Dainty Kitty

My Neverending Love for All Things Etsy

The presentation of the little acorn earrings Matt bought for me from lillyella on Etsy was 100% blog worthy. 

 
 

I was especially impressed that the cuteness didn't end when I came to the little envelope that held the earrings - nope, it carried on inside in the form of a cute little ribbon tying the two together. 

I'm 99% sure these will be my wedding earrings - espspecially if I find a dress in the style I'm looking for: less dressy/gowny, more summery.   We're finding lots of little, almost secret ways to incorporate acorns into our day.  Most recently, Matt found an acorn windchime to perhaps put in the tree under which the ceremony will take place.  We wanted to hide a few in the branches and then send them as gifts to our parents after the ceremony.  We're testing one first, of course, because, you know, we'd like for everyone to actually hear us exchanging vows. 

And, yes, for those of you who don't read this from a feed, I really did add one of those wedding countdown thingys there on the right.  Why now?  You (hopefully) only get married once, right?

I Hadn't Seen This Particular One Before

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicise
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to: leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis (I've also very recently been too scared to hold one which is just silly) 
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning 
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Held a lamb
25. Gone skinny dipping
26. Run a Marathon
27. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
28. Seen a total eclipse
29. Watched a sunrise or sunset
30. Been on a cruise
31. Seen Niagara Falls in person
32. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (I'm going to be living in one country of my ancestors)
33. Seen an Amish community
34. Taught yourself a new language
35. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
36. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
37. Gone rock climbing
38. See Michelangelo’s David
39. Sung karaoke
40. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
41. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
42. Visited Africa
43. Walked on a beach by moonlight
44. Been transported in an ambulance
45. Had your portrait painted
46. Gone deep sea fishing
47. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
48. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
49. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling
50. Kissed in the rain
51. Played in the mud
52. Gone to a drive-in theatre
53. Been in a movie
54. Visited the Great Wall of China
55. Started a business
56. Taken a martial arts class
57. Visited Russia
58. Served at a soup kitchen
59. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
60. Gone whale watching (apparently we get whales where we live, but I’ve never seen them.)
61. Got flowers for no reason
62. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
63. Gone sky diving
64. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
65. Bounced a check
66. Flown in a helicopter
67. Saved a favourite childhood toy
68. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
69. Eaten Caviar
70. Pieced a quilt
71. Stood in Times Square
72. Toured the Everglades
73. Been fired from a job
74. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
75. Broken a bone.
76. Been on a speeding motorcycle
77. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
78. Published a book
79. Visited the Vatican
80. Bought a brand new car
81. Walked in Jerusalem
82. Had your picture in the newspaper
83. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
84. Visited the White House
85. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
86. Had chickenpox
87. Saved someone’s life
88. Sat on a jury
89. Met someone famous
90. Joined a book club
91. Lost a loved one
92. Had a baby
93. Seen the Alamo in person
94. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
95. Been involved in a law suit
96. Owned a cell phone
97. Been stung by a bee

Thankful Thursday

I haven't done this in awhile, I think.

I'm thankful for

- wedding details miraculously falling fairly easily into place.  We finalized our invitation wording tonight and I love, love, love it.

- the opportunities in my near future.

- episodes of Heroes available to watch instantly on my computer via Netflix.

- the almost spring-like weather we've had for the past two days.  I know it's just a tease but it's still nice.

Another Detail My Mom May Not Be Fond Of

   

After seeing that another Emily had used Poe stamps for her Valentine's cards, I thought it would be perfect for my wedding invitations.  I just bought two sheets.  It's not a typical wedding so why should I use typical wedding stamps? 

Coupledom

I resisted the 25 Random Things meme on Facebook but when Ginny sent me this one I had to join in because...well, my situation makes it funny.  I'm posting it here because I'm rarely ever on Facebook - when I am I usually get sucked into a chat with my brother's ex-girlfriend (like, over ten years ago-she's been married twice-had three kids ex).  Weird. 

This is kind of like the 25 things - except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you and your partner or spouse, not just you. Come on, play along - inquiring minds want to know! ;-)

♥ What are your middle names?
Richard and Elaine

♥ How long have you been together?
Five-ish months

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
This is where it gets funny.  Probably a month or so if you count phone dates which I do.

♥ Who asked who out?
If I manipulate this question to fit my situation, I think I pretty much invited myself to visit him so...me, I guess.  My protective brother suggested that I treat my entire trip to England as one giant first date.

♥ Whose siblings do you see the most?
His - my brother lives in New Orleans so Matt has yet to meet him.  I got to meet three of his siblings while I was there. 

♥ Do you have any children together?
Not yet!

♥ What about pets?
Two cats - they live with me but they are now well on their way to having pet passports and traveling across the ocean.

♥ Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Living 4,000 miles apart.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
No but I do think it's sweet when he says he wishes we had gone to school together.  I don't think he would have liked me back then - he disagrees.

♥ Are you from the same home town?
No

♥ Who is the smartest?
I love Ginny's response to this: Together we are one big brain! 

♥ Who is the most sensitive?
Me

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Hmm...I think we may have had snacks and sandwiches at Costa more than once while I was there so - Costa. 

♥ Who has the worst temper?
Neither of us, I think.  I hope. 

♥ Who does the cooking?
In the limited time we've spent together, he's cooked more - I look forward to that balancing out in the future.

♥ Who is more social?
We're pretty even there, Ithink - as in not very. 

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Ha ha, neither of us.  I like to have the towels hung up straight in the bathroom - does that qualify?

♥ Who is the more stubborn?
I'm going to venture a guess here and say me.

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Neither of us.

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
I think I do but when we're together we both wake up kind of early. 

♥ Where was your first date?
In person?  Tea and flapjacks at Fisherton Mill.  Via the phone?  A bottle of wine on the back porch. 

♥ Who has the bigger family?
He does.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
We're too new to use the word "often" - the flowers he did send were gorgeous. 

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
This has yet to be determined - I'm looking forward to wearing one of those paper crowns on Christmas, though.  :)

♥ Who is more jealous?
This is also yet to be determined and I kind of hope it never will. 

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
I was mentally pretty serious and so was he by the end of Email #1 but it wasn't spoken out loud until about a month later. 

♥ Who eats more?
We both like treats and snacks a lot. That's a weird question.

♥ Who does the laundry?
Both of us - together and separately.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
He is, for sure.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
When the steering wheel is on the right, he drives.  When the steering wheel is on the left, I do. 

A Post With Pictures - Finally

Location?  Check!

Tent since said location is in my parents' backyard?  Check!

Caterer?  Check!

Photographer?  Check!

Not bad for having been engaged for two weeks. 

And check out this cake topper...

 

and a close up of the handsome squirrel groom, complete with bushy tail.

 

Considering that Matt certainly is my acorn bringing squirrel, I couldn't have found anything better suited to us.  Megan of Melabo on Etsy is amazing and her work is beautiful (check out her other inter-species combos - I'm fond of the giraffe groom as well).  I love that our topper not only has meaning to us but that it was, literally, made for us.  Perfect. 

I've also passed my guest list woes on to my parents.  I refuse to shed another tear.  It's going to be an incredibly intimate wedding with nearly only family.   Deciding which family members make the cut and which don't, though, is pretty damned painful. 

There are some people out there - friends and family - who are going to be surprised when they don't get an invitation.  If I could include everyone, I would but I can't.  Unfortunately, that's just the way it is.

I know it's been nothing but wedding talk for the past few entries but, honestly, I haven't been doing anything else.  Well, I've watched oodles of Heroes Season One but other than that I'm nearly all wedding, all the time.  But, now that the above has been decided on (and I've started meeting with florists), I can sit back and relax for a wee little bit.  Thank goodness. 

Something Borrowed, Something Blue and...Very Thick Skin.

Etsy is a wonderful place.  I put a deposit down on these invitations which were 100% love at first sight and after finding this, I contacted the artist to see about the possibility of a squirrel groom and she's making one! 

Unfortunately, it's also the first thing about this wedding that has made me cry.  I know it's strange and people aren't going to get it but it means something to us - Matt really is my squirrel groom.  It's the one thing I've found so far that really represents our relationship. 

I'm not going to go in to what it was that upset me but it made me realize that I need to toughen up a bit.  Okay, I need to toughen up a lot.  My need to make other people happy is going to make some things about this incredibly difficult.  And the fact that my parents are paying is going to make it even a little harder.  I need a mantra tattooed on my palm, "It's about what makes us happy." 

Thankfully, my squirrel groom is there for me 24/7 and didn't mind making me feel better last night at 2:30 in the morning, his time.  So far we're agreeing on plans and that's all that matters. 

If it's sunny at all this weekend and good for taking pictures, I have lots of yarny goodness to share and a few other, non-wedding related things to blog about.  I will not slip into the black hole of all wedding/all the time, I swear.  Just some of the time....

Is This Progress?

I always cringe when I hear people forecast that some day things like books and newspapers won't exist.  I'm an incredibly tactile person and just can't imagine reading something from a cold, hard object.  I have several books uploaded to the sweet iTouch Matt gifted me with but I've yet to read even a short story.  The iTouch may have that cool feature that makes it look like you're really turning the page but it's not the same.  And newspapers?  Yikes, that was my favorite thing about visiting Matt - the fat Sunday papers with their plethora of magazines - that made a Sunday morning a Sunday Morning. 

And, oh, magazines...sigh, real mail - something to flip through in a spare moment, there at the tips of your fingers.  That said, I was very sad to read that Craft is no longer going to offer their magazine in print form.  Granted it's not going away completely like Domino or Mary Engelbreit Home Companion and, I'm sure, several others but still...I'll miss its comfortable, stout size and sturdy cover.

Thanks for All the Well Wishes!

I had originally wanted to sit down and write a long post about how wonderful it was to have Matt here for two weeks (we had the extra week due to weather here and there) and how I beamed with pride when he asked my parents for my hand in marriage over breakfast Saturday morning (Valentine's Day just won't have as much meaning to us as February 7th will) and how funny it was to hear my dad say, "Well, we accept your offer" as if Matt were trading me for a half dozen pigs or something.

But, like tonight, I was just too tired.  So there it is, the short version.

Tonight was the first planning session with my parents.  It went really well except for the guest list part - it's hard to know where to stop with the relatives without hurting someone's feelings.   The one consolation to a smaller guest list, though, was that I could order the invitations I fell in love with on Etsy.  I fell for them fast and hard and can only hope that lots of other wedding decisions happen so easily. 

I think my current state of mind examines all incoming data for possible wedding usage.  Just a few minutes ago I made some toast with Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves (something I started eating while visiting Matt - long before the recent flurry of Bonne Maman talk on several blogs, I swear), finishing off the jar.  The jar itself is rather cute and it made me wonder how many of these I could have emptied by June 14th and what could I do with them.   I'm thinking lollipops.  I'm seeing a sweet tooth theme here because there's already going to be cotton candy (the only thing I've always been 100% sure about when it comes to a wedding - there has to be cotton candy)....

Egads, it's already nearly eleven - just enough time to finish another episode of Big Love, knit a row and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow which is the only way to fall asleep now that I'm falling asleep on my own for a little while....

Recent Developments

June 14th, 2009.  In my parents' gorgeous backyard. 

Sigh.