shoe heaven

Lately I have been heavily, heavily distracted by the influx of tweets, blogs and emails about fall fashion. Leggings, boyfriend jeans, statement necklaces, tunics...sigh. The eye candy has been a time suck, but quite an enjoyable one.

As J and I have been in hardcore saving mode for our upcoming wedding, splurging on fall clothes isn't a weekend activity I have yet been able to indulge in. But my time is coming. And in preparation for my indulgence, I have compiled some eye candy of my own of my most favorite chilly weather trend - boots!

What has impressed me the most about boots this year is that they are coming in every height, shape, size and price imaginable. From stylish booties to over-the-knee comfort, here are some gems that I've had my eye on for post-wedding fall fashion fun...


1. Dolce Vita Peep-Toe Nappa Bootie - $195
2. Charlotte Russe Suede Ruched Bootie - $24.99
3. Charlotte Russe Bow Tie Bootie - $29.99




1. Colin Stuart Convertible Boot at Victoria Secret - $99
2. Charlotte Russe Faux Leather Over-the-Knee Boot - $44.99
3. Charlotte Ruse Suede Over-the-Knee Boot - $39.99
4. DV by Dolce Vita - Nathan Boot - $143.95

the key to life

image from weheartit

time flies when you're having fun...

...and when you're wedding planning! 26 days to go. TWENTY-SIX!

I remember when I got engaged last November that the one thing everyone told me was how fast the time was going to fly. I laughed. Not out loud, but inside I did. I couldn't imagine time going by fast when the I was so anxiously awaiting my wedding day. You know how when you really, really want something and time just creeeeeps by until you feel like you're about to scream in anticipation?! THAT is how I thought my engagement was going to be.

I actually wanted that time, though. I wanted to enjoy how it felt to be engaged. I feel like sometimes women rush through that stage or immediately get caught up in the wedding plans that they forget to enjoy the brief time you have to just be engaged. Just last month it still felt weird to call J my fiance, now, I find myself calling him that every chance I have for in a few short weeks, he will be moving on to bigger and better titles. Like 'husband.'

Planning is wrapping up and my first big DIY project is looming - we have had our ceremony programs designed by the same friend who did the invites, table numbers and place cards (and they are FABULOUS!), but we are going to be gluing the paper to cardstock and tying ribbons to finalize the deal. Simple, right? Yet I'm still worried about an impending DIY catastrophe.

I know, I know, tons of brides have put together their own programs amongst other things. But keep in mind that I'm a wannabe creative person - and I can't help but worry that my fake-it-till-you-make-it mentality may bite me in the ass via this little project of mine.

What DIY projects did you do for your wedding? Any advice for a first-time DIY-er? I'll be sure to share pics in the coming weeks of my progress (success?!).

PS...my first post for my company's blog is now live! Go check it out!

gotta do your own thing your way

So the Chicago trip was canceled. Also, VH1 didn't air a new episode of Real & Chance 2 this week for my trash-tv lunch crew to watch today, my favorite Mexican restaurant in my hometown (and also the location of my bridesmaid luncheon...) burned down last night and it's proving to be impossible to get the cat smell out of my guest bathroom. Cue the tiny violins.

I'm going to delay getting into my trashy reality tv obsession for now - but just know I'm human and we all have weaknesses. Weaknesses that sometimes involve knowing all the words to the 'Kendra' theme song.

My bridesmaid luncheon will simply have to move to another locale - thank god this particular Mexican restaurant has spread it's seed all over the Peninsula and has other locations to choose from. While the location that burned down is/was most definitely my favorite, I was fortunate to make one last trip on Labor Day with one of my beautiful bridesmaids and dashingly handsome fiance where I proceeded to eat enough chips, salsa and the infamous 'white sauce' to feed a small village. Thankfully, Jason loves me despite my propensity to eat my body weight in tortilla chips. Most importantly, the margarita-infused wedding weekend kickoff plans will not have to be revised!

I'm still combing the internet for great wedding photography and TTD pics. Lately, Jason Lanier has really caught my attention.

The middle picture reminds me of my childhood pool-filled summer days trying to mimic Ariel from 'The Little Mermaid' as she leaps from the water onto the rock, mid-song, and nails the perfect hair flip. But in a wedding dress.

Is the third picture even real?! It looks like a painting. Such talent.

I've decided to postpone my own TTD session till next summer for numerous reasons. For starters, I want to play in water. Since I'm a wuss in the cold, that just does NOT sound like fun until the summer time. But primarily, my mom is probably going to lose her shit when she finds out and I'm hoping 8 months or so after the wedding may have given her some time to forget about the dress she spent hundreds of dollars on. Not likely, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

On the photography train, I wish I would have thought to register at Etsy. For 98798754 reasons, but I'm totally digging the photography at bomobob's shop. I can already see this as a nice touch in our guest bathroom:
I'm a rational gal' though, and 'Project Home Decor' won't kickoff till I'm a Mrs. and 'Project Get Married' is a wrap.

It just took my breath away when I confirmed the countdown...but only 38 days to go!

chicago bound!

There aren't too many places in the country that I really, really want to visit. Chicago is one of them.

This time a year ago, Jason and I were planning on taking a long weekend in the spring of '09 to visit but then we went and got ourselves engaged and realized weddings aren't cheap. At all. We have our sights set on spring 2010, or maybe as a 1-year anniversary trip next October. We'll shop and eat pizza and check out the architecture and a Cubs game and I'll decide I want to move there. He'll laugh, remind me I hate cold weather, and I'll quickly change my mind. Either way, it'll make for a great mini-vacay once we get around to it.

Apparently I'm getting to visit the Windy City much sooner than I thought...

I found out this morning that I am getting the opportunity to travel to Chicago for a 24-hour business trip. To me, that translates into two early flights, learning some more about the new account we've recently landed, meeting some important people from said account, a great dinner, and then figuring out what the city has to offer on a Monday night. My friend and co-worker who will be on the trip with me has already described a bar on the top of the John Hancock Center where the best view is from the women's bathroom. I'm so intrigued.

We'll have the plane ride home to sleep, right?

cherry pie and some damn good advice

I had a slice of cherry pie with my Cherrios this morning. After waking up at 5am and body pumping my way through an hour long workout, I sabotaged my breakfast by having dessert. And it was delish. Happy Friday!

I participate in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and have an amazingly dynamic and inquisitive 'little' who asked me yesterday over dinner if I think anything is going to be different after the wedding. It's like she dived in my head and swam around for awhile and realized the pond she was swimming in was filled with many different versions of that very same question - are things going to be different when we're married?

I already know the answer is yes. An astounding and positive YES. And I can't wait for all the good - and even the bad - that 'I do' entails. Joanna Goddard is a relationship blogger for Glamour magazine. How cool, right? While she's on her honeymoon, her personal blog, A Cup of Jo, has been featuring guest writers giving their secrets to a happy marriage. What are some of your secrets?! I really love reading these. Here's part of one of my favorite posts so far:

Reinvigorate the Old.
Life's grind sometimes whittles away the parts of us that are carefree, inspired, focused or fun. One of the best things you can do for your spouse is to defend the parts of them that you married them for. And that doesn't mean saying "You used to be so..." It means reminding them that they ARE those things; they're not gone, even on their most beaten down days.
-Nichole, Little Brown Pen
(the secrets continue through September 14, go check them out!)

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I have 6 more weeks of planning and detail-combing and scheduling left to do and I plan on enjoying every minute of it. Now's kind of the hard part though. It's the part where the expensive decisions you made 10 months ago have to fit into the decisions you are making right now. It's not a time for second-guessing, or spending too much time on unimportant decisions. Or being too upset about spelling errors.

I am an adamant believer that you DECIDE to be a stress-free bride. It made me so pleased to read this post by a recent 'bridal graduate' that supported that belief in it's entirety. Here's an exert from her post on A Practical Wedding:

It is your decision whether or not to be a laid back bride. You can choose this. Lots of things went wrong on our wedding day. It pissed down rain; our rabbi was late; our dinner menus were printed in the wrong language; etc. I remember walking into our venue beforehand and seeing the set-up, which was lovely, but a little bit off from the careful plans I had given them. I looked at it and thought, "it's beautiful. It's my wedding day. I am going to let go." Perfect weddings don't exist--brides who say their weddings were perfect are women who made the conscious decision not to give a shit. I have read so many blogs where brides stated that their enjoyment of their wedding was hampered by the mistakes. I'm a pretty neurotic lady, so I know that I could have been one of those brides myself, but I consciously decided to turn the perfectionist part of my brain off and have an awesome time. It's your choice too.

In case you're like me, and a classic case of 'if I knew then, what I know now,' scoot over and read more tips from 2 brides who have been there done that, and were nice enough to share the dirt.

Got any more advice to share? I'm all ears!

Hope your weekend is filled with good weather, good food, good people and good football!