how did you get sooooo pretty?

First off, thanks! Second off, thanks mom and dad. Most of this had to do with luck. ;)

Ask me anything

Do you know what excites me?

THIS!!

I am a rabid J. Crew fan. Even if my wallet cannot always support the habit, I am dually devoted. I have been stalking their dress selection for bridesmaid since I was pre-engaged and their extensive opportunities for stylizing should never be over looked. I cannot wait to schedule an appointment to see the bridesmaid dresses in person. I hope they are as gorgeous as they look online. We will also have so much fun with accessories! And suits! And shoes! Oh, my!

While I know a lot of ladies are waiting for the Anthropologie bridal boutique to open its doors, this has been such a long time coming for me! Sometimes I look at J Crew catalogs and say, "Yes. That makes sense." It would be my dream job to work as a merchandiser for le Crew (I mean...if I didn't already have my dream job as merchandiser for a Museum) and I would consider it a blessing if I could just have a smidgen of the talent their stylists have. Lime green jell-o, girls.

That's not even the full spectrum of the greatness of this launch. I feel like it could totally revolutionize the wedding industry. I'm sure Anthropologie wouldn't have jumped on the bandwagon had J. Crew not had success. In reality, it's simplifying a lot, bringing down costs and making things more accessible to a wide range of brides and bridesmaids. The economics of wedding attire could see a mighty, mighty shift.

I was going to play a game of: let's find my favorite things on JCrew.com but, MY PROOFING DISC JUST GOT DROPPED OFF!!

Let's Go Red Sox...etc

I feel like my weekends have been non-stop. I haven't been able to sleep in for probably a month now. Hells bells, I haven't been able to sleep properly for a month now. The past few weekends have been filled with friends and family and still it seems like I don't get to spend enough time with the people I care about. (I'm probably watching too much BtVS)

It's at a point where my weekends have become such a whirlwind of activity that I don't even know what to highlight....maybe nothing at all except a satisfied feeling of appreciation for everyone around me. I am a lucky, lucky girl.

I wish I could say that I will be spending this upcoming holiday weekend skulking around my apartment and investigating the empty city. Instead, I will be camping in Ithaca on a wine tour (boo-hoo, right?). I am really excited to join our friends up there and have a great time, at the same time: I wish I could curl up in my bed with a book for 12 hours.

A few of my favorite things...

I need a holiday, you? My high from seeing the Sox destroy the Phillies was swiftly snuffed by the lackluster and frustrating series finale of Lost (so, it was all for naught, jerks!?). As if that kind of disappointment wasn't a worse enough way to start off a Monday morning, I got iced last night by Emily Betty and Elise. Thanks, ladies - you iced me on a Monday. I don't really have a problem being iced, except when I don't have a way to block. Anyhow, the early week slump seems to have taken up residency in my pulled neck muscle - so what better way to combat cranky doom and gloom but with a few of my favorite (wedding related) things! The theme for this installment of My Favorite Things is: Etsy! Although I will be linking a lot of amazing things back to Etsy, this is just a crazy mix'em'up mesh of things. Trust, I could devote hours to cake toppers. One of these days, I swear it, I will get really good at microsoft paint. Until that day, here is my five star collection:

If you're not impressed with my collaging ability, I respect that, but look at this cute stuff!! I admit, I didn't stick to any kind of theme, rhyme or reason with this one. Next time, as I am looking for specifics and not just pretties, I probably will. Everything is from Etsy.com and I will make them as easy to find as possible, short of providing links (I'm bad, I forgot to bookmark). So, clockwise from upper left:

1. Garter in Something Blue and Orange by Piperewan, $40. Love, love, love! As a lady who is very anti-garter marrying a man who only put his foot down to defend this barbaric tradition, it was going to take something spectacular to get me on the bandwagon. Hello, spectacle! The softer versions of the colors we are using just seem perfect. It's simple and girly without overdoing it on the lace. My dress is 100% lace so I think a lace garter would be a touch over cooked.

2. Sophie, Made to Order Hair Piece by LoBoheme, $100. If there is one thing my mother and I will fight about (besides me buying my dress sans her opinion) it will be what goes on my head. She really wants me to wear a veil and I really want...well, the opposite of that! While we have some time to reach a happy compromise in the mean time I am going to drool over this kind of style - sans blusher and birdcage style attachments. "Look ma, no veil!"

3. Personalized Cootie Catcher by Katskrafts, $87.50/70 units additional pricing options. This is so cute! I would never supply it at my wedding but it is so adorable! The qualms it raises with my noxious meter are putting me off to it. While I think it's adorable to have something like this scattered about on various cocktail tables, some of the suggested uses throw me for a tail spin. Using them as ways to have your guests find out nifty factoids about your life together is pretty romantical. Using it as a form of ice breakers for the table? No, thanks. Your guests are adults - you shouldn't have cootie catchers daring them to get up and dance throughout the night.

4. Boutineer by SusieQScraps, $15. My heart be stilled! You can bet you bottom buttons that Jane is getting pictures of this. I love how elegant it is and how there is wonderful harmony between feminine romance and masculinity. Throw some navy blue or orange in there and you have yourself a deal!

5. Vintage Lace Ribbon Bridal Bouquet Wrap by GraceartandAntiques, $38. How gorgeous?! How fabulous is that touch of bling on the vintage ribbon. This may be my favorite of the bunch. I want it, I need it, I'm 100% inspired by it. My wildflower garden of gathered timeless flowers would love to be bundled ever so securely in such a demur and lovely wrap like that.

I think the lesson here is: thank you etsy! You are an overwhelming and wonderful resource of style and inspiration. Three cheers!

Also, three monumental cheers for Brian Ambrose Photo because they are sending me the disc soon! Hopefully I will have it by Friday! What started off as a cranky morning is turning into a slightly more enthused afternoon!

After Glow...

Ooooohmahgah, you guys! Our engagement session was seriously a blast. Brian and Kate got to our apartment around noon and we went to Cooper park (right down the street from us) to take pictures with the little derplings, Monster and Elvis. We got some great shots with the boys. Then we headed down to DUMBO. It was so relaxed and we had gorgeous weather, we took pictures between the two bridges and in front of some really textural graffiti. We also went to the Richardson, which is the bar that we had our mini-celebration with our friends at. It was all such a blur, I can't even anticipate what pictures we are going to love...which will probably be all of them. We held hands with Jesus - kind of literally! Brian and Kate were amazing to work with overall.

They were friendly but had their eyes on the prize and kept us on the ball. They have worked with so many couples it was really nice to get genuine feed back from professionals and also to get some inside tips on where, what and who to work with. I'm just over the moon about the whole thing! I can get awkward in front of a camera and from point A to B, they were able to relax us and put us at ease. Their incredible dynamic really helps make for a great time.

For prep: I picked out three outfits, which sort of turned in to four (I got to change my shirt on the side of the street, cause I'm a pro). Mani/Pedis with Colleen were the business. If I were told I had a pedicure addiction, I would not be surprised. I didn't want to go over the top with new clothing because I wanted to be me and be in my comfort zone, but there is nothing wrong with some new shoes...yes, I am wearing them to work today!

I ended up not using the false eyelashes. You would be amazed at how difficult those things are. Seriously, I was struggling with them. When I did manage to put them on they didn't look right. While I would love to blame my incompetence on Sephora's product I have to confess that my inability to use the lashes had nothing to do with their construction. The glue was reliable and the lashes were not wimpy or easily destroyed. I am definitely still considering using false lashes for the wedding day, but they will be adeptly applied by a professional and not my clumsy ass.

I have been spying some really awesome things on etsy recently and when I have more time I will post a bajillion thoughts about them. Until that, happy friday y'all. LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! (We do not want Steve to gloat all weekend).

Also, who else is hella stressed about the Lost series finale? Hear, hear, mates. Hear, hear.

Haterade

I don't know what is going on with my internal system but my sleeping habits have been struggling for the past two weeks. I go to sleep, it is completely unrestful and I wake up a cranky, haggard looking mess complete with under-eye circles and frowns. Then I chug a giant red bull to ease my exhaustion. This morning was no exception and I am full of cranky. My red bull is hurting my teeth, we were out of Claritin this morning and my Excedrin migraine has yet to kick in. Whine, whine, double whine. Feel bad for me! Please? At least today is like Friday. It's Shavuot so, I don't have to work tomorrow or Thursday. Thursday are our engagement pictures (so I better figure out a way to get a good night's sleep)!

Michelle is coming over tonight to start Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 2 and watch Lost. FYI: I have a critical obsession with 1990's television. Right now I'm simultaneously re-watching all season of the X-Files and initiating myself into BTVS. I'm not an uber-dweeb, I swear (OK, yes I am). Before she arrives, I will probably be plowing through my wardrobe trying to figure out what to wear. Brian suggested one casual outfit and one dressier outfit. That does not help me, someone hire me a stylist!

Tomorrow Monster is getting his hair did and I am getting mani/pedis with Colleen. We will gossip about boys and be total haters and enjoy lattes. That is about as Sex in the City my life will ever get, I'm really not so chic. After lattes and manicures, Colleen is going to help me learn how to put on fake eyelashes. I did my usual product research and discovered that the bang for the buck is at Sephora. I got their brand of re-usable (suggested to be used 3-4 times if you're not using mascara, 2 times if you are) eye lashes. I have never worn fake eyelashes, but I wanted to try them out for the photo shoot. Why? Because it's fun! I'm pretty lazy when it comes to make up on the daily, so I think maybe a mini spruce up could provide me with some entertainment. I also want to get a feel for how I like them. I haven't even started looking for my hair and make-up artist for the big day but I want to know what I like and what I can handle.

So: wardrobe, fingers and toes, eyelashes....and beyond. I have a feeling that the eyelash experiment is going to be a hilarious (and possibly dangerous) one.

epic mini bride is epic.

We had a very eventful weekend and I am exhausted. The only thing I have the energy to say is, while walking around the King of Prussia Mall, there was one of those klassy portrait studios, you know the kind? They always have photographs that have been photo shopped to look like paintings and they do senior pictures for yearbooks or prom photos at High School gyms. Well, this particular studio paid homage to the mini bride phenomena, behold:

I feel like I have to keep track of this ever growing creeptastic mystery. More on this later...