Hair/Makeup Trial!

The day started off beautifully. My appointment in Susie's studio in Culver City wasn't until 3pm, so I decided to explore Venice - wandering the canals, walking up the pier, and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the boardwalk all made for a lovely morning/afternoon.  I got to the appointment early and Susie's boyfriend was there.  He told me she was running late because of a wedding in which the bride had added a bunch of people to be done at the last minute (actually, it was Miss Glitter from WeddingBee!).  So I waited for almost an hour, then Susie called again and asked whether I could reschedule to Sunday or next week.  Already had plans with Chris for Sunday, 4th of July/birthday next weekend.  So she suggested that I come back to the studio at 8:30 pm that night.  

Already a bit weary from all the morning's tramping about, I went to Westwood, had a lovely picnic, and got thoroughly embroiled in Pillars of the Earth.  Finally, it was time for my appointment!

And it went fabulously!  I had e-mailed a bunch of inspiration photos to Susie, mostly of loose, wavy updos and when Susie asked me why I chose them, I said: "because I've always wanted masses of curly hair worn down for my wedding, and it's just not in the cards."  And Susie said "Don't be silly!" And proceeded to work miracles, with my fine, straight, generally unresponsive hair.

She listened and worked with me for two and a half hours getting the hair and makeup just right, and lo and behold, there is a way to "keep a curl" in my hair!  

The lighting in the studio was rather harsh, and the lighting in my bedroom was kind of dim, but here are some photos of the trial:

Side view:

Susie did the works on my face: discreet false eyelashes, gold shimmery eyeshadow, eyebrow shaping (never had that done before!), a medium coverage foundation, bronzer, and a pink lipstick that I loved...

Full side view, showing flowers attached in the back
At home, about an hour and a half after everything had been done:

I love it!
Susie waived the entire payment for the trial since she had to move the appointment, which was a nice bonus.

Other things that have been recently crossed off the wedding to-do list:

- Todd got fitted for his tux in NJ two weekends ago (and got snazzy new shoes)!

- Bridesmaids' surprises are finished!

- Ceremony readings/ readers have been finalized!

- Large Disney payment completed!

Time to Panic

Why?

Well, according to the tracker on Martha Stewart Weddings, our Big Day is only 38 (almost 37) days away - and the reason I haven't blogged about wedding-related projects in awhile is because I haven't been doing any!

I wish I could say that my lack of industriousness is due solely to work, but if I'm honest it's due to work + copious after-work socializing + abundant pleasure reading :-).

However, in this last month before our wedding, I plan to kick it into high-gear with the following projects (and a couple of surprises for Todd, which I can mention since he *never* reads this blog, supposedly because he doesn't want to accidentally stumble on pictures of me in my wedding dress!):

1) Programs - We already have the blank templates (we just decided to go with one fold, book-sized, gold-framed ones from Michael's) so now we need to really finalize the ceremony before we can type up and print the programs

--> in order to finalize the ceremony, we need to choose one additional reading

--> ask two people to be our readers

--> submit our music requests for the string trio to Disney (they've already been approved)

--> check in with our officiant about the order she plans to do everything in

2) Menus - We already have the paper (of a nice lilac, handmade sort), and we've already created the menu template with our monograms.  Now we just need to deal with the inevitable trials and tribulations of printing two correctly formatted menus to a sheet, cutting them, and adding ribbon.

3) Hair/Makeup Trial - This will be next weekend at 3 pm.  I need to get some "inspiration photos" together to show Susie.  I really hope the trial goes well, since it is too late to find and book another person...

4) Finish Bridesmaids' project - This is top secret...and currently half-completed. Must devote a solid evening or two to working on it.

5) Top Secret Surprises for Todd --> Boudoir photos.  I was of two minds about this, but ultimately decided that it would be a fun "groom's gift" for him, in addition to a membership in D23, Disney's first official fan club, which I know he's been wanting for awhile!  The boudoir session is scheduled for next week, and I'm kind of nervous - hope it goes well!

Once all the RSVPs are in:

6) Make seating chart

7) Make placecards

8) Talk to florist about number of centerpieces, payment, and setup

In Three Days At Home Before Wedding:

8) make favors

9) make out-of-town bags

10) assemble apple placecards

11) TRY ON and PICK UP wedding dress!

12) (hopefully) get all Zen

Phew! Maybe I should try to put some deadlines on completing some of these...

Miscellaneous additional projects include:

--> making rose cones for the petal toss at the ceremony

--> practicing first dance

--> keeping on top of thank-you note writing

--> figuring out which vendors are owed what and making envelopes to pay each of them

--> reconnecting with florist, officiant/ videographer (her son), and photographer

--> making little cards with our Flickr account on them so guests can upload their photos after the wedding

--> creating a wedding day timeline

--> planning a loose itinerary for our Paris/London honeymoon!

--> getting marriage license somewhere in the OC a couple of days before the wedding

--> encouraging Todd to get moving on groomsmens' tux fittings/ groomsmens' gifts

This weekend (starting with red-eye I'm taking from LAX to Newark tomorrow night), I plan to relax, spend some much-needed time with Todd, have fun at Suzi and James' wedding, and go to a great Fathers' Day picnic.

But starting on Monday, I'm going to hit the ground running on these projects! 

Ducklings

are really too cute for words. This one was seen swimming in the great rivers of America at Disneyland on Friday night!

Very UP-lifting

This past Friday, Todd and I and a bunch of friends went to see the new Pixar movie "Up" at the El Capitan in 3-D.  Not only was it an amazingly fun and interesting movie (and I'd be surprised to find ONE person who disagrees!), it also contained some great messages about love, family, adventure, and home.

Kevin, Dug, Russell, and Carl Frederickson, near Paradise Falls in Venezuela:

Mr. Frederickson's house as it becomes airborne:
Russell and Mr. Frederickson pulling his house through the jungle:
And this is how the movie made me feel: so light, uplifted, happy, and free.
And the messages?

1. Love thrives on the small moments that make up everyday life.  A couple doesn't need adventure and excitement to be truly happy - all they need is love.

2. The people that make up a person's family are just those who care about and for him or her, whether or not they're related.  And I love how "Up" didn't sugar-coat the fact that sometimes one parent really lets a child down; luckily,  there was a great man to step up and be there for Russell.

3. Just be yourself - your quirks are the things that the people who really love you appreciate the most.  

4.  A sense of home and belonging isn't created by a physical place or material possessions; it's the experiences and feelings and memories that make a person's home more than anything else.

5. It's NEVER too late to float off above the horizon, to follow your lifelong dream, and to discover new things.

I hope that Todd and I are lucky enough to have the kind of marriage that Carl and Ellie had in the movie, one on which we can look back when we're old and gray, and just smile, thinking about how wonderful the journey's been because we've taken it together...

Runyon Canyon

I was so happy to discover this weekend that one block over from my apartment on Hillside is Fuller Ave., which dead ends at Runyon Canyon, a sprawling, hilly state park filled with hikers, joggers, dog walkers, and tourists (which I definitely looked like, hoisting my camera around).

The path I took began mildly enough, and then it hit a plateau from which one can see all of Los Angeles - from Century City to downtown LA - spread out below.  At this plateau, the path curved sharply upwards.  Here's a picture on the way up the mountain:

A Century plant in bloom, looking down at the path I'd walked on the way up:

Requisite Hollywood sign picture:

Downtown LA:
On the way back down, with the city peeking through a cleft in the hills:

I'm going to try to make it a goal to hike this path - about 45 minutes round trip, and very good exercise - at least three times a week.  It'd be a great stress reliever after work, since it doesn't get dark now 'til at least 8 pm...