Virtual Target Shopping

Hey guys! I don't know about you, but every time I step into Target, I have to brace myself, because I know I won't be able to resist spending a ton of money on things I don't really need! From clothes to jewelry to home decor, I can never seem to resist the lure that is Tar-jay.

So today, just for fun, I thought I'd do a little virtual Target shopping. No money spent. Just looking online at target.com for some cute stuff! It's kind of like a wish list of things I'd totally buy if I was at the store. Sound fun? K, let's start!

I've divided my picks into 4 different categories - these are all things I can't resist when I go to Target: Accessories, Clothes, Shoes, and Home Decor.

First up...the Accessories! Here are a couple of scarves that are perfect for chilly fall weather, and I'm loving these Target handbags and necklaces, too.

1. Plaid blanket scarf in burgundy

2. Faux leather cross body bag in navy

3. Black faux leather satchel

4. Infinity scarf in navy

5. Gold bar necklace

6. Chevron weekender bag

7. Long pendant necklace

Next, Clothes. There are some pretty great fall styles this season. I love the fit of Target jeggings, and every year I buy multiple sweaters from Target. All of these items look super comfy and cute.

1. Tan sweater/ cardigan
2. Off the shoulder top in navy

3. Modern fit Ashton jegging

4. Oversized sweater in burgundy

5. Utility jacket in moss

6. T-strap babydoll printed top

On to Shoes - I can't resist a good pair of leopard print flats. And I love the zipper details on these boots.

1. Faux suede ankle boots in charcoal

2. Leopard print pointed-toe flat

3. Boots with buckle detail in brown

Finally, my favorite - Decor. How cute are these animal statues? You know I love some good animal figurines. And textured blankets and pillows are kind of my favorite, too.

1. "Gather" decorative pillow
2. Gold giraffe figure
3. Sweater knit throw in silver
4. Metal fox sculpture
5. White berry wreath
6. Macrame throw pillow
7. Gold and marble tray
8. Velvet square throw pillow

Well, that was fun! What Target items are you loving right now?

Suit Shopping in Peoria

Hello again! Here today to share our third, and final experience looking for a suit! Saturday we made a little trip down to Peoria, Illinois to continue our search for a suit for Trent to wear in the wedding. We were determined to find "the one" this time. The search for the perfect suit has been a long one, since about February. This was our third time actively looking, and I'm happy to report that we finally found the one!

Back in February we started out at Men's Warehouse and thought we would rent a tux. That went out the window when Trent didn't really find any that he was smitten with, and started leaning toward a blue suit instead. In March, we went to a few department stores, and he liked a navy blue one, which I didn't really think was too bad. But it didn't have a matching vest with it, and Trent wanted a little lighter blue color than that.

So we decided to take a trip down to Peoria this past weekend, where there are several shopping centers and malls, and lots of places to choose from. And hopefully we'd find one. I'm so glad that we did after a few more hours of being unsuccessful and starting to lose hope!

Here's the one he chose:

It's a tad lighter blue than the one he tried on before, and there was a matching jacket, vest, and pants. Plus, it was on sale! We found it at Bergner's in The Shoppes at Grand Prairie. It's a nice outdoor mall with lots of newer stores, and we really found their suit department to be the best one all day. A lot of stores had different suits scattered around the store and not in one main department. This one had so many more to choose from all in one spot, which made it a lot easier to find the one you're looking for. The only drawback was that the guy working in this department was a little strange, but hey, at least we found the suit!

He'll have to get it tailored a little, since it's slightly long in the sleeves and pants, and the vest is a little big, too. He ended up getting the three pieces, and the white tie. We'll still need to get a white button-up shirt and pocket square. He wasn't completely sold on this shirt, since it had cuffs at the end, and we didn't really like the look of the cuff sleeve. This may be the way he'll be wearing it at the end of the night though...

Another thing we'll need to complete the look is some nice dress shoes. But, we're one step closer now, and next we'll just have to figure out what the Best man will be wearing! 

Afterward we found an Irish Pub called Donnelly's, and had some drinks and dinner on the patio to celebrate.

It was such a nice day, and the food there was delicious. So was the Founders Raspberry beer!

So happy we were finally able to find a suit. Even though I would've liked to shop a little more while we were in Peoria, Trent had to work a security shift Saturday night from 8:00 pm to 3:00 am, so we had to get back after we ate. We did stop at DSW in the mall though, and each got some new shoes for summer! Trent got some new Adidas sneakers, and these Sperry's. I got these Steve Madden sandals. So that was my one splurge of the day. Can't wait to wear them on our honeymoon. :)

Wedding Planning Update: The Accessories

So, this past Easter weekend was full of lots of good things, including shopping, family, and nice weather! Friday, Trent and I spent some time in Galesburg, and Saturday, my mom and I had a day full of wedding shopping. One of the fun things about planning a wedding is that you get to shop for pretty accessories, and get pampered a little bit.

I had my hair and makeup trial bright and early Saturday morning, at 8:00 am. I went to Pure Hair Studio in Davenport, and they were awesome. It wasn't too busy on a Saturday morning, and it was such a nice day. I had my hair trial first, and it was styled just the way it will be for the wedding, which was kind of exciting.

I don't want to give too much away - we got photos of everything when it was all done, the front, the sides, etc. but I'll just show you the back view for now:

I'll have a veil on the day of, along with my earrings, and I'm also planning on wearing a flower in my hair. I'll probably get a faux one, and I've been looking around on Etsy a lot for the perfect one. I'm not sure yet which one I'll choose, but here are just a few that I like:

After Ashley at Pure did my hair, I then got my make up done! Once we tweaked it a little, I really liked the end result. I got the airbrushing, which was quite a bit thicker than I was used to, but it may be worth it because it does stay on a long time. I didn't want to take it off that night, because it was still so perfect! When I tried everything on - the earrings, the veil, along with the hair and makeup, I definitely felt like a bride. I won't spoil it all and reveal the entire "look," but here's a little preview of the makeup, too:

My mom and I went to Chili's for lunch and then shopped afterwards for some of my accessories. I needed shoes and a clutch. I also looked a little for a garter set, but didn't see much, and I think I'm going to purchase them online.

These were my favorite shoes of those I looked at online, so we searched several stores for them (and any similar wedding shoes) including Dillard's, Younkers, David's Bridal, DSW, and Von Maur. I didn't find them in any of the stores, and I wanted flats, which I discovered are not the easiest wedding shoes to find! These are the Cake Flats from the Blue by Betsey Johnson line.

I loved these because they're feminine and pretty, and the bottoms are blue! It would be perfect for my Something blue.

Online, I also found similar shoes from the same Betsey Johnson line that I liked as well - The Encrusted Bow flat, and The Joy flats.

In the end, I ended up buying the Cake flats online from Zappos.com. They're supposed to get here soon, so I'm anxious to see what they look like in person, and on my feet. :) Hoping they work out and are officially my wedding shoes!

I also ended up getting this pretty pearl clutch from DSW:

I had seen this one while looking online, and ended up getting it Saturday in the store. I love it, and think it will be perfect for the big day!

I already have what I think will be my earrings, and I'm not planning to wear a necklace. My mom has a small bracelet that I might wear for my Something Borrowed. So that takes care of my jewelry. My next step is to buy the flower for my hair, and my garters. Then pretty much all of my accessories (and my whole "look") will be taken care of. One step closer!

Tux Shopping

So yesterday we had our first tux appointment for the wedding. I say first, because it seems like it's going to take a few more until we figure out what we want! To say the least, it wasn't too succesful. We made a 2:00 appointment at Men's Warehouse, and we quickly realized that it didn't matter if you had an appointment or not. There were just two tux rental consultants, and they would help you when they were done helping everyone else. Losing our patience and a little frustrated (there were no chairs in the store so we had to stand the whole time), about 40 minutes after 2, it was finally our turn.

I could tell from the get go it was going to be a frustrating appointment. Trent and I already disagreed about what we wanted for tuxes. For the most part, we both want a charcoal gray color for the guys, but Trent is set on being different. There's one nice dark gray tux at Men's Warehouse that you can rent (The Vera Wang), which I think looks fine, but Trent doesn't want to look like every other guy - he wants a more "flashy" look. The girl who was helping us convinced us that a suit would probably be the way to go, since there weren't too many rental options for tuxes available in what we wanted. The bad part about Trent buying a suit, is that it is probably going to be more money, and the other guys would either have to buy the same one, or they would rent or buy a different style and wouldn't look the same.

To say we were a little overwhelmed and indecisive at this appointment would be an understatement! We decided to get Trent measured and try a gray suit on to see what it looked like. We thought trying some things on might help us decide what the best option would be. So he tried on a suit, but...there was no "wow" factor, and he wasn't impressed.

I didn't think it was bad, maybe with a lighter tie, but is a suit like this formal enough for the wedding? It looks like he's going to a business meeting or a funeral. It just didn't seem like we were getting anywhere, so the girl sent us over to the retail suit department to look at some more options.

This seemed even more overwhelming (so many options, do we even want to go this route? Wouldn't renting all the tuxes be a lot easier?) We talked to a guy there for about 5-10 minutes, and finally just decided we need to do some more looking, maybe look online, and at some other stores, before putting in stone what we want.

Who knew tux shopping was going to be so difficult? It seems like it's going to be similar to finding my wedding dress! This may take a couple of months...so that's where we're at with tux shopping! Tux or suit? Who knows! And for Aaron's (the best man) outfit, I'd like a subtle pop of peach, maybe in the tie and the boutonniere. But to my disappointment, Men's Warehouse didn't have the David's Bridal color Bellini as an option in the guys' formalwear yet. Apparently it's a new color for 2015. So they don't even have a peach color. Looking at the swatches they have there, I thought that the Petal color would be close, but the girl said that it's actually a light pink. And unfortunately the coral color is too bright. 

Looks like we may have to look around and do some color matching ourselves for the tie! And we might try some other tux rental places, since this one only really had one good tux rental in the color we were looking for. I said the honeymoon has been the hardest thing about wedding planning so far...this may come close!

On the plus side, I picked up my veil yesterday. Another piece of the ensemble complete!

Bridal Expo and Wedding Shopping Weekend

It's Super Bowl Sunday again! And I'm super excited to see all of the commercials. (The game, not so much...) I haven't watched any of the commercials online yet because I wanted to wait to watch them during the Super Bowl. :) We have gotten a ton of snow overnight, and it is still coming down today. We could get up to 10 inches! Needless to say, we probably won't be heading out and going to any Super Bowl parties...maybe just walk across the street to the neighbors' - aka Trent's aunt and uncle. :)

This weekend was full of productive wedding shopping and idea-gathering, and today I thought I would share a little from our adventures yesterday! Last year around this time, we attended the Davenport Jaycees Bridal Expo, getting ideas for my sister Haley's wedding. This weekend we went again, this time for my wedding! I brought along my mom, Haley, and Trent as my partners in crime. We had a good time and did some other wedding-related shopping afterward, too.

Like last year, there were a TON of bakeries and cake shops at the expo. Of course, Trent and I have already booked our cake shop - Olde Towne Bakery. But that didn't mean we couldn't look at ideas and taste some of the yummy cakes and cupcakes there!

These cakes were definitely my favorite of the entire expo. I just wish I could remember which bakery this was because it totally slips my mind! We saw way too many that day. I thought these were the prettiest, though.

We got our share of sugary sweets yesterday, that's for sure. We sampled tons of cake - my favorite-tasting one this time was a toss-up between the strawberry-filled cake from Olde Towne, and the salted caramel frosting on the cupcakes from Hy-vee. Yum!

I didn't take any other photos at the expo, but it was overall a good time, and we did a lot more than just cake tasting. The main thing we were wanting to get done is to register Trent for tuxes. We signed up with Men's Warehouse and will be making an appointment to try on suits and tuxes and get that taken care of soon. I also wanted to stop by the Pure Hair Studio booth, to talk about some wedding hair and make-up options, and I'm really glad I did! I got a few tips and ideas and just may be making an appointment soon!

It's always fun going to Bridal expos, because you never know what you'll learn, or even what you'll do. I got a free ring cleaning, got some wedding hair ideas, a lip gloss application, and even participated in a magic trick! Like always, it was fun and productive, and I definitely recommend going to one if you're planning a wedding.

After the expo, we headed to the mall to do a little shopping. Haley and I spent the majority of time in Sephora. I love this store but always get so overwhelmed at all of the different make-up options! She's kind of a make-up enthusiast, so she gave me lots of tips and ideas for the wedding. I had to take pictures of some of the products so I could remember what to buy for next time.

Apparently the Make Up for Ever brand makes a great foundation, and it's a good matte foundation for photos. I use their mascara, but have never tried the foundation before. Definitely on my list to do.

Haley recommended the Too Faced bronzers...they smell like chocolate! I'm planning on trying their mascara, too.

This Amazonian clay blush from Tarte is supposed to be great. I will definitely be trying this soon. I use a Nars blush now and want to switch my everyday blush, since I feel like the one I have is more for evenings and going out. It has lots of little glitter in it, and I want a more matte one for everyday.

I am definitely in need of a brow pencil of some sort. I've never really filled my brows in before, and that's something that I probably need to start trying. I've always been a little scared of it looking "fake", or not getting the right color. So some experimentation is needed! Will probably be trying the Brow Wiz from Anastasia Beverly Hills soon.

After getting a ton of make-up ideas, I met back up with Trent and we stopped at Helzberg to look at wedding bands for Trent. We found the perfect one almost immediately. 

The first one we saw and Trent tried on was the one we ended up purchasing! It's a 6 mm tungsten band, and the size was even perfect, so no ordering was even necessary. It was the perfect ring, really classic and looked like it was made for him. We took it home that day. So excited to have that done! It's my Valentine's Day present to him. :)

After the mall, we all ate at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Lunardi's, then Mom, Haley and I headed to our appointment at David's Bridal for Haley to try on bridesmaid dresses. We have a really small wedding party - no flower girls or ring bearers, and only one bridesmaid and groomsman each. Another way of keeping the wedding a simple, intimate, mostly family gathering. So Haley is my only bridesmaid that I needed to pick a dress for. This made it pretty easy...whichever dress looked the best on her is what we went with!

And this is the style that we ended up going with. Again, this is the first dress she tried on! None of the dresses she tried on afterward looked half as great, or fitted her as well. Instead of the royal blue color though, it will be in this peachy color:

The hardest part was choosing the color of the dress. The colors that were too light, weren't as great with her skin tone, but I wanted to keep it in the pink-peach family, and the coral colors were a little too bright for the look I was going for. So peach (or Bellini) it was! Yet another thing checked off the list. That's what I love doing these days..

Looking online afterward, it looks like this will be the dress, though the color looks a lot different online (much more orangey):

I like the look of the long dress, even though the wedding will be outside in August. I think it looks a lot more romantic and elegant and fits with the vintage-meets-modern style we're going for.

Overall, I feel like we were really productive yesterday, and I love seeing even more elements all coming together. Getting even more excited!

Wedding Day Hairstyle Ideas

Time for another wedding planning update. Saturday I got to pick up my dress! It arrived in my size, and it actually fit almost perfectly as is. I will have to schedule an alterations appt. soon though, to get the bottom hemmed since it's a little too long. There are a few other small changes I'll need too - since we're having an August wedding outside, I really want to make sure there's not too much excess fabric or crinoline. No major changes though. I'm excited to finally have my dress in my own hands!

Along with picking up my dress, I also ordered my veil. I plan on having a simple veil along with a simple, white flower in my hair. I've been looking at various hairstyle ideas for the big day and am gathering them up here. Most of them I found via Pinterest.

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I really want to keep it simple and maybe add some nice earrings, too. The only question - real flower or faux flower? I've seen some cute ones on Etsy, like this one. I don't want something too blingy or feathery, or something so huge it overwhelms me! The search is on...

Most Recent Antique Store Finds

Hello lovelies. It's really starting to look and feel like fall out there. Still have mixed feelings. It gets dark at an ungodly hour these days, and today it rained nonstop all day and was a chilly 60 degrees most of the day. It shall be winter soon...Lord help us.

Anywho, wedding planning has been in full swing and is going smoothly, although nobody really likes to play the waiting game....but we all know how that goes. So I've mostly been on the hunt for milk glass vases, which we will be using for our centerpieces. Our wedding "theme" is "Vintage garden elegance," so I'm going to be collecting assorted vintage milk glass vases for the tables to hold tons of pretty flowers.

The Knox County / Spoon River Scenic Drive was last weekend (an awesome event with tons of flea markets and yard sales), and that was quite successful for finding milk glass, as well as some pretty cool vintage pieces for the wedding, including an old faded green, paint-chippy shutter which I thought would make some pretty cool decor and a way to display photos of us. And an old wooden box I think would be great for holding cards.

I also checked out a couple of antique stores this weekend we had never been to, including Skeleton Key Art & Antiques in Rock Island, and Living Vintage in Eldridge, Iowa. Both stores were really great, and I found a ton of milk glass at Skeleton Key. I only found one vase at Living Vintage, but they had some awesome restored vintage furniture there.

Here's my total loot from the Scenic Drive, and my recent Antique store trip:



You can see the card box and the shutter behind ALL of my new milk glass vases! All that stuff was well under $100 thanks to some awesome deals. The old shutter was $10, the wooden box was $12, and the vases were anywhere from .25 to $7 for a couple of the larger ones. Most were $1-$2. Not too shabby.

This next find isn't wedding related but at Skeleton Key, I saw this unique owl necklace and had to have it! It truly looks one of a kind, and may very well be. I love the gold/mint green combo, and this owl is so flippin adorable!

It was $16.99 but I decided to get it, because I would probably never see anything like it again, and I was already smitten with my new owl friend.

So those were my recent antique/flea market/sale finds. What have you found lately that's super unique?

My Necklace Holder - An Update

Back last winter, I made (with Trent's help) one of my favorite small projects to date. A necklace holder.

I needed one of these desperately and saw tons of them around - at the stores, on Pinterest, etc. Chunky necklaces have become popular over the past couple of years, so I had all of these big necklaces but no place to hang them. So I decided to make one myself out of some wood and some mismatch knobs.



Today I wanted to share a little update about my DIY necklace holder, in case anyone else has thought about making one. Since making it I have gotten quite a few new necklaces, and it still holds them, no problem. I am here to tell you I still love this, and if you're thinking about making one, DO IT. It has seriously saved my life!

They now hang right on my bedroom wall, and are all right in front of me, so I never have to worry about finding a necklace again. I have one for every outfit right in front of my face, which makes getting ready ten times easier in the morning. They also make really cool shadows on the wall when the sun shines in, which is totally a bonus. :)



So, long story short, this is a DIY project that is well worth it for me! You can see more about how I made this here.  I also made an earring holder a couple of years back, which has equally saved my life! Give it up for jewelry organization everyone! And Pinterest. :)

Decisions, Decisions...

So, I mentioned the other day that I'm finally about to become the proud new owner of an iPhone! I have been waiting what seems like years for this. (Let's face it, it probably has been years.) November 8th is the day my cellular carrier will finally carry the iPhone. (Hello, US Cellular what have you been waiting for?) But now comes the hardest decision I've had to make in a really long time...choosing a case. I figure I might as well start picking one now, since it might take a while to arrive if I order it online. So which do I choose? So many cute ones! After looking around, these are my current favorites:

1. Pie for Breakfast case, Emily Rickard - from Society 6, $35
2. Asking for Directions case, Emily Rickard - from Society 6, $35
3. DANNIJO case - from Shop Bop, $98 (This one is a bit out of my price range, but isn't it pretty?)
4. Glitter Jubilee case, Kate Spade New York - from Nordstrom, $40
5. Le Pavilion case, Kate Spade New York - from Nordstrom, $40
6. Paint Strokes case, from Rifle Paper co., $36
7. Lyla case, Tory Burch, from Shop Bop, $60
8. Pastel Leaves case from shopampersand on Etsy, $39

I cannot wait to get my iPhone next week! I know I'll love it! I'll keep you updated with which case I choose. :)


**UPDATE: I  finally got my iphone, and I got the 2nd case above - "Asking for Directions" by Emily Rickard, bought on Society 6. I love it!!