Pretty Dresses

It cracks me up how much I've been tied to the wedding industry, despite my Eternally Single status. I'm a wedding photographer after all (since 2001!), and I worked for a year and a half registering couples at BB&B. An when I wasn't registering couples, I was helping people find registry gifts. I got some skillz- I can decipher those cryptic registries. I can giftwrap the oddest items. I can advise on registry etiquette (Do not register for a toilet brush! Ew!). I also worked for a good long while at Craft Outlet, often helping pick out paper for DIY invites or helping with some other kind of wedding project. I do wedding albums for my friends. I often find myself helping with receptions and pre-ceptions and whatnot. If I had an etsy store, I'd probably be selling some cake toppers and other wedding items cause they're fun to make.

I keep tabs on trends in the wedding industry because it's good for business to know what's going on out there. I buy Martha Stewart Weddings cause they're very classy. I love the photos and the color palates and ideas. I've used some of the colors/ideas when I've thrown parties.

I try not to look like I'm some desperate girl with all this wedding stuff, cause I'm not, I just have fun with it. I've always been a sucker for pretty dresses.

I've thought about being a wedding planner because it would be a good combo of my crafty/planning skillz but I don't want to be a real life J-Lo from The Wedding Planner, helping everyone else marry except her.

When I was a teenager, I had a big interest in fashion- I drew sketches of clothes all the time. I was interested in fashion school for awhile. I still think that would be fun. I have designed and sewn a lot of formal dresses and costumes over the years. I think it would be so much fun to design costumes in movies (especially over the top productions) because you're trying to tell about the character through their clothes. I order catalogs like Anthropologie because it's fun to look at the clothes. I like learning about all the different types of fabric and lace, etc.

I admit that every now and then I peek at the modest bridal wedding sites- places like Eternity Gowns and Latter Day Bride. I like to critique dresses and imagine how I'd improve them. I'm glad there are companies that cater to LDS gals like us but I do have some criticisms- the vast majority of gowns I see would be ridiculous on anyone over the age of 22. What about girls my age that get married? Who's looking out for us?

Some look like they just hacked together three different dresses into one, there is no "flow". And others would be great if you were trying to look like you were wearing curtains or if Little Bo Peep is your idol. Some of the dresses I see lately are becoming too huge and very embellished- I'd be embarrassed to wear something "worldly" like that in the temple.

I highly doubt that I'd ever find a gown that I liked in it's entirety when my day comes- I imagine I'll have to hire someone to make me a gown. There's an old wives tale that it's bad luck to sew your own dress. Sometimes I have fun and design dresses in my spare time. If I lived in Utah, I'd seriously think about trying to work for one of these companies and improve their product lines.

Here's the latest sketch I've done:

I'm not a fan of huge "marshmallow" dresses. A dress should complement you, not outshine you. I like a simple elegance. I'm totally into vintage, too. I imagine this one in a fabric that's not too shiny (like peau de soie, which is luminous instead of shiny) or perhaps with a sheerish dotted swiss overlay. I'm a fan of pretty ruffles, and those are fabric flowers on the waistline. I'm also picky about sleeves- they have to be just right or your arms look terrible.

My idea of heaven would be a place where I got to wear pretty dresses all the time. How about you?

Faith

Like I said, when I went to the Ithaca conference, I sat through a workshop taught by the president of the Palmyra temple. he taught about "One Eternal Round", how God wants us to have families and be blessed with everything that He has. Well, somewhere in that discussion about marriage, he shared how he had had the opportunity to meet the general YW president a long time ago when his girls were YW themselves. I estimate this was a good forty years ago.

He took the opportunity to ask her what she felt that his daughters, being young women, especially needed to know. I perked up and took note since I am YW leader, and not all that different from the YW myself.

Her answer was "To be successful singles."

And the answer floored him.

And when he shared that, I admit that my heart sank.

He went on and explained. There are less men on this earth. There are less men in the church than women. And when you crunch the numbers, there are far less worthy men than women to have temple marriages. The numbers haven't changed much for years. Hence, the need for women to learn to be happy and successful on their own.

This information doesn't come as much of a surprise, but it wasn't what I really wanted to hear. It's a comfort to know that God is merciful and His plan allows for marriage beyond the grave, but I tire of hearing that doctrine. Trust me, I'm well aware of this concept. I recall getting a "Mother's Day" gift in the singles ward years ago that was a church CD with a quote on it that referred to that concept and how not all of us will get married in this life. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

Perhaps getting married really is like winning the lottery. Who knows. I worry about my girls, they don't have many examples of temple marriages in their lives. There are not many nice boys out here for them to date. There are hardly any young men in our branch for them to even associate with. I pray for them.

People tell me I should go to Utah, as if getting married is a numbers thing. Gotta increase your odds. Well, over the years I've met hundreds of nice young men and that doesn't mean anything. I haven't found the right one. After all, I'm looking for one, not hundreds, right? I've met several couples out here that have pretty miraculous "How They Met" stories, if God can do that for them, then he can do that for me. I have to have faith in the promises that have been made to me. Right now I feel like I am where I should be, doing what I should be doing. Marriage and babies will come when it should.

I'm reminded of an experience that I had while working at BB&B. I used to be the one who helped couples to register for wedding gifts (that's right, always the registrar, never the bride, lol) and one evening this nice young couple came in. I met a lot of trainwreck couples in that line of work, but they were different- eventually I figured it out that they were LDS.

I set them up and they started scanning items, later the bride had to step out and the groom was chatting with me. He told me about how they met. He was living in Utah at the time and felt this prompting that he should go home to WA. And he ignored it- why should he give up his comfortable lifestyle? Well, one by one, his lifestyle was taken away from him- he lost his apartment, job, etc. He was forced to go back and live with his parents.

The very night that he got to WA, a friend called him, said "Hey come to my party." The groom was tired and didn't want to go, but he wound up going somehow.

And that's where he met her. They were meant to be. God orchestrated it so that a family could begin.

I don't think it was any coincidence that I happened to be the one to help them that night. They could have come in at any other time. Heavenly Father wanted me to know that story. And I am thankful for that.

How I Roll

Stole this from Angela. Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band (EHS junior high band, I'm so cool!)
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland (5 times! I want to go now!)
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo (Does singing a duet count?)
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch
Adopted a child (someday!)
Had food poisoning(ugh!)
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
Grown your own vegetables (so yummy!)
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train (going from WA to CA when I was a kid...my first rejection from a boy...so romantic, lol)
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (my dad wanted me to so we could see tall ships!)
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors(does visiting my birthplace count?)
Seen an Amish community (everyday occurance here!)
Taught yourself a new language
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo’s David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted
Gone deep sea fishing
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (someday!)
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia (I had a pen pal from there, does that count?)
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies(well, Campfire candy...)
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood, platelets or plasma
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job (Old Navy didn't keep me on after Christmas 2001)
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been a passenger on a motorcycle
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Redwoods
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
Visited the White House
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone’s life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous
Joined a book club
Got a tattoo
Had a baby
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit


Hmmm...I turned into a fuddy-duddy at the end. There you go. I want to see the sights/art that they describe here real bad!

Bye summer

I started this semester a week and a half ago, I wanted to wait until I had an idea of how things would be before I wrote. Here's me on the first day of school, I couldn't help but feel like a 1st grader! My aunt said all that was missing was a lunchbox:

My dad requested a pic since he's in China on business now and missed my first day of school. Told you I felt like a 1st grader!

I'm taking a multicultural education class, Beginning Art Ed, American History, Beginning Painting and another math class. I had some craziness last week when I discovered that an Art Ed class was overlapping when I was supposed to be in math (somehow I just can't be in two places no matter how hard I try...) so I had to drop the Art Ed class and switch it to the history class. On the last day to add classes, mind you! I was glad to find something that works for my degree and fit my schedule! Whew!

I also am working on my clearances so I can observe schools, I got fingerprinted last week and everything! Only they don't use ink anymore, they scan your fingers! I thought that was funny. i had to get a TB test too.

My math class is the worst of my classes, as my teacher isn't very good. I am not good at math and lucked out with a really good teacher last semester (I understood stuff! Amazing!). He somehow thinks you can just read the book and understand it...yeah right!

I have to work with a group in my Multicultural class, which isn't so bad except it was harder to get everyone familiar with Googledocs than to do our collaborative study guide! I hate it when technology makes things harder than analog ways!

It is fun to experiment with oils in painting class, today we were learning about color and mixing colors. The color you can get is so great, but man is that class expensive! Good thing I only have one studio class this semester!

I caught something terrible a week ago, a great way to start the semester, no? I've been snotty and hacking all week. I think I will get better soon, one can only hope. There's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Here's to a good semester!

Stay tuned, I'll be updating the blog and showing more stuff I did this summer. Also in the works: my fave links!

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who responded to the Etsy post, I really feel encouraged by everyone's support. I think my main shop will be named Elizabeth Erin, and I plan on selling stuff I've already made as well as some new stuff I haven't made yet. I think eventually I would want to branch out and have a separate shop for nativity items and another for my craft supplies. I'm busy trying to create a "look" for my shop. I haven't signed up yet, I need to gather/make my products, which probably won't happen til Christmas break or the beginning of next year. I have a lot of things floating around in my head. I am really excited about all of this. It's a good use of all of my backgrounds- business school, photography (photographing the items), and crafting.

This week JoAnn's has Simplicity patterns on sale... 5 for $5 (limit 10) this week- I've been waiting and plan to stock up! Woo hoo!

In the near future I plan on blogging about 1) archival preservation and 2) craft supply storage...stay tuned!

In other news, it has turned cold again and we got more snow and it's been snowing all day! I feel the need for some attractive but functional snow boots- all I have are galoshes! I really wanted to stay home and eat soup on the couch (or sew- snowy days are good for sewing!) but I was a good girl and went to school. Do I get a gold star?