Monthly Archives: October 2010

babies, weddings, and birthdays – oh my!

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Sorry I’ve been a little MIA but I’ve had a bit of a whirlwind couple of weeks… last week my mom came in town and we hosted a baby shower for my sister (I’m going to be an aunt!). I’ve never hosted a baby shower before but it turned out wonderfelle-y if I do say so myself! I used Simplicity Papers for the invitations which had a sweet dahlia design similar to these but in pink/green… and we had fresh dahlias at the party to match!

Anyway, I’ve been pretty occupied with trying to decide on a wedding location/date but I think we’ve made some real progress. I never imagined my wedding or really knew what I wanted, but at first I thought I wanted a really small, intimate destination wedding somewhere near a beach. But… after spending hours and hours researching options and not finding anywhere that seemed perfect, we came to the conclusion that what I actually wanted was a modern, cosmopolitan wedding in a city other than D.C…

Nothing’s official until contracts are signed, but we’re getting married in October 2011! I’m obsessed with the reception venue – I came across this description while searching for potential venues and without even seeing the space I knew it was going to be the one!

“…feels a little like waltzing into the Manhattan townhouse of a good friend with impeccable taste, an unlimited budget, and a penchant for art and design. In this posh new high-rise hotel, every single surface and element fits together seamlessly so that one is flooded with a sense of comfort and a little awe at the beauty of it all. Here, sumptuous Italian furniture meets hand-blown light fixtures and a world-class art collection—and that’s just the beginning…”

I mean, seriously. How amazing does that sound :) I’ll share more once everything’s confirmed but here’s a sneak peak:

{do you recognize the location?}

More wedding updates later, but for now I’m celebrating my 26th birthday (otherwise known as Carnivelle) with some funfetti, dinner at Proof, an extra day off work (Monday is my actual bday) and some fabulous new sparkly shoes!

Thanks to my amazing fiance, I’m the proud owner of not 1 but 2 pairs of the sparkly Kate Spade Nell Flats – I truly could not decide which pair I wanted more, black (more practical) or pink (more fun)… but now I have both!

Happy Halloween everyone :)

 

 

 

 

 

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Alila Villas Uluwatu

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It’s been awhile since I’ve featured a dreamy destination – I guess I got over the travel bug for a hot minute there, but after spending a few hours looking at villas in Mexico for an upcoming trip and doing some preliminary wedding research, I’m definitely back to swooning over luxurious locales… The other day I came across a deal on Jetsetter for the Alila Villas Soori in Bali that looked so perfectly relaxing and even better it turns out there are a number of Alila Hotels around the world that are all literally droolworthy…

Check out the Alila Villas Uluwatu in Bali:

{view a cliffside cabana – amazing}

{view of one of the cabanas and a private infinity pool}

{this eco-friendly hotel has an open plan so the villas open up right out to the outside… here’s the view from the outside in}

{and here’s the view from the inside out}

{and of course… there’s the beach!}

 

Plus a laid-back outfit perfect for a little exploring and a lot of relaxing! Lotta Stensson Kaftan, Monica Vinader Bracelet, Stella McCartney Bag, Bess Sandals

Definitely time for another vacation ASAP!

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the proposal

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So in case you were anxiously waiting for the proposal story… here it is! On Saturday, Zach and I had plans to go to dinner with his friend Andy and his wife Sarah at one of my favorite restaurants, The Source. We had been trying to make plans to do something with them for awhile so I didn’t think it was anything other than a fun double date.

Dinner was delicious as usual (if you’re in DC and haven’t tried it, you really should!) and as we walked out of the restaurant I still didn’t suspect a thing! I was asking Andy and Sarah if they had valet parked when Zach pulled me aside like he want to ask me something privately. The next few moments are a little fuzzy but I think he started to say, “so we’ve been dating for a while now…” and I started freaking out, thinking ohmygosh is he proposing?! – but then our friend Kari comes out of nowhere and interrupts him! (she actually came out of her apartment building which was right next to the restaurant) She walked up and asked what we were doing there and I laughed because I didn’t really know what to say – but then I looked back at Zach and he was getting down on one knee and pulling out a ring and asking me to marry him and I wasn’t sure if it was really happening… so I think I said, “are you serious?!” followed by, “yes! yes! yes!” and definitely grabbed the ring out of his hand before he had a chance to put it on my finger!

I had told Zach awhile ago that I didn’t mind if other people were there when he proposed because I wanted someone to be there to take pictures when it happened… It was so random that our friend Kari happened to be there at the same time, but it was nice to have a girlfriend there to share my excitement with! Also, Zach had planned for Andy and Sarah to be there to take photos and I could not be more happy with the results!

These were taken right after the proposal in front of the restaurant (it happens to be where we went to dinner our first Valentine’s Day together years ago!) – then we went up on Kari’s roof to spend some time enjoying just being engaged and letting the whole “I’m really spending the rest of my life with the person I love the most and I’m so incredibly happy” feeling sink in…

Kind of funny with the grill in the picture, but we thought it was cool to see the reflection of the Washington Monument.

A big thanks to Andy and Sarah for the pictures! I know the lighting wasn’t ideal, but it means a lot to have photos to remember this night. I’m still giddy with excitement and can’t wait to really start planning our wedding!

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