Before my several-month hiatus from blogging, I was keeping tabs on everything I read this year. For the first time since 2003, I'm not enrolled in graduate classes where I'm being compelled to read lengthy lists of books chosen by someone else. It feels like I'm re-learning how to choose my own reading material. and it's an interesting process so far.
I finally had time to read some of the random book purchases that have been clogging up my bookshelves for years.
The Third Witch retells Macbeth from the perspective of one of the witches who predict Macbeth will become king. I picked this book up secondhand when I was working on a project for a course on Shakespeare and Marlowe. The project involved writing an undergraduate curriculum for a course about literature inspired by Shakespeare's works. Overall this novel was a decent read.
Peter and the Starcatchers was a charming read. Characters such as Wendy, Peter, and a pirate captain should be familiar. The Peter Pan story is reworked here with a lot of humor and a fun new angle. I'll definitely look into the other books in this series.
Things Cooks Love is a handbook for a well-stocked kitchen. It was a Half-Price books find, and I really enjoyed looking through the big glossy pictures of pots, pans, and kitchen tools. I finally know what a paella pan actually looks like! But I'll keep making paella in my ovenproof skillet or my shallowest Corningware dish. The book also includes recipes but nothing startlingly new or must-try.
I don't remember when I first heard about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but I got my copy a couple of years ago when I belonged to an online book club (I don't even remember the name!) that let you choose one book each month for $10 per book. (Most of the books were hardcover, so it was a pretty good deal.) I enjoyed both the aforementioned novel and the story collection, The Ladies of Grace Adieu. These are alternate histories that imagine a magical England where learned men study the history of magic but where all of the magicians have forgotten how to practice magic. Both are good reads, but at 700+ pages the novel is a marathon undertaking.
I encountered Letters from a Skeptic months ago when our Sunday class was reading it. We were so preoccupied with wedding planning back then that I didn't finish the book until late summer. It is both a thought-provoking volume of apologetics and a riveting story about an important conversation between a father and son. The father happens to be an agnostic, and the son happens to be a theology professor and a Christian. I enjoyed this one immensely. One of my favorite exchanges in the book is when the son answers his father's question about why God would allow people to do evil things to each other. His answer (in part) is that our capacity for evil and our capacity for love are linked. (And this is tied to the concept of free will, which they also delve into in several of their exchanges.) In other words, if we didn't have the capacity to do harmful things to other people, we also wouldn't have the capacity to love others. If God limited one capability, He would have to limit the other.
Remember the movie Children of Men from a few years back? That movie, about which I was ambivalent, was the first I had heard of British mystery novelist P. D. James. She wrote the novel upon which the movie was loosely based. I was intrigued about her for some reason I can't remember now, so I picked up this 1972 novel that introduces a female private detective named Cordelia Gray. The story moved a bit slowly and the denouement was a bit underwhelming, but I enjoyed James' writing style. I may read one of the books in her Adam Dalgliesh series. Dalgliesh makes a cameo appearance in Unsuitable, but he's the main character in a substantial series of James mysteries published between 1962 and 2008.
my 2010 reading recap:
17. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P. D.James
16. Letters from a Skeptic by Gregory and Edward Boyd
15. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
14. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories by Susanna Clark
13. Things Cooks Love by Marie Simmons for Sur La Table
12. Peter and the Starcatchers by Ridley Pearson and Dave Barry
11. The Third Witch by Rebecca Reisert
10. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
9. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
8. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
7. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
6. An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Broocoli Cheese Risotto
While I was dusting off my blog, I found a draft of a post from way back in June, and it contains an interesting recipe. So four months later than intended, I thought I would share it anyway.
Tonight I glanced in my fridge and wondered what I should make for dinner. Every weekend we create a basic schedule of the week's meals. Tonight's block on the schedule said "rice." That means paella or risotto or something else with rice as its main ingredient.
I love Mark Bittman's explanation of paella. He calls it "rice with stuff in it" and declares it a perfect use for leftovers. I also love risotto, but sometimes I don't really know what to do with it. However, I poked my head into the fridge where a stray broccoli crown and a few ounces of sharp cheddar cheese caught my attention.
Terry had a rather rough day (two job interviews that did not go smoothly), so I wanted to make something comforting. Risotto is not exactly comfort food; it lacks that essential familiar-from-childhood quality that makes certain foods so comforting. But nothing invokes holidays from my childhood faster than a broccoli cheese casserole.
Unless I'm baking, my favorite dishes are the ones I can throw together without a lot of measuring or recipe following. Here's what I improvised:
Ingredients
olive oil
butter
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 broccoli crown, chopped
handful of baby carrots, chopped
2-3 cups chicken stock, warmed
1 cup arborio (risotto) rice
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/3 cup white wine (optional)
pepper and/or other spices to taste
Directions
In a large skillet, melt about 1/2 tbsp butter with about 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and broccoli over medium heat until the carrots and onions begin to soften (about 5 minutes). Add rice and saute until the grains start to look translucent.
Add wine (or use the same amount of stock) and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Add a ladle full of stock and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock and cooking until the rice is tender. Add pepper and cheese. Stir. Serve.
Tonight I glanced in my fridge and wondered what I should make for dinner. Every weekend we create a basic schedule of the week's meals. Tonight's block on the schedule said "rice." That means paella or risotto or something else with rice as its main ingredient.
I love Mark Bittman's explanation of paella. He calls it "rice with stuff in it" and declares it a perfect use for leftovers. I also love risotto, but sometimes I don't really know what to do with it. However, I poked my head into the fridge where a stray broccoli crown and a few ounces of sharp cheddar cheese caught my attention.
Terry had a rather rough day (two job interviews that did not go smoothly), so I wanted to make something comforting. Risotto is not exactly comfort food; it lacks that essential familiar-from-childhood quality that makes certain foods so comforting. But nothing invokes holidays from my childhood faster than a broccoli cheese casserole.
Unless I'm baking, my favorite dishes are the ones I can throw together without a lot of measuring or recipe following. Here's what I improvised:
Ingredients
olive oil
butter
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 broccoli crown, chopped
handful of baby carrots, chopped
2-3 cups chicken stock, warmed
1 cup arborio (risotto) rice
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/3 cup white wine (optional)
pepper and/or other spices to taste
Directions
In a large skillet, melt about 1/2 tbsp butter with about 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and broccoli over medium heat until the carrots and onions begin to soften (about 5 minutes). Add rice and saute until the grains start to look translucent.
Add wine (or use the same amount of stock) and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Add a ladle full of stock and cook, stirring, until the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock and cooking until the rice is tender. Add pepper and cheese. Stir. Serve.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Hello again, Blog
It's been a long while. I got out of the habit of blogging, but now I'm back. I'll get a couple of sentences in tonight and maybe something more interesting later this week.
I've been baking. A lot. Here's a photo of some rolls I made for our lunches this week:
They're 50% whole wheat, 50% bread flour. The first few times we made bread with any wheat or rye flour in the mix, they would have made highly effective weapons. Very heavy and dense. They're getting much better though. Probably because we've been getting a lot of practice. Lately we bake bread at least once a week.
I've been baking. A lot. Here's a photo of some rolls I made for our lunches this week:
They're 50% whole wheat, 50% bread flour. The first few times we made bread with any wheat or rye flour in the mix, they would have made highly effective weapons. Very heavy and dense. They're getting much better though. Probably because we've been getting a lot of practice. Lately we bake bread at least once a week.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
chicken pot pie: a food narrative
It seems all of my post-wedding posts are destined to be about cooking or reading.
I have quite a few friends who share my love of cooking. These friends also tend to love talking about cooking. My friend, Laurie, who is not an avid cook, often laments the conversational turns that occur when two or more of her culinary-enthusiast friends get together. She is not fond of what she calls "the food narrative," especially when it goes on and on through recipe comparisons and tales of dinners gone wrong and mild bragging about confections made perfectly. She would probably not enjoy this post.
A few months ago, my sister told me about a cooking experiment she had conducted. She started with our grandmother's chicken and dumplings recipe. She added a few ingredients: peas, carrots, and onions. She topped it with canned biscuits and baked until they were golden brown. The result was similar to chicken pot pie.
I experimented with her accidental recipe. I made a few pots of something we christened "chicken pot pie soup." I thought this was as close as I might ever come to making actual chicken pot pie, which seemed to me such a complicated dish.
Then I consulted my favorite cookbook, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and I learned how to make honest-to-goodness chicken pot pie. I made it thick; I made it soupy. I seasoned it with sage; I seasoned it with thyme. I made it with a biscuit topping; I made it with the traditional savory tart topping. Most importantly, I learned that, despite seeming complex and time consuming, chicken pot pie can be incredibly easy because both the filling and the crust can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge.
After a few attempts, I finally deemed the pot pie good enough to cook for other people.Last night I served it to some friends. It was our first post-wedding-day entertaining experience. (Thanks Mindy, Michael, and Dashiell, for a wonderful evening!)
This recipe is definitely becoming a go-to meal for us. Now that I'm comfortable with the basic recipe, I'm beginning to think about variations: a meat other than chicken? A vegetarian version? Different vegetables with the chicken?
I once had a vegetarian pot pie made with sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and cheddar cheese. It was delicious. I wonder if I could duplicate it. I've read suggestions to use everything from green beans to rutabagas with the chicken. I don't think I've ever cooked a rutabaga!
The thought of cooking a rutabaga (or any other unfamiliar food item) makes me think of scenes from the movie Julie and Julia. As she works her way through Julia Child's cookbook, Julie more than once expresses her anxiety about preparing pate de canard en croute, boned stuffed duck in a pastry crust. The obstacle, as she explains, is that she first has to bone a duck.
I love the scene where Julie has placed the duck on her coffee table. She hovers over it with a boning knife while watching a video recording of Julia Child explaining how to bone a duck.
I can easily picture myself sitting at my desk--mouse in one hand, rutabaga in the other--watching YouTube videos that explain how to peel and prepare this unfamiliar vegetable.
I have quite a few friends who share my love of cooking. These friends also tend to love talking about cooking. My friend, Laurie, who is not an avid cook, often laments the conversational turns that occur when two or more of her culinary-enthusiast friends get together. She is not fond of what she calls "the food narrative," especially when it goes on and on through recipe comparisons and tales of dinners gone wrong and mild bragging about confections made perfectly. She would probably not enjoy this post.
A few months ago, my sister told me about a cooking experiment she had conducted. She started with our grandmother's chicken and dumplings recipe. She added a few ingredients: peas, carrots, and onions. She topped it with canned biscuits and baked until they were golden brown. The result was similar to chicken pot pie.
I experimented with her accidental recipe. I made a few pots of something we christened "chicken pot pie soup." I thought this was as close as I might ever come to making actual chicken pot pie, which seemed to me such a complicated dish.
Then I consulted my favorite cookbook, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and I learned how to make honest-to-goodness chicken pot pie. I made it thick; I made it soupy. I seasoned it with sage; I seasoned it with thyme. I made it with a biscuit topping; I made it with the traditional savory tart topping. Most importantly, I learned that, despite seeming complex and time consuming, chicken pot pie can be incredibly easy because both the filling and the crust can be made a day ahead and stored in the fridge.
After a few attempts, I finally deemed the pot pie good enough to cook for other people.Last night I served it to some friends. It was our first post-wedding-day entertaining experience. (Thanks Mindy, Michael, and Dashiell, for a wonderful evening!)
This recipe is definitely becoming a go-to meal for us. Now that I'm comfortable with the basic recipe, I'm beginning to think about variations: a meat other than chicken? A vegetarian version? Different vegetables with the chicken?
I once had a vegetarian pot pie made with sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and cheddar cheese. It was delicious. I wonder if I could duplicate it. I've read suggestions to use everything from green beans to rutabagas with the chicken. I don't think I've ever cooked a rutabaga!
The thought of cooking a rutabaga (or any other unfamiliar food item) makes me think of scenes from the movie Julie and Julia. As she works her way through Julia Child's cookbook, Julie more than once expresses her anxiety about preparing pate de canard en croute, boned stuffed duck in a pastry crust. The obstacle, as she explains, is that she first has to bone a duck.
I love the scene where Julie has placed the duck on her coffee table. She hovers over it with a boning knife while watching a video recording of Julia Child explaining how to bone a duck.
I can easily picture myself sitting at my desk--mouse in one hand, rutabaga in the other--watching YouTube videos that explain how to peel and prepare this unfamiliar vegetable.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
book swap books
About a month ago I participated in a book exchange. Although most of my books are still in boxes in the back of a closet, I managed to find a couple that would be suitable for swapping with others. ("Suitable" in this context means "not something I have to hang onto in order to finish my dissertation.")
I gained two new books--a popular novel by a bestselling writer and a nonfiction novel that a friend recommended to me several years ago. Between wedding planning and teaching twice as many classes as I intended to this semester, I doubted I would have time to read them before summer. A little insomnia, however, goes a long way. I've already finished both books.
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Dan Brown's books are about as satisfying as a sugary snack: they give me a temporary excited buzzy feeling, but ultimately they let me down. My experience reading The Lost Symbol was much like my previous experiences reading The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. I was quickly drawn into the novel, quickly finished reading it, and almost instantly forgot most of its contents.
The puzzles Brown embeds in his books are intriguing ... for a few minutes. His characters are interesting ... for a few pages. His plots are entertaining ... for a few hours. The Lost Symbol is the sort of book I always hope to have on hand when a semester ends so I can indulge in a effortlessly easy-to-read narrative. His prose is nearly seamless. Unlike many other books, Brown's don't trip me up with awkward phrasing or bog me down in poorly constructed sentences. Also unlike other books, Brown's don't cause me to fret over a too-contrived plot while laboriously reading through the chapters. However, I also don't feel like I've gained anything when I finish a Dan Brown book.
I've begun to think of Dan Brown as Robert Jordan's polar opposite. Several years ago one of my cousins recommended Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I thought to myself, Highly derivative and ridiculously long fantasy novels in a series that goes on and on and on and ON? Why not?! I read quite a few of them, too, (and found them less derivative than I expected) until I could take no more of Jordan's convoluted prose. All of the novels are over 800 pages, and I read almost every sentence while fighting an urge to grab my red pen. I wanted to make editing marks all over the pages. Only one other writer--Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan novels on which the television series Bones is loosely based--has had this effect on me. I also stopped reading her series because I felt compelled to read with the book in one hand and my red pen in the other. Reichs and Jordan both drew me into their stories, but their prose made me nuts. Brown's prose is smooth, but I never truly care about the characters or the plot.
Incidentally, none of these authors makes me irritated enough to toss books across the room. That distinction belongs solely to Gertrude Stein. I'll save that for another post. I need to read some more Stein soon for my dissertation.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
This nonfiction novel drew me in slowly at first but absolutely fascinated me by the end. It's part true crime and part cultural history. It feels a bit like reading a novel, but it's actually nonfiction interlaced with some fiction techniques. It's similar to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, but it has a broader focus and weaves together many narrative threads. Larson tells the stories of the architects who organized the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, a serial killer who opened a hotel near the Fair's location, an engineer named Ferris who designed a massive wheel for the Fair, a landscape artist named Olmstead who helped design the fair grounds, and several other figures.
When a friend recommended this book a few years ago, I read the back cover and wasn't interested. From the blurb I expected the book to be much more about the serial killer H. H. Holmes. Any blurbs or reviews that focus primarily on Holmes inaccurately represent the book. Though it does sketch some of Holmes' grisly activities, the book is much more about the Chicago World's Fair and late-nineteenth-century America. Some of the most delightful moments in the book are unexpected cameos by famous folks: an unnamed architect who is fired from the Fair project is later identified as Frank Lloyd Wright; a young journalist visiting the city of Chicago for the first time turns out to be Theodore Dreiser; Mark Twain arrives in Chicago but never leaves his hotel room.
Much like Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire, this text left my head chock full of interesting ideas and makes me want to read more by the author. In Larson's case, I may track down a copy of Isaac's Storm, which is about the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston.
my 2010 reading recap:
10. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
9. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
8. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
7. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
6. An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
I gained two new books--a popular novel by a bestselling writer and a nonfiction novel that a friend recommended to me several years ago. Between wedding planning and teaching twice as many classes as I intended to this semester, I doubted I would have time to read them before summer. A little insomnia, however, goes a long way. I've already finished both books.
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Dan Brown's books are about as satisfying as a sugary snack: they give me a temporary excited buzzy feeling, but ultimately they let me down. My experience reading The Lost Symbol was much like my previous experiences reading The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. I was quickly drawn into the novel, quickly finished reading it, and almost instantly forgot most of its contents.
The puzzles Brown embeds in his books are intriguing ... for a few minutes. His characters are interesting ... for a few pages. His plots are entertaining ... for a few hours. The Lost Symbol is the sort of book I always hope to have on hand when a semester ends so I can indulge in a effortlessly easy-to-read narrative. His prose is nearly seamless. Unlike many other books, Brown's don't trip me up with awkward phrasing or bog me down in poorly constructed sentences. Also unlike other books, Brown's don't cause me to fret over a too-contrived plot while laboriously reading through the chapters. However, I also don't feel like I've gained anything when I finish a Dan Brown book.
I've begun to think of Dan Brown as Robert Jordan's polar opposite. Several years ago one of my cousins recommended Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I thought to myself, Highly derivative and ridiculously long fantasy novels in a series that goes on and on and on and ON? Why not?! I read quite a few of them, too, (and found them less derivative than I expected) until I could take no more of Jordan's convoluted prose. All of the novels are over 800 pages, and I read almost every sentence while fighting an urge to grab my red pen. I wanted to make editing marks all over the pages. Only one other writer--Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan novels on which the television series Bones is loosely based--has had this effect on me. I also stopped reading her series because I felt compelled to read with the book in one hand and my red pen in the other. Reichs and Jordan both drew me into their stories, but their prose made me nuts. Brown's prose is smooth, but I never truly care about the characters or the plot.
Incidentally, none of these authors makes me irritated enough to toss books across the room. That distinction belongs solely to Gertrude Stein. I'll save that for another post. I need to read some more Stein soon for my dissertation.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
This nonfiction novel drew me in slowly at first but absolutely fascinated me by the end. It's part true crime and part cultural history. It feels a bit like reading a novel, but it's actually nonfiction interlaced with some fiction techniques. It's similar to Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, but it has a broader focus and weaves together many narrative threads. Larson tells the stories of the architects who organized the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, a serial killer who opened a hotel near the Fair's location, an engineer named Ferris who designed a massive wheel for the Fair, a landscape artist named Olmstead who helped design the fair grounds, and several other figures.
Much like Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire, this text left my head chock full of interesting ideas and makes me want to read more by the author. In Larson's case, I may track down a copy of Isaac's Storm, which is about the 1900 hurricane that devastated Galveston.
my 2010 reading recap:
10. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
9. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
8. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
7. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
6. An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
married life
We're enjoying the process of settling into married life. We both had a few days off work after the wedding, and we used part of that time to do some cleaning and decorating. I'm really enjoying how nice (some parts of) the house are starting to look. This weekend we plan to finish removing the old wallpaper in the kitchen and in the downstairs bathroom.
Tonight Terry has prepared a big pot of beans, and I'm making cornbread. One of my favorite parts of married life is definitely having a spouse who shares my love of cooking. I'm fond of of telling people that I'm not too shabby in the kitchen but Terry is even better. He's both more ambitious a cook (he tried the really hard recipes) and more consistent (he's got the recipes that ALWAYS turn out delicious).
Monday, March 8, 2010
all about tea (well, more about other stuff actually)
Many people who know me well were surprised to find out I'm having a wedding instead of a nice, efficient elopement. For many years, I've said I'd prefer to elope. It's tidy. No muss, no fuss. No complicated planning. No worrying about etiquette rules you might have overlooked or might have misunderstood. No wearing a poofy dress in a really unflattering color. I gave all of these reasons. I was adamant about my preference for elopement. No one doubted me.
For many years, however, I've also said, "But I know if I end up with Terry, there's going to be a wedding instead of an elopement." No one doubted this either.
From the beginning of our planning, there has been some tension between his notion of an ideal wedding--a huge celebration with all our friends and family--and my notion of an ideal wedding, which would probably involve just the two of us saying "I do" somewhere in the California wine country or maybe tying the knot in Vegas with an Elvis impersonator officiating. (Fat Elvis only, please. Complete with bedazzled white jumpsuit and plenty of sweat. I think people are missing the point if they choose to be married by young Elvis.)
To be more precise: elopement would have been my ideal wedding until I made it most of the way through the planning and began to realize some of the invaluable things I have gained by going through this process.
First, Terry and I understand each other better. The wedding has really made us talk our way through a lot of differences in our personalities (most of them revolving around his extroversion and my introversion). I know we'll eventually look back and laugh about some of our flawed first attempts at compromise and our misguided attempts to please each other without fully understanding what the other person wanted. Other people may also remember these early miscommunications. We have already begun apologizing to the groomsmen for saying to them, "Oh, just wear a brown suit. Any suit. Any shade." We sincerely intended for this to be simple and easy. It was not simple and easy. We are so sorry, guys.
Second, I feel connected to our pasts and our future in a way I would not have without this whole experience. We've had many occasions over the last few months to talk about our families, from grandparents who are no longer with us to children who are currently no more than the shadow of a plan of a possible idea. As part of our premarital counseling, we each had to draw up a family tree. Because of that exercise, I later got to see an enormous book of genealogy that traces part of Terry's family back hundreds of years. Terry didn't get to see any genealogies of my family, but, when we went to my parents' house to dig through some old photos, he did get to play with an adorable baby goat. He decided that in the future he'd like to live somewhere he can also keep goats.
Third, I feel more connected to a community of people than I could have possibly managed in such a short time without the wedding forcing me outside my introvert's comfort zone. Even before Terry and I got engaged, we made it a priority to deal with some religious differences. Terry assured me that if I got to know the folks from his church we would be halfway to resolving those differences. He was right, probably in more ways than he realized. I'm getting to know some wonderful people, but I'm also getting acquainted with a type of Christianity that values community, that values being active in a group of people who actively share with each other all of life's events, both the joyful ones and the sorrowful ones. With every interaction, these folks teach me something new about how to live a life that is connected to others rather than disconnected.
Finally, I believe I promised to say something about tea. It was teapots that got me thinking about some of the stuff I wrote above.
Yesterday, Terry and I were cleaning out some kitchen cupboards and making space for bridal shower and wedding presents we have received. Before anything new could go into the cupboards, some stuff had to come out of the cupboards. We're both in our early 30s, and we both love to cook. We've had a lot of time to accumulate kitchen stuff. We realized a few months ago (when I was finally convinced to create a wedding registry) that when we combine our belongings we have too many of some things and utterly lack other things. For example, I found seven can openers in our kitchen yesterday, but every time we bake we remember we don't own a cooling rack.
In the midst of all the cleaning and cataloging, I had occasion to think about another item we have in duplicate: tea pots. With the photos below, I'll explain why these duplicates are a pleasure to have and maybe how they tie into the ramblings above.
Two weekends ago, the folks from church gave us a shower. I was overwhelmed by the attendance at the shower, by the number of people who were thinking about us and helping us begin our marriage. These are the lovely teapot and sugar bowl we received from our registry. I washed them and placed them on this shelf. I can' wait to make tea for us and use these to serve it.
This is a Corningware teapot that Terry has had for a few years now. He stared collecting Corningware--specifically pieces with this blue flower pattern--because he remembered meals his mom cooked in similar dishes. His collection got a little out of control, and now we have so much of blue-flower-patterned Corningware that we had to pack some up until we have a larger kitchen. (We did not yet pack away the multiple 5-quart casseroles he and his mom are using to make lasagna for the rehearsal dinner. It's funny how things unexpectedly come in handy.) This teapot, however, gets used almost every day to warm the water for our tea. It can almost always be seen hanging out on the stovetop ready to make the next cups or next pot. (in this photo it was actually headed for the sink because it needed to be washed.)
This is a cast iron tea pot that I've had for a few years now. I picked it out specifically because it takes me a while to drink even a partial pot of tea when I'm drinking tea alone. The cast iron keeps tea hot for quite a while, but its heat-retaining properties are not so necessary now that I have someone to drink tea with me most of the time.
This is a tea set that belonged to my maternal grandmother. She passed it on to me a year or so before she died. I adored her, and she is the grandparent to whom I was closest. When my mom was a little girl, a friend of my grandmother's visited England and brought this set back as a gift for my grandmother. I've never seen anyone drink tea from it, but it had a prime spot in Mawmaw's china cabinet for many years where, if I remember correctly, it was surrounded by odds and ends of china patterns and a small collection of depression glass. I can't bring myself to make tea in it because I would have to disturb the cryptic handwritten note that she kept in the pot and (I assume) forgot to remove before she gave it to me.
For many years, however, I've also said, "But I know if I end up with Terry, there's going to be a wedding instead of an elopement." No one doubted this either.
From the beginning of our planning, there has been some tension between his notion of an ideal wedding--a huge celebration with all our friends and family--and my notion of an ideal wedding, which would probably involve just the two of us saying "I do" somewhere in the California wine country or maybe tying the knot in Vegas with an Elvis impersonator officiating. (Fat Elvis only, please. Complete with bedazzled white jumpsuit and plenty of sweat. I think people are missing the point if they choose to be married by young Elvis.)
To be more precise: elopement would have been my ideal wedding until I made it most of the way through the planning and began to realize some of the invaluable things I have gained by going through this process.
First, Terry and I understand each other better. The wedding has really made us talk our way through a lot of differences in our personalities (most of them revolving around his extroversion and my introversion). I know we'll eventually look back and laugh about some of our flawed first attempts at compromise and our misguided attempts to please each other without fully understanding what the other person wanted. Other people may also remember these early miscommunications. We have already begun apologizing to the groomsmen for saying to them, "Oh, just wear a brown suit. Any suit. Any shade." We sincerely intended for this to be simple and easy. It was not simple and easy. We are so sorry, guys.
Second, I feel connected to our pasts and our future in a way I would not have without this whole experience. We've had many occasions over the last few months to talk about our families, from grandparents who are no longer with us to children who are currently no more than the shadow of a plan of a possible idea. As part of our premarital counseling, we each had to draw up a family tree. Because of that exercise, I later got to see an enormous book of genealogy that traces part of Terry's family back hundreds of years. Terry didn't get to see any genealogies of my family, but, when we went to my parents' house to dig through some old photos, he did get to play with an adorable baby goat. He decided that in the future he'd like to live somewhere he can also keep goats.
Third, I feel more connected to a community of people than I could have possibly managed in such a short time without the wedding forcing me outside my introvert's comfort zone. Even before Terry and I got engaged, we made it a priority to deal with some religious differences. Terry assured me that if I got to know the folks from his church we would be halfway to resolving those differences. He was right, probably in more ways than he realized. I'm getting to know some wonderful people, but I'm also getting acquainted with a type of Christianity that values community, that values being active in a group of people who actively share with each other all of life's events, both the joyful ones and the sorrowful ones. With every interaction, these folks teach me something new about how to live a life that is connected to others rather than disconnected.
Finally, I believe I promised to say something about tea. It was teapots that got me thinking about some of the stuff I wrote above.
Yesterday, Terry and I were cleaning out some kitchen cupboards and making space for bridal shower and wedding presents we have received. Before anything new could go into the cupboards, some stuff had to come out of the cupboards. We're both in our early 30s, and we both love to cook. We've had a lot of time to accumulate kitchen stuff. We realized a few months ago (when I was finally convinced to create a wedding registry) that when we combine our belongings we have too many of some things and utterly lack other things. For example, I found seven can openers in our kitchen yesterday, but every time we bake we remember we don't own a cooling rack.
In the midst of all the cleaning and cataloging, I had occasion to think about another item we have in duplicate: tea pots. With the photos below, I'll explain why these duplicates are a pleasure to have and maybe how they tie into the ramblings above.
Two weekends ago, the folks from church gave us a shower. I was overwhelmed by the attendance at the shower, by the number of people who were thinking about us and helping us begin our marriage. These are the lovely teapot and sugar bowl we received from our registry. I washed them and placed them on this shelf. I can' wait to make tea for us and use these to serve it.
This is a Corningware teapot that Terry has had for a few years now. He stared collecting Corningware--specifically pieces with this blue flower pattern--because he remembered meals his mom cooked in similar dishes. His collection got a little out of control, and now we have so much of blue-flower-patterned Corningware that we had to pack some up until we have a larger kitchen. (We did not yet pack away the multiple 5-quart casseroles he and his mom are using to make lasagna for the rehearsal dinner. It's funny how things unexpectedly come in handy.) This teapot, however, gets used almost every day to warm the water for our tea. It can almost always be seen hanging out on the stovetop ready to make the next cups or next pot. (in this photo it was actually headed for the sink because it needed to be washed.)
This is a cast iron tea pot that I've had for a few years now. I picked it out specifically because it takes me a while to drink even a partial pot of tea when I'm drinking tea alone. The cast iron keeps tea hot for quite a while, but its heat-retaining properties are not so necessary now that I have someone to drink tea with me most of the time.
This is a tea set that belonged to my maternal grandmother. She passed it on to me a year or so before she died. I adored her, and she is the grandparent to whom I was closest. When my mom was a little girl, a friend of my grandmother's visited England and brought this set back as a gift for my grandmother. I've never seen anyone drink tea from it, but it had a prime spot in Mawmaw's china cabinet for many years where, if I remember correctly, it was surrounded by odds and ends of china patterns and a small collection of depression glass. I can't bring myself to make tea in it because I would have to disturb the cryptic handwritten note that she kept in the pot and (I assume) forgot to remove before she gave it to me.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Blue Like Jazz
My 2010 reading has been slowed a bit by last-minute wedding details, lots of grading that demands my attention, and one class that is decidedly not going well for either me or my students.
As I've been struggling with this derailing class, I've also been reading a wonderful book that was loaned to me by the minister who is going to marry us in a few weeks. It's called Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, and the author's name is Donald Miller. I've just finished it.
The author's note, which appears at the beginning of the book, introduces the text far better than I can. It reads:
I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man play the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.
After that I liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.
I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.
There are many things I appreciate about this book, but I'll mention just one. Miller tells a lot of stories from his life in the pages of this book, and he often sketches the connections between those incidents and the points he is trying to make. Other times, however, he merely tells the stories and nods in the direction of the conclusions that might be drawn.
I really like this writing style. I try to teach students in my writing classes to do this in their personal narrative assignments. Make sure you've written about something worthwhile, I tell them, but don't smack your readers over the head with the moral of your story. If you've told your story well, they'll figure it out.
my 2010 reading recap:
8. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
7. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
6. An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
As I've been struggling with this derailing class, I've also been reading a wonderful book that was loaned to me by the minister who is going to marry us in a few weeks. It's called Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality, and the author's name is Donald Miller. I've just finished it.
The author's note, which appears at the beginning of the book, introduces the text far better than I can. It reads:
I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But I was outside the Bagdad Theater in Portland one night when I saw a man play the saxophone. I stood there for fifteen minutes, and he never opened his eyes.
After that I liked jazz music.
Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.
I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened.
There are many things I appreciate about this book, but I'll mention just one. Miller tells a lot of stories from his life in the pages of this book, and he often sketches the connections between those incidents and the points he is trying to make. Other times, however, he merely tells the stories and nods in the direction of the conclusions that might be drawn.
I really like this writing style. I try to teach students in my writing classes to do this in their personal narrative assignments. Make sure you've written about something worthwhile, I tell them, but don't smack your readers over the head with the moral of your story. If you've told your story well, they'll figure it out.
my 2010 reading recap:
8. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller
7. The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
6. An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wedding Flowers
We ordered flowers for the big day.
We decided to bulk order garden roses from FiftyFlowers.com. We'll use garden roses in the bridal bouquet, in the mother corsages, and as centerpieces at the reception. We chose these Yves Piaget Peony Roses and ordered 12 dozen of them:
About two days before the wedding, we'll visit some local florists and choose the rest of the flowers we need--something from which to make boutonnieres as well as a different type of flower for each bridesmaid's bouquet.
I'm thinking all the ladies (including myself) will carry bouquets composed of a single type of flower. We'll use various shades of pink. Maybe Madison will carry Gerbera daisies, Elsie will carry spider mums, and Leigh will carry hyacinths. At least that's how I picture it in my mind. Who knows what we'll find when we go to buy these flowers? I like the potential spontaneity of it.
We decided to bulk order garden roses from FiftyFlowers.com. We'll use garden roses in the bridal bouquet, in the mother corsages, and as centerpieces at the reception. We chose these Yves Piaget Peony Roses and ordered 12 dozen of them:
About two days before the wedding, we'll visit some local florists and choose the rest of the flowers we need--something from which to make boutonnieres as well as a different type of flower for each bridesmaid's bouquet.
I'm thinking all the ladies (including myself) will carry bouquets composed of a single type of flower. We'll use various shades of pink. Maybe Madison will carry Gerbera daisies, Elsie will carry spider mums, and Leigh will carry hyacinths. At least that's how I picture it in my mind. Who knows what we'll find when we go to buy these flowers? I like the potential spontaneity of it.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
tags and table linens
Today I got the finished table runners and overlays from my mom. Here's a small sampling:
Pretty, huh? :-)
I also finished making the tags to attach to the favors.
I think they look rather nice.
Created by Wedding Favors
Pretty, huh? :-)
I also finished making the tags to attach to the favors.
I think they look rather nice.
Created by Wedding Favors
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Couple photos
I'd call them engagement photos, but I think we're way late for that. We did, however, need a recent photo for something wedding related. A very talented friend took some photos for us. Here's one of my faves:
Created by Wedding Favors
Created by Wedding Favors
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Wish Tree
I worked some very long hours last week so that I would have a mostly work-free weekend. Saturday became the day to work on a few wedding projects that have not been finished yet. One important unfinished project is the wish tree.
A wish tree is an alternative to the traditional guest book. At the beginning of the reception, the branches on the tree are bare. Guests write down wishes and advice for the newlyweds on little tags, and they hang those tags on the tree. The tags become the leaves of the tree, which should be in full bloom by the end of the reception.
Here are some of the wish tree photos that have inspired me:
Nice branches on this one.
Nicely decorated one with more nice branches.
Nice table setup and nicely decorated at the bottom of the tree.
Two-tree set up, which I think is a good idea. Not crazy about the sparkly-ness.
Not crazy about the crystals here either, but it is a beautifully done tree.
I really like the shape of the tags on that last one, so I found a template to make them out of card stock. I'm planing to use some greens and some neutrals. Here's the practice setup of the wish tree with one lonely green tag hanging on it:
I think I need to spread this into two containers and add some thing to decorate the tops of the vases/"roots" of the tree. I'm not sure yet what to use.
Created by Wedding Favors
A wish tree is an alternative to the traditional guest book. At the beginning of the reception, the branches on the tree are bare. Guests write down wishes and advice for the newlyweds on little tags, and they hang those tags on the tree. The tags become the leaves of the tree, which should be in full bloom by the end of the reception.
Here are some of the wish tree photos that have inspired me:
Nice branches on this one.
Nicely decorated one with more nice branches.
Nice table setup and nicely decorated at the bottom of the tree.
Two-tree set up, which I think is a good idea. Not crazy about the sparkly-ness.
Not crazy about the crystals here either, but it is a beautifully done tree.
I really like the shape of the tags on that last one, so I found a template to make them out of card stock. I'm planing to use some greens and some neutrals. Here's the practice setup of the wish tree with one lonely green tag hanging on it:
I think I need to spread this into two containers and add some thing to decorate the tops of the vases/"roots" of the tree. I'm not sure yet what to use.
Created by Wedding Favors
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
rediscovering the joy of reading
After my qualifying exams, I wasn't sure I'd ever read for pleasure again. The mere sight of books made me queasy for a few weeks after that. I declined several very nice offers of loaned books that friends and family assured me were excellent reads. Finally, with the help of some aimless bookstore browsing and some persistent digging through moving boxes for the one elusive box labeled "Unread Books," I eased my way back into reading.
I've always been fond of those challenges to read a certain number of books in a year, and I've often enjoyed watching friends track their books read. So I'll keep track of mine and see how many I can squeeze into a very busy year.
Here's what I've read so far in 2010:
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
It's Jane Austen meets J. K. Rowling. Utterly delightful but ultimately forgettable.
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
I'd read this before (and loved it), but I reread it before pursuing the rest of L'Engle's Time Quintet.
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
A good read that brings back familiar characters from Wrinkle. I much prefer L'Engle's good vs. evil battles and fantastical representation of Christian themes to C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, which is allegory so heavy-handed it sometimes threatens to squeeze all the life out of the story.
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
Book 3 in the series and possibly my favorite. I read and watch enough science fiction to feel pretty jaded about how time travel is treated in books and film, but L'Engle is distinctively different. I thoroughly enjoyed Charles Wallace's time traveling adventures with a unicorn guide.
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
Book 4 in the series and my other candidate for a favorite. This book follows two of the Murray children as they accidentally travel back in time to meet Noah and his family right around the time that Noah receives some specifications and starts building a largish boat.
6. An Acceptable Time
A pretty good read that makes me wonder just how many creative plot lines one author can devise. It also makes me want to look into the other books that L'Engle wrote featuring some of the same characters.
7. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Anyone who has talked to me in the past couple weeks has already heard about this nonfiction book. Pollan argues that plants have evolved to satisfy human desires. Being the sweetest apple, the handsomest tulip, or the most intoxicating cannabis plant confers evolutionary advantages, he argues, if it gets you noticed by humans who will plant your seeds or bulbs or graft you onto another plant. This text is chock full of fascinating information: ask me, for example, why prohibitionists chopped down apple tress or about how a virus made tulips more valuable than houses in sixteenth-century Holland.
I've always been fond of those challenges to read a certain number of books in a year, and I've often enjoyed watching friends track their books read. So I'll keep track of mine and see how many I can squeeze into a very busy year.
Here's what I've read so far in 2010:
1. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett
It's Jane Austen meets J. K. Rowling. Utterly delightful but ultimately forgettable.
2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
I'd read this before (and loved it), but I reread it before pursuing the rest of L'Engle's Time Quintet.
3. A Wind in the Door by Madeline L'Engle
A good read that brings back familiar characters from Wrinkle. I much prefer L'Engle's good vs. evil battles and fantastical representation of Christian themes to C. S. Lewis' Narnia series, which is allegory so heavy-handed it sometimes threatens to squeeze all the life out of the story.
4. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeline L'Engle
Book 3 in the series and possibly my favorite. I read and watch enough science fiction to feel pretty jaded about how time travel is treated in books and film, but L'Engle is distinctively different. I thoroughly enjoyed Charles Wallace's time traveling adventures with a unicorn guide.
5. Many Waters by Madeline L'Engle
Book 4 in the series and my other candidate for a favorite. This book follows two of the Murray children as they accidentally travel back in time to meet Noah and his family right around the time that Noah receives some specifications and starts building a largish boat.
6. An Acceptable Time
A pretty good read that makes me wonder just how many creative plot lines one author can devise. It also makes me want to look into the other books that L'Engle wrote featuring some of the same characters.
7. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Anyone who has talked to me in the past couple weeks has already heard about this nonfiction book. Pollan argues that plants have evolved to satisfy human desires. Being the sweetest apple, the handsomest tulip, or the most intoxicating cannabis plant confers evolutionary advantages, he argues, if it gets you noticed by humans who will plant your seeds or bulbs or graft you onto another plant. This text is chock full of fascinating information: ask me, for example, why prohibitionists chopped down apple tress or about how a virus made tulips more valuable than houses in sixteenth-century Holland.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Oodles of wedding goodies
This week has been overflowing with wedding excitement as various items arrived via UPS and USPS.
Back when we chose our save-the-dates, I showed Terry several options. He strongly preferred the cards and postcards with little round chicks. So we ordered them.
When the time came to order invitations, we were fully invested in the bird motif. So we chose a different but complimentary bird design. They arrived on Wednesday.
They look pretty good alongside the save-the-dates, and all the wedding stationery (happily yet accidentally) incorporates the wedding color scheme of pink and brown.
Today the UPS truck stopped out front and brought candy for favors and personalized napkins.
Here's a mock-up of what we plan to do with the favors:
The personalized napkins were a splurge, but at least they were on sale. I'm psyched about how the chocolate-on-ivory ones came out; the others are okay.
After all the goodies the UPS truck brought, I thought the excitement might be finished for today. Then I opened the mailbox and discovered that our handmade, custom order cake topper had finally made its way here from Australia. I was anxious about these little birdies because we had never seen them in person and had never even seen photos of the specific color we ordered. But they're absolutely wonderful! (The photos don't show all their wonderfulness but at least they give a sense of scale.)
Finally, late this afternoon, we went shopping for Terry's suit, which went quite well. He's going to look very handsome (as usual) on March 13.
We also learned this week that my dress has arrived at the store. I need to make a trip to Beaumont to pick it up. Terry's mom's dress came in, and she seems quite happy with it. My mom picks up her dress next week.
On Wednesday, we met with the day-of wedding coordinator who will keep things running smoothly at the church. With her guidance, we counted table cloths, vases, and steps in the sanctuary. After our adventures at the church, we made a trip to SAMS Club and purchased plates, cups, flatware, and bottled water. Wedding stuff is taking over a big corner of the living room.
Created by Wedding Favors
Back when we chose our save-the-dates, I showed Terry several options. He strongly preferred the cards and postcards with little round chicks. So we ordered them.
When the time came to order invitations, we were fully invested in the bird motif. So we chose a different but complimentary bird design. They arrived on Wednesday.
They look pretty good alongside the save-the-dates, and all the wedding stationery (happily yet accidentally) incorporates the wedding color scheme of pink and brown.
Today the UPS truck stopped out front and brought candy for favors and personalized napkins.
Here's a mock-up of what we plan to do with the favors:
The personalized napkins were a splurge, but at least they were on sale. I'm psyched about how the chocolate-on-ivory ones came out; the others are okay.
After all the goodies the UPS truck brought, I thought the excitement might be finished for today. Then I opened the mailbox and discovered that our handmade, custom order cake topper had finally made its way here from Australia. I was anxious about these little birdies because we had never seen them in person and had never even seen photos of the specific color we ordered. But they're absolutely wonderful! (The photos don't show all their wonderfulness but at least they give a sense of scale.)
Finally, late this afternoon, we went shopping for Terry's suit, which went quite well. He's going to look very handsome (as usual) on March 13.
We also learned this week that my dress has arrived at the store. I need to make a trip to Beaumont to pick it up. Terry's mom's dress came in, and she seems quite happy with it. My mom picks up her dress next week.
On Wednesday, we met with the day-of wedding coordinator who will keep things running smoothly at the church. With her guidance, we counted table cloths, vases, and steps in the sanctuary. After our adventures at the church, we made a trip to SAMS Club and purchased plates, cups, flatware, and bottled water. Wedding stuff is taking over a big corner of the living room.
Created by Wedding Favors
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
a weekend of wedding planning
This past weekend was filled to the brim with wedding planning, and it spilled over into Monday as well. We checked several tasks off our gargantuan to-do list.
Saturday: shopping for mother-of-the-groom and junior-bridesmaid dresses
At our very first stop (David's Bridal), we found a pretty dress for Terry's niece, Madison. She also picked out cute bright pink shoes to go with her dark brown dress. After a bit more searching, Terry's mom found a beautiful dress at Nordstrom. She's going to wear a dark wine color.
I enjoyed hanging out with some folks who are going to become my family soon, and I couldn't have navigated all over unfamiliar parts of Houston (including the Galleria) without a lot of help from my future-sister-in-law, Heather.
I'm very pleased so far that everyone is getting to choose styles, fabrics, and (when possible) hues they like for their attire. No matchy-matchy bridesmaids in this wedding.
Sunday: who knew table linens could be so complicated?
My mom has some skill with a sewing machine, so we asked her if she might like to make some runners or overlays for the tables at the reception. I'm so glad she liked this idea. We visited two fabric stores and chose several different prints to fit the pink and brown palette: dots, stripes, unexpected patterns.
Near the end of this shopping excursion, I had a mini-meltdown and panicked that all the different patterns were not going to work together. Maybe, I thought, I have taken this non-matching business too far. I'm striving for quirky or unexpected, but I have nightmares that something I plan will turn out to be tacky or silly.
Terry and Mom assured me it all looks good. Nevertheless, I spent a few more minutes stressing over how many tables we need to cover and the calculations involved in fitting table linens to various tables.
These are the moments that make we wonder how we went from planning a small (about 40 people) outdoor wedding to a large (about 200 people) church wedding.
Monday: from flowers to favors
Early Monday morning, I absentmindedly clicked a link on The Knot and found myself looking at a rather whimsical wedding favor: lollipops and rock candy tied together with a gold ribbon. I loved it! So I started scouring the web for bulk candy prices. I soon found that this particular favor would cost about $5 per person. Five dollars times two hundred people .... okay, that's a little bit outside the budget.
Terry and I intended to finalize our flower choices yesterday evening. I showed him the lollipop picture, and we picked out favors instead. Drawing on Terry's computer expertise--the sort of expertise that involves an interactive spreadsheet with formulas and functions I only partially understand--we eventually chose a visually appealing candy favor that fits into our modest budget. At one point I tied four dry erase markers together with a scrap of Christmas ribbon to study the possibilities.
Created by Wedding Favors
Saturday: shopping for mother-of-the-groom and junior-bridesmaid dresses
At our very first stop (David's Bridal), we found a pretty dress for Terry's niece, Madison. She also picked out cute bright pink shoes to go with her dark brown dress. After a bit more searching, Terry's mom found a beautiful dress at Nordstrom. She's going to wear a dark wine color.
I enjoyed hanging out with some folks who are going to become my family soon, and I couldn't have navigated all over unfamiliar parts of Houston (including the Galleria) without a lot of help from my future-sister-in-law, Heather.
I'm very pleased so far that everyone is getting to choose styles, fabrics, and (when possible) hues they like for their attire. No matchy-matchy bridesmaids in this wedding.
Sunday: who knew table linens could be so complicated?
My mom has some skill with a sewing machine, so we asked her if she might like to make some runners or overlays for the tables at the reception. I'm so glad she liked this idea. We visited two fabric stores and chose several different prints to fit the pink and brown palette: dots, stripes, unexpected patterns.
Near the end of this shopping excursion, I had a mini-meltdown and panicked that all the different patterns were not going to work together. Maybe, I thought, I have taken this non-matching business too far. I'm striving for quirky or unexpected, but I have nightmares that something I plan will turn out to be tacky or silly.
Terry and Mom assured me it all looks good. Nevertheless, I spent a few more minutes stressing over how many tables we need to cover and the calculations involved in fitting table linens to various tables.
These are the moments that make we wonder how we went from planning a small (about 40 people) outdoor wedding to a large (about 200 people) church wedding.
Monday: from flowers to favors
Early Monday morning, I absentmindedly clicked a link on The Knot and found myself looking at a rather whimsical wedding favor: lollipops and rock candy tied together with a gold ribbon. I loved it! So I started scouring the web for bulk candy prices. I soon found that this particular favor would cost about $5 per person. Five dollars times two hundred people .... okay, that's a little bit outside the budget.
Terry and I intended to finalize our flower choices yesterday evening. I showed him the lollipop picture, and we picked out favors instead. Drawing on Terry's computer expertise--the sort of expertise that involves an interactive spreadsheet with formulas and functions I only partially understand--we eventually chose a visually appealing candy favor that fits into our modest budget. At one point I tied four dry erase markers together with a scrap of Christmas ribbon to study the possibilities.
Created by Wedding Favors
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