Bachelorette TV Show

My last post got me thinking about my fav TV show- The Bachelorette. I've never really watched in the past, but Jillian won me over during The Bachelor. I think she's got such a fun, spunky personality. Obviously she's beautiful, but I think its the inner beauty that makes her a great catch. This season should be a lot of fun. After last week's episode, here are my comments, thoughts, and predictions.

Jake: commercial pilot; date w/private Martina McBride concert; my #1 pick for JillWes: wrote Jill a song; might have ulterior motivesTanner P: what's with the feet?Kiptyn: like him; but why is his name Kiptyn?Mike: baseball camp owner; fun loving; good match for JillJuan: thought he was nice at first, can't stand him now; Mr. SE is positive he prefers to date men

As the guys narrow down, it'll be easier to pinpoint who the top contestants are. It's hard to have camera time when there's so many guys left. Jillian was really quiet and hung on the back burner until there were about 15 girls left- then she shot to the top. It'll be interesting to see what happens Monday. And wasn't there something in the preview about some of the contestants having girlfriends?

The Bachelorette

No, not Jillian. But don't worry- I already have my DVR set for Monday night. Tomorrow I'll be flying out of Nashville for a fun girls' weekend! My best friend is getting married June 27th (so soon!!!) and we're heading up to Bethany Beach for her bachelorette. I'm flying to Raleigh, and we'll be driving up to Bethany together. I haven't been to Bethany since beach week in 2005. I have plans to pick up another Bethany Surf Shop t-shirt...it's the Salty Dog of the Mid-Atlantic!

The weekend is sure to be a lot of fun, and I'm really looking forward to the ride up there with K. This will probably be one of the last times we'll spend with just the two of us before she's married. On the bright side, K & K will be moving to Asheville after their wedding (close enough to drive!). I'll be sure to post pictures from the weekend festivities.

Outdoor Chic

This single picture exemplifies the feel I'd like our reception to have:

• Outdoor cocktail hour and/or reception
• Southern (easygoing, hospitable), but Black Tie (formal) affair
• Little bit of me (DC), little bit of Mr. SE (Georgia)
• Fun for both young and older guests (lots of dancing)
  

A while back, Snippet and Ink did a great inspiration board called Back Yard Black Tie. I can't seem to find the board now, but I'll be looking around for you. There's so many locations around Nashville that would be great for an event like this: Sam Davis House, Cedarwood, Carnton, and Traveller's Rest. Did you have a vision for your reception? Or did you just start once you picked the reception venue? I want out guests to spend either the cocktail hour or reception outdoors, but the possibility of rain makes me nervous. It's one more thing I don't want to stress about!

*Update* I found the inspiration board in my OneNote binder.

J.Crew for the Little Ones

I'm in love with this Allegra dress from J. Crew's weddings & parties line! The breeze and ivory shades are my favorite. For a evening wedding (or early fall), I'd like to see this dress with a coordinating cardigan. At $98, it's not overly pricey. I love the look of simple, classic lines for flower girls.

Now just for giggles, let's take a gander at this little beauty. If I A) had a daughter, and B) had lots of disposable income, I might buy this Celia dress for her. I this it's so chic and on point with current trends. But $295 is a little steep for a dress she'll probably grow out of really quickly.

Oh, Martha

FFIL SE gave me a Macy's gift card for graduation. Martha Stewart's kitchen collection is something I've been lusting over for awhile. I just love her aqua and coral colors (much like one of my favorite wedding palettes). Here's some of my possible purchases....

Fantabulous Shoes

It's no secret that I aspire to be like Kelly Ripa- she's such a sweetheart and I'm obsessed with everything she wears. Luckily the show's website now features a "Fashion Finder" section where you can see the breakdown of Kelly's outfits. Okay- they're SUPER expensive, but a girl can dream right? I'm in love with these Bottega Veneta heels. But at $950, I can't spring for a pair.

Getting Blackout

This isn't about my obsession with Sauvignon Blanc. It's about our bedroom curtains- and a little tidbit I thought you decorating divas might be interested in. We previously purchased some cheapo drapes for Mr. SE's bachelor pad bedroom. But now that we'll be sleeping there together (and we're next to the apartment complex entrance), I wanted to purchase something nicer. Blackout curtains have always seemed like such a fantastic fantasy to me- especially with my migraines. I'm sure Mr. SE will be pumped that I won't be sporting any more eye masks while sleeping. The curtains I purchased claim to block 90% of light and a large amount of noise. Sign me up!!!!

First I went to Bed Bath & Beyond. Can I just say that I have an aggressive love affair with this store?! I picked up these Eclipse panels for $29.99 each. Obviously I had my 20% coupons on hand. I also had some things to pick up at Walmart, so I decided to check out their curtain situation. Walmart had some blackout curtains at a much better price, $14.97 per panel thankyouverymuch. Although the price was more appealing, I was concerned about the quality versus my BB&B lovelies. Which panel do you think is more expensive?

{the one on the right is my cheapo find}
Hooray!!!

Table a Deux

Here's some pictures from my special project! I spent the week leading up to graduation refinishing my kitchen table, chairs, and bench. As seen in my previous post, this Pottery Barn table was my inspiration. What I thought would be a quick little project, ended up taking much longer than I thought. BUT- the final outcome was beautiful and I'm so proud of my first refinishing project. Here's a before picture, along with what the table looks like right now. Since we're in day 2 of moving, there's still a lot of STUFF everywhere. Please bear with me, I'll include a prettier picture in a few days.

Moving Day

What an exciting weekend! Today's the day that Mr. SE and I are making the trek to Tennessee. He's about to go pick up the moving truck with Daddy SE. Here's some pictures from yesterday's graduation.

Graduation!!!!

Today I am a graduate! I less than 3 hours we'll have our graduation ceremony from Elon University. They've been a long four years, and I'm really excited to be starting this new chapter of my life. I apologize for neglecting my blog this past week- life has been crazy! I'll be sure to post pictures from graduation!

*I just wanted to give a quick thank you to ALL the men and women honoring our great country in the Armed Forces***

Navy & Peach

Hello bloggy friends! Just wanted to do a quick post and let you know I'm still alive! We're up to our ears in moving boxes and just realized we're having some complications with our truck rental (eek!). For now- enjoy this lovely inspiration board from Snippet & Ink. I'm loving this Navy and Peach color palette! Navy is one of my favorite colors for weddings (classy, yet not stuffy like black), and Mr. SE is my Georgia peach!

I'm Back

Sorry I've been MIA the past couple days. I've been working on a big project and getting ready to move. Please hold tight- I promise I'll share all the deets on this super sweet project soon enough. My cute townhouse has turned into rows and rows of boxes, and lots of bare walls. This is just the breakdown of my bedroom!

Table a Deux

Want this fabulous table for $30? I'll show you how later this week....
Ooh, that made you mad didn't it? I'm sorry about that. But I promise the final reveal will be worth it!

New Links Added

If you're a frequent reader, you might have noticed some changes to the right side. I tried to make up creative names for each category (still working on that one). Two new categories are Chez Moi and Delicious. I think it goes without saying that the first is decorating and the later is cooking. Both cooking and decorating are really prevalent in my life right now, as I'm preparing to move in with Mr. SE (next weekend!!!!). So please, enjoy the links. It's a great way to spend your work day...errr time at home. Let me know if you have some suggestions for sites I should add! Ps- I lurrrrve your comments and I get SUPER excited every time I get a little message telling me there's a comment to be moderated!!!!

Used Bras: Don't Throw Away

Speaking of Victoria's Secret... I have moving boxes all over my house, with labels designating their respective destinations. While going through my bras I realized there's a few I don't even wear. Normally I'll just throw away bras when they don't fit anymore, but I thought there must be something better. The Salvation Army and Goodwill both accept bras. It seems like a simple purchase, but to a struggling single mother $30 is too much to spend on something for themselves.

There's a company called Bosom Buddy Recycling Program that allows you to donate your gently used bras. They distribute the bras to needy women in our country. Although they're located in AZ, they provide a shipping address for you to mail your bras. What a great cause!

-Visit the Salvation Army site to find your nearest drop-off location
-Bosom Buddy Recycling Program (site)

Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale

It's that time of year again! Victoria's Secret has already started their semi-annual sale online. Their collegiate t's are priced at $14.99 and under. Mr. SE bleeds UGA Bulldogs, but I wanted you TN lovelies to keep reading my blog- so I put both t's up there! Along with their PINK line (my favorite bras), everything else is on sale too. 5 for $20 instead of 5 for $25- sign me up!

Pretty Things

I'm in love with these two dresses. The top style is Alvina Valenta, and Jim Hjelm is on the bottom. I love how both of these lines take a little step towards contemporary fashion, but are still firmly rooted in traditional styles. Also- the JLM brand website is one of the few that shows their dresses on real people, not models. It's amazing to see how different a dress will look on a real person versus some stick on a runway. Do you have any advice for bridal shopping in Nashville? I'm a little familiar with the stores, but I'd love to hear real advice. Ps- I'm not looking forward to {almost} 10% sales tax on a $2,000 dress!

Breaking News: BR Weddings Line

This just in- Banana Republic has unveiled their Weddings line. I'm sure they'll show more styles soon. Right now I'm running out the door (to CELEBRATE that I'm done with college) but I had to share this with you!

Yikes!

Check out Sugar Stacks to see how much sugar is in what you eat.

Almost Done

{Mr. SE and FBIL SE}

My roomate went home for the summer, so I'm hanging by myself tonight. I've stufed my brain with 5+ hours of HGTV (and counting). Just found out I got a 50/50 on my long Responsible Leadership paper. In the essence of tooting my own horn, our professor said he's given "only several" 50/50 after teaching the class for 15 years.

My final tomorrow is in Business Policy and it's open book- YESSSS!!! After the test I'm heading out to Greensboro for some Forever 21 goodies! Hopefully I'll find a cute dress to wear for graduation. It's so not cool to wear the same dress for college and high school graduation.

Pizza Face

I've struggled with acne since 6th grade; I've even done two courses of Accutane. Thankfully, I'm good with makeup so it's not hard for me to disguise these pesky little visitors. But the truth is, I hate wearing makeup and I'd rather leave the house without it.

My dermatologist office has a MedSpa and I can get facials monthly for only my copay ($15)! My Dr. informed me that my skin isn't great at cycling itself, and doesn't naturally shed dead skin; thus, the breakouts occur. Before college I always broke out on my forehead, but since college started I've been breaking out on both cheeks.

Here's what I'm doing now:
A. 2 antibiotics
B. Yaz
C. Prescription face wash
D. Differin at night & Duac in the morning
E. Changing pillowcase nightly

Honestly, I've reached my wit's end! I'm 22 years old and this shouldn't be a problem any more. I've made an appointment with Ellen Jacobson (SkinMD) in Nashville, and I'm excited to have a new Dr's opinion. Recently I've bought a couple new products to try and fight this battle: Dermalogica CLEAN START (starter program) and a Zeno Pro. The Zeno was a little pricey $130, but there's a 30-day money back guarantee. The problem is that you can only use it on deep breakouts- which aren't really my main problem. I will definitely let you know how the new products work.

Do you all have any great derm recommendations in Nashville? Also, I'm nervous about the hard water. My skin always seems to break out worse when I'm in TN. I didn't grow up with hard water, and I don't have it here- so my face isn't used to it. Did any of you have a hard time adjusting? Don't worry, Mr. SE already got me a super nice filtering shower head, but I can still tell a little. Any advice would be great! Sorry for the long post- love you all.

Getting Threaded

After 4 years I finally found a place to have my eyebrows threaded in NC! There's a great place in VA/DC that I've been going to for a couple years (Pink Karma), but I hadn't found anywhere in the Carolinas. A couple days ago I realized that I needed to get this done REALLY bad (hello caterpillar!) and set forth on a very serious Google search. Enter Mehak Universe Beauty- they're 30 minutes away, but next to the mall with the Forever 21. I was planning on going to F21 anyways, so what a perfect treat! For those of you who don't know what threading is, read about it here. It's a) so much gentler than waxing, b) more precise, c) really freaking cool to watch.

Do you get threaded, wax, or tweeze?

Grey's Anatomy Season Finale

Did anybody watch Grey's tonight? Can we please get some comment action started about the season finale!!!!

The Shred: Part II

I successfully completed my 2nd workout (level 1) of The Shred. I'm feeling pretty good. Seriously- I'm feeling it during the workout, but afterward I'm not sore or tired. Maybe it's just because I'm so buff to begin with...riiight. I'm sure she'll kick my butt soon enough. Anyways, I've got a big bottle of water + 1 Imitrex (3 day headache-super) and I'm off to bed.

Psst- there's only 8 days until graduation!!! I have an open-book test Saturday afternoon, but other than that I'm done. Yay!

Okay, this picture is kind of funny. It's migraine Barbie and the caption says, "Barbie was worried she might not have enough drugs for her next migraine, she was going to call her doctor now!" If you get migraines you'll understand this one. Love you, readers!

The Shred: Part I

Last night I did my first Shred workout. I'm not sure how many times you're supposed to do it (per week), but I'm going to try for every day. Also, my DVD has 30 day free access to Jillian's online program. I'm going to sign up for that and I'll let you know how it goes.

Review on the program: I used 3lb weights and found the strength exercises difficult, but manageable. Cardio was a little difficult for me because of my recent ankle surgery, but I think that's to be expected. Abs weren't easy and weren't hard, perfect medium.

Review of JM: She's hilarious. Honestly, when she was like "If you're going to die, watch Anita"

My girlfriend came over while I was doing the workout. We left our garage door open, so she let herself in and thought it was hilarious when she found my in my room PURPLE doing Shred. It's that time again. I've been running errands ALL DAY, and I'm super tired. But Jillian says that's when it counts the most (when you're tired). It's time to get my shred on, ladies....

Perky Purple

This is my new obsession: Essie Perky Purple. I painted a little bit of my nail at Ulta yesterday and I LOVE IT! It's such a fun shade for summer. Most likely not for fingernails, but toenails definitely. Although, Ginnifer Goodwin looked super cute in "He's Not That Into You" with her purple nails.

On another note, I've started thinking about how to get "involved" in Nashville. I have a couple girlfriends through Mr. SE's friends, but I'd really like to start making friends of my own. I know, it sounds like I'm 10 years old. But I think having female relationships are crucial to finding balance, especially if you're married or living with your significant other. How did you get "involved" and meet people?

Gallery Frames

I'd really like to do some frames like this for our apartment. The shelves don't cost too much ($10 at Target) and the pictures can be changed out seasonally. I like the idea of doing bright photos to contrast the black frame and cream matting. Or you could do a mix of black & white and color. Is this just a trend or do you think it'll last?

Sorry I haven't been blogging much about weddings lately. I've just really had decorating on my mind, seeing as I'm moving next Sunday!!!!

Shout Out: Preppy Polka Dot

Ohmygosh! I just found this site, The Preppy Polka Dot, through the lovely Jessica at Yours Truly. Angela has a blog and an etsy shop. Seriously- she makes the cutest things! I dare you to visit her shop and not want at least a bunch of goodies.Duffie would love to receive her treats from this spectacular little jar!!!

Breathe, Stretch, Shake, Let it Go

I just saw this quote on Yellow Brick Blog and I think it's perfectly applicable for this stage in my life right now. Yes, I thought I'd be engaged at homecoming. Yes, I wanted to have a job by Christmas (at the latest). We're still not officially engaged and I'm still unemployed. But guess what? I'm learning to roll with the punches and love the life that's in front of me.

I love Mr. SE and have loved him since he wished on a shooting star "that I'd be his wife" in 2006. The purse strings got a little tight with Q4's financial downturn, but we're still planning for a future. Companies aren't throwing jobs at new grads like in '06, '07, and '08. But I didn't get discouraged and settle for a lifetime of something that didn't interest me. I've tried to keep a positive outlook and maintain a focus on the things that make me happy. I think there's some good things in store for the SE's in these next couple months.

AKPsi Banquet

We had our banquet for my business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, this weekend. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I was able to attend. Here's a picture of my "little" and I. Guess what my senior superlative was...Done guessing? "Most Likely to Marry and Athlete". Fitting, I think :-)

Number Lovin'

Does that kind of sound like Summer Lovin' from Grease? I think that's what I was going for. Anyways- I'd love to make one of these little lovelies like Katie over at Bower Power. She has some fantastic home decorating/remodeling projects. I love the idea of this project. I'm not sure if those are their house numbers, or just numbers that they like. I think I'll do it in our apartment number. Tres chic! See the project details {here}

Crafty Wrap-Up

Here's the final product from my moving announcement project. The inspiration announcement is above (Wedding Paper Divas, I think). I decided to cut out the outline and affix a pretty ribbon through the loophole. For family making the journey to NC for graduation, I'll be putting these inside their Elon Tervis tumbler. I think they turned out pretty spankin cute! PS- 11 DAYS UNTIL GRADUATION!!!!!