I Choose Fabulous

Happy Summer!!!
I can't believe it's already the middle of JUNE!! Luke is almost 9 months old - Dablet is in pre-school 5 days a week now and loving it! We're in the process of giving Dablet a Kate Spade style "big girl room" and I decided after two kids and purging most of my closet I needed a bit of fun in my life as well! To make everything just a bit more fabulous, I finally jumped in and decided to give Stitch Fix a try!! I held out for a while because it felt a bit indulgent to me - having someone "style me" - but the reality is while I LOVE to shop, I don't really have the time! Also, I found myself buying the same t-shirts and yoga pants! While much of my life is like that, business has taken me to a new level of needing more chic moments in my life that still fit my "on the go mom of two" while allowing me to try things on at home! Enter Stitch Fix!
For a $20 styling fee (that gets applied to anything you decide to keep!) you get 5 items sent to your door on a frequency and budget you choose, and if you keep all five items - you get a 25% discount!! - SCORE!! 
(spoiler alert....I think the first one is a 5/5!!!)

They even take the guess work out and send you a style card with outfit suggestions!!

I specifically requested a pair of boyfriend jeans (which I couldn't take off the entire time I was taking pictures!!) and fun funky tops for Summer! My stylist Kelli did an amazing job!! 

Mavi Ruxin (aka Emma) Boyfriend Jean - $118

Verdict: KEEP - need to exchange sizes!

These are SO soft, more of a high waist which is nice for my 2 kids post c-section tummy

and not too much distressing!!

Daniel Rainn Haight Crochet Detail Top - $68

Verdict - KEEP

This has great shoulder detail and is very light (and sheer) It has a built in stretchy

navy cami that is nice and LONG!!

Pixley Gonzalaz Double Strap Tank - $44

Verdict - KEEP

I LOVE how this shows the shoulders!! I work hard for those holding Luke (all 25lbs of him!)

and it's a nice high/low front to back without being too short!

My 5'10" body can hold hands above head and not show belly - essential for on the go w/ kids

41Hawthorn Montreal Arrow Printed Henley Blouse - $48

Verdict - KEEP

While this isn't exactly Summer - It's great if I'm in A/C and will be an essential piece for Fall

Plus...I love black and white! <3

Moon Collection Larson Pleat Detail Blouse - $48

Verdict - Strategic KEEP

I'm still not 100% sure about this one, but I save more than twice what this top costs if I keep it!

It's sheer and flowy, which I love, but I'm not sure of the print 

Might like it better with white skinny jeans!

What do you think?! I'm excited to go back and give feedback and leave some special requests for my next fix! If you click on STITCH FIX (here or anywhere above) and decide to give your own fix a try, I'll receive a $25 styling credit! It's a nice way for the company to pay the love forward - and I loved that my friend who referred me got a credit too! 

Moral of the story - this mama is THRILLED to have taken a moment to treat herself!! I get the time back and hassle removed of shopping with the kids! Let's be honest...I'd rather do a painting project with Dablet than hit the shops at the end of the day!! 

Sneak Peek:

Coming up on the Blog - we've been married for 5 years!!! And our favorite photographer Matt McGraw joined us on Bald Head Island to capture our little family 5 years after our wedding!! 

Until next time....

Home Away From Home

How often have you heard the saying "home is where the heart is"? It might be somewhat sappy, and even overused, but it is entirely true. This past weekend Kyle and I were on vacation with Dablet and several of our family members; I think we had 19 people there at one point! I've talked about the importance of vacation, and the significance of Bald Head Island to our family before, but this trip was a turnaround for me on so many levels. I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to divulge some of the inner realizations just yet, but I can share the eye candy from the trip with you!!!

This is Laurie's Loft, and it was our home for the week! I've stayed in larger houses on the island, but when they say that great things come in small(er) packages, they were talking about this house! Its upside down floor plan was perfect for our dogs, and as we spent most of our time on the beach and around the island easy access to our bedrooms for naps was fabulous!
A prior house we have stayed in (and the other half of my family rented this week) is Chirico pictured here:

 Yes, that's me, Kyle, and Dablet "walking off into the sunset". This house will always hold a special place in my heart because I stayed there when I got married, and we were married on the beach in front of it.
OK, so I suppose I can't hide the eye candy any longer (as you can clearly see we had a professional photographer come play with us!) Matt McGraw  was our wedding photographer and I love when I have a chance to work with him! We asked Matt to come "play with us" and get some family photos, as well as some "we've been married for two years and still like each other" photos! Photography is an ESSENTIAL part of my style, always lean to photo journalistic, and it is my favorite element for decorating my walls! Given all of that, I think showing you some photos of my family will help open the door to my "at home style"! Here we go!

This is some of my family! My sister-in-law, my brother, my younger nephew, aunt, dad, me, Dablet, and Kyle! These people are the ones who make vacations worth taking no matter where we may go!

 Can you say happy baby? Dablet is a total ham and loves to be photographed!

I have always been amazed by how Matt silhouettes people against amazing skies! This is a wall piece to be sure!

I LOVE BABY FEET!!! I will put them up on my wall any time, any way, and I will make them work in ANY room!

This is the kind of photo I would put above my dresser in my bedroom so that every morning when I'm getting ready I can remember this amazing moment that will always make me smile!

OK, so you've seen the family, the second half of the shoot was just me and Kyle. We took our golf cart around the island at night and got some fun shots!

This next one is a little more PG-13 but I LOVE the European style phone booth and this was the only teaser shot Matt has shown me so far, so I had to share!

The lighting on the tree behind us was provided by Matt's fabulous lighting "assistant" for the evening (who also happens to be his fiance and an amazing photographer in her own right! You can find her at Bella Rose Photography) Other than that, it was pitch black out. Matt is a lighting master, and I can attest that this is what it looked like in his camera when he took it. 

I cannot wait to see the rest of the pictures and share with all of you where they end up in my house!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Memorial Day weekend, and I am so excited to be back to the blog after some time full of inspiration!!

Until next time!

Dabble

Beach Break

If you have been on Twitter or Facebook recently, you may have noticed the large number of giveaways celebrating the Summer season! With Summer comes an amazing uplifting range of color to fashion, decorating, flower, and spa indulgences. Speaking of which, I just had a pedicure featuring this fabulous pinky coral "Trout Pout"

A while back I blogged about the upcoming edition of "Have Baby Will Travel" as I prepared to take on Bald Head Island and the trip is finally here! We are leaving on Saturday with 12 of us and our three big dogs, with another 7+ people joining a day or so later. Normally vacations are a source of relaxation, and I am 100% confident that this one will be as well....once we get there! I'm not usually an over packer, but Dablet had never been to the beach, half of the family that will be there has never met her, and we're dealing with a baby who is teething, has her first ever diaper rash/bacterial infection (fun right?), and Kyle will have to leave me for a couple of days to come back for school. It is a blessing that Dablet's clothes fold up nice and small, because I packed just about her entire closet!

In the second edition of "Getting Ready for BHI" I showed you a look that I was considering for the ferry ride over. While it will not be exactly that, here are some fun finds I have found recently that might pull it together in my own way!

Ferry-2 by kdsessoms featuring strappy sandals

These Tory Burch sandals were a gift from Kyle for our 2nd wedding anniversary yesterday! Other than that, I've owned the sunglasses for over two years, got the shorts with a gift card from two Christmas' ago, the pearls were a Christmas gift from my dad three years ago, and the tank can be any bone, nude, or blush colored tank I might have in my drawer. The only thing on this board that's a "wish list" item is the bracelet from Michael Kors. I LOVE rose gold lately, remember those Sperry shoes?!?!
The next couple of days will be quite crazy, but BHI will provide fabulous photos to share with you, interior decorating ideas (from the amazing homes on the island), and maybe some fun architecture pictures! Also, we will be doing a family shoot with Matt McGraw, who shot our wedding, on the beach and I am SO excited to capture Abby in the sand!
If you haven't visited the "Scents of Style" giveaway be sure to do so and leave a comment for your chance to win $50 Visa Gift Card. I will draw a winner after we return from BHI. An added bonus for all of you peeps while I'm gone is a guest blogger! We're in the process of deciding the exact topic, but I promise it will be summer related and drool worthy! She's a great gal, and guess where I "met" her? Twitter!!
Until Next Time!

Dabble

Two short years ago...

I said I would post some detail pictures of our wedding yesterday, but between a softball double header and an unexpectedly (but appreciated) busy work day I must apologize for getting to it a day late! This wedding was 15 months in the making, and I had fabulous day of assistance from Courtney Arnold with Stellar Events. I would advise any bride-to-be to invest in a planner for at least the day of. Family will offer, but by the end of the weekend you'll all be so stressed that it's really not worth it. When it comes to a day you will (hopefully) only do once, unless of course you renew your vows but that's a bit different, having someone who is there to solely bring YOUR vision to life is priceless.
Here we go!

Engraved first toast glasses from The Knot, which we forgot to use (HA!) but I get warm and fuzzy every time I see them on our side bar!

Our Ceremony was on South Beach of Bald Head Island and we had parasols (as seen on the left) for our guests

The "Guys" wore navy and white seersucker suits and had Orchids as their boutineers. Perfect look with the white sunglasses! ....oh boys....

We bought bamboo poles and glued ribbon in two shades of teal and lime green to line the path down to the beach for our guests

At the bottom of the stairs to the beach we had raffia tied bunches of Ginger flowers. This added a nice punch of color outside of the teals and greens from the rest of the wedding

Our wedding cake was a sandcastle inspired by all of the ones I made on the beach with my dad! The baker at Sweet T's in Wilmington was SO excited we wanted the "real sand" look and she did an amazing job on the look, and the taste! In order to make everyone happy, we had 4 flavor combinations:

Marble Cake with peanut butter buttercream - Kyle's pick

Chocolate Cake with Kahlua buttercream - My pick

Strawberry Cake with Chocolate buttercream - for a chocolate covered strawberry effect

Lemon Cake with Raspberry buttercream - just in case you aren't a chocolate person

On our gift, food, and other accent tables we had arrangements like this above with bear grass, shells, and submerged orchids. I fell in love with the look of different levels of flowers versus one big arrangement. We bought all of our flowers wholesale and my aunt put them all together so I got to go a little orchid crazy...

The main wedding flowers were orchids (green and white), roses (desert and cream), hydrangea (blue green and cream), and calla lilies (white and green). We had champagne silk linens with sand dollars on each napkin, shells on the tables, and our table names came from lighthouses (in frames) from North Carolina. Frames we hand painted, distressed, and lettered

Detail of napkin shot

The reception was held at the Bald Head Island Club with indoor and outdoor access. This amazing draped tent was open on the sides and covered our white dance floor (Kyle insisted that it be white). This area offered the perfect sunset setting for this:

I love this picture so much I printed it and stretched it on canvas to make a conversation piece. BIG thanks to Matt McGraw for the talent to snap pictures like this on our big day!

It was my original intent to show you all of my wedding style, at least for my personal day, here but I've realized there are WAY too many pictures to choose from! I am going to do a separate post later about my paper accents like invitations, programs, and gift bag cards. When you have people travel to a destination like this, you need to make sure you say a proper thank you! I personally LOVE putting gift bags together for weddings, and finding all of the perfect things that represent the location and the couple!

One day we'll renew our vows and I'll get to plan something else like this, but until then I will share this part of my passion with other people. For me, I'll have to transition it to my house and the home makeover that will take over most of my upcoming blog posts!

I hope you find a Chic Moment in your day today and remember to Dabble in the things that make you happy!

Until Next Time

Dabble