Save the Date Tutorial

My save the dates arrived in the mail today!!!

I had been looking at save the dates for months. Magnets are really popular. And I understand why...they're easy to hang on the fridge and you see them everyday. They look classy. They're super cute. But they're also really expensive. Like, over $100 expensive. Again, I have better things to spend my moolah on.

After some much debate discussion with my mom, I decided to make my own. And then I sort of drifted away from the magnet idea and towards post cards. They're also cute, and like, a novel idea. (And you can even save a little on postage. Double score!)

We had engagement pictures taken back in October, and they had an "Old Hollywood" theme to them.  I have a vintage vision for the wedding too, so I knew that I wanted the save the dates to be old fashioned looking. Through my previous web shopping, I noticed that photo strips are a popular trend right now, and a great way to showcase multiple pictures (because we're that into ourselves).

So I opened up power point and started to mess around.

The reason I chose pp was because I am computerly-challenged (yeah, I make up words- eat your heart out, Sarah Palin) and I have no idea how to use something cooler, like photoshop. Plus I had to make a five foot by four foot poster for one of my research classes last year and we learned how to create and resize slides, so  I was already familiar with this sort of thing.

And with that, I picked a picture to be my background...

 I liked this one because it's candid, there's enough room around me and Brian to write, it sets the tone, and it's just interesting to look at! I messed around with the color a bit and cropped a McDonalds out of the shot.

The Wiltern Theater

Next I googled "vintage photo strips" and found one like this:

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I added it on top of our background photo and rotated it a little bit so it looks like it was kind of just tossed onto the picture. I strategically placed the strip over that light post that was in the foreground. Then I layered some other shots from our engagement shoot over the strip, and changed those pics to a sepia tone so they blended better like this:

Then I added a text box at the top that said "Save the Date!" at the top. This was another strategic placing. I put it over the marquee so that the other words weren't a distraction, yet you could still tell a marquee was there and that we were at a theater.

Again, I am not the most computer savy person, so this is a very crude rendition of what could possibly be done with this project. Someone more in the know than myself could have created their own marquee like this:

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But again, I was playing with balls in college.

Not those balls, these balls!

Besides, there's no time for learning about computers when you have Kinesiology Majors Club Dodgeball Night!

Me and my bridesmaid Brigitte... we dominated that night, btw!

Back to the save the dates. Actually, before we do that, I need to talk about something... on wedding websites the The Knot and Wedding Bee, the girls are constantly writing in acronyms. Like, instead of fiance, they write FH for future husband. Or MOB for mother of the bride. The one that cracks me up the most- and I honestly don't get how these girls can write this all the time (unless I'm just that immature)- is STDs for save the dates... Maybe it's from the slide show I put together back when I taught health, but whenever I see this, I automatically picture a vagina full of herpes. No. Bueno.

Okay, nowwwww, back to save the dates... I added another text box to the bottom where I put the date. All of the other information is on the back, but I felt like the date should be on the front just in case someone wants to hang it up or something.

And voila...

You have the front of the postcard!

For the back, I googled 'save the date vintage postcard.' Originally, it was just to get ideas. Then I found this:

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Quite the little find! I made a text box with our return address to cover the fake one and then I made a text box to cover the fake info and add our real info. Closer to the finish...

I didn't want to print these myself because that seemed like a hassle, what with the double sides, all the ink, yada, yada. I researched the STD boards to see what others had done and the most reliable (cheapest!) source seemed to be Vistaprint.

Now to bring your work to any printer, whether it's in person or through the internet, you have to have your images saved as jpegs, so I had to learn how to convert a powerpoint and a word doc to a jpeg. Back to google. (Google is to me, what Windex is to Toula's Greek dad- solver of all problems!)

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To convert these files (for a mac, anyway), you have to save them as pdf documents. Once they're in pdf form, you can then re-save them as jpegs. So there's an extra step, and you end up with three forms of the same thing, but the end justifies the means, I suppose.

Besides, once they're in picture form, you can mess with the color a little more, blur the edges, and make it look even more vintage.

Then I added the back to my upload onto Vistaprint and bada-bing-

Ready to order!

I was a little skeptical at first, but my order arrived in about 2 weeks and they look great! Another item to check off the wedding to-do list!

Off to bed, good night!

Sorry Dad: Sterling Blue Master Bath Part 1 and A Disgusting Morning

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 My house has three bathrooms. THREE. It's a lot of maintenance, but it's perfect for those times when all 3 of me have to pee at the same time.

Actually, in all seriousness, it is nice now that Brian's here too. But they are a pain to keep up. And for me, cleaning not cleaning the bathroom is a vicious cycle...

You see, today I realized something that I guess I've always known, just never really thought about this clearly. Bathrooms gross me out. Like, make me want to gag and take a bleach shower. So I go way too long in between cleanings, making the build up of yuck worse, making me not want to clean even more. Do you see my dilemma?

This morning, I experienced the hat trick of detestable repulsiveness. It all began while I was painting bathroom #2. These are there stories. Duh-dunnnnnn. (Sorry, we've been watching Law and Order SVU on Netflix lately... that show gets in your head!)

1: I had my head hovering over, next to, and behind a toilet for what felt like hours. In reality, it was just long enough for me to paint around it, but still. Too long for me. I'm not a fan of my face being anywhere near a toilet. 

2: What is with the random hairs that stick to bathroom walls? I had to deal with several of these during my rendezvous with the paint brush today. I find these hairs particularly revolting because A) I know it's not mine, and that's gross enough. B) They're never in a normal place. For example, a level on the wall that would line up with any part of the body that hair grows on... They're always like, 2 feet above head level. How do they get up there?? There was one a couple of inches down from the ceiling. Unless Brian's having hair confetti parties in the bathroom without telling me, I just don't get it. Ugh. Gross.

3: Raw chicken is abhorrent. This has nothing to do with the bathroom. I was prepping dinner in between paint coats. I cut some up to put in the slow cooker my mom and dad got me for Christmas (thanks guys!) and it's just nasty. Besides the way it feels all slimy in my hand, it's also pretty gnarly to know you're holding the meat of a dead animal. But what gets me the most are the veins on raw chicken. Ew, ew, ew! It's enough to ruin my appetite. Good thing I had 6-8 hours to gain it back.

(Dinner was delicious, btw!)

Needless to say, by 10:00, my stomach was feeling a bit on the delicate side. But I managed to tough out my last wall painting project for the time being. I painted the master bathroom. There are bathrooms in each of the bedrooms which is a pretty awesome set up (when you don't have to clean them). Neither one of these bathrooms have been painted since I moved in- the only rooms in the house that we never touched. (Probably because no one ever sees them!)

I figured that since we're in our bathroom on a pretty regular basis, I should pretty it up a little bit and make it a more calm and relaxing place. Since I don't have the budget for a whirlpool tub, I figured a nice light blue color on the wall would be the next best thing and it must get done now.

I had a revelation today as I was thinking about this current Sorry Dad project. My dad's philosophy is the old adage, if a job is worth doing, it's worth doing right. I kinda feel more like if something's worth doing, just get it done so you can enjoy it. My dad is by the book. I'm more like, um, just go rent the movie. :) Can you tell I feel guilty? I was thinking about this as my paint brush approached this weird little dent-crack thing above the shower. Now my dad would have stopped, chipped away at it, puttied it, and then sanded it down. But I don't have the time patience for that, so I just painted right over it. My reasoning was that I've lived with it looking like that for this long. Besides it looks better with the paint than it did before the paint. And now I can sleep at night.

Speaking of the paint, I wanted a light blue, but I didn't want it to look icy. (Which I'm pretty sure doesn't make sense because blue is a cool color. I wanted a warm, light blue... I also want world peace and the skies to rain chocolate, but what can you do?) The color I went with is called Sterling Blue, and it has some gray undertones, which made it seem earthier to me. Clearly I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Here's what I started with:

Before

Vanna Kevin modeling for us

All taped off and ready to go, I started by getting the most awkward part done first. I'm not going to lie, what I did today required finesse, grace, and acrobatics. There were points in time where I was on my tippy toes on a step stool in the shower, which I highly do NOT recommend. Balance is key here, folks.

Good thing I have that enormous butt to catch me if I fall.

As I moved away from the corners of the tub, I had even less foot room to hold myself up on. I was standing on my toes on the track of the doors. It hurt. I was tempted to pull out my ballet slippers. Then my mind flashed to images of Black Swan which I just saw last week... there were too many mirrors in the bathroom to throw ballet slippers into the mix. No thanks. Oh yeah, and I don't own any...

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Side note: Did anyone see this movie?? I left the theater like, "What the hell just happened?" Natalie Portman is a-m-a-z-i-n-g, but I'm still not sure if I actually liked the movie. It definitely freaked me out though!

Anyway, back to the bathroom. Kevin has an affinity for the shower. As in, he likes to jump in it, rip up the non-slip mat (that I had to get for my accident-prone fiance), and drink whatever water he can find. He drinks every last drop. Like he's been lost in the Sahara for months and he's starting to see mirages. Eventually, he was in the way of my warm blue progress, so  I had to kick him out of my work space and put him in his waterfront penthouse suite with a park view. (I can sell New York too, where's my TV show??)

Not looking thrilled about being banned.

Did you notice the turquoise wall??? :)

He eventually got comfortable and started spying on the girls sunbathing next to the pool. That little perv.

Wouldn't you know it, I let him loose after I finished the first coat. and what was the first thing he did?

I've never seen him actually lay in the tub like that before. He was either really tired or really lazy. And you should know, there was no water coming out of that faucet. None. He's just crazy like that.

Also, to add to his repertoire and assist 4 out of 5 vets in assigning him a 'special dog' diagnosis, he managed to bump up against another wall of wet paint...

So between yesterday and today, he is the most patriotic dog you'll ever meet. I suppose it was my fault this time though... "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." Yeah, something like that...
;-)

This is what the bathroom currently looks like after 2 coats of paint:

So far, it definitely has more character. I still need to hang a shelf, towel rack, and some decorations, so stay tuned for the finished product!

Sorry Dad: Crab Apple Red Kitchen Part 1

Could there be a paint name that better describes me?? (Picture Chandler from friends saying it!)

Yeah. Moving on to this portion of Sorry Dad. I painted one of my kitchen walls today. And that really is the name of it- Crab Apple Wine, to be exact! It's actually a wall in the eat-in portion of the kitchen. I like bold colors (as previously noted in this post about my bathroom). When I first moved into my house, I was pretty much obsessed with turquoise. I wanted a turquoise accent wall so the first thing I painted my dad painted was the little wall in my dining room that overlooks the living room, evidenced in this pic from NYE:

It's fitting and I love it! SO much in fact, that I decided to paint another one in my kitchen, and the nook that surrounds my bedroom window.

But times, they are a-changin'. I went to Europe in the summer of '09 and took some really awesome pictures that I wanted to display, but they don't really vibe well with the turquoise beach theme that's going on in the house. I've been wanting to paint this wall for over a year now. Correction- at first, I wanted to do some really rad maroon and gold wall paper that looked like it had come right out of a European castle, or a wall in the Louvre. Something like this:

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That would have been awesome, right?? But my practical dad and real estate agent mom (<---If you live in the So Cal area and are looking into buying or selling your home, check out her website, she's the best and most knowledgeable agent I've ever met. And thanks to her, I know hundreds.) talked me out of it. Apparently, wall paper is a pain in the ass to put up, and as it turns out, not the greatest look for re-sale. So I agreed that I shouldn't go the wall paper route. Err, or just stop dead in my tracks for a year.

My Europe pictures have been in these awesome frames just screaming to be hung, but they always seem to take a back seat to that pesky little labrador who screams to go on walks. But now with these 3 weeks of vacation from work, I have the time to catch up on all these projects I've been dying to do!

So, onward! First things first... a before shot of my awesome turquoise wall:

I still love this color, and it's still the first thing you see when you enter the house, but alas, it's time to move on in the kitchen. (Which is actually behind me when I was taking this picture.)


And yes dad, don't worry, I taped off the walls and I cut in before I started. Here's proof:

Yep, that's Kevin, trying to eat the tape. This is why these things are difficult!

Kevin was being really cute while I was working. He wouldn't leave my side. So I had to force him out of the way...

Yeah, that's my leg holding him back while I was using my hands hands for the tape. Part monkey, or just resourceful?? You decide.

At first, like with any dark color, I was scared. I think this is the darkest color I've ever used on a wall. The first coat was blotchy, and even though I expected that, it still worried me. I kept hearing my dad's voice in my head, "Why didn't you just call me? I would've helped you." But then I did the second coat and I relaxed because it started to look just how I had always pictured it!

Caution- wet paint!

  Here's another shot at night, once the paint had dried:

The only hiccup during the whole process was when Kevin decided (in between coats) that he must lay down and take a nap. He's such a diva. And then this happened:

No worries, crisis averted. It dried on him super fast. Now he just looks stupid. Like he's turning into Clifford.

Aw look, it's me and Clifford Kevin! Source

It's also making me crave beer, mon. ;-)

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Anyway, I'll post Part 2 hopefully within the next week, after I get some pictures and maybe a shelf hung up and the look is complete!

Until the next adventure,

Table numbers

Yesterday I went on an adventure to Ikea. I saw about a million things that I wanted, but nothing that I needed, so just when I thought I was going to have to leave without any luck, I saw these little beauts for 99 cents...

99 cent Ikea frames!

 I think if I would have just seen them in their wrappers, I would have walked right right them. They don't look like anything special. However, they're designed to show off pictures on both sides, and that is what caught my eye.

I wanted to put numbers in frames, and I was thinking something like this would look awesome with our theme...

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The only thing that's always bothered me is that if you're sitting behind the number, you only get the view of the frame stand. Yuck. Not to mention, it's hard enough to find your table at a wedding, so if the number is down low and only on one side, it's especially challenging. (And if you've met my friends, you would know that they're already challenged enough!) And besides making life easier on my guests, that many frames (especially if they're cute) can really add up. Opposite of the goal.

I'd rather have a nice honeymoon than cute frames for my table numbers.

Annnnnny-who, I found these little Ikea frames, but they only come in that off-white color, which I wasn't really feeling. With the hopes that I could spray paint them more of a metallic color, I bought like, 50 of them. (Not really, I think it was only 16!)

Then it was onto Lowes where I found a perfect bronze shade of paint. And then the fun began...

Before

 Contrary to how it appears, I was not working in a wood factory! I was in my garage. And the frame is sitting on top of another future wedding project. (Stay tuned for that!)

During the process- I was spraying inside of a large box, trying to keep the paint contained!

After paint

Not exactly what my number will look like, just a quick and easy idea with scrapbook paper!

I'm pretty pleased with how it came out! It's rich and sparkly and easy and CHEAP!!! Woo-hoo!

XOXO,

Christmas, New Years, and Gadgets, Oh My!

It's almost January 3rd, so this is coming a little late, but I think it's worth the recap!

Christmas was awesome! Brian and I woke up early and took Kevin downstairs to have our own little family celebration. My main gift hadn't arrived yet, but Brian had plenty of other fun gifts for me in the mean time! And I hid Brian's gift and then sent him on a scavenger hunt to find it, so that was fun! And before too long, it was time to split up to go to our respective parents' homes for gift exchanges. We were apart for the rest of the day until the evening when Brian left his grandparents' house to come to my mom and dad's at the end of the night. Good times were had by all! And today, my big gift finally arrived...

Garmin 405!!!

My very own gigantic Garmin watch! SO exciting! So now I can set measurable goals and actually know if I'm reaching them without having to run 10 billion laps around the track at work. Whew! Awesome! I love Brian. Oh, and I got him a Bowflex (that we still need to put together!), so we should be looking A-M-A-Z-I-N-G by wedding time!

Side note- It's January 2nd. The wedding is June 11. My dumb ass was thinking that I still had 6 months to freak out plan, order, sign contracts, etc, when my mom informed me that no, I only have 5 (read: FIVE) months for said planning. Oh crap!

 New Year's Eve was a blast! Brian and I invited some of our best buddies over and I couldn't have asked for a more fun way to start 2011. Our friend and groomsman Mike said that the first hour you spend in the New Year is how you'll spend the rest of the year... like, if you're alone, you'll be alone for the year, if you're happy, you'll be happy, if you're resentful, well, you get it. Well I spent the first hour happy, surrounded by wonderful people, my house was lit up and filled with love, I was tired but excited. That sound like a good year to me! Needless to say, I am definitely looking forward to everything that 2011 holds for me!

Brian and I in front of our tree on NYE

Me, Maid of Honor Alexis, and Bridesmaid Rachael

The whole group!

My new Garmin wasn't the only new gadget I have in my possession... I added a new blog gadget to the right--->>>... now this may not be exciting to you, but it's my blog and it's exciting to me! :p  I'm going to be keeping track- along with the help of my Garmin- of all of my runs/walks/hikes. (Part of a New Year's resolution, perhaps??) 

We went on a 3 mile hike in Runyon Canyon  with Rachael and her boyfriend Kevin, our Kevin, and Rachael's Boxer Bailey. Kev and Bailey were quick best friends and the hike was a lot of fun! Everyone was out there with their families and dogs. And we even saw Oscar from The Office getting his workout on! Good for him!

I'm just guessing at the 3 miles based on what other websites have listed the trail at, because that beautiful hunk of a watch was not in my possession yet. But I'm going to count it because I did it and I deserve to! It was a great start to the new year- great company and a great work out!

Me, Rachael, Dog Kevin, and Bailey

Brian, Me, Rach, and Human Kevin :)

Unfortunately, the weather in LA is not up to it's usual awesomeness (yeah, I make words up). It's been dumping rain. It's even snowing just north of the valley, which is really weird. Needless to say, I did not get in a workout today. I'll be back tomorrow though- that's a promise!

Good night!

Sorry Dad: Quick and easy bathroom re-do

I am preempting this post with a note about my dad.

I love him. He's always worked hard to provide for me and my younger brother. Not only is he a hard worker, but he's a perfectionist, so it's like he's working twice as hard to make sure everything is just right. Especially when it comes to projects around the house. He takes such pride in everything he owns and everything he does. He's caring, he has patience. He bends over backwards for our family. I've learned a lot from him throughout the years.

He was especially helpful when I bought my own house almost 3 years ago. He helped me paint everything from my 14 foot walls to my (now) pristine white baseboards. He's taken numerous trips to Lowe's and Home Depot with and/or for me to find knobs, light fixtures, paint colors, tools, ideas, and more. He has spent tireless hours working, lifting, painting, demo-ing, hauling, attaching, hanging things in, to, and from my house. Of course, I've thanked him and taken him out for dinner a couple of times, but nothing could truly repay him for the time he's spent at my house helping me make it a home. And the extra time I've gotten to spend with him is priceless.

And with that, I want to apologize to him. Partially because I'm about to re-paint a couple of the walls he helped me with and I feel guilty for not telling him about it first. And partially because I am nowhere near as patient as he is, so while I am paying very close attention to detail and taping and cutting in and doing all of the techniques he has taught me throughout the years, I'm not laying down all of the paper he does to catch paint drips and I didn't get paint samples to put on the wall first. I just bought the paint and started. And with that, whenever I do a project without my dad's consent, knowledge, or advice, I am adding it to a segment called 'Sorry Dad'!

On that note, I have a pesky little guest bathroom that's pretty much the smallest, darkest room in the entire house. When I first began decorating almost 3 years ago, I was really into bright colors and a Hawaiian theme. That's cool for a large room, but not such a great idea for the world's tiniest bathroom. My inspiration was these cool little vintage postcards I got in Maui a couple of years back...

Framed vintage Hawaiian postcards

My original idea was to pick up the pink in the hibiscus flowers in the top postcard. I picked out a bright pink to create an accent wall in my mini-room. I forgot to take a before picture, but here's one of the wall after I primed it...

You can see the pink through the white, so you get the idea of the color. People would walk into the bathroom for the first time, and I could hear them gasp even through the closed door. I figured it was time for a change!

Green!

I picked out a soothing sage green color. It's the one on the middle of that card in the pic above. I would have LOVED a more of an olive green, like the one on the right side of the card, but again, the darkest room in the house needed to be lighted up a bit. The end product was pretty sweet. (I think so, anyway!)...

Finished!

To give some perspective on just how tiny this bathroom is, I was standing in the doorway and that toilet is centered on the wall... yup. THAT small.

And this might shed some light on both the personalities of myself and my lovely fiance... a couple of days before I painted this special little wall, I told him what I was thinking about doing. I actually started the conversation by saying, "If you came home from work one day and I painted a wall in the house, would you be mad?" And he said, "No, that's the kind of thing I would expect from you. You get a wild hair up your butt and then you just do whatever it is that you want to do."

At first I was a teensy-weensy bit offended, but then Brian assured me that that was a good thing. He says I'm not boring and he likes that I'll keep him guessing. Hooray for being spontaneous!