Snow and More Dumpstered Wedding Dresses (Weekend Recap)

Jesse and I went to Big Bear to play in the snow with giraffy and her anklebiters.  I looked on Craigslist for a sled - you know, a wooden bench atop two metal blades, but apparently I am behind the times.  My suggestion to cut out cardboard, put it in trashbags, zip tie the ends and call it a sled was vetoed in favor of some plastic discs. I guess they were OK, but what happenned to creativity?  I sigh at Jesse's softness and cushy upbringing..

The plastic discs did Ok, though, and fun was had. 

Giraffy and I sitting in one coffin shaped plastic bucket was a fail.

Jesse and I sitting on two discs, tethered, sort of (via my legs) was a win.

There was a snowball fight, and I was pretty appalled at giraffy's husband - using Baby as his shield.  I also got Jesse to pull over at a suitable snowbank to climb over and wander over to the lake. 

I only got a couple inches off shore, while Jesse painted an elabrote picture of my probable and impending death - apparently, I was to break the ice, slip under it, get carried away with current under the ice, and never find my way out. All in about 3" of standing water.

 
 
According to him, you can't even ice fish unless there is a 4-6 feet layer of ice present.  There are some fisherman in Siberia that would like to have a talk with him.  Whole villages would perish in winter if he was in charge of letting people out to fish, waiting for an appropriate Ice Age layer of ice.  The fish would probably perish as well, out of anticipation and boredom.  And possibly laughter.

Does this dude look like he's sitting on 6 feet of ice? 

A random fun fact - the fishing is better the crappier the ice.  Air bubbles attract the sleepy winter fish.  There are also some scary statistics about specifically Russian fisherman never making it back to shore,..  but we're not going to talk about that.  But, I mean, really..  Do those cork screws in the picture look like they drill FEET of ice?

I didn't think so.  Ha. 

On the way back, we stopped at an Antique shop in Fawnskin.  It was lovely. 

I brifly debated over some sparkly snowflake earrings.

And this chandelier "piece"

My mom got me a tea cup from this line for $1.  They had it for $24.  Muahaha. 

And heading back to Orange County I mapped us some thrift shops.  Because that's how we roll. 
One of the reasons I LOVE SoCal - you can spend all morning sledding and playing with snowballs, and then drive back to palm trees and sunshine.  And thrift shops where amazing wedding dresses awaited.

I loved this one. It was an Alfred Angelo gown, ivory, with super pretty beading around the middle,

and a train that picked up in the back. 

It was $99, and half off.  They even have a 7 day return policy, but it was just too big.  Probably a size 12 or 14.  If you're 12 or 14, and getting married, I urge you to visit Redlands Goodwill shop.

The kind lady behind me also loved the dress.  She also told me I could borrow her boobs, if need be, to fill out said dress.  And there was a story about her grandmother, and boobs in a shopping cart, and shopping with said shopping cart as back pain therapy.  Finally, she told me I should consider the dress, because she bought one for $900, and it is still hanging in her closet, as her daughter's fiancee is serving a lengthy sentence.  Whew.

I didn't get it, because I wasn't sure that I could have it altered that many sizes, and Redlands is a long way to drive to return a dress.  There were others, but not nearly as cool.  I think I have a new 'cool' standard for thrift shop wedding dresses.

Another lady (not pictures) suggested a shop in San Diego that has a "wedding dress" row.  I bookmarked it mentally, and will definately plan a trip.  It's amazing how much more relaxed their 'trying on' atmosphere is than David's Bridal.

There also heaps of older dresses, with lace sleeves, high necks, and long lace trains.  It's kind of sad to see them hang there, since hardly anyone opts for that anymore.  Still they were beautiful, and super cheap. 

My mother was in the process of checking a Craigslist listing on a dress for me.  There is a certain Cinderella dress that I'm stalking, more than others.  But, I find any dress with pick ups and a bucket of beads is super appealing.  Anyway, my dad caught wind of this affair, and told my mother he will buy me any dress I want, new.  He is so sweet.  Up until that conversation I was secretely planning to run away and have a two person wedding somewhere tropical.  But I can't be running out on my dad who is knee deep in being the sweetest person ever.

Having said that, a full retail price wedding dress is a 1000 times worse than a $10 popcorn in the movies, and I wouldn't enoy any overpriced bit of it. I'm just genetically programmed to be cheap like that. Plus, there's a thrill in the hunt, which is why David's Bridal's $99 dresses won't do. (Although I loved the entire line up) And, there's the fact that I intend to drag this dress all over Utah rocks, motorcycles, and a few of the prettier beaches I can find to take pictures. I'm thinking, one rocky, one sandy. By the time I am done with it, Goodwill won't want it for scraps. Lastly, while there are vast options out there for dresses, flights to cool places are generally and constantly pricey, and I really love going cool places.  For secret weddings or otherwise...