I've been collecting old china from Goodwill and a few other second hand stores for the wedding. MAN there are actually a lot of really pretty plates out there! Unfortunately they aren't quite what I'm looking for.

I have managed to find several that are soft calm colors, some pale cream colored plates that aren't that old, one style I keep finding has a lily of the valley design on it. This this past weekend D went with me to Goodwill and we made a good haul.

We found an oval plater (always useful!) with small gold flowers around the edge, a group of dinner plates and dessert plates with a soft pink floral design around the edge (about 4 of each) and a few others. I'm thinking of making a mosaic table out of some of the plates after the wedding but D just gives me this quizical look when I try to explain to him what that would look like. I'm still debating. Then again I could resell the whole group to another bride that wants to be "green" and have a stylish table. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Things I need to do....

1. Get Mr. D to help me put together our guest list...names only at this time we'll deal with addresses.


2. disown my flaky sister who can't even be trusted to download a cd of pictures I took of the wedding venue a.k.a. my friends vacation home.


3. cake tastings...another thing I'm wanting to disown my sister over. She thinks I should go for something "local" that I can get near the wedding site. Ummm....there isn't even a grocery store much less a REAL BAKERY in the nearest town. I WILL have a cake that is yummy not just cardboard covered in lard.


4. SHOES


5. under garments for the dress


6. someone to perform the ceremony


7. more nifty old china plates


8. glasses to drink out of


9. 3 or 4 small glass vases to hold the bouquets while we eat.

I know there is more I'm missing.

I'm sure I did SOMETHING this weekend....

I know I had all these plans for Saturday and Sunday. I wanted to go shopping for some more nifty plates. I did manage to spy some on Friday night and even bought 3 dessert size plates but the store was closing and they were rushing me out of there since I was the only customer. And Saturday was so crazy that I never made it back over there. This is how my Saturday looked.
1.) made fried egg sandwiches for Mr. D and his son (much better tasting than they sound)
2.)I helped Mr. D with a project....ended up soaked from the knees down.
3.)Got the oil changed in my car, had to convince them that I ONLY wanted to get the oil done on my car and yes I DO know how many miles I have on it (currently over 282,000 miles and my little Honda is running just fine thank you very much!)...pushy little bastards....
4.)Bought all my groceries for Thanksgiving weekend and actually avoided the crowds! YEA!!!
5.) Braved the mall parking lot so I could buy a REAL wedding planner. I actually found one that didn't make me hurl
6.) Helped Mr. D with dinner
7.) Collapsed on the couch with a tall glass of wine in each hand. Oh wait! One of those was supposed to be for Mr. D! Thank goodness it was just Saturday!
8.) Fell asleep at 9:00

Crap...It's Monday

And once again I'm stuck at the receptionist desk.

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

I can't tell you HOW HAPPY I AM IT'S FRIDAY!!!!
It's been a long week and I'm looking forward to a weekend with nothing scheduled for a change. My only project is the continuing hunt for various CHEAP china plates. If anyone spies some cool plates (dinner size and dessert size) for $2.00 or less each (I've been finding them for $o.75 to $1.00 so far) be sure to drop me a line! I've managed to find about 8 of each so far and I'm thinking that I'll need 50 each. After the wedding I may keep some for us to use, sell some and turn some others into a mosaic table top.

And so it begins...

Yippee!!! I bought my dress!!! I can't tell you what an ordeal that was!!!

I saw it months ago at a bridal show in Houston and fell in love with it on the spot even though the closest I could get to trying it on was to have the shop owner hold it up to me as we stood in front of a mirror.

I won't tell you how big a fool I made of myself but suffice it to say that my face was red and blotchy (I can't cry pretty), people were pointing and staring, and my oldest and dearest friend in the world made me sit down and eat something while she fanned my face. I guess that is one way to know you found the right dress.

Fast forward a few months and NOW I'm officially engaged and can buy my dress. Since I knew exactly what I wanted I thought this part would be a cinch. NOPE!

I found a store in Snootyville DFW that actually carried the dress and had one in stock that I could try on. Now I must confess. I'm a plus size gal (size 16) so I know that to try on the dress (size 10) will include lots of clips and a fake back tucked in the back so I don't flash folks. I'm fine with that. I just wanted my Sister and The Niece to see the dress before I gave the store my hard earned cash.

The dress shop owner, hereafter known as Snarky Ol' Bitty, was less than excited to help us. We were early for our appointment, she was late and not terribly concerned about it. She did everything in her power to make me feel like a fat loser and when SHE asked me about the price on the dress (when I called to make the appointment I asked what the price was and told her what the one in Houston was priced at. She assured me it was very close to that price. When we got to the shop it was easily $100 higher) I said well, since you mentioned it...it IS a lot higher than you lead me to believe it would be. Then I asked if there was a discount for paying cash because I had $900 crisp new bills in my wallet and I've always heard it NEVER HURTS TO ASK for a discount when you are paying cash!!!

Apparently Snarky Ol' Bitty has never had someone want to pay cash or ask if there were any discounts. She informed me that she doesn't take cash. (I'm thinking to myself WHO TURNS DOWN CASH!?!?!?) THEN said, well OBVIOUSLY you don't want to do business with MY shop!!! She snatched the dress up and high-tailed it out of the dressing room before my sister or I could bat an eye.

So there we stood. My Sister, The Niece and me (in my underwear still) with our jaws on the floor. The Niece in her wisest 10 year old voice piped up..."well she was kind of rude!" We busted out laughing gathered our stuff up and hit the door. I wasn't about to give my business to someone that was going to treat me like that. Even if they WERE the only store that I had found in my area that carried the dress.

A couple of weeks later I found an AMAZING little gem of a shop in Arlington called Lang's http://www.langsbridal.com/ that carried my dress as well. This time I didn't have ANY problems ordering my dress. Theresa was extremely helpful. She has a huge selection of wedding and bridesmaid dresses. She also carries flower girl dresses that won't break the bank and look as nice as the expensive ones do. YIPPEE!!!!!! FINALLY a shop that made me feel as special as a BRIDE is supposed to feel!!!!

My best friend Ms. A always tells me that if I find myself running into roadblocks then that isn't the path I'm supposed to be on. She is sooo right!!!