exit, pursued by bear

yes.

fabric!

Much blogger love to Darci from With This Ring... who sent me a link to the fabulous Warehouse Fabrics site -- might just help me out with my pursuit for potential table runner fabric!

Here's a few that I spied ...

Madison Black -- think the actual design and repeat might be a little too small ...

Traditions Black -- a likely contender:

Paisley Black / White -- love this snazzy fabric!

something that made me smile.

From the Blogthings quiz, "What City Do You Belong In?"

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

spotted spotty.

Ever since I first saw this dress (on the cover of Brides, maybe?), I've loved it:

{Michelle Roth - Maya}

I love the polka dots (of course) -- but I love the 50's inspired styling, too. I could NEVER pull this off. It's too poufy, too cute. My mother would be horrified and I would look ridiculous. But I still think it's absolutely darling.

I was reminded of this dress today when I received an e-mail from Kleinfeld -- they're having a Michelle Roth trunk sale -- so this little number popped up in my In box this morning. I was happy to see it -- I think Vane was similarly inspired ;o)

emerald & aqua.

I picked up the latest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings a week or so ago (it's like a compulsion), and ever since I've been meaning to post about her latest "perfect palette," Emerald and Aqua:

{collage image courtesy of Glamour this! whose recent post spurred my memory}

It's funny seeing these two colors together, on their own, without the sharp contrast of black and white. The effect is so different, so fresh and cheerful. When I envision these colors together, it's almost always paired with black and white in my mind:

These swatches* sort of represent the colors I've been thinking of using for some of our wedding elements. Please note that I deliberately avoided using the word "envision" here because I can't take myself seriously when I use that word. (Now I have to go and check to see if I've ever used that word on this site prior to this moment ...)

Anyway! The primary colors will be black and white -- then accented with a sharp green (Apple green? Grass green? Clearly I don't know my fancy color names very well -- you should hear me talk to my florist) and a teal/turqouise/aqua (I realize those are all separate colors, each with an individual, emotive feeling of their own, but to be honest -- I haven't really decided on a particular shade. I'll address their respective emotiveness later).

Most of the pictures that catch my eye are black, white and green -- so I'l be on the lookout for some black, white and aqua/turquoise/teal images so I can get a better sense of what this crazy color combo is going to look like when it gets pulled together.

* every time I hear the word "swatch" I think of Sleepless in Seattle:

Jay: What do you mean, how do you do it ? You call her up. You say, "Come on, let's get together. We'll look at swatches.
Sam: Call her on the phone? Say, "Come, let's look at swatches"?
Jay: Yeah, you know, color schemes.
Sam: She's not gonna see right through that?
Jay: No, well, you don't do it like I do it.
Sam: Nah!
Jay: You, you do it in your own suave way. Think Cary Grant.
Sam: Cary Grant would call up and say...
Jay: Think Cary Grant.
Sam: ... "come over and look at my swatches?"
Jay: Hello? How do you do know? Maybe he did.
Sam: He didn't, uh, not in a movie.
Jay: He didn't, I, I know he didn't do it in a movie.
Sam: No movie I ... "Gunga Din"? He didn't call, call Din ...
Jay: No, "Gunga Din" is not a, a swatch kind of movie.
Sam: What...
Jay: What, what? Who knows what he did in real life?
Sam: Oh? But he did that with Dyan Cannon? Oh yeah, sure!
Jay: "Hello, Dyan! Take a look at these swatches."

No? Just me? Okay.

sharp dressed Frenchie.

We had always pondered outfitting our boys with bowties for a few wedding-related picture opportunities -- just something simple:

{bowtie from Designer Duds for Dogs}

Oh dear ... they have a polka dot one, too:

{bowtie from Designer Duds for Dogs}

Bowties would be pretty easy -- and our two furry fiends would look rather dashing. We had opted to go this route since most dog tuxedos looked cheesey (shocking, I know) or ill-fitted -- but then today a friend sent me this:

{"Rodeo Drive" tuxedo from Dog.com}

It's actually a sweater!

The plush, cozy cable knit is adorned with a black knit bowtie, black satin buttons and tuxedo tails, creating a wardrobe essential that is functional in terms of warmth, yet polished and sophisticated.

I have a hard time resisting things when a FRENCHIE is modeling it. Jeremy might catch me with the tape measure out tonight, sneaking up on the boys.

lovely little icons.

I was perusing Michelle Rago's site today -- and for the first time, her logo really caught my eye.

I'm not sure why I've never noticed it before, because I'm always drawn to shades of green -- and, inexplicably, peacocks.

So after seeing this logo, I got to thinking ... I keep trying to come up with ways (or really, reasons for) to incorporate peacock imagery into some of our wedding elements. That's my problem with wedding icons, symbols or motifs -- I always have to have a reason for why something was chosen.

I love bird imagery -- little birdies, nests, eggs, feathers, etc. -- and I would LOVE to incorporate that somehow ... but why? FI and I didn't have our first date at the flight cage, we don't own any pet birds, my name isn't Robin. There isn't much of a reason why we should have it. Why would mini nest favors

make any more sense than say ... chocolate dinosaurs?

(side note: I am OBSESSED with these darling chocolate penguins from Burdick -- don't even get me started on my love affair with penguins ...)

Anyway ... just something I've been pondering lately ;o)

mini me.

Probably not my style since I'm not sure what on earth I'd do with it (I may be a pack rat, but I'm an unsentimental one) -- but stumbled across this etsy listing today and thought it was interesting.

For $200, etsy seller missperiwinkle will create a miniature replica of your wedding gown:

"After you put your wedding gown away into storage, your minigown replica will be a sweet reminder of how beautiful you looked on your wedding day. It can be displayed near your cherished wedding photos or simply stand alone. Each gown comes complete on its' [sic]own linen covered dress form and stands approximately 14" tall."

She uses front and back photographs of your dress, along with any close-up shots showing embroidery or beading details.

Might be an option if you cringe at the thought of sealing your gown away in a box, never to be seen again. Or if your real dress never fully recovered from your trash the dress session, and you'd like to relive it in all its pristine glory.

Very detailed work!

Yay for fall!

Finally the crisp, cool weather has arrived! I thought it would never come. I have so much more energy now, and the dogs are super-excited to go on their daily walks.

From this very bad photo, Norman wishes you a happy fall and hopes you're enjoying your October weather. Presumably Norman is so off-centered in this shot because we were laughing too hard to properly operate the camera:

{the Norman is NOT amused by our costume antics}

The Norm will be accompanying us to Rombach's this weekend (appropriately attired, of course), where we will purchase entirely too many pumpkins, gourds and other delightful seasonal items.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE fall? Why on EARTH are we getting married in June?! ;o)

fashion fate.

Randomly, Jeremy was sent a catalog this week from Boden, a fantastic UK clothing company that I have (sadly) never heard of prior to ... well, yesterday.

It was one of those things where I almost just tossed it -- but as I was quickly flipping through on my way to the garbage can, a few items caught my eye. I could tell right away that the company was English -- something about their use of color.

This catalog is going to leave me absolutely penniless! Page after page, I kept finding great, unique pieces. I am thrilled that it was snatched from the clutches of the trash pile!

I love when little catalog treasures appear in your mailbox -- it's especially heartening after all the junk you typically end up with. I always wonder about what marketing bracket I managed to fit into or what prompted their direct mail decision making ... regardless, a veritable clothing bounty awaited me!

It seemed fitting, what with the late emergence of fall, that I should start off with something appropriately seasonal. I simply adore this velvet coat -- if I end up ordering anything, it will be this coat:

The teal is very nice as well.

Other favorites include this darling wool swing jacket:

Plenty of fabulous "jumpers," including this chunky marled beauty (you can never go wrong with a good, chunky sweater):

Love a good shrug (and can't seem to get away from this color!):

Not quite sure if I could pull it off, but I just love the colors in this cardigan:

I'll throw in a spotty,  chic dress for good measure:

Oh! They also have the most DARLING baby clothes! This is a kid after my own, spotted little heart:

Girls', Boys' and Mens' clothing, too ;o)