Liberty of London

Has anyone checked out the Liberty of London line at Target?  A branch of the original UK line, the items at Target are fun, springy, and so reasonably priced!  Definitely worth checking out....

Porch Drinks!

With Porch Drink Season upon us, the latest issue of Southern Living featured a cocktail I am dying to try.  Their Raspberry Beer Cocktails look quick, easy, and delicious.  Can't wait to whip up a batch and try them on the back porch soon!

Breakfast of Champions


This could be a post about eating organic, or about eating proteins and dairy at breakfast (which I have found to be a great weight loss tool) but I'm going to keep it simple.  I just want to tell everyone how much I love Organic Valley milk.  I've tried many brands of organic dairy products and this is just the best choice and well worth the extra money.  Even the skim milk is (relatively) creamy and delicious.  Organic Valley employs farmers all over the country so you will get a local product, no matter where you live. 

The only other thing I can say is that this has to be some really good milk to write a whole post about it!

Head on Down to Starbucks this Morning!

Today before 10:30, pick up your free pastry at any Starbucks, with a drink purchase!

Wedding Wednesday: Flowers

Yesterday we finalized the flower order at Flower Girls.  Because of the crazy weather this year, they may (disappointingly) have to ship in more flowers than originally planned.  However, we're still hoping that the timing will be just right to use plenty of local Virginia flowers.  I like that we are mixing it up a bit and not relying solely on roses and hydrangea, although they will certainly be used a little bit.  Some other items on the list:
White double tulips
Double narcissus

Freesia

We had beautiful yellow and white tulips at the shower, which really helped jump start my excitement for the wedding flowers.  Thanks to Farrell and the other girls for that thoughtful attention to detail- I love the way the shower colors aligned with the wedding colors!

Lauren's Shower Recap in Photos

A few photos from Lauren's Bridal Shower this past weekend at L'Etoile in Charlottesville....



Be Back Monday!

No time for posting today!  Lauren's Shower and Bachelorette weekend is commencing this weekend in Charlottesville.  A weekend to include beer margaritas, queso, a bridal shower luncheon here, a bachelorette dinner here, and a few surprises along the way.....

Reader Request: Wine Hostess Gifts

Time for a Reader Request!

If you are hosting something at your house, and a guest brings you a bottle of wine as a host/hostess gift, what do you do with it?  Is it proper to serve it that evening?  Or save it for another time?
I never know what to do!

Thoughts from the crowd?  Which option do you go with?

Non Wedding Wednesday

Today's post is a follow up to my previous one about picture molding.  Behold the fruits of my labor:

The hallway:

The living room (featuring my lovely Virginia pillow):

The dining area:

No, really, this was very easy once I got a feel for it and realized nothing was going to crash.  Figuring out the length of the wire is the trickiest part.

Note to self:  We may need to invest in some artwork that is not boat related.

The Color Purple

If only I were in the market for some Le Creuset...the new Cassis and Lilac color collections are right up my alley.  If anyone were to buy it for me for a gift, I would not complain!

Wedding Wednesday: The Bridal Portrait

Last week I went home to Richmond for my bridal portrait.  I didn't realize until recently that this may be a bit of a regional (ie southern) thing.  Based on some very informal internet research, google searches for "bridal portrait" do seem to take you straight to photography studios in the Carolinas and Texas.  (And yes, I did spend a big chunk of time this morning looking at all the pictures I could find.)  If you are a reader from another part of the country I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

When I arrived in Virginia I was able to look at my veil for the first time and....it was wrong.   In fact, it was six inches longer on one side than the other.  A little stressful, especially since my portrait was in two days.  However, we took it back and the lady who made it  (at Couture by Lk Design) very quickly reworked everything and the final product was beautiful.  Even with that snafu, I would highly recommend hiring a good seamstress to make the veil.  We had a lot of control over the quality of the material and probably saved about $400 in the process.  Now, at the end of wedding planning, you are thinking about $400 in one of two ways:  either you are "hemorrhaging so much money" (in the immortal words of Farrell) that it seems completely inconsequential or you are becoming irrationally angry about any and all money expenditures ("No, I will not pay $0.50 per envelope for you to print my return address on my bridesmaids brunch invitations").  So anyway, a big thumbs up to not buying the veil at a dress shop.  Especially since another vendor told me she had seen a bride that morning who had received the wrong veil from a dress shop.  Then the shop called her a liar, even though the veil clearly didn't match the dress.  Basically, you can't avoid these sorts of problems no matter how organized/particular/bridezilla you are.  So you might as well save $400.

On to the portrait.  I am not a person who likes to be photographed.  If you are like me, I recommend a studio portrait where they tell you exactly how to stand, down to physically moving your foot into place for you- thank you, Wendell Powell Studio.  (The alternative is a sort of free shoot where the bride runs around in cowboy boots, bouncing soccer balls off her head has more of an opportunity to showcase her personality.)   The portrait was one of the more awkward things I have ever done, and I often wondered if there was any way the various contortionist-like positions would look natural, but guess what?  The results are great!  Apparently all those directions guarantee a good outcome.  Even the ones where the photographer told me I looked stressed.

So that's what's going on, besides yet another groom clothing switch.  But that is a whole different story.  (Also, why does blogger no longer have spell check???).

Project: Picture Molding

I recently moved into an apartment with 12 inch thick plaster walls.  You should have seen my face when the cable man suggested drilling a hole through one for the cable cord (we ended up stapling the cord along the bottom of the wall and over a few doors).  I was extremely nervous about hanging pictures (visions of crumbling plaster flashed in my mind) until I saw this article in Southern Living and realized we already have picture molding.  My project for the next few days is to get our "artwork" up, although I have a feeling it will not look like this (but here's to wishful thinking : ):