Cartas de Amor

When Jen Ramos from Made By Girl asked me to contribute to her online magazine for Valentine's Day called Cartas de Amor I couldn't say no!!!  I've been following Jen's blog for so long (I think since 2008) that this was an easy task for me.  My husband Josh has been writing me love letters and little notes since the day we met.  I've saved every one of them that I keep in a bright pink Kate Spade shoebox so I can easily go back and read them.  Be sure and check out Cartas de Amor here and I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day!!!  

PS-Happy Birthday to my sister Chelsea Valentine today!!!  

Precious Gems

I've long wanted a diamond solitaire necklace in a bezel setting, so over the weekend I did a little research, and came up with these styles. 

Set in a white gold setting is timeless and would complement my wedding and engagement rings perfectly, but lately I've been a little bored with silver and white gold.  Don't get me wrong, I own a ton of it, but for some reason it isn't quite doing it for me.

Now we're talking!  I love the way it looks set in gold, and I especially love how this looks sitting on a woman's collar bone very delicately.  

I've been slowly adding to my gold collection.  I love my Michael Kors watch and Ralph Lauren bracelets that I layer with it.  For Christmas last year, my husband gave me a really thin gold wedding band that I wear with my white gold engagement ring, and I just love how diamonds look next to gold!

So, this is on my wish list.  I want to wear it everyday, layered with other necklaces like turquoise gemstones set on long gold chains, and I promise to never take it off!   

Fascinating

Wedding Guests of the Year: 3 ladies in their fascinators at Will and Kate's wedding.  

No More Waity, Katie

Today is the day we've all been waiting for!!!  Congrats to William and Kate!

Now can we please stop talking about it???

(btw...Harry is my all-time favorite Royal by far!)  

Happy 2nd Anniversary

I can't believe it's been 2 years since my wedding day...here's to 50 more years of health, happiness, and love!  

Cheers Josh!!!

Coffee + Lacque de Chine

I love coffee. I can't start my day without it. I'll take mine super strong to make it through the afternoon. I registered for these cup and saucers for my wedding and I'm seriously considering purchasing a set of 4 for myself this holiday season.

Or better yet, 8 salad plates would perfectly accompany any china pattern.

I just love the look of the aqua blue and gold.

Lacque de Chine by Haviland in Light Blue

Wedding Wednesdays: Candy Girls

How much fun do these little numbers look!!?? I love to play around with different bridesmaid dresses and styles. There are no rules that all of your best gals need to be matchy-matchy with the same dresses, in the same colors, with the same shoes, hairstyle, and jewelry.

Let everyone's personality shine with a dress that fits their bodies and style, not yours. Let them have a little fun in choosing a dress, they most likely will be paying for it and may want to wear it again. The days of being a bridezilla demanding that everyone look like Stepford wives is definitely passe.

Your bridesmaids will thank you, your guests will have plenty of eye candy to look at while sitting through the (yawn) ceremony, and your pictures I guarantee will look refreshing with a coordinated group, not a cookie cutter group. Because, in the end, all eyes will be on you Miss Bride! Cheers, Mazel Tov, Salud!

Shameless plug of my own bridesmaid dresses by Jim Hjelm.

Wedding Wednesdays: engagement rings

I've had diamonds on my brain lately. I'm a happy newly wed, and my husband did a wonderful job at surprising me with a beautiful ring that he designed himself (a little helpful hints on my part did just the trick). Jewelry to me is a very personal thing. It takes a special someone to really know what jewelry will speak to their loved one. I just adore a man who knows how to pick jewelry, and do it well! Here are my all time favorite diamond rings and settings.

Harry Winston's micro-pave cushion cut diamond - my favorite setting, hands down!

This emerald cut looks stunning all by itself set on a diamond band. Not a lot of fuss going on here, and the diamond speaks for itself.

Again, Harry Winston's micro-pave cushion cut...because I can't stop looking at it!

I noticed Gwyneth's jaw dropping gorgeous diamond ring while watching episodes of "Spain...On The Road Again." Not only is it huge (bigger isn't always better, but in this case it literally rocks!), but it's set so beautifully on a simple thin micro-pave band so the diamond takes center stage. If you're gonna roll a big rock, this is the tasteful way to do it!

I love thin, sparkling diamond wedding bands paired with an engagement ring like this one! Wear this band alone everyday for understated glamour - perfect for the office, the gym, or doing work around the house.

Makes me wanna say "I do" all over again!

Favorite Wedding Gift

My new mother-in-law graciously said for our wedding gift, she and my father-in law wanted to get us something special that we would have for years to come. Not an appliance or anything that would most likely break or would get tossed in a few years, but a piece of furniture . The first thing that popped into my head was a buffet. It offers tons of storage space for china, flatware, linens, and glasses, is a great for entertaining and serving dishes or drinks, and it can go anywhere in the home and isn't limited to the "dining room."

I first fell in love with a Jan Shower's mirrored commode while working at the David Sutherland Showroom in Los Angeles. It was Jan's Commode and I swore when I got married that I was going to have a few of her pieces in my home. In my search for the perfect mirrored buffet, that was a more affordable version than Jan's, I came across the Borghese Buffet at Z Gallerie and fell in love. It's priced at $1099.00 and if you ask, they will most likely knock off 10%. It's modern, yet traditional, holds all my pieces that I love to entertain with, and will always be known as my favorite wedding gift!

We're married!!!

We did it...and we did it our way!!! A picture is worth a thousand words, and by the expressions on our faces you can just picture the sheer happiness, love, and joy that my husband and I shared on our wedding day! It may sound cliche, but it truly was the best day of my life (so far)!

...We're off to Maui for a honeymoon in paradise, for some much needed lounging in the sun on the beach, sipping mai tais, and eating dessert every night!!!

I laugh when I see how serious our faces are in this one!!!

My mom had peacock feathers on her dress! She's quite the fashionista!

I wore my mom's veil, that we had re-worked and re-designed to be 2 parts (a long one for the ceremony, and a blusher to be kept on at the reception). My dressmaker was able to make a bolero to wear during the ceremony. I wanted a look reminiscent of an italian bride.

Surrounded by my older sister Dulcena (to the left) and my younger sister Chelsea (to the right) and all my best friends I have known since 7th grade.

All the little details...I love old fashioned candy and just had to have a candy bar in lieu of take home gifts.

The Ketubah with our monogram on it

It's all in the details...

My invitation was inspired by one I found in Martha Stewart Weddings. It was printed in gold and really sparkled. We carried the crown motif on to our RSVP cards and on the menu cards at each table.

A love note arrived with flowers and candles from my fiance while I was getting ready. He always sends me little "love notes" and this was a special one.

The Ketubah with our monogram

I found these Manolos at a Saks in Palm Desert over New Year's priced at $650 down to $183!!! Love a good deal!

I wanted all pink peonies (my favorite flower), but in March they're a little out of season, so my florist mixed in some garden roses. It complimented the monochromatic colors of the bridesmaid dresses.

My bouquet of white peonies and white garden roses. Simply stunning!

Dark pink, light pink, and white hydrangeas (my other favorite flower) were the centerpieces. I had long peacock feathers mixed in to give some drama. We also stood under a wrought iron archway filled with hydrangeas in the garden ceremony.

The cake had 5 different sized layers with 3 of my favorite flavors: Carrot Cake with a cream cheese filling, Red Velvet with cream cheese filling, Lemon with lemon curd and was frosted with Buttercream. It was so decadent and to die for! I chose fondant pearls to accent each layer and I found the vintage cake topper online!

"The Sweet Life," was appropriately the quote for our candy bags. Words to live by.

In lieu of take home gifts a vintage candy table was displayed for our guests. Chocolate covered strawberries and French macarons were also added to the desert table for them to enjoy!