Dress Shopping #1

I finally went wedding dress shopping!  It was awful!  Not completely awful, but not at all what I expected.  With all my family events going on this weekend the only time available to shop was Sunday afternoon.  Looking back it was really sad having to squeeze in wedding dress shopping like a chore or something.  Next time I come to town I'm coming to dress shop and that's it!  You only get to shop for a wedding dress one time, it should be a special experience.

The only dress stores open on Sunday are the big chains: David's Bridal and Alfred Angelo.  David's Bridal is the closest to our house so I made a 3:30 appointment.  Our sales associate was super nice and did a great job finding what I asked for and then finding what would look good on me.

Let's refresh what I thought I wanted:
1. Be sure the dress is interesting from the waist up
2. no strapless
3. show shoulders
4. minimize booty
5. find comfort
Ya, #5 will be impossible.  Wedding dresses are heavy, hot and incredibly uncomfortable!!  I don't understand why, but everything I tried on caused me to sweat like a pig!  I might have been having a Carrie Bradshaw moment, but I didn't break out in hives, so I think it was just the fabric and weight of each dress.
The first dress I tried on was an a-line dress,.  The #4 request of minimize booty did not happen in this dress.  It made my boobs look big and then made my tummy and booty look big, definitely not the style for me.  It was comfortable, but strapless so it was out.  Didn't even bother to take a picture in it...

This next dress was cool.  It had a HUGE skirt, way too big, and the sales associate clipped the chest area awkward so it looks weird in the photo.  But the skirt disconnects from the top and the top is actually a cocktail dress that is hidden under the skirt.  I think it's a cute concept that would go well with the cowboy boots I want to wear at the reception. 
I showed this dress to the Farmer and he didn't like it.  His reaction was "It doesn't show off your curves".  I love that he loves the part of me I dislike the most!

This was the dress I "liked the most".  I didn't love any dress, but this one I liked the most:

Wow! The lightening in there is awful.  When my mom took these pictures she took them sitting down, so I look SUPER FAT.  Which is why I'm eating a salad for lunch today.  Here I was thinking I didn't want something form fitting, but the Farmer is right, this look is great on me, I think.  I love the straps and boob coverage but would need it taken in under the chest to show I do have a waist.  This was full lace with a few beads and sequins on the train and bust.  I'm concerned the beads will catch on carpet or any flooring and cause the train to skip while I'm walking down the aisle instead of flow smoothly ya know?  I do love this veil.

So it wasn't the best shopping trip, but the dresses were only $850 so maybe if we find some higher quality dresses it will be the fit and style I'm looking for.  I'm researching Dallas boutiques and the designers they carry.  I came across this La Sposa dress that I love.  It is a Spanish designer, as in Barcelona Spain.

Click for link: This is dress number 7 of 17 

  

I do love this dress from La Sposa. It highlights the curves, but keeps them soft and romantic.  I've always wanted a veil with the lace trim and this is just over the top!  This dress isn't that interesting in the bust area and there are no straps, so we'll have to try it on to see what I think.  I know this designer is in a Dallas area bridal boutique so I might call ahead to be sure they have this dress in stock!

If I'm doing the calculations right, it can take up to 6 months to get your dress in and altered, so I need to have a dress by the end of August.  Eek!  Pray for me!

Living Life to the Fullest, just not in a wedding dress yet....

-Rachel

the dress and the drama

It's time for a wedding post.  Yes I'm engaged. I haven't shared that yet but I am.  The farmer still has pictures of the engagement on his camera that he can't seem to locate.  So until I have visual proof take my word that I'm engaged!!

With planting season here now and harvest coming in the fall there are few months in a year we can get married.  It looks like we'll be having a winter wedding.  Meaning I now have 8 months to get my rear in gear and start planning the wedding. 

It really helps that my parent's friends and my family are so open to help us with the wedding.  My mom's friend offered to throw an engagement party and help me with my invitations. She's an artist with 2 sons that have no intention of getting married soon so she's itching for a wedding. 
My aunt offered to buy my wedding dress which would be a huge load off of my personal expenses, as I was expecting to buy it for myself. Moving to West Texas was the first step in preparing for the wedding.  It helped me cut back on living expenses leaving me room to save.  Saving is the only way to have the wedding of my dreams.  It was a sacrifice I was willing to take but it turned out not everybody is as open minded as I am. 

When my mom heard about my aunt offering to buy my dress she would not have it.  She feels it is the mothers role to buy the dress.  I have never been married before so I have no clue! I've read multiple wedding books and it's tradition for the brides family to pay for the wedding so I guess dress falls into that category.  I do remember reading you should accept all gifts unless it causes tension. I wouldn't have accepted this gift from my aunt if I thought it would cause tension.  And honestly I was blind sided when my mother shared her feeling of rejection.  In no way did I purposly intend to reject my mother and in no way did my mom offer to help with the wedding initially. Hence me changing my lifestyle to make this event happen.

The day before I moved to west Texas, while the Uhaul is full and sitting in the driveway my mom extends her financial help and requests it goes toward buying the dress. She also wants to be included in all things wedding which is understandable as the mother of the bride.  

It's been a month since the move, so hopefully things have smoothed over...  I'll be traveling to Dallas this weekend for my littlest sisters dance recital and I plan on doing some dress shopping if possible.

My thoughts on wedding dresses are:

A) most personal photos are taken from the waist up do be sure your dress is interesting from the waist up.

B) I'm big busted so I need straps. Cannot do strapless

C) Farmer likes my shoulders so try to show those.

D) minimize the booty

E) find something comfortable. Meaning I can sit down in it, dance in it, kneel and stand in it but also it's not so  stuffy that it's not a representation of me, it won't look good in cowboy boots and I look out off place in my elegant farm wedding. No backless silk plunging neckline going on here....
I'm leaning toward something like this:

I'll let you know how it goes.  Hopefully no more drama!

Dog-gon week

What a freakin week! This week has gone to the dogs.
First the dog days of summer are definitely here with temperatures in the high 90's.  Then the neighbors pitbull escapes! The rumor has it he was going for my 2 year old nephew but the boy's chihuahua got in the way and it was attacked by the pitbull, instead of the boy.

The farmer got a stomach virus with a headache and he was throwing up for 3 days straight. He was sick as a dog.
And finally my puppies got their summer haircut. I love that they love me unconditionally because that haircut is embarrassing! I can't even post pictures, it's sad.

But we are going to Dallas this weekend for Memorial day/dance recital/graduation parties and no hair cut or sickness us going to stop us!

Fresh Eggs

Gone are the days of looking for the perfect looking eggs in the supermarket. Instead we open our egg carton to find an assortment of eggs from the neighbors chickens.
Farm living at it's finest.
I'm not brave enough to try them yet but the farmer is gobbling them up!

www dot not

One of my week 1 goals was to get the internet up and running at this house.  This has proved more difficult than i expected.

1) There are no land lines out here. No cable. No fiber optics.  No DSL, ethernet, etc and so on.  There is only wireless internet.  Not the wireless that connects to a router (while that is possible) but wireless that is on top of your house searching for the dish across town.

2) This dish isn't on a conveniently tall antenna pole (see photo). No it's on top of the tallest thing in town, a cotton gin.  And if that cotton gin is at the lowest point in town you are outta luck.  (see photo, antenna far left side).

3) Final piece of the mud pie: This house has trees blocking the view from the top of our roof to the cotton gin antenna.  The Farmer has to build a lightning pole so that the internet company can install their wireless connection.  Did I mention this pole needs to raise up and down so that the installation guy doesn't have to climb up it? (Because trust me, this big guy couldn't climb it if his life depended on it) Did I also mention this only is for 1G speed?  Our town doesn't get 3G.

But Rachel how are you writing this amazing blog with no spelling or grammer errors? (Ha!) I'm writing this on my new android RAZR. Its my mini computer helping me stay connected in a major way.

Living Life to the Fullest with no internet!

-Rachel