A beautiful little fool

At the close of tenth grade, my high school English teacher set us a book to read over the Summer. That book was The Great Gatsby. I had never heard of the book, or even F. Scott Fitzgerald before, but I didn't care because I was so put out that I would have to read a "school" book over the holidays. While my holidays were, as always, filled with reading other books, I left Gatsby until the last week of holidays, when I popped into a book store and ordered it over the counter. I then went home and had a staring competition with the cover of the book, debating whether to actually read the thing, or to jump online and read the Cliff's notes.

I am so glad I opened it.

Had I read an overview, I would probably have never returned to the book again. I also would not have been so enchanted with it when I saw it at the movies tonight. Because half of what makes the story so wonderful is the language. While the story is quite beautiful, and emotional, it is the language that makes up the story. For the first time in my reading life, I understood what it meant to taste words.

He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.

One of the things that made watching the movie such a pleasure for me was that Luhrmann's script sprung so directly from the books. I found myself squeezing Wade's hand whenever my favorite quotes were spoken. Isn't it funny what poetic language can do to us?

So please read the book, if you are planning on seeing the film, if only to increase your movie-going pleasure tenfold. I promise you won't regret it.

- H

Why I am not DIY-ing my wedding: A crafter's confession

For those of you who don't know, I work in craft. I work in a craft store, and am continuously creating every day. I create wedding invitations, wedding decorations, table settings and more. I can use a staple gun, a hammer, a hot glue gun, and a drill with ease. I can also cover anything - I repeat, anything in glitter.

So why am I not DIY-ing my wedding? I've got five - five! - reasons for you.

1. The cost. I can hear you right now. But DIY-ing saves money! All the bridal magazines tell me so! This is certainly true for the savviest of savvy brides. But my brides who come into my store? They end up spending hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars on DIY projects that they intend to only cost them pennies. Let me level with you. It takes money, and skill to create an invitation that looks professionally printed. And that glitter-paper garland that you are going to string alllllll over the church? That's going to drain your budget fast. When you are budgeting for craft projects, you need to take into account

2. The time. Craft takes time. Anytime I do a craft project, I always underestimate how long it's going to take. Right when we first got engaged, I got a sweet idea for tiny little chalkboard save-the-dates to send out to everybody. Oh my goodness, they took a long time to make. I only made fifty of them, but by the time we finished (we being myself, Wade, my sisters and my mom) I never wanted to look at a stamp pad again. Until I went to work the next day and was faced with a wall of them. This is probably the biggest issue for me, so let me state it again: most DIY projects will take double the time that you estimate. 

3. Sometimes, it just doesn't look as good. I guess the biggest example I can think of is the trend of "glittering your wedding shoes" that seems to be peppering Pinterest with success stories. At my store, we have a huge selection of glitter in every color and consistency available to man. We also have bucketloads of Mod Podge - and that's basically all you need to make your gorgeous glittery shoes. Now, let me just say, that if I hadn't worked in a craft store, I would be totally tempted to glitter my own shoes, or even my bridesmaids' shoes. I mean, you can buy a pair of totally comfy plain shoes and make them fabulous!* Unfortunately, more times than I can count, the same brides who eagerly scoured our glitter racks for the perfect shade of silver returned a few days later with a monstrosity of claggy glittered clumps that are now permanently adhered to their shoes. I did a quick internet search to see if any other brides were having the same problems. Here's what I found:

Source: weddingbee

Source: Budget Fairytale

That's not to say that this craft doesn't ever work, only that you rarely hear about the times when it goes horribly wrong. So consider this a warning from me! Don't use expensive shoes! Also (from experience) make sure that your glitter to Mod Podge ratio is heavy on the glitter, and do more than one coat!

4. It might intrude on your Big Day. I was chatting to an acquaintance who DIY-ed her wedding, from the hand-embossed invitations down to the floral arrangements. On the morning of the wedding, she was at the location, ordering the groom and groomsmen up into the trees to string lanterns and ribbon garlands and whatever else she ended up having, then she had to rush to the farmer's market to pick up her flowers and then spend the rest of the morning not sipping mimosas and getting her makeup done, but making numerous bouquets and boutonnieres. During her photography session, she was getting phone calls from a friend who was having trouble setting up the centerpieces at the reception. DIY-ing can put a lot of the pressure on the wedding party and their families on the day - and who wants that stress?

5. Things never go to plan. One thing that I've learned from my mom's stories about her wedding is that things never go to plan. And they have a habit of falling apart on you right before the wedding. If you aren't as emotionally invested in your plans, it won't be as much of a tragedy when it doesn't work out. Also, if you have hired someone else to organize something for you, when it doesn't work out it is then their responsibility to fix it for you, or offer you compensation for not providing the service you paid for.

If you are DIY-ing your wedding, then I have nothing but the utmost respect for you! This post is simply to give an alternative perspective to the DIY Wedding culture that is all over Pinterest right now. Happy planning!

- H


*This is not to say that I won't end up DIY-ing some aspect of my shoes if that's what it comes down to. I've had no luck finding the perfect pair of shoes that match my blinging dress. While I almost certainly won't glitter, I may bedazzle a pair of shoes with rhinestones and E6000 glue, or glue a pretty brooch on them.

Happenings

Reading: The Most Important Year - Wolgemuth & Devries. Last night, Wade and I had dinner with some dear friends, Reuben and Donna. We were talking about our first year of marriage and our expectations of that. Donna ran over to her bookshelf and grabbed this book. "You need to read this!" they told us. The premise of the book is that the first year of marriage will set up the rest of your entire life together if you get into good habits and good ways of relating early. I started reading this book as soon as I got home, and didn't resurface until three hours later. It was an incredibly easy read, but packed with so much practical wisdom that I am rereading and taking notes. I usually like to highlight the crap out of books that I own, but because this book isn't mine, I can't do that - until my copy from Amazon comes that is!

Watching: Arrow - Season 1
I love a good superhero show. I'm a total geek, especially when it comes to Superman shows. I have seen every episode of Lois & Clark, and Smallville, so I was really looking forward to Arrow. If I ever got into screenwriting for TV (this used to be my dream, until I studied screenwriting and discovered that you had to be able to accept criticism all the time), I have a great superhero show that I've been writing in my head for, oh, I don't know, seven years.

Listening: Wade bought my brother the LeCrae CD, Gravity and I stole it off him and I'm listening to it now. I don't want to love Christian rappers, but I have to say, this particular guy is really growing on me. Thanks a lot, Wade.

Loving:
This piece by David Delahunty. It combines a childhood favorite book with an adulthood favorite jam. What more could you ask for?

Source: behance.net

Wanting: We found our dream apartment today after months of apartment hunting. It's the right price, in the right location and it has everything I've been looking for, from hardwood floors, to an open kitchen, to a separate laundry and bright, white walls. We have had a couple of setbacks while applying for a home loan, but I really hope that this could be the one!


- H

Little Brother

Happy birthday, little bro! I have had sixteen long years of tickling you, singing in the car with you, laughing with (and at) you, screaming at you - mostly to kill the spider, and, sometimes, when I'm very lucky, I get a hug from you. Like today. Have a killer birthday and an even better party.

Love,

Big Sister

A Dash of Delayed Gratification

Today I blew off my final class for the semester and went to the gym, and then to lunch with Wade. What a great day, spending time with my favorite person! Unfortunately, we had lunch at the mall, and, as I tend to do when I am at the mall, I convinced Wade to come and have a look with me at some of my favorite stores because I need some Winter clothes. I haven't actually had a Winter in two years, as I left for the Northern Hemisphere during last year's Winter and lazed around in a bikini on the beaches in America and Canada for the entirety of Winter and only returned in the Spring. Therefore, my Winter wardrobe is a little bit lacking.

Okay, now this is going to sound slightly off topic, but bear with me. A while ago, my sweet friend Elora and I attended a budgeting seminar at my church. Boy, was that something I needed to hear! While I have always been good with saving some of my money, I have also had times in my life when I've gone and blown it all in a spending spree, or taken a spur-of-the-moment holiday, or made a big purchase without thinking too hard about it. One day, about four years ago, I woke up one morning and decided to get two more holes pierced in my ears. I hadn't really thought about it at all before that morning, but I went out and did it that same day. I've never regretted it, but still, that's the kind of person I am - impulsive.

One of the many useful things that I took away from the course was the idea of delayed gratification while shopping. While I know what this means, as a concept, it was certainly not something I had ever put into practice. If I was at a store and saw a top that I wanted - even if it was a little bit more money than I would normally spend on a top - and I had enough money in my bank account, I would buy it without thinking twice. Now, when I make almost any purchase, I try to sleep on it before buying it. You would not believe how many times I have woken up in the morning and have not been able to justify buying something.

So today, rather than swiping my credit card without batting an eyelid, I decided to sleep on it. I definitely don't need all of them, but boy were some of them cute! I would also like to point out that some of them were even on sale and I didn't buy them, and for a shopaholic like me that is a big deal. I'm trying to find some fairly warm pieces because they will be doing double duty in November when Wade and I are holidaying in New York. Brrr! In any case, here are four of the pieces that I put off from buying, but kind of wish I did, because they were so comfy - great for traveling, or a weekend coffee date.

Blouse: Forever New // Jeggings: Bardot // Ballet flats: Witchery // Bag: Fossil

 - H
 

Glitz and Glam

This year has been the year of crazy when it comes to birthdays. It feels like every second week my friends and I are getting together to celebrate a milestone. On Saturday we partied hard for Jess's 21st, which was - gasp! - themed. I love themes, but am terribly lazy at pulling a costume together until The. Last. Possible. Minute. Also I am on a crazy strict budget these days while saving for the wedding and our apartment. So I didn't want to buy anything too pricey. The day before the party I bolted into one of the lower priced chain fashion stores and started grabbing every dress that suited the theme "Burlesque". I was looking for something either burlesque-y (read: sequins) or something 1920s-ish which is what I got from the invitations. Finally I tried on this dress, which was on the clearance rack because the sequins had started to come loose - yay! I also had some 1920s accessories left over from when I was in the musical Singing in the Rain, playing Lina. I had them packed away in a really dusty box, but I was happy that I finally got to wear them again... four years later!

Here are some snaps from the party. Thanks Jess for throwing an amazing party, and being an even more amazing friend!

Us

Being with Wade doesn't make sense. We were friends for so many years. Nothing more than friends. Maybe at one stage I had a tiny tiny tiny crush on him, but that was almost a decade ago. Then, for half of that decade between then and now we held each other at arms length, coming together only occasionally, and usually accidentally. 

Then one day, years ago, everything changed. I say that it was one day because it felt like it happened that fast. One night I fell asleep dreaming about moving halfway around the world to go to college. And the next I fell asleep dreaming about him. They call it falling for a reason. Isn't it the most beautiful coincidence when you fall at the same time?

But then again, I don't believe in coincidence.

- H

Happenings

Reading: The History of Love - Nicole Krauss
I just recently found out that Nicole Krauss was married to Jonathon Safran Foer, and that it was published at the same time as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, which makes me very excited for some reason. I'm only on the second chapter, but I'm enjoying myself quite a lot!

Watching: Parenthood - Season 4
Just watched the finale of this season, and I have gotten so hooked that if it doesn't get renewed for a fifth season, I think I might cry. Pathetic, I know.

Listening: All the workout playlists on Spotify. I find that mixing it up gives me more motivation to go harder. My favorite track at the moment is Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia. What's your favorite workout track / playlist?

Loving: The new A Beautiful Mess app. It's scrapbooking meets blogging meets Instagram, and it's amazing! Here's us today. I was supposed to be doing an assignment, but Wade had other plans!

Wanting: A pair of jeweled or glittered flats for the wedding. I hurt my knee pretty badly and I'm not supposed to wear heels now... not that that's stopped me so far! But I have a feeling that dancing the night away in stilettos might be a bad idea. I love these flats, but unfortunately there's not really a way to find my size or get a pair shipped all the way down here. Hopefully I can find something similar in Australia - and soon!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Deens - the sweetest, kindest, most beautiful mother on the planet!

Love,

Heather

PS. I hope you love your sewing machine!

The Gatsby Countdown

Three weeks until Gatsby is released in Australia! (Sometimes it sucks living all the way over here, where things get released weeks, months and sometimes years after their American release!) I haven't been this excited for a movie since the final Harry Potter installment. One year ago I watched the very first trailer, while I was holidaying in the states, and just about jumped out of my seat because it looked so amazing. The thing that caught my eye straight away was Daisy's amazing Tiffany's jewellery. I absolutely adore the headpiece, and I want it, and I want to wear it at my wedding and then every day for the rest of my life. Honestly. And the ring, I was so excited to see, is a similar style to my engagement ring that Wade picked out - except a lot bigger (of course!). I didn't really know much about my ring when Wade gave it to me, except that I hadn't seen anything like it, and it was modeled after a 1920s ring. I fell instantly in love with it though, and I don't think I'll be taking it off my finger any time soon.

Source: bookriot.com

When I saw this post on Fabulous K that shows you a whole bunch of different Gatsby-inspired jewels, I was clicking through to see every single piece of jewellery, and just swooning over it. What can I say? Diamonds are my birthstone!

Source: Fabulous K

I'm going to see a late screening of the movie as a reward for handing in a huge final assignment. I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!

- H

Broken Camera

I'm being a little bit of a baby right now, I know... but my camera was one of my most prized possessions, and it's broken! I don't think anyone else understands why I had a bit of a cry today when I discovered that the inside of the lens had become dislodged. I mean, the camera is still under warranty, and should - hopefully - be fixed for free. But I have to go six to eight weeks without it! And because it's my very first camera, I treat it like a baby. I take it with me most places and I treat it with the utmost care. I had a bit of a crazy-woman moment just now when I posted a status on Facebook about it and tagged every single one of the camera sales people from work that I am "friends" with. Some were reassuring, some told me to get a new camera.

Waaaaahhhh.

Now I'm off to see my brother perform in a musical - yes, you heard me correctly... a musical! - called The Pyjama Game. I would never in a million years have imagined my brother to be in a musical, so I'm really looking forward to it.

If I can get my mind off my camera. *Sniffle*

- H

May I?

I can't believe it's May already! I feel like I was just getting used to April (and its slightly chillier weather) and now I feel like I've been thrust into May! I finish for the semester on the thirty-first and then I have two glorious months of working a lot - okay, I work in retail, so maybe glorious isn't the word - but nevertheless I much prefer working to studying.

Whenever I say this I grimace a little bit, expecting the standard, "You don't know what you're talking about" reaction by people who are, or who have worked full time. But I love my job, and I love working. Sure, it definitely has its horrible moments - I think any retail job does, as you have to deal with people all the time, and quite frankly, people can behave really badly if they want to - but overall I love showing up to work every day.

Half of it is the actual job: I work in a photography and craft store, so I am interacting with similarly creative people all day. I am also constantly learning new things about photography and craft. I don't think I have worked a single shift where I haven't learned something new. I also find that people who come in to buy craft supplies are generally happier people, because they are spending money on something that makes them happy. Or they are coming in for a cup of coffee - yes, our store has a tiny cafe in it! - and just want to have a chat. And I love to chat!

The other half is that when I am not studying, I find that I can switch off on the weekends. When I'm at university, I feel like I can't do anything relaxing (go to the gym, watch a movie, hang out with friends) without feeling like I should be studying. I love going to work, working hard all day, and then having the evening free to make dinner, relax and maybe find some time to spend with Wade. During the study semester I usually work during the day and go to uni at night, which doesn't leave much time for date nights, or even just hanging out at home and having dinner together.

So, frankly I can't wait for this semester to be over! Thirty days and counting...

- H