Happy Halloween

I'm off to DC for work, so we celebrated Halloween in style on Monday night.

Dempsey & LuLu (our preppy pooches) wish you all a very Happy Halloween.

Preppy 80s music

Happy Friday everyone.

I know I haven't been writing too much about weddings lately and I'm sorry about that. Not too sorry, because my friend sent me the most hillarious entry from cracked.com today that crowns the 10 best songs of the 80s. Take a look, it may be the funniest thing I have ever read.

Just a little quote about one of my personal favorite songs - Highway to the Danger Zone (Top Gun anyone?) by Kenny Loggins.

"Danger Zone" is comprised of entirely guitar riffs and vague references to machines and speed. He did not settle for a lesser concept. He put you on a highway: the fastest, straightest route possible directly to an entire zone that is nothing but danger. There was no "Parkway to the Naughty Territories," or "Off Ramp to Risky Town," or even "Scenic Route Through Fistfight County."

Seriously peeing in my pants it's so funny! Have a good weekend everyone.

Fall/Winter Bridesmaids Gift

Hi all.

Today is kicking my ass. Seriously.

However, I did take the time to order a classic red down vest from Lands End. And while ordering, I was thinking what a super cute gift for the preppy bridesmaid.

Order her favorite color (fret not, there are lots of choices in regular, petite and tall) and cusotmize the rest of her gift in that lovely hue.

And save money. They are 24.50 and right now, there is free shipping. Just enter GIFTSHOP as the Source Code and the PIN 512451245 in the space provided.

Not getting married? How about down vests for all your friends and family this holiday season? As kanye would say - Me Likey.

Preppy Sitcom

Reasons why my life would be an awesome sitcom:

• Last weekend, I arranged a trip with some friends to our local haunted forest. While crawling through the last “haunted indecipherable structure that contained bodies hanging from the ceiling and clowns drinking toxic clown juice," my husband (aka our fearless leader) got stuck in a trick dead in. I thought he was climbing into a tunnel, so as I began to get on my knees, he stood up, knocking me so hard in the nose that I literally saw stars. Well stars and a clown drinking toxic clown juice.
  
  My friends, fearing I had a bloody nose, tried unsuccessfully to get a creepy monster with exposed brains to show us to the exit. The monster was so committed to his character that my friend got nothing out of him, just a grunt and finger point towards the way we came.
  
  
• And this morning, our lovely animals Dempsey and Lulu were playing with one of their 1200 nylabones and decided that they both wanted to chew the same stinky, old, should have been thrown away months ago bone. After a little fun bantering back and forth, LuLu (the basset) barked a little too loud and Dempsey (the Jack Russel) decided to plummet his teeth into her long right ear. The result? Blood, cursing and a late start for this gal. Fret not, LuLu is fine after a visit to the vet, Dempsey is grounded and I got to see a really disastrous medieval themed TLC A Wedding Story on daytime TV. However, if you have Cesar Milan's cell phone number handy, please do share.

Hmmm. Maybe I should quit my day job and move to Hollywood?

Inspiration Monday

Some inspiration for your brides to be courtesy of Real Weddings on the Knot.

Love this pink cake.

It isn't a preppy wedding without some toile. Love these fans for an outdoor ceremony.

Yummy topiarys used to greet guests at an outdoor ceremony. Take a look at the notes written by loved ones to celebrate the couple.

And I love this graphic cake. Think a totally circular themed wedding - arrangements, invites, tables - y'all know I love some polka dots.
I am also know obesessed with Good Stock Press & Bindery. Kim allows you to customize the story of your family in such a cool and unique way. What an awesome gift for your parents. Or even the neatest way to celebrate the story of your family for a little one. Take a look at their recent projects here. Maybe we can get Kim to start thinking about creating a collection around weddings! Also check out Kim's post on Black Eiffel.

Nothing New Here

So, nothing new going on here blogworld. I'm just working and traveling and trying to be the best wife I can be. And by best wife I mean, actually making dinner three nights in a row, making a pie from my newlywed cookbook (very 1950s - I know) and taking the time to vacuum all the dog hair lingering underneath my bed. Impressed, aren't you?

The husband I did get to see UVA take their fifth consecutive win of the season. And better yet, we watched the game in the comfort of a nice luxury box, with air-conditioning, an open bar and some yummy bbq. Thank goodness for the perks of the hubby’s job.

We also managed to brave the local berry farm to get our pumpkins. Much like Happy Homemaker, we were sort of over the crowd of family folks pretty quickly. I mean the air was charged and dads and kids seemed determined to find the perfect pumpkin, even if it involved jumping off a hayride that was not fully stopped. Next year, we’re going to grow our own.

Speaking of halloween, fret not LuLu and Dempsey do have costumes for 2007. And I’m not going to spoil the surprise for you. You’ll have to wait until November 1 to get a glimpse of their utter cuteness.

In other news, I am contemplating a major diet in preparation for destination wedding 2008. If I have to be pale in Mexico, I don’t want to also be 10 lbs overweight. So, I’m trying to figure out how to loose weight while still eating obscene amounts of M&Ms, not cutting out my weekly mashed potato intake and not really doing too much physical activity. If you have suggestions, do tell.

Hope you have yourselves a happy Thursday folks. Shout out to the husband who is having his first 4:00 boys happy hour in months. Please call me for a ride home if/when you all start taking shots. In case you’re interested - Grown Men Gone Wild at City Limit this afternoon !!

Things I Love

Who’s ready for the weekend, huh?

I thought I would leave you with a few fun bits before the weekend officially begins.

• Check out Abby Larson’s Style me Pretty Blog this week. She had a guest blogger this week, the ever fabulous Tara Guerard of Soiree Charleston. Her ideas are totally preppy chic with a little southern something. She also doles out some great advice on stylish entertaining. Here’s my favorite little tidbit (and I wholeheartedly agree).
  

"It’s important to remember that wedding details aren’t all about grand flowers and towering ice sculptures. Those may be the first items guests see, but they aren’t what guests are drawn to. The small and thoughtful details are what are remembered and give a glimpse into the personal lives of the couple."

• We’re getting our pumpkins this weekend, so Martha’s 15 Years of Pumpkins provides some great inspiration on what we’ll do this year to top the polka dot pumpkin of 2006.


• Lovin’ this awesome band for perfect downhome fall music. David Shultz grew up in my neighborhood and he’s a cutie. I actually got to see them while I was in NYC and they were better than seeing Ryan Adams in concert. They’re just starting out so buy their CD or listen on itunes.
  
• Adore this Bananna Republic dress I bought while in NYC (their flagship store has a whole floor of petites, so fabulous). It’s super cute and flattering!

Also - want to let you know Wedding Paper Divas is offering an early bird savings discount of 20% off their holiday cards. The coupon code is EARLY20 and the offer expires November 5!

Preppy Christmas Cards

Well, it is close to 90 degrees here in Richmond this afternoon and I find myself wishing for the fall. I want leaves on the ground, the justification to buy a pumpkin and to wear my brand new J. Crew houndstooth coat. I’ve been trying to make plans with friends to visit the local haunted forest and this weekend I’ll be heading back to UVA for the homecoming game!

And you gals know, once fall is here, we also get to do a preppy gal’s favorite thing. We get to pick out our super duper cute 2007 Christmas Cards. I just found out this morning that Wedding Paper Divas (who work in conjunction with Tiny Prints) are offering their very first holiday line. There are lots of choices (cards with and without pictures, holiday party invites) and I’ve selected my favorites below. They even have newlywed cards! So, take a look and get out your turtlenecks girls, fall is coming, I can feel it.

Inspiration Monday: A Preppy Secret Garden Themed Wedding

I’ve gotten a few e-mails from readers about how to throw a garden (or picnic) themed wedding without losing the pomp and circumstance of a traditional more elegantly themed affair. I think you can strike a perfect combo of preppy, sophisticated, witty and whimsical, you just have to make sure all your choices are well thought out.

Want to see what I mean, take a look at this affair on brides.com. I like the choice of a shorter dress, the influence of gingham and check in the reception décor and the use of natural floral elements mixed with tough fabric like burlap and felt. Also (most importantly) they didn’t theme the food to fit a picnic. Instead, they had a gourmet menu and left their guests with a witty take home dessert - smores!


Need some more inspiration?

Check out this featured wedding photographed by Mallory Mason.

Or this vineyard-inspired outdoor celebration

This cool slideshow from Kenny Pang Photography features a big, antique red truck straight from a J.Crew ad.

NYC

Hi everybody. Just checking in from the big apple looking out of an office window 56 floors up. Talk about a view. I’ve been having lots of fun on this trip, including, but not limited to:

• Having the best bagel I have ever had
• Descending into the city to have the pilot come onto the speaker to say that the planes brakes were malfunctioning (and then praying really, really hard)
• Hitting up Canal Street and finding some pretty authentic looking Longchamp bags
• Seeing this play on Broadway. The lead won the Tony this year for his performance and more importantly he is smokin. And you get to see his butt.
• Not witnessing in Sex in the City ladies yet, but I guess I should hightail it over here today. I did see Steve from Whose Wedding Is It Anyway, flamboyantly dressed on Fifth Avenue. Also, Elton from Clueless in SoHo yesterday. And I don’t have confirmation on this one, but if Miss Jessica Simpson is back to brunette, I also spotted her yesterday!
• Deciding that I wanted to be more New York authentic this time around by only taking the subway. The result? Lots of retracing my tracks and witnessing the strangest domestic dispute involving a pinching match.
• Celebrating my best friend’s 28th Birthday in style by not falling asleep and staying out until 4am on Saturday.

Whew, I guess I have been busy, which explains how tired I am. This city really does wear you out. I’m flying home on Thursday and can’t wait to see the dogs. And my super cute husband!

Hope you all have a great Tuesday.