Planning a wedding on small budget. What do you think about my ideas.

By on August 20th, 2010

I plan on having a beautiful wedding on a small budget. way less than $10,000 dollars. I plan on having 100 or so people. So do you think I can pull it off. I truly think it’s very possible. I want to prove to the wedding industry that I can do this. Here is the website that inspired me to have a not so stressful wedding on a budget: http://2000dollarwedding.com/

I’ve already found a wedding reception hall that is way under $1,000 and the place is beautiful. The reception hall will provide us with tables and chairs. I might have to rent chair covers and table cloths. (Which I don’t mind.) The reception hall will also provide us with plates and few other kitchen items.

I think I’m going to recruit a lot of my family members and friends to help me out with the wedding. I want a family oriented wedding where my friends can feel as if their apart of my family. I don’t want a huge expensive show. That’s why I’m choosing to have a DIY wedding reception that looks expensive. Everyone I know is pretty creative. I’m a very crafty person so I plan on making all the wedding favors, wedding programs, boutonnieres, decorations, wedding invites, wedding pillow, etc. I found a beautiful scrapbook in my room that I plan on using for my wedding as a guestbook. The cost: Free. I’ve got beautiful picture frames in my room of my fiance and I. Those pictures will be used at my reception. I even might have my finance and I grow our own flowers for the wedding. The more things that I can make by hand for our wedding, the more money my fiance and I will be saving. Which I believe to be true.

I found a restaurant that caters on great budget. I don’t plan on getting a fancy wedding cake from a bakery. I might just get myself a store bought wedding cake. My moms friend owns a dress shop and she can get me a great deal on a simple wedding dress. I might hire my aunt who takes professional looking pictures in her spare time to be my photographer for the wedding. I also know other people who too are good at photography. I will hire a DJ because my fiance and I love music so much. I think that I will be buying my own liquor for the wedding and having a family member of mine who doesn’t much like to dance be a bartender.

I’m so excited to be planning my wedding with my fiance. I think he’s going to be excited too. Were both crafty people. So we plan on using our imagination for this wedding. I love my fiance so much and I can’t wait for our special day that will occur sometime next summer. Wedding planning for me has been very exciting because I don’t feel so stressed out. My wedding is just one day and it’s day that I want to remember but I also want my family and friends to remember the day as well. When I first started doing wedding research I felt overwhelmed. Now I don’t feel that way thanks to the 2000 wedding budget website.

So what do you all think of my ideas. Can I pull this off. I think it’s possible to have a beautiful wedding on a small budget. I hope to inspire others also when they plan their wedding. So I want your input.

where can i find lebanese language to learn.

By on August 19th, 2010

like Modern Lebanese Arabic dialect as el matba5 (the kitchen); Béris (Paris) etc. also translator too.

I do not want learn Arabic calligraphy only modern Arabic word and slang on website. Thank you :]

Hunns, should I audition for SYTYCD.

By on August 18th, 2010

Hunns, this morning I went into the kitchen and there was a horrid little mouse that ran across the floor. Well, I immediately went on my tip toes, spun around, and leapt through the air landing squarely across the room. Well, Maid’s sister, who is visiting, happened to see me do this and she told me that she’s never seen such grace and strength in body movement as I had just demonstrated. Years ago, she used to be a world famous choreographer in Des Moines, Iowa so you can imagine how flattered I was. Anyway, she suggested I pursue a career and now my children are saying I should audition for next year’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”. Well, all of them except my 14 year old Amstel. He said, that the flimsy costumes would embarrass him in front of his friends at school. I’m so excited about this new career possibility. What should I dance to for the audition. Any suggestions. I wanted to do a modern jazz interpretation en pointe with some tap and clogging mixed in to show my versatility.

how long should I wait for a proposal.

By on August 17th, 2010

My boyfriend and I have been best friends for 7-8 years. We began dating a little over 2.5 years ago and have been living together for 1.5.

We both have good jobs, and steady income. He is 26 and I am 27.

We began talking about marriage 6 months into the relationship (initiated by me). I know that typically dating for 6 months is not nearly long enough to get married– I felt that we were different, however, as we have been best friends for so long that we know each other better than anyone else. He also came and lived with me for 6 months during our friendship while I went to school out of state.
I’ve become pretty impatient to the point that it has lead to arguments (yelling). I feel really bad about that and I hope that I haven’t ruined a proposal or made him feel bad, but I can’t help but feel resentment. The reason I feel resentment is that over the years we’ve had many conversations about this. I’ve asked him when he wanted to get engaged, when he thought an appropriate time for us was, and the things he wanted to accomplish before doing so. He told me that he was thinking around 1.5-2 years of dating was the right time. He also said that he wanted to be done with school. Well 1.5-2 years have come and gone, and although he didn’t finish going to school, he stopped going over a year ago. I asked him last night if “finishing school” was just an excuse– as he doesn’t appear to be in school at this point, and there’s still no engagement. He said no and that “he still wanted to finish school first.” I said “well you must want to marry me very badly because you’re not even in school.”.
Anyway, you can see how the arguments go. I don’t want to argue. I don’t want to even talk about it. I feel like after the couple has made it clear their timelines and goals and that they both want the same things and both want to marry one another that a proposal should just come naturally–and relatively soon. I think it’s a shame that it hasn’t and that our relationship has come to fighting over it.
After some pressure put on him by some friends of ours he encouraged me to look for rings. I was ecstatic. I found one– a one-of-a-kind antique, very much my style, and showed it to him. I thought for sure since it was an antique and not guaranteed to be around forever that he would buy it, but he didn’t. A few weeks went by and asked him where he was on the ring thing and just if he had thought about it any further. Although I would like to not talk about it and let it be a surprise, I also know that my boyfriend is a huge procrastinator, and unless he feels motivation to do something he’ll forget all about it (we’ve had a half-remodeled kitchen for 6 months now to show for it). At that moment, when I brought up the ring, he went online to the site it was on and contacted the owner and asked if the owner had any payment plans available. He did this in front of me. I thought it was a very sweet gesture just to say “hey, I’m on this, I won’t let you down.”
The owner of the ring responded that he could buy the ring in 3 payments (don’t get me wrong I didn’t pick out an outrageously expensive ring, I asked him his price range first). Well a couple of weeks later he says to me that “he thinks he’s just going to hold off for now and try to save some money for the next few months.” Well, in a few months the ring isn’t going to be there, so once again I feel kind of drained/let down. I kind of feel like I’m being teased and it’s really emotionally draining.
So i guess this was kind of a vent/rant session, but out of it I have a few questions for which I would appreciate opinions:
1.) I know that a relationship is supposed to be about what both people want, but that’s just it– I am a person in this relationship too, and I would like to get married by the time I am 30. This was a compromise for me, as when we first started dating (when i was 24) I said I wanted to get married by 27. How much longer should I wait before I decide that maybe we’re just not the right fit. I suppose I have two options here, either determine that he is the man for me, and wait as long as it takes. Or, decide that having the same goals/respecting each other’s goals is too important of a relationship aspect for me to compromise on and try to find someone who respects my goals. If I chose the second, how long should I wait before making that decision.

2.) Have I ruined the proposal/engagement by fighting about it/making ultimatums/nagging.

3.) Would you take his continuous procrastination and lack of effort as a sign that he’s “just not that into me” and maybe doesn’t want marriage.

4.) I told him I felt that it was mean of him to have me look for/pick out a ring if he didn’t intend on proposing. Am I wrong to feel this way. I
Actually my post had great paragraph structure, but you are limited to 5,000 characters so I had to eliminate many spaces, and when I submitted the formatting was changed by the website, not by me. So thank you for the smart-ass response.
Thank-you. Although harsh, at least your response has some decent advice now.

Could I build a child’s picnic table from an old door.

By on August 16th, 2010

We just moved into an old house and I took several of the heavy wood doors off their hinges, as I didn’t want doors on some of the rooms. Our kitchen, for example, has two large pantries. One I am converting into a breakfast/dining area for my children. I took the old door off of it, trying to find a way to repurpose it. I was thinking about using it as the top part of a picnic table. Does any one know if that will work or how to go about it. Any other ideas for what to do with them. They are great, just dont need them.
It has stain/varnish on it, but I would sand it down and make it smooth, removing all of it. Also, any suggestions on what kind of paint I could use to repaint it. It has to be safe for them and weather proof.

Should I kick him out.

By on August 15th, 2010

So I’ve been having some problems with my friend/roommate. You can see my previous questions. Especially the last one.

This current problem, basically he’s 42 and lived at home up until three years ago, where his parents still cooked for him and did all the cleaning. When we moved in together he told me he was going to pay half of everything and clean every week. Neither of us are neat freaks, but we are not total slobs either.

For the first two weeks, his idea of cleaning was mopping the kitchen floor. Ok, that’s fine. But then, he stopped. I have an odd work schedule where I’m on for a few weeks without a break, working 14 hour days, and then I’m off for a week. Basically I don’t get weekends off. He works 40 hours a week and gets two days off a week.

He wakes up in the morning, goes online for two hours, gets ready for work, goes to work, comes home, and is online until 3am playing games. He doesn’t clean at all. I spend my entire off season break, which was a good few weeks long, cleaning the house and the yard (he won’t go out in the yard because he saw a spider out there). When I talked to him about this, he would tell me “Well tell me what to clean.” Like he couldn’t see what needed cleaning. I told him I wasn’t his mother.

I took the advice of some of the other posters and put a reminder up for him about what to clean. At the moment it’s very simple. We both shed a lot of hair which makes it hard to do a good cleaning in the bathroom, so I put a sign up on the door at his eye level reminding him to wipe the hair and dust off the sink and toilet before he leaves.

I drew a picture of the sink and the toilet and arrows pointing to exactly where he has to wipe it off.

That is his ONLY cleaning responsibility at the moment. However, today, when I went into the bathroom after he had left, there was hair all over the toilet seat.

Is it unreasonable for me to kick him out.

Can I change my apartment floor plan.

By on August 14th, 2010

Hi, I live in a 50 square meter (538.195 square foot) apartment. I’m planning to have a family and am wondering how I could change the floorplan to make more bedrooms, etc.

I have a few questions about this:

1. Is there a special job title for someone who could come to my apartment, then make a new floor plan based on my needs, etc. Or is it just an architect.

2. Is there software to do this online or that can be purchased somewhere.

3. Any suggestions. This may be stupid, but I’m just going to describe my apartment’s current layout (no access to a scanner/drawing software) and see if anyone has any good ideas: The front door opens onto a high-ceilinged hallway that runs the length of the apartment. Immediately on your left is the toilet, which is a very small square room with a random long bit behind the toilet that is about 1 foot wide and 5 feet deep. There is a small window at the end of this random bit. The next room on the left side is the kitchen, a room of about triple the size of the toilet in all dimensions. There is a large window. After this, still on the left side of the apartment, is the bathroom (this is a European-style apartment, so toilet and bathroom are separate). The bathroom is maybe half the size of the kitchen, give or take, with a bathtub, sink, and a big window. At the end of the hallway is a closet space/washer-dryer space. This is about 5 feet wide, 8 feet deep, with a high ceiling as in the rest of the apartment. Then, on the right side of the apartment are two large rooms, each with an almost floor-to ceiling window taking up about 2/3 of each far wall.

Sorry because I’m sure that description is a bit confusing, and I wish I had a floor plan I could scan here, but if you have a general idea, and it helps, I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have.

Okay, that’s all. Sorry for the complicated questions, but I’d really appreciate any helpful answers. Thanks.

I need help in kitchen/dining design please.

By on August 13th, 2010

I chose a dark cherry cabinets for the kitchen we are remodeling right now. It is a U-shaped kitchen.
My husband keeps telling me that the color I picked will darken a small kitchen and makes it smaller. Do you have a suggestion on what type of granite countertop to pick. The color of the floor tile is white with a hint of tan-ish or light brown color on it. I want the kitchen to look contemporary, bright, and also what type of dining set I should pick. Post some photos as well please. Thank you.

Money experts answer my question peazzz.

By on August 12th, 2010

I have $200 in the bank she has $50. We got both applied at the mall and the manager told us to come back this friday at 5 and another job told JUST me to come in friday as well.
She moved into my house w/ parents 3 days ago & wants to get a place asap. I told her I want to have at least 3 grand before moving out but we are sharing my little bedroom and she wants out now. We are going for apartments under $700/month.& she wants to bring her dog when we move so there will be a fee for that
1. So with us having a car each, grocery, bills, gas, & rent. what do you think I should tell her. What we should do. Idk how the 1st paycheck will be if we are getting paid training or not. But if we get the jobs the paychecks should be at least $500/2weeks.

2. So do you think we should find an apartment now and put it on hold for a month till we get money.

we don’t furniture or kitchen stuff or whatever I shopped for that a long time ago Im using a lot of my folks old stuff. PLEASE HELP THANKS VERY MUCH
AND IF YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HELP OR JUST BE RUDE DON’T WASTE MY TIME

The jobs are retail jobs that probably pay between $7-9/hr. and we will be working FULL time. well I know I want to. I’ll do two jobs if I get them both.

Landlord wrong doing. Take to court or not.

By on August 11th, 2010

We moved in March 1st, 2010. Six Month lease signed. We need to pay 2/3rd of electric and oil bill.

We have always paid rent on time, actually 1 to 2 weeks early upon our landlords request. Electric was alway on time also. Landlord has never shown us the Electric bill, we just trusted him about it.
First week of March move in - septic system backup inside house. Landlord had no money to get it drained and told us to take it off the rent. Upstairs bathroom shower pipe was clogged, rusted shut. My dad came in to fix, and landlord paid him $50 plus paid for parts to fix. But we couldnt take a shower for 4 days.
Mid to end March - Upstairs bathtub wouldnt drain, clogged completly. Landlord left it like that for 3 days, again couldnt take shower. Plumber came, tried to snake pipe, pipe broke while snaking drain and water damaged the one kitchen cabinet, and counter top. plumber ended up staying 2 days through this and replaced pipe in the end.
June- Septic was getting full again, needed draining. Septic guy said it was a sespool. Not even a septic tank. He even wrote that on the reciept. Landlord had no money to pay and told us to take it out of rent.
August - Came home electric was shut off and termination notice was on the door. Landlord was overdue $314. Called landlord and he said “well I cant do nothing now Im doing my sisters floors”. My husband B****ed at him and told him, We have a baby, food is in the fridge, and no airconditioning in a very hot house. Landlord finally paid 1 hour later. 3 hours later electric was turned back on.

We have been trying to get reciepts for July and August rent plus july, august electric reciepts. Landlord keeps making excuses.

Our lease is up Sept 1st 2010. We are moving. We know the security is going to be a problem with him but according to the lease he has 30 days to return our security. We are going to leave this house in BETTER condition than he left it to us.
Should I just take this to court.
What is your advice.