About five minutes after I got engaged, I wanted to call all my girlfriends and immediately ask them to be in my wedding. I also knew I wanted to ask my bridesmaids in a more personal way, so I resisted asking until I could put something together. I wanted to include a personal note to each of my bridesmaids, and these Rifle Paper Co. cards were perfect. They even make cards for matrons and maids of honor. I also wanted to include a picture from a fond memory, so I added these adorable white and gold frames from Target to my bridesmaid proposal box. Then to add something fun, I also included these yummy Sugarfina champagne gummy bears. Shop everything I included in my bridesmaid proposal box as well as my favorite bridesmaid gifts below! xoxo
In 247 days, I get to marry my best friend! I have quickly realized that planning a wedding is not as simple as I had once thought, especially with only an 8 month engagement. As I learn more about planning a wedding, I will be sharing “Wedding Wednesday” posts with you every other Wednesday. To start, I wanted to share the 5 engagement gifts that I have found the most useful. In the past I have had a hard time knowing what to give friends at their engagement parties. Alex and I were totally blown away by the love and support of our friends and family who came to our engagement party, and I quickly discovered that was the best gift anyone could give! We were also very surprised and appreciative of the fun and thoughtful gifts from our friends. I have already enjoyed using my engaged mug, our Mr. and Mrs. campaign glasses, gorgeous ice bucket, but these gifts have been the most useful to me so far.
1. Personalized Notecards. After I had become use to the ring on my finger, I realized I needed to write thank you notes. I was so grateful to have personalized note-cards, with both of our names on it, to use when taking friends and family. It is a weird feeling, but from the second you get engaged, you start writing thank you notes from both you and your fiancé.
2. Planner. This gift depends on the type of bride you are celebrating. If you think she will be planning her own wedding, a planner is an amazing gift, but not necessary if you think she will hire a wedding planner. Since I will be planning my own wedding, I am very grateful to have a place to organize all my thoughts and keep track of a budget.
3. Magazines. This seems so cliché, but a good wedding magazine can be extremely helpful in the wedding planning process. I have loved being inspired, and pulling ideas from other weddings. Since I am planning a wedding in Dallas, DWeddings by D Magazine has been very useful in finding vendors and venues in Dallas.
4. Bling Brush. I was a little skeptical about putting any kind of cleaner on my new shiny ring, but after reading reviews and researching the natural product I gave Bling Brush a try. It is so easy to use and is very gentle on my ring.
5. Ring Dish. This might be a personal problem, but I had no clue what to do with my ring when I got home. Do I sleep in it? Do I shower in it? Can I wash dishes with it on? I finally decided that I could sleep in my ring, but I needed a place to put it when I shower or to clean. I am so nervous about losing something so valuable, so a ring dish was the perfect answer for me.
Staying motivated to workout is a daily struggle for me. I easily get bored with workout classes and have a difficult time paying an arm and a leg each month to workout. When I discovered ClassPass all of this changed for me. Suddenly I had the freedom to try new classes at a reasonable price point! Here are my 3 reasons to try ClassPass for yourself.
Flexible. ClassPass makes it so much easier to find time in your schedule to workout. With a large variety of classes offered across the metroplex, at varying times, you are in charge of when and where you workout. ClassPass is also located in more than 35 cities globally, making it the perfect app for anyone who travels often. Whether you are on a work trip or vacation, you can continue to use your classes in participating cities. If your summer vacation is not in one of the 35+ participating cities, ClassPass is allowing your classes to roll over to the next month through September.
New Experiences.ClassPass gives you to opportunity to try a wide variety of new classes you otherwise might not have the opportunity to try. I had always wanted to try a pilates reformer class, but did not want to spend the $30+ fee from the studio on one class that I might not like. ClassPass allowed me to try out pilates reformer at multiple studios without breaking the bank, and I ended up finding a class that I loved. I have also been able to try different spin studios and a few barre classes across the Dallas metroplex as well. A few of my coworkers convinced me to sign up, and we have enjoyed trying new classes together after work. ClassPass has given us a healthy way to relieve stress together and grow our friendship. There is a feature on the app where you can add your friends and see their classes, making it easy to coordinate classes together.
ClassPass has motivated me to be more consistent with my workout schedule and push myself to try more difficult classes. It has also encouraged me to update my workout wardrobe (whoops!). When I saw that J.Crew was partnering with New Balance, I knew it would be dangerous to even look at their athletic line. Of course my first purchase were the all white New Balance 247 sneakers. Not only am I total sucker for white sneakers, the New Balance 247s have great support and are so comfortable. They fit true to size (wearing an 8) and come in three more colors besides white. I followed up the sneakers with these palm print running shorts. I normally stick to greyscale clothing, but I was drawn to the fun palm pattern for summer. They fit true to size (waring a small), are lined, and come in three colors. When I saw the navy drawstring on the shorts, it was easy to convince myself to get the navy pull over as well. This pull over has long sleeves and holes for thumbs, but I pushed the sleeves up to three quarters length. I love the half zipper detail, and the large pocket on the side fits my phone perfectly. This pull over jacket also fits true to size (wearing a small) and has a very flattering fit that is not skin tight. Be sure to take advantage of $30 off your first month with ClassPlass and shop some of my favorite workout attire below! xoxo
I love a good pair of distressed black jeans, and the pair I have been wearing the past year (from Gap) finally wore out. I own two other pairs of jeans from J.Crew in the lookout high-rise cut and love the fit, so it was an easy purchase when I saw thesedistressed black jeans in that same cut. They fit well in the waist and have an ankle cut length. I typically wear a 25 in the lookout high-rise cut, but this particular pair seems to fit smaller than my denim and white wash jeans, so I went up to a 26 for comfort. These jeans can be dressed up or down with ease, but for dinner I gave it a casual look with the most comfortable tee andpair of mules. I have linked this look as well as the denim and white wash lookout high-rise jeans below! xoxo
On our last night in London we finally made it to the one restaurant I was dying to try, Sketch. I had seen the monochromatic pink gallery room all over Instagram and had to checkout the extensive collection of David Shrigley’s original drawings. We sat in a booth facing the copper bar, surrounded by pink velvet and 239 unusual and curious sketches. To start our meal, we had the Chantilly Lace, with black rice, basmati rice, lobster bisque, red pepper and horseradish. The flavor the rice and lobster bisque was incredible, but I could have gone with a little less horseradish because it was so powerful. For the main course, I had the veal with root vegetables and dijon mustard bouillon, and Alex had the Pan-fried sirloin of black angus beef. My veal was perfectly tender and I loved the dijon flavor with root vegetables. Dessert was my favorite part of the whole meal, I had the Sketch chocolate with cocoa arlette, dried fruits, blackcurrant marmalade, and Manjari chocolate panna cotta. Alex had the So British with mint yogurt and white chocolate croquant, green cardamom lassi, aloe vera, and yellow mango. The atmosphere, food and service were all fantastic, I highly recommend Sketch for tea or dinner if you are visiting London. If you do visit Sketch, I recommend dressing up (they have a dress code) and wearing dark colors (everyone was basically in black). I have linked some dresses similar to the one I wore below! xoxo
Jacket, Shell, Pants: Calvin Klein // Shoes: Ann Klein // Jewelry: Vintage
This past month I have enjoyed having Monna, my grandmother, join me on the blog every Monday to share her wisdom. This Monday she is sharing her thoughts on hosting people in her home, as well as her tips for setting a table. There is hardly a week that goes by when Monna is not hosting a dinner or party in her home. Just yesterday she hosted an early birthday lunch for me. Her lunch made the day so special and more personal than eating out at a restaurant. She started realizing that people were hardly invited into homes any more, and that an occasion could be twice as meaningful to someone by simply inviting them inside.
“It is always more pleasant to visit with friends and family in a quiet atmosphere rather than a restaurant. I don’t care how expensive a restaurant is, they are always noisy and you feel forced to leave after the meal without a chance to visit. Birthdays and holidays are more special when they are hosted in the home.”
Monna always has her table set with fresh flowers as a center piece, and for dinner she likes to add candles on either side of her floral arrangement. She still uses the Gorham Strasbourg sterling silver and white china with a platinum band that she received as a wedding gift in 1958. Nice sterling silver and white china are timeless staples according to Monna, and can be updated with seasonal chargers and table linens. She completes her table setting with crystal napkin rings, coasters and glasses (usually ice tea glasses since we are in Dallas).
When hosting dinner or a party, Monna likes to dress for the occasion but still feel comfortable in whatever she is wearing. One of her favorite outfits is this Calvin Klein set because the pants are easy to move in and the jacket is light weight enough to stand the heat of the kitchen. She also likes these Ann Klein low wedges because they give her extra height but still the support she needs to effortlessly move around the house. Shop some of Monna’s favorites for setting a table below! xoxo
