How-To: Pick a Bridesmaid's Dress (A Comedic Commentary)

Greetings, All!

Right now, E and I are on a "girl date" while my brother and his friend are on a "man date."

Our girl date tonight.... well, EVERY night that it's possible, consists of:
Pretzels, ice cream, and the wedding dress show.

Oh my.

I do love the wedding dress show.
However, I try to limit my intake of it to when I'm with E-Mac.
She's planning her wedding to my awesome brother.

He's so cool!
And he makes me laugh.
All the time.

So today's post is dedicated to E-Mac and Sean.

Just like Say Yes To The Dress: Bridesmaids, E-Mac had to go through quite a few dresses before she found the dress that she envisioned for their wedding.

The following is our commentary on "How to Pick a Bridesmaid's Dress."
E-Mac's thoughts are in italics, and mine are...not.

Step 1: Pick a color.

"I really like this petal pink."


Step 2: Find a dress.

"I really like this dress. Really. But look..."

"...I really don't like that price tag. Whoa. We can do better than that."

Step 3: Find a dress. For a person on a "normal" budget.
Three online stores later, no dresses for people on a "normal" budget.


Step 4: Start to think outside the box.
Step 5: Hit the mall and go to every store that sells dresses.

                

Hold on to your hats, folks. Here come the dresses!

"I like it.... but not the color. That's really the only color it comes in?"

What about a short dress?

"Cute. Too casual."

"It's nice, and I like that mint green, but it's not the original color I wanted."

Okay.

Pink.

Pink.

Pink.


Must keep the vision in mind:

Step 6: Shake it off. Remind yourself you can do it.
Remember the vision.
Focus.
Eat an Auntie Anne's pretzel and press onward.

Next!

Let's get creative... What about a high-low dress?

"Nah. Too young."

Next!

"I like it, but it doesn't come in all the sizes we need! But I like that minty green...."

Ah-ha! Mint green!

What about mint green? 

"MINT GREEN AND PINK!"

Step 1: Find a color. Which dresses also come in minty green?

"too floofy."
Floofy.

Next!

"Cute, but I'm unsure about the spaghetti straps."

Next!

"They say that this comes with ivory lace instead of black, but there's no picture. Can't do it."

Next!

"Oh my goodness this is epic!... Wait. How much is it?"

Oh no.

Step 2: Go home and cry.

Step 3: Accept defeat.

Go get ice cream.

Ice cream makes it better.

Step 4: Go online and look at all of the dresses you already looked at... all over again.

Step 5: Decide on the mint dress that you tried on the first time you went dress shopping:

"Who wears a headdress to Prom, anyway??"

Step 6: Attempt to order said dresses in 4 different sizes. 

Step 7: Realize that the dresses were from the clearance rack and the sizes aren't available online anymore. 

Even though it says right there that they are.

Step 8: Cry some more. More ice cream helps, too. 

Step 9: Accept defeat and go to the store to return the two dresses that you already bought. 

Wear black.

You're mourning. 

Step 10: Feel ambitious and try to find out if there's a way to "find" more dresses in the sizes you need from other stores.

Step 11: Cry more when the associate you talk to has laryngitis and can't really talk.

"That actually happened."

Step 12: Get a receipt that lists every Macy's in the country that has the dress in stock.

Proceed to call every store.

Get put on hold for an hour before getting to speak with a representative. 

Cry.

More ice cream.

"We live way too close to Nicky Doodles."

Step 13: Find the final dress in Texas. 

Good 'ol Texas!

Success! 

After about two weeks of heartache, a dress was located and bought. Hallelujah!

A preview to next week's how-to: How to choose what color the groom will wear. 

Step 1: "Refer to the cutest childhood photo you can find!"

(Aren't we adorable?)

That's right folks! He's wearing pink.

Wow.

That was easy.

If only the bridesmaid's dresses were that easy.

Love,

Shelbylicious

SL

This week's post was brought to you by: 

Mama B's petunias! As well as daisies and Queen Anne's Lace, which are both in bloom now. I'll share some fun tips for flowers next week! Stay tuned!

"Here I Raise My Ebenezer" (For the Graduates)

Well...

It's that time of year again!


The sun is shining, the birds are chirping...

...and school's out for summer!

Graduation is tomorrow for many high school Seniors, and this year's 'crop' is near and dear to my heart. Some I've known since before they entered high school, and some I've known for only a few short years. Regardless of that, they've been in my prayers a lot this week, and I'd be remiss if I didn't share what is on my heart.


But first... what's behind door #1? A trip down Memory Lane!

RFA Graduation 2010

Anywho! Here we go.

You're probably wondering why I used the name Ebenezer in the title of this post.



And if you didn't see that before, you saw it now and are definitely picturing Ebenezer Scrooge in your head.

Didn't picture him like that? How about like this?

Or maybe like this?

You're welcome.

But I'm not here to talk about Ebenezer Scrooge....


We used to sing this song in my church at 'Cuse that had one particular line...It always made me giggle: "Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I've come." No matter what I did, I never could take the song seriously because I was always picturing someone taking Ebenezer Scrooge and holding him up like this:

Well, it turns out there's another meaning for the word 'Ebenezer' in this song. The word 'Ebenezer' in Hebrew translates to "stone of help."It's mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible...

"Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12

When Samuel and the Israelites defeated their enemies, I imagine it being an amazing moment. Samuel decided to comemmorate this awesome, defining moment by putting a stone to mark the spot of the battle.

But this stone would serve as more than just a reminder of the battle that had taken place: it would serve as a public acknowledgement of the Lord's provision in their time of need. 

"He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

By making this Ebenezer stone, the Israelites were able to stop and examine their surroundings. "Thus far the Lord has helped us"- Look how far God has taken us when we trusted in Him. Look at all the little ways He in His goodness has provided for us. In the same token, if God has brought us this far, imagine how far He can take us if we trust in Him!

I'm sure you can look back at your life and see a series of "Ebenezer" stones in the desert- poignant moments of reflection and assurance of God's love, provision and guidance.
Many of you will graduate Saturday, and I'd like to encourage you to take advantage of that wonderful experience. Have an 'Ebenezer' moment, if you will. Look back at the last several years and see how God's hand has provided for you. Look at how far He's brought you. Thank Him for how He has helped you "thus far" and rejoice over where He will bring you to if you commit your ways to Him. Surely you will do wonderful things! How do I know?

"Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

To all of the graduates- I'm praying for you! May God continue to bless you as you seek His plan for your future!


Love,
SL

Ginormous Poster Prints (Thrifty Wall Art Series: #2)

It's not a rare occasion for me to find something cool on Pinterest.

cute, but impractical deer.

It's also not rare for me to want to try and re-create something that I've pinned on Pinterest.

However, it is rare for me to find something, especially a craft, that when recreated actually works. 

(...and I'll give you a clue: that deer is not it!)

Credit to Sugar Bee Crafts

This craft is a gem! I pinned it immediately because I was in shock.

The caption from the original post said it all-
"...$13 (that's $8 for the print, and another $5 worth of an $11 foam board because you won't need to use the whole board...)"

How can that be? $13 for a GIANT picture? I'm in!

As a college student, I'm all about finding an inexpensive way to decorate my room with cool things.

swanky peacock feather/willow branch bunch in my room!

It's even better when these things are compact and can be folded or rolled...


...Or when they're so inexpensive that you don't mind tossing them at the end of the year and starting again the next year.


So how do you go about making one of these snazzy larger-than-life poster prints?

Assemble your materials.

You'll need:

- 1 picture file, preferably a picture you don't mind being giant!
- 1 flash drive
- a backup picture in case the first one you picked doesn't work.


Finding a picture that will work for this project is kind of tricky. Luckily, I have a roommate with incredible photography skills. She was more than happy to provide me with a picture to use for my project. Here are some tips for choosing the right picture:

- It should be as big of a picture file possible
- It should already be a black and white photo
- It should be the highest quality possible... remember, it's going to be HUGE!
- If this is your first time trying it, I wouldn't do any faces. Do an image that can be a little fuzzy and still look ok.
- If you are savvy with computers, format the image to be the exact size of the poster that you want, so there won't be any surprises at the store.... It would be sad if it came out all stretched out!


Step 1:

Find the correct photo.

Puppy!..... Nope.

Too 'busy.' Try again.

 Nope... cute, but the image quality isn't there.

Plus, isn't it supposed to be black and white?

Try again.

Nope. Not that kind of black and white. Though that was clever...

...or this kind of black and white.

Must find something a little "bigger".... And remember that time I said to use something like a flower if possible?

Pretty close... now just find one that's black and white!

Ah-HA! There it is! It's high contrast black and white, it's big, and has detail but not too much detail.


This wasn't my photo, by the way. This was my lovely-and talented roommate Jenny's photo. All of the credit goes to her!

She is a truly gifted photographer. You should really check out her work at her website.
She's in Colorado right now, climbing mountains, and I'm sure taking amazing pictures along the way. I miss you, man!

Step 2:

Once you've found the picture you want, it's now time to locate your flash drive.

If you're me, that's usually a problem. I'm a music major.... we don't usually have to actually utilize technology for our classes, unfortunately.

Once you've located that flash drive from a dusty corner of your room, load the picture onto it.

Step 3:

Check to make sure the picture actually loaded onto the flash drive. Do this by sticking it back into your computer (or better yet, someone else's computer) once the picture's already loaded. That will ensure there's no heartbreak once you get to the store.

Please.


Learn from my mistakes.


There are few sadder things than having the store employee say these fateful words... "I'm sorry, miss, I didn't see any picture files on this flash drive."


Check first. Save yourself the time, gas and heartache!


Step 4: 

Head over to your local office supply/printing store. I'm using Staples for all of the following pictures, because Staples is what I use in Rome.

Because that's the only place to go in Rome.

Step 5:

Find the Copy & Print Center. Ask the person at the counter for Engineering Prints.

Here's the deal with Engineering prints: they're a cheap way for an engineer to get a big, black and white line drawing of what they're building.


they come in 3 sizes, and have 3 different prices:

18"x24" - $1.79

24"x36"- $3.59

and 36"x48"- $7.29

Now, let's think about this for a second. Before you go doing what I almost did, consider 1) the size of the wall you have to work with, 2) and how big you REALLY want your picture. The photo of Nate staring at the camera blown up to 36"x48" might be a little creepy staring at you while you eat your dinner.

It's easy to be so stunned by the price that you say "go big or go home! Let's go 36x48!" But realize...


That's GINORMOUS. Imagine if that picture of Nate's face was blown up to 36x48 and sitting on the wall in the dining room?

That'd bring the concept of "begging" to a whole new level.

Step 6:  

Ask for Engineering Prints and hand them the USB port with the picture on it. Be confident! 

Why? 

Because their next sentence will most likely be this: "We don't usually do this because the Engineering Prints aren't exactly photo quality.

Be confident. Tell them, "Don't worry about it! I know that, could you pretty please try it anyway?"

If you get someone who's not feeling adventurous, they might refuse. But, if you find the right person, they'll go ahead and do it for you. 

Step 7:

Start praying.

Sometimes the picture refuses to print, sometimes the printers are broken, and sometimes the printers freeze in the middle.

Oh, technology.

It's really quite the "perfect storm" of events that need to take place for you to be able to walk out with a print...

But it's SO worth it!

Mine came out great. I decided to change the orientation of it and make it a landscape photo, with the middle orchid blossom being the star of the show.

But I couldn't leave it black and white, could I?

I added some color!

How did I do that, you ask?

My friends Katy, Michelle and I sat down with a container of watercolors and some watercolor pencils and went to town!

Watercolors are very cool. The pencils are even cooler. They're expensive, though, so the regular ol' thing will do just fine. A little watercolors go a long way. (I got my little palette of them at Hobby Lobby in the clearance aisle for just a couple of bucks!)

Oh, and just so you can have a size reference, here's me with my printed poster.

It's pretty big... 24"x36"!

I hope you try this... let me know if you do and if you have any success!

Best wishes for a wonderful week!

Blessings, 

SL

....This week's post was brought to you by:

...Beautiful antique peonies! :)