A Dress, Some Candy, and Afternoon Tea

After a blustery weekend in the SF Bay visiting family and friends, I'm back at my desk in typically sunny but temporarily gloomy San Diego.  I've been on overdrive lately with work, and coupled with all the tragedy in the news, and the boy also trying to deal with his own work, it hasn't been the happiest of times.

For some cheer amidst the gloom, I've 1) finished one more quarter toward my master's, 2) found some grounding at yoga class, and 3) bought a dress and had some tea.

I own too many dresses. Some people own too many shoes, handbags, books, I have way, WAY too many dresses, and here's another to add to the bunch, which I bought on sale for a wedding next weekend. It's my first one-shoulder, except because of my annoyingly slanted shoulders the one-shoulder doesn't really stay up very well: 

[Draped one-shoulder dress in pistachio from BR]

But I kept it because I LOVE the color. In the photo it looks baby blue, but it's actually a pistachio green color, more like this:

Speaking of pretty colors, over the weekend I finally had the chance to visit Miette in San Francisco, where I picked up some adorable little candy bars and a bag of lavender cookies. I could have stayed inside surrounded by the colorful candy jars all day, le sigh.

And then to top off the weekend, on Saturday I had afternoon tea with my sisters and girlfriends at Lisa's Tea Treasures. I had blueberry green tea, a variation I've never tried before, dainty cheese sandwiches, a scone, and pistachio cookies. Mmmm...

Phew. Okay, it's time for me to rest and do laundry before I get thrust back into the office and my school books!

How are you doing? Anyone else got the blues?

Poetic License Shoes

[Poetic License Garden Delight Flats]

These were hanging out on the sales rack at 50% off! I love Poetic License shoes. I have a pair of PL purple suede flats that should sadly be retired to shoe heaven. I hope these can be a good replacement for them.

I think I need to be stopped, I've bought way too many shoes lately. This is my last pair for a while. I swear!

The Little White Dress

Before I got sucked into Wedding World, I always thought I'd be content wearing a simple white dress with some colored flats and maybe some flowers in my hair. I was even in a store with a friend and there was a short, lace white dress and I grabbed it and said "see, I think I would be fine wearing this to my wedding" and he gave me this "are you serious? This $50 off the rack frock?" look. He's much more conservative...and a better dresser.

Later, after realizing that I wanted to be more dressed up than my guests, I started ditching the simple, short white dress look and entered the Wedding Dress world. But, y'know, for imaginary wedding #2 with the boy in suspenders and a violin player serenading us, I still look at them.

Here are some I found on ModCloth, an adorable online shop my cousin just introduced to me.

[Chai Latte Dress]

[Cloud Nine Dress]

[Bonfire Night Dress]

[Chardonnay Dress]

[Shine of the Times Dress]

All dresses found on ModCloth.

Kitten Heels+Your favorite online shops

This morning, I opened my inbox to find an email from a good friend with several links to kitten heels! She must have a black belt in online shopping, because I had never seen any of these shoes.

Both of these are still available in my size and are super cute:

[Kitten Heel Pumps by Miu Miu]

[Butter Women's Tessa Pump]

I think both would go well with the dress, what do you think?
Also, I need to update my online shopping knowledge--what are your favorite online shopping websites?

Returning the Shoes

Remember the shoes? Well, they're going back to the store. I have had five people (not in blog world) tell me that they don't match my dress and that I need something daintier, preferably with a heel, to match the gown. So, bye bye Kate Spade.

You were fun to look at while I had you.

My dress is coming at the end of September, so onward with the shoe hunt! If you see something that fits these parameters...you know who to contact!
-red (our main color), blush colored or light green or anything in the pastel family
-chunky heel
-preferably round toe

Today I tried these, which were super cute but 1) did not fit me (they don't do half sizes) and 2) were too dark of a color

[Budding T-Straps by Miss Albright at Anthropologie]

I also adore the shoes from the super cute tree house wedding photographed by Ben Blood!
They are by Pink Studio (thank you Vintage Glam weddings!)--no surprise on why I like them, I already own three pairs of Pink Studio shoes. And look, they come in red! But they don't have them in my size! It's like Nordstroms is toying with me.

[Pink Studio "Violet" Pump from Nordstroms]

Why is this so hard? No one will even see them, right??

Possibly Maybe THE Shoes

[Hello Kate Spade, what's in the box?]

[Ooooooh. Let's take them outside with better light.]

[Much better.]

[A close-up of the jewels on the toes]

These have been sitting in a box by my desk for the past month. I bought them on a whim at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. I wasn't planning to buy anything, but while my mother and sister were trying on shoes, I saw them and immediately thought of the wedding. They were...

1. flat. Perfect so that I won't be taller than the boy.
2. ultra feminine
3. {roughly} 50% off
4. Kate Spade

The "maybe these are my shoes" part stems from the fact that they'll be sitting in a box for an entire year waiting to be worn. I'm afraid that I'll just find something better later on. Luckily, these shoes will be able to be worn with other outfits, so I think I might just keep them even if I do find a different pair.

What do you think? Cross shoes off my list? Or keep my eyes open for another?

[Kate Spade Faith Ballerina Flat]

My Green Skirt

[The boy snapped this picture and I blinked--but I kinda like it. "Mallard" Skirt from BB Dakota]

I really like this skirt, which I bought at the beginning of the summer, but haven't worn it until today. I like that the high waist focuses in on the smallest part of my waist, and then ends up hiding the small pooch of a tummy I have.

It is really really fun to twirl around in it. But I was too embarrassed to twirl on the street. Anyone else digging high-waist skirts these days?

My New Accessory + Engagement Party Dress

It was as if all of San Diego decided to clear Anthro's stock because none of the dresses I tried on were still there!

Me: There was this polka dot dress with a yellow slip in the sales rack last week...
Nice girl in the dressing room: Oh...yeah I remember it was REALLY cute! We sold that last week.
Me: Oh. Damn. Ok I'll be back with about 50 other dresses to try on.

I didn't find anything new.
Luckily they located my size in the yellow dress [#1] (which the boy liked the best) in another store, so I'll be picking it up tomorrow. Yay!

While I was there I picked up this headband and am now officially partaking in this trend. And now I am showing it off to you. Go headbands!


Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I am really excited that the boy is finally coming home on Monday night after a long two weeks of studying.

[PS: That's my new camera!!]

A Dress for the Engagement Party

During fourth of July weekend, we are having an engagement party. It's nothing fancy, more of a big family get-together. There were no formal invitations, and we're basically just going to show up and eat with our immediate families. But it will be the first time our families meet, and I will be seeing 30 or so relatives of the boy.

So I thought I'd spruce myself up a bit. Y'know, something that says, hi, I'm going to be related to you soon, you can rest assured that I can dress myself properly and modestly.

I went to BCBG, J. Crew, H&M, and Anthropologie.
I didn't find anything at J. Crew (it looked like they were switching seasons) and nothing at H&M. My best stop was at Anthro.

I worked at Anthropologie last summer as a second job to make some extra spending money, but it turned out I basically worked for clothes! It kills me a little buying things there post employee discount, but what's a girl to do?

Here we go...

Dresses at Anthropologie:

1.

[I love yellow, but don't have anything in this color. I also really liked the detail--sorry, that eyes sore is the camera chord]

2.
[Red is a lucky color and will most likely please our more traditional relatives.]

3.
[This dress is by Corey Lynn Calter, a designer I love! The dress I wore for our engagement session was by her.]

4.
[50's inspired polka dot number! It's fun, but I can see my new relatives doing a double-take when they meet me. This is a sales rack item.]

5.
[This is a fun bohemian dress! Not sure if the halter is the most appropriate, I might have to wear a cardigan. This is on the sales rack.]

Dress at BCBG:

6.

[This fit well, and it had pockets--score!]

Which one(s) should I buy for the party?

Short and Cute Shoes

[From top to bottom: Lilly Pulitzer; Ciao Bella; Maloles]

We're a petite couple. Or as the boy likes to describe himself, "short, dark and handsome". We're close to the same height, and while I could wear 3" heels because they generally make me look leaner, I'd rather be the same height as him on the wedding day. He's already given me the "I'm sorry, were you being serious?" look when I asked if he wanted to wear lifts or a heel. I didn't think it was such a bad idea!

That said, I'm on the hunt for the perfect pair of flats. I have a whole lot of flat shoes (I'm currently wearing purple suede ones,) so I want to find a pair that are fancy enough to go with my dress and that will last me a good 6-8 hours while I say vows, take pictures, eat cake, and kiss and hug 200 people.

The fancy part is tough. I like all of the flats I've posted up here, but are they fancy enough to go with the my chiffon/lace dress? Also, when you click on "special occasion" on shoe websites, there are never. ever. any flats. Drives me nuts!

Who are your favorite designers of fancy flat shoes? Should I go with a colored shoe or a metallic shoe (like gold)? Should I try looking for kitten heels instead?

I Joined the Sarah Seven Fan Club

[Beautiful dress for a wedding.]

[I love this dress's mustard color and big fun bow! The glasses give it a librarian chic look.]

[Raspberry Perfection indeed.]

[All images from Sarah Seven's Etsy shop]

I know Sarah Seven has been news around the blogosphere, but I just can't stop looking at the photos on her blog and website to not give her a shout out! I'm a big fan of anything with ruffles and color, plus she uses recycled materials in her designs and donates 5% of her profits to charity. Sweet. Could Portland maybe move closer to San Diego?

In less exciting news, I will be in Dallas all weekend and won't be attached to my computer as usual.

Hope everyone has a very happy weekend, and I'll see y'all back online Monday!

Free Shipping: J. Crew

[Images from J. Crew]

Had your eye on a J. Crew wedding dress? Now's the time to buy it with FREE shipping.
Just enter LOVE at the checkout, it should be valid until February 11th.

**update**: take another 20% off, enter SHHH at checkout.

Flowers at my Feet

[Avignon patterned peep toes, JCrew; Crocus Bud Peep Toes, Anthropologie; Julia Driver Flats, Elie Tahari]

I think my favorites are the J. Crew peep toes and the Elie Tahari pink flats. I think the bow and the flower would look super cute peeking out from underneath a dress.

Some Gorgeousness Tied Around My Waist

[Images from Twigs and Honey]

Myra at Twigs and Honey has made yet another gorgeous piece. How cute is this belt?? I totally see it rocking a simple Jenny Yoo or JCrew dress.

How am I ever going to decide on a dress when there are too many amazing options?

Say Yes to the Vintage Dress

After flipping to the back of the shopping guide of Martha Stewart Weddings and perusing pages and pages of Brides.com, it became apparent that I would not be able to afford a brand new designer wedding dress.

You know how items on the Internet can be labeled with a different number of dollar signs to denote how expensive it is? Well in designer wedding dress land, one dollar sign is roughly less than 2k. $=less than 2k. You don't even want to know the price range for $$$$.

To cut costs, I could potentially 1) buy a brand new designer dress, than resell it, 2) buy a used designer dress, then resell it, 3) have a dress custom made, 4) buy a new wedding dress from a designer whose name isn't Vera, Claire, Melissa, or Monique, or 5) buy a used wedding dress from a designer whose name isn't Vera, Claire, Melissa, or Monique.

Buying a dress has never been so confusing.
But here's what I'm thinking so far.

My current fashion aspirations for the wedding:

+ a short, lacey, vintage dress, preferably above the knee and under the price tag of $500, that will make me look and feel fun and fabulous

+ a colorful and large hair accessory which involves either tulle, fabric flowers, bejeweled brooches, or all three together

+ red, green, purple, or yellow kitten heels

+ very simple jewelry that won't cost me next month's rent

Three lovely and fashionable brides who have inspired me:

[Stacie and Geoff, photography by Sloan Photographers, found via Once Wed; Leann and Zach, photography by Carina Romano, found via Once Wed; Shoko and Julian, photography by Max Wanger, found via Once Wed]


I know very little about vintage fashion and vintage boutiques since I shop the sales racks of J. Crew and Anthro. I've looked at Yelp for vintage stores in San Diego, but does anyone recommend any great vintage stores in SoCal? I'm willing to make the drive to L.A.

And, in general, anyone have any vintage wedding dress shopping tips? Anyone else finding creative ways to cut wedding dress costs?