Dear Contestants

If you are my favorite - whether you are a singer, a designer, a chef, maybe a dancer - you will probably, on a positive note, not be kicked off first, but you aren't going to last until the finals either. Some where in the middle. That's where it will happen. I will be rooting for you, believing you are definitely going to make it until at least top 2, but, nope. Doesn't happen. Maybe Heidi finds your clothes boring. Maybe you overcook some shrimp. Maybe the rest of America doesn't like you. Maybe you get stuck with a Russian dance that just doesn't cut it.

Oh well, the television face time might just be enough. : )

....

Well, then again, you did make this...

Girl Date with Cassie

My friend Cassie from college lives in PA now and I live in VA, so we decided to meet in the middle, as she so eloquently put it, and have a girl day date. We started in Annapolis - at the mall - then, we walked around the harbor area, took some artsy pictures, ate some sushi, and had some awesome real frozen yogurt. Around mid-day, we traveled to Bmore to check out some possible bridesmaid dress, which really didn't take that long at all, and decided to go to Federal Hill to entertain ourselves.

We looked for Dangerously Delicious - the most amazing pie shop in all the world - but it is out of business now. : (   So we wandered into a book store where we learned that there was a book festival happening in Mount Vernon - best piece of information of the day. We drove over with love in our hearts for free festivals, especially those of Baltimore. We shopped for books, ate the most delicious vegetarian food from a Hipster food truck, and had a truly 1975 moment while listening to "Hey Jude" performed by a Beatles cover band (there were hippie girls dancing with hula hoops and bubbles!). It was AWESOME!! Definitely the best part of the day. We also had a personal poem written for us on the spot. Pretty great.

Once the book fair ended, we traveled to our "Cheers bar" of college - The Phoenix. I had a bit of a hard time staying awake on my 3 hour drive home, but I had an awesome day none-the-less! Hooray for Cassie Cortese! (Can I put your full name in my blog? Hmmm....not sure)

Enjoy some fun day photos. : )

Cassie posing for an me. : )

I'm not as great with the modeling job.

Oh Yogurt!

Charming Annapolis, MD

I made friends with a grasshopper.

The oldest building in MD....and two great friends.

Most delicious vegetarian grub ever!

The Yellow Dub-Marines!

Yep.

Our poets.

Rose

So I am set on purple for the bridesmaid dresses - but I say purple in a broad still-need-to-pick-the-shade kind of way, but hey picking a color category is progress for me. Well, come to think of it, that's not all I have chosen for sure. I am also set on a designer - Bari Jay.

At first, I was thinking wisteria, but now I am thinking Rose or Plum, but once I see them all in person, I will know for sure.

Bouquets I Love

The Favorite.

That dress was not THE dress, but THIS dress....well...

Okay. So a month ago I bought a dress. I was so shocked I actually chose one that I started to have second thoughts. Kyle was the only who saw the dress and I just didn't feel like I had enough time to ponder the dress, enough time to try on, enough belief in my decision. So, I went back. The dress shop was so welcoming and accommodating. "We want our brides to be happy," they said. So I scheduled another appointment, a last appointment - one to either affirm that I picked the right dress, or to exchange the dress I chose for a different one.

That appointment happened today!

I was so excited and had very high hopes. I didn't take Kyle with me this time (no offense to him, but that was a good choice.) Instead, Kyle's mom graciously drove up from Williamsburg and helped me pick out the perfect dress.The perfect - different and new, not-the-first - dress.

The first dress: all ivory lace, A-line, corset back, flower belt, sweetheart neckline, beading. It is a beautiful dress, but I was a bit concerned with the amount of work it needed. I hated the corset back and wanted to change that to a zipper and buttons. It needed to be taken in for sure and the bottom needed more crenaline (sp?). And the belt needed to be attached and a couple spots rebeaded. It was extremely pretty though.

The new dress: WOW. Gorgeous. A dress I probably never thought I could pull off, but on a whim, just asked to try it on and it is gorgeous. Fits me like a glove, a slightly tight glove so operation lose 5-10 pounds needs to go into effect soon. But here is the part I love - no alterations needed. No belt needed. It already has everything I could want. It has a wow factor, which will get to be a surprise for the lucky man. It isn't lace, but it has the essence of lace. It looks expensive, but the price tag left me with a little extra wiggle room for shoes and a gorgeous headpiece (both yet to be bought). I am so excited. Kathy and my consultant Judy were awesome. They encouraged me to get the dress I loved, not the one that I thought was the expected dress for my venue. I am so glad I listened. I can't wait to put it on again!!!


Oh and I am not going to show you my chosen dress, but here are a few pretty rejects... : )

I look like a mannequin.

I'm neck-strain cheesin it...but not the dress.

P.S. What do you think of a bird cage veil?