Wedding Pinspiration: the style

After the decor, the next thing I found myself picturing, was the style. What would I wear? What would Ryan wear? What would my bridesmaids wear?

As you know, I bought a gown at BHLDN in Chicago. The gown is top secret (mostly because Ryan wants to be surprised), but I can say that it's full length, romantic, and has a vintage feel while still being youthful.

With gown in hand, I've been spending all my time imagining what kind of headpiece, shoes, and accessories I want. I didn't think I wanted a veil, but, after seeing myself in one at BHLDN, I now think I do. It just made me look . . . so much like a bride.

I also really love bridal caps and 1920s-inspired headpieces, but don't want to overpower the gown. I'm also concerned about looking too old-fashioned. Maybe with modern hair, I can get away with a vintage-looking gown and headpiece. I still need to experiment.

I'm also thinking about textured tights and fun shoes. I think I want flats or something with a low heel. And, of course, I want a pretty manicure with an extra-sparkly "married finger."

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Ryan told me, soon after we got engaged, that he wanted to buy a nice suit for the wedding. Something slim cut and gray that would fit him perfectly. 

When I think about walking down the aisle next winter, I picture him in a 1960s-inspired gray suit with a skinny black tie, and his favorite Chelsea boots. 

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Thinking about Ryan's dream suit got me thinking about gray as a primary color for our wedding. 

I've decided I'd like my bridesmaids in gray. I know that it's a strange color for a wedding, but it's one of my favorite colors, and I think it's so perfect for winter. Also, they like the idea, so score!

I'd like their dresses to be full length, like mine, and for them to carry simple bouquets of lavender, an almost gray flower with an unmistakable scent that will always bring me back to my wedding day. 

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Surprisingly, the element of style and, in fact, the DIY project that I find myself getting most excited about is the boutonnieres. I'd like to make them not just for Ryan and his best man, but for all of our male family members.

I have so many ideas, that I can't decide what I like best. Lavender, of course, would match the bouquets, evergreens would be nice with details like pinecones or mistletoe. I also love the idea of raw cotton because it's so rustic and it looks like little snow balls. 

I might make a slew of mismatched boutonnieres (a unique one for each unique man) or maybe Ryan's will be unique and the rest will be uniform. Maybe I can incorporate all (or near all) of my favorite elements into one boutonniere design without it looking like too much is going on. 

Another opportunity for experimenting. 

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What I wore today: 12/23/2012 (It's Not Easy Photographing Green)

Despite the fact that these corduroys read black in all the full-body shots I took, they are actually a lovely green color. Sometimes you can't shoot in ideal light and you just have to try your best. Oh, well. 

Because yesterday was my family's day to celebrate Christmas all together (since my brother's family is going to Louisville to see his wife's parents), I wanted to wear something cozy, comfortable, and festive. But then I watched The Devil Wears Prada while painting my nails, and that movie always puts me in the mood for lots of black and shoulder pads. This outfit was the compromise I eventually came to. 

The next few days are going to be a whirlwind. We've got plans to have dinner with Ryan's extended family at a banquet hall tonight and to spend Christmas morning with the nephews. Christmas evening, we're having both sets of parents to our apartment for a meal. Wish me luck on my first Christmas dinner hosting experience ever!

Do you celebrated Christmas? How are you celebrating this year?

Black sneaker wedges - Target

Green corduroys - AG, Anthropologie

Black sweater with shoulder pads - Topshop

"Sparked Agate Collar" necklace - Anthropologie (pearl)

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Happy Halloween!

A pumpkin I spray-painted with metallic paint for a cool decoration

Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween is my second favorite holiday (and was my very favorite as a kid; not because of the candy, but because of the awesome costumes my mom helped me make . . . and because I was obsessed with the idea of witches and magic and still am a little bit).

I'm not wearing a costume today, but I gave myself Halloween nails and chalked my hair just for fun. 

Last weekend, I dressed as a flapper for a costume party. Ryan went as Aladdin and wore these really killer harem pants I made for him. (The photo just doesn't do them justice.)

Tonight, I'm going to a Samhain celebration and ancestors dinner. I'm taking a big crock pot of my French onion soup to honor my paternal grandmother who passed away a couple years ago. I feel really grateful to have this opportunity to remember her and share stories about her with friends, especially since I was unable to go to her funeral which was out of town and coincided with my semi-fianals that year.

Doing watercolor with Memé in Monet's garden in Giverny when I was 14

With Memé looking out over the walls of Langres, our ancestral home, on the same trip

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DI(fr)Yday: How to make an ombré rhinestone necklace, bracelet, and earrings

A lot of disparate inspiration sources lead me to come up with this project, which turned out to be something uniquely my own that I really enjoy wearing a lot. 

I wanted to paint a rhinestone necklace with neon polish as I've seen countless other bloggers do ever since Tom Binns launched the neon necklace collection heard round the world. So, I stepped into Claire's on my lunch break last week to pick up something cheap that I could paint. While there, I found this simple necklace, bracelet, and earring set, and decided to paint it with an ombré effect.

(I'm still doing the neon one; stayed tuned for it - probably next Friday).

I've been a bit obsessed the idea of a fading orangey sunset ombré since I saw Emily Schuman play with the effect on her nails (here). I did my own version with a larger color scheme that included yellow and deep pink (here). Since Miss Schuman also knocked my socks off (as she is so often want to do) with a pretty ombré necklace (here), I figured why not combine the two ideas, but instead of beads on wire, I would use the very nail polish shades I'd used for my manicure to transform the pretty Claire's necklace I'd so luckily stumbled upon.

This is all my longwinded way of attempting to give credit where credit is do. My ideas (especially for DIY projects) often play off the ideas of other people, sometimes coming very close to what they did and other times branching off far away. Sometimes a number of ideas collide as they did with this project, and other times I come up with a project and I'm not even sure how the idea came to me at all.

Pinterest makes tracking my inspirations and giving credit to those who inspire me easier than it would be otherwise, and for that I'm grateful. But I wanted to take a moment here to just say that I have a huge amount of respect for my fellow bloggers and creative crafties, and that stating my inspiration sources and linking with love is something I believe in and something I'm committed to.

So, let's get on with the project already!

Basically all you have to do is paint each stone with your desired color. In my case, there were more stones on the bracelet and necklace than I had shades, so a few stones got painted the same color. The earrings, on the other hand, had far fewer stones that I had colors, so a few colors were left out. 

As you're planning your design, try to flow with it, allowing the idea of ombré to guide you and taking care not to get too bogged down in making it perfect. As long as each color blends into the next, you'll get the effect you're after.

After painting each stone, use a cotton swab dipped in nail-polish remover to clean up any mistakes. Then, once your polish has dried, seal your work with a clear top coat. 

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What I wore today: 02/07/2012 (Neon and neutral)

I'm still experimenting with neon and learning how to wear it. But, right now, my favorite way is to add a pop of neon yellow to a neutral outfit. I especially like the way it looks with dark gray.

I wore the neon and neutral trend on my nails last summer, I've swooned over these neon and neutral shoes and over What Would Ashley Wear's DIY version of some similar ones, and I've gathered inspiration from the always fabulous Jessica Quirk who sported a couple pops of neon in this otherwise neutral ensemble last June.

But now... I've finally composed my own neon and neutral look. I'm about a season behind trend, but I don't care because I felt so fabulous sporting this quirky look today.

Notable details other than the neon pops: The dress is actually lavender, but I like that it looks almost gray here. The cross double ring is my personal nod to how much Madonna rocked it at the Super Bowl on Sunday. ;)

I was going to photograph this look against a plain, gray wall; then, I saw this graffiti and knew nothing could be more perfect! Sometimes you just luck into a perfect setup.

Lavender dress - Anthropologie, Christmas gift from my brother a few years back

Heather gray blazer - The Limited (also seen here)

Neon yellow satchel - Target

Neon yellow belt - Target

Dotty tights - Target (last seen here and here)

Studded bangle - Gap (last seen here and here)

Cross double ring - online boutique

Eyelet oxfords - Christmas gift from last year (last seen here and here)

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