Vintage Jewelry & Cage Veils

Against my mother's wishes, I think I'm going to go with a cute lil' funky cage veil. It will go well with my vintage ensemble, along with this gorgeous vintage-looking jewelry I'm finding online. Thanks God for Etsy!

Here are some gorgeous cage veils...



Super, old-hollywood-glam gems and jewels...

These cluster earrings are from http://ben-amun.com



Definitely want to add some feathers and clips to my veil, photos curtesy from Luluspelndor's shop on Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5934977

Engagement Photo Session 2/13/09

What a great way to kick off Valentine's Day weekend then by taking our Engagement Photos, in the quintessential Chicago neighborhood of Lincoln Square. Our wonderful photographer, who will also be taking our wedding day pics was Pamela Luedeke, you can check out her work and services at http://www.pamelaluedekephotography.com/

You can also check out her other incredible photography at http://www.pamelaluedeke.com/

Who knew that I would freeze up in front of the camera and Jon be such a ham! Pamela made us both feel super comfortable and excited for our big day!

DIY: Save the Dates

Finally got through my first DIY project (1 of many for the wedding)....

Having a fall wedding, I was inspired to do a magical woods sprite motif (along with the original Peacock Feather motif). Centerpieces made of branches with mini dangling candles, cat tails, sort of folky. And when I saw these "Giving Tree" themed Save-the-Dates on www.merrimentdesign.com, I knew I'd have to do my own rendition of them. Thank you so much for passing along your template, hope I did your design justice!


So my take on Cristin and Adam's original STD design was incorporating the art on vellum over a photobooth strip of photos from our engagement session. Backed with a Shimmer-Copper Cover weight paper from Paper Source.


Then I punched a 1/8 hole on the top and secured it with the Chocolate Eyelets from Paper Source.


Sealed them in the String & Button Envelopes from Paper Source and stamped them with the cutest bride and groom stamp.


Even got my Pops to help stuff some envelopes....

Puerto Rican Rice & Cuban Stuffed Pork

I'm Mexican, and never cook other Latin cuisines, but Jon took a stab at some flavas from the Caribbean. Who knew pork stuffed with pickles would be so tasty!


Can't forget about the yummy black bean soup with roasted carrots and a dollop of sour cream....

New Apartment

The best thing about Jon's new apartment is that we can cook again, and we'll be recording all our fabulous dishes that we make together. Move over Neelys, the Hilberts are coming to a time slot near you!

So here is Jon's (and soon to be my) humble abode, I viewed it as a blank canvas, update on decor soon to come...



Notice the canvas and workstation? Apparently my fiance is a painter now....


Jon cooking in the kitchen....

Bridesmaid dress, the front runner

My sister and I went to Victoria's Boutique in the West Loop, really cute shop with tons of gorgeous wedding gowns and a good selection of Bridesmaids gowns. And, I think we finally found one, well it's our top pic so far....in dark Plum of course, NO IDEA what color the bow should be. Definitely check out Victoria's, she even designs her own jewelry, http://www.boutiquevictoria.com/

The dress is by Alvina Valenta, who was one of my favorite original wedding designers!