First Mow of the Season!

Living Together

In terms of The Odd Couple, Billy is a Felix and I am an Oscar. How do we even exist in the same house? Patience, and lots and lots of love.

After I moved in with my grandparents, I experienced the kind of crazy freedom that results in a mad obsession with buying cheap things en masse, and then leaving those things on the floor. It doesn’t seem like an Ali-thing, and I never realized it fully, but I am not the cleanest person in the world. I am a shopaholic who only cares about the hoarding side of things. I love the organization of favored items, like categorizing my dresses or my nail polish, but that’s on a good day when I’m actually inspired. Billy is similar to me in insiration. We lack it in the house department, but he craves neatness more than I do. So we clash at times on that front. My clothes are still in piles, as they have been since I was in high school. But, umm, my sewing area is clean, and that’s good enough for me.

Spring is upon us, however, and I am itching to feel completely moved in now that we’ve renewed the lease on our house for a second year. That means putting away my clothes, and not just cleaning a small spot off my desk. It’s not about my random things anymore, it’s about us. And that means I should do some dishes, lol.

D.C.!

Christmas came and passed, and it’s been almost two months since. That doesn’t mean I still can’t post pictures! Here is a glimpse of our adventures. We had a lot of fun in Virginia, seeing my family and testing our brand new winter coats in the freezing cold (it was 19 degrees when we walked to see the National Xmas Tree one night!). Love winter further up north, but I wouldn’t mind celebrating the holiday season down here sometime. I should get back into the habit of updating this blog- a lot happens in our family! P.S. I used Poladroid for effects. Loves it.

Hmm… have we disappeared?

I see that I have not posted since September. Does that mean we have disappeared? Hopefully not, because we still have a lot of oatmeal to consume. Here’s a quick rundown about what’s been up in our family: Billy goes to work (and is a super worker!), Ali goes to work (and is a super worker!), and Dylan works on his fat butt. Friends have stopped by, and we’ve even made a trip back to Pensacola. We attended our first wedding together (congrats Robert and Kerri!). Our house is still standing, although piles of a certain someone’s clothes can cause ankle sprains quite often, and we’ve put up our Christmas tree and sent out our first Christmas family card. Billy and I celebrated our six-year dating anniversary on the 13th of this month by going to Ice! at Gaylord Palms (chilly!). Next week is Christmas, and we’ll be celebrating all the way up in Virginia,  and then bring the party back to Florida by Saturday. We’re also going to DC on a mini-trip for ourselves! Hopefully I’ll post more before the year is out, because 2008 has been awesome.

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Convention Show with OrderCounter.com

Last weekend, Billy and I were able to attend our second Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show in support of OrderCounter.com. The company’s booth set up was simply amazing, and I am sure it will only get better with each year. A lot of work goes into presenting during this three-day event, and those in the business get to see the newest and the best of what’s available out there.

To see our pictures from 2007 and 2008, click on the links below!

Florida Restuarant & Lodging Show 2007

Florida Restuarant & Lodging Show 2008

Albelli + Pink Shoes + Buffet Donuts

Albelli

The other week, I saw a deal on a free photo book with free shipping from a company called Albelli. The deal only worked for about a day, but I was able to get one book out of it. I made a photo book with pictures of Billy, Dylan, and I, and it finally arrived today. It is a small book, only about 5×7 inches, and a nice thing about it is the linen cover. The cloth cover was an awesome thing to get for free. The quality was all right, better than I expected since I used low quality pictures. This book will be added to the collection atop our coffee table, exposing some really vintage pictures from the last almost 6 years of our relationship (and meeting Dylan!).

Pink Shoes

I got a pair of awesome shoes on clearance at Dillard’s. They were $18, and I used a gift card for them. They remind me of Barbie. I wore them to Publix yesterday for date night. (Date night sooo consists of Publix trips.)

Buffet Donuts

I was trying to watch what I ate this week, but I threw that out the window when I got the hankering for something bad and found this recipe for Chinese buffet donuts. I love these things (top 2 buffet items: egg rolls and donuts), and when Thomas told me a long time ago that they were just biscuits, I did not believe him. He was right, though, and these are delicious and bad for you. They are so easy to make, needing only oil, sugar, and refrigerated biscuits. I ate too many. It took me a while to get the oil temp and cooking time just right, though, especially to cook the biscuit all the way through.

The Great Switcheroo!

I was a two-dress bride.

It was unexpected, it caused a lot of drama, and it cost a lot of money. I spent $630 on my dress, and Grandma spent a little over $400 on hers. In the end, I got my little bit of indie wedding and Grandma got her tradition, and I looked good both times. I hope that’s the last time I ever war with my own grandmother, tsk tsk. My own mother and father were wrangled in by Gma to talk me into getting a second dress just to make her happy. I felt like I was betraying myself when I got a second dress, but if you make Gma cry, you can’t help it!

Dress #1- Wai-Ching, White Yowying dress, ordered in November 2007

This was an awesome dress, made by a designer named Chrissy Wai-Ching in Seattle. It reminded me of the Filipino barongs and other formal wear, and I just had to have it. My favorite part: the beautiful train. Too bad it was bustled on the day of the wedding!!! No one ever got to see it! I was sooo much skinnier when I took this picture (February 2008).

Dress #2- Unknown maker, purchased at Renee’s Bridal, one month before the wedding

Gma worked at Renee’s for a while, and I was dragged here right before I left Pensacola with Brandi. This was the first dress I tried on. I asked for something simple, and Gma insisted there be something sparkly. I really liked the veil and tiara I tried on with it. I can’t deny it- the whole “feel-like-a-princess” thing kind of rocked. Apparently the dress gave me a waist. Brandi took this lovely picture.

So, how did the whole dress thing go down on our wedding day? Well, I wore BOTH! I knew I would freak people out (which I like doing) by wearing my first wedding dress before the ceremony WHILE riding with Billy on the way to the church. I loved that part. Everyone was confused as to why I was in plain sight, right next to Billy. I was going to wear that dress, gosh darn it. Even Billy was, like, “Aren’t we not supposed to see each other?” But some people knew I had a second dress, so it was somewhat all right to freak everyone out. I could tell that it wasn’t accepted by some, but whatevs. I got to freak people out! (I’ll keep saying that forever.)

I had my father transport the dress to the church while I was on the trolley with the wedding party. Billy and I took some family pictures before the ceremony, and then I disappeared until I had to walk down the aisle. I loved how I matched my family’s garb that day. I didn’t care that they were wearing a white-ish color along with me. I didn’t want to stand out, and we looked good.

My Aunt Emily, Uncle Dan, and little Eva Mae. Taken by Heather Ahrens.

Billy’s told me that one of his favorite wedding moments was seeing me in the second dress for the first time.  That was my “real bride” look- all white and pouffy, complete with a veil and such. He loved it so much, and I am so happy that he did. I think Brandi told me Billy would like the dress when I first got it, and she was right. BTW, my veil was made by Gma the morning of the wedding, from $5 of tulle purchased from Joann’s. Score! And, Gma remembered the rings but forgot my jewelry, so I was lucky enough to borrow a necklace from Reena. I didn’t have a Something Old, but I had a something New and a Something Borrowed. I forgot my Something Blue at home (cute blue bows Brandi had give me)!

I posted this picture because Mercedes, the one to the left in a hot pink dress, was shown crying right after she saw me. I didn’t know until her family pointed it out, and I was, like, “Awww!!! I love you, Merce!” Taken by Heather Ahrens.

In the end, I got to wear my indie dress AND green plaid heels. Grandma forced me into a second dress. Billy cried because of how hawt his wife was. And that is all. I have no idea where those dresses are now! (After we left the reception, I totally tore that thing off and left it in a huge pile on the guest bed. Tsk tsk. It was all really sweaty.)

P.S. Check out the short story The Great Switcheroo by Roald Dahl.

Us vs. The Storm Part 2 + More

The Storm

We ended up being effected by TS Faye last week after I wrote my last blog post. There was A LOT of rain, and we even lost power for an hour. Scary! Good thing we had lots of candles, but this made me think we should really be prepared next time around. That rain made me desperate for sunshine, but we braved it anyways to get some dinner at Chipotle! We got to don raincoats, and I wore my wellies.

The Jeans

Billy and I now own millions of pairs of jeans!!! Old Navy had a sale on Saturday for $12 adult jeans, and he got 4 pairs while I got 3. Awesome. Add that to the 2 pairs I got from American Eagle, and I have enough jeans to last a lifetime. And I never used to wear jeans! But, I have an extensive collection of graphic T’s, and I needed someway to wear them.

The Ped-Egg

I got a Ped-Egg from Bed Bath and Beyond on Monday using our gift card and a 20% off coupon. It was an interesting experience. My feet are smoother. My feet are groooooaaaaadddddddyyyy.

The Muffin Pan

I had a 40% off coupon to Joann’s, too, so I also got a king sized muffin pan. I’ve always wanted this, along with the Baker’s Edge pan (still looking for that). It worked well without the muffin wrappers, and it made 4 huge cupcakes. Yum.

The Haircut

I got my hair chopped off again. I tried getting my hair cut about two weeks after the wedding, but it was a horrible mistake. Now I pretty much look like I did four years ago. And I can grow it all back to the same style yet again.

I had the idea to get my haircut while on our honeymoon.

I got TWO haircuts, and it ended up with me cutting my bangs even shorter, making it only worse. I got a lot cut off, but it was still long. Worst haircuts in the world.

Forward to August, and this was my hair, with my bangs grown out and my hairstyle looking the same as the old times.

Then I got it cut off. Mwahahaha. 

A loooooooooooooooooooot got cut off.

The New Living Room

We got a new tv, and a new living room! Billy loves his new telly, and we got to pick out new carpet, coffee table, and tv stand for the front room living room. Also got some faux blooms for a vase on the tv stand. Office Max had a special on a $5.99 18×24 poster that usually costs $26, so Billy made me a version of the Keep Calm and Carry On poster for our living room. It looks swanky, and much cheaper than the original!

Us Vs. The Storm

Bracing the storm in our jackets.

Yesterday was Billy’s birthday! Happy birthday, husband! He turned 23, and fun was to be had by all. Ok, the real fun was cake and dinner and loving people. But that’s more awesome than a bouncy castle at this point (unless we had a bouncy castle… and then we’d never get off).

Yesterday was also our first “hurricane day!” All right, it wasn’t really a hurricane, but Tropical Storm Fay. And nothing really happened. Light rain all day until the night time, when it finally got heavy. It is a slow moving storm. Good thing it wasn’t horrible, because we weren’t ready for a hurricane! Billy got to work at home with Dylan at his feet. We got to have cake with Billy’s parents for lunch. Good day.

Westley + Ana: Europe Bound!

We were fortunate to have our dear friend Ana visit us in Orlando before she went all the way to Europe until January. To her, we entrusted our dear puppy-car-idol Westley to photograph on her travels a-la gnome in Amelie! To those who do not know, Westley originated from a McDonald’s Happy Meal maybe 4 years ago (he is the white dog pictured on top of the Happy Meal box in the link). He is part of The Dog collection they had, but we have no idea what kind of puppy he is supposed to represent. Ever since we got him and named him after Westley in The Princess Bride, he’s lived in Billy’s car and has been sort of our car idol and travel friend. Westley even survived Billy’s car crash of last year! Parting with him was hard, but Ana will treat him well and show him the world!!!

Westley is in Spain right now, and to keep up with their travels, please visit Ana’s travel blog!!! The link will also be posted in our blog roll. We wish we could be with you, but the posts will have to do instead. (In other news, Kyle comes home next week, and Brandi should be shipping off to Africa soon!!!)

Our First Dance

Photo by Heather Ahrens

I just opened my iTunes for the first time this month, and I clicked on the song we played for our first dance. Apparently, it had not been played since our wedding on May 24, 2008 at 6:23PM! I don’t want to play the song again because then I’d lose the datestamp! Eh, I’m a sucker. Finding a first dance song was a big deal to me throughout our wedding planning. Billy didn’t like listening to my choices, and dreams of an awesome dance didn’t quite go through. (We’re far from Fred and Ginger.)

Top First Dance Choices

*The Shining (Minataur Shock Mix) by Badly Drawn Boy (the first time Billy and I danced to this, it was so good, I cried)

*The Best of Me by The Starting Line

*You + Me Song by The Wannadies (song used in our engagement photo slideshow)

*Let It Be Me by Rosie Thomas

*Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan

*Falling Slowly by The Frames

*Such Great Heights by Iron and Wine

*Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley

*I Love You by Barenaked Ladies

*But You by Melanie Horsnell (song used in our wedding photo slideshow)

In the end, we chose Let It Be Me. Or rather, I chose it and Billy simply agreed 5 days before the wedding. And we ended up doing the classic sway dance, which was okay because we are pros at that, and we had no time to rehearse. Plus, Billy is a great spinner. It was a lovely song. I love that we have a standard as our wedding song because now we can hear it more often as done by other singers. I was at the Goodwill two weeks after our wedding when I heard in on the PA system. I was all smiles while looking through the skirt section.

Happy Bling-versary! (j/k)

We still wear these same clothes.

Yay! Today is the two year anniversary of our engagement! That’s not something we should be celebrating, and we’re not really, but I can’t believe it has been two whole years! Our engagement lasted 21 months, and while I had enough time to plan our wedding, I bet I could have been engaged forever because I kept changing my mind.

BTW, we have a new member of the family!!! Everyone, please meet Dylan Thomas Riggins. He’s our very own cute, crazy, smelly baby, who likes to put his poopy paws on my face and lick my nose.

Our Birdy-Themed Ceremony Programs

I had always wanted really cute booklet style programs. But… it was not meant to be. I ended up KISSing it- Keeping It Simple (Estupido!). I had a lot of DIY projects on my plate, but this was added nonetheless. While I spent many hours perfecting it, I really loved the final product. It ended up being longer than I wanted, being made of three sheets instead of the original plan of one, but I was able to include a lot of information and etcetera. The programs were simple, with the pages folded in half to keep it all together. It looked very nice to me, although some people were confused at my use of lower case letters, a design choice of my own. I love them so much.

I felt bad having to recycle my many extras in the end, but I was happy to have done them all by myself, with printing by the father of my lovely bridesmaid Jenna done just the day before the wedding! Visiting the printing shop was very interesting. The most exciting part was probably choosing the paper type. In the end, Brandi and I chose a paper that had a great feel to it and that was in-between the two colors we were considering to match the cream color of the invitations (… which I think I should blog about one day…). For the ink color, we just chose the darkest brown available. I was so lucky that Mr. Joyner was able to print our programs for us on such short notice (two days before the wedding!), and we got a hefty discount, which we were grateful for. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I used this template from a Weddingbee reader.

Here is my version of the program made in Microsoft Word: wedding-program

It looked like this at the church.

Photos by Heather Ahrens.

A hint of things to come…

Getting To The Church on Time (Kind Of)

None of us had ever had our makeup done. I had originally planned to DIY hair and makeup on the wedding day with everyone, but less than a month before the wedding, I made an appointment for us at the Dillard’s salon at my father’s request (surprisingly). I chose Dillard’s because I had gotten my hair done for my Aunt Emily’s wedding there in 2003, and it was the only place I knew of. I didn’t have a pre-trial there or anything, and I just hoped I would look okay in the end. Brandi was super-awesome and called in the appointment for me, actually. That’s how lame I am.

Krista did not join us that morning, but getting our hair and makeup done was an interesting experience for Brandi, Ana, Jenna, and myself. I was the only one who brought a reference picture, which turned out to be something different from what I had chosen before and saw only a few days before the wedding. It turned out to be a good choice, because it looked really good! It was an updo that I’d like to say was “business up front, and party in the back.” Awesome job, whoever my hair person was! I got my eyebrows waxed because I hadn’t done them in two weeks, and my only makeup request was that I looked “made up” with my glasses on. The makeup person was awesome as well! So, good experience with Dillard’s.

 

We met up with Krista and everyone else at the Fil-Am. I changed into my first wedding gown (that’s another blog post as well), took a few pictures with Billy, and then we headed off to the church in our awesome trolley!

Side story: Brandi, Jenna, Ana, and I hadn’t eaten all day. While we were waiting for Brandi’s makeup to be finished and after we picked up some Maltesers at the World Market (that’s another blog post), we stopped by Panera and picked up two sandwiches to share among us. I really wanted my sandwich, which I was going to share with Ana, but I never got around to it. I kept saying no, and was freaking out instead. So, here’s a picture of Ana eating the sandwich with Kyle. I really wish I got to eat that thing. I ended up eating only one plate of food that day, and I got sick from eating too much too quickly. It’s interesting that one of my largest regrets of the wedding is not eating enough, lol.

BTW, this is what some of us youngins looked like at my Aunt Emily’s wedding in October 2003. Aunt Emily and Uncle Brian got engaged a month after Billy and I met. Indulge us, and tell us we look better five years later.

The Cake

At first, we had wanted cheesecake. But then I wanted cupcakes. Then I wanted cake again. Then we wanted cheesecake. Then I found out that cupcakes were cheaper. So cupcakes it was. 

Cheesecake would have been fabulous, since it’s one of the few desserts Billy and I love together, but getting cheesecake to look like a wedding cake would have been the hardest part. And, slices of cheesecake are NOT cheap. Billy loved the look of a nice, traditional wedding cake, and while I did as well, I had a lot of pressure on me about the issue of cutting and dispersing the cake. Add in my worry of cost, and I made the decision of having cupcakes.

Choosing a baker was not something we cared about. Actually, I had Ana, Jenna, and Krista go out and try cupcakes for us when I wasn’t in town. I only thing I told them to find the best frosting (NOT the bleh waxy kind), which for some reason was important to me. That lead them to J’s Pastry Shop on 12th Ave, after searching through Pensacola’s grocery stores. J’s is a local favorite mainly known for their smiley face cookies and awesome sand castle beach-themed wedding cakes. I should have gotten a beach-themed cake- those looked so cool when I first saw them in high school. Ana became my contact with Katie the cake decorator, and Krista went along to the first meeting and paid my deposit. I am extremely grateful to have such amazing friends.

We originally ordered 150 cupcakes, 75 pink and 75 white, and a 1 lb. topper cake. I went with cupcakes and a top layer cake as a compromise between Billy and I. Billy wanted something that we could actually cut and save, as tradition goes. I wasn’t interested in tradition, but it was an easy thing to add in. Also, Billy didn’t want any flavors that were weird, so I just went with what sounded the most plain. The cupcakes were golden cupcake mix with buttercream icing in a “swirl” appearance. The layer cake was pound cake with buttercream in white (that later became pink). When I visited Pensacola in early for the final payment, I upped the amount of cupcakes to about 200 (since the cupcake holder could hold more than I expected) and added decoratations to the top layer cake. This changed the price from $124 to $165. Not too shabby!

Cupcakes are an interesting thing to deal with because they are a popular thing to do, but where do you get the stand? J’s didn’t have any, so I ordered the large sized holder on CupcakeTree.com. It was a great product for one use, although decorating it was kind of a pain because I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do with it for the longest time, it was easily beat up in multiple handlings, and it sagged during the reception due to the immense weight of the cupcakes (eek!). The sagging thing was something Heather mentioned when I first got to the Fil-Am… and I just had to let it go. It looked ok, hehe, especially with Grandma’s arch and candles around it. I decorated the stand with help from everyone, especially Ana who worked for an hour on gluing things on, with pink wrapping paper and vellum from Martha Stewart Crafts and brown ribbon from the Target wedding section.

Side story: The night before the wedding, Brandi and I spent the night at Ana’s house. That’s right, folks- instead of sleeping in a nice full size bed at my grandparents’ house, I slept on a fold-out couch in the Hernandez living room. Priceless. I loved it and hated it. The couch had a great plastic feel and sound to it. I bet Brandi loved it, too. I got to sleep at 3:30am, long after everyone had settled down, because I had not written my vows. I am a procrastinator to the extreme. But the vows thing is another blog post. We woke up at around 6am to get ready (… Brandi and I used Ana’s razor without asking her), and pop over to the bakery to pick up the cupcakes and then set them up at the Fil-Am before our 9:30am appointment at Dillard’s.

Ana at J’s around 8am on the wedding day.

My order on the counter waiting for me! It smelled sooooo good when we put the many boxes in the car. Oh, yum. (We didn’t eat breakfast that morning, so it was hard to deal with.)

This is what a sleep-depraved Ali looks like. I was soooo tired. I thought I wouldn’t make it through the day. Makeup did wonders, and I am surprised I smiled at all (seriously). I was pooped.

Jenna met up with us at the Fil-Am. Then we all hurried to put cupcakes on the cupcake tower. Billy and I had an issue over who would assemble the cake the day-of the wedding, and he said he wouldn’t pick it up for me beforehand. And he said he wouldn’t pick up the flowers as well. So, I had to pick up the cake, and Cecilia had to pick up the flowers. This was one of the situations that really made me mad during the wedding, besides Grandpa in the DJ booth vs. the world and etcetera. He could have really helped, especially with his groomsmen. I later found out that Billy got to sleep in and eat at Denny’s that morning. When I found out, and even now, I want to cry, because that really hurt. No bride and bridesmaids should have to set up cupcakes alone before going to their makeup appointments. *le sigh*

Anyways, the cake was a good idea. People, even though they prematurely started taking cupcakes from the cupcake tower during the reception, were able to get some cake easily. And the icing was so good it hurt your teeth and made you put it down until you waited ten seconds and picked it up again. I’ll post pro pictures of it soon.

Want to know the funny thing? I didn’t eat any cake at all.

Wedding Pictures: Ali’s Camera

Usually, I would be one to take pictures awkwardly from my own camera, but since it was my wedding day,  I kind of had to put that camera down and take up a bouquet. So, today, I will feature some pictures from my camera’s point of view in a series of posts that provide some insight into the day.

Being a Four Eyes is Rad. (Thanks, Zenni Optical!)

So, this is scary. It’s a news artical on how nonprescription glasses are now a popular fashion accessory. Hmm… wait… I thought no one liked glasses. Most everyone I know has moved on from their awkward teenage pairs to wearing contacts. I am the only one out of my friends (ok, group of six best friends that all need glasses) that still wears glasses. I wore my old, scratched-up pair at my wedding (although I really wanted contacts for a while beforehand). Surprisingly, though, Brandi and I were looking at the sunglasses section of Forever 21 the other week, and mixed in the selection were actual glasses (but nonprescription!). Why do that? Do people want to look like that? Apparently so. (Unless you’re Drew Carey, and you’ve had Lasik but are still expected to look like Dilbert!)

Here’s a picture of Brandi and I at the Forever 21, with chic Starbuck cups! The pair Brandi has on cost $5. Mine cost $10. Mine are cooler! (Eh, but they look pretty much the same.)

Buying prescription glasses is an expensive and time-consuming endeavor. I didn’t have insurance when I purchased my last pair in 2006, and it hurt knowing that the expense put a strain on my relationship with my father (and that, my friends, is how I broke down in an eyeglass store during Christmas 2005). When I did get around to buying a pair, I spent $300 and almost an hour in the JCPenny’s Optical store trying on glasses with Billy. He really disliked that, but the truth is, I cannot tell which frames look good on my because I cannot see. Trying on glasses with my glasses on as well is HARD. And I am never able to view properly in the mirrors provided. And Billy never wants to be “The-Chooser-of-Glasses-Frames” ever again.

Thomas mentioned that Crystal bought some glasses from this place online that was really cheap ($8!), and a few months later, I remembered this and decided to look into it. This was after the wedding, and while I had hoped to buy new frames or contacts beforehand, I never got around to it. I found Zenni Optical, and ordered three pairs for $35. They’ve got a lot of fun frames to choose from, including some awesome retro ones.

My retro pair from the first picture.

AND, my hawt husband in them as well.

My crazy pair (for some reason, I just had to have them). (Please ignore my eyebrows…)

AND, my first pair of sunglasses ever!!!! (I have always been jealous of people with sunglasses. My friends all have sunglasses, and wear them constantly like crazy people. Even indoors. I mean you, ANA. The biggest thing for me about Zenni is my newfound ability to wear sunglasses like everyone else instead of burning my eyeballs. And that is important when living in Florida.)

I was pleased with the quality of the frames, the nice price, and the fact that now I had pairs with CLEAR lenses (the lenses of my old pair were scratched badly due to my negligence). Naturally, I had to order 3 more, which cost $40. With shipping included, $75 is not bad for six pairs of glasses, including prescription sunglasses. It took about ten days after each order to receive them, but that’s not bad given the savings.

My pair of mad scientist glasses, which would make much better sunglasses than regular glasses. (Crazy pair #2. I feel like I can only wear these with a side ponytail and a silly face, that’s how crazy they are. I will not be wearing these around Billy unless I want to be made fun of.)

My first pair of aviators, which matches my current love of Reno 911!

And my pair of regular ole black frames.

There are a couple funny things about blog posts concerning Zenni Optical: most of them are sponsored and are written by Filipinas. Hehe, well, I am a Filipina, but this is not a sponsored post (it’d be cool to be paid, though!). I was satisfied by my orders from Zenni, and I hope this posts helps other people hoping to order from them as well. It’s always cool to see how frames look like on real people before buying them. I was fortunate to not have the issues some people have had, and I hope I never do. One day, I am totally re-ordering those mad scientist glasses as sunglasses. I also want a pair of white sunglasses with dark frames. If glasses do become a fashion accessory, I think I’ll gripe about it because of the people wearing them who don’t need them, but at least it’d be an accessory I could actually afford for once.

P.S. I think the side ponytail looks good on me from an angle.

Who doesn’t love Penelope Cruz??

I saw a picture of Penelope Cruz in my favorite BCBG applique dress that she wore in the upcoming movie Elegy (based on the novel of one from my favorite authors!). If I could have afforded it, it would have totally been the best dress for some random wedding related event.

Oooh, a package from Hong Kong! (An ArtsCow Review)

Anyways, I recently signed up for ArtsCow.com. They offered free prints, photo books, and other items for free to new members, but you have to pay shipping. Although I was weary of ordering something that had a high chance of being a dud, I only had to pay $16 for two photobooks during a print testing period for the company, so I gave it a chance. It’d have been better for a professional to do it (Heather showed us this awesome photo book at her house a few weeks ago, and it was SWEET, but would have taken all of our purchase budget!) since I am not so good with grouping photos, but it gave me something to do. It took a lot of work, and I did mess up (I’m only human), but the end result will be good enough to send to my mother. The picture quality was okay- I liked the matte finish, but a glossy finish would have been nice to make the colors really pop (and Billy would have liked it more). My favorite part is the back cover. I was happy that my books came out much better than other samples I had seen of previous orders.

Some of My Mistakes

Maybe I’ll buy more in the future, but for now, no. I have one copy to keep with my Shutterfly photo book that I made for our engagement photos/guest book (which was a hit at the wedding!). I like that these new books don’t have page numbers like the Shutterfly book, and the quality is similar in both. ArtsCow was cheaper, though! I haven’t tried their other products yet (I have no money!), but I can’t wait to try out their prints. I need to make brag books with removable photos for my grandmother so she can make copies. The only pictures she’ll be getting are of her grandchildren, lol.

Random note: I know I’m going to change in the future, but for now, “digi scappers” scare the world out of me. Regular scrapbooking is something I have tried in the past, but after the lackluster response from Billy and the immense expense in making one, I gave that up. The new kind of scrapbooking people are doing these days with their digital pictures and layouts are crazy (some of them are pretty good, too). Just wait until ten years from now when I have children. I’ll definitely be doing that in the future (but in a much cooler way).