Successful Shopping Day

I am by no means, an awesome clothes shopper.  In fact, I'm probably one of the only girls on the planet that hates shopping for clothes.  Let me rephrase that...I hate shopping for clothes for myself.  So when I got my birthday presents from my family (thanks you guys!), I knew I had to spend my gift cards (and cash) wisely and I knew that I was in desperate need of new winter clothes.  I mean, I have a few favorite sweaters that still fit and are in tact that were new when Chris and I started dating three and a half years ago.  Yea...that's kind of sad.

See, I would much rather spend money on things for the house.  Or on my crafting, reading, or movie watching obsessions.  I am not a happy shopping person.  That gene went to my youngest sister and I do not envy her at all.

However!  I decided to treat myself today.  Mostly because I only have about five sweaters in my closet and I knew they were not going to last me all winter.  But, the reason behind the shopping really doesn't matter.  What does matter is the fact that I went and I was successful.

I went to at least four different stores today.  That may not sound like a lot, but for a reluctant shopper like me it feels more like browsing in four hundred stores.  

I have been eyeing this outfit from American Eagle for some time now, but I was not willing to shell out $109.90 for two pieces.  That just wasn't going to happen.  So, I began to look for cheaper alternatives and was very lucky to find one at Old Navy.

The above dress was originally $38 online and not sold in stores.  I was really disappointed because (1) I didn't want to pay that much, and (2) the cheaper alternative wasn't going to ship out until December 22nd.  So, I ended up going to the store and was lucky enough to find that someone returned it in my size and preferred color!  I also got 50% off of the dress just in case something was wrong with it (there wasn't) which, in my opinion, was a complete steal!  (insert happy dance)  

I couldn't find a cute cardigan to go over the dress though, so I went over to Target to try to find something.  Unfortunately, my luck ran out over at Target and I couldn't find a cardigan I liked.  But...I was able to find an outfit similar to this one to buy:

 
I'm pretty darn excited!  I think I've got enough cardigans, sweaters, and long sleeve shirts to last me a while now.  And I can't wait until my two pairs of boots (I'm finally getting a pair of cowboy boots!  YeeeHaaaaw!!!) come in from Amazon next week.

I'm so thankful for the thoughtful gifts from my family.  They were put to good use, and I feel like I'll look really stylish this winter!

Flower Girl Dilema

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my just-turned-one, soon-to-be niece flower girl.  My first problem is trying to decide what I want her to wear.  I have a few ideas in my head (thank you pinterest) and they're all so cute that I can't choose just one!

This Belle inspired tutu is so adorable and I smile every time I see it!

I love the tutu idea!  It just seems so fun, cute, and comfortable for the flower girls and I just love the look!  However, my mom brought up the fact that it may be too casual for a royal themed wedding. 

My other idea was to buy a cute Disney inspired Belle costume from the Disney store and have my flower girl wear it down the aisle.  But...when I was in California back in October we went to Downtown Disney and had Amelia try on the dresses and they were either too tight or too long.  And to be honest, it's just not my favorite.  It may be great for a royal themed wedding but I'm just not sure.

So...any suggestions on which one to choose?  What do you think works better for a royal themed wedding?  Oh...so many decisions and I'm having the hardest time trying to choose!  Any help would be greatly appreciated!   

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

Yesterday I took both my sisters to look at bridesmaid dresses.  I had found some dresses online through the Dessy Collection that I was in love with, so we were really excited to go to look at them!

We went to Rosalin's Bridal Boutique in Falls Church, VA, and I have to say I was very disappointed.  The store was very small and cluttered, and it was extremely hard to find anything on the racks.  We were greeted by a small Asian man when we walked in, and once I told him what designer I was looking for, (Dessy), he pointed us to a small rack by the door and left us to look.  All the sizes they had were between 10's and 18's, a few 4's, 6's, and 8's, but those were few and far in-between.  The colors of their samples would look good on no one, and it was hard to visualize how the dresses would look in the color I wanted. 

The Dessy dress in Coral.

While Sam and Julie were changing, I went to the register and asked if they had a certain dress in the store for them to try on.  I had had my eye on it for a while, and was pretty sure it was going to be "the dress."  But....the owner told me it was a three year old design that wasn't being sold anymore.  That doesn't make much sense to me since it is still on the Dessy website....but I couldn't argue with them if they didn't have it in store!  

So, we left a bit disappointed and put-out.  Luckily, we had enough time to head over to David's Bridal in Springfield to shop and spend more time together!  Once again they tried on many dresses, none of which we liked, and we were getting frustrated.  I was able to try on my wedding dress for Julie, and we then had the bright idea to have Sam try on dresses to see which ones would look good next to mine!  Our consultant picked out the dress below and we all agreed it was our favorite.  The only problem is, David's Bridal does not carry the color coral and I have had my heart set on that since Chris and I got engaged.  However, I am really starting to like the Watermelon color in the picture below.  If it was a little bit lighter it would pass for a type of coral, but I think its beautiful the way it is.  The other option is the guava ...but I don't really like it as much.  There is also another bridal shop in Leesburg that has a few coral dresses I like so I'm going to go look at those before I make a final decision.  I mean...whats the rush?  The wedding is next April!