overload

It is hard to believe it is already Thursday and a new weekend is staring me in the face. I am still recovering from last weekend’s bender.

Not that kind of bender unfortunately.

It was a full-on jam-packed weekend starting with a rager of a baby shower. Balloons hanging from the rafters. Diaper cakes. Banners. Cookies. Games. Music. Like I said, a real rager!

Although baby showers are not in my wedding jurisdiction, I am really spending a lot of time at them. I think I am almost ready to take on the DIY diaper cake. From what I am told, you just need a ton of diapers and rubber bands. Roll ‘em up, group ‘em together and hide all of your mechanics with some ribbon. I think I can handle it.

I aspire to make one this stunning...

The shower was a display shower as all the trendy ones are these days. It makes sense for baby showers, right? Either the boxes are so big that wrapping them is a total waste of paper or the little outfits and things are so cute that you just want them out on display for everyone to peruse. Plus, everybody wants to be green. This particular display shower looked like Christmas for the kid’s first 3 years. They cleaned up!

The theme was “Celebrate the Peanut”. The whole peanut thing is picking up in the baby shower world. It ran full swing in every detail. I provided the centerpieces which were a traditional vase arrangement of cut flowers in the shower’s color scheme. But look closer. I told you peanuts were everywhere so I subtly incorporated actual shelled peanuts into the arrangements. Hopefully people noticed them and you can find them in this picture. I ate some too while arranging.  Maybe next time I will make arrangements full of chocolate...

Having not seen most of my relatives since Christmas, we kept the momentum going. I spent the majority of the weekend with various family members. We covered everything from who’s walking to who walked out and absurd Facebook statuses - one of our favorite topics. Come on, you know you do it too. I suppose I’m good until spring.

Or at least until the next shower anyway.

The weekend also included one of my Nearly-Famous DIY wedding invitation parties. Yes, I just dubbed it that. Does it have a nice ring to it?

One of my 2011 brides got her bridesmaids together so we could hand make the soon-to-be-released invitations. Sorry, no teasers here. I can tell that all 120 are finished, return-addressed and even have coordinating thank you’s. We only ran into one minor (nearly major) hiccup. All was solved and completed by sundown just in time for the super bowl. Let’s just say “the eagle has landed” and leave it at that.

Oh!  And I just might have found the local and inexpensive tailor that I have been searching for thanks to a referral from one mf my SILs.  Stay tuned!

Did Christina Aguilera really mess up the national anthem? I was too busy eating and rounding out the gossip. I found out on Monday who won.

-The perennial bridesmaid

vegas, STDs and babies

I took a bit of a sabbatical from all of the blogging to realize I missed ranting and raving about weddings and how I typically spend my weekends – at showers playing bridal bingo. Therefore, I am back and kicking off my return with a bang! 2011’s first bachelorette party is about to begin. Vegas. This weekend.

Can’t Wait!  (insert Bart Scott/Jets voice - google it if you don't know)

But as they say…what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas so you probably won’t hear much else about that trip.

I will have a big blog announcement coming soon though. Stay tuned my loyal readers…er, mom. Anyone else out there?

In the meantime, I have updated the wedding countdowns and, well, they never seem to end. We’re counting far into 2012 already. You should see my fridge. The save the dates continue to arrive. 

It seems that the 4x6 postcard style save the date has made a major comeback for 2011. Magnet save the dates are apparently so 2000 and late. I’ve got none.

Oh baby!

Baby? Yes they’re due to arrive daily in 2011.  It's evident that everyone is living happily ever after out there.  I’m attending so many showers; I’ve got to start wearing rain gear. Sorry. That was lame. Anyway, more stories to come on that front.  (Get it? Front?  I can't stop myself.)

And for the first time in my history as a bridesmaid, I am going to attempt to wear a bridesmaid dress again!  The challenge is to wear the dress long in March and then cut it and wear it short in May.  Can I pull it off?  I know the suspense is killing you but you'll have to wait and see!

For now, let’s hope my flight to luxurious 60 degree weather is not delayed due to more frigid snow.

-The perennial bridesmaid

it’s a wonderful life

With Christmas just 50 days away, I’ve started considering my holiday décor, drinking egg nog and watching my favorite old time Christmas movies. My number one choice is the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life”. “Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.” Totally my favorite quote from that movie. The message in the film is pretty awesome. An underlying theme seems to be that family and love manage to conquer all. The hard times pass and things always seems to get better. The flick is quite relatable to our current time period and economic state.

This week alone there has been so much good news in my world that I was reminded – it is a wonderful life!

Where to begin? Well, 2 baby boys were born to 2 near & dear friends of mine. All parties are healthy and happily celebrating their first born. While on the topic of babies, another special couple found out the gender of their baby on the way to everyone’s delight. And finally, another expecting couple went to settlement on their dream house this week.

Needless to say, I am thankful for an unlimited text plan because the announcements, updates, pictures and overall good news have been coming through like a rain shower.

Speaking of houses, I’ve identified my own dream house and the simple fact that it could actually be a reality at this point in my life. Fingers crossed.

In other spectacular news, one PopPop is recovering well from a triple bypass surgery he underwent last week. He shows off his scar loud and proud against my squeamish wishes. Additionally, another friend is pursuing his longtime dream of running the New York marathon this weekend. I’m thinking good thoughts as he approaches that milestone.  Two important people in my life continue to advance their careers as they both started new, dream jobs this week.  Sweet November!

And, because this is a wedding blog after all, one of my 2011 bride friends got the long awaited call that her wedding gown is in! Naturally, she can’t wait to try it on and imagine her dream wedding that is just months shy of reality.

Moral of the story is that this has been a week for dreams coming true all around me. I want to remember this one for a very long time. And maybe go out and celebrate too…

-The perennial bridesmaid

baby, baby

First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes the baby in the baby carriage

I took a break from the wedding circuit this weekend to attend back to back baby showers. Literally. Back to back. Just 2 hours apart.

So I learned that jungles are big for the 2010 tykes. Specifically monkeys. They were a feature on each baby’s registry. They had the whole jungle nursery thing going on. Cute.

I also learned a few new shower games. I don’t actually know baby shower games so maybe they’re not new at all but I suspected some originality that I am here to pass on to the world wide web.

Enjoy.

First, Make a Baby. Get your mind out of the gutter. This is a competitive game and grandmas were present. You take play-dough and make a baby. The Mama-to-be then judges the babies. Voila!

Baby Songs. Make a play list of songs that mention baby in them. Really this game could go on all day. Think about all of the baby songs you know. Anyway, make a short playlist. Have guests write down the name and artist of each song. The guest with the most correct guesses wins. And you’ve got yourself some background music for the party. Double voila!

I think you could easily transfer the Baby Song game to a Love Song game for a wedding shower. Make a playlist of songs mentioning love (which really are endless) and have guests record the song and artist throughout the shower.

Oh baby!

-The perennial bridesmaid

10,000 diapers

Whoa! My mailbox has shifted from wedding invitations to baby related invitations…christenings, showers, announcements & first birthdays. When did the weddings subside and make room for babies?

Oh wait, the weddings haven’t subsided! But babies are still quickly on the rise.

It appears that many of my 2008 brides are having 2010 babies. Makes sense, right? Two years of newlywed bliss equals one on the way.  The summer count is up to 3 fall babies, one already here and celebrating a baptism and a first birthday!

There’s only one problem for me besides fitting all of these events into my schedule.

Registries.

I’ve got the whole bridal registry thing down. I know how to navigate Macy’s, Crate & Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond. I know how to put a practical, yet coordinating bridal shower gift together all while saving 20%.

But now I’m stumped. These baby registries confuse the hell outta me. What goes with what? Is buying a nursing pump for someone too personal even if they did register for it? I know I would blush opening that gift in front of 30 of even my closest female friends and family.

One of my expecting friends mentioned that babies go through 10,000 diapers in their first year. I think I heard that correctly. 10,000? It seems obvious that the new parents could really use a gift of diapers. But really? Should I give a gift that I actually know will get shit on and tossed in the garbage? This is not like gifting crystal or flatware that will be cherished for years to come.

I need help.

-The perennial bridesmaid