K's Monday Mode - Color Blocking

Good afternoon all!  Elyse is up north this week relaxin' with family and friends so it's just lil ole me today.   You will hear from her later this week :-)

Today I was in a "simple" outfit mood.  Just had one of those days that you had to get stuff done around the house and run a few errands, ya know?  So here is my "color blocking" outfit of the day. 

Wedges:  Payless

Skinnies:  Charlotte Russe

Tunic:  Nordstrom

Watch: Juicy Couture

Necklace:  Kate Spade

Earrings:  Charlotte Russe

Hope you had a great Monday!!

XO, K

E's Fab Friday!

Hi, all! Today is extra fabulous because I am getting ready to head on vacation for a week tomorrow! I'll be soakin' up some sun lakeside in the U.P. of Michigan! :) Cannot wait.

My fab find this week is my 1 year anniversary band! I really wanted a band for our 1st year of marriage and a lot of people's rings can accomodate bands on both sides. My ring is a Mark Schneider ring and has this beautiful little secret heart on one side with a diamond inscribed with "love you forever" and that is his signature. This makes it so I can't have a band on the other side, so I wanted to get something totally out of the box for my band.

After a lot of chatting with B and some idea swapping, I had decided on rose gold- totally random, but perfect because I wanted to make my ring unique. B rocked it out and found the cutest little jewelry shop on Etsy, Rosado's Box. B says she was awesome to work with and she even wrote me the cutest note since my ring was custom and it wasn't here in time for our actual anniversary. I am loving everything about my dainty, rose gold, custom band! It's my favorite reminder of a great 1st year with so many more great years to follow.

(I'm really weirded out by hand pictures, so let's focus on the ring- not the hand)

Isn't she a beaut?! I am in love. You all have the best weekend! Xo, E

K's Fabulous Friday Find!

TGIF!  What a beautiful Friday it is!

Ok, so ya know how I told you that I wasn't going to buy anything this summer...weeeeeeeeeellllllll, I kinda got the urge (hey don't judge I have come a looooooong way).  I was perusing on Bloglovin' when I fell in love with a shirt (I will wear it next week for MM and let you know the who/what/where).  SOOOOOOOOO I ventured off to the mall (after calling the store to make sure they had it).  I was doing so well and was just going to purchase THE shirt, when I fell in love with ONE more lil thing...  On top of the "sale" bin of shoes were the most darling pair of ballet flats.... WITH POLKA DOTS!!!!!  Come on, how was I to resist?  Plus they WERE on SALE! But...they were not my size :-(  Heart broken!  Then, in a place they were not supposed to be, I spotted another pair and they were my size!!!!!  It was meant to be! :-)  The sticker was originally $34...marked down to $21...and at the register they were an additional $8 & something off!!!!!  Total, $13.18!!!!  Can you believe it???

So here they are... :-)

Printed Pointy Ballet Flats from Gap :-)

(for some reason, I cannot find them on their website...)

 Don't my feet look so happy?!? :-)

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

XO, K

WW: Keeping the memories alive!

Hello, all! Kristin & I had a great brainstorming session yesterday and are trying to find ways to better our blog. If you have any suggestions, let us know! Also, we'd love to feature your wedding - email us for details!

But, today, for Wedding Wednesday, we decided to talk about the ways we are keeping our wedding memories alive. It's crazy when you work so hard to make the day of your dreams happen and then before you blink, it's over! So, we each have different ways to share of how we have displayed our wedding memories! And we're not just talking pictures in frames, but other things that are a little more unique!

Elyse's Ideas: 

Well, I'm big on displaying the props that we used on our wedding day. I just love that they are nice little touches to our home with a lot of meaning to us.

In our living room, I have the sign that Abby (our flower girl) carried down the aisle, as well as our BE wood sign that we used as basically a theme to our wedding

In our office, I have the mailbox we used for cards that B customized with our "BE," as well as the shoes that I wore that had my new initials on them:

Then, we have 2 frames that have a lot of meaning to us and are hanging on our "random wall" in our living room. The 1st one was a gift from Lindey (one of my MOH's) at my wedding shower that had the lyrics of our 1st dance song, with our names & wedding date hidden in it: 

The other is a little frame B made one day to surprise me. He took all of the paper things from our wedding (our program, invitation, rehearsal dinner invite) and cut out the letters to be arranged to say "It's like forever" - and my heart melts. Sweetest thing ever!

Kristin's Ideas:

As we are about to "celebrate" our three month wedding anniversary, my projects are still a work in process.  We would still like to find a way to display my brooch bouquet and want to do something for either our vows or our wedding song.  

BUT for now, this is what we have :-)

I made a shadow box of all of the invitations leading up to the wedding along with mementos from the wedding day.  For example, my veil, Mitch's boutonniere, vows, menu, program, etc.   I wanted to add so much more, but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for a larger shadow box.  This one is a 18 X 24!!  It currently is living on the floor in our bedroom (propped up against the wall), but one day soon will hang on the wall :-)

This is one of my top 3 favorite roof top photos.  I blew it up to a poster size and attached it behind an old barn window.  These windows were all used at the wedding reception for the meet the bridal party display and other signs.  My plan is to fill the other windows with pics as well one day.  This is currently hanging in our front entryway.  

And lastly, for now...our unity sand.  Unfortunately, during the transit from reception to home it got a little "swirled".  But we figured (and a family friend also said it) that this is exactly how life goes.  All the fun adventures and unexpected turns never leave a smooth ride.  A very happy ride...but things never go as planned, do they??  :-)  This little number is in our bedroom as well :-)

Hope you enjoyed reading (and thank you for reading) this WW :-)  Remember, if you have anything that you'd like to share, please comment or email us!!!  We'd LOVE to talk about YOUR ideas!!!

XO, K and E

K's Monday Mode

Hello and Happy Monday everyone!!  I hope you survived the heat wave!!!  We do not have air, so that is the reason for the loose flowy outfits last week :-)

Sorry I was not around last week!  Big thanks to E for holding down the fort!  How cool is Stitch Fix??  Did you sign up yet???  I cannot WAIT to enroll!! :-) (Elyse here! Now Kristin is holding down the fort for me because I had a serious bike crash this weekend and am too embarrassed to show off my wounds just yet. I will though ... next week!)

Outfit #1

Heels:  Sole Sisters in RO

Skirt:  Forever 21

Tank:  Target

Necklace:  Express

Bracelet:  BDay gift from dear friend

Outfit #2

(We decided to bbq on the hottest day of the year...DO NOT try that!!  It was miserable!!!)

Flip Flops:  Payless

Skirt:  Forever 21

Tank:  Target

Outfit #3

Flippy Floppies:  Victoria's Secret 

Dress:  Forever 21 (It has pockets!!!!! Love that!!!)

Necklace:  Etsy

Outfit #4

Wedges:  Payless

Dress:  Forever 21

Belt:  Target

Tank:  Target

Necklace:  Etsy

Outfit #5

Flip Flops:  Payless

Skirt:  Forever 21

Tank:  Wet Seal

Necklace:  Tiffany/Etsy

Watch:  Juicy Couture

Bracelets:  Pandora

Well there ya have it!  It sure was a "Forever 21" week, huh?  Can you tell I just LOVE that store??!!  I have been on a mission to try to use everything in my closet this summer before I can buy ANYTHING new...  So far I am doing pretty darn good!  Don't know if I can hold out and do it for the Fall though!! Oh! I did get a new bathing suit, cover up and flip flops from VS though...BUT it was with a gift card :-)

Have a fabulous week!!  Thanks for reading!!!

XO, K

A Fab Friday DIY!

Today I am going to take about a Fab Find that I found on the Internet! I was looking for art ideas to get Brandon something for our anniversary (he's not a gift guy- but he really appreciates things that are handmade) and I finally found this tutorial at A Beautiful Mess ... which was perfect! Instead of song lyrics, I decided to paint a portion of our wedding vows. I started with 1 canvas, but then realized that I needed another. Here's a step-by-step ... it is so simple!

All you need to start with is black paint, a canvas, paint brush(es) - took me awhile to decide what size I liked, and a spot to paint. (Oh yeah, coffee is optional!) :)

This was my blank canvas next to the canvas I'd already painted. I wanted them to line up and be spaced similar. You can see that I kind of lightly painted the words and then I went over it with more paint.

Halfway through!

The finished product!

And there it is! Over our bed! :) This was only a small part of our vows, but it was the part that we both said (since we wrote our own, we had the same "I promise" section) so I love that about it. BUT! I feel like you are inclined to read straight across instead of down one canvas and onto the other. That is why we spaced them so far apart. Anyways, I still love the look and the way it turned out!

Happy Friday, ya'll! XO, E

An Inspired DIY Fab Friday!!!

Hello and Hi this HOOOOOOOOOOOOOT fabulous Friday!!

My fab find of the day is actually something I already had in the house that I gave a face lift to.

I was walking around Holly (weird) and came across a new, yes NEW adorable lil' consignment called Treasure Alley Boutique Consignment!!!  They have tons of adorable home goods with a vintage/shabby chic vibe... I am IN LOVE.  While I was walking around I spotted an adorable table.  It was soooo reasonably priced, but I have been trying to save some scruples lately and told myself I didn't need it :-(  Here it is below...

Adorable, right?!?  So, I reluctantly left the store. As I was driving home, I had an idea!!  I had a little table already upstairs on the landing that could use a face lift!!  THEN I also remembered that I had a can of blue spray paint that I didn't use from the wedding (I went with a different shade of blue).  So this piece was my inspiration to try to recreate utilizing what I already had.

***This is the ONLY before picture that I can find of it. Ha!  But as you can see, it is a dark color wood (same as the bench) so it was a bit too "dark" up there.  We needed a bit of color!

***Here is the can of spray paint that I used...

And here it is after!

***Same view as the "before" pic :-)

***Bit closer up.

I was going to try to leave the top in the natural wood color, like my inspirational piece I was trying to "copy".  But once I got going, I decided to spray it blue as well (in all honesty, it was just easier...) :-)

Not exactly as adorable as the one at Treasure Alley Boutique....but I am super happy that I saved some money, used what we already had in the house and that the landing has a pop of color :-) NOW... I just need to find some throw pillows/cushions for the bench to tie in the table color...he he :-) 

Stay cool everyone!!  Have a great weekend!!

XO, K

Wedding Wednesday's 1st Guest Star...Emily and John Handy's Wedding!!!

Elyse and I are sooooo excited to write about Emily and John Handy's wedding!!  It was absolutely beautiful!  Elyse and I have been great friends with Emily for years now.  I met Emily when we hired in together at the same High School...she is a math teacher too!!!  She has been my saving grace throughout this career!!   Elyse also met Em when she started student teaching at the High School.  Elyse and I both attended this glorious event, I as a bridesmaid and Elyse as a guest.

Emily and John met almost exactly three years prior to their wedding date. They were the watching MSU vs. Notre Dame at a mutual friends house. Emily was grading papers (and enjoying the game) when John approached Em and asked if he could help! After a short facebook courtship they were inseparable.

John proposed at a drag show in Pentwater, MI. Talk about original! He certainly achieved the element of surprise!

They were married September 15, 2012 (once again on the day of the MSU vs. Notre Dame football game). Ceremony and reception were both at the Community House in Birmingham.

Here are just a few of the wonderful touches that made their day "their own"....PERFECT!!!

One of Emily's favorite touches they added was the HE/SHE canvases. Because John's entire family is out of town, as well as Emily's dad's family, they wanted to include something that would tell John's family about Emily and vice-versa. They included serious and funny things for a total of 20 each. Emily's mom made a pdf file for them and we uploaded each (just like a picture) to canvasdiscount.com. They had them displayed by the bar so people could read them. So many people were commenting and laughing that they both got it "just right" when they highlighted each others' personalities and quirks. They are now displayed in their home as a reminder of the day!

The wedding colors were really important to Emily. She has always loved citrus colors and orange has been her favorite forever. Emily didn't want us ladies to have to wear an orange dress, so she went with charcoal grey (for the dresses), along with orange and lime green (as accents). She really wanted the colors to pop and be dramatic. She had each of us girls pick different green or orange shoes to tie in the bouquets...I chose orange...SO fun!!

Emily felt that ceremony decor was the most important. She made pomander balls out of fake flowers to save money. The orange and white were purchased at gandgwebstore.com for CHEAP and went together quickly. They didn't have a green shade that she liked, so her friends helped make the others with crepe paper (she fed us and gave us wine). They took awhile, but were worth it. They ended up beautiful and we got some quality girl time in while we made them!

They ordered the guy's boutonierres from Etsy. She didn't want flowers but needed to tie the orange and green in somehow for the boys. Their invitations had swirls on them, so these tied in nicely.

Emily & John wanted to do a unique guestbook, instead of the old "write your name down because you were here" deal. Emily came up with the idea to scrapbook some pages where guests could give advice to look at through the years. Each page had a title and they asked people to fill out as many pages as they'd like.  Pages included Day After the Wedding, Honeymoon, Daily Lives, First Child, First Family Vacation, First Anniversary, First Fight, Fifth Anniversary, New Home, Twenty-fifth Anniversary, and First Grandchild. They wanted to include pages so that everyone felt they could contribute something. Just looking at what some people were writing the night of the wedding, those pages were a definite laugh. In fact, before they left for their honeymoon they read their Honeymoon page and she said it was a riot! People left a lot of good advice and a lot of funny comments.

Against everyone's advice, she had her one and a half year old nephew be their ring bearer, even though people mentioned to her that it can be a nightmare for photographers, coordinators and whatnot. Her sister-in-law walked him down the aisle and while he did sit down about halfway, it worked out. He was absolutely adorable!!!!

Emily found her dress at Demetrios in Troy. It was the third one she tried on and never in a million years would have guessed that style was the one for her. She said that people sure are right when they say try everything on! You just never know. Emily said that the only advice she would give to someone is to make sure you can sit in it... especially if you have a corset back. It was a shock to her when she sat down at the reception because that was literally the first time that she tried to sit in the dress...ever. :-)

When asked what her most favorite thing was about the day? Her reply: The groom.  (Love her!)  :-)

Here are the vendors that helped make this day so wonderful:

All pictures taken by Amanda Dumouchelle amandadumouchellephotography.com

Venue: Community House tchserves.org

Flowers: from Costco, arranged by Judy Palmgren and Janine Rie

Dress: Demetrios of Troy 

Salon: Virtuoso in Birmingham virtuososalon.com

Invitations, placecards, programs, table numbers: Patty Dressler

Food: 2 Unique Catering twounique.com

DJ: Mike Frazier prestigeentertainment1.com

Thank you sooooo much, Emily, for sharing your amazing wedding with Exceptionally Chic today! We would love to hear from our readers for Wedding Wednesdays! If you'd like to be featured, have good ideas to share, or did something unique at your wedding, contact us! We'd love to put you on the blog!

E's MM - Introducing Stitch Fix!

Hey, all! Today I am going to use my Mode Monday to talk about my 1st July Stitch Fix package! If you have not heard of Stitch Fix- you totally need to try it! (Kristin was on vaycay last week, so I'm holding down the Mode Monday for the both of us. She'll be back next week!)

Here's how it works: You sign up here, filling in your style profile. This gives you the chance to tell what kinds of clothing you're looking for (like in my particular style profile, I said that I loved maxi skirts/dresses and didn't need work clothes right at the moment) you can choose colors you like or want to avoid, they give you a lot of pictures that you decide if you like or dislike so they can get a style feel, and you can even upload pinterest boards that show your style! The more information you give them- the better job they can do at picking our your fix. Then, you simply pay the $20 styling fee (which you will get taken off your order if you buy something) and schedule your fix (which will not get charged until you get it)! Once you get your 5 pieces, you have 3 days to try it all on and decide what you like/want to keep. I tried everything on a bunch of times and kept changing my accessories/shoes to see what I liked the best. They even put tags on the clothing with different outfit ideas. After the 3 days you can decide what you want to keep (if anything) and go back online to evaluate your box. Anything you keep is charged to your card (but it's LESS the $20 that you already paid to get the box!) and then you just send back the rest of the clothing in the pre-paid package that they give you! Simple as that!

I scheduled mine and got it just last Thursday. I LOVED my whole Stitch Fix box! I had specifically said I was interested in summer clothing, stuff I wouldn't normally pick for myself, and jewelry. I also said I wanted my clothing costs to be as low as possible (working on my budgeting skills!) and there wasn't anything in my box over $50 which I really appreciated. I ended up keeping a skirt and necklace. If you do end up keeping the whole box, you get 25% off everything, but that just wasn't in the cards for me this go around. Ok, enough with my chatting -- let's check out the clothes!

(Disclaimer: I was solo when I took these pics, so get ready for some selfies!)

Pieces #1 & #2: Maxi skirt & Necklace

(How pretty is Traverse City?!?!?!)

There are the two that I kept! It was love at first sight with this maxi (how awesome is that print?!) and I love everything mint & long statement necklaces, so my stylist picked two pieces right on the money for me! Wore this outfit wine tasting this weekend and I loved it. 

 Piece #3: Printed blouse

Adored this blouse. I loved the colors and the detailing in the back. It is definitely something that could transition from summer to fall and would have been a great piece for work. How cute would it have looked tucked into a skirt or with a blazer overtop?? (PS- See that tag on the last pic? Those were their outfit ideas... loved that they gave me a couple of options that I may not have come up with on my own!)

Piece #4: Racerback Tank

I also really liked this racer back tank! (I told you- I loved my whole box!!) Although I did see myself probably wearing this the least, I mostly liked the color. For whatever reason, orange isn't something I'm drawn to when I'm shopping for myself, but I loved it with the gray! The fit was seriously perfect and I loved the detail. Another really fun piece for the summer that could make an easy transition into fall.

Piece #5: High-low dress

I realllllllly liked this dress and probably would have kept it, except it was a little too big up top. Again it was a print/color I wouldn't have normally picked out, so I was excited about getting it in my fix! I loved the high-low cut of it and the cut out detail on the shoulders. Perfect dress for a shower or wedding! I added the belt, but it would look fine without a belt as well. 

So there ya go! I loved my Stitch Fix and it was so fun to look forward to something in the mail that was for me! You have no obligations to Stitch Fix once you sign up - you can do it once or you can do it every month! I have my next one scheduled for September, as a little back to school present to myself. :) 

Again, if you want to try it - click here! This will take you right to the page to start your style profile (yes- it is a referral link, so it will help me get credit in my account, too! Once you sign up, if you get others to order a fix you get a $25 credit - not too shabby!) I highly recommend trying it out, it's fun to get packages of course and I loved getting pieces I wouldn't have normally picked out myself!

Have a happy week, ya'll! XO, E