I found this gorgeous Horchow cupcake stand thru Hostess with the Mostess, I couldn't resist! It's perfect for hosting a bridal/baby shower, or purchase a few in varied sizes for a small wedding. I love that the different stands all have different skirts, so pretty. AND they're on sale!

I know that posting hasn't been as regular as usual lately. This is mainly due to the fact that Dell and I have been searching for our first house... (pause for dramatic effect) WE FOUND IT! Since both of us work for ourselves in internet based businesses we had the unique luxury of living where ever we want. We didn't really want to leave New York per se, but in order to afford more space it had to be done. We ended up doing a lot of house hunting in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence is closer to my family and still cheaper than Boston. It's also a very charming city. On our first visit there both Dell and I were shocked by how charming... cobblestone streets, great restaurants and pedestrian friendly neighborhoods to name a few pluses. We ended up finding a beautiful 1930's home in the heart of the Providence's East Side. I can't tell you how excited we both are about moving into our first house together. Our tiny apartment was a wonderful home to us for the last 5 years, but it's time to GO! Leaving our friends behind is going to be the hardest part of this venture by far, and I'm still not quite sure how I'll deal. We're going to Providence to close on the house this week. Posting may be a little sparse until the beginning of next week, but I'll be back for sure on Monday.
I couldn't imagine finding a house and planning a move in tandem with planning a wedding. I salute all of you who try it, although how you pull it off is totally beyond me. Magical powers?

I'd love to get my hands on one of these dress-up clutches from Roost in the UK. I believe (from what I read on their site) that they will ship to the US. I enjoy the patterned one especially, but they also have a blue option if you're in the market for something blue.

I think it's too bad that people wish for perfect weddings. While my wedding was perfect in all the ways that mattered to me, it wasn't without its mishaps. For these, I'm grateful.
My husband and I were married in a small loft in Manhattan. Since both the ceremony and the reception were held in the same space, we had to have everything we needed inside that space before the ceremony began. This meant (among other things) keeping the tables just out of sight on the balcony, and hiding the jukebox off in a corner behind some curtains until after the ceremony was over. This all worked out very well, except for one brief moment right before I walked down the aisle. All the guests were patiently waiting for me, (I was a bit held up) and all of a sudden over the sound system comes ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night Long". I can only imagine what people must have thought in those short moments. "Is she really going to walk down the aisle knocking us out with her American thighs"? Turns out, the jukebox had magically and randomly sprung to life, treating everyone to a rockin' yet totally inappropriate serenade. My friend Marty ended up making a lunge for the power cord and killed the sound before the band got thru any major power cords, but still. It was funny. Granted, at the time I had no notion of this little mishap whatsoever. I walked down the aisle without a clue. It wasn't until after the wedding was over that Dell told me about it and how everyone had giggled. We both laughed about it then, and we still laugh about it now. Every time I hear that song, I think of my wedding. Perfect, smerfect. Imperfect weddings have character.

Anyone else out there have any happy wedding mishap stories?

The name alone makes me want to wear them! Belabumbum. Aren't they sweet? Who wouldn't want to pack a few sets of these for the honeymoon? They also carry some pretty swimsuits if you're headed to someplace warm.

Lovin Sullivan has some beautiful new photos up on her site. While I've written about her bold color and amazing designs before, the entire "elegant wedding cakes" selection is new to me, and gorgeous. If you have time, check out the kids cakes too. So cute.

The little black dress route is such a great way to coordinate bridesmaids without being too matchy. And what could be more elegant, practical or easy to find? These are some of my absolute favorites for fall, all from Saks, yet none too outrageously priced. I love the drastically different silhouettes, which may be necessary to avoid the we're-off-to-dance-back-up-in-a-Robert-Palmer-video look.

Notte by Marchesa Tulle Trapeze Dress
Milly Funnel Neck Mini Dress
ABS Silk Bubble Mini Dress

I know I've been very focused on favor ideas lately, but I just keep bumping into great stuff. I can't help it. These customizable mint tins come in 21 different colors and are great for stuffing with any number of tasty little dealy-bobs. Also available from the same shop are these great CD tins: decorate any which way you like.

We all draw so much inspiration from MS Weddings magazine, I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to hear that there's now a blog! Updated daily, "The Bride's Guide" is written by MS editor Darcy Miller. Even though it's fairly new, (I think it started at the beginning of August), there are already some wonderful ideas up there along with some beautiful photography.

Brian Atwood makes some awesome shoes. A lot of them are perfect for a bride looking for a little extra height, and maybe a little splash of color and sparkle too. His looks are kind of attention getting without being trashy. One of my favorites is the one above, mostly because it's not something you see everyday, it also comes in blue.

This post over at Wedding Bee inspired me to find some DIY favor box ideas. I didn't have to look too far, as Martha Stewart Crafts had a bunch of pretty DIY favor box kits for sale. PaperMart is also really great for tiny boxes. You can get a whole bunch of them on the cheap, and then embellish them yourself with flowers, ribbon, stamps... however the spirit moves you. I've seen some really pretty ones that were stamped with a monogram, then tied with a ribbon. I forget where I saw that, but it sounds very Martha to me.

This might be a cute way to dress up a guest bath and offer an extra little favor at the same time. These little guest soaps come in a variety of beautiful scents and can be personalized with a message of your choice. Black and white, or brown and cream.

Sometimes when it's late at night and you're jones-ing for some sweets, nothing but a cake post will do. While looking and thinking about cake really doesn't do anything for my chocolate cravings, it's all I've got (mostly because I don't actually have anywhere to get late-night-cake). So I'll just have to settle for the low-cal alternative.
Carrie's Cakes is a great place to browse lots of pretty cakes, and I mean lots! It's fantastic for egging on your sweet tooth, or gathering cake inspiration.

I caught the tail end of this tv show last night where they were showing all these different YouTube videos of hilarious first wedding dances. I thought this one was the best! I think it was my favorite because the couple looked like they were having an absolutely fantastic time. This one was pretty awesome too. Again, I liked it because the groom was just loving it, having a great time. I'd love to know what you all are planning for your first dance... funny, sweet, over-the-top?

Dell's off for the week taking care of business, and I'm here in our apartment, all by myself. I feel like I should stay up late and paint my toenails or something. Maybe throw myself into Steel Magnolias and eat cookie dough out of that sausage casing it comes in, maybe slap on a seaweed mask... I'm not even sure where to begin. I have 5 days to kill, so I guess I can do all those things and more. Suggestions? What to you do when you're SO is out of town? Anything special?
I started the evening off with a little internet browsing, and found these adorable rings from Auto. I love the Princess Ring by St. Kilda on the left. Unique, precious, affordable, all the things I like in rings.

So the other day, I got Blog Tagged by Rhonda. Being tagged seems to come with a complicated system of rules, wherein, I have to publish 8 little known facts about me, then tag other bloggers. Sounds like fun to me! So these are my 8 things:

1) I live in small apartment on Seventh Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn with my husband. We both run our own businesses, and we both work from home. I don't think any two humans spend more time together than we do, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

2) When I have to leave New York, the thing I will miss the most (besides my friends), is crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by cab, looking back at all the lights of downtown, and feeling like I'm at the center of the world.

3) I know a lot about sharks. I'm very keen on shows about sharks, and all things sharky. I don't love sharks, in fact, I'm scared to death of them (see #5), I just really like to learn about them. Shark Week is like... my favorite week.

4) I spent a large portion of my childhood at gymnastics workouts. My favorite exercise was the floor, you can't fall off the floor. My least favorite was the beam, because it really hurts when you fall off the beam.

5) My greatest fear in life is being eaten by an animal.

6) I went to art school at Syracuse University having never taken an art class prior to my first day of my freshman year of college. I just thought it would be a cool thing to do.

7) I grew up in a small rural town in Northeastern Connecticut, there was nothing really to do there, so I left. Now, I wish for nothing to do.

8) My favorite thing to do is cook for the people I care about.

These are the bloggers I've tagged: Deirdre, Carey, Holly, Ms. Spinach, Erica, Karen, and Melissa.

Abby, over at Style Me Pretty, emailed me earlier this week about me about her fantastic Inspiration Board Contest. Even if you don't enter, the submissions she's collected are really spectacular. The creativity represented there is just amazing. Seriously, check it out.