Rehearsal Dinner Dress - a la Bahamas

So, the coolest thing happened when I finally picked out my rehearsal dinner dress...I'll start from the beginning to tell you all about it...

I went shopping with one of my bridesmaids to find the perfect rehearsal dinner dress, and we looked EVERYWHERE! It was sooo much harder to find the right one than I expected it to be. Perhaps I was just being extra picky...I dunno, but it just was. Anywho, I fiiiinally found a dress I loved at Neiman's - a white and yellow ombre dress with a big tie behind the neck. It was stunning and of course, it was like $350. Yikes! I wanted a nice dress since it was for such a special occasion but not $350-nice! Knowing there were only two of these dresses left, I regretfully put the dress back on the rack and waved goodbye, hoping I would forget about it.

I ended up going to Banana Republic a few weeks later and found a beautiful eggplant-colored, one shoulder, satin-y dress with a simple waist-tie that I thought just may be the perfect rehearsal dinner dress. The dress looked great on and was super comfortable and lightweight - exactly what I was looking for for my tropical event. Still, I couldn't stop thinking about the yellow ombre dress. I put the BR dress on hold and decided to think about it. On my way home, I decided to swing by Neiman's to try the yellow ombre dress on one more time to see if I really loved it that much more than the BR one.

When I got to Neiman's I went upstairs to find the rack where I had originally found the yellow ombre dress and as my heart sank, I realized it wasn't there. *sad face* I quickly asked the salesgirl if she remembered the dress and much to my hopes & fears, she told me it was on sale. I followed her as she went to the sale rack to see if it was still there and it was! But, wait...is it my size, I wondered, as nervous butterflies twittered around in my stomach. You'll never believe, but it was! Better yet, it was roughly 30% off - a much better fit for my budget. I knew it was meant to be.

Here she is:


See how the colors stand out so nicely:


This yellow & white ombre dress is by Alice & Olivia. I can't find the dress online, but you may have better luck w/ an in-store search. Since our rehearsal dinner was a beach bonfire, I paired my dress with simple metallic flip flops by J Crew.  Ahh...beautiful beach bliss.

Martin & Osa Colorful Cardigan

I recently got this amazing kelly green cardigan from Martin & Osa - a new brand by American Eagle.  I decided to pair it with this cute day dress I picked up at Old Navy awhile back.  I'm trying to focus on my budget more than ever, so spending & shopping are going to have to come down a notch for me to make my goals of paying off my credit card reasonable.  Anywho,  I feel like I keep hearing all about how "lots of color" is supposed to be big for this Summer, which is just peachy keen with me. I just came back from the Bahamas where there is a plethora of colors everywhere - the buildings, flowers...everything is so vibrant!  

My hubby and I were going out for a quick bite to eat at Chili's earlier this week.  Ever since seeing one of their recent commercials, I've been dying to try their Big Mouth Bites and let me tell you, they are quite tasty.  Not so good for watching the figure, but I'm not worried about squeezing into a wedding dress, so I can splurge on the calories! :)  I always seem to get cold in restaurants, so it's imperative that I dress in layers...luckily, I think these two colors went together pretty well.

The cardigan is super comfy and I love how the sleeves are just a bit cropped - keeps them from getting in the way.  I really like the length of the cardigan, too - not too short, not too long.  All in all a great addition to the wardrobe and it's currently on sale!

Check out Martin & Osa online for more great fashion goodies.  I especially like their "Shop By Outfit" page - the pictures move, which is really cool!  It's not something you'd find at your typical online shop.

Dress: Old Navy

Cardigan: Martin & Osa

Gold Flip Flops: J Crew

Necklace: D Celestine (necklace not available online)

Good News! Crossing Over to iMac!

Good news everyone! I finally have a new computer...yay! I got an iMac! I only had to wait a good two or three months...no big deal? Right? Wrong! It's been so hard not having a computer around...you don't realize how much you use one until you don't have it any more. Anywho, I have one now...I need to save some money for some software, but other than that, we're good to go! Now it's time for some fashion blogging!



Here's Mr. Bailey posing with my new toy. Isn't he a cutie pie?!

Anywho, does any one else use a mac? If so, what do you think? Which is better - mac or PC?

Happily Ever After

Hello Everyone!

Your Shopaholic D is back from the Caribbean - happily married and nicely tanned...lol. I'd better come back with a tan after having spent that many days there! Anywho, I'm going to be able to start posting now that all the wedding madness is over, but since my computer is still dead, I may not be able to do any outfit shots for awhile. In the meantime, here's a shot of us just after the ceremony:

Hope you're all doing well!

:) D