Well, I tried Riaro, another local salon, and the guy who came in is actually the husband/boyfriend of the assistant to the guy who did the updo at Azur. She had mentioned me to him the day I came in, along with one of the nifty tricks he'd used.

I felt so bad for this guy today, because he favors a soft, natural look (as opposed to the slick, pulled-back look of the other guy or what I manage to do on my own). He trimmed some of my hair, which was just fine, but in the end, I just had too much of the wrong kind of hair for him to do something he and I were both truly happy with.

It was teased and curling-ironed, with a retro shape, and put up with bobby pins. It looked okay, but it definitely didn't translate into a good set of photos.

He recommended I consult with one of his coworkers, so I made an appointment for this Saturday.

I was also really let down at the optometrist's in the village, because even after I'd made the appointment with their staff for a glasses exam, the doc "assumed" I'd want a contact lens fitting, too. So once I clarified the discussion, they "only" charged me the lesser of their two options. The clerk tried to comfort me by saying that my plan had given me 20% off...so my bill only had an extra $30 on it.

I had to explain that despite the discount off $38 or whatever, it was money I never wanted to pay in the first place, for services I (1) didn't ask for and (2) clarified that I didn't want as soon as I realized it. (Which was after I'd opened the first contact lens packet but hadn't put it in my eye: "Doctor, is this really part of a glasses exam?")

Nuts.

So they say.

I tried on the wedding dress tonight at MoG/FoG's home, and although it did zip all the way, it was also very tight.

Sadly, I will have to be on an actual diet for a few weeks. I thought I could avoid it, but I had a secret suspicion it would come to this!

Wish me luck!

And wish Mike luck, too. :p

Well, Tina hasn't returned two calls, so she's either on vacation (oh well) or too dizty or annoyed to bother communicating with me. So that's not an option.

I went to Azur salon after work yesterday (i'll have to upload a pic or so later), and their man Tony was plenty professional. The "rough draft" of an updo he did was classic and well-shaped. My problem was that he wasn't really flexible about my options. That was pretty much it.

So that's one option done. It's safe, conventional, and pretty. But it was tight as a MF and a little boring. One or two of the other stylists who were working kept looking over, and I sensed twinges of disapproval of their colleagues' work from them. Or maybe it was pity for him having to mess with about 3 feet of hair.

Let's see who else may work!

At least where manis and pedis are concerned.

This is to happen at 9:30 in the morning, Saturday, across the street from Bissy.

MoH and I may be fighting over the same turquoise polish...

... was picked up after a fun wine tasting at a local wine bar. I had bought the suit two weeks ago, but it was in for alterations. It fits, nicely, even if I do say so myself!

Unfortunately, while trying it on, I managed to leave my sunglasses in the changing room at Nordstroms (where I bought the tux). If you live, or have ever been to Houston, you will know how dangerous that is come daytime, especially if your eyes are sensitive to bright light, like mine are. Not to fret, the glasses were found, and I recovered them from Customer Service over a late lunch hour today! YAY!

Angel, Anne and Kat (a friend who will soon be getting married herself) went to the mall the other weekend to get a make-up consultation... and the result was 1000% better than the previous experiences. They now have set their appointments to get their make-up done the day of the wedding...

So yesterday was a 'Wedding Focus' Day for both Angel and I. I spent the morning working on the invite list and getting it ready to intergrate with the response functionality that I am building for the website. I then went to meet the photographer to decide on which photo albums we will be buying along with the photo package. After that, I picked Angel and then my mum up and we went to meet the caterers at the owners house, where we were joined by Anne (MoH) and the parents of the bride (PoB?) for the menu tasting. Angel already posted about that, so I will just say that the food was yummy.

After the tasting, Angel and I went back to my parents to wait out the rush hour traffic before heading to the mall to pick up neck ties for the groom (me), the best man (Sanj) and the groomsman (Adam), and to look at penguin suits for me. Long story short, after a lot of walking and a lot of tie browsing, we found not only the ties, but the tux and shirt as well, so I now have my full outfit. Tux is currently being altered and should be ready next week sometime. The photos below are of the ties (left to right... Grooms, Best Man, Groomsman), the boots I will be wearing (Caiman skin... in the gator family) and the large scarf/small shawl thing that the bridesmaids will be wearing...

The Guys' Ties!

The Girls' Scarf/Shawl Thing!

The Grooms' Boots

Anything coming out of the Geehan Home for Wayward Animals MUST have the Charlie seal of approval. The garter that my mum made for Angel is no exception. The garter includes material from my mum's wedding dress, and now the box it is in has Charlie's tooth impression in it...

I have some ideas for my hairdo, but I am convinced that most makeup artists are complete nincompoops.

There is a whole lot more behind this, but I'm tired of thinking about it. Maybe later, I'll include more info.

Soo we went up to the Aveda Institute on Saturday morning. For those that don't know it, it is a salon training place. They train young women (and men) to work in the Aveda salons, and do haircuts and makup, as well as an assortment of facials, manicures, body polishes, etc. Anyway, it tends to be cheap as it is all done by students (supervised by instructors), but since it is done by students you are never quite sure what you are getting.

Anyway, I got a haircut and body polish, both of which were kinda crap, and Angel got the same body polish as well as an up-do for her hair and a make-up job, both as possibilities for the wedding. The up do was all a buch of curls in the back, looking a little like a combination between swiss cheese and a birds nest. Not that it was not nice, cause it was, but it just was not Angel to me, or to anyone else who saw it.

Now the makeup job was something else. It really was horrible, and in the words of Angel it made her look like a cheap whore. Pictures of what Angel looks like normally and what she looked like with the amateur make-up on.

You can't really see it in the photo, but on one eye the girl kept adding foundation to cover up smudges caused by the mascara (seems Angel's eyelashes point down, causing problems in this situation). When I saw it, it really looked like she had a black eye!

Well, I made it back from Houston in one piece despite the neverending rain storms that are spending this summer between Austin and Houston. I am glad to report that the dress is safe in Angel's parents' house, soon to be moved to Mike's parents' house to avoid any restoration/construction dirt.

I was with Angel when she tried on the dress. It fits her very well and is absolutely gorgeous. She also saw some flower girl dress ideas. The woman at the alterations place tried to sell Angelique a very pretty but really not at all Angelique veil, and I'm glad to say was unsuccessful.

I also got to see some pictures of cake and flower ideas, and it seems like Angelique, Lourdes, and Mary are on their way in those categories.

The main questions remaining are whether Mike is going blonde again and whether Angel will have short hair by November.