My Blue Hawaii...Wedding

Butterflies! I have butterflies galore. This past weekend I spent Saturday with my coordinator doing a mock reception table and having it displayed, even if it was very raw, was amazing for me. So much has been talk up until now so to actually see it was so fun. It's an explosion of color and so happy. I can't wait for all of you to see it! The picture above is a little teaser care of my coordinators daughter (good eye, huh?!).

Then on Sunday, my beautiful sister surprised me with a bachelorette party! We had brunch at Lei Lounge with my closet friends just ate and laughed. These days it can be hard for all of us to get together so to have them altogether enjoying a Sunday brunch was really special for me. We played games and ate cupcakes and sipped mimosas and laughed at the another gaudy bachelorette party going on in the corner. They were actually quite entertaining with the bride to be wearing a veil of shot glasses. Backless, leopard print tops abounded and reminded me how not like that I am and how grate I am that Amber realized that. Still they were having fun...

And lastly, the biggest surprise of the day was that Amber had arranged for me to get a tattoo I had long been thinking about. But like the reception, I'll leave that as a surprise as well.

So here we are, 24 days until the big day and I have butterflies. Fun, excited butterflies like the kind you get when you're waiting in line for Splash Mountain at Disneyland. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I has been a goal of mine for years now to attend one of San Diego's biggest, wildest conventions. No, I'm not talking about ComicCon. Tiki Oasis of course! And this year I did it.

Mike and I are huge fans of all things hawaiian (can't you tell?) and tiki culture fits right into that. We love the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland and even have our own little tiki haven in our courtyard but this was the big time. We were entering their turf. Those crazy cats who make tiki a way of life and not just something you hang on your wall.

We had used the excuse that we were looking for nodders for the wedding but in truth we walked away with just one little nodder. Instead we soaked in the essence of tiki. One vendor put it best and said, "it's where you come to get tacky things." We bought our share of "tacky things" (tiki god toilet paper holder anyone?) but we also had fun just sitting in a corner with a shave ice and taking in the sights. We discovered we may not *quite* be as totally into the tiki culture as others who were there (I don't think I could drink that many mai tai's even if I wanted to) but we love it anyways and we'll be back next year for sure!

I realize the posts are fewer but there's a good reason for that. We are down to the nitty gritty and I want it all to be a surprise. I can't believe it's only 60 days away! Or even more amazing is that it's been almost 2 years that we got engaged! It seems like a blur. A hibiscus filled blur. :)

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So I have been having this weird feeling that I asked too much of our guests to wear white. Like it's going to be too hard to find anything so I did a little searching this weekend and I feel so much better. I don't know if this summer is different than others so I just never noticed but there is TONS of white stuff out there. Banana Republic even has it's home page emblazoned with "Summer Whites." So I thought I'd post a few of my favorites from Banana and J. Crew. I know I've posted some before but I'm thinking you're all starting to really look now.

Banana Republic





J. Crew




And for the men....

Banana Republic





J.Crew

So the fateful day is only 4 short months away and we're steadily working away. We've had a few more items checked off the list but it's definitely coming down to the details. Here is some of the stuff we've been doing since I last wrote

* Wedding dress in made and in my possession. I am waiting a bit to begin the tailoring process but it doesn't have any beadwork so it'll be an easy fix. Just a nip and a tuck.

* Invitations were not being our friend. Nothing was working (standard wedding invitations were too fancy and expensive for such a small group and regular invitations were too...regular) so we enlisted my good friend Denise who is looking to break into the invitation business. They are so cute and I can't wait for all of you to see them!

* Catering is almost finalizing. A few more tweaks and we're golden. I drool everytime I think of all the yummy food we're going to have.

* Live entertainment is being reviewed but I think we're leaning towards some live music which will give it an authentic old hawaiian feel. We also got a rockin' iPod dock for the background music. It's a Bowers & Wilkins Zepplin and I'm loving it!

* Lighting and all the decorations are in the early, early stages but I'm looking forward to that part.

* AND...wedding rings are being made! We are both getting some customization so we've begun the process and I have to say that really made it feel official to me. Some people get hit when they find the dress or location but seeing Mike try on rings made me realize...IT"S HAPPENING!

I am lucky enough to have hair that miracluosly can withstand daily rounds with the blow dryer AND flat iron and not look like a tumbleweed after a week but I am not immune to humidity and plain old dirty hair. Until now. My lovely, lovely sister who works at Sephora and always keeps me well stocked with all my beauty esstenials introduced me to Living Proof. Now my first thought was, "Sure it's fabulous they're all supposed to be fabulous." But then she tells me the creator is a world renowned MIT scientist and researcher. What?! Okay you got my interest. Different than most frizz fighting products Living Proof uses no silicone or oils. In fact, it actually repels dirt and oils. The more you use it the better it works. The day I realized I was hooked was last week. I hadn't washed my hair in 2 days and I had worn a hat all day. I took off the hat that night shook out my hair and it looked like I had washed it that morning. I was so stunned I went to Mike and said "Look at my hair!!" He thought I was pointing out something bad and said "What's wrong? It looks great." to which I replied "I know! I haven't washed it in 2 days and I wore a hat today!!" You just can't beat that.

It comes in in different formulations for 3 types of hair. They have a mist, creme and treatment for fine to medium, medium to thick and thick to coarse hair. I've been using the wave shaping creme for medium to thick hair and its been a miracle worker. This particular product also has a bit of hold to it so I can leave my hair damp and it will help define my waves. If you prefer a looser more natural look use the straight making creme. Neither will make your hair do something it doesn't already it just has different holding strengths.

So you can bet when I pack my bags for Oahu in a few months I'll be bringing my Living Proof!