la la land

I am back! From LA and from the nearly two week blogging break. There were a few circumstances and feelings that contributed to my largely distracted, uninspired, scatter-brained state of mind, all of which have since passed. I mean after all, I started this blog with the intention to share my travels through life with you all and so what if I don't write for awhile. I have to let go of the guilt and "should haves" I've been carrying around and just enjoy the process.

Anyways, as previously mentioned, I just returned from my trip to LA. I stayed with one of my best friends and bridesmaids, Jenna. She is awesome and its always good to see her. PS - she's going to be on a reality show! here is the trailer - she is the crazy, fun, & beautiful roomie. Here is a short photo diary of the trip. I left my brand new fancy camera at home with the hubby to be so pardon the iPhone pictures.

Jenna also got me an appointment at the Kim Vo salon Saturday morning in Beverly Hills. Michelle had my colored and styled in under an hour and I have never been so happy leaving a hair appointment. It was actually super affordable! What wasn't affordable was our breakfast. We were famished after such a hard day at the salon (hehe) so we went upstairs to The Conservatory (the Mirage hotel's in house eats). We spent $24 on orange juice alone! Maybe next time we'll just pick up some McDonald's breakfast to go. Yikes!

Ta da! New hair! What do you think?

We spent all Sunday morning at the Rosebowl Flea Market. Holy cow this place is heaven! If it wasn't for the heat and lack of motivation that morning, I would have spent hours browsing the endless racks of fabulous vintage. Jenna found this cute head scarf. I'm obsessed with her new pixie cut. Only she could pull it off so cute.

Meet Jenna <3

Leaving the flea market, Jenna and I had the strongest cravings for hot dogs. Maybe it was the frozen lemonade we had earlier or the first hotdog I had, either way, we were on a mission. The only place to satisfy such a craving? Pinks! This famous food stand was totally worth the 10 minute wait. I was in heaven.

But oh no, we weren't done yet. Jenna insisted that I be introduced to Foster's Freeze. Now, call me old fashioned, but I had never heard of this place and my dipped cone loyalty lies with Dairy Queen. But there was no hesitation from my part when Jenna offered up this place to satisfy my sweet tooth desires. While it did the trick and was super delicious, I'm sticking with DQ.

Now for the main event, the sole reason I decided to fly down to LA (besides Jenna's cute face, obvi) was to find my wedding dress. With about 60 days left, I was desperate. I knew I had to go straight to the source, Monique Lhuillier. Let me start by saying that the salon is beautiful. Sharon was the Associate helping me out that morning and while some may find her abrasive, she got the job done. After about two hours, ten dresses, and a run in with a rather rude "celebrity" that thought she was too important to share the only big mirror they had in the store, I gave up the credit card and walked away having just purchased my dream dress. Oh how I wish I could share the pictures, but I know they won't do justice (Note: they do not allow pictures in the store until the dress is actually purchased). I will give you a few details; The wonderful craftsman's at ML are creating a custom tulle skirt with a silk ruched corset top for me to wear on the big day. I also purchased a very beautiful antique looking, rhinestone and tulle belt to wear. The jury is still out on the veil but luckily I still have time. 

The racks at Monique Lhuillier : Swooooon!

I can't wait to go back for my fitting and see the final product. Jenna and I also met up with one of our favorite couples, Nick and Alex, to go see the movie Contagion and grab a quick bite to eat. They are some of my other best friends from back home in Florida and I miss them so much (note: Gene Simmons and his wife were sitting behind us in the movie theaters!). This weekend getaway was exactly what the doctor ordered - much needed bff time and a break from the stress of wedding plans back home. And again, sorry I've been MIA. Hope to share more with you soon.

Inspiration Board : Natural Wedding

When Aaron and I first became engaged, all I wanted to do was look at wedding blogs. I couldn't get enough.  Seriously, they're addicting!  I literally pinned hundreds of photos for inspiration and almost filled an entire notebook jotting down the ideas that I loved. Now, after months of checking blogs daily, I'm a little burnt out on weddings.  Don't get me wrong, I still cheek everyday, I'm just...less inspired.  I am not trying to be rude OR say that the weddings I've seen aren't beautiful, because they all are.  But, after awhile, they have all started to look the same to me.  They all have the same thumbprint guestbooks, photo booth props, mason jar decorations, and "photo op" shots.  And please don't get me wrong, I loved (and still love) all of these ideas! They were fun, whimsical, and charming; I thought they were unique expressions of the couple's personalities, until I realized it was becoming every couple's expression of their personalities.

I want my wedding to be timeless.  I want my wedding to be romantic.  I want my wedding to be beautiful.  I want my daughters to look at my pictures and say, "That looks so dreamy Mom. I wish I could have been there!" Instead of asking, "Why are you holding that mustache prop up to your face in half of your reception photos?" Feel me? I think this pretty much boils down to the fact that my Mother & Father eloped to Lake Tahoe when she was about 3 months pregnant with me (...surprise!) and there is not a single photo of my parent's wedding.  I guess I just missed out on the whole timeless Mom wedding photo thing and want to give that to myself and my future children.

So, today I wanted to share with you lovely readers the images that have been inspiring me lately from my Pinterest.  Our wedding is going to be held entirely outdoors so I'm embracing the colors provided to us by Mother Nature: green, white, and natural wood. I hope you enjoy my inspiration board and I would love to hear your feedback on trendy vs timeless weddings.  I'll be heading out the door soon to try on wedding dresses at Marina Morrison Bridal Salon in Union Square.  Can't wait to tell you all the details and, if you follow me on Twitter, you may even be able catch a sneak peek photo : )

Clockwise from top : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 /

Clockwise from top : 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 /