uuuuggggghhhhh

this is me.

5 hour flight delay in miami means i got home at 2am.

SO. SLEEPY.

love ya'll....i'll be back to my chipper, shopping self tomorrow!

showering my shower hostesses

ooooh, this girl loves her friends. and this girl is VERY blessed to have THREE different groups of people throwing her bridal showers.

and in turn....i want to spoil them.

and boy am i! thanks ruelala.

i got this set for $29 apiece. the sets are for my mom's coworkers, who i've known literally my whole life, and who actually threw my mom's baby shower for me. and, bonus, it matches my wedding colors!!

then i got this set for $39. i'm splitting up the shower gels....the pink and orange ones will go to my 4 bridesmaids, with this umbrella.

omg, it matches. SO CUTE.

then the lighter pink shower gel and lip gloss will be part of the gifts for my readers.

SO excited, i think these are so cute and fun and definitely not something they'd get themselves.

if you wanna check it out, click the link below, it's an invite just for you =)

http://www.ruelala.com/invite/hethridge

getting my hair did

this saturday, i had my hair trial for the wedding (less than 8 weeks.....AHHHHHH!!!!).

i thought i wanted a low knot....but i totally trust my hair girl, so i told her low, off to the side...and just gave her free reign.

and i LOVE what she came up with!

i tucked those 2 rogue pieces on the top inside....but i couldn't even see them with the veil on. and the one piece that fell out the bottom will be tucked in. basically, i'll have this shape....but with no random curls around it...just the knot.

see how you can see it over my left ear from the front? LOVE that! i put on my earrings when i got home....they are so perfect! please excuse my scary red eyeballs.

here it is with the veil, and my comb at the salon....it's a little crooked, but we wanted to get the general idea....i love it. and it's really secure on my head...which is awesome, cuz i plan on wearing my veil the whole time....its got pearls and crystal beads all around the edge....

and to make my saturday even better, i get a message from my oh-so-talented friend Mrs. Southern Belle.

she finished my bracelet!!! i bought the supplies FOREVER ago, and gave them to her after she so graciously offered to make it for me. and this is the final result....i am IN. LOVE.

see how the shape and sparlke mirror my hair comb? and my earrings? oh, i cannot wait to put EVERYTHING on....i think the first time i see all the accessories together will be the wedding day! eep!

rehearsal dress dilemna SOLVED!!

remember how i was looking for a dress, to go with my gorgeous shoes??
yes....those shoes. don't judge, i can't stop posting pics....plus, how would you get the full effect without them?!?

yeah, well i have been racking my brain, and scouring the internet to find something i loved with these shoes.

and then, in steps my amazing, wonderful, incredibly helpful and oh-so-pretty friend ashley stepped in.

and in her infinite, amazing internet searching skills....she finds the perfect thing.

oh, why hello gorgeous dress in a fun pattern that totally matches my shoes, and is dressy enough being satin to make me feel bridal....but still totally wearable for other, post-wedding events.

I. AM. IN. LOVE.

and for just $120?? can't beat that!!! i am so excited to order this today, it's soooooo pretty =)

and on a side note, our officiant and his wife has offered to get us a videographer as a wedding gift...who will record not only our ceremony and reception....but our rehearsal dinner, complete with karaoke, as well!!!

i'm having an affair....

....because i love EVERYTHING about nick&nora. i have several pairs of pj's from their collection at target.....::sigh::
OMG, i must own these. MUST. how cute with they be for my last night as a single girl??? love.

here's a funny story....a few years ago, target had a pair of these pj's with owls....but they were blue. and i waited to get them on sale. AND THEY SOLD OUT. and i have been sad since them.

cuz how cute are they?! oh how i want them....is it wrong to hope for target gift cards at a shower to buy myself presents?

so yeah....this girl needs a carrying case for her passport and other papers for the honeymoon....and this is PERFECT. it has SHOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS. it's basically made for me. the whole set is only like $25.

oh my beloved owls....how you follow me. with your adorable coated fabric, making you easy to clean. and making you a totally suitable replacement for my old navy case....from 7th grade.

and it's better than spending $50 on the tepper jackson roll-up i love, right? cuz for $46...i get 3 things. not one.

all of these items can be found at amazon.com...and the pjs are also on target's site, and the travel cases are on endless.

making lemons out of lemonade

what is that you ask? MY. FRONT. DOOR.

apparently, some punk criminals decided to kick our front door in sometimes yesterday between 9am and 12:45pm. thank goodness, all they stole was our 37 inch flatscreen, and a laptop.

the genius part? they stole the cable box remote, but NOT the cable box...or the actual remote for the tv.

and the laptop? only works when it's plugged in the wall...where they left the power cord.

it sucks...but it honestly sucks the least it could. my pup is fine, all my jewelry is still there, all of the boys guns and our big upstairs computer and the other tv and our wedding bands...all still there.

and now i'm trying to figure out the best brass polish to use, because our new steel reinforced front door is sad and bare right now...and i'm polishing up our pretty house numbers and the old knocker for the new door...

and i'm totally plotting craft projects with the door pieces....cuz the wood is reddish, but the paint is glossy black...which means it will totally tie in with my cherry wood and black mirror and jewelry armoir in the bedroom.

wanna know more about this shoe lover?

that's right.....it's a rainy monday morning, and i am totally lacking in blogging inspiration...

so ask me ANYTHING you wanna know about me....anything at all =)

need your opinions...AGAIN!!

as you know, i am on the hunt for a shower dress and a rehearsal dress to go with these beauties.

what??? no i am NOT gratuitously posting pics of my beloved shoes...i would NEVVVVEERRRR do that.

anyways.


so this here grey dress is from j. crew. all of $60. love the jersey...and i feel like i could really dress it up with pearls and my shoes and a fun hat (for my tea party shower) or dressed down post wedding and rocked with sandals or flip flops next summer...or even with boots and a cardigan when it finally cools down.

but it's final sale....so if i get it, i keep it.

and this white maggy london is on sale for $55 from nordstrom. this would be my rehearsal dress, also jersey material....i love the swoop neckline, and the v-back...and it's funky enough to be cute my planned peacock feather fascinator....

but it's a bubble hem, and i'm a tall girl and i don't wanna look like a giant 15 year old...

so, do i bite the bullet and order them and be done with my dress shopping, 64 days before the wedding? or do i keep looking? the jersey materials will make them MUCH easier to rewear....but does it make them too casual? can i get away with jersey for a rehearsal?

help me out girls....you're always so smart with this stuff when i second-guess myself!

i might have a problem

cuz i can't stop buying stuff from bath & body works. i LOVE their scents, and their coupons, and how yummy i feel wearing them.

so, here's the deal i got last night.

they had a deal, you buy a perfume, and you get a lotion for free. so i picked this, vanilla noir. it's kind of a smoky vanilla....so not too bakery-esque. i think it will be AWESOME for fall, cuddled up in a turtleneck, or rocking some cute suede boots.

so then i got this lotion for free, yummy mango mandarin. i had to force myself to not buy ANOTHER white citrus lotion ....

and then, i had THIS coupon for a free signature collection item with any $10 purchase. so i got the vanilla noir shower gel.

all of this, for $28.

AND THEN, because i spent $25, i got a "fall in love" preview catalog with more offers, like a free signature collection, a free home fragrance diffuser, and a free holiday collection item...they're all spread out between now and november, which is awesome cuz i can get some christmas shopping for others done, AND get stuff for me!

now....to find more bathroom cabinet space for everything....

in LOVE

the kates came in, the kates came in!!!


......i may have nuzzled them when i took them out of the box.oooohhhhhh sooooooo pretttttyyyyyy.

and they are REALLY comfortable. the boy said "for what you paid, they oughta be!". he's a funny one =)


oh, toe vamp....i love you. you're so knotty and lovely.

and, my very VERY favorite part?????

THIS.

it says LAST. PAIR. and they are mine, alllllllllllllll mine.

it's glorious.

i'm wearing them with a black or black and white pattern dress for my tea party shower, and then for my rehearsal with a peacock fascinator i intend to craft...and then i'll rock the hairpiece with the shoes and my wedding dress for my after-pics with our photog when we get back from the honeymoon.

have i mentioned i love them?????

::sigh::

not about shopping...

but this is why some days, my job is pretty cool.
that's a serval, on our set.

nope, didn't pet it....the lady in the green polo said evie bites.

help!

anyone know why all of a sudden when i go to my blogger dashboard, it says i'm not following any blogs?? they're all still there when i go my actual blog and scroll down for my "must reads".....but i like not doing that, cuz sometimes it updates super slowly....

help!!!! i don't want to import everything on google reader....mostly cuz i don't know how.

anyone have this?

i have always been intrigued by the VS convertible dress....you can wear it 7 different ways. which seems like a GREAT idea....but i don't know anyone who has one.

right now, VS is running a special for 40% off any clearance item with the code CLEAR40 until thursday....so i could get this for about $40 with shipping, in a black and white large leaf pattern.

anyone have any experience with this??? help! tell me if i should splurge....or save cuz it sucks.

and, wooo, happy 100th post to me!

wedding crafts

as much as i love finding a good deal....it also means i love making something for way cheaper than i can buy it!

WAYYYY back last year when i started planning this shindig, i was saving pictures for ideas and inspiration all over the place.

and when i found this, i knew i had to have it!

so cute, right?

well, i finally have MY version.

excuse the blurry cell pic....i was too lazy to get the camera.

the boy is a whiz with a jigsaw, so we found a found a font we liked, printed out the monogram, i exacto-knifed it and then traced it on some MDF, and then N cut it out.

and then the trouble started. i thought MDF would work with spray paint, cuz it did with my cake topper.....NOT.SO. MUCH. it looked awful, splotchy and bubbly and gross.

so we sanded off the nasty parts, and busted out the old 64 cent acrylic paint from walmart....and voila!

i love it, we're probably going to put it on the door to our ceremony space.

and then, imagine my surprise when my amazing friend ashley sends me a message about this new craft she's doing, and wants to make me some!

that is me, and the future hubs. so cute right?? we're going to hang them on our chairs at the reception!

then, we'll probably put them on the wall where we put about 500 black and white photos i'm sure we'll be framing from the wedding =)

love....and SERIOUS conflict.

my stuarts came in today...and OMG, they are ah-mazing. like....the color is even more gorgeous in person, and they are perfect with my dress, and the boy approves because he "can still see the top of my head".

so what ever else could a bride want?

yeah....see, kate spade emailed me before i left work. and i decided to check out the new website. cuz kate said i might like it.

well, the little witch was right....i did like it. TOO. MUCH.

OH. MY. WORD.

i am totally in love with these shoes. totally. but i cannot wear them for the wedding...because i love love LOVE my pink ones for the big day.

but are these not the most amazing things? they are on sale....for $224. but ONLY IN MY SIZE.

it's like fate. and the boy says i can buy them.

and i can wear them for the rehearsal, and again for day-after pics that we're taking with our photog once we get back from the honeymoon.

but i'm having some guilt....cuz they're $224. even though he says it's cool...i feel kinda bad, cuz we do have wedding stuff to pay for that aren't for my feet.

so i need to know what you girls think!

EDIT:: the shoes have been purchased. and i'm already brainstorming peacock fascinator supplies for the rehearsal...and maybe some russian netting. cuz i rule.

sharpies for a penny!

this one's gonna be short and sweet.

CLICK HERE.

run your pretty little self to office max, and stock up on sharpies for a penny.

a tale of three shoes

so, when i first got engaged....i was absolutely determined that i wanted louboutins for my wedding.



specifically.....these viva lola's. SO. PRETTY.



but the thing about my beloved christian....he makes tall shoes. which i normally LOOOOOOVE.....but i'm also a tall girl. so i had to worry about making sure my heels weren't too tall for my dress, and my guy....who put a 4 inch limit on me, so we'd be eye level. he also wasn't thrilled about me spending $600 on shoes....but i'm a shoe girl, so he'd have let me.

hello vonda....i love you =) (vonda's my dress....not my alter ego). see....she's plenty long with 3 1/2 inch heels on....which is what i took to the shop when we picked her up and brough her home.

sadly....the 4 inch lola's were out....and then they sold out anyways.

enter....kate spade.

this is the clarice. i LOVED these shoes...the pink is gorgeous, and the little front knot is super cute. and at $300....half the price of the loubs!

but i was a bad bad girl, and put off ordering them.

and then the ONE place i found them in pink.....sold out. le sigh.

back to the drawing board....and kinda freaking out cuz i'm 2 1/2 months away from the big day....and i CANNOT wear ugly white shoes.

CANNOT.

so, after my brush with tragic destiny and the loss of clarice...i started looking more. googling "pink satin shoes".

and a man named stuart saved me.

these are mr. weitzman's gigi. i love the pleating on the front...and the heels seem to be about right. the site i ordered them from says they are 4 inches...but there's no way. and everywhere else says 3 1/2.

the best part? they were $150. and will be on my doorstep tomorrow or thursday! and since mom's dress will arrive today....i plan to take it to the parents house, and visit vonda with my new kicks.

the color is a little darker than i had originally thought i wanted...but i love the look of them. and no one's gonna really see them.

when bloggers inspire me

as well all know...i'm always on the hunt for a good deal. and this of course includes trying to spoil my bridesmaids...without ruining my bank account.

so imagine my surprise when a fellow blogger provides me with the BEST idea!!!


this photo was take by Seersucker Scrapper....she made these ADORABLE lilly thumbtacks i'm totally lusting over. so i got to thinking....i could do that, right?

see, i have a TON of scraps from the girl i bought my table runners from, in this fabric.

so i'm thinking....how cute would a set of thumbtacks be covered in this, on a piece of cardboard painted lime green?? matches the wedding, matches the theme....but it's something they can always use...and it'll cost me like three dollars a set to make!

so thanks Seersucker Scrapper for the idea....you rock! and i hope you don't mind me stealing it =)

p.s. stay tuned tomorrow for another craft with this damask fabric...it was my weekend project, and it's a good one ya'll!