That is fabulous! Just last night I was continuing my maddening attempt at drafting a pattern for a bra. I'm usually a 36E I believe, but since I'm now 5 mos preggers, THEY JUST KEEP GETTING BIGGER!!!! I'm not shelling out a crapload for new bras...I wanna make 'em and I wanna make 'em cute! I am only 24 and not resigning to lunchlady bras yet. You are my new hero, can't wait for a tut.

I just mix regulary granulated sugar, room temp milk & honey into a thick pasty goo, scrub all over, let it sit (like a mask) for 10 or so minutes, scrub again and rinse....the milk & honey make the skin even softer....then use a nice moisture after.

You could try getting a couple of plastic shower curtains (At least one of them really clear) or that furniture cover plastic and stitch it together to make pockets to hold them...you could hang them on the wall from the very top, or use them as kind of a room divider or something. That way they'd be protected from all kinds of stuff (but not sunlight, which will fade them). You could also tack the whole shebang to the ceiling if you run out of wall space.

You could also do something like dreamcatchers with pretty beads and things woven into them. They're really quick to make and you can do all kinds of things color/themewise with them.

My older sister got married on the beach last summer and she had everyone standing barefoot in the sand since the ceremony was short & sweet. My sis had a small wedding, too and bypassed the wedding favor tradition. You could do all kinds of things with a beach theme. I've seen invites with a printed sheer layer over an opaque paper with sand inside (sealed up on the edges) so the sand floats around. Could be messy to make, but really cool to get. You could have shells & candles stuck into the sand to define your aisle, too.

Have you thought about rubber cement? I love that stuff, just slap a thin layer on each side, smack 'em together and rub off any excess on the edges. That's my favorite way of stickin' papers together. Even works to attach photos to metal...I did that on a book I made 7 years ago & they haven't come off yet.

I'm planning a wedding too! Yay for stress, right? To get my colors I just flipped through a couple of catalogs I had of flowers that will be in season for the ceremony and picked 2 that we liked. We ended up with a really cool dark purple and this peachy-pink color. Then we're also doing greenery and silver accents.

For the gazebo you could do hanging candleholders all around, I made some 5' tall for a wedding out of jack chain with glass candle cups and crystal beads around the glass which looked pretty all lit up, maybe wrap the uprights in ivy/flowers/xmas lights all wound together, you could hang those little crystals people put in windows all around the place if there will be back light. Would give it a hint of bling and look great in photos with a starburst filter. Might throw rainbows on you, though.

Calla lillies and/or red roses would look fabulous with that dress, I must agree.

For bridal party wear, if you know someone that could do it, find a fabric you like and make them, that's what I'm doing and the last wedding I decorated the bride did the same. Or you could give them a swatch with the color and let them pick out thier own attire in that shade. For groomsmen at mine, we're just having them all wear black slacks and a black button-down shirts with a tie and flower in the wedding colors. Cheap and they can all wear everything again as opposed to a rented tux!

I definitely reccomend shelter dogs, too. Save abandonded animals!   I forgot how much work puppies were when I got my APBT a year and a half ago. (She was from a reputable breeder, but she was a birthday present from a friend, so I couldn't exactly say no. I love her!)

I do have supply suggestions that are oft forgotten if you do go with a baby puppy: Bitter apple spray. Keeps them from chewing up all your stuff, I forgot this and lost my 2 fave pairs of heels, 3 throw pillows and the arm to my couch. The spray didn't really bother her so I switched to invisible deodorant. Trust me, if the bitter apple doesn't work, that will. And also, invest in a large bottle of a cleaning product called Petzyme for accidents. That product alone is what finally got my dog housebroken since she couldn't smell any residual scent from accidents.

I don't want to dampen your spirits by any means, but don't forget to factor in the costs after you get the pup: Vaccines (VERY important), dewormers, flea & tick products, food, spaying/neutering, & a kennel (if you plan to kennel train & just for travel...not cheap, but useful)...OH! And plenty of film for pictures, I don't have any pics of mine when she was a pup and it makes me so very sad.

Good luck with your puppy fund! I know your excitement. Another way to save up some cash pretty quick is to kindof give up something for a bit and put the cash in savings like you'd spent it. I did that with Coke one time since I drink so much, and I never realized how much money I spent on that stuff! Added up quickly. And the pooper scooper plan is golden, NOBODY wants to do that when they have a dog.

One of my fave ways to do veggies (because they disappear) is by sauteeing them in real butter on a pretty high heat and sprinkling rather heavily with black and red pepper, garlic powder & onion powder & sometimes some seasoned salt. The powdered spices stick to the vegetables and if the heat's right makes kindof a crust. I also wrap them in foil & do the same thing plus some worcestershire & throw them on the grill. I got a VERY picky 3 year old loving asparagus of all things with this recipe.

I only have the edging and the topstitching to go! It looks like it's gonna work out great if I can just find the time to finish and photograph it. I did need the metal thingies from the longer legal size file folders in a couple of spots, so if you try it, keep length in mind. And I used a dremel to round off the edges and whatnot. Scared the crap out of the dog.