Making the Rounds...

As I was making the rounds on google (and twitter and facebook), I stumbled across this awesome site for purchasing wedding (and home) accessories: Luna Bazaar. They have awesome accessories, including vases that I am in love with! The best part? The prices!

This vase, for example, is only $2.95!

I  absolutely adore vases and glassware, especially in mass quantities. Don't tell Justin, but I want one of each. ;)

They also have a variety of paper lanterns, candle holders, napkin rings, perfume bottles, etc, etc... It would be the perfect one-stop shop for wedding or event decorating or a great place to buy things to decorate your home on the cheap. To make your shopping experience even better, they also let you shop by color! What better way to find exactly what you are looking for! :)

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In other news, Justin and I are gearing up for the summer as well as continuing in our spring cleaning and organizing.


Last night we bought 6 tomato plants from Costco. We thought we were only buying 2. Oops! It's a good thing I like tomatoes! (But do I like them that much?!)


Justin also worked on cleaning out from under the stove, while I got creative with our sewing supplies. (Apparently spools of thread belong next to the cookbooks. Don't ask why. They just do.)

Over the weekend, Justin and I are planning on spending some time at a carpet outlet store. (I'm planning on spending some time in the Pottery Barn outlet store as well!) We're still looking to buy enough carpet for a rug. We may buy the Ikea dresser this weekend. We'll see how much time we have.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend! :)

Iphoneography & Five Awesome Camera Apps

So after doing such fun posts yesterday, I had no idea what to post today... except that I am IN LOVE with a picture I took and edited on my phone (BluxPhoto, Instagram, and Picstitch). Apparently this month I am obsessed with images. 

With this shot, I just had to keep repositioning myself in front of these roses, so that neither artwork nor doors nor kids were in the shot. I didn't think it was working... I didn't think I was getting the flowers saturated enough... and then I threw it into instagram and I think "Ok... This is working..." THEN I throw the image into picstitch thinking I'm going to create a combined image along the theme of "Roses are red, violets are blue..." (Why not purple? ... I had a picture of purple flowers as seen below that I was going to use in a 3 picture template.) but as I went to do that, this magic thing happened with the roses. I can't even explain it. (Filters in Picstitch.) All of a sudden my image was crazy saturated red... and white (or grey)... and... perfect in a completely imperfect I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter way. 


As mentioned above... I also shot and crazy saturated some purple flowers...


But then the rain came and I had to go inside. Instead of giving up for the day, after I left work, as I sat in my car waiting for the rain to stop, I saw flowers and ivy through my raindrop covered window which I had to shoot. Other than being dreamy and out of focus, this shot makes me happy. Rain should always make the world dreamy and out of focus. And yellow. (But yellow equates to happiness, right?)


So anyway, I thought I would take a moment to share my five favorite Iphone Camera apps.

1. BluxPhoto - This is currently one of my favorite apps for capturing images. There are SOOO many options for capturing photos that I can't even begin to tell you all of them. I usually shoot on auto or macro mode. I do love using the Delhi filter since it often seems more saturated than auto really allows. There are options to shoot with the camera facing out... or in... And my true love, behind having a focusing point that you touch when you are ready to take a photo, is that you can see a histogram of your image as you are shooting. Being a crazy Photoshop person and having studied histograms more than I care to mention, it is an awesome way to make sure you are getting the brightness/darkness you want as well as keeping your color in check. Like I said, there are so many options within Blux that I have no idea about, but I can say that, even with my limited Blux knowledge, it makes it hard to ever think about going back to the regular iphone camera.

2. ProHDR - As the next one on my list, this is my next go-to camera app. Don't even get me started about how much I dislike iphone HDR. ProHDR doesn't always get the image right, but more times than not I find it obtains two pictures with the right amount of light in each. (Obviously one image is dark and one is light.) I have taken so many images with this app that I love, I'd have a hard time not recommending it.

3. DMD - If you need to capture panoramas, this is the best app I've found for that. Basically you hold your phone vertically and press the "start" button making sure the blue and white half circles meet as you work your way around the scene. When you are done, you press the "finish" button. Originally these pictures would save in your photos folder, but now you have to make a point of saving them to your photo folder. Yuck. (Please fix this DMD.) I've definitely gotten some fun panoramas with DMD. Just make sure to hold your phone as steady as possible when turning it otherwise you may end up with a few "bumps" and "hiccups" in your photos. 

4. Instagram - Please tell me you know about Instagram! :) Okay, so if you don't... Instagram is a fast photo editing program that uses filters to make your photos look... more saturated, old, less saturated, black and white, sepia toned, etc... It's not amazing on it's own, but it is fun when you don't have photoshop on your phone! Plus it's a quick and easy way to share photos with friends and family. You can easily post your pictures on twitter, facebook or e-mail them. 

5. PicStitch - Less a photo taking or editing app, Picstitch allows you to edit photo templates making it easy to fit multiple photos into a small square or rectangle for using in instagram, showing before/after, or even posting multiple images all at once rather than posting one image at a time (great for an event). It's fun, and it's free. What more could you ask for?

The Honorable Mention goes to Nightcap. If you have issues taking images in low light settings with your iphone, this may be the app for you. Because it uses longer exposure times, you need to hold the camera as still as you possibly can. The nice thing about this app is that it shows you the shutter speed and ISO. Unfortunately, this app confuses me. I never know if my image was taken or when I can move my phone again. Ack! The app seems to get stuck after taking a picture. As soon as you move the phone, it comes back to life, but, like I said, that doesn't really help me in determining if my shot was taken. (Nightcap, help?!)

So there you go... Five awesome iphone apps for shooting beautiful images, editing, and sharing with your friends. (You know you want to!)

** I have not been compensated for my opinions. My opinions are my own, and I love using these apps.
*** If you steal my photos, I will find you and murder you. I promise. However, if you want to repost my photos giving credit to me, you are free to do so.

Curtains & Housewares

I think I had mentioned last week that Justin was going to go back up to Ocho during their 42nd Anniversary sale to buy fabric for curtains. At $1.99 per pound, I assumed we would be getting the most fabric for our money. Justin came back with lots of fabric (approximately 4 bolts) for approximately the price I was expecting to pay for two curtain panels at Wal Mart (which I assume is the cheapest place to buy panels). Considering we were going to need enough panels to cover at least 4 windows (that needed to match) in our living room/dining room area and 2 windows (that did not need to match) in our master and spare bedrooms, we were looking at a lot of money being spend on curtains! Obviously when I received the e-mail from Ocho saying they were having a sale, I jumped at it!

While Justin didn't find a lot of fabric that would be very useful to us, he did return with a bolt of organza which we will be cutting into panels for all of the windows in our house. I like the prospect of doing two layers for the windows. (I never claimed to have cheap taste!) We are looking at doing a top layer of some sort of thick(er) fabric and a bottom layer of organza.

Slate Blue Curtains

Something like this awesome set of turquoise curtains found at World Market except with our white organza covering the little bit of window you still see. Speaking of turquoise, we are actually going to be using turquoise in our living/dining area! Justin wasn't able to find any awesome fabric at Ocho on sale, but they have had some in the past. We may have to go back this weekend to get the fabric at a per yard price rather than the cheaper per pound price (or we may just purchase these awesome panels from World Market that, in my opinion, are reasonably priced!). Justin did find a pink fabric and a cream fabric with leaves that we might could use for the curtains in our spare bedroom. We aren't quite sure which yet, since we haven't bought a bedspread for the room. For the master bedroom, we may just stick with the organza, because I'm not in love with our royal blue Anthropologie bedspread. I can't see us keeping it forever, and I don't intend on spending a lot of money on curtains that won't match our bedspread or look good in the bedroom years down the road.

Even though Justin and I were babysitting most of the weekend, we did find some time to go check out a few home improvement stores for ideas and to make a few purchases. We ended up returning home with some Martha Stewart curtain rods to encourage Justin to complete the curtain-making process prior to the arrival of our May guests.

Martha Stewart Living Egg Telescoping Curtain Rod Set

Justin and I disagreed on whether to use these oval shaped rods or to use more circular shaped rods. We ended up going with the ovular, because that's what I liked. We decided to bring them home and test them out. Justin was afraid with the small space between two of the living room windows that the rods would look too wide. When we brought them home, he quickly changed his mind. However, we have not yet put the curtain rods up to determine if they are in fact our ideal curtain rods for that space.

DesignView Maple Providence Bamboo Roman Shade

We also got a roman shade for our kitchen window. Right now the kitchen has some white shutters that always get splattered with food. (I think that is one of the downsides to marrying a cook.) Anyway, I thought it would be awesome to have a shade we could pull down when we wanted privacy and lift up when cooking. Justin isn't sure if he can secure the shade the way the window was made, but we bought it anyway, so that he could try.

Hemnes Dresser

A trip to Ikea showed us that we were both interested in getting a Hemnes dresser for our spare bedroom. The roof slants and considering we already have a wardrobe in there, neither of us thought a tall dresser would be ideal for the space.  Considering our wardrobe is the Birkeland, we considered the Birkeland dresser for a moment (so that the handles would match), but inevitably Justin and I both liked the structure of the Hemnes better. We've decided that while this month would be a bad month for making another purchase, when we buy it next month to finish the spare bedroom, we will buy the Birkeland spare knobs and dresser handles to complete the dresser's look and make both the Birkeland and Hemnes go together more seamlessly.

Our final stop this weekend was at a thrift shop in town called Last Chance. They donate their proceeds to the care and protection of animals, so you don't feel too badly about the money you spend there (or the donations you give). While we were initially just browsing for anything cheap that interested us, we found a full set of China. I began the process of buying this particular set before getting married when I ran across it at an estate sale. It was missing a bunch of pieces, but it was such a good deal that, despite not having the cash on me, I convinced my parents to pay for it (with me paying them back after a visit to the bank). Then they decided to finish purchasing the set for Justin and I for our wedding by paying astronomical prices for pieces at antique stores when really the china wasn't worth that much to me (or in general). After finally convincing them to save their money and quit buying crazy expensive dishes that weren't worth it, two years later... I found a complete set of that same china for a crazy price that I wasn't willing to pay. The caveat was that the store was having a sale this weekend where anything that had come to the store prior to February 1st was half off. At half off, Justin and I were willing to pay for a complete set of china.


We're actually pretty excited about this china. We currently have approximately 20 place settings, so our intention is to use it as normal day-to-day china. (Is there such a thing?) Knowing that we have so many place settings, we aren't very worried about it breaking. Plus, it will be fun to serve friends and family on fancy matching plates! :)

With new silverware, China, and placemats, I will have to set up a display to show you how our diningware is looking! :) Dinner party in our near future, yes?

Miroslav Sasek (a children's author)

So, I had never heard M. Sasek, a 1960's author of children's books titled This is _____ until today.


I had to share, because the books look exciting.

If you click on the "look inside" for the This is Paris book on Amazon, it shows how Miroslav Sasek incorporated words from the French language into the book. Plus, the illustrations are gorgeous! At the end of each of his books, the author has side notes about how the area in question has changed since he wrote the book originally!

I may be tempted to purchase a few of his books. :)

New Items at BHLDN

I'm sure I've shared this before and I am sure I will share this again...

I LOVE BHLDN and the majority of the stores in the Urban Outfitters line. This morning, BHLDN posted a bunch of new things on their website. This is pretty exciting since it is only the second year they have been open. It seems, to me, that the BHLDN line just keeps getting better! While I don't check out the website enough to tell you what is currently new, I can share with you a few things I have not seen before on the website that I LOVE!


Up until recently the Tea Rose Dress only came in a light rose pink color. When I saw this dress in this turquoise color, it didn't matter how much the original went on sale... I wanted to wait for this one to become available. Although I cannot currently afford or justify the $380 price tag for this dress, which also now comes in gold, I am absolutely in love with this dress! Maybe it will go on sale at some point, so that I can purchase it! (Or maybe my husband will be awesome and let me at some point... We shall see.)


While I have no desire to ever get married again, I am absolutely in love with the Onyx gown now available at BHLDN. The front of the dress is gorgeous, but I love the back of the dress with the elegant lace, the flowing skirt, and the beautiful bow detail. Plus, what are your thoughts on the model's hair? :)


Finally, I stumbled across these bits of gorgeous. They are the Parlour Cake Stands and look very similar to some cake stands I had wanted to use in my wedding. The pink is a gorgeous color, but I am not entirely sure the husband would agree to put one of his cakes on these beautiful stands, so, for now, I will have to admire from a distance!

Are you currently loving anything at BHLDN? :)

Florrie Mitton

Forever Lace Garter with Rhinestone Trim

So you have your dress, the venue is picked, and now it is time to decide on the small details that you may or may not remember about your day. You have to pick out the decorations, the rental company for plates, and... the garter. Are you doing a garter toss?

I have to admit that I had absolutely no interest in having my husband pull my garter off with his teeth or through any other method. Probably a good idea since, on the day of, I completely forgot to put mine on! (Just goes to show that even when you have a gazillion lists you will still likely forget something! Especially when you are as forgetful as me!)

Aphrodite Beaded Garter

When I was researching garters, the garter I most wanted (but did not get) was a Florrie Mitton.

If you are not considering wearing a garter, you probably will after seeing these. Just keep in mind that these garters are expensive. They are handmade in England using vintage findings, beautiful crystals, fine laces, and silk.

So what do you think? Would you splurge for a Florrie Mitton garter?

Romance

Jazz Music @ Amazon

Just in case you were interested, Amazon currently has a wide variety of jazz music up for grabs at the low price of $.69 a song. Go check it out if you are trying to build up your music collection, preparing a wedding song list, or just want to know what is available!

Margaret Whiting

If I had known about Margaret Whiting when I got married, you can bet that I would have included her in my reception playlist. I just stumbled upon "Time After Time", and I love it. You should go give it a listen. :)