Lasagna Party!

You're drooling right now, aren't you? It's okay. I was too. This is the gigantic lasagna I made a few weeks ago because I had a craving that needed attention. I used the recipe from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis, and she mentioned that she has lasagna parties. I was thinking about how awesome that would be, and then it hit me...lasagna rehearsal dinner/small reception dinner! Think about it...it's really easy to assemble, you can customize them to suit pretty much every dietary need (vegetarian, gluten free noodles, vegan with soy cheese), and they would be so cheap to make. All you need is enough time, a large fridge for storage, and enough time and space to bake them. Who wouldn't want to chow down on a square of bubbly, comforting, cheesy carbs? That's pretty much what I live for.

P.S. Giada's recipe says that this is six servings. Six! This thing was massive. It took us over a week to finish it as both lunch and dinner. You could totally stretch the portions out if you serve it with a salad, maybe a little antipasto...whatever pleases you.

Tiny Top Hats! Yes!

Okay, so, as I've mentioned before I really like hats. I am also not wearing your traditional long veil so I am seriously interested in alternative hairpieces. I've been seeing a lot of brides in tiny hats and I LOVE THEM!!! I've scoured the internet for affordable milliners, but the ones I like the most are a pretty penny. Side note: for the longest time I thought a hat maker was a haberdasher. Come to find out that's someone who makes men's clothing. A milliner is a hat maker, but haberdashery is so much fun to say.
Anyway, this tiny top hat tutorial made its way onto Offbeat Bride the other day. Thanks, Offbeat Bride, for being so awesome. I have no idea if I'm a tiny top hat lady or not, but we'll just have to find out now won't we. I suppose I could always alter the pattern a little to come closer to these other beauties I've found. I mean, come on....

Yes, please. Can you stand how awesome this is?!

And this one! I am in love!

All photos from the exquisite Jane Taylor Millinery in the UK. I may just have to buy one in the end. I'm drooling over that first comma hat. Maybe not in black, though.

Anthology is awesome

And if you've been there, you know. Anthology is this cute little store on State Street that has unique jewelry, craft supplies, art, cards, and other miscellaneum. I was there with a friend the other day and found a potential paint source for the below crane project. GLITTER WATERCOLORS!!! Adding a touch of sheer glitter to a colorful canvas would look great when it catches the light. You've got to like a little sparkle though.

1,000 Paper Cranes Updated

I have always loved the symbolism of 1,000 origami paper cranes at weddings. Wikipedia tells me that they symbolize the giver's wish for a thousand years of happiness for the new couple, and the internet would not lie to me. My mom reminded me of my love for these cranes when she offered to fold them for me one day, out of the blue, because she is awesome. Besides the symbolism, thinking about the time, effort, and inevitable hand cramps that go into hand-folding 1,000 paper squares makes the gift so special. When was the last time you actually made a wedding gift for someone dear to you instead of buying up the cheapest registry items in Williams-Sonoma? I can safely say that I've never done that. Not that Williams-Sonoma doesn't have some bitchin' cookware, and these gifts are probably more practical and useful. Except for the meatball grilling basket. I just can't wrap my mind around that. And the jalapeno popper roaster. Does anyone own one or both of those and use them? Report back, please. I'm getting off on a bullshit cookware you don't need tangent here...(no disrespect intended if you own one...I own bullshit products too)

Anyway, I stumbled across this piece of artwork today on my favorite, Design*Sponge, and was inspired.

I am in love with the opaque bird cut-outs that overlap and merge to create new swirls of color. Wouldn't it be beautiful to adapt this idea as an alternative to signing a matted picture of the couple? You could cut out 1,000 crane shapes, or any image that is significant to you and yours, from different colored tissue paper or crepe paper and layer them on a canvas or flat surface. This could then be matted for guests to sign, and it would be a sweet reminder of your wedding day to hang in your home. Granted, neither of us are Japanese, but we both have a love of Asian cultures, and the minimalist aesthetic in Japanese design. Maybe this is picking and choosing pieces of a culture to appropriate that is not my own, but that's what Americans are great at! A little of this, a bit of that, and voila! Also, I don't think it's being done in a disrespectful way. At least, that is not my intent. My intent is to honor a tradition that I identify with for whatever reason, even though it isn't part of the culture I was brought up in.

Now, truth be told, I would probably be the first to be extremely frustrated by cutting tissue paper. That's almost asking for a stress-induced meltdown right there...here, cut out a thousand paper birds from the flimsiest material known to craftkind. That's like asking someone to build a suspension bridge out of balsa wood. Totally frustrating. This could probably also be done with stencils and watercolors or gouache if you're more into painting. You'd still get the lovely transparent, blending effect from the thin paint without the pressure of ripped paper (bonus). Has anyone done something similar? I think I need to break out my gouache again and experiment. Thank you costume design class for teaching me about drawing and gouache.

Picture of Kara Maria print via Design*Sponge

No, thank you.

I am so wearing this on my wedding day, for how could it possibly be complete without a giant crazy diamond...on your head...
I don't think I have to say any more.

Flower Alternatives and Additions

Thanks again, Young House Love, for having such great taste.

I love the color, airiness, and arrangement of these flowers, but what I love even more is the lovely jeweled flowers hiding in the middle. If you held these all in your hand or tied them together with a ribbon, wouldn't it make a stunning bouquet? The creator of this arrangement uses vintage pins, attaches them to wooden skewers or dowels with green floral wire, and wraps the whole "stem" with green floral tape. Here's a really easy DIY to do by yourself or with a group that doesn't require much time or the pressure of creativity, and the results are so beautiful. I'm also loving the reduce, reuse, recycle aspect of the whole thing. I'll have to remember this...

Minimal Flower Centerpieces

I have been inadvertantly running into a lot of images of flowers that I love this week. The emerging trend is minimal, architectural, and colorful. Observe...

Photos via The Knot

Love these! However you may feel about The Knot and their questionable advice, you have to admit they have georgeous eye candy. One beautiful, architectural anemone. There are multiple textures between the feathery leaves, smooth petals, and rough gritty dirt to keep it visually interesting. I haven't seen a single flower in a glass with the dirt exposed like this before, and I'm really into this classy way to bring the outdoors in. I love the simplicity and elegance of it (which is our shared aesthetic). Then I found this:

Photos and other beautiful things via Eat Drink Chic

How do I love thee, individual and small groups of stunning flowers in a bud vase? I'm lucky my taste leads me towards budget-friendly flower arrangements. What's great about these is that you could do all the arrangements yourself the day before or morning of. Simply go to the fabulous Dane County Farmer's Market to browse and support your local independent farmer, choose your lovelies, and fill glasses with dirt. Sounds fun to me. You could use pretty budget-friendly stemware you already own, or hit up St. Vinny's and Goodwill to find cheap and eco-friendly alternatives. It would also be a way for people who want to help, have basic motor skills, but aren't crafty to contribute to a more communal wedding bash. They say that people enjoy something more if they make/help create it, which I think is true. It would be great if everyone could feel a small piece of ownership of the wedding day, even if it's as simple as "Yeah you like those centerpieces! I scooped that dirt in myself!" It would help add to the feeling of community support and fun I am hoping for. To illustrate, Shelby over at Midwedst offered this lovely post about her wedding flowers. I think it's so cute and perfect that her fiance's aunt is calling them "love flowers," for what else would you call flowers being hand planted especially for your wedding bouquet? That's what I'm talking about...love, guest/family involvement, community. It will be thrilling to see how her bouquet turns out!

Oh Design*Sponge, how I love thee. But first, some background. Andrew is a science guy, and I am a literature girl. For a while now I've been thinking about different ways to incorporate Andrew's love of science into our wedding. One of the first presents he ever gave me was a necklace inside of a test tube he made himself. How cute is that?! I still cherish that test tube. Based on that memory I half-jokingly threw out the idea of test tube rack centerpieces that would act as bud vases...and he loved it! Score 1 for team science, but in my head it looked kind of kitschy (remember the wooden racks from high school chemistry?). Enter Design*Sponge stage right with a beautiful take on this idea:

All you have to do is change the base, and it becomes an elegant test tube rack. The tutorial is here, and it's so easy to accomplish by yourself or with a buddy. If elegance is not your thing, you could easily change the base and flowers to suit your style. The other great thing is that you don't need that many flowers to fill a test tube and get a full, lush look. It would be equally striking as a more minimalist, modern centerpiece with a single flower in each tube. I'm thinking a metal rack, or a couple of those single test tube holders crowded together.