"Ooooooo". That's the most intelligent thing I can think to say. I'm totally star struck by these; the millinery, the photos, the beautiful lady with the pretty hair... (those were drooling ellipses). I've posted about Leah C before, but she has an entirely new (to me) section of bridal headpieces and blushers, all of which are just as stunning and photographed just as beautifully as these.

Adorable, affordable, and (as of 11:38 EST) unclaimed vintage over at Vintageous. All the good dresses fly out of this place like Barbies at a yard sale, so if you see something you like, act fast. If you dawdle, you might find yourself lying awake at night thinking about the vintage that could have been...
The second dress? Sexy is in the building. Someone with curves, pick that one up and stop some traffic. Please.

More great clutches from Amici. They make the cutest most affordable evening bags ever! If I were a bride, I might even buy one of these clutches for each of my bridesmaids and not feel guilty about it. I think I'd pick something that complimented their bridesmaid's dresses so they could carry it, day-of. I might also go to the antique (flea market) store and pick out a pretty embroidered lace/linen hankercheif for each girl. Because I would never EVER give an empty container as a gift, I'd put the hanky in the purse along with something sentimental; maybe a picture, a poem, or a twenty.

Wowy, wow, wow. What a steal! What would you pay for any one of these? $1000?... $750?... $500?... WRONG! None of these are a penny over $400. I feel like I should be on a infomercial selling juicers with Jack Lalaine.
The one with the black sash would be perfect for a black and white wedding. All BCBG. All very intriguing.

Good Monday! Today Sam needs some assistance with her feets. I love Naturalizer heels. I know what you're thinking. Ew. Right? Wrong (sort of). Indeed, many of their styles can still be found on the feet of elderly school nurses everywhere. BUT... they've got some very hot little items as well. Stop making that face. I own a pair of Naturalizers, most comfortable heels I have. I could walk miles in them. So that's my two cents.


Here's Sam:
I’ve been thinking deeply about shoes lately. Yes, philosophically too. What to wear for the wedding? I’ve pondered the practical issues; I’ll be on my feet for many hours, perhaps salsa dancing for some of that time. I’ve pondered fashion issues like the fact that my legs might look longer if I were to wear tall shoes. Annnd back to the practical, Dave’s 6’ 3”. Annnd back to the fashion, I would love a pair of beautiful shoes that I can wear again for the deluge of weddings, bar mitzvahs and occasions I have this summer.
Cole Haan's line, complete with Nike Air technology, just might be the perfect fit (top left). Naturalizer also offers some attractive options (the other three). I have not quite found the pair of my dreams yet but it would be fantastic if I could create a shoe that had the comfort of a flat, and the style of the heel. A hybrid. Frankly you won’t see too much of them under my dress. So I suppose comfortable and stunning are my goals, is it possible? Any suggestions?

If we only needed one dress for a wedding, life would be less fun. In fact, we need several. There's the bridal shower, which for most, requires a light hearted little number, not to formal, the equivalent of a sun dress with a little panache.
Then there's the rehearsal dinner dress. For most, this dress will be more formal. You can't wear a sundress after dark, so you need something with a little more slink to it. Not too sexy, but clearly evening. I'd say the rehearsal dinner usually qualifies as "semi-formal", at least for the bride and groom.
I loved my rehearsal dinner dress almost as much as my wedding gown. I got it at Anthropologie, so I thought that would be a good place to start. I found several shower and dinner worthy dresses there. I also found several options at BCBG. The dresses there are so unique season after season. I recommend you check out both. I love the retro stripe number from Anthropologie for a shower, and my favorite for a rehearsal dinner dress is that royal blue stunner at the bottom right. I can't think of anyone who wouldn't look great in that color.

While coasters are not entirely necessary for a wedding, they could be a really nice personal touch. Put them on cocktail tables or by the bar. I found these at Horchow, they come in several colors.

Blue and Whites! Most everyone knows about my penchant for blue and whites. These patterns are from Horchow, (who continually stocks interesting china). HERE for more. Check back later for more china updates.

Spring is so far away, and I'm so over winter. It is suicide-watch dreary out today, and I can't even remember what "sunshine" is. I think, I think I know... but I can't be sure. Is it lemon flavored? Help me out here. I can't recall.
Here's something random.
I've lost my will to sauna. I used to sauna almost 4 times a week at the gym after a good workout, and it was heaven. My skin glowed. But now, in the depths of winter, when it gets dark at 2:25 in the afternoon, all I want to do is stay home, hole-up, and eat things. I'm really happy that I'm too busy to grocery shop, because then the eating things would be an issue. However, as it stands, I may feel like eating from 4 pm until bed, but the only sustenance we have around the house is coffee, half & half and Skippy, so I'm safe. It's a horrible combo. What? No! I didn't try it. Shut up.
I like to browse around the internet and look for cake when I have the winter blues. Nothing more cheerful than cake. These are from Sabrina Cake Alchemy, and they remind me that only March stands between me and April. Damn it, March!

Remember a few days ago when I said that I forgot how to make the little origami finger game? I remembered! Well, I didn't remember, so much as a nice lady from the internet reminded me. You must visit her to learn her secrets.
If you live in the UK, you can visit the aforementioned website, Cox & Cox for these. But for us in the US, we must fend for ourselves.
Having been so excited about rediscovering this game, I came up with my own little template that you can download, print out, cut out and fold up*. I AM a huge dork, I know. When I was little, we played this game in the same way you might consult a "magic eightball". You always ask the game a yes or no question first, then you pick a number... and so on. Visit The Oracle, she'll show you how it works.

*When you go to fold up my template, make sure you start with the printed part facing the table. You also have to cut it out first, on the gray line.

I was recently asked by a very good friend to recommend some "down-do's". Having seen so many nice ones lately on the red carpet, I thought I'd highlight a few. Side pony tails? OK. Why not? Lets do that again! I sort of missed that the first time around. Let's just promise to keep it low, people. Keep it low. I was shocked to see so many people with their hair down at the Oscar's last night and I must say, love the lack of fussy-fussy. Reese Witherspoon's bangs? Yes... good. Which (coincidentally) look a lot like my new fringe only hers are shinier and more famous.

So we had a busy weekend. We got a blog lift! Notice the bags under our eyes are a little smoother? Notice how the curve of our derriere is... subtler? Notice the come-hither plumpness to our pout? We had work done!
Seriously, not that much changed. The archives will be more useful, the RSS feed button is now front and center, we added some major categories to the directory. We added some links to the blog roll. We have more space to grow, thanks to a third column... life is good. And I have a surprise for you later in the day (the only clue you get is here). But for now, please give your attention to Samantha. Here she is:
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So far there haven’t been too many family flare-ups in planning this wedding. Just 3-4, which is not so bad if you think about the fact that in planning a wedding the couple has to come to aesthetic, financial and practical agreements on how it should look and feel and together they have to coordinate those feelings with those of their parents. My parents are really taking the lead on this. They’re both creative and artistic and they understand what we’re going for. Dave is pretty deferential to my aesthetic choices. He may have mentioned that he would like a hologram as a cake topper and he might have mentioned something about Medieval Times but everyone has learned to chuckle and blow him off. He’s been pretty good-natured about being disregarded. He’ll be happy with friends and family and food (especially food). I’ve actually noticed that since my parents have gotten into this, we’ve grown closer. We talk everyday anyway but this event has given us all something to look forward to. Everyday something comes up about minor or major details from dresses to music to mojitos. I think in the end we’ll all look back fondly on the build up as well as the end result. We’re all totally in agreement that we want to enjoy this event come what may. There’s no way everything can go exactly as planned so we’re prepared to go with the flow.

I couldn't not post about these. They're too pretty. And not that expensive. (Unless you count the overseas shipping) *bites lip*.
BUT you could get a lot of bang for your buck (I mean pound) with these. Great on a buffet table, GREAT as centerpieces. Available here.
I'm going to be on the look out for anything similar a little closer to home. You'll be the first to know.

On a completely unrelated note... Did everyone but me know that John Denver wrote "Leaving on a Jet Plane"? I thought what's her name wrote that... Pachouli Clark? Petula Kline? No? OK. You all know that he died in a plane crash right? Is no one else FREAKed out by this? Why did no one tell me the horrible irony of this song? I love this song. Now it's just incredibly sad. I am not happy about this.

Looking for favors that are a little more... low key?
Enter Love Origami and Sweet Talking Chocolates by Cox and Cox.
The chocolates with the messages? How could you go wrong? It's not too over the top, but it seems totally appropriate. And I used to spend hours making those little finger thingys. If I could remember how to make them, I would recommend making your own, but I don't remember so I can't. If anyone out there remembers...

I'm always looking for blogs to add to the roster! Style me Pretty, written by Abby of Abby Jean Letterpress is the newest addition to the list. Turns out, Abby and I have a lot in common. We both write wedding style blogs, and we both design wedding invitations for a living. Huh. Check out her interviews and comprehensive "inspiration board" posts for ideas galore.

Insert "tying the knot" joke here. I found these adorable rings over at Keil Mead. The designer is apparently from my neck of the woods, and you all know how much I love to promote neighborly-ness.
I actually thought these (available in white gold, yellow gold, or sterling silver) would be a perfect gift from a groom to a bride (of vice versa) on their wedding day. It's not a diamond or a wedding band, it's just a small token of affection. However small, it is symbolic. When you look at that string around your finger, you'll be reminded of your special day. The day you tied the knot. Aww.
What is everyone else doing for a wedding day gift, if anything? Small tokens? Large ones?

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.

Thanks to Becky, I found Hanna Hartnell, and thanks to Hanna, we have the Phoenix. This elegant dress can be made in pretty well any color, and would make a lovely wedding gown for anyone channeling the soft-sexy Hollywood vibe. I love the blue/green version at the bottom, but I also really love the romanesque quality of the ivory one at the top. While the front sort of says "I am classical, I am a goddess" the back just kind of issues forth a low purrrrrrrr. I really like what the back has to say.

A while back, I discovered thru Oh Joy! that there is a BROWNIE STORE. Ya. That's all they sell. Brownies. It's called Mari's New York. But just yesterday I discovered via Outblush that this brownie store also sells gift boxes. Different sorts of brownies all mingling around in a beautiful box, just ripe for the picking? Yes. Please. They even have a gift box especially for Valentine's Day that I'm seriously considering sending to myself, I mean my husband. If you're wondering how this relates to weddings, it doesn't really. BUT! I do have proof that these brownies have been used as wedding favors, which you could also do... if you were awesome.

So THIS is fun! Especially for those of you who are planning black and white themed affairs, I thought this new Lacy Tape from Rockett St. George would make a nice addition to favor boxes, just to dress things up a bit. Don't you think?

On a more boring note, we have put a rather large Band-Aid over top of the commenting problem. It should be working just fine now, albeit a little different than you're used to. Note to anyone considering the switch to the New Blogger: Blogger Beware. My comments stopped working all-together the second I switched and we still haven't figured out why.

Please bear with us, we are experiencing some technical difficulties in the comment department. I'm going to have my tech people look at it more closely this evening (and by "people" I mean Dell). I apologize, and hope that the comments will be functioning again very soon. Damn it, Blogger. I hate it when we fight!

Good Monday everyone! I was just starting to feel the winter doldrums set in last night when I looked outside and saw an inch of snow on the city streets. Normally, here in New York, that doesn't happen until late March when we're all hoping for spring and prematurely wearing pastels. So, we count our blessings where we can get them.
On that note, I'm going to pass you over to Sam for her usual Monday morning update.



First of all, thank you so much S.O.S.N. readers! Your advice about registering has been so useful. We registered at Bloomingdale's and we may do one other place like Amazon or maybe even Anthropologie? The Bloomingdale's experience was like a movie scene. Dave and I got to the registry office not knowing what to expect and got our very own registry agent. A dapper older man with a whole spiel began explaining all the policies and procedures with such aplomb. Other couples buzzed around the office with their clipboards and paperwork. We were given a scanner and proceeded to walk around clicking over item barcodes. I think this was Dave’s favorite part being the technologically inclined fellow that he is. Though a close rival would be the help-yourself espresso machine in the registry office. So just imagine your fiancé all hopped up on espresso with a scanner gun in hand. If I did not stop him we would have 10 cutlery sets and 5 mug trees. Anyway, I was less than thrilled with bedding and towels, they were all very drab and plain. I was thrilled about the stainless steel flatware and the dishes and frames. Kate Spade’s collections have the perfect combination of clean/modern with colorful/funky. I am a huge fan of her stuff. We registered for Gwinnett Lane dishes and also these lovely frames. We also scanned some great Emil Henry cookware. I guess registering is not so bad after all, especially on espresso!

I'm really digging these earrings by Amrita Singh. My favorites are the first ones with the black enamel accents. She has some other really lovely jewelry, which you should totally go see.

Bride's Head Revisited. Get it? What an adorable name for a bridal milliner. I get it even though I've never read the book... or seen the movie. Is it a book or a movie or both? Or a mini series? Was it sort of like The Thornbirds? Because I didn't see/read that either. Anyway, even though I didn't previously participate in any media by the same name, I still enjoy their veils... especially the french ones.

In my opinion, this dress is as close to perfect as it gets! Let's list the reasons. It has an empire waist (very flattering). It features a built in corset (adds structure and holds the dress in place, no slippage). The pattern is an all-over gorgeous Asian inspired wave (it's subtle and such a unique touch). I love the romantic flowy-ness (it is so very in). AND while not exactly bargain priced, it still beats out many multitudes of wedding gowns I've admired in the past, including ones from J Crew.
This would be the perfect for the unique bride having a less than uber-fancy wedding. I can't even begin to count the number of reasons why it would be perfect for a beach wedding.
This dress is part of the Notte line by Marchesa. To be found at The Marcus.

I love these incredible shawls for so many reasons. They're gorgeous, first of all. Second, they're handloomed by artisans across South Asia with sustainable, environmentally friendly materials. My favorite pieces are made of a naturally golden silk. Naturally! The material is quite rare, and was apparently a state secret of Assam, India for centuries. Called "Muga", it was reserved strictly for royalty, but is now being woven into exquisite shawls for Indigo Handloom. Secrets out! I'm always looking for things that are very special for very special occassions. These really do qualify.

Hope everyone's weekend went well! I'm going to pass you right over to Samantha, so you can get to reading about her venue breakthru. Here she is.


For me a backyard garden wedding was so befitting. However with the fantasy, came the reality. The more tent people my dad met with, the more my parents came to realize that putting in a floor that fit the entire tent along with drainage systems and gutters, was going to cost a ton. At least as much as renting a place. Plus having the wedding at home, you have to rent everything from silverware and linens to port-a-potties. So for fear I would go all Shining Bridezilla on them, they secretly started looking around the area for an outdoor venue that had a weather contingency plan.
Thursday they came in to the city to hang out with Dave and I. Over coffee and cake (the cake was to preemptively sooth me I think) they broke the news that having it at home could be a potential nightmare if it rained and difficult even if the weather were fair. After a little coaxing I realized that the alternative plan was better than the original. We’re having the wedding outdoors at this place called Dolce within the IBM complex a mile from my parent’s house in Palisades, NY (we still get to have a great brunch at their house the following morning). We still get to bring in our cupcake tree and hydrangea centerpieces. The place has hundreds of acres, a swan pond with koi, a beautiful stone wall and a tent leading into a room with all glass walls (guest rooms too!). If the weather is nice we’ll get married by the stone wall and then all walk to the tent for cocktail hour and then party inside with the large glass windows open to all the surrounding trees. So all bases are covered and I don’t have to meditate, pray and make deals with the world that it won’t rain. I’m hoping for gorgeous spring weather and the scent of lilacs in the air but if it does not happen that way, our guests won’t have to wear rain gear and use port-a-potties… phew.

The Aspen and The Seville


The Charlotte and The Aberdeen


The Cozumel and The Havana

After months of work, the new invites are finally ready for the world! I'm so proud of them, but a little nervous for them too. I think this must be a mild form of what parents feel when they send their kids off to the first day of school.
A big thanks to everyone for so enthusiastically helping me name them...
"Aspen" was the overwhelming choice for the first invite. Mary helped me name the Seville and the Cozumel. The Aberdeen I came up with all by myself, and the Charlotte I named with help from Heather. Last but not least, Mari (with an i) came up with Havana for the last one, which is perfect!
It made me so happy that you all helped name them, it was a great confidence boost to know that they were already eagerly anticipated.
If you want to get a closer look at any of them, you can go to the KenzieKate catalog page, or click directly to them here:
Aspen
Seville
Charlotte
Aberdeen
Cozumel
Havana

Neiman Marcus people. Neiman Marcus. Vera Wang dresses for under $800. All part of her Lavender Label, these gowns, in my opinion are just as gorgeous as their $10,000 counterparts. I've never been oppossed to the idea of a bride in lavender, or champagne... or any other color. You should check it out. They're really too pretty to pass up.

I love the careful presentation and perfect little details at famous french pastry shop Ladurée. The macaroons look fantastic, (my favorite presentation is the rainbow colored box above). The croquembouche is to die for and the pastries come in mysterious flavours like violet and orange flower. I imagine that if I lived in Paris, I would send a box of these treats to my best friend and then I might just drop by for a visit so she could offer me some.

Ah Monday. A lot of lucky people have today off. I am not one of those people. But, it is a great day just the same. Today, we must give Samantha our advise. She is having some trouble with her registry. I'll let her tell you all about it.



Drama. The registry. I thought that it would be good to work on something together with Dave… you know, a couple bonding thing for the wedding. It did not work out as well as I’d hoped. I thought we would be able to sit down together and do a registry. Wrong. I read a lot of design blogs so I’ve been collecting interesting sites that would be good for registering or online shopping. Dave is a master guru at organizing filing and creating systems. So I thought I’d be able to come to the proverbial table with my collection of findings have him organize it all and then go through it together to make sure we have everything and agree on it aesthetically. He created a system using google notebook to categorize all my info. But by the time we got to the first item he was freaking out and getting frantic “how big is this dinner plate? $22 for a mug, are you crazy Sam, we break mugs everyday!! What’s an accent plate? IS this pasta bowl for a single serving or for serving a whole dinner party?“
UGH! We were sitting next to my 18-year-old punk brother having this conversation and he chimed in how bourgeois we are and everyone wound up going his or her separate ways. I don’t see what’s wrong with registering at 5-6 different sites. A few of the typical ones for older guests like Bloomingdales, Crate and Barrel etc. and then a few younger more independent designer kind of sites like Clio Home or Design Public. I love Kate Spade’s Gwinnet China but I also love these.
Dave thinks we should only register at two or three places, I think more like 5-6! What should we do? I really want some unique stuff and I want to support some indie designers. I figure the older people will be comfortable at Bloomingdales and the younger people will shop online. What’s the best compromise? And does anyone have any good registry suggestions. HELP!

You'll have to excuse me for my lack of wedding insight right now. With all the new designs scheduled to hit the website on Monday, things are a little scattered over here. To relax a little, my dear good buddy and neighbor Dierdre and I decided to play a friendly round of Scrabble. I do believe I got the worst letters anyone could ever get, EVER. You see that grin on her face? That's her "I'm going to beat you so easily" face. Granted, the only reason she was so confident is because I said "my letters are such crap, I have to take a picture". Which sort of blew my cover.

A big thanks to Bea for pointing me in the direction of these lovely hair jewels by British designer Jo Thorne. I love that each of the pieces seems so organic and eternal. I have a test to see if things are timeless. I try to picture Queen Elizabeth, Gwen Stephani, Cleopatra, and Audrey Hepburn all sporting that item. If I can pictue it, then it passes. These pass.

As pointed out so astutely by Vanda, COLOURlovers is a magical place to browse for color schemes. Whether you're looking for wedding colors or painting a room, this is a great place to brainstorm. It's kind of like standing in front of the paint-chip display at Home Depot, (one of my favorite places ever), only you can enjoy it in your own home, and for unlimited amounts of time. You can create your own palettes, or you can cruise other people's palettes and look for inspiration. I'm loving the deep red, pink, teal combo. So sultry, so perfect for winter.

Just because you endured that last post, I'm leaving you for the day on a slightly sweeter note. These petits fours would make fantastic favours. From Dragonfly Cakes in Sausalito, CA. Just look at the chocolatey caramel goodness. Who could say no to that?

to point a laser at your face.

Patience. You must have patience. I realize that you are looking at this highly uninteresting image and thinking about clicking back to where you came from.
But wait!
There's this common fear among all brides that when the big day comes, she'll have a mammoth zit somewhere conspicuous. I know about this fear, because I had it. Everyone has it. You're afraid that two days before the big day, you'll get a big zit on your chin. Everyone knows that the big ones don't heal in two days. Fortunately, makeup covers a lot, but if there was some way we could heal it faster...
NOW we come to my point. Your patience has been rewarded. The point is that I've discovered this little laser gizmo that heals blemishes very quickly. I'm not kidding. I have one. It really does speed up the process quite a bit. The basic gist is that you point it at your blemish, and the laser stimulates cell grown to help the "problem" heal faster. It also helps with redness and small scars. The only catch is, you have to have some time to use it (about a half hour every evening before you turn in). I like to use it while I'm watching TV, and that works out well for me. I also found that since I've been using it, I've gotten less breakouts in general.
The best price I've found is here. They also sell them here.
I realize that everyone has little tricks that work for them. What are your beauty secrets?

To hire, or not to hire a photographer?
That’s the question. My dear friends Erin and Anna are both photographers (a sampling of Erin's pictures above). A family friend (whose son I happened to go to prom with) is a film maker/videographer. Problem solved? The only dilemma is that I don’t want them all to be working the whole wedding. I want them to break it down to the Cuban music. I want them to have plenty of time to stuff themselves with cupcakes.

I'm thinking about asking every guest who considers themselves visually savvy or a budding auteur to bring along their digital camera and then send us their favorite candid or posed shots. I’ve asked Erin and Anna to each work an hour, one at the ceremony and just after and one in the tent in the yard. So I think all of our bases will be covered and the photos will feel expressive and free. With my Photoshop skills, we are bound to end up with a wonderful collection of photos documenting a lovely (god willing rain-free) wedding. Right? I'm right, right? Seriously, what do you think? Can we cut this corner?

Pritty! Jana Starr creates beautiful, one-of-a-kind dresses out of vintage handmade European lace to wonderful effect. There's something so special about one-of-a-kind. I mean, we are all one-of-a-kind, but to have a wedding gown unlike anyone else's... They're heirlooms in the making.
I love the middle one, it's has such a simple timeless shape. And the back on that right one, gasp.

You must watch this! Sound on.

Today was such an insanely busy day. I felt like I haven't sat at my desk in years. I was eventually able to answer all the emails, return all the phone calls, eat all the cupcakes. All in a hard day's work. In case you didn't catch that, I made cupcakes this weekend for a New Year's Eve party. They were Grapefruit Pomegranate flavored, and they were super. Hands down, the best cake batter I've ever tasted. Next time, I'm not baking it. I'm putting it in parfait glasses with whip cream and serving it straight up.
I've also been playing with the new digital camera. (Who, from here on out will be affectionately referred to as HAL 9000 because it is sooooo smart that it rotates the images so they are all right-side up, no matter how you're holding the camera. whoa.)
That was all a very long way around to tell you that even in my extreme busyness, I was able to eat cupcakes, play with presents, and shop on Amazon, where
I came across a few new books that I thought were fun. The first is coming out TODAY, hot off the presses, and has some beautiful photography. The second, I actually found on Just My Cup of Tea, and looks to be perfect for the list-a-holics amung us. Plus, I love the cover.

Happy New Year everyone!
I know I've been posting a lot about jewelry lately, but I just keep finding things that I love!
Most recently...
Miguel Ases has some beautiful freshwater pearl and gold earrings. I love the ones in the middle especially, they seem so unique.
Many of his pieces can be found at Fragments, you should go see.