Thursday, May 29, 2008

Bachelorettes in Lake Geneva: The Details

We had an awesome time at Erin's bachelorette party last weekend. I thought I would share some of the details in case anyone might be interested in a girls weekend in Lake Geneva.

We stayed at The Cove of Lake Geneva. The rooms are large with full kitchens and a family room, which meant that we only needed 2 rooms for the twelve of us. It was absolutely perfect for our group. We could make sandwiches, margaritas and "specialty" shape cupcakes as well as host a personal shower for 12 women without having to leave the hotel.

The view of the Lake from right outside the Cove. Ahh... we got so lucky with the weather!

Friday: I drove up to Lake Geneva We spent Friday night in the room, eating yummy pizza and drinking wine. There was plenty of gossip and relaxing. Quite a few of us are engaged or recently married, so there was also lots of wedding talk. We went crazy on Saturday, so the rest and relaxation was a smart move.

Saturday: We started the day with a boat ride around the Lake. We used Marina Bay Boat Rentals to reserve a pontoon boat and driver. The boat was the perfect size and our driver kept us entertained. We were able to bring a few coolers on board, so we had lunch and drinks on the boat. Our driver pulled over for a quick drink at Chucks- I recommend the Sweet Tart- and a few potty breaks.

The girls!
The cruise director/maid of honor/bride's sister and the bride

After disco naps and a lovely personal shower, we headed out for the night. We surprised Erin with our matching tanks and the goody bags. I forgot how much fun it can be to go out in public with matching shirts on. We started with dinner at Popeyes. This place is pretty famous around town and it was very accommodating for our large group. The food was decent (stick with the burgers), the strawberry margaritas were excellent and our server was very friendly.

Yes, we are all models. Why do you ask?

Check out those margaritas!

After dinner, we headed to Hogs and Kisses. It was perfect! There were actually a few other bachelorette parties that night and they were all at Hogs and Kisses. They were welcoming to our outfits and "special" straws and they played great dancing music. Reps from Summer Shandy were also handing out visors, t-shirts and little rubber lemons. Chaos ensued.

Yup, I think that's the only picture I can post on here. We also went to a dive bar called Fat Cat's that definitely does not have a website. I have been spoiled in Chicago with the smoke free bars and the air was so thick in that place. It was full of townies and really, really drunk guys due to the really, really strong drinks. After a few rounds of Family Guy pinball, we were out of there and back to Hogs and Kisses to end the night.

Sunday: After a bit of sleeping in, we were off to brunch at Scuttlebutts. I don't want to say too much, but the view was the best part of breakfast and our attempt at an early start was derailed.

We all had a great time and I would recommend it to anyone in the area looking for a quick getaway. Let me know if you have any questions about the town. If I can't answer it, I bet Sundae can :)

Thanks to Shelly (a fellow September bride) for most of the photos!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Our Minimoon in the Dells

I realized today that I started the honeymoon conversation a long time ago, but I never let you all know where we were going. It turns out that Marriott stopped allowing you to use points to make your trip all-inclusive this year (boo) so we gave up on that idea. We still aren't able to go on a long trip in September. Now, our plans call for a quickie honeymoon right after the wedding and a full honeymoon in late December/early January.

After talking it over with our married friends, we realized that we wanted a little getaway right after the wedding. Everyone mentioned how exhausted they were for the first few days of their marriage. Mr. Peacock had heard great things about a small spa in Wisconsin, right outside of the Dells, and set to work convincing me that it was the place to go. The spa sounded wonderful, but a honeymoon in the Wisconsin Dells did not. I went to the Dells with my family when I was 8 for the Tommy Bartlett Air and Water Show. There was a squirrel on water skis. We road the Ducks. It was a wonderful family vacation, but romantic getaway? No.

Then I saw pictures of Sundara, and I changed my mind.


Doesn't look relaxing? We are going during the off-season and during the week, so we even got a bit of a deal on it!

Anyone else planning a mini getaway before or instead of a long honeymoon?

Margaritas and Mexican, My Favorites!

Mr. Peacock's sister is throwing us a co-ed shower in June and I am so excited! The invites arrived last week and they could not be cuter :) I love the Mexican theme.

His sister and her husband like to order their Mexican from a little restaurant down the street from them. Its really, really good. Hopefully the margaritas will be, too. I'm making them! I'll tack my recipe onto the end of this post.

I also wanted to share how they worded the "instructions" for the gifts. We wanted to make it guy friendly and allow people to buy off the registry. I thought that she did a great job!

Here is my super simple but crazy yummy margarita recipe. Enjoy :)

1 can limeade
1 can tequila
1/2 can triple sec
1 tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix in the blender. The remaining mix works well on the rocks. For frozen margs, pour half into tupperware and save for later. Mix the remaining half with a full blender of ice. Enjoy!

Goodies for the Bachelorette

My bestest friend in the whole world (beside Mr. Peacock, of course) is getting married in June. She requested a girls weekend in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin- Miss Sundae's wedding locale- for her bachelorette party and we couldn't have been more happy to comply. Lake Geneva is an extremely cute little lakeside town just a few hours from Chicago. The big party was this past weekend and we had an amazing time. Once everyone shares their pictures with me, I will write a bigger post with all the details. Everything turned out perfectly and no one wanted to leave on Sunday morning!

My friend did not want anything crazy or any of the typical, kinda tacky but fun antics during the weekend. She did not want a veil covered in condoms or plastic models of the male anatomy. She did not want strippers or embarassing party games. She and I are on the same page there, so it was easy to agree. We wanted to make it special and different from just any other girls weekend, so we threw in a few surprises.

First off, the goody bags.


They were filled with candy, girly spa stuff, plastic accessories and lip smakers (the bride and I LOVED these in grade school). We even found little packs of "special candy" at Lover's Lane on the way up to Wisconsin. Hers had a few extra goodies, including a little crown, a flashing shot glass, a big button with "I'm the Bride" on it and a pretty tame deck of truth or dare cards. I made the little stickers with my favorite new find- full sheet labels- and a big circle punch. I heat embossed the little engagement ring stamp with gold embossing powder.

We also made matching tank tops. The bride is notorious for her love of pink, so my trip to Old Navy was pretty. I designed an image for an iron-on transfer and made them at home. It was surprisingly easy and I was really happy with how they turned out.

The Lace on the Cake

I know I have posted about it before, but this is the cake that I want.

When I met with my baker, they had no concerns about getting this done. She felt confident that she could do the lacework by hand. I left the meeting feeling equally confident, although I couldn't stop thinking about it during the ride home. My baker is an old-school Italian baker. Although they have done some amazing work in the past, I was a little worried about all the detail on that lace. I started researching lace cake molds online and found quite a few sources. I kept matching the little lace images to that Martha Stewart cake until I finally found a match at Decorate the Cake.


Doesn't that look just like the bottom layer? I am so thrilled. I still can't find the other layers, but I might buy one more simple one and just use those two. It will still give the same effect, and at $50 a pop I can't afford to keep shopping. The mold just came in and it is really neat. I am afraid to play with it, but I keep getting an urge to make lace pudding or jello to test it out. I locked it away at my mom's house so that I couldn't act on my crazy ideas.

My only reservation is that I haven't told my baker yet. I am a little worried about offending her or coming off as a crazy bridezilla. I am going to think long and hard on how to introduce the idea, but there may not be a totally tactful way. How do you all think she will take it?

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Thumbs Up: Crest Whitestrips Daily Multicare

I don't normally do product reviews because I feel like mine always sound like cheesy advertising.  I have, however, been bragging about Crest Multicare Whitestrips to anyone who would listen so I thought I would share the love with you all. 

I have really sensitive teeth.  I had my teeth professionally whitened in college and I was so unhappy.  My mouth hurt for months and I had to make weekly trips to my dentist so that he could rate the whiteness of my teeth and send me home with a stronger (ouch) bleach.  I've tried several at-home whitening strips for upkeep since then and they all left me in pain.  A cold wind would blow and my teeth would tingle.  Until recently, I had blamed the treatments rather than my teeth and just laid off.  Now I am on a solid sensitive toothpaste regime and I am no longer scared of cold water.  But, I had still been afraid of the bleach.

With the wedding quickly approaching, I started thinking again about whitening my teeth.  I love coffee so I needed a little something to brighten things up.  The Crest strips have been just what I needed.  I only have to leave them on for five minutes in the morning- showering, blow drying my hair, checking my email- which makes them wonderfully convenient.  The Premium version may be a quicker fix, but for a girl with sensitive teeth, faster isn't always better.  A few weeks after starting the treatments, my teeth were clearly whiter and pain free.

I just wanted to share in case anyone else had been scared off of the strips.  It might be the sensitive toothpaste + weaker strips, but I am very happy with the results!

Bathroom Burglers

My mom and I had an amazing meeting with my florist, Viv at Petal Play Designs, yesterday. I came equipped with my laptop so that I could show her all the photos that I have been collecting, as well as my room layout from Perfect Table Plan. We walked through our plans for the day and listed all the items that we will need to set every table. Viv is very conscious of my budget and so, to help offset some costs, I walked out of there with a long list of things to buy and to do. I am so excited that I can actually start moving on some of these things!

The three of us talked for a long time about bathroom baskets. My reception venue is owned by the Lincoln Park Zoo and the bathrooms have a bit of a public outdoor restroom feel to them. They have tried really hard to use nice finishes, but you can't avoid the floor to ceiling tile. My mom has taken on the task of warming them up with candles and little floral arrangements as well as amenity baskets. Viv agreed to supply the decor and to help my mom collect any extra amenities at the end of the evening. Thats when she laid the bad news on us.

A friend from high school also got married at Cafe Brauer and used my florist. She borrowed some fancy basket from her mom and purchased soap and lotions from Anthroplogie to dress up the restrooms. When Viv went back to collect her items at the end of the night, everything was gone- as in the ENTIRE basket, all of her toiletries and the little vases that she had purchased for arrangements. I had assumed that the mouthwash and tampons would be gone, but I never thought that someone would take the container! Viv was under the impression that the catering staff had cleaned her out, but she wasn't positive. She stressed that we shouldn't put anything in the bathroom that is valuable. We hadn't had anything in mind, but it really bugged me that I would have to worry about that.

I saw Miss Sundae's cute baskets and I thought I would just throw this out there as a word of caution. For my venue, I have to rent everything and so I open myself up to theft quite a bit more than someone using a hotel or banquet hall. I am a little more worried about my guests not being able to use my mom's carefully planned baskets because they are MISSING! Any words of advice or horror stories to share?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Mission: Calligraphy

I have always had a fascination with nice handwriting. I think it began in third grade when I saw my friend Melissa dot the "i" in her name with a little heart. Fortunately for me, there is also an "i" in my name. This led to good grades in handwriting- until I decided to write my name in entirely lowercase letters because I thought it looked better. I often scrap a complete thank you note because I realized that the text had a slight slope. I will spend long periods of time playing with the pens at the Paper Source, trying to find the best tip. This obsession has created a nagging voice in the back of my head, begging me to learn calligraphy before the wedding. So, I bought a book and pens and here I go!

I bought the Complete Idiots Guide to Calligraphy.


I need to do a little more reading and a little less cheating by going to the pictures of the letters and the little arrows rather than learning the technique. I was going to post pictures but I would rather hold off until I am a little more confidant. A class may have been a better route. Has anyone had any luck with this book or one like it?

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Fun Things to Do in the Shower

Mr. Peacock's sister/my bridesmaid kindly offered to throw us a wedding shower. She wanted it to be unique and casual, since we will still be having two typical, ladies only showers. It was decided that both boys and girls would be invited, the gifts would have a theme which lent itself to less expensive or off the registry gifts and Mexican food and margaritas would be served. After throwing around a few great ideas, his sister settled on "entertainment." I love it because people could bring a bottle of wine, a board game or a movie. They could also bring our blender or wine glasses if they wanted to go the more traditional route. The goal was to come up with an idea that would appeal to both guys and girls and to keep the gifts on the less expensive side. I thought that some of the other ideas we came up with might be helpful, so I am going to share.

Stock the Bar: Guests bring things to stock your bar. Bottles of wine or beer, martini shakers or a personalized pub sign would be an appropriate gift. Opening and making use of the gifts at the shower is an option. :)

Garden Party: Gifts could include anything to get your patio or garden going- BBQ tools, coolers, shovels and potted plants. You could throw this shower in the couple's yard and actually get down in the dirt.

Gearing the Garage: Tools, storage containers and other handyman goods. It wasn't the right party for us, but it may be for the more handy bride and groom.

Holidays: Guests are assigned a holiday and asked to bring a corresponding gift. Some holidays are a little easier than others, and the more couples that you invite the further you have to reach for the holiday. Memorial Day may be more obvious than President's Day, for example, and I worry about the guy that gets Valentine's Day. Hilarity would ensue.

The Unwrapped Shower: Guests bring their gifts unwrapped, and hand them to the couple as they walk in. This simply cuts out the long process of opening gifts, worrying about breaking the ribbon and doing a Vanna White around the room. It still allows for surprise and a nice, personal thank you.

Have any of you done a less traditional shower? Want to share your ideas?

Bowling Anyone?

Speaking of our rehearsal dinner, I am totally excited about our location. Mr. Peacock and I had wanted to do pizza and beer. We were having a hard time finding a place with a room large enough to accommodate our group- and where we loved the pizza. We are pizza snobs. We are from Chicago, its in our genes.

After organizing a fundraiser for work at Southport Lanes in Chicago's Wrigleyville neighborhood, we changed our minds on the pizza idea. It is a little bar and restaurant which also has a private room with four small bowling lanes. It is totally old school with human pin setters. The pin setters love tips and they will either help or hurt your game based on the quality of your tipping (or if they think you are cute). These guys are hilarious. My stomach hurt from laughing and I had mascara running down my face. It is also in a great part of town that tourists don't normally get to see. Southport Avenue, between Belmont and Addison, is home to an awesome little strip of shops, restaurants and my favorite nail salon.

The food and the atmosphere are totally casual. The staff is also willing to accomodate our requests for a slideshow and a microphone for speeches. Its vintage look will also play well into our theme. I can't wait to have all that quality time with my family before the wedding. My only fear is that I will be up all night laughing and won't be able to fall asleep!




The lanes!

Who's the Running Mate?

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mr. Peacock and I sit on opposite sides of the political spectrum. We are both very interested in politics (we met working for a politician) and with the current never-ending election cycle, we have had a lot to talk about. Since our wedding falls just a few months before the election, we couldn't help but include something political in the wedding festivities. Mr. Peacock has happily taken control of the rehearsal dinner and is looking forward to giving it an election theme. The only input I gave is that I would love for it to be vintage- i.e. Kennedy v. Nixon, not Bush v. Gore- and that we be on the same ticket. Elephants and donkeys, working together. Done and done.

Mr. Peacock is a little protective over his ideas, so I can't give too many details, but I promise to share photos later! Here are a few hints as to what we are planning...


campaign hat
swag

Its totally silly, but I think it will be fun. Our location is definitely casual, so this should complement it well and really get the weekend off to the right start.

Am I the only crazy one overthinking the rehearsal dinner?

The Long and the Short of It, Part II

I really wanted to know if my room would fit those long tables and if it would look strange. Like a few other bees, I am using the Perfect Table Plan software to assign seats and lay out the room for the reception. I really love playing with it. I already uploaded all of my guests (no, the invitations haven't gone out yet. Why do you ask?) and have assigned their seats. The software enables you to make connections between people which will help you assign their seat- do you want them to sit right next to each other? At the same table? As far apart from each other as humanly possible? Are they a VIP? You can lock people in at particular tables. If you spend enough time on that, you can just hit "Auto Assign" and the program will seat everyone for you. It is way more fun than it sounds.

Although I can't figure out how to create my strange, octagonally shaped room, I can still estimate its size. I cut out space for the dance floor, added the bars, the band and enough rectangular tables to seat roughly 200 people. Here is what it looks like. The left and right sides do not represent walls, so it isn't as cramped as it appears.


What do you think?

The Long and the Short of It

I really want to do long dining tables at my reception. I love the idea of everyone sitting around like a big family rather than sectioned off in my pre-determined groups. People usually prefer round tables because then you can easily look at everyone at your table and they say that makes conversation easier. It might just be me, but I can never hear the people sitting directly across from me, and I usually end up talking to the people on either side of me. It might be a bit better with a rectangular table.

I also like that I could do a variety of smaller arrangements rather than one large one at each table.


from Oh, How Charming! via Bridal Bar Blog



A few logistical concerns...
1) Is it harder to find your seat when there are only 10 tables? I just keep picturing the little dance that we do when we are trying to decide where to sit.

2) My room has an odd, octagonal shape. I'm not sure how to arrange them in the room so that it doesn't look and feel awkward.

3) Will this make finding linens more difficult?

4) I have never actually been to a wedding where this was done, so I could be full of bologna.

I am scheduled to go order my linens in a few weeks, so I need to figure it out before then. Has anyone considered this option?

Monday, May 5, 2008

Wedding Shopping on the Road

I just finished finals, and boy is my brain tired. I think I used it all up studying. I had plans to check some wedding items off of my list, but I just couldn't make it happen. I was going to get back on track this week, but then Mr. Peacock decided to go to a conference in LA and drag me along with him. Its hard work being his fiance.

Mr. Peacock travels frequently for work and sometimes I get to tag along. I usually end up with a lot of time on my own while he meets with clients or attends meetings. New York was quite good to me for wedding shopping, as was San Francisco. I tried to do a little while we were in Austin, but South by Southwest was way too much fun for shopping. I am so excited to have a little time to wander around Los Angeles. I have always loved it there.

The chief item on my list is shoes. I totally splurged on these and then regretted it- both for the cost and the color. They were gorgeous and very comfortable, but more brown rather than the bronze color that I was hoping to find.

Back to the store they go! :( But, this means I get to go shoe shopping! :)

I am also looking for some undergarments that will work well with my dress. I want something kind of fun, but comfortable and well-made.

Any LA bees with suggestions for shoe and undie shopping? I would also appreciate any great accessory shops or restaurants. We are staying close to Santa Monica, but I will have a rental car.