Celebrate the Fourth of July in Style…

In honor of America’s birthday, have a barbeque or stylish Fourth of July party! Since I myself will be relaxing poolside with a big bowl of guacamole, chips and Wahoo’s, I will leave you with links to my favorite fabulous and unique Fourth of July party ideas & articles.  Natch, some are even written by yours truly:

Perfect Fourth of July Cocktails: Keep with the Red, White and Blue theme while sipping on a delicious drink.

Five Summer S’more Ideas: Top off your BBQ with this all-american classic dessert.

All-American Fourth of July Barbeque: Yummy recipes and great suggestions by an expert party planner.

Celebrate your 4th in Style: Chic decor ideas from moi.

Now what are you waiting for? You have all the info you need to throw a fabulous 4th of July party for your family and friends - get out there and impress! And of course, be safe.

Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend

Diamonds; sparkling, beautiful diamonds. I never spent much time thinking about diamonds before my own engagement, but now I’ve become a woman obsessed. One look at my engagement ring was all it took for the love affair to begin. I had never owned a beautiful diamond like that before, and once it was on my hand I couldn’t stop staring at it.

I loved moving my hand around in different lighting just to see the way the colorful prisms danced across the diamond. Candlelight is the best - the ring sparkles and pops like a firecracker on the Fourth of July - swoon!

After the wedding planning began and the dress was chosen, I naturally began to think about my wedding day accessories. I wanted them to pair beautifully with my ring and dress, and decided that a pretty pair of diamond earrings with a bit of dangle would be just the ticket. I didn’t want them to be overly flashy, I just wanted a nice little sparkle in a similar style to my ring - a bit vintage; an heirloom-style piece.

But after visiting a few stores I was reeling from sticker shock. Diamonds are e-x-p-e-n-s-i-v-e. Earrings are even more so since it takes double the diamonds! Saddened, but not defeated, I’ve been looking into alternative places to buy diamonds. Namely I’ve been searching online diamond stores and jewelry marts, which seem to have drastically discounted diamonds that are just as beautiful. While I haven’t found that perfect pair yet, I think I’m on the right track. I’ll keep you posted with any finds, but in the meantime I’d love any good suggestions on where to look!

Whore.

I hate, hate, HATE to be a label whore - but just for this one post, I feel like I have to be. There is just something about Valentino’s latest collections of bags and shoes that makes me salivate uncontrollably. Literally, I saw a woman walking down the street toting their Petale bag and my head whipped around as I had an “ah-ROO-ga! ah-ROO-ga!” moment, complete with bulging eyes and tongue a-wagging. :::Sigh::: You see what I’ve been reduced to?

And their shoes are just as pretty - the feminine details, dainty heels and flirty bows haunt me in my dreams. I know I’ve already dedicated another post to their amazing shoes, but I can’t stop admiring them. My inner girly girl is rearing her ugly head, and I can’t beat her back down into submission, no matter how hard I try.

Pretty Patio Dresses

I blogged about the organic cotton maxi-length patio dress by Gypsy a while back. It finally arrived two weeks ago after a long back-order wait, and I looooove it. I wore it while visiting my Maid of Honor in the desert, and got countless compliments. Plus, it’s about the only thing that kept me comfortable and cool in the 100 degree heat.

I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for another fabulous patio dress, and found two options that fit the bill. The first is a gorgeous bright red Grecian-inspired version by Laundry. This would be amazing out on the town on a warm summer’s night; wear it with loose waves and a bold pair of chandelier earrings.

The second option is a light and airy number by - shocker - Nine West! I may be partial since I love yellow, but I think this dress is perfect for summer. Plus, the color would really pop against a gorgeous tan.

Red Maxi Dress by Laundry by Design - $265

Yellow Nine West Cotton Maxi Dress - $140

Gorgeous, Stylish Summer Swimwear

Since today marks the first official day of summer, I thought I’d commemorate it with a few more to-die-for swimsuits. Keeping with my past theme on swimsuits, they’re a little bit retro and, I think, pretty darn sexy too. Read on for details…

Things I Love.

First off, shame on me for being a bag blogger and not posting regularly. In my defense, I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to pull together final wedding details. It’s now T minus 3 months til the big day - typing that gave me a mini anxiety attack - and I feel like there’s still so much to accomplish.

But often times, instead of tackling my growing list of DIY wedding projects (Martha’s tissue paper pom-poms, anyone? ), I get sidetracked and slip into La-La-Land reading wedding blogs and researching for the perfect wedding day accessories. In lieu of obsessing over them privately, here are some of my favorite things that I am in love with….

Miranda’s Sexy Swimsuit

So, this weekend I FINALLY saw Sex and the City - woohoo! It was awesome, and the fashions were (of course!) to die for. I noticed that the red strapless bikini I posted about a while back was awfully similar to Miranda’s  red retro swimsuit that she wore on the Mexico vacation.  Her overgrown foliage may not have been sexy, but the suit definitely was. I did a little digging and found a red version with straps just like hers, again by Carmen Marc Valvo.

If you love it just as much, you can get it at Victoria’s Secret - ON SALE for $117, from $156.

Miranda’s Zac Posen Bridesmaid Dress

So, although I am a disappointment to fab fashionistas everywhere and have not yet seen the Sex and the City movie (in my defense, I’m waiting to see it with my Maid of Honor, who I’m visiting this weekend), I HAVE seen the gorgeous bridesmaid dresses that Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte are sporting in Carrie’s wedding scene.

I’m particularly obsessed with Miranda’s stunning royal blue Zac Posen creation, which I initially saw in a runway shot of Posen’s Spring/Summer 08 collection. I fell in love with it so hard, I declared to my boyfriend that it was going to be my wedding dress. That idea was quickly shot down by his deadpan look, but I am still in love with that dress.

Bergdorf’s and Neiman’s carried the short version of the Silk Ibis dress, but alas, they are now both sold out. You could always try calling the stores to see if they can locate one though… it’s worth it!

Splurge v. Steal: The Yellow Bikini

Sorry I’ve been MIA the past few days…. between wedding planning, house hunting and a rockslide of work I hardly had time to breathe, let alone post :). I was looking at swimwear on Shop Bop and found Rachel Pally’s adorable little yellow string bikini, which is just perfect for summer.

It has a pop of color, a halter, bandeau style top and a cute little string bottom. I might not be baring my behind that much this summer, but if you’ve got a perky little booty, you should definitely go for it!

I love Rachel Pally, but Victoria’s Secret literally sells the same suit for a SMALL fraction of the price ($172 for Pally’s version and a mere $29 for the VS version). I already have the VS suit in a different color and it fits really well, except for the fact that the top is not fully lined. If you want to save big and go for the VS version, buy some cup inserts and fabric glue them into the top, or remove the liners from an old bikini, cut them to fit the new top and fabric glue them in. Just make sure you use waterproof fabric glue!

P.S. Don’t you just love how in the pics above, the Rachel Pally model looks all sad that her suit is so expensive, and the VS model looks triumphant because hers is such a good deal?

Be My Valentino

Thanks to the fabulosity that is Sex and the City, shoe designers like Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo have become household names. Although I’m usually faithful to my Jimmys, over the past few days I’ve happened upon some pretty amazing, drool-worthy shoe designs by someone else - Valentino.

Valentino certainly isn’t the first designer that pops into my mind when I think of fabulous heels, but perhaps that’s just ignorance on my part. Case in point: These absolutely stunning pink bow peep toes worthy of the original bitch-who-has-it-all, Barbie. They also strongly evoke the aura of a certain fictional fashionista / writer residing in NYC, who may or may not be the central character in a much-hyped movie coming out May 30th. Also, this character’s name may or may not start with a “Ca” and end with a “rrie.” Oops, that gave it away, didn’t it?

I found the pair of to-die-for Valentino flower sandals while perusing bridal sites, and fell. in. love. They are sheer perfection, and I’m completely and utterly OB-sessed. Completely. And Utterly. And the worst part is, I don’t know where to buy them and can’t find them anywhere. If any of you faithful readers have seen this shoe, I will love you forever in exchange for your info!