Cristina Perry Events

{A photo from the 100 Layer Cake shoot by photographer Kate Belle;

Invite by Folgio Press;Flowers by Amy Osaba;

Stylist Cristina Perry Events}

Goooood Morning! Yesterday I received an email from my dear friend Cristina Perry, of Cristina Perry Events, that a wedding shoot she styled was being featured on the 100 layer cake blog so I clicked over and WOW!!!- what a stunningly beautiful wedding shoot! I must say I was so proud of my friend because I know that the passion she has for wedding design is all coming together for her! Cristina has impeccable taste and great style- if you are getting married and need someone who knows what they are doing talk to Cristina! Check out her wedding featured on 100 Layer Cake here

For Rent

We have all been there, another event to attend and the same LBD that you have already worn 5 times and are sick of... Well not any longer my friends. I came across this link this week when I was blog hopping- www.renttherunway.com It is basically the Neiman Marcus contemporary department but for rent. Most cocktail dresses rent between $50-$75 for 4 days. They have lots of my favorite goto designers such as Milly, Nicole Miller, Tracy Reese, and so many more. I love this concept because I usually wear a cocktail dress twice and I'm over it because I don't go to a ton of cocktail things and styles are always changing. We have a couple of things in October and November and I am think renttherunway is the way to go!

Wall of Thanks

This morning as I was working from home and watching the news I caught a little bit of the new Nate Burkus show and he was featuring great gifts for under $10. It was a pretty cute little segement that featured mismatched flea market plates, books plates, local food, but the best idea he had was framing thank you notes. How cool would it be to have a wall of frames that includes old pictures of friends and then a thank you note from them? We are moving early next year into a new place and I am thinking this is going to have to be done in my office. I may also include some of the great wedding invites and then maybe a fun picture from that wedding. I have so many notes, invites, and stationery that I have saved over the years that this could be just the way to display them all. What a perfect for idea/gift for any other stationery junkies out there!

{This look is from Pottery Barn and I love all the different sizes and types in Black and White}

Fall Football

Fall is in the air, well not really in Dallas, but it will be this weekend because I am attending my first University of Texas football game in Austin. I went to The University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and football was a big deal but since I graduated I seem to care a little less about it every year. Even when I was in Athens I only went to 3 home games ever (don't worry I always made it to tailgate :) )I know that many people out there are die hard fans for their alma mater but honestly I am a fair weather fan... Now lets talk about my boyfriend Matt- he lives and breathes Texas football. Before I moved to Texas I really had no clue how big a deal not only College football is but High school football too! This weekend is super exciting for him so I am going to put on something orange (who knew that burnt orange was so hard to find!) and route for Matt's favorite team! I don't think I have ever featured anything collegiate because I think most of it is pretty cheesy but here are a couple of things Longhorns that make great gifts and are super cute for tailgate!

{All items can be found on www.collegefootballart.com}

Jeggings

The word is horrible but Jeggings are everywhere this season. I have been on the lookout for them and I am thinking I am going to pull the trigger tonight. What I love about Jeggings is that they have the comfort and stretch of leggings but thicker and with pockets... no pockets on Jeggings is a bad bad thing. Banana Republic has my favorite Jeggings this season! Get your 40% off coupon an go get yourself some!

Gypsy Style

This afternoon I had a little retail relaxation and after our 3 day mini market this weekend I felt that it was very deserved! I needed my favorite, Niven Morgan Gold Candle, and so I made a stop at The Gypsy Wagon. This is one of my favorite stores in Dallas because everything they have is so so unique but still very reasonably priced. TGW is a one stop shop- they have great gifts, home decor, baby, bedding, clothes, boots, belts, and incredible accessories! Carley, the owner of The Gypsy Wagon, has awesome taste and is always looking for great unique items! My fall wardrobe is in dire need of a boost and I knew TGW was the place for just that. Carley was in the shop and stopped everything she was doing to pull things and give me her opinion! Everything I bought are items that I am going to love wearing all fall. If you live in Dallas check out The Gypsy Wagon in their new hip location on Henderson, East of I-75. If you don't live in Dallas you are in luck because their website just launched! www.the-gypsy-wagon.com

4Q MUST HAVE

Today is my first 4Q "Must Haves" for this year. I am starting off with the new iphone covers from Mixed Bags. These things are hot!! They are in some of the best selling patterns from Mixed Bags and they fit the 3G AND 4G phones (there aren't a ton out there for the 4G right now!) These bad boys will retail around $16 and they are a must have for everyones stocking this year!

Thank You Hermine

Tropical Storm Hermine has been dumping rain on Dallas for the last 24 hours. Honestly, Dallas needs the rain right now so I am not going to complain about how rain makes my job a little miserable. Luckily my morning appointment rescheduled for tomorrow since she doesn't like rain either! This afternoon I am headed down to the showroom to work a little bit before the mini show this weekend. Before I do I thought that I would share what I love for rainy days!

I love the new Jonathan Adler Umbrellas

Hunter Rain boots in any color are a must for a day like today!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was the best book I read all summer! Nothing like reading a great book while drinking you coffee on a horribly rainy day like today!

September

{Vogue September Issue; Leopard Shoe, Banana Republic; Satin & Velvet Dress,Ralph Lauren Black Label}

Can you believe it is already September?! On cue mother nature brought cooler temps to Dallas and lots of rain which makes it way easier to put away my white jeans, skirt, and shoes. In a strange way it feels like after Labor Day everything is back to normal and life settles down- it is a comforting feeling that I truly look forward to every year. College football started this weekend which I am made painfully aware of by my boyfriend since he has been counting down for weeks. September is also a huge month in fashion. Most publications have their biggest issues this month including the coveted September Issue of Vogue. I love the September Issue of Vogue. Yes, there are 400 pages of advertisements but I feel like through the articles and ads you can see what is going to be trendy for the fall. Leopard and the Military look seem to still be strong. According to Vogue, curvy girls are very in (FINALLY) and lots of Velvet for evening wear. Above are my favorite things for September- what are your favorite things about September?

Berry and Plum

{Burberry Ikat Canvas Tote, Neiman Marcus; Berry Chargers, Plum Throw, Lamp, Crate&Barrel; Carolina Herrera Plum Gown, Neiman Marcus}

When my Crate&Barrel came this past month I was totally digging the layout that they did with all the purples and red. It made me want to ditch my farmhouse kitchen table that I love and get a red lacquered metal table that is completely not me. But I do love this color combo! Here are my berry & plum picks!

Delivery Men and A Dilemma

***this is a rant and you have been warned...I promise not to make this a habit***

I am in a dilemma. As most of your know, when I am not on the road, I work from home. My home is a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath 1200 sqft. apartment in the Uptown part of Dallas. Most people who live in our building do not work from home ( I promise I am going somewhere with this but I feel like I need to give as many details as possible because I don't want to feel like the bad guy at the end.) Our building does not have a leasing office in it- which is actually something i love about our building. The leasing office that manages our building is 3 blocks away. With this job I get a lot of packages. When the package is signature required if I'm not home it get dropped up at our leasing office. Ok, here is the dilemma. On Monday I knew that my purse from Gilt was suppose to arrive, and I know that UPS comes around 3:30 so I scheduled my WHOLE day around being back by 3pm so I wouldn't miss the purse. I get to working and sending emails and when I look down at the clock it is 5pm and no purse. I go and check the UPS update on my email and it says "delivered". I can't tell you how angry I felt. By the time I made it up to the leasing office they had left for the day. Now rewind to last Friday. I am sitting here around 5:00 and I hear the FEDEX guy around the hall delivering packages and I hear him stop in front of my door. He knocks. I go to the door. No package. No note. No FEDEX guy. I run down the stairs like a crazy person screaming "HELLO!? HELLO?!" and I see his truck drive off. UGH... Now it is Tuesday morning at like 10:01 am and I go up to the leasing office to collect my purse, and expecting to get my FEDEX package. The purse is there and in bad shape. Basically the box is opened and looks like it was punted into the leasing office. No FEDEX package. I call our Oklahoma rep and ask what came through FEDEX so I can figure out who to get a tracking number from to see where this package is. Long story short after calling FEDEX- it was delivered to my neighbors, and was actually still out in front of their door FOR 5 DAYS. So my FEDEX guy knocked on my door but had left the package 3 doors down?! How lazy and unprofessional that you couldn't just bring it to me. How was I to know?!

Both my FEDEX and UPS guys do not leave me notes that there is something signature required at the office NOR do they even try to deliver it to me. VERY FRUSTRATING. I realize that most people in my building aren't home during the day, and I'm not always here either BUT at least try me! And if I'm not here, PLEASE leave me a note to let me know something is up at the front office. I can't tell you how many times I've gone up there to grab what I think is one package and it be multiple packages that have been sitting there for who knows how long?!

How do I handle this? Do I approach them both or just go to their manager? Let me know what you would do!