Whaaa?

Slow loris

Why do these people have a slow loris? I don't know, but it brightens my day!

Ages ago, Jenn posted a link to "The Different Kinds of People That There Are." I now think about this article all the time and sometimes come up with new types in my head when I am bored in public places. Today I came up with one: "People whose Starbucks orders consist of 5 words or more." (You know who you are, decaf-grande-nonfat-no whip-something-ccino-with-an-extra-shot." Or whatever.)

Halloween, and my tarot

Did you dress up this Halloween? What was your costume? Chris and I went as Buffy and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My obsession has been adequately documented.

My new band played at a co-worker's party the night before Halloween. So many people "got" my costume! (I had a t-shirt that said "Sunnydale" under my biker jacket, which helped. And a wooden stake and some "holy water" in a perfume bottle.)On Halloween, we took a ghost tour of Greenwich Village and learned that thousands of bodies were buried under Washington Square Park after a yellow fever epidemic. And I stomped on Peter Stuyvesant's tomb.

We eventually bailed on the Village Halloween Parade due to rain. Back in Queens, we ducked into a local pub, where they had a tarot card reader. We each got a 3-card tarot reading. I've been thinking about mine for days.
Before the reading, I shuffled the cards and (silently) dwelled upon a particular question. Then the reader revealed the cards. My "past" card was The Empress. It signified a time of creativity and fruitfulness. The present was the Nine of Cups—upside-down. If this card is upright, it means that a wish will be granted; that you will enjoy good fortune. For me, the card meant that I feel a wish slipping away, and that I am obsessed with the possibility of not getting this wish. My "future" card was Death. I did not post it here because it is totally freaky. According to the tarot reader, this means something that is troubling me is going to end and a change will take place. It may be a difficult change, but it can help me work toward getting the wish.

I did this reading as a fun and silly activity, but I am really glad I decided to do it. It has actually made me start thinking about how to get my wish, and about the ways in which I might be standing in my own way by not making difficult changes.

Have you ever had your tarot cards or palm read? Your fortune told? Did you giggle the entire time? Did you take anything away from it?

Unexpected wedding perk

Well, it's hard to believe, but we're one month into our marriage! Way back at the beginning of our engagement, I couldn't fathom how we were going to plan and pull off a wedding. I'd heard so many horror stories about how it becomes a full-time job ("Say what? I already have one of those!").

So we left ourselves a year and a half. That worked for us, because up until the end, we were able to work on one. thing. at. a. time. And we definitely did a lot! I'm realizing 2 important things now in the aftermath of wedding planning:

1) I can jam way more productive stuff into my days than I previously thought I could.

2) Doing all of the creative projects for the wedding felt great.

Yes, I'm loving being married to my best friend, but there's an unexpected perk: I'm experiencing a post-wedding creative high. I'm making sure that I keep devoting ample time to creative projects, now that I've realized how much I can handle at once. I've already got a list!

Image: Chris working with the homemade letterpress. Awesome creative project that unfortunately was not efficient enough to create all of our invites.

Reception fun

Finally, folks, some details from the reception!

We ate dinner upstairs in the 2nd floor ballroom. Our favors were little bookmarks, designed by Chris. Tassels tied by me and Chris.

We chose the books for our centerpieces over the course of our engagement, from The Strand and also from the gold mine known as my grandma's garage. Guests took home books, which were stamped inside with the little "Beth & Chris" doodad from the bookmark. The candles sprang from an idea Chris had. My mom made the idea reality by stamping text on vellum and wrapping the votive holders (aka glasses from Wal-Mart) with it.

Chris's bro, the best man, gave a terrific speech.

I was touched. And cracked up a bunch, too. Like when he told the story about the French guy in Indonesia who referred to me solely as "Muppet" during a day-long biking trip.

He said he learned from us that we have to carve out our own little corner of the world and fill it with love and books and film and music...and cats. The parents and grandparents liked that. (Including Chris's 92-year old grandma who came from Australia!)

We ate our dinners. I had the veggie options: butternut squash soup and mushroom ravioli. We said thank-you's, I presented my mom with my bouquet, and we cut our cake.

We meant to cut it with the knife from my mom and dad's wedding, but it was left down in the building's basement. Oops. Nonetheless, it was delicious (chocolate w/chocolate fudge filling). And the quote was perfect. "Forever is composed of nows." –Emily Dickinson

We moved on to dancing downstairs on the 1st floor. We had a guestbook labeled "who" and various notebooks, writing instruments, and prompts throughout the room: what is your favorite book?; where did you travel from to join us?; when (below); why did the chicken cross the road?

We got terrific answers in all of the books. The little children wrote prolifically, while sometimes off-topic.

For our first dance, our friend Anna played guitar and sang.

We all danced. And the children charmed the dickens out of everyone!

We had a great wedding day. Thanks to everyone who was there for us, and everyone who wished us well from afar!

P.S. Once again, professional pics by Julie Kuceris. Blurrier ones by miscellaneous wedding guests :)

My ring

As promised, the story behind my ring...

Chris's great-grandfather, living in South Africa, gave this ring to Chris's great-grandmother before going off to fight in World War I. The story has a happy ending—he returned and they were married in 1918. The ring was passed to Chris's grandmother, then his mother. Guess I have to be prepared to part with it if we have a daughter!

The ring is about to undergo some transformations. I've been extremely reluctant to do even one thing to it, but at the urging of my mother-in-law and 2 highly respected NYC jewelers, I've got to have the settings re-done. Apparently the stones are are too small for the settings they're in, and have shifted over the years. I've been having trouble finding someone who will agree to keep the look and character of the ring basically the same.

I love this ring to death, but believe it or not, I've had a few "snooty" comments while wearing this—about how I should have the stones cleaned or about how I can always buy myself a "nice" diamond later in marriage. Oy. The stones are clean, but they don't blind you like today's diamonds (we've learned how to optimize light reflection with laser cuts). They were hand-cut. They were meant to sparkle in candlelight—and they do! I've also had a few random compliments on the ring during low-lit dinners. As for "nice"...I couldn't have dreamed up a ring that I would like better.

As mentioned in the ceremony post, I decided to forego a separate wedding band. Because of the ring's twisty shape, I'd have to really have something made to specifically fit around it. And when I already love the ring itself, it seemed unnecessary to go to the trouble of having a whole separate piece of jewelry made. This symbolizes absolutely everything I want it to. So that's where the nerdy Lord of the Rings joke comes from. It is my "one ring."