GILT

Sorry these aren't the greatest pictures.  I've been observing GILT sales for awhile but never bit the bullet on a purchase until last week.  I was somewhat skeptical of GILT & Ebates because I figured there has to be a catch.  If there is, my ass hasn't figured it out yet!  As far as GILT, $49 for J Brand jeans was just too good to pass up.  My only complaint about these jeans, along with most, is that under my tush they ALWAYS pull and look ridiculous.  *sigh*

I swear they fit.  My legs are totally getting circulation in these pictures.  So, what do y'all think?  Should these jeans get put on Ebay or should I go ahead and get them hemmed with hope?

Next, I bought this comfy Juicy velour jacket.  Before you judge, it's been nippy in the mornings on and I thought this would be ok over scrubs.  And to be honest, I'm a jeans and tee-shirt kind of  girl and will probably probably wear it a lot to the grocery store and other miscellaneous errands.  It is soft, warm... ahhh, I hope I don't fall asleep on my commute to work.

And last, a sad day in the shoe department.  I freakin' love shoes.  Like, L-O-V-E shoes.  When a 25% off coupon code popped up in my inbox from Piperlime I knew what I was going to purchase.  Sam Edelman's Effie.

Well I got these babies in the mail today and within 2 minutes of wearing them realized they had to go.  Most uncomfortable shoe I've tried on in a long time.  Such a shame because after I ordered them, I spotted them in the new InStyle.  Grrr.  I had such great hopes for you Effie.  You were going to look great with a little wool mini but noooooo, you had to be difficult.

*Ashley

'cuz being in love with yo ass ain't cheap

Cee Lo's latest song just makes me want to get off my ass and dance, which is precisely what I did while accomplishing a few things around the house this afternoon.  And a line from the song reminded me of my groomzilla's diva demands...

This is Nathan's Holy Grail facial moisturizer.  I admittedly did this to myself.  There was once a time when my sweet Nathan called Cetaphil the "expensive stuff."  How cute, right?!  One damn Christmas I thought it was be a great idea to purchase this for him and I've been doing it ever since.  I actually love this moisturizer as well AND it even sat on Carrie Bradshaw's bathroom sink in several episodes.  The product is pretty steep by my standards at $43 a jar but the silky smooth texture, light scent, quick absorption & reduction in fine lines makes this a go-to product if your looking for a great anti-aging face cream.  I still use Benefit's Dear John but when I get into my 30's I'll swiftly be converting to this product.  It is amazing. 

And since we live 45 minutes away from my beloved Sephora, I had to order myself a little something(s) to score free shipping last week: 

I'm going to test out Clinique's All About Eyes Rich.  I've previously tried Benefit's Eyecon and while it felt nice on my skin, it did nothing to help reduce dark circles.  I also have been wanting to try Tocca's Laundry Delicate in Florence.  I wear Florence and thought making my silkies & sheets smell pretty would be nice for newlyweds.  :-)

Happy Monday everyone!

So blessed! {photo heavy}

Ladies, my Bachelorette celebration was so much fun.  I truly am so blessed to be friends with people who went above & beyond to make it a special day.  I fought off tears several times and had to tell myself "get it together crazy, do you want your makeup to be ruined?!?"  Also, after a few drinks before leaving the hotel for Chelsea Handler I decided to lead the group in a prayer.  Note to self- do not do that again.  It was a sweet disaster that went downhill as soon as I uttered the words "Dear God".

Here are the after pics from after we finished getting our makeup done (out of respect for ourselves, we did not take any before shots):

Gorgeous Charlsie

Target blazer

Cami by LC for Kohls

J&Company jeans I got on super clearance several years ago

Beautiful sissy, Katie

Stunning Megan

Sexy Sara

I am a 19 month trauma-survivor and decided while I was still an inpatient that if I could stay positive and worked hard to get back to the best me I could possiby be, that this would be my reward. The salesman said the company is on a worldwide shortage and what they expected to sale for the year had already been surpassed.  I was instantly attracted to the Tivoli PM.  We were totally those people who took pics in store.  It was a big day for me, ok?! bahahaha!

Happiest girl in. the. world!

My beautiful bridesmaid, Cyd.  She is a beauty queen who got us into a fabulous suite at the Loews at Vanderbilt- we stayed in a suite that Mariah Carey previously stayed in.  Shut up!!

The Bachelorette fashionistas.  My friends brought their fierce A-game:

If you made it through my incessant ramblings- thank you for reading! 
*Ashley

First OOTN

Nathan & I had our bi-monthly conversation that always goes like this:

Nathan: You're wearing that?!

Me: ....yes.

Nathan:  You are too dressed up, look at me.  You always out dress me.  Put on some jeans.

Me:  No!  Why do you get so upset when I look better than you?  You should be used to it by now!  (muahahaha! ;-))

I bought this dress this summer trying to move away from black everything.  I own very little print & firmly believe in the 80/20 rule... exactly why I love J.Crew so much.  Never, ever goes out of style.  Still have my freshman year of high school Sweetheart dress from J.Crew, as a matter of fact.  My Gramma bought the dress for me.  She would be so proud of her investment.  Anyway, I've spent the past couple of days meeting with financial planners, none who shared my vision of diversifying my closet instead of a portfolio.  But I did have one vote out of three for the Louis Vuitton.  I think I know who I'll be investing with.

Dress - Target

Belt - Banana Republic

Shoes- Michael Kors



Walkin' on sunshine

Hi friends,

Today, I am feeling overwhelmingly blissful.  :)  I must have gotten excellent sleep last night or it could be the fact that I cleaned my bathroom (it's the simple things in life, people!) and have a spotless toilet... but whatever it is, I like and welcome you to take part in my life every day for forever. 

We had a great shower Saturday night and I managed to end up with not one picture from it.  I suck.  True story.  Buttttt I am lovin' this drink bucket the hosts gave us:

Such a great idea!  Wine & gorgeous coasters included.  I love stone coasters. 



I had my bridal portraits yesterday & my florist made this sample for the shoot.  I didn't have a specific idea for a bouquet in my head so I just gave him creative freedom.  I ended up really liking it even though the greenery reminded me a little of broccoli.  I also was unable to secure a spot at Cheekwood but that's totally ok, the shots she showed me back looked great- can't wait to share them!



Also, a quick tidbit about my friend Sara.  Sara recently purchased her first home at 24- go girl!  I'm super late on putting a housewarming gift together but was able to gift her a little something today.  I've suddenly taken interest (again- this urge always happens around the Holidays too) in making pretty presentations with gifts but still have a long way to go before the North Pole would ever hire me.  Sara's housewarming gift from start to finish...

She loves Coke & I figured it would help the items perch up a little in the basket.

Can't have a gift without tissue paper involved!

Ok, so these are probably not considered gifts but I've shared with you last post that any gift excites me- so I hope Sara enjoys her cleaning items.  :-)  We all now know that I have an obsession with clean toilets, hence the Clorox product, and also I love Pledge's Multi-Surface cleaner.  Works well on mirrors & our glass tabletops- highly recommend it.

Whaaalaaa!

Obsessed with sparkle tulle, by the way.

Hope everyone is having a fabulous day!  Thanks for reading.  :-)

*Ashley



Best intentions

Nathan & I have our first shower tomorrow & so I ventured out today to buy gifts for the hosts.  We are five weeks shy from our big day!  I will admit that at times I can be a terrible gift giver.  I often refer to myself when purchasing a gift and ask... "Ashley, would this excite you?"  Wrong question because pretty much any sort of gift excites me- a magazine, new highlighters in my stocking at Christmas, peanut butter m&ms... you get the point.  I remember one time for a friends birthday I bought hand soap & lotion that sat in a little silver tray- would have looked great in my kitchen!  Yea, I guess she didn't like it because she left it at her neighbor/our friends house and that friend ended up keeping it!  I will leave the story at that.  So I ended up buying the hosts a candle at B&B Works with matching hand soap (along with a couple things for my BM's "swag bag").  Honestly, would that gift bum you out?  Any better suggestions?

B&B Works got sick on my carpet.

I even stopped at Hobby Lobby to make sure the gifts would look pretty wrapped.

We'll pretend the step after this looked like it came right from Candy Spelling's gift wrapping room.

And finally, I received my sissy's MOH gift in the mail today.  Wonder what it could be?!  ;-)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

P.S.- sorry I had to edit the post, I made a mental note to never use the "x-large" picture option again.

*Ashley

I don't think you're ready for this jelly...

I ended up purchasing the pink dress... found it for 50% off at Neiman Marcus & they fortunately had my size!  Whoop, whoop!  Glad I didn't pay full price because it's pushing being worth $132.  It's definitely not something I would wear on the regular and I'm a little concerned about the length & my bootylicious backside but I think it will definitely be bachelorette party appropriate... which I am SO EXCITED FOR!  A few of us are starting out by getting our makeup done at MAC (thanks to my sissy aka my "#1 follower" for making the appointments).  I think I'll finally make my highly anticipated LV purchase and then we are going to finish getting ready at the hotel before heading to see Chelsea Handler.  One of my bridesmaids was able to get us free tickets- go Charlsie!  I'm not sure what else is planned but I'm definitely looking forward to the 24th!  ;-)

Here is the little pink number straight from the box:

Am I an Armenian princess in disguise?  I don't know... but, yes.

As always, thanks for reading!

*Ashley

Bachelorette Dress Hunt, Part Deux

Now is the time to act on a dress for my bachelorette party or to score another pair of boots I've been sweating... or maybe both.  My paycheck is a little bigger than normal due to a hospital meal break issue and so I figure, why not?  ;-) 

I've moved away from the cold shoulder dress and have officially fallen in love with this sexy little number:

Aidan Mattox Draped One Shoulder Stretch Satin Dress

I like the gathering at the waist and it will give me more shape when compared to the cold shoulder dress.  My concern with the gold dress is that it will fall off my lady bits and end up making me look bigger than I am and what woman wants that?  This dress is still pricey but during my rationalization for the gold dress, I decided I could take the dress with me when I travel (because I do that so much) and call it the "Gold Dress Adventures"  but now it would be the "Pink Dress Adventures"... makes total sense right?  SOLD!  Places I plan on going in the following year (don't laugh):  Cabo (honeymoon), NYC, LA, & some other girl beach trip.  Where of these places will I actually end up going?  Cabo- but hey, a girl can dream right?

These are the boots I've been sweating: 

Fauna riding boot

I promised myself that I would only buy one pair of boots this season, as I've been doing now for the past few falls.  I already bought a pair but these are just too me to pass up.  I was so excited when a 40% off coupon popped up in my inbox yesterday at work that as soon as I got home the purchase was going to happen.  I put them in my shopping bag, tried to apply the code, and what happens?  It doesn't apply to women's shoes.  FML. 

Have a great & safe holiday weekend!

*Ashley