Oh, sad day...

So I really want to be a Bee.

I opened Weddingbee to see this morning that Miss Rainbow has been claimed.

She is also twenty-two.

She is also having an Alice in Wonderland wedding.

Crap.

Oh, well. I'm still going to hold out hope. My wedding has slowly become more retro than Alice, anyways. And I still feel like I have something unique to offer the Hive. Plus I'm a reliable blogger, and I feel like I have a good writing style.

I'm also pulling for the fact that I'm a March bride, and right now there is neither a March bride nor a February bride. That's a two month lull with no weddings, y'all! Maybe they'll be like, "Uh...no March brides...um...oh, well, let's just take her!". And I would rejoice.

I'm also hopeful because I sent my application in September...and haven't heard anything back yet. I mean, they didn't send my rejection letter right away. That's a good sign, right?

When I applied the first time (because yes, I've been rejected before), they waited about a month to very gently turn me down. I deleted the email because it made me sad, but I recall them saying that they did like my blog and asked me to apply again. So that's another good sign, right?

Since my first application, I've changed my blog layout, worked on updating regularly, and tried to make my voice as distinct as possible. And I've tried to make it very personal. My competitive nature has driven me on more than one occasion to check out blogs of other brides who applied and were rejected from being a Bee, and I've noticed that most of the girls who are rejected have lovely blogs full of lovely wedding-related entries, but there's just not much personal material. Hopefully that'll help me. Unless I'm too personal...and are you even allowed to blog about applying to Weddingbee? I don't know. I might have broken a taboo. But I neeeed to blooooog. It cheers me up to write.

I think the Bees are still checking out my blog. (At least I hope they are.) I hope they don't judge me too much for writing an entry about applying. I hope they like me. I hope they pick me. (I really really do!)

So yeah. I'm rather mopey at the moment. But I shall still hold out hope! I think I have a shot.

And if I get rejected again, I can always apply again. :)

I was going to write a mopey blog entry from Guys and Dolls rehearsals, about how I was languishing in the theater, but they let me go after we finished "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat." So I went home and ate chocolate ice cream instead.

I bet a lot of other people have discovered MakeMeBabies.com, but I find it absolutely hilarious. P and I will apparently procreate a new Anne Shirley:



What do you think about my little new baby Anna Victoria Lily?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

And our son is a pirate. Piratepants, Jr. But I love his curls.



What do you think about my little new baby Gabriel Charles Brent?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

(and if Zac Efron and I had a baby.)



What do you think about my little new baby Sparkles McGee?
MakeMeBabies.com - What will your baby look like?

In P's favorite quote: "Whoa, uglay baby! Can't give those away!". It's slightly gratifying to know that even CyberLand, P and I will have cute babies. Of course, we've known that from the start. Kat was the first person I ever told about my crush on P (waaay back in the day, which was a Wednesday, by the way, in December 2005). The first words out of her mouth?

"You'll have cute babies! Don't tell Rose."

Of course, I didn't know why I couldn't tell Rose. I found out later that she dated P in high school and it, uh, didn't end well. Luckily, Rose knows, everyone's friends again, and she is tickled pink to inform people that she's a bridesmaid in her ex-boyfriend's wedding.

As silly as it is, seeing those goofy composite pictures makes me wonder what our real babies will look like. I'll admit it: I have babies on the brain.

P and I both want children. We really want children. As in five of them. But, like our wedding, we know we have to wait.

-We're really really young. We have plenty of time to start a family.

-I want him to be out of school and working full-time before we start adding babies to our lives. That's going to take a while for him to graduate.

-For pete's sake, we've waited nearly three years to get married! Let's enjoy it!

A lot of the wedding blogs I've browsed recently talk about life after the wedding, which inevitably leads to babies. There are so many brides who go right from planning their wedding to painting their nursery, and truth be told I'm a little jealous. It makes me think of the line in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: "I've always wanted to be a June bride, and have a baby right off...in the spring, maybe."

P will be an absolutely amazing father. If we walk past a baby he has to stop and admire and make cute faces. He also confessed shortly before he proposed that one of his most important criteria for a future wife was that she would be a good mother, and that I won that battle hands down (which I am quite glad about).

Man, everything is baby-related. I'm watching frickin' Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and even Meatwad is pregnant. Oy.

For some brides, the timing works for them to go from a couple to a family right away. It's not going to work for us. We'll enjoy the heck out of our new marriage, don't get me wrong, but as soon as we're at a point that we can start trying for a baby, we are going to start!

That is, if we're able to get pregnant. When P was sixteen, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, and there's a possibility because of medications he took then that we won't be able to have babies. But that, my friends, is a bridge we shall cross when we come to it.

On a lighter note, has anyone else watched I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS PREGNANT? (It must be written in all caps.) It's just like it sounds- women DIDN'T KNOW THEY WERE PREGNANT and gave birth in cars and bathrooms and emergency rooms and they DIDN'T HAVE ANY PRENATAL CARE. The show is full of cheesy reenactments and a foreboding announcer. It gets to the point that everyone thinks they might be pregnant. I'm like, "Gaugh! Maybe I'm pregnant! Maybe I'm going to go into labor RIGHT NOW! Maybe I'm...oh, wait. Virgin. Never mind."

And with that, I shall close this slightly loopy, slightly emo entry. I guess I just want to let off a little steam about going from one waiting game to the next. But hey, at least once my wedding is taken care of, I'll be married to Patrick for good! And that, my friends, is worth the wait.

Bluebird of happiness nightgown (and skivvies!)

FRANNIE
Pattern: None
Fabrics Used: knit print, knit cream solid
Made: September 2009
Time: About three or four hours (including embroidery)
Cost: Free!
Made for: Fabric scrap recycling

When I finished my yoga bag, I still had plenty of fabric left. I knew a dress was out, because P hates the fabric and he would tease me unmercifully if I wore it out in public. Ergo, I made a nightgown. Because then I can wear (in five months) in the privacy of our apartment and tease him about "Ha ha, I'm wearing the fabric you hate!".

There wasn't enough bird fabric to make the entire nightie out of it, so I dug a length of cream knit out of my stash for the skirt.

The bodice was shaped from an old tee shirt that I sacrificed for the express purpose of making a pattern. The buttons came from the tab tops of an old set of P's curtains. And it was supposed to have cap sleeves and a patch pocket, but El Padre "helped" me clean and threw away the pieces.

"But wait," you say, "you mentioned skivvies! Where are the skivvies?"

They look rather awkward in this picture, but I can't help but love them. But wait! There's more!
Who doesn't want to have precious embroidery on their bums? Certainly not me!

This was my first attempt at skivvies. I cut apart a pair of Hanes to make the pattern. They're a pretty comfy fit, but all the same, I don't think I'll ever make a habit of making all my skivvies.

imma stalker...

P and I are still doing our level best to figure out who gave us a diamond wedding band. We have some theories, but no definite leads. I think we should call in Grissom. He could figure it out. Because he's awesome like that.

I spent way too much time on wedding websites. Way too much. But I revisited my all-time favorite wedding-blog-saga: Ms. Candy Corn on Weddingbee. Her wedding is amazing. Besides, I think we could be friends in real life. Granted, I don't talk about poop quite as much and my home-decor stylings aren't nearly as amazing, but I think we could have a great Facial-Expression-Off. (Like the Walk Off in Zoolander, only with faces.) My Pirate!Face vs. her Muppet!Face? It's a close one.

(I'm the one on the right. We had Little Kid Field Trip Day to the science museum last winter. Was it amazing? I should say so! And my facial expression over the top? I would be disappointed if it wasn't.)

(That's one of my besties/BMs, Ary Roses, by the way.)

I got my coupons for Michaels, so I can get invitation gear! I was going to do that tonight...but I forgot. Maybe I can run out and do it super fast. At least I can get one kit...I can examine it closely and admire its various part and figure out how, in the name of all that is holy am I going to print all of these, and personalize them.

I'm trying to beef up my Project Wedding blog. It's rather sparse at the moment. Hopefully it'll be up and running and looking lovely...as soon as I find a picture of our church.

Already Prettypoll

(I really ought to be hard at work on cleaning and finishing my red coat that I started two weeks ago. But this is more fun!)

Sally at Already Pretty posted this on her blog, and as I love polls, shopping, and doing things other than chores, I decided to do it.

1. How often do you think about shopping?
It depends. I usually think about shopping when an occasion is coming up- back to school, a holiday, etc. I also get into moods when I just really hate my wardrobe and want to spruce it up.

But clothes? I think about clothes ALL THE TIME. Yes.

2. About how often do you shop for clothing, shoes, or accessories for yourself?
If I purposefully go shopping, it's usually only when one of the above circumstances pop up. But many a time I'll pick up something that I simply cannot say no to. For instance, last month I went to the mall to get a pair of brown heels for Beau Jest. I came home with brown heels, red patent leather flats, and a deliciously wonderful Danny Phantom tee shirt.

3. How LONG can you shop without tiring?
I can shop all day, dude. Seriously. I am the queen of window shopping. I am always searching and perusing, but I can go all day without buying anything. If I'm going to Opry Mills or an outlet mall, I come prepared for a journey. The only caveat? I must be fed, or I get grumpy. Luckily, P has learned this and doesn't take my grumpiness personally.

4. Do you prefer to shop at brick and mortar stores, or online?
I usually stick to real-life stores, just because I like the security of knowing something fits. Plus, I've learned the hard way that what looks super cute in a picture often makes me look like either a six-year-old or dumpy. I prefer trying everything to make sure it looks all right.

5. What is your favorite fashion-y thing to shop for?
#1: Fabric

#2: Dresses

#3: Shoes

I love fabric. I lust after fabric. I am a fabric WHORE. I run through the aisles of JoAnn's and Textiles petting everything I come in contact with. P follows close behind with the cart, offering his input, which consists of three basic phrases:

"What will you make out of it?"

"Where will you wear it?"

"Put it back."

Despite curtailing my fabric purchases, I still collect a lot more than I should. But I love sewing, and I love the complete customization it affords me. I collect pictures from Modcloth and Kate Nash's blog and copy them. Plus, it tends to be a lot cheaper to sew things myself.

That being said, if I find a dress in a store that I like, I buy it. I am a dress girl, and I shall not deny it any longer. (Also, if the dress comes with a cardigan, it gets bonus points.)

The last thing I shop for voraciously is shoes. My parents nicknamed Imelda Marcos when I was about twelve. I just love shoes! They're mostly a wide selection of cheap canvas ballet flats, but I'm working on upgrading them. (Part of that whole "graduating-and-getting-married-and-growing-up thing".)

So that's how I approach shopping! Now I want to shop. But I have wedding invitations to purchase...not really room in the budget for a spree.

Maybe I'll just finish my red coat.

Musical Monday #17

I ALMOST FORGOT IT WAS MUSICAL MONDAY! AUGH!

But don't worry. I remembered. At the last second. For yea and verily, that is how I roll.

With the exhilaration of the past weekend, there is only one song that can sum up my joy.

Glee - Don't Stop Believe
Uploaded by Bugabookas. - Full seasons and entire episodes online.

(And if you haven't watched Glee yet, you should. It's awesome. Be a Gleek.)

When miracles happen

This story is just so amazing that it deserves an entry of its own. Seriously.

On Saturday night, I was in the dressing room getting ready for our very last performance. My head was halfway covered in curlers and Erin and I were rocking out to some energizing music. Just then my sister (who was a dresser) popped in and said, "Hey...there's a note and a box for you outside the door."

So I peeked out, and sure enough, there was an aqua envelope and a little black box waiting for me.

(it says Caitlyn & Pat on the front)

I was pretty confused. After all, my name is "Caitlin," not "Caitlyn." And I didn't recognize the handwriting. But I opened up the note first.

In case you can't read it, here's what it says:

"Caitlyn & Pat,

"I have heard so much about the relationship you two share and the endless love between you. I know times can be hard for a beginning set, with the responsibilities that a husband and wife have. I heard that you were looking for a wedding band and when Caitlyn describe the ones she liked [sic] my heart swelled. I offer you this with nothing expected. If it is not what you are looking for then I will find someone else to bless with it. But if you do find it favorable, then I beg that you use it. To the two of you, who I love, please accept this humble gift that is given from love for love. God has a blessed life planned for you both. May He continue to shower you in multitudes. God Bless and don't consider the cost, consider the price that Christ paid. Love and Grace to you."

And it is signed only with a heart.

By now, I was terribly confused, but starting to get excited. So I opened the box.

Inside was a diamond wedding band.

Someone gave me a beautiful, beautiful ring. It's white gold, just like my engagement ring. The band is the exact same width too. Half of the ring is covered in tiny rows of tiny diamonds. It definitely has a vintage feel to it. It fits perfectly on my finger and looks beautiful with my engagement ring.

and someone just gave it to me.

I couldn't help it. I just started bawling. I texted P and told him to come backstage as soon as he got to the theater. I showed him the ring, and he was flabbergasted.

I just can't believe that someone would do this for us. It's just amazing.

We can't figure out who on earth did this. We don't recognize the handwriting. If they came in through the front, they had to get past Mindy and Shannon. If they came in through the back, they had to get past Stephen. It's obviously a girl's writing. They know both of us, enough to know that P goes by Pat sometimes but not enough to know my name is spelled with two 'i's. And they somehow knew exactly what kind of ring I wanted.

It's a mystery- a wonderful, exciting mystery!

So much to talk about!

This has been a crazy wonderful weekend! So much has happened...and I haven't had any time to blog! And because there's been so much, I'm going to do several entries today. Just because I can.

The last time I blogged was Friday night, right? Right before the second-to-last show? All right, picking up where I left off.

The Friday night show was AMAZING. We were completely sold out, and the audience loved us. There's four points in the show where I have what I call my "ego laughs": when I enter, when I say "oh" after Bob's story about the Gentile children, my overexaggerated eye roll during the "Monday night, we're watching Conan" bit, and my pause during the "who's your aunt?" "Sylvia Klein" bit. Typically the audience would laugh at a couple of them. On Friday, they laughed at all of them. I was exhilarated. (To use a quote: "my aura has never been pinker!")

On Saturday morning I had to get up early for my 9am dance class. Although it's exhausting, I really enjoy it. I was put in the advanced class, which I originally thought must be some kind of mistake, but Emily, the teacher (who has the world's most delightful British accent) said I belonged in the class, and after Saturday, I think I believe her. We do the greatest routines in the class too- this one was to "Old Time Rock and Roll"; the class before was to "Footloose."

Afterwards P picked me up and we zoomed back to the house so I could get everything ready for the cast party. He set up Rock Band while I made dill dip, lemon pound cake...and lukshen kugel.

I spent a lot of the show discussing how "for a special occasion, I make my special lukshen kugel." I decided to make some myself, just to see what it's like. Well, it's DISGUSTING. One pound of egg noodles, two pounds of cottage cheese, four tablespoons of butter, half a cup of sugar, eight eggs, and a dash of cinnamon. And it's gross. I couldn't even swallow it. I have never been more grateful for lemon cake in my life.

After several hours of eating, Rock Band-ing, and DDR-ing, we headed back to the theater to prepare for the final performance. And that's when something absolutely amazing happened, but it's so amazing that it deserves its own blog entry. And so it shall.

The final show of Beau Jest was fantastic. We finished at 9:30...set strike began at 9:50. By midnight the set was completely disassembled and the theater was spotless! It was really sad to see the "living room" we'd been playing in for the past month completely vanish, but it's necessary.

Needless to say, after such a long weekend (and with a sore throat coming on...), I slept in super late on Sunday. P picked me up afterwards and we had Super Wedding Field Trip Day.

Our big goal was to find a new set of invitations. We started at the Michaels in 100 Oaks, because I was hoping to find those pretty eyelet invitations that I found on the Michaels website. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be found. We did find a couple of other options, though, so we took pictures with my camera phone to mentally file away.

We also looked at silk flowers. I found some possibilities, but P was decidedly unimpressed. He pointed out that because of recent advances in our budget (which shall be explained in the next blog entry), we might be able to afford real flowers for my bouquet and the boutonnieres. I'm still a little skeptical (you know, that whole allergies thing...), but I have to say that I was rather disappointed in the selection at Michaels.

After Michaels we checked Walmart, just to see if, by some remote chance, they had the eyelet invitations. They did not. I was sad.

(also, their flower selection was even more dismal than the 100 Oaks Michaels.)

Our final stop was JoAnn's, one of my favoritest places in the whole wide world. We looked at the wedding aisle first, where we were once again nonplussed with their invitation selection. We quickly moved on to familiar territory, where I purchased a length of old-gold rose print velvet for my colonial gown for History of Costume class, a cut of white knit with a pretty green floral print, and Vogue 8360. (The pattern's going to be used to make my dress for my lingerie shower.)

(Isn't it pretty?)

After our Super Wedding Field Trip, P and I discussed wedding things on our way to small group. We decided on a pretty blue invitation kit that we saw at Michaels, but we're going to wait until we get a coupon. But not wait too long...we learned our lesson. We're also still discussing the flower situation. No resolve on that yet...but at least we have invitations!

So that's basically how the final weekend of Beau Jest went down. But I have to tell the SUPER AMAZING STORY that deserves its very own post, just because of its sheer epicness. So...stay tuned.

The theater life

As I write this, I am sitting on the floor in front of my dressing room, sipping a Juice RockStar and reading MLIA (and blogging, obviously). Why, do you ask? My dressing room is locked. I need to curl my hair, but it's locked. Sadness.

It's the second-to-last show of Beau Jest, and I'm terribly bummed. It's been such a great show that I hate to say goodbye to it and all the people I got to hang out with for the last two months. I almost wish we would add more shows just so I could keep going. But alas, we cannot.

Kat (my bestie/roomie/MOH) is coming to see me tonight!! I am thrilled beyond words. I was so afraid that none of my close friends were going to see me. But she's coming! I have to sneak her in because the show is SOLD OUT for tonight, but it shall be a successful mission. Mostly because my director okayed it. (Not nearly as cool as a devious ninja mission, but still, I'm happy.)

Tomorrow is the cast party at my house. There shall be Rock Band, Dance Dance Revolution, and lukshen kugel, which looks like it's going to be disgusting. But I spend the whole show talking about how I make amazing lukshen kugel, and I figured I'd better make it at some point. What better time than the cast party?

P is spending the day with me tomorrow (cast party, final show, and all!), and then on Sunday afternoon we are Weddinging It Up. This means several things:

-sorting through wedding files

-purchasing our invitations

-perusing artificial flowers

-and monitoring my fabric purchases

All right, so the fabric is actually going to be for my colonial gown project for History of Costume, my Regency-era protoype, and most likely some of the supplies for my Giselle dress, but I'm also going to get what I need for the dress I'm going to wear at my lingerie shower. It's Vogue 8360, and it's typically used for a prom or wedding dress, apparently, but I'm going to make it out a super soft pale blue knit, trim it with lace, and wear it for day #2 of the party.

But it's time to go get ready. Time for the second-to-last show!

Thursday's Ten: TV!

So today's Thursday's Ten is television shows. I have to admit, I usually don't get into television shows until it's been canceled, and I see it in a rerun or on DVD, and then I get hooked. Sadness. And when I do watch a television show when it's actually still on the air, it tends to be of the animated variety.

Oh, well.

I probably watch a little more TV than I should, but I can't help it. I have to have something on when I'm cooking or sewing, otherwise I go crazy!

In any case, here are my top favorite TV shows:

#1: CSI: I love this show and I don't even know why. My freshman-year roommate used to watch it, and I was both grossed out and fascinated by it. Now I discovered that Spike airs marathons pretty much all day long. Love it!

#2: Arrested Development: This show is hilarious. Seriously. Not a week goes by wherein I do not hang my head and mournfully hum "Christmas time is here."

#3: Avatar: The Last Airbender: I watched this show starting on day one and I was there when it ended. A truly epic series. It's the only serie I've ever watched, actually, where every episode developed the plot rather than added filler.

#4: Family Guy: If you haven't watched it, you're missing out. On life.

#5: Glee: This is a new guilty pleasure, but it's hysterical. And the music is AMAZING. It's like Arrested Development (see #2 above) and High School Musical had a baby.

#6: iCarly: I shall not lie. I adore iCarly. I've only missed two episodes so far. My mother and I watch it all the time.

#7: America's Funniest Home Videos: A classic! My roomie/bestie/MOH Kat and I used to watch it every single night.

#8: Shaman King: So it's Japanese anime. I can't help it. I read my first chapter of the manga when I was only about fifteen, and I've followed the manga and the anime religiously. It has the absolute most compelling romantic storyline I've ever read. Ever. (take that, Twilight!)

#9: I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant: Basically TLC reenacts situations in which women Didn't Know They Were Pregnant? The best part of the show (besides the reenactments)? When the announcer declares in a deep voice that they "DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY WERE PREGNANT." I crack up every time.

#10: Golden Girls: I didn't start watching it until the past year, but it's so funny. I think I'm the most like Rose.

So there's my ten television shows! What do you think of them?