Church Shopping

We found a church! Ryan and I visited Eliot Unitarian Chapel in St. Louis (Kirkwood area) a few Sundays ago. We went to their Sunday service, and I loved the service itself. Ryan wasn't offended by anything (this is saying a lot for him), and he really likes the building. I think it's gorgeous. I love the natural light towards the front of the church. The chapel was built in 1852. Here's what the inside looks like, from the balcony:





And here's the outside:

All pictures are courtesy of Eliot Unitarian Chapel. This was one of the easiest wedding decisions we've made so far. I loved the church so much that I will be going up for as many services as I can (it's a 1 1/2 hour drive from my hometown). I am so excited that Ryan and I are getting married in a church that reflects so many of our values. We're going to try to meet the minister the next time we're in St. Louis. The site fee is not too bad: $795 includes the use of the building and the minister's time. I met the music director on Sunday and she told us we were welcome to bring in whatever musicians we'd like.

Did you have a hard time finding a place to get married in that reflected the values of your fiance and yourself?

I just finished reading...

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Lying Awake by Mark Salzman. It was pretty good. I don't know that I'd read it again, but I don't feel like it was a waste of time by any means. It's about a nun who has severe headaches accompanied by spiritual visions. She is faced with the fact that her spiritual gifts might be the result of a serious illness. The book goes into what choice she makes concerning her illness and the ensuing spiritual struggles. I think I just like reading about nuns....is that weird? I loved A Nun's Story by Kathryn Hulme. This wasn't as good as that, but it's a good fast read, short and well-written.

What are you reading?

It's Here!

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Yay! I went and got it the second I could. I am so obsessed, that both of my sisters called me just to tell me it was available. I've been checking for it at Barnes and Noble for the past month. I know, I'm ridiculous. If you knew me, you'd think it was even more ridiculous, because I'm not a Martha Stewart kind of a girl. Her stuff is so classy, though, and while some of it is outrageously expensive and superfluous, her projects are typically easy to do, approachable, and cost effective. I just can't ask for anything better right now! I already printed out the templates to a project in from the magazine, so I will be blogging about my attempt at that soon.

Ooo, I also did a bouquet mock up! I'll post on that later on this week.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day of rest. Ryan is in St. Louis, and I'm planning on sleeping in, having a nice long run, completing a project I have been putting off for a while, maybe attempting a new Martha project, having dinner with my fam, and going wedding dress shopping with a friend from work. How are you whiling away the hours today?

75 Best Wedding Websites

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I found this article on brides.com that has a great list of the 75 best websites for planning a wedding. You can find the list here.

There are lots on here I haven't been to before, so I am excited to sit down to an afternoon of surfing the web tomorrow!

What has been your favorite wedding planning website(s)?

The Art of Greek Cookery

I picked up The Art of Greek Cookery at a random used book store in Ryan's hometown mall while he was getting his hair cut a weekend or so ago. The cookbook is published by the women of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church. I have found that the best cookbooks typically come from church women, so I knew this had to be good.



I found some great recipes I cannot wait to try. The braised eggplant looks good, as does the baked zucchini and the moussaka. I will definitely be attempting some of these recipes in the next few weeks, so we'll see how that works out! I love greek food, so hopefully I will end up with a new dish to add to my repertoire.



Ryan said the Caramel Custard sounded good. I read through the recipe and it looks hard. It involved carmelizing sugar and pouring it into a warmed pan. This sounds deceptively simple, but the recipe warns you: "don't let the sugar get too dark or it will become bitter." What's too dark, and what's too light? I am pretty sure that you have to add butter in order to carmelize sugar, but the recipe doesn't mention that. I do want to attempt it the next time I have an afternoon off.

I love ethnic food and I am excited to try some of these recipes.

I was surprised to find that there was no hummus recipe! Maybe it's not such a greek thing?

Name Change

I am really struggling with changing my last name.

I'm not a big fan of my maiden name....it gets mispronounced constantly, and if people pronounce it correctly, then they want to know if I know so-and-so, or if I am related to whoever. It gets kind of old, especially when I tell people that the person is, at best, a very distant relation. People get mad! They insist that I must be related to whoever, and then the conversation gets kind of awkward.

It's more of an identity thing, I think. It's been my name for 23 years....and there is only one person with my name--me. If I change my name, I will be the 114th Stacy MarriedName. I also feel like I shouldn't have to change my name, but I feel like I do have to. I know I could hyphenate, but I don't like the way it sounds, and it feels clumsy. I want my kids to have the same last name as me, and if I don't change my name, then that won't happen. I also don't want the name situation to be a royal pain.

Don't get me wrong, I love Ryan's last name. It's short, not super-common, easy to spell, and nearly impossible to mispronounce. The name change really has nothing to do with him, it's all me. I'm 96% sure I am going to change my name, but it's not going to be an easy thing for me to do. Going into the wedding planning process, it's not something I foresaw myself have issues with.

How are you feeling about changing your name? Are you hyphenating, keeping your last name, switching to his?

Hi, My Name is Stacy, and I am a Shoe Addict

I am jumping on the colored shoe bandwagon.

Now that we've finally decided on colors, which are red and aqua, I have begun my search for some stunning shoes that are either...red or aqua.

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These lovelies are the Nina Electra at Zappos. They cost a mere $89.00. I love the vintage-y feel...kind of 50's pin up, no? I have some short legs, and Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear say that ankle straps are a poor choice for the small ones among us....but do you think that only matters if my dress is short? I'll be wearing a long dress, so it's not like my legs would be showing.

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This lattice-number is the RSVP Yvette, and they cost $65. I love a good peep toe, and how cute will these look with red toenails? I found these at Zappos as well.

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RSVP, you are rocking my little world! These are the Hart's for $69. Another Zappos find.

Of course, the Carmen satin peep toes, courtesy of J Crew are on my radar, but the colors are all kind of...blah. I'm not paying $265 for blah colors. I'm too scared to have a $265 pair of shoes dyed, so that's not really an option. I'm thinking, though, all of the shoes above are very affordable for me. I would save enough money to purchase a pair of these beauties for the reception...

J Crew, of course...and $118. I love me some ballet flats, so they would get lots of use post-nuptials.

Are you jumping on the brightly colored shoe bandwagon?