Love Notes

There's just something romantic about the written letter.

That little something that the packrat in me can keep forever.

Figuring this will be the last Valentine's Day for Cory and me as an unwed couple, I figured we could probably splurg on writing a love letter to each other. (You hear that, Cory??)

Here are some of my paper favorites:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

xoxo,
 

Q&A Mondays

I've linked up Pretty in Pink Megan and Shasta Anne for their new Q&A Mondays.
Their blogs are two favorites of mine when I first started blogging back in the day, so go check them out.

Hope you enjoy! (maybe next week, I will find time to vlog my answers!)

1) favorite beauty product of all time
I hate to choose just one, but I would say my MAC studio fix powder. 
Makes my skin look flawless!

2) what do you use on your hair
I've used Brilliant Brunette for the better part of a decade, and I don't know why I try to use anything else.
After the shower, I comb in Moroccan Oil, and if I'm feeling it, some Aquage root booster.

3) complete skin care routine
I wish I could say I have one of those glamorous skin care routines...but to be frank, I can't exactly afford all of those miracle lotions and elixirs. 
To take my makeup off I use Neutrogena face wipes. 
If I don't have any of those, I have MAC's cleansing oil. 
But the wipes are so much easier...

4) favorite handbag
I really don't have a favorite handbag.
( I wish I could say it was a Chanel! ha )
I have such a wide collection of bags
..everything from classic, everyday black to crazy, eclectic, patterned bags...

5) one thing you would change about yourself
internally -
I wish I had more confidence to wear no makeup out in public
A huge mack truck called puberty hit me hard, so once I discovered makeup, it became hard to give up.
externally-
I wish I had longer lashes.

6) one thing you like about yourself
I'm incredibly nice to everyone I meet.
It's from been raised to treat others the way you want to be treated.
You never know what kind of day someone is having or what problems they are going through.
Now, I'm not saying that deems them to have a bad attitude to me, but I'm certainly not going to dumb down to their level.

7) most memorable outfit of all time
I know most women would go for their wedding dress on this one,
but being that I have not formally worn it yet,
I would go for the blue dress I wore on my first date with Cory.
I knew I would knock his socks off when I bought that one! ;)

8) which celeb closet you would like to raid
Emma Stone.
She has a great way of making her outfits the perfect mix of fun, vintage, and feminine.
 
9) describe your style in one word
Quirky. 
  
10) how/why did you start blogging
I've told y'all this before, but I started blogging as purely a grade for a PR class.
It became so much more once I kept it up after graduation.  

xoxo,
 

This Weekend: I Found the Dress!

Yep, you heard that right...I found my dream wedding dress after two long weeks of searching.

And I found it at Low's Bridal, none the less.

Never heard of Low's Bridal before? 

I mean, it's only the bridal mecca of the mid south.

  
Going into it, I had a 99% certainty that I would find my dress here. The selection is incredible large, followed by the fact that getting your dress from Low's is almost like a southern girl's rite of passage. 

I went with my bridesmaids, Kristen and Jenna.


I was truly blessed to have these two chicks with me on Saturday. Being that this place is such an island of tulle, organza, and silk, it was nice to have them to help me sort through the endless amount of dresses.

And let me tell you, when I went, I went prepared. In my hands I held a list of vendor names, style numbers, and printed images, all of which contained ideas of what I would want.

So, imagine my surprise when I choose a gown at random in which I had labeled earlier as a "southern debutante's dream." Trying it on, I had striped it of its original elements, then crafted it with other individual pieces, and ended up making it a truly one of a kind gown.

Now I refer to this fluffy concoction as my dream dress.
The dress I will get married in.

I can't wait to show you what it ended up looking like!

Let the countdown begin :)

xoxo,
 

Wedding Inspiration: Bridesmaids Dresses Revisited

Due in part to the dresses I found here on Modcloth are now somewhat sold out in sizes, and for the fact that I couldn't make up my mind which one I loved the most, I have since revisited the bridesmaids dress situation.

I randomly came across these three dresses made by Alfred Sung, and the best part, they come in both coral and gray options to tickle my fancy. 

My favorite combo is still gray dresses with bright flowers for the maids. Although the dresses aren't featured in their gray counterparts, I'm sure you get the idea. :)

 

What do you think? (Hello, Erica!)

xoxo,

 

Blogs You Need to Follow

The interesting thing about blogging (besides the possiblility of meeting new people) is the ability to share with others the blogs that you love so much.

Here are some that I cannot live without:

Maskcara

I found this blog yesterday after a random afternoon of Pinterest surfing, and I ran across one of her hair tutorials for Victoria Secret hair. Enough said. Besides the obvious hair styling posts, she'll vlog some awesome makeup tutorials, and I love that she mixes inexpensive finds along with counter brands. I'm also rather jealous of her longggg hair.

Becoming Mrs.

I actually have the pleasure of knowing Candace in real life, and ever since we have met in Phi Mu, we have shared ideas about how our wedding planning would look like one day. (Yeah, we are those girls...) Since becoming engaged, Candace started a blog of all her DIY projects, dress shopping finds, and wedding ideas. Let me tell y'all, this girl has style, taste, and is always put together. And of course, I get positively giddy when a new post of her shows up on my feed. The latest one has to do with her DIY save the dates. Adorrrrable.

Putting on the Grits

One of the first blogs I've ever followed, "Grits" had me hooked from day one with her southern charm, recipes, and amazing photography skills. My favorite is her Lemon Icebox Pie.


Any blogs I need to follow? Or tell me about yours! I love learning about new ones :)

xoxo,
 

Weekday Happies

Kinda like "What I Love Wednesdays"...but with my own spin of a title.

my awesome homemade gift from one awesome friend of mine,

(it's my wedding date!)

my new marathon show that I recently discovered...so what that I'm 5 seasons late,

the drawing Ava Grace sent me in the mail,

She's fascinated by the mailing system now...thinks that her mailman drives 3 hours up to hand deliever it to me.
(picture is that of her favorite movie, Tangled.)

and writing thank you cards.

What's got you going this week?

xoxo,
 

I've Been Tagged...

I'll admit, when I first saw I was tagged in this questions post by Brittney, I became giddy (I love reading these things)...then I was tagged again by Valerie and got even more giddy...then I completely dropped the ball to fill the dang thing out.
Whoops.

Thanks B and V for tagging me!

First thing's first. The rules:

1. You must post the rules.

2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.

3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post,

and then create 11 new questions for the people you tagged.

4. Tag 12 people and link them on your post.

5. Let them know you've tagged them!

So here are some random facts about me:

- I use index cards for my daily to do lists.

- I'm a born and bred Memphis Tigers fan...my family's been watching them since the 1950s.

- I've been blogging for about 3 years, but the first year was for school and the second I wasn't very good at keeping up this blog at all.

- Aspen's name came from looking at the company that manufactured her dog collar...Aspen Pet.

- I'm a history nerd.

- I'm probably the most open minded Catholic you will ever meet.

- The two girls I always talk about are my nieces. I've done everything BUT give birth. lol

- I'm addicted to making things out of pretty paper and glitter.

- I loved owls before liking owls was even cool.

- My sister was 10 years old when she named me after her two favorite singers...Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley. (I'll let you take a stab at guessing my middle name. And it does begin with the letter E.)

- I'm vegetarian. 

Now, here are Brittney's questions:

1. What was your favorite book you have ever read?

Hands down, The Great Gatsby. I think I was the only freshman in high school that loved it.

2. What is your favorite low calorie snack?

That's a toss up between low cal string cheese and veggie chips.

3. What does your tv usually stay on?

My tv is always pumping out my recorded shows. I rarely watch a show when it's actually live on tv.

4. What is your dream vacation?

Anywhere out of the country. I've never been!

5. What is your favorite hobby?

I love creating things. When I was a manager at Anthropologie, the sky was the limit.

6. What kind of car do you drive?

Nissan Altima

7. If you could change your career, what would you change it to?

I would love to work for an ad agency with something either in art design or PR.

8. What is your favorite holiday?

Does my birthday count? ;)

9. Who is your favorite actor/actress?

I've had a solid decade crush on Leonardo DiCaprio. He can do no wrong in movies.

10. What is your favorite season?

Fall. Perfect weather, beautiful colors, always the time I bought fresh school supplies...
which I'm a sucker for office supplies.

11. What is one thing you love about blogging?

The people I have met on here that I now call my friends.
It's incredible how this little outlet brought us (and hopefully more in the future!) together.

And now Valerie's questions:

1. What is your favorite thing to cook? {And please share the recipe if you can!}

I'm actually more of a baker than a cooker.
One of my favorite recipes came during Mardi Gras when I baked a king cake.

2. Everyone has a guilty pleasure :) What's yours?

I can sometimes over indulge in small, grab items purchases.
Mostly from beauty products and paper supplies...

3. Are you a sports fan? If so, who are your favorite teams?

Memphis Tigers through and through! I also love the Memphis Grizzlies since I worked for them during college. I'm a big basketball and soccer fan.

4. What are you going to watch tonight: The LSU/Bama game, The Bachelor, or Pretty Little Liars?

Since this already happened, I watched PLL. I not a Bachelor fan.

5. What is the one beauty product you couldn't live without?

Oh wow, I can only choose one? How about my top 5?

MAC fluidline eyeliner in Blacktrack
NARS blush in Orgasm
MAC Studio Fix powder
L'oreal Voluminous mascara
Fresh Sugar lip balm

6. Where is your favorite place to eat in the city where you live?

I love Flight in downtown Memphis.

7. If you won a free vacation, where would you choose to go?

Anywhere out of the country!

8. Who is your favorite Disney princess?

I've always liked Belle for some reason...maybe it's the brown hair and books?

9. What do you like on your pizza?

Just cheese...tons and tons of yummy cheese.

10. Post a picture of the most recent thing you pinned on Pinterest.

So true.

11. If you could give one piece of advice to your sixteen year old self, what would it be?

Quit using that hair straightener!!! 

Congratulations if you had made it this far!
It means you, dear friend, have been tagged by me to answer my questions. ;)

My 11 Questions:
1. How did you meet your best friend?
2. What is a current goal you want to accomplish?
3. What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment so far?
4. Do you own any pets?
5. Were you named after anyone in particular?
6. What is your biggest pet peeve?
7. What is your biggest strength?
8. Mountains or ocean?
9. What is your favorite tv show?
10. What is your favorite possession?
11. If you could change something about the world we live it, what would it be?

xoxo,

 

This Weekend: Engagement Shower

 I did a little dress shopping with two of my bridesmaids,


watch a totally cheesy and completely predictable movie,
(which I loved, by the way..it might have had something to do with Chris Evans)

and enjoyed an engagement shower thrown by a dear friend, Rachel.
More pictures to come on that soon!

xoxo,

S**t Brides Say

This is just too much. I love it.

xoxo,
 

Wedding Inspiration: Bridesmaids Dresses

I've been in enough weddings to know first hand how a pain in the rear it is to buy a bridesmaid's dress, the possibility of those diabolical dyeable shoes, the whole bit.
That's why I made it my mission in life to have my bridesmaids happy with their dresses for my wedding.
I know, I know. I can't please everyone, but come on. I rather these girls have a little insight on what they are going to be buying than just a point and purchase. I want them to feel every bit as lovely as I do on my wedding day.
Right now, I'm loving something that is either gray or coral, not strapless, and comes at the knee....like for example:

All dresses via ModCloth

I love all these choices, because of a slew of reasons:
1. They are real dresses.
2. They are flattering.
3. Lets be honest...they aren't coming with a $200 price tag. 
4. And I may or may not love all of these so much that I want to buy one myself for all of us to wear together and go frolicking around, holding hands, and sing kumbaya...too much?

I want the girls to love something as much as I do. Something that they may (say it with me) "wear again one day."

So, ladies, what did you do on your big day? Or what was your favorite dress from being a bridesmaid? Do tell ;)

(And shoutout to my buddy and bridesmaid, Erica! What do YOU think???)

xoxo,

 

Product Review: January Birchbox

January box is all about clarity for the new year and starting off fresh. I'm not sure if these products necessarily stay with this theme or not, but I'm excited to try them out none the less!

And the goods...

Products clockwise from L to R:

LARABAR food bar (not to be confused with a Luna Bar)

BORGHESE CuraForte Moisture Intensifier

Juicy Couture perfume in Viva La Juicy

a mini Birchbox symbol magnet

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner

Jouer Body Butter

Initial Thoughts:

- Woohoo, I got a full size eye liner!

- I wonder if that LARABAR tastes good?

- What the heck is a moisture intensifier?

xoxo,
 

Wedding Inspiration: Color Palette

So, this weekend we have finally set a date!

We will be getting married on October 6, 2012 at the Woodruff-Fontaine House, and from your wonderful blog love, it looks like it will be a big hit with our guests too.

Now on to the fun stuff starting with our color palette!

Since I'll be getting married outdoors in October, I wanted the color palette to not clash with the fall season, but still have a soft, feminine touch.
I probably sound like a complete goob when I put these three colors together, but for me, it's perfect.

1. 2. 3.  
All colors are from The Perfect Palette.


xoxo,
 

This Weekend

I finalized some more wedding plans (more on that later!),

I played around with a surprise visit this weekend from my two rugrats,

I went to a baby shower for one of my wonderful Phi Mu sisters (who will have a legacy!),

and I've come to terms that I am the only dang blogger to have not been contacted to review this hair dryer.

No, I'm not bitter at all... ;)

How was y'alls weekend?

Shout out to Valerie for her birthday today over at Along the Way With V & J!

xoxo,