Last week I explained some of the things I did for my wedding welcome hour here, here, and here.  Today I’m sharing the all deets on everyone’s attire.

Cort and I first headed to jcrew (the store Brian once said I might as well have my paycheck directly deposited to) and left thinking we found the bridesmaids dresses and were done shopping.  But I had an appointment at Bella Bridesmaids right after to so we decided to still go and check it out.  Oh my god, it was the most adorable boutique shop I’ve ever been in!  I cannot wait to go back to get my dress for Cort’s wedding!

It’s a franchise so there are other locations (check ‘em out here) but I can say the ladies at the Chicago location are the most helpful and sweetest girls ever!  They were so fun to work worth.  I actually looked forward to my appointments.  They have such a wide collection of dresses.  I’m going to go back to get some party dresses for myself!

I had the bridesmaids choose their own style from the Thread line in navy.  They wore their own nude heels to polish off the look.  Don’t worry, I still let my inner jcrew set stage.  Part of the girls’ gift from me were a set of brushed gold earrings from jcrew. They don’t carry them anymore, but if you’re in the mood to shop you can find some adorable ones here.

The purple dress I wore for the welcome hour is also from Bella Bridesmaids.  My mom got her dress there, too!

The boys wore khaki dress pants with navy blazers and green ties.  I ordered the ties from thetiebar.com.  Brian strutted his navy suit from Tom James (alright, that “British” model needs to take it down a notch).

I got my dress at a Chicago suburb dress shop.  It was Angelina Couture.

Isn’t that Mrs. Lomas hanger just the best?  Cort got it for me as a shower gift.  You’ll find them all over Etsy in different colors and styles.

I explained my jewelry here and here (scroll down to the bottom of this past post).  Now about the shoes… I just about had a heart attack passing over my credit card at Stewart Weitzman, but Cortney and my mom heavily persuaded me.  I’m so grateful they did!  I lasted all day and all night in those bad boys.  My feet had never been so comfy in heels!  I had seen other brides in red and pink heels to make them pop and loved the look.  So I went with navy.

Wow, this post turned into something way longer than I anticipated!  But hopefully you got something out of it.  Feel free to blame me on your credit card bill this month

Have you guys heard of Beso? It’s a site dedicated to everything shopping related. The people behind this site are crazy smart. They “pull in products from thousands of the best e-commerce sites out there, so that you can shop your favorite brands and stores with one simple search.” Brilliant right!?

You can create your own profile and then add products to your favorites by searching for a specific product or just browsing and then clicking on the cute little heart next to the item. But that’s not even the best part. You can have fun with pretending you own your own shop or that you are some big time buyer for a fancy store and create your very own collection. Well maybe that’s just me. The average person might just use it as a way to catalog their wishlist. You know, those things you are coveting for the upcoming season. You can title your collection and then add items and save it so you can go back and look at it any time. Here is an example:

Kendi Everyday

And here’s a link to one that I just created for spring: Spring Ahead Collection. But they don’t just list clothes. There are beauty, kids, and home categories too. It’s a pretty perfect site to create your annual Christmas or Hanukkah list. This only fuels my shopping addiction though. I mean let’s be honest, I use retail therapy to cure a common headache. Hmm, I think I have the beginnings of one now, I better head on over to beso to get rid of it!

Have you guys seen the previews for the new NBC show Smash? I’ve caught glimpses of the preview here and there, and every single time I think back to my dancing days. I know the show is more Broadway then ballet, but when I see the characters in rehearsal I miss dancing more and more.I’m not sure I’ll watch the entire season, but I just might tune in for the first episode to see if it grabs my attention.

Click here to watch the Smash Full Length Preview

Thinking about dance, rehearsal, and all that jazz (ha, see what I did there? jazz=dance, get it?) made me think about how fashion is often inspired by ballet and it’s related attire. So I put together a little sampling for your viewing pleasure.

Clockwise from left to right:

• This really is a wrap cardigan made to dance in. I looooved my warmup gear, it was so comfortable. I would absolutely wear this with a cute tank as a sweater.
• Some of Essie’s nail polish names are dance/ballet inspired. Ballet slippers, curtain call, and prima ballerina to name a few.
• Sock buns are all the rage right now, and there is no denying that these gorgeously full buns are inspired from the classic ballet bun. This foam bun circle is similar to the sock bun, but because it’s foam I think the hair stays put better.
• Tights, dancers wear them alllllll the time.
• This adorable metallic lace headwrap would look so cute with a low bun or any other up-do.
• This BCBG wrap sweater reminds me of a ballet wrap without it actually being one.
• Ballet flats have been around for a long time now, and due to their cuteness and comfyness I’m sure they’re not going anywhere. The flat toe on this pair is similar to point shoes.
• A light and airy skirt gives the feeling of a ballet skirt.
• More adorable ballet flats.

All this makes me want to pull out my ballet shoes (and tap shoes, and jazz shoes, and so on) and dance down my hallway! And I just might!

I had so much fun with last weeks 7 Wonders of the Web post, that I decided to go for round two. But since this week has sorta turned into Beauty Week, I thought I’d keep with it and do a  7 Wonders Beauty/Fashion Edition. So here are some things floating around the web that I found interesting:

Lyndar the Merciless

• These nails are surprisingly easy to recreate. I used Essie Power Clutch and Face Stockholm in #50 or Toast of the Town

• Ever get bored with how you wear your scarf? Here is 25 ways to wear a scarf in 4 1/2 minutes. It’s such a creative video. Major props to you Wendy!

Kendi Everyday

• This poppy color is seriously becoming a favorite of mine. Fresh enough for spring and summer, but deep and rich enough in color for fall and winter. It’s once again reminding me to go pick up Nars Semi Matte Lipstick in Heat Wave.

• How to transform your makeup from day to night in under five minutes.

• Don’t you wish you could get volume like this? Well maybe you already know how, I shouldn’t assume otherwise. But I know I could for sure use some help in the volume department. There’s even a video tutorial.

• I wonder if Erase Paste by Benefit is as good as I hear. I’ve heard it’s a complete game changer.

• A very helpful guide to necklace lengths. Now instead of awkwardly trying to measure around my neck, I can just refer to this.

I hope you all have a wonderful and cozy weekend!

Glitter can either look tacky or chic. But when it is done right, there is nothing better than a little shimmer. Love, amore, liebe, crush, whatever you call it, I feel it for glitter and sequins that are done well! So when glitter nail polish became a craze, I got a bit excited. The only problem was I didn’t like most bottled glitter nail polish. It would clump or go on unevenly, and the glitter pieces were sparse and too large for my taste. I like my glitter like I like my rear end, small. So I took matters into my own hands. Here is what I used to give my nails some bling: base coat, Nars polish in Candy Darling, Martha Stewart glitter in bronze, and top coat.

I started out just as if I was painting my nails with normal polish, with a base coat. Then instead of two coats of the Nars polish, I just did one. Before it dried I sprinkled on the glitter. I let it dry just enough so that when I put the top coat on the glitter wouldn’t come off onto the brush. I guess I should mention that I did one hand at a time and let it dry enough so that I wouldn’t ruin it while doing the second hand.

It looks a bit more like gold in the pics than it does in real life, but I love how the bronze somewhat matches my skin color. It makes for the perfect shimmer when the light catches it. Next time I might try the gradient glitter look with a fun color base and lots of glitter at the tips that fades to nothing (like this).