Weddings

Lydia's photos from Andrew & Carissa's wedding got me all nostalgic about weddings again. David was able to make the trip to San Diego to attend, but due to my lack of vacation days and our lack of extra funds, I stayed behind. It looked like a gorgeous wedding, and the photos are beautiful. I told David to pretend that he was a girl and give me every detail he could think of about the wedding (instead of the "it was nice" I probably would have gotten otherwise), and it sounded oh so lovely. Lydia Hartnett, your photos make me cry. And the fact that Andrew & Carissa are such a cute couple doesn't hurt. I love that Carissa wore her mother's dress that was altered just for her. (Photo by Lydia Hartnett at link above).

Here are some bridal gowns, bridesmaid dresses, and shoes that I love.

JCrew's Francette Gown is simple, but girly and fun.


JCrew's Silk Dupioni Gwendolyn Gown is also pretty with the shoulder detail. This would be great for a classy, formal bride.

This white tea length dress from Posh Girl Vintage is a 50's vintage dress. I love love love tea length wedding dresses (mine was tea length!). So fun. Good for a nontraditional bride.


Another Posh Girl find. This vintage 50's Marilyn style white ruched dress is so understated (in a good way) and classic.


Now for the bridesmaids. Jcrew's Cotton Cady Sydney Dress is adorable in both tea rose and light pewter. I think gray with a bright color (like pink or yellow) would be such a fun color palette.


JCrew's Silk Taffeta Ruffle Wrap Dress is great in black. One you could definitely wear again. I heart wrap dresses and ruffles.


Umm... adorable, yes?


Side note:
We have a few weddings to attend this summer, and I am sort of dying for this Fred Flare Pretty in Pink Bouquet Dress. It's so vintage-y, girly, and pretty. Very tempting...

Weddings... how I love them.

Friday Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite recent purchases. My dad & Barbara gave David & I a CB2 (Crate & Barrel's modern home line) gift certificate for Christmas (thanks, guys!), which was a great excuse to buy some new fun things, as well as a much needed new bed frame.

The cora carafe has been such a great find. I got three---one for each side of our bed and one for guests when they come. It's great to always have fresh water in bed every night without having four or five dirty, empty glasses sitting on the nightstands. The glass is surprisingly thick and durable for the inexpensive price.

These open weave storage baskets are so great for organization. I'm not usually a basket person, because they can be very country, which is not the aesthetic we're going for. But these walk that fine line between traditional and modern because of their black color and straight lines. I got six of them---five for our closet shelves that I am storing handbags in and one for on top of the linen cupboard in our bedroom to hold hair styling tools. My mom let me steal some of her vintage-looking tags (that she uses for pricing at her antique booth in Laughlintown---thanks, mommy!), which I labeled and hung from the baskets so I know what's inside without rooting through. They've been such a great purchase.

Another fun find was this tree soap dish and ring holder. Davey's bar of soap was always sliding all over the place in our shower, and this was a great solution. I also love having all of my rings out in the open---plus this ring holder also looks organic and modern. I sort of wish I would have bought a couple of sets of them as gifts.

Ok so this is not a photo of our bedroom. But it's our tatami bamboo bed frame. We LOVE it! It's a platform bed with a bamboo headboard (green design, yay!) with a gunmetal base. The base has these really sharp corners that we keep running into, and man does it hurt. Even our guests run into it (sorry, Pami & RJ!). It's a great bed just the same. It was so easy to put together, too.

Quick review of CB2: What a great company. Their products are very inexpensive and surprisingly high quality (though not heirloom quality or anything) despite the low prices. They don't have a very large or diverse selection, but there is some really fun, unique stuff to choose from. They are kind of like IKEA in that I wouldn't want to furnish my whole apartment (or someday, house) with their products, because it would look too catalogue-y, but they are a great resource for inexpensive, modern furniture and accessories. It's fun to mix these items with vintage/flea market finds. One of my favorite things about CB2 is that they try to be green wherever they can be, using sustainable materials such as bamboo and soy filler for their upholstered goods. Green doesn't usually equal cheap, so it is refreshing to find a company with low-prices that is still trying to be eco-friendly. Their customer service is fantastic. For example, when I ordered our bed frame, they sent me an email of care instructions right away. They ship quickly and pack things well so that they are not damaged. Yay for CB2.

All photos from (where else) CB2.

8 Months

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her... In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband."

Ephesians 5:25, 28-33

David, you are such a picture to me of Christ's love for the church. The way you serve, honor, care for, cherish, love, and protect me is an acting example of God's love for us. Thanks for being the best husband in the world. I have so much affection and respect for you. Plus I just think you're really cute. I love you more now than I did when we got married, and I didn't think that was possible. Happy 8 months!

(Yes, a lot of this blog is me gushing about David. I can't help myself.)

Photo by Lydia Hartnett

Yummy Dinner

So I'm back in the office after a three-day work trip to Harrisburg last week. A few photos from that to come.

We had a nice weekend of relaxing and hanging out with friends. Last night I made this dinner from a recipe from Real Simple. Mark & Kristi bought me a one-year subscription for Christmas, and my step-mom, Barbara, bought me a second year's subscription. (Thank you!) It was easy and delicious. Oh how I love that magazine.

Hands-On Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 lb. refrigerated pizza dough (When I don't feel like making dough from scratch, I like to use a mix from the grocery store that you simply mix with water. Wal-Mart has cheap packages for around 60 cents, but I hate Wal-Mart. Martin's has a Betty Crocker mix for about a dollar.)

1 cup fresh ricotta

1 cup grated mozzarella (4 oz.)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 oz.)

1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed and roughly chopped (5 cups)

black pepper

1/4 lb. thinly sliced salami

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup jarred marinara sauce, warmed

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into four equal portions and roll and stretch them into 8 inch rounds.

2. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

3. Layer the salami on one side of each round of dough and top with the cheese mixture. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal.

4. Brush the tops of the calzones with the oil. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve with the sauce.

Mmm.

Photo from Real Simple.

Bathroom Cleaning

Apartment Therapy did a post today about tips for cleaning your bathroom. I'm definitely going to try these the next time I clean our bathroom---especially the shaving cream on the mirror trick. I'm curious to see if it works or not. The perfume on the lightblub trick makes me a bit nervous though.

In my exciting life, I am always looking for better ways to clean and organize. My favorite product as of late is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. It really is magic, I'm telling you. That icky soap scummy stuff in the bathtub that never seems to come off no matter how hard you scrub wipes off like---magic, heh---with this thing. I would agree to be a spokesperson on an infomercial for this product, that's how much I love it.

Photo: Anthropologie's Maya bath towels (drool).