Purple and Pearls

So tonight I’ve put myself through a rigorous pampering evening in preparation for Suzie’s wedding on Saturday, Oh it’s a hard life!

I’ve scrubbed, polished, moisturised and plucked and I’m the smoothest I’ve ever been!  I’ve also been practising walking in my bridesmaid shoes.  All is well apart from a little sore patch where my toes peak through peep toe. I’ve stuffed socks in the shoes to see if they stretch a little and I’ve also packed blister plasters.  It pays to be organised!

It’s snowing here at the moment which has caused Birmingham International Airport to cancel it’s flights.  Some of Suzie’s family have had their flights delayed which is a major pain but there’s still time for them to get here as long as it stops snowing!

Tomorrow morning I shall be picking Suzie up bright and early, running a few last minute errands then checking in the hotel hopefully for a relaxing and calm afternoon… famous last words?

The very lovely and very talented Sarah at Blue Door Bakery is opening her kitchen doors for cupcake decorating classes!

I love baking cupcakes but even more than that I love decorating them! As soon as Suzie is back from her honeymoon I intend to grab a date in Sarah’s diary and meet up to learn all about sprinkles and swirls. Too exciting!

Last night I had a wedding nightmare!  I haven’t dreamt about the wedding in a long time but last night I dreamt I visited a new hairdressers and told her I wanted a trim.

The weak dollar has put a stop to our honeymoon flight shopping spree* but it hasn’t stopped me thinking about what we’ll be doing once we get there!

As well as Dallas our other 100% booked destination is Honolulu. It was touch and go as to whether we’d make it to the Hawaiian Island of Oahu for various reasons but we finally booked our flights from San Francisco a few weeks ago. By far the highlight of the honeymoon planning, I danced around the room singing “Oh we’re going to Oahu” in the style of the annoying Venga Boys “Ibiza” tune.

Hawaii and Alaska have always been two states I have always wanted to visit. When we first started planning our honeymoon New York, Alaska and Hawaii were the first ones mentioned.

I’d love to go back to Hawaii at some point in the future and visit the less touristy islands of Hawaii like Maui, Kauai and Lanai but for now I’m more than happy with Oahu. I think it will be a lovely introduction to Hawaii.

On of the first things I decided we should do was snorkel in Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. A protected marine cove formed within a volcanic crater. We will be able to snorkel with the Green Sea Turtle! The area is protected and guests are not allowed by law to touch or interfere with the marine animals or the coral. Funnily enough Has’ parents visited Hanauma Bay on their trip to Oahu some years ago! I think it will be such an amazing experience.

Another thing to do which was high on my list was hiking Diamond Head. Part of the complex cones and peaks of the Honolulu Volcanic Series which makes up most of Oahu’s well known landmarks including Hanauma Bay. I’ve read quite a lot about the hike and most people suggest starting out quite early in the day to avoid the climb in midday heat. It has been said the hike is hard work but achievable and well worth it for the panoramic views of Honolulu.

I’ve always been interested in geology, especially volcanoes so to actually climb one has always been a goal of mine.

One of the things Has wants to do is a movie tour. I’ve mentioned it before but Has is a huge film buff! Scenes from his favourite film, Jurassic Park, were filmed on Oahu as were parts of Lost, Mighty Joe Young and Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

We also want to visit Pearl Harbour, the site of the attack that brought the USA into World War II. The battleship USS Arizona sits on the ocean floor and is visible due to the clear shallow waters. Part of the tour of Pearl Harbour allows you to take a boat to a floating platform directly over the USS Arizona. I shall imagine it will be a very interesting tour.

* We usually buy our flights direct with the airline or with Travelocity.com in dollars.

Have you had pancakes today?

Sometimes I’d love to be greedy and have more than one wedding day, obviously I’d always be marrying Has but if I could have another wedding day I would love it to be small and intimate and in Central Park after a snow storm!

From very early on we knew we wanted to name our tables after places in New York.  We also thought it would be fun (and hopefully not too narcissistic!) to have a framed photo of the two of us taken at that landmark.

I have 6 x 4 silver photo frames for each table and have taken photographs we have from our trips to New York and have turned them into black and white prints using Photoshop.

What do you think?

I’ve just taken the “Color Career Counselor” quiz, which has to be said is pretty accurate!

Best Occupational Category
You’re a CREATOR

For a spreadsheet geek like me the news that Style Me Pretty and Google have created new Google Docs Wedding Templates is rather exciting!

I’m a list girl, I like things organised and feel I can’t really do a good job unless I have lists to help me, so the new templates are ideal for people like me.  I’m using one at the moment which allows people to update their address and contact details which I’m sure will make it easier for us to send out our invitations.

There are loads to choose from including templates for budgeting, guest list, table plans and timings on the day.  So if you’re in need of some organisation help, check them out!