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

Saturday, June 1, 2013

613 (Personal health and safety) - An "Oh Shit! Kit"

What is an "Oh Shit! Kit" you may ask? Basically, it's just a small package of all those things that you might need at an event that you are going to, namely weddings, but just everyday preparedness, too!

I have a small "Oh Shit! Kit" that goes in my purse along side my wallet and beauty products. This kit looks like this:

And it holds the following products:

  • Hand sanitizer
  • Tide-to-go mini stick
  • Mini floss (free from dentist appt.)
  • Band Aides (finger, knuckle, and regular fabric ones)
  • Hand wipes (these happen to be from a "wash your sins away" gag gift)
  • Pain pills, allergy pills, and Tums in a small Altoids container
  • Mint breath spray
  • Alcohol wipes
  • Jolly ranchers
  • Throat lozenges (cough drops)
  • Mini sewing kit (with two needles, thread, two buttons, two safety pins, and a small scissors)
  • Mini nail kit (nail clippers, file, cuticle scissors)
All of these things fit in the small American Red Cross pouch. I also have a mouth-to-mouth shield attached to my key ring (it folds up into a little pouch) and my regular cosmetics (chapstick, lipstick, etc.) in my purse pockets alongside my cell phone.


Small "Oh Shit!" Kit Contents

My large "Oh Shit! Kit" that I take to weddings and on long weekends/camping/etc. fits inside a medium sized cosmetic bag (with the internal, clear zippered pockets) and looks more like this:

Large "Oh Shit!" Kit Contents

It has a longer list of things included by far and is still being added to on a regular basis as I find new items that I think should be added. The larger kit includes:

  • Instant ice pack
  • Throat lozenges
  • Wet wipes (good for more than just babies' bottoms)
  • Static guard
  • A mini lint roller
  • Sewing kit
  • Tide-to-go stick
  • Alcohol wipes
  • Gauze
  • A larger assortment of pills (pain, Tums, cold and sinus, allergy)
  • Neo-to-Go spray (well, the cheap target version that works just as well)
  • Double sided fashion tape
  • Safety Pins
  • Larger scissors
  • Q-Tips
  • Tampons
  • Blister Band Aids
  • Assorted fabric Band Aids
  • Clear medical tape
  • Pens
  • Floss
  • Whips (4 little throw away tooth brushes that have picks on the end)
  • Carmex stick
  • Tape measure
  • Paper clips
  • Mini manicure set
  • Lavender scented hand lotion
  • Mint breath spray
  • Jolly ranchers
Why carry all of this stuff, you might ask? Because I've needed it before and not had it! Some of the most common problems I run into at weddings or large group events? A bride who wants hand lotion or a breath mint, groomsmen who rip their hems, a bridesmaid who forgot their chapstick or breaks a nail (or whose shoes are killing her feet and causing blisters... I've had that one happen myself), or a various number of small cuts and scrapes happen throughout the day. I always feel like an assortment of over-the-counter drugs are a good way to go, too - you never know when someone in the crowd will get a headache or be sneezing uncontrollably from seasonal allergies. The jolly ranchers? I know an awful lot of people who are diabetic and a piece of hard candy can fix a lot of sugar/insulin issues. 

Does this make me "mom" among my friends? Yes, yes it does. While that can be annoying, it's also good to know that everyone in the crowd is taken care of. Anything else you think should go in my "Oh Shit! Kits"? Leave a comment below!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

745.926 (Three-dimensional arrangements for special occasions)

My brother-in-law is a Marine and he and his lovely bride were supposed to be married this July, but being a part of the Corps, my brother-in-law found out that he'll likely be shipping out sometime in September. This meant that the wedding that was supposed to happen in July had to happen sooner... and the two of them went from having 5 months to plan to having 5 weeks to plan and I suddenly became a florist!

I figured I'd post pictures of the bouquets and centerpieces. The bride ordered the flowers from Costco and had them delivered to my door the Wednesday before the wedding. They arrived in boxes that looked like this:


I had to de-thorn and de-leaf all of the roses (300 stems) and make sure that they were placed in water. With so many different stems, they went in 5 gallon pails and coolers to get transported to the bride's parents' house to be made into bouquets. 


It was the coldest 4.5 hour car trip the hubs and I have EVER had. The flowers had to be kept cool in order to keep them fresh and in good shape for the wedding. Looking back now, we should have had all the stems delivered Thursday, but we weren't sure on the time it would take for the flowers to fully open.

An afternoon was spent making 3 bridesmaid bouquets, the bride's bouquet, and 6 small table centerpieces. We picked up baby's breath the morning of making the bouquets before all the ladies (myself included) went to have our nails done. The bride and I then hit up JoAnn Fabrics to pick up ribbon and bouquet 'bling'.

While I'm not a professional florist (a professional florist would probably give me shit about my bouquet making skills), the flowers looked great for the day of the wedding and met all of the bride's expectations! Whoot! Here are the pictures of the flowers the day of the wedding. The professional photographers captured them much better, but I'm just glad they held up for the day.

I know it's not cake, but enjoy!

Bride's Bouquet
Bouquet 'Bling'
Bridesmaid's Bouqets (black centered gerbs for maid of honor)
Bride and Groom (as seen through centerpiece)
Table Centerpieces