happy father's day...

"There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself." -- John Gregory Brown

I wouldn't exactly call myself a "Daddy's Girl" but I think every little girl has special relationship with her father. Some dads are "sporty dads," some dads are "handy dads," some dads are "cool dads," but my dad, I like to think, was a "funny dad." During my teen years my "funny dad" became my "corny dad," (although I'm not sure his jokes changed all the much, and I'm even slightly embarrassed to say that sometimes he would even make jokes about corn, just begging to be called corny). And while he still cracks corny jokes, it's nice to know that I can always rely on my dad for a laugh, or at least a smile while I shake my head at his corniness. And it warms a special place in my heart when I overhear my dad start to tell someone new a joke I've heard a hundred times. There's a certain comfort in knowing and loving someone so well that you can sense the start of a familiar joke, even if it's a corny one.

So while I'm not a little girl any more, all this wedding planning is making me feel like I'm my dad's little girl again. Just the other day I asked him if he had a song preference for the father-daughter dance at my wedding, and he said he didn't have one in mind yet. I'm still not quite sure, myself, what we should dance to... but I'll let you know as soon as we decide something. And even though my dad will walk me down the aisle and give me away in about a year... I'll always be his little girl, and he will always be my funny/corny dad.

Happy father's day, to fathers everywhere!

"Then our sons in their youth will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars carved to adorn a palace." -- Psalm 144:12

what to wear?!

"The most beautiful clothes that can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves" -- Yves Saint Laurent

When I first started wedding planning, one of the earliest things that I decided (in my head) was that I wanted my bridesmaids' dresses to be light, flowy, and slightly Greek goddess-like. This idea worked perfectly when I was thinking of having all my bridesmaids wear long evening gowns, but when we decided on shorter afternoon dresses, I thought that maybe I would have to pass on my original idea-- the words "short" and "Greek goddess-esque" didn't seem like a good match. That was until I stumbled upon this dress in a window in Annapolis. Looked like an appropriately flowy and simple dress, and best of all it was cocktail length! So with newfound hope, my search for bridesmaids dresses pressed on.





Below are a few of my most recent favorites. And while this selection lacks any real consistency as far as dress length, or silhouette, or possibly even overall feel, I can say this much for sure: the dresses are going to be cute (and probably empire waisted). And almost definitely yellow, tea length, and flowy as well.

click to enlarge

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ... See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -- Matthew 6:25-33

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

cream and sugar.

"He was my cream, and I was his coffee - And when you poured us together, it was something." -- Josephine Baker

Aside from those 40 days and nights during Lent, my typical Monday to Friday routine involves one to two cups of java, disguised by milk and sugar. My lab version of Seth Rogan, the one and only Andrew "B-bear" Edelstein can attest to this habit (and partly enables it , as well). As someone who's been an insider to two weddings in the past month (and whose sister is in the process of planning a wedding) he might have a few pearls of wisdom to share about remaining sane through this process... but that is another blog for another day.

Back to my original thought... coffee. I do love that tasty daily dose of caffeine, but after being inspired by weddingbee, I think perhaps I may need to give it up for the sake of white teeth on my wedding day.


I'm not sure first year of med school would approve of such a decision, but I think the fact that I successfully gave it up for Lent is some indication of my ability to survive sans coffee. And if all else fails, there's always teeth whitening, or embracing my off-white teeth.

In other news, today Al and I chaperoned his first graders on their school field trip to the zoo. We haven't had this much fun at a zoo since... we went to the Bronx Zoo last year. Honestly, it's pretty easy to enjoy the zoo when you're there in good company. :) . Those kids are so energetic. I'm poooped.

" God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." -- Genesis 1:25

cyber status updates.

"If you have to think about whether you love someone or not, then the answer is no. When you love someone you just know." -- Janice Markowitz

Sooo... I finally updated my relationship status on facebook and myspace. I guess this means our relationship is legit (at least to the rest of the cyber world).


Also, lately it seems like I've been doing a lot of congratulating, so why stop now? Congratulations to my friends Raphael and Mike, both of whom got married this past month (not to each other).

And lastly, although I'll be apartment hunting in D.C., if I was home this Saturday at 7 P.M. I'd probably try to catch NBC's new show i do! -- supposedly the ultimate lavish wedding planning guide. And since it's sponsored by my favorite bridal website (theknot.com), I don't doubt it will be quite entertaining/informative.

"Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth." -- Psalm 26:2-3

sim city.

"One should either be a work of art, or wear a work of art." -- Oscar Wilde

Congrats to Maris and Ryan on their recent engagement! And belated congratulations to my room mate Faaiza and her fiance Zack, who recently got engaged as well. It makes me ridiculously happy to see my friends getting engaged. Seriously.

To further lighten up this dreary Wednesday, I thought I'd mention my new favorite thing: the very sims-like "dress your wedding" feature by David's Bridal (log-in using alphonse.katrina@gmail.com, password = guest). While some of the options for accessories and facial/body features are limited (definitely not up to Nintendo mii standards), it is definitely a fun way to waste a few minutes (or more). Viola:


And while I plan to have my bridesmaids in cocktail length dresses (summery, right?), I haven't decided much beyond that, so don't necessarily expect a real-life version of this. As for the guys, let it be known that Al did their dressing. Fashion designing at its finest.

And speaking of new favorite things... this website I stumbled upon, style me pretty, happens to be one of them.

"My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest" -- Isaiah 32:18

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