A little home-keeping in the midst of wedding madness

I'm going crazy with wedding stuff right now; so busy that I don't even have time to write about myself! (That's pretty busy.)

I did take the time to notice two lovely flowers blooming right now in our front yard, some sort of iris and a sweet orange gerbera daisy:

Pretty, no?

I wish I could take a decent photo that shows the front yard in all its glory. Kyle really keeps it looking fabulous. I'm so lucky. :)

But before I could appreciate the outdoors this morning, I had the displeasure of facing my nemisis:

The hair-clogged tub drain.

One of the down sides of having long hair is that it eventually falls off your head and collects - everywhere. The bathroom is especially plagued with my hair. And the tub drain is no exception.

I've noticed the water taking longer and longer to drain, and this morning I couldn't take it any more. It's my fault, after all.

Thank goodness for my hero Cheryl Mendelson and her book "Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House." Most of my friends will tell you that I love this book, as I've raved about it in the past. But I can't help it - it's so useful, and written well to boot!

For clearing a slow drain (not a fully stopped-up one), she suggests the following:

1. Start boiling a gallon of water (yes, you'll need a big pot). Get out some baking soda and vinegar.

2.Get as much stuff out of the drain manually as possible. (This is the most disgusting thing ever; I will not go into what hair and soap scum comingle as in a drain.)

3. Pour 1/2 to 1 cup of baking soda down the drain. Then pour 1/2 to 1 cup of household vinegar down after it. This will result in some fizzing, which mechanically breaks up some of the gunk.

4. Cover the drain if possible and let sit for five minutes.

5. Pour the gallon of boiling water down the drain.

Now, like I said, it only works for slow-moving drains - clearing a clogged drain is another post altogether.

Two Wedding Books - One hilarious and inspiring

I recently finished two books on weddings. The one I finished last night, "The DIY Wedding: Celebrate Your Day Your Way," by Kelly Bare, was a disappointment. I don't know what I was expecting. Either more - more resources, more details, or less - with more theory and fewer suggestions. It didn't help that much of the font was pink-on-white, and even worse, sometimes it was pink-on-(lighter) pink! Hard to read, and a little boring.

However, "Offbeat Bride" by Ariel Meadow Stallings, was a real pleasure. More for inspiration and ideas than step-by-step suggestions, it's the story of Stallings' own offbeat wedding, interwoven with anecdotes from other brides, including how to deal with not-so-offbeat friends and family who want to reign in your vision.

It's also hilarious. I wish I had the book next to me so I could type the excerpt where a concerned friend-of-the-family asks if she's considered the the "c-word."

The author's mental reaction?

"The only 'c-word' I knew ended with '-unt', and while I had given it consideration, I'm not sure where she was going with this."

Of course, the family friend meant "children."

Just as importantly to me, it wasn't "indie-than-thou." While I am not the most traditional bride, I'm not very "indie" either. I won't be wearing a big white cream-puff from David's Bridal, but I won't be wearing a goth-bride purple gown either - as one of the brides who posted to Stallings' awesome web site http://offbeatbride.com did.

Stallings has this to say about wedding-as-contest:

I've run into this a lot in talking to people about their weddings — the dirty flip-side of "my wedding is too weird" is "my wedding isn't weird enough." Both sentiments make me sad because your wedding is not a contest.


As your resident alt-lifestyle consultant, please allow me to state this clearly: brides do not need more ways to feel bad about our weddings.

I didn't write Offbeat Bride as a judgment — I've gone to traditional weddings that were beautiful expressions of the couple's backgrounds and beliefs. I wrote the book to act a cheerleader for those wrestling with making nontraditional decisions about their wedding — not as an admonishment of those who chose otherwise.