A Venn Diagram I can actually understand.

by Crystal

I tend to have anywhere from 5-67 projects going on at once. While not all of them actually come to fruition (some are never even started...), these projects help me keep my creative mind active, which I believe helps keep me sane. Well, that and wine, but we've gone over that, haven't we?

I saw this pin on Pinterest and immediately knew I wanted it. The productive mood struck me on Saturday, so I decided to make it!

Supplies:

• Sharpie marker
• Floating picture frame (you know, one of those with the glass on both sides)
• Piece of paper (I used a patterned piece from JoAnn Fabrics)
• A bowl to trace circles
• Good music (I listened to Zach Brown Band's album "Uncaged." Love.

Before.

I used paper with a wood pattern on it.

The finished product hanging on the wall.

 

Finished product hanging on the wall with other photos in frames. What can I say? When the productive mood strikes, I do as much as I can. It doesn't strike very often.

The finished product hanging on the wall with other frames over our (half-made) bed!

My husband was pretty impressed. Not that I put this all together, but that I knew what a Venn Diagram was. Come on hubby, I know my calculus.

Wedding Planning 101

by Crystal

Sooo...I got married about two weeks ago. Let me just say, it was awesome. And I've heard from other people who were there that they thought it was awesome too, so it wasn't just because I was the bride!

We planned this event for about nine months, so I feel like I learned a lot from the experience, and thought it would be good to share with those of you who are planning weddings/thinking about getting married/just interested.

1. Get a wedding planner. They've done this a billion times before. They know who to go to for what. They make paying your vendors much easier. But do your research. There are a lot of wedding planners who limit their services to only a few visits or phone calls before the actual day, and may even charge you extra for being there the day of the wedding. To me, this is a bit ridiculous. The woman who we worked with was available to answer any questions we had, was there for the entire day of making sure things were getting done, and probably saved us more money than we paid her for her services.
2. Research your venues. Some venues may seem less expensive, but they may not include as much in that cost. Ask the venue if the cost entails any rentals (i.e. tables and/or linens, chairs for ceremony, dance floor, etc.). If these come with the venue, you could save a lot of money. Another thing you may ask is whether you can bring your own alcohol to the venue. If so, you end up saving a lot as well!
3. Delegate tasks to bridesmaids/groomsmen/family. Since our wedding was a bit of a destination one, most of our guests took the opportunity to create a little mini-vacay out of it. In doing so, we wanted to put together a few activities to maximize our time with everyone. But with all the planning we were doing for the wedding and honeymoon, we asked for some of the wedding party and our families to pitch in and help plan the activities the days before and the day of the wedding. To make things easier, we had a list of things that needed to get done, and asked for them to speak up on what they were comfortable helping out with!
4. Decide what to splurge on, and what to cut back on. From the beginning, we had a set budget, and needed to abide by that. Because we had our hearts set on a photographer who would be more than we planned for, we figured out what wasn't as important to us - because where we were getting married was already so naturally beautiful, we decided for less florals/decorations, and also because it wasn't a formal wedding, I chose a less expensive dress (but totally appropriate for the environment). For some people, the dress may be the most important thing, or the food - whatever it is, make those choices, and rearrange your budget so that you can make it work!
5. Speaking of which - think about where you're getting married, and plan the wedding/reception accordingly. We got married outside in Florida in August. It.Was.Hot. We knew it would be, so we didn't want to make the ceremony last excruciatingly long. We also ordered program fans, so the guests could keep cooler during it. As I noted before, my dress was less expensive because it was fairly simple in style (read: less fabric helped me stay cooler!). We also didn't require the men to wear tuxes, or even suits. Eric was the only one in an actual (cotton) suit - while the others just wore shirts and a tie, nice pants and suspenders.
6. Decide what traditions are important to you, and skip the rest. We didn't do a garter/bouquet toss, or even cut the cake. But we did see each other before the wedding, announce the wedding party and have a father/daughter and mother/son dance. Why? Well first of all, the garter and bouquet toss always made me feel a little uncomfortable as a single person (hello...I'm already single, do I need to be called out for being so?), and we don't even really like cake that much. But we wanted to acknowledge our friends and family. And we saw each other before hand to help make my walk down the aisle a little less tearful. I wouldn't change that choice either - it was special to have the moment of us seeing each other for the first time be a little more private than it would have been otherwise.
7. Don't forget about your groom. He's a part of the wedding too. Eric didn't care about a lot of what went into the planning, but he did care about some of it - such as the music, food/drink, favors. I always tried to keep him in the loop with what was going on and got his input - sometimes it was just "whatever you want, I don't care," but I felt better knowing that he had the opportunity to make decisions as well. There were a few times when I wasn't completely convinced about what he wanted, but still went with it. In 20 years, what really matters besides the fact that you married the love of your life? (And actually, some of those things got some very positive feedback from our guests!)
8. Remember who you are as a couple, and try to make your day reflect that. We're mostly a laid back couple who like to have fun. Our family and friends are important to us, and to make this known, we incorporated many of them into the ceremony and reception. We let the bartender serve drinks before the wedding, and people even kept them while seated for the ceremony - why not? We let people eat dinner when they wanted. We gave our guests crazy colored sunglasses as favors (one of Eric's staples), and promoted them wearing them throughout the day/into the night. We wear our sunglasses at night. It was the little details like these that weren't big deals, but were important to us because it helped make the ceremony ours.

And now, a little preview of some moments of the big day!

 

roughin' it.

by Crystal

When we found out about the Perseids meteor shower last weekend, we knew we needed to be outside for the night. Considering we live in such a thriving metropolis (I mean, come on guys, there's like 10,000 people in this town), we thought it best to head out of town and in to the country - camping!

We planned on going Friday, but when we saw that there was 95% chance of storms, we figured we could wait, sleep in our own comfy bed for the night and head out in the morning. Yes, that's how committed we were.

After packing our vehicle to the brim, we head out.

When we got there, we set up camp and hiked to the top of a mountain.

Here we're doing balancing poses on the Balancing Rock. Only appropriate.

 While at the top, we decided it would be good to take note of my ensemble. I realize this is not the most fashionable or flattering outfit I've ever worn, but folks, when you're walking up a mountain in the heat, you need to think about staying cool and comfort first. Essentials to hiking attire:

• A hat, or something to cover your head (watch out for those tics!)
• A breathable top/tank top
• Comfortable shorts or pants - I usually choose pants to avoid bug bites
• A sturdy pair of shoes - mine cover my ankles too, to avoid sprains or rolls on uneven terrain

E wanted to take part in the fun too. Notice he honors the same hiking attire rules that I do!

At night, we hiked down to an area with an open sky, climbed a fence, and laid down a blanket to watch the show. We saw around 20 meteors. Seriously. It was awesome.

The next morning photo. A few other essentials to take note of:

• Sunglasses
• A bandana for greasy, day-after a hike hair
• A percolator - coffee is necessary
• Portable speakers
• Gallons of water
• Citronella candles - I can't stress enough how much I hate mosquitos
• Trash bags - keep our planet clean
• Food to grill on an open fire 
• Not pictures: board games!

 

I'm convinced my fiance should be a professional open-fire chef. Lemon-pepper tilapia with red potatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Aka deliciousness!

 Before we head home, we did a short hike that led to a small waterfall. Perfect way to end the weekend!

Don't be fooled. I'm about to fall down in that last photo. Definitely time to go home.

Are You a Scrapper?

by Katie

If the answer is yes, please specify: do you fight in back alleys with wiry, deft speed? If so, then you're infinitely cooler than I am. If you put together little collage things of photos, ticket stubs, and old birthday cards to put in albums, then you and I have more in common and we both have significantly less street cred.

Regardless of our respective levels of cool, I do enjoy making and keeping scrapbooks. They are artistic, visual accounts of certain periods in our lives, and in creating them we can (finally) make use of all those pictures we take and momentos we keep. (If you don't keep momentos per se, check your wallet/bottom of your purse and see what scraps of paper you can dig up.

Most of my scrapbook pages are filled with photographs and personal stuff--remember the day we went snorkeling? Went to the farmer's market? The week in Mexico? That friend's wedding/shower/housewarming/hospitalization?

There are times, however, when I want to make a good, old-fashioned collage and not feel like a weirdo by hanging it up on the fridge. I've found that scrapbooking gives me this opportunity. Thought I'd share this idea with you.

If you keep scrapbooks and you also keep magazines around because you're sure you'll somehow use them one day, here's a creative exercise: make "time capsule" pages that recall significant moments and your state of mind in the current year. Here are a few examples of this kind of thing.

I like throwing in a political cartoon here and there, some popular references that might prove humorous down the line, and little pictures/words to remind me of my current obsessions (note that Tina Fey doesn't make it onto a collage until 2012--I'm a little behind the times with my newfound love of 30 Rock).

Basically, this gives you something to do with all those old mags you've been saving for a crafty project and gives you an excuse to glue/tape together a bunch of random nonsense.

Happy scrapping!

"Shopping" For My Garden

 By Katie

I've been pretty clear about the fact that I'm currently obsessed with gardening, right? Well, let me illustrate the depths to which this obsession as taken root.

Taken root, people. Seriously? I am queen of comedy, with the punning.

...wait, was that an actual pun? I could never remember the definition.

OK, so it's Saturday morning, and I am clearly distractable. A couple things you should know:

1. Like (apparently) all amateur gardeners, I bought a gajillion seeds and was WAAAAAY too ambitious in planting them. I read in a snarky but helpful garden blog that this is a bad idea if you don't have grow lights (which I don't), but I went ahead and did it anyway. Because I'm a rebel. And because I like to make the right-of-passage mistakes that people more wise and experienced warn me against. Whatever. The blogger was right: it is very difficult to grow a large quantity of seedlings without grow lights. Especially without proper window space and in a spring that's been swinging back and forth between hot sun and almost-freezing wind. Oops. So I killed a lot of seedlings. I'm trying not to feel super guilty. I'll do better next spring, Mother Nature! FYI, things that do surprisingly well under mild neglect, not enough sunshine, and sporadic watering? Peppers of all kinds, squash, and basil.
2. I have a dog walking business. As such, I spend my days outside, traversing the various semi-urban, suburban, and rural spaces Madison, WI has to offer. Since it's almost May and everything has turned green (and yellow, and blue, and white, and pink), I have an endless repertoire of landscapes to study. This has been super helpful. It's meant that every day, all day, has turned into a massive "shopping" trip for plants. I peruse, I make mental notes, and I slowly decide what I want to buy based on others' purchases and designs.

I note what catches my eye (like this beautiful sloped rock garden), see what plants they've used, and pull together some kind of mental list of likes and dislikes. Here are some of the landscapes and plants that have inspired me over the past couple of weeks.

Gorgeous, mature rock plantings

Crabapple in bloom

I love the glimpse of a fiery Japanese maple over the traditional fence

Hostas and daffodils in foreground; someone PLEASE tell me what the shrubs behind them are!

Adore these dilapidated stairs

I love the redbud in the background

There's mystery in stairs that lead to the unseen

Betula Papyrifera 'Paper birch'

 

Van Houtte Spirea (I'm almost positive)

Blue spruce sets off the brighter greens in the foreground

The spreading limbs of the oak? tree combine with the dainty Japanese maple

This street view is why I love spring. Color abounds!

Lysimachia nummularia 'Creeping Jenny' in the foreground

Creeping phlox, rock cress, daffodils and sedums combine to make a lovely raised rock bed

So I take all of these accumulated visuals, combining them with lots and lots of gardening books strewn around the house, and I go to various nurseries to check out availabilities and pricing. Yesterday, I had about 45 minutes to kill in the late afternoon, so I stopped at a big store's plant sale and meandered up and down aisles, taking pictures of everything like a weirdo.

Not sure why my hands looks like I just dipped it in oil, but...

As you can see, I have come to have a truly one-track mind. Apart from the seedling misadventures, I'm making slow but sure progress in my garden...but those pictures will be for another post. Happy gardening!