Who Made the Cake?

www.whomadethecake.com

We ended our cake tour of Houston at Who Made the Cake?TM equisite cakes by Nadine Moon.  I knew we were in the big leagues when we walked in here.  There were huge beautiful fake cakes overflowing in the place and plenty of signs saying no photos allowed.  WMTC has a sigma in town of being the best wedding cake money can buy.  This lady Nadine, whom we met with, makes cakes for all the celebrities that come to town, and has had a big fancy cake in People magazine.  If this bakery were a city, it would obviously be Hollywood. 

We met with The Nadine Moon (lol) and she was really nice and had the cake design process down to a science.  The cake we sampled was excellent, and they had this cinnamon vanilla flavor with a hazelnut filling that I thought was outstanding, but probably too adventurous to please 200+ people.  So good though.  Then the design process began and what we did was flip though a binder that was at least 8 inches thick with wedding cake photos and bookmarked the ones that caught our eye.  Then we go back through those and find the common elements that I was drawn to and started the design based on those things.  She actually quoted two separate designs because I couldn't decide, and she was also extremely knowledgeable about everything related to cakes.  Surprisingly a Hollywood cake isn't that much more price wise than Cakes by Gina and Three Brothers Bakery.  But it was still kind of outside what we wanted to spend. 

I really appreciate when I get to sit down with the actual big boss who is in charge of and putting their name on the cake that will be at our wedding.  Assistants and sales people just make me a tiny bit wary because who knows if the word they give me is what goes?  They aren't the boss.  So that was a nice thing about this appointment.

I have to say though, after the appointment from earlier at Three Brothers and lunch, I felt ill after eating all that cake!

Three Brothers Bakery

Last Friday Aaron, my Mom and I had our appointment at Three Brother's Bakery.  They are a really cool, really award winning bakery here in town that has been around for something like 60 years.  And they are family owned, which is another really cool thing that I like. 

Here is a list taken from their website:

Recently we have been humbled with several accolades and honors by our loyal customers and foodies:

• As seen on Food Network's Outrageous Food
• Chosen Best Pecan Pie "America has to offer" by Country Living - November 2010
• Preferred Bakery of the Houston Astros Birthday Parties
• 2011 Best Chocolate Cake MyFOXHouston
• Best Bakery 2010 - KPRC CityVoter Poll
• The Knot Best of Weddings 2010 & 2011 Pick
• Best Bakery 2010 & 2011 - Houston's Culinary Stars - HTexas Magazine
• Pastry Chef of the Year Nominee 2010 & 2011 - Robert Jucker
• Chosen by The Houston Chronicle Food Editor, Greg Morago, to collaborate and bring to life his idea of the Pumpecapple Piecake
• Readers Choice Best Bakery - Houston Press - 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and other years
• NAWBO Woman Business Owner of the Year 2009
• WBEA Supplier of the Year 2008
• Readers Ultimate Birthday Cake 2005 - Houston Chronicle
• Best Bread - Houston Press - 2002

So yeah, they are pretty good.  We sampled, I believe, nine different types of cake which were very delicious.  The lovely young lady who was helping us design our cake was super nice and friendly and had some really creative ideas for designing our cake, with sugar snowflakes falling between the tiers.  I mean, awesome, right??  The final price tag was competitive with other bakeries aside from our super cheap find, Alphorn.  I just really like this place and feel like I am supporting something good if I were to go with them.  It is going to be a tough choice!

More Poor Internet Choices

I got my wedding band in from Amazon.com.  It is perfectly lovely and just as I thought it would be.

My apologies for the horrible photography

There is a problem though.  While this ring is gorgeous by itself, I don't think it goes very well with my engagement ring :(  The band is just so dainty looking and my engagement ring makes it look teeny.  It's like my engagement ring is Marilyn Monroe and my wedding band is Audrey Hepburn.    It is hard to tell by the pictures, but there you go.  

So thankfully I have a 30 day window to return it and get a refund.  I think the problem is that I just picked a band I thought was beautiful without concern for matching with my engagement ring.  Pave settings look better alone I think, or you at least need some on your engagement ring as well otherwise they don't look like they go together at all.  Much like wedding gowns, you probably should buy a ring in person and not online.  Darn you Internet, your convenience has fooled me again!  Back to the drawing board!

Weight Loss Update #2

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Yay Diets!  So I made it through Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet last week.  It was mostly easy to eat nothing but lean meat, vegetables and low fat cheese for 2 weeks.  There were only two times during the whole two weeks that I would have given my right arm for anything with sugar in it.  But I trudged along and made it - and lost 11 pounds!  Yes, 11!

And to top it off, my Mom was doing the diet with me, but I also recruited my MOH Katrina to do it as well, and she has lost like 9 pounds already!  We are going to be so hot at the wedding.  So hot.  lol

Phase 2 is much more lenient on what you can eat.  We can have some fruits now, and whole wheat bread things in moderation.  The main point is just to watch your weight loss and if you get stuck, you might be having too much bread, so cut back and you should be good.  

I think I do better with stricter rules because while 90% of the time I am eating what I should, there are times when Aaron and I go over to our friends Jenn and Morgane's house and eat a boatload of pizza and cupcakes.  So thus far in phase 2, I am only down 2 pounds.

But 13 so far isn't bad!  And I have been doing my Windsor Pilates Abs DVD which is totally wonderful.  It is only 20 mins long, and it is all toning stuff so you don't even get sweaty.  It claims that if you do the video 10 times you'll be down a whole pants size.  I don't know if that is true because I have only done it 7 consecutive times in a row before I gave up, but I am determined this time!  I have only done it twice and I am already seeing some results, so that is fun and motivating.  

The biggest challenge of late is that I go to school three nights a week now, and since fast food is not diet or budget friendly I have to brown bag all of my foods for the whole day.  It isn't super terrible or inconvenient yet, but it is only the first week.  I know three weeks from now I will be making a jillion excuses of how I can just pick up a quick burger on the way to school or whatnot.  I just need to keep my eye on the prize!  

So that is pretty much all that is going on with the diet, I'll update again in a few weeks!

Photo Booth Update

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Sorry for the lack of posts, I was not in jail for blowing up Think Studios (which would have been a completely valid assumption) lol.  On Friday before we went to our last 2 cake tastings, I sent one last email.

"I am unsure why I am getting no response from emailing you and leaving you voicemails multiple times this week, but I need to know if my date is reserved or if a photo booth will be at my wedding reception on January 28th.  If you are trying to work it out, please let me know, otherwise I will contact groupon for a refund and go with another company.  I am thus far disappointed with the service I have received from your company.  Love, Natalie"

Not 3 minutes later did I get an email back.

Which is good news for them because while I was going to be out eating cake, I was going to drop into their office and unleash the wrath.  Well probably without the wrath part, but I was going to bring my frowny face up in their workplace to see if I could get some answers.

But yeah, the dude apologized for not getting back with me and said my date has been saved since February, and sent me a link to a form I needed to fill out, and that was that.  I guess the original guy I spoke with didn't know what he was talking about. (?)

They dodged a bullet this time.

But after I cooled down from my anger from the other day, I did have an epiphany of how ridiculous it was for me to be so mad about a photo booth.  I have since been making efforts to keep the big picture in mind and not flip out about stuff that doesn't matter so much.

I did want to give a shout out to my old pal Ryan/Iggy who in my moment of panic (which was being taken out on my facebook wall) totally offered to try to set up a photo booth at the reception.  I thought that was really cool of him to offer!

So yeah, all is well in wedding land :)

A Bridezilla is Born.

Someone Alert Traffic Control

I suppose it was only a matter of time until a wedding vendor tried to ruin my life.

If you've been reading for a while you might remember this post about how I scored a super sweet groupon for a photobooth for the wedding reception.  And of course, I did my homework and made sure the company is legit and reputable, and contacted them to make sure they had my date available.  They passed inspection and I got an email confirmation that my date was on hold.  Sold!

Well last week I was much like a 8 month pregnant nesting mom-to-be, and school was my baby.  So I was trying to get any and all wedding loose ends tied up before the semester starts, including getting this photobooth set in stone and finalized. 

So I called up the place on Thursday and an automated voice answers and there was a specific option for groupon people, so I left a message about how I have a groupon and I wanted to get my booth set up, etc.

Now it is Monday and I haven't gotten a call back, so I email Ryan, whom I emailed back in February when I bought this groupon to secure my date, and tell him how I called and no one has gotten back to me but I wanted to get this booth set up.

Now it is Tuesday and no phone call or email, and my annoyance level is at about a 7.  I cannot stand it when I have to wait on people for things.  It is a character flaw I need to work on, I know, but I just want to get things done and handled and it not have to take a week to get one simple answer or whatever. 

I call again Tuesday afternoon and the menu options have changed, and there is no option for groupon people, so I hit the rent a photobooth option, and FINALLY I get someone on the phone.  I tell them about my groupon and how I want to set up my booth.  Here is a transcript of our conversation:

Employee: Um...who did you get this confirmed with?

Me: I confirmed with Ryan over email before I bought the groupon

E: Did you sign a contract yet?

M: No, this is why I am calling...  I have the email he sent me saying my date was held

E: Well I got hired on after the groupon promotion, and I show this date as booked, did you have another day you wanted to book

M: No, I bought it specifically for that day for my wedding reception, which is why I checked with you guys first.

E: Well people have been calling in and we only have 2 booths, what time is your event, we can maybe try to squeeze you in?

M: um, ok, I need it from 6-11pm

E: Well we can do this brand new thing we are doing, it's like a white screen with an actual photographer, and they project the pictures onto the wall of your reception

M: Well...  That isn't going to work because the photobooth is going to be in a seperate room from the main room, and I wanted the people to have the printouts, and then make a scrapbook with the second copy...

E: Well did you have a scrap book, because people usually walk off with the second copies, and noone really keeps those printouts, and this projection thing is much more expensive...

M: Eh...I think I need to call you back

E: I think you should call back and talk to Ryan.

Right now I am a cross between wanting to burst into tears and wanting to rip this dude's head off of his body. 

I was mad, you guys.  I won't go into details, but it was not the sweet Natalie we all know and love...there were far too many cuss words for that.  And I got to that level of mad because for once I feel like this is not even a little bit my fault.  I mean, the only thing I wanted to hear is that they acknowledge that they messed up and they are going to handle it, and a photobooth will be at my reception.  I'm not entirely ridiculous, I don't need things to be perfect or even expect that they can be.  But I do expect someone I am paying money to, to deliver and not jerk me around. 

So I called and left a voicemail for Ryan and read him the email he sent me back in February and asked what he is going to do to fix this.

I am still waiting for a reply back.

Now I know that a photobooth doesn't make or break a wedding, but I was so looking forward to having one, and I feel like at this point I am probably just going to get a refund from groupon and that be that.  I could get a photobooth from a different company, but it'll cost double.  There is a popular example in all the UNT Economics classes that they use to illustrate sunk costs - If you go to the ATM and take out $20 to buy a Hootie and the Blowfish CD and the $20 gets blown away by a gust of wind and is gone forever, is it more rational to get another $20 out of the ATM and buy your CD, or just go home?  Answer:  they are exactly equal.  The $20 is a sunk cost, it is gone, so forget about it.  And having a Hootie CD and $20 gives you the exact same amount of 'utility'/happiness.  Nerd Alert.  But this is like a real life living example of what is happening. 

So I know I can 100% get my money back right now, but it isn't going to make a photobooth appear at my wedding, which totally stinks. 

And I get more and more livid with every hour that passes that I don't get some sort of response. 

But I am patiently waiting to hear back from these fools to see how they intend to make it right...and resisting the urge to throw a molotov cocktail into their office.  (jk, I would never really do such a thing, it is just the mad talking)

Cakes by Gina Appointment

http://www.cakesbyginahouston.com/

Hi Friends!  So sorry I haven't been updating regularly, shame on me.  I'll just get right to it, we had an appointment last Saturday with Cakes by Gina.  It went alright.  We did not meet Gina, but rather a nice lady Millie.  Well let me back up, we pull into the shopping center and it looks pretty rough.  So after asking Jesus to protect our cars in the parking lot, we went into the shop.  When we met with Alphorn Bakery we were just in a back room of this bakery.  Like we walked past all the ovens and giant mixers and stuff.  Cakes by Gina was much more 'we are pros in the wedding circuit' feel, we had a lovely table set up with fancy linens and such.  The cakes and fillings we tried were quite good, and they have all these different sized styrofoam shapes so you can stack them up and really visualize the cake look you are going for. 

A bit of criticism that I have is that while Millie was nice, I felt kind of rushed (I guess).  Like I have no idea what exactly I want each tier to look like or whatever, but she wanted answers right then and there.  So had I not been shopping around, I would have gotten a mediocre cake that I wasn't super into but I was suggestively sold.  So I wasn't a fan of that.  Plus their cake we 'designed' with delivery fees and everything was about $500 more than Alphorn, who has better tasting cake and whom we actually met with the baker and not some sales person. 

But don't get me wrong, their cake was very good, and they had so many fake cakes around to look at which was really cool to see all the different designs in person.  And if you need a groomscake idea, you should totally go to their website because they have TONS of pictures and ideas and they are the cutest!  OH and I almost forgot my favorite part:

We got to sample these cake truffles that were out of this world!

I could cake shop forever... :)

Wedding Bands, and being resourceful

Sometimes things don't go as planned, but that is okay...   Aaron has taught philosophy classes for the last 2 semesters at a small college in town, and as far as he knew, this semester would be no different.  Well it turns out that they don't need him this semester, so our budget became a little skewed in the wrong direction.  Luckily, his bride to be is resourceful in the finance department and a professional bargain shopper!  Well I don't know if anyone has been watching the market, but gold has been at it's highest level in a super long time - and the first rule of smart money moves is buy low and sell high.  All of these places in town have been advertising like crazy to come sell your gold for top dollar (it was even on the evening news), so I thought I'd check into it...

My Mom and I cleaned out our jewelry boxes and found the gold stuff that we weren't into anymore, and today after I got off work I headed down to Houston Gold Exchange.  

I must interject that my original thought was something more sentimental.  Well kind of.  I budgeted for rings when gold was reasonably priced back in November, and now rings everywhere seem to be much higher.  But anyway, I thought I could take these old pieces and have them melted down into two wedding bands (and turned into white gold somehow...) but the man at the shop said that doing that was not recommended unless it was something really special to you because when the gold is melted down then reshaped to something else it will become very porous (?) (with pores) and basically be a not as good quality of end product.  Especially for a ring that you intend to wear for the next 50+ years.

I don't know if that is exact science or not, but it is what this dude said, so it is something to google for later.  

I got my free appraisal and all this stuff pictured below is worth $380 bucks!

 The current market price for gold is $1785.80 an ounce.  And you have to figure that these places are here to earn money, so you won't get 100% of the value.  I read that most of these Houston jewelers in the business of buying gold pay 60-70%.  The news story I saw recommended getting a few estimates and such before you sell, and I agree.  There are a few under the radar places that you can send in your gold and they mail you the money and pay around 85-90% but you really need to do your homework on them.  I will say that I have heard nothing but horrible things about cash4gold.com which advertises nationwide that they will rip you off bigtime, so whatever you do, don't go there!  So far a top pick I have seen is www.midwestrefineries.com.  Another thing about sending it off is that they may start melting away before you give then a yay or nay on their offer, so don't send grandma's old wedding ring unless you are sure you don't want it anymore.  So there is your mini-lesson on selling gold, lol.

A funny thing happened though.  The afternoon right before I went to see Houston Gold Exchange, I was looking on www.amazon.com for pictures I could take in to show the type of band that I wanted to have made:

www.amazon.com

A simple pave diamond white gold band.  Well amazon was having a super blowout clearance summer sale on jewelry and this $700ish band was on sale for $150 bucks!  So I told Aaron that we should get it since it was such a bargain, and it has a 30 day window to return it if I don't like it (but I think it is really pretty and just what I wanted).  Win!  Now we just need to get a ring for Aaron, but he just wants a basic band, so it looks like we will come in under budget on the rings.  Awesome!

And Aaron has an interview tomorrow to be a tutor/teach an SAT prep class for highschoolers, so send him some good vibes :)

I found the dress!

What a sigh of relief, I can cross this item off the list!!!

When I went dress shopping last week I found two dresses that I really liked.  They were solid 8's.

So today I had an appointment with Alfred Angelo.  If Davis's Bridal is Wal-Mart, Alfred Angelo is Target.  Not a giant zoo/freak show, but still a good selection and reasonable prices.  I was not really looking forward to this appointment at first because I looked at the selection of dresses for the larger gals and nothing really stood out to me.  I really should not be so quick to judge because they actually had several really nice dresses that I liked a lot.  But I tried on 'The One' and fell in love all over again (sorry Aaron!).  And my Mom totally cried, lol.

So the dress is going to wait to be revealed at the wedding of course, but let me just tell you that it is perfect!  I never really pinpointed what I 'envisioned' myself looking like on the big day,  which is the very first question these bridal consultants will ask you when you go in for your appointment.  But it was made apparent when I saw myself in the mirror.  The dress was so elegant and felt like 'Natalie'.  I felt like I looked undeniably beautiful, which I think every bride should feel.  And then we put on my Mom's veil that she wore when she married my Dad nearly 33 years ago, and it matched the dress spot on!  I loved the way I looked, and secondly, I felt really excited.  Like ta-da you are getting married, for real, not just throwing a giant party.  So that was cool and fun :)  And if you don't think it is possible (like maybe white dresses just can't get you all that pumped), you just need to keep looking, because the perfect dress is out there!  I mean seriously, there are literally 400ish dresses between the two stores alone....  Ladies, don't ever settle for less than a 10, because even if for only one day, you deserve it!

Weight Loss Update #1

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Hey everyone!  I just wanted to give a quick update about my dieting progress.  I am currently on day 3 of the South Beach Diet, and I am down 6 pounds already!  I like this diet because it is pretty straightforward, and has the right amount of structure that works for me, and you see results pretty quickly!  Plus my Mom has all the books already, and has joined me in the quest, though she doesn't need to lose any weight if you ask me.  Either way, a diet buddy is a welcome thing!  Collateral damage is that my poor little brother who has been our chef in the evenings while he hasn't been working doesn't get to make unhealthy-ish food for dinner or he gets us ganging up on him, lol.  We tried to get him on board too, but he was not interested. 

So I am in phase 1 of the diet right now, which is 11 days of pretty strict eating.  Pretty much you can eat green veggies, eggs, low-fat meat/protein (like chicken, fish, turkey), and low fat cheese.  Bonus though, you can eat certain sugar free things, like jello or sugar free hard candy, and diet soda.  So pretty much we have eggs for breakfast, protein on a salad for lunch, and protein with some veggies for dinner, and a jello for dessert.  I am so stoked that I am already down 6 pounds, that I don't even think about how I am not eating any pizza or fast food.  Another thing I do, is if I get a craving for some food that isn't allowed, I think about having it on January 29th.  And that doesn't seem too far away, so it appeases me, lol. 

Once phase 1 is over, you can start eating certain fruits and whole wheat carbs (in moderation of course).  So your weightloss slows, but really, it is unhealthy to be dropping 3 pounds a day non-stop.  And I couldn't eat like this forever!  And then when you are at your goal, you can eat anything, but when you have one of those days where you eat 5 breadsticks at the Olive Garden, or you accidentally eat half a bag of cheetos, you can just eat the phase 1 meal plan for a few days and get back on track.  Brilliant!  And most likely, this is probably how people who don't have weight problems operate in general...but my standard reply to eating all the cheetos is ::shrug:: I could go for something sweet now, lets have ice cream! 

Which is why I am here in the first place.  :\ 

And thankfully this diet doesn't require you to exercise, though I am sure mixing that in will give me even awesomer results.  I am just going to focus on the eating part, then mix that in.  My Mom and I did really well with walking in the evenings, but it has been like 800 days in a row of over 100 degree temperatures in Texas.  We'll get back into it once the outside stops feeling like the surface of the sun.  Excuses, excuses, I know!

But yes, everything is going well so far, and I'll be sure to post periodic updates on my progress!

What's in a name...?

Would a Natalie by any other name be as awesome? 

???



I'm taking about my last name.  Do I take Aaron's name and call it a day?  Is hyphenating too pretentious?  Do I stay who I've always been?

I've taken an unofficial poll and I have gotten a multitude of responses.  I see the pros and cons of the different ways you can go about it.

Keeping my name the same.
First of all, so Aaron's opinion is known, he doesn't care one way or another.  I have been Natalie Martinez for almost 30 years.  I've gotten sort of attached to it.  And also it lets people know I am Hispanic, because I sure don't look it!  I am not sure what the hassle of changing your name after marriage is like, but I am sure it is some sort of hassle.  And you know, in some Hispanic cultures the husband takes the wife's name.  Aaron already rejected this idea.  To be fair, he already has a bunch of academic work published under his name.  Which is a really good reason to keep your name.  Or if you are a celebrity, because it will just cause mass confusion.  Doesn't that Jennifer Anthony gal look sorta like J.Lo?  Also a thought (God forbid!)if the relationship doesn't work out, do you change your name back?  What do people think of you if you don't?  My God parents actually really lucked out, because they both had the same last name before they got married!  But someone who authors a blog I read kept her name the same, and all was well.  Until she tried to pick up a certified letter from the post office which was addressed her husband of a different last name.  I guess the postal service is pretty old-school still.

The hyphen.
Natalie Martinez-Hinkley.  I have a dumb story... So when I was little, I would go to girl scout camp in the summer for a week or two, to get acclimated with nature and whatnot.  Well there was some fellow camper one summer who had one of these hyphenated names.  (Mind you, this was before I even understood or heard of hyphened last names.)  So when it was time to get the mail, the counselors would call out our names: 
...Jane Smith...Natalie Martinez...Jennifer Jones-Anderson...
And guys, I would get so annoyed every time they called her name.  My little 10 year old eyes would roll, and I was like, ooh, she thinks she's so special with her two last names, what a stupid loser.  I kid you not.  I have no idea where this prejudice of two last names came from, but the moment I heard one 20 years ago, I was clearly not a fan, lol.  My MOH Katrina has a pretty unique last name, so she intends on hyphenating when she meets that special someone.  I will have to refrain from rolling my eyes at her when I hear her name... jk :)  But on another note, if say you are of a family will all daughters and you want your family name to trudge onward into the future, that is cool.  But what happens when your daughter, Jennifer Jones-Anderson wants to marry Steve Roberts.  Are three hyphens in our future??  Because I can tell you right now, I will not be able to handle that.

Taking his last name.
Natalie Hinkley.  When I asked my Mom about what made her decide to take her husband's last name, she replied:  I didn't even think about it, it is just what you do?  To an extent, I agree.  I don't think I have a single female family member that didn't take her husband's last name.  And embarrassingly enough, I was totally guilty of putting my first name with the last name of boys I had crushes on all throughout my younger days (you know, just to try it out, lol)  So perhaps I was destined to go the traditional route.  And thankfully, Aaron's last name isn't bad.  If it were weiner or something, I might keep my own.  The benefit also, is that when we hopefully one day have a family, we will all be Hinkleys.  And here's another story for you.  It was 2006, and my good friend Trey and I were looking for an apartment to share for our last year of college.  At this point we have had it with gross college apartments, and made a respectable level of income to afford something at the next level.  Well we found the apartment of apartments!  The layout was perfect, it was so much space, the location was great, the closet space and bathrooms were awesome, and the price was SO GOOD compared to comparable places.  So we apply, and we are already envisioning the parties we are going to throw, and the way we are going to set up the furnitures, then something terrible happens.  They declined our application.  Because apparently I have a criminal record of felony abuse to a child.  Fast forward:  after some research, fingerprinting at a police station, and background check ran at my own expense in attempts to clear my name, they did not approve our application.  Even after I proved that the person they thought I was, was currently in prison until 2012.  So we had to live in ghettoville for a year.  On the third floor, which is the worst!
Since then, I have had a major grudge against Natalie N Martinez, who lives in Texas, and also has my exact birthday.  And a criminal record.
And now I cannot rent an apartment, or apply for a job, or a passport without mentioning that, if something horrible pops up, it isn't me.  It is annoying to say the least.
So in that regard, I am glad to get a new safe identity with a not so common last name.


Mourning the loss.
So I am 97% sure that I am going to take Aaron's last name, but I have a nagging feeling of sadness about not being a Martinez any more.  I feel like Natalie Martinez has her days numbered, but who is this Natalie Hinkley?  It is like mourning the loss of my identity almost.  And I know it is totally silly and dumb, but when I think about it, I feel like I am pulling apart from my family when I am no longer a Martinez.  When my Mom got remarried to my step-father and changed her last name, it felt so weird.  Like, is she still 'one of us', well yes, but she is 'one of them' too. (?)  I don't know what I am trying to say, but it was an adjustment.  And when I change my name, my little family of my Mom, brother and I, we will all have different names.  But yeah this is silly, I don't know what is wrong with me, lol.

Anyone out there feel me on this?  Or have a story/situation to share?


We could always combine names, and be Aaron and Natalie Hinktinez.  What do ya think?!  LOL 

A Tale of Two Dresses.

Pretend there are only two dresses here.

So today was my first appointment to try on dresses for the big day.  My Mom and I headed back into the city after the morning of cake try-out 1 and headed to David's Bridal.  I was super nervous about dress shopping, and David's in general.  The first time I was in there for wedding related things, I was with MOH Katrina and we were just looking for fun at some bridesmaid dresses.  The dresses were good, but everything else was pretty terrible.  First of all, I felt like I was in a Wal-Mart, due to the clientele this establishment garnered.  It was just super crowded with people not watching their kids running around, or looking like they haven't showered in a good while, or had neck tattoos, etc.  It was nothing like 'Say Yes to the Dress'.  Plus the consultant who was working with us was totally weird, and not making any sort of small talk.  So basically when Katrina was trying on the dresses we stared at each other in silence.  Awkward.

And then there is the whole issue of me not really being into clothes shopping in general.  Don't get me wrong, I am obviously super excited to get married but the dress thing...I just feel like I am not super happy with my appearance usually, so why would a white dress change any of that?  It's nothing upsetting to me or anything, it just is what it is.  I prefer to not have the attention on me generally.  Which  is why Aaron is a good husband choice, he loves that stuff, lol.

Anyway, I was trying to keep an open mind and not have expectations on the day.  Well we arrived and met with our consultant Kristin, who was so wonderful and nice.  We sat down and talked about what I envisioned myself wearing (which was nothing aside from not being a fan of strapless) ((not wearing nothing, just no concrete ideas on what I wanted)).  Well all in all I tried on about 7 different dresses and I really liked two of them. 

What's a girl to do???

Dress #1

This dress is one I found on the website and I thought it was really gorgeous.  It was just as pretty in person, and the first wedding gown I have ever tried on.  I apologize for no pictures, I have to keep some element of surprise about the big day. ;)  When I think about dress 1, I think wow factor.  When I wore it, I felt very glamorous.  And the style is very unique.  I don't know what my style is, but a big factor in the things I find appealing is a uniqueness factor.  I don't like things that are overly popular or that everyone has.  But am I a wow factor kind of girl?  Plus the dress is kind of on the heavy side, but I don't know if that matters.

Dress #2

This dress on the hanger looks like a giant snore.  I later found it in the catalogue and on the website and it is something I bypassed for being so ordinary looking on several occasions.  This was the last dress I tried on at the appointment.  So I try the dress on and I look really really good in it.  And the back part and train blew me away they were so pretty.  The front didn't have the wow factor that dress 1 did but was still very pretty and looked more 'me'.  I even had a stranger comment that she had seen me come out in a few dresses, and this was hands down the best.  (but she didn't see dress 1)  And this dress has around 60+ reviews on the website, and dress 1 had less than 15.  So plenty of people walked down the aisle in this look.  So while this one seems like a clear choice, dress 1 is still lingering in the back of my mind

So I am going to sleep on it a bit, and I have another appointment next weekend to see if I can add more to the maybe list.  I don't know if I am the type that will just have a lightning bolt moment of knowing that this is THE dress, I didn't really make any emotional connection that I was shopping for a wedding dress.  ::shrug::  The times Kristin put a veil on me, I thought I looked like a lion.  And let me give a shout out to those girdle things they give you to wear under the dresses, that thing works good!  I almost cancelled my diet I am going on starting Monday, lol.  But yes, I am glad that we had a successful time.  And I take comfort that I have, at very least, two dress options that are, in my humble opinion, stunning. Aaron is one lucky guy, lol ;)  

Alphorn Bakery

Yum!

This morning Aaron, my Mom, brother and I went to our very first wedding cake consultation at Alphorn Bakery!  I am 95% positive this is the place, but choosing them right off the bat means that I don't get to try more cake, so we will entertain the other bakery's cake for our own selfish gain.  The owner of the shop, Peter, has been in the biz for like 17 years, and I think he is originally from Switzerland because he has a super fun accent.  And he totally knows the chefs at the Petroleum Club - they used to work together!  We got to try 4 little slices of different cakes, and they were so.flippin.good.  We tried a white cake with raspberry filling, a strawberry mango cake, italian cream cake, and chocolate with a chocolate mousse filling.  I don't know how we are going to decide flavors?!  But anyway, we sat down and went over the head count, and looked at a bunch of pictures, came up with some general ideas that we liked.  The think I really enjoyed (aside from eating cake) was the straightforwardness of Peter.  I never felt shmoozed, or like he was trying to be tricky in any way.  He was like, this is the price, and the other people will try to nickel and dime you so be careful, and that he stands by his work and that is that.  This guy is actually off the beaten path of wedding cake bakers in Houston, he even asked how we heard about him since he doesn't really advertise - and I think this is reflected in his prices, which were majorly under budget (win!).  He was recommended to me from my friend from school.  Her sister got married last spring and she said they went and saw Peter, then immediately after, canceled the rest of their scheduled tastings because it was the best cake they'd ever tasted.  If that isn't a rave review, I don't know what is!

So the first cake testing went pretty phemnomenally.  Three more to go, but I think our decision is pretty much made!

I Won!!!

Weddings in Houston Magazine is a fantastic local resource for wedding planning in my city, and once a month they have SUPER AWESOME giveaways.  Some of the past ones have been a weekend stay-cation at Hotel Zaza, a party at a local winery for you and 19 of your closest friends, and other really great stuff.  So I enter every single month, and this time I won!!!

Congratulations, Natalie, you are our ILD Lighting Dance-Floor Monogram Giveaway winner!

Please email me back to confirm receiving this email, and that the details in your entry below are correct. I will email back with your ILD Lighting Gift Certificate, which includes details & contact information to redeem your prize.

Thank you for entering, Natalie, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

All best,Natasha G
Editor
Weddings In Houston Magazine & Website
Houston Wedding Blog
525 Arlington St.
Houston, TX 77007
www.weddingsinhouston.com
http://houstonweddingblog.com/
editor@weddingsinhouston.com

Lucky Aaron and I!!!  We get a free custom monogram to shine on our dancefloor, or wall - I guess they will let me know the options.

Like this

Exciting!!!

Appointments and Faux Pas

Guys, I messed up.

I believe that last week I was going through a mid-engagement crisis.  Sort of like a mid-life crisis minus the buying a sports car and getting a new 22 year old boyfriend.

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 I was just so.over.it with thinking about wedding stuff, which is kind of out of character for me.  I think with the school semester coming up, I was letting my thoughts get clouded with all that was left to do and how much time school is going to take up, and how my seeing Aaron schedule is going to get smaller, and it got me kind of bummed/stressed.  Which is a horrible situation because I act impulsively.

So on Sunday night when I should have been heading to sleep, I was looking at wedding stuff and I bought a wedding dress from Asia.  It was a really good price.  But yeah.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  But after telling my Mom and BFF, I learned that this was an absolutely terrible idea.  Thankfully, I should be able to recoup my investment by selling the dress - it is a really popular style and was really very cheap as far as wedding dresses go.

After my temporary insanity, it lit a fire under my butt to start getting some of the wedding things scheduled in these last few weeks before classes start.

I have dress trying-on appointments with David's Bridal this weekend, and Alfred Angelo the following Saturday, so I will at very least have an idea of what I want to wear, and can get the bridesmaid dresses verified (I haven't seen the ones I like in person yet).

And I have FOUR, count 'em, four appointments with bakeries for wedding cake consultations!  We are going to visit Alphorn Bakery, Who Made the Cake, Cakes by Gina and Three Brothers Bakery in the coming weeks.

I feel super accomplished (minus my dumb purchase) and as always, excited about cake :)

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Knit Your Own Royal Wedding?!

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Aaron finds the funniest things on the internet, lol <3

Centerpiece Idea

It is T-6 months until the big day!  I am feeling a bit overwhelmed because school is starting in a few weeks and I was totally going to have everything pretty much planned by now, so I can focus on my learning.  We aren't quite there yet.... 

However, lucky us (my mom and I), because right down the street from where we live a HUGE Joann's craft and fabric place opened up.  I think this may be one of my mother's favorite stores, so she was there the first day it opened, lol.  And did she find a gem:

That's right!  David Tutera, of My Fair Wedding fame, has a whole line of wedding decor things at Joann's now.  So fun!  I used to be a huge fan of that show, but it has sort of turned into "David Tutera Tries to Turn my Circus Wedding into Something Attempting to Resemble Elegance Show". Thankfully some brides' (err...) unique (?) tastes are left out of the design/style of these pieces.

The design theme I am trying to have in the reception is one of a winter wonderland kind of look.  Think snow covered trees, lots of white and silver, and sparkle. 

My mom found this super cool lighted tree branch thing:

David Tutera Battery Operated LED Branch

And it is kind of hard to see, but the picture there on the bottom of the box is the look we are going to try to recreate with our collective DIY skills.  Here is the picture from the Joann's website, but the bottom part is cut off :\

But I am pretty excited, if we can pull it off I think it will look really cool!  And I love the bonus of getting a lit up look without creating a fire hazard at the top of a skyscraper.

I will post the pics once we have a completed centerpiece making dress rehearsal, send us some good crafty vibes :)