Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July!



taken at the USNWC, transformed with Diptic


We went to the US National Whitewater Center to watch fireworks for the third year in a row. Most people fight for space around the water but we run straight for the hill on the back end of the park. There's nothing more magical than to lay down in the soft grass and watch the sky explode above you.

Before the fireworks, we enjoyed a great band called Langhorne Slim. Turns our they're pretty popular.

I liked them so much that I recorded a few videos, enjoy!











Happy 4th of July!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Oh, July!

Can you believe it's July already?! How is it that half the year is over? There's so much left to accomplish!


My bff recently started a new blog and we must be on the same wavelength because she said, "I love the idea that the best camera, is the camera that you have on hand, whether it’s an iphone, point&shoot, whatever." How true! Honestly, I forgot the last time I took out my Canon s95 because I already had the iPhone in hand.


I have a confession to make, I'm obsessed with my iPhone. It's all kinds of fabulous! One of the greatest things is the ability to edit pictures on the fly, something that a regular camera cannot do.


My all time favorite app is Instagram so my hope is to share a select few favorites from each week.


Here's a handful of my favorites from the past couple of weeks...






fingertips




carnations










fishin'




Happy Friday!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Building a Closet: The Walls

Originally, we were going to paint the walls of the closet before we put in all the units but after feeling a little lazy (and cheap) about it we decided not to do it.

But a part of me still wanted funky colors to adorn the walls. What's the point of building this beautiful space and not going all the way?

A few weeks back, a friend of mine decided to paint an accent wall in her Uptown apartment. The white walls were driving her crazy. She has never painted and thought it was only $20 or so to do so. My eyes got wide and I went into a 20 minute dissertation on the initial investment and first steps (like locking away her cat for the duration of the project). Another friend chimed in and mentioned that it cost $5000 to paint her tiny condo.

At that point we realized that we killed her dream of a fun colored wall... And then I remembered hearing about "apartment wallpaper" and that she should Google it, also known as temporary wallpaper.

Then I realized that it would be perfect for the closet. No mess to clean up and no need to spend money again to repaint to a bland off white color when it is time to rent/sell the house!

I found a company named Tempaper and fell in love. The following three samples are due to show up on our door step this week:



Marrakesh - Ruby Slate



Edie - Frosted Teal




Edie - Lemon Ash



Which one should I pick?

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wedding Wednesday: t-108 Days

According to The Knot I'm screwed. I have a 169 items left to do before the wedding.


Proof!!


For some reason I'm not yet freaked out. Part of my day job includes event planning for 20-200 people and I have been able to pull off some crazy things last minute. Granted, this is my wedding and money so I'm a lot tighter with the money and care a lot more.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I'm addicted to Pinterest and have finally started to form a vision for what I want our big day to look like.

I'm in love with white umbrellas, tent like draping, white pumpkins, lemons & limes, branches and over sized centerpieces.

Craigslist is becoming a friend of mine too. Hoping to find some vintage inspired decorations!


What are some budget friendly decorations did you use in your wedding or are planning on using?

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Monday, June 27, 2011

Building a Closet: Lighting

Having great lighting can make or break a home... and in my case, my closet. Once we finish putting in the foundation pieces I would like to add a "statement" light fixture. While cruising Amazon.com, my eyes spotted a sponsored link to Light in the Box. I am hooked! So not only do they have amazing chandeliers for decent prices but they also have some nice clothing. (I'm all about some free advertising!)

The following three chandeliers stood out to me as possible candidates for my closet:



16-light Crystal Contemporary Chandelier




3-lights Crystal Ceiling Light




Iron Chrome 8-light Crystal Ceiling Light with Lamp Cover


Now, who wants to help us re-wire the chandelier from a hard wire to a plug-in?!

All images via LightintheBox

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Building a Closet: The Foundation




B has been slowly piecing my dream closet together. The pieces tend to come on holidays and other special occasions and are assembled and hidden from me and revealed in different ways each time. Currently, I have the following three PAX pieces:




There's room for one more followed by two dressers to be placed in the middle of the closet, back-to-back:



We haven't decided how we're going to handle the shoe situation because I'm not a fan of IKEAs shoe holders. May be another wardrobe with shoe racks from Target placed inside. We'll see!

Looking forward to decorating my closet once the foundation is finished.



All images via www.IKEA.com

Saturday, June 25, 2011

MIA



I've been MIA. With a crazy work travel schedule in April, catching up on life and trying to plan a wedding in May, and with volunteering for a good cause and a volunteering for a board position at a local business association in June...I've been busy.

Somewhere in the madness I crossed over to the dark side and got an iPhone. I love it. Best thing ever. I'm obsessed with instagram and Pinterest and think those apps are the reason why I have a clearer vision for our wedding.

Be back soon.

Cheers!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Imagine







"It's more interesting to have just a picture of a small detail - then you can dream all the rest around it. Because when you see the whole thing, what is there to imagine?" - Dries Van Noten




photos and quote via The Coveteur

Monday, April 18, 2011

Liz Lemon-ism: Spanx





“God, three weddings in one day; I’m going to be in Spanx for 12 hours. My elastic line is gonna get infected again.” - Liz Lemon



Me on my wedding day? A possibility.

Happy Monday!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Save-the-Date: Vintage Postcard

Thanks to un-spring like weather we had to re-schedule our engagement shoot. It rained cats and dogs on Saturday and the weather on Sunday was not any better. It was a cold cold weekend!

With the weather not cooperating and my travel schedule we had to push the shoot back a couple of weekends which puts us in the red zone for save-the-dates. So it's even more important that we pick save-the-dates that can be printed and sent the moment we have a picture picked out from the shoot.

Honestly, I have no clue what design we should go with other than I want our pretty little faces plastered all over your refrigerators. :)

The only criteria is...
  • contains a photo of us
  • no weird shape/size (trying to avoid paying extra postage)
  • pretty, simple, and DIY (if at all possible)


  • So then I stumbled upon this pretty, yet simple, postcard sized save-the-date with a place for a photo on The Wedding Chicks:



    photo via The Wedding Chicks



    Don't you just love it?

    I will be spending the next week or so researching save-the-dates and collecting addresses as well as preparing for two weeks of travel. On top of all that I have an intense week ahead at work? *deep breath*

    Friday, March 25, 2011

    Custom Address Stamp

    Love, love, LOVE this extra large address stamp from EDanae's etsy shop.








    Thinking about getting the custom stamp for our save-the-date and wedding invitations.


    images via EDanae etsy shop.

    Thursday, March 24, 2011

    No Elephants



    found on oh hello friend.


    Happy Thursday!

    Wednesday, March 23, 2011

    Dear...

    Dear David's Bridal and Dillard's,

    You are selling the same dress for almost the same price:



    David's Bridal/Dillard's



    But that's ok, I bought the dress from one of you. :)

    This is one of the dresses that I will be wearing during our engagement shoot this Sunday. My biggest problem is the shoes (a first)! The dress is the perfect length with flats, anything higher than two inches will make the dress look...weird.

    What shoes/accessories would you pair with the dress?

    Posing

    This Sunday we have an engagement photo session with JJ Horton (thanks to my awesome bff of Sunday Stories fame)!

    The closest I've been to a "photo shoot" was my high school senior portrait. I just came back from two weeks in France and was 17 and tan. The photographer hit on me (mom reminded him that she was right there), my hair looked like I got electrocuted, and I was told to prop my chin on my fist while leaning on a fake fence.

    Since then, I have figured out that I should let my hair do it's own thing and have gone through the Paris Hilton School of Posing (chin down, smile with eyes, no teeth).

    Because research is a specialty of mine, I bring you YouTube's School of Posing:






    Ok, ok, so it's fashion posing and only two videos, sue me! ;)

    Here are a few real couples and real poses that I love:


    via JJ Horton Photography


    via Style Me Pretty



    via Jasmine Star



    via Jasmine Star


    via Kristin Vining Photography



    Can't wait!

    Tuesday, March 22, 2011

    for Japan with Love



    via AP News


    It's been almost two weeks since the big quake occurred. Tens of thousands of people are feared dead and the confirmed number is already hard to comprehend.

    My mom was in Tokyo the week of the earthquake. That Wednesday, a 7.4 magnitude quake made the buildings sway. Mom said it was a surreal feeling and even more so as she watched other building sway from the twenty third floor of a high rise. There were several aftershocks and everyone thought it was the big one, that it was over.

    Unfortunately, it was not. On Friday, "the big one" shook Japan to it's core. But it wasn't the earthquake that destroyed whole cities and killed tens of thousands of people, it was the tsunami.

    Japan has always held a special spot in my heart, especially after my first (and only) visit in 2008. The people and their culture amaze me, they are like no other.

    I continue to be amazed by the people of Japan. There's order in the chaos...


    for japan with love


    There are many ways to help. Both Yahoo and Google have links to legit agencies. You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 (it's so easy that a two year old can do it). Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours are running a fundraiser, For Japan with Love, to benefit Shelter Box. Their goal was $5,500 (enough for 5 shelters) but they have exceeded their goal by over 1000%!!! At the time of this post they raised $56,779. Amazing!

    This weekend mom and I went to Super G Mart on Independence Blvd. There was a Japanese family outside collecting money for the relief efforts. The only cash I had was one measly little dollar but knowing every penny counts, I put it in the donation box. Multiple thanks and bows later, I wanted to break down and cry. They treated it as if it was a million dollars.

    I urge you to help. Whether it's time or money. Local drives or national fundraising efforts... It's going to be a long recovery...

    Tuesday, March 8, 2011

    March 8th: International Women's Day

    Today is International Women's Day. This holiday means different things to different cultures. To me, it's nostalgia. Back in the day, we (the women in my family) would receive flowers (usually carnations) and a card from each other and the men in our lives.

    Happy Women's Day!










    1, 2, 3, 4

    Sunday, March 6, 2011

    Big Sigh

    Today I took a deep sigh of relief. Even though it's temporary and there is still a lot (a lot!) left to do, the biggest puzzle pieces are done.

    I'm talking about our wedding...and the fact that my 13-14 hour work days are done, for now.

    I have the best future husband a girl could ask for, the best maid of honor ever, a date, a location, a caterer, and an awesome photographer.

    Now we have a giant list of "smaller" items to tackle. Save-the-dates, engagement shoot, cake, music...

    /sigh