A Lacey Shower

Okay, so now that Open House is over and I at least opened up report cards and started inputting SOMETHING, the craziness at work is winding down and I can now catch you up on wedding planning.

But first...my bridal shower.  Waaaaay back when, my MOH asked me to create a guest list and nail down some possible dates and that was pretty much the last I heard about my shower.  May 22 rolled around and I knew to be at BM V's house by 11 a.m.  I arrived and to my delight, I found my self in a DIY shower!  How stinkin' rad is that?! 

So, first, and most importantly, we ate.  I'm not entirely sure who made what, but we had Hawaiian food - korean style ribs, cabbage salad, spam musubi, bacon fried rice and somen salad.  I had to refrain from getting seconds (and thirds and fourths...).

Hmm..how many spam musubis can I take without looking like a pig?

Next, we played two games. Look at how much fun we're having.  The game was "Name That Body Part." Haha, I know what you're thinking, but we don't roll like that. Pictures were taken of Mr. Lace's body parts like his elbow, knee, hand, eyebrow, etc.  Similar photos were taken of some of our male friends.  They were mixed up and we watched a Powerpoint presentation where we had to choose which body part was Mr. Lace's.  

After that, it was time to move onto the DIY stations. There were three stations.


1. Do-it-yourself cupcakes
There were two kinds of cupcakes, three kinds of icing and several types of toppings included maple bacon (I heart bacon). 

The real Miss Lace.

2. Scrapbook Station

I enjoy making scrapbooks, but they are always for other people.  Today, everyone made a page for ME!  This must be the best kind of scrapbook ever!

Look at all my busy bees making a craft for me!

3. Do-it-yourself truffles

The BM's and DOC N made truffles from scratch and provided toppings for everyone to roll their own delicious chocolates.

One box is pictured here. I made four. :)

At the very end, I opened gifts and BM/SIL K made a ribbon bouquet for me.

Four of five of my BM's. 

Aunt Lace, me and Momma Lace

It was such fun and a very blessed time with some of my close girlfriends.  My BM's designed a shower that was very ME - low key, fun and filled with good food.   It was filled with personal touches which meant so much to me. It was the best shower I ever went to (and it happen to be mine).

How was your shower? Have you ever attended a really fun shower?

Just Call Me Bashful

In high school and college, I used to be a pretty loud and outgoing girl.  I wasn't terribly shy. I was quick to make friends and enjoyed being in the spotlight.  If you walked into a birthday party, I'd be the one talking loudly and laughing.  I'd be the one loudly convincing everyone to do something. I'd be the one volunteering to get up in front of everyone to do something silly.

However, as I've gotten older, I've become more introverted, enjoying more time to myself. Id rather go unnoticed.  I don't like having eyes on me.  If you walked into a birthday party, I'd be sitting in the room on the side with my closest friends chit chatting.  If I had to be in the main room, I'd be sitting on the side, listening and watching, letting someone else steal the spotlight.

I think the change has to do with insecurity issues and growing up.  Being tired and stressed out might also play a role in it, but who knows.  However, as Mr. Lace and I spend more time on what our wedding day is going to look like, I'm beginning to experience a bit of anxiety having all eyes on me.  I kept telling Mr. Lace that all eyes would be on us... you know, as a couple, where the attention would be split 50-50, but Mr. Lace reminded me that although people would look at him, the ratio would probably be more like 80% on me, 20% on him.  Wait, wait, wait...so, you're saying...

225 guests x 2 eyes each = 450 eyes
450 eyes x 20% = 90 eyes on Mr. Lace
450 x 80% = 360 eyes on me

YIKES!  I'm totally feeling shy about having that many pairs of eyes on me.  I'm going to feel awkward and weird having everyone looking my way.  Just call me Bashful!

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There's not a whole lot that I can do about this except to not choose activities that draw MORE attention to us and if possible, deflect attention on others (or at least share).  After thinking about this, I'm hoping all those eyes will fade into the background when I focus on what's happening between me and Mr. Lace.  We're getting married. We're making a commitment to be faithful to one another forever.  We promise to support one another through everything.  I'm hoping that focusing on this will keep me from thinking about the many eyes that will be looking on our way.

Are you psyched for the attention you'll get on your wedding day?  Or are you completely nervous and what are you doing to cope?

Letting Go

With only 45 days till the wedding, we have a lot going on:

1.  Mr. Lace started a new job.
2. I'm wrapping up the school year which means prepping for Open House, report cards and packing up my classroom.
3. I'm still waiting to hear about my pink slip and trying to figure out how we're going pay the bills and for the house if I do end up getting laid off.

We're in pretty good shape, but we still have a lot of things to take care of and it's getting to the point where I have to just let go.  I'm generally a pretty controlling person and when it comes to these DIY projects, I KNEW I could do them if I just had enough time.  However, regardless of my DIY abilities, time is NOT on my side.  I had a few more projects lined up that I would've loved to do.  However, I had to drop a couple of DIY's that I realized that I wouldn't have enough time or energy to complete...

...like these DIY straw flags...let go.

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This pretty baby's breath garland for decor...let go.

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These adorable tea lanterns...let go.

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So, I'm officially letting go. I still have three projects to complete and THAT'S IT.  I told my friend this earlier this evening and her response, "yeah right!"  I'll try my best to stick to my guns and not stress myself out.

Another thing I'm letting go of? The slideshow...but in a different way.  As I was thinking about the slideshow, I realized that I didn't really know how to put one together and neither did Mr. Lace.  We knew we could figure it out, but it would take a lot of playing around.  Then, it came to me!  It's time to let go!  I approached my brother and asked if he'd be willing to do the slideshow for us if we gave him our pictures and music.  Thankfully, he agreed. This past weekend, we gave him all of our photos and music on a flash drive and I let go (in more ways than one!).  I felt so relieved that that was done, for us at least.

Are there any projects or ideas you had to let go of? Was it difficult or easy?

My First Time...

Hey, hey, hey... get your mind out of the gutter.  We're not talking about that thing, that thing, tha-at thiiiinnng (Lauryn Hill, anyone?).

Anyway, although I'm an avid wedding blog reader and magazine reader, I hadn't attended any wedding shows.  I signed up for one way back when, but ended up not being able to make it so I gave my tickets away.  I didn't know what to expect and had a vague picture in my head of tables with vendors showcasing their services or goods.

Well, last week, only two months out from my wedding, I had the opportunity to attend my very first wedding show! I was really excited about seeing what these wedding shows were all about.  I enlisted one of my engaged friends to come with me to The Wedding Salon so I wouldn't be lonely.

First off , it was at a swanky West Hollywood hotel called The London that I'd normally never set foot in.

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We navigated ourselves through the traffic to West Hollywood. I was a little overwhelmed when we got out of the car in the valet line because there were so many brides walking around.  No one had a veil on, but I could just tell they were brides because they had notebooks and folders in hand that I'm sure held precious to-do lists, notes and wedding information.  

We checked in and got a program and gift bag ticket.  Score! A gift bag! The lady who gave it to us said we might want to get the gift bag at the end because it was heavy.  Double score! A HEAVY gift bag! :)  We began walking around and there were tons of vendors with their services and goods displayed just like I imagined....sort of.  I didn't imagine the services and goods to look like THIS:

All photos courtesy of Focus Photography, Inc.

Oh! Look at that jewel!

I also tried a slice of red velvet cake with buttercream filling and chocolate cupcake that were delish. I was tempted to pull these off the display when no one was looking. 

This was one of my favorite vendors.  They had a cake, cupcake and dessert bar display in green, pink and white.  It's hard to see, but on the top of this cake are two little love birds in brown. In that folder on the table were some of the cutest cupcakes I'd ever seen.  They had a cupcake with a little bamboo container of shumai with chopsticks.  They also had one with sushi and chopsticks. 

I would've eaten ALL of these if at all possible.  

And THIS over-the-top gorgeousness.  I've seen a couple of peacock themed weddings, but this display was seriously SO stunning.  Also notice the huge white flowers on the column behind. If it wasn't too late to make those, I'd find a way to incorporate those larger than life flowers.

And last, but not least.  For the most part, when I make a wedding decision, I'm pretty happy with it and even when I see other ideas, I won't feel a thing.  However, when it comes to wedding dresses, I swear, I see another dress I love every month.  I love my dress, I really do, but could I have another one....or three? :)  That one in the middle was gorgeous.  I must have come around to look at that dress three times during the time that I was there.

I was so happy that I went and got to see what the current and upcoming wedding trends were.  Even though it's a bit too late for me, I just wanted to be in the know!  I'd totally suggest that you visit The Wedding Salon if they come to your town.  It was inspiring and the excitement you feel there can help reinvigorate any bride that is in a wedding planning lull.  

And no, I didn't forget to stop by to pick up my gift bag!  Sorry hive, I was so excited that as soon as I got home, I went through everything and began using all of the items in my gift bag so I forgot to take a picture, but I DID get Smashbox luminizing primer, an eyeshadow trio, a lip gloss palette, three different chapsticks, a heart-shaped stress ball, pen, a book with leading hotels of the world, lots of coupons and offers and a DOZEN wedding magazines which totally replenished my depleted supply of wedding mags.

Do you have any bridal show experiences to share with the hive? 

A Trip with My Honey

Mr. Lace and I love going to Disneyland together. He only lives 15 minutes away so it's an easy trip for us.  Although we would've loved getting season passes (and we were tempted to a few times), we knew it wouldn't be worth it for us.  We opted for the Costco four-pack of tickets and went at least 10 times in the first two years that we dated.   

Don't laugh.  That's one of my highest scores!

Well, we got the itch.  After going to Disneyland so many times in such a short amount of time, we started dreaming big.  We wanted to go to the Mothership -- Disneyworld.  I'd been in fourth grade with my family, but remember very little of the trip except what I saw in old photos.  Mr. Lace had never been.  We never had the chance to go.

So, when a friend asked us about where we'd honeymoon, we looked at each other and it was decided -- we were going to Disneyworld!

I was super excited. Mr. Lace was super excited.  That's all that should matter right?  Right.  Well, then, why did I want to talk less and less about our honeymoon every time anyone asked? 

Typical Conversation #1

Well-meaning friend (WMF):  So...where are you guys going on your honeymoon?

Miss Lace: We're actually going to Disneyworld!

WMF: (faking an excited smile) Oooohhh. 

Miss Lace: (awkward smile and feeling terrible)

Typical Conversation #2 - modified to adjust for WMF reaction

WMF: So...where are you guys going on your honeymoon?

Miss Lace: Well, we've always really want to go to Disneyworld.

WMF: Disneyworld? (snicker) Aren't you guys a little old for that?

Typical Conversation #3 - further modified to adjust for WMF reaction

WMF: So...where are you guys going on your honeymoon?

Miss Lace:  We really love Disneyland so we're planning on going to Disneyworld.

WMF:  Oh...is that all? Maybe you should go somewhere else too!

It's to the point where I don't really want to talk about the honeymoon with anyone even though I'm totally excited about it.  I won't even dare mention that fact that I was hoping to go to Harry Potter Land! Again, everyone is super well-meaning and suggested going on cruises, visiting Miami, flying up to New York afterwards and even driving cross country to extend our trip and visit different cities along the way.  And it's true, there are tons of trips and vacations that Mr. Lace and I hope to take someday, but for us, Disneyworld is it. It's the destination and not some stop on the way to our real honeymoon.  

Where are you going on your honeymoon? Did anyone politely dislike your honeymoon idea?

Think of the Children!

I've heard that there are some weddings where children aren't allowed to attend for various reasons.  I remember my brother once being invited to a wedding where children weren't allowed and Mr. Lace and I got to babysit my nephew.  However, for us, that was never an issue.  We love children and know lots of families so we couldn't imagine NOT having children at our wedding.  

In fact, in our RSVP's, we were surprised that some families chose NOT to bring their children with them to our wedding.  Regardless, we'll have about 30 children at our wedding and as a teacher, I know that planning ahead makes a world of difference. I'd prefer not to have bored children or worse yet, children running amuck at our venue.  So, I decided to follow in the footsteps of many wise brides and make an activity book for the children attending our wedding.  I COULD have downloaded the many activity books that are out there in the Internet, but that would be way too easy.  I HAD to make my own. 

The cover:

Hopefully, some kind soul sitting with the child will play a few rounds of tic-tac-toe with them. 

My students LOVE word searches so I had to throw one in.

A word unscramble for those who like rearranging words.

I'm sure you noticed some coloring pages interspersed in there.  I'll explain the plethora of Disney coloring pages in an upcoming post...if you haven't figured it out already! :) In addition to the activity book, I included Mad Libs for older kids as well as crayons and a pencil.

Are you inviting kids to the wedding? Do you plan to have any activities especially for the kiddos?