The Unwed Holidays

Not to get deep on you all, but I have to say that sometimes I take a step back and realize Mr. Porcupine and I are really lucky to each come from a family that has accepted the other with open arms. Since the day Mr. Porcupine and I got together we have immediately clicked with each other's families.

I didn't get much of a chance to get used to the idea of meeting "the whole fam" when it came to our relationship. After about 3 months as a couple I met pretty much EVERYONE in Mr. P's family at his brother's wedding. On the flip side, Mr. P met my immediate family (parents, sister, aunt, uncle, grandparents) at my college graduation after only two months as a couple. So really early on we knew what we were getting into.  (Haha, I kid.... OR DO I?)

When it came time for the holidays, I can only vaguely remember our first holiday season together. For our first Thanksgiving together I spent the actual holiday- that Thursday- with my own family and then met Mr. P out in Pennsylvania for the rest of the weekend. Since that time it became the norm for me to go with Mr. P to PA for Thanksgiving since his whole family scattered around the East Coast meets up there. For Hanukkah, Mr. P and I spend it with my family since they throw a little Hanukkah party shin-dig. For other pertinent Jewish holidays we usually are able to find a way to celebrate with both families thanks to Jewish holidays lasting a few days (i.e. Passover).

There has never been that "well last year we spent it with YOUR family so we're going to MY family" argument.  Neither of our families have ever shown any annoyance over the arrangement either. Ever since the first time we shared a holiday together, each of us has been made to feel like our presence at the table (or perching on the floor) has always been there.

Annoyingly enough I have no photos of us during our first holiday season. But, I do have a shot of us at our first engaged Thanksgiving.

Classy Shot

Mr. P's comparison to a troll shot 

Last post-Thanksgiving weekend Mr. P's parents used the time getting the family together as a good excuse to throw a mini-engagement celebration. Since we opted to not have an engagement party it was just the usual small gathering his parents always have over along with my parents and sister. 

It was a great weekend, and since we decided to have the most annoyingly long engagement (unintentionally) ever, we have one last engaged Thanksgiving to go. This year we're spending it at my parent's. Mr. P's parents have re-arranged their Thanksgiving location since Mr. P's SIL won't be able to travel due to the impending LIL BABY!!!! (Oh, I haven't mentioned my insane baby obsession yet? 'Cause yesterday I almost got hit by a car as I smiled at a little chubby baby in his carriage-TRUE STORY). Due to Mr. P's work schedule we're staying put.

I'll have to make sure to snap a pic to mark our LAST non-married Thanksgiving. Next year we'll be husband and wife (SAY WHO-WA? WEIRD! THATZ A GROWN-UP WORD). I'm sure next year's holiday will feel just the same as always thanks to our fams.

Do you have an easy holiday-sharing arrangement with your significant other? Did you and your SO feel a part of each other's families pre-marriage?

*all are personal photos

Getting my Hairz Did

I have BIG hair. Legit. I am not exageratting. Ask anyone I've ever lived with. Without product or styling (sometimes even with it) my hair is like a HUGE big ol' fro. It takes many ounces of hair gel or scorching temperatures of hair straighteners to tame my mane. It's usually curly. If weather conditions permit I will straighten it. And, that's only for weekends/special occasions. It's too much work otherwise. I envy those girls who can shower and go and their hair dries perfectly straight. RUDE!

I tend not to photograph myself when my hair is in its natural state. So here it is with some gel and a hair iron. I was adventurous there for a few months by both gelling my curls and ironing my bangs. Yes, I know- mind numbingly shocking....

I want to drink that beverage again!

An hour of hair ironing later

Some curls galore (Also red-eye removal FAIL hence my BLACK eyes)

When it comes to the wedding day I think I need to go with a curly look. My hair, obviously, holds a curl from a curling iron pretty well. My hair does not like to hold onto a straight strand. Any sign of humidity or perspiration will immediately make it curl up.  If I try to fight nature too much it rebels against me and causes a lot of crazy. 

Crazy like THIS/Image via Copyblogger.com

Or, this:

Yes, it forms 2010 glasses as well

I usually hate every single hair cut/hair styling I get done. But my favorite so far, which I had no complaints over was my Junior year sorority formal hairdo.

And I was SO tan, gah! (Will never happen again)

Mix in the classic Carrie Underwood do that every brides (okay, not EVERY, but many) stick in their favorites.

Image via Easy Curls

And, stick a peacock feather in my head via Mrs. Zebra and call me Yankee Doodle Dandy Porcupine.

Image via Weddingbee/Photography by Sara Zarrella Photography

I'm pretty set on this biz. I hate my hair pulled back. I have a weird oblong/rounded/non-cheekbone face and a very prominent nose with a bump in it so I highly dislike wearing my hair back. I like to keep my hair around my face like a picture frame.

I am off to my hair trial this weekend with these ideas in mind. We'll see what I end up with though...

Were you set on your wedding-day do? Do you have crazy, hard to manage hair too?

*Unless noted photos are personal

After Mexico comes... the to-do list

I am back to civilization after a mini-vacay to Mexico in honor of my college suitemate's wedding! Now that the vacation laundry is cleaned and put back away with the rest of the summer clothing, and the post-vacay depression is setting in, something else has settled in too.... I'M NEXT!

Yes, this was *it.* The LAST wedding I will attend before I'm a Mrs. The last wedding I was calculating into my equation for when to go full speed ahead on starting on all the little wedding details. Lawd!

Before I get started on the 9,000 things on my list, I think it's only fitting to share some Mexican wedding fiesta-ness with the Hive. Unfortunately, I lacked a lot of photography skills during the trip so the amount of good photos to chose from was slim pickins'.

I blame it on this...

Many fruity shots

There was also a lot of...

Swimming, or trying to swim, since it got pretty chilly and cloudy

Mr. P passing out beside his margarita

The bride and groom, obv.

Sorority sisters reunited 

Sweet dance moves... 

The yummiest wedding cake I've had yet

Balloon animals (and hats)... designed by yours truly

One glorious sunny afternoon on the beach

I've unpacked just in time to begin on a lot of wedding to-dos this weekend. In two days time I have a hair and makeup trial, our menu tasting, an attempt at getting my ring re-sized, and my personal favorite... a champagne tasting. Since we have to provide our own alcohol at our venue Mr. P's parents are picking up a few bottles of bubbly to test out while we eat dinner on Saturday night at their house.

Let the craziness begin, but before all that I leave you with a visual of what my life will be like when I have kids. Whenever I relax with a book on the beach I deal with a lot of this...

"Look, I'm a pirate... I have a peg leg."

America's Next Top... Bride

When it comes to the big day we ALL obsess over something related to our appearance. I have never heard of a bride who was like “um, I’ll wear my burlap sack and stick a ribbon around my bird’s nest unwashed fro.” Even the brides on My Big Redneck Wedding (oh where has that show gone?) care about their appearance- even if they were getting married over a swamp. *Nothing against real life self-proclaimed rednecks out there. That show was just freakin-a nuts!

My usual concerns for any event that involves looking nice includes worrying about breakouts, my big hair, flare ups of these annoying red bumps I get on my arms, and underarm boob. You know that fun piece of blubber in the armpit area that looks like a baby boob when squashed at just the right angle.

Hmmm, I sound real attractive right now. I swear I’m not a troll living under a bridge on the regular, but when it comes to nice events I pay more attention to these things. And as a bride it’s on my mind, of course. Definitely a lot more. I think many of us can agree that we over analyze how we will look on our wedding day, and lately I’ve been thinking: WHY? I mean obviously we don't want to look bad. But, why do we suddenly need to be perfect on ONE day- especially when our significant other, family, and friends already know what we look like pretty well.

Why in the who-ha do we have this obsessive need to look “perfect” on our wedding day. (MOVIES, TELEVISION, THE DEVIL?) On a regular old Tuesday I like to shower, do something to make my hair look presentable, put on a normal amount of makeup, and match my clothes with some accessories. You know... look like a person. On a Friday night out I might apply a little more eyeliner; before a friend’s wedding I may stop eating carbohydrates every 19 minutes; and before a vacation I will probably get a haircut. Why on my wedding day do I need to add another layer of FIX THIS FIX THIS NOW to my life?

I’m not advocating going totally granola and going make-up free in a white t-shirt to our weddings. (I mean unless that’s your thing.) But, why do we over analyze every blemish, hangnail, and eyebrow hair? On our wedding day there will still be make-up, good lighting, and Photoshop. We can’t magically become perfect on our wedding day. Even Kate Middleton had a…. (okay, actually she looked perfect- whatever).

My point is that we want to look back at pictures and see ourselves. Not someone who emerged from a makeover special on the Today show. Obviously, we don’t want to look like we rolled out of bed, but we don’t need to look like a picture out of Barbie’s Dream Wedding Day.

Yes, I'm still concerned about a bad breakout or a big-hair day. I worry about spilling alcoholic libations on my white gown. But, I will not let myself get crazy. At least I can try. I'm sure my memory will wipe this concept clear from my mind about 19 hours before my wedding.

Anyone else trying not to freak out about their appearance on their wedding day? Anyone else out there watch My Big Redneck Wedding?? I can't be the only one! Gah, that show was so good!

Suit Up!

We spent some of our time this Saturday figuring out what Mr. Porcupine is going to be wearing on the big day.  We knew immediately we didn't want tuxes. They just don't fit in with the casual/rustic look of our wedding. Well, let me re-phrase. I knew *I* didn't want tuxes. Mr. P at one point said, "but, you get to wear a pretty white dress." I just blankly stared at him and asked if he'd like to wear a pretty white dress as well. He declined and we got to looking at suits.

We decided to just check out Men's Wearhouse, and although Bees before me have mentioned that you can't rent suits, I blindly hoped some mysterious suit rental program might now exist. No such luck- the groomsmen are going to have to buy suits. Although MW does have a suit rental option for boys, which might work out for our little ring bearer.

We're waiting a little bit before ordering the suits in hopes that they will have a buy one get one free sale soon, which the sales girl was kind of enough to mention "should be happening pretty soon." Not to be a bridezilla, but these boys will need a suit some time again in their lives so I don't think it's a HUGE deal to make them buy a suit. It just stresses me out that these guys are spread out all over the country. I have little faith in men overcoming logistical issues, but I'm sure Mr. P will get it all organized and prove me wrong, righttttt?...

Mr. P tried on a few options. We pretty much had free rein of the store, because I was in a "New York rage" mood particularly directed at everyone in my path in Brooklyn that day. Don't ask. Let's just say traffic clusterf*** thanks to construction at the new Barclay center (thanks Jay-z) + ghetto parking garages with broken elevators + people begging for money UP IN MY FACE at Coldstone (yes, we needed ice cream on the 50 degree day) = the fuse in my head snaps. This tends to keep the sales people away, which worked in our favor since we weren't ready to purchase anything (redhead rage WIN!).

Don't mind Mr. P's redonk facial expressions. All are personal photos.

Joseph and Feiss Two Button Grey Suit

Joseph and Feiss Two Button Navy Suit

Calvin Klein slimfit in grey

Mr. P wasn't a fan of the slimfit Calvin Klein, and thought he looked a little too much like a sailor in the navy suit. We were pretty happy with the first choice and played around with shirt/tie options.

Our choice for Mr. P's shirt/tie

Our choice for the groomsmen's shirt/tie

Mr. P decided he wanted to wear a white shirt "so people know I'm the groom" although I'm pretty sure people will know he's the groom, but whatever makes him happy. He liked the bright tie because it reminded him of a peacock. Mind you, this is the guy who was originally iffy about my peacock idea. Now he points out EVERYTHING peacock related that we can incorporate for the wedding. For the groomsmen we picked a dark blue shirt and striped blue tie.

Now we are just waiting for that buy one get one sale. We'll see how long that can go...

Was picking out the groomsmen attire a challenge for you?

Treasure in the Basement- Crafting Vintage Frames Part I

If I could write a whole post on my Super, I swear you would all be entertained for days, but alas this is a wedding blog so it wouldn’t make sense. I’ll just give you a quick bit of back-story.

My Super is a crazy-this-should-be-a-sitcom stereotype of a NYC super. She is a BIG lady who wears long skirts every single day with crazy mismatched sweaters and t-shirts, has a thick Polish accent, says things I can barely interpret, and is super protective of "her" building. She also hoards the crap people leave behind when they move and then sells it. So, there is ALWAYS something weird/old/used/potentially useful to buy when I trek down to the basement to do my laundry.

I walked downstairs one day and VIOLA – two old ass HUGE frames.

Personal Photo 

I asked her how much money she wanted for them, she said 5 dollars (she thought I meant for one). I told her I wanted both so I gave her ten bucks and called it a day.

I was worried about spending too much on antiquey large frames. They are actually pretty pricey if you check out places like Etsy, and I’m not much into trekking around antique shops/craft stores to find the right frame. I’d rather spend my weekend going for unlimited mimosa brunches or vegging out with my DVR.

Now comes the hard part. How does an idiot crafter turn those puppies into something like this?

Image via Bella Fiori

I’m thinking of keeping the gold one as it is and spray painting the other one a charcoal color. The gold one has glass, but no back, and I’m contemplating using it for a seating chart. The charcoal one I will somehow turn into a chalkboard. Since I’m a crafting idiot I would love some suggestions on how I could best accomplish this. I’m thinking of buying something (plywood?) as the backer and painting it with chalkboard paint. Then do I attach the backer with wood glue? Nail it in? Will that crack the frame? I guess this will require taking measurements. Things involving numbers- not my fav.

Should be some interesting times ahead involving me cursing, muttering under my breath, and throwing things around. Any vintage frame crafters out there with fool-proof tips?

OCCUPY.... marriage?

Warning: This might a bit of a rant, but I can’t help my annoyance!

Image via People/Photo by Clint Brewer/Splash News Online

By now everyone is quite aware that Kim Kardashian got divorced after 72 days of marriage. Most people are probably thinking something along the lines of: WHO CARES? I don’t know why I care, but I do. It pisses me off. Mostly it annoys the hell out of me because it brings to light a huge, gaping flaw in our society.

I find it incredibly annoying that celebrities can go have shotgun, ridiculously lavish, expensive weddings on a whim. Then when the first problem arises go off and get divorced, because to them the cost of legal fees is nothing but a drop in the bucket. And, oh, that lavish wedding was just a blip on the bank account radar. (Or in some reality TV cases completely free). Yes, things happen, but sometimes not so much. There are thousands upon thousands of people that can’t have the weddings they want or even a wedding at all because they don’t have the money. There are people who can’t even get properly divorced because it’s just too expensive for them. Why is that okay?

Meanwhile our country which stands for the separation of church and state is allowed to muck up the legal waters with religious views that prevent gay couples from getting married in most of the United States. There are people out there who truly want to get married for the right reasons, stay married (or at least TRY to surpass 72 days), but aren’t allowed to. Many of the rich & famous continue to make a mockery of what a marriage is. The whole point isn’t the PARTY and the E! special. Something is wrong here.

Obviously there isn’t much you can do to make people NOT get married. But, I think this is a good example of exactly why telling anyone they can’t get married is completely ludicrous. Now that the Kardashians have a few more millions in the bank, we all had the chance to see another couple make a mockery out of what everyone here in the Hive looks forward to – a future with our significant other.

Does anyone else get irrationally annoyed by celebrating sham-marriages? Sorry to the Kim K. fans out there. Nothing personal – she’s just a perfect example of my point.