That's Pinteresting...

So I posted a little bit ago about Pinterest (which is amazing), but I know a lot of people have been saying that they are spending a lot of time on the site "pinning" neat things to do and not reserving any time to actually DO those neat things. I wanted to share some of my Pinterest projects that I have tried since I started pinning :)

Snowflake pillow

{Felt snowflake template found on my pin board - I used flannel instead of felt for the pillow because it was on sale at JoAnn's}

Bird Ornament (top of the tree)

{Made these with my Momma! Bonus in this picture - you get to see the weird squid/snowman ornament Sebastien gave me last year!}

More Birds!

{I can't stop making these things. Had to add two to the wreath I made for our front door!}

Christmas Tags - Free Printables

{So simple! I should have printed them on both sides, but whatevs. Wrapping paper from Target!}

Painted wooden letters with ribbon

{Made these with Brittany! I hung them on my pantry door because it was looking a little bare. She put hers in some garland and it looks BEAUTIFUL!}

I've also made some food, but that will be posted later.

All of these can be found on my pin board - CRAFTY. Follow me here!

XOXO

5 Things

One post per week is not my goal, but it's something! Another "5 Things"

'Believe' sign at Macy's! Not as wonderful as the one in NYC,  but it will do :)

 Thanksgiving lunch with The Smiths & The Chains! 

Got to use my leaf cut-out on my apple pie this year

Went to the 118th A&M v ut game (a little Saw Em Off action here)

This has made my morning for the past 2 weeks! Now I can make my latte at home

Have a wonderful rest of the week! 

XOXO

5 Things

I completed my 365 Days of Happiness, & I am so proud of myself for sticking with it! But alas, now I'm sad. It's not like I don't still find happiness in something everyday, but I really miss sharing that with everyone! There was just something about saying "out loud" those things which made me happy that day. I really enjoyed it. So, I decided to tweak that task just a little and post here my "5 Things." Just a way for me to share what has made me happy in hope of inspiring others to find happiness in little everyday things as well. Enjoy!

Engagement toast with friends! I got the special "engagement ring" glass :)

Meeting Christian Siriano at Neimans while shoe shopping! He is so tiny!

Using our first engagement present

 {Nora Flemming platter complete with "turkey" mini}

Sunday Morning brunch at home! 

{Using our second engagement present - double waffle maker!}

XOXO

Houston Bridal Salon Experience

As a newly ENGAGED girl in the bridal business (yay!), I decided I would blog about my experience as a bride planning her wedding. From finding my dress & veil to finding vendors, etc. 


Let's start with the best part - THE DRESS


I was SO excited to try on wedding dresses. Even though, yes I do try them on at work for "research" purposes - how am I supposed to tell a bride how it looks and fits if I've never worn it myself? Makes sense to me :)


I wanted to go with my mom and my soon-to-be mother in law, so I got right on making my appointments! Most higher-end bridal salons will request or require appointments, so be sure to call. Here are some things to ask on the phone if the information isn't given:


1. Starting price point of their gowns. {Who wants to try on things out of her price range?}
2. Length of appointment. {Most range between one hour to an hour and a half. This is important if you are scheduling more than one appointment that day}
3. Will you be working one-on-one with a consultant? {It's nice to have personal attention!}
4. Do they allow pictures? {Not completely necessary, but some salons don't and this takes some people by surprise!}


I made appointments at the "top" bridal salons in Houston: Joan Pillow, Ivory Bridal Atelier, Casa de Novia, and Mia Bridal Couture, and have prepared a short review of each.


Joan Pillow:
Located in Highland Village Shopping Center on the second level. Parking was somewhat difficult, but I managed. I was the first appointment of the day, and my consultant was late to work, but again I managed! They have a really pretty atmosphere at the store, and the owner and namesake (Joan) did make an effort to stop by my appointment and say hello :) The store carries some high end names, but really the dresses there weren't for me. I liked a few things, but didn't feel the need to go back. Also a con: their phone number isn't listed on the website! I thought that was strange. I found their facebook page though, and it was listed there.


Ivory Bridal Atelier:
Located on the second floor of West Ave shopping center. Parking there was not a problem at all since there is a huge parking garage or metered parking too. It was a Thursday, and I was the only appointment in the store which was nice. Really classy atmosphere - crisp and clean. Wood floors and white walls with the white dresses looked great! I was greeted by my consultant, Ronit, who is also one of the owners. I found some great dresses there, and was allowed to take pictures which is nice. I had my own private dressing area with a huge mirror and a couch where my mom could sit. My consultant didn't really explain anything about the dresses to me, but for me it wasn't a problem since I knew a lot about the ones I was trying on anyway! One thing I was disappointed in is what I would consider "false advertising" - the website says the bride and her company will "enjoy a glass of champagne and selection of petit fours and mini cupcakes" which I was not offered. Boo! Overall a fine experience.

My private dressing area - beautiful!

Inside the store

Casa de Novia:
My GPS didn't register the street name, which was a HUGE problem for me since I am beyond directionally challenged. Luckily my phone knew right where I needed to go! Parking seemed to be available only on the street, but there wasn't a problem finding a spot. Other than the outside being fairly cute, I was so unimpressed with this store. They have high-end names, but again really nothing that I was drawn to. My consultant was not mean by any means, but she was very aggressive and at times rude to my mom & FMIL which was of course a huge turn-off. I tried on some dresses just because we were there but would not have bought anything from the store. Even if I found something I really liked, I would be hesitant to spend my money in there. The lighting was poor, the mirror situation (kind of important when you're buying a wedding gown) was just a mirror leaning against the wall that my consultant had to hold upright when I wanted to look full-on at myself in a gown. What? Bizarre. I didn't use the whole hour that was allotted for my appointment, and it was on to Mia Bridal Couture.

Store Front of Casa de Novia

Gown Display

Looking to the left from the front entrance

Mia Bridal Couture:
Disclosure - I am biased. This is where I work. I know that we have beautiful gowns at Mia. I know that we have a beautiful store. I know that we have fabulous and friendly consultants. But I didn't really KNOW all of those things until I compared them to the other stores in Houston. We. Are. The. Best. The lay out of the store is fantastic because there is great lighting and ample mirror space to see the gowns. Bonus: there was a Kenneth Pool trunk show going on, so we had the gowns in fresh from the runway! Of course I picked one of those. My consultant was the most adorable, knowledgable, and friendly of all that I worked with that day. Even though she knew I knew everything about the gowns, she explained in detail to the ladies who were with me which no one else had done. I found a fabulous veil too! I could not be happier with my decision :)

View from the front door

View of the sitting area in front of the mirrors

I hope this was helpful! Happy Wedding Gown Shopping!

Cleaning Your Make Up Brushes

Up until I saw this video over at Capitol Hill Style, I must admit I didn't clean my brushes very often at all. Now I do it every week! They feel soooo much better when they're clean, & after you see all the grossness that comes off when you wash them you will want to do this every week too.

All she uses is Antibacterial dish soap and EVOO. How easy! You can clean your brushes right now!! I haven't bought the brush guards yet, so I just dry mine on their side - faux pas apparently. Whatevs. This girl is adorable & says things like "sebum" so you know she's legit.

Now go clean your brushes or your face will break out with bacteria!

You've Gotta Try This

I'm slacking on my blogging again - boo me. Skydiving was going to be my next AWESOME post, but since it's been postponed, I am going to share 2 website that you've gotta try!

First: Whole Foods Cooking

This is the "Recipe of the Day" - Wild Rice & Barley with Apricots and Tarragon 

I don't know about you, but that sounds super fancy to me. But I can totally do it! And I'm going to this weekend. Just you wait. They have tons of recipes on there, & since they're from Whole Foods I automatically feel like they are healthy and cool. I don't know why I always feel so much more hip when I'm in Whole Foods than when I'm in Kroger. I mean it's just a grocery store...or is it? I absolutely LOVE walking around Central Market and/or Whole Foods. I feel like there are so many things that I've never tried! But then I get frustrated because they don't have things like Golden Grahams, and I go back to Kroger where I belong. ANYWAY. Try this website for recipes if you want to be cool.

Second: Pinterest

Now, you have to be invited or get on a waitlist (for like a day), but it's seriously worth it. This suggestion does come with a {warning} though - IT'S ADDICTIVE. Now you may be thinking - 

"um, it's just pictures I'm pretty sure I can handle myself." 

No. I was "pinning" this morning at 6:15. That's an addiction. 

But you can pin cool things like this:

Hilarious things like this: 

And BEAUTIFUL things, like this:

I mean seriously... that is some good stuff right there. Anyway. I hope you will join, & I hope you will follow me so I can follow you & see what wonderful things you find to pin.

Happy Friday!

What I'm Reading Now...

I. LOVE. READING. I always have, & I hope I always will! One of my favorite things to do is to go to a book store and just wander around looking for something to catch my attention. Something new. Something I haven't heard about yet. It's so exciting to me to think that I will discover something great and be able to spread the word! I would feel so accomplished.

Just one problem though - when I do that, I usually hate the book that I pick out. Sad. I have come to the realization that I am horrible at choosing books. Why? I do what you're not supposed to do, and I totally judge that book by it's cover. I mean come on - if they can come up with a good cover, then they are probably smart enough to write a good book. Well, that logic doesn't follow. (With a few exceptions! YAY! See below)

So I gave in, & I read "The Help." Just like everyone else in America. And LOOOOOOVED it! Just like everyone else in America. So if you're putting off reading it just because you think "everyone else is doing it" - stop that right now. Read it. It took me only 3 days because I couldn't stop!

Before "The Help", I read "Nothing to Envy, Ordinary Lives in North Korea" by Barbara Demick. 

Amazing! If you know me at all,  you would know that I am not one to go for non-fiction. I'm all about magic and unicorns and worlds that exist beyond this one...but for some reason I really wanted to read this book. 

It was in the "Staff Recommendations" at a local bookstore in DC, so I guess I technically didn't find it myself - whatever. But it was really, really good and so eye-opening. If you don't know anything about Communism in North Korea (a la me!), I think you would really like it. Demick visited North Korea herself and also interviewed 6 North Korean defectors to write this book. A satellite picture like this one is the opening of Chapter 1

How CRAZY is that?? Check it out!

At my latest excursion to B&N (back in May or so) I picked out a few books. The only that I have read is "A Man in Uniform" - historical fiction about the Dreyfus Affair (late nineteenth century Paris). Not the best, not the worst. But this one I did pick out all by myself in B&N, so of course it wouldn't be the best. I mean check out the cover - I was hooked! I'm totally the girl at the bottom with the parasol. 

Even though I still have TONS of books on my shelf to read - I picked up one at Anthropologie the other week and have chosen that as my next read. Duh, everyone always gets their intellectual stimulation at Anthro. It's called "Lunch in Paris. A love story with recipes" by Elizabeth Bard. I've only been reading it one night (and only 10 pages - embarrassing), but it is already really cute! I am dying to travel again {to PARIS} so I thought this would be a good way to live vicariously through someone else writing about it. Haven't come to any recipes yet, but I'll be sure to share one on here when I do.

Happy Reading!!

XOXO

Since You've Been Gone...

Sooo I've been a little MIA. Oops. Been busy keeping up with that other blog, but now that that's over - back to this one!! As an apology for not posting in a while, I am going to share the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. EVER. I got it from Amanda's Cookin Blog here.

Her secret is that she uses shortening along with butter... which is better for you too! Ok, maybe not. But it does make for some delicious cookies. There is just the right amount of cinnamon so they're not like plain Jane chocolate chip cookies. And the dough is great too so make sure to eat plenty of that! Ha!

Just a little warning - these are addictive. And the recipe makes like a billion cookies (see below). Be sure to have friends around to share the wealth!

I made these a couple weeks ago and sent a good amount to work with my boyfriend. I got an email from his secretary thanking me - so you know they're good!!

Happy Baking!

I Looooooove...

So it's been a while {again} since I've posted anything here! My bad. I have been keeping busy with traveling & appearances, which is good for me! I've seen a bunch of other bloggers that do a "What I'm Loving Now" post every now & again, so I wanted to post about some of the things that I'm loving right now!

1. My book. Soooo I finished my book!!! OMG. I got a bad sunburn when I was in Miami because I was reading while I was laying out & forgot to turn. I seriously couldn't read it fast enough :) Amaze-balls. Now I'm reading Tea Rose {recommended by my Boost}, & I haven't really gotten into it just yet. I'm definitely going to stick with it though! We shall see.

2. Kate Middleton. I can't get enough of Kate Middleton. Of course I'm so jealous that she is going to be a princess, but mostly I've been obsessed with her hats! How fabulous is she? I think I will start a hat revolution here in the States... who's with me??

And my faves:

3. Gold Necklaces. I was always a silver jewelry person until about 6 months ago. Why the switch? No clue! First I got this necklace from Stella & Dot.

It's their Signature Clover Necklace, & apparently was featured in Cosmo. It's long & delicate & goes with everything. I just love it! Then I wanted a shorter necklace that was still special & versatile, & I found this one from Swarovski, the Clover Pendant. {horrible picture...makes it look cheap}

Apparently I like clovers? Who knew. This necklace has 3 different length options, which is nice. It's just simple & cute, & I wear this one with everything too! Then, a friend at work had this FABULOUS necklace that I just had to copy! Of course I won't wear it to work, but it is just too pretty to not buy one for myself!

Sequin Metal Ring Status Necklace - out of stock right now, but found on Piperlime.com. This one of course is not as versatile, but when the BF notices it & says he really likes it - you know it's special! 

4. Spring. The weather here in DC is finally warming up! (But thankfully it's not all at once like in Texas where all of a sudden it's 85 outside). I am really looking forward to the Cherry Blossom Festival activities in the coming weeks!! {Check them out} Hopefully, I will get to take one of these pictures myself:

So pretty! Breathtaking! Lucky for me, there are some of these beautiful trees right outside my apartment & some on display at the Botanical Gardens! {Also, I'm wearing one of the necklaces from above! Bonus}  

Soooo what are YOU loving right now? Share!

XOXO