Wednesday Loves!

with the lovely Jamie at This Kind of Love

Happy Wednesday ladies! It has been quite a while since I linked up for a WILW. Life has been extra hectic lately but I'm going to try to be better about updating my blog. There are lots of things I'm loving today!

I'm loving this sweet pup. Snuggling on the couch with this guy melts away a lot of stress. He really is the sweetest.

I'm loving that lots of wedding plans are falling into place. It feels like there is so much to do right now but it is all coming together! So exciting!

I'm loving my sweet fiance. He makes me smile when I have stressful days. Or as we say in Kindergarten, "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" days. Which is how I feel like every day in the last week has been.

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I'm loving Essie's new spring collection. The peach, A Crewed Interest, and the lavender, To Buy or Not to Buy, are my favorites. What are your thoughts this season?

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I'm loving this perfect for spring dress from the Shabby Apple. The weather has been warm this week and I am so ready to put away the sweaters and pull out the dresses!

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I'm loving this perfect for summer straw bag from Kate Spade. Isn't it adorable?

Source: lipstickshades.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

I'm loving that you can now purchase monogrammed Otterbox cases for iPhone. I have a pretty precious monogrammed iPhone case but as demonstrated when my phone was stolen, it doesn't do much in the way of protection. Love that this one is cute and will keep my phone safe too! 

What are you loving today!

Bridal Talk Tuesday - Wedding Invitation Inspiration

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We are in a full on hunt for wedding invitations as it is getting down to the wire for choosing them. Let me begin by saying that I found the perfect invitation that I was absolutely in love with from the White Aisle, which is a fabulous design and printing company. Some of their lovely designs are featured below:

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The talented designer that so many brides have raved about passed away just before Christmas. My heart goes out to her family and the White Aisle is closed until further notice.

So my search for a second perfect invitation began. I love this beauty by Bella Figura, but don't think I'm willing to fork out $3,000 for invitations and stationary.

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Then, I happened upon Blush Paperie's website. They have some gorgeous floral designs as well as some very pretty classic, even vintage, designs. Some of my favorites are:

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Some days I feel like I want a floral but others I feel like I want more of an elegant design that would be better in keeping with the theme of our wedding. This feels like such a tough decision. Blush Paperie has been awesome. They've gotten back to me regarding my questions at lightning speed and sent me a very thorough packet of samples that arrived today. They are even prettier in person than they appear online. Did I mention they do custom designs? 

Recent OOTD&apos;s

Where have I been???

This week has been super busy! We're dog sitting for a friend who had a death in the family and had to go out of town unexpectedly. Corey also had a death in his extended family so we went to the wake and visited with family. My coteacher has been out and I don't have a sub for her so my workdays have been feeling extra long! I've been a bit of a bad blogger this week but I'm hoping to catch up over the weekend!

Browsing through my phone, I've found a couple of recent OOTD's.

1. My favorite crocheted tunic - this time with my new jeans in a smaller size(!) a Kate Spade bag from last winter, and a new pair of black Tory Burch Revas that my dad gave my for Valentine's Day.

2. Black sweaterdress with slouchy J. Simpson boots and tights and the pretty Burberry bag Corey brought me back from Paris. An all black outfit is my go to when I'm not sure what to wear.

3. Teal sweaterdress tunic (circa Express, 2010, I believe) with Michael Kors riding boots and bag. I usually wear this with a cute pair of slouchy heel boots but wanted flats for a day of walking in NYC.

4. Dress from a local boutique with black Jessica Simpson heels. I wore this for a night out to celebrate Corey's cousin's birthday.

Bridal Talk Tuesday - Less than 6 Months to go!

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Happy Bridal Talk Tuesday, ladies! With just under six months to go, today I'd like to discuss what we've accomplished so far in our wedding planning and what we still have accomplish in the upcoming months.

What We've Accomplished

• We've chosen our wedding venues 
• We picked the most perfect wedding photographers
• We hired a fabulous wedding planner who is a life saver
• I asked my bridesmaids and Corey asked his groomsmen to be part of our special day.

• We planned an engagement party and celebrated with fifty of our friends

• I traveled to Manhattan with my Maid of Honor and purchased my wedding gown.

• I designed our wedding website, using weddingwire.com
• We hired a very well known DJ company for our reception 
• We flew home for a fun weekend with friends but also took our engagement pictures. 
• We chose Save the Dates, addressed them, and sent them on their way to our guests.

• We set up room blocks at three hotels for our guests and reserved the honeymoon suite for our first night as man and wife.
• We chose transportation for the wedding party and arranged for shuttle buses for out of town guests.
• My wedding planner and I chose a makeup artist for myself and the bridesmaids and my mom
• I purchased my wedding shoes, a pretty pink pair of Badgley Mischka's. 
• My mom flew up to visit and we returned to Kleinfeld to purchase my veil.

Still on the To-Do List

• Submit bridesmaid and flower girl dress order
• Finalize honeymoon travel plans. Here's a hint:

• Finalize rehearsal dinner venue, menu, and decor
• Schedule a menu tasting at our reception venue.
• Finalize order for wedding favors.
• Search for "little touches" to add to decor.

• Secure florist and choose flowers.Choose and order wedding invitations and day-of paper products. 
• Choose flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow
• Finalize tuxedo rentals.
• Purchase wedding rings and arrange for engravings.
• Schedule dress fittings!
• Schedule bridal portrait sitting and order prints for reception.
• Finalize floor plan and seating arrangements for reception. 
• Complete premarital counseling
• Confirm and assign ceremony readings. 
• Make arrangements for Bridesmaids Brunch.
• Hug and kiss on my fiance! 

Friday Confessional

Happy Friday ladies! Its especially happy for me since I'm off work today. To celebrate that it is officially the weekend (although mine technically started with wine and pizza last night), I thought a little confessional might be in order.

I confess... that I have been counting down until this four day weekend for over a month - at least since after we returned to school following the Martin Luther King Jr. Day three day weekend. So excited for a few days off - and sleeping in.

I confess... that I'm so enjoying the pretty flowers Corey had delivered for me on Valentine's Day. Even though he is out of town, he wanted me to get something special on the actual day.

I confess... that I am super excited for a girls weekend. My cousin is in town visiting and we are going to do some sightseeing and get some bachelorette and bridal shower planning done. We also have plans to visit all my favorite restaurants - there's some pretty phenomenal restaurants in Hoboken and NYC.

I confess... that I am excited to try Skinnygirl White Cranberry Cosmo. Its been months since I've had some Skinnygirl as margaritas are a summer favorite of mine. My last experience with Skinnygirl (which we used to pregame a night out in NY) resulted in breaking a glass and a friend of mine falling on the bathroom floor. What can I say - Skinnygirl always brings a good time.

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I confess... that I have a wish list of all kinds of pretty clothes and swimsuits for our honeymoon. The honeymoon we haven't even finalized yet and I'm already picking out what I will wear. Including a monogrammed derby hat, in case I need to protect my skin from the scorching island sun.

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I confess... that it really bothers me that I haven't had free time to read March's issue of Cosmopolitan cover to cover yet. This magazine is my guilty pleasure and I love it. Hate that I haven't had time to read it!

I confess... that in an effort to bring a little southern-ness to my school, I've been convincing the other teachers to buy monogrammed Marley Lilly tumblers. Next stop - Lilly Pulitzer dresses.

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I confess... that I'm still upset with the groundhog for seeing his shadow. Seriously, when will winter be over?!?!

Bridal Talk Tuesday - Happy Valentine's Day!

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Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Bridal Talk Tuesday!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day and eating lots of chocolate and treats.

I baked yummy funfetti cupcakes last night and dyed the icing pink then added a conversation heart for my students' Valentine's Party today. I'm really happy with how they turned out - I wasn't sure about dying the container of icing but it worked out perfectly.

Instead of doing a regular Bridal Talk Tuesday today, I thought I'd just take a moment to say how grateful I am to be marrying the love of my life in less than six months! I can't believe how quickly the time is flying. It seems like we just got engaged and that was more than ten months ago!

I'm so excited to have many more Valentin's Days to look forward to with my love. I hate that Corey is out of town today but I also can't be too sad because I know we'll be spending Valentine's Day together for the rest of our lives - which is pretty amazing.

On another note, I was contacted by a representative of Bride & Groom, a company that specializes in wedding invites and asked to take a look at their products. They have some great, classic styles and the price is very reasonable.

All images via. Head on over to their site to check out more designs.

Have a great Valentine's Day ladies! 

Valentine's Weekend Recap

Happy Monday girls!

Corey and I celebrated our "Valentine's Day" this weekend since he headed to Breckenridge in Colorado for a boy's ski trip yesterday morning. On Friday, I planned a surprise dinner for him. Corey went to the gym after work and when he got home, I had fresh bread from a local old-fashioned bakery, a yummy salad that looked like it came straight from a restaurant, and lasagna waiting.

Lasagna was the first meal I ever made for Corey when we first started dating. We finished off with warm brownies and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Then cuddled on the couch and watched the movie of his choice- Contagion, which has made me paranoid of everything I've touched all weekend long.

On Saturday evening, Corey took me to a tapas restaurant and wine bar in Hoboken, Bin 14. This place was amazing and I think its my new favorite restaurant in Hoboken. I love tapas restaurants and think they are so fun - and of course I also love wine!

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We started off with a cheese plate then had specialty bruschetta. Mine was lobster, avocado, and arugula and was delicious. Corey even liked it and he's not a fan of seafood. He tried the black bean and garlic bruschetta. We had a truffle and creamy tallegio flatbread pizza and it was amazing - light but crispy. Then, we enjoyed a chicken and dumpling special and parmesan and truffle fries.

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What is so fun about this restaurant is we had such a difficult time narrowing down the dishes we wanted to try. The next time we go, we could order a completed different set of small plates and not repeat anything we ate this weekend. I can't wait to go back - we're already making plans to go to a Wine 101 class next month.

My sweet Valentine at Bin 14

After dinner, we headed to the movie theater to see The Vow. Oh my word, I loved this movie! I already knew how the true story ended so I was on edge all night to see if the movie ended the same way. I'm such a sucker for sweet and sad love stories. I love so many of Rachel McAdam's movies. The Notebook, The Time Traveler's Wife. She plays the best, most romantic roles.

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We shared Sour Patch Kids as the dessert for our dinner. Those are my favorite for the movies! When we stepped out of the theater to walk home, there were light snow flurries. The movie theater in Hoboken is in a more quiet area of the city so it was the perfect ending to the perfect Valentine's night - a walk home with my love on a quiet, snowy night.

Anyone else see The Vow over the weekend? Thoughts? What are your Valentine's Day plans?

This Spring - Be Bold!

One trend I am loving this spring are fun, colored skinny pants. I'm loving the bold look of adding a pair (or several) of colored pants to your wardrobe. There's something unexpected about colored pants - the trend reminds me of a pair of pastel pink dress pants I used to own and wear to work when I worked jewelry retail in high school. Gosh, I loved those. I'm definitely adding the new skinny version to my wardrobe this season. VS's version is already on the way! I'm finding that this cute style is absolutely everywhere this season and available in any color you could dream up.

Fun, colored skinny jeans and pants are showing up at all my favorite stores.

Victoria's Secret

I ordered these in light pink
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Express

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J. Crew

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Almost any color you can imagine is available somewhere this season. I love that! I love both bright colors and pastels and I love seeing a fun, colored item in an outfit. I can't wait for my pastel pink pair to arrive. What are your thoughts on the colored pant trend? Do you love the skinny look?