3 Things for Fall

I just love Fall.  I love the leaves changing color, I love the smells and I certainly LOVE fall-inspired recipes + food.

By the of September I was already Fallin' on a Budget, getting ready for the season by adding a few Fall touches to our home.  Of course there's other things I acknowledge and eat or celebrate the season with but here is a short list of quick, easy additions you can bring into your home for Fall.

1. Mini Pine Cones.

I picked a bag of this pine cone mix from The Fresh Market for $4.99.  I kept passing them every time I went in and out of the store and eventually gave them a try.  They smell SO good and give the exact natural fall look I wanted on our coffee table.  

The large glass bowl holding them was a wedding gift from Crate&Barrel, which turned out to be the perfect addition to the coffee table.

2.  Cinnamon Broom.

I grew up smelling the cinnamon scent in our house every fall + winter season.  This is the first time I've actually bought one for my own home, since I always thought of it as a "country" accent.

I wasn't sure where I should put it, since I didn't want it to be in our kitchen screaming "hi, I'm a cinnamon broom producing that wonderful fragrance," so I tucked it away in our kitty spare bathroom, which is next to the kitchen.

Now, every time we walk into the house we immediately smell cinnamon goodness.  Cinnamon is a great offset to whatever other smells seem to come from that room...

I got my broom from Fresh Market, but you can find them at most grocery stores like Publix or Wal-mart.

3.  Cans of Pumpkin + Pumpkin Pie.

Anyone who has read my blog or talked to me in person around this time of year knows I have a true obsession with pumpkin.  It all started with trying the ever-so-popular First Watch Pumpkin Pancakes 3 years ago.  Ever since that first bite of heaven, I immediately wanted to add pumpkin to everything!

Whenever I see quality cans of pumpkin I stock up, before they're all gone.  Finding cans of pumpkin in stock is not always an easy task, so it's good to have them on hand when you're dying to make something pumpkiny.

It's really simple to come up with recipes using pumpkin.  Check out my Pumpkin Spice Muffins, for example: only 3 ingredients!

Stay tuned this week for more pumpkin-inspired baking, spreads and side dishes.  Now that I'm stocked up, I'm ready to rock and (pumpkin) roll!

Question:
What are some of the things you look forward to the most for Fall?

3 Things for Christmas

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" seems to be an understatement at the Hesington household this year.

We've broken out the Christmas Decorations, put up the Christmas Tree and all that was left were some quick & easy finishing touches.  It wouldn't surprise Scott if I came home every day with something else to add to our decor, but I've stopped myself here.  Hopefully, you can use these 3 Things to help motivate your Christmas decorating:

1.   Mistletoe Kiss Potpourri.

If you happened to catch my Fall Decor or 3 Things for Fall post, you know I'm a stickler for holiday scents.  I'm not the traditional potpourri lover, and instead go for the seasonal bags that look AND smell equally appealing.

I got this Mistletoe Kiss Potpourri from The Fresh Market for $4.99.  The large glass bowl holding them was a wedding gift from Crate&Barrel, which turned out to be the perfect addition to the coffee table.

2. Christmas Scented Candles.

Whether you have a live tree or not, Christmas Scented candles can bring the holidays to your home in one quick flick of a light. Pictured is Yankee Candle's Balsam & Cedar.

Scott picked this one and a few others up on Black Friday from the Yankee store for Buy One Get One 50% off.  Gold Star!

3.  Ornament Garland.

Scott gets another gold star for this one because he did this all by himself.  I mean...I do all of the decorating while Scott does things like work out and grill steaks...

We picked these strands of colorful Ornament Garland from Target last year in their After Christmas Sale.  You can find versions of it this year as well as the colorful garland from our Christmas tree in stores or online.  Big, bright and colorful ornaments go perfectly with our tree:

More Whoville, go figure.

*TIP: It doesn't have to take an entire weekend and a team of elves to bring the Holidays home to you.  Start with 3 Things, and keep adding to it little by little, day by day!

Fallin' on a Budget

Being a native Floridian, I don't get to watch the seasons change as much as I'd like to.  I've only been in snow 2 times in my life and if you ask me, (at least majority of the years) the only way you can tell the seasons are changing here are by the seasonal flavors at Starbucks like Pumpkin Spice, or Ginger Bread Lattes.

This is about the time of year I wish we had more leaves changing in Orlando.  I absolutely love the smell of backyard bonfires, pine cones, pumpkins & anything with a Fall scent.  I love the warm fall tones like reds, oranges, and yellows and if I had my way I would decorate the whole house with these colors during the Autumn months. 

There's only 1 little problem with that idea...I can't justify spending extra money on seasonal decor, just to take it back down a few months later.  Decorating your home with pumpkins, autumn leaves, pine cones and straw is super fun and homey if you ask me &  kudos to anyone out there who can pull off a whole house transformation this time of year.

As for me, I like to keep things on a budget and limit myself to purchasing 5 things per season.

*TIP: Avoid going to department stores for seasonal purchases.  Discount decor stores like Michaels, TJ Maxx, Stein Mart, Home Goods, and even Target are a great way to decorate on a budget and have a variety of cute, affordable styles to choose from.  There are tons of ideas out there on how to decorate for the seasons on a budget.

Here are my top 5:

1.  Autumn Leaves Wreath

I don't know what it is about them, but I've always loved hanging wreaths on front doors, even when I was growing up.  This is a great way to set the seasonal tone for your home, even before you go inside.  This was my most expensive purchase, I got this one at Home Goods for right under $25. 

2. Fall Scented Candles

As much as I would like to buy out the entire Bath & Body Works fall collection, I didn't.  I actually found this Pumpkin Spice candle at Home Depot, last year after the Holiday Season for $6.

*TIP: We like to shop after the holidays are over to get 50% or higher OFF of seasonal products.  Halloween costumes, candles, serving plates, and towels are great examples of things you can stock up on post Holiday Season.

3. Fall Inspired Accent Towels

I found the red pumpkin towel at Home Goods for $3.99.  It came with a red and orange dish towel, but I got home and saw that it matched the towels we already had up perfectly.  The green & orange towel set came from Crate & Barrell and was a wedding gift to us.  I LOVE those colors!

4. Autumn Potpourri

I'm not embarrassed to say I've been that person sitting in the isles smelling different bags of potpurri until I find the perfect one.  It wasn't even the cute little pumpkin packaging that drew me to this one.  This combination smells SOOOOOOOOO good! Pinecones, roses & pumpkins is the best way to describe it, and my husband surprisingly loved the wire pumpkin it came in.

Once again, this purchase was part of my Home Goods trip & originally I wanted to take the potpurri out of the container and put it on our coffee table in a glass bowel.  I found out the wiring doesn't separate, so we're now enjoying the pumpkin accessory & potpourri on top of our fish tank for $12.

5. Fall Scented Hand Soaps

Just like scented candles, my favorite scented hand soap is Bath & Body Works.  I plan to stock up on B&BW soaps when they have their Black Friday Sale, but until then my handy dandy Spiced Pumpkin hand soap from Home Goods will do for $4.  Putting seasonal soaps throughout your home is an easy way to spread holiday cheer, starting with pumpkins or autumn leaves.

And there you have it...

5 easy ways to decorate your home for Fall!

*BONUS TIP: Are you a fan of B&BW Wallflowers?  We are for sure.  We have at least 6-8 going in our home at any time and take advantage of the semi-annual and seasonal sales they have.  We purchase most of the wallflower re-fills online, and if you time it right you can purchase for free shipping and 20%OFF coupon savings.

Pictured above is Spiced Cider for the holidays, but you can find all of the fun fall starters and smell good scents in stores and online: B&BW Wallflower Collection.

How do you decorate for Fall?  Feel free to share tips and comments below and stay tuned for more Fall Inspired posts as we get into October and closer to the Holidays.

Happy Decorating!

Baby Shower Fun + Ideas

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I went to a Baby Shower this past weekend.  One of my friend's is due next month and her shower was nothing short of adorable.

When I walked into Andrea's house everything looked like something I would pin on Pinterest.

*SIDENOTE: I joined Pinterest a little while ago, but haven't truly explored the site yet.  I know I will be addicted in no time and promised myself I'd wait until the New Year to do so when I have more free time. <--- Really?! Yes, I'm completely serious. ;)

Back to the baby shower...I think it's only right to start with one of my favorite parts, The Eats.

on the menu:

First up, this adorable baby boy cake which I just found out a friend of ours made:

Great job Nicole!!! I LOVE fondant cakes, and using bows to decorate, clearly.  Did you see my Baby Shower Present or my ready to ship Fall Giveaway?  We even incorporated a bow made from ribbon on our Wedding Cake. *SIDENOTE: I promise to post wedding pics soon...just be patient (as we have in receiving the CD of them!)

Once I got past the cuteness of the cake I noticed all of the other perfectly labeled food towers.  Here are my favorites...

Fruit & Cheese:

Cookies, made by the fabulous Emmy:

Cupcakes, 12-11-11 is her due date:

*NOTE: There were more wonderful and tasty dishes including a pasta salad, quiche, finger sandwiches, a fruit & veggie tray, cheese & crackers, etc. but I didn't get to take pictures of everything.

Last but certainly not least in the food area, the Sweet Treats Candy Bar:

Each guest was told to take a "Thank You" gift bag filled with assorted candy on their way out.  Okay...twist my arm, I'll take some more than I should.

activities:

We weren't forced to get in a circle and try to figure out what poo comes from which type of chocolate filled diaper, but instead were asked to create/participate in 3 things for the mom-to-be.

1) Make Your Own Onezie.

GREAT idea.  Newborns and babies goes through onezie after onezie, and all I keep hearing from new moms is you can never have too many of them.  When we walked in, there were blank onezies hung up on a hemp twine string by wooden clothespins.

Each guest was asked to decorate one for the baby.  You could draw or write whatever you want and were provided with different colored permanent markers.

*TIP: Andrea mentioned to me she's seen this done before with puffy paint, but sharpie markers seem to work a lot better. 

When your onezie design is done, hang it back up where it came from on the clothespins.

Of course, I was one of the first people to be all over this activity, which is why it's lonely in this picture.

2) Write Your Advice to Mom.

I've done this before at both Bridal and Baby Showers.  Ask guests to write down their "motherly" advice for the mom-to-be.  Since I'm not a mother yet my note to her had to do with "Mommy & Daddy time" and looked something like this:

Your friend will enjoy reading all of the messages, but you can take this activity one step further by making a scrapbook to display all of the motherly advice.  We did this at my friend Courtney's Baby Shower <-- click to see in-shower scrapbook and it is a great keepsake for both baby & mom.

3. Baby Shower Bingo.

There are different versions of what you can do with this Bingo sheet, but for our shower it served as entertainment while Kelly opened gifts.  Make sure you print multiple versions with variations in words and word order.  As she opened each present the guests circled whatever the present was, if they had it on their card.  The first one to get BINGO wins the game. 

Another version is to cut up a card square by square and put all of the Bingo words in the game in a hat.  Pull out a square one-by-one and play a more traditional game of BINGO.
 
shower pics:

I didn't go crazy taking pictures at this baby shower because not everyone there knows I blog and I didn't want to seem like a creeper taking pictures of everything.  I did, however get to snap a few more pics.

Let's start with the mom-to-be:
Kelly was definitely all-baby and looked so cute in her sweater dress and boots.  Here she's with our friend Brooke who made this darling Diaper Cake.

Here she is with one of the hostesses, and owner of the lovely shower hosted home, Andrea:

The nugget on the left is Kelly's niece Layla.  She's growing up so fast!  Here's the rest of the food set-up:

And another one of my favorite labels:

I loved that everything had a label.  Here is my all-time favorite:

Emmy also baked probably close to 500 cookies for our wedding.  Seriously. We passed cookies & milk shooters around 30 minutes before it ended for a late night snack. She's amazing and if she ever gets herself a website I'm promoting it like it's my job! ;)

What a talented group of friends Kelly has!  Andrea, Erin, Brooke, Kelly's sister and mom hosted the shower and added all of the little touches you see in pictures like paper lanterns, food labels and decorations.  Nicole made the cake, Emmy made the cookies and someone amazing made all of that yummy food.

For more baby shower food, decor, activities & ideas check out the baby shower I helped host last year, (I linked this earlier in the activities section).

Questions:

• What are some of your favorite shower activities?
• What are your go-to websites for shower/party planning?

Everyday Hair Care & Products

The number one thing I seem to keep asking my hairstylist is the age-old question of "why won't my hair grow?" There could be a number of explanations including I color it, blow dry and straight iron it, curl it with a curling iron, wear it up a ponytail for work every day, and tease it just to name a few. 

I will be the first to admit that I was NOT blessed with beautiful locks, but instead fight with it every day to be curly, straight, or somewhere in-between.  Since this isn't ever going to change I have decided to accept the fact that I will have to work with it (i.e. damage it) whenever I want to wear it down.  To make up for the damage I'm putting into it I decided to finally take my hairdresser's advice:

Invest Time in Hair Care, Treatments & Quality Products!

Luckily, during the revelation I had about finally taking care of my locks, it happened to be during my professional dancing career where I received hair service & product discount.  Can you tell we were sponsored by REDKEN?!

At first, I was a little reluctant to completely switch over to the brand because previous to Redken I swore by Matrix-Biolage products.  The smell of Biolage is unlike any other shampoo or conditioner I've tried (amazing) and I would buy the S&C as well as hairspray, mouse, and who knows what else in industrial sizes.  I still sneak a few Biolage products in here and there, but the majority of my bathroom cabinets are filled with Redken, Redken and more REDKEN.

To make this cluster of products pictured above make sense, I'm going to breakdown my exact everyday hair care & product routine.  *Majority of the products I list in this post you can find at your local hair salon, Ulta, Target, Wal-Mart, drugstores like CVS or Walgreens, or online at the REDKEN website.

*TIP: If you want to get the most for your money, google the product name and you will see it pop up for sale on Amazon.com, discount beauty supply online shops and even eBay!

5 Basic Everyday Hair Care Steps:

1. Before Washing Your Hair

The first step to a healthy hair care routine is to find a shampoo & conditioner set that works best for your hair and it's needs.  For me, moisturizing is my biggest need in order to strengthen and thicken it to grow.  Also, I need a line that will work with styling products later on, so the set that makes the most sense for my personal needs is the Real Control line:

 
When I first started with Redken I had a dark red hair color and was more worried about it fading out.  To keep my red hue going strong I started on the Color Extend Line.

If you have no idea which way you need to go, ask your hairstylist what type of line would work best for you.  You can also check what end result you're looking for in the left sidebar on their website here: Haircare Questions & Solutions. Base the majority of your product selections off of your line, but know it's okay to mix and match lines to make your ideal product line at home.

2.  Wash & Treat Your Hair

Once you find your ideal shampoo & conditioner, pair it with conditioning treatments.  I veer off from my Real Control line and rely on the Extreme line to deep condition and treat my hair.  Extreme Cat is an easy way to deep condition your hair and is very easy to use. 

After shampooing, saturate your entire head with the Cat spray, leave on for 3-5 minutes, rinse and follow with your regular conditioner.  Besides Cat, I change up my deep conditioning treatments with Extreme Deep Fuel.  It comes in a box with 5 tubes, with each tube supplying enough treatment for at least 2 uses.  Just like Cat, after shampooing saturate your entire head with the conditioning cream.  Let this one sit at least 5 minutes, rinse and follow with your regular conditioner.  Unfortunately, Deep Fuel has been discontinued on the Redken website, but you might still be able to find it at salons.  If not, google it and I'm sure it will pop up somewhere. (That's what I'll be doing when I run out!)

*TIP: When you go in for your next hair appointment, ask your stylist about doing a deep conditioning treatment at the salon.  They use similar products to the ones pictured above, but usually they are a little more intense.  Also, it will extend your hair color's shelf life by conditioning right after processing.

*DOUBLE TIP:  Try not to wash your hair EVERY day, seriously.  If you can help it, wash it every other day to avoid stripping it of it's natural oils and prevent drying it out.


3.  Protect Your Hair With Leave-In Products

You can continue your conditioning treatments with leave-in products, and protect your hair from the damage you're about to do to it with styling.  I certainly mix and match with this collection, and it's a compilation of trying different products out and sticking with the ones that work.

After towel drying your hair, use a protectant like Color Extend Total Recharge to protect your color, strengthen and condition your hair.  *You can also use this product as a treatment (like Cat) in the shower.  Next, apply protein to your hair with a product like Extreme Iron Repair. Again, this product has been discontinued on the Redken website, but a similar product I've tried and love is Extreme Anti-Snap.

Planning on straightening your hair with a blow dryer and/or straightener?  Sheer Straight 06 is a straightening serum I swear by.  This particular product has a lot of different uses including adding protein to damaged hair, protecting your hair from the heat it will soon endure and reducing frizz. Finally, the last thing I do before I blow dry is protect against more frizz with Smooth Down Heat Glide.  Apply 1-2 drops evenly, or less just on problem areas.  I have extremely frizzy hair when I blow dry, which is why I use an excessive amount of anti-frizz product.  This will probably not be the case for most of you, so focus on the Sheer Straight or Anti-Snap, if you're not wanting to have a product store under your sink like I do.

4.  Protect Your Hair After Blow-drying

Obviously, heat is not good for your hair's overall health, so it's important to continue using product the whole way through styling.  If you plan on using a straightening or curling iron, stock up on protectant products to coat your strands while you're heating them.

All three of the products pictured do about the same thing.  The main point of these heat styling sprays are to protect your strands while straightening, as well as fighting against frizz.  I interchange all three of these, *Pictured Left: Redken Spray Starch 15, Middle: Redken Iron Silk 07, Right: CHI 44 Iron Guard.  Spray Starch 15 is a little more intense than the other two and works best if you're curling your hair with a curling iron.  You can use these products before blow-drying, but I have found maximum results when using them by spraying section by section while straightening or curling.

*NOTE: When it comes to straightening tools, CHI is by far the best brand I've owned and trusted to work on any type of hair.  I am planning to dedicate a post just to my CHI products soon, but for now we'll stick to the styling products.

5.  Keep Your Hair How You Styled It!

Would you want to style your hair, walk outside and have it fall back to the way it was before you even blew it dry?  Living in Florida, this has happened to me quite a bit from high humidity levels, but here are some products I turn to to fight humidity as much as I can:

I love Redken Hairsprays.  I own 3 different strengths, Workforce 09 (flexible hold), Quick Dry 18 - pictured (firm hold) and Forceful 23 (super hold) and choose my hairspray according to my hairstyle and how active I plan on being.  In my dancing days, I stuck with the 23 for maximum hold to my curls.  If you're looking to smooth down your frizz or tame your whispies, I turn to Redken Outshine 01.  Use a very small amount and apply a little at a time.  Outshine is a little thick, so if you're looking for something a little smoother, you can turn back to your Heat Glide (pictured earlier), or invest in one of my favorite frizz-tamers EVER - Biosilk. Again, use a very small amount and apply a little at a time.

Not a fan of straight hair?  Get to your curliest potential with my favorite curling product, Redken Ringlet 07.

Super easy curls in 1 or 2 steps.  Apply to towel-dried hair, scrunch and let air dry or defuse for maximum curl and style.

*TIP: Even if you're on vacation you can still take care of your hair.  Invest in a travel line and most importantly, stay on your regular shampoo & conditioner.  Stick to the basics if you don't have a lot of packing space.  I put my travel products on top of our vanity box (AKA wedding ring holder)...lol to show how small you can find these products to take with you!

Seem like a LOT of products? I know...it does, but I do some serious damage to my hair and I'm guessing a lot of you who are reading this are just as guilty as I am. 

I have been through all different shades of hues from platinum blonde to dark red and the key to keeping my hair healthy & on my head is HAIR CARE, TREATMENTS & QUALITY PRODUCTS!  I can't preach enough how important those 3 things are to anyone who colors, blow drys, straightens, curls or even teases their hair.

Question:

What are some of your favorite Hair Care, Treatment or Styling products?

Say YES to THIS DRESS!

Like most brides, I have always dreamed about what MY wedding dress would be like ever since I was a little girl.  Now, my perfect dress has changed a bit from the cupcake-looking sparkly dress complete with long gloves and matching sparkly purse I once imagined as a 5-year-old.  Now that the time has acutally come to look for what I will be walking down the isle in...it seems that I have NO IDEA what I'm looking for!

The story of how I found MY dress is definitely not like most, so just know in advance two things:

1. Yes, I did find and purchase THE DRESS before Hessy proposed.
2. I know that this was crazy, but I don't regret one second of it!!!

Let me begin by noting how many weddings I have been a part of in the last year.  It started last summer with M's wedding in August, then my friend C's wedding in January, followed by being the Maid of Honor in my friend B's wedding this coming November, and more recently, I got asked to be in my friend A's wedding this coming June!  So that's 4 weddings all in less than 2 years time! You might as well have said I was the girl from 27 Dresses, because my closet is beginning to look like a variety of rainbow colored dresses and shoes! 

The good thing about being a part of these weddings all at the same time is that I am in the loop with all of the wedding advice I can handle!  Between all of my girlfriends, a lot of the looking around has already been done and I trust my friends' judgement when they say who they reccommend for what.  Of course, I will do my own looking around - but at least I know who to veto and who to check out right away!

So back to the dress....

Okay, so first and foremost - a BIG SHOUT OUT to Britty Bear, one of my bridesmaids for introducing me to the best bridal boutique in Orlando, Priscilla of Boston in Dr. Phillips. 

She found her wedding dress here, and I helped her pick out the cutest bridesmaid dresses ever for her wedding here as well.  (Seriously, I'm obsessed with the dress I get to wear for hers!)  After about the 3rd or 4th time I went to the store for my dress and altering it, I was waiting for Britty to finish up and took it upon myself to look at all of the pretty bridal gowns, thinking to myself "Oh, one day I'll actually get to look for a dress on my own!" After a few minutes, I still had time in the store so I took that opportunity to mosey on over to the sale rack just to see...

I saw some crazy poofy dresses, some beautiful elegant (and heavy) dresses, dresses with bows, dresses with tons of sparkly embelishments, and then BAM the prettiest dress I have ever seen meant for the summertime, unique, fashionable and classic at the same time (if that's possible?), ON SALE for 50% OFF, and truly had my name alllllllll over it.  I quickly called Britty over, and she agreed - this dress was beautiful.  I didn't think too much about pursuing this dress just yet for two reasons: I was not engaged at this time, and I couldn't justify dropping so much money on a wedding dress of all things to my mom!  Also, I would feel horrible getting a dress without my mom there, so I just kept the mental picture of her in my mind and went about my day. 

The next day, there I was just checking my e-mail and minding my own business and BAM, there's an e-mail from Priscilla's telling me there is a ONE-DAY ONLY Sample Sale on Bridal Gowns 2 days from then.  At first, I said to myself, "Man, if only I were engaged, this would be perfect," but who am I kidding...that lasted about 30 minutes before I called Britty and asked her if I was crazy for wanting to go to this sale to see if my dress is even on the eligable rack for the additional 50% off! Of course, being the OCD planner she is, she said "Girl, before we officially got engaged I had already seen 2 venues and met with a photographer!" So, naturally, she understood where I was coming from.

Friday rolls around and Britty meets me at P of B bright and early at 8am when the store opens so I didn't feel like a crazy girl by myself.  We walk in and right away I go to the rack where I remember seeing my dress before...and what do I see? Twenty beautiful dresses out of the entire store on the Sample Sale rack....that's it. TWENTY.  What are the chances my dress is going to be on this rack? Well, apparently it was a 10 out of 10 because there she was in all her glory, 50% OFF an additonal 50% OFF!!!!!!! If that confused you, that's a total of 75% OFF! I knew the only hope of convincing my mom I could afford a dress in this store would be some kind of miracle sale, and WOW - here it is!!!! So, a friendly consultant walks over, sees me swooning over this dress and immediately says "Oh, if you really like this dress - you must try it on right away because there is a girl coming in at Noon today to try this specific dress on, and there's only ONE!" A huge part of me felt bad for even wanting to try it on...but again, that didn't last very long and before I knew it I was in the dressing room with 4 Bridal Gowns, with THE ONE being the last one on the rack to slip on.

THIS is not the dress! Just a pic of the beautiful store!

Of course I felt akward, embarrased, and shy - which are definitely not emotions you should experience trying on your wedding dress options, but in all reality I was thinking, "Am I really the girl who goes to pick out her wedding dress before she get's engaged?" Well, YES! Of course I am! I have been dreaming about the moment I found my dress since I was 5 years old! :) I liked the first few options, and let's be honest - at this point I could literally get a wedding gown for $250...that's CRAZY!!!! Well, I didn't, BUT, I finally get to my favorite and the anticipation is killing me.  I get the dress on, and there is a huge problem - it is a size 10 and I am between a 0 and a 2! There's no way that we could even alter this dress to look the same in my size.  Or is there? The fabulous consultant assured me she had already spoken to their alterations lady to make sure the girl coming in to see the dress (who is my size) could get the dress down to the size I need without compromising the style.  So here's the next question I asked, "How attached is this girl to this dress?" The last thing I want to do is take a dream dress from a "real" bride, I mean I'm not even engaged yet, and I would feel horrible if someone did that to me! When the consultant said "Well, she already bought a gown for the ceremony and this would be her reception dress," I thought...well geez, forget it then! I don't feel bad for a second! Here I am stressing and stressing about taking a dress I'm obsessed with away from someone who may or may not purchase her for a reception only? NO! This dress deserves a home and Bride that will honor and cherish her and wear her the entire night of her wedding! SOLD!!!!!!!!

The only thing holding me back at this point was guilt that my mother was not there to experience the search for the dress with me.  But, why would I even tell her I was looking for a dress when I'm not engaged? On top of that, she was on a cruise in the middle of the ocean with no way to get a hold of her.  So clearly, I had to make this descion on my own.  I kept going back and forth, and FINALLY I said, "You know what? I have butterflies.  I actually feel like a bride, and I'm not even engaged yet.  THIS IS THE DRESS!!!!! I'll take it!" Within 2 minutes they had sparkly shoes on my feet, a headpiece on my head, and the most beautiful earrings put on my ears that I have ever had on!

Of course, I fall in love with all of these, so I fork over my credit card for the dress and put everything else on my wish list.  I'm prepared to take a big gulp when I hear the total which I calculated in my head to still be pricey, but somewhat affordable because for some reason I didn't think it was possible to get 50% OFF 50% OFF.  BUT, when the dress rung up in the system, that's right...I GOT HER FOR drum roll please......75% OFF!
Before you freak out, I did pay more than what I got it for in alterations alone, but when it all comes down to it, I AM IN LOVE with my dress.  This is THE dress I have dreamed about, and I CAN NOT WAIT to wear it down the isle on my wedding day.

So what I can tell you from all of this is this:

Go with your gut.  Whether you're engaged, dating, single, an old maid, whatever...when you find the dress you've always dreamed about YOU KNOW.  And when you know, YOU KNOW!  You don't have to justify buying a wedding dress and wait until it's 3 months before your wedding to start looking for one.  The last thing I wanted to do was stress over finding the perfect dress, and you know what? The day I got engaged, I told my mom all about it, she understood, and couldn't wait to see it.  I couldn't be happier with it, and now it's only 271 days until I can wear it!  Everything fell into place and I know everything happens for a reason!

If you're a bride in Central Florida, I highly recommend this store. 
http://www.priscillaofboston.com/index.jsp

They have several locations all over the US - but staff at the Dr. Phillips locations is so nice and will make everything you can possibly want happen as quickly as possible.  Seriously couldn't be happier, I'll have to tell you all about my shoes and accessories in another blog, but I guess that's it for now.

THANK YOU PRISCILLA OF BOSTON!

Oh, and as for pics of MY dress? You'll just have to wait until after the wedding! ;)

-Presh