We did it! - A Veggie Teaser

I'm back! After a three-day long extravaganza that was everything I could have hoped for and more I am left with a ring on my finger and a strong sinusiti-streptococal-flu-cold.

Oh well, can't win them all.

We won't have our pro pics back for a little while, but I thought I could give you a little taste of our joy with some teasers from my SIL, Jen Lebo. How gorgeous are these shots?!? I can't wait to see more of them, and of course, can't wait to get our pro pics back.

OK, I'm off to bask in my own snottiness and enjoy the rest of this sudafed-enduced semi-coma. I'm every man's dream wife right now.

Before.

During.

After.

*All photos taken by the gorgeous and talented Jen Lebo.

Holy Moly

Today is the day that I marry the love of my life, my best friend, Mr. Veggie.

I am feeling excited, happy, and a little nervous. But mostly just happy. Being surrounded by our family and friends this weekend has been an incredible joy.

I don’t have much time to post, because I am getting ready for the big bride v. groom softball game, but I wanted to take a moment to thank this amazing community for your words of support and advice.

See you on the flip side.

Grow With Love

Update on my life: Mr. Veg and I had a romantic reunion at our friends' Dave and Heather's lakeside wedding, I passed my written test at the RMV and am now allowed to drive in the USA (with a licensed adult), I have scoured FMIL Veg's house and barn for wedding items, and thanks to the Salvation Army Mr. Veg finally has something to wear to the wedding.

And now I find myself with a few minutes of down time so I thought I'd keep good on my promise to delve into more detail about our seed packet favors. I'll let you read the story behind them for yourselves, but I'll give you a little background on the steps involved.

We bought all seeds in bulk from The Territorial Seed Company. They were very friendly and helpful on the phone. The seed packets from Territorial are so cute that I contemplated using theirs, but buying the seeds in packets is substantially more expensive than buying them in bulk. Like 10x more expensive. So, of course, we went the DIY route.


I designed the packets on good old trusty MS Word with fonts downloaded from DaFont.I then went on an odyssey to find the right paper. It was important to me that the paper was 100% recycled and bleach free, but also that it was thin enough to fold and glue easily. Trust me, if you're thinking about folding and glueing 160 envelopes, find the thinnest paper available. So I looked in every office supply and craft store I could think of, but kept coming up empty handed. The best I could find was Paper source paper for about 30 cents per sheet. That seemed awfully expensive.

Finally, I stopped in an art supply store near where my sister lived and found handmade paper that was 100% recycled for only $8 per pack. I bought two packs and the lady gave me a 40% discount with a coupon she had behind the counter. Woo hoo! And the best part was that it was already cut in half vertically (hot dog style, not hamburger), so it saved me a bit of time. When do you ever find 4 x 11 paper? Perfect. I love when things like that happen.

So anyway, I know you've already seen this picture, but here is the end result.


10 days out now. Yee haw!

No time!

Two weeks to go. No time for a real post right now, Mr. Veggie flew in to the US two days ago and I am on my way up to see him for the first time since mid-June. (Pucker up Veg!, I'm-a-comin'). Then we have a wedding to go to, a conference to present at, family to visit, a driver's license to renew, a bank account to open, oh yeah, and a few minor details to hammer out before the big day. Marriage license? Yeah, that one should probably get moved up to the top of the list.

So, sorry for the lack of witty and insightful commentary, but the least I could do is give you a sneak peek at some projects I've been working on this week.

Vegetable Escort Cards made from recycled craft paper cardstock and fabric scraps from Veggie sister Kale's quilting room.

Seed packet favors. I should do a whole post on these because the story behind them is really sweet. We'll see, I'll try my best.

Birds for garlands. Made from cardboard gathered from our rubbish (pizza boxes, beer boxes, two-year old flowergirl's birthday presents) and vintage sheets/ fabric scraps.

This shindig is starting to come together. I can't believe I'm going to be a wife in two weeks. I can't believe I get to see Mr. Veggie tonight. Have a great weekend everyone!

I get by with a little help from my...

...newly-found-internet-acquaintances. Such a catchy tune.

Last week I was the recipient of some major bee love.

There once was a girl so nice that she volunteered to help with cutting and glueing, the two most evil most dreaded wedding crafting jobs. Who is this saint? This happy little crafting elf? This magical crafting fairy-godmother? Why she's EAQ219, (A.K.A. Em) wedding bee afficionado. We met at the D.C. Bee meetup two weeks ago and she volunteered to help me finish up some projects. You know I wasn't going to let an opportunity like that slip by. So I invited her over for an afternoon crafting session while my nieces were supposed to be napping.

Still smiling even though her fingers are blistering.

Let me tell you something about Em. She is hardcore. Some people might head for the door when greeted with a pile of 160 envelopes to fold, glue, and stuff. A lesser woman might have balked at cutting corrugated cardboard when the only scissors I could find were hot pink kiddie safety scissors. Not this girl. She is epic. And, not only did she show some mad crafting skills, she also passed on some good words of advice, as only a recent DIY bride could.

Trace. Cut. Glue. Repeat.

Also, on the way back to DC from my bridal shower I swung by Mrs. Trail Mix's house. While my nieces fought over who would get to walk her ah-dor-a-ble little puppy, her and I loaded my trunk with boxes of café lights. 500 feet of gorgeous little beauties, all in two nice nest-like bundles. If you enjoy rubix cubes, do I have a good job for you. Then, because she really is so super sweet, and was about to move into a new apartment in 3 days, she threw in some paper lanterns too. Nice! Gotta love the leftover wedding goodies. After a mere two nights of So You Think You Can Dance, I had those babies untangled and ready to hang. I am so excited about them. Like really really jazzed. Pumped, even.

Three weeks to go and I am loving the bee love. Thanks Trail Mix, thanks Em, I will be sure to pay these favors forward.