Bridal Market Week Recaps: Claire Pettibone

Happy Halloween, dolls!  This week, you're in for a real treat (no tricks!) as we go back to take a look at mid-October's Bridal Market Week in NYC.  Bridal Market Week is like Fashion Week for Bridal Collections. So, here's a look at some of our favorite's for the Fall 2012 Collection. All you future brides, prepare to be amazed by the intricate lace details and modern, romantic, and whimsical designs of Claire Pettibone:

Image Credits: Thomas Iannaccone via Brides.com

XOXO

Jen & Saira

Last Minute Costume Ideas

The clock is ticking to choose a Halloween costume for this weekend and for those of you who have a party to go to tonight, time has nearly run out! We know some of you may have planned costumes way far in advance, but for those of who you who live on the edge, here are some costume ideas that you can put together last minute.

Okay, we know being a cat for Halloween is a bit played out, but like Saira's mom always says, "beggars can't be choosers!" Throwing on a pair of cat ears and clipping on a cat tail is sometimes all you need. It's quick, easy, cheap, and suitable for family friendly parties as well as sexy midnight soirees. Just throw on all black, paint on some whiskers, and you're set.

Unless you've been living under a rock these past 2 years, zombies are all the rage and are sure to be the biggest costume trends this year. The best thing about dressing as a zombie is that you can be a zombie anything. So take out your inappropriate Princess Jasmine costume from a few years back, throw some blood on it, and voilà, you're zombie Princess Jasmine. Or you know, a zombie nurse, zombie Spiderman, zombie tennis player, etc.

Okay so we're a little reluctant to share this one because Saira's been waiting to whip this costume out at some point, but we love you, so here you have it. James Bond movies always feature super villains and super sexy women, so why not combine both and be a super sexy villain! All you need is a hot evening gown / cocktail dress and an eye patch and you'll be the hottest bad girl around.

We love-love-love this cereal killer costume idea. Just wear a box of cereal somewhere on your body (the head is too cute) and carry a fake knife, and you're set! It's incredibly simple, requires almost no new purchases, and is very punny.

We love Lady Gaga's music, but sometimes she rubs us the wrong way. While we weren't big fans of her whole Jo Caledrone character, it does make a pretty sweet and easy to make costume. All you need is an old tee shirt, black blazer, jeans, a lot of hair gel, and some black eye shadow for stubble.

All you'll need for this costume is some white gloves, face paint, and black eyeliner. Pull your black (or black and white!) t-shirt and black pants out of your closet and you'll be all set. Of course you'd likely need to remain silent most of the night, but hey, you can't have everything.

 For more ambitious projects, make yourself into a DIY hot air balloon or the house from the movie UP! Find a cardboard box, rig it around your body, add some fake paper bag weights, and top it off with bright, helium filled balloons. Just make sure your party will have a lot of wide open spaces!

Happy Halloween!

XOXO
Jen & Saira

Color Day: White Pumpkins

Fall is one of our favorite times of year!  Some people think we like the smell of the leaves or the colors, which is true, but what people don't know about is our insane love for all things pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin bars and cupcakes...the opportunities are nearly endless.  Orange pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns are a staple of Fall and Halloween.  But, orange isn't for everyone.  Enter the white pumpkin.  Light, romantic, and somewhat majestic, these little beauties are neutral and help you add a little fall charm no matter what your color scheme.

White Pumpkin Inspiration Board

1. Brides | 2. The Knot | 3. Martha | 4. Two Sugar Babies | 5. & 6. Engaged 2 Ever After |

7. Paper and Pigtails | 8. Funk Me Design | 9. Paperbird | 10. Martha (again) | 11. Angel Court | 

12. and, another Martha! | 13. Farmhouse Wares |

Travels in Thailand

We're back, dolls! Sorry for the brief hiatus, but we've been very busy with moving, vacations, weddings, halloween related events and more.  The jet lag knocked Jen out of commission a few days longer than expected, but to get us back into the swing of things, here's a few shots of what Jen and her hubs were up to in Thailand.  Thailand is a beautiful country with lovely people and delicious food.  If you ever get a chance to visit, here are some things you can look forward to:

Stamped Silver at the amulet market

Guardian at one of the wats

Golden, glitzy, and sparkly things galore!

Gorgeous Krabi beaches and traditional longtail boats

Sea kayaking and snorkeling

Food boats that make delicious pad thai and fried rice

Crazy fish that nibble on your legs

Bad monkeys!

Fire shows

Resorts surrounded by moats

Elephants!

and Tigers!

Hope you all enjoyed your past few weeks!  We're glad to be back!

XOXO

Jen & Saira

Beauty and Fashion for the Cure

Inspired by Wednesday's color day?  Well, there are ways you can contribute to the cause by purchasing some of your favorite beauty products and accessories.  Here are a few great items that give back:

1. Sephora | 2. Pink Hair for Hope | 3. Target | 4. Noodle and Boo via Women's Day | 

5. Urban Outfitters | 6.  Hanae Mori | 7. Real Simple | 8. Shine, Shimmer, and Sparkle |

We will be on a sort of Fall break for the next week or so as Jen heads off to Thailand to visit her brother and and Saira moves into her new apartment and figures out her internet situation.  But, when we return we'll have some great pics from adventures in Thailand and maybe even a post on how to pack for two weeks in one carry-on bag.  Plus, we're excited to share some new real weddings and engagement posts and you may even have a give-away or two to look forward to.  As always, thanks for reading!

XOXO

Jen & Saira

Color Day: Save the Boobies!

October is breast cancer awareness month!  Breast cancer will effect 1 in 8 US women in their lifetime and it's important that we are all aware of the risk factors, symptoms, and importance of regular self-exams and mammograms.  This is a cause near and dear to our hearts and we wanted to encourage you to do what you can to support efforts for breast cancer research - together we will find a cure!

Support Breast Cancer Research Inspiration Board

1. Elizabeth Anne Designs | 2. White Lace Weddings | 3. Brenda's Wedding Blog | 4. Weddings Unique | 

5.  My Lovely Big Feet | 6. The Wedding Yentas | 7. Love from the Oven | 8. The Stir | 9. Wedding Wire | 

10. Marie Claire | 11.  Project Wedding |    

XOXO

Jen & Saira

Guest Blog: Chicago Renegade Craft Fair

Our friend attended the Renegade Craft in Chicago this year and was kind enough to write up a post for us on the great things she came across in her travels.  So, here's a little guest blog treat for you from our fabulous craftfair correspondent, Hillary.  Take it away, Hil:

The windy city was more hot than windy during this year’s Chicago Renegade Craft

Fair (RCF) in early September. More than 300 vendors filled Wicker Park – where

Renegade got its start in 2003 – for two days of crafts, workshops and good local

Chicago food. With so many vendors it was hard to pick a handful to highlight but

here is a short round up of some interesting finds!

Known as the strongest shape, triangles were all over the craft fair in a variety of

forms. Whether as tents (see bottom of this post), banners or jewelry – like the

above necklaces from NICE by Caitlin Holcomb – it was clear that the triangle is

trend in the craft world right now.

The triangle necklaces below were only one of the many cute items on display by

Chicago-based accessories designer Wanderlustings.

Letterpress items are usually my weakness when it comes to booth hopping during

a craft fair and this fair was no different. While a lot of vendors had their best

letterpress cards on display, I particularly loved these super cute 2012 letterpress

calendars, complete with little wooden stump bases, from OneCanoeTwo. Though

we’re a few months away from 2012 and the holidays, this calendar is a great little

gift and is perfect for a cute desk accessory.

While it was difficult to think of the cold weather ahead during this warm

September weekend, there were a number of knit items on display at this year’s fair.

In particular, these colorful crocheted flowers from Mojo Spa got me thinking about

what jackets I could add a fun flair to.

Beyond the typical prints, baby clothes, stationary and jewelry you’d expect at a

craft fair, this year’s Chicago RCF also showcased these interesting wood ties from

Wood Thumb. Certainly a unique spin on a typical go-to gift for men, the Wood

Thumb website claims this fancy tie “gets you into all the clubs.”

Know a crafty kid? Another popular and eye-catching craft at this year’s Chicago

RCF were Hip Huts. Designed with brightly colored, fun fabric, these small tents

could be crafty additions to the typical child’s playroom.

While these items were only a snapshot of this year’s Chicago RCF, there were many,

many other talented vendors that had unique crafts on display. I would also be

remiss to not mention my boyfriend Bryan – Yardsale Press – who was busy selling

prints and coasters at the Chicago fair. Thanks Jen and Saira for allowing me to guest

post! Much love to PDR!