Rain...

We don't get much of it here in San Diego, but I truly love when it rains. Despite said lack of rain, I would like this umbrella stand:


And these wellies:

Etsy Art...

Since entering into the blogging world, I've heard an awful lot about Etsy. One of the things I like best about this site is finding fun artwork that is completely different and original and inexpensive. Most of the pieces are on the smaller side, but going down a hallway, in a bathroom, in my guest bedroom - they could make for something different than all the other artwork I see and either love but can't afford or simply don't like.

These chair notecards, by Annechovie, would be fun put in small frames or grouped into one larger frame:


Here are a few more I like, also by Annechovie:








I also really like this print from a different seller:


Fun fun!

Belabumbum...

Belabumbum...How can you not love that name?!?! I came across this lingerie line's online shop and fell in love with some of the pieces, especially from the Flutterby collection.

Exhibit A: Flutterby chemise


Exhibit B: Flutterby Triange Bra and Bikini

Tea for One...

I'm not much of a tea drinker, despite constantly telling myself I should be. Health benefits, hot beverage for the non-coffee drinker, yada, yada. But I've always loved these little tea pots/cups for one and came across this...


and this...


You love tea, you love tea, you love tea.... Well if that doesn't work, at least I know what to get my tea-drinking friends for Christmas!

Blueprint...

I just got the new issue of Blueprint Magazine the other day - I spotted the cover and was in love. There were a few really good features in the issue, including their very first holiday gift guide (love holiday gift guides, although I'm not sure I've ever bought a gift in a holiday gift guide for someone, although I'm pretty sure I've done so for myself...). One feature was on glam holiday outfits - how fantastic would this be for New Year's Eve?


And a pink Christmas tree?!?! Robby would die...


They had some really great ideas in their gift guide, including this adorable onesie for the little ones:


And last but not least, at the intro to all of the holiday features, there was this page:


I love the wrapping paper on those gifts, and those sneaky editors at Blueprint have made them available for download. I think they would be so pretty with really colorful holiday ribbon...

Wedding Favors...

I've been waffling over what to do for wedding favors for quite some time. I love the whole candy bar idea, but I'd love to have it as more of a donut bar with tasty treats from our local bakery. But I'd also like to have some kind of favor at each place setting.

I came across these in the recent Modern Bride (I think) and found them online at Paper Orchid:



I'm not quite sure what I'd fill them with - possibly some sort of butter yellow candy or mints...but I love the cutout detail.

Meet Linus...

Robby and I have been wanting to adopt another dog for quite some time, and on Monday night, we added Linus to our family. Robby's email about him was rather entertaining, so that can be his introduction:

"Meet Linus, the flying blind dog. He has a lot of life and uses it to run into walls. However he pops out of these smacks like Rocky Balboa versus the Russian monster. He is adjusting well with Merrick and seems to really enjoy having a lead dog to show him the way. Come and visit with him when you can and see his walking show."

Inspiration Board...

I've gotten loads of inspiration from various blogs I've read in the past few months and love the idea of putting together an inspiration board. This isn't super fine-tuned, but it'll give you an idea of what I'm going for.

You've already seen my bridesmaid dresses, but here's a little more on the type of invitations I'd like, jewelry inspiration, bridal bouquet inspiration, lanterns and candlelight, aisle with a simple cream satin ribbon in lieu of bouquets...


The weird purple-ish photo is shot glasses of milk with cookies resting on top. My best friend, Emily, actually sent me this image because she knows how much I love cookies and milk. The bakery we'll likely get our cake from also makes the most amazing donuts, so we've thought about having pretty cake stands of donuts in lieu of a candy bar-type setup, but I'd love to do the cookies as well. Both are pretty inexpensive, so perhaps we'll have to have cookies and donuts! Yum...

While I've Been Gone...

Sex and the City is moving full steam ahead with filming in New York. I've seen a lot of teaser photos on various gossip blogs, but these pics of Carrie in a wedding dress are fantastic! Well...sort of fantastic. What's with the ill-fitting dress? It looks like it's three sizes too big in the boob area. And it wouldn't be a Carrie Bradshaw wedding without an outrageous accessory, this time in the form of a big feather in her hair.

Photo courtesy of Popsugar

On another note, how amazing does Charlotte look in this fantastic dress?!?

Photo also courtesy of Popsugar

Ellida...

I recently discovered the Ellida font and just love it! And, it has such a prettier name than, say, Times New Roman (oy...).

Anyway, I'm just getting started with looking into invitations, etc, but I'd love to have this script as the font for the invites, name cards, programs - well, all the paper materials.

Here's our names in Ellida...



Ah, so pretty...

The Bridesmaid Dresses...

It wouldn't be my wedding if the bridesmaid dresses didn't come from J. Crew!

I really wanted neutral colored dresses for my bridesmaids, but had a really hard time pinpointing something specific. I loved the idea of gunmetal grey, but my wedding's in May - dark grey doesn't exactly scream Spring. I loved the idea of navy, but didn't want to do navy with the black tuxes. I always thought I'd do black, but I wanted something a little more 'springy' if you will. It basically came down to some shade of champagne, but I just wasn't crazy about anything. Then I came across these dresses at J. Crew:


In person, the color is a buttery gold tone and the fabric is a stiffer silk seersucker. I loved the idea of having a seersucker fabric for our location and the color of the dress in general. It looks great on everyone's skin tone and fits perfectly.

So there you have it... !

Inspiration Boards...

One of the first blogs I came across in my recent discovery of wedding blogs (I'm a little behind the times...) was Style Me Pretty. I've found a ton of inspiration from the various inspiration boards readers have posted. The overall color scheme of our wedding is going to be various shades of white (white, creams, off-whites, etc), buttery yellows, and golds with touches of green from natural greenery - with tons of candlelight. With that in mind, some of my favorites boards are:











I haven't yet created my own board, but I'm gathering pieces here and there and will post one shortly...

J. Crew Love...

I've been doing a little window shopping online and trying VERY hard to exercise restraint, but.... I tried on this sweater recently and it was so cozy and comfortable - I love the grey, but I buy everything in black (a habit I'm trying very hard to break. Maybe both?


I love this Bella jacket in navy, but they used to have it in this awesome pink color, which no longer seems to be available.


I actually already bought this shirt, but it's super cute on and I received quite a few compliments on it!


I really like these charcoal city fit capris...


And I bought these waffle knit skivvies recently - super comfortable and fun...

Funny Stuff...

I came across this post on another blog, Chere Amie. As I'm knee-deep planning my own wedding, I found it rather entertaining (and sadly true).

Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Average weddings (From a recent issue of Women's Health)

Hours the average wedding takes to organize: 250
Hours per week the average bride spends on it: 8
Percentage of women who undergo physical alterations: 37
Percentage of weddings that get called off: 15
Top three wedding day worries: zits, rain, embarrassing relatives
Pounds the AW wants to lose before the wedding: 10-20
Average cost to attend a wedding: $500
Average cost to be a bridesmaid: $1,400
Percentage of women who have gone stag to a wedding: 41
Percentage of women who admit to hooking up at a wedding: 5
Percentage of weddings paid for by bride's parents: 30
Percentage of weddings paid for by both sets of parents: 4
Percentage of weddings paid for by couple: 32
Percentage of weddings paid for by other: 34
Cost of photography and video: $3,691
Cost of wedding rings: $2,067
Number of women who cry when they find the right dress: 1 in 5
Number of dresses she tried on before finding it: 21

In Memoriam

While there are people who fight for our country everyday, the events that happened six years ago hit especially close to home on a day like today and make me say an extra prayer for them. We'll always remember those who perished, the brave men and women that lost their lives saving others, and the families that will forever mourn their loved ones.

Our New Townhouse...

The fiance' and I are in escrow on a townhouse - we close in just under two weeks! What does that mean? I get to start home shopping again! It's been a long and painful year and a half since I promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything home-related.

So...I've been browsing online and found a ton of fun stuff I can't wait to buy (or dream of buying for those pricier items)!

The MacBeth Collection takes a fun spin on metal bins, trays, etc by putting fun patterns on them. They have some awesome patterns and a bunch of different containers to choose from. Some that I'm loving are:

This tray for a dresser top or bathroom counter:

Or these for the window sill - possibly for the herb garden I'd love to grow but know I'd kill...

And possibly one of these for mail, pens, a notepad, etc in the kitchen...


Another site I stumbled across is Rosanna. She has a bunch of great home accessories, including these beach bottles:


And these Boho plates - I love, love, love the green dot pattern:


Okay, that's all for now!

Ah, Shoes...

It's only fitting that my first post be about shopping. Although I don't get to actually buy the things I love as much as I'd like to, I love love love shopping. And this newfangled shopping online has really done me in.

My absolute favorite store is J. Crew. Love J. Crew. Can't wait to dress my kids in little blazers with elbow patches from CrewCuts. And I hear they're starting a pet line called MuttCuts (or something to that effect).

Anyway, I saw these shoes in the J. Crew catalogue a few months back, but had completely forgotten about them. Well, this evening I was perusing the sale section and look what I found!


I also love them in brown, but the red is just so fun and different. I think I must buy them...


Ah, love the J. Crew...

Well Hello There!

For those of you who know me, my name is Megan, or Meg for short. In the past year, many fantastic things have come my way - I moved back home to San Diego from my three-year stint in San Francisco, got engaged to the fabulous husband-to-be, Robby, am in escrow on our townhouse, planning a mini-remodel for said townhouse, and planning our wedding. Yikes...good luck to me...

So, I'm starting this blog to talk shop - wedding planning, fun house things, and one of my favorite topics...shopping!

By the way, I'm a big fan of elipses, so you'll likely see a lot of them gracing my blog posts...(see!)