travel lust

today i have some very exciting news to share (with all four of my followers! ha!) soon i will be headed to europe!! i'll be traveling to amsterdam, brussels and paris with my boyfriend, and rome, florence, venice and london with my mom. this trip is a dream come true, and i could not be more grateful or elated to have this opportunity. below are some images i've been lusting after over on pinterest. i can't wait to see these places in real life!!!

amsterdam.
(pretty excited to eat raw herring ride bikes everywhere.)

paris.
(i've been before, but i was young. plus i'm obsessed with the place.)

venice.
(my italian fantasies have been completely insatiable.)

london.
(i've been before, but don't remember a single thing except for h&m.
shameful, i know.)

antrim, ireland.
(not going there, but it looks so beautiful, i had to include it. maybe next time?)

girl crush: short hair

girl crushes are 100% real, folks, there's no point in denying it. and this week the apparent theme, or genre if you will, of my girl crushes has been short hair. maybe it's the summer heat kickin' in, or i just want to cut all of my own hair off, but one thing's for sure--short hair is sexy, and it's here to stay.

(short and sexy sparkling here)

wedding wednesday: california ranch

today's wedding comes to us from the always lovely green wedding shoes and features a breathtaking ranch/desert-style wedding that is straight outta heaven. the backdrop is absolutely stunning and i'm quite obsessed with the color palette. too much good stuff. i hope you enjoy as much as i do!

this is the most creative entrance i've ever seen.
seriously one of a kind and seriously dramatic.

so much to love, it's almost too much.
i especially like the varying bridesmaids dresses.
not everyone can get that right but these are some of the best in their class.
also, v-neck lace can do no wrong, in my opinion.
and those dried flowers--so perfect for the setting.
ok i'll stop obsessing now.

(a kid's table is a great idea. then again, so is not allowing kids at the wedding. that's what my parents did and i think it's genius. just sayin'.)

i am of firm belief that it just doesn't get any better than this.

(all loveliness sparkling here)

romance cure

after a nice weekend, today is really turning out to be a sucker. (and a 12-hour sucker at that.) so, to get through it i'll be imagining that this is my monday instead:

(sparkling here)

no fireplace?

no problem!

a salvaged mantel can be transformed into an eye-catching display bookshelf. 

i bet a salvaged bookshelf could be transformed into a mantel too, sans fire, of course. 

oh! if only i had the time, resources and creativity. owning a house would also be a step in the right direction.

 

(shelf/mantle reincarnation sparkling here, of course)

wedding wednesday: best palm springs wedding ever

in life, is there really a better strategy than aiming for the best? i don't think so. being the best, doing the best, and having the best time is crucial. so what better way to approach your wedding, just like lilia and ryan did here, literally calling their wedding the Best Day Ever. genius.

that dress is perfect. she looks adorable. and a personalized tote is an awesome favor.

what gets me about these photos? it's the hanging poms, obviously.

i think this might be the best day ever, personified.

yummy-looking appetizers and super smart bud vase place settings.

best day ever: mission accomplished.

(all photos sparkling here. and mad props to photographer, sean flanigan)

business as usual.

hello! i'm back from my trip home to the bay area. it was such a great weekend, but ultimately bittersweet in that having such a fantastic time makes leaving again that much harder. fortunately, i am not too far away from home and will only be up in washington for another month before making the (at least semi-) permanent move back.

because my camera was sort of out of commission, i was only able to take pictures on my super high-quality blackberry camera, so while i won't be able to post any photos from the trip, i'll just let you know that i:

• sat through the worst baseball game ever. (3 runs walked-in, giants? really??) but still had a really great time.
• had some seriously quality bonding time with my mom. she's the best.
• got to see my wonderful boyfriend and have a relaxing night out with him.
• met my family's new (and first) dog, rowley, the cutest, sweetest papillon-long haired chihuahua mix ever. i am obsessed.

so yeah, pretty awesome. much like this shot:

(sparkling here via here)

be back tomorrow for Wedding Wednesday!!

i want to get back...

... to my city by the bay!

thanks to inspiration from journey, some help from my mom and a time-sensitive flight voucher, i am headed home to the bay area today! i am SO SO excited to be back in that beautiful place for the weekend and have been sending my mom, boyfriend and friends endless emails about all of our my plans, which will include some combination of the following:

• a giants game
• a trip to the beach
• this movie
• a trip to see this exhibit at the MoMA
• and some of my favorite east bay food haunts (authentic burritos, deep-dish pizza, and fro-yo among them)

(fantastic etsy print sparkling here (such an awesome shop!!) via here)

see you next weekend! have a great one!

wedding wednesday: reem arca bridal collection

i've decided that my wedding obsession can't really be ignored on this blog another moment. (ok. so it wasn't really being ignored before--or here, here, here or here. or here too-- but let's just say it's time for some spotlighting!) thus, from this day forward, wednesday will become... get ready for the originality... "Wedding Wednesday"!!! as you can imagine, i will be posting real engagements, weddings, decorations, invitations, venues, and as i've done today, dresses!

like most girls, i've dreamed of my wedding dress forever, but as this post attests, i cannot narrow it down to one particular style. then again, with gowns this pretty, who could blame me??

_____________________________________________________________________________

(all reem arca gowns sparkling here)

shoe art

allow me to introduce israeli shoe designer and artist du jour, kobi levi, and his remarkable creations:

toucan pumps

chewing gum sneakerheels

basket platform sandals

banana slip-ons

slingshot stiletto sandals

puppy pumps

slide heels

aren't they spectacular? i think the shoes really speak for themselves, but if you'd like to learn more about kobi and his work, please go here and here.

weekend lounging

i'm going to be working full days all weekend, and although i'm going to enjoy it, i know part of me is going to be craving one of these comfy loungers--especially come 5 o'clock on sunday! don't they just look like the place to be for all summertime activities (paramount among them being reading, napping, drinking, tanning, and chatting with friends)?? something about their roundness just makes them look even more inviting, i think...

(sparkling here via apartment therapy)

(sparkling here--original source unknown)

(sparkling here via here)

south african wedding

if i'm being perfectly honest, there are usually only three things that make me fall in love with a wedding: a delightful attention to detail in the ceremony as well as the reception, the overwhelming attractiveness of the couple (you do too, admit it!), or the undeniable beauty of the location. very rarely can i find all three of these factors in one single wedding.

however, the first time i saw this wedding i was dumbstruck. i couldn't figure out why--it contained all things necessary on my "drool-worthy wedding" checklist, but there was something else too. i bookmarked the post and forgot about it until today, and upon reexamination i've realized what makes this wedding oh so special--it's the raw emotion conveyed through the photos. so kudos to rebecca and bruce of love made visible--you guys sure know how to capture the moment. take a look...

love the industrial feel of the barbed wire combined with the sublime beauty of the south african landscape.

proteas! be still my heart!

succulents and proteas and mismatched vases, oh my!

such fun colors here.

colorful garland--a sign of good times.

seriously handsome, right?

the bride's pose here really sets the mood for the relaxed nature of the wedding, i think.

lace dress--so classic. wildflowers and proteas--so fun.

enter: pomegranates. and adorable self-made(!) sandals.

i'm obsessed with this one.

and this one.

here's that emotion i was talking about.

so sweet and personal.

gotta love jumping pictures. got to.

with a dress like that, who could resist sunset shots like these. gorgeous.

i swoon.

the kind of moments everyone wants memorialized through film.

congrats to katrien and marinus!

(all sparkling here via here)

i (clearly) love everything about this wedding. the backdrop, the flowers, the tablescapes, the dress!, everything. this is my rustic, relaxed, diy dream wedding. i think the real glory must go to the photographers here though. thank you, love made visible, for this lovely gift.