They Say It's My Birthday

So I feel a bit odd posting to tell you that it is my birthday... But it is. I was born on Labor Day and every few years my birthday falls on Labor Day again. It is awesome. This birthday weekend has been loads of fun. I can't wait to post on it later this week. For now I hope everyone enjoys a great Labor Day.

Happy Birthday, Miss Eliza

Today is a very special day, indeed!

It is this girl's birthday!

I know not everyone feels this way, but for me, pets are members of the family.  Eliza is nine years old today and I am so glad that she lives here with me in D.C.  

She is the best friend a girl could ask for and she loves me no matter what- even if I lose my patience with her or have had a terrible day.  

I know she can't read, but I have to recognize her birthday on this blog anyway!  

Happy Birthday Liza-loo! 

4 Dresses and Counting...

Is anyone else out there a fan of Say Yes to the Dress on TLC? I am a big fan! When there is a marathon- that's golden to me!  If you are unfamiliar, the show follows brides on their quests to find the perfect dress.

Well, now, TLC has introduced Say Yes to the Dress: Bridesmaids. 

HELLO: Genius.  What took them so long to branch out in this direction? 

Source

This new show basically follows brides as they and their bridesmaids look for bridesmaid's dresses.  It is endlessly entertaining.  The brides are hyped up on hormones. The bridesmaids are pretty bitchy.  The dresses range from pretty to no-way-in-hell-I-am-putting-that-thing-on. It is awesome. 

I've now seen 4 episodes {#sorryimnotsorry} and they've got me thinking.

So far, I've purchased three bridesmaids dresses, and I recently found out that I will soon be the owner of a fourth.  (One of my longest-known friends, Rebecca, just got engaged.) So far: one black full-length gown, one bright pink short silk taffeta number, and one pale pink never-worn-cause-there-was-no-wedding dress.

Now, before I get into this, I want to say that being in someone's wedding is an honor- it really is.  Even my overly-cynical self can recognize that. You get to spend the day with one of your closest friends (or let's face it, your hardly known soon-to-be sister-in-law) and be by her side as she gets ready for what is sure to big one of the biggest days of her life.  Then you get to party afterwords.  Its a pretty fun time.  

But sometimes, yall. The dress. The DRESS.

Sometimes, the dress is bad.

Luckily, I've yet to be subjected to a 27 Dresses type dress.

Source

And truth be told, none of the dresses that I've worn have been bad at all, although I would say that the two pink ones definitely were not my "style"- I am just not a pink dress girl.  But I also have not ever worn one of them again.  

The bridesmaids on Say Yes to the Dress have been awfully vocal about what they do or do not want to wear.  And usually it ends up hurting the bride's feelings.  Well I am here to say, I am on the bridesmaids' side! I am!  If you are shelling out at least $100 for a dress (likely more) I think you get an opinion on it.  There. I said it.  Now, if the bride is paying for the dress, then I think you have to shut up and wear a bright orange tulle ball gown if she wants you to.  But usually, the bridesmaid is paying.  It is understood when you are asked to be a bridesmaid. And let's face it, saying "no" to that is kind of difficult to do.  I would also like to point out that the dress is often just the beginning of the wedding-associated costs for a bridesmaid.  There are also other big-ticket expenses including: travel, shoes, wedding gifts, and traveling to/ hosting pre-wedding events.

I do have to say, the bridesmaids on Say Yes to the Dress have been mean about their opinions- I definitely think there are ways to politely suggest an alternative if you dislike the style the bride is leaning towards.  And the girls on that show are not polite.  But that said, I think you can still express an opinion.  For the record, I thought my friend Elise was very judicious when she decided on dresses for her bridesmaids.  There were nine girls in her party, and we got to choose one of three dress styles for the wedding.  My dress was only $99.  That, I can totally live with. Even if I don't wear the dress again, I won't feel like I threw away my money.  I also got to pick the style that was most comfortable and flattering to me- that is a big WIN in my opinion.  

So, what do you think?  Do the bridesmaids get to voice their opinions? Or, like the manager on the show says, should they just "shut up and pay up?"

Guest Post: Kitchen Brunch Bridal Shower

I am so excited to have my dear friend Catherine guest-blogging for me today. Catherine is honestly one of the kindest people I have ever met.  (I am very lucky to have several friends that I can say that about.) 

She is warm-hearted and always assumes the best of people.  She  also has great taste in everything from music (she's a big Bob Dylan & Janis Joplin fan) to clothing (she is always appropriately chic).  I hope you enjoy reading her post today. Please feel free to leave her some sweet comments!

_______________________________________________________

I recently hosted a Bridal Shower for my dear friend Haley. There were six hostesses including myself; Samantha, Kristin, Lauren, Emily, and Katie. 

The shower was a true southern affair. The invitations invited the guests to a Kitchen Brunch in honor of the bride. The invitations had a beautiful bouquet of flowers tied with a ribbon printed on the side. The walkway to the house was lined with standing sconces filled with Rosemary and Baby’s Breath. We tied white, tulle ribbons around these. 

The menu for the shower was a mix between southern favorites and tea-party essentials. Kristin brought delicious homemade chicken salad and Lauren brought a fruit tray with pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew, and strawberries. We served scones with lemon curd and cream, cheese grits, ham biscuits, petit fours, and cupcakes that were dusted with “pixie dust”. Samantha brought cake balls and we served iced tea, lemonade, and coffee punch. Coffee punch has always been a big hit in our house. We serve the punch at our annual Holiday party, family reunions, and showers. I have included the recipe below if anyone would like to try! 

We used both of my grandmothers’ china and glass party saucers and cups. There was mingling and socializing. Haley opened some wonderful gifts including an ice cream maker and her dishware. 

We decorated the house with pictures of the couple in mismatched frames including gold, silver, and wooden.  The guests were given small white mesh bags filled with “pillow mints” as they left. 

After the shower, Haley gave her hostesses a beautiful hand-made notebook her fiancé made.

I think the most important thing is to first decide what type of shower you would like to throw. Because we decided on a brunch and the kitchen opens right up into the party area, we decided on a kitchen theme. The shower had a sort of garden party feel which was perfect with the beautiful weather. We knew we wanted it to be very classy and elegant. The food was placed on antique serving dishes and placed on the dining room table. Pictures were an easy way to highlight the couple. I think that simple decorations are essential to a beautiful brunch shower!

Café Latte Punch

Mix together the night before:

1 c of instant coffee

½ c of cocoa

1 c of boiling water

1 ¼ c of sugar

1 T vanilla

3 c of cold water

3 quartz of milk

Refrigerate the above overnight. Whip 1qt. whipping cream. Soften ½ gallon of vanilla ice cream. Fold the ice cream and whipping cream in a punch bowl. Pour in other mixture. This makes quite a lot so make sure to have another container ready for the extras!

 ________________________________________________

Thank you so much for blogging for me today, Catherine.  I actually just decided to schedule a little vacation at the end of June. If anyone out there in bloggerland (even if you don't yet have your own blog) is interested in guest posting while I'm on beach time, please email me at theeclectictraditionalist @ gmail.com (without the spaces). 

I would love it! 

The Royal Wedding

Hello, dear readers! Did you miss me? I apologize for the absence, but I've just been experiencing a combination of not having time to blog and not having much to blog about the past few days.  I want to catch up by starting with my thoughts on the Royal Wedding!  

I know, I know. It probably seems like old news by now.  And I mean, some pretty important things have happened in the last four days, to be fair.  I know you might not even want to read about the Royal Wedding anymore, but I kind of want to blog about it just for posterity, if nothing else.  So here goes.

First of all. The dress.  

I'm referring to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge's ceremony dress.  It was incredibly beautiful.  I've always loved Princess Grace's dress, so Catherine's dress was just a perfect, slightly updated version.  I have to say, though, that if someone had asked me to say what she would wear the day before the wedding, I would have said something very similar to what she actually wore. So in some way, I was surprised that I wasn't surprised about her dress.  Make sense? Probably not. But it does to me. 

Source

Also... can I just point out that sapphires are my favorite gemstone (also my birthstone).  Catherine's engagement ring is a sapphire.  Also, the name "Catherine" will be incorporated to my first daughter's name someday (assuming I have one).  It was my grandmother's name and the inspiration for my name ("Katelyn" is a form of "Catherine") and I have always intended to pass it on to a child.  Anyway... incredibly random but just some little tidbits about me. 

Moving on to other parts of the wedding.  I really liked how Catherine kept all the details of her ensemble in such a small scale.  The tiara fit her petite waist frame beautifully and matched the small scale of her earrings.  (And honestly, is it possible for her waist to be any smaller? I think not.) Another thing that was beautiful in scale was her bouquet.  I want to go on record now as predicting that bridal bouquets in the next couple of years may get smaller à la Catherine. In fact the only thing that was large in scale on Catherine was her ring.  The world as it should be. 

Source

Catherine's second dress was also really beautiful.  And can we talk about that hair? Actually, I don't want to talk about it.  Sometimes life just ain't fair.

Source

But really, let's move on to the real star of the day... sort of. 

You know who I'm talking about, right?

P-I-P-P-A.

Source

Um, all I have to say is good grief.  As if the Middletons didn't produce one daughter that was already basically flawless, they had TWO!  Those girls are both so thin! I mean, SO THIN.  I mean, can you see my jealousy through your computer screen? Would you please look at her in the above photo? Her body is completely flawless in that dress! And as if you needed more proof, my friend Neri texted me Friday to say that the announcers on ESPN (of all stations) could not stop talking about Pippa.  "Well," I told her, "that's probably because she was a KNOCKOUT in that dress."  Good Lord. To think the camera adds ten pounds.  My brain is literally shutting down. 

And now, I want to end by passing on a little gem to those folks who haven't seen it yet.  I'm pretty captivated by Kate Middleton, so please know that I am recommending the follow site for its snarky humor, but it is with love that I do so, alright? Alright.

If you have not visited this tumblr site yet, you need to.  It should keep you laughing for at least a good 20 minutes.  Here are some of my favorite "Kate Middleton for the Win"s.  And please don't miss the little tidbit in small print under the photo. 

 

I actually left out a few of my favorites- but you should definitely visit the site and see them all for yourself! 

Tomorrow, I may or may not recap some of the other wedding fashions.  Until then, dears! 

Mardi Gras Recap (Lots O' Pics)

Well, I think I mentioned before that I just had the greatest time at Mardi Gras this year. I think it might have been one of my most fun Mardi Gras experiences ever. 

My friend Kathryn got to be in one of the parades this year. If you've never been to Mardi Gras before, you might not understand how everything works. This is sort of the best way I can explain it.  There are big social organizations called "krewes."  These krewes are the ones that put on the parades and pay to make the floats and buy the stuff that's thrown off the floats. As part of this, they also throw big parties throughout the Mardi Gras season. Usually on the night of their parade, the krewes throw one huge party for every member of the krewe.  

This year, I got to go to one of those parties for the first time ever since my friend was in the parade.  Her dad is a member of Endymion, so that's the krewe whose parade she was in. The party was so much fun! Some of the big krewes have really great entertainment acts and "celebrities" who also ride in the parade. This year at Endymion, Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and Andy Cohen (i.e. Bravo Andy!) rode in the parade.  The entertainment for the night was Pat Benatar and Train.  They were both really good and the party was so fun!

As part of the party, the parade went through the convention center right in front of us. It was so cool to see everything up close and we caught some REALLY good stuff!

My beautiful friend, Kathryn! 

My friend Marybelle was standing right next to us and she kept catching all the best stuff! Here's some of what she caught.

I took a lot more pictures of that night, but I didn't really take photos of the other parades that we went to on Sunday.  I guess I was busy having fun.

I did manage to take a phone pic of this awesome king cake that I brought home and got to share with some classmates for Mardi Gras. I also sported my new favorite beads to class last Tuesday! 

It was as yummy as it looks! 

A Party Fit for a King

I don't know how you feel about them, but I'm pretty smitten.

Source

I'm pretty much a sucker for any kind of royal, actual royal or our Americanized version of royal families like the Kennedys.  There's really no point in denying it.

When Wills & Kate first announced their engagement, I decided then and there that I wanted to plan a watching party.  Then, when they decided to get married at like 11 a.m. on a Friday (that's United Kingdom time, people), that kind of threw a wrench in my plans.  I'm still not sure about what I want to do yet, but I did happen upon these supplies the other day in case I decide to do the party after all.

Source

That's right, a company called Plum Party is offering a line of party supplies just for my fellow royal wedding watchers.  I have to say, I don't know that I would purchase these for my party, but they aren't nearly as tacky as I thought they would be. In fact, I think they are kind of appropriate for the occasion.

I guess the Welsh Corgi on this bunting is a nod to Wales? Hmm...

This cupcake kit is adorable. It would be great for a royal wedding party or for a going-away party for someone studying abroad in the UK!

These paper plates are fun and whimsical. I like them.

And adorable napkins help complete the look.

What do you guys think? Yay or nay to the Royal Wedding party?