Wedding ish

I keep meaning to write here. And then I think to myself “I don’t just want to write about the wedding, that’s not all that interesting.” But then I don’t write ANYTHING and I do love blogging, so HERE WE GO. If you're uninterested in wedding things, I apologize in advance.

Miscellaneous wedding things!

-          I have my dress. Well, actually. The dress maker has my dress because they are making some minor adjustments like adding a bustle. A Bustle. I thought I was going to be one of those super cool girls who breezes into Macy’s and grabs a little white frock off the rack and breezes right on out, but no. I’m one of those girls who orders a custom made EMEFFIN BALLGOWN. But it’s from a small, local dress shop, not David’s Bridal. Do I get any points for that?
-          I guess I probably don’t get any points for that, since my bridesmaid dresses are from David’s Bridal. My four oldest nieces are going to be my bridesmaids and I took 2 of them with me to pick out the dresses. Naturally, they couldn’t agree on a style. So I told them they could pick any short, flouncy, chiffoney dress as long as they were all the same color. At David’s Bridal, that color is “Begonia.” You may know it as “fuchsia” or “hot pink.”
-          The groomsmen’s ties are also Begonia. My mom is moderately horrified, but I’m totally into it. For the sake of full disclosure, they’re also PAISLEY. Which I love! We already knew my taste runs tacky.
-          Speaking of tacky (see how this blog post just FLOWS? It’s like poetry.), I REALLY wanted our cake topper to be two sheep. Like, a ram and a sheep nose to nose. Kind of like this deer cake topper, but with SHEEPIES. Nobody was on board with that idea, so I eventually grumbled and said “Fine we’ll go with a Celtic knot, like everything else.” (I may have been a little heavy-handed with the Celtic knots on various other wedding-related items.) But then Niall finally had an opinion about something and said he would like the cake topper to be something San Franciscoish. I fretted about where to acquire this, but Emily, Leah, and Jenny all reminded me that San Francisco is FULL of touristy shops where you might just be able to find a mini figurine of the Golden Gate Bridge or a trolley or something SF iconic. We ended up deciding on this one:

-          Neither of us realized before we bought it that it is also a MUSIC BOX that plays “I left my heart in San Francisco.” I’m thinking we’ll crank it up when we cut the cake. MUSICAL WEDDING CAKE. Because, why the hell not?
-          With just under four weeks to go until the wedding I feel like I can now say with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that I am very very PRO plus-one invitations. I don’t care if you bring somebody I don’t know to my wedding, if that’s what you want to do in order to have a good time. Significant other? Not-so-significant other? Good friend? Let me know ahead of time, but go ahead and bring ‘em! The more the merrier! I gave everybody a plus-one. Well with the exception of one of Niall’s friends-- she has a boyfriend AND a girlfriend, so she got a plus-two.
-          I remember people telling me “oh you’ll feel differently about plus-ones when you get married” and “You’ll see” and “just wait” and NO. I don’t feel differently, I feel even more THE SAME! Plus-ones ALL AROUND.
-          My lovely friends who lived nextdoor to me when I was a wee Julia threw me a beautiful and fun bridal shower tea party. Everything was gorgeous and tasteful, with one or two touches of whimsy. It was just perfect. There were finger sandwiches and tea and fancy drinkies and fortune cookies with hot pink frosting and edible glitter. The games were even pretty fun—they did a good combination of involving everybody and putting me on the spot without making me do anything embarrassing (I didn’t have to strut around in a wedding dress made of toilet paper or anything). I think my favorite part of the day was when I just became so overwhelmed by all the love I was feeling that I got a little teary-eyed, and one of the hostesses said to me “Julia, we’re just here to have a good time. You need to nut up.”
-          I have my somethings old, new, borrowed, and blue. In reverse order: blue earring for my ear cartilage piercing, new tiara, borrowed veil from my sister, and old ring of my grandmother’s. And Stephanie gave me a silver sixpence to put in my shoe!
-          Speaking of old wedding traditions, have you ever heard of an Oathing Stone? Neither had I. And neither had Niall. And neither has ANY IRISH PERSON I ASK, but whatever. It’s an ancient Celtic tradition so by God we’re doing it.
I love the idea that it connects our wedding not just to the two of us and our families, but also our ancestors and, also, the earth. I’m planning to get a stone from my parents’ back yard and we’ll have it at the ceremony. My rather hippieish friend D will be the keeper of the stone for the wedding ceremony and then we’ll take it to Ireland the next time we go. Niall’s opinion on all of this is mild amusement which FINE WHATEVER I’LL TAKE IT.
-          ALSO! Niall’s sister told me that it is a tradition in Ireland to put out an Infant of Prague to guarantee good weather. Niall and I were talking about this at my parents’ house and my mom goes “Oh! The Infant of Prague! Hang on a second!” and she left the room and no joke came back with an ACTUAL INFANT OF PRAGUE STATUE that had belonged to her grandmother.

So guess whose wedding is going to have some kickass weather, guaranteed?

Guidelines

Men of the world! I realize that navigating the world of dating can be tricky. There are certain things that I had formerly thought were obvious, but it appears that they are not. So here I am, clarifying a few things, in case you happen to find yourself interested in dating me.

1. If you are enjoying the pleasure of my company, then, by all means, let me know. If you are no longer enjoying my company then, similarly, do let me know. Because that whole 'be mean to her until she doesn't want to see me again' thing you guys do? Sucks. And it doesn't work on me. I WILL NOT take your hints. I tend to take people at their word-- if you TELL me something, I will go by this, even if you are acting the opposite way.

2. If you are divorced, in a relationship, or married, please make this clear upon meeting me. Even if you are separated I would rather know up front.

3. If you have a child or children, please make this clear upon meeting me. If there is a lady out there who is currently pregnant with your child, THAT COUNTS.

4. Please don't proposition me for sex, out of the blue, via text message. And especially don't PERSIST after I say no. That's just creepy. You can't talk me into wanting to sleep with you. I either want to, or I don't.

5. Don't lie. DON'T LIE, MOTHERFUCKER. Don't tell me lies. Don't lie through omission. Don't say what I want to hear because you think the truth will upset me. Just. Don't. Lie.

6. Please don't play games. I dislike games and I'm no good at them. If you say you're going to call me, call me. If you say you like me, don't act weird and aloof. Just be straightforward with me and I'll do the same for you.

Was that helpful? I do hope so. Please keep in mind these handy tips when wooing the lady of your choice, and particularly when considering dating me. Thank you for your kind attention.

Kisses,

Jules

Ponies

These are for my niece. I bought them a few days ago and I'm going to put them in a box and ship them to her.

I am CERTAINLY NOT considering keeping one for myself. Not, in particular, the little pink one that she probably wouldn't like anyhow.

Dollar $tore Challenge

I participated in the Dollar $tore Challenge brought to us by Miss and Kat. It was a simple enough concept to interest me-- Go to your local dollar store, spend twenty bucks, mail a package to somebody, and in return you'll get a package! Win-win! I was assigned the darling Magda who told me she loves crafts, baking, and the color purple. I headed over to Daiso which is this fantastic Japanese Variety Store where most things are priced at $1.50 and you can buy all kids of adorable things like mini cookie cutters and bento boxes and other cutesy wee little treasures. You can read about the awesome package of magic I sent her right here.

And a week or so ago I received a parcel of surprises in the mail from Ally!

I think she did her homework.

I got a whole bunch of stuff....

Pretty bag, scented candles, and eyemask.

Sewing kit and manicure set! I actually used the sewing kit the very day I recieved it, after I overzealously cut the tags off my new dress and had to stich a seam back up.

Pretty pens and binder clips, multi-opening photo frame. What to put in it, I wonder?

Shower smooshes, hair clippies, sockiepoos, and a puzzle book. Also, there was a york peppermint flavored chapstick that didn't make it into the photo session because I didn't realize it was there until I was breaking the box apart for the recycle bin.

Yay for fun packages! I would love to do something like this again, especially if it means I get to go back to Daiso.

St. Patrick's Day

My friends and I went out last night! It was fun!
The proudest of the drinking holidays happened to coincide with the BEGINNING OF SPRING BREAK,  which probably explains the extreme level of enthusiasm we showed for it. Although truth be told we are people who already enjoy dressing up all fancy-like.
I don't have the energy to describe the evening right now. Yes that's right-- I am TOO EXHAUSTED TO TYPE.

But I think the photos tell the story better anyhow....

We got ready:

I know it is all blurry and red-eyey but try to ignore that and focus on our spectacular getups.

We waited for the cab:

Ah yes, nothing hotter than a crotch shot.

 We wandered the streets:

This young gentleman introduced himself as Steamboat.

We had some drinkies:

We had some more drinkies:

We had on fabulous makeup:

We danced:

We tossed aside our woes:

I thought of myself as some sort of St. Patrick's Day superhero.
In trouble? Never fear, Superjules is here! To make your problems disappear! With beer!

Girl Talk: Shoesies!

Shoes!!

Wanna see the shoes I am wearing right this moment? Here they are.

Glamorous, I know. But these babies have carried me through A LOT of 12 hour clinical days at the hospital. And, thanks to the brand-spankin-new insoles I bought (because I was too cheap to buy actual new shoes), I can still use them on the treadmill. Win.

Okay, here are my other shoes. The heap below is the general "casual" shoe section of my closet minus a couple pairs that must still be in my car from the road trip. Those crazy high top DCs are still unlaced because I haven't quite gotten up the guts to actually wear them.


Anyhow, the shoe rack contains more shoes.


And there are shoe boxes next to the shoe rack.... And, see waaayyy up there on the top shelf of the closet?

Boots.

I mentioned in a previous post that I am totally the Princess and the Pea when it comes to shoes. They must be comfortable or else I will not wear them. If they are cute then certainly I will buy them, as you can see here:


Most of these are around the semi-ish comfortable range on my feetsies. They have been worn on between one and five occasions. Approximately. Give or take. Ish.

Sometimes, I reach for these.

They are pretty and sparkly and perfect for a dinner or wedding or to dress up a summer outfit, but not great for extended periods of dancing or walking.

More often than not, I go back to my old faithfuls.

I know they're not much to look at now, but trust me they had their heyday. You know, back when I wore them to junior prom.... But I slap 'em on with a pair of jeans and I am ready to rock the night away. Or, as in the case of a recent weekend in Chico, drive and dance and text and be called uptight and judgmental the night away.

Girl Talk: Intoxicating Libations

You wanna know my favorite kind of alcoholic beverage? Here it is: anything that doesn't taste like alcohol. You know, those fruity, foofy drinks that silly, princessy girls like. That's me! I especially like drinks that come in a fancy glass with an umbrella and a variety of excessive garnishes. My absolute favorite drink is called a Hula Girl and you can get it at the Mariott Hotel in Wailea. It's a little out of the way to go for a beverage, but I suppose there is other stuff you could do while you're already over there. But seriously, this drink. Heaven. I think it's essentially made with POG and rum, but all blended and delicious. It also probably doesn't hurt that you are, you know, in Hawaii when you drink it.

For actually going out on the town and imbibing beverages for the span of an evening, I prefer the standard rum&coke or vodkacran. I used to order it "with the cheapest alcohol you have" until someone told me that I could just say "well" and that would mean the same thing.

Jenny and I have also perfected the recipe of Vanilla Vodka + _______ = perfect for predrinking. She had some nebulous idea about vanilla vodka + creme soda which turned out amazing and I think I experimented with vanilla vodka and rootbeer a few weeks later. The only thing about this is that it is INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS because you are likely to drink far more than you had intended since everything tastes like candy.

Also, for football games, I maintain that Malibu rum is the only thing that tastes good warm and by itself.

More evidence of my royal blood.

When it comes to shoes, I am a little like the Princess and the Pea. If a shoe is ever so slightly uncomfortable, does not have adequate support for my lovely high arches, cuts at any part of my feet, has too loose or too tight straps, slips off my heels, or pinches my toes you can bet your boots (ha!) that my delicate little feet will notice. And then take them off. I might be wearing these


but from the way I am whimpering, you might think I was wearing these


or these


or these.


Which basically means that I'm insanely picky about the shoes that I buy (but then aren't we all?) and I might not actually even wear shoes that I own if I decide they aren't comfortable enough. I have a pair of strappy heels that I bought for my junior prom and to this day I still wear them since they are the most comfortable "going out" shoes I own. They used to be a sparkly silver color but now they're more of a muted gray, with stains from the multitude of drinks that have spilled on them and scuffed, nearly nonexistent heels from the miles and miles that they have carried me. Usually, I will coordinate my outfit with some other, newer, cuter pair of shoes and then, when the cab is downstairs and everybody is traipsing out the door, I will run back to my room and grab the old shoes.

So is anybody surprised to learn that I've been wearing the same pair of casual sneakers pretty much every single day for the past, oh, four years?

In my mind, they still look something like this.


However, my mother informed me that they actually look more like this.



And so I have been looking for new shoes for awhile now. But I believe I have noted my picky nature toward footwear in general and casual shoes are no exception-- they have to be cute, obviously, but also exceedingly comfortable for me to want to wear them on a daily basis. I define comfort thusly: PRECISELY the right size being neither slightly too big nor too small, able to be worn with socks, free from "quirks" (such as having the tongue thingy constantly bunch over to one side or the other like my Pumas), having adequate laces or other fastening devices as well as arch support, and giving me that indefineable sensation of Rightness on my footsies.

And today my mom bought me these.


And I love them! They are comfy and adorable and twinkly and purple and even cuter than the picture shows and did I mention comfy?? So yay!

And now since I'm feeling rather superficial and ridiculous with my "oh poor me, I have so many shoes I just don't know what to do with myself!" here is a web site about a sneaker recycling program. And one about donating shoes to people who don't have any.