Christmas party with the girls...

Last night one of my girlfriends hosted a Christmas party for all of us girls (didn't take any pictures...boo). Everyone brought food and wine and it was a great time catching up on gossip and sharing stories about my wedding. We even did a mini gift exchange.

I got a big wine glass that says "It's wine-thirty" on it and a bottle of Chardonnay...yes I stole this gift from someone who opened it because it had my name written all over it! The gift I brought to exchange was an adorable sequined clutch I found at Target and two sparkly, holiday-like nail polishes. I almost stole my own gift, but thought that might be tacky. :)

Anyways, I was assigned to bring desserts and since I now have a nice big kitchen, I got Suzie Homemaker inspired and spent most of Monday night cooking up different Christmas treats. Most I found off of Pinterest and while they all didn't end up looking like the photos from Pinterest, they tasted delicious...so I still considered them a success.

Santa Hat Brownies
What they should have looked like - I used whip cream and it melted funny by time I got to party, didn't look this good...but still tasted good! I didn't get a picture of mine.

Source: ericasweettooth.com via Christy on Pinterest

Peppermint Chocolate Cupcakes
These were my favorite of the desserts I made - sooo good. I used the icing recipe from this site below, but for the cupcakes, I just used a chocolate cake mix from Pilsbury.

Source: momsshoppingengine.com via Christy on Pinterest

My version - pepermint icing topped with crushed candy canes and red sprinkles!

Santa Hat Pretzels
I didn't really follow a recipe with these, so that's probably why mine looked nothing like the Pinterest photo, lol. I just slathered melted white chocolate on the pretzel and topped with red sprinkles and half of a mini marshmallow. But these tasted Ahhmazing...everyone loved these.

Source: freefunchristmas.com via Christy on Pinterest

My version - not quite as pretty... might need to make a Pinterest "Nailed it!" photo.

Chocolate Covered Peanuts
This recipe calls for a crock pot and is super easy...I got this recipe from my sister-in-law who got it from this website. You literally put all the ingredients in your crock pot and let sit for 2 hours or so, then scoop out little clumps and place on wax paper, then stick in the fridge. Yummy!

{Recipe Via}

My version!

I also experimented with my outfit for fun - I bought this gorgeous top from Forever21 about a month ago -- this picture below doesn't do it justice. It's really sparkly along the neckline with gold and bronze sequins. I paired it with my black Old Navy jeggings (yes..jeggings..don't hate!) and an old pair of leopard heels that I have (not the ones in photo below, but close). I added brown beaded bracelets and gold earrings and carried my leopard hobo bag (not the $3000 one in the photo below..but you get the idea). It actually looked pretty good in my opinion - got lots of compliments from the girls... granted, that was probably after a few glasses of wine, but that's ok. :) I love that this outfit looks done up and expensive, but it's all low cost pieces...

Christmas Party with Friends by charlestongirlblog featuring stiletto high heels

With all the wedding preparation, we weren't really getting to enjoy the holidays as much...so I'm excited to have more free time and will be sad once Christmas is over. The husband (ahh, still feels weird to say) and I will be doing dinner and James Island Park Festival of Lights tonight. So excited!

Winter Wedding: The Dress

I'm finally settling back into reality after a whirlwind week and the most perfect, amazing, fun wedding ever. It was absolutely perfect but went by incredibly too fast and now I'm still remembering everything in a blur. No matter how many times people tell you as a bride-to-be, "Enjoy it - it goes by very fast", you don't really think it will until... it's Friday and you're sitting at your desk, back at work, staring down at a wedding ring and wondering, "What just happened?!?".

My photographer posted his preview photos today and I've been looking at them over and over. I cannot wait to see more. He is amazing.

So I'm going to try and recap different aspects of the big day with you as I get photos, video, etc.

But because I can't save one of the best things until last... I'm doing it first... my dress.

My.Dress.

Amsale Blue Label Dahlia.

The very first dress I tried on... purchased from White on Daniel Island... customized with cap sleeves by owner Jodi.

My.Dress.

Ivory.

Unique.

Hand made skirt.

When I bought this dress at White..when I decided this was 'the one', Jodi shared with me that this dress truly was meant to be my dress. Because just three or so days prior to my appointment (which I had made months in advance), Amsale called Jodi and begged her to do a random Amsale trunk show. They only had four dresses for her to show, but Jodi agreed - she only does 2 to 3 Amsale trunk shows a year..if that.

That Saturday I walk in and have a few pages of dresses I love... and one was the Amsale Dahlia. Jodi saw it and knew - "You're in luck lady, this is one of only four dresses we have from Amsale AND we're doing a trunk show for them today."

So, not only did I get this amazing dress completely by chance, but also for an incredible price - otherwise, I probably could not have gotten this dress because it would have been way, way, way too expensive.

I'll have more pictures of it for you later - but here are the pro's preview photos...

So, without further ado..... My.Dress.



Me, with my Mom and my Matron of Honor (my sister) in the background.

My photographer knew I was a dancer and wanted shots with my pointe shoes. Don't worry,
I didn't wear these all night. I'll have another post later with my 'Something Blue' shoes. :)

I wore my mother's wedding veil.



I also wore (for pics outside) my grandmother's mink stole - it still has her initials
monogrammed inside it. The bridesmaids are behind me - their dresses were GORGEOUS
and I'll have another post on that later.



Also wore pearls given to me by my grandmother when I was young and wore her
emerald ring on my right ring finger. The earrings and bracelet were my wedding
gifts from Bradley. They matched my emerald rings perfectly.



I love this photo. My.Dress. Love.

Let the countdown begin....

....10 days. Ahh!

Don't worry...I'm not letting my pending wedding extravaganza distract me from the fact that it's Christmas time! Willow is ready... look how happy he is! :)

And I won't even mention the...er...um... incident that happened Saturday night. This is what Willow thought of the game... my reaction was similar.

P.S. This collar lights up! Lucky dog. :)

And yes I'm a certified crazy lady.... who buys tickets to the ACC Championship game halfway into the football season...for a game that's in a city that's almost 4 hours away... oh yeah...a week before her wedding!?!? This girl.:-/  Here's hoping my Tigers can put up some kind of fight...

Did I mention I was running the Reindeer Run Saturday morning first BEFORE I trek to Charlotte for the game? My best friend and I won 2nd place in the costume contest last year, so we have to try again this year.

Our Reindeer Run Costumes last year -- we lost to a group who were
The 12 Days of Christmas...their costumes were lame. :)

Why do I do this to myself!?!

So...until next time when I'm up at 12:30am and will randomly blog because I can't sleep because of my mile-long to do list... here's a fun holiday photo that's floating around that will make you LOL. Cheers!

I'm still here...and still busy.

Only 33 days until my wedding! Just got back from a weekend trip to Birmingham with the fiance to meet with vendors, have my hair and makeup trial and finalize more plans and details...

I can't wait to share all of the details with you.... but until then I'm running around like a crazy lady - commuting from B'ham and back to Chucktown way too much (7+ hours!). So don't abandon my blog just yet -- I'll be back later in December with lots of fun things to share.

Meanwhile...I'm still finding time to squeeze in some fun... like dressing up for Halloween... :)

Not sure what's going on in this picture - but it's a
better shot of the costume I somehow made in just
an hour before we got ready!

Cheers!

Seeing Double...Part IV

Paper Birch Cutout Dress - ShopRuche.com, $42.99

Cut Out Dress in Orange - GoJane.com, $36.80

I know you've missed me but...

...I've been out of town celebrating. Will try to get on here and update sometime soon. Only about two months till the big day...so I probably won't be the best of a blogger as we count down. Cheers!

Guess who's missing from this picture...me! Lol...

My ninja name is Mirishikiarichifu.

Source: polyvore.com via Kristin on Pinterest

Monday.

Source: flickr.com via Alana on Pinterest

The House That Fun Built

So as you read in my last post, my fiance and I are getting ready to close on a new house! So of course I'm now looking for decor inspiration on the internets (yes, internet can be plural)...

Side Note: Thanks to all of you who posted Pinterest tips in the comments on my last post - I feel like such a moron for not knowing the obvious, lol, so thanks for clearing it up for me... doh! Computer Engineering degree what? Le Sigh.

Look what I stumbled upon this morning - a three story house that has stairs and slides! How cool is this!?!? Yes, it may be intended for families with kids...but hey, grown ups can have fun too, right?

The stick figures 'modeling' the slide action are hilarious.
I love the gymnast dismount landing at the bottom of the slide. Perfect 10!

{via}

Why or why not I may or may not be M.I.A.

1. My wedding is less than 3 months away... AHH!! Ordering invites, programs favors, finalizing menus, organizing song lists, first dress fitting (my dress is Ah-mazing!), got my shoes, hunting for and saving tons of 'wedding hair' potential photos, scheduling final meet ups with vendors, etc. etc. etc. Phew.
2. Football Season - I'm a loyal and devoted Clemson fan and of course a season ticket holder... Labor Day weekend was a trip to Clemson and I'll be back again this weekend for the Auburn game.
3. I'm finally getting serious about weight loss and healthiness - I now have a nutritionist (love!) and a personal trainer...
4. Work. The usual.
5. This past Saturday was me and my fiance's 5 year anniversary.
6. And what's really, really keeping me busy -- WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! {cheers...applause} We got an amazing house for an amazing price in Mt. Pleasant... we went from looking for a house to rent to making an offer and getting a contract on a house...all within about a week's time.

All of these warrant their own (or many) blog posts...so hopefully soon I'll have time to actually share more details with you.

Meanwhile... enjoy this randomly cute puppy photo of Willow to start your week with a smile... :)

Doesn't he look like Uncle Sam? He'll be 1 years old in a month!

P.S. I don't know if I'm using Pinterest correctly.. lol... I do a search for a keyword...say... 'bedroom inspiration' and I don't get very many search results. Is it only showing me the photos pinned by people I follow? Do I have to expand my Pinterest network to get more results??

100 years of style in 100 seconds.

100 years of East London style in 100 seconds. Sept 13th 1911 - Sept 13th 2011.



Way overdo for blogging - lots going on right now. Will try to do a recap tonight or tomorrow... cheers!

P.S. Please don't abandon my blog yet from your readers -- I'll get better soon, I promise. :)

How to Focus in the Age of Distraction

In lieu of the fact that I haven't blogged all week...if you find yourself incredibly busy with a million things on your to do list, and on top of that a million distractions, this neato graphic could help out... thinking I need to follow some of those arrows.

{via}

JCrew Ballet Inspired Ad

I never get the JCrew catalog, but for some reason I got it today and it featured dancers from the Mariinsky ballet school in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The photos are beautiful and I love how they paired their white tutus with JCrew cozy, cashmere sweaters.

I always wear old sweaters and shrugs in the winter for ballet class...so I definitely related to these photos and admit it makes me want to buy one. It also makes me wish for cold, winter weather.

I do wish they had wrap sweaters, shrugs, and legwarmers...but I guess that's too "ballet" literal. But I love ballet inspired fashion...then again, I'm biased. :)

Ok, enough of me blabbering...enjoy the photos! All photos copied off of JCrew's website.

You say it's your birthday...duh nuh duh nuh duh... it's my birthday too...

Well... not anymore anyways. My birthday was officially Sunday... and it was a pretty big one. I guess I need to update my bio over there to the left, because I am no longer a 20-something...sigh. I've officially started my 30's!

Duh duh duuuuuh...

Lol. Even though everyone swears your thirties are your best years... we will see. My twenties were pretty fun, so... :)

Anyways...the whole weekend was full of celebrations. My family drove up from Birmingham to Charleston for the weekend,and I had lots of out of town friends come as well.

Friday night my parents took my sister (and my niece!), my fiance, me, and a few of our friends out to dinner at Tsunami in Mt. Pleasant. I ordered what I always order there - Shrimp Hibachi - yummy! I helped kill two bottles of wine and opened presents...it was so fun! I got lots of great gifts including Seasons 1 through 4 of Mad Men (great show!), a Lilly Pulitzer cooler AND koozie, and this Lilly dress that I told my mom I absolutely didn't need, but wanted so bad... I was so excited to get it! :) I really don't need any more Lilly dresses...but this one is too cute to pass up.

Me at dinner with one of my presents!

Saturday I was so blessed to have a girls' wedding shower thrown for me by my sister and six of my bridesmaids... it was an Alice in Wonderland theme (love Alice in Wonderland!) and my friends went above and beyond... the pictures can explain it all...

Tha amazing 'EAT ME' favors! Included a picture of me from when I was Alice for Halloween, lol.

The food!!

Me with the lovely hostesses wearing the cute aprons I got them as part
of their hostess gifts. And yes..my dress has tea cups on it!

Yummy green punch with tea cups - my friend brought her china.

Fun themed decorations.

Me waiting to open gifts. One of my bridesmaids handmade
the Chesire cat above my head - it was awesome!

Me with hostesses again holding picture of missing hostess from
up North who couldn't make it. She made the favors and shipped them down!

Then after a quick nap, it was off to Locals in Mt. Pleasant for my big birthday celebration - and of course it was a theme party... "Saying Goodbye to the Roaring 20's". It was packed! I was so humbled by how many people showed up and by how many people actually dressed up! DJ CNile (former Off the Hook DJ, and currently DJ's at Suede) was there to DJ for us... everyone had so much fun and we closed the bar down. Definitely a great way to end the very last night in my 20's...

Me and my fiance.

Some of the guys...

Some of the girls!

Me and DJ CNile

Me and old college roommate and my future bridesmaid.

Sunday was a day of relaxation and recovery -- my fiance treated me all day long to lunch, a movie and dinner. He's the best!

This week has been kind of depressing as I come off of the high from the weekend and it being all about me... :) I started Monday off with the threat of a hurricane which puts our whole company into storm mode (which can be crazy!). Luckily it looks like it's blown east and will be missing us (hallelujah!).

This week is back to the normal day to day...still busy as ever in the wedding plans. Trying to decide on a final menu for our dinner so I can order our invites. Hope everyone else is having a great week!