Competing Musical Tastes

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I think Mr. Magic might think I have no taste in music. Or maybe just bad taste. Either way, we don't like the same things. I am into country, and mainstream pop music (I know, God forbid, right?!?), and whatever cool alternative or rock music trickles my way. To give you an example, I recently went to 3 concerts in one week (that's not normal for me though).

Concert #1: Easton Corbin at the NC State Fair

Concert #2: STP at the Raleigh Ampitheatre (Mr. Magic is in love with Scott Weiland and I went to support him in his relationship with a rock star who sometimes wears eye liner)

Concert #3: Darius Rucker (You may remember him as Hootie from Hootie and the Blowfish, if you are as old as me) at the NC State Fair

Mr. Magic did not attend either of the country music concerts with me. As you can see, he is into, um, other music. Music that is somehow deemed cooler, especially in our group of friends. He thinks country music is too simple, in that the lyrics are actually what they are trying to say. Also, I think he's just kind of a Yankee at heart. I mean, he was born in Northern Virginia. Technically below the Mason-Dixon line, but too close to Washington D.C. for him to actually get any good Southern-ness in him.

I mean, he didn't even know what fat back was, for Pete's sake!

Anyway. I digress. We do have VERY different musical tastes, which makes it sort of interesting to decide what we are going to play during the different parts of our ceremony and reception. The other day, I asked him if he thought it would be fun to play some less-traditional music while people are taking their seats, or during the cocktail hour. I named this song, and he agreed to it - although it could have been one of those, "I am just saying "Sure, babe" now because I am not really listening to you, but later I will pretend we never had this conversation and ban this song and all similar tunes."

Anyway, here's the song he agreed to!

Bahahahaha. Wouldn't this just make you want to sing along and dance and laugh if you heard it at a wedding? I mean, if you are like 25 and older. If you are younger, you might be confused. Consult this article to learn more about this talented boy band known as New Kids on the Block from the 80s and 90s.

Do you and your SO have differing tastes on something that is making it challenge to collaborate on wedding plans?

Apparently, Arranging Flowers IS a Talent!

And not a talent that I have, either. Sidenote: when I was younger, I convinced myself that I was a super awesome skier and that skiing was My Talent. When I finally went skiing at the age of 20, I realized that this was not true. I am not a secret talented skier, nor am I a secret talented flower arranging fool.

Let's start at the beginning.

I'm kind of lazy. So even though I knew that a Farmer's Market existed in town, and in the next town, and in the capital nearby, um, I never quite made it over there. Until there was a ring on my finger!

Cause everyone knows...

=

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Well, for this Southern bride it does, anyway.

Since the one year countdown has officially begun (362 days left!), I figured it'd be a good time to check out some flowers and see what NC has to offer this time of year. We're planning on having my bouquet professionally done, and the girls' flowers too. But the centerpieces are totally do it myself, with the lovely milk glass I have been collecting all this time - yay for long engagements!

Mr. Magic, having missed me for a week while I was off baby sitting, even offered to go to the State Farmer's Market with me! Course by the time we made it out of the house, only one of the farmer's markets was still open. Whatevs.

First, we found some awesome pumpkins! And they are cheaper than any other pumpkins I have seen so far.

Yay for pumpkins! I mean, I'm not gonna have like a million jack o lanterns chillin' or anything. I'm just thinking something like this:

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Or this:

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Then, we stumbled upon some flowers. Ch-ch-check it out!

These are pretty and colorful, no?

I bought these for 12 bucks!

Like my enormous sunglasses? I know, they are kinda ridiculous.

OK, so here's where things got all challenging. I thought to myself "Sweet! Ima go home and divvy these up into some milk glass vases. So easy! Dunzo!"

Um, hmmm. NOT so easy. Turns out, there is a reason people pay to have professionals do this. Who knew? Certainly not me. My apologies to everyone in the flower industry.

They aren't bad, but they look a little...rough. I think part of the problem is the extra leafy greenery. Maybe the stems are too long. Maybe it's too colorful. Maybe someone can just volunteer to do this part for me?

Did you ever tackle a seemingly easy wedding task, just to find that it was much more difficult than you anticipated?

Insipiration Board: The Remix

I posted my original inspiration board here, but Mr. PB said it was too country - and he was right, as always (inside joke).

So this one is more what we, ok really, I am thinking now. Some of the images are not in the right color palate, but hopefully you get the idea.



Starting at top left: pumpkin aisle, cake table, milkglass centerpiece, love pumpkin, tree and outdoor fireplace are person photos from the venue, color scheme, chalkboard signs, boutonniere, colorful soda, s'mores bar, bridesmaids in cardigans

Here is my convo with FH about all this:

Mr PB: oh here it is

looks good to me

what's up with those rainbow bottles

are we going to have several flavors of soda bottles

me: YES

isnt that FUN

we can have like sun drop and cheerwine and like, whatever else in glass bottles
cute huh?

Mr PB: yeah

that's good

Hee hee hee. He loves it! What do you think about my inspiration board?

Too freaking cute not to use!

As I was perusing Anthropologie looking for all the things I want to register for, you know, for my Common Decency Be Damned post, I found these.

One could use them for a guestbook...or have folks write their well wishes and then have a friend or family member send them throughout the first year of marriage, which is what I think we might do since I already have a guestbook idea (calm down, I'll share it with you soon).

OR, one could just hang them from a clothesline as decoration. Cute, no?

OR! Use as table names! For a bride and groom who really likes to read! We really like to read!!!

Man, there are a lot of wedding ideas for these little suckers.

OMG. Invitations! Save the dates! OK, it seriously never ends.

Does anyone else see everyday random things and instantly turn it into wedding merch? Do you love these postcards as much as I do???

Common Decency Be Damned!

Previously you read about my old age and how I had already accumulated a bunch of useful junk. This is the follow up post you've been waiting [with bated breath] for.

Yep, this one's all about what I would register for if factors like landfills filling up and societal courtesy didn't exist. Just call me Veruca. Veruca Salt.



I love that the caption says "Veruca shows her love for material things."

First, I want some brightness!

Anthropologie latte bowls in jewel colors

Next, add some whimsy! Is there a way to register for mismatched but still coordinating china? Wait a sec...that's a brilliant idea! Get That Vintage Look registry! Too bad this exists already...check out Miss Tartlet's post or jump straight to the Antiquaria site!

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Throw in something practical, useful, yet so lovely...

I heart built in bookshelves way more than the average person.

Aren't these lovely and so functional?

Not having built in bookshelves is the main flaw in our home. That, and it'd be nice to have a wider front porch. And a larger entryway. And a mud room off the garage that we also don't have. And a screened in back deck. So add all those things to the registry too.

I'd also like to register for some cash. I know it's crass and tacky and all that, but it wouldn't be cash for just any purpose. It'd be cash for these...

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How great would it be if, on the day of our wedding, we could pay off my student loans???
SO GREAT.

Back to stuff.

I'd like to register for this rug, and I'd like our cat Isabella to never pee on it.

Anthropologie Finnia rug here

A fabulous bed.

Crate and Barrel's Pavillion Canopy Bed

And tons of holiday decor! I love decorating for the holidays!

Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas

What would you register for if you were a Veruca?

Hold the Phone!

I got a new plan for the wedding. It's a destination wedding in Hong Kong, all inclusive.
Check out the details here!

I'm Old and I Already Have Flatware

Ummmmm, I'm not sure what to do about this whole registry thing. You see, I am 30 and Mr. Magic is too. We aren't really old as the title of this post suggests...I mean, he's in the living room killing zombies as I type, and I get carded all the time (I mean, not all the time, just on the really rare occasions when I drink). How old can we be?!?

But...we are 30. We have lived in sin for some time now. And, I like to decorate and eat. If one combined all these facts and lifestyle choices, one (ok, I) would wind up with this:

-Approximately 4 sets of dishes. One Mr. M bought without consulting me (WTF, I know, right?).They are fine but kind of dark and manly. One is from my college years. One is my grandmother's set of dishes. Oh, and at FMIL's house there is a full set of china waiting for us that is Mr. M's Aunt's china.

-Novelty dishes. You know, like dishes with shoes on them, or dishes from the $1 bin at Target that have metropolitan cities on them (Paris! New York!)

-LOST drinking glasses. I got these as a birthday present one year. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me some LOST...but I don't really want to set our Thanksgiving Day table with pint glasses depicting the different hatches from the LOST Island.

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-A blender, a toaster oven, a coffee maker, a food processor, a microwave, a griddle, cupcake pans, cupcake carrier, and cupcake stand, and baking pans of all shapes and sizes. We have 3 pizza cutters and corn on the cob holders. And other random kitchen crap.

-A brand new set of pots that I won at a Bridal Fair. Yippee!

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As you can see, we have a lot of stuff. We don't really need anything. All of these things are functional and adequate.

So, if we were to register, what would we ask for? Possibly a honeymoon registry, although I am not sure we will be able to afford to go anywhere even with the assistance of a registry.

Hi guests, I'd like 7 nights here!

Or, we could register for larger ticket items, like new furniture or a patio set. Seems a bit more greedy though than asking for, like, a pot holder (which we have enough of, thanks so much).

We could do the charity thing but honestly, I'm not that benevolent. FH and I both have careers that focus on helping others, and we both volunteer and donate to causes we believe in. Call me greedy and selfish, but I want some gifts!

Gifts from Crate and Barrel!
(Disclaimer: Even though of course I know that by getting married,
I am not entitled to any gifts and after all,
our guests' presents,
oops! I mean
our guests' presence
at our ceremony and reception is gift enough).

I'm not sure what my hang up is. I'm the person who starts making her Christmas List right after Halloween is over. And no, I'm not talking about what I need to buy for others...I'm talking about what I want to ask for. In fact, I am generally making a mental list all year long. What can I say? I like stuff. It is, after all, the American Way.

How very patriotic of you! source

OK wait...I do know what my hang ups are. I feel it's not very green of us to ask for new things just because the old ones are bumming me out. Plus, I feel greedy asking for a ton of stuff that I would probably not buy myself (because I can't afford those things). Like, one pot that costs 85$? A fancy shmancy knife for God only knows how much? We don't need those things.

So that's what it boils down to I guess...want vs. need. It's a concept I don't understand well, I admit.

Enough blathering! In the next post, I'm gonna tell you what I want to register for, economy and environment and common decency be damned! But until then, what's on your registry? And has anyone ever had this many thoughts about asking for stuff?