my first wedding

I'm in San Diego this morning, (not at work, re: this post), at my parents' house drinking coffee and looking through old photos. Being that our wedding is soooooo scary close, it seems like a good time to share my first trip down the aisle. Just for fun.





Here's me, 18 months old as a flower girl in our friend Gail's groovy 70's wedding. She and her family will be at our wedding too, which is kind of a nice full circle thing.

Family lore says that I would only walk down the aisle if my dad was waiting at the other end. And I apparently didn't totally grasp the idea of sprinkling flowers here and there, laying a path for the bride's big moment. Instead I walked straight to my dad, turned the basket over and dumped my entire allotment of petals out at his feet. I've always sort of done things my way. Hee hee.

For those considering getting married...

ALERT.

this is what your life (and house) is going to feel like.



This used to be our guest room/office.

Now it is our guest room/office/craft room/wedding storage unit/temporary home for registry shipping boxes that we might need for the trip out to palm springs/clean laundry staging zone/blogging headquarters/DIY factory/gocco studio/personal nightmare.

Brooklyn Bride posted a photo of their living room after they got married. And I remember thinking to myself at the time, (insanely), OH our house will never look like that because I'm fanatical about picking up after projects and keeping some semblance of order in my home. sooooo wrong. sooo obviously wrong.

good morning fall

This morning, officially, it feels like fall. Southern California fall that is. Perfect light, a teeny breeze blowing off the desert rustling leaves on trees that don't ever really turn, but it's warm still. And just gorgeous.



It's the kind of morning that says, no don't go running, instead sleep a few minutes longer and then drink coffee in the backyard and take pictures.

It's also the kind of morning that says, "Today is your last day of work."

Until December 1st. F*ck yeah.

sometimes i think this

"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."

- Marilyn Monroe




Especially when i'm 2 weeks away from my wedding. Luckily my FH handles any sort of erratic behavior I can dream up with infinite good humor and patience. I've found that these tendencies are exacerbated in the final days of wedding planning. Obviously.

(photo courtesy of: the internet)

Heath LA + seasonal beauties

So I was innocently stalking my, I mean OUR, registry a few afternoons ago and there on Heath's homepage was just one teeny new thing... under Sausalito (the original and thus far only store) was another city! Mine. I feel like I've just won the lottery. Next thing you know, they'll be putting in a Ferry Building in my neighborhood. (I can wait until 2010, it's fine). Hee hee.



(accidental obama plug, but how f*ing great is that?)

Factory seconds at any moment. It's like the design gods came down to earth and validated LA. I am such a nerd.

Also. The new seasonal collection is out. It's pretty rad.

zucchini pickles á la zuni cafe

First, on zucchini. If you plant them, be aware that you will be finding them, lurking and huge in the back of the garden well into October. I just lugged one in from the backyard. It was the size of my thigh. Oopsies. That's what I call worm food. Unless someone out there has another suggestion?

Now, on pickles. I love freshly made pickles! Any kind really, but these from the Zuni Cafe are essential if you're growing zucchini (or any zuke-like squash) in your yard. One can only take so much zucchini bread after all. I had nearly forgotten about these this summer until I happened upon The Wednesday Chef on the day she posted the recipe herself. (SIDE NOTE: great food blog, and she just got engaged! welcome to the world of wedding planning Luisa!) Inspired, I opened my Zuni Cafe cookbook and have made like 4 batches since.

I added a few things to the o.g. recipe, because I can never help myself. And my quantities are a little loose... because 1 pound of squash doesn't even begin to dent a healthy backyard crop. Plus I don't have a kitchen scale... maybe I need?



Editor's note: if you don't have a mandoline you need one. In a bad way. (and it doesn't have to be fancy. I have this one, it's excellent, easy to use, and inexpensive). SO, mandoline in hand it takes about 3 minutes to perfectly slice a huge bowl full of squash and onions. Mandoline not in hand, potentially scary long time slaving over cutting board + inevitably ill-shaped pickles.


Zucchini Pickles adapted from the Zuni Cafe
(this is a doubled recipe... if you're going to go to the trouble, just make a bunch!)

2 lbs very fresh firm zucchini or other summer squash
2 small red onions (real recipe calls for yellow, but I never seem to have on hand)
2-3 HUGE garlic cloves (or more small ones)
4 T kosher salt
3 1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c filtered water
2 c sugar
3 or 4 springs of fresh thyme
3 t dry mustard
3 t teaspoons crushed yellow and/or brown mustard seeds
1 1/2 t ground turmeric

1. Wash and trim the zucchini, and slice thinly (1/16") using hopefully a mandoline for speed and ease, but a nice sharp knife will work too. Same goes for the onions and garlic. Combine the zucchini and onions in a large but shallow nonreactive bowl, add the salt and toss to distribute. Add a few ice cubes and cold water to cover, then stir to dissolve the salt. Leave be on the counter.

2. After about 1 hour, taste and feel a piece of zucchini - it should be slightly softened. Drain and pat dry. I layered the squash in between paper towels to ensure maximum moisture absorption.

3. Combine the vinegar, sugar, thyme, dry mustard, mustard seeds and turmeric in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes. Set aside until just warm to the touch. (If the brine is too hot, it will cook the vegetables and make the pickles soft instead of crisp.)

4. Return the zucchini to the dry bowl and cover with the cooled brine. Stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed. Select appropriately sized glass jars and wash in super hot water to make sure they are nice and clean. Fill jar(s) with pickles and brine, making sure to cover the squash with liquid. If you're short on juice, personally I think it's fine to add a little water. These will live in the fridge, so you don't have to worry about growing bad things in the jars.



5. Open your fridge the next morning to get soy milk for coffee and see lovely jars of homemade pickles smiling back at you. yay.

The big jar is for the little cocktail party we're having the night before the wedding. The small jar is to tide us over until then.

vintage pottery for our california garden party

It's kind of wild to see everything start to come together here in the waning days of wedding planning. Not that I have much confidence that it will actually all come together, I'm highly realistic in that way, but you know I think it will be nice all the same.

I've been collecting vintage california pottery for the last year or so (greens and whites) to use for centepieces and such around the reception. I counted last night and we've got 42 pieces plus a handful of little minis. They are covering the shelves in the living room. Here's a sampling:



So we'll fill these with succulents (my project for next week when I'm done with work!) and flowers (yay Hoot & Heart!) and scatter them around.

What am I going to do with 42 pieces of vintage pottery post-wedding? Sell them of course! I mean I'll keep my faves, but anyone interested in buying a big lot of vases for their own wedding should contact me... in December. When we're back from the honeymoon and can face logistics again.

lovelies by papered together

Krista from papered together sent me a link to her beautiful little etsy shop over the weekend. So many sweet things to need! I'm really trying not to buy things that aren't totally and completely VITAL to the success of our wedding and/or honeymoon right now... but I may need to make an exception here:







You can buy all this good stuff right this second on etsy. But save me some.

And it looks like she also does custom wedding invites. could be pretty cute.

my dress at Alix & Kelly (who I also love)

The dress fits. And I love it. Want to see?



The flower for my hair. Alix & Kelly happened to have the perfect one at their studio. Plus they are adding a few feathers for me. They are the best. (And my grandma's ring that I'm wearing for the wedding.)




Kelly pinning the hem of my dress. (Yes, the women who own the line are actually Alix and Kelly and they are so awesome).




And my shoes with the raggedy pinned hem of the dress.


My mom took all the photos, nice job Mom!

Anyone in LA looking for a beautiful, simple, classy gown I can't say enough times that you should make an appointment with these two women! They are so nice, so thoughtful, so creative... and it feels so great to be wearing a dress made by their little company instead of by a corporate wedding giant. Their studio is downtown in the fashion district (next to the Cooper Building so if you time your appointment right you can hit the sample sales afterwards) and it's low key and full of light and just my style.

And they have v. cute bridesmaid dresses. In like every color you can imagine.

alixkelly.com

go, now, quickly!

happy weekend...

i have my final dress fitting tomorrow.



WHEEEEE!

(from bff, flickr)