Life is buzzing at the Bungalow. Snow birds are back. The weather is PERFECT for sitting on the patio. Long gone are the oppressing days of 115. Peoples’ moods are brighter and…
My sister, Mary, is getting married at Inside The Bungalow November 19th. I am beyond EXCITED! She is giving my mom and me a little creative freedom with the decorations. My sister and her fiance have done extensive traveling over the years so we thought it would be appropriate to give her wedding a travel theme, beginning with the invitations.
These were SOOO much fun to make. To do something similar you will need:
Packaging: Mary and Luke have a lot of guests coming in from out of town. They wanted to include places to stay, sights to see, and directions to the venue. The A-7 invitation pocketfold from Papers and More provided the perfect way to hold all the additional information they were offering their guests. I used an A-8 to mail the entire folder and an A-2 for the return envelope.
Invitation: I used the recommended size from Papers and More to design the actual invitation. I printed them out on an ink jet printer and used a paper adhesive spray to attach them to the invitations. (It was actually easier for me to get regular paper and cut it than to use the pre-ordered paper. My printer wouldn’t acknowledge it).
Passport: Aylee Bits has a wonderful template if you are wanting a passport only invitation. I actually created Mary and Luke’s using photoshop because it held all the information on where to stay, directions, etc. and I love to play. I put a single staple in the center.
Boarding pass: I actually purchased the boarding pass template from Remember When on Etsy and again changed a few things with photoshop to specialize it for Mary and Luke. These worked out really well as the r.s.v.p card.
Details: I used the Fiskars 12 inch Portable Rotary Trimmer (can be purchased at Michael’s with a 40% coupon). I tried a couple different types of rotary trimmers and this was by far the easiest and cheapest to use. There are different blades. I used the perforated blade to give the boarding pass an authentic appeal. I found it was easier to just fold the paper than using the scoring tool.
Check back over the next couple of weeks to see what other DIY projects we came up with plus some highlights of some of our other ITB Real Weddings. Soooo beautiful. Can’t wait to share!!!
Sweet Frances, our freeloading feline,
Should lose a few pounds from her waistline.
Yet she lies on the sill
Scouting geckos to kill
Then consumes them, dine after dine.
There once was a feline named Frances,
A slinky and cunning enchantress.
But when males came to call
She would hurl a hairball
Dashing her hope of romances.
Would you like to win a free yoga class? Compose your original Ode to Frances, post it on our Blog Comment Section and you could be judged the winner by our talented baristas!
Kim Karadashian (of You’ve Got to Be Kidding Karadashian infamy) was married on Saturday to the delight of the 30 billion dollar a year wedding industry — once pictures of her event appear in print, they are likely to spark a copying frenzy among brides who are currently planning a wedding. Because Ms Karadashian did not ask for my advice, and I am nothing if not the premier advice giver, I feel compelled to share with you some personal thoughts on weddings. Here we go!
Setting the budget is the first thing to do. Create a realistic budget based on a hard number of available funds (not potential funds like lottery winnings or a hoped for inheritance from great-uncle Harry), using common sense and not emotion as your guide.
Do not go into debt for your wedding! Remember that pesky student loan payment you are making every month? And the car payment? And so on. Having to make an additional payment to pay off your wedding from two years ago might get frustrating and could, potentially, negatively impact future decisions like home-buying or family planning.
Remember this mantra as you prepare for life together with your one and only: It is the marriage, not the wedding reception, that it’s all about.
Here is one final remark about Ms. Karadashian: she married at a secret location in Santa Barbara. That setting might not fit your budget. But, Inside the Bungalow is the best kept secret in Mesa, and we fit almost everyone’s budget! Please come see us tonight from 6-8pm for our Wedding Open House!
When Frances was younger and still quite timid, the MEOW MIX cat food tune, sung by yours truly, would often coax her from hiding and send her scurrying toward her feeding dish. She associated my singing voice with a pleasant experience-eating. Don’t misunderstand, my singing voice in and of itself is anything but pleasant; it is an experience akin to claws on a chalkboard, annoying and at times almost painful, and actually, I have been told that my speaking voice can be unpleasant at times as well -imagine !- but usually it’s my husband expressing that opinion and often in response to my questioning his TV programming choices; HOWMANY televised football games do you think we’re watching this weekend? Golf, AGAIN? But my singing meow, meow, meow, meow to Frances was like offering chocolate to a pregnant woman–put it down and move quickly out of the way (speaking of pregnancy, we are offering Prenatal Yoga on our fall schedule! Does shameless marketing never end?).
Frances still considers my rendition of meow, meow, meow, meow, music to her ears-my husband, not so much.
Remember, if you can identify where Frances is eating in the above picture, tell us when you come in today and receive 10% off your bill.
Please join us tonight for our weekly Wedding Open House from 6-8pm and let us escort you through ITB’s unique and charming venue in historic downtown Mesa. Maybe you will be the eager couple who allows us to feature your wedding story on ITB’s blog, under the headline, “Tulle Death Us Do Part!” We’ll chronicle your planning timeline as we learn about your choices, ideas, suggestions and oops, the occasional misstep in preparation for your distinctive event at Inside the Bungalow.
Back in the summer of 2008 as the economy was tanking and our financial future was becoming bleaker by the day (at times it seemed by the hour), a mama feral cat deposited four newborn kittens under the foundation of our yoga studio, then quietly stole away, abandoning her offspring as easily as a Generation Y-er abandons an underwater mortgage.
Not being cat fanciers at that time, and especially not having any extra money for kitty food, we set out to find safe and welcoming homes for these little feline creatures – two striped, one tabby, one grey. Almost immediately the two frisky and friendly, striped male kittens went to a home with four active boys who would provide lots of attention. The female kittens, however, refused to make themselves adoptable, hiding behind the house, under stairways, in bushes, successfully avoiding human contact – as evasive as Willie Nelson in tax season.
When, after several weeks, the grey kitten finally released herself from hiding, she was just fur and bones – maybe two finger-widths broad at most and desperately needing food, prompting us to serve her the best homemade tuna salad in downtown Mesa (Inside the Bungalow’s, of course). She LOVED our tuna salad – could not get enough! At that point we realized, this cat has GREAT TASTE (but less filling). We kept her and named her Frances.
Now that Frances is three, the time has come for her freeloading to end. She needs to “earn her keep” as the saying goes. So we have enlisted her services in our new marketing ploy-Fridays with Frances. Here’s how it works:
Friday blogs will include a Frances the Feline Freeloader Foto
Identify the location on Inside the Bungalow”s (ITB’s) property where Frances is lounging, hunting, playing, sleeping
Visit ITB on Friday with the correct answer and you will receive 10% off your bill.
One of the great attributes to yoga is how many different styles of yoga there are. Just as each of us steps onto our mat with unique body types and life experiences, different traditions and styles will call to us. In one of my earlier posts, I introduced my yoga lineage, Astanga. I have studied Anusara, my beloved teacher’s own style, Forrest Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, and more and nothing calls to my mind and body like Astanga. I come home to myself while practicing Astanga. To me, that is the gift of any yoga practice, it’s ability to bring you closer to your Self. (in yoga when you see Self, with a big S, it refers to Source, Spirit, God; when you see self with a little s, it refers to ego).
There are six series in the astanga yoga system. We are introducing the third series Saturday mornings at 8am. Often, in a vinyasa, flow, or power class we will introduce some of the poses that you will find in the third series. We are excited to play with the full series.
For a complete list of the astanga classes offered, view our schedule here.
The first annual Inside The Bungalow Retreat unfolded the weekend of June 17-19th.. Between 18 amazing souls with open hearts, the delicious food prepared with love by Chef David, the 32,000 acres of solitude, and three great friends presenting, it exceeded our expectations. A special thank you to David, Staci, and Daniel for being gracious and wonderful hosts. Thank you to all of you who participated so freely and openly. Thank you to Ingrid and Robin for sharing your hearts!
The COD Ranch is nestled among 32,000 acres at the base of Mt. Lemon. The temperature was a wonderful retreat from the Phoenix summer heat. There were wonderful hiking trails that led to some amazing scenery, a pool to relax by, individual casitas to retreat to, and the food… INCREDIBLE. Can I just say that Chef David has worked in Las Vegas and it shows.
The yoga room provided countless opportunities to stretch body and mind, connect to new friends, laugh, cry, and come back for more. Robin’s restorative yoga was a favorite! We shared the R.A.I.N technique to manage stressful emotions and times. (If you weren’t able to attend the retreat, don’t worry. We will be exploring R.A.I.N later this week so check back). Check back for the dates for the 2nd Annual ITB Retreat soon!
Namaste’,
Carrie
