casual italian and a walk in the park

this is going to be my first real attempt at an outfit post. i wore this the other night when the mr. took me out for our half-year. all i was told was to dress "casual cute" the mr. also told me to wear flat shoes.....well yeah no. i asked enough questions and came to the conclusion on my own that he was just being careful and i opted to wear wedges instead :) he took me to a nice little italian restaurant for dinner and we got our tiramisu to go ......we ate it at the mt. pleasant pier. that also happens to be that place we got engaged. for the record, the wedges were fine, and won't be making an appearance in this post because my jeans were far to long.

{tank: target, cropped jacket: target, jeans: gap, earrings: forever 21}

hope you enjoyed this first attempt!

-ashley

half-year

.......as my mr. likes to put it. he says it sounds better than 6 months. that's how long we've been a mr. and mrs. :) i can not believe how fast time flies when you are with the person you love the most in this world! it has been a great 6 months. here are some pics of the last 6 months:

6 month anniversary flowers :)

shf-

i love you more than i could type :) you are the greatest man alive and i thank God each and every day for this amazing blessing. you are my rock. i love you.

-ashley

hometown highlight: branch design studio

if you love flowers, you will love whitney of, branch design studio! i absolutely fell in love with flowers last year when i took a class on designing them and since then have been looking for a place to learn more! Lucky me, i have the amazing opportunity to work with whitney a few weekends a month and help her make brides dreams come true. here is a look at what she has to offer :)

{above images via juliet elizabeth photography}

{above images via squire fox photography}

{above images via marni pictures}

so if you are bride looking to get married in the charleston area, you HAVE to check her out!  i promise you will fall in love with all she has to offer!

-ashley

this is not a sponsored post

do-it-yourself

here are a few of my favorite d-i-y posts from around the web this week

personalized paperclips 

{via the sweetest occasion & lovely indeed}

the cutest party hat ever

{via one charming party}

easiest ottoman ever

def. making this one for myself 

{via say say yes to hoboken posted from Blueprint}

diy instructions here

the, perfect for spring, skirt

{via burda style}

hope some of these inspire you to make something yourself this week :)

coming later this week:

hometown highlight

thriftin'

stay tuned!

-ashley

for Japan with Love: a day of silence

if you are looking for a way to get involved, fellows bloggers of utterly engaged and ever ours are working with, For Japan With Love. All donations will go to shelter box, an organization that strives to continually provides relief for families with emergency strikes. please find a way to help.

DONATE

martha's kitchen

martha stewart. household name. domestic goddess. i'm currently in love with how organized her kitchen is.

thinking about putting glass panes in some of my cabinets

to show off my pretty things :)

i currently have my jewelry displayed in little bowls

but i'm loving how organized it could make my rather messy medicine drawer

i will be investing in one of these in our next place

something about the ways these look makes me want to go buy all white towels

re-defines junk drawer

our spices will take up way less room 

stored like this

we already have a place to store our flat-ware

but now i want some french-ivory flat-ware

gorgeous.

our tea collection is not nearly this big or pretty

but the mr. has plenty of coffee to store this way

check out the full slide show here

-ashley

obsession of the week: keychain

yes. a key chain. yes it takes something that simple to get me excited! but, this key chain was cast from an 18th century italian church key. fancy i know :)

{via at work design}

and if i have something that beautiful to carry my keys on

i must have something equally fabulous to hang it on

{via world market}



-ashley