A trip to visit a friend...

by Crystal

Remember when I said I was going to visit Katie? It already feels like so long ago. But it was so much fun and just what I needed! We spent our time doing crafts, drinking wine, eating delicious food, and watching episodes of Parks and Recreation. Perfect weekend, right? Right. Now that we've got that settled...

Can we talk about this oxblood craze for a second, please? The name just seems so...gruesome? I'd much prefer to be wearing a color called burgundy, plum, sangria, wine, or even maroon, than a color named after the blood of an ox. Has anyone else thought about this? Just me?

Added bonus for the weekend - Mom stopped by for a visit!

Outfit details:
Cardigan: Gap
Cords: Gap
Boots: Target

Election day!

by Crystal

Watching the news about how long some citizens were waiting in line to vote makes me grateful I moved to a small town. Within 20 minutes (including the four block drive to the voting site), I had done my civic duty and cast my ballot. I hope everyone was able to make it to the polls! If not, you still have about 50 minutes! They said as long as you're standing in line by 7 p.m., you'll be allowed to vote - even if you don't actually get to do it until a few hours later. If you're one of these people, I suggest bringing some hot cocoa/tea/coffee/cider to help keep you warm.

We'll be up way too late tonight to find out who will be our POTUS for the next four years. I've done what I can...now, we wait.

We took these photos right after I walked in the door from running errands. I wasn't going to photograph this outfit, but I got complimented on both my jacket AND my scarf. So obviously they needed to be shared on the internet. And yes, I'm wearing blue for a reason today!

Scarf: Pieces Boutique - adorable local shop!
Jacket: Gap (2011) - similar
Sweater: Gap
Jeans: Gap
Boots: Target

A day off.

by Crystal

My dad came to visit this weekend! He's only our second guest we've had, and first family member to experience this new place we call home. I took off on Friday, and we had the chance to visit a local dairy that delivers milk, ice cream, butter (all the essentials) to grocery stores and shops in this area. It was wonderful!

It was a beautiful day, my dad was in town, and I'm stuffed full of peanut butter chocolate chip ice cream - so I was especially happy! Special thanks to him for snapping these photos!

...and a few more from the day.

Outfit details:
Sweater: Target (2011)
Cords: Gap
Boots: Sole Society

The nature walk that turned into a hike.

by Crystal

How was everyone's Halloween?? Ours was pretty uneventful. We don't really get any trick or treaters in our apt. building, so instead, we cuddled up and watched a Halloween movie. Little Shop of Horrors counts, right? Neither of us are much for scary movies. E did dress up for work, though. He did a mash up of a wizard and a football player. He was a FANTASY FOOTBALL player. Get it? He's a creative one, that guy.

Anyway, I wanted to share a little something my friends and I discuss quite a bit. The difference between nature walks/nature trails, and hikes. Basically, here it is:

• Nature Walks/Nature Trails: Light amount of effort, mostly flat terrain - for those who want to take a trail walk outdoors and be one with nature. Wear what you want for this one
• Hike: Medium to lots of effort, moderate to steep inclines, with a destination to get to a certain point (mostly the top of a mountain/hill). Wear loose fitting/comfy clothing and sturdy shoes

While visiting the family-in-law this weekend, we decided to grab some fresh air and head outside to nearby state park called Stone Mountain. I thought we were just going to walk on a trail or two, enjoy the brisk weather and some conversation, but instead we ended up walking up a mountain literally made of stone.

Now, I'm normally a person who loves a good hike, but this time I was completely unprepared (attire-wise, of course). We went about halfway up, starting getting a little sweaty, and turned around to walk back. That's just how we roll.

My outfit may have stopped me from hiking, but it obviously didn't keep me from dancing.

Top: H&M
Boyfriend jeans: Gap
Shoes: Sperry Top-Siders
Sunnies: Target

Road Trip

by Crystal

This past weekend, E and I took a little road trip to meet his family in Atlanta (they drove up from FL). It was our first time meeting our new nephew! He's about six weeks old and completely adorable. There were definitely some moments that made me want one of my own, but mostly, I was just happy to give him back to his mama when he started crying. :)

Anyway, it was about a five hour drive - which for me, means dress comfortably. Sitting for extended periods of time coupled with too tight of jeans, or a shirt that keeps riding up makes for a very looooong car ride. My solution? A t-shirt, cardigan, boots, and jeggings. Yes, I said it. I hate that word, but love these pants.

Outfit details:
Cardigan: Gap
T-shirt: Old Navy
Scarf: Target
Jeggings: Rich & Skinny via Rue La La
Boots: Target

Where's Fall?

by Crystal

This morning's conversation went something like this:
Me: I just want it to get cooler so I can start wearing all my sweaters and boots!
E: Are you complaining that it's not cold? I thought you hated winter.
Me: I don't want winter, I want fall. The way it's been, it's going to transition from summer to winter, and I'm going to miss my favorite season!

Unacceptable.

I hear elsewhere in the US, the temperatures are starting to get cooler. But for us down in SoVA (my loving nickname for Southern Virginia), it's pretty consistently in the 70's and even 80's. I'm here to say, I don't care. It's October, and I'm going to wear boots, gosh darnit.

I shopped my closet for an appropriate warm autumn outfit, and here's what I came up with:

You get an iPhone photo today. My photographer has been busy with his real job lately, which hasn't allowed much time to carve out for outfit photos. The good news: the iPhone photos will be getting better soon - after passing up the 4 and 4s upgrades (yes, I still have the 3GS...), I'm getting the iPhone 5! Given that my current phone is hardly functioning anymore, I.Can't.Wait.

Outfit details:
Sweater: H&M
Skirt: Francesca's
Boots: Target ($35!)

Sunday fundays.

by Crystal

Today was a somewhat lazy day filled with football, jalapeno popper dip, and writing wedding thank you cards. I don't care that it has been over one month since the wedding. Our guests WILL be thanked! And they will be thanked a lot!

But I went shopping yesterday. What else is new? I stopped by Old Navy and got drawn into the $19 Rockstar cords. Nineteen dollars, people. I think they're normally like $30...so that's like three for the price of one, right? Well, that's what I told myself so when I walked out with three pairs anyway. I'm already loving them.

I also bought a few pairs of boots that I'm second guessing the next day. Does that ever happen to you? Where they're a great idea in the store, but when you get home you're just not sure? No? Just me? Maybe I'm too impulsive. But I look at it as an opportunity to return them and buy new ones!

Outfit details:
Scarf: Local boutique in Hermosa Beach, CA
Shirt: GAP (Gap Pure)
Corduroy pants: Old Navy
Flats: Steve Madden

transitions.

by Crystal

It's really hard to get dressed this time of year. When I woke up, it was about 40 degrees. Seriously. I had to put the heater/defroster on in my car on the way to my morning yoga class. But then it warmed up to about 75 degrees. How does one dress for that? Well, if you are like I was today, you change clothes about four times. Weird weather coupled with my day of indecisiveness made it especially hard.

This is what I ended up with - a favorite shirt of mine that I've had for years, and if I could, would wear every other day, along with a new pair of $4 shorts from Old Navy. A major bonus of the seasonal transition - getting summer clothes on super sale! Try saying that five times fast.

 Outfit details:
Shirt: H&M (old)
Shorts: Old Navy
Shoes: Wal-Mart

Wedding Planning 101

by Crystal

Sooo...I got married about two weeks ago. Let me just say, it was awesome. And I've heard from other people who were there that they thought it was awesome too, so it wasn't just because I was the bride!

We planned this event for about nine months, so I feel like I learned a lot from the experience, and thought it would be good to share with those of you who are planning weddings/thinking about getting married/just interested.

1. Get a wedding planner. They've done this a billion times before. They know who to go to for what. They make paying your vendors much easier. But do your research. There are a lot of wedding planners who limit their services to only a few visits or phone calls before the actual day, and may even charge you extra for being there the day of the wedding. To me, this is a bit ridiculous. The woman who we worked with was available to answer any questions we had, was there for the entire day of making sure things were getting done, and probably saved us more money than we paid her for her services.
2. Research your venues. Some venues may seem less expensive, but they may not include as much in that cost. Ask the venue if the cost entails any rentals (i.e. tables and/or linens, chairs for ceremony, dance floor, etc.). If these come with the venue, you could save a lot of money. Another thing you may ask is whether you can bring your own alcohol to the venue. If so, you end up saving a lot as well!
3. Delegate tasks to bridesmaids/groomsmen/family. Since our wedding was a bit of a destination one, most of our guests took the opportunity to create a little mini-vacay out of it. In doing so, we wanted to put together a few activities to maximize our time with everyone. But with all the planning we were doing for the wedding and honeymoon, we asked for some of the wedding party and our families to pitch in and help plan the activities the days before and the day of the wedding. To make things easier, we had a list of things that needed to get done, and asked for them to speak up on what they were comfortable helping out with!
4. Decide what to splurge on, and what to cut back on. From the beginning, we had a set budget, and needed to abide by that. Because we had our hearts set on a photographer who would be more than we planned for, we figured out what wasn't as important to us - because where we were getting married was already so naturally beautiful, we decided for less florals/decorations, and also because it wasn't a formal wedding, I chose a less expensive dress (but totally appropriate for the environment). For some people, the dress may be the most important thing, or the food - whatever it is, make those choices, and rearrange your budget so that you can make it work!
5. Speaking of which - think about where you're getting married, and plan the wedding/reception accordingly. We got married outside in Florida in August. It.Was.Hot. We knew it would be, so we didn't want to make the ceremony last excruciatingly long. We also ordered program fans, so the guests could keep cooler during it. As I noted before, my dress was less expensive because it was fairly simple in style (read: less fabric helped me stay cooler!). We also didn't require the men to wear tuxes, or even suits. Eric was the only one in an actual (cotton) suit - while the others just wore shirts and a tie, nice pants and suspenders.
6. Decide what traditions are important to you, and skip the rest. We didn't do a garter/bouquet toss, or even cut the cake. But we did see each other before the wedding, announce the wedding party and have a father/daughter and mother/son dance. Why? Well first of all, the garter and bouquet toss always made me feel a little uncomfortable as a single person (hello...I'm already single, do I need to be called out for being so?), and we don't even really like cake that much. But we wanted to acknowledge our friends and family. And we saw each other before hand to help make my walk down the aisle a little less tearful. I wouldn't change that choice either - it was special to have the moment of us seeing each other for the first time be a little more private than it would have been otherwise.
7. Don't forget about your groom. He's a part of the wedding too. Eric didn't care about a lot of what went into the planning, but he did care about some of it - such as the music, food/drink, favors. I always tried to keep him in the loop with what was going on and got his input - sometimes it was just "whatever you want, I don't care," but I felt better knowing that he had the opportunity to make decisions as well. There were a few times when I wasn't completely convinced about what he wanted, but still went with it. In 20 years, what really matters besides the fact that you married the love of your life? (And actually, some of those things got some very positive feedback from our guests!)
8. Remember who you are as a couple, and try to make your day reflect that. We're mostly a laid back couple who like to have fun. Our family and friends are important to us, and to make this known, we incorporated many of them into the ceremony and reception. We let the bartender serve drinks before the wedding, and people even kept them while seated for the ceremony - why not? We let people eat dinner when they wanted. We gave our guests crazy colored sunglasses as favors (one of Eric's staples), and promoted them wearing them throughout the day/into the night. We wear our sunglasses at night. It was the little details like these that weren't big deals, but were important to us because it helped make the ceremony ours.

And now, a little preview of some moments of the big day!

 

roughin' it.

by Crystal

When we found out about the Perseids meteor shower last weekend, we knew we needed to be outside for the night. Considering we live in such a thriving metropolis (I mean, come on guys, there's like 10,000 people in this town), we thought it best to head out of town and in to the country - camping!

We planned on going Friday, but when we saw that there was 95% chance of storms, we figured we could wait, sleep in our own comfy bed for the night and head out in the morning. Yes, that's how committed we were.

After packing our vehicle to the brim, we head out.

When we got there, we set up camp and hiked to the top of a mountain.

Here we're doing balancing poses on the Balancing Rock. Only appropriate.

 While at the top, we decided it would be good to take note of my ensemble. I realize this is not the most fashionable or flattering outfit I've ever worn, but folks, when you're walking up a mountain in the heat, you need to think about staying cool and comfort first. Essentials to hiking attire:

• A hat, or something to cover your head (watch out for those tics!)
• A breathable top/tank top
• Comfortable shorts or pants - I usually choose pants to avoid bug bites
• A sturdy pair of shoes - mine cover my ankles too, to avoid sprains or rolls on uneven terrain

E wanted to take part in the fun too. Notice he honors the same hiking attire rules that I do!

At night, we hiked down to an area with an open sky, climbed a fence, and laid down a blanket to watch the show. We saw around 20 meteors. Seriously. It was awesome.

The next morning photo. A few other essentials to take note of:

• Sunglasses
• A bandana for greasy, day-after a hike hair
• A percolator - coffee is necessary
• Portable speakers
• Gallons of water
• Citronella candles - I can't stress enough how much I hate mosquitos
• Trash bags - keep our planet clean
• Food to grill on an open fire 
• Not pictures: board games!

 

I'm convinced my fiance should be a professional open-fire chef. Lemon-pepper tilapia with red potatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Aka deliciousness!

 Before we head home, we did a short hike that led to a small waterfall. Perfect way to end the weekend!

Don't be fooled. I'm about to fall down in that last photo. Definitely time to go home.

It's a t-shirt! It's a dress! It's a t-shirt dress!

by Crystal

I would like to shake the hand of the person who invented the t shirt dress. I mean, how genius is it? I wonder if she (assuming it was a female...) just bought a t shirt that was too big, realized she didn't need to wear pants with it, and started a revolution. That's how I like to think it happened.

We played around with the settings on our camera today. We're still learning our way around it. I found out there was a photography club in our area, but their website hasn't been updated since 2009, so I'm thinking it may not be around anymore. It's ok, I have this thing called Google that tells me almost everything I need to know.

While E was playing around, I didn't even know when he was taking pictures. So I'm including some of the ones that probably wouldn't have made the blog otherwise. But seriously, when else are you going to see me with greenish skin? Hopefully never again.

Outfit details:
Dress: Banana Republic (old)
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Sperry Top-Sider