2 months left until wedding day!

Here is our list of what's left TO DO rather than all we've done.

Finalize wedding music playlist - Charles is DJ
Purchase more wine (15 white)
Flower girl basket decoration
Borrow 15 chairs for rehersal dinner
Clean out our storage room to make room for guests
Borrow air mattresses for extra house guests (early July)
Bustle dress
Find a tie (the right color) for Jesper
Final menu - meet with caterer
Finalize rehersal dinner catering with Beth
Decorating plan
Logistics, helper assignments
Day of transportation/photos plan
Finish knitting wedding stole (75% done)
Finalize ceremony/vows and make sure Chris has "minister certificate"
Plan honeymoon (Thailand) - November
Talk to selected people about readings
Wrap maid of honor/bridesmaid gifts
Do a site walk-through (June)
Get wedding license (June 19)
Order cake and drop off ribbon (July)
Follow-up with people who did not RSVP
Table numbers and seating groups
Print programs (early July)
Buy orchids from Trader Joe's (week of) + assemble centerpieces

I picked up this beautiful ornamental box for my wedding cake topper. I got it for 1/3 the price it is online, I didn't even know I was getting a deal. Anyway, it was still a bit expensive, so I will try to part with it and sell it after the wedding on Ebay. It's from Goldbug Studio. The details on it are amazing.

I am 75% through the wedding stole.

We got all the materials this weekend to build a cobblestone walkway. Now to start digging 4" deep in a level fashion.

We got a bunch of plants and the yard is looking better and better.

Microsoft will pay you to shop through their search results on live.com
http://search.live.com/cashback/

I just got this GE Outdoor Outlet Receiver for our outdoor patio lights and it's so cool- just press the remote and the lights turn on! No more crawling in the dirt to plug in the lanterns on the deck.

Interesting video about the touch-up done on a "real" Dove beauty model.

My friend Michelle and I scored on some great deals in Fremont today. I got some wood letters that spell iLOVEU. Some super cute kids shoes for the flower girl gift, a lighted globe for Jesper and a merino sweater.

Michelle found a hand painted picture which is huge. It's too big for her place, so for now, I'll keep on display in my house for her until she gets more walls. She has plans to paint a frisbee in the dogs mouth, over the cigarette. We're not sure what this painting is meant to be about, but somehow it's interesting anyway.

Yesterday we got the hammocks properly installed, that's where I am headed now that the temperature is dropping.

Tonight I used the leftover almost no-knead bread for garlic toast to go with our spaghetti, YUM! The crust was no longer crusty since I had stored it in a grocery produce bag.

A few months ago I finally pulled the secret out of my grandma as to how she feeds her orchids. Typically people get orchids in bloom and after a month when the flowers die, the plant is thrown away because it won't bloom again for us. I have one of those plants. And now I have the magic potion, Alaksa Fish Fertilizer. I just fed my plants with it once about a 4 weeks ago and now my orchid has new growth. We'll see if it flowers!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I decided to finally try the no-knead bread recipe I've been hearing about for so long on blogs. I found an article in the Seattle Times that pointed to a improved version of the recipe, "Almost No-Knead Bread," and decided that that was the one to go with. It turned out to be super easy and tasted just like it came from the Essential Bakery in Fremont.

Wa Hoo! Our invitations are in the mail!
Here is a peek. The art carving print was custom made by my Maid of Honor, Michelle. It's the view of Golden Gardens Bathhouse from the water.
We bought the paper at The Paper Zone. The address label idea came from Martha Stewart. The font is called Dear Joe. After I mailed them, I realized that we forgot to note the "RSVP by" date. I guess I'll just start confirming with everyone I need to who hasn't responded by July 1st.

Tonight I assembled the photos from our childhood to display at our wedding. I saw this idea in a magazine and am very happy with how it turned out. I scanned in the old photos and had them printed in wallet size online so they are all the same size. The vase is from IKEA and the fake branches are from Cost Plus and Pier One. I already had this in the house, so I didn't have to spend much on the project. I used the same blue paper as I have on our invitation. Friday night is the invitation assembly line party. I finally have all the papers sliced - it would be a paper slicing nightmare without Kinko's help. Each invite has 9 pieces of paper attached together in various ways with double-stick squares. Thank goodness Michelle and Bill offered to come and help. We'll be using the sauna afterwards for sure. They will be the first guests to try it out.

Tonight Jesper came home with two barrels, soon to be rain-catching barrels.

Today we planted a pink dogwood in front of our house, it's so pretty!

We are getting VERY close to assembling our invitations. I just need to make the entire mock before I go print all the copies. I have all the address labels ready.

The carving Michelle made for us is beautiful! Also, when I shrunk it at Kinko's at 50%, it was the perfect size for the envelope. I'm not sure if she did that on purpose, but it is just purfect!

This weekend is another push on the sauna and life organization. Maybe I'll mow the lawn when I get home.