Brussels Flower Carpet!

I have to print a retraction to my previous entry. I had written that the carpet has been going on since 1976, and I later found out that it has been held since at least 1970.

I had an amazing weekend with TLS finally seeing the carpet. TLS who hates crowds and driving in traffic greatly appreciated my desire to drive in traffic to a crowd, but even he had fun! The carpet was absolutely magnificent and I am so glad that I was lucky enough to finally see it. Each year's carpet has a theme. Previous themes have included Belgian lace, the Middle Ages, and the anniversary of Belgium's independence. This year's carpet celebrated Belgium's presidency of the European Union.

Here are some of my pictures of the carpet:

TLS did say that he was a bit disappointed because of the amount of grass that was used, he felt that it was sort of cheating. If you look at previous years' carpets, there definitely is a lot less grass in them. The artist who designed this was only 23 years old so my guess is this was his first attempt. Grass or not, I had a fantastic time, and we are already planning to go back in 2012 and 2014!

Tomorrow Afternoon, I will be Here

Every even-numbered year since 1976, for one weekend the city of Brussels sets up a carpet made entirely out of flowers in the Grande Place. No two carpets are ever the same. They use over 750,000 flowers and pack them so tightly that no soil is used at all! I have been wanting to go see this since 2002 and it was on my list of things to do in Europe when we moved here. I thought that we missed the 2010 carpet, but when we were in Brussels last month, we saw fliers about it, saying that it would be this weekend! As soon as we learned that, we knew we had to go! Brussels is only about 3 hours door to door from our house, so we booked a hotel room for Saturday night and are leaving early tomorrow morning. I cannot wait to see this! I promise to report back with pictures from this year's carpet.

Fall for Lilly!

Like many of you, I have fall head over heels in love with Lilly Pulitzer's fall collection and have a wishlist a mile long. A fact that makes TLS just sooooooooooo happy. Here are the pieces that I just cannot stop drooling over. (You will notice it is mainly dresses. I am not a skirt person at all and currently have two skirts- one Lilly and one Vineyard Vines hanging in my closet. I will take a cute, great-fitting dress any day.)

Adalie Dress Printed, $148

In my opinion, few things are more flattering or versatile than wrap dresses. I love them and am constantly buying more. Currently, I have 2 Lilly and about 4 or 5 Diane Von Furstenberg ones. I love them so much. You really can wear a wrap just about anywhere.

Jonah Dress, $168

This was hands-down my favorite dress from last fall's collection and I am so glad that Lilly decided to bring it back. I don't think I can even count the number of occasions I've worn my Jonah to. It is insanely stylish and comfortable. I will be getting it in both patterns.

Sadie Dress Printed, $148

Blayney Dress Ruffle, $278

I love the ruffles on this one and the fact that if can be dressed up or down. Considering that I am still unemployed and it costs $278, this one will not be coming home with me, but it was too cute to not include.

Sabine Shirt Dress Printed, $168

The Sabine is another one of my wardrobe staples. I just ordered a third one from Rue La La. It is so incredibly versatile and I have worn mine everywhere. The colors of this dress are so similar to one of last year's Sabines, that it makes me a little unsure, but it is such a great dress nonetheless that I may end up buying it.

Vivi Top Printed, $128

Much like the above-mentioned Sabine, I already have this top in a very similar print which, at this point, makes it a maybe. But it is just so cute and comfortable...

Alcott Argyle Cardigan, $148

Navy. Pink. White. Argyle. 'Nuff said.

Wedding Wednesday

Thank you to everyone who voted for our save the dates. The New York City one was the clear winner. That was the one that TLS picked out, so he's mighty pleased with himself. Last week, I received a wonderful care package of wedding magazines from my dear friend LNG and for the past week or so, I have done nothing but have wedding brain. I have decided to jump on the Wedding Wednesday bandwagon and share some of what I've been obsessing over this week with all of you.

Anyone who knows me, knows that shoes are super important to me and to my well being. I spend roughly the GDP of a small country on shoes. My wedding shoes are no exception. I have been oohing and aahing over these babies and want them to be a part of my big day.

Manolo Blahnik Rhinestone Buckle D'Orsay Pumps, $715 at Neiman Marcus.
Yes I realize that these are not at all cheap but I love them. And my dress was way below budget. Plus I figure if I get them in the gold metallic instead of a satin, I can definitely wear them again to a party or a military ball.
The Cole Haan Ceci Air Low Sling and Ceci Air Ruched Sandal ($200 and $250, respectively) are my more budget conscious choices.

As far as favors go, my belief is that wedding favors should always be edible. No matter how great or cutesy of a wedding favor you find, there will always be more than a handful of guests who do not like or want theirs and will inevitably leave them on the table. If you get edibles, someone will not mind taking an extra favor so you're not left with 20 useless silver-plated things. Plus if the favors are truly delicious, there will be no favors left behind!
Right now, these are my top contestants for favors:
1) Ordering Chinese Takeout Containers in our colors ($0.85 at Beaucoup) and setting up a candy station in fancy glass jars.

I could buy pink, green, and blue candy in bulk from Economy Candy in the Lower East Side, and guests could pick out exactly what they wanted. This would be fun, colorful, and would insure that everyone got exactly what they wanted.
2) Mini tea tins ($3.08 each total from Beaucoup).

How cute are these little tins? They come in your choice of green or jasmine tea, and it is no secret that TLS and I are big tea drinkers!
3) Cookies from Ruby et Violette

This is one of my favorite New York City bakeries. (Some readers may remember when I wrote about them in this post.) They are absolutely amazing and one of my go-to gifts. (I sent TLS some as a "welcome to Germany gift" and recently to my dear friend JPS as a comfort food care package when her mother passed away.) I would package them in glassine envelopes from the Knot with a cute ribbon or personalized sticker with our new monogram and date.

This one will require more assembly, so that's where the bridal party comes in! (KMH, be prepared to hang out in my hotel room assembling these if we decide to go with this. Yes, we will order extras so we can nosh while putting favors together.)
4) Macarons from Bouchon Bakery

TLS and I both love macarons and I think there would be nothing sweeter and more darling than pink and green macarons at every place setting. (If any guests do not take theirs, I will be more than happy to eat them myself!)

I will leave you all with a question- what were your favorite and least favorite wedding favors that you have received?

I miss

*The Shake Shack
*Cupcakes
*Wedding magazines
*Reality TV (I am going through Say Yes to the Dress withdrawal and every time I see tweets/facebook updates about RHoNJ it makes me choke up a little still)
*Trader Joe's
*Being able to get my mail in a timely manner (I still have not received several of my birthday gifts)
*Being able to text my friends all day (I have the cellphone from hell that cost a small mountain of money but won't actually let me do anything with it)
*Shopping- I want to be able to walk into a store and see the things I like and not have it turn into a whole big thing of calling the company, asking if they ship to APO addresses, ordering, hoping it fits, getting it 2 weeks later, etc. It's one thing to do it for things like clothes, but when buying thank you cards turns into a two day ordeal, it really just sucks.
*Target- (I am obsessed with their xhilaration brand socks, they are the short kind that I like, only cost $1, and come in really cute, preppy patterns. I have a lot of argyles and polka dots, and it was my thing to always buy socks when I went in there. It sounds random, but those made me happy a little, and they don't sell them online.)
*Lilly Pulitzer
*Not feeling like such a misfit- I am pretty much the only girl on base without a baby or a tattoo, and it shows. I stick out. I don't think I'll ever truly fit in here.

Please Save the Date

We have narrowed it down to two choices for our save the date magnets. Which would you pick?

 I was unable to save the edited image for the second one, but we edited it to have dark and light navy stripes with all of the writing and swirls in navy.

Ooh La La, Lilly Sale!

Last week, I blogged about the incredible Rue La La. Things are about to get a whole lot better, because this week, on Wednesday, August 4th, there will be a Lilly Pulitzer sale on Rue La La. For me, this gets even better. When the Kaya dress came out, I instantly fell in love with it and knew that I just simply had to have it. Everything about this dress is so classy and perfect for me. I love the cut, the neckline, the print, and the beading at the top.

I have always thought that this would be the perfect dress to wear to a bridal shower or rehearsal dinner. Unfortunately, I jumped on the ball a little too late on this one. When I finally went to go buy it at Bloomingdale's, I discovered that the size I thought I was was actually about 1-2 sizes too big on me, and the store did not have it in sizes that would work for me. So imagine my excitement when I saw the preview for the Rue La La Lilly sale and discovered that it looks like this very dress will be at the sale. My fingers are crossed that they have it in a size 4 or 6, and I am poised and ready to go for 5pm German time on Wednesday. I'm hoping that I really can wear it to my bridal shower in March!

For this week still, you can get a $10 credit to use on anything at Rue La La simply for signing up to be a member. If you are not a member yet, click here to join.