All things that sparkle:

Sparkles and platinum seem to be the choice style and color at the Pre-Grammy's Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in LA last night. I especially love Katy Perry's Georges Chakra flapper-style dress embellished with crystals and rhinestones, and Ri-Ri's one-shoulder number with the baby blue ruffle poof:

Only Ri-Ri can pull off a mohawk and make it look feminine. She is so so gorge.

I can't wait for the Grammy's tonight! I'm cheering on Lady Gaga all the way. I sure hope she wins...and I can't say I'm not looking forward to what she wears tonight, either. Gotta love her.

Vera Bradley

Let me start by saying I'm usually not into Vera Bradley prints and totes...they're just not my style. BUT. I am really digging this season's Mini Hipster in Poppy Fields. This would be a perfect satchel for the honeymoon, don't you think?

(Mini Hipster, Vera Bradley, $45)

A rare but quite beautiful bird, Iris Apfel

I am madly in love with Iris Apfel. This fabulous 88-year-old woman's style is "irreverent, influential, unflaggingly creative." After many, many years of collecting eclectic and unique pieces of clothing and jewelry, Harold Koda, curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, decided to put her pieces on display in 2005. Since October 7th of last year, many of them have been featured in an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum, aptly titled, "Rare Bird of Fashion: The Irreverent Iris Apfel." I love how Iris mixes high-end designer clothing with pieces that she finds at thrift stores - and apparently she's been doing it for years before it became "the norm." My most favorite thing about Iris is her motto: "It’s not about how much you spend, but what you dig up. It’s no fun to just sit in a shop and have people present you with things. It was the process. It’s not that I’m so mad about clothes. It’s about finding things and putting them together. That’s the fun." I really couldn't have said it better myself. To see more funky items from Iris's closet that are on display, click here.

RARE BIRD OF FASHION: The Irreverent Iris Apfel continues at the Peabody Essex Museum through Feb. 7, 2010. 978-745-9500 or 866-745-1876, www.pem.org.

(top photo via PEM)

(bottom photo via eyesing)

Having a whale of a time

This has to be the raddest t-shirt I've ever seen. Even better than this one.

(Dark Cycle Clothing)

A very merry un-birthday, to YOU!

This is the most amazing birthday party set up I've ever seen in my entire life. Ritzy Bee Events, based out of Washington DC, planned and executed an Alice in Wonderland themed dinner party for a teenage gal named...are you ready? Alice, and every last bit of it was absolutely fantastic.

All of the place cards, tags, menus, labels were done by Betsy Dunlap Calligraphy.
The event was catered by Design Cuisine; the chefs made upside down salads and an entree fit for a Mad Hatter Tea Party...and the cake. Well, the cake was just divine:
I want to have an Alice in Wonderland themed dinner party now!

(All photos courtesy of Ritzy Bee & Rodney Bailey Photography)

Wedding clutch - check!

Another wedding detail to check off my list - my wedding clutch bag! I've been looking everywhere for something peacock-y or teal in color, and I came across this little sequined clutch purse on ebay of all places - handmade in Hong Kong, for only $8.80! You can imagine how thrilled I was. I love a good deal.

Lindsay's DIY wedding guest book pen

On Saturday, Lindsay and I went to Paper-Source to find some materials for our DIY Bachelorette Party invitations, and she found a shiny gold guest book as a bonus! While wandering around, we spotted Paper-Source's flower kit corner, and thought, wouldn't it be cute to put one of those paper flowers on a pen to go with her wedding guest book? We thought so. We bought the magnolia kit, went to my apartment, and proceeded to make a paper flower. How hard could it be?

Well, let me tell you: pretty darn hard. Those little suckers are a pain in the rear to make...after over two hours, we finally had one flower completed, and we stuck it to an ink pen.

Gotta love DIY wedding projects! I know someone who made a ton of these paper flowers for her wedding bouquets. I now have an insane amount of respect for her...and her obvious amount of patience. At least they're pretty to look at!

Wedding shoes - check!

I found THE pair of wedding shoes on Zappos.com...one of the many sites you all recommended I check out when I asked for your advice last week. (Thank you!!) They're ivory, feathery, and overall absolutely perfect. They were ordered today and I can't wait to try them on in person. It's really too bad that my dress will be covering them up for most of the evening!

(Nina Xtina heels)

All the world needs is MORE COWBELL

Did anyone watch Conan's final episode on NBC Friday night? It was really good...but Will Ferrell closing out the final music performance playing the cowbell pretty much made my LIFE. Fingers crossed that Conan pops up on Fox in the next several months...my life won't be the same without some Coco in my daily life. Sad face.

Just some rooms to swoon over:

That china cabinet is HOOGE and simply amazing.
I need blue peacock chairs like these! Yes, please.

This room is perfect. That is all.

(All images spotted on Mi Casa Es Su Casa)

Always happy photography:

I heart Mary Swenson. She always makes me smile.

Bachelorette Partay

My eyes have been peeled lately for bachelorette garb. Not the wild girl, hot pink and black, phallic kind of bachelorette garb; more like a peacock boa (so far I've only found one for $150 - FAIL) feather eyelashes, & party decor that looks a little more...dare I say, classy? (Including the right amount of booze, of course). I actually recently found an adorable Bachelorette Party in a Box at TJ Maxx the other day, and it was discounted to $9.99 that includes much of what you see above. A deal to say in the least!

Two of my best gal pals and fellow brides-to-be, Lindsay and Pana, are tripling up with me to have a bachelorette weekend in March; we're inviting all of our bridal parties and a little beyond, and I'm super pumped. We're going out for tapas after a possible spa afternoon, then heading to my apartment to open lingerie & other spunky gifts for the lingerie shower part of the evening. When the bar's dry, we're getting all gussied up for a night on the town...which includes our favorite dance dive bar, The Cavern. I can hardly wait! The morning after we plan on going to brunch - and hopefully 11:30 am is a safe hour to eat - all hangovers should be fading by that time, if we're lucky.

Any ideas for unique garb? I'd love to hear suggestions or things you've done at bachelorette parties that you thought were fun!

Transformers, Star Wars & Barbies = A Fun Engagement Photo

How incredibly cute (and creative) is this engagement shoot photo?! Given the chance, James would've died to recreate this picture with all of his retro (and, let's not kid ourselves, brand new) Star Wars toys. :)

(photo by Brooke Schwab spotted on Southern Weddings)

Publix cupcake cake!

Last Saturday, Lindsay and I went with her mom and stepdad, Paul, to Publix for her cake consultation! Lindsay is having a cupcake cake filled with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and a mini wedding cake for the very top. We got to try the cupcakes and the icing, and they gave Lindsay four Publix wine glasses (with water) to wash down the sweets! I have to say, I was blown away at how affordable a cupcake cake is at Publix...it comes highly recommended if you're trying to cut corners with your budget!

(pictured: Lindsay and her sweet mom, Jill)

The Brightest Crayon in the Box

I am obsessed with this Crayola Crayon dress that I found on etsy. Why does it have to be a size Small?! Sad face. Very sad face.

(via Miss Melody's shop)

Wedding rings!

Are these not the most gorgeous wedding rings you've ever seen in your life?! James and I are going to look at wedding bands in a few weeks, and I am super excited. I think I'm leaning toward an antique band, or one that's modeled after art deco bands that were popular in the 1920s and 30s. My great-grandmother's sister's ring is an art deco style and beautiful- unfortunately it is too tiny next to my engagement ring band, but I'm hoping to find something just like it in my weddng band ring search. Wish me luck!

Beautiful twiggy wedding rings spotted on Something Old, Something New

Julia Child's My Life in France

Last week I finished Julia Child's My Life in France, and it was a beautiful book. Julia lived such an interesting and exciting life and was lucky to spend it all with her soul mate, Paul. So many of the things she writes about were featured in the movie, Julie & Julia, so I was already familiar with them. But the way the chapters are written, you feel like you're there cooking and living with Julia in France, and the scenes and meals she describes are very vivid. Julia Child seemed to be such a charming woman, full of life, one who loves a new adventure, and is inspirational to me for those very reasons. It was a really nice read - I recommend it :)

2010 Golden Globes!

Is there anyone more adorable than Ginnifer Goodwin? Maybe Drew Barrymore:
By far my favorite two dresses/looks from last night's Golden Globe awards. Did you watch? I loved that Monique won for Precious- her speech was so heartfelt - I was so happy for her; I thought she really deserved to win. I still can't believe that Sandra Bullock really gave a better performance in The Blind Side than Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) - I have to see The Blind Side; it must be good? Chloe's dress ripped, Meryl had a long (sort of bizarre) speech, and Julia Roberts flirted all night with Paul McCartney (who blames her?!) For an entertaining, funny full recap of the night's happenings, click here. It was a pretty good show, and I enjoyed having some friends over to play along with our ballots. Jon Tate went home victorious with the prize for predicting the most winners correctly - a movie theater bucket filled with Crunch Munch, popcorn, Skittles & pretzels! Woohoo!

Sexy mama bridesmaids:

Who says your bridesmaids have to match? :)

via

I am speechless.

This is Tavi of Style Rookie. She is 13 (13!!), and a fashion maven, and I am endlessly inspired and amazed by her knowledge of fashion and beyond. She's brushed several Big Important People's elbows at fashion events, (Chloë Sevigny, anyone?!), she's been in real life fashion photo shoots during Fashion Week, has had a little fashion spread of her own published in a magazine, and is certainly a powerful force (in a tiny package) to be reckoned with. Even her Halloween costume was genius. Tell me, can 13-year-olds be guest judges on Project Runway?! I think she'd give stuffy Nina Garcia a run for her money.

Seriously...stay sassy, Style Rookie. I love someone with so much passion...it's contagious. To learn more about this fabulous gal, visit her blog...and if you have time, I really recommend reading her 2008 interview with Teen Vogue online - we haven't heard the last from Tavi - of this I'm sure!

Happy Weekend ;) xo

Making It Lovely

I have another new favorite blog, Making It Lovely, by Nicole Balch. The majority of her posts center around renovating her mod, fabulous bungalow, (the renovations she and her husband have completed so far are amazing!), but this particular post (above) made my heart melt - Nicole is taking a monthly photo of her daughter, Eleanor, until she is two years old in the same chair & pin. So cute!

It's not too late to change my mind about my cake...right?

Uh oh...I think I want to change my cake design (seriously). I like my first choice ok, but my heart literally fluttered when I saw the above cake on Ruffled. What do you think?

Hue by Kelly Wearstler

Kelly Wearstler is an interior designer and her third book, Hue, debuts this month. She is fearless when it comes to shades of color and color combinations, and her designs are bold and fabulous.

Kelly launches her first collection of dinnerware with Pickard this fall. There are four different patterns designed to mix and match with one another - aren't they all wonderful?!I would simply die to have these pink chairs in the yellow room above. That is all. To read more of Kelly's interview with My Home Ideas, click here, and to purchase her new book, Hue, click here! Enjoy and be inspired.

Tickled pink :)

Natty Michelle reached 26,000 hits yesterday! I can hardly believe it.
Thank you so much to all of you who check in and read regularly! You have no idea how much it means to me. BIG love to ALL of you out there!!

Wedding shoes!

My friend Jon recommended the BEST site for wedding shoes today to design your own heels. I've been browsing around their site, and I keep coming back to the flowery heels above. Thoughts?! I really like them...but I'm not sure if the flower on these heels would look super fake in person. Decisions decisions!

Thank you Jon! xo

CHALK CHALK

Oooo, my new favorite etsy shop (spotted on Poppytalk), CHALK CHALK:

Love.