Busy busy busy...

November has been busy for me. With my daughter's bday and the holidays all falling within the same few months, things can get pretty hectic. Either way my daughter had her 4th Bday a few weeks ago. She had an "Under the Sea" themed bday party. We hung blue and green streamers all around the house to resemble seaweed and the sea. My bestie made my daughter's bday cake. I've seen "rainbow cakes" all along blogland and being the little baker that she is, I asked her to take a stab at it. I think it came out great! Very colorful and happy! Kudos Auntie Kelly ;)

Wedding: Mens Apparel

I have learned quite a few things from wedding planning as far as wedding apparel goes. For instance Mens Wearhouse has monopolized the Hampton Roads area. I couldn't find any other formal wear boutiques for men that wasn't a Mens Wearhouse. I remember they had Mitchell's Formal Wear-gone, all the places in the mall...all now Mens Wearhouses. So basically our options for groomsmen apparel was significantly limited. I originally wanted tan suits for the men to wear but after a trip to...Mens Wearhouse of course...we learned that we could only buy suits or rent tuxes. We didn't feel comfortable making the men buy $300-$400 suits so we are now opting to rent tuxes. I'd love to do these wheat suits from J.Crew. They are reasonably priced for the quality and fit but again we feel funny making our groomsmen buy tan suits. Tan suit aren't very practical to wear often so I doubt they would get much wear out of them. Luckily MW currently have these fabulous gray tuxes that work well with our whole casual, laid-back, summer wedding. We knew that traditional black tuxes definitely wouldn't go. So I am happy to have the gray alternative.


Next weekend I have an appointment at All the Rage in Hilltop. I am growing more optimistic with my dress search. I visited their site and picked out a few things and I'm excited to try them on. The prices are well within my budget too so fingers crossed! I'm also confused as to whether All the Rage in Chesapeake is the same? The VB site has a disclaimer saying they are the "original" but I was always under the impression they were owned by the same people? Guess not. Just seems silly that they would have the same store name I guess? Anywho wish me luck!

I've been tagged!

Hooray for my first award! Fellow Hampton Roads blogger, Flip Flop Bride has awarded me the Sugar Doll Blogger Award, thanks so much! I am quite new to the whole blogging scene so I really don't know who to tag, so I'll just continue by answering the questions. Without further ado here are 10 random/interesting facts about me:

1. An entrepreneur from the start, when I was little I would collect wallpaper samples from the interior design sections of department stores and make bookmarks out of them to sell to my classmates for 10 cents.

2. To deter myself from boredom on long shopping sessions with my mom when I was younger, I would collect all the sequins and beads on the floor of the dressing rooms for craft projects.

3. My fondest childhood memories include collecting things from my yard and making "potions" with them out of my moms empty perfume bottles.

4. My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. Cookouts, warm weather, fireworks...what more could you want in a holiday. That and my wonderful fiance proposed to me 4th of July weekend, making it an extra special holiday.

5. I barely wear shoes with laces or that need socks. I am not much of a sneaker gal, my casual shoes are a pair of good ole black ballet flats.

6. I am ALWAYS late.

7. Growing up I wanted to be a journalist like Barbara Walters hehe.

8. To this day I resent taking piano lessons instead of continuing with ballet class.

9. I love puzzle games.

10. I can only finish the "short" size of coffee at Starbucks.

THANKS!

Wedding: Dress Search Part 1

As far as wedding planning goes, right now I am searching for my "it" dress. Unfortunately, I want my dress to be a big surprise for everyone except my lovely mother and bridesmaids, so I won't be posting pics of what I have been trying on. That and the fiance does occasionally read my blog (such a supportive fiance isn't he?). I will be posting and sharing my experiences though. Hopefully it helps other brides in the area figure out where they want to shop.


My first stop I went to was Pure English at Hilltop, in La Promenade shopping center. I knew I was going to a higher end boutique that sold designer gowns but I'm glad I did. I am glad I got that movie-esque experience of trying on wedding dresses where the attendant helps you in and out of the gown. Mind you at Pure English you change in front of whoever you bring, so you may want to keep that in mind :P The sales lady was very helpful but she seemed a bit short tempered with my daughter. So I suggest not bringing little ones. I did find a wonderful, wonderful dress. But of course it is more than I am willing to spend. So beware if you do want the quintessential dress shopping experience do visit a higher end boutique. But be careful, you very well may fall in love with a dress out of your price range.


Secondly, I visited David's Bridal. The ladies were sooo friendly. I suggest going to their website and adding dresses you like to your "Wish List," then print it out and hand it to your sales lady on the day of your appointment. I did this and the process went by so much faster. I already knew that I liked all the dresses on the list so I wasn't wasting time with dresses that just weren't what I was looking for. Once she got an idea of my style she felt comfortable enough picking dresses in the store for me and she did quite a good job at it too. Keep in mind David's Bridal is off the rack, so yes it is much cheaper but you are getting what you pay for. You may be buying a dress that hundreds of other ladies have tried on so you want to keep in mind the cost for alterations like bead tightening and such. But I was pleasantly surprised with their selection and prices. Unfortunately, none of the dresses really got me overly excited, so for now the search goes on.