DOW

well, as you might know, the DOW is down today. it had the largest decline in history (over 900 points) and is now up to a 400 point decline. so what does this mean for all of us?

well if you live in europe, you know that the euro is heavly declining, some parts due to greece's debt.

if you live in the US, lets just hope you took your money out of international stocks, or at least will do so now. you probably shouldnt travel to greece for a little while.

there is one thing we all shouldn't do though. don't stop buying and don't completely stop investing. when crazy things happen in the financial industry, our initial reaction is to hunker down. although saving money is a very good idea, shutting everything off kills the economy.

so...let's be wise with our money. maybe this is the time to buy clothing from online european websites now, since the exchange rate is going to be higher. most of all, lets try not to panic. 75% of financial crisis comes from pyschological mindsets.

ps. i am not a financial analyst but i did go to college for business. if you have any recommendations, comments, or issues lets talk about them!

spring decorating

are you looking to update your house for spring but don't want to spend too much  money? here are a few hints for things you can do on a minimal budget.

grab some baskets from the dollar store to stow away magazines, blankets, or hand towels. "natural" is in right now so this will update your look and organize your coffee table or bathroom.

grow lavendar in pots and use them as table decorations. it will bring color to the room, make everything smell nice, and you can dry it when you are done. lavendar also tastes good in this lemonade. check out these dried lavendar decorations:

wreath

pots

sheaf

change up your heavy curtains with thick braided ropes. you can use them to tie hold back panels or draped over small valances to add texture.

  all from pottery barn.

wedding day mayhem

wake up, brush your teeth, call your bridesmaids and ask them why they're not at your house yet, wonder where you left your shoes, get your hair done, yell at someone you like because you're stressed out, get your makeup done, freak out, wonder if your fiance will remember to pick up his tux, have a breakdown, get consoled by your bridesmaids (except the one who still hasn't shown up yet), force a smile for the poor photographer even though you're thinking about a million other things, pack your purse with everything you can think of, wonder if your fiance remembers what time the ceremony is, get in the limo, ride to the church, get hitched, rush the photos to get back to cocktail hour, stuff your face, talk, mingle, shmooze, and run away with your new groom.

there's your wedding. one statement in that abbreviated narrative is especially disturbing to me : "rush the photos to get back to cocktail hour". of course, being a photographer i am definitely biased, but allow me to defend my point...

all that craziness on your wedding day is nearly unavoidable and i know that it's overwhelming, but just try to put it into a little bit of perspective. no matter what happens that day, the only thing you'll have left after it's over is the photos (and your spouse). with that in mind, doesn't it make sense to give it some decent time on your wedding day?

i can do formals (the photos of the bride/groom and the wedding party) in 15 minutes if need be, but it definitely allows for a more relaxed and creative atmosphere when you go into it knowing you've got 45 minutes or an hour to work with. if you're really that anxious to get back to the cocktail hour, then make it a point to sneak out of the reception for a half hour or so with your new groom and the photographer (preferably blueflash) at dusk while the sun's setting if you're having an evening wedding in the summer. you can catch some great photos when you take a little bit of time and make a deliberate point to shoot. these shots were taken when the bride and groom snuck out of the reception for a bit. we otherwise wouldn't have been able to get them...

make photos a priority and i promise you won't regret it afterwards!

big thanks to hillary for letting me have some of her blog space. sorry i wasn't able to post my outfit today. i'd love it if you take a minute to check out my website and my blog. also, if you want an awesome addition to your wedding, you have to check out the bluecube. thanks for reading, and be nice to hillary!

if you have any questions and want a photographer's perspective, feel free to shoot them my way. my advice is free, even if you're using another photographer.

have you heard?

this week, you can get $25 gift certificates on restaurant.com for $2! check out the details here. you have to spend at least $35 to redeem your gift certificate, but you are still saving a bunch. the site has all the participating restaurants included. the offer lasts until march 31st so make sure you check them out soon!

cucumber seltzer

during the day i get really bored with drinking water. i know it's super good for you but there is nothing fun about it. a few weeks ago i started drinking soda water from the fountain in the cafeteria which added a little more spice to it (and it is still free). the other day i decided to kick it up another notch and brought some cucumber slices to work. i used two and the flavor lasted for two 20 oz. cups of seltzer.

the only warning i have is that you will probably have to run to the restroom a few times. it tastes so good (and i don't even like cucumbers) you wont want to stop drinking it.

creating something new is just recycling

Do you ever feel like that when you are trying to design something? I do. What is an original idea anyway? Has everything been done before?

I have been so bored with all the “recycling” green marketing stuff lately. Is it just to make us feel good or are we really making a difference? I have noticed that some people at my work don’t use the plastic/paper/Styrofoam from the cafeteria. They bring their own plate and coffee cup and get the food on that. I thought that was a good idea. It is also resourceful. I figured out that I save about $14 a month if I buy my own tea and reusable hot/cold water bottle. Not bad. This inspired way more than the green fairies dancing on the commercials.

What inspires you most?

Wedding Help

I am in my cousin Ethan’s wedding this weekend and I am so excited! Its going to be so fun and the outfits are super cute (J.Crew!) So, I need some help with the accessory and hair side…

This is my dress and shoes (but ivory).

I would like to wear these pearls.

And I am going to make a hair comb with an ivory peony (we have them in our bouquets).

So. What do you think for hair? I love the curly one but the updo reminds me of Audrey in Breakfast At Tiffany’s…

I did my hair kind of like this before (here)

Last Minute Father's Day Ideas

Geeky Dad
At work we get emails about great Father's Day gifts and of course they are always Hasbro games of some sort. The newest one is the Rubik's 360 Stacker. If you have a geeky dad, he would probably like spending some time with this.

Another idea would be Transformers 2 movie passes for you and your dad, or GI Joe (August). There is some pretty cool memorabilia out for these two movies too.

Sentimental Dad
This year, I am getting my dad one of those digital picture frames. He likes having pictures of my family and thought the digital frame was a cool idea. These range from reasonable to extremely expensive, depending on what you want. You can find reasonable ones at Target and Best Buy.

Sporty Dad
If you like making things, you can create some pretty cool gifts out of sports memorabilia. You can decoupage an inexpensive photo album with vintage baseball cards (just go to your local sports shop or thrift store and get some used ones). If you are ready to take on something more advance, find a coffee table at a local garage sale or thrift store and decoupage tickets, trading cards, magazine clippings, and whatever else you can think of to the top. This only takes about two hours to dry and looks really awesome when you are done. For directions, see the chair I made here.

Family Dad
If your dad loves spending time in the backyard with your family, William Sonoma has cool grill gadgets and sauces for the summer time. Making a grilling basket with all sorts of treats would be a great present!

Most importantly, spend time with your dad on Sunday. My dad is super awesome and I am so glad I get to honor him with a day just for him.

mary kate olsen hair tutorial

Yes! I have found the secret. Ok,...lovemaegan found the secret, and has so wonderfully shared it with us. Check out her video on how to get the perfect wave.

A few tips I learned:

-make sure to hold the tip of your hair as you wind it around the barrel. and seriously. watch out. my poor finger is SO burnt it hurts to type.

-spray some "moveable" hair spray in your hair (whatever its called) before you start. it helps keep the curl better and makes it look more messy (ie: perfect)

-I used a 1.5" and 1" curling iron for my hair. The smaller the barrel, the less poofy it is. It also depends on your hair length, so keep that in mind. Ulta is having a sale if you need a new curling iron. Check out their promotions page.

Thanks for the video Maegan!

what do you do when you are stressed?

I...

grind my teeth
drink Coke and tea
sleep
get upset about the most crazy things that make sense in my head

So, today my jaw is killing me, my stomach hurts, and I want to take a nap. I've heard that people feel like this the last 3 weeks of their senior year in college. I have 21 days exactly until my last final and paper are due. That is exciting.

Has anyone ever felt the same way? What did you do to make it better? I've been reading my Bible alot which helps. I just started reading a book about strength. I need to be stronger.

move over gladiator

I love the hard core sandals that are finally in "normal" retail stores for the summer (ie: that means I can buy them now instead of stare at them in W). Last weekend Joel and I went to the infamous Thayer Street in Providence and went shoe shopping for him. I found some things I liked to, but didnt get any. Yet. Here are my top three favorites...

The last two are my favorite. I can see myself wearing this last one more though...

On a side note, if you live in the Providence area, you should check out Thayer Street. There are cool ethnic restaurants, The Creperie, vintage stores, Urban Outfitters, and other little stores. They even have an indie theater. It is surrounded by Brown University too so there are a lot of beautiful buildings and houses.

for the trackers

I found a new tracking tools that will help you stalk your sites better (come on, we all do it).

Craft Cult
It helps people track their etsy store more than they already do. Just what we need! It's really easy to use. Just type in your user name and you can find out how many views you have on your pages, how many people heart your products, etc. The bonus is you dont need to register.

Scout
Find out if you made the Flickr top 500. I made it a few times and didn't even know before I found this tool. This one is nice too because you just enter in your flickr username email.

Site Meter
Your probably know about this already but this is a helpful blog tracker. It keeps track of who goes to your blog, what time, etc. It can even give you forcasts of what your traffic should look like based on historical time periods of your site. Bad news, yet another weirdo password to remember (so make sure you click yes to always remember).

Valentine's Day Ideas FREE GIVEAWAY!

Today I decided we needed to get a little interaction going. I am going to list some ideas for Valentine's Day presents for guys and girls, and you can comment with your ideas.

Girls (why do they always seem easier)

- buy a star for her from the International Star Registry

- start a charm bracelet for her that can be an ongoing gift (very thoughtful!)

- get her subscriptions to all the magazines she has wanted

- by her a locket

- send her flowers at work with a really romantic card, you will have all the other girls drooling

- buy her a cocktail dress and give it to her with a note for a special dinner

Guys (so much harder, this is where I need help)

- make him a scrapbook of all the fun things have done

- send a card to his work with a kiss voucher inside

- make him his favorite dinner and rent all his favorite movies

- start a notebook with things you do together that can be filled in (what movies you have seen, vacations you have taken, etc.)

Ok, now its your turn! Leave me a comment about your favorite Valentine's Day gift and I will choose the best idea and send you one of my handmade flower belts. Your choice!

You have until Thursday afternoon at 5 p.m.

best winter fashion idea so far

I have been wearing boots alot this winter and always get frustrated when my pants bunch up around the knees. I tried the whole tuck pant in sock routine but then it gets bunchy and uncomfortable. I had a wonderful (maybe obvious) idea this weekend and have been wearing boots since I thought of it.

I wore high sock under my pants then took two safety pins and pinned through my pants and socks so they would stay together. I did it halfway down my calf so that you couldnt see the pin and it wouldnt pull on my pants. I haven't had bunch knees since.