Once Upon a Time...

Although nothing is official yet in terms of bridesmaids dresses, the style is still up for grabs. But, I've been spending quite a bit of time looking at swatches compared to the styles I tried on with MaidoH A and FSIL C, and I have a pretty decent direction we're moving in. I still want to try dresses with my other three lovely ladies, but that will have to wait until I get back to Iowa (and possibly down to Oklahoma, or get BM E up to Iowa at the same time).

Anyway, after seeing it pop on Facebook a number of times, I logged on to Weddington Way. If you are thinking you've got a color family you like, but want to see the options (with the understanding that digital is different, of course) then Weddington Way is a great resource. They allow you to browse dresses not just by blue, but by different categories of blue, then all the way down to specific colors by designers. Or, you can choose features of a style you like (i.e. short, one shoulder, and satin) and see what colors are available.

The other thing that was AMAZING, was getting one free swatch of ANY of the colors. And, because I was able to narrow down between colors I'd liked and the styles the girls had tried on, I was able to pinpoint Alfred Angelo's Once Upon a Time.

Here's the number one contender right now:

via Weddington Way

Adorable, right? I got the swatch in the mail, and it is (to me at least) a barely tiny bit greener blue/grey than the one you see above, which at least on my computer has purplish undertones. I was admiring the swatch, noting how pretty it was and how much I liked it, when it hit me.

I'd seen this color before.

Mr. Moose was not impressed

The swatch is a slightly more blue of pretty much our entire living room's decor. The paint on our walls, which was based off of the blue in the painting Mr. C's mom got for me after grad school graduation, the blanket and pillows I've had since college, you name it, I probably have it in that color. At least I'm consistent?

DIY: Necklace Holder

Ah, Pinterest. The source of so many projects that never leave the comfort of my excessively organized boards. Seriously guys, I have 126 boards to date, and I know that number will grow. Now, before you panic, let's look at cooking. I don't just have one "recipe" board. First, I've separated cooking and baking, because really they are two different things. Then, I've broken cooking down into categories.

Only some of my too many Pinterest boards

Here's a quick screen capture to give you an idea. Crazy, right? To be honest, I've been on leave from work for a month, so I've had some time on my hands. If I'm more honest, it was like this before I took the time off.

Anyway, back to the point. As much as I might pin WAY to many things, Pinterest is a great source of inspiration. I'm a visual thinker, so it really helps me to be able to see projects, instead of just making "to-do" lists that mostly get ignored. What I've done instead is create "to-do" boards focused around specific projects I want to complete. During my time off we've managed to crank out a couple, and I'll get to those, but today I wanted to show you my new necklace holder.

Inspiration struck with the following photo:

Via IHeart Organizing

 If you aren't familiar with the blog IHeart Organizing, I highly recommend you check it out. I've found some really interesting tips and tricks there! Although I actually have purchased the radiator grate, I decided my first priority was not my earrings by my necklaces. You see, all of my necklaces are currently hanging on an over-the-door rack that hangs on our closet door. Which would be fine if C didn't have to wake up an hour earlier than me. He tries to be sweet and shut the door so the closet light doesn't wake me up, but 3/4 of the time the noise of the necklaces bouncing on the door does.

So, back to the Pinterest board. Were there any good inspiration shots for necklace storage that was similar to the design above that I liked so much? Turns out, there were.

Via Crafty Clariangel

Via  Victoria Cassinova

Via Life Ann Style

Not only was the last one very close to what I was looking for, but it also came with instructions! The only real adaptation I made was to modify the colors and to add some knobs along the bottom. My bathroom has sort of a transferware theme to it, and so I've been trying to find some great blue and white accessories to add in.

Turns out I'm a bad blogger and didn't take photos throughout the process, but it was pretty easy.
1. Purchased supplies: frame (goodwill), white paint and sponge brushes (Michael's), blue and white knobs (Hobby Lobby), and white hooks (Kmart)
2. Painted frame white. It ended up with sort of a vintage-y look, which wasn't intentional but I think it worked pretty well.
3. Used C's drill to make holes for the knobs and hooks
4. Attached knobs and hooks
5. Realized the drill bit I used for the hooks was too big, so dug out some gorilla glue to make sure they stuck
6. Hung the whole thing on the bathroom wall, and added my necklaces.

Sorry for the poor quality, but here is the end result!

The whole corner, plus the shelves for my knickknacks. Note the goodwill candlestick bracelet/watch holders!

Voila! Not perfect, but for one of my first real "DIY" crafts, not too shabby! I have an oval frame that I'm planning to hang with ribbons across for clips and sunglasses, and I am also planning on converting my oatmeal container into a holder for my headbands, rather than using the towel rack.

What Is a Wife?

So far in the wedding planning process, I've been finding myself reading a lot. Those of you who know me aren't shocked by this. I was the girl who got detention in 6th grade for reading in my reading class. Yup. So naturally, I'd turn to a variety of books and blogs to help me navigate this process. What I've found is that, although it is nice knowing the seventeen ways to fold napkins to make your reception tables look nice, I am searching for what happens that next day.

One of my favorite blogs so far is called A Practical Wedding. I'd got a few of the posts that had popped onto my Pinterest feed, and was intrigued enough that I'm slowly working my way through her archives, from old to new. My favorite part, beyond the just utterly brilliant snark, the unwavering support for equality in marriage, and the sheer levelheadedness of it is the emphasis not so much on the one day as the living your life with another person from that day forward.

In the recent stretch that I've read, there have been a number of posts about defining "wife". What exactly does that mean? How defines it, and how? Sure, we've got the religious and legal definitions. But even those are sticky, as currently only 13 out of our 50 states have bothered to get their heads out of their bums and woken up to equal rights. And, I'm not really down with that whole subservience thing that I often feel gets pushed in the religious quadrent, at least the Catholic part I grew up in.

The other component of this, as Meg over at APW points out, is the often quick transfer of titles from wife to mother. And this is where it sometimes get sticky. Over at her blog, it became an unintended Mom duke fest between Stay at Homes who are happy with their choice and Go To Works who are also happy with their choice. You also had those groups on the sidelines watching it go down; the I Don't Want Kids Evers, the I Don't Want Kids Right Nows, the Maybe Maybe Nots, and the Been Trying But Cannots.

Right now, today at least, I don't necessarily have the answers. I'm going to keep reading the APW posts, because she seems to be in a similar mindset to myself. I'm also reading through the Iowa marriage law, and what legally at least it means. I also have a good friend, soon to be known as Pastor A, and I'll maybe see if I can chat with her about it some.

Mr. C and I during our first Valentine's Day together

To me, right now, being Mr. C's wife means that I will be on his team, no matter what. Everything I do from this point on isn't just about me, it is about our team. And that I can trust him to be on my team too. I know there's more to it than that, but for today at least that seems to be enough.