Hello, 2009.

Everyday, I make a "Goals for the Day" list. I don't call it a "To-Do List," because it's not just tasks; I also list stuff that I just want to shoot for, like "don't eat animal-style fries today." (That's a tough one... have you HAD animal-stle fries?? Oooooooooh man.) That kinda stuff. So here is my list that I am currently working on for 2009, (it's gonna be a big year, folks.)

1. Run a half marathon in October 2009
2. Train consistently for the marathon, following a training schedule.
3. Weight train at least 2 days a week.
4. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." — Michael Pollan
   --> I LOVE this quote. It's so simple, but it really captures what I want my eating philosophy: real food, not only processed and preservative stuff from wrappers. Not too much: Holy crap do I love to eat and holy crap do I eat a lot. I shouldn't do that anymore. Mostly plants: I want to cut down on my meat intake, and replace it with veggies and fruits.
5. To start this: I need to count the calories and write down everything I eat.
6. I want to get good at sewing. There is SO much I want to sew, and I need to do it.
7. Learn to crochet. Crochet a sushi scarf and a cupcake beanie.
8. Visit my Oma at least once a month.
9. Speak more precise German. I want to improve on my grammar; study at least 3 times a week.
10. Buy a house!
11. Celebrate every holiday. Make an effort to cook and make crafts; make every holiday special.
12. Go to New York and visit my Nikkopotomous. (YES)
13. Learn to make kick-ass sushi.
14. Bake bread on a regular basis.
15. Cook dinner AT LEAST 6 nights out of every week. I'm so super serial.
16. Take at least two ballroom dancing sessions.
17. Volunteer.
18. Give blood every 8 weeks, like clockwork.
19. Blog regularly. If not every day, at least 3 times a week.
20. Revamp the bliz-og. ASAP.

That's enought for now, right?

Happy 2009, everyone. I wish you a happy and fulfilled year.. and good luck.

"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man."
~Benjamin Franklin

Goodbye, 2008.

Sacramento Cowtown Marathon. (The half-marathon, specifically.)

I've been looking for something to inspire me. About a year and a half ago, I used to workout. A lot. And I dilligently counted every single calorie I put into my body. It paid off, too: I lost 35 pounds and looked great, possibly even a little too skinny.

However, looking back on it now, I realize that I was at a point in my life when I needed that kind of structure; I was on the lonely-girl diet and hard-up for something to occupy my mind. Regulating what went into my body with German-like efficiency was just what I needed at the time. But life happened, and I stopped needing that strict, hard-line training... and my diet and workouts went the way of the Dodo. I have been trying for a while to get back it the swing of things, but (luckily) I have an amazing boyfriend who thinks I look great no matter how many Volcano tacos I eat, so its tough getting the motivation to go down to the gym. It's "too early" to get up and do it in the morning, "too late" to go do it at night. Excuses excuses excuses.

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one
thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
-George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

Amen, General Patton.

Recently, we went though a tough time: The Boyfriend lost his grandfather. He was an incredible man, who at 77 left a legacy of 7 children, 18 grandchildren (I think), and 6 great-grandchildren, (and counting!). It was an honor to be there in his final hours, and I know I'm a better person for knowing him and seeing the result of his life.

One of the things that really impressed me about Grandpa was his running. He used to run marathons, and started to do this in his 50s. There are all these really awesome pictures of him wearing, "Sacramento Marathon" t-shirts, looking super happy and satisfied. So the day after he passed away, I was thinking about his running, and how I wanted to do something like that... and it clicked. I talked to The Boyfriend, and he thought it was a great idea: running a half marathon in honor of Grandpa.

I talked to The Boyfriend's cousin Livy, who really liked the idea. Immediately, we had like 3 more people on board... and I'm happy to report that the idea has spread like wildfire. So far, all of The Boyfriend's three sisters are down, along with multiple cousins, (on both sides of the family, which is incredibly sweet) and the Boyfriend's Dad. I'm getting kinda juiced for this.

I am starting to feel like this blog has a place in my life. So here is what I want to do: I want to be able to talk about how this is going for me, and hold myself e-accountable for all of the big mess I have been talking about this half marathon. It's my goal; nay, my *responsibility* to stay motivated and work my ass of to get this thing goin'. Moreover, I want to get more motivated to do more stuff in general, and feel more like a contributing member of society and less of a shmuck.

Whew! Sweet, I'm feeling a little pumped. I'm going to work on my goals for 2009... thanks for being here with me, loyal reader.

"Slow and steady wins the race."
- Aesop, The Hare and the Tortoise

<3
Cupcake

Cool as a Cupcake, v 2.0

So. This is a story about a girl. A girl who started a blog. She was STOKED about said blog, and having an outlet for her vast enthusiasm for.. well, everything. She had grand delusions of her blog being clever and witty, wildly popular, being bookmarked willy-nilly by thousands...

However, her crazed fervor about all things martimony began to wane. Weddings and wedding details had consumed her life in the weeks leading up to the birth of her blog. However, as a complete surprise to her, she was less excited to come home and write a blog about wedding cake toppers or German wedding traditions than she thought she would be. Upon reflection, (and during a well-deserved break from blogging... four entires, whew!), she reliazed that, really... wedding planning wasn't her. At least right now. In order for her (this writing in third person thing is hard) real personality and enthusiam to come out in written bloggy-ness, she had to do things that her heart loved AND kept her busy day to day.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE weddings. I got my new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings, Fall 2008 yesterday and it made. my. day. (OMG, did you SEE that fabric flower bouquet in Good Things? Holy crap, I. Want.) But as I went though website after website of wedding details and ideas, everything kinda started to repeat itself. And I wondered, "Oh Cupcake, what is your deal? You could talk to someone about the traditional veil vs. birdcage veil debate for an hour, why am I finding time to do everything else except this long-awaited blog?" Ya know what I ultimately realized?

I am not currently planning a wedding.

I do, however, cook dinner. Darn near every night. And I constantly clean my apartment, (two bedroom, thank you. Woot.) so Martha Stewart is my daily guide. I am trying to learn to sew. And food blogs are both gorgeous and inspiring. Craftblogs make my fingers itch. I guess what I am trying to say is... right now, I am much more than wedding planning. At least as a blogger I think I might be. (Also, I had a recent deep heartbreak with a development with my beloved Weddingbee being sold to a certain company this is not LGBTQ friendly... more on both of those subjects later).

So I am re-vamping my blog, before it even really started! Instead of just one thing that I love, (my blog will include everything that I love, and think, and ponder! First and foremost? I *love* recipes, and I spend an obscene amount of time browsing food blogs. So I will be trying new recipes and documenting my success/failues, (my pictures will suck, sorry in advance). And I also love crafts, and have been trying to sew a dress for the past, oh, three months now. This project WILL be completed, and I will bring you into it where it is. And I also have a passion for politics and current events, (this will NOT be a non- or bi-partisan blog, so brace yourselves). And of course, wedding planning will also be part of my blogiverse... it just won't define me. <3 So forgive me for my abrupt change, kind reader. (Who is pretty much me and my boyfriend, currently. Hi honey. I'm making raviolis for dinner.) I am SO much happier with this format! Let's try this, and see how it goes, hhmm? And away.... we... go.

"Things do not change. We change."

- Henry David Thoreau

(like blogs.

- Cupcake)

How. Cute. Is. This?

I found this on Style Me Pretty, but it is originally posted at AMC Video's Wedding Blog.

Watch Amy's Song! This definitely made me tear up a couple times... (But for real realies, that's not too hard).

(forgive me for not posting the damn video here, but I don't know how. Worst. Blogger. Ever.)

DIY detail #1: Dyed Crinoline

My third post, I've already been MIA for a few days. Good for me.

As I mentioned before, I loooove details. It's pretty much what I obsess about. Sometimes I'm browsing the wedding blogs and I see a random picture of a minute wedding detail, like ribbon on a favor box, (a handmade favor box, mind you) that perfectly matches the groomsmen's ties. While most might not even notice, I just stop and stare in awe. And I feel validated: I'm not a sick freak, people do pay attention to minutia like me!

Currently, a detail that has stuck out in my head is the thought of a beautiful, ethereal, "virginal" (*ahem*) bride, dressed in white... and then, BAM! An unexpected splash of color... dyed crinoline! Wooooow! (PS: this is new to me, but About.com said that "unexpected color" is one of the hot trends for 2006. Way to be "hip" and "with it", Cupcake.)

crin·o·line

/ˈkrɪnlɪn/ Pronunciation Key –noun
1. a petticoat of haircloth or other stiff material, worn under a full skirt to keep it belled out.
2. a stiff, coarse cotton material for interlining.
3. a hoop skirt.
4. a reinforcement of iron straps for holding together brickwork, as of a furnace or chimney.

(definition courtesy of Dictionary.com)


Ya know, the white itchy stuff that makes your dress all poofy. Not something that you might think would be all that interesting... but check this out:

from knottie bio tjh186

How cute it this?? Such a nice touch, and it's a tooootal DIY. You can do it in your washing machine at home! This specialty knottie bio, Colored Slip Bio, has a whole bunch of great pictures and a tutorial to boot. You should check it out and drool, like me.

Side note: I'm going to be honest: I meant to put a ton more pictures on here, but I am just not very good at this blogging thing yet and one post takes me SOOOO long. Is this typical? Will I get faster, or do you guys really just have 10 extra hours a day to find the pictures, properly credit them, and fit them in to a well-crafted and thoughtful blog? Do any of you hard-core bloggers have any tips for a very amateurish me?

"Remember that happiness is a way of travel, not a destination."
- Roy Goodman

so, what are you in for?

I am terrified of copyright infringement. I'm far too dramatic for jail.

The dramatic chipmunk. Busted.

My very favorite things about weddings are the details. Ooooh the details. It's like crack for my budding DIY addiction. My version of "dreaming" about having a wedding someday is a little, different: I don't think about the romantic gushy stuff, the dress I will wear, the moment I see "him" standing there... *gag*. What I tend to think as I drift off to sleep is, "How feasible would a fire pit be to set up for a s'more station? How many sticks would I need to whittle? Could I DIY my bouquests, or should I just hand-make the girls purses? Does gocco ink smear on faces if I gocco'd cocktail napkins?" And fueling this condition are a coupla little things called Google Images and Flickr search. Now, I have about, oh, a billion and four pictures saved on my computer at home of wedding details that I love and want to remember.

But when can I use images? Upon entering the blog-o-sphere, I have been really concerned about how to credit people for their work. I can see it now: me, sitting on the couch in my apartment watching Deadliest Catch, and BOOM! The door is kicked inward and the police swarm in. My crime? I posted a picture of a wedding cupcake tree and the "intellectual owner" wants me thrown in the clink. Nooooooo...

So after much research, I think I got it down. Two main rules: 1. do not "steal" bandwidth, meaning don't link directly to someone else's website; it slows down their deal and is just plain rude. And 2. Always credit! If it's not mine, (which is normally won't be), say whose it is. Got it. If anyone actually reads this blog and they see that I am doing something wrong, please try to save my freedom and let me know. Aaaaany advice would be awesome.

Okay, I'm going to let my boyfriend play with the 'puter, 'cause he's trying to bounce a golfball on a club and it's driving me nuts. Tomorrow, I promise to talk about weddings. =)

"All glory comes from daring to begin."

- Eugene F. Ware

holy matrimolé, its a blog.

I did it. I created a blog. Welcome to 2008, me.

I've been thinking about doing this for a long time now, and today I finally got the lead outta my arse and took the leap. I gotta tell ya, right off the bat, picking a name was TOUGH. I went back and forth for a long time, longer than I first anticipated. But then, after much brainstorming, I realized, who am I kidding? My boyfriend gets grumpy at me 'cause it takes me a good ten minutes to pick out which flavor oatmeal I want for the next week. A blog name, something I will associate with me, from which I will create a moniker and mood? Mmmm... hhhmmm.

See, I think this blog is mostly going to be about weddings and wedding related things, as that is what I am most interested (obsessed?) in and to which a large portion of my internet time is dedicated. First I was experimenting with plays on wedding words and phrases, but I was hitting a block finding something clever/not stupid. Runner up? "The Wedding Stalker." Kind of direct, per the boyfriend kind of creepy. My other one was, "Holy Martimony!" intended to be pronounced, "mat-ri-MO-ny!" See? Yeah. Not so good. Neither was, "Holy Matrimolé!"

I had a whooooole list of these, people. All equally as riveting. Eeeeee.

"Cupcake?" The Boyfriend asked when I proudly told him my brand spankin' new blog name.

"I don't like cucumbers." I replied.

So here it is. I'm really excited this little adventure, which puts me at a new level of geeky that I had not previously attained. I hope this blog turns out to be enjoyable, I hope it inspires... I hope that I'm not the only reader. I just figured that as much time as I spend looking at these wedding sites, maybe I should throw my veil into the wedding blog arena and give my creativity a whirl. A word of warning: just like I am in life, I'm a quirky writer, so bear with me: I hope to make up for it with awesome pictures, quotes, and ideas. I also hope to someday have a feature where I do DIY projects, (by the way, did I mention I am hypnotized by anything DIY? 'cause I am), and photographic how-tos. Ooooh yeah, this is going to be a great friendship, this blog and I.

I leave you with a quote, which I hope to do frequently:

"To keep your marriage brimming,
with love in the wedding cup,
whenever you're wrong, admit it;
whenever you're right, shut up."
- Ogden Nash

<3
Cupcake