The Buff and Blue Reviews

The story of how I found my veil is pretty interesting.  I had already found this exquisite 1920s flapper style wedding dress, because of the unique style of the dress, I needed a veil that would look a certain way.

The first thing I did was to find the right headpiece.  Rather than a modern wedding tiara, I decided to get a vintage wreath made of wax orange blossoms.  I found the wreath on eBay, and then started looking for someone who could make the right veil to go with it.

When I was browsing eBay one night, I just happened to see this really lovely mantilla veil.  I was having a hard time finding a veil at that point, so I briefly considered the mantilla veil, but I decided it wouldn’t go with my dress right.  I started looking at the seamstress’s other veils, and realized she specialized in repairing vintage veils and making reproduction veils.  So I contacted her about making a veil in the fabric, color, and style that I wanted.

The end result was just gorgeous — really spectacular.  I couldn’t have chosen a better person to make my veil!

Technorati Tags: mantilla veil, orange blossoms, vintage veil, wedding tiara

When I came home one night after work to see our house on fire, it was one of the most horrible experiences of my life.  There is just something horrible about seeing your home destroyed, and it brought tears to my eyes.  Thankfully no one was at home at the time, so no one was hurt, but it also meant that we would have to rebuild our home and our lives.

Fast forward six months from that moment, and our home is finally rebuilt.  It isn’t a moment too soon - we are really getting tired of living in the cramped apartment that we found as a temporary home.  But it also means that we need to go out shopping to replace all of our belongings that were destroyed in the fire which will be no simple task.

Even though we did take pictures of the contents of our home, how do you remember all of baby toys you had or get back your son’s favorite kids furniture?  The truth of the matter is that you can’t.  Some of their favorite toys (like Tiny, my son’s stuffed dog) will be lost forever and though you could technically find a replacement that looked the same, they still wouldn’t be the same toys that they were attached to.

Hopefully, we will be moved into our new home in the next week and we can finally quit mourning the loss of our old home and focus on creating memories in the new one. I just hope that we never have an experience like this again - I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Technorati Tags: baby toys, kids furniture

Colorado’s governer, Bill Ritter, recently signed a bill that will ban texting while driving, starting in December when the new law takes effect.  The law also prohibits anyone under 18 from talking on a handheld phone while driving, though hands-free devices are okay.

I think this law is going to be difficult to enforce.  First of all, sure there are many people who can’t text and drive at the same time without making it quite obvious, but what about the folks who can text by touch with the phone out of sight?

(Yes, I am one who does that.  I can type out a text without looking at the phone, kind of like I’m typing this blog post without looking at the keyboard.  I can type while having a conversation and looking away from the screen, too.  That used to drive my dad crazy when I lived at home.)

I also think the second part will be difficult to enforce.  How do you tell if a driver is under 18 just by looking at them?  Or is it going to be something like the old seatbelt law, where a cop could only give you a ticket for not having a seat belt on if they had already pulled you over for something else?

I have to admit, I don’t foresee a bunch of teenagers running out and buying Blackberry accessories and iPhone accessories so that they can talk legally in the car.  Unless the police get permission to pull over every person talking on the phone who looks like they could be under 18, I don’t think teens are going to be impacted much at all!

As for the texting ban — well, I guess time will only tell how much of an impact this law has on it!

Technorati Tags: Blackberry accessories, Colorado, iPhone accessories, texting ban, texting while driving

My cousin and I are very close. She is a good person, who had it all until she got hooked on alcohol. Now, she spends most of her days drinking and her nights crashed. I need to help her so I am looking for a Florida drug rehab facility or treatment option for her. I am particularly interested in a facility that specializes in alcohol rehab, since I know many of the other facilities put a lot of focus on drugs instead.

I am concerned with all of the different options there are. I have heard that group therapy sessions are best because they hold the individual accountable on a peer like level. I also want to give her the chance of getting one on one counseling with a professional who understands her condition. This is incredibly important to her.

Your first question may be, am I sure this is what she wants. To answer that, I can say yes. She wrote me a letter (since it was easier for her) in which she detailed her regrets of getting into this position. She also knows that she has family that can help her, like me. I have read the alcohol addiction statistics and I know that now is the best time to get her help.

Technorati Tags: alcohol rehab, Florida drug rehab

Have you ever looked at a cat condo and thought to yourself that you could easily start building cat condos? Well, if you are truly ambitious there are a number of places on the internet where you can find free cat condo plans. It’s actually a rather interesting universe as some of these plans rival the real world living accommodations that you or I might reside in!

Now you know when to back off these DIY plans when you start to check out premium cat furniture. The detail, craftsmanship and quality that most of these pieces are manufactured with will quickly let you know that you can’t do it like that. You would be better off just putting some carpet remnants on an old milk crate and calling that cat furniture.

In fact, I’ve even seen stores in those outlet malls that sell discount cat furniture. And that’s really a good thing because some of this stuff can get down right expensive. But at the end of the day, it’s all worth it to provide a safe, healthy indoor living environment for the pet that loves you. Or at least for the cat that allows you to feed it regularly!

Technorati Tags: cat condo, premium cat furniture