{Crushing On} Fatwoman Scarves

Currently crushing on:

Fatwoman Scarves

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How stinking fun are these? I'm absolutely in love with the top two. Pretty sure I'll be purchasing the red one and may just get the black one while I'm at it. The best news is these are all under $20! How adorable would these be for your bridesmaids? There are so many different colors and styles, you could have each bridesmaid wear a different look! And, c'mon brides, you know one of these would be absolutely darling with your wedding dress! I can't get over these lovely scarves and all the amazing options they provide for really fun outfits. Check 'em out. I'm already dreaming of wearing one with a simple sundress for a dinner outside on a cool summer night.

(I promise this is not a sponsored post. I just get really excited when I see budget friendly items that are too good to pass up!)

I Love NYC

In the words of my husband: "This goes down as one of the top 15 days of my life."

The rest of the weekend was pretty great, too.

I apologize for being a bad blogger and forgetting my camera at home. I only took a few phone pics.

Waking up to big powerful buildings staring back at you is always a good way to start your day.

Oh! First I should say we ate at Mercer Kitchen the previous night and had a fabulous dinner! If you ever have the pleasure of eating there, make sure to have the crab cake and Parmesan grits! Those dishes should be illegal.

On to Saturday.

Woke up to some giant buildings. 

 And then realized I will now judge my hotel rooms purely based on their coffee machines.

The only concrete plan we had all day was making a stop at Doughnut Plant on Grand Street in the Lower East Side. The name alone suggests a heavenly experience. You should check it out. I got the jelly filled and Tres Leches doughnuts which gave the Parmesan grits from the previous night a run for their money.

We spent the rest of the day walking around downtown, taking in the sites and not walking into one store! All we did was walk. And it was amazing. I love the city in the mornings, especially when you're away from the touristy midtown attractions. It was so nice to walk arm in arm through the cobblestone street neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, trying our best not to look into peoples' windows. We made our way north, stopping at one of the piers to check on the progress of the Freedom Tower. Looking good, NYC!

And then I realized if I moved down the bench a little more I could have a view of Miss Liberty.

After dog watching and sunbathing...

...we made our way to P.J. Clarke's for burgers and fries. We'd be back there later that night (er, morning since it was 2am) for a nightcap.

After an afternoon nap, we ended our night the only way we know how by visiting our friends and family at Bill's Gay Nineties.

It was one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in a long time. We ate, we walked, we napped, and then ate some more. Is there anything better?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

 

Start Spreading the News...

Switching it up a bit today, lovelies. Dave and I are heading into the city today and as always, I put packing off to the very last minute! So please excuse the lack of "Stirring Around" links today so I can get my suitcase packed for our little getaway. 

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For Christmas, Dave gave me a weekend away in NYC and I couldn't be more excited! Even though we live only 30ish miles away, we really don't visit the city as much as we should. We plan on eating well, walking everywhere, taking in a museum or two, and ending our night at our favorite piano bar. What I'm most excited about is waking up tomorrow without any plans and letting the city show us a good time. 

Have a wonderful weekend, lovelies!

 

DIY Fringe Hearts

If you love hearts, fringe and confetti, then this DIY is for you.

Perfect for cards, cupcake toppers, garlands and everything in between. 

First, cut a heart out of card stock and glue some tissue paper over the entire surface. This will guarantee that no white peeks through.

Cut strips of tissue and create fringe, using either fringe scissors or regular scissors. Begin gluing them on the heart, starting at the tip and working your way up to the top, making sure to overlap them to create layers.

Once you're done gluing, set the heart aside and let it dry for a few minutes. Once it is dry, simply flip the heart over and cut around your pretty shape!

Hooray!
 

And as always, this is a craft that doesn't have to be perfect! Feel free to glue the strips on at an angle to give the fringe a bit more sass.

Use these for whatever your heart desires!

(Sorry. I couldn't resist.)

You know it's a fun DIY when you're left with confetti.

I think I'm really starting to dig you, Valentine's Day!

 

Falling in Love with Valentine's Day

Sliiiight confession: I'm not someone who really gets into Valentine's Day.

Are you still here?

Please don't leave!

 

I know it's supposed to be a day of hugs and kisses and hearts and flowers and holding hands and eating way too much chocolate, but it's just not my thing. Dave and I usually use it as an excuse to go out to a nice dinner which is good enough for this gal! My mom always made it fun when we were little and to this day, we still get a box of chocolates and a pair of Valentine's socks in the mail each year. It's my favorite. So, to spice things up around here this year, I've decided to embrace the pink and red and everything lovey-dovey, much to my husband's chagrin. (Did you know I showed him a Valentine's Day card I made last night and he said his present for Valentine's Day should be not receiving a card? Can you believe him?!  He must still be upset about the Pats going to the Super Bowl. So guess who's getting multiple cards now? Heehehe. What a grinch.)

Anyways, here's what I'm thinking will help me get in the mood for love this year:

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I love this idea. Using a porcelain paint pen, write a cute message to your hubby on a white mug and fire it up in the oven. Then surprise him in the morning with coffee and breakfast in bed.

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Bringing back this classic. I love how a simple brownie is now an adorable gift.

 

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Everyone knows I can't resist a pom pom. These would instantly make me fall in love.

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The varying lengths of each garland makes me weak in the knees.

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X and Os forever. 

You can make this by simply picking up some garlands at your local craft store and shaping them into place. Secure them with some wire and adorn the wreath with a pretty bow. 

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I think everyone should have a red table like this one, don't you? Cover it with a pretty lace table cloth and you've got Valentine's Day perfection.

 

So how about you lovelies? Are you into Valentine's Day?

Pink is one of my favorite colors so I think I'll start there and see how it goes.

 

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe...

I only tried on five wedding dresses until I found the one so I think it's only fair I get to try on a few more, just for fun, right? I may be a year and a half happily married but I will always get butterflies looking at pretty dresses.

Enjoy these butterflies I found in the recent issue of Weddings Unveiled:

Is there anything more romantic than an open scoop back and delicate sheer sleeves?

I love the lines of this one. I'd seriously consider a corset top and pair it with a full ruffly skirt.

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Bingo. 

It only took me three dresses to find my new dress. How could I not fall in love?

Lovelies, you must head over to the latest issue of Weddings Unveiled to see their amazing collection of winter wedding dresses. You may or may not see a little pink number that will take your breath away!

 

Ombre Doughnuts

Enjoy the weekend, you beautiful people.

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*Stirring Around*

I think hobnail and pretty red hearts is a match made in heaven for Valentine's Day.

More hobnail! And the gauzy table runner makes me giddy.

The only thing better than expecting a little baby is expecting TWO babies! Congrats, Chrissy!

So jealous of everyone enjoying themselves at Alt. Design Summit! Check out some pics!

I'm obsessed with these Rifle & Radford Amethyst earrings!

My next stop.

Summer, summer, summer.

 

Neon. Kinda Dig It.

I am officially on the neon bandwagon.

Especially this lovely little combo.

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I know these bright hues are not everyone's cup of tea, but consider me hooked. I almost bought a necklace like this one at Forever 21 the other day and I think I may go back and make it mine. 

Are you feeling the neon? Would you ever wear it or do you think it's a bit too abrasive?

 

DIY Bridesmaid Sachets

I spy with my little eye a fun and easy DIY I created over on True Event's lovely blog!

For all those lucky ducks who got engaged over the holidays, this one's for you! For those of you who want to give a pretty little gift to a friend, this one's for you, too! Or, if you're like me, and need to freshen up some drawers or shoe closet, this one's for you, as well! 

 

Get down with your crafty self.

 

DIY Dance Floor Tutorial

Hi lovelies!

Today I thought I'd share a DIY tutorial that is the number one request I've received from tons of brides over the past year and a half since our wedding landed on Style Me Pretty.

Our DIY Dance Floor

 

 

 

My fiance and father sort of made this up as they went along and never really wrote down each little step. I apologize for the basic tutorial and lack of pictures but hopefully you can get the gist. 

- 8 standard size pieces of 3/4" thick plywood (we had 140 guests so we figured this would be a good size. Finished it was 16'x16').

- Frame each piece underneath with 2x4s (laid flat) and offset on each side. Put in two cross braces for support on each piece.

 (beers are optional but recommended.)

- Tricky part: You need to plan out the placement of each piece of plywood and offset the 2x4s accordingly so the plywood fits together like a puzzle when all the plywood pieces are together. When put together, make sure everything is flush.

- We then drew a checkerboard pattern and painted the squares a cream and coffee color.
 

It took an entire afternoon to make and then my mom and sister laid out the checkerboard pattern using chalk lines. One coat of primer, two coats of paint later and it was finished. 

 

The only problem we had was the terrain was not even when we put it together the day before the wedding. We had to shimmy one of the boards so it lay even with the others - no biggie though!

 

 

 It held up throughout the entire night and everyone was so impressed with the gorgeous detail! 

 

Sweet Tooth

Enjoy the weekend, you beautiful people.

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*Stirring Around*

Vintage fabric stars? Holy heck yes.

Some day I'd like to wake up to a brunch like this waiting for me.

Oh, Washi.

Can't get enough of Monique's gorgeous wedding!

Her wedding was cancelled 4 hours before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. Then this happened.

Tassel love.

Blog etiquette is always welcomed information!

 

Our Wedding Invitations + Holy Cow, Styling is Hard

A Ha! 

After 52 photos and several styling redos, I present to you our wedding invitations:

(please excuse my poor photography skills!)

Two years ago when I was planning our wedding, I wasn't too concerned with our invites. The most important thing to me was they had to be budget friendly and they had to be simple and fun, just like our wedding. I found a pretty little paper shop on Etsy, called CarolinaPaperie, and instantly fell in love with her simple, elegant, and easy designs. After 60 emails (!) between each other trying to nail down the perfect color scheme, we finally settled on our invites. I loved how the pretty pink, turquoise and yellow bounced around together; not too serious and so appropriate for our late summer farm wedding. 

Oh, and the "Greetings from New Hampshire" postcard was our Save the Date I designed on Zazzle.com. Cheap cheap cheap!

For the exterior envelope, I bought a template from The Bella Bella Co., and printed envelope wrap labels (took some convincing on my mom's part). I think this might be one of my favorite details. All it takes is one little detail to really bring your invitations to life! Check out more of The Bella Bella Co.'s designs here!

One of the added bonuses of having fun wording on your RSVP card is the goofy responses you get from your guests. I had one that came back with scratch and sniff stickers on it. It was perfect and exactly how I wanted my guests to feel.

And now it's time for me to profess my love to stylists. You guys are amazing. 

No longer will I look at invitations you've styled and go, "oh yeah, that looks easy." 

Heck no. 

It took me over 1.5 hours to set up and shoot our invites with my little digital camera. It's back breaking work! Seriously. It's pouring rain here in Jersey so I had to set up and shoot next to a window for good lighting. I stood on the arm of the couch for an hour bent over, trying to keep my hands steady while I got the perfect shot.  So silly.

Here are the other arrangements that didn't make the cut.

I would love to take a styling class or two. Or just follow my idol, Summer Watkins (you may know her from Grey Likes Weddings), around for the day. That lady cranks out the pretty.

 

Invitation Styling

You want to know what makes me smile?

Pretty invitation styling.

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This last one makes me extra happy. Confetti will do that to a person.

I love that you can add other details from your wedding to the invitation styling to really tie everything together. Come to think of it, I never showed you lovelies our wedding invites. I had completely forgotten to provide my lovely photographer with our invitation suite the day of our wedding so we missed out on having a picture taken of the pretty little thing. 

Hmmm, I smell a styling project coming on today...I'd love to show you our invites!