A Loves J : Pretty Things

There were many times this winter when Sarge and I both wished we had a fireplace.  There's something so satisfying about sitting in front of the fire with a big blanket and a book...maybe in our next place.

Since we've lived her for a year now, I've discovered that I may have something even better than a fireplace:  a built-in.

Our house was built in the 1920s, and has some really cool features, one of which is an awesome built-in in the dining room.  Over the last year, I've taken to treating it almost as a mantel, and changing it with the seasons.  When we first moved in, it looked like this:



Shortly thereafter, it became this:



Now, it looks like this:


(Pay no attention to the random box on the left.)

I did minimal decorating at Christmas, mostly because...I am really lazy about decorating at Christmas.  We didn't even have a tree this year; isn't that sad?  It's especially hilarious because last year, our first Christmas together, I was traumatized by the thought of us not having a tree.  What a difference a year makes.

Anyway, I'm actually glad we have the built-in instead of a mantel because it's just as versatile and provides something a mantel can't: S T O R A G E.  It holds a hodgepodge of things: my grandma's china set, our wine/beer/lowball glasses, miscellaneous vases, tablecoths (in the drawers), extension cords, other junk that has no place (don't judge me because I have a junk drawer in every drawere-d object).


(A closeup of said mantel.  I acquired most of these milkglass pieces from Sarge's grandma, a fantastic lady with a fantastic collection of STUFF.)

So there you go.  Step one in Learning to Love Your Old House: embracing the stuff you can't change.

Working in the wedding industry can be terribly exhausting.  I realize this is probably a very obvious statement, but perhaps not blatantly so--most of the time, when I tell people what I do, their first response is usually something along the lines of, "Wow!  That must be fun!"

Well, not really.  Okay, maybe I'm a tad of a cranky old lady.  I don't mean to be, I'm sorry.  This is not how I wanted to start this post.  Let's regroup, shall we?

Weddings are awesome!

(Forced?  Sorry.  I should just quit while I'm ahead.)

Anyway, Sarge and I recently celebrated our two year anniversary.  Yay, us!



Aside from the obvious reflections on the past two years, I found myself thinking about our wedding in particular--or, rather, I often find myself thinking about our wedding, as I think about weddings every single day (see above).

We were engaged the beginning of April and married the end of June.  Of the same year.  There were several reasons for such a short betrothal period, most of which were purely logistical (none of which had to do with me being preggers, though).  :]  Without boring you with lots of details, it just made more sense for us to do it quickly. 

This presented several challenges: finding a venue/dress/caterer/photographer in such a short period of time; meeting a teeny tiny (by today's standards) budget; other miscellaneous things.  Luckily for us, no one is crazy enough to get married in the summer in Phoenix, so everything actually came together quite nicely.  Naturally, there are things I would have changed and things I wouldn't have.  So, to start with, here's a list of Things I Loved About Our Wedding:

+ Our photographer.  Everyone has their priorities when it comes to the wedding: flowers, food, the dress.  I knew from the beginning of my planning process that I was willing to spend a nice chunk of change on an awesome photographer, even if that meant having to scrimp on other areas.

+ The size.

(Most of our guests at dinner.)

We had 35 guests, 37 including Sarge and me.  I'll admit, it was at times really difficult to decide who "made the cut" and who didn't.  Some people were upset, but most of our family and friends were totally understanding about why we had such a small event.  I chose complete honesty in my explanation: frankly, we couldn't afford a big wedding.

We have loved ones all over the place.  At the time, we had lots of friends in Arizona and lots of family in the Midwest (Sarge's dad has five brothers and sisters; my mom has three).  So, we decided to include them all in some way or another: we took a portion of our wedding budget and hosted a low-key barbeque at my parents' house in Arizona a couple of days before the wedding.  All of our friends were invited and we got to spend time with everyone, for which I was so thankful.

After the wedding, we came to Minnesota and spent a week (our "honeymoon") at my parents' cabin, where we had another casual get-together with my mom's side of the family.  A few days later, we ventured to South Dakota, where Sarge's grandma and other family members generously hosted a reception for us over the 4th of July.  It was perfect, because we got to talk with everyone and didn't have the stress of the wedding hanging over our heads.

+The venue.

Inspirador was amazing.  They took such great care of us down to the last detail: from preparing a special plate for Sarge's grandpa's dietary restrictions to making sure my drink was never empty at the reception and everything in between.  They were extremely flexible and didn't make us feel like second-class citizens because of our small budget, something that seemed to happen a lot of other places we looked at.

+The dress.


Having been in several weddings prior to my own, I knew that wedding gowns take an egregious amount of time to be made.  I also knew that most wedding gowns are egregiously expensive (something I know even more now that I get to see the wholesale cost retailers pay for them...sheesh).  Taking these things into consideration, along with the fact that I knew I wanted a relatively simple dress, I opted for a bridesmaid dress--in white.  Basically, I looked online for designers I liked, figured out which styles came in white or ivory (more than you would think!), and found shops that carried those lines.  When I went in to try on dresses, they were in a variety of colors, none of which were white--so I had to use my imagination.  The sample of the dress I ultimately chose was green, but I still had that "Aha!" moment most other brides had--I knew it was The One.  Funny how that works.  Even with a super rush cut (an additional $50) and alterations, my dress still came in under $300.  That might be the budget-saver I'm most proud of!

(I borrowed my veil from my best friend, in case you're wondering--which worked out perfectly, because it gave my dress some drama and also gave me my "something borrowed.") 


This is just a sampling of the best things about our wedding.  Really, I had a fantastic experience, considering it could have been disastrous (did I mention I also got mono one month before?).  Honestly though?  It's only as difficult as you make it.  I didn't stress about the details ("OMG THE NAPKINS DON'T MATCH THE RIBBONS ON THE BOUQUETS?!"), which helped tremendously--and I had LOTS of help.  My mother-in-law has impeccable taste, and was in charge of a lot of details on my behalf.  She had final say on my flowers, most of the decorations and the table settings.

At the end of the day, we were married.  And, really, that's when the fun begins.  It sounds cheesy but it's true.  My father in law said it best when he said, "You do, I do, We do."  That's what it comes down to...and I still "do."

Adler typewriter circa late 1960s (?) - thrifted.

This is actually a picture holder, but I like it best by itself.  I've always loved how it's graphic and bold but still playful.  It was from Pier 1, I believe--I got it as a gift.

Vintage tablecloth - thrifted.  I've had the dresser for over 10 years; it was originally in my bedroom and has now proved to be one of the most versatile pieces of furniture I've ever owned (thanks, Mom!).  I'd love to refinish it someday.

Crazy awesome flowers I got at the farmer's market.

A shot of the corner opposite the built-in.  This is my attempt at making our overflowing book collection look stylized, when in actuality, we just don't have anywhere else for them.

Table - Craigslist.  Chairs - thrifted.  Rug - Crate & Barrel.  Green glassware on the built-in - thrifted.

I've been wanting to do this plate wall FOREVER.  I didn't take any closeups, but those are all "state" plates, probably circa 1970 and earlier.  The license plates were actually ones we've had on our cars!  There's a paper towel on the right side of the group that's holding the place for our California when, which I'll put up as soon as we get our Minnesota one in the mail.

Globe - thrifted

Just a few shots I took of the dining room.  I think it's becoming my favorite room in our house, because it's actually been the one easiest for me to decorate!  I'm fairly proud of my efforts.  I'd say at least 85% of this room is thrifted/salvaged/secondhand.  Maybe that's what I'm actually most proud of...

(Image from asee.org)

Why is "business casual" so...LAME?

This has been the question burning in my mind since I found out I got the job (yaaaay!) and heard the dreaded words, "business casual" (laaaame!).  I am somewhat perplexed as to why a bridal shop has a "business casual" dress code.  Frankly, I would feel a little weird buying a wedding gown from a woman in a power suit, but that's just me.

In my new workplace's defense, I've only heard about said dress code from the HR manager, when I asked her what to wear to orientation.  I believe her exact words were something like, "It's business casual, you know, nothing too short or too low..."

Which seems obvious.  Except that I have this problem of being long legged...and so nearly every dress I try on hits above the knee.  Some dresses are work appropriate if I wear tights or leggings with them, I THINK.  Needless to say, I'm anxious to see what the other girls are wearing.  I want to look professional, but seriously?  Fasion is a creative business, and even if it's a bridal shop, I still think it's appropriate to look fashion-conscious, yes?

Speaking of the new job, I'll be working in the tuxedo department.  I'm actually really excited about this because I know nothing about men's fashion and am looking forward to learning.  My ignorance in this area became painfully obvious this week, and here's why:

Sarge started law school last week, and in that time we've gone to no less than three different mixers for various organizations on campus.  Some are more casual than others, but I tend to overdress because I'd rather be overdressed than under-dressed.  Anyway, as we've been attending these events, Sarge and I realized he has virtually no proper dress clothes.  He doesn't have a nice pair of khakis, a decent, well-fitting blazer, or any dress accessories (shoes, belt, etc.).  I guess that's what five years in the Army will do to a person's wardrobe (maybe that's also what 6 1/2 years at a coffee shop will do to a person's wardrobe...hence why I've never had any work clothes that don't have coffee/mocha/tea stains on them).

(This doesn't have anything to do with men's dress clothes. It just came up when I did a search for "men's fashion," and I thought it was hilarious. Image via refinery29.com.)

So yesterday I went to the mall to see what I could find.  Unfortunately, shopping for Sarge is much less fun than shopping for myself, so I had a harder time summoning excitement for my task.  I found some things at all the usual suspects (Banana Republic in particular has a few pieces I'd love to splurge on for him) but, when it comes down to it, we just don't have the cash.  So I've resulted to Kohl's, JCPenney, and the like.

I was actually surprised at Kohl's' (that looks super weird!) selection.  I ended up getting him a classic light blue oxford button down, a pair of dress khakis, and two rugby stripe ties, one in blue and red and another in kelly green and blue.  The khakis are a little big, so I'm going to see if we can hunt down a better pair this weekend.  But I got the whole loot for less than $100, which is, in a word, AWESOME.  However, neither Sarge nor I have any idea how all of this is supposed to fit.  Such as...how long are the pants supposed to be?  Is the shirt supposed to be more baggy or more fitted?  And how the heck to I iron all of it?!?!  (AskMen.com has a great article I just found here on how to do that very thing, so even if you're clueless about fit and tailoring, like I am, at least you won't be wrinkly.)

(Also, as an aside, did you know they don't make a suit coat in a 38 long?  Of course, this would probably be Sarge's perfect size.  Typical.)

(I can't talk about men and suits without mentioning Don Draper. I just can't. Image via amctv.com)

It's funny to me that all of this is happening right around the time when I'm embarking on a new career in...men's formal wear!  I am excited to learn, though.

What's that?  You're wondering what kind of jerk would want to commit cruelty to animals and mention it in their subject post?  Well, that jerk might be me.  I'm ashamed to admit it, but the pekingese and yorkie downstairs, with their incessant yipping at every breeze, blink and toilet flush, have evoked a sleeping rage within me.  I swear, the barking is enough to make a person crazy.  Why?  Why must we bark at everything?  I suppose it's not as much their fault as it is their perhaps irresponsible owners'.  All I can say is that I'm glad I at least have a bike so I can escape if need be.

Hey everyone!

Welcome to my first style-focused blog! I've been following so many style and design blogs I decided to dedicate one of my own to all the pretty things I find. Here, I'll post all kinds of pretty things--involving fashion, interior design and arts & crafts. Eventually, I'd love to tie it into my Etsy shop, A Loves J. Baby steps!