Before Freja was born, I had this (admittedly crazy) idea that, upon the arrival of a new baby, I would swap out Bebop’s mobile for something else and use the mobile for the baby. Because mobiles are for babies, right?
Tag: Crafts
Rusty chairs to the rescue
I’ve been feeling the need to get my blog on lately, perhaps because I’m having a real life tale of expansion in a more drastic way than I’ve ever experienced before:
Eeeek!
In December, we did something unexpected.
Last time I checked, I thought marriage was something outdated and for other people.
And then I found myself in the middle of one!
And I didn’t really mind.
More photos here.
And, because I think there’s nothing wrong with taking a moment to pat myself on the back …
Here’s my parents’ wedding in 1975.
I cut my mom’s $10 flea market wedding dress in half, sewed an elastic into the new waistband, and layered it under my $3 Dress Code consignment find.
Voila! New wedding dress:
But my craftiness did not end there. I had not been planning on flowers, but my mom put her foot down. She said: Sarah, you’re going to look like a hobo walking through the woods on a regular day. You need flowers.
So, obviously, I had to make arrangements. But it was December in Massachusetts! I just could not bring myself to buy imported or dyed flowers. I went to the local craft store and picked up felt, pipe cleaners, and a hot glue gun. (It is not lost on me that all of those ingredients were probably imported and dyed also. Sigh.) I did some googling to get an idea of where to begin, and then I started cutting. Here’s where I ended up!
The gems in the flower centers are from broken bits of jewelry and spare buttons I found hanging around my apartment.
The boutonnière took a few tries, but I finally came up with something presentable enough.
Also worth noting, we had a hot chocolate toast mid-way through the ceremony. Inspired by Taza and the Mayans 🙂
Oh, and there was [a cup]cake:
Obviously, this elopement would not have been possible without our excellent Justice of the Peace, Gayle Smalley, discovered through the magic of yelp. And the beautiful photographic memories would not have been possible without Andrew Kelly Photography, discovered through many years of mutual friends and mutual weddings 🙂
Yay for marriage!
Cupcakery
I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween night in the city. New York’s streets get packed with drunk people in zombie masks, and I get scared!! I went to the Halloween Parade once so that I could cross it off my list, and I’ve never gone back. Most years, I’ve been able to avoid the mad scramble to pull a costume together. Last year, for example, Erin Gunn got married on Halloween. I had a ready-made costume in the form of my bridesmaid dress:
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelly.)
This year, however, the same Erin Gunn convinced me that I needed to attend a costume party, and I agreed in honor of her one-year wedding anniversary.
Obviously, I had to find a way to dress as a cupcake.
I found a pink fleece blanket at the dollar store and went to town with my sewing needle. The process, however, was not as smooth as anticipated.
I forged ahead, though, and I still have the needle pricks in my fingers to prove it!
The finished product was worth the pain:
Yayyy, I’m a cupcake!
Anyway, the appointed hour eventually arrived, and Erik and I hopped on a NJ Transit and rode it forevvvvvvvvvvver until we arrived in New Jersey’s farm country and at this beautiful house, appropriately festooned:
Where our impeccably attired hosts, Elena and Chris, were waiting:
(Photos courtesy of Andrew Kelly.)
Plus co-host, the corpse bride herself, aka Erin Gunn.
The hosting committee had done an outstanding job with decor:
(Erik was a bedbug victim, in case that’s not clear.)
The themed snacks were amaaaazing and brilliant:
Deviled eggs with olive spiders:
Cheese-ball pumpkins:
Puff-pastry fingers with onion fingernails:
Hot dogs with puff pastry and mustard:
Chicken cordon bleu balls:
Mini-quiches and spinach pie:
Shenanigans:
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelly.)
Beer pong:
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelly.)
Erin Gunn was on dessert duty, and she made pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing:
Pumpkin brownie squares:
And rice crispies franken-treats:
The cupcakes were delicious!
It is probably a good thing that I did not keep track of how many I ate:
I must say that this costume provided excellent camouflage for the expansion!
The night charged on. Someone unfortunately got trapped in the freezer:
Captain Kirk danced …
The rockers rocked …
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelly.)
Uncle Jesse collapsed in exhaustion …
And the cupcake had a sugar crash:
(Photo courtesy of Andrew Kelly.)
The built-in cushioning was very convenient!
In conclusion, I loved being a cupcake, and I wish I could be one every day. Life would be so comfortable … 😀
Was your Halloween costume comfortable or uncomfortable?
Tales of Expansion: Baby Butternut Edition 