Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Antique Love

My mom and I did a little antiquing last weekend, and we found this amazing antique little gem of a store in town.  Here are a few treasures I stumbled upon.

Wouldn't this be a great chair for the porch?

I couldn't resist this little lamp.


Ummm...These kind of rocked my world.

Wouldn't this be fun in the kitchen to hold different items?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Yes Please

Hi friends!

Lauren Liess from Pure Style Home 
Well, I am going to give you a break from my wedding for a few days talk about my house for a hot second. Nate and I moved into a rental house when we married, and it is pure awesomeness!  It is in the woods, rugged with exposed beams, and it is better than any starter home we could have imagined as a new married couple!  Remember, the house is a rental, so very few updates have been done to the house in the last 10 to 15 years.  There are some pretty funky colors on the walls, and I don't think I have every seen so much wood framing in a house.  The potential is there though and we I am trying to make this rental home as charming as I can without a complete redo (since we don't own it.) You guys will get to see the house soon, but first, lets talk about bedrooms.
The master bedroom is getting there, but I am in the middle of working on the guest bedroom.  I painted it this green color, which I am not so sure about.  I wanted to lighten it up, but now it looks a little too country.  I have been searching for inspiration, and of course Lonny Magazine has given me so many beautiful ideas, that I don't even know where to start!
Love the mixture of an oriental rug with  light fabrics in this room.

Maybe I should go darker on the wall with some of the light fabrics I have already

Ummm...Vignette on the right please.  Thank you.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Beautiful Afternoon in May

Although I our wedding was almost 6 months ago (where has the time gone?!) I want to share some little tidbits of what I think was an elegant wedding done on the cheap.  With a less than average budget, I played up the DIY goodness and tried to make my special day something special and different than the rest!

Today we will start with wedding fashion.  Do you ever watch any of these wedding shows like "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC?  These girls spend ridiculous amounts of money on a dress they will wear for a few hours of one day!  Don't get me wrong, I wanted my dress to take my husband's breath away just like the rest of you, but spending thousands was not gonna happen.  My mom and I started the dress hunt at a run of the mill wedding dress shop, but nothing really  wowed me.  We went to a couple of other stores, leaving with nothing.  Finally, we decided to go to an expensive store where they put the dresses on you and offer you wine and play the sappy music that somehow makes you feel like it is worth it to drop 5,000$ on the dress they have put you in.  As we walked in, my mom and I were almost embarrassed to the little sales woman our budget of less than 1,000$.  Let me tell you something, don't lie about your budget.  Be straight up with the little ladies trying to sell you something way out of your price range.  Often, they will off the rack dresses that they are trying to get rid of.  I got my off the rack dress, which was originally 3,000$, for 700$! A few alterations and a good cleaning, and the dress was absolutely perfect for my big day.  



Now onto the the other things that cause wedding attire budgets to blow way out of the range of possibility.  

Shoes: J. Crew factory store 35$
Hair accessories: 50$ organza flower because vale prices are outrageous!
Flowers: Go for a simple elegant one flower look.  We used ranunculus  wrapped in leaves.  Way cheaper than using billions of different kinds of exotic flowers and it still looks very classy.  
Jewelry:  Really look at that 100$ piece of costume jewelry the sales lady is putting on you at the wedding boutique and then ask yourself, "Could I get something just like this in the 50% off jewelry section at Dillards or Macy's?"  








Enough of me...Lets talk about the real beauties in the wedding.  My bridesmaids were all such beautiful women, that it wasn't fair to put them in some long straight from a catalogue looking number.  It also was important to give them options that were right for each of their figures and personal styles.  Ann Taylor was the perfect place to go for bridesmaid dresses.  Great colors in different styles for each maid to pick from.




And finally...the groom and his men.  I HATE it when the men are put in rental tuxedos that never fit right and then they pair the suit with some turquoise or silver vest.  Sorry ladies, but I think it is the number one thing that tackies up a wedding more than anything else.  Why not have the groom and his groomsmen  where a nice J.Crew or Brooks Brothers shirt with tan or black pants?  Then maybe add a bow tie, or suspenders to spice it up.  Its different, and I guarantee you its cheaper.  Our dudes wore their own black pants, paired with a black checkered J. Crew shirt, cheapo suspenders, and a black skinny tie.  It turned out beautifully!