Honeymooning

Initially Moose and I were planning on heading to Disney World or Disneyland to get away from it all for a few days since finances are a little tight, and then maybe doing a larger trip later on.  Disney World is a favorite weekend getaway of ours, and we thought the idea of possibly staying in Bay Lake Towers on his family's DVC points would be a great way to get away.  On the other hand, Moose hasn't ever been to Disneyland, so that was also a viable option.

Until a good friend made a comment that her dad had a house in Costa Rica.

Now, Moose and I will be spending ten days in Costa Rica.  HOORAY!

We plan on flying in on a Friday and spending the night in San Jose before taking off to Arenal Volcano National Park for some volcanic fun.  Included will be some soaking in the hot springs and eruption viewing.   Of the volcano, perv.   The next day, we'll head over to Monteverde where we will zip line through the cloud forest before relaxing at our hotel.  After that?  Five nights in Dominical, relaxing by the beach and potentially making day trips to Ballena Marine Park for kayaing, rappelling down Nauyaca Falls, or learning how to surf.  We'll end up heading back to San Jose via Cerro de la Muerte, enjoy a night on the town, and then head home.

I can't wait.  But it's required actual planning and things like oh, renewing my passport... oops.

So far, so good.  I'll update with more info if I get it.

MOAR PAPER LANTERNS!

After my success with AsianIdeas.com, I thought it would be a good idea to go back and find more stars and possibly also find some gold and blue lanterns.

As I'm clicking away and set to order, I get the good idea to do some price checking and lo and behold, I find the same blue and gold lanterns on PaperLanternStore.com, only around 50 cents cheaper per lantern.  So I keep the same 5 star lanterns in the AsianIdeas.com shopping cart, and get ten each of the blue and gold circular paper lanterns from PLS.com.  I mean, they're all the same damn thing anyhow, right?

Well, kind of.

Here's where I made my first mistake: I checked out of the tried and true place first.

Your only options for shipping through PaperLanternStore were expensive and restricted to FedEx only.  AsianIdeas uses USPS Priority Mail, which is cheaper and ships faster than the standard option presented by PLS.com unless you want to add even more money to your order to expedite shipping.  So sure, I ended up saving about $10 on the lanterns by ordering through PLS.com, but any savings I received went straight to shipping.  Point in favor of AsianIdeas.com.

Also, when considering total time it took for the order to process and ship, I again have to nod my hat to AsianIdeas.com.  It took a grand total of four days for me to get my order from them.  It took over a week for the lanterns from PLS.com to arrive.  And remember- I paid more for shipping.

As far as the product quality goes, it's hard to compare since we're talking cardstock star-shaped lanterns and the thinner, circular lanterns.  But both seem adequate as far as quality goes, and for that, it's just about an even tie.

Overall, I think going forward I'd keep ordering from AsianIdeas.com.  They were faster and cheaper from start to finish, and seemed to offer better sales on what I needed.  The star lanterns I picked out were I believe $7 originally, but I purchased them for $2.50 each.  Not too shabby.  Had the lanterns not been on sale, I would have spent WAY more than what I should have at AsianIdeas.

I've been slacking.

Surprise, surprise.

But these past three point five weeks have been a shitshow of stupid with little snippets of awesome mixed in.

Moose has been off teaching a training for work, so I've been home over three weeks alone with the pugs, planning a wedding, interviewing for jobs, all while waiting for the grad school decision to come in.  It doesn't sound like much, but let me tell you-- it is.

On the job front, looking for a job is a full time position in and of itself.  Between applying for just about everything I can, reaching out to make phone calls to recruiters, and trying to connect anywhere and everywhere, it's easily a few hours a day.  If only I could get paid to do this, which, if I were actually eligible for unemployment, I guess would be "payment" for that, but you know...

The pugs and Annie are good.  Fairly low-maintenance.  They've started to act out a bit, especially around meal time, and will go through a stint of peeing on Moose's luggage if he comes home for the weekend.  I know they're just missing him as much as I am, but I've steam cleaned the rugs four times over the past few weeks and have lost count over how many times I've had to drag out the spot cleaner.  Luckily the weather has been nice enough that I can prop the door open and let them all hang out in the back yard if they want to go out, which has been a godsend.

On the wedding front, things are falling into place.  We've finally narrowed down an officiant and are really excited about that.  All that's really left is transport between our hotel and the Codman, floral, cake, mailing the invites (they should be here any day now!) and figuring out things like menu, song list, alcohol list, and the photos we want taken of the wedding day.  Not too shabby.

AND (which will be a follow-up post in and of itself) our honeymoon is set!  But more on that later.

So yeah, that sounds like just about everything that's going on in the world here.  We've finished the PSA AR build, so Daphne will be starting up any day now-- HOORAY!  That's another positive.

Now on to the other updates!

Letter to the Governor

A while back, I noticed there were some unsettling changes happening in my native state of MA as it pertains to gun laws:
    - Seven round mag limit (owners of pre-band mags have a year to dispose of 10+round mags)
    - One gun a month - sales (2.5 years in prison, $1000 fine)
    - One gun a month - rental/lease (2.5 years in prison, $1000 fine)
    - Universal background checks
    - Gun show registration (every seller has to be reported and $500 fee paid)
    - No bail for gun offenders
    - NERF-free schools (airguns, bb guns, paintball guns, air rifles, NERF not allowed on school property- $500 and a year in jail)
    - "Rat Rule" ($500 fine if violations are not reported
    - Establish crime of assault/battery by firearm
    - Required purchase of liability insurance
    - Firearms stored in a locker at a specified gun range and not in control of the owner
    - 25% tax on ammo and firearms

And this is just what I've been able to pick up on the web, nowhere near a comprehensive or up-to-date list.

Reading this really upset me.  Basically, it would make myself and Moose felons if we ever moved back to Massachusetts.  So, I did what any good person did and wrote Governor Patrick a letter stating my concerns.

Dear Governor Patrick,

I am a proud Massachusetts native who is currently a resident of North Carolina.  Despite politically leaning slightly-right-of-center, in 2010 I worked on your campaign for reelection with a fervor I had never put behind any elected official previously, much less a Democrat.  All that you have done in Massachusetts to make it such an amazing, accepting place to live and work makes me proud to call it home, despite leaving the state due to my husband’s job as a federal LEO. However, it is with a heavy heart that I read about some of the points in your proposed gun safety legislation, “An Act to Strengthen and Enhance Firearms Laws in the Commonwealth.”   

Many pro-gun advocates appreciate the national debate on gun control, but we urge our legislators to take real and constructive action on the problems surrounding firearm violence. Massachusetts has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, with licensing requirements among the strictest of any state.  While your proposed bill does have some points I agree on (specifically those related to mental health), this bill by far and large will criminalize and penalize law-abiding citizens while having no impact on the level of gun violence in the state.  It is absurd to think that anyone other than someone who follows the law will dispose of ‘high capacity’ magazines (which are actually standard capacity for many firearms, but I digress), which they have lawfully obtained and owned.  To threaten renting or leasing more than one firearm or its magazines in a thirty-day period with fines and imprisonment is absurd: will firearms be rented or sold without magazines in order to meet this point? And what about those who wish to gain hands-on experience with many different types of firearms prior to legally purchasing a firearm? I have been very thankful for gun ranges which allow me to get a good feel of different models by on-site rentals prior to making the financial commitment to not only the firearm and ammunition, but also to classes dedicated to firearm safety.  

Possibly the most disheartening of all charges is that if this bill passes, there is no way that I can move back to the Commonwealth with my and my husband’s personal collection of firearms without being considered felons.  Because of this, I urge you to please focus your efforts on those who do not believe in law and order, those who would illegally procure and use firearms regardless of what laws were passed, rather than focusing on law-abiding citizens. By disarming the victims, you are ignoring the real problem.   

Respectfully,  

Rhianna Cohen

And then I forgot about it.  Until I got a response today:

Basically, he's telling me to go pound sand.  But it is surprising that he mentions not being in compliance with NICS, which I believe not being in compliance with is actually a felony.  Correct me if I'm wrong.

But my heart still cries for my home state, which we will likely never be able to return to if this passes, LEO or not.

Fighting the good fight

Before I get into the meat of the post, it's no secret that I'm an AR-15 fangirl, and have been since the first time I shot one in 2009.

I don't know what made it so different from anything else I fired up until that point, but I was in love. I never had a moment where I thought of anything other than "shit, this is cool" or "I'd love to get one, but living in Massachusetts, I'll never be able to." It was such an awesome feeling to set up a target a considerable distance away and have spot on accuracy my first time handling one. And, I'll be honest, I just felt like a badass with it.

Now that I've been gone from MA for years, we have several in various stages of built lying around the house. LaWanda is my Bushmaster, and I think the best example for the rest of my post. I'll come back to her.

My friend Weerd Beard has a blog that I religiously check to see how the good fight is going in the northern states. He's also hysterical, and someone I've known since 2007-ish. I mean, come on... He let me Edward 40-hands myself at his Fourth of July party one year, then stand on his back porch yelling obscenities at the town parade in broad daylight. You know a man is a good friend when he allows you to do that. Plus, he always encouraged me to go shooting and get my LTC. That has made him a better friend.

Anyhow. On Weerd's blog, I saw this post that he referenced:

Al Franken..The latest loonbat Politician from Minnesota..
Al Franken used his time in front of the camera to say he had never heard of a single circumstance where a civilian had ever used an AR-15 for self-defense.This led me to an idea and I need your help. If Sen. Al Franken can’t find any examples maybe we could and in the process make sure Franken can NEVER again make such an absurd claim.Print out an example article or write a statement and send it U.S. Mail. A stamped letter will do, but to really make it impactful, spend an extra dollar or two and require a signature or delivery confirmation. You can send it to his state or Washington D.C. address below.
Al Franken
P.O. Box 583144
Minneapolis, MN 55458-3144
Al Franken
309 Hart
Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

What a great idea! Senator Franken doesn’t think ARs and other modern rifles are used for self defense. We know otherwise. Print up the articles or clip them from your news paper, and mail them to Senator Franken’s offices. Add in the signature confirmation and when you get the confirmation back post it and the story on a blog.

***

So, I thought it would be a good idea to pitch in. There are a few examples of people using an AR-15 for personal defense in recent news, one of my favorites being the two RIT students who scared off armed burglars that broke into their house with an UNLOADED AR-15. Hell, I'd run too if one were pointed at me. So that would be my contribution, and I'd urge anyone spying to send an example along as well.

But it got me thinking about my own home.

As much as I love this rifle and would use it for personal defense, it would not likely be the first gun I grabbed. Selfishly, I wouldn't want LaWanda to end up as police evidence and never come back to me. One of the Glocks? Fine. I'm not happy, but fine. Slightly less important, she's got a 20 inch barrel, which means she's a little on the chunky side. My T-Rex arms would have a hard time carrying her around. When I think personal defense, I think of close quarters. I know how steamy she gets after two thirty round mags, so there's always the chance that if someone grabs her they'd burn their hands... But not after only a few rounds. So I'd likely use one of Joe Biden's female defense weapons of peeing my pants then grabbing a shotgun or pistol. Why? destructive power. No warning shots, though. I'd prefer to cut them off at a choke point in my home.

Now, anything where I'd need to stop someone on my lawn, the AR-15 would be my go-to because I'm good at distance with it. I'd risk turning her into evidence to protect the house.

So, given that information, I guess I would be a person that hopefully never has to use her AR-15 for personal defense.

It seems there are more of us than Al Franken realizes.

I'll NEVER do that again.

Make jewelry, that is. At least not the beaded crap that I love to wear and figured the girls could wear at the wedding

I've successfully created four necklaces for the maids, and one for myself. I still have yet to do something for the flower girls, but I'm trying to figure out what I'd need for beads since I'm just about out. Sigh.

They look great as long as you don't look too close, and I can't guarantee they'll hold through dancing. But as long as they last through pictures, that's almost all I care about.

Here is mine, the one with silver and pearls, and everyone else's. in my head they looked a lot different. In real life? Not so much.

Building a what?!

A Noveske N4. No big.

Trust me, I'm not entirely sure what I'm thinking either, aside from potentially learning more about how the AR15 platform operates. I know how it fires fairly well, and can fire one fairly well... But field strip? Not so much.

Moose has been on a build kick of late, where he'll buy either a stripped or full lower receiver and make it to his own specs. When he ordered a stripped N4 lower from Gunbroker.com that was listed as non-Chainsaw quality, but it showed up with the Chainsaw logo, the shop owner made things right by providing the opportunity for him to buy what he originally wanted at the Chainsaw price. So confusing trail of events aside, we now have two stripped N4 lowers in our hands instead of one.

Naturally, I had the great idea of building one alongside Moose. To my surprise, he thought it was a great idea.

Since Noveske's Chainsaw offerings are basically just aesthetically blemished but otherwise perfect guns, I figured I'd take that for my first build. I mean, there's no sense in potentially scratching an otherwise beautiful and new firearm before the thing makes it out to the range. And for what it's worth, aside from maybe two small, barely noticeable scratches, I can't see the damn blemishes. The Chainsaw line is also apparently covered under full warranty.

Now I'm at the hard part: figuring out what I want to put on my gun. I'm thinking of naming her Daphne-- a google search (don't ask about the parameters) came up with a deaf woman who had murdered her lesbian lover with a chainsaw. Guess what her name was? Yep... Escandalo! So given the coincidences, it seems fitting. But aside from that? I need to pick out a stock, upper, grips, rails, barrel, sights, buffer tube, trigger.... The list goes on.

So, as I get further down the line with production, I'll post updates. For now, I'll leave you with Daphne's "baby picture".

Jewelry DIY- not as easy as I'd hoped

I know what you're thinking.  It should be easy enough to DIY some strings of beads and make them look like what I'm hoping them to look like-- right?

Well, yes and no.

The idea itself is really simple.  Just put things together and go at it.  But it seems like the advice I received on the internet just wasn't up to par-- shocker.  That's of no fault to Fire Mountain Gems (which, by the way, has EXCELLENT shipping times and customer service)-- they didn't give me that recommendation.  They recommended wire.  But the internet tutorials from other sites looked SO EASY with this stuff, and I know how I am when I'm drinking, so... yeah.

First, multiple sites recommended using Powercord.  I don't know if the assumption was that glass beads weren't as heavy, and the stretchiness of the cord would be beneficial, but not for my purposes.  These glass beads are heavy as hell.  And yes, the Powercord droops.  Especially with a ton of weight on it.  Which these beads have.

And overall, I'm not sure if I just didn't expect the necklaces to look like this, or what... but they kind of remind me of Indian corn.  They've had positive reviews from those I've shown them to, but they're still not what I'm hoping to do.

Today's plan?  Giving it the old college try with some string and not worrying about using more beads than are necessary to get the look I want.  I can always go and buy more beads.  It's not ideal, but it can be done.

Oh, weekending.

There's nothing more hilarious than watching southerners ice skate. Sure, you've got a few that can do it, but by far and large we are talking HOT. MESS.

It was a good time, however. Especially since I was able to hang out with the girls.

The rest of the weekend has been uneventful. I got sick off some sour milk and was pretty much down for the count. Moose got to play house husband for the weekend, but it was all good. :) I was so impressed by his ability to make some sandwiches using leftover cole slaw I made. It was awesome.

I've got an interview tomorrow, so it's best I pass out now and update more later.

Another money saving tip for wedding planning: Invites

Invitations are another place the cost can quickly escalate far beyond what you expected.

To keep the cost down we've taken a few steps that I thought were easy enough to do yourself, and good to share.

Save the Date Cards:
I found an online design that I fell in love with. A good friend of mine does graphic design, so I asked her if she could help me put together a similar design and print it. I could have just printed them myself on photo paper or card stock after the design was finished, but since she had access to printers at work and work was slow, she helped a sista out.

Invitations:
Again, I found a design I liked online and rather than order them off Etsy for $38 per set of 5 invites (for a total of around $500 to do 65 invites), asked the same friend to help me put a design together that was similar. I feel the need to say that 1) my invite design is much different than the one that inspired me, so theres no IP infringement and 2) had budget not been an issue, I would have gone for the Etsy invites.

After that, we headed to Paper Source in Porter Square (Cambridge, MA) to look at the different types of paper and the different colors available. I used to live walking distance from Paper Source, and I've always LOVED them. But after this experience, I love them even more.

We decided on a dark blue trifold outer and antique gold backing to fit behind an off-white printed invite. The response cards are going to be the same off white (no backing) as the invite, and the envelopes are the same antique gold as the backing. I will punch out stars to "seal" the trifold closed, and purchased white gel pens to address the envelopes.

I needed to order some stuff from home and have it shipped here in NC since it wasn't in store, and one of the ladies at Paper Source told me that if I called one of their stores directly and placed the order through them, that shipping was free. I initially wasn't going to bother and just order on the web until I realized I saved myself in the neighborhood of $30 by calling them.

I also skipped on the inner envelope. While it is creating some interesting invite addressing woes, it was a savings of at least $30, not including the extra postage that an odd-shaped envelope would require.

The total cost for all my paper goods to make 65 invites was $150, and manpower to put it all together.

Now that I have the design, I could pay $65 for printing, or I could print it myself on my super photo printer. As long as it doesn't smudge and the card stock can go through your printer without looking funny, it should be ok. Then once it is printed, all that's left is gluing the invites together and mailing them out.

Even with paying $65 for the printing, I'm still saving over $300 on my invites based on that initial price of the similar Etsy invite.

Paper (Star) Lanterns!

I'm pretty psyched because they arrived today. Apparently AsianIdeas.com is not only legit but super fast to boot.

The best thing about these guys are that the color is super light and they're a pretty solid cardboard, so I'm sure that if I wanted I could easily spray paint them a metallic gold and it would be fine. Hmm.. Maybe I'll order a few more to try that with.

I'm pretty impressed, and for $2 each-- I can't complain.

Hotel Decisions

I'm currently trying to reserve a room block for our wedding guests.   Right now it's between the Marriott Courtyard and the Westin.

The Courtyard is offering a room rate of $118/room, and right now the rack rate is $118/room.  With that we'll get free parking, use of pool, and wifi.  Woo.  No free breakfast or anything like that.

Our quote for the Westin (so far) is at $129/room.  There's a gov't/military discount of $111/room.  Rack rate is between $214-$253.  I am still waiting for the details on the proposal, so I'm not sure what type of room this is for and what amenities come with it, but it is a nice hotel.

Time to start the polling.

The Paper Lantern Saga... Part 2

Apparently my stars are in transit!

USPS doesn't say when they'll arrive, just that they're coming Priority and are in Pittsburgh right now.

It seems like AsianIdeas.com may not be a hacker site, after all.

Wedding Tent- Booked (and for half the initial quote)

When Moose and I set out on our wedding journey, we initially set a budget for $10,000 that WE would personally spend.  We figured that number would be good enough to cover the basics and still have a damn good time to show for it in the event that we did not receive any family help.  Before you get all "oh, being in your thirties you shouldn't expect family help"-- we didn't.  We told our families that while we would love it if they could pitch in if they wanted to help us out, the expectation wasn't that they had to. Our families have been beyond happy with that approach and helping in ways that I didn't expect-- but more on that in another post.

Back in December, my initial tent quote for a 30' x 45' x 8' tent, lighting, dance floor, and canopy to the Carriage House (land of dancing and, more importantly, the bar) was $2374.00.  Yep.  A good (almost) quarter of our budget.  So I did what any good bride on a budget does: freak out.

I started thinking of things that we could cut back in order to hit that number.  Maybe I consign a dress, rent a dress, or even better: don't get a traditional wedding dress.  Maybe I could cut back on things like having a cake-- sweets bars are all the rage, right?  Hmm... WAIT, I KNOW... I'll see what we can cut out of our catering budget.

So I sheepishly called our caterer (Tastings Caterers-- so far, working with them has been absolutely freaking WONDERFUL) and asked what could be done to cut the menu a few thousand dollars.  I may or may not have bust into tears at that point, but was given the best gem I have been given so far in the grand world of wedding planning: "Can you see if you can share a tent rental with the person the day before you?"

MIND. BLOWN.

I immediately shot off an email to my contact at the Codman Estate to see if there was anyone there who might want to split a tent for the weekend.  At that point, the Codman was still not rented for the day before our wedding, but they would keep me posted if things changed.

When a little over a month went by and I didn't hear from anyone, I reached back out to our tent vendor and requested some things be changed to our proposal since we needed to have it booked, stat-- we could keep the tent and canopy, but getting rid of the lighting and dance floor would cut down around $900, making it slightly more affordable.  I kid you not, an hour after hitting send, I was emailed by my contact at the Codman to see if it was OK to make an introduction between myself and the people who are holding a wedding there the day before.

At that point I had written off a dance floor and lighting, but when the mother of the bride mentioned they were things she wanted, I reconsidered.  I mean, spending $200 on a dance floor instead of $400 was in my best interest now that the tent itself was only $800.  We still wouldn't need the lights, but I am able to remove them from my quote.

Final quote cost?  $1140.  So I get the tent, the canopy, and the dance floor for HALF the price.   Plus now we will be able to go in and decorate on Friday night once the tent goes up, rather than running around on Sunday morning.

I never knew that you could do this, but it's apparently a little more common than people realize.

Lesson learned: always look for creative ways to cut the budget without compromising what you get.  ALWAYS.

Something smells.

I'm sitting in the office (aka the pup's bedroom) and it smells like diarrhea.  I've searched high and low and can't seem to find it or any poop anywhere.

I wonder if we're having a septic backwash or something.

Anyone?  Help?

Review: Light My Fire - Swedish Fire Starter

One of my many New Years Resolutions is to do a little more camping this year.  Not hooking up an RV to the car and going somewhere, but actual backcountry hiking and camping. Carry in, carry out.

I grew up in a house with an avid outdoorsman for a father, and spent more than my fair share of summer weekends either camping in the backcountry or on camping trips to tent-only sites.  One of my favorite excursions as a kid was to go out to Tully Lake in MA, where we'd load up everything in our canoe and boat across the lake and over to the campsite.   But as with most things, once post-college adult life sank in, spending a weekend camping just wasn't made a priority.  Moose was a Boy Scout when he was younger, so I know somewhere in that head of his, he must have some outdoors skills aside from hunting.  When you compare the two of us, I think I might edge him out a bit more in the camping experience department, but this is where our skills can meet in the middle.  Most important: he's on board with my crazy idea for us to be a little more outdoorsy.  I worry that if I overload him with too much at one time, it will spell the end of this little experiment.

When I was on Amazon the other day shopping with my "spend it on crap I need" allocation from the tax return, I decided to take advantage of our Prime membership and have a ton of stuff sent to us.  Sure, it was stuff like running shoes, gardening supplies, wedding decorations, and other random things, but I also threw in one of these: a Light My Fire ferro stick.

I have never used a ferro stick before.  Nor have I ever rubbed two sticks together or used a magnesium stick.  But after watching a few too many episodes of random survival TV shows, it seemed like a good idea.

I don't have any photos of this experience since I kept my phone far away from the fireplace, but it was pretty amusing.  I'm sure any neighbor who was looking in our window might have thought we were welding something in our sitting room given the sparks this thing made.

So we huddled around the fireplace, with some dried sticks and small logs set up inside the fireplace, and tried to light our 'tinder' of crumpled newspaper.

Fresh out of the package, the first thing you need to do is remove the paint.  Check.

Then strike it and make sparks fly onto your tinder.  Check.

Fire.  No check.

Strike again. Check.

FIRE!  CHECK!  QUICK GET THAT SHIT IN THE FIREPLACE!

I was able to set fire to our tinder three times, and Moose was able to do it once.  Some of the things we did to make it "easier" was to use a non-essential knife (one of the 'cheap' $30 knives we have for random uses around the house) instead of the scraper that came with the stick, and bunched up our tinder a little better so that it was directly under the ferro stick and there was more surface area for the sparks to hit.   The serrations on the knife's blade made TONS of sparks, but carved into the stick in ways that weren't necessary.  But if you're in a bind and can't start a fire to save your life-- it's a sure-fire (get it?) way to go.

My method of putting more 'wrist' into the stroke seemed to be a little more productive than Moose's full arm stroke.  That just sounds bad.  But the wrist flick definitely produced more sparks.

Also good to note: we thought it would be a fun idea to test some paper soaked with Carmex since some outdoorsy-survival type blogs often reference Carmex as a good fire-starter.  It is.  I'm assuming other types of anti-chap agents might be as well.

How we could have tested things better:

Reading reviews before setting out to do it on our own. Multiple users recommended not using paper as your tinder.  Oops.  In 'real life' we likely wouldn't be hauling some paper into the wild with us.... unless it happened to be toilet paper, which apparently does start a decent fire.  So now, the fact that we were able to start a fire with newspaper on multiple occasions is a little more impressive-- even if it did seem to take longer than it should have.

We have not yet purchased a camp stove, but apparently this method will also work to light your stove. Once we own one and I can give that a shot, I'll let you know.

Overall, I think this is a neat little gadget that will come in handy.  I don't anticipate needing to use it all that often, but it's nice to know that we have it in the event of wet matches or no lighter fluid.

The Paper Lantern Saga....

Our wedding is in June at the Codman Estate in Lincoln, MA. I'm pretty excited about the lovely gardens and grounds, as it will require very minimal added decorations and such. Being outdoors, the only down side is a required tent rental just in case the weather is less than ideal. No big deal, but man can tents be boring.

So, thanks to Pinterest, the ideas of Christmas lights and paper lanterns to spruce up the bland tent is coming to be a reality. I'd say hooray, but the effort that (so far) this is requiring is a bit on the ridiculous side.

First problem: our colors. Navy blue and gold were my fiancé's idea. I didn't feel strongly enough about any specific colors and a decision needed to be made. I'm happy with the colors, but they make decorating a bit of a challenge. Navy blue is easy enough to find (usually), but to find an actual gold color and not yellow has proven to be tough. But I have actually found paper lanterns in blue and gold. But do I want navy or some lighter color blue that will throw the light better? And do I need gold for the same reason?

Second problem: shipping. On Amazon I found a 10 pack of 10" gold lanterns at a decent price. But to add on $7 worth of shipping, I'm less than thrilled. And of course, the ones available through Prime are sold out. Also on Amazon were 10 10" blue lanterns at $0.98 apiece-- not a bad price at all. But oh, wait... $75 for shipping? Are you kidding me? Scratch that idea. So now I'm looking on alternate websites.

Third problem: when on earth will these things be hung?? The morning of? Eek.

Fourth problem: how to light them up. We are considering glow sticks and LED battery tea lights. When some finally arrive I'll give it the old college try. But it doesn't solve the problem of their being lit when we need them lit rather than all day long.

I also found some tacky orange 24" stars that will be hung as well. I'm ok with them adding a new color to the mix, but not knowing how the tent will be set up adds another question to the mix.

The key for me will be doing this all as inexpensively as possible. The five stars were $20 including shipping, and I don't want to turn this into a $100 deal. Ideally, if I could do it for another $20-$25, I'd be happy. I'll keep you posted.

Hi!

I'm hoping that this doesn't go by the wayside like many of my blogs, but at some point I just forget to keep writing or lose interest after work blocks blogger. Luckily for me, now I have the blogger app on my iPad and my iPhone. So it's one less excuse.

I'm also hoping that this time, my motivation to keep this up and running will mostly be because I don't want to limit the use to one topic. Everything is going to be here, from reviews on things I purchase/use to tips on how to cut corners and still get quality stuff for your wedding. I've also taken to gardening and trying to live a little more sustainably, and now that I'm no longer in the bane of all human existence (Florida), getting back into the outdoors. Of course, the pups will also make an appearance.

So, fingers crossed!