April 30, 2012

i heart sleeping in + naps.

this photo sums up my saturday morning.  i slept in, got up and did some work, went back to sleep until 2, and then went out for a late lunch with reis.  it was really amazing.  the rest of the weekend i was wildly productive with random projects i’ve been working on (i’m a little too obsessed with checking things off my list), i started working on the jayAdores site design 2.0 (i’m really excited about this one), and we started planning our honeymoon (i’m really reallllyyy excited about this one!).  all in all, i feel super refreshed today and i think my r & r on saturday is really helping me hate this monday much less than i normally despise this day of the week!

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April 27, 2012

wedding dress shopping at monique lhuillier & lovely.

photo credit: the style eater

oh my goodness.  dress shopping at monique lhuillier was a DREAM. COME. TRUE.  i’ve been a long-time admirer/obsessor of her dresses and to be able to actually try on monique’s (we’re obvs on a first name basis now) dresses was unreal.  it was our first appointment of the morning and the whole experience felt like it was out of a movie (i swear i’m not being dramatic).  the boutique itself is incredibly beautiful.  her dresses are absolutely gorgeous.  AND my stylist/fitter was the sweetest thing ever.  she made the whole experience so enjoyable and i highly recommend asking for rachel if any of you in the LA area have a fitting at ML.

lovely was also on my MUST-GO-TO list after i saw it being featured on a few wedding blogs.  this place is absolute bridal boutique perfection.  their bathroom was even the cutest thing ever.  i had another really sweet stylist named whitney and we even got to meet the adorable sarah seven who was there for her trunk show!

i tried on so many gorgeous dresses that day (and the next day) but didn’t find the ONE.  i loved different parts of each dress and had this perfect visual in my head…but i honestly had no idea i would be so picky.  by the end of the weekend i decided to design my own dress!  something i never ever thought i would do, but something i am now totally excited about!  my mom is going to sew it which makes it even more special and i cannot wait to see my sketches come to life and have a completely custom wedding dress.

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April 24, 2012

36 hours in LA.

ive been wanting to go to LA for a weekend to go wedding dress shopping with my mom.  i feel like you only try on wedding dresses once in your life and it’s a pretty special thing that i wanted to do with her by my side.  late last week, my parents spontaneously booked me a flight out to LA for the weekend (they are too good to me, thanks mom & dad!).  that gave me two days to book appointments all over los angeles at several bridal shops.  It proved to be the MOST perfect weekend for dress shopping because it was the Monique Lhuillier trunk show (my all time favorite wedding dress designer!!) AND the Sarah Seven trunk show at Lovely (the CUTEST bridal boutique ever)!   two of my best friends dropped all of their plans for the day and came with my mom and me for some really sweet girl time and dress trying on.  i’m a zombie this week after such a jam-packed, exciting weekend + flying back and forth across the Pacific literally within 36 hours, but it was so so worth it!  [more to come this week re: wedding dresses!]

i also instagrammed a lot while we traipsed across LA…for more weekend pics, see my insta feed @jayadores!

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April 19, 2012

inspired by: nicky hilton.

via

on saturday morning, reis and i celebrated my almost-being-done-with-tax-season with a yummy breakfast at the creampot in waikiki.  then he had to go into work so i went shopping and did some serious damage.  i haven’t been shopping since before christmas and i wanted to give my credit card a really good workout.  i got a little splurge happy (and everything was fitting perfectly!) but found some pretty sweet deals too.  like a vintage oscar de la renta wool sweater for $5 (!) at a thrift shop.  i love when thrift shops don’t know the value of things!  now i just have to find a time to wear it…

fedora: $15 at a street fair//rayban sunglasses: gift from reis//tank: $10 target//shorts: $20 nordstrom rack//clutch: $2 thrift shop//leaopard sandals: $12 old navy

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April 13, 2012

so we booked our wedding venue.

photos from this trip

as of yesterday, we have officially booked our wedding venue!  it is my absolute dream venue in santa barbara and the perfect combination of rustic, woodsy, coastal, and romantic.  we’ve never even seen it in person but i am completely and totally obsessed with it.  i’m getting so giddy just typing this!  our date is pretty inflexible due to reis’ med school schedule so that made it rather difficult when searching for venues.  when i originally e-mailed our venue, they said they were booked the whole month of november.  so the search continued.  then about a week later, they e-mailed me saying they had accidentally overlooked the schedule and our date was actually available!!  meant. to. be.  anyways, i’m ecstatic.  so is reis.  we just show it differently (i.e. i text all of my best friends immediately with multiple exclamation points (!!!) and he just says “that’s awesome.”)  oh, i love him.

thanks so much mom and dad for going to check it out AND for being our wedding planners AND for dealing with all the “fun” stuff like contracts.  i love you.

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April 11, 2012

inspired by: kristin cavallari

via

the countdown has begun.  tax season is almost OVER.  3 more days til the madness ends and i. am. stoked!!!  i don’t think i will ever take a saturday for granted ever again!  the one plus to working so much is that you realllyyy learn to appreciate days off.  i already have so many “saturday morning” plans on the books for the next few months including: running OUTSIDE (!), going to the beach, learning how to surf (for the 20th time.  i don’t think i will ever actually learn, but it sure is fun trying!), garage saling, farmers marketing, going out to breakfast here & here, and oh yeah, sleeping.  it will all be so glorious and wonderful and i will be one happy girl.  and hopefully tan too.  p.s. did you all file your taxes?  technically you have until tuesday, but just my little obligatory accountant PSA reminder to all ya’ll.

jacket: $50 after thanksgiving sale @ arden b.//scarf: $6 forever 21//tee: $10 express//leggings: $10 nordstrom rack//boots: $80 super sale at banana republic

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April 10, 2012

our easter.

remembering what jesus did for us and his eternal promises.

going to sunrise service at waimea bay.

coffee drinking.

after-church picnicking + catching up with friends.

lounging on the north shore.

napping for me + surfing for reis.

i love easter.

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April 6, 2012

my wedding planner.

ever since we got engaged, i have been wanting to get a wedding planner/notebook to stay organized.  our friend brett gave me a moleskine notebook awhile ago and it was too beautiful to just do any ordinary thing with it so i was saving it for something “special.”  i think our wedding is pretty dang special so i decided to convert it into our wedding planner!  i printed out martha stuart’s wedding checklist to stick in there, have been picking up paint chips for color inspiration (mint + neutrals is what i am currently loving), and have been jotting down random notes here and there regarding photographers, venues, videographers, yadda yadda.  i also started on our guest list (that thing is hard to make!) and things are starting to come together.  it’s all just so exciting!

i really am loving being engaged.  such a fun and happy and special time for reis and me and i want to savor every moment.

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April 4, 2012

inspired by: rachel bilson.

via

hmmm.  i’m not sure why i thought a billowy, horizontal stripe top + wide leg trousers would be such a good idea.  i should have worn a sign that said,  attention: wide load coming through!  but seriously, loose on loose is so not flattering.  unless you are rachel bilson and the size of a toothpick.  but whatevs.  happy wednesday!

top: bcbg $30 sale at macys//pants: $15 nordstrom rack//belt: $5 forever 21//sunglasses: $15 urban outfitters

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April 3, 2012

flower faux pas.

bottled drinks are expensive.  so i’ve been saving them for a dual purpose: vases for my kitchen window sill!  with lame faux flowers.  so chic, i know.  but i am never home and would forget to add fresh water blah blah blah.  so they would probably die faster than i could enjoy them.  enter: fake flowers!  i actually kinda like em.  and they make my kitchen all cheery.

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