Go Green, Bride!

The Green Bride Guide by Kate L. Harrison is actually the second eco-friendly wedding guide I have cracked open. The other book I read in the fall called Eco-Chic Weddings by Emily Anderson. The book by Harrison was way more sufficient. Eco-Chic Weddings had a lot of ridiculous suggestions such as hemp dresses, etc. The Green Bride is organized on a scale based on price, which I find much more helpful since my wedding budget is extremely low. Some of her ideas are actually charming without being too extreme. She is an expert on environmental law and give a lot of useful information. Some of the things she had to say about toxins in detergents and synthetic fibers really made me think twice about the daily things in our life. Although my wedding will probably not be an event to make Green Peace proud, but there may be a few steps I can take to save our planet during my wedding.

I have fallen in love for a second time....

After watching many many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress," I have been inspired to look for wedding dresses. I have looked through hundreds of pictures from theknot.com, ebay, designer websites, google. None made me feel as smitten as the dresses by Stephanie James. I never wanted a poofy dress or one with a train. However, I have always thought I wanted a long dress. Well these Audrey Hepburn t-length beauties have changed my mind....

There are practical reasons for a t-length dress. I want t

o have a classy, but simple spring afternoon wedding that could involve an outside reception on the bay. I would enjoy not having to drag my dress. Plus I have some awesome looking calves! On a more nostalgic note I love my grandmother's wedding dress, and there is a definite likeness to these dresses. Unfortunately I can not even begin to afford one of these dresses going between 1,000 to 2,000 dollars a pop.

I also saw this dress when I lived in Edinburgh, and had always admired that bride's style...

Here are some more Stephanie James images for everyone's enjoyment!

French Women Don't Get Fat

I read the bestseller French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano in order to motivate myself for my own weight loss journey. The author grew up in a little town in France and studied abroad when she was eighteen. She gained a new perspective on the world and over twenty pounds. Her wake up call was when her father saw her for the first time after her year abroad and the first words out of his mouth were "You look like a sack of potatoes." I had a similar moment last summer when I began working at the library when two patrons over the course of a week asked if I was prego. Ironically, I had not been at my fattest at that point which was about 2 years before when I graduated from Southern Miss. To date I am happy to report I am almost down a pants size.

Guiliano does not really share anything ground breaking. Same advice we have all been given such as watch portions, walk more, eat out less, etc. She is

a good writer, however, and has some wonderful insights into the "culture" of eating. I find it worthwhile to read just for this paragraph alone...

"We French are not as fiendish about finding shortcuts as Americans are. Perhaps it is why we are no longer a great power, but the trade-off is that we are not fat."

Me the Week of Graduate from Southern Miss with my BFF Linda (ABOVE)

Me about a month ago at BYOBrush Studio * I can certainly see a difference*

An Occupational Hazard

Great new this week. The Pass Christian Library has been the first Harrison County Library to be destroyed by Katrina to reopen. This week a whole library full of new books became available to us. So I took advantage and ordered all their glossy wedding books! I look forward to reading and reviewing all of these. If you are ever in the Pass check it out!

What's Your Wedding Style?

For the past week I have slacked due to the fact that I have been reading a book that less than thrilled me. The title is What's Your Bridal Style?by Sharon Naylor and Casey Cooper. When I view the must have lists of wedding books Sharon Naylor's dozens of titles always appear. I bought this small book on amazon for a ridiculously cheap price, and I am glad that I did not spend more than four dollars to get it. It is advertised almost a book full of quizzes in order to jump start wedding planning. Since obtaining my first copy of Teen magazine, I have loved taking quizzes and years down the road in college I would be the first to repost a myspace questionnaire.

However, this book did not contain one quiz for a brides enjoyment. Instead there are chapters broken down by theme, such as wedding cake, ceremony, etc. Most of these chapters contain questions to discuss with your groom. The groom I am marrying does not have interest in questions such as "Describe your favorite work suit. What color is it? Fabric?" The book also tries to pigeon hole brides into about six different categories such as traditional, city-chic, exotic, romantic, and other adjectives. I feel like most of these categories did not apply to me as a bride.

Is it possible I have progressed further in the development of my wedding than I realized? As a result, I believe buying two trendy wedding magazines would be a much better investment in order to get the matrimonial creative juices flowing. One last gripe, budget is not really a theme at all in this book making some of the suggestions made seem silly for someone with a budget as low as mine. For Stephanie Naylor's other books I am reserving judgement till I can try out some more.

Buying this book was silly in hindsight since what little girl has not been planning her wedding since she was ten years old?