confessions of a nonblogaholic

you guys are probably wondering why i've been such a lame blogger lately. well, cat's officially out of the bag that while i was truly busy packing and moving, i was really really busy getting a new job. i've officially left my old gig only to start my new gig next week and i'm SUPER PUMPED about it. i won't bore you with the details but the good news for you is i'll be spending all week working in the garden and decorating the new house so i'm hoping it will also help to get me back into my good blogging habits.

i'll also be anxiously awaiting two of these super awesome rocking chairs from lowes ($88 each, plus free shipping), courtesy of my mom as a housewarming gift. they'll be perfect on the front porch (pictured below) and i promise to post pics once the chairs arrive.

and the fashion emmy goes to...

dudes. i missed the emmy awards.

I KNOW.

how could i miss such a fashion event for regular old people like myself (since i'm not lucky enough to go to any sort of fashion week, ever)? at&t screwed me, that's how. after a botched install attempt at the new house, i've since had to switch to directv only to have to wait all over again for an installation appointment. fangers crossed because after over two weeks without tv, my directv appointment is today! anyway...even though i didn't get to see the show i was still able to scour the interwebs to choose my favorite looks of the evening.

below: january jones in atelier versace. obviously. she's my favorite so i'd probably post about her even if her dress was heinous (ahem, hair could use a touch up, jj!).

below: tina fey in oscar de la renta. finally...this woman finds the right dress! her hair could also use a little touch up, but the dress is phenom on her.

below: claire danes in armani prive. she seems to be wearing a lot of makeup and bronzer but the dress looks awesome. i still sometimes wish she ended up with jordan catalano. (as i sing that buffalo tom song in my head..."i close my door at night. but she gets in alright. so i turn on the light")

austinites rejoice - homegoods coming in october

it's a miracle. the retail gods were listening to my prayers and homegoods is opening an austin location! i just went on their website to find the nearest store (in san antonio - gasp!) only to find a coming soon mention on the website.

for those of you poor souls who have never been, homegoods is the home section of marshalls/tjmaxx on crack and with way better stuff...i swear. awesome furniture, rugs, lamps, towels, seasonal decor, yadda yadda at discount prices. your wallet and your home will thank you.

mark your calendars. website says the grand opening is october 24 in spring valley shopping center on brodie lane. woot!!!

ps. i'm still praying to the retail gods for an h&m and a club monaco...

now that's what i call a rug

i've been waiting for this beauty from anthropologie for over a week now...and ups lost it! the rug lost it's mailing label in houston and somehow ended up in a random ups warehouse in north carolina. this sad little lady spent half of yesterday morning on the phone with ups and anthro hoping to help it find it's way to my house...my living room is dying for some cream and white coqo floral rug in tomato!

i'll take photos of it once it arrives...assuming it ever does...

sunsets for the rest of summer

ok guys - i've heard it's getting a little fallish in the northeast and other parts of the country. hate to say it, but it's still a lovely 103 here on a daily basis so i'm still in summer mode. i promise i'll start posting more fall stuff over the next few weeks but in the meantime will be focused on summer styles.

i like this roxy dress for sunsets, casual concerts and evenings by the pool. and it's cheap at $23.99 (on sale from $49.50). get one while it's hot.

z gallerie is a great go-to for home accessories

i've historically passed by z gallerie under the assumption that it's too expensive and not my taste. well, now that i'm a homeowner i can fully admit that i was wrong. sure, there are some cheesy items that would never fly in my relatively "regular" style. but for the most part, i'm pretty impressed. here are just a few of my picks.

below: casablanca lanterns, $37.95 - $49.95

below: eddie accent chair, $1,199, both nick and i die for this chair...if only it fit with our color scheme!

below: bukhara pillow, $69.95 (shown here in chocolate and black)

below: palmer accent stool, $129.95

below: deer head, $49.95

celebrating our two year wedding anniversary

TWO YEARS. i can't believe it. nick and i have been married for 24 months. can you believe how quickly time flies? i'm going to use this opportunity to recycle one of my favorite posts from last year...

originally posted friday, august 21, 2009
"celebrating our first wedding anniversary"

it is so hard to believe that sunday marks the one year anniversary of being married to my favorite person in the entire world. in honor of such a tremendous milestone i thought it only appropriate to pay homage to a few of my favorite details from our wedding that we got some really great deals on (mostly by recycling, calling in favors, using local vendors and online retailers, and of course i never forget the coupon codes). i hope you don't mind indulging me as i walk down memory lane...

below: custom stationary (program and seating cards pictured) designed and printed locally by my good friend and graphic designer christine giberson.

below: we made the seating chart using an old corkboard that we covered in fabric. cards were hung on ribbon using miniature clothespins from michaels. there are always coupons in the paper.

below: we had bottled water in the guest's welcome bags and on the buses to and from the ceremony and party. water is from grand springs with custom labels by graphic designer and colleague caroline mundt.

below: i love (and still use) these beer koozies from customink, one of my favorite sites for silly custom jobs like this. there are always coupon codes floating around the internets for things like $15 off orders of $100 or more.

below: guest book was custom-made using old photos and from our engagement session with (the absolute best and very talented) photographer jen lowe. the book is from snapfish, which runs regular promotions for things like $10 off and buy one get one free. i love to take the book out every so often to read all of the wonderful notes from our loved ones.

below: the ring bearer pillow was a surprise from my mom on my wedding day. she made it using the lace from her veil from her wedding day.

below: being that nick was definitely not loving that he now had to wear jewelry, we didn't want to spend very much on his wedding band. we got his titanium ring online for about $50. it's a good thing, too, considering he already lost it and had to order a new one. who "accidentally" drops their wedding band down a subway grate? my husband does, that's who.

below: my grandmother, a retired wedding florist, purchased the flowers wholesale and arranged everything the day before with the help of my wonderful aunts (they stored the flowers overnight in my mom's basement with the a/c jacked up). actually, a few of the flowers came from home depot.

below: we found all of the vases on sale from homegoods and CB2, and the candleholders are old ball jars (from my mom's canning days) wrapped with ribbon from michaels.

below: we opened a banana republic credit card when we bought nick's suit to receive 15% off, which certainly made a dent in the price (we were sure to pay it off immediately). the groomsmen wore really nice green shirts from charles tyrwhitt on sale for about $35 and pants from express men on sale for about $45.

below: all of the girls (myself included) wore these green polka dot heels by betsey johnson. we went through shoes.com, which always has coupons.

below: the bridesmaids and maid of honor wore white eyelet sundresses found at target for a mere $40. my mom sewed on the green sashes to add a little flair.

below: *sigh* i love love love my dress and totally wish it were ok to wear to work or out on the weekends. i found my diamond white dora dress by melissa sweet during a trunk show at saks, which meant a small yet appreciated discount.

thanks for indulging me...i think maaaaaybe i'll put on my wedding dress this weekend as part of our celebration.

photography by jen lowe. see more photos here.

john derian for target

i first wrote about john derian here after my friend risa gave me one of his pieces as a housewarming gift. lo and behold, john derian is launching his third line for target - and gilt is having a preview sale today starting at noon est. be there and ready to hit refresh over and over again at 11:59am; his stuff is great!

i'm back...kinda...house tour...kinda

hi peeps! it's been a long week or two, hasn't it? it's 1985 in the new house because at&t doesn't come to hook up our new internets and tv until saturday. can you imagine - no technology for a week?! nick and i have been doing a lot of reading, wii super mario playing, dvd watching and wine drinking...

anyway, i thought you'd all get a kick out of this video tour i took the day before we officially moved in to the house. dummy (me) thought the youtube thingy would automatically turn sideways so i flipped the camera to a horizontal shot. oh well...just lay on your side for a few minutes.

enjoy! hopefully i'll be back with more posts this week. i miss you guys.

outfit in action: and the winner is...the orange skirt!

thanks for all the fun comments yesterday! i decided on the orange skirt for $19.80 and i'm wearing it in honor of...drumroll...our house closing today!!! aren't you going to miss seeing all of the boxes in the mirror pictures? (i packed the tripod already, oops) paired with h&m top, dolce vita sandals, peggy li necklace.

try-on trip to forever 21

nick and i had to go to sears over the weekend to buy a lawnmower. while nick was contemplating over the toro vs craftsman decision, i stealthily made my away over to forever 21. i like to wait a few months in between visits and spend an hour in the fitting room trying on everything that attracts my attention. here's the rundown of what i tried on...bad pictures, no makeup, no bra and all. that's how much i love you guys.

OH and i only bought ONE item. can you guess which one? i'll reveal it in an outfit in action post tomorrow.

below: terry strapless dress, i can't recall the price

below: studded sweatshirt jacket, $27.80

below: cotton cami tank (9.90) and floaty vest ($16.90)

below: striped racerback maxi, $19.80

below: red silk(ish) top, $17.80

below: purple and grey flowy tank, $32.80

below: purple romper with belt (that was broken), $24.80

below: white mod dress, can't recall price

below: maroon and army green flowy tank, $22.80

below: white prairie top (it was a size too large, boo), $24.80

below: black textured skirt, $22.80

below: cocoa and grey printed skirt, $22.80

below: tan and teal skirt, $22.80

below: orange and white printed skirt, $19.80

below: white and blank flowy tank, $22.80