my "n.f.t."

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens / Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens / Brown paper packages tied up with strings / These are a few of my favorite things" -- From The Sound of Music

Every now and then I stumble upon my so-called "new favorite thing," which is code for a fun-new-way-to-waste-time. Well, it's been a few weeks, so I'm about due for another "n.f.t." As if on cue, enter polyvore-- the online mix-and-match collage website that allows you to search thousands of online photos to bring any vision to life. The best thing about polyvore is that each picture that you add to the collage is always linked back to the source image so you can keep track of where each dress, flower, etc. came from (which is quite useful when you are considering buying such things). Also, the different search options (category, color, website, etc.) make the site very user friendly and time efficient (as if there is a time efficient way to waste time?). So here's my first polyvore creation (many more to come):

It's kinda crowded, but if you click on the image (or here) you will be directed to the polyvore link, which will allow you to click on each of the different photos or at least see where they came from (see page right). This collage is my first inspiration board, which is a new trend used by brides-to-be to help (their wedding planners) make their wedding vision a reality (click here for some amazing examples).

"Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel" -- Proverbs 20:15

a blog about blogs...

"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise." -- Sylvia Plath

So apparently wedding blogs are cool... or maybe just popular. A google search for "wedding blog" returned over 8 million sites. Wowzers. There are blogs for all sorts of weddings: preppy weddings, offbeat weddings, ethnic weddings... the list goes on. As someone who is in the midst of planning her own wedding, I think I am justified in spending (perhaps a little too much) time browsing such sites. And I'm happy to say that I've been getting lots of different ideas along the way. To spare you the experience of hopping from blog to blog in hope of finding treasures of inspiration, I'll summarize a few of my favorites:

• Snippet & Ink - great pictures, real weddings, budget tips
• Something Old, Something New - creative ideas from things old and new
• The Bride Cafe - more pictures and real wedding stories
• Oh Happy Blog! - lots of cute dresses, random ideas
  
• Style Me Pretty - I've mentioned this one before...

And last but not least... all the best bridal blogs in one place! And no, it's not your imagination. Future brides, you can thank me now for this find. I plan to keep blogging until someone puts me up on that list.

And here's a little inspiration in picture form from Snippet & Ink (the yellow makes me happy):

click to enlarge

"Oh, that my words were recorded, that they were written on a scroll" -- Job 19:23

they call me mellow yellooooow.

"The purest and most thoughtful minds are those which love color the most." -- John Ruskin

Happy June! Lately I've been getting some questions about what colors our bridal party will be wearing. Surprisingly, unlike many girls hoping for a happy ending, I never got around to constructing a picture-perfect wedding in my head. So perhaps disappointingly, for a while my response to such questions was simply, "I don't know." Even up until now Al and I (but mostly just me) have been flip-flopping between different color options. When we were initially planning on a fall wedding I started thinking of long gowns and deep, rich colors -- like a plum or a royal blue. But once we decided we were most likely going to do a summer afternoon wedding instead, we thought it would be more appropriate to do something light and fresh. So without further ado, I'm pleased to announce that we've made some sort of decision: our bridal party will likely be wearing some sort of yellow (this was actually Al's suggestion :) ). And surprisingly this was the one color that I said I wouldn't use when I started doing this whole wedding planning thing back in February. I pretty sure this change of heart had more to do with inspiration from some of the wedding websites I've visited and less to do with the fact that yellow is the "in color" this season... but I cannot say so with certainty.


So alas, I am quite excited about having a warm weather wedding. And for now, it will be yellow-y, but stay tuned... that still may change.

"In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." -- 2 Timothy 2:20-21