Preppy Deal of the Day

In the midst of my deal searching this morning, I ran across Endless Shoes and Handbags and they’re having a great sale. Right now, any order will be shipped overnight and they’ll credit you five dollars towards your order.

I got these cute Stephen Bonanno look-alikes in black and with the overnight shipping, they were 12 bucks! They may not be the same quality, but they’re cute and totally wearable for the honeymoon.



Here are some other great finds:

So head over to Endless Shoes for some great deals, they’re running out of sizes quickly, so shop now for the great deals!

UPDATE: The sandals are now all out of black. They still have pairs in white, sand, melon, gold and silver

Tuesday Musings

The husband-to-be and I made it through pre-marital counseling on Saturday and all is well. We actually ended up being almost completely alike on out on our Myers & Briggs testing, which I did not expect.

Thought I would leave you with some fun shots of the dogs. I attempted a photo shoot yesterday for a project I am working on. Aren’t they the cutest.

Preppy Bridesmaid Shoes

The preppy lil sis and I were searching online last night for the dreaded bridesmaid shoes and found these precious imitation d’osrsay pumps at Target. I already plan to grab the black pair for a wedding in February. They also come in a beautiful scarlet color a la Reese at the Golden Globes. And white for all you brides that still need shoes. Oh, and they are twenty dollars.

Happy Shopping!


UPDATE: Get me off target.com. Look at this super cute Issac white leather bag for the spring. Is it too early to shop for the honeymoon?

Things I love: Turq Bridal Jewelry

Take one look at this site and you’ll know why I love it so much. I am equally addicted to the sister site, Turq Jewelry.

I am having a local jewelry maker do earrings that look like a design on Turq’s site (I won’t share right now, because most of my bridesmaids read my blog).

Here are just a few favorites and something to save for after the wedding!

Preppy Wedding Finds

Invitations
I already blogged about our invitation choice, I just thought I would include a pic of our response card. I just love the way it looks and it will allow our guests to write a personalized response that we can save!

Guest Book
Instead of a guest book, we’re using a coffee table book that features pictures of our hometown. There’s lots of white space for guests comments, but I was stumped as to what kind of pens to use. I mean, you don’t want to just use a plain old bic.

I found these while looking for something else on Crate and Barrel’s website. They fit our color scheme and are quite nice looking.











Who knew that this wedding thing would have me obsessing about pens?

Down-to-Earth Wedding Tips
Because I am effectively in the last trimester of wedding prep (yesterday marked the two month countdown), I think the focus of my stress is changing. Before, it was nervousness about getting it all done. Now, I am nervous that no one will dance, or the food will be cold, or our guests won’t mingle. I suppose now I am more concerned about the actual execution of the day.

When I get worked up, I just read through The Sullatips and I feel a lot better. I mean, after all weddings aren’t about the celebration, they’re about a LIFE LONG marriage.

A Super Sweet Groom
With the wedding planning becoming pretty solidified, the husband-to-be and I were having a little trouble communicating in these last few weeks. This came to a head last weekend when his weekend bachelor party at the beach turned into a week-long bachelor party the week before the wedding.

Needless to say, we had a discussion about his plans and everything got worked out. It’s nice to know that the best preppy wedding find is a groom that will listen, compromise and take you to mexican food date-nights topped with Chick fil a cookies and cream shakes!

6 Weird Things About Me

1. I really hate talking on the telephone. There are days on end when I don’t turn my cell phone on. The husband-to-be HATES this about me because he is permanently attached to his blackberry. He has even threatened to change me as his “emergency contact.”
2. I have a new obsession with vacuuming. My parents gave me a cute pink dirt devil broom for Christmas and I use it EVERY DAY. I now become obsessed when I see the dog hair tumbleweeds lurking in the corner.
3. My hair falls out if I stress too much. I have a condition that is brought on by stress where my blood cells attack my hair follicles resulting in lovely bald spots. Haven’t had one since college (knock on wood).
4. I’m a nail biter. I have NEVER had long, pretty nails.
5. When I read a book or a magazine article, I always skip ahead to the last paragraph of the story and read it. No … willpower … to … resist.
6. If I am watching a scary movie or a suspenseful TV show, it must be in the dark. Otherwise, I just can’t fully appreciate what I’m watching.

Tags for:

Susan
Huey
Paige
Melissa
Megan

Redemption Baked Potato Soup

One of the great things about being a MMIT (Monogram Momma In-Training) is the great feeling of accomplishment that comes with a meal well-made.

When the husband-to-be and I first started dating, I tried to convince him of my “long-term potential” by doing crazy things like cooking from Cooking Light magazine to try and make a meal that is anything but light. The result was potato soup that tasted like liquid milk with dumplings.

I have been made fun of for this attempt for the last two years, so when I found the following recipe, I felt like I was in a good place to try again. And this time, I would throw “trying to keep it healthy” out the window.

The result was an amazing soup that took about 15 minutes to finish. And earning the respect of my fiancé with this newly named - redemption baked potato soup.


1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14.5 fl. oz.) chicken broth
1 can (12 fl. oz.) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
3 medium baking potatoes, baked or microwaved
Cooked and crumbled bacon (optional)
Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Sliced green onions (optional)


Directions:MELT butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour (make sure to stir fully). Gradually stir in broth and evaporated milk. Scoop potato pulp from 1 potato (reserve potato skin); mash. Add pulp to broth mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes just to a boil. Dice remaining potato skin and potatoes; add to soup. Heat through. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Top each serving with bacon, cheese and green onions, if desired.

Traditional Homes Magazine Deal

If you're like me, you love Traditional Homes Magazine. They are constant in my preppy inspiration and have made it to the pages of my idea notebook. Yes, I have an idea notebook.

Well, imagine my suprise while looking on fishingfordeals.com today and seeing that Best Deals magazine is offering a one-year subscription (8 issues) to Traditional Home for 3.29. Even better, enter the code PXSS121 at checkout and you get another 15 percent off. The catch - you have to order by midnight to get the deal!

This preppy girl just completed her paypal transaction to much success and now I just need to kick back and wait for the first issue to arrive!

Preppy Wedding Mania

As I alluded to in my checklist post on Tuesday, wedding preparation in my world is certainly in full-gear. Just wanted to share with you some of the fun stuff we have recently completed.

Invitations. We went with Rita Renning (from the William Arthur line). I wanted something traditional and we worked with a local vendor to secure the prefect invites. Here is a picture of the invite from the Rita Renning site. We went for a chocolate brown ink in thermography (letterpress and engraving were out of the budget, but beautiful), to add a little spunk. Also, the rsvp cards and the reception cards are just beautiful. I promise to post pictures of the actual invites soon.

The Dress. Had my second fitting last night. Definitely need to hit the gym in the next few weeks, but the dress looks good. Wish I could post pictures, but I will give you one hint, the dress is a Pronovias.

The Honeymoon. After lots of discussion, the husband-to-be booked the honeymoon last night. We’re heading to Aruba and we’ll be staying at a suite in the Bucuti Resort for six nights. It is ranked number one on tripadvisor.com and is adult only. Even better, we stayed within the budget!

If anyone has visited Aruba, I would love to hear restaurant recommendations.

There are lots of wedding projects still left to be done and I promise to give you some crafty instructions on some home-made projects I have recently completed!

Wrap it up - Preppy Style

Ok, so I already shared my fascination with stationary, now I want to confess my love for wrapping paper. I inherited my love for wrapping paper from my friend Erin, who would use it to decorate our old apartment in the most unusual ways.

Pop coordinating patterns in a frame and you have wall art. Fasten paper behind a picture and you have an instant photo mat. Cover an old sturdy shoe box for atheistically pleasing storage options. Create a custom CD wrap (as I mentioned here). Or use monogram mommas advice and create lovely coasters as mentioned here.

All in all, a great versatile wrapping paper is a instant preppy crafters’ dream. Now that I have confessed my love, you must visit Shop Heidi. Her preppy gift wrap and cards are truly beautiful. The geometric patters are so clean and preppy, they just make me want to wrap something!

For you brides-to-be, Heidi was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings for an instant way to wrap and gift beautiful favors.


Happy Wednesday and Happy Shopping!

Things I accomplished this weekend:

• Began stuffing my extremely beautiful wedding invitations
• Finished our dvd slide show for the rehearsal dinner to much success
• Visited the in-laws-to-be’s beautiful new house, their kitchen looks like it could be a model for the food network, love it!
• Spent some time with the preppy lil sis watching the devil wears prada (for the third time)
• Did EIGHT loads of laundry throughout the weekend and I am finally caught up (don’t you love that feeling?)
• Attended a Golden Globes Party last night (did yall just love Reese’s outfit and hair, got me thinking of bangs for after the wedding)
• Almost got the honeymoon booked
• Purchased my something blue, ties for my dad and the husband-to-be for the rehearsal dinner and a cute button-up to wear while I get my hair done. Oh and just one jcrew headband. It is officially an obsession.

Things I need to accomplish today:

• Work, work, work
• Completely book the honeymoon (St.Martin here we come)
• Dance lesson tonight at 7:30 (no laughing tonight, I swear)
• Confirm second dress fitting for tomorrow night
• Check in on the bridesmaids special gift order
• RSVP for Jr. League meeting on Thursday

I hope you all got lots done on this LONG weekend.

Preppy Wedding Shower - Part III

When throwing a shower ….

You SHOULD prepare music for the occasion that complements the theme
You SHOULD NOT include any music that includes the words butts or sexy

You SHOULD include other bridesmaids or family members to alleviate the financial responsibility of the shower
You SHOULD NOT circulate a collection plate for guests

You SHOULD display pictures of your guest of honor prominently
You SHOULD NOT include pictures of Spring Break 1998 (otherwise known as the day she found tequila)

You SHOULD do your best to introduce guest who do not know each other with commonalities.
You SHOULD NOT use alcohol or men as a commonality

You SHOULD track the gifts and gift-giver for the guest of honor

You SHOULD NOT skip the gifts you know the bride will return

Preppy Wedding Shower - Part II

If you’re planning on throwing the perfectly preppy shower, chances are you’ll need some great party food. Here are some of my staples. They’re easy and always crowd pleasers.

I’ll post tomorrow on a couple more things to consider when planning your shower.

Aunt Gracie’s Ham Biscuits
1 1/2 lb. Virginia Country Ham (Preferably Todd’s Country Ham)
1 1/2 lb. Swiss cheese
3 pkg. Pepperidge Farms rolls (small rolls)
2 sticks butter softened
3 tbsp. prepared mustard
3 tsp. poppy seeds
2 tbsp. minced onion

Slice rolls down the middle. Melt Butter. Mix in mustard, poppy seed and onion.

Spread the 1/3 of the mixture of both halves of the rolls. Layer ham and cheese liberally on both sides. Put rolls back together and use a knife to cut out each individual roll. Wrap all rolls in tin foil.

Repeat with the other two packages of rolls.

Bake at 325 degrees until cheese melts. Best served warm.


Mom’s easy veggie dip
1 package Knorr ® Vegetable recipe mix
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream

Mix together well. Chill two hours before serving.

This is a great with a veggie tray. I prefer serving with sea salt bagel chips.

Erin’s Strawberry Hill Smashed Mimosa
8 cups chilled champagne
4 cups chilled fresh orange juice
1 can of ginger ale
1/2 cup Triple Sec
Halved orange slices

Just before serving, stir champagne slowly into orange juice. Add triple sec and ginger ale into the mixture and stir. Use orange slices to garnish your pitcher.

Erin’s famous mimosa would look just charming in this Issac pitcher from Target.

Preppy Wedding Shower - Part I

A preppy reader e-mailed me the other day with the following dilemma:

my sister just got engaged and i'm starting to plan the bridal shower. i can't wait! do you have any ideas for a super cute preppy shower? as far as themes, decorations, favors, etc? Also- any great ideas for where to have the shower? thanks so much!! good luck with the rest of your planning!

Well, this preppy bride-to-be has thrown her share of showers and I am literally brimming with ideas. I’ll impart a few posts on you this week to help this preppy lil sis and you preppy readers out there throw the most prepptastic party imaginable.

I think the key to any great party is a theme. By sticking with a theme, you don’t let your guests miss all the cute little details you impart to them.

After the theme, it is essential to shower your guest of honor. Everything - from the food to the flowers - should capture the likes of the guest you are there to honor.

What’s left is the fun details. You can’t overwhelm yourselves with details, but it is always productive to throw some energy into the invitation and a fun favor for the guests. These take-aways will help guests remember your party and your spectacular hosting skills.

Since your bride is a preppy one, it would be fun to host an argyle-themed shower. You could make sure everything from the décor to the food follows this theme.

Invitations
Invitations are a great starting point. My best friends are hosting an argyle themed bachelorette party and are using these great invitations from Target to send to guests. They’re relatively inexpensive and you can pick your own font/color to customize the invites.

If you would rather pay for invitations, here are a few online resources that have argyle themed invites:

Lemontree Paperie
Blue Tulip

Now at the end of the invite you could say something like: Let’s shower Lily in style. Wear something argyle to impress the bride-to-be.

When ordering your invitations, you are also committing (in my mind) to colors. I like when the invitations colors match the colors of the shower décor.

Location, Location, Location
Most of the showers I have attended were at the home or apartment of the host. Feel overwhelmed by that responsibility, no fear. Perhaps your city has a cute local tea room. Or consider a country club which would certainly fit the argyle theme. Still not overwhelmed? Consider a local outdoor park or even conduct the shower at an outdoor miniature golf course.

Food
For food, I always follow the mantra simple is better. If your guests of honor loves sweets, prepare a dessert only buffet. If she like breakfast foods, throw a brunch. Should she like fried chicken and buttermilk biscuits, then that’s what you should have.

I have found that most showers are a boisterous affair, so finger foods do work best. I also believe that you should prepare food for the shower if you are hosting, but that does not mean that you should prepare ALL the food. Check out local bakeries or grocery stores for pre-made options that you can display nicely on your own.

For one especially preppy shower I threw, I had petite fours prepared by a baker and monogrammed with the guest of honors initials. They were a HUGE hit.

Later, I will post my grandmother’s homemade ham biscuit recipe which will have ALL of your guests complementing your skills in the kitchen.

I also recommend having a “fun” drink like mimosis or lemonade with a little vodka and grenadine.


Flowers
This one is easy. Display what your guest of honor likes best. Some preppy favorites are hydrangeas and peonies.

Spice up your arrangements with limes or coffee beans in the vase to add color to the party. Also - never forget putting small arrangement in areas where they aren’t expected, like the bathroom.

Décor
Your colors should come in handy here. With the argyle theme, you could take pieces of argyle scrap booking paper (found here) and create a garland to make a mantle or staircase festive.

For plates and napkins, I recommend these from plum party. Plum Party also has lovely disposable utensils that look like the real thing, here.

Games, to play or not to play.
Ask your guest of honor if she is into games. If not, I would say forgo the games for conversation. If she likes games, here are a few that have always been hits at the showers I have thrown/attended:

Two Truths and a Lie. Have girls introduce themselves by giving their name and two truths and a lie about themselves. The other guests have to guess which one is the lie.

Name that Song - Think of as many love songs as you can. Type them all out and leave one word out of each song. Break guests into teams of two and give them two minutes to fill in all the blanks of the songs. Whoever fills in the most, wins.

Favors
This is my favorite part. I am a HUGE fan of making CD favors. You could poll your guest of honor to pick her fifteen top songs of all time. Use her choices to compile the CD. You can find instructions on creating a homemade paper CD case here.

American Bridal also has some super cute argyle labeled chocolate bars here. Perfect if your guest of honor is a chocoholic like me.

Last, but not least, wedding favorites has some great argyle labels and boxes, so you can wrap up a bag of your guest of honor’s favorite candy.

Tomorrow, I’ll share some more tips and recipes for planning the perfectly preppy wedding shower.

Tag, You're It

Megan tagged me and I am happy to oblige:


A-Available or single? Engaged.
B-Best Friends? The husband-to-be, Paige Lynn and Erin Louise
C-Cake or pie? Red velvet cake - the whole wedding cake will be a yummy red velvet. But I am also found of Ukrop's chocolate pie. So fond, I used to eat it for breakfast.
D-Drink of choice? G-rated drinks - Diet Coke and Vitamin Water, R-rated drink - Jack and Coke, X-rated drink Whoo-Whoo (Thank you Metro for getting me hooked)
E-Essential item I use everyday? My laptop and my super-soft old navy drawstring pants (come on - everyone loves their come home and veg pants)
F-Favorite colors? black and white
G-Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms? Oh bears. And I’m talking the Haribo gummy bears. Germans like to make put the emphasis on hard to chew and not gummy.
H-Hometown? Chester, VA. Look it up. There is a gazebo with a sign. And now a chick-fil-a.
I-Indulgence? Shoes and Headbands.
J-January or February? January. New year, new goals, new outlook.
K-Kids and names? Well, I don’t have any, but, when I do, I like the names Grace, Libby and Jack.
L-Life is incomplete without... my pups, the husband-to-be, my mom’s advice.
M-Marriage date? March 24, 2007.
N-Number of siblings? One preppy lil sis.
O-Oranges or apples? Oranges. Especially clementines. Except it takes me an hour to eat one, because I compulsively peel the skin and veins. Husband-to-be finds this especially funny.
P-Phobias or fears? Falling while walking down the isle and losing my teeth as mentioned here. Oh and one of my pups getting hit by a car.
Q-Favorite quote? “Follow your bliss” Joseph Campbell
R-Reason to smile? Thinking of last night’s dance lesson and the husband-to-be trying to keep a count. Don’t worry, we have five more lessons to get the shag down.
S-Season? Fall. Football, chili, the smell of burning leaves.
T-Tag? Paige Lynn
U-Unknown fact about me: I got my ears peirced at 25. Only after the husband-to-be gifted me with Tiffany's pearl studs. And you know what - it didn't really hurt!
V-Vegetable that you don't like? Most vegetables I don’t like. When I was a little girl, I used to make myself throw up if my mom made me eat veggies. So she gave up, see C.
W-Worst habit? Lately it’s been coming home, putting on my comfy pants and watching way too many episodes of law and order. I need to take a walk or something.
Y-Your favorite food? Pirates Booty. Sometimes for breakfast. And movie Popcorn. And a Strawberry Street Chicken Pot Pie. Note- when looking for a picture of pirates booty, I found that you can order by the case. This is not good.
Z-Zodiac? Aries. And I am pretty bossy and outgoing, so I fit the bill.

Look Whose Blogging?

So my best bud from high school just started a blog. She is now blogging, in addition to being a fabulous mom, wife and dear friend. Oh and guess what, she is pregnant with her second child. I think this one’s a girl.

She is certainly the kind of friend who knows all your embarrassing stories. She was there during all those fabulous high school lunches where we gossiped about just about everything and everyone. She was there when the high school boyfriend dumped me two weeks before the senior prom and then asked out my next door neighbor. She was there to help me destroy that favorite hat he had left at my house. She was there the night before I left for college and she’ll be there with me on my wedding day.

So aside from the sappiness, I wanted to post a picture of her adorable son who will be the ring bearer at the wedding. Can’t you just see him in seersucker wobbling down the isle?

We had lots of fun at the park on Saturday enjoying the 70 degree temps. Note my flipflops. And as I told her on Saturday, kids are a handful. I don’t know how she does it sometimes. In any event, I’ll be enjoying my status as Aunt Jenn for quite a while before I decide to have my own!

Looking Back

I have been sifting through baby pictures these last few weeks for a slideshow for the rehearsal dinner. Here are my favorites:

Don't you love the pudding around my mouth. The love for chocolate has NOT changed.

Preppy Make-up

Just one more small deal to post today. Megan got me thinking about ELF cosmetics and I found this coupon today. ELF has great make-up brushes and I have heard their eyeshadows and nail polishes are fabulous. Just enter newyr and get five dollars off your purchase.


The deal - all the make-up products are one dollar each. With five dollars off, you can buy five things and pay just seven dollars in shipping. Which leaves this preppy bride-to-be with five new make-up brushes headed her way. I can't wait!

Preppy Photo Books

Happy Friday Everyone!

Just a quick post on a GREAT deal I just found. You can order a photo book from http://www.photoworks.com for free. All you have to do is pay the 4.50 for shipping. I just ordered a GREAT album for LuLu monster’s first year of life and the total was $4.50.

Just upload your photos and select the Small Everyday Compact book (12.95). When you get to the checkout portion, enter code C446-38-5153-41 and viola, it's only 4 bucks! And their color and layout options are amazing. The possibilities are endless.

Can you tell I'm excited? I think I over-utilized the word GREAT.

Preppy Wedding Veil

Sarah over at The Seven Spot prompted this post on preppy wedding veils. My dress is quite simple in the front (but a party in the back), so I opted for a really simple elbow length veil from a local bridal shop that looks much like below.

Martha does a good job explaining veil types here. This is what she has to say:

Veils
Like the gowns they are worn with, veils can be elaborate and dramatic or simple and understated. The only rule for selecting a veil is that it should complement both the bride and the gown. For example, an heirloom lace veil shouldn’t be forced to compete with an extravagant dress; Jacqueline Bouvier understood this principle when she wore a sweeping heirloom lace veil with a fairly simple scoop-neck taffeta gown in her wedding to John F. Kennedy. By the same token, an exquisitely detailed gown is shown off better by a sheer tulle veil than a fancy lace one.

Proportion must also be considered. A short veil looks too informal with a long gown, and an excessively long veil—or one with a multitude of tiers—tends to overwhelm a short bride instead of adding height. When trying on a veil, make sure you don’t disappear beneath it; also, wear your hair as you plan to for the wedding, otherwise you won’t have a clear idea of how the veil will actually look.

Nylon tulle is today’s veil material of choice. The more traditional silk tulle tends to get limp when it’s damp, whereas nylon retains its stiffness. Veils shouldn’t be strewn with rhinestones because rhinestones photograph like black dots. Even pearls, tiny satin bows, and other embellishments may look spotty in photographs, so be sparing with these ornaments.

Can I just say, I love her views on “rhinestones.” Hilarious. She’s trying to say in a nice way, don’t be tacky. You know she is.

Anywho, I would say, first decide on length. I have been to some weddings where girls have done the cathedral thing with lace and they looked lovely. That’s just not me.

I think the second thing to decide is piping. Do you want a ribbon edge or not. I decided to keep it as simple as possible and do no edging. I also didn’t like the way those veils looked in person.

Now, where to buy. I like my wedding veil the best. They have great pictures and testimonials from actual brides.

I also like Veil Shop.

If you are willing to spend a bunch on a beautiful lace veil, visit, Designs by Kristen. She was written up in In Style and her veils are very beautiful.

Hope this helps!

Also - wanted to let you all know LuLu is doing great. She went on a long walk last night and she is feeling much better. In other news, I'm happy to announce the in-laws-to-be are adopting this amazing lab, Hershey. He's so beautiful right? I can't wait to meet him.

Lulu Monster

My lil Lulu woke us up at 6:00 this morning and was a very sick girl. I have been feeling so guilty here at work, knowing she is at home not feeling well. I can’t imagine how having children will feel. From the minute we picked her up, she has just charmed her dad and me.

I may just have to skip out of here early to see this pretty face.

Preppy Wedding Hair Continued

Just want to show you the results from last night’s hair coloring. I think she did a great job. She kept it natural, but just lightened me up a bit.

Thanks for all the feedback, it is always great to hear from other brides and soon-to-be brides. I am making my practice appointment and make-up consultation for February. Apparently the make-up girl is one of the best in Richmond. But, the GREATEST thing about getting my hair done at this new salon? Moes, my FAVORITE place to eat in the whole world is catering. YUM. Now I know I won’t have an empty stomach on my wedding day.

And just because it’s Wednesday, I want to post my new favorite Christmas present to myself, my new black Nine West patent leather heels that I love. I’ve wanted them for a while and I finally just went for it. They are super comfortable and if you like what you see, you can get them here.

Preppy Wedding Hair

Oh the saga. My lovely aveda stylist who has been doing my hair for a year now decided to book a trip to Milan on the exact weekend of the wedding. No matter that we had been on the calendar for six months.

So, today, I am meeting with another hair stylist at a neighboring Aveda salon. I am going in for color, although I may just get a gloss treatment. My hair is naturally brown and I finally have it back to its natural state after years of blond highlights. The only problem, I kinda miss the highlights.

So we’ll see what the new stylist recommends. Here are some ideas for wedding day hair I have gathered:

I really like the casual down do, since we are trying to keep it from being too formal.

I do have a elbow length veil, that should work with the half up do.

However, if it is raining (or god forbid snowing) in March, I think an updo with height in the front like this one looks good!

What do yall think? Up or down? It’s quite a big decision.

(Photos from theknot.com)

Happy New Years

Hope everyone is having a very happy New Years. I always like the idea of a new year, clean slate and the ability to set goals for the year ahead. Unfortunately, if my behavior today is indicative of the year to come, my goals won't be met. There is something to be said for spending a rainy Monday in bed with On Demand!

I had quite a fun weekend. My best friend E was in town from NYC, so we spent the weekend closing down the bars on Robinson Street (if anyone knows Richmond, they know Robinson). I even found myself on standing on a booth doing a pretty stunning rendition of Sweet Caroline with the preppy lil sis.

The weekend ended with a fun dinner party at a friend's house with real,matching dishes (can't wait until I have my own) that was in walking distance to an inagural New Years party in Carytown (a cute shopping area in Richmond - for you ATL folks, it is a smaller Virginia Highlands). The amount of people who came for a NYC style ball drop was unbelievable. See below.

There was even a Johnny Cash cover band. Cheers!

Look at these preppy girls.

I want to thank everyone for the comments to the rehearsal dinner dress post. I love the feedback and I will keep looking (and posting) with more options. I wish I could show pics of the wedding dress, but the husband-to-be reads the blog and I wouldn't want to ruin it for him!

Hope everyone is having a great day and a Happy New Years, I must go. On Demand beckons.