really, you're gonna do that?

Jan and I have discussed having soda during the wedding, either all of it, or during the group photos/appetizers/mingling part pre-dinner. If we're going blue, we might as well have some fun with it, so I've found a few options. Pepsi cans are all blue, plus they just released a new soda, called Pepsi blue, which is actually blue inside! Blue Sky is a natual soda w/many flavors. Jones soda has cool packaging, and they have berry lemonade and grape (both blue-ish colors). And my current fav - Fresca!! Love the packaging, love the taste. Isn't color fun??

better than a yearbook

If any of you have photos of either Jan or I that are just pure winners, please send them along (digital, or if they are prints, we will scan and mail back to you). If they are photos with you in them, even better. We're putting together a photo book for our guest book and would love you to be in it with us. Start browsing all your files - when we were kids, or last weekend - we want it all!

{that's Jan on the left and Scotty on the far right - so cute!}

invites

Invites are being printed, and I am officially against paper today. I chose too textured of a paper stock and Gocco hated it, and I hated Gocco. So after hours of thinking I was doing something wrong, I did the right thing and quit it all and went to the river!! Now that I'm back and a little saner, I have decided just to get these bad boys printed by someone else, and keep Gocco for smooth paper. Invites, maps and rsvp cards - here is a sneak preview. I'm also getting our photos printed tonight to include in the invites, so watch out! That again was another struggle...but we'll make the best of it....

busy bee

Sorry for the lack in posts - I've been up until at least 1 every night working on work/projects, etc. I'll return on Tuesday as we're going out of town for the weekend. I'm printing invites, Jan's helping a cousin w/some construction on a house, and we'll spend time w/family & friends down at the river. I'm cramming in most of today with work and then at 3:30 we're heading to Indy for the tail end of Carburator day at the track to see Kid Rock with my free tickets from work and hang out w/some of the guys.

I've been on the hunt for earings for awhile now, and with my mini budget, there wasn't a lot to go all out. Luckily, I found these for a very reasonable price. I tried on necklaces with my lace and felt very grandma. Unless that changes when I get the top made, I think I'm going to go ahead with these earings since I'm wearing my hair up. The pretty scallops mimick my lace top, and pearls are just classy! It helped that Jan saw them on me and loved them. That always makes decisions easier.

hello kai

I've been keeping busy working on designs for my upcoming company, but it's still super slowly coming along. All of the ones on my future site will be printed at a print shop on nice textured card stock, but custom ones like these were printed by hand on my gocco press. I cranked them out last weekend for my cute little nephew, and am adding a photo collage w/rick's photos. Just a little preview!

my don't we look happy

a few wkends ago was mother's day - just a fun family shot with eric's parents included. from our m's day bbq at holly's. that's ruby on the left.

flutter-bys

These would look really pretty hanging by the food table on blue lanterns. A small pack of origami paper and a glue gun would do the trick in about 10 min's. The directions are right here. Love it!

birthdays = dancing, cake, more dancing

This is a special shot out to my girl Caroline, who's birthday is today. Happy birthday!! (care will be shooting photos at the wedding, making sure i look hot at all times, making sure she looks hot at all times, and baking the sweetest cookies this side of the mississippi)

wedding artist

I saw these posted on another site and love them so much I emailed my dear friend Isabel (who is flying in from London just for me!) to see if she could do anything like this, in her own style of course, post wedding from the photos. I think they are so beautiful and really capture the essence of a wedding. Isabel and her mom are super talented artists when it comes to sketching and painting, and I would love to have some of her artwork around my house. Plus Iz is studying fashion, so who could be better?

POP!

Oh kettlecorn, you yummy thing you. Served typically at fairs by the guy with the white shirt, black amish looking bow tie and suspenders, I am usually one of those people in line to get a bag of popcorn, fresh from the kettle. Sweet, and salty, it's the perfect blend of goodness. Perusing through the grocery store, I came upon this brand and decided to try a bag. I love the packaging and it tastes great. Thanks to costco, this is going to be a little taste of Indiana, brought to the wedding as an appetizer. I bought small paper bags, scallopped the tops with scissors, and am going to gocco a stamp to the front of each. I, Julia, vote for Indiana.

pretty, yet pretty useful

I've seen these Jessica Rust pieces before and just love them. Great personalized ceramic plates and mugs that you will actually use, not just sit on a shelf. They are understated, yet neutral enough to go with anything.

the shorter ones

I am loving this new wedding line from jcrew for kids. Their prices are high, but the outfits are lovely. I like the detailing on the pink dress and the big bow on the skirt.

other people often say great things

Neither of us entered marriage thinking it wouldn't be a strain. Life has strains in it, and he's the person I want to strain with. - Patricia Arquette

Trip over love, you can get up. Fall in love and you fall forever. - Author unknown

Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. - Author unknown

frame-ation

A few weekends ago, Jan and I went to a store that was filled with antiques and many items rescued from estates, old restaurants, etc. Pretty fantastic. The goal was to find an old wooden window frame to put pics in from our parents, and grandparent's weddings. I looked at a lot of ideas for this, and liked this the best. The other photos had all different frames scattered on a table, and I thought it looked too cluttered. We found the perfect one, and are in the midst of getting new glass cut and photos gathered. It's great, but my it's a little heavy. We'll probably ship it sans glass and then put it together a few days before. I love how they are all made uniform in the frame - we'll eventually hang it up in our house!

i'm it

I didn't know there were blog games, but I've just been tagged. So..
Here are some facts on my life:
1. I started www.juliaabelmann.com and am working on a 2nd company to be launched this summer
2. The last country I visited was Hong Kong for a month last spring
3. I love Papa Murphy's gourmet veggie pizza, no olives, add pepperoncinis
4. Jan and I have discovered a new desire to make furniture out of great wood
5. I prefer drinking with a straw
6. I'm lactose intolorant
7. I love old movies, and jazz. A brownie corner would make it an evening.

I need to tag 7 people. Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You then tag seven others and list their names on your blog. Leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.
here are the lucky ones: rick, rachel, farrah (i don't know anymore people with blogs)

poor jan

Jan's bike got stolen today. It was his main mode of transportation for school, and someone cut his lock and rode away with his bike. how mean!

look ma, no hands

I finished my first paper magnolia as an option for the centerpieces - what do you think? It's about 12-15" wide.

we are family, all my brothers, sisters and me

This was taken right before a large alligator jumped up and took out the back row.

Ok, maybe that didn't happen. But we did have a whole lot of good food and family bonding. This is the lovely river that runs through my town. The canoe pics are on Jan's camera, so I'll post those later this week. The one new thing I learned this weekend, was that although it's asian tradition, never ask Dale to remove his shoes in your house, unless everyone is equipped with industrial strength closepins.

yo shorty

If I went for a short dress, I would totally choose one like this. It's so romantic, and perfectly shows her cute yellow shoes. I only opted out because as this is a once in a lifetime, I wanted to go full bridal. Long and flowy with a train. But someone, please wear one and I will take your photo like this!

they just never stop

anthropologie never ceases to come up with the most amazing things. why can't we register there again? i love these dresses. there are so many events coming up, showers, the rehearsal dinner, the 2nd reception... i'm lucky to have connections to a discount at this place!

boys, meet the boys

SCOTTY - My undisputed best man, has been by my side through thick and thin ever since I can remember. Scotty has an unending sense of humor and a love for adventure that is complimented with the strength of an ox and the loyalty of a sheep dog. Like fire and gasoline, when and whereever we meet up it's usually entertaining. I could write a book about the childhood adventures and high school misshaps that this clown and I got ourselves into, but I won't for the sake of both of our political futures. For now, it looks like he's going to make a special flight in from Okinawa, (where he's stationed with the USAF), for the San Fran celebration.

KIT "Rolly"- This guy brings things to a whole other level. Notorious for always being on the throttle, never saying 'uncle' and having incredibly short fingers, he and I became buddies in 6th grade. Through slaving in the hayfields and working in his melon patch, Kit, Scotty and I united to form a triple threat, the likes of which the world had never seen. Rolly's contagious laugh and unpredictable antics result in sporadic "make your face hurt" laughs and his dogged determination has gotten us out of some deep holes and really tight spots.

RICK- Calm, cool and collected Rick is Julia's older brother. We've only met in the flesh once, but I know him through Julia's stories and recollections. He's currently practicing law while living in Hong Kong with his wife Alicia and their newborn son Kai. Rick will be a welcomed addition to the line up and be recieving the farthest commute award.

JONATHAN - Full of wit, charm and sarcasm Jonathan is Julia's younger brother. During the week of Christmas Jonathan invited me to go skiing in the nearby mountains with him and some of his buddies... talk about a good time. He was insanely patient as I struggled to re-orient myself on a pair of ski's, but by the end he had me talked into tailing him down some Double Black Diamonds. Was it graceful? no. Did I survive? yes. He's a real go getter and puts a tons of energy into anything he does.

DALE - My only blood brother in this life, Dale is 10 years younger than me and ever since Mom and Dad brought him home from the hospital he has been a constant source of joy and love for me and the rest of the family. There was such a split between us that we never did many rough and tumble things growing up. Now he's 13 and as he navigates the wonder years I look forward to being able to offer some seasoned advice on all the good stuff and choking him out if need be. He'll turn 14 the day before the wedding.

skys of blue

i'm trying to have the kids in the wedding wear something similar to this. the ring bearer already has seersucker pants, and the other kids can wear these. so cute!!

meet the parents

The parents are meeting this weekend, and the weather is going to be better than expected (no rain!!) which means...we're going on a family canoe trip on Saturday! I can't wait. Dad in his big hat, and mom with her visor, and Jan with no shirt on and a smile on his face as he tries to navigate me down the fast parts. family is so fun!

not a piggy

Jan and I have talked about starting a piggy bank together after we get married for spare change to put towards splurges, like vacations or pretty wood to make furniture from (we've been on the lookout for some good knotty walnut to make a small kitchen table). This would be great decor, and nobody would think to run off with our money bird.

hotels

for those of you coming in from out of town, i just checked travelocity and the hilton has a great rate of $159/night in the heart of union square and all it's goodness. share a room with friends or family, and take the ferry straight to becky's and my house!

tis the season to plant

jan went home on monday to help his dad with corn planting. here is a photo of the indians (not indiana-ns) doing some old school planting. look how much prettier photography has made the same hard labor look. it's a lot of driving in big machines, tilling up the ground and making sure frank's machine is constantly filled with corn seeds, and his belly is full. next time you eat mission brand corn chips, you may just be eating Bender corn. jan comes back tonight - yipee!

hair comes the bride

All grandpa jokes aside, I love these hair pieces from Jennifer Behr featured on Oh Joy's wedding blog. I'm on the hunt for a vintage looking hair piece with rhinestones, or something soft like these. I really like the bottom left one...perfect for a wedding or just a fun summer party.

inspiration board

This book was supposed to have been completed before I started planning, but that's ok. I just finished putting it all together, and I'm sure I'll continue to add to it. It's nice having a book of ideas - something visual to look at and share with family to see what your vision is, even if there are a lot of visions. Most of the ideas are crafty, and some are just pretty!

floaty

This is Jan's idea if the flowers are too much work/craziness. Well, he had the idea of balloons, so of course I came back with a Martha'd version for him to check out. This is a possibility if we sit at long tables. I like the idea of twine and I would do vintage swatches of fabric in different blues for the bottoms. With my milk glass in between. So easy! And since there will be so many babies, maybe at the end we could tie all the balloons to one baby and see if he floats.

aunty whoolia

today i'm giving a dedicated entry to the newest, latest, and greatest abelmann, Kai.

{ born: may 5th, 2007. cinco de mayo. year of the pig. 20 inches long, 7.2 pounds }

i'll be working on his birth announcements, which will be the perfect opportunity to spread the word on my upcoming card buisness that will keep me busy alongside my photography. i can't wait till christmas to do photoshoots with this little guy!

lace in your face!

Oh, Alencon, you pretty pretty thing. One great thing about planning a wedding is all the pretty things that can surround you. So many options! What I learned today? The french do it right. They can bake and sew with skills.

As of today, I have my dress! I picked it up and loved it as much as when I first tried it on. Holly said I 'glowed', and, as someone who doesn't glow everyday, I agreed and fell in love. I figured I would find at least a couple dresses w/cap sleeves in this state, but alas, it's probably just Utah who has more than enough to go around. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Everything was strapless for the most part. So to stay modest, I decided on a strapless dress, and am having a bolero (cropped) top made of alencon lace. I saw it in a few magazines, and even tried to buy one already made until they priced it at $500. holy tomatoe! I knew it could be made for MUCH cheaper. So with Holly's help, we hunted down a lady who sells bridal fabric from her house, and I went and saw her today and found the perfect lace. I can't post the dress online for obvious JAN reasons, but I can post a similar lace on a model so you can see how pretty it is (the dresses don't look at all alike, just fyi). The final product will be a great wedding suprise!

ah, love

Reasons why I love Jan this week:
1. he laughs when I number things
2. he's good at motivating me to work out
3. when i do my work outs, he buys me frozen yogurt
4. he makes great eggs, and does my dishes
5. he liked registering for gifts with me! finding a good cereal bowl, the perfect drinking glass, etc.
6. he listens to me talk about work even though it's just talk
7. at his church at the 'peace be with you's', he hugs me and kisses my forehead

{summer of '06 after our romantic-tastic canoe trip}

girls, meet the girls

I wanted to take a minute to introduce all my girls to eachother and tell you why you're in my wedding. I'll have Jan do the boys this weekend.

NOZOMI - maid of honor and best friend since kindergarten! Was it the asian bond? Or our love for craftiness and being able to come up with creative activities at all time that bonded us for life. She knows me pretty darn well and we get eachother. Distance was never an issue, and we've been countries apart quite often. She's been a huge help with all the planning, and gets my obsession with mangos, chocolate and shoes.

CHAR - glenwood elementary was a goldmine! I learned how to dive into water at Char's house. We used to play badmitton, run around the garden, sit in the sauna, and scope out the movies being filmed next door. Most importantly, she introduced me to Jan, even if it wasn't intentional. She is a rocking good time, up for anything, and will dance till she drops. Who else would pull me into a patriotic inner tube at 3am in lake tahoe?

KATE - my future little sister-in-law. Full of spunk, the first time we went out, she said: "If you marry my brother, I'll take you out to lunch." I don't have any sisters, so marriages in my family have been a great way to acquire some. I think she's as excited as me for this wedding, and I look foward to seeing her dancing skills return at the receptions. She can head bang like no other.

HOLLY - my other future SIL. This girl is a combination of the SF girls I sadly left behind - crafty, artistic, loves herself a good flea market and shopping bargains, and tells me when i look hot in a wedding dress...or not so hot. Plus she throws great parties with pirates and eats my finger cookies.

EUNNIE - 1-ee! My korean chingu, we met at Study Abroad in Korea and the friendship never stopped. It may have been the public baths, or the fact that we were both determined to lay out and get tan in a non-developed town, but we have gone through a lot together. She is a lot of fun to laugh about nothing with, loves taking a million photos of ourselves being stupid/sexy, and she's a great person to chill with. Bonus: big Paul is awesome, and equally as cool. I guarantee baby Paul will be the most stylish baby at the wedding.

CAROLINE - {almost a maid} This girl would be in my wedding if she wasn't helping my broke self shoot photos because she gets my vision. She has style, class, and skills in the kitchen that would make you cry. Eat a cookie at the dessert table and then hire her and pay her millions when you can't stop eating them.

the getaway

Everyone needs a mode of transportation on their wedding day, and I firmly believe limo's are out. That may partly be because I've never been in one, but who would choose a limo when there are so many other great old cars out there w/pizazz? That's where Flower shows up. Becky & Alan's orangy/yellow (i forget the exact color) van who was taken from 2 sisters in their late age after many adventures together. It has a flip top camper, a horse head shifter, and horse head music knobs. Not to mention tons of stickers all over the inside depicting their travels over the years. Weddings are the beginning of history, and it seems appropriate that we should ride away with a piece of someone else's to get us started.

This isn't Flower, but possibly one of her distant cousins. If Jan ever made me get a camper, this would be my first choice. Get out the tin cans, we're getting married!

pow!

I first saw these on Martha, and then on Jordan's blog. So I gave it a try a few weeks ago and was not happy with my ball (see middle). I went back to meet my challenge, and loved how the next one turned out! If they don't get squished, these on a smaller version would be perfect to hang in the trees at the reception. It definitely helps to really crease each fold and make the folds themselves not so big. These two blues would be pretty with navy and silver and ivory. I'll keep experimenting with different flower patterns.

this, i'm not allergic to

My lactose intolerance is not a part of my world when it comes to this type of milk. I've had a facination for milk glass after seeing it in a bunch of Martha Stewart mag's. Then I moved here and found that a lot of it comes from Indiana! I've been scouring the flea markets and thrift stores on & off for the last few months searching for these. I have about 5 more at home, and will slowly bring them all over. I want to fill them with moss or a grey dusty leaf plant of sorts, and incorporate them with the paper flowers as table decorations. These will hold (via a stick or some other device) the table number's.

pretty pretty

if $ was no object, i would love these on my b-maids: jcrew, & anthropologie...love them..

but since it is, and we had a few other factors to consider, we went with this very pretty option. it looks great on, plus has detachable straps! And the color is 'seagull', perfect for the location. i might make blue sashes to go around the waist, or we can add some flowers in their hair to add some color. jan's new suit is grey, so this will look great!