Ah President's Day! The day I never seem to get off. It seems that no matter what my job has been over the years, President's day is the one holiday I invariably get screwed on. I just got back from a vacation, so I can't complain too loud. We missed last week's update on Samantha's wedding planning, because I was on said vacation. This week, Sam needs advice! I'll pass you right over so you can commence dispensing indispensable advise.


I'm beginning to struggle a bit with winter weight. Everyone I know keeps saying, “the wedding’s just around the corner”. I know, I know butttt and a very big butt; I can’t seem to get motivated. I’m not going to starve myself. I already run about 1.5 to 2 miles in the morning and then do about 40-45 minutes more at the gym (from 5:03 AM -6:20AM before I have to leave for work at 7:30-ugh!) weekdays. I’m a vegetarian but I eat eggs and dairy…that sums it up. I do have a sweet tooth and love bread but generally I eat pretty healthy. In the spring I will be more active, like I might run in the park or something after work. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else I might do to kick start better eating and working out? I also want to start doing more weight training to get my arms looking better (I descend straight from Russian peasants so my lineage dictates arms with extra padding…even when I ran the marathon…even when I was on the swim team). Thankfully my genes are not all bad, this photo is of my grandmother (nana Sally) and grandfather (papa Aaron). She looks like a doll, I could never look that angelic but it's a good goal. A dear friend once told me that her grandmother used to call winter weight "winter wool" so I guess come spring I'll have to take off my sweater! Any tips on slimming down healthfully or good weight training tips is so appreciated.

I have to recommend this... It's just too fun. Here's what you do. First you go online here and fill out a personality test, it's kind of like a Cosmo quiz. Then you choose 5 scents from a list of essential oils. A week later you get a custom custom blended shower gel or lotion, or whatever. One that's just for you. No one else. We all don't have to smell the same!
I did it. I'm very happy I did. The lotion has gotten rave reviews from the hubs. My blend is 3 parts tomato leaf, 3 parts cucumber, 2 parts white tea, and 1 park oakmoss. The Mister thinks I smell like babies and grass (freshly changed, freshly mowed). I'll take that as a compliment.
A big thank you to Kelsey at Urban Botanicals, who concocted my concoction. Well done Kelsey!

When I was a kid, I had the goofiest hair accessories. Remember the giant poufy-padded-pink headband that squeezed your head so tight you would get shooting pains behind your ears? What about the plastic barrettes that would get all gunked up with hair spray from "doing your bangs"? Oh, and we can't forget about the scrunchies. I liked those so much, I layered them on my wrist for a "devil-may-care" look. I wore them up, I wore them down. I wore them all around the town.
I have a very clear memory of lip-syncing to "I think We're Alone Now" with my sister on the bus. I was wearing my poufy-pink-padded headband and my yellow "Teddy-Bears Doing Exercise" jogging suit. My bangs were permed into a phooooo. I was 11, and I was rocking that headband. Which, (if you're still with me), brings me to my point. Not since the poufy-padded-pink nightmare have I wanted to wear a plastic headband. Not since fourth grade. Not until today. Today, I'm getting one of these, and I'm going to rock it.

I was browsing on Jamali Garden today, looking for lovelies to share and I came across this photo of Icelandic poppies in pewter bud vases (the vases are available here). I was so inspired by the color combos in this image, I thought I'd do up a color palette using the soft yellow and pewter with pink and sage accents. It's so delicate, but I think the pewter keeps it modern. Incidentally, Jamali Garden is a great place to find floral arrangement supplies, napkins rings, baskets, lanterns, etc. All very hip.
On a side note, when I created the first version of the Havana about 4 months ago, I used this same pewter and daffodil color combo. In the end, I decided to display it on the website in different more autumnal colors. Someday I'll make it for someone in it's original springtime palette...

We had such an awesome time in BC. I did a ton of skiing. Dell did a ton of snowboarding (he's really very good). Above is my favorite picture from the trip. Don't worry mom. We tried not to ski near the avalanche bombs.
So I'm back on a regular daily posting schedule now. I'm also planning a slight revamp of the site, something to look forward to!

Love these! Each and every one would knock the socks off any groom within the tri-state area. I posted about Marchesa a while ago, but I can't resist pointing them out once again. I love that they're not actually wedding dresses, and even though they're couture they're not so over the top that they'd look out of place as a wedding gown. The top row is part of Marchesa's new resort line, and the bottom (I think), are part of their regular confections. I mean collections.

You may have noticed a lack in post frequency this week, (my apologies for that) but this is why! My mister, myself, my father-in-law and my lovely neighbors are skiing in British Columbia for the week. I'm relatively new to skiing, having only started learning last year, but I'm really starting to get a feel for it. I just started to get the "carve" yesterday. I'm having such a great time. The cloud cover is so low here, we're often skiing above them. It makes for some really wild pictures. The place we're skiing at is called Red Mountain, and there are so few people here. It's like we have the whole place to ourselves. More later... bye for now.

I know that a lot of you are searching for alternatives to candles, as so many venues are not allowing them anymore. I thought I'd do a quick post about this company I spotted on Stylehive. Cosy Romantics offer a ton of fairy light options, in really classy colors and shapes. I love the wrapped twine ones, as well as the "Iris" style. I really want to try a strand of the flower ones under a glass dome as part of a center piece. I'll let you know when I road test that.

Hi everyone! What a lot of traveling I did this weekend! We were in Montreal for a while, then went home to New York for a day, and then we were in Spokane, WA, and now we're in Rossland, British Columbia. So needless to say I'll be working (and playing) away from the office this week. I'm exhausted and jet lagged so I'm going to pass you over to Samantha: take it away Sam!
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A lot of progress has been made on the wedding front. We have a tentative menu planned and the Cuban band booked. They assured us they'll play music with a great dance beat that you can just get up and move to. I'm sure there are a lot of fabulous wedding bands, but the only Stevie Wonder songs I love are the ones crooned and played by the man himself. So I guess it's a gamble but the Cuban band could be really unique and fun. What do you all think?
Here's the menu:

Guests arrive and get sparkling water and an international cheese display with fruit and baguettes. Then the ceremony takes place outside by a stonewall with a cocktail hour following with Proseco, Cosmos, Mojitos and Margueritas.

Next servers will come around with hors doeuvres:
Walnut tapenade on rice crackers, spicy veggie California rolls, duck spring rolls with Thai plum sauce, bang bang shrimp with chipotle aioli, mini gulf crab cakes with Cajun tartar sauce, smoked chicken empanadas with cilantro cream, spinach and feta cheese in filo with spicy tomato sauce, veggie samosas with red currant sauce.

Then garde manger cold kitchen displays from 7-8pm:
Assorted peppers, onions, portabellos, asparagus, plum tomatoes, roasted garlic and zucchini with spicy red pepper hummus, grape leaves, ripe plum tomatoes with celigene mozzarella with walnut pesto, white bean hummus, marinated olives with roasted peppers, gaguette, semolina, foccacia and bread sticks.

There'll also be a grill station:
Grilled salmon, grilled chicken and tropical salsas and tropical fruit salad. Also a pasta station with penne, gemilli, marinara, pesto, Alfredo, or lobster ravioli, Italian sausage, Julienne grilled veggies, wild mushrooms, grated asiago, red pepper flakes, fresh oregano and cracked pepper.
Furthermore there will be an Oriental station with soba noodles with peanut sauce, mixed veggies etc.

Dessert:
Chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple and angel food cake, wedding cupcakes by my mamma and of course coffee, herbal teas etc. I'm full already! Do I get to take home leftovers?

I loved the Martha Stewart Weddings spread featuring the paper stylings of Denise Sharp. Paper wedding cake toppers are kind of a new idea, at least new to me, and I find the change very refreshing. All of sudden, the options seem infinite. One of my favorite pieces from D. Sharp is the Eiffel Tower Candy Box, which I think would make a lovely cake topper. The actual tower part of the box comes off to reveal a tiny space, in which to store a copy of the vows, a surprise for the bride (the space is big enough for a small piece of jewelry), or a treasured family heirloom. Each of the cake toppers pictured here open in a similar fashion.