Teacups & Lace...

Teacups and lace... two of my favourite things! So obviously they should be paired together! It only took me two attempts to get this outfit photographed! The first try, which I liked better due to the fact that my hair was nicely set, was a complete fail. Either there were cars photobombing the background, or it was too dark, or i was blurry. Such a disappointment! Two days and messy hair later, we got them!

dress & belt: bernie dexter

top: ruche

shoes: modcloth

hat: vintage

I have to admit, until recently I forgot all about this top. It used to be one of my favourites, and then it just fell to the back of my closet! (Figuratively speaking). When I was packing for our honeymoon, Dominic requested I bring one of my lace tops, so I packed this one. Since then, I've worn it a few times again. I love wearing it over a dress where you can lightly see the pattern through it. That was actually my original inspiration for buying the shirt!

I also liked that styling this dress with the cream shirt allowed me to wear creamy-beige shoes! The white in the dress is a true white, so I either wear white or blue shoes with it. It was fun to have another way to switch up the shoes!

Blue Toile in Autumn...

Here I go with pastels in autumn again!! Honestly, what was my closet before swaps?? Okay, I'm sure it was pretty much the same as it is now. But really, I've scored some amazing dresses by swapping new or gently used items that were just sitting in my closet! I traded my jewel print Bernie Dexter dress for this one. I had such a hard time letting go of that dress, but honestly, I rarely wore it! I bought it for a Christmas dress, and it was fabulous! I just seemed to have a hard time to wear it casually. 

dress: Bernie Dexter via swap

shoes: Ruche

gloves: market in Italy

petticoat: american apparel

I was tempted to break out all of my baby blue goodies for this post. I knew blue was a recent colour addiction for me, but I didn't realize just how much. I've added several blue dresses to my closet... not to mention my pill box hat, swedish hasbeens, coat, and now these gloves! Honestly, I'm going to have to do a 'blue' post one soon!

I have to say, I've been wearing dresses without tights and cardigans for my blog posts... but reality is that fall has definitely hit. I've been layering up every day! Soon, the layering only posts will be upon us again! I have such a hard time wearing longer, full skirt dresses with tights though. They just feel so visually heavy to me with tights on. Being Canadian doesn't leave much of an option for that though.

Even with my lack of tights and full skirts enthusiasm, fall is still my favourite season. Boots, scarves, gloves... the leaves crunching when you walk... the colours of the leaves! It's so gorgeous!! Not to mention pumpkin everything!! 

En amour avec Paris... well, the dress anyway...

Before sending this fabulous dress back to Sammi, I had to remix it one more time.  This was the look I had originally planned for this dress, wearing it as a top with my blue essential elegance skirt.  This was the skirt that made me want the shirt-version of this dress to begin with. I wasn't sure which shoes to wear with it... but I thought it would be fun to pull some of the other colours in the dress, so I paired it with a mint belt and my mint b.a.i.t. footwear ione's.  

dress: bernie dexter, borrowed from Sammi

skirt: modcloth

shoes: bait footwear via modcloth

belt: forever 21

flower: vintage box 1947

As you can see from these photos, our snow has *finally* completely melted.  Since taking these photos, we've had a few days of sun, mixed with a lot of rain, and now the trees are finally starting to bud, and the grass is turning green.  We're definitely having a late spring this year, but it's making it that much more exciting that it's finally making it's appearance!

Speaking of spring, warm weather... our wedding is fast approaching! Less than 6 weeks now, and things are coming along nicely.  This week, for my Wedding Wednesday post, you'll get your first glimpse at some of my wedding decor with a diy project! Below is a sneak peek!  :)

Cheating on my wedding...

Hey all! So as the title says, I'm kind of cheating on my wedding with this post.  When Sammi offered up this dress for the Flock Together gals, I had to have it. It's so amazing, I've actually been on the hunt for it's blouse version for some time, it is a Bernie Dexter after all! But the problem was that she styled it so perfectly, I was worried about not being able to get creative with it.  Then I realized, it would go perfectly with my blue shoes, coat... and hat!

dress: borrowed from Sammi

coat: lulu's

shoes: swedish hasbeens via amazon

pearls: gift from Dominic

hat: vintage (etsy)

I was also a little hesitant about the hat. It's the first pill box hat I've owned, so I wasn't quite sure how to wear it, if it looked okay... But after trying it out for these photos, I'm definitely feeling a lot more secure about wearing it on my wedding day. 

It's also my first official remix post over on Flock Together, so I felt like it had to be a good one, and this hat just made the outfit so perfect, I couldn't resist! Pop over and check out the post, and see how some of the other gals have styled this dress!

Bernie & Bait...

The more I wear Bernie Dexter dresses, the more I believe they were made to be paired with Bait shoes.  It seems like there's the perfect bait shoes, style and colour, for each Bernie Dexter dress. Or at least, the ones in my closet. 

Dress: Bernie Dexter (it's on sale!)

shoes: Bait Footwear (also on sale!)

cardigan: local shop

brooch: modcloth

petticoat: american apparel

This is one of the first days that I can legit be outside without tights and a coat. Not that I'd want to be out for hours without them, but I can honestly say that I wasn't cold while taking these photos. I feel like that's huge. Our winter has been extremely long this year, and the snow is finally going down (see tomorrow's post for a glimpse into my yard!!). 

My hair... I'm SO in need of a trim and dye.  This week's posts definitely aren't my best in the hair department. Thankfully, I'm going tonight.  My bangs are at that point where they desperately need to be trimmed, yet because my appointment was this week, I tried to hold off trimming them myself for the past two weeks. That way I can get a real trim and not live in fear that she has to just clean up my mess (is anyone else super bad with bang trims??).

Sundaes and Polka Dots...

This past Easter weekend was spent with our families. I'm so excited to become a part of Dominic's family.  We spent time with his sister on Saturday, where I got to give her a little box with wedding goodies in it, asking her to be my Maid of Honour. I was so nervous and excited.  My whole life I've wanted a sister, and now, in a few short months, I'll have one.  The idea of her standing there with me while I marry her brother is such an exciting thought! Thankfully, she was as excited as I was, and agreed to be my 'MOH.'

skirt (dress): Bernie Dexter

cardigan: local shop

shoes: Bait footwear

bandana: modcloth

brooches: gift, vintage

 Sunday, we had Easter Dinner at Dominic's mother's.  My parents were also invited, so while all of our parents have met, it was nice to have some aunts and uncles and grandparents meet them as well.  The dinner went swimmingly, and everyone seemed to really like each other instantly. It's so comforting, to have our families blend so easily. 

I rarely talk about my personal life on my blog, focusing more on clothing, decor... but with the wedding coming up, it seems like a good time for me to blend more of my personal life in with my usual topics.  It's not that I don't want to share my life and feelings, I just tend to keep my personal life, personal, all the time.  I think, though, that with the wedding coming up, it seems right to let my readers in a bit more.

PS, I rarely wear my bangs up. I've always had bangs, what with having a high forehead. However, Dominic loves my hair up, and so I decided to try something new with the bandana. It took a while for me to get used to it, as I felt like my eyes were huge, similar to when I first cut my Bettie Page bangs, but throughout the day, I got used to them being up and quite like it! I think it'll be a fun option for the summer... especially with helmet hair!