Invitations, in the making!

So, I decided to make my invitations, rather than order them. Price difference? I'm saving $410.

Luna and I went and scooped up our little cousin Jalexi, who then helped me pick out fonts, print and punch out the little tags.

We worked for a good 3 hours and only finished about 15 invitations hahaha! It's a ton of work!!
But, we're all set with the basics now, and can really start rolling out the invites.

Humboldt Crack Cake: Are you feeling Tipsy yet?

I love bakeries. You already know that though, from my previous entries. But, there's a neighborhood bakery called Tipsy Cake, and well... they've crossed into my dog house of no return.

Here's a video that I saw last night

1. My first reaction to this, is that I love City Soles, and could not believe that they continued to conduct an interview with this woman and did not call her out for her inappropriate language, like "crack cake."
2. She laughs and says that there were too many gun shots in the cakes...
3. She mentions that her upscale clients were too scared to come to her shop in Humboldt park...
4. And this is the kicker: She says that a pastry that she makes is called "crack" because the police officers in Humbolt park used to come in and ask for the "crack." Now, the host then actually calls the cake "Humboldt Crack," but the owner does not refute the name.  The owner tastes the cake and then laughs and says "oh my God, it's just like any crack I've ever had!" :: Cue laughing::

Ugh! I was absolutely disgusted after watching this video, and decided to write on City Soles website to describe how disgusted I was with their attitude toward the American drug trafficking problem. I couldn't believe that they would 1. speak about drugs in such a nonchalant way, and 2. belittle the community that has hosted Tipsy Cakes since 2005. Are you kidding me?? After my complaint and a few others, the video was taken off youtube... but if there's one thing I teach my kids, it's that once you put something online, it's there forever. (Hence how it's visible to you here on this posting)

Needless to say, the owner has thoroughly pissed off the Humboldt park community, and continues to antagonize the people who live here, by thinking her "witty" remarks are funny:

 Ooof! Bad move. Don't mess with Puerto Ricans. We don't give up. Nor do we forget. The response has been amazing! The Alderman have been contacted, as well as news stations. There is a such thing as bad publicity... especially if you want to continue your business in an area where "bullets" supposedly riddle your cakes.

Seems as though they understand this now, after seeing this comment. My comments have been deleted, as well as anyone else who mentions Tipsy Cake on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

And then they try to play the "I am friends with colored people" card.

This is a reason why the Humboldt park community is anxious when dealing with outside businesses. What is your intention? To push the community out, or to help retain the culture that we have established? If you've been a loyal reader, then you know that I am all for my community, and support local businesses. But in this case, I, for one, will boycott Tipsy Cake, and urge all others to do the same.
If you look them up on Yelp, they've gotten plenty of bad ratings due to the rude customer service. Go to Cafe Colao for a great cup of tea, coffee and home baked goods. Skip Tipsy Cake. Go to a family owned bakery that has supported the neighborhood for 100+ years: Roesers. Skip Tipsy Cake.

United, we are strong. Humboldt Park Pride. We are NOT FOR SALE.

Skip Tipsy Cake Hahahahaha

Linens and things

Luna and I went to go choose our table and chair linens. Who knew there'd be so much to choose from!
Here's what we got so far:
Ivory table cloths with green overlays.
Now we've got to choose from the super sparkly or the slightly sparkly (our terminology, not the planner)

I'm pretty set on the side knot for the chairs... But can pick from 20 different styles on March 10th, when we go for our tasting.

Wedding Cake: Bakery Question Solved

I had my mom call the wedding planner this past weekend. I'm working on so many things these days that I really don't have time for beating around the bush. My mom is just a lot better with that, while I'm more blunt. I sat next to her working on some payroll logistics that she was having problems with, while she made the phone call.

So, she calls, and explains that she's calling on my behalf, and that we were wondering what plans had been made since our original bakery had gone out of business, and we'd never been told about this. Immediately, the planner gets defensive and quite a bit of a 'tude with my mom, and says "usually, cakes are not chosen until a month before the wedding." I hear this, and tell my mom to let her know that I am busy and need to get things straightened out at once.

Mom, being more diplomatic, explains that since I am working full time and going to school full time, I have limited time to make decisions, so once an opportunity to do so arises, I like to take advantage of that.

Planner lady says, "oh, she must be really on top of things then."

Yes. Yes, I am. Wedding planning is a business, and when I am working with a business, and am paying them money, I'd like to make sure everything is planned out. BESIDES! It's not like I've been stalking her, making phone calls weekly. This is the first time I've contacted her.
Anywho, here's the new bakery:

Here's the menu for the sweet table:

Taffeta and I, don't mix

I haven't been impressed with the wedding dresses I've seen so far, but I do know this much:
Taffeta and I, don't work well together.
(Organiza either...)

Take a look at this picture:

On the average unshapely woman, this would like nice. Notice this model is small on top, and I'm sure she's pretty narrow on the bottom.

This type of dress would totally not work for me. For a petite woman, I'm pretty hippy and have a butt. This dress would end up making me look like that freaky Romanian model, Ioana Spangenberg:

Hahah! Okay, I'm being pretty extreme.  I don't get the whole hour-glass, "Princess," big ball gown obsession. On me, I'd be a walking mushroom.
Well, back to the search.

Questions I will not answer:

I hate when people talk about how much they spent on things...
"my car was blank-blank dollars!"
"I spent blank blank dollars on my shoes!" (dinner, clothes, bills, whatever else you spend your money on)

From a pretty young age, my dad taught me that it is bad form to speak about how much you spend on things. In addition to that, I'm a private person, and don't really want people knowing what I have (or don't have).

Here are some questions that I will not answer regarding our wedding day
(And if you ask them, I will smile at you, and give you my famous wave-you-away hand movement along with the following remarks):

Guest: Wow guys! How much is the wedding reception costing you?
Jackie:Ummm... are you concerned that you have to tip the waiter? Don't worry about that, because I GOT THIS!!! ::said in my George Lopez voice::

Guest: Can you make sure not to set your date for [insert date here] -- I have another wedding already planned!
Jackie: (Hehehe! Let's see if one of my co-workers figures out this one is for him.) Does the look on my face tell you everything you need to know?

Guest: Hi! What table am I sitting at?
Jackie: You see that little table over there with your name on it? Yeah? Go check it.

Guest: Hey! Why didn't you invite [insert name here]?
Jackie: Why would I? ::Awkward silence::

Guest: How many carats is that ring anyway?
Jackie: How many specs of salt is yours?

Guest: Where are your bridesmaids?
Jackie: Serving me by playing in traffic. Didn't you see them earlier?

Guest:  Jackie, don't you think the six-tiered wedding cake is a bit much? 
Jackie: Sounds like you don't want any... ::awkward silence::



I'm just saying...

Awesome shoes!

I really want my shoes on the big day to be flashy!
(Jackie: Flashy? No wayyyyy!)
Yes. Flashy. Not bling-ed out, but eye catching.

Here's some ideas from a manufacture that make pretty amazing shoes that are stylish and very comfortable to dance in (or run if need be... I've done it before in a pair of Nina shoes lol):

Check their site out : Click Here

If I can't get what I want, then... I want this!

Well... Rolf's is gone.
I'm doing a little finagling...
(yes, finagle is a word--> finagling (verb): 1. to obtain (something) by devious or dishonest means. Hehehehehehe)
... to try and get the cake from Roeser's now.
What? You don't know about Roeser's? And you've been living in Chicago for how long? Ooof! Where have you been living? Under a rock?!

Roeser's is the BEST bakery that I have ever had the pleasure of trying (and I've tried a LOT of bakeries in my 27 years). I can still remember my first taste of a Roeser's cake. It was yellow cake with strawberry filling...Mmmm... I was nice a snug, in my mother's womb.
Haha
My mom had a Roeser's cake at her baby shower when she was pregnant with me. Ever since then, I've alway remembered a Roeser's cake at each of my birthdays, and the one year my parents forgot about my birthday (oh no they didn't! You know I let them have it for that one), I bought my own.

Seeing that yellow Roeser's box brings back really yummy memories. My friend Maggie had a Roeser's wedding cake and... I may have taken home 2 slices :)
(Sorry Maggs haha)
it was delicious!

Want to know more about Roeser's? Check it out here--> Roeser's Bakery
It's been open for over 100 years! Go and try a cake/pastry for yourself :)

Example of the times...

I woke up this morning to a text from my cousin saying that the bakery that was going to make my wedding cake announced that it was going out of business.

What the heck?

So, I go to their website and look what I saw:

Son of a biscotti >:(

I'm going to have to call that wedding planner and ask why I hadn't been informed of this >:(

I can't be mad at the bakery though... who can blame them? It's a shame that a family ran business has to go under. It's 2012 people! The world is unraveling! lol

Presents!

So, I decided on the magnet save the dates, and had them delivered to school (considering that I practically live there). Inside the box, along with the fabulous magnets were presents!!
Well... to me, at least haha
I found a invitation book with lots of paper samples.
Growing up, there were two things I really loved: paper and... Pens!

There's just something about a really good pen... The way the ink smoothly runs out... The way the pen gently glides across the paper... Haha! I could wax on about my love for pens and paper for twelve minutes, but I'll spare you from my nerdy interests.

Save the dates go out as soon as I recruit some helpers to assemble them :)

Click. Copy. Save. Print!

The save the dates are being printed as I type this!
Here's a look:
 (mini magnets!)

Count yourself lucky if you receive one in the mail ;) It's gonna be a rocking party!

Wedding Colors: Shades of Green

Do you know how many freaking shades of green there are in this world???

Yeah, me neither... So I wikipedia'd it. Turns out there's more than 59, and then Wikipedia said ENOUGH GREEN! Turns out the next step in the wedding process is picking out our colors.  Staying true to our park theme, I want to have green incorporated... but not evergreen or baby-poop-green. Greeeeeeeen.

Ever have a moment where you say something so many times that it loses all meaning and sounds really akward coming out of your mouth? That's how I feel about GREEN right now lol.

Here's some green choices:

Between finishing my masters program and teaching... let's see where picking a shade of green fits in :)

Bridal Party: "Flower Girls"

So, I'm not having a traditional bridal party... but I want my guests to look good ;)

I was looking through the David's Bridal website and came across the cutest flower girl dresses! My two nieces aren't as itty-bitty as they were when I started dating Luna 4 years ago. They're tall little buggers! (but super sweet and innocent... well except Iris. She'll kick you in the groin if you cross her lol!) But I think these dresses would fit and look cute:

But they're growing so much, I might have to look at Junior bridesmaids dresses. Here's another I like:

These might be a little bit more age/height appropriate. I love those little boogers and I'm going to make them look amazing for our reception.

Engagement Photos! (Slideshow)

Here are the photos! Take a looksie. There's 295... so sit back and enjoy hahaha

Engagement Photos: Sneak Peek

This past Saturday was HECTIC!

I woke up and had my hair and make-up done at JJ Studio (located at 2950 W. Chicago). I hadn't really had a haircut in nearly a year, sometimes cutting my own bangs, and not really seeing my hair grow much longer than just below my shoulders... needless to say, I got scolded by John John lol

Check him out on Facebook: 

JohnJohn JJstudio Garcia (Jaytwice)

Alicia, who I know from a pageant we'd both been in, did my make-up. It turned out AMAZING! I loved my eyelashes. Actually... I loved everything! My eye make-up was outstanding. My lips and cheeks were awesome, and I had a good time catching up. I even found out that she's going to be on the new season of Survivor!! How awesome is that?!

After leaving the hair studio I then ran home, picked up Luna and the dogs, went to Wendy's to grab a bite to eat (drive thru... scrumptious, but BAD for you) and raced back home so that I could be seated at my laptop for my online class (the dogs just came along for the ride. I did not buy them chicken nuggets like my good friend Shorty does for her doggy Patrick lol).

If I didn't have a group presentation, I probably would have skipped class all together... but being the responsible student I've become as of late, I made sure to be there ;)

I sat through the 2.5 hour class (rocking my project out of this world), and then had to JUMP into my dress and drive to the Garfield Park Conservatory. Luna and I met Christina there, and took a few pics in our green clothes (remember, he was wearing a green shirt when we met, and I was wearing a green dress). Here's a sneak peek of our shoot (I can't wait to see our other pictures!!!!)

We took a bunch at the boat house and all over the park. Afterwards we headed to Cafe Colao, talked to Lisa and went to the Stepphenwolf theatre to see a new play called Clybourne Park (about... take a guess...... yes. Gentrification). Check out the play

here: Clybourne Park

Ended the night with Tapas near University Village and then plopped in bed.

Great but tiring day.

 

Seating Cards: Grass Table Top

Arg.
I want the seating cards to sit atop a bed of grass at the venue. I bought this wheatgrass growing kit and thought I'd be able to grow lush green grass... look at my results:

Not really lush, is it?

Arg.
So, here's the new idea: I'm looking for faux grass :)

Here's one place--> http://www.save-on-crafts.com/grassmats.html

   

Instead of growing all of the grass, this might be an easier route.

Wedding Cake Choices: Cake Types 1-5

So, when I chose my wedding package with my venue, they also included the price of the wedding cake. They work with a local bakery, and depending on your price range, they have all these "categories." I will call them categories of caloric destruction because as you go up in price range the cakes get richer with FLAVOR and of course Buttercream (AKA liquid fat) YUM!

Here's a style that I like in Wedding Cake-Category 1:

CAKE FLAVORS- Vanilla Chiffon, Chocolate Chiffon, Chocolate Decadence, Traditional White

FILLING TYPES AND FLAVORS- Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Custard, Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream

FROSTING-  Wedding Buttercream,

FILLING CONFIGURATION- 4 Layers of Cake : 3 Layers of Filling

Here's a style that I like in Wedding Cake-Category 2:

  I actually didn't like any cakes from this category, but this is, I guess, the nicest looking.

  

CAKE FLAVORS- Vanilla Chiffon, Chocolate Chiffon, Marble Chiffon, White Cake, Chocolate Decadence

FILLING TYPES AND FLAVORS- Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Custard, Lemon Curd, Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Apricot Jam, Cream Cheese, Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream, Lemon Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream, Raspberry Buttercream, White Chocolate Mousse,

FROSTING-  Wedding Buttercream,

FILLING CONFIGURATION- 4 Layers of Cake : 3 Layers of Filling

Here's a style that I like in Wedding Cake-Category 3:

I actually didn't like any cakes from this category either. The rest looked dollar store quality... and I'm not talking Family Dollar or Dollar Tree. I'm talking Mom and Pop from Korea.

CAKE FLAVORS- Vanilla Chiffon, Chocolate Chiffon, Marble Chiffon, White Cake, Chocolate Decadence, Vanilla Bean Cake, Lemon Cake, Pound Cake, Almond Pound Cake, , Red Velvet Cake, Banana Cake, Carrot Cake

FILLING TYPES AND FLAVORS- Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Custard, Lemon Curd, Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Apricot Jam, Cream Cheese, ,Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream, Hazelnut Buttercream, Mocha Buttercream, Lemon Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream, Raspberry Buttercream, White Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Mousse, Strawberry Mousse, Irish Cream Mousse, Lemon Mousse, Tira Misu Mousse, Vanilla Bean Mousse, Fresh Strawberry, Banana,

FROSTING-  Wedding Buttercream,

FILLING CONFIGURATION- 4 Layers of Cake : 3 Layers of Filling

Here's a few Styles that I like in Wedding Cake-Category 4:

Cute! Better if it was in our colors.

CAKE FLAVORS- Vanilla Chiffon, Chocolate Chiffon, Marble Chiffon, White Cake, Chocolate Decadence, Vanilla Bean Cake, Lemon Cake, Pound Cake, Almond Pound Cake, Lemon Pound Cake, Red Velvet Cake, Banana Cake, Carrot Cake, New York Cheesecake

FILLING TYPES AND FLAVORS- Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Custard, Lemon Curd, Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Apricot Jam, Cream Cheese, Fudge, Ganache,Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream, Hazelnut Buttercream, Mocha Buttercream, Lemon Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream, Raspberry Buttercream, White Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Mousse, Strawberry Mousse, Irish Cream Mousse, Lemon Mousse, Tira Misu Mousse, Passion Fruit Mousse, Guava Mousse, Mango Mousse, Blood Orange Mousse, Vanilla Bean Mousse, Pina Colada Mousse, Fresh Strawberry, Banana, Raspberry. *Seasonal Fruit

FROSTING-  Wedding Buttercream, White Chocolate Ganache, Dark Chocolate Ganache

FILLING CONFIGURATION- 4 Layers of Cake : 3 Layers of Filling

Here's a few styles that I like in Wedding Cake- Category 5 (The most expensive, for the reasons listed below):

 

These somewhat go along with the color scheme... I think I like the box-like cake better 

CAKE FLAVORS- Vanilla Chiffon, Chocolate Chiffon, Marble Chiffon, White Cake, Chocolate Decadence, Vanilla Bean Cake, Lemon Cake, Pound Cake, Almond Pound Cake, Lemon Pound Cake, Red Velvet Cake, Banana Cake, Carrot Cake, Hazelnut Cake, New York Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, Raspberry Cheesecake, and White Chocolate Cheesecake  

FILLING TYPES AND FLAVORS- Vanilla Custard, Chocolate Custard, Lemon Curd, Strawberry Jam, Raspberry Jam, Apricot Jam, Cream Cheese, Fudge, Ganache,Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate Buttercream, Hazelnut Buttercream, Mocha Buttercream, Lemon Buttercream, Strawberry Buttercream, Raspberry Buttercream, White Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate Mousse, Raspberry Mousse, Strawberry Mousse, Irish Cream Mousse, Lemon Mousse, Tira Misu Mousse, Passion Fruit Mousse, Guava Mousse, Mango Mousse, Blood Orange Mousse, Vanilla Bean Mousse, Pina Colada Mousse, Fresh Strawberry, Banana, Raspberry. *Seasonal Fruit

FROSTING-  Wedding Buttercream, White Chocolate Ganache, Dark Chocolate Ganache, Rolled Fondant

FILLING CONFIGURATION- 4 Layers of Cake : 3 Layers of Filling

Which Wedding Cake Do You Like The Best?
	Simplicity
	Samantha
	Inspiration
	Love Birds
	Tower of Love
	Glamour
pollcode.com free polls

Photo Shoot!

So we've settled on a date for our photo shoot: October 8th. I'm pretty psyched up... and nervous. I'm such an introverted-extrovert. I like attention, but I'm pretty shy.  Anywho! I just messaged a friend of mine who participated in a pageant with me, who does fabulous makeup. If all goes well, she'll be doing my makeup for the shoot, and her friend John John will be doing my hair!!!
Emotion check: Nervous, shy, excited.

Recently I went with Luna to a photoshoot he was doing. Christina (his/our photographer) did a fantastic job with his pictures:

Outside Union Station

Him sitting on his Kz (motorcycle)

And since we both had motorcycle jackets on, she asked if we'd like to take a couple together:

Our shoot will take place at the Boat House in HP and its surrounding areas... I was also thinking of taking a few at the Garfield Park conservatory since it might be freezing outdoors. Should be fun :)

Movies: Am I In The Right Spot?

If you know anything about me, then you know I love movies. LOVE LOVE LOVE.
I'm not quite sure when or how this love started, but I do think my parents played a role in this. Every Friday, after school, my dad would take us to Blockbuster to get movies for our Friday night pizza/movie parties. My mom, dad, two brothers and I would sit in our small living room, waiting for John's Pizzeria to deliver our football pizzas (with free 2Liter RC... what you know about RC? HUH?! lol) watching the latest movies to hit VHS. It was our ritual. Pizza. Movies. Us together.

Throughout college, I met someone who loved movies even MORE than me... my best friend Roberto Navia. Bob, our dorm buddies, and this one chick Ashley (who had the thickest mustache I've ever seen on a non-latino person) would hit up the movie theaters to see just about anything and everything. Bob made us watch the funniest... and weirdest movies ("Waiting")... but also many classics.

After college, I was fortunate enough to meet this really sweet, Puerto Rican, New York/Spanish accent, Humboldt Park raised, Jesus Loves This Guy, ex-bad boy--trying to be good, rapper/singer/songwriter, named Edgardo who LOVED movies also. He was the perfect movie match! He'd seen movies I hadn't seen,  and didn't mind watching them again, and again, so that I could fully understand the plot.

I love movies. So much so, I drag Luna to the movie theater at least once a week to see new flicks (not kicking and screaming, mind you. He likes to go haha). Our new ritual is to go Sunday mornings. Instead of church, we sit out in Skokie, with a bunch of other movie patrons (who happen to be older Jewish couples... hello, Skokie... Sunday!) and laugh our butts off, cry our tears out, and jump out of our skin. And then we go to John's Pizzeria (best pizza I've EVER had... way better than Pequod's). It's a real good time ;)

Every now and then there are these special screenings of upcoming movies. How awesome is that? You get to go see a movie before anyone else! Recently, my best friend Bob and I went to go see a special screening of the new version of Foot Loose, along with meet the actors and director.  Before the movie we sat and talked about all the movies we'd seen, and all the movies we want to see. Bob told me about this one movie called Another Earth. Take a look at the trailer:

I'd remembered seeing the trailer at the movies, but somehow it slipped my radar and I never saw it! It looks amazing. What if there actually was another Earth? Would you be the same you there, as you were here?

Bob asked me these questions, and I responded, "Yeah, but the other me is probably nicer!" I really want to see this movie. It's gotten me thinking... what would it look like? Would the other me have had the same experiences? Made the same decisions? Lived the same way?

And... well... I'd say yes.
I'd like to think that any, and all decisions that I've made and the experiences I've had are somewhat universal. Would I be with Luna? All signs point to yes. We've often spoke about the decisions he made, or rather his mom stopped him from making... going into the armed forces, becoming a flight attendant... somehow we found each other.

I mean this kid lived so close to me, and I bet we'd met before when we were younger. Or at least I'd seen him before. We share so many similar experiences. You could practically put a mirror up to his family, and see my own. So... if somehow, we were meant to be HERE on this EARTH... I'm sure we'd be together on any other.

Our decisions and experiences are not mere coincidences :)

Think about it.

Save-The-Date: Finalized Dress

The dress has been finalized... somewhat. I decided to go with the Tinkerbell-like green dress.  I ordered it online from this place called Light In The Box. I really don't know too much about the place, except that they're located in China... and they had a group of "seamstresses" alter my dress to my "specific" measurements.

Yes. The quotation marks are my attempt to be sarcastic. The dress is gorgeous. It really is. It looks exactly like the photo, with one exception: The length. UGHHH!!! Being short is a real kick in the glass (Tang reference).

The dress is too long! It practically comes down to my ankles, and in the picture it reaches the girl's knees. The model in the pic is like 5'3"and I'm 4'11 and 1/2" (hey that half inch means I'm sooooooo close to 5' even haha). I really didn't think a few inches would matter so much!

Well, I guess I've learned an important lesson: don't order dresses online.

When I was younger, my dad would take me clothes shopping, and I hated it! He'd take me to the store, let me pick out my outfits, and then walk me to the fitting room, saying "TRY ON EVERYTHING!" I totally know why now...

I expected to take our photos already, but now I have to get the dress altered.... by like a foot haha