If you’re anything like me and like to avoid doing work by playing mindless online games, I have a new addiction for you. FreeRice.com is not only endlessly entertaining, but educational and a for worthwhile cause all at the same time. The basic premise is this: the site gives you a word and three definitions. If you pick the right one, a certain amount of rice will be donated to the United Nations World Food Program, if not you have to try again. Of course the goal is to earn as much rice as possible, but you can also develop a killer vocabulary at the same time. So it isn’t really a waste of time at all, although your boss might disagree…

Sadly, most manufactured “Mother of the Bride” dresses are sack-like and unflattering, which is a disservice to the woman wearing it more than anything else, because a wedding day is almost if not more emotional for a mom as her daughter. I understand the urge not to overshadow the bride, but I think my Mom deserves to look fabulous too. I completely accept that we have different styles and that ultimately I want her to pick what makes her happy, but I plan to have her try on more than just floor length pastel chiffon sheaths with matching beaded boleros. I have no idea what we’ll end up with, but here are a few ideas I love...

Badgley Mischka, Diane von Furstenburg, Donna Karan, J Crew, JS Collections

Every time the Nordstrom catalog shows up I find myself brainstorming different reasons why I might need whatever fabulous things are featured on the shiny pages. It isn’t the most productive occupation in the world, but this time I did manage to scout a few (somewhat) wedding related items.

I think this necklace would make an adorable bridesmaid gift, and at $58 you wouldn’t break the bank either. There are several varieties with messages like “peace”, “love”, “cherish”, and “accomplish great things” if you want to personalize the gift for each girl, although my favorite is wish with the less kitchsy shape.

We’re planning to honeymoon in Greece, and I’m already bursting with excitement although we have plenty of time to wait. At least a year will give me lots of time to conjure up images of sightseeing in Athens, late night dinners in Santorini, and lounging by the pool. A cute cover-up is definitely on my shopping list as well as the perfect bikini which is another of those elusive shopping items.

I have a deep love for Stella McCartney but am far from being able to splurge on her designs, so I was thrilled to see that she is collaborating with Le Sportsac for a line of handbags and luggage. I think the Small Camera Bag would be perfect for toting my new laptop around town, although that would bring the number of bags I own with chains on them to three…this may be a little overboard but I love how they balance an otherwise feminine look. And the purple-gray color is so pretty. Even though this isn’t wedding related I thought it was well worth sharing!

One of my goals in this entire wedding brouhaha (and life in general) is to stay as relaxed as possible, which has become slightly more difficult lately due to our hectic schedules. Fortunately, being a teacher has a way of putting things into perspective. Today, for example, I walked over to a group of my students involved in a frenzied debate over some unimportant disagreement. The climax of the argument was when one student called another student “emo.” Following a stunned silence, Student A stood up, wailed “I am not a two legged flightless bird!” and stalked out in a huff. Seriously. I’m not even making this up.

So In that spirit, if you’re in need of a lighthearted take on weddings you should absolutely rent Bride & Prejudice. It combines two of my favorite things: Bollywood and Jane Austen into something that can only be described as camptastic. I stumbled across this movie on TV last night and was reminded of how dearly I love it, and felt compelled to share!

I love that my commute to and from work takes me right by the museum where we’ll be getting married in close to a year. That is, if we can make it that long before heading to judge’s chambers I always try to drive as slowly as I can without endangering other drivers, craning my neck to get a good view of the sculpture garden where the ceremony will be. It was a little bare during winter, but now it is fully in bloom and absolutely gorgeous. There are two small trees that I think we’ll use in lieu of an altar or archway and I’m thinking of decorating them with strands of hanging orchids, similar to this picture. The site is already so beautiful we won’t need much else. Since we’re planning a dusk ceremony I might also use some of those paper bag luminaries. If you had an outdoor wedding how did you decorate?

Somehow in my frenetic weekend schedule I managed to squeeze in a Monique Lhuillier trunk show to try on a few more dresses. Even though I’m mostly decided on my final two contenders it never hurts to exhaust all your options…and I’ve made it a point to do just that. Who doesn’t love trying on dresses?

Since I can never get away from my English major tendencies, let me sum up my experience with an analogy: Monique Lhuillier is to Wedding Dresses as Apple is to Technology. I adore Apple products. They always look adorable and more streamlined than anything else on the market, have relevant advertising with sweet music, and I will put it out there that I’m pretty much addicted to my I-Pod. The issue with Apple is that once you start, it’s hard to go back especially if you’re a sucker for packaging like I am. Of course as Drew very reasonably points out to me, their products cost much more than an equivalent, though less adorable, options do.

The Monique Lhuillier dresses felt the same way to me. Judging on advertising and reputation alone, Monique Lhuillier dresses are top of the line. Her fabric is gorgeous, the details exquisite…I can attest to all of this. However, they do come with an enormous price tag, starting just under $4,000 but most of the dresses running from $5,000 to $8,000.

So really it comes down to priorities. Especially with the style of dress I’m attracted to, there wasn’t anything stellar enough for me to justify the price tag. But at the same time, I’m 99% sure I want to buy a Mac Air so if there had been a dress that felt like the one, I may have been powerless to resist…

This dress is stunning in the picture and on the rack, just not on me. Maybe the sizing of the dress was just too off, or maybe it wasn’t fitting right after so many people trying it on, but the pleating on the bust stuck straight out. I mean, really straight out. I looked like one of those lizards with a neck ruff. Whatever it was, it was more funny than flattering.

There weren’t any parts of this dress I didn’t like. The billowy effect was Grecian and pretty (although I know I would snag the side panels on something almost immediately). It just wasn’t love…

This isn’t the exact dress I tried on, but it’s very close. The bodice on the one I tried on didn’t have beading, and had a slight frayed edge right around my waist, which was a subtle unexpected detail I loved. But again, it didn’t have that little something extra I’m looking for.

What a whirlwind. Somehow in the insanity of the last few weeks we found time to buy a house! We actually had to negotiate for it from Canada, which was somewhat difficult considering our hotel was a darling bed and breakfast (ie not caught up with modern technology quite yet). But it all worked out, and we’re in contract on our first choice place.

This means that now I can officially add buying furniture and decorating to my list of obsessions. It still doesn’t seem real yet, but that seems to be the trend of grown-updom. Hopefully everything goes smoothly with the inspection etc. because I can’t wait to move in! Pictures to come…

While that was our own personal highlight of the trip, the wedding we went to was lovely too My favorite elements were easily the gorgeous centerpieces and the favors. The bride found these pretty patterned tin boxes of “Wedding” tea that she emptied and used for vases. The tea was put into tiny silver pots with our names on them which we took home as favors and doubled as place cards. Not only was this adorable, but something I will keep and use which I always appreciate.

Like many other wedding bloggers I enjoy checking the search terms people use to bring them to my site. Some of them are fairly hilarious: for example “Dita Von Teese eyebrows,” “what did Mayans eat” and straight up “nude” (I’m pretty sure that person was sorely disappointed). However, one of the more popular hits that actually makes sense are people looking for simple or non traditional wedding dresses. With that in mind, I wanted to share my newest find, Simple Silhouettes. If you’re looking for a classy, no frills dress on a budget Christina Dalle Pezze might be your girl. Like most of the sites I promote, all her gowns are custom made and you can pick from a variety of fabrics and styles, or mix and match. She will also custom make your veil, accessories, and purse. As an added bonus, her bridesmaid dresses are simple and sweet, and could easily be worn again if you’re looking in that department. Happy browsing!

Even my vacations are wedding filled! I’m back for a brief jaunt in Ohio before heading up to Canada this week for our best man’s wedding. We’re staying in a quaint inn with jacuzzi tubs and couple’s massages, smack in the middle of wine country. Sounds pretty good, eh?

This last weekend Drew and I spent at our alma mater. The guys golfed and the girls (2 recently married, 3 getting married within the next year) shopped and had long chats about…you guessed it. Not to mention we’ll be attending 3 other weddings just this summer. So closing in on one year to our wedding, I’m being bombarded from all angles and fortunately I couldn’t be loving it more. I’ve heard that the wedding doldrums or stress always take over eventually, but so far so good!

One of the hot topics this weekend was flowers. Flowers are obviously synonymous with weddings and even though I’m a big proponent of using other elements (branches, candles, water etc) flowers definitely do up the prettiness factor. We’ve already splurged on the location and the photographer so we were brainstorming ways to not be too ridiculous with the decor. Of course I immediately fell in love with orchids (expensive), especially cybidium orchids (even more expensive) which might be somewhat of a hurdle. But I think I still may be able to get the best of both worlds, and one way could be using expensive flowers in sparing but striking arrangements like this fishbowl idea. I think I would choose a differently shaped container, but the mix of simple lines and textures is chic and cheap. More details to come!

Suddenly my life has become incredibly busy. On top of buying a house, working non-stop,  and coddling our attention starved tabby cat Drew and I are now off on a mini traveling spree. We will be in glorious Meadville, PA this weekend and Canada early next week for an alumni display of ridiculousness and a wedding respectively. Should be a lot of fun and a lot of driving, so thank God for the Prius! I’ll be MIA for a few days since my laptop is slowly and quietly dying (new laptop shopping is another priority) but I’ll be back soon with fresh inspiration from fellow brides to be!