trimming the tree with sparkle

i'm a fan of sparkle any time of the year, but it's a must for the holidays! 

one of my favorite ways to incorporate a little sparkle into the season is our Christmas tree. we decorate with glitter, metallic, and sequin ornaments, garland, and lights. there's something magical about a shimmering tree, don't you think?

star topper | starburst ornaments | sequin bow | beaded garland | glitter snowflake | glisten lights | starburst topper

a darker sparkle

while i love anything sequined and glittering, i've been drawn to the darker shades of sparkle lately. maybe more elegant and grown-up, these midnight sequins feel a bit more luxurious.

which piece is your fave?

Rachel Zoe sequin dress
$495

TopShop sequin prom dress
$255

DKNY fitted shirt
$130

J Crew sequin tank
$68

Halston Heritage sequin shorts
$325

TOMS black flat
$59

Stiletto heels
$49

Juicy Couture quilted tote bag
£169

GAP hair bow accessory
$9.95

Deborah Lippmann Glitter Nail Polish
$18

words of wisdom week 1: things that sparkle

I'm Alex from Things That Sparkle and Alexandra Kaehler Design. I'm so excited that Ashley asked me to here today as part of this fantastic series. There are so many words of wisdom that my wonderful parents imparted on me as a child, but maybe the most valuable words, have been the ones I have taught myself.

In this blog world, filled with beautiful pictures, its hard to keep things in perspective. Someone is always skinnier, prettier, richer, or has a nicer house. There is always someone with more... So in this world (that is mostly amazing, with a little bit of nastiness) you must remind yourself

image by me

So whether you have a perfect little body, or an extra 15 pounds. A beautiful mcmansion or a tiny studio. Just be thankful for what you have and then you'll always be satisfied.

things that sparkle guest post

Hi ANC readers, I am Alex from Things That Sparkle! I am so excited to be here today while Ashley is off jetsetting on her honeymoon!

With summer fast approaching and some beautiful (and consistent) weather finally starting to come around, I figured I would share all the things I am most excited for this summer!

Spending some quality time on Lake Michigan (image via)

Lots of wedding celebrations, both for mine and for friends! (image via)

Sun bathing obviously (image via)

And dress up in fancy dresses for lots of girl time! (image via)

What are you most excited for for the coming season?

friday link love

via studded hearts

it's been a couple of weeks since my last friday link love, so i hope you're ready for a whole lotta gorgeous links today! i hope everyone has a happy and safe labor day weekend! i'm off to the lake to celebrate my fiance's birthday and to take a much needed break before i start my new job! see you next week, lovelies!

link love:

• lovely wedding with a gown i tried on!


• color love: peach, pink, and gold


• stunning wedding gowns


• GORGEOUS candy buffet


• marie antoinette wedding inspiration


• sparkle, sparkle


• loving cake textures


• lovely lookbook


• the CUTEST illustrations


• kindareally love her dress

in case you missed it:

• color love: mint and gold


• "wear it with" is back!

How To: Rework a Bridesmaid Dress

Thanks to savvy retailers and designers and brands who know what their customers want, bridesmaids dresses are more stylish and rewearable than ever. 

One of my very best friends is getting married this Saturday and I couldn't be happier about the bridesmaid dress I'm wearing for her wedding (here).

But sometimes, whether it's a mental block - I wore this in a wedding, ergo it is a bridesmaid dress - or the style/fabric reads a little bridesmaidsy - silk dupioni, anyone? - it can be hard to reimagine a bridesmaid dress. 

So how do you do it?

A tell-tale sign of a bridesmaid look is pretty, put-together, but not-too-flashy styling. Because who wants to out-sparkle the bride?

Shake the bridesmaid look with bold accessories. Pick pieces that that can transform a simple dress like a statement necklace, a belt, and chic shoes. Don't be afraid to play with color, pattern, and texture to give your bridesmaid dress a whole new look!

dress | earrings | bangle | nude pumps | necklace | suede pumps | belt

diy golf cake

you might have seen the late-night teaser on instagram, but this weekend, one of our surprises for our best man's 30th birthday was making a golf-themed cake. brent is a pretty great golfer and we wanted to do something cool/special and had the genius totally-not-thought-out-plan of recreating pebble beach's hole 7.

i don't know much about golf, but james tells me it's supposed to be one of the most scenic holes on a course worldwide. as you can see, after pain-stakingly tracing the two sand traps with a toothpick, scraping out the icing, and trying to get sticky coconut to spread out and stay in the right place, i opted to forgo the four other traps.

i started by color-coding a printed map of the course to plan out where the hole, green, taller grass, sand traps and water hazard would be. BUT this project would have been so much easier if we hadn't tried to make it look like a recognizable hole on a famous course. 

what you'll need:

- cake mix 

- buttercream frosting

- green decorating icing (i used wilson's kelly green)

- blue piping gel (i used wilson's sparkle gel)

- piping bag (or ziplock bag with a corner cut off)

- decorating tip and coupler (i used wilson #273, but any leaf tip will work)

- coconut, toasted and chopped in food processor

- cake pop stick

- card stock

- toothpicks!!!

- patience 

directions:

- bake 9x13 cake. we used a store-bought box and substituted apple sauce for the vegetable oil. just make sure to add the water slowly, until you get the right consistency, because you'll use less than the box calls for.

- let cake cool completely. cover with buttercream frosting (again we used store-bought). chill in fridge for 20 minutes. 

- trace greens, hole, sand traps, etc with toothpick and fill in with icing. use piping bag and tip for tall grass.

- for flag: color cake pop stick with marker. fold card stock in half and cut a triangle along fold. place stick along inside fold and seal sides with glue.

tips:

- chill cake as needed when decorating to firm up buttercream. 

- scrape out icing inside sand traps with toothpick before filling with coconut. it will help create a barrier, so the coconut stays put.

and now some party pics...

happy birthday, b!

 james roy photography

a new look for ANC!

notice something different??

i am SO excited to debut my new blog design by extremely talented sarah of chic sprinkles!! as i shared last week, sarah is a visual designer and photographer, healthy eating enthusiast and dog lover! oh, and she's gorgeous.

told ya. i couldn't recommend sarah more for blog design. she is professional, responsive, patient (let me stress that point - she was so sweet and patient with my million questions and requests), and fun to work with.  

images courtesy of chic sprinkles

sarah offers both visual design and photography services (you can check out her portfolio here), so e-mail her at chicsprinkles@gmail.com if you'd like to learn more!

to complement the new look, i finally ordered calling cards for my blog! thanks to alex, i found harper gray paper + design studio and couldn't get over the cute designs. i asked erica to add a little sparkle to my card and i'm pretty darn excited about it.

design by harper gray

i'm still deciding between this mint green background and peach. although i'm clearly obsessed with peach, i feel like the mint matches the bright swiss dots a bit better.

so, friends - what do you think of the new look??

our tree

i mentioned yesterday that i like a Christmas tree with sparkle and shine and since we just finished putting up ours this weekend, i wanted to share it with you!

also, i am inordinately excited about our new monogrammed fur stockings! i wanted to get a cute ornament to celebrate our first Christmas as mr. and mrs., but they were all so cheesy. like barftastic cheesy - and that's coming from me, a total sap. i picked out these beauties from restoration hardware baby & child and they are perfect.

and side note, can we talk about how awesome children's lines are these days? i'm thinking of land of nod, pottery barn teen, RH baby & child...

photos by james roy

our Christmas cards

i'm a nerdbird and ordered our Christmas cards already. i couldn't help myself; it's our first Christmas as a married couple and ever since my dear friend (and bridesmaid) sent out a holiday card with a wedding photo on it, i knew i wanted to do the same. you can check out her sweet blog about her wedding planning process here. 

when i saw this glitter design on minted, i was sold and luckily james didn't mind the sparkle. it's fun and happy and celebrates our new family. i love that you can see my mom's and sister's face and clapping hands of our friends and family.

it's also a perfect way to announce that next week will be WEDDING WEEK on ANC! as if i hadn't already posted about my wedding enough, right? tune in for details and some of my favorite photos from the day. 

dusty rose wedding color palette

i shared on monday that one of my bffs got engaged over the weekend and since then, my brain's been abuzz with ideas! they are planning a fall 2013 wedding in either austin or san francisco, which means the weather will be gorgeous!

i don't think she has even begun thinking about a color palette, but it got me thinking...if i were to plan a fall wedding, i think i'd go for lovely shades of dusty rose, orchid, and grey, with just a touch of sparkle.

cake|dresses|bride with maids|bouquet|ruffles and heels|bow|save the date

elie saab fall 2012 couture

mr. elie saab has knocked it out of the park again. this season's couture collection is all lace, flowing fabrics, sparkle, and sexy silhouettes. no surprise, the gilded peach gowns are my favorite. can you imagine how amazing it would be to wear one of these masterpieces? a girl can dream...

p.s. i can totally see kate middleton wearing the 7th gown. and i will absolutely brag if she makes an appearance wearing it.

via style.com