The Story of Us: How We Met

I know you have been waiting for this. I've waited awhile to share this story with you, friends, because it's so freaking cute it might just make you gag. Grab a trash can, just in case, and here goes.

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Once upon a time, on a sunny day with Carolina blue skies, Miss Magic was walking along Franklin Street wearing a really fabulous outfit. She had on some really awesome Kate Spade heels, and one got caught in the sidewalk crack (don't you hate it when that happens?). As she struggled to free her shoe (it was really stuck and she was making quite a spectacle of herself), a handsome young man came by to assist her. He said "nice shoes" while really checking out her legs, and that's how Miss Magic and Mr. Magic met.

Cute story, huh? Thanks. It's totally not true.

So, Mr. Magic and I do not remember how we met. Mr. Magic was friends with some of my friends...and so that's how we got introduced, I guess, but we can't really remember the exact moment when we met. Mr. Magic's earliest memory of me is of seeing me take my then boyfriend up to my room while Mr. Magic was playing board games with my roommates (1. I do NOT remember this at all. 2. This is NOT a great story to tell the aunts and cousins who want to know the sappy, romantic version of how we met). My first memory is of us sitting in a booth at a bar. I mentioned that I really needed a computer, and Mr. Magic mentioned that he really needed a girlfriend. I swear this happened...although my memory is the worst, and not that reliable, but I really feel this happened. Maybe.

I also remember my three roommates and I having a keg party, and he was there, and I was trying to dance with him, and his friends encouraged him, and he was very weird and nervous. And I was drunk.

I do know we met in the year 2002. Maybe in August. Or September?

This is kind of disappointing, isn't it? It's disappointing even to ME! We don't have the "Love at First Sight" story, but we also don't have the "We Always Knew the Other was The One" story. We had a very weird and awkward "courtship" at first, with me not wanting to jump into another relationship and both of us lacking the communication skills to talk about what we wanted.

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Factor in Mr. Magic moving away and getting a new girlfriend, me going to grad school , and a lot of miscommunication, and it's amazing that we ever got back together in the first place! (That happened in 2004. I do know that.)

How did you and your SO meet? Have you ever embellished or changed the story to make it more appropriate or romantic? And I am the only person who doesn't remember how she met her partner???

Making something out of nothing....

I'm doin it rite (because I am awesome!!!)!

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Like that, see?

Oh, ok, you wanna know what I made out of nothing? Here it is....

I know. You're mouth is hanging all agape at this lovely paper box. *shrugs* When you've got talent, you've got it, and when you don't, you don't!

How on earth did I make such a lovely and useful box, you ask (in shock and awe, of course)? Well, I'll tell you.

First, I asked for, and thereafter received, this.

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FMIL gave it to me for Christmas! It's gorgeous, plus on the back of each page is a template for a craft, so a beautiful and talented crafter can reuse the page and make something out of it! Yes, like this box!

It IS very green of me, isn't it? Thanks for noticing. And for those of you doubters who allege that I didn't make it out of nothing, that I made it out of something that came with directions and dotted lines on which to cut...well, it's really all semantics, isn't it?

Moving on.

First, set up your work station.

Use a tiny work space, and make sure you have a Sun Drop to drink (ok, or your fave form of caffeine) and some Gilmore Girls playing in the background.

Oh, also, get a bone folder and a ruler. They look like this, in case you don't know what a bone folder is (haha, and if you don't, you must be a real DIY-LOSER***!)

***This was my first time using a bone folder, so really I'm just projecting my own DIY-loser insecurities. At least I recognize these Freudian defense mechanisms that crop up in my crafting.***

Then, cut on the lines that indicate cutting. It'll look something like this....

Next, complain about the lack of work space. Procrastinate and watch a full episode of the Gilmore Girls (bonus points if you know what season or episode was shown previously!). Yell at Mr. Magic "Are you ever going to pick up that free and awesome desk with the large flat work space, for God's sake?"

Finally, use the bone folder and ruler to make foldy line thingys. They will make the box fold up nicely.

Lastly, fold the box into a box. Sadly, I must admit that this took QUITE awhile. I have no idea why. I'm gonna blame it on the Sun Drop - too much caffeine!

And yes, alternate titles for this post included "Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill" and "Bone Folder Virgin No More" and, probably most appropriately, "Why I Need a New Spacious Workspace."Also, I am still not certain I am using this bone folder thingy correctly. I mean, what exactly am I supposed to do with this apparently very important tool that I never knew I needed until I got engaged?!?

What do you do your crafting on? Has any seemingly easy project stumped you? And most importantly, what the heck do you do with a bone folder?

Back from Ireland, and God Bless America!

I've been gone for awhile, in Ireland for work. Sounds glamorous, doesn't it? Well it IS................NOT. SO SO NOT. I mostly enjoyed the inside of a Radisson, and the restaurant at that same Radisson, but I did get to do a few hours of sight seeing where I saw this:

Pretty, huh?

I also really missed America while I was gone. I missed the following things, in no particular order....




The European Union does have red coke (aka coca cola, or original coke) available...it just tastes gross. Apparently it has healthy sugar from a beet plant. Not that high fructose corn syrup that I love so much!

The two hotels I stayed in failed to provide me with washcloths. I never did figure out why this was the case. So I missed my washcloths and loofah thingys very much. Also, I missed my Clarisonic facial brush, which I was afraid to take in my luggage in case it went off and was mistaken for something else that vibrates.

Velveeta shells and cheese. Nuff said.

Blank index cards. In America, we are freaking spoiled. There are probably 4 stores within walking distance of my house (and I live in suburbia, y'all!) that sell a variety of office supplies - and these are NOT office supply stores. I'm talking CVS, Walgreens, Food Lion, Kroger...possibly even the gas station. In Ireland, I could NOT find a blank index card in any of the three grocery stores I went to. Only one of the three stores had markers (Tesco, obv) and none had packing tape or anything resembling it. I went into a Boots pharmacy that carried only Health and Beauty Aids. No gum, no magazines. WTF yo??? So I'm glad to be back in America where slightly useful items are available on every corner.

Finally, Weddingbee! Oh Weddingbee, how I have missed you! I had a chance to read you every now and then, but never time to comment or post. So, so sad. I want a week's vacation to catch up on all the wedding related decisions, dreams, and drama that I have missed out on!

Suffice to say, I am happy to be back in America, and especially happy to be back to reading Weddingbee while drinking red American coke and eating a box of Velveeta shells and cheese. Oh, and also happy to get back to some DIY projects for my own wedding, and to planning my friend's upcoming shower and bachelorette! More posts on those to come, so stay tuned....

What's the FIRST thing that comes to mind...

when you watch this video????????




Oh man. It's the enchanted ceiling at Hogwarts! I HAVE to have this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gowns Galore

Yes, I have a problem. It's called "Being a Gemini."

Us Geminis, you see, have an astrological sign that is depicted by twins. Above on the left, you see the bad gemini qualities, on the right, the good. How can one person be both cheap and generous? And yet I am BOTH of those things. I'm also kind AND fickle and two-faced. I mean, seriously, I just can't win.

ALSO...I can't decide on a freaking dress. I blame it on my damn astrological sign. And so, here are some more pics, of dresses I tried on that I liked OK, but are not The Dress.




Yep. None of these are it. The only one that had a chance was the last one but I decided it was too trendy for a 31 year old bride to wear in October 2011. Those ruffled tiers are gonna be so last season by then.

Is YOUR astrological sign interfering with your decision making ability? Or have you found something else to blame your personality "differences" (NOT weaknesses) on?

Freak Out! Il n'est pas chic.

This particular freak out, il n'est pas chic. Or whatever. It's not chic. It's pedestrian and common...oh SO common, especially for this bride. It's a financial freak out.

I was already stressed earlier this week about finances...my bank account was sitting low, and I was worrying about paying for a recent big wedding purchase (more about that later), unexpected expenses for an impromptu work trip to Ireland, home owner expenses (new water heater needed! also, the barren wasteland we refer to as "our yard" needs some work), as well as my trip to Paris in July.

Let's take an aside here to acknowledge the reality of the situation. Yes, I am going to Ireland AND Paris. Granted, in Ireland I likely won't have much fun since it's for work and they are pretty much slave drivers, but in France I will. And yes, I'm getting married. And aren't we lucky that we can afford to buy a new water heater instead of just, you know, filling up barrels with rain water? I mean, what's the worst thing that can realistically happen? I bounce a couple of checks. No biggie in the real scheme of life.

Yes indeedy. I was rolling with that really optimistic train of thought until I got a letter from the IRS. This is how that went down:

Me: OOOHHHH! A letter from the IRS! I bet it's the $450 I overpaid this year on accident.
Mr. PB: Um, maybe you should let me open that.
Me: Why?
Mr. PB: What if it's something bad? You're about to go to dinner and it might ruin your whole night.
Me: No, it's my check. [Open letter. Read how I owe $2500 from 2008. Cry. Cuss.] [I may have stamped my foot too.]

Mr. PB encouraged me to go to dinner, have some drinks, forget about it until Monday and then I can call and find out WTF is going on. He was very calm and comforting, and even gave me a rose from our monstrous rosebush.

I wanted to get into bed, sleep for six hours, wake up and eat a box of Velveeta shells and cheese, and then sleep for twelve more hours. But instead, I've cried about it three times but I have NOT exploded about it (previous unacceptable behavior that I am working to eradicate) and I am just relaxing and working on a plan to get in a comfortable financial place. This is always a struggle but at least not as tough now as it is in the past. Hopefully no more unexpected expenses will arise in the next few months.

How do you stay calm when dealing with finances? Do you hate the IRS as much as I do? :-)