an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.
We picked our wedding bands this past weekend. We have gone and looked before, but as we are getting to crunch time, we knew we had to make decisions. We went back to the same jeweler that did my engagement ring. Paul's seems like just the right amount of simple and decorated. Mine is the same width as my engagement band and will have diamonds all around. I am glad we're both happy and love that we'll be wearing these forever.
I'm so excited to get married. Have I mentioned that yet?
It's a very big project day around here. I'm putting together new kits, making a little book, doing some custom design work (this is new for me!), tackling the laundry and packing for a weekend getaway. Thank you for the sweet words on the gocco maps yesterday. I will be sure to keep some to sell separately – there seem to be a lot of projects they would fit right into. I am glad you are excited about them too. I tried the gocco out again yesterday and was happy again. I hope to get more use out of it in the next few weeks.
And I wanted to let you know that I just got a shipment of sparkly red envelopes so the valentine's from last year are back in stock.
Available now, sets of four ($6.25) and singles ($1.75). All with sparkly red envelopes. Give love. Share laughs. Also available in teal blue.
Happy Tuesday!
I mentioned early in the fall that I bought a gocco printing machine from Paper Source when they sold their inventory of used machines. It was a find. There are not too many left to buy in the US. (Rumor has it some are still being made in Japan and shipped here, but I am not sure of the best way to purchase one.)
The gocco sat in it's box, in a bag for many months until last Friday when I decided to make good on my new year's resolution and try it out. The machine is a simple screen-printing machine that burns a photocopied image onto a special screen with one-time use light bulbs. Gocco ink is then squeezed right onto the screen and then the image is transferred onto paper (in my case, chipboard), one at a time. You can watch a video of the process (it's a bit long, but certainly explains it) here.
Surprise, surprise! It worked. And well! I had pretty low expectations given that the machine is old and the one demo I had seen was unsuccessful. But I was thrilled to find that it's really easy to use. I printed maps on to chipboard for a new mini book kit. Today I am going to get started on the book covers.
Do you have resource for where to find gocco machines? Please share in the comments.
I found this image on this blog the other day and immediately emailed a link to Paul. This is the inspiration I have been looking for for our new San Diego home. Teal, orange and yellow. Photos and artwork above the bed. White and tan. I adore. Today we were about to buy some new sheets and I had to pull up the photo to see if they matched our new vision. They didn't, so even though the sale price was fabulous, we let them go. I am commited to sticking to a decorating plan this time around. Only things we love and cannot live without.
One week into twenty ten. So far it's all about blankets. And warm boots. And three cups of hot (decaf) tea a day. We are on a self-imposed wine and cookie detox. I am learning how to pay bills online through BofA. (I know, what took me so long?) I have scheduled 12 of the 17 flights I need to take in the next 5.5 months. I have been taking a photo a day on my iPhone and organizing them with the Project 365 ap. We are completely hooked on "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Which might as well be called "The Laugh So Hard You Cry Show." I have realized my unofficial goal for 2010 is to curb my spending. Towards the end of last year, I was buying out of boredom. No more of that. My urge to buy has been replaced with an urge to not go broke. And following that is an urge to minimize the junk we have in this apartment so we are ready to move at the end of March. I predict many many donations to Goodwill in the near future. And many giveaways and fun paper packs for sale on this blog.
So far in 2010, I have found these links to be interesting :
This weekend we are going shopping (again) for wedding bands. We have been twice. This time I don't want to leave unless we've put some money down. It's time to start shortening this wedding to-do list. We are also going to see Avatar. I am anxious to see the magic behind the hype.
How is your 2010 so far?
I completed my holiday book early this week when I was finally back with my printer and able to get photos together. I have to say, traveling for two weeks did not make this book better. It made it just a little bit lame. But regardless, I am calling the book a success because IT GOT FINISHED. And that's enough for right now. Next year, I'll focus on making it fantastic.
Next year I think I will keep this same "little book" format. I like the idea of collecting things and just sticking them in the rings. I like that the 4×6 size makes it easy to add photos. Next year we will spending the month of December in one place which I think will really help. I want to take more time to write things down and am hoping to give the pages a bit more thought.
Until next year, little holiday book.
I think it's easy to get wrapped up in the wedding party details (I don't care what Monica Gellar says – weddings are parties). There are so many things to think about. From dresses to cake (WE FOUND ONE!) to entrees to first dances to last dances to honeymoon suites to blah to the blah. PLUS, every vendor pushes the idea that their wedding contribution is the most important. It's their music, cake, dress, flowers, meal, favor etc. that really makes your wedding special. (I, of course, would argue it's the paper products.) However, I love when I remember that the real special part, the real celebration, the real point is the ceremony itself.
We are getting married in the Lutheran church that my parents currently attend. (It's the church in the above photo.) They have a fairly standard & by the book wedding ceremony that the bride and groom are able to modify by choosing from pre-selected options. I spent some time on Monday looking through the readings, prayers and vows that were given to us by the church wedding coordinator. I have looked at these choices before, but this time I read them. I read them out loud. I thought about their meanings. I thought about standing in front of God and nearly everyone we know to confess my love for Paul. To promise forever.
AND OH MAN. If you want to cry, (happy tears!) I highly recommend that little experiment.
Before Monday, I had every intention of writing our own vows. I had visions of Paul and I standing up and saying some unique to us and of course tastefully humorous words. But right there, xeroxed on light purple paper was WEDDING VOW OPTION C:
"_________, I take you to be my wife/husband from this time onward, to join with you and to share all that is to come, to give and to receive, to speak and to listen, to inspire and to respond, and in all circumstances of our life together to be loyal, to you with my whole life and with my being."
It just felt perfect to me and Paul loves it too. I will save my original thoughts for the marriage. And I'll say that promise out loud in a white dress and then spend forever trying to keep it.
I wish I could give credit to the creator of this fantastic appetizer but unfortunately, I do not know him. Some friends of ours had an after Thanksgiving party and another pair brought it. Paul and I tried to make it ourselves on Christmas Eve and it was a big hit. So blogland, enjoy!
You need : a baguette, Boursin cheese (it's a cheesy, garlicky spread), a not too soft avocado and a red pepper.
Roast your red pepper. One way to do it is to set the top oven rack as high as it can go and then set the pepper on a piece of tinfoil and on top of the rack. Set the oven to broil. Monitor the pepper and every few minutes (or less?) rotate it with a pair of tongs. The outside of the red pepper should become charred. (Think of it like you are roasting a marshmellow and you like burned marshmellows.)
Once the pepper is charred on all sides, remove from the oven and wrap it up in the tinfoil for about 15 minutes to let it cool and soften. Once it is cool enough to touch, peel off the charred part (what's left will be a bit slimey), remove the core and seeds and slice into thin strips.
Cut up your baguette into small slices. Spread the Boursin cheese on top and add sliced avocado. Layer the red pepper strips on top of that and drizzle everything with olive oil.
Serve & enjoy! They were perfect for Christmas because of the red and green but seriously tasty all year round.
Today feels like the real start to 2010. It's Monday. The day when new year's resolutions can really begin (so if like me you skipped the gym and ate potato chips for the past three days, it really doesn't matter.) I am battling a cold but will not let that stop me from getting lists, items and spreadsheets organized, both business and personal, today.
2010 is a BIG year for Elise and Paul. Our biggest yet by far. January is already underway. Paul started his four week medicine rotation this morning. I am working on working and taking a quick trip to Vegas with my college girlfriends in twelve days. Paul will spend February in Washington state for an ER rotation. I will be here in DC except for a week in Sacramento for a bridal shower. And then March is where everything hits the fan. Paul will be back here on a surgery rotation and we have 28 days to pack up our apartment, say adios to the east coast, sell my car and try to keep our heads on straight. The month of April will fly. We are both going to be back in California : Paul will be rotating in Travis and I will be tying up wedding loose ends.
We marry on April 24, 2010 and then spend a glorious week in Bora Bora.
AND THEN, it's back in action. Paul flies out to Maryland for two weeks to prep for graduation. I stay in CA, go to my brother's college graduation and then fly overnight to be back in Maryland for Paul's graduation ceremony on May 15. After that, we hop BACK across the country to San Diego to find an apartment. I am hoping that somewhere around May 25, 2010 we are moved and settled and still very much in love.
It hurts just to type it all out. Especially right now through sniffles and a sore throat. But I had a great realization on Saturday after our 14 hour travel day that involved lost baggage : My ATTITUDE through these next five months is the only thing I have control over. I don't know if the military is going to store our stuff while we settle our plans. I do know it will be freezing cold during my month in February. I don't know what I am going to do these next few months to stay creative and active with the shop. I do know that our wedding will go off with at least 17 hitches.
But most importantly, I understand that if I take each event and inevitable hiccup in stride and JUST DEAL WITH IT POSITIVELY then Paul will too and we'll not only get through these months, but enjoy these months. (I realize that this sounds like something right out of a self help book. No worries though – this might just work.)
2010, you are a beast. You are anything but boring. But we are ready for you. Me, P and my box of Kleenex.
enJOY it 