Girl Meets Gown

4 weeks ago, I said yes to the dress. I know this post is a little late, but I wanted to share anyway because better late than never, right? :-)

I know that most wedding professionals recommend brides begin shopping for their dress at least 9 months before their wedding. Since Alan and I are having a pretty short engagement (just 6 months) I really should have begun dress shopping the minute I got engaged. But I chose to wait. It was important for me to fly my Mom in for this very special shopping occasion, and I was willing to risk having to pay ridiculous "rush" fees to get my dress on time if it meant my Mommy could be here with me to experience it all. 


So, Mom came to town and the hunt for the dress began the first weekend in March.
And it ended about 2.5 hours later. 


I had no idea where to shop for wedding dresses in Vancouver, so I asked around and Lisa's Bridal was recommended by many. I booked an appointment bright & early for Saturday morning. After a quick stop at Starbucks for some lattes, Team Bride - me, Mom and 3 of my lovely bridesmaids - headed over to the salon. From the very moment I stepped into Lisa's, I was treated like a princess. People have asked me if it was anything like what we see on the wedding shows on TV and YES it was! It was all that, and more. 


I arrived with a very specific idea in my mind of what I wanted. I wanted something feminine and flowy that would complement my curves - because, in case ya missed it, I am a pretty curvy girl. I wanted lace. I did NOT want a big ballgown or a full ballerina skirt (did that for prom, so been there/done that). I was definitely leaning toward a mermaid style ... tight and form-fitting at the top, flaring out at the bottom.


I showed Rita, the consultant, some magazine clippings of styles I liked, and she pulled some dresses for me based on those. She also pulled some dresses that she thought would look good on my body. I tried on a few of the mermaid style ones that I had been eyeing, and they just totally weren't cutting it. They didn't flatter my body at all. At the end of the day, the lady with 25+ years of experience was right. When I slipped on one of the dresses she had chosen, I got those little butterflies in my belly. When she brought over some lace sleeves that we could add on to the dress and held them up, I gasped. When I walked out of the dressing room and saw the looks on everyone's faces (and the looks on the faces of the group beside ours, too) I knew without a doubt. It was *the* one. 


The dress I fell in love with is absolutely gorgeous - it is everything I wanted, but nothing like I expected. It's a couture gown from Australia made of soft organza and dolce satin. It has the most intricate designs on the bodice and skirt, and it really fits my body well. To be blunt - it makes me look (or at least feel) like a super model. What more could a girl ask for, right? Done deal! 


It was only dress number 6 or 7 that I tried on. I thought about trying on more, just for comparison, but in my heart I knew I would never find another dress as perfect as this one ... and even if I did, I didn't want the agony or stress of having to choose between 2 or 3 gowns that I loved. So I committed right then & there, and ordered it. And, in case you were wondering, I ordered it just in time ... no rush fee necessary! Woot. 


So, 99 days to go until the wedding.
99 days until I get to wear this beautiful dress for all to see. 


And, on a completely random note - the show Girl Meets Gown on Slice is a bazillion times better than Say Yes To The Dress on TLC. If you haven't watched it, you should.


xox

And the princess wore lace ..

Soooo ...did you watch it?! Did you watch it?! I sure did. We turned our apartment into Royal Wedding Headquarters last night, setting up camp in our living room. We dragged a mattress into the living room - along with tons of blankets, pillows and hot chocolate - and Katie, Xinxin, Marcy and I nestled in for a long night of wedding watching. I don't wanna brag, but I think us west coasters were the most committed. The footage started at 2am our time. We watched the entire thing, from guests arriving to the kiss on the balcony, and only fell asleep around 5am PST.

It was so beautiful. SHE was so beautiful. Proof -

That dress ... gosh. Be still my heart. I am such a sucker for lace and definitely want some on my wedding gown, so watching her step out of the limo in that stunning dress was a thrill. She looked like a living, breathing, real-life princess. Oh wait. She is! :)

I'm so glad I got to watch this historical event with my west coast besties. We giggled, we ooohed, we ahhhed, Katie and I may or may not have gotten a little teary during the ceremony. Maybe I'm just a big hopeless romantic, but in a world where the news is all about war and crisis and destruction, it was such a pleasant relief to relish in the joy and hope of a young couple in love for a few hours.

I hope they are blessed with many, many happy years together. xo

Wishful thinkin'

I'm a little obsessed with jewelry these days. And since I have a birthday coming up (on the 2nd of May - feel free to send me cards, flowers and presents, lol!) I thought I'd share some of the items that have made my birthday wish list this year ~

Layered Rose Pearl Necklace (in white) by Asian i Candy, $9.00

Bow Studs in red by Shop Le Mode, $10.00

Mango Coral Necklace by MNG at JCPenny, $39

Are you a big jewelery fan? If so, where do you find most of your treasures?

xo

Wednesday Wardrobe

"You're so vain ... you probably think this song is about you ... " That's the song I should be playing as I post this, because I'm feeling a wee bit vain today. With my 25 birthday fast approaching, I've been starting to pay more attention to style and fashion. I'll never be a supermodel and I'll never be able to afford designer clothes, but I *do* like to look my age. I do want to look "put together" and stylish. To help me achieve this goal, I've been reading lots and lots of fashion blogs lately especially this one by Sydney and this one by Elaine - two twenty-somethings who throw together the most adorable outfits!

One of the things both Syndey and Elaine do is take photographs of their outfits. I've been inspired to do the same. They do this on a daily basis, but since I don't have all that many clothes I'm only going to post an outfit once a week ... so welcome to Wednesday Wardrobe, folks.

Today's Wednesday Wardrobe is inspired by Neil Diamond's song, Forever in Blue Jeans. Here's what I wore to sushi the other evening -

jacket - Blue Notes, $45

jeans - Angel Denim (from Winners), $25

shoes - Steve Madden, $45

purse - Le Mode Accessories, $60

uh oh.

Maybe it's the wet, rainy weather we've been having.

Maybe it's the lack of Starbucks.

Maybe it's that I'm just feeling kind of frivolous this morning.

Whatever the culprit, when I spied this photo on one of my new favorite blogs, I'm Clothed Much, I just about died right here in my seat. IT'S SO GORGEOUS. Classic. Elegant. Chic. Stylish. It's a city girl meets rural charm kind of purse. *So me* Or, at least, *so the me I dream to be*.

Photo from this post, no copyright violation intended :)

I had to have it. I just HAD to have it ....... so I bought it. A few clicks, and voila! It's on its way to me as we speak. (OK, well no, not exactly. They do need to process and ship and all that jazz. But it's coming soon-ish!)

I haven't splurged on an impulse buy like this in awhile but in all fairness, I *do* really need a new purse. Mine's getting a little tattered and torn. And this purse was just sooooooo pretty and it was a reasonable price and it's just soooooo pretty - oops, did I mention that already? My bad.

And, you know, because I was paying for shipping anyway I also bought these cuties:

The fact that these earrings and the purse will look great together was a total coincidence, I swear. Now if only I could find a pair of matching shoes ....

(Kidding. Sort of. Not really.)

Happy Wednesday loves!

xoxo

Oscar fashion

I know I'm a little late with this, but I wanted to post my favorite "looks" from the 2011 Oscars last week. I watched the entire show for the first time ever with my friend Marcy and it was a blast. We munched on snacks, attempted to predict winners and giggled at some of the more outrageous speeches (the infamous F-bomb dropped by Melissa Leo was priceless!). My favorite part, though, were all the pretty dresses. I'm a big sucker for ball gowns and evening wear. I would wear my prom dress to work every single day if I could. Here are my top picks from last night -

Reese Witherspoon wearing Giorgio Armani Prive ~

(I especially liked her hair ... this photo doesn't do it justice, but it was very 50's glam)

Hailee Steinfeld wearing Marchesa. ~

(Can you believe she's only 14?! What a stylish kiddo.)

And my pick for best-dressed has to go to the amazing Natalie Portman who wore a beautiful maroon gown by Rodarte ~

I think she looks like a Moroccan princess! And how cute was her acceptance speech where she thanked her fiance for "giving me the best role of my life?" Adorable. (She's very pregnant, in case you couldn't tell so the best role of her life will be being a Mommy, of course.)

I'm not gonna do the whole "worst dressed" thing because that's just mean. But I will say this - when I go to the Oscars, I'm gonna wear a big sparkly purple gown. Or maybe a pink one. Or a gray one. Or maybe I'll just buy several and do little wardrobe changes in the bathroom during :)

xox

Gimme Gimme ♥

For the past few weeks, I've been toying with the idea of a makeover. In a nutshell, I want to dye my hair, change my wardrobe and buy lots of cute stiletto heels. Reason? Well, I've lost 35+ pounds and none of my old clothes are fitting quite right anymore. As if that weren't reason enough, I just got a raise at work (helllllooooooo extra funds in my frivolous spending budget!) and there's a new year right around the corner so no better time for a make over than now! I guess what it really boils down to is that I'm now officially living this fantastic "grown-up" life and my university wardrobe of jeans and flip-flops and printed tees just ain't cutting it. I've been browsing fashion blogs this week in search of some fashion inspiration, and I'm totally in love with these finds -

Stella McCartney

I can totally imagine myself lounging around in this, sipping lattes. *sigh*

Badgley Mischka

I WANT this dress for my birthday party in May. I want it soooo much!

Club Monaco

This is totally appropriate for the office I work in & I love it.

I can't afford any of those items (boo!) and even if I could afford them I don't think I'd ever be able to justify spending $600+ on one piece of clothing. But I am serious about the makeover. It'll be great and it'll be done "on budget" - I promise, Mom! :)

~ xox ~

New Boots

If you live in Vancouver ... or, if you don't live in Vancouver but have a unique interest in watching the Weather Network on a regular basis ... then you're probably well aware that experts are predicting CRAZY amounts of rain on the west coast this winter. On the East Coast, you get snow and flurries. On the West Coast, we get rain and apparently this year we're getting lots of it. Yay. Can't wait. (And yes, that *was* sarcastic).

So, what's a girl to do? Go shopping for cute (and warm!) rain boots, of course! I found these beauties while strolling along Broadway Street this afternoon. They were on sale for just $60 at Shoe Studio, they're waterproof, they're lined (so they'll be warm enough to wear when I visit my sister in the winter wonderland that is Whistler) AND they're comfy. Oh, and they're purple. SOLD to the buyer with the matching purple purse!

~xoxo~

LOVE. ♥

Today, I went to a traditional Chinese market with sweet Xinxin who has taken me under her wing and is teaching me everything I need to know about Asian cuisine. I could write a blog post about that and share a recipe that I made tonight for the first time (Asian sesame pizza) ... but, instead, I am going to make this blog post completely self-centered and brag about my amazing winter coat ....

HOW CUTE IS MY COAT ??!??!??!

Picture it with a new purple scarf ... perfect, right? *happy sigh*

And here's the best part ... it was on sale for $45 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LOVE.

spring loves

spring loves - by stephette on Polyvore.com

I recently discovered this great site called Polyvore where you can play around with hundreds of images and make fun compilations. I'm not a fashion guru, but these are my predictions for spring: gray, bright pink, light blue and beige will be "it" colors ... cupcakes and owls will be the most popular images ... and, of course, classic pieces like a nice pair of jeans and a traditional Burberry scarf will remain in style. *sigh* I can't wait for spring.

-xox-