Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts

I Do but I Don't: Walking Down the Aisle without Losing Your Mind Review

I Do but I Don't: Walking Down the Aisle without Losing Your Mind
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I Do but I Don't: Walking Down the Aisle without Losing Your Mind ReviewI was sucked into this book by the modest cover, and title, and a quick skim of the first chapters....which indicated this was going to be a book about a feminist new age bride, who quickly realizes the whole Bridal Industrial Complex about to suck money from her and her family, and who responds by having a simple, down-to-earth, meaningful wedding.
Well, that's not THIS book.
Ms.Wicoff is a spoiled, pretentious Texas debutante who claim to being "a feminist' are laughable. All she and her homemaker mom can think about is her upcoming wedding, and how to make it largest and fussiest and most expensive one on earth. In fairness, Kami was apparently harassed continually by her mom from her mid-twenties on to get her rich, investment banker boyfriend to propose....to the point that she has to throw hissy fits and public tantrums until Mr. Perfect coughs up the Perfect 2 Carat Emerald Cut Platinum ring (I don't think I give anything away here, because she mentions it constantly....how big it is, how other women envy it, how she can barely stand to wear it, etc.)
The first couple chapters I thought had some real interest going, because it appeared that Ms. Wicoff was actively questioning her own desperation at wanting a 'real proposal" (i.e., from the man, down on one knee, etc.) and her complete inability to simply ask herself if he wanted to marry her. But she never goes beyond simply describing her extreme angst about getting 'asked' (desperate at the tender age of 27!), and her laughable "research" consists of her asking her girlfriends what they think (they are all desperate to be asked too, with the desperation increasing with age). This pretty much made me want to hid my head in shame and desolation that THIS is what has become of the dream of feminism and women's independence -- that baby boomer feminists have given birth to a generation of women who have every access to work and education and big dreams and yet they are more desperate and marriage obsessed that the corniest 50s housewife.
Interestingly, Ms. Wicoff appears never to have held a job (she's in graduate school at the time of her nuptials), and doesn't even briefly mention a career interest except she'd like to do 'freelance writing', something she expects will be subsidized by her new husband's investmant banking career, along with the maids and nannies she also mentions that she expects. (He's really, really wealthy -- did I mention that? because Kamy Wicoff does on nearly every page.) Furthermore, her bio on the book jacket describes her only as 'a contributor to [...].com", although Salon's archive contains no listings at all for her.
Other reviewers have done a good job of describing the rest of the book -- Ms. Wicoff's alternatingly hip, post-modern, ironic contempt for rings and fancy dresses, only to find that she goes and does every single solitary thing she criticizes as overly expensive or ridiculous, right down to a wildly overpriced Vera Wang original dress. Her "wedding for 200" is a premium affair, with every person man-hauled across country to attend luxurious event on a remote ranch in the Colorado mountains, just the logistics of which are coma-inducing, and the cost almost incalculable. This is the stuff of celebrity wedding, although I am not aware of Ms. Wicoff being any sort of celebrity -- she's just a rich girl who has snagged a very rich boy.
This whole, deeply offensive thing has the over all effect you get when you visit some self-aborbed, newly-married couple whose whole home is dotted with pictures and platters and keepsakes from the wedding, and then they force you to set through their wedding videos and look at their photo albums! Fascinating for them, hideously boring for you. And in the end, you are left with a nagging feeling that they just want to show off, "see what I have that you cannot possibly afford'.
I remember my grandmother, who used to say (usually after seeing some ridiculous movie star wedding covered on TV) that the lavishness of a wedding is in direct inverse correlation to the liklihood that the marriage itself will succeed long-term. And she was a very wise woman. A marriage is a lifetime of hardwork and compromise and not being the center of attention -- a WEDDING is a party that lasts one day. Anyone who makes it the pinnacle of their life, fritters away their parent's retirement money on it, brags and shows off to total strangers, and still can't get over her Emerald Cut Ring or her Vera Wang dress SIX YEARS after the event, and is still writing about it (and not, apparently, writing or working at any other endeavour) needs to get a life! and soon!
In conclusion: as a boomer generation feminist, this makes my skin crawl in shame, for both Kami and especially her mother.I Do but I Don't: Walking Down the Aisle without Losing Your Mind Overview

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The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day Review

The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks and Hours before Your Special Day
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The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day ReviewI almost bought this book but I am so glad I didn't. My local library had it so I was able to check it out before I bought it.
Pros: It does a great job of giving you a time line for each project.
It shows you your average savings.
Gives detailed instructions and helpful hints.
If you are good at crafting you probably can manipulate some of these crafts to fit your wedding.
Cons: Not enough pictures. If you are someone who often does craft you should be ok but for a beginner or occasional crafter more instructional pictures would have been helpful.
For the most part, only helpful for very specif themes. If you are planning a beach, Asian, or floral theme wedding this book is for you. Very few crafts would be helpful for all types of weddings. However, if you are willing to think outside the instructions, you can use some of these ideas for any theme.
Several of the projects look corny or cheap.
All in all, I got one idea from this book for my wedding. One idea does not equal this price tag.The DIY Bride Crafty Countdown: 40 Fabulous Projects to Make in the Months, Weeks & Hours before Your Special Day Overview

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The Bridal Wave: A Survival Guide to the Everyone-I-Know-Is-Getting-Married Years Review

The Bridal Wave: A Survival Guide to the Everyone-I-Know-Is-Getting-Married Years
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The Bridal Wave: A Survival Guide to the Everyone-I-Know-Is-Getting-Married Years ReviewI am so glad that there is finally a book that corresponds to the 21st century single woman!I have not found any other book that I could relate to in regards to this time in my life. Everything that is currently written about marriage is about the planning process. There is nothing available for those who are not married but feel the pressure!

I thank Erin and Valerie for their insight into what is really going on with many single women today! They have been courageous enough to be able to write a book that really indicates how different the times are! I am going to recommend this book to many friends as well as cousins who will be able to resonate with this Bridal Wave Survival Guide.The Bridal Wave: A Survival Guide to the Everyone-I-Know-Is-Getting-Married Years Overview

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The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery Review

The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery
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The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery ReviewWhat a lovely book of cake decorating education!! Well done Elisa!! Ms. Strauss is the owner of New York City's "Confetti Cakes". Though she worked in the fashion industry, a playful idea of mixing her love for baking with her eye for fashion brought her to this career, and it seems to suit her well. From her bakery comes this addicting book!!
Having been mesmorized by the feats and skills of such accompished cake decorators, I always look forward with great anticipation, to the latest tomes written on this subject. Ms. Strauss does not disappoint. She has compiled a rather delightful writing of the mastery of cake design and teaches a wide range of baking skills. The cake decorating devotee is given all the information necessary to reproduce what you seen on each wonderful page. This book has the ability for anyone, from novice to professional, to use and create and ooooh and aaaaah!
The instructions run from basic cookies in shapes from onesies outfits (that's the baby's first year everyday garment of basically longjohns) to purses, and cupcakes with beribboned polka-dots to beach sandals to the main event of spectacular cakes that would fool anyone due to their unique appearances, like popcorn bags to a sushi table, replete with "rice" and "California rolls".
The book is sturdy and thick with beautiful and detailed photography of each creation so that any questions can be answered with just a glance of the eye. Her explanations are clear and concise and they are given to you in steps both for the actions required as well as the timetable needed in order to plan your time wisely.
Her book is written in this order:
EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES:
This photographic and written section has what you need to work with as far as equipment and decorating tools, and each piece is numbered with a matching explanation of how you use it. There is a glossary, baking terms, practical matters, how to transport your creations, techniques for the actual decorating, filling cakes, sculpting cakes, covering cakes with fondant, constructing the cakes to hold their weight, piping with frosting and royal icing, brush embroidery, "wood staining" for making candied "tables" and "crates", making sugar bows, and more.
BASIC RECIPES:
Chocolate cake
Vanilla cake
Red velvet cake
Banana cake
Vanilla sugar cookie dough
Chocolate cookie dough
Cupcake frosting
Swiss meringue buttercream
Chocolate ganache
Royal icing
Simple syrup
Rolled fondant
How much fondant
COOKIES: (some templates are included)
Heart cookies
Snowflake cookies
Stacked wedding cake cookies
Baby onesie cookies
Birthday cake cookies
Stiletto cookies (so much fun to make!)
Handbag cookies
Witch's wardrobe cookies
Modern wedding vow cookies
Fruit cookies (they look so real)
Dragon and butterfly cookiesCUPCAKES:
Crystal cupcakes
Polka dot cupcakes
Sports cupcakes
Pool ball cupcakes
Flip-flop cupcakes (yep, little tiny sandals!)
Seashell cupcakes (the "seashells" are so easy to make)
Snowman cupcakes
Rubber ducky cupcakes
Hydrangea cupcakesMINI-CAKES:
Tomato mini cakes (a tomato sitting in dirt in a pail)
Monogram mini cakes
Party hat mini cakes
Dice mini cakes
Mini present cakes
Retro TV mini cakes (so darn cute!)
Popcorn mini cakes (this is easy and fun and everyone loves them!)
Tote bag mini cakes
Mini wedding cakes
Teacup mini cakes
CAKES:
Bow cake (very simple yet elegant, especially for a first time project)
Baby blocks cake
Baseball hat cake
Chinese takeout box cake (clever; fortune cookie recipe too!)
2-tiered stripes cake
Brush embroidery (another very elegant first time cake)
Hydrangea cake
Appliqued flower cake
Chocolate embroidery wedding cake
The handbag cake (from the from cover of the book)
Wine bottle cake
Sushi cake
Sugar stiletto cake and shoebox cake (this put Elisa in the spotlight and you will see why!)
RESOURCES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INDEX
Being prejudiced to all that is baking, I am picky about what really inspires and educates and this book is up there with the other great volumes of true baking eduction. I would highly recommend this for anyone who enjoys this type of culinary conquest; no doubt about it, you'll be happy with this acquisition to your baking library!The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery Overview

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Professional Cake Decorating Review

Professional Cake Decorating
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Professional Cake Decorating ReviewThis really is a comprehensive, excellent instruction book and it is appropriate for people at all levels of cake decorating experience. Toba Garrett covers everything from start to finish and at the end of each lesson she provides a self-quiz that will help you see how much you have learned, practice each technique and make sure you understand the terminology that goes with this exciting career/hobby.
I teach cake decorating at a local craft store and I own my own cake decorating business and Toba is an inspiration and my absolute favorite cake decorator. If you want to learn anything about the art of cake decorating, this book is worth the price! It could replace all the other cake books in my library all at once. Oh - and the recipes are fabulous too! Try the chocolate fudge cake recipe if you like chocolate cake, it's OUT OF THIS WORLD.
I want to mention that the recipes have the ingredient measurements for both a 5-6 quart mixer and a 20 quart mixer for those who are starting a kitchen with bigger equipment.
Professional Cake Decorating Overview

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The Well-Decorated Cake Review

The Well-Decorated Cake
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The Well-Decorated Cake ReviewFINALLY, of all the cake decorating books I own, a new one comes along that could almost make ALL the others obsolete -- it's that good.
A recent review of Collette Peters' "Cakes To Dream On" (a book which claims in its subtitle to be a "A Master Class in Decorating") says, and I quote: "While I concede that this book is stunning to look at, Colette Peters does not want you to learn how to make these cakes. The cake decorating instructions are vague and absurdly simplistic in the extreme; general discussion of technique ... is either absent or useless in its brevity... This is another narcissistic venture by Colette Peters."
Well, Ms. Garrett, on the other hand, is REALLY offering you 'a master class in decorating'. Unlike Ms. Peters, Ms. Garrett DOES want you to learn how to make these cakes and DOES want to help you do so. I am overcome with admiration for her for that fact alone. She'd have every right in the world to be narcissistic and stuck-up, to jealously guard all her professional skills and secrets ... and yet she's not and she doesn't. She gives the real deal in this book and it's worth every penny and more of its purchase price.
Books like Ms. Peters' various books which may in truth, despite claims to the contrary, serve only as inspiration rather than instruction, still meet a very real need -- and I don't mean to imply otherwise. However, what's so admirable about "The Well-Decorated Cake" is that in it, Ms. Garrett -- a seriously skilled decorator -- offers BOTH: real, hard-core instruction on sophisticated, professional techniques, AND inspiration and ideas galore thanks to the numerous photos of completed cakes.
Would this book be appropriate for absolute beginners? I'm not entirely sure -- it aims high and assumes at least a working familiarity with the fundamental components involved. Still, it spells out any number of details carefully and thoroughly -- far more carefully and thoroughly than any number of books and/or articles I've read in my years of researching this subject. She teaches professionals and it shows.
By the way, I purchased the paperback edition and am more than pleased with its quality. The paper is heavy and smooth and the font crisp and clear. Add to that truly superb photographs in abundance and lovely line drawings and diagrams.
This book is, undeniably, a winner. Congratulations, Ms. Garrett, and THANK YOU!
P.S. (April 2006) I see Ms. Garrett is coming out this September with another book on cake decorating (Professional Cake Decorating, Wiley publisher) intended for professional students. Betcha it'll be really comprehensive and solid. Keep your eyes open!The Well-Decorated Cake Overview

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