Advice – Learning Machine

Paris Tips – Internet Access – Free and Not – For unfortunate souls like me

So… in the nonstop sitcom that is my life (minus the laugh track and the ability to change the channel quickly) I currently am with out electricity at home for an extended period of time. This means no internet as well. Which is definitely not the first time I have encountered a long period of no internet since moving here due to my many apartment moves.

But you get to profit from these experiences with my list of suggestions for: If you are traveling in Paris or live in Paris and need that sweet sweet internets.

Free Internet in Paris

That’s a keyword phrase for ya!

Your potential view as you use the free city offered Wifi at Parc de la Tour Saint Jacques.

Libraries – You do not have to be a resident to enjoy the perks of libraries. Not only can you get a library card without live in Paris but also there is free good internet access, desks, serenity, power outlets and the ability to brag you were in the library all day. If possible, always check the opening hours as they can vary (usually closed sundays and mondays and open afternoons only during the summer).
– Library Locations (in French)
Parks and other Public Places- You heard it. Free wifi in the what seems to be most the public parks in Paris plus some other spots. No power outlets but lots of basking in the grass like a vrai Parisian.
– Parks such as: Buttes Chaumont, Parc de Belleville and Tour de Saint Jacques – Full Park Listing Here (in French)
– Listing of all Free Wifi Spots and Instructions thanks to the Marie Here (English)
McDonalds – Okay, not free as you SHOULD purchase something but you can always sneak in there and show it to the man if need be. I hate to admit it but McDonalds has saved my life as a traveler several times. Toilets, food, cheap coffee (actually not too bad espresso in Paris), a rare power outlet and internet is nice.
Apple Stores – Rumor has it offer free internet and computer use… if you can squeeze your way into one. They are always crowded so no porn perusing!

Free (with purchase) Internet in Paris

Café at my favorite bar/café which happens to have free wifi.

Some Cafés – You gotta keep an eye out but some cafés and brassieries advertise free wifi (usually posted on a small sticker on their door) like my favorite café L’Assassin in the 11ème. Be sure to buy something though! Also power outlets will not always be available. If you are only going to buy a drink, be sure not to sit at a table with dish settings as to not raise their ire. The best perk if you come there enough you may reach the coveted “regular” status.
Starbucks – Depending on the branch, you need to use a code on your receipt to activate an hour or more internet use. Power outlets sometimes are available. While not as common as in the US, you also can find Starbucks in Paris, mostly in the center of the city a.k.a. the business arrondissements/quarters.
FreeWifi and Other Citywide Wifi Telecom Providers – FreeWifi is not free. It is woefully/trick-fully the name of a company. You in fact need to have an account or a very nice friend with an account, BUT if you can score one, these providers do give city/country wide wireless codes with most telecom accounts. Let’s say you actually live in Paris but are awaiting or internet carrier to hook things up, ask them what your citywide Wifi login details are to get a jump on things. In fact that is how I am typing/saving this article. right. now.
You can also connect to their services “SFR”, “Orange”, “FreeWifi”, etc and see if you have the ability to buy a day pass.
Internet Cafés – All around the city you can find internet cafés with computer/internet booths, usually indicated by a neon glowing @. In addition there is the chain called Mlik which is open 24/7. These places are also useful if you need to print, fax, scan something (paperworrrrkkkk?) or call someone. I tend to price shop (walk and look at the menus of several I pass) before I decide who to patronize as prices will vary.
Coffee Shops with Work Stations or Internet Access – I do not know many but I do see them starting to pop up, like Craft. There is sometimes a minimum order or fee, such as, 9EUR at Craft.
Coworking Spaces – Coworking spaces or labs are where you can collaborate with other professionals or work on your own personal projects privately at a big person desk or on a cool person comfy couch. They include places like Super Belleville, La Mutinerie and La Tank, La Cantina and La Rouche. Some do require a pre-application or monthly signup. While others you can rent hourly or use the space for free during certain periods and networking events.
– You can find a list of coworking spaces on the TechList for Paris – here.

Blurry picture from my last yummy productive visit to Craft.

Rewind a bit… why does Sheila have no electricity?

Even this little dog has internet - Paris Subway Add — Even this little dog has internet and electricity – Paris Subway Ad

So in my recent move to a new apartment I messed up in signing up for electricity. They shut it off August 1st… and the first appointment we could make because our neighborhood/arrondisement’s office is on vacation is August 16th. No joke. August in Paris is the worse.

Let’s take this as a learning lesson. When you move into an apartment you have two months to change it to your name after the old tenant has cancelled it and be sure to VALIDATE our contract. I messed up the steps and did not reply to a text that was sent to me to validate the contract (EDF is the carrier), hence the shut off.

C’est la vie. – S

Now where were we? – Paris Life – Season 4?

[Insert another Blog start opening blurb]

Introducing my newly branded (rough-draft) and moved expat blog (albeit in potentially perpetual beta mode). Really only the logo design is done. ;p

Translation: American Flowers in Paris

First you must know that the Learning Machine, still exists but will be solely be professional or nontravel/expat ramblings. While this new little niche shall be my hide out for all the things I find fit to share in my growth as an American abroad in Paris.

While I have not been writing here for months now… I have been digesting and figuring out life in Paris. It has been a labor of love which I am becoming ready to share. So we will see how these little writings will make their debut to the world and how often. But we might as well get started.

Carpé journée.

Life Update

Now where were we? Season 3, looking back at the archive. I have now been amid what I would consider Season 4 for quite a while.

Austin is in a new job. We have moved at least two times since last time I wrote, now living in upper 11th of Paris or lower Belleville neighborhood. We were able to take our first real vacations in years, traveling to the Mediterranean and Sweden.

Stockholm was pretty - August 2013 — Stockholm was pretty – August 2013

I took a professional pause to work on my French and some personal projects (including a non-profit dance exchange in Paris which welcomed over 200 dancers from around the world). And now I am back on the “find a job I can be passionate about (preferably in French)” train. Going well despite I decided to board this train in the summer time a.k.a. unemployed deadman’s land.

Still I am optimistic and have been talking with a couple exciting companies that hopefully I will get to announce in the coming months once the living return to Paris.

Overall life as an expat (especially in the last month) has semi-smoothed out, especially due to my gained proficiency in French, seeking stability and simplifying my commitments.

And of course we love Paris more than ever.

Napoleon graffiti agrees (spotted in Paris)

Though we have not had electricity for the past week and a half… but that is a post for another time.

After School Special

What have I learned so far this Season? Let’s make this semi-educational.

EXPAT LIFE LESSON #121: Hey man, you are already an expat… do not take on the rest of the world as well.

Not a fancy picture but a genuine one. Taken when we decided one night to take a break, picnic on the Seine overlooking the Eiffel Tower, and take a moment to appreciate what we have and why we work so hard to keep it.

Simplify, delve into your new life and concentrate on some (read: not all) positive and productive activities!

Because this is not your past life, you have a new obligatory hobby: Figuring out a new culture, language and way of life.

Until the next post – S

Seven Tips For Keeping Creative While on Deadline

Creativity is for hippies… and well everyone else as well.

In my previous post (“Ode to the Art of Product Development.”), I waxed on the artsiness of product and UX development. Still these professions are not always treated so. Often there is a trap that even I fall into, where we expect that anyone can plan/layout a site as long as they understand user experience concepts or the product goals. And that when the site moves to the graphic designers, that’s when the real artsy magic happens.

But it takes some serious problem solving, inspiration and creativity to lay out a site in a logical, readable, attractive manner that supports the product goals and suits the target market’s needs. This especially can get difficult with more “tool” like websites that must be easy to use for a variety of different workflows. Or for those in product development, discovering that perfect product or “tool” for your market.

Creativity_504x428 — Glad I never worked in a place like this...

Knock Knock. Mr. Deadline who?

But we don’t have time! Deadlines press on us and the world turns! And often we try to set a time limit on the product and UX design process.

2365.strip — Sometimes an hour is not enough...

Marty Cagan speaks about this in his book Inpired: How to Create Products Users Love (a must read for web professionals even if you are not a product manager recommended to me by the awesome Mr. Tim Rosenblatt). I feel that this conundrum of needing to meet deadlines but allowing time for creativity effects all areas of the web development process including UX design, marketing and software development.

Following are some tips that help me when on deadline and needing to work quickly and creatively… Applicable to all though I may tend to write from a product/ux/consultant point of view.

1. Research Should Not Be Sacrificed

No matter how snap the decisions have to be made: do not let it snap your necks. As in, take the time to do SOME research, even if you have to timebox it to a short period of time. This research can be as simple as searching the internet for inspiration. All your decisions need to be informed, and being more informed will in the end give you more ideas, helping with your creativity. Best yet, giving you informed ideas!

2. Keep Open

While working under pressure do not let that limit you (easy to say, huh?). Maybe you won’t have time to wireframe out all your pearls. But atleast start by listing or sketching out all your ideas before pursuing one. As with research, to ensure you stay on deadline be sure to timebox your brainstorm session.

What is key is to not judge these ideas right away. The biggest poison to creativity is closing yourself off by judging prematurely. SURE the idea may be stupid at first, but if you have a little time to follow the thought process out you may arrive at a golden solution. And if you train your brain to judge your ideas immediately, you shut yourself off from fully utilizing its creativity. Meaning, less ideas come out when you blockoff pathways. Also, when you move on to picking the key ideas you will pursue, you still have a list of ideas to fall back on.

3. Keep Focused Via the POWER OF LISTS

I. Love. Lists. As anyone that knows me… well, knows. YES keep open but at a certain point you need to hone in (or clear the clutter of your frantic mind). The best way to keep your priorities straight is to have lists. Make a list at least of your top product goals (or other goals if you are not a product manager). Also a clear list of feedback is good, when reviewing your solution for a 1st, 2nd or 3rd time. Try to keep these lists short though… even with feedback, try to boil it down to key points.

Now you have these lists, use them. When you get lost, refer back to them and center yourself. Another reason why for product manager’s personas (<– click there to read all about the magic of personas) are key!

4. Digitally Brainstorm, Save Trees, Save Time

For the first three tips you could do this on paper. And for sketching that is often the fastest unless you have a tablet and software skills. But for the rest, try to do this using google docs, a word processor program or a awesome list software like WorkFlowy.

Why? Because when the time comes to present your ideas, spec your ideas, etc, you already have them typed up. Clean them up and VOILA. Saves you time from parsing your scribbles on paper and transcribing them for that power point. Yay, for copy and paste! In addition, those brainstormed ideas are digitally saved for later.

5. Feedback early and often

No one likes to waste their time (or your client’s, colleagues, etc). You will find when you are working close with your client (maybe even in the same room) you will move faster. Or if this is not a client situation, your teammates, test user, etc. Like in a game of Marco Polo, you need to get feedback often or you may hit into the wall of the pool opposite from your target.

PUBLIC POOLS — For those who have not played Marco Polo. Basically you close your eyes and flail around in a pool trying to tag your friends. When you call "Marco", they must respond "Polo", helping you find them.

Do not do get feedback via email – if possible. Even if you have to arrange an impromptu, walk over to your client/boss/colleague’s desk for advice or video skype meeting, be sure not to waste your time writing up some big email just to get quick feedback. Also that way you can see their reaction first hand and quell any worries on their behalf.

6. Feedback as Inspiration

To continue the last tip’s line of thought, you need to strike a balance between showing people your product too early and shutting them off from you following that train of thought and getting the feedback you need. This is especially true for consulting… and I could write a whole novel on this. So while I encourage early feedback, do take some time to fully explain your idea and make it clear this is just the beginning of the baby’s life. Depending on the client, you will have to find the sweet spot, where early is not too soon.

What is important is, do not let feedback/judgement stymy your creativity. Take it as a challenge/new aspect to design around and not necessarily a reason to move on immediately. Feedback is not a final deathtoll and is is just a reason to reflect and adapt your idea. At points you do need to give up the ghost on an idea, but the first negative feedback should not be the death rattle. And starting over should be avoided especially when on deadline, unless with more feedback you realize its a deadend. Even then parts and main concepts learned for your idea should be salvaged (thank you Mr. lists).

7. Take a break

When especially frustrated… take a walk! Bounce a ball against the wall! Or if you cannot rip yourself from the computer, just peruse the internet for inspiration. Something as simple as searching for your key goal words in google images, to see what comes up. Work smarter, not harder.

GO TO YOUR HOME!

So in summary, the above tips are for creativity when in a pinch. There are of course more tips necessary just to ensure you MEET your deadline. Such as avoiding the dreaded feature creep beast. But that is a post for another time..

Let’s end with a laugh shall we? This is what I think about every time I cannot figure out where to place an item while wireframing:

You too good for your home? – S

Life is a Carnival… when on a cruise.

Ready to embrace deadly sin #3 and #7? Take a cruise! Food, food, food, food, food, food, laying around, lots of fatness, red neon burns and food. People say they want to lose weight for a cruise but honestly as long as you take neck up pictures, cruises are the safest fat zones ever. Because there will always be someone fatter than you, redder than you & wearing less clothes than you.

But enough of the pithiness. I enjoy cruises. Though they make me feel slightly guilty in their extravagance. They are pound for pound (literally) the best value you can get from a vacation and a nice departure from the usual hectic, you have to remember to do stuff vacations. Because the beauty about the cruise is, other than liquor, souvenirs and some tipping, everything is paid for up front. So all you have to do is show up. Then you can meander the ship, either taking advantage of the onslaught of onboard activities (karaoke, mini golf, wall climbing, etc) or just catch some sun with a drink. And I don’t even like sun. Then all of a sudden you arrive in an exciting location for 8 hours but even then you could stay on the boat. If you do get off the boat, you can meander around that exciting location and then meander back on boat. I say this with great love for my fiance but our first cruise we fought for exactly zero percent of the time. And that’s not to say we fight a lot but usually with vacations/site seeing there’s bound to be at least a small tiff. With cruises they take out the messy part of “having to be responsible for yourself” in order to enjoy yourself or get somewhere. That leads to a very stress free vacation. Especially if you don’t have the internet so can’t check work email. I’m sure there were ways to get to it but I did not look…

My History With Ships

Austin and I have taken two cruises in the last year:

Royal Caribbean – Monarch of the Seas – 3 days – Bahamas & Coco Cay – for our 4 year anniversary.
Carnival – Inspiration – 5 days – Grand Caymens & Couzumel – took our mom’s as their christmas present

We were frightened about trying Carnival after a SUPER awesome first cruise with Royal Caribbean. We heard that it just wouldn’t be up to snuff. To be honest we found ourselves constantly and sometimes obnoxiously comparing Carnival to Royal Caribbean (“Well you know on Royal Cariiibbeaaannn…”) BUT the difference was not that stark. And while we liked Royal Caribbean better, Carnival was still VERY good and we would take a cruise with them again, especially since they are cheaper. You get what you pay for but you still get a pretty good deal!

Royal Caribbean vs. Carnival: Sudden Death

Some key comparisons and tips (sorry for the table style… you’ll have to imagine the borders):

Criteria	Royal Caribbean	Carnival	Stuff To Know
Food	Pretty Impressed!	Wasn’t as impressed but still delectable.	Good selection on both. Pretty much unending food. Carnival might have had more nonstop food. Pace yourself… its not going anywhere.
Dining Methods	If you pay your tips when buying your tickets (there’s an obligatory $7-$10 per person per day tip) you can get “My Time Dining”. Which means you have to select a time block (early or late) but each day you can go to the Maitre De and select a specific time and server depending on your mood. We got to know our server (Tony!) so we always asked for him. You then can show up at that time and get sat straight away rather then waiting. It’s European style though, as in, you get sat possibly with other groups. But we enjoyed the chance to meet other people and on our anniversary celebration date they sat us alone on request. We really enjoyed this method of dining. They also have the option of sit down breakfast.	Carnival once again you choose Early or Late but there is only one seating time. Though they would still sit you if you come late. You also get an assigned table which is nice but we missed meeting random people at dinner. One thing nice which Royal Caribbean may have had but perhaps we didn’t take advantage of was you could have sit down dining for Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. We preferred this rather than buffet style, very relaxing. For Breakfast and Lunch you get sat randomly sometimes with others groups. Tip per day is paid at the end.	Cruise sit down dining is certainly an experience… an extravagance. I just never truly was able to sit down and order five entrees if I wanted without one single care of the bill. Because there is no bill. In fact, on Royal Carribean since we were the last dining group they PUSHED us to order more, because it was going to go to waste anyway. Both also offer free room service. Which we never took advantage of. Bring extra cash if you want to reward your favorite servers. Which they will become your chums and you will want to.
Service	Amazing!!	Very good. Very close to Royal Caribbean. Maybe not as lavish though?	It’s AMAZING what good service you get even though your servers aren’t asking for a tip. I was expecting to have crappy service but cruise service is the best I’ve ever had. Both cruiselines employ people from allll over the world and they take their job seriously and with pride. It was very interesting and fun to meet such diverse and happy people. I still remember everyone who served us as they really become part of our vacation experience. Thanks Tony, Slavko, Rado & Aslam! But honestly I found overall that service is better over seas, so perhaps its the “take your time and dine” mentality of europe and aisa I like. I could sit for hours in a Parisian bistro/cafe with only a cup a coffee without any dirty looks from the server…. not so much in the US. But then again servers more have to rely on tips in the states it seems. Tipping is not obligatory overseas. Hence why foreigners get a bad rap when they come to the US, as they are not used to tipping.
Onboard Activities	Rock climbing, dance shows, trivia gameshows, gambling, gamboling, karoake, ping pong, live music, weird old people grinding night clubs, meetups & lots of sun.	Same stuff only not as good dance shows and minigolf and water slides instead of Rock Climbing. We did less on this cruise but the quality seemed fine and they were better about announcing things coming up.	Do as little or as much as you want. Most activities are free, some have fees like wine tastings. Both will have a daily newsletter keeping you up to date.
Cabin	Nice, clean, small, dark.	Bigger! I suppose this depends on the ship but we were very impressed on the size and cleanliness. People were constantly cleaning and tje rooms were immaculate. For a cheaper cruise we were impressed. They also had this feature which was a fake window (pictures to follow/really it was a curtain with a light behind it) which at first I laughed at but was pretty nice, made it feel less like a closet. The fake window did not follow daylight outside so you could keep it dark if you wanted. Surprisingly enough though Carnival’s rooms were not as dark as Royal Caribbean’s so it wasn’t as disorientatingly tomb like. I think the door wasn’t as tight? You can take that as a plus or minus. I like to be buried.	Bring a watch… your cellphone will not be reliable and while they have wake up calls you will want to not TOTALLY lose your sense of time. Our first cruise we forgot and ended up buying one on the boat. Water proof is best. This is also useful for when you are off the boat and need to know when to return.
Alcohol	We were to scared to sneak on alcohol though we heard of many people successful on the ship (disguising it as soda or just checking it). We ended up spending quite a bit on alcohol, but the drinks were priced at a reasonable bar price and well mixed and strong. Tipping was appreciated and you could choose the amount.	Mixed drinks sucked. And seemed more expensive. Also, the tip was included. BUT Carnival allows you to bring on a 750ml bottle of wine per person for the departure day. We filled the bottles with colored vodka and corked them. It was excellent. So we ended up saving money on that. Still spent a lot of money though…	Great thing about Cruises is that you can buy cheap alcohol to take home after the cruise. Sometimes buy one get one! We always stock up. They do not let you have it until you leave so that’s not an option for drinking on the boat. One thing to note is that if you want to buy alcohol off the ship, lets say Grand Caymans you have to do it as much as 2 hours before departure so they can deliver it to the ship. We got burned on this. But at Couzumel you could carry it on and check it! So you’ll want to check on this at each port of call, as ships don’t really advertise it as they want you to buy on board. Also, both cruiselines allow you to take on soda in your checked baggage. You can use this as a trojan horse just to ensure your alcohol doesn’t get confiscated. I heard some stories of that. Or you could use it to bring on soda/water/juice… Soda you have to pay for. But you can get a soda pass which makes it cheaper. Side note: on Royal Caribbean cappuccinos at dinner you had to pay for (Carnival it was free).
Decor	Very nice.	Very crazy disco casino (perhaps to encourage you to go to the casino). But it was an older ship. My mom was not drinking and claimed that looking at the main atrium lights for more then 15 minutes made her feel drunk. Also really dark in the main atrium… rather then light and airy. Just strange. But not tooo obnoxious. You’ll see in the pictures to follow… Also the main buffet room looked like the inside of an alien that swallowed you.
Off the Boat/Excursions	Did one snorkel trip in Bahamas. Was nice!	Did none. Found a local excursion to do.	Both cruiselines seem to offer a variety of excursions. But two things to note: 1. Will be more expensive then going on a tour given by the locals. 2. They will leave you if you get delayed by your tour if you are on a tour that is noncruiseline affiliated. So its up to you. Pay more but be secure? Or pay less and risk being left? But to be honest, if you just take tours with buffer time, you will most likely be fine. In Grand Caymans, we took a 3 hour Sting ray petting/snorkeling excursion and it ROCKED and was at least $60 cheaper per person then the boat one. Technically you don’t even have to plan that far ahead though we made reservations. Just walk off the boat, peruse the different signs for local tours bombarding you as you get off the boat and go! Don’t get robbed. ;p I would say, if you are interested in snorkeling, bring your own gear for islands you can snorkel right off the beach (Coco Cay, Couzumel). Otherwise you have to pay $40 to rent them. In Couzumel we just rented a jeep and drove around stopping and ruins and beach side bars. It was only $70 with insurance and a lot of fun! Though potentially nerve wracking of the place has bad traffic.

So overall both good.

Picture Recap

Just a few pictures from our last Carnival cruise. A few more here….

Austin with our corked vodka. You could probably get screw top and glue it to look like its sealed.

Carnival Room. It’s roomy! We have a window!

Or its a terrible lie…

Dress up night with our lovely mothers.

Tattoo’d and white.

Dancing with Aslam our Waiter

Man dance a little in the crazy disco atrium and you become a cruise star. Old people love to see swing dancing.

So I guess that’s it! Try a cruise even if you hate the sun like me! Because some sun is good. And relaxation is even better. Also check out: http://www.vacationstogo.com/. Never have done me wrong. Though a travel agent helped us find a single for cheaper on our last cruise.

Next I review Tom Cruise – S

Our Wedding Part I

So the masses want to know how far I’ve gotten in my wedding planning. So let me introduce our special day… so far. I’m doing this in a brief list summary of our steps in chronological order with some insight inserted.

So Austin asked me to marry him on July 2nd, 2009 (you can read about it here) and we set about wedding planning…

We let everyone know! And picked our wedding party.
The date: 10.10.10. Why?
Location: This was our primary concern since this is a popular date, and securing a location would secure the date. I’ll be honest we kinda went into it blind and probably could have saved money if we a) did it in our family’s hometown (Port St. Lucie) or b) done some research. We ended up just driving over to St. Petersburg two hours away, a location we have sentimental attachment to, going to a few places my mom found and choosing! We couldn’t make a decision between our two favorites so we chose both! Still they are affordable and fun, so no regrets here. Really Austin and I aren’t super outdoorsy but we wanted to design a wedding that would be very “Florida” since many of our guests will be out of towners taking their vacation. Austin and I would elope in a second our real goal is to have an intimate, fun and awesome excuse for everyone to get together and party.
- Rehearsal dinner at Ceviche – The small restaurant chain which is our absolute favorite and where we celebrated our engagement. This will be photo themed and we already are picking out some oldies but goodies from our albums. As per tradition we are keeping this to family and bridal party.
- Ceremony at Sunken Gardens -A hidden gem in St. Petersburg we will be exchanging vows under a 200 year old oak canopy. Below is my mama & Austin in the pavilion.
- Bus them all over to Honey Moon Island – The beach is ours after sunset as we party in an open air pavilion!
  We are keeping decorations to a minimum, because why do we need it when we have the beach/jungle as our decoration? Also less stress and stuff to throw away afterwards… Luckily the reception location has a set tasty caterer which includes everything.. makes it simple. Also, shortly after our location trip we secured a block of rooms at a nearby hotel, VERY important for a destination wedding.
Budget: We kind of started this before location shopping (and really should have finalized it before) but we definitely finalized it before signing the contracts! Just wanted to insert this to show how important it is although it may be awkward to sit down with your family discuss it. See what they can contribute and ensure no matter what you can cover it!
Guest List: This was very very hard, in fact the hardest part for me so far in the process. I know a lot of people and want them there, but with us trying not blow our whole nest egg we decided to limit the event to close family and bridal party. Besides it will be more intimate and HOPEFULLY I can spend time with each guest. A few others slipped in, but I had to be as assertive as possible with ourselves and our family. LUCKILY Sunken Gardens’ Oak Pavilion can only accommodate 75, so that helps keep us on track. Before the wedding we are hoping to have a sendoff dance/party with the rest of our buds.
Color Scheme: I first started with a pink and brown scheme but then switched over to a tropical peacock theme shortly after selecting our location. Brown in a jungle would be bad… I used Kuler by Adobe to create the color palette. I am a BIG proponent of getting this decided a.s.a.p. and just sticking with it (not that I’m great about staying on theme…), so that you can move forward with designing your wedding. Kuler makes it easy and it’s free!

Austin and I are peacock colors. Although I’ve never met a peacock I liked… but it’s pretty and tropical! Tee hee!

Bridal Party Color Scheme: Each of the ladies will be a different Florida Flower!
Now we had a theme I designed us a logo. Branding is important to me… its the one piece of glue keeping this A.D.H.D. wedding together!

Website – http://wedding.austinandsheila.com created! Very important for getting the information out quickly to all those needing to know information, especially if they are traveling far. We asked people to early r.s.v.p. and that’s been SEMI successful… not really. Hopefully they’ll be better when they get the invitation.
Brides Maid’s Dresses – Coordinating via email we picked these out and ordered them. I’ll leave them as a surprise. I’m glad we did it so quickly because if you are going with traditional bridesmaids dresses IT TAKES SOOOO LONG for them to come in. We ordered them in January and they won’t be in until May… All my bridesmaids are out of state, in fact two are over seas! Thank god for gmail/googledocs and the internet.
Save-the-Dates – We had soooo many different ideas on how to announce our date. We ended up throwing in another facet to our tropical wedding, a tourist/destination feel. So I came up with these magnets (ordered from vistaprint.com) that we attached postcard backs to:

I sent this to my maid of honor with no envelope to test if sending a big magnet in the mail as a postcard would work (sorry hard drives it came into contact with). But it showed up a little torn. So we ended up keeping the postcard back but mailing it in an envelope. Bummer but let me sleep at night.
Engagement Photos – An engagement photo shoot is super fun and if your photographer offers it, go for it! Awesome to document this wonderful time of your life, as well as, great content to use in your invitations or website if you design them. Austin luckily is a big ham so we had a lot of fun, despite the cold, as our good friend and photographer Hilary Mercer took us on an all day shoot. Check out the results. Austin and I really only planned the first location (Lake Claire) and the two sets of outfits. From there we just roamed the city!
Bride’s Attire: I did not want to spend a lot on a dress that I would never wear again and knowing my eccentric tastes neither would any daughter, that I may spawn, want to wear it either. I anticipate a “trash the dress” shoot… I found my best option was prom dresses! MANY of the dresses could be ordered in white, still very princessy, LIGHT & cheaper. When I tried on traditional gowns I felt heavy and hot. Plus, what else is a wedding but your dream prom that you spend a lot of money on? One where you most certainly are prom queen and king? I’m going to keep my dress a secret but it is most awesome. I saw it online, hunted it down, tried it on & fell in love. As for the veil that is being pieced together because I’m crafty, with the help of some accents I bought from etsy.com.
Honey Moon/Registry: With little else to turn my attention to as most is planned or must wait until closer to the date, I started attacking our honey moon. Austin and I have it mostly set and at least purchased our initial tickets to Madrid. We have decided instead of asking for traditional home goods, we would like our guests to purchase us portions of our rockin’ honeymoon. We have been living together for four years so home goods… we got. But a rockin’ honeymoon? That’s new. Here’s a sneak peak at our registry set up through honeyfund.com. Our itinerary is ALMOST set, we might simplify it, but otherwise we are super excited. I’m sure I will in the future post a long diatribe about the dos and don’ts of planning this kind of trip.
Cake Topper: Put down our deposit on one by Sophia’s Workshop on Etsy.com. She did one for a friend of mine and I can’t WAIT to start the design process. Check her out but keep in mind she has a waiting list.
Rings: This we just finished yesterday! Austin bought me a very unique engagement ring that requires a customized interlocking band to not look all goofy. Horrible resolution picture of initial ring:
Sketch of new ring! Notice how they wrap together? That’s the original diamond in the center.

We decided to follow a Victorian tradition I read about in some book (really authoritative huh?) of using the stones to spell out a message/word. Mine will have either aquamarine tear drop stones standing for Austin, or if I can figure out a good blue “F” stone, an aquamarine, the diamond from my engagement ring and then the “F” stone making Austin David Flores. Suggestions? Austin’s ring will have two sapphires laid out mimicking my ring, standing for Sheila Suarez. I don’t have a picture of his ring (oops) but its a thinner lighter (good for dancing) matte white gold band with polished cut edge.

So… that’s basically it! Many are surprised at either the geekiness/nonswing orientatedness of our wedding (including myself on the latter) but it’s all about family and joy and I like it damn it. Plus very few of our guests swing dance. :/ Though they will in fact cut a rug. Any way we shall not be pigeonholed, we are a many faceted duo!

We are in the process now of finalizing Austin and his groom’s outfits, creating the overall structure of our ceremony which will be administered by my maid of honor, then on to program designing, invitation designing, losing weight, flowers, center pieces, dj set list (we are just running a MP3 player), favors & finally some tastings! Maybe I do have quite a bit to do in the next 6 months…

Now you know. – S

TRY THAT MILK and Other Pre-Wedding Tips

This is the first in a series of “what I learned so far” wedding posts. Honestly only now with the wedding planning at a semi-lull (at that awkward not a lot to do until closer to the wedding stage) have I had the time to reflect on what I’ve learned! As well as, trying to help my maid of honor who is recently engaged plan her wedding in 7 months, helps rehash the memories. O. The horror.

So You Are Engaged?:

This may not work for everyone but I suggest to begin putting yourself into a “fake marriage” if you haven’t already. What does this mean?

Plan the Wedding Together: Or as much as possible! And when I mean planning, I mean not just the woman stereotypically ordering the man around, but both making all decisions together. Throughout the rest of your life you’ll be planning (hopefully) together, so start now. Planning a wedding can be an ordeal and is a BIG learning experience. Heck, for most people its the first and only 100-200 person two day event they’ll ever plan! Wedding planning can bring to surface a lot of family, personal and otherwise ticks. You’ll want to do this together and use it as a bonding experience and not just a hassle. Sure, if the woman relinquishes some of the control she might get a WOW cake BUT not only will she be less stressed (if you guys work well together) but he’ll feel he owns the day as well. It also means learning each others strengths. Maybe one is a better designer, they’ll take more of a lead there, but in the end both need to be happy and in agreement.
Move In: If you haven’t already moved in together. It doesn’t ruin the magic in fact it doubles it! Austin and I moved in together after a year… which may have been quick but we never regretted it. Comes down to this, it is the TRUE test of if you guys can work as a team and cohabitate. When you get married the least amount of surprises the better. What about this doubling the fun? Here’s my road plan for those with trepidations about ruining the magic.
1. Imagine moving in together in your first apartment, you’re saving money, learning about each other & giggling every night because you are having a sleepover with your bestbud. Better yet move into a place with roommates and each have your own room. Sleep in the same room but still have your haven (this is probably good after marriage as well). Roommates are good because they help you save money (we are planning a wedding after all) and they are a bit of social fun that doesn’t make you feel SO all alone with one person and that nothing will ever change before it even started to change.
2. Now a year later you get married and move into a new house/apt! Better yet, no roommates! You will be sick of them by now. This has all the newness you need plus you are prepared with “living with your hubby” skills. You still need all that fun stuff from your registry and you feel more married with just the two of you!
Start Merging Assets: There is no better test to see what you are getting yourself into then to see how your partner manages money and the responsibility of dispersing it to bill collectors. We weren’t sure how to go about it so I asked for advice from friends/family and finally decided to have one joint bank account and two personal ones. 90% of our paychecks go into our joint account and 10% go into our own personal accounts. I can’t even see his personal account and that is OKAY! This way we don’t feel guilty or have to explain to each other (and our budget) when splurging on ourselves, as well we can surprise each other with gifts!
Now Make Budget: Aside from the wedding budget which anyone could tell you should be your FIRST action when starting to plan (more on this later), you need a life budget! Austin and I use Mint.com and a spreadsheet that we share through Google Docs to keep us on track. Not only do we have a regular budget but a savings budget. This savings budget shows over the year how much we are saving and any big expenditures we are going to pay out from savings (vacations, loan lump-sums, foreseen medical expenses, etc). Budgets aren’t perfect so after we pay rent each month, Austin and I try to sit down & categorize our expenditures in Mint and tweak our budget if need be (or our drinking habits).

This post basically espouses knowing what you are getting yourself into it. Trying the milk first is not bad because when you buy the cow there’s a whole buncha new stuff and places to go with said cow. Playing house! So that when you do get married its not like getting dumped into a desert island with you and that person on the marriage license.

What now?

Next wedding themed post shall be about the nitty gritty start of wedding planning and some money saving tips I’ve realized a long the way.

nitty & gritty -S