starchild

I'm at work so I am ON IT ....lol. Give me a moment, I can at least make some suggestions. Cute earrings by the way.

My files are too big to post & I suck at resizing so they're in this word document. Everyone's pets are soooo cute! This is my Honey, 1/2 beagle 1/2 daschund. We rescued her from a soul-less house in the valley where she was left tied up for who knows how long in the 100 degree heat after they used her for breeding. She is so sweet and I love her to death and I'll stop raving now.... check her out:

I love pasta and bread way too much for this diet. When I say I love bread, I mean whenever I go home to S.F. I buy loaves of fresh sourdough from the bakery and bring them back to L.A. with me . . . where is the bread and pasta diet? I could hang with that.

Quote: Originally Posted by jilly76 your thoughts sound very similar to mine, I really wanted a great photographer, but it didn't seem right for us to pay for a photographer to travel, when some of our family can't even afford to come, I think if we were going to pay for anyones travel it would be our family members that we really wish could be there, but can't afford it. That's my sentiment too. Since I must choose, I too would rather spend that money on good times. I do acknowledge that there is often a difference in quality/styles of photos when you pay more, so no disrespect to the many photographers here. From what I've seen you all are well worth your rates. My concern is simply that there are photos when it's all said and done, some color, some black and white. Not necessarily that they are the best out there or are worthy of publication. It's just a matter of priority. Trust me people think I'm nuts for spending so much on my welcome dinner but I'd rather pay thousands for fabulous food, conversation, and memories than have a low end welcome dinner but great photos of it. If the budget allowed I would do it all but since it doesn't I prefer the experience. Different strokes I guess )

I couldn't justify the $300+ for someone I've never used so I planned to do it myself, but keep in mind I'm the type to go naturally curly and let it be. If I wanted a nice updo I would have paid the money for a stylist. I got really lucky though, a stylist I know just offered to fly to PV and style the entire wedding party (12 of us) free of charge. Ann's idea of having a someone run off the boat to the bridal suite to touch up your hair would work too.

Wow Maria I love that dress and the way it gathers/drapes. Since you have time I say shop around for a good seamstress. What I'm about to suggest is really tacky so take it with a grain of salt In high school I found a prom dress that I needed, no other dress even compared. It was $450 and my parents said "hell no". After checking the return policy and finding a good seamstress, I bought the $450 dress. It was 2 sizes too small. I took it to my seamstress who made a pattern of it. Then I returned the unharmed dress to the store and the seamstress made me a lovely dress in my size that was almost identical. She charged me $120. Not bad. Okay that was in the 90's in CA but I'm sure in Texas you can find a reasonable dress shop that can hook you up. The lady who made mine didn't even have a store, it was word of mouth from a few girls who used her to make their quincenera dresses, she worked out of her house but knew what she was doing. Ask around, maybe you know someone whose child/relative is having or had a quincenera, seriously it's worth a try. You can probably go back and sneak a bunch of pics of the dress and a good seamstress can make it from there.

Thanks guys. I'm trying to save where I can but $140 isn't gonna break the bank and maybe it will also buy me a little sanity...lol. I'll let you know how it turns out )

Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian But I'm still upset about the complete lack of disregard for the RSVP prcess I've experienced from my family and friends. I don't understand it. Grr. OK I'm way late on this but you summed up my feelings with that statement. It's both sad and upsetting. I've also had to call people and ask if they were coming because they didn't send the rsvp. I get responses like "oh, I misplaced it", "I forgot, you know I'm coming", "I won't know until May" and "it's cute so I want to keep it". I made my final round of phone calls. There are a few people who have been totally wishy washy who I am done chasing after and I took them out of the count. At this point if these people show up in Mexico they won't be allowed to board the boat that goes to the wedding, and you know what? I won't feel bad. Friendships can end, fueds can start, I'm done with it. Shouldn't we be the ones catered to?!?!?

I prefer the green but I agree to let Paul win this one, they get so few victories and the blue is great too. I like the wording as well )

I have my OOT bags and fillers, now I just have to get my darn logo on the bags. They are natural canvas totes, very simple. The best professional quote I could find would be about $140 for 30 bags including set-up fees. I'm sure the quality would be wonderful BUT If I printed out logos on transfer paper and ironed them on, do you think I could save money? I've been told that I'll run the orange and brown ink out on the printer fast and have to replace the ink cartridges which could cost me as much as paying for a professional job in the end. If the price is similar I'd rather pay someone who knows what they're doing. It's Monday, any feedback would help me from ending it all .... thanks )

What a wonderful way to celebrate your anniversary and love for each other. Hmmm . . . I see a destination vow renewal in my future, thanks! )

I offered to buy her an outfit but she is wearing a linen dress she got in Europe last year and has been saving for a special occasion. Good thing I'm getting married or she may have kept the tags on that dress for years!

Welcome to the forum and happy planning )

thanks for the info....looks like he has an L.A. cell

It won't be on youtube, but we do plan to do a salsa or something not waltzy for our first dance if we can get it together in time. If it's not a full on routine we think it will be to an uptempo song for sure because we kinda want to kick the party off on that note, it fits our personalities too.

It's not at all rude. If you aren't comfortable saying "I don't know you" then say something like it's a small reception for close family/friends. They should understand that's not them.

People do it all the time, hopefully you have a WC or someone to coordinate things for you. It will be fine )

How beautiful is Zihuatanejo?!?! Kind of reminds me of PV with the verdant hills and all. Cooper your photos are absolutely beautiful, wow! I love it all ... the church, the hotel, the colors people wore, how magical! They must adore their pics, well done )

nice . . . gotta love google

Sometimes the raw food you eat that was washed in tap water (cilantro, lettuce, etc.) is what does it. My mom drank bottled water, brushed her teeth with bottled water, etc. and still got sick from a salad - we think it was the salad. Many places wash their produce with purified water but how does one really know? I've eaten off taco stands in Tijuana and P.V. and didn't get sick, but that was just pure luck. Drink bottled water and try not to eat raw things for the best chances of staying well.

Heck yeah, how often can you have your own jazz trio? Go for it!

Thanks. Have you guys heard of the new forever stamp they are putting out? I'm not sure exactly how it works but I think they are stamps you can buy and add to your old stamps to equal the new postage forever, no matter how much it increases in the future. I still have to look into it.

I love to write and would love to help if you still need volunteers.

My Italian family does a bunch of things with fresh artichokes...stuffs them, fries them, makes salads, bakes them with chicken . . . I can get some recipes from my mamma if you like. Off the top of my head I know this stuffed recipe: Wash & then cut off the stem and top 1/3 off the artichoke and scoop out the middle (like the scratchy & purple parts). Stuffing: I like to sautee garlic, onion, celery, and red bell pepper for color in extra virgin olive oil until soft. Let it cool and add some breadcrumbs, freshly grated pecorino-romano or parmesan cheese or both, and fresh lump crab meat. Make sure to use good olive oil and really fresh crab. You can really add or take away any of the ingredients you like. Stuff middle and between rows of leaves with mixture and drizzle tops with evoo. Bake in dish with a little water and cover with foil. If you like you can add lemon wedges to the water prior to baking. It takes about an hour or so.

too funny!!