Sunday, February 24, 2008

Choices, Choices, and More Choices

With less than 4 months until my wedding I've been super busy with the planning as you can imagine. In some ways it is somewhat torturous for someone like me who is incapable of making the simplest decisions: "Paper or plastic?" "Umm....I don't know. Let's see...paper seems better for the environment but plastic is easier to carry. But then again...."

There are a few things that seemed just right though. I know it's cliche but when I put my wedding gown on for the first time I just knew it was the right dress. I had figured out the best way to go about trying on gowns was to close my eyes while I was being zipped into it and the train was being arranged and then open them to get the full effect. Once I put the veil on my choice was sealed. I just felt so beautiful and special I didn't want to take it off!

I also felt confident we chose the right florist. I remember we visited three florists in one day. The first one was a large company that seemed kind of like a wedding factory. I knew something was off when they said they never turn down a wedding. I felt as though I was going to get something very generic when what I was looking for was something unique.

The second place we visited was the one we went with. It's run by a couple who at one point sold their florist shop to focus on doing the flowers for events and run the business out of their house. For one thing they have 3 cats roaming their house and the name of the business is even named after a cat: The Cheshire Tree. Secondly the owner really sat down and listened to everything I had to say, helped guide my choices in terms of what flowers would be in season for the colors I wanted, and she even remembered the specific flower arrangements she had done for other weddings in order to show me pictures.

We did end up going to another florist which was the one recommended by our catering hall. But again they just seemed very generic and not very helpful in trying to customize what we wanted. I felt like I was expected to know everything about flowers when at the time I didn't know an iris from an orchid. (Now I'm at a point where I walk past bouquets and can name every flower!)

I also love the place we chose for the reception and ceremony. They have a beautiful garden looking out onto a lake for the ceremony and then an outdoor tent for cocktails. I also liked that the ballroom had large windows looking out on the lake which let in a lot of sunlight. The nicest part for me is that it's down the street from the house I grew up in. My mother used to take me swimming at the same lake and occasionally we could make out a bride and groom on the other side. Now I'll be that bride!

So when I start to doubt my choices in other areas I try to think of these things where it just felt right. There's no knitting to show in this post as I'm making some things for the wedding and prefer to keep them a secret until that day... but I promise lots of pics afterwards. It's hard for me to even think of afterwards. The whole last year has been focused on this one day it seems surreal as if the whole world will just stop after that.


Thursday, February 14, 2008

Hurray for V-Day!

I was coming home from a rough day at work thinking nothing was going to perk up my mood. Then voila:



Nothing like roses and chocolates to make a girl feel special. We went for a late sushi dinner at Kotobuki, a Japanese restaurant in Roslyn out on Long Island. We had a good time eating lots of fish and listening to the trumpet player they had there. The restaurant was also giving out single roses to all the women there, thus the really tall flower peeking out over the rest.



JF talks up a whole spiel every year about Valentine's Day being this fake holiday where you feel obligated to spend money and go out...then he never fails to surprise me with little gifts. I can't tell whether he says all that stuff just to throw me off or he just gives in 'cause he knows I like all that cheesy V-day stuff. I realize it's a manufactured holiday and all but like any holiday it's nice to celebrate and have another chance to show someone that you care whether it's a romantic interest or your friends and family.

In that spirit happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there in blogland! Thanks for reading all my posts and sending your comments. It always raises my spirits to get the emails especially when I'm having a tough day on the job.



This is a cat bed that JF's mom gave Cosette for a Valentine's Day present. We both liked it but weren't sure if she would go for this cushy type of bed.



We purchased this blue cat bed at the shelter pet store because we just needed something at the moment. It's basically a mat with raised sides but she loves it.



As predicted she wasn't very interested in the new bed. Even when I sprayed catnip on it she was only interested in it for about an hour. Then we got the idea to put the old bed inside the new bed and it worked like a charm.



It's a bit of a tight squeeze but as long as she's happy...although she was disappointed we didn't bring her out for sushi as tuna is her fav food!

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Holy Kippah!



JF and I were planning to make kippahs for the men in the bridal party at our wedding. For those not in the know these are the head coverings also known as yarmulkas (or "little hat thingies" as a friend once said) that Jewish men wear. We bought this Lorna's Laces Shepard sock yarn at Webs. I thought the colors were really beautiful.
JF found this pattern online.



The first one we tried was on size 2 needles using the version for fingering weight yarn. I cast on and did the first few rows, JF did the middle part, then I did the decreases. It came out on the large side as you can see above. It's unblocked and looks more like a sombrero than a kippah but you get the idea.



The next version was the fingering weight yarn pattern but on size 1 needles. This was where the project transitioned to me knitting the whole thing....but that's another story. Just like in the Goldilocks story this one was now too small.



You can really see the size difference here. The pattern is intended for the reverse stockinette side to be the public size of the work. We both thought the variegated yarn looked better on the regular stockinette side. For the next prototype I'm going to try the instructions for extra fine yarn on size 1's. Hopefully that will be a keeper as I need to move on to other wedding-related items to knit. This kind of thing always sounds like a good idea until the reality of making all this stuff on a timeline sets in!



This is a little knitting cell phone charm I bought on impulse at the checkout line at WEBS. Unfortunately when I got home I couldn't figure out how to attach it to my Treo. Never one to give up on a knitting related accessory I looped it around the cord of my camera instead.