In-Between Shoes

When I went to LA this past fall I noticed a lot of TOMS shoes walking around.  Every time I saw someone in a pair, I’d have a flash of some I had seen the summer before in NYC.  Toms aren’t the heartiest winter shoes, so I doubt I’ll see a pair again until the spring.

Anyway, as I was thinking about the wedding day and the many events, and my 4-inch heels, I found myself desiring a second pair of shoes to wear in-between events, or when the heels just became too much.  I contemplated moccasins for a long time.  I would search zappos and endless over and over again and nothing seemed to click.

Then I remembered all those TOMS shoes and how I considered them to be very “LA”, so I hopped on over to the site and found a black glitter pair!  I bought them up and let the Actor’s Fund pay for them since I am currently “unemployed”…let’s face it, I’m unemployed most of the year.

I was totally validated in my choice of glitter TOMS when one of the bridesmaids had the same idea!

I’m not sure when I will ever wear my black glitter Toms again…maybe they will become my house shoes.  At least, through purchasing them another person got a new pair of shoes too!

The Reception

Team Guerrero put on a lovely wedding reception for Sam and Jennika. Check out their names cut out of that tissue paper? My mom worked some apron magic for the reception team, they looked so cute. My favorite part was the cranberry pomegranate sparkling juice that I sipped out of my mason jar with a striped straw.

The photo booth in the lobby was a fantastic way to create a guest book. We visited just a few times.

It was a wonderful way to ring in the New Year, celebrating our dear boy. We lit sparklers and saw them off to drive away into the dark (yeah, the sun was already down.)

A Keepsake

We all know that I get rid of things fairly quickly around here.  The flower girl dresses are probably not going to survive too long.  I did want the girls to have a keepsake from the experience, so I turned to my good friend etsy.

This seller made the dress.  This seller made the shoes.

San Diego Temple

My little brother married a California girl.  She wanted to be married in one of the most beautiful temple’s I have seen, the San Diego Temple.  The wedding was in the morning at 9 AM on New Year’s Eve.  A friend of mine in SoCal introduced me to a stylist who came to our hotel and did the girls hair and then delivered them to the temple while we attended the wedding ceremony.

It was a beautiful ceremony that reminded me of our wedding 12ish years ago: A teenage bride, excited about building a future with her handsome groom.

Phoebe was the same age as my youngest sister Courtney was at my wedding.  She was most upset that she could not attend the wedding ceremony.  I think she loved being a flower girl though.  Here they are with their cousin fellow-flower girls. I bought the sweaters as a just-in-case scenario, and I am so glad I did because it was chilly!

Without any instruction Lolly took it upon herself to carry the bride’s train around.  I think she saw that in a movie somewhere, because she thought it was her job.  It was so sunny for photos, that it will be a miracle of my girls have their eyes open in any of them.  They had a much better time at the luncheon and reception later in the day.

Flash Mob at the Wedding Luncheon

My brother didn’t want his wedding luncheon to be boring, so my mom and I brainstormed for weeks, and this was the best we could do!

Up to

I’ve been up to a wedding this weekend. Singing for a friend I have had since middle school.  She was so stunning and I was lucky I sang late in the ceremony or I would have been a hot mess.

I took my Mom with me as my date, and we ate yummy food, met some cool people and then ate chocolate chipper cookies from panera bread on the way home from the reception.  While there, we sat dreaming about our favorite boy getting married in just a few short weeks…and how exciting it will be when Mom and Sam do their mother-son dance to a Ricky Martin song. (Now that it’s on the interwebs, you HAVE to do it.)

Could she be more gorgeous? This is my friend who is fashionable to a T and pays attention to every detail with grace and stability and she’s just amazing. Her asking me to sing makes it all the more complimentary, knowing her standards of excellence.  She had the bodice of her grandmother’s wedding dress refashioned into her dress.  It was so gorgeous. These photos are courtesy of the iphone, so not spectacular compared to LIVE!

I sang 5 pieces, and here my Dad has taken a little snippet of one of them.

I am fighting a cold–which creeped up on me yesterday (of course!), so since I am kidless, I may take the opportunity to sleep as long as possible and rest all day tomorrow, so that I can be in better voice for Monday’s concert.

Thanks for checking in, and don’t forget the giveaway!

Baby Brother

Hey! My baby brother is getting married! He and his fiance asked my girls and my nieces to be the flower girls.  We headed out to David’s Bridal today to try on the flower girl dress that has been chosen, but unfortunately our DB didn’t have it in stock.

We couldn’t waste the opportunity to try on some frocks though, so the girls all got to choose 3 each and check themselves out in the wall of mirrors.  We watch Say Yes to the Dress because Phoebe’s ballet teacher stars in it, and I had to explain to them that there would be no camera crew documenting them trying on dresses, and that Sarah wouldn’t be there to help, yes, they were a bit disappointed.

When we got home, the proposed flower girl shoes had arrived, so we put those on and tried to imagine it with the first choice dress.  I think it will work…the bride wants a pop of color and shoes is more untraditional then a sash…plus these shoes have a little twirly disc on the ball of the sole of the shoe, perfect for pirouetting at a party.

I’ve been etsying looking for a little something something for their hair or jewelry, so if you find anything, let me know…I think we might do some up-do action for the party…so if you know anybody in SoCal who is available on New Years Eve, I need their name and number too!