We haven't done this in a while. Let's troll!

First- we have a really unique wedding gown. Yes it's from the 70's. Sure you could say it's a little "hippy-ish". But I just can't get over the embroidery. The colors! I think it would be really perfect at a beach wedding in a tropical local. I suppose I might alter the sleeves slightly, but that would be pretty easy. I'd say definitely give it a look if you're looking for a really unique summery wedding dress.

Next- we have what I think would be a fun gag gift for a bride-to-be. A book, published in the 30's for the engaged woman, filled with recipies, advertisements, tips on how to dress for your man...

Then- we have a set of pretty pretty toasting glasses. Something Blue!

Last- very pretty mantilla hair comb.

Happy Halloween! Here's a picture of me in costume at the 7th Ave Halloween Parade. See? I'm not always thinking about invitations and parties. Sometimes I think about marine life.
The little skeleton I'm talking to threatened to cut off my tentacles with his light saber if I tried to sting him. I tried hard to look intimidated, but he was just too darn cute!

I love the idea of pairing opaque stones with formal white or ethereal ivory. Coral, lapis, jade... I think any of these could hold their own against floor length satin. They're so unexpected and such a nice departure from the faceted sparklyness we see so much of.
Not that that I have ANYthing against sparkles. Lord knows. I came *this* close to buying a 3 carat peridot cocktail ring off the TV. My entire line of reasoning behind this almost purchase was "oooooo sparkly". Luckily, I have smart people nearby who can fend-off my reasoning with genius counterpoints. I believe that in this particular case the smart person was Dell and the counterpoint was "You don't need a 3 carat cocktail ring". I knew I married him for a reason.
Oh yeah. You can check out Olia for the wonderful jewelry above and more; both sparkly and non.

Hey! Today we're trying something new. I thought it would be helpful if I could follow one woman through her wedding planning journey, start to finish. Now, you might not know this, but I have several friends. Until now, none of them have been engaged or willing to blog about said engagement. Today, TODAY is a special day. Today you meet my dear friend Samantha who has just gotten engaged! We will be hearing from Sam weekly with updates on her adventures in wedding planning as well as updates on her sanity.
So without further adoooo.....
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, Samantha Jasmine; pictured here with her fiance Dave.




Hi, I'm Samantha, and I'm an art teacher and painter. I started reading SOSN before I was even engaged! I'm really excited to have been invited to contribute.

I suppose I'd better begin with a little about my fiance. Dave works as a book editor at a publishing house here in New York. We met through Nerve.com (eek!) which used to feel as if it had a stigma attached but, lately, online dating seems more and more commonplace. He was my first online date anyhow, so that makes it sort of sweet.

We began to seriously consider getting engaged last summer. After a lot of research into unconventional ring ideas (eBay and Fay Cullen) and popping into places like Doyle and Doyle and Little King in downtown Manhattan, we wound up commissioning a dear friend from college (and gifted jewelry designer) to make one for us. In mid-August we got the finished ring, but I was strictly forbidden to see it until the question was actually popped—Dave assured me it would be buried safely beneath the surface of Jupiter until he was ready to do so, so there would be no point in snooping around the apartment.

Dave told me I would be surprised...and I was. In late September, his parents and sister were invited to dinner with my parents, brother, grandmother, and cousins. Mid-meal, I started pestering him to eat more. Usually, he goes nuts for all the fabulous food my parents serve. But this night he was skimping. Suddenly, he clinked his glass and cleared his throat ("Is he making a toast?" I wondered. "He sometimes does that," I thought as I spooned some applesauce into my mouth). Then he said: "As you all know, Samantha and I have been together for over two and a half years, and we love each other very much." I froze. Next, he pushed his chair back and got down on one knee— everyone was already saying "aww" and crying. As he knelt, his foot pushed the fireplace poker over and there was a loud crash as it fell down; laughter and tears now from the audience. He took the ring from his pocket, slid it on my finger and asked me "will you marry me?", but he already knew my answer: Yes! There was a lot of hugging and kissing around the table after that and, now, here we are.

We're already getting started on the planning for a lovely, creative, and classy affair in June. I look forward to posting the ups and downs of the process and hopefully, getting some of your feedback and ideas.

I have no room for more glassware. My cabinets are so crowded (or my kitchen is just so small) that I can't even clean all my glasses at once. Some of them always have to be dirty. If they're all clean, they don't fit into the cupboards. But yet, I remain obsessed with NEW glassware. Especially the botanical champagne glasses from peek keep. I don't drink nearly enough champagne to justify these, but they're so elegant! Peek Keep also offers a gift registry service...

I've been working on a directory list for the site, and it's finally ready. If you scroll down, along the sidebar you'll see a list of links organized by subject. I realize that it's anything but comprehensive right now, but it will grow as time goes by. Each time I blog about a new vendor or designer, I'll put their link up on the directory for quick and easy reference. I hope you find it helpful!

I love Jenny Packham's Fall '06 collection. The details and dress shapes are just the right kind of pretty, and it seems like there's something NEW to look at in each one of her designs. You can see an even closer view of these details by clicking on the image above. I would feel like an empress in that dress on the bottom right. Which, of course, is a good thing.

Mmmmm. Shopping.
Fantastic fall colors in this cover by the way. Perfect for my mood today.
Vogue Cover by George Plank, November 1914.

This is my new favorite idea for a bridal shower, inspired by an email from Orchid. A green tea party! You could get some green tea cups on eBay, (aim for the ones under $10), one for each guest. Serve green tea from the tea cups and and accompany that with other goodies. I'm thinking the whole thing could have a 'Asia meets England' feel to it. Imagine if the couple was ACTUALLY Asian and English? THAT would be cool. You could serve sushi and cucumber sandwiches, and sip green tea from green tea cups. At the end of the party each guest goes home with their cup. If I ever have another shower, this is what I'm doing. Except I'm not serving tea, I'm serving green tea martinis. Should I start collecting green tea cups now? Or should I wait? I found the above cups by searching for "green cup saucer" on eBay.

At only 12 bucks a piece, these cuties are a steal! Cluster them in an outdoor space to create a warm, intimate area for your guests to congregate around. Love the colors.

Above: Inhabit duvet cover in platinum and charcoal from PillowsandThrows.com, and Sausalito dinnerware from Rosanna.

Not too long ago, Karen wrote in wanting to know where she could register (other than The PB, C&B, or BB&B). Well, Karen. I have several places for you to browse. AND I'm pleased to announce they have virtually NO B's in their names. They don't even sell any B's. No barns, no barrels. Maybe a bed or a bath. But nothing beyond that. (Sometimes I think I'm funny. Other times: Not so much.)

Here are a few more you might like, all offer a registry service.

Sur La Table
eTabletop
Moss
Tivoli Home
Clio
Unica Home
Rosanna
Pillows and Throws

Feel free to add to the list if you've got suggestions!

I'm dedicating this post to Kathryn (who spells her first name the EXACT same weird way I spell my middle name. Yay.) Kathryn emailed me looking for some toasting glasses for her upcoming wedding, and I thought I'd troll around on Ebay to see if there was anything good to "clink" with.
There was.
1, 2, 3, 4
5, 6, 7, 8
Here's to Kathryn!

Yesterday I attended a wonderful event hosted by Ladies Who Launch. This group has allowed me to meet so many wonderful women, and I'm so inspired by all their ideas and 'launchings'. I saw my good friend Bee, (of Wedding Bee) who I believe is the one person who understands my need to blog. I saw Helene, who is a total hoot and who also runs a crackerjack little company called horse.dk. There were a few speakers that I found inspiring, one of them was Melissa, who runs this very cool 'eco chic' resort in Mexico called Amansala that you all should check out. The other was Stephanie, who founded Monster Commerce and is hugely successful yet is the same age as I am. I must admit, while Stephanie's story was inspiring, it made me wish I had worked a little harder when I was 22. But alas, at 22 I wasn't coming up with the next big idea. I was designing wallpaper in Connecticut.

Do you guys know about this? Was I the last to get the memo about this place?
Bag, Borrow, or Steal is an online boutique that allows you to rent luxury products for short periods of time so that you can fool people into thinking you live a jet-setting, trend-defining life style at the top of the fashion food chain.
Superb. This is just the kind of trickery I happen to like.
Mind you, it's not free. It's free-ER than it would be if you bought the real deal for keeps, but it's not free. If you're dreaming of real diamonds and salt-water pearls, this place just might allow you to splurge without refinancing anything. Don't miss the lovely Vera Wang jewelry or the designer evening clutches.

Can we please talk about this? We need to talk about this.

1st- Clocks or Paper
2nd- China
3rd- Crystal or Glass
4th- Electrical Appliances
5th- Silverware
6th- Wood or Iron
7th- Copper, Bronze or Brass Desk Sets
8th- Linen or Lace
9th- Leather
10th- Diamond Jewelry, Tin or Aluminum
11th- Fashion Jewelry or Steel
12th- Colored Gemstones or Pearls
13th- Textiles or Fur
14th- Ivory or Gold Jewelry
15th- Crystal, Quartz or Watches
16th- Silver Hollowware
17th- Furniture
18th- Porcelain
19th- Bronze
20th- Platinum
25th- Silver Jubilee
30th- Pearl or Diamond
35th- Jade or Coral
40th- Ruby
45th- Sapphire
50th- Golden Jubilee
55th- Emerald
60th- Diamond Jubilee

First of all, let me just start by saying that this whole "gift guide" thing makes no sense to me. Who is this guide for? Husbands? Wives? Children of husbands and wives?

Second, the tenth anniversary. What's up with that? I either get some diamonds or... a can of Campbell's soup? A roll of aluminium foil? I don't understand the options there.

Third. Did DeBeers pay Emily Post to get diamonds on the list THREE times?

Fourth. If I even get a toilet for my eighteenth wedding anniversary, I'm going to be upset. DELL? Are you listening?

E. Why do I get platinium on the 20th year, yet I get down graded to silver on the 25th?

Sixth. What the hell is "holloware"? And why do I have to be married for 16 years to get it?

Seventh. A brass desk set doesn't really say "Happy seventh anniversary" to me.

Last. If I get small appliances from my husband for ANY holidays, milestones or anniversaries, you can bet I'll be a little bummed. No irons, no microwaves, no hot plates, no curling irons, no hairdryers, no coffee makers. As a general rule, I'd say that if it heats up when you plug it in, I don't want it on my anniversary from my husband.

Jewelry designer Beth Sutton recently sent me a link to her website where I found these lovelies. I like how they've got a contrasting tough yet sweet vibe going on. I love the bells. Check it out.

*Also, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who sent in names for the new designs. Your ideas were all so great, and I think I've decided on my two favorites. Unless! There's an unless. Unless I get other suggestions in which case, I'll have to take those into consideration as well, it's a tough job, but I'll do it.*

Ah. Vera Wang. While we all can't fork over the 20,000 bucks for her covetable dresses, we might be able to swing the cost of her lingerie. Affordable and pretty, she doesn't do a lot of lace/ruffles. Her style is more sexy/comfortable, which is probably exactly what you'd like to be feeling on your wedding night.
I'm hoping you'll all check out the website, maybe get some Wang (Vera Wang that is) for the honeymoon.
I had too, it was just too obvious.

Soon to come from KenzieKate, two new invitations! I'm not quite ready to sell these on the site, but I wanted your feed back about them. The first one is my take on a beach wedding invite, the second used Mexican silver jewelry as an inspiration, but is pretty enough that it could work in so many other colors as well.
I need help naming them! I like to name all my invites after cities. I usually choose cities that sort of embody the spirit of the invite in my mind. Like the Vienna is very rich and sumptuous looking and has a mocha colored ribbon, hence the name. I've never even been to Vienna, but this is how my mind works.
Any suggestions about names for either of these new styles?

So you say you can't afford a lavish cake from the city's top cake desinger? Just itching to flex your creative muscles in sugar paste? Why not get a plain ol' white cake and dress it up yourself? These sugar flowers from Wendy Kromer allow you to mix and match, pick and choose. DIY. That's right. I said it. DIY. I know how those words strike fear in the hearts of many. And to you who feel the fear: be still my babies. But for just as many, those three little letters sound like the tinkling of tiny fairy bells at dawn, and this post is for you. Ring. Ring aling.

I love it when people write me with ideas for new posts. I want to hear about great companies you've worked with. If you're a designer, I want to see your stuff. If you're having a hard time finding something, I want to help you look. Seriously.
Recently, I got a request from Chippery, who wanted to find more mother-of-pearl jewelry. Well, I'm on it.
From left to right, Annie Hammer makes ethereal mother-of-pearl jewelry with a very modern touch. Next is Lauren Paige who has a few classicly simple mother-of-pearl peices, but also offers a custom service, which you should totally ask her about. Followed by Ross-Simon's where you can often find estate pieces and restored vintage, I love the hoop earrings pictured up top. Last is Jegem, who offers the HUGEST selection of mother-of-pearl everything. Another great, yet unpictured resource for mother-of-pearl is frombali.com, who offers inexpensive and somewhat beachy options.
See? Now I feel like such a good little helper. I'm going to go reward myself with some graham crackers.

Two Years! TWO! Today is our second wedding anniversary. For two years now I've been a wife. This sometimes strikes me as strange, because I don't feel grown up enough to be a Mrs. Even though I still surprise myself with my title, I cannot imagine my life without Dell.
I make questionable decisions all the time. Constantly. I'm probably making an iffy decision right now. But one of the choices I'm most proud of in my life is choosing Dell as a partner. He takes care of me as no one else ever could, he opens his heart and his mind to all my whims and eccentricities, he puts up with my moods, he keeps a level head when mine is totally not level, he remembers the keys when we leave the house, he takes out the trash, he washes the dishes, he goes out in the mornings to get half and half because I refuse to put skim in my coffee, he cleans the shower drain (because ew), he eats the food I make with gusto and tells me it's delicious (even when sometimes it's not), and most of all, he works so hard at his job. Sometimes I give him shit for working too hard or too much and I do things like call his computer "the mistress", but I hope he knows how much I appreciate his dedication to his job. Without it, we might be living in an empty shipping container down by the docks and I'm just so happy that we're not.
I'm sure as each year passes I'll find new things to appreciate about my husband and I can't wait to find out what wonderful things he has in store for me.

I found these gorgeous ceramics via Wedding Bee, who apparently discovered them via Daily Candy. Either way, I'm so happy I found them. I love the tea set. What a great present for me. Ehem. I mean, for anyone.

I have to apologize for my lack of posting yesterday. I was hosting a LOST premiere party, and I was knee deep in moussaka all day. Speaking of LOST, WHAT was up with the whole zoo vibe last night?! I couldn't have seen that coming a mile away. That show never ceases to impress me with it's twists. But, I digress.
I finally had a spare moment this morning and was poking around on Stylehive when I found this UK mail order site, Cox & Cox. It seems like a fun place to find unique favors and decorating items. I love the sparkler idea, though I might just have guests hold them, rather than sticking them in the dessert. I wouldn't want to risk getting ashes on my petite fours! Even though this is a UK based company, they will indeed ship to the US, I checked.
On a completely different note, does any one know of an all inclusive style resort in Florida or Arizona or someplace warm that they'd recommend? My family is looking for a place to have a 4 day end of winter get together, and we don't know where to go. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

I while back I mentioned Tricia Sawyer for her ~awesome~ tutorials, on which I became totally addicted. After watching so many of them, I sort of got the itch to get some of the actual makeup, which I did. It came yesterday. I was totally beside myself with joy. I immediately made up one eye with one look and then experimented on the other eye with a different look, then took it all off and did two more seperate looks on either eye. My mister thinks I've gone crazy. I've got one smokey eye and one natural eye and he's got the "what's got into you?" look on his face. Not to worry. When my experimental phase is done, both eyes will match. Yes they will.
Needless to say, I'm delighted with my new makeup.
I've been emailing with the owner of the company, Tricia, and she's just the sweetest person you could imagine. I sent her a horrible photo of myself and asked for her suggestions about my colors, her choices were spot on. I got the "Kate" palette, which looks sort of dark and dramatic online, but can be very subtle and sophisticated in real life. I also got the "Ambitious" blush puff, which is sort of a shimmery light natural pink, somewhere between a highlighter and a blush.
Tricia is soon to come out with brushes and foundation, which you can be sure I'll let you know about.

I love these little travel bags from Stephanie Johnson. I received a bunch of these from my mother-in-law for my bridal shower, and love, love, love them. I don't travel anywhere without them anymore. I have a seperate one for hair clippy's, nail care items, face wash, lotions, earrings... you all are laughing at me aren't you? I can hear it! Laugh it up, Chuckles. The only way I can explain the joy of these bags is to make sure you know just how much fun I have packing and organizing them. Unpacking them? Not so much. My nail care bag is still packed from a trip I took in August. Needless to say my nails are a little, mmmm. Yikes.
Check these out, they make wonderful gifts.