is Chinese or pizza, which is fun occasionally but a bit much every week. So we've been teaming up on our nights - he gives me some ideas, I find a recipe, he goes to the grocery store and does the prep work, and then I take the reins and he becomes my sous-chef! It's very sweet how seriously he takes the whole process and how pleased he is when we make something yummy.
thinking about how we can redefine success and celebrate the ordinary. I love that the blogging trend for 2013 seems to be to focus on quality instead of quantity - my favorite post about it is from Design For Mankind, but there are tons of other great ones out there and I'm always discovering more. This is one blogging bandwagon I'm totally enthusiastic about, and it's something that's applicable to all areas of our lives; a New York Times article from last June quotes David LcCullough, Jr from a commencement speech that he recently gave as urging, “Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”
Monday morning, January 14, 2013
linking up with siddathornton today
Have fun wedding dress shopping! I enjoyed reading that article too- I actually got my dress there, and at first I experienced a lot of those same feelings described in the article. But in the end, I loved my dress and it didn't break the bank, so who cares where it's from? And I actually felt like the staff there was really helpful.
ReplyDeleteIt's taken me a long time getting to your comment section, because I read through those blog posts about David's Bridal and 'quality over quantity' blogging. Thanks for sharing those. All great things. Don't feel sorry for a minute about where you get your wedding dress. It's all about getting married, not how much you spend... I struggled with having a limited wedding budget, but the good news is none of it mattered after all is said and done. :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Sunday!
I need to share something with you about dress shopping. We bought my dress at Betsy Robinson's Bridal in Baltimore. And it was CHEAP. Not even on sale cheap. CHEAP. My mom gave me an overgenerous budget (2k) and I said "yes" to a $600 dress (and then recieved 10% off for some sort of Christmas sale). Sure, they had $30,000 dresses but they weren't pushy at all. In fact, I've had 2 friends go there upon my suggestion and both found their "under $1,000" dresses as well. I looked at David's Bridal and I didn't think their prices were always the lowest. I highly recommend you check out Betsy Robinson's Bridal. And my dress was by designer Watters. Their Wtoo line. All low in price.
ReplyDeleteStill visit David's Bridal. But you'll never dress shop again. So you need to visit as many stores as you can. Call Betsy Robinson's up. And if you hate their dresses, you can blame me. But I think you'll like it there. :)
I bought my dress at David's Bridal. 3 sizes too big. for $99!!! It was just what I was looking for and I loved it. I had it altered to fit me! Voila! Good luck!!
ReplyDeletehaha yes sometimes I get a little overzealous with the linking in these posts :) but thank you on the dress front!
ReplyDeleteyou know, I bet almost any store can be a good or bad experience depending on so many factors. glad it worked for you :)
ReplyDeletehaha my mother agrees... she says that every dress I try on is a learning experience. and Betsy Robinson is on our list - we'll move it up since it worked out so well for you!
ReplyDeleteOh please keep me updated on how things go with Betsy Robinson! I really did have the most positive experience with them! Stephanie was my sales rep. But they are all really great!
ReplyDeleteIs that your dad??! Oh my goodness he's so cute :) I loved your story about how you guys are making dinner together. xo
ReplyDeleteit is - and he is :) thanks lovely!
ReplyDeleteoh man that's the dream, right?
ReplyDeleteCooking with your dad is such a wonderful treat! If I had one wish, I would wish that my father was still here, so we could cook together (now that I'm old enough to appreciate such things!). Treasure those moments :)
ReplyDeleteI got my dress from DB and sometimes feel like I have to defend it too. But you know what, it looked good on me, and I loved it. So who cares?! Not me. I didn't know Gesci lived in NC! Looks like I'll need to follow her blog. If you do decide to visit the Carolinas, can it be when I'm there?? lol
ReplyDeleteI bought my wedding dress at David's Bridal too, and don't regret it for a second! I guess I would have felt silly spending a big chunk of my wedding budget on a dress, but truth be told, the dress wasn't that big of a deal to me. I wanted something pretty that I could marry my husband in, and that's what I got (for $500, no less!).
ReplyDeleteYES let's plan a weekend there at the same time! Gesci, hope you don't mind house guests... haha :)
ReplyDeleteoh fantastic! SO glad everyone's enthusiastic about this. I'll let you know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy wedding dress shopping! And spending the equivalent on a new car and/or downpayment on a house for a dress that you will wear for a max of 8 hours is not worth it. The only part of wedding to indulge in is photography. Your wedding photos are the only things that will last from that day.
ReplyDeletei absolutely love your 'thinking.' i'm really into the quality over quantity bandwagon for 2013 as well, though i think part of that is my inability to create a blogging schedule that i'm happy with yet. the 'quality over quantity' mantra allows me to feel ok with not blogging until i've come up with something i love, rather than just trying to get something out there to fill my weekly quota.
ReplyDeletei firmly believe a bride should choose the dress that's perfect for them, no matter what it is or where it came from. i hate the pressures that society places on us to spend a fortune or wear a certain silhouette. i had some less-than-savory experiences with my wedding dress shopping, & i don't believe anyone should have to feel negative emotions toward something that should be joyful. you're on the right track - do what's best for you!
wow... quite a doozie of a comment, wasn't this?
i hope you have a happy week :)
I love that you are going dress shopping at DB. I haven't been dress shopping yet (just got engaged over Thanksgiving and our wedding won't be until April 2014) so I would love to hear more about your experiences at DB and other places.
ReplyDeleteWith my budget, DB will definitely be on my list. Also, I am a size 14, and I fear that the smaller boutiques will not have anything close to my size to try on. I'm hoping DB has the inventory to hopefully let me try on something I can zip up!