Wedding Belle

So I guess the adage is true about wedding dresses as much as about the groom.  When you know, you know.  I knew after the first weekend I came to visit the Mister that I was going to marry him.  And I knew from the minute I stepped into my dress that it was the one.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering why there isn't a ginormous photo of the dress splashed all over this entry.  Well, the Mister doesn't want to see my dress until the moment I start walking down the aisle.  So, I have to be a leeeetle bit sneaky because I want to show EVERYONE ELSE.  I've created a password-protected album and I'll post the password down in the comments.  So!  If you want to see my dress ( and really, I know you do!), you can see it here!  As for the Mister, he just needs to keep his nose out of the comments!

I don't want to talk too much about my particular dress because the Mister reads this and I do want him to be surprised.  But I do want to talk a bit about the whole experience of dress shopping.  I really wasn't sure what to expect, which is kind of ridiculous.  When I was in high school, I worked at a bridal store for two years.  So if anyone should know what to expect from dress shopping, it was me.  But while the process was familiar, I wasn't sure how I would feel.  I've never been a girl who dreams about her wedding.  And despite spending a LOT of time flipping through bridal magazines and pulling out photos, I really couldn't picture myself in any of the dresses.  I knew what kinds of dresses I was attracted to, but I had no idea what style or fabric would look best on my body.  Again, without going into too much detail & ruining the surprise for the Mister, I chose a dress that was almost completely opposite what I thought I wanted.

I found my dress at the last appointment of the day, in the cutest little boutique bridal store called Bel Fiore.  I thought I had found my dress at another shop, but there were a few things about that dress that I would have changed to make it perfect.  But then, when I walked out of the dressing room at Bel Fiore in the first dress I tried on there, I knew I had found my dress.  It blew the other dress right out of the water.  My dress made me feel glamorous and sexy, but still classy and elegant.  Basically, all of the things I wanted to feel.

Now that I have my dress picked out, I'm starting to get a better idea of what I want the bridesmaid dresses to look like.  Slowly but surely, I've been mulling over details and thoughts and I'm starting to put together what I want the rest of the wedding to look like.  Once the Mister hears about his next orders, we'll pick a venue and really get the ball rolling.  Wedding planning!

Vegas Baby

If only I had had more than 11 hours in Vegas and if only I wasn't working the red-eye back to Minneapolis. I might have actually left the hotel. The plus side to not doing anything is that I had PLENTY of time to make my hair look good. I ran almost 9 miles by the lake in Milwaukee the other day & I can already see where my hair is getting lighter. It's shaping up to be a blonde-streaked summer.

GUESS what!

This is what I'm wearing Right This Second.  Usually there is a bit of a delay between when I take photos of my outfits and when I actually post them, but I overestimated how long it would take me to get ready, so I've been having a solo dance party in the living room.  And then I realized, Oh hey, I could, you know, update my blog!

I'm a little dressy because there is a function for the Mister's ship tonight, and since now I'm his fiancee, which is a little more official than girlfriend, I'm supposed to make a good impression.  Or something.  I don't know.  I just look at it as an excuse to wear my cute new shoes.  

Did you see my shoes?  Want to hear something awesome?  I had a coupon for DSW for $20 off any shoes $49 or more.  And I had my eyes on a DIFFERENT pair of GUESS black sandal wedges at the DSW in Minneapolis, but I didn't get a chance to go buy them when I was up there.  Well, the coupon was expiring yesterday and I couldn't just let a deal like that go to waste.  So, I asked the Mister to take me to DSW.  And you know what?  He totally did.  And he waited patiently while I tried on the OTHER shoes and then when I found THESE shoes and then had to walk all over the damn store to decide which ones to get.  And when I had to just browse through the clearance section.  And then he even took me over to the mall so I could check out Macy's & Dillard's to see if I could find a formal gown for ANOTHER function next month.  But that function is way fancier.  Hence the search for the gown.

Do you know how hard it is to find a formal gown that is not ridiculously expensive?  I'll tell you.  It's hard.  The problem is that most of the gowns are either too prom-y or too mother-of-the-bride-y.  And I don't want to look like a ho, because, good impressions, but I don't want to look like someone's mom.  I think that maybe what I will eventually do is get someone to take me to David's Bridal and I'll buy a basic black bridesmaid dress or something and fancy it up with some cute shoes & accessories.  If only I could wear these shoes.  They are so freaking cute and awesomely comfortable.  That's the best part of wedges.  Maybe I'll wear wedges for my wedding.

Purple sleeveless blouse - Banana Republic Outlet

Jeans - Rock & Republic via Nordstrom Rack

Black strappy wedges - GUESS via DSW

'Ello 'Ello!

So!  Big news!  I finally bought a new camera.  Woot was offering a Kodak camera that seemed like a decent halfway point between a point & shoot and a DSLR.  I'm excited b/c I have some manual settings, I have a 26x zoom AND the attached lens is wide angle.  I've only played around with it a little bit and I don't have a tripod yet, but I'm happy to be able to do outfit photos again.

I've been developing some lady friend relationships here in Norfolk for a while and I went to dinner with a group of awesome girls the other night.  I got to gush about my engagement and talk about my job and hear about being a corporate tax auditor and being a nuclear engineer in the Navy (two separate ladies), all while eating delicious wood-fired pizza and drinking some yummy wine.  A good time indeed.

Also, I love that I got BIG compliments on this shirt because I got to say, "Aw, thanks!  Found it for $4 at Goodwill!"  Because it totally looks like something one might buy at Anthropologie or Banana Republic or one of those other stores where I browse, but never buy.  The close-up photo is awful, but I wanted you to be able to see the interesting lines on the blouse.  It makes it really interesting and also really flattering!  In hindsight, I think I should have left the cardigan off, but I wore it in the restaurant b/c it was chilly chilly!


Teal cardigan - Target
White blouse - Goodwill
Skinny jeans - Target
Pink ballet flats - 6pm.com

Drinking Coffee in My Hotel Room - Miami

Hello from my tragically short Miami layover! I'm smack-dab in the middle of a hellish 5-day trip and yesterday was a series of Things Going Wrong. With any luck, today will be better! (And yes...that IS a gratuitous Instagram of my ring...what can I say? It's the prettiest thing I own!)