Family Traditions

Every family has em and for us it's no different.

'Tis the season for the Sterling Renaissance Festival!

It was a family tradition for O and his older sister long before I started dating him. His regular attire is "Renaissance Jester". His first visit was in '98 below is one of his earlier pictures:

I had no idea that this was such a part of his family life and was a bit scared to embrace this part of what would now become our family life. There are many themes during the summer time, at the festival. Wine Lover's weekend, Family Weekend--where there are things geared to kids and parents to do together, Romance/Lover's Weekend...the list goes on and on. Our favorite time to go is Pirate Weekend...yarrrrrgh!! It has since been a HUGE hit every year and we have extended the invite to other family members and some of our closest friends. Here is a shot of me and O on our first Renn. Fest trip together-

(Sterling, NY 2006)

Our first year that we went, without his older sister, we decided to bring my kid sister (my maid of honor) and we got her into the spirit as well!

(Sterling 2007)

The following year we passed the torch on to invite other family members, my cousin and her husband:

(Sterling 2008)

(Sterling 2008)

This was the year that I stopped buying corsets from Fredrick's and actually splurged a bit to buy an authentic brown and gold one from one of the artisans there at the Fest! It fits so much better than the wire ones I was wearing.

And still we had another year sharing our fun with our closest couple friends.

(Sterling 2009)

Another bit to this Renaissance Festival is a story worth telling. You can notice a silver medallion around my neck in a few pictures (it was around my wrist one year) with a butterfly on it. This medallion was given to me by O my very first year. On one side there is a butterfly (representing me) and on the other side there is a jester juggling (representing him). This is a piece of jewelry that I have never parted with and have warn on a chain everyday since I've received it (and on a strip of leather during the fest). When Little O gets older, I want to hand it down to her so she can wear it and think of her mommy and daddy. This year will be her first year, hopefully one of many- as she was born into this. I look forward to sharing this year's experience via my blog when it happens!

In closing I want to invite you to check out your local Renaissance Festival or Faire. Google search it and see if there are any in your area--- they are a lot more fun that you can ever imagine-- and it's like a getaway from real life for one day. If you should take my advice and attend let me give you some pointers:

- Dress up! Even if it's just a simple peasant skirt and a white blouse---

you'll be glad you did!

- Accessorize your outfit too--- bracelets, rings,

hats, boots (boots are a big deal), scarves...

you name it, add it-- like weddings--it's all in the details.

- Go sans kids your first time around so you can really enjoy all

that the experience has to offer- there are many beers to drink

and many things to drink them out of (horns, mugs, pints,etc.)

-Look at all the work on display- artisans, leather makers, glass blowers, etc.

The work your eyes will see is unbelievable!

-Try to see at least 3 shows, if your location offers them. Some of my

favorite shows are often put on near water and or with fire!

We've also seen a whip cracking show a few times.

- Take pictures and videos as often as you can. Like everything else,

these moments are GONE and should you never get the chance

to go again, capture it while you did. Again, you won't regret it!

Happy Summertime Traditions!

Care to share some of yours?

Mary Mary Quite Contrary.

I recently realized that aside from what I have already told you, I have not shared much about what our wedding style is.

We are going for Fall/Autumn Themed colors:

Maroon/Burnt Orange/Dark Brown.

Our girls are wearing "Latte" except for our flower girl, who is O's and my toddler, and her dress is sort of a cream-sicle with bright orange accents.

However although our colors are set, I am still allowing for other areas where our bridal party can express themselves with colors not of the theme.

For example, many of the gifts that I got for the girls are catered to the color they like.

Each of their crystal necklaces are a nod to the colors they like.

I went out the other day on a wedding related excursion and scoped out some hair materials- and what I found was good! I had already ordered hair/dress flowers from an Etsy seller, but haven't received them yet, so I decided to go out and see what was out in the malls. I came across lots of goodies:

(pictured here is Little O's hair flower)

I also found a flower that I wanted to keep because of it's flare, but since

I am a fiery Ginger myself, I assumed it would clash with my locks. I still

swiped it up and plan to give it to my Maid of Honor/kid sister.

The one on the right is my hair flower for the reception, in place of

my future mother in law's veil (which I am wearing as my "something old").

I originally didn't want to wear a veil, but she offered and I felt so honored. I guess that

means that she is more than accepting of me marrying her little boy.

I had also come across some flowers for our Jr. Bridesmaid.

She is wearing a brown dress with pick-ups from David's Bridal. I am hoping she

will wear these- I am not sure how she feels about flowers in her hair.

And what is a shopping trip without perusing into the dress section of Macy's, JC Penny

and Sear's? I found a great sale on a rehearsal dinner dress, that was originally marked as

$39.99 and when I got to the register, it rang up for 11 bucks! There was no way I was

going to walk away from that kind of sale. I also found a brown bolero that

looked good with it:

I am keeping my hair in a low sleek pony tail that night before I get it all curled up and pinned like crazy the next day and really wanted to keep the flower theme going. Problem is

I found two that I really liked--- but I am unsure of which one to use. Can I get some input

on this semi-difficult decision?

For My Girls

I cannot believe my calendar is already filling up on the weekends. We don't have a single weekend "open" to relax until the first weekend in September. However, I'm almost positive that it won't stay that way for long. Something is bound to come up and get thrown on the calendar the first two weeks of September.

A couple things I am looking forward to are the family events that I have planned. One is a Black & White Luncheon, which is more or less a semi-formal, immediate family mash up lunch here at our place. I've got a few things up my sleeve and I will probably blog about those ideas another time. Another thing I am excited for is right around the corner.

Wait, wait, wait. I think I have to stop and go backwards before I go forwards. Let me clarify our bridal party. My fiance` (who after this time we'll call "O") has two sisters, both older than he is. I also have two sisters but I am the middle child. My sisters are my "...of Honor" attendants- my older sister is my Matron and my kid sister is my maid.

So, around the corner is a Saturday afternoon with our sisters (our Bridal Party ladies) and they have the task of bringing their dresses that day so I can see how they look in them together. The only "rule" I had with their dresses was that they needed to be a dark/chocolate brown and preferably a dress they'd be able to wear again. What I found out is that each pair of sisters chose one certain style of dress. His sisters chose a short sleeved brown dress made of lycra material that is cut to their calves in length. My sisters chose this dress from David's Bridal:

I haven't yet seen how the two style dresses look between the four of them, so I am very anxious to see how this plays out.

I am also excited to give them their gifts that I have concocted. I made each of them a canvas bag and ironed on their names with a small butterfly.

Additionally I had already made a "Day of Zip-up" Sweater with my new last name on it and our monogram:

I decided I wanted to add a few special touches to it and I took the corresponding butterflies that I had ironed onto the bags and ironed them on to the back of my sweater!

As part of their gift I gave them each a Sworavski Crystal necklace in varying colors (yellow is shown here):

I wanted to also give them something that they could wear apart from the wedding.

My newest love has been with this online company called Tee-Fury. They sell t-shirts for 9 bucks a piece and the shirts are only on sale for a full twenty-four hours. When a shirt is done being on the market, it's gone "forever"....or until you sign up for a grab bag in which the t-shirts are 5 bucks a piece and you get random shirts from their back stock. So, I took advantage of this and got them each a Tee Fury shirt from the grab bag:

The first shirt is for my big sister/ Matron of Honor- it says "say cheese".
The second is for my kid sister/Maid of Honor, it's a twist on Cathulu.
The third is a special one to me.... O and actually bought it when it was on sale-- it's a Lost tee and this one is for his older sister.
The fourth, and final one, is a mash up of The Shining and ET for his eldest sister.
You can check out Tee Fury yourself, www.teefury.com and possibly get hooked as I did.
I want to put in some treats to fill up their bags, but am not sure with what. Any good ideas out there??

I'm No Picasso.

When deciding what kind of shenanigans was going to take place after the ceremony I wanted to give back, in a big way, to the guests attending our reception but didn't have the funds to do so. So what do I do?? What any crafty bride to be would do if they were blessed with artistic abilities.

At this point I think it's worth it to mention that I am a self proclaimed "artist". I have to say that many people think they are artists and their work is really open up to a wide interpretation. I think I am one of those kinds of artists, ha!.

In any event, I knew that I had at least something in my art work that people took interest in, I just didn't know exactly what. My fiance` and I are HUGE fans of the ABC show "Lost" (you can imagine our grieving process in our house that is still going on from it's six season run) and I took interest in it so much that I made a canvas project of it.

I suppose you wouldn't really understand it unless you were a fan of the show- but I gave it to my fiance` as a gift- he loved it! This helped to spawn a project that I immediately fell head over heels for.

I decided that I was going to incorporate this love of mine into the reception festivities. Displayed around the room there will be three pieces of canvas with acrylic paint to be raffled off at the end of the night. Next to each easel will be a small table with a jar on it. With each person's escort card there will be two raffle tickets. The guests can choose two of the three paintings they like best and take their chance at winning one of the paintings.

I recently finished all three canvas projects in April and they have been in my closet waiting for their debut. Below are two of the three paintings:

I have one themed in red, one in brown and the other one is orange. They all kind of fit together like puzzle pieces, the orange one is set to fit in the center. I'm hoping that our guests are surprised by this as well as will appreciate it, as this is the biggest secret of our wedding.

And in closing I will leave you with some eye candy of other pieces of my work:

(Self portrait with oil pastels) (Swirls acrylic on canvas)

This Could Be It.

It's the era of blogging- where everyone wants to be heard. Everyone has a special story to tell and everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame on the soap box. Me? I'm no different from them when it comes to that desire. On the other hand, who can choose to use their words to help to change lives of others? I'd like to use my 15 minutes to do just that- and hopefully expand my time in the spotlight.

I suppose I'd have to start where everyone else starts, with an introduction. At the risk of sounding like everyone else, I suppose I will just keep my real info private. However, many know me as Ferdy. My personal agenda usually has a lot to do with youth & peer ministry and it is crucial for you to know that being a leader in my church is where my heart is. Another big part of me is my daughter, who is currently in the terrible two's. Can I get some support from fellow parents for this stage in toddler-hood? It's one of the hardest challenges I've face in being a mom so far, hands down! And still one other part of my life is my fiance`.

Yes, we are taking the plunge in September. We're

both very excited and look forward to what's ahead. Currently, planning this wedding has taken up a large amount of my time so I wish to use this blog (at this time) to help out other brides who may also be going through crunch time and looking for ways to keep a focused mind on what's important.

I guess I can truthfully say that, for me, this late in the game, it's getting a bit challenging to keep my head above water. I guess I'm lucky that I have a fantastic supportive circle of friends and family to help me remember what it is all about. It's definitely not easy, but with them and with God I'm not alone in this design of our nuptials.

So follow along, if you'd like. Before I know it, bells will be a ringing and all this will seem like dandelion in the wind!