Thursday Loves

My stomach is growling just looking at this. I used to not consider myself a fan of beets but that has all changed.  Our homegrown beets were superb, especially paired with goat cheese.  So honestly, this sandwich looks pretty much perfect.  Via

Oh J.Crew sweater, I need you in my closet!  You are the epitome of my style - especially paired with those jeans and messy side pony.  I definitely wish I had $95 lying around to spend on a sweater.  Maybe I'll do some extra chores around the house ;)

Oh. My. God. I looooove these illustrations!  Tutti Confetti, you make my heart flutter!

This is random, but I'm totes diggin' this chick's effortless hair.  It looks part ratty (like mine usually does) but with the perfect amount of wave in the perfect places.  Rarely does my hair do this but when it does I feel like I should go out and paint the town red.

Last but not least, I thought I'd leave you with a drool-worthy image of amazing barstools.  That's all.  Via

Mane Inspiration

Beautiful, beautiful hair...how I covet thee.

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Their locks are so long and luscious, with just the right amount of sun-kissed.  Having pulled from these inspirations, I went to the salon.  For the first time in...nearly a year!  Can you believe that?  My husband has been trimming my hair for me and I've just let my bangs grow out entirely.  My hair color was nothing to write home about.  I needed change.  So off to the salon I went.  My oh my did it feel (and smell) good to have someone else wash and dry my hair.

It went from a brassy brownish color to a rich brown color with streaks of blonde.  I really love it, a lot! If only I had the time and energy to style it like above.

What kind of hair are you lusting after these days?

Thursday's Randoms :: Wedding Edition

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I loved my wedding hair - my friends Inna and Lauren worked so hard to perfect the messy chignon and Inna spent hours curling, curling and curling some more.  My hair was beautiful and I'm nothing but pleased with the way it looked.  But a year down the road, part of me wishes I had opted to wear it down with loose, flowy curls.  I almost always wear my hair down (except as of late with all this disgusting humidity) so it would have been a little truer to myself.  Oh well.  I can make my hair look like that any day :)

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I am in love with the dusty hues of this beautiful bouquet!  It's rustic, it's modern and it's gorgeous.  Wrapped up in raffia or twine, it would make the perfect bridal bouquet, don't you think?

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EmersonMade's silk flowers are versatile and gorgeous all at once!  While I opted for a real gardenia in my hair (at my florist's suggestion who told me I would smell great all day long with one in my hair) it might have been easier had I gone the silk route.  We ordered two gardenias because the oils in hair tend to make the flowers droopy a little faster than normal.  Again...oh well.  I enjoyed the smell all day long!

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Having your wedding in the forest sounds pretty amazing to me.  Instead of handing out parasols to keep your guests shaded, you could hand out those new insect-repellent fans!  There is so much beauty in the forest - it's incredibly dramatic and would be quite captivating for the occasion.  

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I wouldn't change our honeymoon to Italy for anything in the world.  But I do have to say, that if you're planning your honeymoon for directly after your wedding (like the next day) then plan a honeymoon that is nothing but relaxing.  I can't even begin to describe the amount of tiredness that we had to deal with post-wedding.  All I wanted to do was sleep for days!  I'm so glad we waited a month to go on ours; it allowed us to fully bounce back, have an added something to look forward to once the wedding excitement passed and it helped us deal with the jetlag a little better (I am assuming).  I would LOVE to go to Bora Bora sometime in my life and lay on a towel just like the woman in the photo.  

Thursday's Randoms

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First off, this picture really makes me smile.  I love the way it's styled and the hair is gorgeous.  I've been thinking about my hair a lot lately.  It's not in good shape, guys.  The ends are so frizzy and fried and split and I feel lost.  My bangs have become too long and the color is...ick.  I need some hair advice!  I'm trying to grow it long (it's currently pretty long but I'm afraid if I trim away all the bad parts it will be medium-length again.  About a year and a half ago, I tried out the ombre trend at the salon but it didn't quite work out.  Needless to say, I came out of there with overly bleached hair that I had to dye and re-dye myself to get it to look right.  The ends of my hair are blonde from that bad bleach job, so I'm chocking the damaged parts up to that.  Is there a way to repair it? I've never really encountered this problem before and I don't know if damage repair products will do the trick or if I have to sadly chop it off.  I need a trim, yes, but I don't want to lose the growth.  Any advice, sweets?

Etsy's handpicked items always draw me in - for good reason.  This mint and brass necklace from Etsy shop Fortune is absolutely gorgeous.  

I couldn't resist posting these too, because the more I look at them the more I love them.  Via Fail Jewelry

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I can't get enough of the color in these mouth-watering desserts!  They would have all been perfect to use at my best friend's bridal shower a year and a half ago, hah.  The zebra + Tiffany blue color combo is incredible and I'm in awe at the beauty of the display!  Via HWTM

Last, here are some shots from our first Waterfront Wednesdays. I had no clue we were going but it was pretty much just what I needed.  I really like this new city of ours.

Wednesday Randoms

Here are some catching my eye this Wednesday morning...

Making Waves tutorial at The Beauty Department.  I've seen a lot of different waves tutorials but not one quite like this.  I'm excited to try and perfect this throughout the summer.

This Lucite Storage Credenza from Modology on Etsy.  It is most certainly out of my price range but wouldn't it be amazing to have? Whether in the home or in a store as a display, it would be a great addition.

My friend from high school, Ali, really wowed me today when she posted the recipe for her Margarita Cupcakes!  Don't they just look like the most incredible things you ever did see?  She also posted a plethora of Cinco de Mayo recipes at her incredible blog, Gimme Some Oven.

Uniqlo has collaborated with New York Designers Charlotte Ronson, Vena Cava and Costello Tagliapietra - some pretty cheap price tags well worth the money.

This Debutante Cruiser from Schwinn - pretty sure this is now at the top of my birthday wish list.

This Retro Modern Design chair, which is probably way out of our furniture budget, but at least kitty wouldn't claw it all to pieces.

What's on your mind today?

Don't forget to enter the Gemmifer Handmade giveaway!

Friday's Fancies :: The Oscars

I'm linking up again this week with {av}'s Friday's Fancies.  This week, it's a tribute to the Academy Awards coming up! So here is my fantasy outfit for that Oscar I'm sure to win for Best Actress...

The funny thing about online shopping is that you really have no idea how things actually look together.  But I can only imagine that emeralds paired with the stunning Jason Wu gown from NYFW would look divine.  That little pop of color goes a long way, right?!

Jason Wu Fall 2011 gown; Christian Louboutin Very Prive pumps; pear drop emerald earrings; diamond bracelet; Halle Berry's hair do; Rachel McAdams' make up

Wish me luck, I have some really great competition this year!

Greasy may not be so grossie...or is it?

I just received my daily Refinery 29 email in my inbox and was quite...baffled by some of the content.  You see, my whole life I've had to battle the greasy hair problem.  If I don't wash it once a day, it gets embarrassingly bad.  Up until about 10 months ago, I lived with this problem.  That is, until I discovered the wonders of dry shampoo.  Do any of you use this?  It's a miracle worker!  I can't believe I, the sufferer of greasy hair for so many years, who longed for a cure to end this suffering, never knew about it until I was 26-years-old.  For the love of Pete! 

So what I'm finding out here, is that designers such as Alexander Wang, Cushnie et Ochs and Acne have taken the greasy approach to models' hair for the runway.  In the words of Jerry Seinfeld, What is the deal with that?  Is this the new hair trend?!  I mean, if Ms. Sevigny is doing it then certainly I must.  Hahaha, wait, you don't actually believe me there, do you?  (Quite frankly, she looks rather nasty in the image above)  So tell me, dear readers, will you be sporting the freshly-showered-four-days ago look the next time I see you, like these models here?

Aye yay yikes!

All photos via refinery 29

Yes.

I want my hair to look like this (maybe not as long, but think of the messy buns I could have then!)

It's so care free yet adorable.  The perfect sun-kissed hair.  Do you think my upcoming stay in Austin will automatically turn my hair into this?!

(via Turned Out by Maya)

Messy buns

And I'm not talking about anything dirty here folks.  Just some good clean hair talk.

I have really thin hair.  It sucks.  It's also straight as an arrow.  So I'm not able to pull much off because it never lasts.  Which makes me a little worried about wedding day hair, but I'll worry about that later.  The real problem is, I don't know how to successfully pull my hair back and make it look cute and messy at the same time.  SERIOUSLY, I don't.  I want it to look like this:

But alas, it just falls right down, the bun NEVER looks like that because I don't have enough hair to "make it work".  I want it to look like this sometimes:

But that never works out either.  I tried following these instructions, but failed. What is wrong with me!?!

I just want cute buns huns! 

(photos via marie claire, style tips 101, a cup of jo)