I am "ohhhh so happy" the day is over!

Let's just say that all the massage did for my relaxation, the car undid. Battery is DEAD. Soooo DEAD.
Damn.

First day of school

This is how I felt, minus the blond hair.


Picture from http://www.minneapolislongfellow.com

Making my own wedding dress

I'm not great at sewing, but I do take pleasure and stand in awe after I put a few pieces of fabric together and made it into a garment. So far this year I've re sized t-shirts, made a skirt, a dress, and a shirt. Now I'm moving to the big leagues, since I am thinking about making my own wedding dress.
Why?...you might ask. It's as simple as this: it would be more meaningful, cheaper, and it would be so much fun to reply "what..??! this old thing???....well, I made it myself!".
The only problem is that I haven't found a pattern I like. I'm looking into tea-length poofy dresses, and use a fabric other than satin. I cannot sew satin! It is the hardest fabric to work with. Instead, I am thinking about making a cotton dress with some lace.

Here are some inspirations:

Yet another tradition I'm unsure of...rings?

I usually run away from traditional wedding rituals, not because they are traditional, but because I don't totally believe in them. Some things we are cutting out of our wedding are:
- wedding party (everyone is the party!)
- performing the ceremony at the church
- having a traditional religious ceremony
- rehearsals (dinner and ceremony)
- first dance

The one tradition I'm still debating is the exchange rings. A lot of people plant trees, make quilts, or even get tattoos. None of those fit well with our lifestyle, so I'm leaning on a ring to symbolize the celebration of our love. Here are a few that I found on etsy.com.

flea market finds

An interesting bottle



Pretty wine glasses



Awesome made into a plate

Table arrangements

Inspired by the beautiful wedding arrangements on A backyard wedding, I have started collecting jars and bottles for the table arrangements. We will be putting summer wildflowers in them.
Check all of these out at Once Wed.

Happy times pom poms

I just made these, inspired by Martha Stewart weddings. I made them with some old birthday paper, anthropologie wrapping, and other tissue I found around the house. We plan to put these hanging from trees. They are a better alternative to paper lanterns (cheaper), and easy to recycle. I will try to post them on Craigslist, maybe the could be reused?...

Wedding update- we have made a reservation!

I have discovered I am terribly addicted to wedding blogs, forums, and websites. They are not your regular wedding sites, with lavish centerpiece vendors, crazy expensive gowns and venues, and ridiculous ceremonies. These are more of a reflection on the wedding ceremony, it's real meaning, and how not to get caught up with what they call WIC (wedding industrial complex). Never the less, I need to stop looking at them until 2:00 am.
In some ways, they help me stay focused on what I truly want: a beautiful, simple, ceremony, followed by a fun, informal party with our friends and relatives. It makes me realize that we are not the only couple that want to spend less than 10k on their wedding, and don't want to fuss over monogrammed aisle runners (whatever those are!). On the other hand, these couples have so many great ideas, it's impossible to think I can do them all! So, for now, I'm will measure myself and not stay up late reading them. My rule is to stop reading them at 8:00 pm, so I can actually spend time with the person I'm going to marry.

All this being said and done, I am so happy to say we have reserved the place we are getting married. It is in a nearby Regional Park, Tilden Park. It's a beautiful picnic area with tables (yeay, no rental), a Bar-b-q grill, and a beautiful field surrounded by trees. It is also cheap...very cheap!

So, now we can relax and let things take care of themselves. It will be such a special day, but every day with Andrew is such a special day too!

Back to school, Part 1

I applied to San Francisco State for my master's program. It is a pretty good school,and affordable, so I decided to go that way. My Berkeley goals will have to wait (PHD, full time!)
I was a little worried I wouldn't get in, due the the California budget problems. They have been cutting out a bunch of classes and programs, but thankfully, I got in. I'm thinking my program isn't very popular: "Equity and Social Justice in Education". I think it will be fun, and also very useful in the Bay area.
Today I registered for my first two classes...! I am a bit scared, but I guess I will have to bite the bullet. Thankfully, I have a wonderful proofreader living with me. He can help me turn my hispanic sounding, half translated essays to actual coherent lines of thought!
And...I have the coolest notebook...it has kitty cats on it! Bring it on!

Engaged?! Really....?!

Andrew and I are getting hitched! I could have not gotten a more romantic and unexpected proposal. On Christmas Eve we went to see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Orpheum theatre. It was a great show, although a bit sad. We went home and opened our presents. He insisted on leaving the one he had handmade for last!
At this point I must say that I am very good at figuring out surprises. I can usually guess what each present is, just by looking at it. I think Naty and I posses this "superpower". As we got to the last present, I totally thought it was going to be a cute book or something like that. Of course, all the clues were there...he asked me to play romantic Christmas music, wanted to leave it till last...but then again, he was in his pajamas! So, I took a sip of my wine, and opened it...
They were invitations to our wedding! He designed them himself, and had 50 printed. For date it said: ?????? We are still trying to figure that out, but the cards were beautiful! They are also kinda funny and casual...no "curly" font or cheesy pictures. And, no ring! I specifically told him so. I like cheap, fun jewelry, and I rather spend money on life experiences with Andrew. I love the cards!
So, now we are engaged. I am very excited, and very, very happy to celebrate our lives together. We are planning a fun, casual ceremony at the beach (Baker Beach), and a fun reception or party somewhere. This is still to be decided, but we know for sure Andrew's mom will be marrying us. This is making it so much more special.
My family will be here (my mom, her husband and Naty), and his too. We will be surrounded by loving friends and family...and....I GET TO BUY AN AWESOME DRESS!! Yay!! What more could a girl want...?

From Christmas Break