so my blog here was hacked, and every time someone tried to go to my blog, it sent them to a different weird site, not sure what happened or how it was fixed, but I'm glad it's over now.

Anyway, I don't have a whole lot to post at the moment, because although I've been busy - I don't have my camera and I haven't taken pictures of all the amazing projects I've been doing lately. I've made my bridesmaids their hairpieces, and fabric flowers as decor for the reception...pictures soon!

My amazing sister in law offered to foot the flowers bill so that I don't have to worry about another added expense (praise the Lord!!), and she contacted the florist of my choice and the florist offered to meet with me at the church to go over floral ideas... I'm kinda at a loss of what to do!
I know I want to do simple calla lily bouquet for myself:


and a single boutonnière for my groom:


The reception will be swimming in baby's breath (it's so soft and simply beautiful):


So I thought of doing something similar for the boys' boutonnières and the girls' bouquets:



But I'm not sure how baby's breathe and calla lilies look together?? hmm..

but I like simplicity:


but I'm not sure how I want to decorate the church though... that part is unsure.
When I find more ideas I'll be sure to post them.

Soo you know my love of thrift stores? I found one right next to where I work, thanks to my momma... and I love it! It's a mix of clothes, decor, household items and even some furniture. It's a consignment shop called Green Planet, I plan on visiting it frequently. Well, while I was there I fell in love with two pillows...just love them! So of course I had to buy them... aww.

I loved the discount designer sale sites, I'm members of about 7 or so. I recently bought an item off of www.ideeli.com while they were having their Maggy London sale, I just got the dress in the mail today and it couldn't be more beautiful! I am so in love with it.

If you want to join the member-only site, use my invitation link: www.ideeli.com/invite/csparker08

Here is my gorgeous dress:

The top ten pieces I couldn't live without!!

1. Black Blazer - it can instantly glam up an outfit!
Charlotte Russe, $32

2. The basic white tee - layer it or wear it alone, the timelessness of this piece is so versatile! (my favorite is to wear the black blazer over with with a bold print scarf!)
Target, $7.99

3. Dark-wash skinny jeans. Now, I hated this trend for the first couple years, til I tried on a pair that actually slimmed me and made me look good! Now I wear them all the time!
Charlotte Russe, $29.99 - this is actually where I found my jean too - and being 5'8 I was concerned about the length, but they fit great, I can wear them rolled-up with flats or perfectly with heels!


4. Classic black pump (just add this to the blazer, tee and jeans and already an adorable outfit!)
Cutesygirl.com, $24.99
Steve Madden is my favorite designer to buy heels from, they are so comfortable and great quality. I definitely think they're worth the price...but I got a pair of Madden pumps from Macy's on clearance for $20! Clearance is my best friend..

5. Bold Print Scarf
Target - $12-$15.
Secret: I buy my scarves from New York City's Chinatown. I lived there for a year, and bought many while I was there, I got solid color pashmina's for $3.30each, and other printed scarves for about $5. I love them!!

6. A pretty dress.
A dress can go so many wears, dress it up or down - cardigans, jackets, shrugs, denim jackets, tees - anything can go over or under it to play it up or down. Pair it with tights, boots, flats, pumps, belt - there are so many options when it comes to a dress, it's good to have a "default dress". My favorites are those you can wear year round - often a simple black dress does the trick, but it's fun to have something cute too.
some favorites:
Alloy, Lia Knit dress $39.90
Delias Kellie Dress, $44.50
Delias, $44.50, Nadine
Charlotte Russe Dress, $32
Anyway...just a few options!!

7. A cardigan. because I love them. And can be paired with anything. I love the embellished cardigans, but the simpler ones are pretty awesome too - I love pairing them with leggings!
Old Navy, $26.50
Old Navy, $24.99

8. Black leggings/Tights. These are a MUST for me because I live in MN! Not only do I wear them under my jeans for extra warmth, but if you get some that are warm enough you can wear dresses or skirts nearly everyday and not have to worry about freezing to death. I wear them with black boots!
Delias.com, alloy.com, modcloth.com

9. An awesome Go-with-everything-bag
Now, this is another thing that I bought in NY that you can get for a great price in Chinatown. haha.
Target, $20

Shopruche, $49

10..
ooh the big ten.
you know I think I'll sit and debate this one for a bit, cause I'm not sure what my other staple is... hahaha.

If I could shop anywhere, as in money wasn't an issue, these are my tops stores:
1. Anthropologie - for their feminine, vintage inspired dresses and tops. Even their home items, bedding and accessories like lamps and chandeliers, are to die for!
2. Pottery Barn for unique bedding, home decor and accessories.
3. Modcloth - love the vintage uniqueness of their items! All their tops, dresses and shoes are darling.
4. JCrew, I love their style. The laid-back, feminine frills but a hint of casuality and comfort is my personality to a tee.
5. BCBG-

And if I was a hollywood star who had a million black-tie events to go to, I'd wear Elie Saab! Her dresses are gorgeous.

This dress is from her Spring/Summer '09 collection. I love the rosettes, that is my favorite fashion trend of right now. The embellished and appliqued flowers, rosettes and eye-intriguing patterns are to die-for. And some of my favorite stores are selling them.
Anthropologie:

Jcrew:



I found a few alternatives that won't cost me half my paycheck:
Shopruche,


And Charlotte Russe (I have an outlet about 20 minutes from where I live, and they sell several varieties of this shirt for $10-$20!)


I'm kind of lame, but I'd always been a $10-tshirt kind of person. I don't like buying shirts that are over about $20. And the most I've spent on jeans was $72, that was HUGE for me. It's normally $20-$30. I am a frugal shopper, and I pride myself in such. But sadly it leaves me lusting after higher-quality BCBG and put-together outfits of anthropologie and he like. Of course I grave Oscar De La Renta, Emilio Pucci, Nina Ricci, Nicole Miller and those designer brands, but on a practical level I technically could afford Jcrew, Anthropologie and the like. I just chose to get more for my dollar. Some call is nonsense, that a couple higher quality nice pieces are better than several lower quality pieces.
I say yes and no.
I can shop at Salvation Army and Goodwill and find some of those higher quality pieces for less, I bought a Nicole Miller dress at a consignment shop a couple weeks ago for $17 - it still have the tags on it. It's made of genuine silk. I adore it and cannot wait for the spring, to wear it.
But yes, a couple higher pieced items are often worth it...but why not shop clearance racks at Macy's, Bloomies and the like? I bought a classic black suit jacket for $11 at JCPenneys the other day, it was a clearance item - and I would call that a wardrobe staple.
That will be another post, very soon.
My wardrobe staples.
haha.


Finish with some inspiring pieces:


(all outfits found on the Anthropologie website)

So some of you may remember my post from earlier about my love for the "Postcup", and my disappointment in the price tag...
Sooo... I decided to make my own. I figured it couldn't be that expensive and I wanted to make something really special for my honey for valentines day anyway (I had to wait to post this until he had gotten his package in the mail..teehee!), since it was our first valentines day as a couple.
I first went to Target and bought two plain white glass mugs, and then to Michaels Craft Store to get the special glass permanent market, the Pebeo Porcelaine 150 Pen.

I'll let my pictures tell the rest:

Wash the cups to get rid of fingerprints, debri and dust.


This next step is very crucial: put on your favorite movie to watch while working on the cups (haha), my movie of choice was "Love And Other Disasters" with the ever-lovely Brittany Murphy.


Just to be sure I didn't make an un-fixable error on the actual cup, I practiced and decided first what I would inscribe/draw on the cups. I also made my own "stencils" out of construction paper to help things go on straight and how I'd like it (specifically the postmark)


Eek!! :)


The first cup:



The second cup:




And my two finished products, let them dry overnight for at least 24 hours and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes to make the ink permanent!




I like the second one best but overall I was pretty pleased with my first attempts. My fiance really loved them as well and I had so much fun doing it!

Glass mugs from Target: $2.99
Special glass-permanent pen: $5.99
Creating something that my fiance and I can enjoy for a long time together? Priceless.


(those are my favorite commercials :):)))

I think I just found my wedding dream shoe! (swoons!) (Found HERE)
Oh my gosh I love them...but I've never spent $90 on ANY article of clothing before (the wedding dress doesn't count), and I'm not quite sure I can justify this. eeek.

Here are a couple others that I was considering:

(Amazon)

(Ebay, Ballroom dance shoes seller)

(amazon)

(amazon)

(clothingaccessoriesshoes.com)

Although I just found these and really like them. They're Bandolino, but $70 at zappos...still a little high priced for me (ideal is around or less than $50 and something I wouldn't mind wearing again)


They all would go great with my dress...because of the unique color and detailing, I can't do a colored or extravagant shoe...which I'm fine with. But finding a suitable shoe is proving to be difficult. And not only that but I'm tall, so no alterations were needed as far as hemming goes, which means I can only wear about a 2-3" heel (if even that much) to get the right amount of "off the ground" but not too high. It's a little complicated!! haha.


Where did you guys buy your shoes?