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.

Top Pick Thursdays: In Love with Untamed Petals Headgear

Hello all!  I posted THIS entry a few days ago and one of the designers is Untamed Petals.  She has a FABULOUS Etsy shop HERE so take a look!  I've been looking for hair clips and bands for my wedding and these are beautiful! She is running a sale through Christmas (20% off) with the code: UntamedHoliday!  Get one for yourself or buy one as a gift.

Images via Untamed Petals

Fashion Fridays: Wedding Dress Amor w/ Maria Lucia

What are your plans for this weekend?  I will be catching up with my girlfriends for some much needed quality time and talking about these 
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L gowns by Maria Lucia.  Whatever you do and whoever you see, make sure to spread some POSITIVITUDE!  Have a great weekend everyone!

  Images via The Cherry Blossom Girl

Designer: Maria Lucia

Trendy Tuesdays: Bargains For My Wedding & Other Things

I am not a fan of shopping, but I love a great bargain. One day, I decided to drive to the nearest thrift store in search of a new DIY wedding project.  I thought about using our bible as the "ring pillow" for our wedding, but since it is too heavy for our nephew to carry, I wanted to find another book we could use.  Well, my wish was granted! Within 1 minute (literally one minute) of walking into the store, I found this book (see below).  My eyes naturally gravitated towards it.  Of course, when I saw these other items at the Goodwill Store, I couldn't pass them up.  

And here's the really great part: I only spent $50! 

 Here's what I got:

 

$1.99 LOVE Book (we will be using this for our wedding in lieu of a ring pillow)

$5 Purse

$5 Purse

$10 Dress

 

$5 Skirt





$10 Dress



$5 Skirt

...AND HERE'S WHAT I DID WITH THEM: MY OUTFITS

                         

             

Now, something I honestly was NOT expecting to find: 2 wedding dresses!  I was very tempted to try them on (for kicks and laughs) but I didn't. 

So, for all you brides-to-be out there, you never know where you may find your dream wedding dress.  It could be at your nearest thrift store! Happy shopping and wedding planning!

3rd Times A Charm

 

I can’t believe I am doing this, but I recently ordered a custom-made dress from China.  After my last two ordeals with online shopping, you would think I’ve learned my lesson.  Nope! Like I said before, I love living on the edge.  But really, I am hoping this third time is a charm. 

 

 

I’ve been going back and forth as to whether I want to wear my wedding dress all night long and I’d rather not.  I am praying this gown is pretty (considering it only cost me $90-something plus $25 for custom sizing to make), although I am not getting my hopes too high.  It’s very simple but fits the classy vintage theme we are going for.  The picture is the dress I am getting made, but it will be in an ivory color.  I may need to “bling” it out with a nice necklace since it has a plunging neckline.  There are a lot of sites like this that will make gowns, prom dresses, and even wedding dresses.  This one is from www.milanoo.com.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  Will give an update when it comes in. 

Scentual Senses

I went shopping last weekend with my girlfriend and while passing by the fragrance section, I was molested by a swarm of brand ambassadors trying to spray every part of my body with their most popular perfumes.  It was like an attack zone and I was the target.  I came out smelling spicy, fruity, bold, and a little musty.  Not cool man.  I guess it was my fault seeing as I couldn't decline anyone who approached me.  Anyhow, nothing really caught my attention until I saw this shiny gold bottle out of the corner of my eye.

Guilty by Gucci

I can't remember the last time I bought a bottle of perfume, but I really liked this one. The smell is modern & bold without overwhelming the senses, has a soft and romantic, floral-like touch, and oozes sexiness.  I went back to get it today...and I don't feel 'Guilty' at all.  I figured - I may be going broke from all this shopping, but gosh darnit, at least I smell good doing it.  

Another Online Shopping Dis-dress

Ok Seriously?  I think my streak with online shopping has not been good lately.  As you know, I will be celebrating my 28th Birthday & Bachelorette Party in Viva Las Vegas! in a couple days and I am so excited!  I found this cool online store called Asos.com and absolutely LOVE their clothing!  So, naturally, I bought several cute dresses for my trip.  That was over a month ago. Again, no luck with the online shopping scenario.

Since the company is based in Europe, I knew it would take a tad bit longer to come by way, but after realizing 2 weeks had passed, I emailed the company.  Well,  I think they have lost my package (delivered through the Post Office).  They have shipped it but don't have a tracking number.  They kindly asked me to wait a week and notify them of I still haven't received it.  I still haven't. Boo.  Luckily, I have other outfits to wear but am requesting a full refund plus the international charge I had to pay.


Today's lesson? Well, there really isn't one...because honestly, I really like their clothing and will probably order from them again. Ha!

Trendy Tuesdays: Online Shopping Ring-gret

For the past few months, I have been searching for the perfect wedding band to pair with my engagement ring and let me tell you - I never expected it to be this difficult!  My ring, although very simple, makes it hard to pair because I have a plain band that is thin, non-symmetrical, and supports a nice size diamond, thus posing the problem of the wedding band rubbing against the prongs. Ayyy....


So, after much soul searching, store visits, and conversations, I said "Nevermind. I am going to buy my ring online." And you know what? I thought I found the one and was so ecstatic!  What a huge mistake.


After exchanging several emails and calls with the company and my bank, they were finally able to process my order, make the rings, and send them.  Mind you, I was deathly sick the day it came in, but I wanted to show up JUST to get my rings.  With much anticipation, I clawed open the package and opened the box.  My first reaction?  Where the heck are the diamonds on my ring????  They were so tiny I couldn't even see them. I wanted to cry, but got a little upset instead. The picture online was NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING like what I got. Failed.


Within 2 hours of receiving the package, I hauled butt to the Post Office to return them.  This was almost a month ago.  I am FINALLY getting my full refund back tomorrow (I hope).  So, my lesson for today is: Go the old fashioned route and visit a jeweler...in person. Since then, I have found the perfect wedding bands and am happy and relieved this is one more thing to check off my list. Woowhoo!