So friends, I have to tell you that this dress is on sale right now for a whopping $39 buckaroos - orginally $158.
I think it could be THEE cutest bridesmaid dress at the perfect length with that pretty single shoulder strap of cascading flowers. It's lightweight chiffon, so perfect for those hot summer weddings.
It also comes in lipstick red, and a pretty bright blue.
You have to sign up, though. And then from that point forward, you will become slightly obsessed with this website, quite like myself. Crazy deals everywhere. And always on dresses, so it's a great place to find unique bridesmaid dresses, or dresses to wear at all those summer weddings you have on your calendar.
Don't lie, you know that's you.
I currently have a credit of $35 to spend at Ideeli burning a hole in my pocket (or my computer's pocket?). I just might buy this one in lipstick red.
Also, you better hurry, because the deal ends in 1 day!
Thwack (verb) : to strike with, or as if with, something flat or heavy.
Shout-out (noun) : a public expression of gratitude or recognition.
Thwacks:
1.) Ryan and I have been eyeing a house out on Green Bluff for quite some time now. It's in the perfect location (really can't get more perfect than this place), it's been on the market for a number of years, and the price has gone down a significant amount from when they first listed it. For example, in the most recent price reduction, it went down $40k in 30 days. Crazy, right? Well, we looked into it, and for one reason and/or another, it didn't end up working out. I was pretty bummed about it, but continuing to trust that there's something better out there for us down the road.
2.) Well this is confusing.
Poor little kiki wants to be a doggy.
3.) Sometimes we are so ghetto about going to the store when we need things. For example, we ran out of toothpaste last weekend. So we've been using the travel-size tubes we've been collecting from the dentist over the last decade because I haven't gone to get us more. Actually, I take that back. I did go to Rite Aide right by my work, but refused to pay $4.50 for a tube of toothpaste. Stubborn? Yes. I'll stick with my travel-size-nasty-tasting-goop, thankyouverymuch.
Shout-outs:
1.) We are puppy sitting three, count it, three additional labs right now. Our old puppy sitter is visiting her son in Japan for 3 weeks, so we are watching her 2 girls. And my boss is out of town for a week, so we're watching his little girl too. So we currently have 4 blondies and 1 blackie. Poor Ryan is significantly outnumbered, 6-to-1... yeah! Girls rule!
Sardines on our short drive to the park.
Behaving while playing fetch. Sort of.
Polar Bear Bella.
HI MOM!!!
2.) The husband participated in the biggest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world this weekend. And believe it or not, it takes place right here in our own hometown - Spokane, Washington. Thousands of people from all over come to play, and our downtown area is turned into hundreds of half courts, with fair food galore. It's so much fun to be a part of this giant event, and it's always a great time running into friends and spending time with family. Although the boys didn't play as well as they'd hoped, they still had a good time (I think? They're all fairly competitive).
Half-courts galore (you can see the string of them through the middle of the picture).
Just warming up the camera.
The Marshall clap.
Apparently it's not a widely-known concept that you're supposed to lock the porta-potty upon entering. Both Kurt and Leslie (Kurt is Ryan's cousin, Leslie is his wife, both good friends of ours) got "porta-pottied". Les walked in on a guy, and Kurt walked in on a girl. Seriously, who doesn't lock a porta-potty when there are literally thousands of people around and you know someone's going to want to use it??? We considered reenacting, but decided a picture of the porta potties would suffice.
And they have the best shave ice known to man (besides my father-in-law's, of course) every few blocks.
And doggles.
And motorized La-Z-Boys.
Wherever there's kettle corn, I'm there.
Lay off me. I'm eating my kettle corn.
Bonnie and Aaron twice in two weekends? Unreal.
"The Silver Fox". Hot older man in background. Aaron pointed him out first, we all followed suit.
And more friends and family.
3.) The building my work is located in has been doing a fundraiser for the last few months for the Special Olympics. The deal is, you raise $1,000 for the program, and in exchange, people to watch you repel down the side of our building (20 stories high, mind you). FREAK ME OUT. I considered facing my fear of heights for like .0004321 seconds and volunteering, but then I slapped myself and snapped out of it. But, one of my colleagues did volunteer, and we got to watch him repel on Friday. What a stud!
Ehh that's really high.
Jake after he made the plunge!
The Moss family out to show our support.
4.) Our neighbors and friends were on the east coast for a week, and another mutual friend of ours house sat for them while they were gone. The husband and I decided to do a little payback from last time we were out of town and they pulled a few pranks on us. We switched around pictures all throughout their house, wrapped tootsie rolls in their TP, moved furniture around, and short sheeted their bed.
Don't you wish you were our neighbors? Better watch out!
5.) Remember this post? That adorable couple got married this weekend! I was so bummed I couldn't make it to Oregon for the wedding - but I cannot wait to see pictures and hear all about it. What a precious union.
6.) I slept for 11 hours on Friday night, and 9 hours on Saturday night. I.love.sleep. So that.is.amazing.
So I've had some of the materials for this project I've had in mind tucked away for quite some time now. Like maybe 5 months? Eek. Well, this last weekend, the husband and I had a little "date night", which really consisted of him doing homework while I crafted. But for us, being in the same room at the same time is considered a date lately, I guess.
#bestmarriedcoupleeveraward.
Before this little date night, I took a quick trip to the craft store with my friend Holly for the remainder of my items, and got to work.
Let me also say that I was pretty excited to finish this project since I'd had it on my list for so dang long.
I got the idea, and the tutorial, from cute Miss Amanda's blog over here.
Adorable, right?
Well, it failed miserably. It turned out way too big for the space I was making it for, and the color I chose made it end up looking like a rose ball, which is definitely not the look I was going for. I have a cranberry accent color throughout my living room, so I thought it'd be perfect... boy was I wrong.
After the miserable fail and about 10 minutes of pouting to the husband, I realized this fabric-decor-ball-gone-wrong would be the cutest alternative to your traditional bridesmaid flower bouquets.
You like??
If you get a good deal on fabric, these can be very inexpensive, and they're pretty easy to make. And they can be recycled as home decor after the wedding!
As long as you park them in the right space in your home.
For some reason lately, I'm crazy drawn to the chevron print. It's very different for me, because I'm typically attracted to the softer, floral patterns vs. geometric shapes. But the chevron print feels like a gentle geometric to me, and portrays an overall clean look, so I guess that makes it okay for me to like it.
On another note, I was feeding my Pinterest addiction tonight and pinned just about everything from this wedding, so you should probably just have a looksie for yourself because it's lovely.
Speaking of Pinterest, wanna follow my Pinterest boards? Sure, go here.
And join the obsession with me... just ask and I'll invite you! It's a great time waster way to organize all things that inspire you.
And read about my friends' Pinterest obsessions here and here.
Thinking about a kid's activity table for your reception? If not, and you're planning on having quite a few kids at your wedding, it might be a good thing to consider. It can be done very cost effectively, and provide you with a great return on investment with busy and occupied children.
And, their parents might thank you!!
Here are a few things you might include on your kid's table:
Color crayons
Butcher paper as a table cloth, so they can color directly on the table. How fun (and naughty, but not really, because it's paper!)
Pinwheels
Bubbles
Stickers
Foam crowns or hats to decorate with stickers
Play-doh
Hot wheels
Beads and string to make fancy jewelry
Disposable cameras - it's always interesting to see things from a child's point of view, no? And they'll feel all growd up taking pictures.
If you have a "card" box for your guests to write you, include some of those cards on the kid's table... it will be funny to go back and look at their drawings or funny thoughts.
Glow sticks
Slinkies
Candy (if you dare. On second thought, maybe the parents won't thank you).
A projector, a portable screen (or white sheet), and a Disney movie
See? So many ideas! And none of these options should ruin fancy outfits - that's why I would stick with crayons and stickers and steer clear of markers, glue, paint, and glitter.
Keep in mind, you'll probably want to put the kid's table in a central location, where parents will feel comfortable with them playing there but can also keep a continual eye on them.
You can even get a little crazy and do themed tables if you want. Go here for a few ideas.
And if they get bored with the table, hopefully they'll come join you on the dance floor when it's time. Kids dancing has to be just about the cutest darn thing anyways.
One can only hope they'd bust out moves like this dude.
Thwack (verb) : to strike with, or as if with, something flat or heavy.
Shout-out (noun) : a public expression of gratitude or recognition.
Thwacks:
1.) Note to self: don't wait for another 12 months before you clean your mini blinds again. That way, you won't spend two hours scrubbing the dusty crusty-ness off of them. It will most likely just be a light dusting that way. Huh, who would've thought?
2.) I brought a bag of trail mix to work and put it in my little snack drawer for those moments during my day that I need a little pick me up. I also brought a dryer sheet in a baggy for those moments during my day that my dress has static issues (inevitable). I put that in my little snack drawer as well. Needless to say, my entire bag of trail mix now tastes like vanilla lavender soap. Sick.
3.) My yard work, weeds, dead grass, nonexistent-grass-where-there-should-be-grass, dead shrubs, crab grass, mossy dirt, etc is never ending.
Shout-outs:
1.) I bought my first pair of TOMS this week. Finally. I've been dying for a pair for quite some time now, but was holding out until all the snow melted, so I could in fact wear them. Which, believe it or not, was not that long ago. My boss gave me a Nordy's gift card because she's the sweetest thing ever, so it was just perfect. When I went with Becky to go pick out which ones I wanted, I saw they have BOAT SHOE TOMS. Uhh seriously? I am in love. My TOMS and I are a match made in heaven.
2.) As some of you already know, I am the event coordinator for an event called The Butterfly Affair coming up in October. I've had a vision of the decor for the event just floating above my head, but I couldn't quite pull it down to see exactly how I wanted everything to go. But this week, for some reason, it all just came together! I know a majority of how I want things to look, and I'm so so excited about it. Want a little hint? Think giant metallic silver hanging pinwheels. mmmmyup. It's going to be fabulous.. I can't wait!
3.) I had another great wedding planning meeting with my bride Jen and her fiance Sam. Their wedding is less than 4 weeks away, and counting! I saw the table centerpiece mock-up... old doilies and burlap are just part of it... so stinkin cute.
4.) Lola and Trudy had a fun little play date on Saturday morning with two big chocolate lab boys - Guinness and Porter. While my colleague Tana let them come over to play for a few hours, Ryan and I enjoyed a Saturday morning coffee date together at Maple Street Bistro. It was lovely. We don't slow down like that often enough. We're usually buzzing around being busy with something, or everything.
5.) I usually do NOT wake up any earlier than I have to in the mornings. I looooove my sleep. Like really love. Maybe to an unhealthy degree. I set my alarm earlier than I know I need to get up, just so I can snooze it and sleep longer. Does anybody else do that? Anyways, this week I somehow managed to get up at 5:15am TWICE to go running with the husband and pups before work. And believe it or not, I loved it. I mean, I only really loved it after it was all done and over with, but still. Love was present somewhere in there.
6.) Moss Adams LLP treated all of its employees to the opening game of the Spokane Indians (minor league baseball) on Friday. And to make it even better, they played against my hometown team, the Salem Keizer Volcanoes. It's always a fun outing, as we do it every year.
This year, I particularly enjoyed spending time with this cute girl, Amanda, who gets to start work at Moss Adams LLP in September!
And toting around this little cutie for awhile who shares the same name with me - Allie! Her purple hi-top converse shoes were killing me all night.
7.) On Saturday night, the husband and I finally got to spend some time with our long lost friends, Bonnie and Aaron Drake. They live an hour away from us, so our visits are few and far between these days, since they live equally busy (if not busier) lives than we do. We enjoyed dinner together at Flamin' Joes with great catch-up conversation.
Makes me want to go make some cakes tonight and take cute pictures of them instead of get my bum on the treadmill (because yes, it is raining today, on June 15).
Or, I could make cakes tonight and just eat them... skip the treadmill altogether. That sounds pleasant too.
