Cedar Fern: July 2010

Otakon 2010 is in Full Effect

According to Wikipedia, Otakon is "Otakon (oh-tah-kon) is a fan convention in the United States focusing on East Asian popular culture (primarily anime, manga, music, and cinema) and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku. Otakon is traditionally held on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in late summer at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district. Otakon is one of the longest-running Anime conventions in the United States, and the second largest, averaging over 22,000 paid attendees since 2005. "

It's right across the street from our office and MAN is it some GOOD PEOPLE WATCHING! And the best part is...they will pose in pics for you! Check it out...

Our Wedding Part 6 - The Reception

Ok so it took a while to get back here and finish my posting about the wedding....but here is the conclusion to one of the best days of my life!

After we were announced into the hall, we immediately had our first dance. Our song was Joshua Raiden featuring Ingrid Michaelson singing Lovely Tonight. Here is a LINK to a youtube of the song. It is so pretty!

After the first dance, and the parent dances, it was time for the speeches. They were great! My MOH, Melanie, Sean's BM Chris and my BFF Tori all spoke. They were sweet, heart-felt and hilarious!

After speeches and dinner - it was time to party! I think the margarita fountain helped everyone cut loose!

At the end of the night we posed for a group shot. How fun!

And still found time to have some stolen kisses!

So much fun! I wish we could do it again (not the planning part though - just the fun party part!)

Columbia, MD is CNN Money's #2 place to live in the Nation. Here's why I agree...

The results are in...Columbia/Ellicott City, MD is the #2 bestest place to live in all the nation. LINK I moved to Columbia a year ago and I couldn't agree more. From my drab, concrete and brick street in Baltimore city to the lush, tree-lined streets of Howard County - I am completely converted to a suburbanite! Here's why:

1. Trees and Birds and Little Animals! I saw a bunny in our front yard yesterday, and there is a crazy chipmunk that lives behind the house. And the birds! THE BIRDS! If you know me, you know I love the birdies. There is a male and female cardinal couple that live in the small patch of woods behind our house and they like to snack at our birdfeeder. It's awesome. Now, I could do without the woodpecker tappin' on the side of the house - but I'll take that over the giant rats and cockroaches of the city any day!

There are also a bunch of trails all around Columbia. Many are paved and have little bridges over streams. There is a trail behind our neighborhood that has a little playground too. So awesome!

2. There are no tacky signs directing you to the "village centers" where the grocery stores and shops are. Granted, if you dont' know your way around, it'll be hard to find your local Giant, but if you are a resident - it's nice to not have all those tacky crapy signs everywhere. It's just trees and greenery and happiness!

3. We have an awesome public library system. Now Sean can get all his nerd lectures for free and I can continue to borrow books on tape - which reduces my road rage during the commute. Everyone wins!

4. The shopping! I mean...come on.....there is everything you could possibly need in Columbia! A great mall, every major retailer a HUGE JoAnn Fabrics w/a full craft area. Awesome!

5. The restaurants! There are some great places to eat in Columbia. My favorite by far is Sushi Sono. They have some fantastic rolls incuding the Bridal Veil Roll. So good!

It's right on the Kittimicundi Lake too, which is awesome!

images from Sushi Sono Website

6. My husband and animals are here. Again, this is just me - but it's my favorite part of Columbia! Horray!

New things are coming!

So, I haven't taken pictures of these items alone yet, so I can't list them on my store...but I had to share them with you all now. Consider this a sneak peek. My dear friend Yen and I went to the gem and jewelry show last weekend and spend 5 HOURS looking at beads! She is such a trooper, and really helped me to pick out items that I probably wouldn't naturally gravitate to. It was so much fun! (Sean was very happy to be left home on this outing!)

Anyway, my bestest friend WB came over last night and modeled my new designs for my shop. She has lovely ears and neck! (What a good friend, huh)? Anyway - I can't just use these photos alone on the shop so I have to do the rest of the photography over the weekend and then start posting! In the meantime - enjoy!

Our Wedding Part 5 - Pictures before the Reception

So let me just say again before I post any pictures that our photographer Lindsay is AWESOME! She came to the site a few days before the wedding and found this amazing wooded path and field literally steps from the carriage house. We had NO CLUE it was there! These few moments in the woods before the reception were amazing! It was nice to have some time alone to catch these amazing shots. I don't even know what else I can say about these other than...enjoy!

P.S. If you're looking for an awesome photographer, PLEASE do yourself a favor and hire Lindsay MacDonald! Click here to go to her website.

A new nook with a new look!

So I have to take a little departure from my wedding recaps to share my new happy place with you. As I'm sure you are all aware - and probably sick of hearing about - I have started making jewelry. This has turned into way more of a hobby than I could have ever imagined. I have been having so much fun learning different tecniques and creating new things. I had no idea a hobby like this could be so rewarding.

That being said....I have accumulated a lot of stuff. Stuff necessary to make all these pretty things. And...well, I've outgrown my little craft corner.

there is nowhere to work here anymore...just piles of supplies!

So....I asked Sean if we could come up with some other solution. First we talked about moving a dresser out of the room and expanding along the wall. No, that wouldn't work. Then we talked about me moving to the laundry room - but there are no air vents in there so I would probably freeze to death in the winter. Plus that is a little too close to the "man cave" for my taste. So....we decided on me taking over the closet in the guest room. It's recent role was that of "catch all" for stuff I didn't want to deal with. It was one of those closets where you put something in and shove the door - hoping it will shut. It housed a winter comforter, an airmatress with a hole in it, and wrapping paper from 5 years ago.

yikes!

Because he hates shopping with a passion, Sean offered to clean out the closet while I went shopping at Ikea for a desk to fit into the closet. I couldn't have been happier. Sean clean while I shop? Bliss! I picked out the perfect desk and Sean got to work putting it all together for me (he's the best!)

So handy!

I am so happy with the outcome! This is the perfect space to get the creative juices flowing. I made so many new pieces this weekend and was able to lay everything out. It is so easy to see all of the diffrent supplies I have on hand now. And the best part is, when I'm done I can just shut the door and you'd never even know it was there. (Perfect to keep the kitties out too!)

What craft nook?

ta da!

little slice of heaven right here!

So yeah....that's my new creative space. It's amazing what you can do with a closet!

Our Wedding Part 4 - The Ceremony

Most memorable moment of the day:

Definitely the ceremony. It was so amazing to be standing there in front of all of our family and friends and proclaim our love. It almost felt surreal – I couldn’t hear anything except for the officiant and Sean. It’s indescribable how amazing those few minutes were.

Sean walking down the isle with his parents

This is it! Moments before walking down the isle!

Sealed with a kiss!

We're married!!

I remember looking at Sean at this moment and just being amazed that he is my husband! All of the planning came down to this moment - and here we are, walking down the isle as husband and wife. Mr. & Mrs. Diamond! So awesome!

Our Wedding Part 3 - The day of...

I will admit the day of the wedding...I was exhausted! We had worked our tails off the day before decorating and then I was so excited that I got MAYBE 3 hours of sleep. I looked and acted like a zombie for a good couple of hours that morning. People kept telling me how calm I was - but I think I was just in a sleep deprived coma. Thankfully as the day went on I got more and more excited and "with it" if you will.

After breakfast, the girls went to the salon for hair and makeup. It was lots of fun!

After our beautification - we went to the hall to hang out, get dressed and get ready for the ceremony. I honestly was very relaxed yet excited that it was almost time! I had a great time those last few moments hanging out with my friends and family as we all got ready!