Our Wedding Wednesday series just got kicked up…several notches! The fabulous Rolf’s Salon and Arizona Weddings magazine will be filming a series of bridal videos where I share my favorite tips, tricks and tools for creating your own Glamorous Desert Wedding. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes peek at my wedding planning, too! (I’ve even dragged my handsome fiance along for the ride!)
Whether you’re on a budget or money is no object, I’ll show you how to create sizzling style on your Big Day! Here’s episode 1! Check back to this post and I’ll keep posting more videos each week.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 13
Episode 14
Episode 15
Episode 16
Episode 17
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 20
Episode 21-Our Wedding!
If there’s any questions you have for me or things you want to hear about for your bridal planning, I would love to hear them! Most of you know I’m a freelance writerand have been writing about the bridal industry for nearly a decade. But now that I’m actually going to be a bride, it’s a whole new ballgame to explore.
Anything you would like me to answer in the videos? Leave a comment below! I’m excited to be able to share these with you guys so be sure to stay tuned and check this post for more each Wednesday!!
Choosing what to wear for a day at the office can be stressful enough, but when you’re faced with a “business-casual” dress code, it gets a lot harder. Knowing how to show your personal style while still dressing appropriately for work can throw up a lot of problems, so we thought we’d help you out with a few suggestions on how to prepare for any task you’ll undertake during the 9-5 grind.
The Commute
The key here is to remember that you’re battling against the elements, while trying to stay comfortable. Wear something that’s comfy and won’t get wrinkled for important meetings.
Scary meetings with clients
Depending on your job role, you’ll need to make sure you’re conveying the right impression and making them feel that their company is in capable hands. Try to wear something that shows your personality, without going over the top (no crazy prints or neon shirts) and smarten up your look with a well-cut blazer to give some authority to your outfit.
Slaving away at your desk
You need something comfortable, warm enough to deal with the freezing a/c but cool enough to cope with hot summer days. Store some flat shoes under your desk for general office work, and cover up with a neutral cardigan to tone down any bright or revealing dresses.
Payday liquid lunches
A leather or biker jacket can work wonders here; it toughens up any girly work wear and stops you looking too boring after being stuck at your screen all morning. Just throw it on over a summery dress and leave your flats on so no one knows how liquid your lunch really was.
After-work drinks
This is where you get to cast off the neutralising, smartening apparel you’ve been wearing all day and put on some killer heels to glam up for a night of socializing. The right dress will work in any of these scenarios, especially one like this green bodycon dress we’ve picked out; it’s figure-hugging enough for a night on the town, but easily dressed back down with opaque tights and a jacket. Eyeliner, foundation and lipstick will cover up those early-starts and make it look like you haven’t worked a day.
I got a fun summer manicure. It’s cheeky, don’t ya think?
I also discovered the cutest little Scottsdale boutique, Kellie’s, which recently opened next door to Wildflower Bread Co. over at the Scottsdale Seville shops.
There was a little early birthday celebration for my fiance. I’m thinking we need a wine cellar like this in our future house, don’t you agree?
We also started shooting for a Big Surprise I have in store for you later this week! So stay tuned everyone! I’m super excited to share the big news.
I’m jetset again in just a few days and this time, it’s to the other side of the world: Gold Coast, Australia.
Beautiful, right?
To be honest, it’s not a place I know much about. Yet. But when a chance to go to Australia comes your way, you just say yes.
Qantas Airlines is flying me out for this press trip where I’ll be taking stand up paddling lessons, visiting the rainforest, getting up close and personal with Koalas and indulging in a few spa treatments. I’m being hosted at three Amazing-looking properties and can’t wait to share with you! Stay tuned for more details on my trip
In the meantime, it’s almost time to pack! What shall I wear??
The arrival of some swatch samples for my wedding invitations. I’m considering going the DIY invitation route so yes, this is exciting.
Penne bake for our Friday date night new recipe to try. And by new recipe I mean we make it up as we go along. It was quite tasty.
I got a blowout with B. The Product owner, Brandon Martinez this weekend at Neiman Marcus. He sells a fabulous dry conditioner which sprays on clear instead of leaving behind a white powdery mess. At just $22, it’s reasonably priced too.
Lastly, there was Mother’s Day and a lot of shopping that happened at Target this weekend. I ended up somewhat raiding The Webster for The Shops at Target collectionthinking it’s going to be oh-so-fitting for my upcoming honeymoon.
Who doesn’t like french fries? Too bad it’s hard to eat them without an avalanche of guilt coming on immediately after. I’m a total sucker for good truffle fries. Modern Steak and Zinc Bistro make some of my favorites. But it isn’t hard to make some tasty fries at home. And since this recipe for parmesan garlic fries is oven-baked, it cuts the fat in half. Enjoy!
3 pounds peeled baking potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick strips
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons butter
8 garlic cloves, minced (about 5 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag, tossing to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning after 20 minutes.
Place butter and garlic in a large nonstick skillet, and cook over low heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add potatoes, parsley, and Parmesan cheese to pan; toss to coat. Serve immediately.
I’m not a huge fan of wedding guestbooks. At least in the traditional sense of a book with signatures that will sit on my coffee table collecting dust for eons. But there’s a slew of creative ideas for guestbook alternatives that I could fall for.
What’s a hip hotel to do when they’re featured on the cover of Conde Nast Traveler’s Top 100 Hotelsissue? Throw a pool party with mermaids and models of course.
We popped by The Saguaro in Scottsdale to check it out and ended up dining at their new restaurant, Distrito. It’s “Modern Mexican” which is just a fancy way to say dressed up Mexican favorites in tapas sizes.
We live on a resort, which means our backyard is on a lakeside golf course. Saturday morning walks and feeding the ducks is actually pretty nice.
Saturday night we celebrated my cousin’s college graduation. There also happened to be a lot of Puerto Ricans screaming in the house over the Mayweather-Cotto fight. All I saw were some hot pink trunks and a Justin Beiber-50-Cent-Mayweather gang I never thought I’d see.
Lastly, no, I didn’t get myself a little treat. I did, however, teach the fiance how to spot a fake Louis Vuitton when a way-too-glossy damier print walked into the party we were at. Hey, I can count that as a proud moment and a weekend highlight, right?
I went to Kohl’s this week. (Pausing for your reaction.)
I know, I never shop there. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve entered into Kohl’s a total of two times in my life. The first was when the store first opened in Arizona. I remember it vividly because the anticipation was huge; people lined up to get in at 6 am and for weeks before the opening, I remember hearing that The Great Kohl’s would soon open its doors in our desert. My mom and I went with great anticipation. We went, we saw and I looked at her and said, “Feels like a giant Mervyn’s to me.”
This week, however, I was a little early to a meeting and the Kohl’s was next door so I decided to stop in. I’ve been on the hunt for some new glasses and lo and behold, there was a giant sale on all Food Network kitchen items.
Maybe it’s the Bride to Be in me, but I’m suddenly obsessed with collecting all sorts of cute entertaining dinnerware.
The woman in front of me was as well and she stocked up on $500 worth of goodies.
As for me? My total savings was $114. I scored a condiment set and a 16-piece glassware set for a whopping $27. Total steal.
Kohl’s, I may be having second thoughts about you. At least for kitchen items, that is.
Too lazy to go to the store to buy an engagement ring? It’s cool, there’s a few apps for that.
After getting the perfect engagement ring, it’s been really hard to consider what I would pair this halo with. I’m not sure I’m feeling the matching band and to be honest, am considering leaving it as a standalone piece, a trend some brides who are also equally obsessed with their engagement rings are doing.
And after shopping forever for the perfect engagement ring for me, I can’t exactly drag the future hubby to a million stores. I can, however, send him pics of me trying on rings right from my iPhone. Because, of course, there’s an app for that.
Simon G. jeweler has a really cool iPhone app that lets you browse their designs and virtually try on rings. Just take a pic of your hand and adjust the ring image to fit! It’s pretty entertaining and the best part is, it’s not just engagement rings; there’s anniversary rings and fashion rings, too.
You can easily email and share the photos with friends, which makes it super easy to drop hints. There’s also a “find ring size” tool but when I tried using it, it was off by about a size and a half.
There’s a Tiffany & Co. Engagement Ring Finder app too, but it’s limited only to their engagement ring selection. And while you can virtually try on rings by selecting a ring and choosing a skin tone for the model hand, it isn’t actually yours. And there’s no way to share the look with anyone unless they are there with you.
I can already see this becoming a total time suck.
What do you think of virtually trying on jewelry??
>