Hair Trial

I had my second and final trial run with my hair stylist for the wedding. I like it much better this time. These pictures are after three hours and a ride home with the car window partially down. Seems to have some staying power.

Yet More DIY Projects

Our office was closed yesterday for the Fourth of July holiday, so a co-worker and I made a field trip to a restaurant for real southern cooking and then to IKEA.

Several things - First, the restaurant was the bomb. I had fried whiting, mac and cheese that was to die for, string beans with some kind of hot sauce on them and cornbread. All delicious. Jennifer (hi, Jennifer) had black eyed peas that were the best I've had in a long time and sweet potato pie that would make an excellent breakfast item.

Second, you should never try to go 95S on a holiday weekend, so I googled a back road way to get to IKEA. This turned out to be the best decision ever and I may never take 95S down there again. If we had gone that way, we might still be sitting on 95. If you are in the area and want the directions, let me know.

Third, I should never be allowed free rein in the IKEA. We had a great time and I found exactly what I was looking for. I also found several other things that I wasn't looking for. Which brings me back to DIY. I was able to get a ridiculous quantity of silk hydrageas for a fraction of what they would have cost at the craft store. So last night, I made my first pomander ball for the pews at church. I had ordered some from etsy.com, but the post office lost my package and I was resigned to doing without. These really don't take that long to make (about an hour and half) and I don't need that many, so they are back on the agenda. I think it came out very nicely.

The last big check

37 days and today we crossed off the last big check - the only thing that we had to do. We went to the courthouse and got our marriage license. We are all official now and can proceed to get wedded. Just wanted to let you know; you may resume your regularly scheduled activities now.

Wedding DIY Number 3

45 days to go.

This is my third DIY project for the wedding. We took Hershey bars and wrapped them in heavy duty foil because they don't make the candy bars that way anymore. Now they are hermetically sealed and tamper resistant, but I like the way they used to look. Nostalgia rules!

Then we put a new label around them with our names and the date of the wedding. The label background is blue hydrangea which we are using as the flowers in the bouquets.

This picture shows cut down labels, a foil wrapped bar and one completely finished candy bar.

Manassas Battlefield

Last Sunday after church, we drove over to Manassas and walked around the battlefield. This was my first trip to a civil war site, even though the are everywhere in Virginia. Jim hadn't been since he was in school, either. We took the one mile walking tour of the first battle of Manassas. The weather was great and I learned more about Civil War history than I ever did in high school. We'll have to go back sometime and take the tour of the second battle.

Cake

I finally have put a big check mark next to the one major outstanding item on my wedding 'to do' list. I have cake. Or rather, cupcakes. I had a tasting tonight with Megan from Cakes by Megan. She made three little cakes in the flavors we wanted to sample (raspberry lemon curd, key lime blueberry and cookies & cream). We are having a variety of cupcakes, decorated with sugar hydrangeas. The top tier is a 7" cake with polka dots in shades of blue and green. Megan will deliver them all to the reception site and have it all set up for us. I am so relieved to have this off the list.

Bathroom Renovation

So, we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel on the bathroom renovation. The installer from Bath Fitters is coming tomorrow to take the measurements for the new tub/shower liner. I think we are still going to get another coat of paint, and we need to reattach the plumbing to the sink, hang the towel racks and put the door back on, but it is almost done. If you want to see pictures in progress, here they are.