Still on the Missoni bandwagon

The first time Selah strolled in her snazzy stroller was also her first trip to Target, where the last pairs of two Missoni shoes "somehow" ended up in our cart. They happened to fit my feet so I kept them (great Cinderella story, right?). But I wanted to see if there was anything to my liking for our Little Bear. I poked around the Target website, after the online mess was cleaned up, and ordered a couple items for her with a coupon (yay!) to bring the total down a few beans.

Then on the next week's Target trip (it's amazing how fast we've been going through diapers), Mama Bear spotted a lone beautiful velvet rose print coat in a toddler size, misplaced and hanging amidst some onesies in the children's section.

Mr. Woo: You don't need any more clothes!
Mrs. Woo: It's not for me! It's for Selah!
Mr. Woo: She can't fit into that.
Mrs. Woo: Not yet~

Yes, I am the one who: (a) fits into children's clothing, (b) buys clothes that her child can grow into later, (c) bought another Missoni item.

Just to see what was happening on E(vil)bay, I took a peek. After all, these people were adding tens of each item into their cart on this Black Friday-esque morning and selling for massive profit, from what I read. End result: I managed to score the coat for Selah Bella for less than retail price. Take that, E(vil)bay!

And with that, I am now stepping off of the Missoni bandwagon (unless you or I spot one of those espresso sets).

Did you buy anything from the Missoni for Target collection?
 

Eureka

An update on my "one size fits all" saga...

After I uploaded the pictures onto my computer, I got to thinking that there must be some good reason why the front of the robe looks the way it does. I've seen infomercials on Snuggies, and it's not one of those. After Sara's comment I mentioned that I had Mr. Woo try it on last night, but tonight was the night we discovered the designer's intent.

Here I was, trying to work this thing like Tyra would advice (I'm supposed to even make a trash bag look like it's worth a million dollars, right?). I'm tucking in corners, wrapping one side to the other, and no matter what I do, it looks pathetic. So I did what I do when all else fails - tie it into a pretty bow. Or so I tried. I did feel more Heidi Klum this way though. See the resemblance?

I was feeling pretty good about my alteration, and asked Mr. Woo to try it on again too. He obliged after the third time.

Initially he wore part of it (the part that I had tied together) on his head asking, "What, I'm not supposed to wear it this way?" Secretly, I had to rethink throwing out this option. There has to be some reason why those flappy things are just hanging there in the front! Maybe providing a shielding hood was it?

Then he pulled it down and actually wore it like a robe.

"Hey, maybe this is supposed to go up like..." As he trailed off, his face told me that he had just discovered something terrific.

"Maybe you're supposed to wear it the other way! ... Yeah, you're supposed to wear it the other way! Boo, you've been wearing it backwards this whole time."

o_O Well, I'll be... I've been wearing it backward this entire time. But, you know, I don't think it matters how I wear it - I still look like the red is eating me.

Walls + Neckties

"How was your summer vacation?" one of the parents asked me tonight. Well, let's see... I taught summer school, had a huge class, which included special needs students, and had one week off before being summoned back for meetings and prep even though the first day of school is August 19... "Not long enough."

I thoroughly enjoy meeting (most) parents because their children make so much more sense to me once I do so. This year's Orientation Night was an exciting one because most of the students have seen me around and may even had some interaction with me (outside of yearbook signing, which some turn into a competition of who can collect the most).

It went rather smoothly, and some students who showed up (despite being asked not to by the school) seem to like me already. I already have one picture to hang on my wall! :D

Because I only have a (drama-filled) class of 14 this year, I'm quite ambitious in what I'd like to accomplish. One of these goals is to even further create a warm learning environment. The first thing I did was put up lots of color.

This is my Welcome Board. All of 3rd grade class really needs to get along. Of course, only God can change their hearts (since the problem is sin - not behavior modification like some like to believe) so we will be diving into the Word for some massive light-shining. One of the ideas we 3rd grade teachers had was to use puzzle pieces to show that they are all the same and a part of a whole. None of this "No, you're MY best friend!" nor "You're ugly!" business. (If I hear one thing like that in the classroom.... ohhhh, boy/girl, you better apologize immediately.)

This is my Accelerated Reading board. All students are required to reach a certain number of points for this program each quarter. Once they have done so, I will write their name on a big, glittery sun and add it to the board to show that they have met their goal. I haven't added a caption to it yet. I'm thinking "AR Stars" or "Above and Beyond." What do you think?

My favorite part of the entire room (not because it's behind my desk) is the last wall I can show you tonight. I came to learn early on that I was a stars and apples teacher - I liked all things stars and apples. My calendar had to an apple, my welcome sign on my door had to be an apple, the name labels on students' cubbies had to be apple, their nametags on their desk were apple. You've seen the star theme for my AR board, and on top of that I bought more star labels, stickers, and even use "class stars" as one reward system. But one change I made this year, aside from all this color, is my "real" tree! It's beautiful with its pair of green leaves that I cut and folded myself. My class verse (Proverbs 9:10) will be posted on it soon, as well as a nest with a bird - once I make them. This season board will journey through all the seasons will us. In the fall I'll change the leaves to orange, yellow, and red. When winter arrives, I'll make my tree "barren" and with "snow." The nest, of course, will be empty since I have no motive to kill any birds - unless it's two or three with a stone... Then in the spring I can bring back my birdie and its nest and then(!) add those little fluffly chicks!!! How excited I am to incorporate all these new ideas this new school year. Even when I am on vacation, my brain is still working as a teacher (the teacher curse) and in times like these, it really pays off. Hoorah!

Apparel. Because we were rushing to complete a number of tasks before dashing out the door, Mr. Woo asked me to pick out an outfit for him to take to school (we had left in the morning). So I filled the shoes of Stacey and Clinton and picked out a couple of outfit. Both were created business casual and a look that I'd be happy to see my husband wearing.
How'd I do?

THE LEFT (modern/trendy) - Grey pants with white pinstripes. Blue striped white shirt. Black Tie. Cufflinks required.

THE RIGHT (simple/safe) - Khakis. White shirt. Blue/white striped tie.

Mr. Woo picked the one on the left. However, he later changed his mind due to the difficulty he has in tying that particular tie.

The longest train ever!

Do I look like the gal who would post a picture of Thomas the Engine? I'm talking about the train of a wedding dress!

Back in the days, we common folk would use rings as a token to symbolize our love, but this guy is something else...

To express his love (or apply to the Guinness Book of Records?), he bought his now-wife this dress with a train that was more than 1.2 miles long! All trailing behind her! It took guests 3 hours to roll the fabric out. Her reaction? It's reported that she laughed and cried.

It doesn't even look like a train. When I first saw the picture I thought it was a close-up of some yarn... or some crazy sprinklers on a farm... o_O I wonder: Did the guests lay out the train while she was wearing the dress or did she come back later to put it on?

Would you be laughing or crying?

Ball gown! ...Is this thing on?

If I could get married again (to the same man, of course), I would.

But I can't (I already asked).

Still, I delight at the thought of being able to wear a pretty crisp white dress, swoon over new venues I discover, and gawk at the massive deals around. I'm no fairy godmother (I'm more of a Glinda who can't perform spells), but I shall share some of my findings to an audience who may benefit from my research - or just enjoy the eye candy. :)


Exhibit A: David's Bridal
You can't really go wrong with the most-brides-will-check-it-out bridal store. And with their frequest $99 gown sales, who can blame them? Let's take Style: VW8893 for example. The organza, the ribbon, the buttons(!) down the back, the sweep train... sigh. This dress could make even little 'ol me look tall and slender with its trimmings in the right places (think telescope)!

Exhibit B: WeddingBee
This wedding blog has become a big hit among the wedding community. There's pictures, a group of 20 bride-to-bee bloggers (plus the past bees), pro advice, and a classifieds. I came across these glass vases and thought they would make chic centerpieces. Imagine the possibilities with the white - tabula rasa! I'd like to have a few myself and display them on a black shelf with some magazines/books to add some color.

Exhibit C: Ebay/Craigslist
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - do your homework! There's really no reason to pay full price if you can, with a little research and patience, find steals for much less. If you want help, e-mail me and I'll dig through the endless pages of the WWW to find what you need. Dresses, decor, photographer, whatever - it's all there. By the way, my shoes came in and fit wonderfully.

Exhibit D: Etsy
Where to begin... Etsy is like a cute little store (that has grown to be ginormous) of handmade products. You'll find adorable cake toppers, "green" flowers, brilliantly made boleros, gorgeous fascinators, and so much more. But be careful, the sellers who are making a name for themselves and asking for a lot more now. My favorite trend at the moment: birds and branches. I'm really liking birdcage veils with fascinators too - super chic.


Gone are the days when people were unable to research much online, or even refuse to order anything from it when they could. Sure you could plan as they did back in time during the snow-was-up-to-here-when-I-walked-to-school-(barefoot) era. But today, without the Internet, wedding planning would definitely not be the same. I'd advise you to take advantage of it.

Which aspect are you most looking forward to/did you enjoy most in planning?

Down by the (e)Bay

where the watermelons grow / back to my home / I dare not go / for if I do / my mother will say... / you bought shoes again???

Okay, so that's not how the song goes, but I wanted to share with you the wonder of eBay! Most people know that it's a site to auction items off. But not everyone thinks to search here. I did some hunting for our budget wedding on eBay, but ended up not making any purchases for various reasons. You'd be surprised to find Vera Wang wedding dresses, the latest Honda Accord sedan, or even turtle poop (the thought came to my mind from Tad). Crazy, aye?

For Sara's upcoming wedding, the BMs are wearing different styles of Berry colored dresses from the Jasmine line. She's requested nude/tan colored shoes. I did get sidetracked while looking for this shade as I found myself looking at a pair of black sequined heels (should I go for it???), but had to refocus my attention.

Then I found them - a pair of satin champagne Steven heels! There were a handful of bidders before me, a few with automatic bids. I took a potty break and came back to start my mission. I like to wait until the last couple of minutes (depending on the item, view count, and number of bids) to make my pounce. I also like to throw in a couple extra bids (only up to my max amount) in case I'm outbid by another wide-eyed soul whose heart is also pounding in her ribcage. I'll also share a tip that I probably shouldn't be doing on the WWW: Instead of bidding $10.00 for something, try bidding $10.02 or something a little extra more than what can be expected from others. There. I put my CAL degree to work (American Studies: Social Psychology & Media Representation in the U.S., remember?).

Back to my shoes. So instead of working on my progress reports, I finished a quilt, updated more posts, and purchased the following shoes:

Steven, champagne, satin, peep toe, clean lines.

The best part? They only cost me $5.50 + S&H. :)

Marketing Farmers, Storks, and Cell phones

Yesterday was a supposed-to-be stressful day due to Mrs. Woo's CSET in the morning and Mr. Woo's CSET in the afternoon. But it wasn't. (Why I have a strong dislike for CSU East Bay in Hayward for another time - it's going to be long.)

After Mr. Woo picked me up from my test, we passed a sign that said "Farmer's Market." Having never been to one, I squealed "ohHhhHH" in utter excitement. Then followed this conversation:

Mr. Woo: Did you want to go?
Mrs. Woo: No... it's okay. You should study before your test...
Mr. Woo: Are you sure?
Mrs. Woo: Yeah...
Mr. Woo: No, let's go. I want to go.
Mrs. Woo: ReAlLY??!? OKAY!

So we went. In our "testing attire" (rolled up because of the warm weather). Feeling a little embarrassed:


But it was so much fun! We saw pretty flowers, fresh and local grown produce, free samples, live music, and even snagged a free bag from playing a Recycling Game and getting the answers correct. After we happily munched on some pastries (jalepeno cheese for the mister and a fruit danish for moi), my eyes beheld a bag of envy. There standing in front of me was a lady with a baguette sticking out of her bag that she carried over her shoulder!!!

There's just something about it that made me so envious. Maybe because I had seen it in pictures, movies, and other forms of (evil) media? Or maybe because I just really like (carb-loaded) bread?

I don't know. But my sweet husband bought me a loaf of that sweet baguette. I placed it happily in my new blue (but green) canvas bag and swung the straps over my shoulders feeling like I was in Paris.

There I am with strawberries in hand. Apparently people buy them by the box (for $6.00) instead of by the basket (for $2.50) because he didn't have change and gave it to us for $2. Yay for local farmers!

Now, I know that some of you are going to let your eyes stop at my midsection and wonder Is there a new form of life in there? First, I thank you for not coming up to me and grabbing my tummy while asking the question (that makes me feel very fat). And to answer it, no the stork has not made his visit to us yet. It is just my fat pink cell phone in the front pocket.

While on the topic of cell phones, I'd like to say that you're more than welcome to call mine. It seems that since our marriage, the only phone calls I get are from my parents. Once a month, however, I'll get a call from someone else... looking for Mr. Woo. :(

Stephanie under the knife

Howdy busy bees!

After much contemplation, I decided to let Stephanie go under the knife. o_O I thought about wearing a bolero over her for the ceremony and then taking it off for the reception, but I decided to add sleeves instead!

I was a bit nervous as Mother wanted me to keep her a strapless dress (because "everyone is doing it"). But I couldn't bear the thought of standing up there (esp. right in front of our pastor) with bare naked shoulders. I brought Stephanie, two of my BMs, and all my problems, to my lovely seamstress Anne. We decided to make them detachable just in case Mother wanted me to take it off for the reception at most.

What do you think? :)



I'm really happy about something in this last one... Maybe the buttons? I really, really like that back of my dress. Good thing people will be staring at that side during the ceremony. Hehe.

E(ar)lopping details

Hello, hello!

It's so exciting to know that my dress is sitting in my closet (now waiting to have a few nips and tucks). Equally exciting is picking fabulous jewelry to sport with the dress!

Since my dress is simple, I thought I'd do some "crazy" earrings. But I'm keeping in mind that I'll be wearing my short-sleeved ivory colored bolero (seamless and cropped in the same material) during the ceremony, but probably back to just strapless for the reception (also during bridal party shots pre-ceremony). Due to these "dress changes" I want to make sure the earrings "work" for both looks. I've considering wearing this tiara and entering the reception with a fur shrug, but it might too "winter princess," right? So instead, I guess I'll stick to working with the ivory bolero and earrings.

I'm looking for something that:

*"fits" the style of the wedding.

*enhances the dress, not take away.

*wearable (not too heavy).
*clean lines/cuts.

*pretty.

*affordable.

Here are the earrings I'm currently looking at:

ivory cascade,

white cluster,

cream pearls,

crystal teardrop,

and pretty in pink.

These last ones are similar to ones that I already own, except that mine have a crystal bead separating the pearls rather than a silver rondelle and the earring is one loop, not one part hooking onto the pearled part. (Can I have something pink instead of something blue?) This would be the most cost-effective, but I'm willing to spend a little bit as long as I can wear the purchase again.

What do you think?

Oh, and here's a little treat for the geeks out there (Image source):

Kind of like Spanx... but not?

Howdy y'all~

Today, I went to the mall with Mr. and failed to find comfortable shoes on sale that made me "Ohhh~" but I did check out some shapewear at Macy's. I'm not one who is having trouble fitting into her dress nor giving up on her work out routine, but I just don't want to "suck in" my tummy on the wedding day, if you know what I mean. I get one shot to make these pictures right! (Image Source)

I was looking for the Higher Power Spanx in nude - or anything like it. Macy's didn't have Spanx, but I took some others that I found to the dressing room to experience firsthand what many reviewers mean by "I don't know how I fit into them but I managed and then had to peel them off" or even, "prepare to have your tummy feel weird after you take them off." Out of the 3, I found the waist definer to be most pleasing, rather than the higher waisted shapewear which seemed to push my fat up and create yucky rolls. But since my wedding dress is simple with no intricate beading, I think the boning of the waist cincher might show through. So I'm still going to the gym, still watching what I eat, and still looking for something to wear underneath my dress.

It's a shame that the mall didn't have a Nordstrom so I can try on some Spanx too. But at Target I discovered the Assets shapewear, another line from Sara Blakely. Perhaps I should give those a try next...

What do you gals thinks? And for those who just need to flatten the tummy or nip the waist, which shapewear do you give your loyalty oath to?

The $0 BM shawls

Howdy Bees!

In my previous post, I told you about my $12.50 BM dress. And today I'll give one option of finding cover-ups for your gals - for $0.

Our wedding is at our church and because we don't feel comfortable bearing our shoulders, especially in front of our pastor, we will all wear some type of cover-ups (mine will be in another post).

It's not secret, really, to finding $0 BM shawls. Due to the larger number of weddings we're having at our church, it's been harder to keep track of who wore what. But if you're a bride on a tight budget, there's always the option of borrowing. The recent brides have been accompanied by 8+ BMs so while going through what each of them wore, I recalled one of the cream colored shawls that were used in another January wedding. I ran the idea of borrowing those to my gals, and they liked the idea. Done, $0 BM shawls. And all it took was one question to a few people. :) Hoorah!

However, if you're looking for other options or unique cover-ups, check out Etsy. It's great because you'll find a lot of unique and beautiful items, many who are willing to customize your order. And Ebay has always been a handy source as well. Tip: For a wider selection, try searching using a variety of words (e.g., for cover-ups try shawl, bolero, jacket, etc.)

(Photo taken from sweetcharlotte on Etsy)

Where else can a bride find affordable cover-ups?

Bargain-hunting should really be a sport...

Hi Bees!

(Note to my Mr. - This post is not for your eyes! Serious consequences will occur should you give into temptation...)

Wedding dreses do not have to cost thousands! There's the option of wearing a BM dress, making your own, or even buying a dress that is not custom-made (but I can understand why you would want to). So I'd like to share my story as proof that you can find the dress of your dreams for much less than you think. But because I don't want this post to be only about me, I've decided to color the parts which I recommend others doing as well.

The first place I went to look for a dress was to magazines and online. Doing this gave me a good idea of what was out there and what I might want. I searched various styles and prices, and decided that I wanted a strapless, A-line white dress with a small train for $99. The best price I could find for my simple yet pretty dress was at JessicaMcClintock(dot)com. It was perfect in every way of what I wanted - except for the price (remember, I like the challenge of finding what I want for the lowest price). So with that dress (which we will call Stephanie) in mind, I headed out to the Jessica McClintock Outlet in San Francisco, which was having a 50% off everything summer sale, to try on dresses for size and do the whole "might look better on you than on the rack" thing that we can't do from our computers.

Taking the advice of many, I only took two people, one being my BM, Y. As we were looking through the racks, I found some dresses that were nice but not quite the whole shebang. Thankfully, because I read that your bridal size will probably be bigger than your normal size, I wasn't as alarmed nor feel as fat as I would have had it been the first encounter with sizing. My BM was a great help, not only in looking for a dress, but also, driving, zipping, squeezing, hanging, and "Awwww"ing. But the greatest help was her finding Stephanie! After trying on the dress, I knew it was "perfect." Though the retail price was $400, the outlet price was still about half of that price. So I went to the counter and asked about the price, and was told that it was only $40. I thought I had heard wrong but upon questioning, it was indeed less than half of my budget for my dress.

This was great, so while I was asking, I decided to ask about the price for BM dresses, too. 75% off. This sale was crazy (either that or I was losing it and hearing things that I wanted to hear). Though I had to look through hundreds of dresses, the hard work was worth it. I found the silvery-blue kneelength dresses for each of my gals and was able to go home as one happily buzzing Bee.

Budget for dress: $100
Actual cost of dress: $37.50

Actual cost of BM dresses: $12.50
Actual cost of bargain-hunting: Priceless


And now I present to you, Stephanie (photo taken from JM):

What and where was your best bargain find?