Two posts in one day? I know... it's crazy.
My gorgeous and talented and smart friend, Sammi, suggested I get my blog up on Bloglovin', and as Sammi operates a very successful and snazzy blog herself (check out The Soubrette Brunette), I will listen to absolutely any advice she gives me!
So follow Adorkable Gal on Bloglovin'! (whatever that means!)
Friday, July 19, 2013
The Wedding: In Review
Soooooo Jeff and I totally got married two weeks ago. And it was AWESOME. Seriously. It's very different to experience a wedding when it's actually your wedding, and I might be a little bit biased, but I think we had one of the most go-with-the-flow, relaxed, personalized and fun parties ever. Which pleases me greatly because that's exactly the kind of vibe we were going for from the very beginning.
We've all been to the weddings that run like clockwork: there's the conventional ceremony with all the proper rituals and formal behavior, then you go to the cocktail hour and you're greeted with the typical spread of hors d'oeurves, and then it's time to eat so you tuck in to a plate that consists of a piece of meat (usually dry), some kind of potato item and a pile of non-descript, unseasoned veggies (and the food is never hot enough, am I right?). And then there's a DJ who announces the bridal party and the newlyweds, followed by a nice slow dance from the happy couple. And then everybody dances and then goes home at the end of the night.
These weddings are awesome and I always enjoy attending them, but that wasn't the kind of party we wanted for ourselves. We wanted to strip our wedding of the formalities, emphasize the food, drinks and music/dancing, and incorporate elements that were fun and made sense for us. We didn't want to feel like we were being directed through a series of tasks or events throughout the day- we wanted to feel like we were at a super-kickass summer party with all of our most beloved family and friends (where we just happened to be the guests of honor).
So here's what we did:
-We kept the ceremony short and simple. Our close friend, Jason, officiated and he created a very sweet and offbeat ceremony for us. We elected not to have a bridal party, but found ways to honor and include those people most important to us-- Jeff processed in with our grandmas on either arm, my mom processed in with Jeff's parents (I obviously walked in with my dad), my brother played the acoustic guitar as we walked in, my best friend Molly did a reading (non-religious; she read Paul Newman's letter to his wife on their wedding day), Jeff's younger brother Ryan handed off our rings, and we asked our older siblings to give speeches during the reception. In this way, we were able to include each member of our families in a way that was very specific and special.
-We put all our money into food, drinks and music (okay, and photography to capture it all). Seriously... like pretty much all of it. Food is very important to me- I've learned over the years that it's very much how I show my affection for people and it was always a big part of how my family operated as I was growing up (we always sat down for dinner together, and the preparing and eating of meals was/is always the centerpiece of any Tiballi family get-together). I wanted the food at our wedding to reflect what we love, make people smile, and be satisfying. So we had a big ol' BBQ with all the fixin's, there was a hotdog bar with all sorts of fun toppings (and tater tots!!!), and all the appetizers during the cocktail hour were inspired by "childhood favorites", including apple butter and fluff finger sandwiches, chicken tenders with various dipping sauces, and pigs in a blanket (of course). And DAMN did that food go fast! Also, there was an ice cream truck-- our guests were lined up around the building and many went back to the truck for seconds! It was the perfect treat on such a hot day and I think it added a lot of whimsy and personality to the reception. We provided our own booze for the open bar and tried to have as wide a selection as possible for our guests-- 9 different kinds of beer and nearly every kind of liquor you could think of. The bar was hoppin' all night and Jeff did several shots with the menfolk early in the night. And the band.... oh, the band! We hired "Something Else", Rochester's best cover band (and friends of ours in real life) to rock the house and boy did they! I busted a move to nearly every single song they played and it seemed like our guests were totally loving them all night-- the dance floor was crowded, the bystanders were getting a kick out of watching us go crazy on the dance floor, and they played all of our favorite songs (including quirky ones like "A Whole New World"- which is always hilarious, the theme from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air", "Bohemian Rhapsody"- did I mention there's only 3 musicians?, and "Time of my Life" from Dirty Dancing... which I did the leap from and totally wonked out my calf muscle in the process- WORTH IT).
-We didn't go too crazy on the DIY projects. I knew from the start that I didn't want to have too much *stuff* to have to set-up and tear-down, because I didn't want to create any extra unnecessary work (and therefore, pressure) for us on the wedding day. My sister graciously offered to whip up some homemade felt garlands to decor the outdoor ceremony area, which was awesome and ended up being super-festive. Other than that, I basically just had the florist do centerpieces for the reception tables and hired a balloon guy I work with at Geva to throw some balloons in the park to help people find their way to and from the ceremony site. I did take some time in the week leading up to the wedding to make the seating assignment boards and the table "numbers" (which were actually movie posters that I printed out and framed). I also busted out a few handmade wooden signs to help direct guests. But that was pretty much it as far as DIY projects go. Now anyone who knows me knows that I like to be crafty and take on all sorts of projects, but I was very happy to not overwhelm myself with a huge list of DIY projects for this wedding. There was plenty to do without worrying about crafting every little detail myself- I think I would have had many meltdowns if I had pressured myself to do that. Instead, I only took on those few pieces that I thought would really matter (the signage was necessary to ensure that people knew where they were going, and the table/seating stuff was very specific to our interests so we had to personalize them ourselves) and happily paid other people to take care of the rest of the minimal decor. I didn't have a lot of "we HAVE to have this" things on my list to begin with, so it was a lot easier to manage my expectations when it came to the details of the decor. Smartest thing I did during this whole process, by far. And I was stoked with how everything looked on the day-of, so having more stuff totally wouldn't have been necessary (regardless of what Pinterest wants brides to believe).
-We didn't take anything too seriously on the day-of and we lived in the moment as much as possible. Sure there were a couple of things that I noticed that could have gone a little smoother (I missed the perfect photo-op that I had wanted of my dad seeing me in my dress for the first time because the guys were in a rush to get ready and busted into the hotel room before we knew what was happening, I was 20 minutes late meeting Jeff for our first-look before the ceremony, it proved a little difficult to get everyone together right before the ceremony to take pictures, the reception venue was a little tight and that made it hard to do an official intro at the top of the reception), but none of these things seemed to really matter in the grand scheme of things and I somehow managed to adopt a "ehh, just roll with it" attitude, which really surprised me. Our poor photographer must have been so frustrated with me because all her questions were met with such ambiguity ("ehh, I guess we're not going to worry about doing this thing I had said we were gonna do, so I guess don't worry about it- let's dance!"), but it proved to be much more enjoyable to just let things evolve as they were going to evolve instead of spending all my energy rigidly enforcing (and subsequently, corralling and double-checking and obsessing) every last detail. I was proud of myself for delegating all set-up responsibilities to the guys that morning, and for trusting my mom and sister to make sure that the venue was ready while Jeff and I took pictures-- I was totally not involved (which I thought was going to be very difficult for me, since I'm an event coordinator by trade- I tend to micromanage and have trouble relinqishing control) and it was great. My strategy was to over-prepare as much as possible ahead of time so I could just step away. Fortunately, nearly every piece fell into place and those that didn't weren't ultimately not that important anyway. It was much better to focus on having a great time than nit-picky details that probably only five people would notice and I am so glad that I was able to be much more relaxed about everything than I thought I would be. We focused on having fun and enjoying every moment and we just let the day happen and I think that made all the difference.
We've all been to the weddings that run like clockwork: there's the conventional ceremony with all the proper rituals and formal behavior, then you go to the cocktail hour and you're greeted with the typical spread of hors d'oeurves, and then it's time to eat so you tuck in to a plate that consists of a piece of meat (usually dry), some kind of potato item and a pile of non-descript, unseasoned veggies (and the food is never hot enough, am I right?). And then there's a DJ who announces the bridal party and the newlyweds, followed by a nice slow dance from the happy couple. And then everybody dances and then goes home at the end of the night.
These weddings are awesome and I always enjoy attending them, but that wasn't the kind of party we wanted for ourselves. We wanted to strip our wedding of the formalities, emphasize the food, drinks and music/dancing, and incorporate elements that were fun and made sense for us. We didn't want to feel like we were being directed through a series of tasks or events throughout the day- we wanted to feel like we were at a super-kickass summer party with all of our most beloved family and friends (where we just happened to be the guests of honor).
So here's what we did:
 |
| Walkin' with muh dad |
-We put all our money into food, drinks and music (okay, and photography to capture it all). Seriously... like pretty much all of it. Food is very important to me- I've learned over the years that it's very much how I show my affection for people and it was always a big part of how my family operated as I was growing up (we always sat down for dinner together, and the preparing and eating of meals was/is always the centerpiece of any Tiballi family get-together). I wanted the food at our wedding to reflect what we love, make people smile, and be satisfying. So we had a big ol' BBQ with all the fixin's, there was a hotdog bar with all sorts of fun toppings (and tater tots!!!), and all the appetizers during the cocktail hour were inspired by "childhood favorites", including apple butter and fluff finger sandwiches, chicken tenders with various dipping sauces, and pigs in a blanket (of course). And DAMN did that food go fast! Also, there was an ice cream truck-- our guests were lined up around the building and many went back to the truck for seconds! It was the perfect treat on such a hot day and I think it added a lot of whimsy and personality to the reception. We provided our own booze for the open bar and tried to have as wide a selection as possible for our guests-- 9 different kinds of beer and nearly every kind of liquor you could think of. The bar was hoppin' all night and Jeff did several shots with the menfolk early in the night. And the band.... oh, the band! We hired "Something Else", Rochester's best cover band (and friends of ours in real life) to rock the house and boy did they! I busted a move to nearly every single song they played and it seemed like our guests were totally loving them all night-- the dance floor was crowded, the bystanders were getting a kick out of watching us go crazy on the dance floor, and they played all of our favorite songs (including quirky ones like "A Whole New World"- which is always hilarious, the theme from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air", "Bohemian Rhapsody"- did I mention there's only 3 musicians?, and "Time of my Life" from Dirty Dancing... which I did the leap from and totally wonked out my calf muscle in the process- WORTH IT).
 |
| Tasty yum-yums |
 |
| I shall have all the flavors, please! |
-We didn't go too crazy on the DIY projects. I knew from the start that I didn't want to have too much *stuff* to have to set-up and tear-down, because I didn't want to create any extra unnecessary work (and therefore, pressure) for us on the wedding day. My sister graciously offered to whip up some homemade felt garlands to decor the outdoor ceremony area, which was awesome and ended up being super-festive. Other than that, I basically just had the florist do centerpieces for the reception tables and hired a balloon guy I work with at Geva to throw some balloons in the park to help people find their way to and from the ceremony site. I did take some time in the week leading up to the wedding to make the seating assignment boards and the table "numbers" (which were actually movie posters that I printed out and framed). I also busted out a few handmade wooden signs to help direct guests. But that was pretty much it as far as DIY projects go. Now anyone who knows me knows that I like to be crafty and take on all sorts of projects, but I was very happy to not overwhelm myself with a huge list of DIY projects for this wedding. There was plenty to do without worrying about crafting every little detail myself- I think I would have had many meltdowns if I had pressured myself to do that. Instead, I only took on those few pieces that I thought would really matter (the signage was necessary to ensure that people knew where they were going, and the table/seating stuff was very specific to our interests so we had to personalize them ourselves) and happily paid other people to take care of the rest of the minimal decor. I didn't have a lot of "we HAVE to have this" things on my list to begin with, so it was a lot easier to manage my expectations when it came to the details of the decor. Smartest thing I did during this whole process, by far. And I was stoked with how everything looked on the day-of, so having more stuff totally wouldn't have been necessary (regardless of what Pinterest wants brides to believe).
 |
| Awesome 80s movie poster "table numbers" |
 |
| Original poem on the back of said awesome movie poster "table numbers" |
 |
| No matter what I do, I can't seem to rotate this image. Blerg. |
 |
| Hooray! |
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Imma Have Me a Garage Sale!
At the end of my last post, I wrote briefly about how I am determined to sort through the piles of *stuff* we've accumulated ever since we moved in to our apartment a year ago. Tonight, Jeff and I started by going through our clothes. It's amazing how frequently I mutter to myself "Gahhhd, I don't have anything to wear" since my closet is literally BURSTING with clothes. Honestly, I don't wear most of it, either because I don't think a piece works with anything else I own (I feel like I suck at putting together complete outfits) or because certain pieces just don't fit right and I haven't been willing to suck it up and get rid of them. Well tonight I tried to be as discriminating as possible and I ended up with a garbage bag full of items to toss (holes, stains, tears, faded, etc), a big laundry basket overflowing with items to sell, and a metric shit-ton of liberated hangers. My closet is still pretty full, but at least I can now actually see what's hanging there. I still have to go through my dresser and my shelves of sweaters, but I shall save that for another night. I'm quite please with tonight's pruning efforts! It feels good to clear out the extra stuff that was cluttering things up and making it hard to function easily-- my mantra this summer is going to be STREAMLINE.
I've decided that I'm going to have a garage sale the first weekend of August (which also happens to be Park Ave Festival weekend... aka: TONS of foot traffic in our neighborhood!). That gives me two weeks to finish going through my clothes and to collect household items that we don't want, don't use, and/or don't need. We have a lot of duplicate items (like sets of pots & pans, kitchen gadgets and utensils, etc) because we got nice stuff from our bridal shower to replace the stuff we'd been using-- I figured a garage sale would be the perfect opportunity to make room for the new items and earn a little extra cash in the process! All proceeds from the garage sale will go directly to our "down payment for a house" fund, which already has a nice little sum started. Hooray!
I dream of a super-organized, perfectly staged garage sale, with cute signage and little color-coordinated price stickers and perhaps even a little lemonade stand or table of baked goods as an added source of revenue! If you've got any stuff lying around your house and you'd like to donate it to our sale, let me know- I'll happily take it!
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| I would go to this sale, wouldn't you?? |
I've decided that I'm going to have a garage sale the first weekend of August (which also happens to be Park Ave Festival weekend... aka: TONS of foot traffic in our neighborhood!). That gives me two weeks to finish going through my clothes and to collect household items that we don't want, don't use, and/or don't need. We have a lot of duplicate items (like sets of pots & pans, kitchen gadgets and utensils, etc) because we got nice stuff from our bridal shower to replace the stuff we'd been using-- I figured a garage sale would be the perfect opportunity to make room for the new items and earn a little extra cash in the process! All proceeds from the garage sale will go directly to our "down payment for a house" fund, which already has a nice little sum started. Hooray!
I dream of a super-organized, perfectly staged garage sale, with cute signage and little color-coordinated price stickers and perhaps even a little lemonade stand or table of baked goods as an added source of revenue! If you've got any stuff lying around your house and you'd like to donate it to our sale, let me know- I'll happily take it!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Currently THIS week...
I know... it's shameful how long it's been since my last post, but I've had shit to do (shows to open and close, a giant fundraiser to put on at work, and a wedding to plan and have), so sue me. Here's a short post to jump-start my efforts again...
Reading "The Fallen Angel", by some Dan Brown knock-off dude. So far, it's trying to be "Angels and Demons"... a lot. <LAME>
Reading "The Fallen Angel", by some Dan Brown knock-off dude. So far, it's trying to be "Angels and Demons"... a lot. <LAME>
Writing a shit-ton of grant proposals. I have a final report due on Wednesday, two major final reports for NEA grants due by the end of the month, and then I have five grant applications due in August. Soooooo I'm just going to spend the next 6 weeks typing pages and pages of things. Oh, and thank you notes... must bang out thank you notes in the next 2 weeks.
Eating green things. I swear all I ate in Wilmington last week was steak and sugar. It was amazing. But I need to get my shit together and start eating like a grown-up.
Eating green things. I swear all I ate in Wilmington last week was steak and sugar. It was amazing. But I need to get my shit together and start eating like a grown-up.
Listening to the sound of the Geva air conditioning and NOT my beloved Pandora station (though I totally intent to put on my giant headphones and rock out to my Philip Glass station while I write this week, so suck my balls, IT).
Thinking about how much I hate the new East Ave Wegmans. I'm sorry, I've tried but I just can't seem to get on board. I don't know what it is about it, but it feels like a cold, suburban factory to me. And every time I'm there, that goddamn rooster won't stop crowing. It's enough to drive a girl to shop at TOPS!
Wishing we had $10,000 saved up so we could just slap a down payment down on a house and move. I/we really want a house and even though we got a nice chunk of change from wedding cards, it still feels like it'll take forever to save up enough for a respectful down payment. Also, it would be super awesome if someone could pay off all my/our debt please thanks okay bye.
Hoping that our fridge is not broken, because our landlord totally blows at responding to me whenever I try to contact him (see "Wishing" section above). We've got some serious condensation issues up in there, people, and I need to make sure that my chilly items remain cool during this time of oppressive heat.
Wearing black skinny jeans and a striped 3/4-length shirt, thank you. I'm looking tres French today.
Loving Jeffrey. Being married to him is the effin' bomb. I get squishy whenever I glance at his left hand and see that ring on it... gyullllll!
Feeling a mixture of overwhelmed-ness (I'm making words up) and motivation. I'm feeling the need to finally get my house in completely organizational order now that the dust is finally settling on a VERY busy Spring (what with doing 2 shows back-to-back, transitioning from one very busy job to a promoted - and even more intense - position, and the whole wedding thing). We have piles of stuff that need to be put away, closets that are bursting at the seams (half of that shit is going to Goodwill, I swear to God...), and new wedding gifts that need to replace old household items, which need to then find homes (I guess we'll add "plan and host a garage sale" to the list of things to do this summer). There's so much to do, I don't even know where to start, but I'm itching to get everything settled and organized. This may take days. Even weeks. If you don't hear from me until August, assume I've died in the hoard and send Jeff a sensible sympathy pie.
Thinking about how much I hate the new East Ave Wegmans. I'm sorry, I've tried but I just can't seem to get on board. I don't know what it is about it, but it feels like a cold, suburban factory to me. And every time I'm there, that goddamn rooster won't stop crowing. It's enough to drive a girl to shop at TOPS!
Wishing we had $10,000 saved up so we could just slap a down payment down on a house and move. I/we really want a house and even though we got a nice chunk of change from wedding cards, it still feels like it'll take forever to save up enough for a respectful down payment. Also, it would be super awesome if someone could pay off all my/our debt please thanks okay bye.
Hoping that our fridge is not broken, because our landlord totally blows at responding to me whenever I try to contact him (see "Wishing" section above). We've got some serious condensation issues up in there, people, and I need to make sure that my chilly items remain cool during this time of oppressive heat.
Wearing black skinny jeans and a striped 3/4-length shirt, thank you. I'm looking tres French today.
Loving Jeffrey. Being married to him is the effin' bomb. I get squishy whenever I glance at his left hand and see that ring on it... gyullllll!
Feeling a mixture of overwhelmed-ness (I'm making words up) and motivation. I'm feeling the need to finally get my house in completely organizational order now that the dust is finally settling on a VERY busy Spring (what with doing 2 shows back-to-back, transitioning from one very busy job to a promoted - and even more intense - position, and the whole wedding thing). We have piles of stuff that need to be put away, closets that are bursting at the seams (half of that shit is going to Goodwill, I swear to God...), and new wedding gifts that need to replace old household items, which need to then find homes (I guess we'll add "plan and host a garage sale" to the list of things to do this summer). There's so much to do, I don't even know where to start, but I'm itching to get everything settled and organized. This may take days. Even weeks. If you don't hear from me until August, assume I've died in the hoard and send Jeff a sensible sympathy pie.
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