Fashion Fridays: BHLDN Fall 2011 Preview

My lovelies! T.G.I.F!!! I have been quite absent from the blogging world, but I wanted to give you an update in La-La Linh World.  The past couple of days have been INSANE!  I feel like I've been living a dream...a very wonderful enchanting dream.

The BHLDN event we had on Wednesday evening was a HUGE success!  (Caution: I am about to name drop like no other!)  I met some WONDERFUL ladies and admired others from afar (like Joanna from A Cup of Jo). :) I got a chance to meet the brilliant faces behind blogs I have followed for forever (like Jillian from 100LayerCake...eekkk!!!) and I got to meet some of our sensational designers including Anna Sui, Debra Moreland, and Bettye Muller. Speechless...just speechless!

On top of that, twitter and bloggers have been talking about the unveiling of our collection which is SUPER exciting.  I snapped a few pictures and wanted to share them with you. Hope you guys enjoy!  We are just a couple weeks away from the GRAND OPENING!!!  Be ready to be amazed...

THIS SET WAS BREATHTAKING

THE LOVELY BHLDN TEAM

GLOVES ARE COMING BACK IN FULL FORCE

NICE AND FLUFFY

THAT'S JILLIAN FROM 100LAYERCAKE!!!

Life's Happenings...

My lovelies, how was your weekend?  Spill the beans - I wanna know what you did! Ours was GREAT in so many ways and not so much in other ways...but even the "not so much" was a good thing. Let me explain.

THE GREAT - Received a phone call on Friday with the most exciting news EVER!  Let's just say it includes a trip to New York and Philly where I will have a WONDERFUL opportunity to meet my new team and attend an amazing event with some of the top wedding bloggers out there (some of whom I probably stalk on a weekly basis).

THE GOOD - Red Boxed it like it was going out of style! I think we saw 4 or 5 movies...none that I would personally recommend.  However, it was nice to lay low with The Husband. 

THE NOT-SO-GOOD - We saw AT LEAST 10 houses last weekend and didn't like any of them. Blah.  The up side is being able to cross them off our list and move on to other potential homes. 

THE UGLY - Ah yes. The ugly happened this morning. I woke up at 530am and drove my hubby so he could hitch a ride with his coworker to work. When I got home 20 minutes later excited to get back in bed, I searched for my keys...nowhere to be found. SHUT. UP. It is now 6am.  I called him and you guessed it, he had the keys. This is the story of my life.  So, I had to drive ALL the way to his job (which is like 50 miles round-trip) to get the key.  I left at 530am. Finally got in the house at 715am. Nice.

I guess I could have sulked in my own self-pity, but that wouldn't have unlocked the door.

Times like this I wish Tyson or Ally knew better tricks. 

Can you believe I even contemplated breaking a window? 

I know...so sad...

So, with that being said, here are some illustrations of how I was feeling...

Sometimes you just gotta laugh it off!

My First Thought - OH SNAP...

My Second Thought - IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?...

My Last Thought - WORDS FROM THE WISE...

WORD...

:)

{Images via Pinterest}

Happy Friday!!!

Today's post deserves EXTRA exclamation marks because it's FRIDAY!!!!! Woot! Woot!  This week FLEW by in a snap!  What do you have planned for the weekend my loves?  We will be viewing more homes (yes, we are STILL looking...sigh), having dinner where I will be consuming LOTS of carbs and sweets because it's the weekend and that's how WE do it, and probably raiding Red Box for a few movies.

I have been SO busy I haven't had a chance to post an outfit but I will get on it this weekend! In the mean time, I just spent the last hour redoing my blog banner.  I felt girly and pink so I went with it and BAM! That's the outcome. Whatcha think?

My darlings, I am SOOO excited to start the weekend 

so I am heading out but NOT before I do 3 things: 

one is to post this AWESOME picture I found on Pinterest...this is how I feel right now!

two, to share this AMAZING poster because I plan on 

laughing a lot this weekend but want to caution you:

and third, to remind you that WHATEVER you do this weekend, spread...

some...

POSITIVITUDE!!!

See your beautiful faces on Monday!!!

{Images via Pinterest}

Friday Faves...

Morning Dolls!  Having a serious case of random thoughts today 

and wanted to share them with you!

HAVE A SUPER FUNKY FRIDAY MY LOVELIES!!! 

My Favorite Reminder For Today...

Feeling Like A Superwoman In These...

And Loving The Inspiration From Here...

Can't Wait to Get Home And Do This...

And This...

And Eat A Piece...or Two...or Three...Of This...

THAT would be a perfect Friday.

{Images via Pinterest}

In My Closet...Floral Pleats

T.G.I.F dolls!  Hope this Friday has been SUPER good to you!  I woke up this morning TOTALLY excited to call mom and wish her a WONDERFUL Happy Birthday.  Still half asleep when she answered, I belted out the birthday song like bad karaoke and she loved it. Then, the convo went something like this:

MOM: Thank you. That's so nice, but you're one day late.
ME: WHAT?  No way mom. Your birthday is on June 30th.
MOM: Yes it is, but today is July 1st.
ME: WHAT? No way mom. (Long pause) Today is Friday June 30th.
MOM: (Laughing) I think you have been working too hard.
ME: (Long pause) Oh my God mom! I am SOOO sorry!!!

We sure had a good laugh about it. Mom - I LOVE YOU and Happy (Belated) Birthday! Can't wait to see you to celebrate!

Before I leave you for the weekend, here's something I'd LOVE to wear on a nice weekend outing.  I am crazy for PLEATS and floral prints right now!  What better way to feel pretty and girlie right?  And, this is in my FAVORITE color!!!  The beautiful vintage pleated skirt will be added to my online store for some beautiful belle to flaunt.

Here's to a beautiful festive weekend! 

Be safe and spread the POSITIVITUDE to old friends and new ones too!

Jewelry: Gifted / Top: Express / Belted: Vintage / Skirt: Vintage / Shoes: Nine West

Wedding Wednesdays: You Had Me at BHLDN

Hi dolls! Happy Wednesday! So...I have been DYING to spill the beans ALL week long on some good news, but I wanted to wait until today...and for good reason.  Remember THIS post about BHLDN opening their VERY FIRST store in Houston?

Well, they were looking for a Bridal Manager....so...I applied...and...I...GOT THE JOB!!!!  All I can say is God is good and I am SO incredibly blessed!  Let's just say they had me at BHLDN. Sigh...I have been floating on Cloud 9 for DAYS now!  This should be a GREAT opportunity and I am honored they picked me out of all the qualified applicants.  The store is ALREADY booking appointments online and ladies from ALL OVER the US are flying to Houston to see the store. Isn't that great?!?  So, if you visit, PLEASE look me up and I'd be happy to help with whatever I can. Plus, it would be AWESOME to meet you!

In celebration of the great news, I'm posting about their popular "feathered" theme. LOVE all the accessories! This has been a VERY popular whimsical theme for some time now with the birdcages and nests but it is ALSO trending into the fashion world as well.  Something to keep an eye out for.

ENJOY MY LOVES and make it a SPECTACULAR day!!!

via

Happy Friday!

via

Hey sweeties!  Today has been such a GREAT day!  It's hard to have a bad Friday...kind of like messing up spaghetti...just can't happen. Before I go, here's a few things that made me smile this week:

(1) YOU GUYS...duh!!  You ALL have been so wonderful to me and I wanted to give a quick shout out to my new blogsters! Wadduppp homies? You guys ROCK!

(2) When asking someone what THEY did today, it is really code for "I don't really care what you have to say. I was just trying to be nice."  This happened to me...except I was the rude one. Opps! As my cousin was about to reply, I interrupted him to tell him about my day.  His facial expression was priceless, but in my defense, my actions were a result of pure excitement, not disregard. We had a good laugh about it. LESSON LEARNED: Always be courteous.

(3) Eating a cupcake...at 1030am. Oh yes....that day was a VERY good day.

(4) Bringing a small bag of chips to work to feed my potato and salt addiction only to realize I had ANOTHER bag in my drawer. DOUBLE SCORE.

(5) Watering our front lawn is FINALLY paying off.  Who knew grass ACTUALLY needs water to survive? I thought that was a myth for the longest time...

(6) I saved the best for last.  This happened yesterday.  When sending an email to your spouse about the realtor's behavior and antics, make sure it's ACTUALLY going to your spouse...and NOT the realtor.  I think this deserves the "wanna get away?" logo signed, sealed, and stamped ALL OVER IT. Think we'll ever hear from him again??

Have a FABULOUS weekend FULL of POSITIVITUDE!!!!

Rock out and make it colorful!

See your beautiful faces on Monday!

Wedding Wednesdays: Our 6th Month Anniversary

Morning dolls and Happy Hump Day! I woke up this morning realizing it's ALREADY Wednesday and wondering "is it REALLY June?"  Where has this year gone??? We've been riding life in the fast lane, living it up and loving every moment together.

Today is also a very special day for the Husband and I because it marks our 6th month anniversary.  You may be thinking "who celebrates half year anniversaries anyways?"  WE DO!

In celebration of our special day, we rummaged through some old photos of us and wanted to share them with you.  Enjoy friends!

Our FIRST trip together to Ixtapa, MX for both of our birthdays.

The picture is a little blurry, but I was oompa loompa orange!  Too much sunless tanning trying to impress him.

Our FIRST relay race together (Muddy Buddy).

Shortly after this, we exchanged 'i love you's.'

Our FIRST 24-hour trip together.

We surprised our friends at their wedding in Mexico. GREAT DAY!

Our FIRST time to Ohio (for a wedding).

Had such a great time!

My FIRST time trying White Castle. I know...we're dorks! Haha!

Great times at our cousin's wedding!

He proposed a week later at a Christian concert. It was perfect.

Ringing in 2010 the RIGHT way!!

Our FIRST time to San Fran. GREAT time w/ WONDERFUL company.

This was the only trip we took in 2010. Can't wait to go back!

NOW - More in LOVE with each other than ever before.

To MANY MANY more years together. 

xoxo

-linh

Back to the Grind...

Good morning lovelies!!! I feel like I haven't blogged in years. Took a short break to hang out with family this weekend and although it felt great to have some "downtime," I REALLY missed you guys!  If I haven't already, I WILL be responding to your emails today so hang tight. I REALLY appreciate all of my little blogsters and tweeps.

I LOVE long weekends, but I hate getting back to reality.  Is anyone else having a hard time readjusting to work mode??  Thankfully, today is a short and very easy day at work for us. On another note, I wanted to give you an update on my hair.  I know all of you were anxious to see my new locks and let's just say I LOVE it!  Brandy did SUCH an amazing job!!!  She thought the Ashley Simpson look looked best on me (which you can see HERE) so we kept the length, but thinned out SO much of my hair.  She probably thinned out at least 1/2 of my hair.  The layers in the front of my hair start from my cheek but the back layers are SUPER short to give me the look I wanted. Wish I had highlights so you guys could see it better, but here it is. Whatcha think?

BEFORE

(This was actually in Vegas a few months ago)

THE MASSACRE

(ekkk!)

AFTER

(sleek and smooth)

Happy Friday!

via

 

Hey dolls.  The boss just left so that means I can scadaddle out of here too!  

I hope you ALL have a FABULOUS weekend filled with 

happy company, fun-filled activities, and loads of

POSITIVITUDE!

See your beautiful faces back on Monday.

Thankful Thursdays: A Little Name Dropping!

This post was meant for LAST Thursday but with the crazy Blogger outage, I couldn't post anything. Bummer.  This is kind of a long post, but I think you'll enjoy it.

I wanted to make a SPECIAL post for today to THANK some VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE.

Not sure if you noticed my new banner (which has been up for a couple weeks now) but isn't it great?  I wish I could take credit for it, but I had nothing to do with this little project. I received a nice email from Danielle from The Lenz Family saying she enjoyed reading my blog and made me a "little something" she thought fit my personality and the blog's character.  I actually know Danielle through a mutual friend and I have known her husband since 4th grade! Crazy - I know! However, I never knew she was such a crafty creative person!  I had been working on finding a design for my banner, but nothing seemed "perfect."  After I saw what had made for me, I gushed with joy! Totally unexpected but SO MUCH appreciated. It's so gratifying to know there are sweet people out there like her that do things like this...just because. Thanks Danielle!  If you haven't visited her blog, please do!  She is amazingly talented and has such a great eye for amazing designs.

---------------

Now, on to the awards I have received.  I got The Sunshine Award from H Rija from My Lyfe; My Story which came so unexpectedly.  However, I am so happy and flattered she nominated for me this.  Check out her blog HERE. Such a talented lady! As you know, I am all about POSITIVITUDE on my blog so this was really an honor.

The second award I received is from my blogging BFF's Mendi and Jayme at Her Late Night Cravings.  I can't even remember how I met these wonderful gals, but I think we were best friends in another life.  They are such great and talented women. I LOVE their blog which is FILLED with endless beauty and fashion tips. Thanks for giving me this award!

The third award I recently received is from Brittany of Swirls of Happy.  She listed me as one of her top blogs she reads daily and I think my confidence shot up a couple notches after I read that. I can't even remember who found who first, but as soon as I came across her blog, I started following her right away.  Why? Honestly, because she is beautiful and her kids are soooo adorable. Ha! Seriously, though, her blog is similar to mine in that she writes about all things that inspire her and she lets us catch a glimpse of her life which I love. 

So...the rules of the awards are fairly similar but instead of listing 30-40 other bloggers, I will just tell you 7 facts about myself.  Yes - I am changing the rules but it's because I have a "Link Love" page where I list my favorite blogs I visit on a daily basis.

The rules are as follows:

1.) Thank & link back to the person who sent the award

2.) Share 7 things about yourself

3.) Award recently discovered bloggers

4.) Contact these bloggers & tell them about the award

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FACT #1: I didn't realize I snore at night until I met my husband. Even then, I didn't believe him until I woke myself up one night. Craziness! 

FACT #2: My hair is NOT that of a typical Asian. I actually have crazy lioness hair. It's wavy and frizzy and the Chi is my best friend.

FACT #3: Every time I see Chicken Fried Steak on a menu, I have to order it.  Here's the story behind it: before my husband and I started dating, I was volunteering at his clinic.  At the time, I was interested in Physical Therapy and needed hours for the Masters program.  Any who, one day for lunch, he offered to buy takeout for the clinic. He thought I would order a salad or something incredibly healthy, but to his suprise I blurted out "I want the chicken fried steak."  I was very hungry that day.  From that point on, he knew he was in love.  We told this story at our wedding reception and got some good laughs. "You had me at Chicken Fried Steak." 

FACT #4: I am patient and happy like my mother, a prankster like my father, and am a spitting image of my grandmother when she was my age.

FACT #5: I have 1 older brother who always takes me out for free lunches. I LOVE that about him!

FACT #6: I am a HUGE carb lover. Potatoes are my weakness.

FACT #7: I cry at movies...even action movies. Does that make me weird? I think so, but that's ok.

EXTRA FACT #8: My husband and I hug for 1 minute each day and it's usually after work around dinner time. I know it sounds strange, but with our busy lives, this is something I really look forward to each day. Trust me, that 1 minute is a looooong minute.  We hug it out and usually laugh at the silliness but we love it.

In My Shopping Bag...

Good morning my sweeties! I gotta say - I had a fantastic weekend. How about you?  Kind of sad it ended so quickly, but I am always excited to see what next weekend has in store for me. Besides Mother's Day, we did a whole lot of NOTHING. Yay!  Never thought doing nothing would make me happy, but it was nice to have some downtime with my husband, relax, get my chores/errands finished early, and prep for Monday morning. {Sigh} AND we have clean sheets and towels which always makes me oh-so-very giddy.

On Saturday I spent the day shopping with the ladies for Mother's Day and we did some damage.  Mom got a purse, blouse, a watch, and a navigation system from my brother and I.  Love that lady!  Seriously, I had to refrain myself SO many times from buying EVERYTHING in sight.  This is what happens when you don't shop on a regular basis.  It just builds up inside you and when you DO get out, you go nuts. Does that ever happen to you??

Ok...so I did go a little wild BUT (and you will be happy to know) that EVERYTHING I bought was on sale. The sales for Mother's Day were ridiculous...ALL thanks to awesome rockstar MOMS.  So, I thought I'd share my goodies with you. Brace yourself. It's pretty awesome and you may experience a bit of jealously after reading this.  That's ok. I would be jealous of me too.  Enjoy my loves!

COACH- Originally $358; on sale for 65% off! Holy moly!

NINE WEST- 2 pairs of shoes for $80 TOTAL

GUESS - Originally $150; on sale for 50% off

TARGET - Originally $12.99 each; on sale for 50% off

I love shawls and these colors are beautiful!

TARGET - Summer Necessities: $12.99 Floppy Hat; $12.99 Sandals; $16.99 sunglasses

(Ok...so my husband bought me these so they are technically "free")

AND I noticed these sandals match the dress I won below!

 Remember these beauties? I won these a couple weeks ago in giveaways and they arrived over the weekend. YAY!!!! LOVE THEM!

Lynzy from Sparkling Footsteps hosted a giveaway to win an outfit from Peacock Plume and I won that amazing floral dress. Can't wait to wear it!

Annette from Swanky Tables held a giveaway to win Stella & Dot goodies and I chose these 2 fabulous bracelets. Still can't believe I won 2 giveaways in 1 day.

THANKS AGAIN LADIES FOR HOSTING THESE GREAT GIVEAWAYS!

Speaking of giveaways and free stuff, today is the LAST DAY to enter my giveaway to Pottery Barn, West Elm, and Williams-Sonoma.  The contest closes TONIGHT so enter now!  The winner will be announced Tuesday morning. Wouldn't it be nice to start the week off right as a WINNER? Yay!  Don't miss out on it. Click HERE for the full details.