Lilly bridesmaids...

I've been scoping out different options for my bridesmaids - even though I still haven't officially asked each of them yet...still working on that. I shot myself in the foot by deciding to do something special in asking each one...and I'm struggling to get it all finished... but more on that later.

I love the idea of Lilly Pulitzer bridesmaid dresses...but they are a) too expensive for my BMs' budgets and b) too casual... but how cute would some of the new Spring line dresses be as bridesmaid dresses? I actually think the navy and gold accented dresses would be perfect with cardigans if the accents were silver instead of gold. Doh! Still too expensive though...



And you also know I'm a huge fan of Anthropologie - so I'm excited and anxious for their new bridal boutique (bhldn.com) that launches Feb. 14th. I'm hoping for dressier options of their amazing dresses for bridesmaid dresses - and fingers crossed for navy!

I've also been on the hunt for the perfect rehearsal dinner dress... something cute and casual, so I've been eying some Lilly and Anthro of course, along with some other sites...but how about this gorgeous, not quite a rehearsal dinner dress spotted on Mila Kunis at the SAG awards last night?? One can dream.


This weekend was a fun one celebrating my fiance's 31st birthday - we spent Saturday morning working on our Save the Date which turned out AMAZING. I will share once it's ready! :)

I'm still struggling to fight an annoying cold that hopefully (fingers crossed) will eventually go away this week. I've got lots to do this week at work and at home... plus a puppy to help look after.

My preggers sister is due Feb. 8th - so it could literally be any day that I get the phone call that my niece is making her entrance into the world...I'll have to hop in my car and start making the trek to Atlanta.

Monday is almost over...hooray. Here's to a productive and "positive thought" filled week! Cheers!

My very beachy condo decor...

Last July when I moved into my 'very close to the beach' condo, I decided I wanted to decorate the condo with nautical and beachy decor to celebrate my new location.

I had so much fun shopping for beach-themed decor online and at local Charleston stores. I'm very fortunate that the local Marshalls and T.J. Maxx are filled to the gills (no pun intended) with beachy items.

I had every intention of taking photos of my finished spaces, but Halloween arrived and much of this decor was replaced with Halloween decorations. Then it was Christmas...

And then finally things were back to normal and I could take some photos and share them on the blog... here are pictures from the main living space of the condo where my favorite decor is located. The bathrooms carry on the beach theme, but aren't nearly as interesting as the main rooms.

I love walls with different frames scattered across it and tried to create a mini version of this on one of my walls - I bought a pack of Charleston notecards from a local shop that were on clearance and framed them in clearance frames from T.J. Maxx. And yes, that would be my thermostat framed, lol. The table runner over the dresser is made from straw placemats (also on clearance) from Target that I connected together with twine I bought at Lowes.

I've collected a few Ernest Lee palm tree paintings over the years, and they worked perfectly with my decor. Ernest Lee is an eclectic artist that roams Columbia, SC - nicknamed the 'chicken man'.

Remember this post where I had a decor dilemma with some tricky wall space?

Decided upon wooden, blue oars and a DIY wreath... purchased wreath from Michaels and decorated with glued on bag of sea glass, also from Michaels.

And yes..that would be my Electra beach cruiser parked in the den. I paid entirely too much for that thing to let it sit outside and rust away with the salty sea air. While not ideal squeezed into an already tiny condo, the bike hasn't been in the way too terribly much... and I kind of love how it's right below a painting of a beach cruiser on the beach.

Hope you're having a fabulous Monday... even if 'fabulous Monday' might just be an oxymoron... :)

Bottles N' Brushes

I'm obsessed with Bottles N' Brushes - a fun place in Mt. Pleasant (they have a location in Summerville too) where they provide all of the painting supplies and walk you step by step through a painting. All you need to bring is your own wine and snacks. This is such a fun 'break' to do during the week...

I really enjoy it.. tonight we painted crabs! We started with a canvas covered in newspaper clippings then painted the crabs on top.

Bath Time

Gratuitous cute puppy picture for your Saturday

Taking care of a little puppy is a LOT of work... we knew it would be, but we're constantly having to take this little sucker out to pee, playing with him when he's full of energy, and making sure we're consistent in training and schedules etc. We wake up at 3:30am every night to take him out to pee...it's like having a new baby...definitely feeling the lack of sleep.

I hate leaving him all alone while I'm at work. I leave Nick Jr. on TV to keep him company. We're crate training him, but during the day we put his crate in the doorway of the bathroom so he has the bathroom to play around in and then his crate to sleep in.

Willow is doing great though. He's learning so fast. He's having little to no accidents in the house and he's starting to go to the door to let us know when he needs to go out. He already knows how to "sit" and he's good about staying close to us and coming when we call. He loves to get curled up in his crate and sleep at night and gladly climbs in when we say "Night, night Willow."

He's a big fan of his puppy food, but he also loves apples, carrots and peanut butter as treats. He also has big time puppy gas...lol...and really lets some stinky ones rip while he sleeps.

We are over the moon in love with him and can't imagine why no one else adopted him before us. It must have been meant to be...he is the perfect puppy! And I know I'm biased, but he really is.

He's definitely keeping us busy though...I haven't been able to get in any running in the past four days and I feel like I've already gained 10 pounds. But when he climbs in my lap, curls up and gives me a puppy dog face..it's all worth it!

And just to clarify, Willow is named after the 1988 movie Willow.... not Willow Smith of "I flip my hair..." fame. :)

Baby shower fun

This past weekend I co-hosted a baby shower for my sister at my sister's house in Atlanta... theme was frogs and pink and green.

Publix makes the best cakes!!

The "guestbook" were little onesies that everyone signed with fabric paint pens...

Me and my older sister - she's due beginning of February with a little girl!

This sherbert punch was actually really good - we winged it by dumping two things of sherbert ice cream into a bowl..one sherbert and one green, then poured a 20 liter of Sprite over it which made it fizzy. It was good!

One of the other hosts made these cute tissue paper 'poofs' - she folded sheets of tissue paper in half, scalloped the edges, tied in the center with a ribbon, and then 'fluffed' into balls. They looked really cute as decorations - I couldn't believe how easy they were to make.