1 Cakes & Louie: May 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Moving On

I figured since the news is a couple weeks old now and has fully set in for me, I should document it here - I am no longer working with The Everygirl.

To be honest, outside of the initial excitement surrounding being a (teeny) part of a huge website launch, my decision to move on from TEG was a long time coming, and I don't think any of my close friends were all that surprised when I finally bit the bullet. Don't get me wrong - Danielle and Alaina were (are) absolutely amazing, and when I was invited to tag along with them for events and photo shoots I loved every second of it. But all in all, it boiled down to one thing - I simply am not "The Everygirl" - and in trying to be a part of the site it quickly got to the point that I felt like I was faking being someone that I'm not, and I didn't like that.



Just like every other 20-something female out there, I definitely do have some Everygirl traits... but as I look down at my $5 tshirt, Gap clearance rack pants and $10 Target flats it's pretty clear that I am far from the type of girl that would spend $200 on a dress or a jacket. When I go home at night and order Papa John's or throw some burgers on the grill with Dan it's pretty clear that I am not the girl that's going to whip up a healthy meal with roasted veggies and feta cheese. And when I planned my wedding and bought my dress on ebay, didn't hire a florist or a baker and ordered $20 shoes online, it was insanely clear that I was not (and never would be) the bride that dropped $1,000 on her dress and considered it "budget friendly." I'm a cheapskate, through and through, and really - I'm proud of that.

My final decision to leave The Everygirl happened after the amazing wedding photo shoot I had the honor of assisting on. The entire feature talked about being "budget friendly" - meaning shoes were under $200, dresses were under $1,000, and bridesmaid's dresses were under $300. I'm sorry. That is just not my idea of a budget. I'll be the first to admit I feel some major envy of girls who do have that kind of budget, but there's a big part of me that knows that even if I could afford to spend like that, I wouldn't. I 110% understand that features on The Everygirl are meant to be a guide - not a "YOU MUST BUY THIS NOW" kind of deal. But regardless, it just wasn't me. Outside of the actual website, the in-person stuff was really starting to take a toll on me. I had to fake excitement when someone showed me a blouse and said "I got it on sale - it was only $70!" I found it ridiculous when I attended an event and I was nearly the only one not in Tory Burch or Cole Haan flats ($109 - ON SALE?!? No thank you.) I wanted to scream when someone mentioned that a $200 dress she wore for a night out would likely never be worn again because she didn't want people to see photos from two events with her wearing the same thing. Furthermore, lifestyle blogs are flooded with images of $1,500 armchairs and $200 colored jeans that look nearly identical to something you can find for a fraction of the cost. I don't have that kind of money. I probably never will. And if I do, rest assured I will still troll craigslist for furniture and buy most of my shoes at Target. I get that a lot of it is just dreaming and a big part of what everyone in the blog world is saying is to invest in key pieces and then accessorize by sprinkling in more affordable items... but regardless, that's just not my mindset and I don't know that it ever will be.

There's a whole lot more rambling I can do about my decision, but I'll end it here by saying that I am forever grateful to Danielle and Alaina for giving me the opportunity to be a part of something so awesome. I will continue to checkout The Everygirl each and every day (and so should you!) and gain inspiration from their incredible features, and I can't wait to see what's in store for us readers in the future!

Friday, May 25, 2012

Road Trip

We're packing into the CR-V like sardines this afternoon and heading to Wisconsin! Dan and my dad will be riding up front, Manda and I in the back with some groceries and a toolbox, Louie and Cosmo (Louie's brother, Manda's dog) will be in the way back, and our luggage will be sitting pretty in a car-top carrier.



Thankfully, it's a quick 3 hour trip, and I think we're all excited enough that the tight quarters won't be that bad. It can't possibly be worse than when four of us loaded into my itty bitty Civic to drive all the way to Florida - and Dan puked half the ride there. Oh, memories.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Knockoff

I fell in love with a pair of bright pink sandals at The Everygirl wedding photo shoot I assisted on, but at $69 there was no way I would ever purchase these spunky little Dolce Vita flats.


Enter my savior - the one and only Target (who's surprised?) - and their awesome summer lineup, which I was giddy to find out last night includes a pretty good knockoff of the DV shoe, complete with a teeny tiny $14.99 price tag and a fun variety of colors.


Sure there's an extra strap in the expensive pair, and an extra little bit of gold at the toe, but the shoe overall is virtually the same. The obvious show-stealer is the gold bar accent that is sure to pop against tan feet and a fun pedi color - and that's there in both options. And, given how fast I go through a pair of sandals I just can't imagine the DV pair is worth the investment. Heck, you could buy a pair of EACH color from Target and still save money if you wanted! That, my friends, is (another) clear-cut Target win in my book.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Swoon

I have so much I want to write about, and have come to the conclusion that I either need to wake up much earlier and become one of those people who sits down at her computer with a cup of (iced) tea and a muffin to blog in the quiet noise of the morning, or start using my evening golden Oreos and milk time to draft something for the next day. Either way, in the meantime, you need to watch this commercial that I absolutely 110% adore. You may have already seen it, but in these days of DVR and fast forwarding commercials, you may not have, and if that is the case you are missing out.



Dear Husband,
Feel free to use the power of the internet to woo me at any time.
I think things like this are amazing. 
Although, I think you're pretty amazing, too.
Love, Kelly

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Live It Up

I'm crazy busy at work and can't quite spill all the details of my week yet anyways, but let's just say this quote is perfectly fitting right now and leave it at that, shall we? :)


Happy Thursday all! Let's make it a good one.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Game Nights

I hope everyone had a relaxing Mother's Day weekend! We took my mom out to breakfast yesterday and spent the afternoon with our adorable nieces at the mall and Ikea. Considering the girls look a lot like Dan, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I was wished a Happy Mother's Day a few times while we had them :). After some more family time and grocery shopping we headed home for the evening and Dan's least favorite thing in the world happened - I spotted something in the alley, gasped, made him stop to look at it, and after a bit of contemplating back at home convinced him to drive back down the block with me to get it.

I am now the proud owner of a deep brown tufted leather couch. It's extremely similar to the one in this photo, and I am in love -



Since there is literally nowhere else in the house for it to go and I have dreams of having drinks and game nights out on our enclosed front porch this summer with friends, that's where it's living for now. Considering Buddy Louie's latest favorite thing to do is lay out on the porch in the sun I think I may let him on there if he's interested since he's been awesome about staying off of the new couch in the living room (minus a few mornings we've found him up there when it's chilly). And, the "new" couch is easily cleaned since it's leather, and, um, I didn't pay a dime for it so if it gets scratched up no tears will be shed.

I measured last night and was thrilled to find out that I can actually put the couch in TWO places on the porch, so I'm excited to do some rearranging to figure out the best layout for the space and the hopes I have for it.

The photo below that I found on Pinterest is probably the closest representation of our porch - long and skinny with loads of windows at the front of the house. The new couch can go right where this homeowner has theirs, or on the left wall (where the white chair is in the photo). I think I like it best with this type of layout -


I love how a seating area is created without the space feeling over crowded, and since I have a bunch of random chairs around all I'm really missing is a low round table for game playing and setting down glasses. I also love the little entry table that would be a great place for a couple bowls of snacks on my fantasy game nights :).

Here's another similar layout - couch on the narrow wall, random chairs, round table. One of our porch chairs is the same shape and style as the amazing ikat printed one in this photo, which gives me further hope that this layout is promising for our space -


Another similar layout -


I don't necessarily love the styles in the photos above, but the layouts and basic ideas from them will no doubt make for a useful space. I plan on adding in lots of color (shocking) to balance out the dark couch and keep the room cheery and fun - just like our friends that will be joining me for game nights soon!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Abby Larson on The Everygirl

Truth be told, I've been a fan of Abby Larson and her infamous site Style Me Pretty for much longer than I should probably admit. I found Style Me Pretty long before I was engaged, and have continued to read it and swoon over every single image regardless of the fact that I am now married and therefore done with major wedding planning. It's interesting that I was never the kind of girl that dreamed about her wedding as a kid, but once I met Dan that all went out the window and I spent a ridiculous amount of my free time online by myself and with my girlfriends looking at rings and dresses and flowers and centerpieces. I knew from day one with Dan that I would marry him, and Style Me Pretty was my dream world where I could fantasize about our big day while scrolling through glorious images full of picture perfect weddings.  I imagine that at least to a point, this is exactly what Style Me Pretty is all about - inspiration, dreams, fantasies, love - and that is what makes it so incredibly successful.

Today, Abby is featured over on The Everygirl as part of Wedding Week, and while reading her interview I was immediately inspired and calmed. Her insight is spot-on, her advice is so enlightening, and I am enamored by how real she seems. Even with my wedding months in the past, I find myself drawn to Style Me Pretty every time my mind wanders to my dreams of becoming a wedding planner. It's words like those below from Abby that make that seem like a reality. And even just for that glimmer of hope, I am forever grateful.


Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Wedding Week on The Everygirl - Part 2

Have you been stalking The Everygirl as much as I have this week? Today's bridal feature is just as amazing as yesterday's bridesmaids, and I can't stop clicking through all of the amazing photos!

And looky here, my rings got their 15 seconds of fame on this Taylor Swift lookalike bride who was seriously the sweetest girl I've ever met.


I can't figure out for the life of me how to make photos bigger on my blog without them cutting into the sidebars, so I'll leave you with just this one and a direct order to go check out the rest on The Everygirl right away! Happy Wednesday, friends.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

It's Wedding Week!

Friends - It's Wedding Week over on The Everygirl!

Today's bridesmaids feature is part one of two, and I had the absolute honor of attending and assisting on the photoshoot for this amazing spread.


All of the girls on the shoot were a total blast to spend a Sunday with, and I loved chatting with everyone and gathering contact info to stay in touch! I'm hoping to see some of them at tonight's BHLDN event, hosted by The Everygirl in honor of Wedding Week. So. Much. Fun.

If you haven't already checked out every single image over on today's feature, click over and do so. Now. The photos are all by the fabulous duo that is Stoffer Photography, and let me tell you - they are BANANAS. In other words - breathtaking, amazing, incredible, jaw-dropping insane.

I can't wait to see tomorrow's feature - here come the brides!

Happy Wedding Week!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Nate Berkus for Target

The announcement hit Twitter last night that the one and only Nate Berkus will be the next designer collaboration at Target, with a line of more than 150 products hitting stores October 21. Considering Target is my heaven on earth and Nate Berkus is my celebrity crush, this news had me literally squealing and running around the house in excitement. I jokingly said I was going to start a savings account so I can splurge on the collection, and now that I'm finding sneak peeks of some of the pieces I'm thinking I just may have to start stockpiling away a little cash for what I'm sure will be a shopping extravaganza come October.

Here's a few images of collection pieces I found on a Target press release.

Gorgeous gold hammered bowls
Herringbone bedding and neutral pillows

Pillows with pops of gold


A textured washed oak box with nailhead detail

Needless to say, this little Target (and Nate Berkus) addict will be counting down the days until October 21!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Wish List - Bauble Bar Monogram Necklace

What better place than my blog to post pretty things I've been lusting over? First up, the increasingly-popular script monogram necklace -


When I first saw this style on an old Bachelor contestant (don't judge), I was bummed to find out it cost nearly $400. Have no fear though, knockoffs are now swarming the blogosphere, including this much more affordable $105 version from BaubleBar. While I'm typically drooling over pricier pieces from Tiffany, I love the one-of-a-kind-ness of a monogram like this. Considering I wear the same jewelry everyday and currently don't have a necklace I love, I have no doubts this piece would easily mix into my regular routine!