Wedding Wednesday!

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Welcome to the Wedding Wednesday link-up hosted by yours truly and Kristyn from Chits & Giggles!
Link-up below, ladies!

Remember, you don't have to be a bride-to-be to participate! We want to hear any (and every!) wedding story you have!

On to this week's post!

I just got back from an amazing trip in New Orleans, so I'm going to keep this nice and short by recapping the wedding we attended. I'll recap the rest of the trip on Thursday!

First of all, I was a thrifty wedding guest. I did my own hair and make-up, reused a bridesmaid dress, and rented a necklace from Rent the Runway.

I loved wearing this nifty necklace.

By the way, if you're interested in my experience with Rent the Runway or how I did my hair, let me know. I had a couple questions on Instagram and may just write up posts about both topics. I never review stuff or do my hair, let alone talk about how I style it when I do, so I feel like a narcissist right now.

Back to the wedding!

The wedding was Saturday at the gorgeous Elms Mansion in the New Orleans Garden District. It is such a charming location!

I loved when a street car passed during the ceremony and all of the passengers cheered for the bride and groom!

I didn't take enough photos of this beautiful venue, mainly because my pictures don't do it justice.

We had a lovely time celebrating Andrew's cousin's wedding and are so excited for the happy couple!!!

Have you attended any weddings yet this "season," especially now since it's June?

Please link up!

DIY Christmas!

Happy Thursday! This post is three-fold: sassy, glassy, and crafty!

First, here's a sassy picture for your Thursday as all of us sassy gals dream up NYE outfits:

Source: whentiffanysmetcasablanca.tumblr.com via Mary on Pinterest

Second, I got new glasses! I went with the ones on the right:

Third, before December comes to a close, I had to dedicate a post to all of the projects I put together this season. I didn't have (read: make) time for Christmas cards this year, but what I lacked in doing unto others I made up for by doing unto...making my apartment pretty. And for gifts. I'm not a total brat.

If you remember, my Christmas spirit was through the roof after Andrew and my spontaneous evening to the Christkindl Market and show. Then my book club had a festive cookie party, where, among the many treats, I made the below Santa hat brownies inspired by a pin on Pinterest, and another lady made the cute cookies below:

Then I received the garb for my Ugly Christmas Sweater party. I love that I bought this vest from an Etsy store devoted to tacky sweaters!

Then came the glitter:
And, finally, the DIY projects.

Our tree, bought on the day of the party, decked in the same ornaments from the DC tree my roommate and I decorated together every year:

Ornaments and ribbon in a shadow box, another Pinterest-inspired project:

Ornaments in our coffee table decoration, placed there mainly because I didn't have anywhere else to put them and they were from the Target $1 bin so I had to use them:

Potpourri pine cones and ribbon in an unused flower vase:

Another Pinterest idea, putting ornaments on a curtain rod. It was Andrew's amazing idea to put it above the mantel!

Our complete mantel:

And last but not least, the coasters I made for Andrew's parents, my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and my brother and his fiance. I got the idea from this post on The Shine Project:

They were a huge success! Sure I bought the tile from Home Depot, and sure they weighed down my suitcase, and OK fine when I sprayed the gloss finish the fumes seriously stunk up my entire building, but hey: it was totally worth it, and (in my mind) completely justified not sending Christmas cards.

Little Bit of Sass Thursday

Hey sassy readers! What are you planning to do today to let your sass shine?

Two things today:

1) I have been enlightened: Megan on My Two Cents (...before I spend it!) posted earlier this week on Essie's fall nail polish line, and yesterday about an amazing top coat by Sally Hansen. Well I just so happened to spot both at my CVS stop yesterday, and my nails are so happy. The "Carry On" color looks darker on than in the bottle, but it's still very pretty and perfect for fall/winter (although I do NOT want to think about winter!!). The top coat really did dry fast! My nails never dry unless I sit absolutely still for over an hour and don't do anything strenuous after that. Now I don't have to worry about it! Sorry for the picture of my hand but I had to show you the shiny results!

2) Earlier today I was introduced to a new blog, called JandJ Home. One post was a how-to for a DIY rug. Andrew and I need two new rugs and since that can be expensive, I may just give this a whirl. I was thinking of creating a chevron print or a stencil of a simple pattern (West Elm rugs are my current inspiration). What do you think? Do you have any stories about DIY rug projects? Think it's a bad idea or a great way to save about $100?

I won't be blogging until next week, but I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday weekend! :)

Mary's Musings Monday!

Hola friends! Here's the link I mentioned in the video: http://marykrulia.wordpress.com. I'm looking forward to your advice!! :)