Not Another White Wedding: Gold Glamour

I thought I would start a series of posts that introduce unique color palettes. I'll just include the major elements of the wedding day such as the cake, decor, favors, and of course the bride! This week I chose to go with gold. Gold is one of those colors that looks amazing as an accent color, but makes a huge impact as the main color of a wedding. Hope you enjoy this week's picks and let me know if there is a certain color you would like like to see next week! For more gold wedding inspiration, check out a post I did a while ago called 'Throw Some Glitter on It'. Just click this link! Have a super weekend!

(images via pinterest.com & tumblr.com)

Dainty Jewelry Trend & Some DIY Magic

Lately, dainty jewelry has been all the rage. There is something very sophisticated and feminine about a delicate piece of adornment.  So, with the cold winter months gone until next year, fashionistas everywhere are stashing away their statement necklaces and chunky cuffs and are swapping them for tiny rings, studs and necklaces. Here are some of my favorite picks for this season. I made sure to find pieces that are affordable and available online! Side note: most of the following pieces are from etsy.com which is my favorite site for offbeat handmade pieces! Check it out...you can find anything on there!

1. One of the most popular and simple dainty rings trending right now is the thin gold or silver band. It looks great on its own or can be stacked with other rings to create a more bohemian effect. You can a find an affordable version of the ring shown below in 14k or 18k gold here. If you want to learn a super easy way to create this ring at home with crafting wire...look for that at the end of this post!

2. This gorgeous 14k gold plated heart with gold chain can be found here. This is a great piece for everyday wear and would look phenomenal paired with fancier necklaces for a special occasion. Snatch it up fast there is only one left in stock!

3. These pyramid gold studs are perfect and the fact that they are under 10 bucks doesn't hurt either. They look great on their own or you could buy two pairs and wear them in your second piercing as well (as shown below). You can find these here.

4. This last one I  thought I would just throw in for good measure. It is a wishbone necklace! How cute is that? Too bad I couldn't locate a seller for this one :( I guess we'll just have to "wish" for this one. Haha.

And, as promised here is a tutorial on how to make your own DIY dainty ring. Scroll down to the bottom for written instructions and credits.

STEP-BY-STEP 

1. Some tools you will need are: craft wire (18 gage), wire cutters, round nose pliers, and flat nose pliers- all of which you can get at Michaels. Another thing you will need is a few different size pens/chap-sticks/lip-glosses to represent different sizes of fingers. These do not need to be the exact size of your fingers, but close. You will see why in a second.

2. First, cut about 3 inches of wire. I usually cut more than I need, but that is better than cutting too little. You will get the hang of it once you can eyeball how much you need.

3. Next, wrap the wire around where you want to wear your ring. My first one I did on my middle finger and this one i decided to wear above the knuckle on my ring ringer. When you do this, don’t worry too much about shape… just get an idea. We will shape it in a little.

4 & 5. Cut the long ends so they are about 1″ on each side.

6. Hold your ring with your flat nose pliers and twist each end opposite directions of each other, so it looks like the letter S.

7. Next, slide the ring on the object that is closest in size to your ring and twist the wires around each other one more time to make a little swirl. Clip the ends of your wire.

8. Now this is where you shape the ring into a circle. When on the lipgloss/chapstick/ or pen, twist the item of choice along the ring, while applying pressure with your thumb to help smooth out kinks and mold into a perfect circle.

9. Lastly, use a nail file to file the ends of the wire. This will make sure you have no rough pieces scratching your skin.

(tutorial via fashionlushxx.com)

Mera Pakistan by Zainab Sajid

The new Mera Pakistan (My Pakistan) collection by Zainab Sajid showcases some amazing summer outfits. They are inspired by everyday elements of Pakistani culture such as local means of transportation like trucks, taxis, rickshaws, tongas, and bicycles. The dresses also depict some famous Pakistani landmarks such as Darra-e-Khyber, Minar-e-Pakistan, and the Empress Market. For the full collection, click here. Hope you enjoy this fresh take on Pakistani dressing courtesy of Zainab Sajid!

(images via)

If My Blog Was A Baby & Pancreatitis

If my blog was a baby...it would definitely be an orphan by now. I swear I do not have commitment issues and I have not forgotten that there are actually people who check back daily to see if I have updated. Seriously, I am so grateful to those of you that do. Without you, I would just be writing meaningless thoughts into an empty abyss.

Anyways, I do not want to bore you to death with all the reasons that I have been gone so long, but let me just tell you that this past month has been a heck of a roller coaster ride for me. I have been having some pretty major health issues and ended up in the hospital as well. Hint: Although getting seriously ill stinks and I would never wish it upon anyone...it's a great way to get cheap health insurance. I guess I just like looking at the bright side of things lol. But, on a more serious note, I have been diagnosed with Acute Pancreatitis and have basically been on a liquid/raw diet for the past month or so.

But, I am back and hope to be blogging regularly again. Expect some major awesomeness in the days to come! Oh, and thank you for hanging with me through my blogging hiatus. It really means a lot to me!

P.S. I also had my 20th birthday on March 29th which was ah-mazing! I recieved some unexpected presents from my cousin/best friend which included a personalized necklace from Things Remembered (that I now either wear or carry around with me at all times). I thought I would throw in a picture of my cake. It's my way of saying, "I know it's been a while, but I'm back and I'm ready to do some major blog writing"!

xoxo
Aneela

Sunday Sweetness

My Day According to Instagram

Hey ya'll! Today I thought I would do a little different type of post. It's going to be kind of like a vlog minus the video element :) So, just a disclaimer, this post has nothing to with wedding planning. So, if that is all you come here for, I would skip this post and come back for the next one :) It's just nice sometimes to acknowledge that I am a real person writing this blog and I like to talk about my life at times. So, if you want to know what I did today...keep reading!

Today after class I went over to meet up with one of my best friends...let's call her Sprinkles to protect her identity. So, Sprinkles is getting married this summer and she has asked me to be her designated photographer for the big day. We had an amazing lunch and talked about what she is seeking in her wedding photos. Wedding talk is always fun, so we ended up spending about two hours at lunch! It was loads of fun!

Then, we hopped on over to Forever 21 and gushed over cute things. I ended up getting some adorable hair pins covered in little silver rhinestones. I was also drawn to this mannequin that reminded me of Spencer Hastings from Pretty Little Liars. Any fellow PLL fans out there?!?

And, guess what we spotted as we were walking through the mall? These orchids which also happen to be my favorite flowers as I have mentioned before on the blog. So, like the dork that I am, I jumped with joy and stopped to take a picture. Sprinkles probably thought I had a couple loose screws at this point...but she just smiled :)

Next, as we were walking back planning to make one last stop to get some coffee from Starbuck's, Sprinkles spotted out of the corner of her eye...a quaint little froyo (frozen yogurt) shop! Perfect! Even though, it was freezing outside and we were huddling together as we walked, we just could not resist the splendor of Bella Froyo! Sprinkles got vanilla frozen yogurt with almonds, coconut, and chocolate chips. And I got red velvet yogurt with crushed oreos. yum! 

I totally forgot to add this before, but while I was waiting for Sprinkles to arrive for lunch, I stopped in at a shop called Tuesday Morning (very fitting as it is Tuesday today) and looked around for a while. If you have that shop near you and like scented things, definitely check it out because they have a lot of soaps, candles, and scented drawer linens right now. Here are some really cute soaps I spotted there and couldn't resist photographing! I don't know what it smells like, but the packaging is just irresistible!

All in all, today was an awesome day and meeting up with Sprinkles definitely brightened up my otherwise typical day! Life seems pretty happy right now and we are planning to meet up again soon! 

So, how was your day? What do you do to get yourself out of the regular routine of life?

Quick & Easy DIY Projects for your Wedding

Hello again! I hope everyone is having an awesome week so far. I am currently waiting for my friend to get out of class so we can get together for lunch and I thought I would do a short and sweet post on some simple DIY projects that can be used for a wedding of any budget.Hope you like it and let me know if you try any of these ideas!

PS. I finally got around to updating the 'About' section of the site, so all the tabs at the top of this page are finally complete. Yay! Also, if you have any suggestions for songs I can add to the 'Playlist' section, please let me know and I will add those:)

1. I really liked this mailbox idea for wedding guests to leave cards for the couple getting married. You can find similar mailboxes at most craft stores and there are usually a lot more available during the days leading up to  Valentine's Day. I have seen them constructed with ordinary and unfinished wood, so they can be painted and decorated to match any wedding decor. Just make sure that if you use this idea, you emphasize the fact that this is not a money box as it would not be secure for that purpose. You could also use the mailbox in your home after the wedding is over and leave letters to your hubby! :)

 

2. I love this idea for an outdoor wedding that carries on through the night. It would be too much effort to do this for a day wedding because the candlelight would not be highly visible, but would look amazing after dark. All you need are mason jars (baby food jars work too!), ribbon that matches your decor, and some tea lights. And, voila! These make a great atmosphere and would look stunning in the backdrop of your wedding shots!

 

3.  This next idea would be a great centerpiece option (or for your sweetheart table if you don't want to make very many). Basically all you need are some photos of the couple, different sized glass jars with lids, water, and some yellow food coloring for a "vintage" effect. The water and shape of the jar will give your photos a cool magnified effect and the shots are sure to make great conversation starters among your guests!

 

4. Here is another idea for outdoor weddings. Sorry, can you tell I'm a little bit obsessed with those? So, this one requires literally no explanation. Just wrap strings of lights around the trees at your venue and it will create an awesome effect. This idea also works better for weddings at night, but would work for day time events better than the hanging tea lights.