The adventures of doing my own invitations...

Like many other brides and grooms to be, once Jman and I were engaged, we did a budget. Also like many couples who are engaged, we had the discussion "What's more important... spending money on the wedding or spending money on the house.." It was very important to Jman (and I) to stay on budget because anything over budget was cutting into our house fund and in our opinion, a nice house is more important than an extravagant wedding. So we went the DIY route for many of the wedding projects.

As Jman and I shopped around for wedding invitations, we went to a few places that did invitations like hallmark and we also looked online. These places cost out the A** for cute invitations. So we were faced with the decision, DIY or go over budget. Once that decision was made, we also had to make the decision computer or gocco. Now before I tell you what we decided.. let me rewind about 8 months.

My very crafty sister (and maid of honor) also decided to do her invitations. She had done a lot of research and brought a "Gocoo" Machine. This is how it works: "The system works using flash bulbs, a carbon-based image or photocopy and an emulsion-coated screen. When the bulbs are manually flashed, the carbon in the drawing or photocopy burns the screen into a stencil. Several colors of Ink can then be applied at one time and multiples can be stamped out, as many as 100 before re-inking is needed." (See savegocco.com for more information). So we stamped out all of my sister's invites. (and in true little sister fashion.. i swore up and down that I would never do this for my invitations because it was way to much work).

So anyway..long story short... the Gocoo Machine was the way to go. Here is the rest of the story in pictures...

Day 1: Stamping Envelopes.. Estimated time.. 4 hours

Day 2: Invitations and response cards.. Estimated time..8 hours

Crafty sister helped stamp ALL day

 Day 3: Calligraphy and Stuffing and Stamping...

Kitty tried to help...but proved useless..

A few beers helped keep us on task.. 

My very talented future husband took on the job of the calligrapher.. He did an AWESOME job... (much better than I could ever do). 

All finished and ready to go out the next morning!!

You can't tell from this picture.. but this is the driveway covered with ice... not letting us get out to take the invites to the post office!! (OH NO!!)

Luckily, my crafty sister/maid of honor was here to save the day!! We walked the invites to the bottom of the drive way where she picked them up and took them to the post office for us!! YAY

I learned a few things from this experience.. 

    1. What you save in money you will spend in time.. Overall, I would say we spent 16 hours doing these invitations (just to save $200). 

    2. If you are not a crafty person (like I am not) you have to over compensate with patience (also an area I lack). 

    3. You can't do everything by yourself. Thank God I have great people in my life to help me and support me..especially my lovely fiancé, crafty sister and patient mother. 

Would I "DIY" my wedding invites if I could go back in time? Yes I would still have made the same decision. Why? Because my invites are original, different and I LOVE THEM!! 

Would I recommend others to DIY? Only if you have a crafty sister.. 

2011 in Review

Whelp, that year went by fast! I have to say that 2011 was a great year for me. I am truly thankful for everything that I have been blessed with. 2011 brought no major catastrophes, health to myself and to my family and enough to live comfortably. Here is my year in review:
  In January, I got engaged to the love of my life. We have planned, saved, talked, debated, argued, felt happy/sad/excited/tired and overall I could't ask for a more relaxing year for organizing a wedding. Was it completely drama free? no, unfortunately not.. but when talking to other brides, watching the wedding channel and reading blogs I feel great about how things are turning out.
  In June, I finished my first year of teaching in Maryland (second full year all together) and in August I started another year of teaching at the same school! It is really nice to already know everyone you are working with, to know where the copier is, how to log into the computer, where your classroom is..etc. On most days, I am happy with the school that I am at. I have been given more responsibilities and leadership at the school and although it is kinda scary to be in charge of things (like a whole committee), I am learning new things every day. I love the science department at the school and generally enjoy all my coworkers (and that in itself is a pretty big deal!..how many people can say they enjoy everyone they work with?)
  In August, I participated in my first triathlon with Team in Training and in November I signed up to participate again this next summer! Unfortunately, I completely fell out of shape and gained a lot of the weight that I lost back. With the wedding only 3 months away, I definitely have some motivation for getting back out there and running again.

This reminds me of my very fat cat. 

Now for 2012! I have decided not to make a resolution this year because I have my 101 things in a 1001 days to work on but there are a few things to look forward to..
Besides the wedding and another tri, Jman and I have been saving as much money as possible so that we can finally move out of the basement and into our very own house!

Happy New Year everyone!!

10 Day Challenge: Day 10!!!!

Day 10: One Picture of ME!

This is a tough one. I have thousands of pictures of me with other people but not so many of just me. Furthermore, how do I pick the one that portrays me just perfectly? 

So after many minutes of looking through all of my pictures I picked this one...

This is me after finishing my first Triathlon with Team in Training. When I crossed the finish line I was overwhelmed with emotion. Happy that it was over. Proud that I had accomplished a triathlon. Is this the prettiest picture of me? Absolutely not! I was sweaty, tired, and sore but I thought about who I was doing the race for which made sweaty, tired and sore completely worth it. All the children and adults who are plagued with Leukemia and other blood diseases go through more than I could ever imagine. They are true heroes. 

I just signed up for another Tri Season with TNT!! Can't wait to start training again. 

10 Day Challenge: Day 9

Day 9: Two Songs

Number 2: Time by Pink Floyd

Definitely a classic. The words are just so ingenious. Too bad the lyrics are not "lovey" other wise it would be our first day song. 

"Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."

Number 1: Good Day Sunshine by The Beatles

Every time I hear this song it makes me smile. This is my "I am having a horrible day I need something to make me happy song" and it is also my "it is a beautiful day out and life is good" song. 

"Good day sunshine.
And then we lie, beneath a shady tree,
I love her and she's loving me.
She feels good, she knows she's looking fine.
I'm so proud to know that she is mine"

10 Day Challenge: Day 9

Day 9: Two Songs

Number 2: Pink Floyd- Time

Definitely a classic. The words are just so ingenious. Too bad the lyrics are not "lovey" other wise it would be our first day song. 

"Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."

Number 1: Good Day Sunshine. 

Every time I hear this song it makes me smile. This is my "I am having a horrible day I need something to make me happy song" and it is also my "it is a beautiful day out and life is good" song. 

"Good day sunshine.
And then we lie, beneath a shady tree,
I love her and she's loving me.
She feels good, she knows she's looking fine.
I'm so proud to know that she is mine"

10 Day Challenge: Day 8

Day 8: Favorite Movies

I am not a big movie person at all so Day 8 is a little bit difficult. 

Number 3: Sweet Home Alabama 

"What do you want to be married to me for, Anyhow?"  "So I can kiss you anytime I want"

Number 2: Finding Nemo
"Just keep Swimminggg Just Keep Swimminngg"

Number 1: Love Actually
"If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around"

10 Day Challenge: Day 7

I have to admit coming up with 5 foods is WAY easier than coming up with four books. I also have to admit that I am notorious for starting books and never finishing them (oops). So here they are 4 books that I have finished and enjoyed reading. 

Number 4: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares 

I enjoyed these books because all of my best friends and I read the books together. We each would read the book and pass it on to the next person. We loved the series so much in high school that we made our own sleep pants when we all went off to college. 

Number 3: Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger
This was my favorite book we read in high school. For some reason I just connected with the theme of saving innocence. In the book, the main character, Holden, wants to save children from the corruptness of adulthood. I have re-read the book several times since high school and still love it.

Number 2: Something Borrowed By Emily Griffin
I like girly books. This was a good one!

Number 1: Decision Points By George Bush
I am in the middle of this book and so far it has been amazing. President Bush highlights all of the important decisions he made while in office and why he made those decisions. I love knowing why he did what he did and it often clarifies or corrects things that he did that were mis-communicated through the media.