busygirl

wordless wednesday: the rookie.

music makes the world go round.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions.  You can't use the band I used and try not to repeat a song title.  It's a lot harder than you think!

My life according to Eve 6

Pick your artist:

Eve 6

Are you a male or female:
Girl Eyes

Describe yourself:
Nocturnal

How do you feel:
Foiled Again

Describe where you currently live:
Small Town Trap

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
Hey Montana

Your favorite form of transportation:
Open Road

Your best friend is:
Superhero Girl

You and your best friends are:
On The Roof Again

What's the weather like:
Showerhead

What's your favorite time?
Bring The Night On

If your life was a tv show, what would it be called:
Inside Out

What is life to you:
Beautiful Oblivion

Your last relationship:

Good Lives

Your fear:
Not Gonna Be Alone Tonight

What is the best advice you have to give:
Think Twice

Thought for the Day:
At Least We're Dreaming

How I would like to die:
Arch Drive Goodbye

My soul's present condition:
Jesus Nitelight

My motto:
Here's To The Night

I tag everyone that wants to play, it's actually pretty fun, and hard to think of what song title to put :)

monday blundays.

For lack of anything exciting to write about, I just wanted to post a reminder to enter my giveaway to win a $40 gift card to CSN Stores!

I have a couple more giveaways coming up, so stay tuned :)

Enjoy your Monday, hopefully yours is filled with more coffee than mine.  Gosh, I wish they made a bottomless travel mug...

better the second time around.

Dress fitting #2 - done!  I was getting nervous after my first dress fitting.  You walk in there thinking that it's going to be amazing, that this one is MY dress!  In my size!  And then you put it on and go, oh.  The sample looked better.

::begin seconded guessing about dress choice here::

Luckily I made it to the second fitting without TOO much worrying and internet searching trying to console myself that I had made the right choice.  I put on my dress again, this time with the bustle in place, the dress about a size smaller, fitted to my measurements and hemmed to my accommodate my short legs.  PERFECT!  It looked AMAZING!   Even better than the sample.

Thank goodness, anxiety over the dress is gone.  Now onto worrying about the other zillion details that I need to take care of before July 2nd.

Only 47 more days till I get to rock the dress of my dreams :)

fashion friday: the it color

2008?  Purple.  2009?  Coral.  2010?  TURQUOISE!  A color trend that I am definitely 100% on board with.  My vote for 2011?  Let's go with mustard yellow, my other current love.

But turquoise is definitely the must have color of this season.  Not only does it look amazing on all skin tones, it's so refreshing and brightens up my day.  And considering I work in a building with NO WINDOWS, any reminder of the outdoors saves me from insanity.

I am dying to get these shoes...between the ruffles and the color ::swoon::  It's really not fair that Adam gets beer for the wedding but I can't put shoes on the registry.  Hmph.

And with those I would rock this Gleeful Peacock headband that I won in a recent giveaway hosted by Helena!  LOVE the vintage inspiration and the colors!  I'm eyeing some of her other pieces as well.

I love this tunicfrom Anthropologie, so pretty and feminine.  I could wear it for work tucked into a high-waisted skirt, or pair it with a tan belt and white skinnies for play.  I'm always on the lookout for clothes that can do 'double duty'.  And I've definitely fallen in love with Anthro's jewelry this year, like this cluster necklace full of the colors of the sea.  Or this bracelet.  Both would look stunning with a simple top or a maxi-dress!

 

 

Back to shoes for a second, I just discovered these turquoise and grey striped jersey flats from Anthropologie!  Must get off their website...now...

I know I already mentioned this in my CSN STORES GIVEAWAY, but this Caribbean Blue Le Creuset Sangria pitcheris exactly what I need to entertain this summer!  I've never attempted to make homemade sangria, but this pitcher, along with some houseguests and sunny weather, might just be the motivation I need!

What do you think?  Any luck with making your own sangria?  Are you on board with turquoise this year?  What's your vote for 2011?

csn stores GIVEAWAY!!

Got the Friday blues?  Counting down the hours, minutes, seconds to the weekend?  I know I am.  So how about a little giveaway to make this workday go by a little faster?

Good huh?

Especially since I've caught the bug.  The wanting-to-redecorate-the-entire-house bug.  I don't know if it's the excitement of receiving some amazing new gifts from our wedding registry or the fact that our 'décor' no long consists of just moving boxes, but I'm ready to bring on the new color schemes.

Not to mention wedding money now means we can get a new couch!  Whee!  No more trash-picked furniture!

So imagine how jealous I was to find out that CSN Stores wanted to give one of my fabulous readers a $40 gift card to any of their stores!  Which means YOU could be getting the sofa of your dreams!  I personally am thinking a sleeper sofa would be key in our house, since the dog has pretty much taken over the bed.  But even if you're not in need of new furniture, CSN Stores has over 250 stores that you can shop from!  Maybe your old sofa just needs a new update.  I've been eyeing some of these beauties from AllModern: 

Or if you just got your first Le Creuset like me (so very Julia Child of me), maybe you want to add to that set with a few complimenting pieces.  I'm rockin' the Cherry color, so I'd probably spring for either of these:

Oh but wouldn't this Sangria Pitcher just make summer that much better?  And I love the Caribbean Blue color too! (Um, and Kiwi, and Flame, and Dijon, heck, I love em all!):

Whatever you're looking for, CSN Stores is bound to have it!

So how can you win this FABULOUS giveaway of $40 to spend as you choose at CSN Stores??  Oh, so many ways!!

But first, some fine print: This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents ONLY.  Please be aware that there may be shipping charges or in the case of Canadian residents, international fees, for certain products.

HOW TO ENTER (Leave a comment for each one you complete)

1. MANDATORY ENTRY: Follow/subscribe to my blog!  I can't promise you'll always be laughing when you read it, but I definitely have my moments.

2. Go to CSN Stores and tell me what you would buy with your gift card!

3. Follow me on Twitter!  I'm @busygirlnicole!  Please leave your twitter handle in your comment.

4. Tweet about this giveaway! Please provide a link to your tweet in your comment.

5. Blog about this giveaway!  Please provide a link to your post in your comment.

And in celebration of Wren's upcoming birthday, you will have until NOON EST on her birthday, Friday May 21st to enter!  The winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced Friday afternoon!

GOOD LUCK and have a FABULOUS weekend!!

I was provided with a $40 gift card from CSN Stores to giveaway.  I was not compensated financially for this post.

showered with love.

Lots and lots of love.  My beautiful bridesmaids threw me a fabulous bridal shower on Saturday!  Not only were all of my friends and loved ones in attendance, but there were fancy pomegranate martinis served as well :)

 Presents for me.

And Bud Light for him.

The best presents come in small packages.

Best friends and pretty drinks.

Cookies for some.

 
And casada cake for everyone!

Except for puppy.

 
It was a wonderful day - full of smiles and laughter.  I can't thank my bridesmaids enough :)

it's wednesday and i'm in like.

With the fact that the weekend is now only 3 days away, not 4.

I'm exhausted.  And on the verge of being sick.  I have that achy feeling all the time, but not full-on.  It's lingering, taunting me, letting me know that I'm going to feel just well enough to go to work all week but as soon as Friday hits - bam.  Weekend, ruined.

I don't know if it's the weather or just a fluke.  Cleveland is a mess right now.  Sunny and 80s one day, practically flooded and in the 40s the next.  This better be done with when it's July.  Or I might cry.

Has anyone had it rain on their wedding day?  What on earth do you even do?

I set out with a goal to have all the wedding invitations addressed by the end of this week, but that will ultimately be a fail.  I've spent the majority of my time laying on the couch watching Glee reruns or the Fox Soccer Channel.

Adam is convinced that soccer is the dog's favorite sport and therefore we should leave that channel on 24/7.  Do you KNOW how many soccer games are played everyday?  I do.  Also, I have a new favorite.  Sorry Brian McBride, but Kaka from Real Madrid (playing for Brasilia in the World Cup) is just too amazing.

I cannot wait for June 11th.  Although the guilt that we're getting married instead of going is still there.  Adam's a soccer fanatic, bordering on obsessive.  Our plans for South Africa quickly got nixed due to our summer wedding.  But I promised him that no matter what, we'll be in Brazil in 2014.  Which happens to work out well because they're my favorite.

So I've been a waste of space, but at least Adam managed to clean out half of the garage.  Meaning my car gets to be tucked in for the night eliminating the need for me to scrap ice off my car in the morning.  Yes, ice.  In MAY.  I despise Ohio weather.

Sorry for the ramblings, my head is fuzzy.

wordless wednesday: beautiful bridesmaids.

Megan, one of my best friends...who just so happens to be geting hitched to my brother in March

Melissa, my older sister

Amy, my little sister and MOH!

Moi, looking ohhh so sweaty after an afternoon of small talk

Megan, Adam's older sister

Lauren, my best friend growing up

the great tie debacle.

Oh yes, finding Adam's attire has proved to be more difficult than it was for me to actually find my wedding dress.  Figures.  Something so simple can be so difficult.

To catch you up to speed, after spending over $600 on tuxes for others' weddings one summer, Adam and I made the executive decision that tuxes were indeed OUT and we were going to purchase suits instead because 1.) Adam looks like a penguin, movie usher or waiter in most tuxes.  2.) For just $30 more, the boys all get to KEEP the suit rather than just borrowing another man's fatigues.

So off we went...or rather, I went...dragging Adam by the arm, to Macy's where we lucked out with an amazing deal on an Alfani suit.  It's a slim European fit so it actually fits his body type and doesn't make him look like he's a kid wearing his dad's suit.  Andit's tonal black, so something a little different from Adam's standard flat black suit that he's already been sportin'.  And the price?  Can't beat it.  All of the groomsmen looked phenomenal, they had almost all of their sizes in the store (others could be ordered online) and I don't think any of them need to have any tailoring done.

Check it out, looking good huh?  Yeah, he's not in the wedding, too bad...he could be my stunt groom.

We picked up some WRINKLE-FREE white shirts (I will not be spending my wedding morning ironing, thank you very much) and then I turned my attention to the one missing detail...the tie.

I had told Adam a while ago that he could wear a black or white tie with his suit.  But since one of our colors is watermelon (a la David's Bridal), he wanted to add some color.  No problem right?  You're all probably thinking how lucky I am that my groom actually wants to wear PINK in the wedding.  By choice!

Easier said than done.

   
Off I went to Men's Wearhouse who apparently is the exclusive provider of color-matched product for David's Bridal.  Bah.  Should not have gone there during prom season, that's for sure.  Not only was I practically trampled by a herd of acne-covered 17-year-old boys picking out their tuxes, but the service was not as great as expected.  And come to find out, David's Bridal is not completely honest with you about their partner.  Apparently Men's Wearhouse doesn't actually sell ties that match DB's colors, you have to rent them (along with the vest/pocket kerchief), AND they are striped or paisley patterned.

FAIL.

Had I known this, I might have gone a different direction when choosing colors/brands.  But what's done is done, so it was back to the internet for me.  I stumbled upon this site, that not only claims to have matching or close matching colors to David's Bridal, but in solid colors!!  And if that wasn't too good to be true, the ties were only $3.75 a piece!  I frantically searched for the watermelon color and was disappointed that they claimed to only have a 'close' match.  But I figured, for $3.75, it was worth a shot, and ordered a fuchsia tie to see just how off the color was.

 
I got it yesterday in the mail (quick shipping, only 2 days wait) and was THRILLED to see that the tie was practically a dead-on match for DB's Watermelon color.

Done deal.  Adam will be fully dressed with the tie of his dreams.  Hey, at least it only cost $3.75 to appease him.  That's many pennies less than we budgeted if you add the suit, shirt and tie together.  Looks like I can spring for some cute rehearsal dinner shoes now!

Fellow brides-to-be, I'd suggest checking out www.solidcolorneckties.net if you're planning to go this route as well!  I cannot speak for other colors that you may need matched, but it's worth a shot to order a tie and see if the color will work for your wedding!