(Don’t) Put a Cork In It

Posted on February 3, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Don’t Diss the Mantel Update: Check out what I picked up at Hobby Lobby over lunch today – I LOVE THEM and they are going to be perfect on the mantel during dinner.

 

I got two of these for either side of the mantel - $5 each at Hobby Lobby.

 

Remember when you went to birthday parties as a child and on your way out the door to leave you’d get a little bag of goodies, or as they are referred to, favors. Well, I have decided to do favors for our upcoming Valentine’s Dinner. Since we are doing an Italian theme, I thought wine stoppers would be a perfect fit. Tomorrow I am putting the favors and their packaging together. Who doesn’t like to get presents?!

Here are some super cute wine stoppers which make the perfect gift when given with your favorite vino:

Pottery Barn, Monogram Beaded Glass Bottle Stopper, $19

Red Envelope, Vintage Ball Bottle Stopper, $29.95 each

Pier 1 Imports, Assorted Ceramic Bottle Stoppers, $4.95 each

Jonathan Adler, Elephant Bottle Stopper, $18

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Don’t Diss the Mantel

Posted on February 2, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Groundhog’s Day Proposal Update: What an amazing dinner with such great hosts. Kirk & Amy – you truly are the best and the chocolate cake and coffee ice cream was out of this world!

The beautiful fresh floral arrangements around the house.

Loved this nook bar in the corner of the dining room. I want one!!

The first gift we have received off of our registry. Classic Serving Set from Pottery Barn.

Chocolate cake and homemade coffee ice cream. Unbelievable!

I’m still gathering things together for the big Valentine’s Dinner this Saturday at Terrace Hill. We will be in the Grand Dining Room on the first floor, and I am doing all the decorations. Within the room is a fireplace with a beautiful and ornate mantel. My task for tomorrow is to go out and find some red candle holders to decorate the mantel with. I think I will have the best luck at Hobby Lobby.

Here is an inspiration board of ideas on how to dress up your own mantel:

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Groundhog’s Day Proposal

Posted on February 1, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Everything is Rose-y Update: The dry-run is complete and here is what the arrangements are going to look like. The roses were purchased from Trader Joe’s – $5.99 per dozen. WHAT A GREAT DEAL! (Hint, hint to any gentlemen who are looking for flowers on Valentine’s Day – cough, Marcus) I did use floral foam to keep the roses in place within the glass. I can’t wait to see how the table turns out this weekend!

It is hard to believe, but tomorrow is our one year engagement anniversary. Yes, we have been engaged for over a year! Some days it feels like we’ve been engaged FOR-EV-ER (‘Sandlot’ style), and other days it feels like it has gone by in the blink of an eye.

We are celebrating this momentous occasion with a dinner party over at a family friend’s house with both our parents. I am really looking forward to it, and the dessert they are known for – homemade coffee ice cream.

The dinner isn’t even here and I’m already thinking about a hostess gift or thank you to send to them afterward. I think the art of the ‘thank you’ is dying a slow death and I am taking it upon me to bring it back!

Have you been to a dinner party lately or stayed at a friend’s house? Did they go out of their way to accommodate you? If so, maybe you should think about sending them a little thank you note, or perhaps a nice host/hostess gift.

iomoi.com, custom ice buckets, $78

Target, Caldrea Signature Candles, $14.99

Pottery Barn, Monogram Italian White Pitcher, $59

Williams-Sonoma, Set of 4 Towels, $18

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Everything is Rose-y

Posted on January 31, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Table Wine Update: Tonight we popped open some bubbly in hopes that it would win the coveted spot on our wedding guests’ tables at the reception for our toast – and it did not disappoint! It is a brut by the name of Bon Vivant and I picked it up at World Market for $10.99. I think we have a winner here folks. Everything from the actual bottle itself (yes, I had to think how it would affect the overall decor) down to the after taste was perfect. It’s no Dom Perignon, but it will be perfect for everyone to toast with.

With the impending doom of another snow storm, I thought I’d lighten my spirits by buying some roses to test out how I would like to arrange them for our big Valentine’s dinner this Saturday. I’m thinking of a bunch of small arrangements lining the center of the 16-seater table surrounded by a bunch of votives.

If you are having a dinner party and you want to spruce up your tablescape, I urge you to take on a DIY flower arrangement. I am a ‘pro’ flowers kind of girl and I love having the perfect grouping on the dining room table to enjoy over dinner. Key is to keep them low and unobtrusive so they don’t get in the way of the conversation.

I love using things from around the house as vases, such as mason jars, old cans and tea cups:

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Table Wine

Posted on January 30, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Light ‘Er Up Update: What a wedding-tastic weekend! I spent 12 hours on Saturday (10am – 10pm) working on all sorts of wedding related projects. Actually, as I type this portion of the blog post I am currently at my parents house printing out 350 crossword puzzles. I did have a little help as you’ll see from the pictures below.

Dunzo!

My Helpers

As we continue to plan for the big day, I constantly thinking ahead to the part where I actually get to sit down and have a glass of champagne or wine at the wedding. Although I don’t know if that will happen. But I like to imagine that I might get to at least have 10 minutes to drink a glass of sparkling wine whilst sitting back and taking it all in. Here’s to dreaming…

Next up on the list is to start trying some wines for our wedding. Since we are using our own venue we aren’t restricted to get our “adult beverages” through a catering company. Which I continue to remind my father is saving us a TON OF MONEY. Here are a few labels that caught my eye while walking through World Market today. I tried to stick with a yellow theme. Tomorrow we’ll pop a few corks and try them out!

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Light ‘Er Up

Posted on January 28, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Sushi for Me, Sushi For You Update: I don’t think I can move I ate so much sushi. Thank goodness I’ve got my alarm set to make that 8am pilates class tomorrow morning!

Stuffed with sushi!

After pilates tomorrow morning I have a day full of wedding stuff to work on over at my parent’s house. I’ll be continuing to work on the table county cards, printing off the reception cards that will be part of the invitation and also finalize and print the crossword puzzle that will be tucked into pocket napkin folds at each place setting. And that is just the beginning! I also received an updated quote for our flowers this week, so I’ll need to sit down with George Banks (my dad) to review it. Good times.

Along with the floral quote, I received the tent lighting quote that we’ll need to go over. Having a tented wedding gives you a blank canvas to work with, so I have decided to spruce things up a bit with some atmospheric lighting compliments of the professionals over at CLE Lighting.

Below is a little inspiration for the kind of tent lighting I’m thinking of:


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Sushi for me, Sushi for you

Posted on January 27, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

What to Wear – Dinner Party Edition Update: Well, I didn’t make it out to the mall tonight to look at stuff because my future in laws invited us over for beef stew at Terrace Hill…and you don’t pass that up! But, I did take a peek in my closet and found a dress I had purchased at Ann Taylor LOFT about a month ago that just might fit the bill for our little V-day soiree. What do you think?

Little Black Dress from Ann Taylor Loft

The Haastad’s (Haas & Branstad Families) are celebrating Marcus’ birthday tomorrow night with a dinner out for sushi. He got to pick wherever he wanted to go, and he chose a sushi joint in Urbandale called Appare. He has been looking forward to this all week and can’t wait to place an order for a sushi boat. If you have never seen one of these, you are in for a treat. I will try to snap a pic of it and post tomorrow. Basically it’s a wooden boat covered in sushi and sashimi chosen by the chef. Yummers!

Here are a few of our other favorite local sushi spots – try them out!

Appare, 3769 NW 86th Street, Urbandale

Miyabi 9, 512 E. Grand Avenue, Des Moines

Samurai, 7125 Mills Civic Parkway, West Des Moines

Sakari, 2605 Ingersoll Avenue, Des Moines

Waterfront, 2900 University Avenue, West Des Moines & 2414 Southeast Tone's Drive, Ankeny

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What To Wear – Dinner Party Edition

Posted on January 26, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Thank Yous X 200 Update: So I went out and about tonight to look for the perfect thank you note cards that would be in our wedding color scheme but wouldn’t be too expensive since I have to purchase many of them. I found what I was looking for at Wally World.

2 designs, 50 folded cards & 50 envelopes, $7.97 each

Each pack 15 folded cards & 15 envelopes, $4.97 each

Our big Valentine’s dinner is soon upon us – actually sooner than we thought because we had to move it up a week to Saturday, February 5th – and I am on the hunt for a new little somethin’-somethin’ to wear to the festivities. Now, I’m sure I have something in my closet that would suffice, but who doesn’t love a new addition to the collection.

Here is what I’m thinking – something a little sweet for the V-day Dinner:

Forever 21, Bow Front Skirt, $24.80

Charlotte Russe, All Over Crochet Dress, $34.50

J.Crew, Lace Tulip Mini, On Sale $39.99

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Thank You’s x 200

Posted on January 25, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Have Passport, Will Travel Update: So I filled out all of the paper work, attached my stunning passport photos, now all I have to do is send ‘er off. Goodbye old passport, you have served me well!

Goodbye old, Hello new!

In other news, I had a meeting with our wedding tent company today to look over the reception site. We need to make sure the size tent that we are going with will fit on the area of land we have picked out. We got the green light!

It's on!

In a preemptive strike to be prepared for the onslaught of Thank You’s we are going to have to write in the next couple of months, I have decided to take the time now to figure out whether or not I will be purchasing our cards or taking on another project. I think tomorrow I am going to go out and about and check a few stores to see what kind of styles they have in bulk. My hand is already cramping at the thought of it…

Love these thank you sets – some of my top contenders:

Paper Source, Curry Dots Thank You Notes, $12.25/pk of 10 cards & 10 envelopes

Pear Tree, Refined Reflection Thank You, $23.49/pk of 32 cards & envelopes

Wedding Paper Divas, Modern Pair Thank Yous, As low as $0.84 each

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Have Passport, Will Travel

Posted on January 24, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Is That Your Final Answer? Update: So I spent the entire evening pouring over our guest list and I think I can safely say (minus final final approval from my mom) that it is FINALIZED. Huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. Well, kind of. I have started the address gathering process, but I still have some holes that need to be filled in, and quick. I actually don’t think the entire weight will be lifted until they are stamped and in the mail.

Sitting at 373 invitees right now. BOO YA!

This past Sunday I took at trip to Walgreen’s to get new passport pictures taken because I had luckily been ahead of the game and checked my passport to see when it expired, and low and behold, it expires in March. Of course. So I have to get a new passport in time for our honeymoon to Antigua in June. I am a little sad about losing my current booklet because it has stamps in it from all of my past travels, including Sydney, Bosnia, Croatia, Italy and London to name only a few. Guess that means we’ll just have to do more traveling soon as newlyweds!

Personally, I think it’s a lot more fun to whip out your passport if it is dressed up a little. Plus, it takes the attention away from the usually not-so-flattering picture inside of it! These would be perfect for some first class travelers:

Coach, Op Art Embossed Leather Passport Cover, $88

Burberry, Haymarket Check Passport Cover, $175

Kate Spade, Jane Street Creative Passport Holder, On Sale $45

Tiffany & Co., Passport Cover, $145

Saks Fifth Avenue, Graphic Image Passport Cover, $50

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