Great Dresses under $300: J.Crew

I originally planned on buying my wedding dress from J.Crew so of course I want to share with you all the great ensembles they have available.

Silk tricotine Cecelia short dress in Champagne $180

Silk tricotine Sophia gown in Ivory $295

Silk tricotine Robin long dress in Ivory $250

Cotton cady Sydney dress in Light Pewter $225

Silk taffeta bow monde dress in Champagne $225

Solid embossed beach dress in White $98

Long embossed-cotton aubrey halter dress in White $175

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How To: Steam Open Envelopes

Why would you need to do that? Well if you are like my family you may repeatedly run across putting the wrong combo of inserts or all together forgetting them when stuffing your invitations.

And of course we couldn’t realize this after just sealing the envelope… oh no… we sealed, stamped, calligraphy, and added the embellishment sticker seal (I promise to show pics of the whole suite very soon).

So what do you do?

Steam them open of course!

Now Luke has this saying that goes a little like “Yes, Nora, you win! You are always right!” Nora being my mom of course. Why does he say that? Because as much as I hate to admit it, it’s true. I don’t know how she does it but she is just so freakin’ good at everything she attempts! *peeved inflection fully intended* {I love you mom!} 🙂

So when I realized I needed to steam open about 10 of our invitations, I turned to the internet… I read and prepared and set out to work…

I used a large frying pan like this…

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I started to boil a couple of inches of water. Once the steam started really going, I used metal tongs wrapped with a paper towel (to not mark up the paper) to grip the envelope flap faced down and started steaming it about an inch above the water.

What felt like 5 minutes later I could very slowly and carefully pull the flap up and replace the contents.

It worked but it was time consuming and required a lot of focus not to drop the envelope in the water or tear the paper while peeling…

So about 3 envelopes later my mom walks in and goes, “Use the steamer!” So out she brings her travel steamer…

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And pops those envelopes open without even trying. She literally finished 6 in the time it took me to do my last one. And she didn’t even have to tug at the paper. The glue just melted off.

So anyways we were able to make our changes and seal them back up with a glue stick without anyone being the wiser.

Moral of the story: Moms always know best 🙂

Booking the Baker: Honey’s Cakes

It’s official we have booked our wedding cake! 🙂

And as you probably guessed from my raving review… we went with Honey’s Cakes by Nancy Cortez…

And I present to you the sketch of our beautiful cake design…

If you notice there are a few minor changes to the overall design. For instance we have decided to go with a 4-tier 140 pcs wedding cake. Therefore we have removed the tier with the bow. It will consist of a top 6″ tier of banana and cream cheese filling, followed by 8″ and 10″ tiers of Italian creme and raspberry mousse and the bottom 14″ tier with the ever delicious and amazing banana and cream cheese 🙂 I am dying to eat more of this cake!

Our groom’s cake will follow the original design except at the 80 pcs size and will be Luke’s favorite of chocolate with fresh strawberries and creme.

We will also have 2 matching sheet cakes one in the chocolate and strawberries & creme and the other in mandarin and pineapples & creme (that one’s for mom).

In total we got 420 pcs and could increase by another sheet cake once rsvp’s have come in…

And the grand total…

$800

at $1.90 a slice I’m happy b/c Nancy’s buttercream frosting is TO DIE FOR!!!

I’ve got labels!

Remember back when I decided that we were going to make faux Jones soda bottles for our table numbers and then we discovered they could double as tiki torches?

Well Luke is currently working on assembling the torches and I just finished designing the labels 🙂

and here’s the full suite for all 35 tables…

So what do ya’ll think? Do you think they’ll turn out as cool as I’ve envisioned?

Great Dresses Under $300: Etsy (short dresses)

This week I present to you the gorgeous handmade and vintage finds offered on the ever so wonderful Etsy.

English Lace Mini Dress by Claire La Faye $225

Beautiful Scalloped Eyelet Silk Satin Trimmed 50s Wedding Dress by Audrey & Grace $300

The 50's Tulle Prom Dress by Make Me A Dress $250

first love bustier dress in ivory by Bustle $195

White Eyelet Sun Dress by Cherry Pie Vintage $100

Zooey's dress from 500 days of Summer by Atelier Tami

Gift Giving: Awesome Manly Gifts from Steampunk Vintage Design

If you are planning a wedding I know you are secretly stressing about what to get your maids and men, right? And if not, you probably are going to at least one wedding this year, aren’t you? I’ve counted a minimum of 13 weddings of friends in the coming year O_O

So what do you get them? Well here is a new series on some wonderful gift ideas courtesy of me… so to start with here’s a gift idea for your groom and groomsmen or any special guy tying the knot that you may know…

You all remember how much I love Steampunk Vintage Design‘s shop, right? Well let me tell you, Luke LOVES it too so it’s not just a “bride thing” 🙂

Steampunk Vintage Design has a great new line of wedding cuff link packages. Each cuff link is hand crafted by husband and wife team, Tim & Connie, who have been in love with art and design since childhood and wanted to bring new life to the vintage items they’ve collected over the years from estate sales, auctions and antique stores.

Two of their great new cuff link packages are the Hamilton Silver and the Rose Gold…

Steampunk Vintage Design Hamilton Silver Package $286

This package “features 4 pairs of Hamilton silver watch movements.  Hamilton movements are a higher grade watch with very eye-catching details on the movements.  You will notice these all have a pinstripe appearance to them that makes them truly stand out from others.  The rare find within this package is the pinstriped square-shaped movement.  All of the movements are ruby jeweled movements.  The price of this package is $286.”

Steampunk Vintage Design Rose Gold Package $302

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The Rose Gold package “features 4 pairs of rose gold watch movements.  Most of these movements are SWISS made.  They all are the rose gold color, which is a rare color.  You will notice these all have different shapes to them.  There are 2 rare finds within this package, and they are the thin rectangle movement and the medium-sized rectangle movement.  All of the movements are ruby jeweled movements.  The price of this package is $302.”

Every cuff link package from Steampunk Vintage Design includes a rare movement that would be great for the groom or best man 🙂

Rare movement cuff links

Cuff links make great gifts because they last beyond the wedding and work great for any formal occasion. Plus they can be handed down from generation to generation as a very special family heirloom.

Tim and Connie are always coming up with new designs and creations including custom bracelet, necklace, and earring sets that would make great bride and bridesmaid gifts. So make sure you stop by Steampunk Vintage Design often to see what you may find 🙂

Great Dresses Under $300: David’s Bridal

Before I begin this new series I have a quick half a confession to make… I am keeping a few very big secrets from you all O_O But I do promise to tell you soon enough… sorry I just had to leave that tease and semi explanation for my absent posts for a few weeks there…

Now back to this new series!

As you all know, my dress was something I didn’t plan to spend a lot of money on. But I did want to look gorgeous. More and more I’m hearing of people (who I know for a fact don’t always have the money) spending $3000 or so on their gown. And they insist it’s because that’s what looks best and is of fine quality.

1) You are wearing the dress once and for 8 hrs tops! You do not need “Fine Quality”. ANd you know what, I witnessed two high-priced “fine quality” dresses getting torn during the reception just this year. So that should not even be a consideration.

2) You can find beautiful dresses for under $300 and I’m gonna show you where.

To start off with I give you all David’s Bridal, the leading off-the-rack wedding dress dealer in the country.

Here’s a few great pieces under $300 that they offer and let me say, they are total steals!

Style: SAS1202 $199

Style: SAS1213 $229

Style: SAS1206 $229

Style: INT1054 $129.99

Style: INT3211 $199.99

Style: T9391 $99

Style: SY9501 $199

Style: ST9505 $99.99

Sponsored Post: Seven Hopes United

I am so proud that a growing number of brides are being more eco-conscious and concerned with contributing to charities while planning their weddings. I think it’s really important to take some of the selfishness of this special occasion and show some love to others.

That’s why I’m so excited about Seven Hopes United‘s new Fair Trade Wedding & Gift Registry.

Seven Hopes United is an amazing online marketplace of fairly-traded crafts, jewelry and housewares from around the globe. All  products sold through them are Fair Trade Certified meaning they are made in fair trade cooperatives that contribute to social development, provide economic stability, and secure the right of marginalized producers and workers – especially in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Plus a portion of the proceeds from each product sold is invested back into artisan communities. Sounds pretty great, huh?

And now they have launched a very special gift registry option that redefines “gifts that give back.”

When you create a registry through Seven Hopes United you make it possible for your friends to give a very special gift that works in two ways…

“1. You are giving the gift of hope and a future to people who need it most, in honor of someone you love.

2. By making giving fun, innovative and convenient, your friend will feel good about the help their gift is providing.”

And signing up for a Seven Hopes United Fair Trade Wedding Registry is easy and fun. I signed up for one for us that you can check out here.

Here’s a few of my favorite products offered on Seven Hopes United…

Teak Round Cutting Board $30

Brazil Nut Candles $10

Small Twisted Wild Olivewood Servers $14

White Flower Tea Pot $62

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The following is a list of some of the great benefits that come with a Seven Hopes United Fair Trade Wedding Registry.

10% Completion Savings Program
Didn’t receive everything you registered for? We’re happy to offer you a 10% discount when you purchase any remaining registry items for up to six months. Watch for your completion savings code to arrive via email shortly after your event date.

Charitable Contributions
Simply by registering with Seven Hopes United, you can raise charitable contributions. 10% of guests’ gift purchases from Seven Hopes United will be invested in community development initiatives throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

This donation is made at no additional cost to you or your guests.

Easy Setup & Updates

You can create, update and add gifts to your registry online, any time. Your registry will be updated within minutes. With online access, you can conveniently check what’s been purchased or make changes to your registry at any time.

I hope you all go check out Seven Hopes United and create a Fair Trade Wedding & Gift Registry for yourself. And to top it off… Seven Hopes United has offered a special discount to my readers as well. Simply use the coupon code MISMIKADO to receive 15% off your entire order. You can’t top that! 🙂

Sponsored Post: The Initial Review of Sensa

So as you all know I have started a 6-month review of the weight-loss program Sensa…

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I will admit that initially I was skeptical. However what I like about Sensa is that is does not make some far-fetched promises. The healthiest way to loss weight is to shoot for 1-2 lbs a week simply by curbing your daily eating habits. And that’s exactly what Sensa is suppose to help you do.

So when my first month’s package arrived I watched the dvd and set a plan to start sprinkling today…

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First off, don’t worry about it affecting the flavor of your food. I was… but it is honest to god completely flavorless 😀 and the smell is not obnoxious or over-whelming. It’s just like adding a bit of seasoning to your meal. I have yet to try the sweet side though but plan to tonight.

One concern of mine was the long-term effects of the ingredients found in Sensa. However the manufacturers claim that all ingredients are approved as safe by the FDA.

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I’m really thinking this might be a great tool for those who need a little help to stay motivated on a diet. But time and the scale will tell 🙂

And don’t forget about the 15% off discount for my readers. Simply enter the promo code GOAL2010 when you order Sensa for yourself.

Vintage Goodness: French Vanilla Vintage

We all know how much I love vintage loveliness and boy do I have a great new shop for you all… French Vanilla Vintage.

French Vanilla Vintage is operated by @ArtistJess and she has compiled an amazing collection of vintage jewelry. Here’s a few of my favorites…

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Look at all that pretty rustic goldness! Go check out French Vanilla Vintage for yourself now!