Rebellion

These photograph terribly. They're actually really sparkly in person.

Dress: Lucky Brand

Boots: Vintage/Vintage Angel

Tights: Hue/Macy's

Earrings: Buckle

I apologize for the fact that I haven't done any outfit posts lately. I've been feeling a bit under the weather since just after Christmas. My stomach has decided that it apparently doesn't like anything but salad and saltines. While I do love a good salad, I also love a good cheeseburger, and good mashed potatoes (you know what I'm talking about, Inna!)... neither of which I have been able to eat. I went to the doctor earlier this month and he gave me some medicine that apparently isn't working (LAME!). SO, I'm going back tomorrow. The doctor -- and my father, also a doctor -- seem to think it may be gallstones, which would be super duper lame. If it is, and I have to have surgery... well, poor Mr. CP is all I have to say. Anyway, enough with my excuses. Moving on to the outfit!

For most of my life, I categorically refused to wear anything even remotely cowboyish. In part, it was a rebellion against the Aggies I grew up around. We all have our forms of rebellion. Some sneak out of the house in the dead of night to canoodle (that's right, I said canoodle!) with a girlfriend or boyfriend, while others get a bit carried away their first year of college with the house parties and readily available alcohol. My form of rebellion took a rather unusual form: I swore never to wear anything even vaguely cowboy-ish. Sure, I went to a couple rowdy cowboy bars (my poor dance partners), and occasionally entertained the notion of going cow tipping (if such a thing were possible... is it? I've heard different stories). And I may or may not have lost a bet and gone to a country music festival. As for wearing anything cowboyish, though... nope. Nuh-uh. Not me. I know, I know. My hardcore form of rebellion has blown your mind. 

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. When I saw this dress, it seemed to cry out for a cute pair of cowboy boots. So, off I went to a local store here in Seattle that sells refurbished vintage cowboy boots. They were cheap, they were already broken in, and did I mention they were cheap?

As he was taking photos, Mr. CP told me a disgusting -- and I do mean DISGUSTING -- joke. I thought I would share with you all my reaction. For the record, I have about 15 other photos that depict my horror/disgust/mild amusement.

And, finally, just because I can: a funny hair picture. Because we should never take ourselves too seriously. For serious.

#2: Adventures in Wedding Dress Shopping

I have rather unusual requirements for a wedding dress, particularly relative to what most bridal shops stock. I don't want a white dress. I've kept an open mind -- I'm willing to entertain the possibility of a long dress -- but I don't want a train. I don't want a veil. I don't want anything stiff. We're getting married on a beach in Maui, so I want whatever I end up with to have some movement.

I was shocked when, last week, Mr. CP walked in the house and promptly started raving about a tea length wedding dress he had seen in the window of a nearby bridal boutique on his walk home from the bus stop. The entire conversation was surreal. Usually I'm the one raving about an item of clothing while he makes noncommittal noises of encouragement, and feigns interest. The very idea that he had noticed a dress was hilarious, which might be why I spent the entire conversation clutching my sides and gasping for breath between fits of giggles. Later that same night, he suggested that we should go take a peek in the window of the store so that I could see the dress. Can I just say that we looked completely crazy? It was ten o'clock at night, and we had our noses pressed up against the window like teensy little children at a candy store... or burglars unsubtly casing a place. The dress he had seen was absolutely lovely. So lovely, in fact, that I called the very next day and went in to try the beauty on. (You can see said dress right here).

To be frank, I was nervous about trying on wedding dresses. I had absolutely no idea how I was going to squeeze into their sample sizes. No amount of holding my breath and sucking my tummy in was going to help me fit into a sample size. It just wasn't. Much to my shock, however, all but one of the dresses fit well enough to give me a sense of what the gowns would look like. I'm still convinced that the bridal consultant must have worked some sort of magic. 

I tried on dresses that made me look like a cupcake. I tried on dresses that made me look like a passenger on the Titanic. I tried on dresses fit for Cinderella. I tried on dresses fit for a nightclub. I tried on tight fitted sheath dresses that made me fall over when I tried to walk in them (true story... unfortunately). I tried on dresses that weighed as much as I do. But of all the dresses I tried on, I loved the tea length dresses most of all.

Mr. CP recently shared with me that, in general, he likes long dresses. In all fairness, this was before he spotted the dress I mentioned above in the window. But even after our late-night trip to the boutique, I found myself torn: was I supposed to pick a long dress that he would like? Or a shorter, knee length dress that I would like? My appointment convinced me that, fortunately, it doesn't have to be an either/or situation. A tea length dress seems like a perfect compromise. 

I don't want to say too much about whether or not I've found The Dress. I still have other appointments, and I want my choice to be a surprise. What I will say, though, is that this particular adventure in wedding dress shopping gave me a much better idea of what I'm looking for.

Oh, and a side note. Unfortunately there's a law in Washington that you can't take photographs of dresses while you're trying them on. Lame! So, you probably won't be able to see any photos of me trying on wedding dresses. Still, I'll be sure to provide links to some of my favorites whenever I can!

Want to following along with my wedding pinning? I have a Pinterest board dedicated exclusively to wedding-y things, which you can find here.

Garden Gnomes

As per the lovely Gracey's request, here is a post about garden gnomes. More specifically, this is a post about the Garden Gnome Liberation Front. My best friend and I have spent countless hours laughing over this. Now you can, too!

Wikipedia: Garden Gnome Liberation Front
Free the Gnomes
European Gnome Sanctuary Manifesto
CNN Article
Another CNN Article

If I Had a Magic Lamp...

Helloooo! You may have noticed that I've been a bit absent this week. Seattle is currently buried in an uncharacteristically deep layer of snow, and so the city has, for the most part, shut down. As a result, I've been lounging around in my pajamas for the vast majority of this week (read: ALL of this week). Because OOTD posts were out, I was having one of those weeks where I couldn't decide what to post about. Wedding planning? Wish list items? Garden gnomes? I ultimately decided to go with the second idea (as evidenced by the title of this post). Anyway, these are just a few of the items I'm desperately coveting. 

I've already ordered one of these. Can you guess which one?

Botanical Flutter Dress, Dorothy Perkins (here)

Clockworks Shirt Dress, eShakti (here)

Flamingo Print Jumper, Dorothy Perkins (here)

Gray Heart Print Cardigan, Dorothy Perkins (here)

 Bird Print Button Back Top, Dorothy Perkins (here)

Orange Box Jewelry Giveaway Winner!

I'm so sorry it has taken me so long to announce the winner of the Orange Box Jewelry giveaway! I could tell you that I was walking down the street when I saw a tragic looking puppy sitting in the middle of the street; how I shrieked in terror when I saw a car bearing down upon the poor thing. I could tell you that in a moment of absolute heroism I dove between the canine and the car, only to be mercilessly run down by the cruel, evil, would-be puppy slayer. I could finish recounting my tale of woe by explaining that I was laid up in the hospital for three weeks, recovering amidst a veritable garden of flowers, all sent by the sweet puppy whose life I saved. But alas, I can't tell you that. It didn't happen.

... (awkward silence)

... (more awkward silence)

Ahem, moving on. Rafflecopter seemed kind of dull, so I decided to draw a winner the old fashioned way. I wrote all of the entrants' names down on slips of paper, put them all in one of Mr. CP's fancy-pants fedoras, like so:

And drew a winner! Drum roll please... The winner is:

Kassi is absolutely hilarious. Her posts on her blog, The Closet Intervention, typically result in me alternating between giggles, and oo's and ah's. True story. Congratulations, Kassi! Shoot me an email at charmingpumpkin@gmail.com, and I'll send you your coupon code!

Review: Anjolee Ring

When Anjolee contacted me recently to review one of their products for my blog, I couldn’t restrain a squeal of excitement. If you read my blog with any regularity at all, you’re no doubt well aware of my love for all things sparkly. The very notion that I would get to review a diamond anything filled my sparkle-loving heart with glee.

Based in San Diego, Anjolee has been producing sparkly beauties since 1977. The company prides itself on its excellent customer service. Indeed, a central tenet of their business philosophy is to provide customers with chat and email support seven days a week. It is no doubt this commitment to customer service that has garnered them an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.

For those of you who hesitate to buy diamonds for environmental or moral reasons, Anjolee may be especially appealing. They are committed to eco-friendly manufacturing processes, adopting a variety of strategies to minimize their impact on the environment. They also conform to the Kimberly act of 2003, which requires  all US diamond retailers to purchase diamonds only from manufacturers who have documentation proving that their diamonds were obtained through legitimate channels.

Anjolee offers free shipping on all orders within the US and Canada. Don’t worry; the postman won’t be leaving the box on your front porch. All packages require a signature upon delivery to ensure the safety of your beautiful new treasure.

We all know how much I love customization. Well, ladies, Anjolee does not disappoint in that department. You may well find yourself awed by all the decisions you have to make. White gold? Yellow gold? Platinum? Accent stones? Carat weight? Put simply ladies, any ring you chose from their site will be just that: yours.

There are few things better than receiving a package. It’s especially exciting when that package comes beautifully wrapped. My lovely ring was packaged in a sturdy but beautiful white box, and accented with a gorgeous blue bow.

Anjolee asked me to review their Three Stone Gem and Diamond ring. I chose to have the ring made in 14K white gold, and accented with garnets. May I just say that this ring is absolutely beautiful? It’s stunning. In fact, Mama CP threatened to steal it… and I don’t think she was joking. I tend to be a bit hard on rings, but the stones in this ring are very, very well set, so I don’t they will be going anywhere anytime soon.

Are you interested in snagging a beautiful Anjolee ring of your own? If you’re in the market for diamond anniversary rings, there are plenty of options to be found on Anjolee's site. Looking for sparkly wedding sets? They have those in abundance!  Are diamond bridal sets more in line with you’re looking for? Anjolee has got you covered! I would be absolutely shocked if you can’t find what you’re looking for on Anjolee’s site.  

Keep your eyes peeled for my beautiful new ring in future OOTD posts. I have no doubt it will be making a number of appearances. 

*Anjolee was kind enough to send me this item free of charge. This in no way affected my opinion of the item or the company. I'm an opinionated beast of a woman, so you can be sure that if I hadn't liked the item and/or company I would have said so. For serious.

#1: Holy Wedding, Batman!

When I announced my engagement on here, a lot of you expressed interest in blog posts centering on the whole wedding planning process. I've loved reading Sarah's posts about her upcoming nuptials over on Coming Unstitched, so I thought it would be fun to periodically post about our wedding planning. Because I'm terrible at planning posts in advance, I don't want to promise "Wedding Wednesdays" a la Sarah. So, these posts may be a bit sporadic, popping up unexpectedly from time to time.

I want to enjoy the engagement stage as much as possible, so I've really only taken care of a few basic things at this point. I created a communal Pinterest board for my mother and one of my best friends to clip ideas to (you can find it here). I've also set up our engagement photo session with Jenny GG Photography. We've decided to wait until the beginning of March to take our photos in the hopes that we'll get some sunshine. Fingers crossed!

A few of the things we definitely know we want for our wedding:

• To get married in Maui sometime between November 2012 and February 2013
• Bare feet
• A very, very miniscule wedding (10 people max)
• I want a short, knee-length wedding dress that isn't white, and that I can feasibly wear again
• A vintage brooch bouquet... with a twist! One of the ways in which I plan to make my extended family and friends feel more included in the wedding revolves around this. I'm going to ask each of them to contribute a vintage flower brooch to the bouquet. 
• Lots of laughs!

Mama CP is coming out for a visit early next month to do some wedding dress shopping, and help me plan things out. Unfortunately, my two closest girlfriends don't live nearby -- CP BFF #1 is in Colorado, and CP BFF #2 is currently stationed in Afghanistan -- so they won't be able to directly take part in the process of picking out a dress. As much as I would love to have them around to try on dresses, there are obvious work-arounds. They're both going to be receiving copious amounts of emails and photos from me. ;)

Beyond that, the rest of this month is going to be spent enjoying the fact that I'm newly engaged. I want to enjoy it before I jump head first into the planning process!

Liebster Blog Award

This post is long overdue! The very beautiful, and overwhelmingly sweet Katha over at Kathastrophal (how cute is that name?!) recently gave me the Liebster Blog Award! Isn't she the sweetest? If you haven't checked out Katha's blog yet, you certainly should. She is absolutely stunning, incredibly sweet, and frequently posts photographs of some of the most delicious looking pastries you have ever clapped eyes on. I've contemplated licking my computer screen. For real. On a theoretically less cringe-inducing note, the award carries with it the requirement that I share with you ten random facts about myself. Here goes!

#1 - I had pet hermit crabs when I was a little girl. I can't for the life of me remember their names, but I used to insist on taking them for walks. I carried them around on the palm of my hand so that they could get fresh air, and enjoy the great outdoors. As I'm sure you can imagine, this didn't always end well. I got pinched a lot.

#2 - I feel really uncomfortable around strangers. I usually mask this by cackling like a hyena, and being overly animated, neither of which help with anyone's discomfort. I end up feeling even more uncomfortable because people (understandably) think I'm slightly unbalanced.

#3 - I once used my lunch money to liberate a rat from my middle school science class. Mr. D was going to feed the poor thing to his snake that afternoon. I thought my mom was going to have a heart attack when I walked up to the car at the end of the day clutching a sad little rat in my hands.

#4 - After two years of working towards a PhD in History, I decided that I was tired of huddling in a corner chewing on my hair, and crying myself to sleep every night, so I made the executive decision to leave Academia. I'm going back to school to earn my teaching credentials so I can teach high school History.

#5 - I'm an appallingly bad cook. I mean, BAD. As in, I almost burnt down the kitchen in my old apartment trying to cook Mr. CP dinner before we started dating.

#6 - In true girly fashion, I'm terrified of spiders. I tend to squeal at a pitch that only dogs can hear whenever I see one.

#7 - I am horribly disorganized. It's sad, actually. I thought about resolving to get better about organization, but I like to be realistic in my New Year's resolutions.

#8 - Mr. CP and I are going to be moving to Colorado sometime this year -- probably in July or September -- and we couldn't be happier about it. We're ready to live some place with sunlight.

#9 - The single greatest sorrow in my life is that Hogwarts isn't real. At least, that's what I'm assuming. Otherwise, I'd be left to assume that I just didn't get an invitation and am, in fact, a muggle, a thought which is too depressing to even contemplate.

#10 - I'm absolutely convinced that Muse's song "Star Light" is about Dr. Who, a belief that Mr. CP finds endlessly hilarious and/or frustrating. He's been trying to convince me for several years that I'm wrong, but my belief is apparently unswerving.

I'm supposed to pass this award on to just one person, but that's impossible. I've limited myself to two people who I haven't given awards to before (that I can remember). Kassi (The Closet Intervention), Sarah (Coming Unstitched): it's your turn!

New Year's Eve!

Dress: Anthropologie

Top: Anthropologie

Belt: Came with another dress

Tights: Hue/Nordstrom Rack

Shoes: Naya/Nordstrom Rack

Bracelet: Vintage

Earrings: Gift/Betsey Johnson

When I put this outfit on, I loved it. BUT seeing it in photographs, I'm left with that "meh" feeling I sometimes get over my outfits. I don't know. I mean, it's fine. It's just not, "WOWSA!" 

Anyway, our New Year's Eve celebration was marvelous! One of our very favorite seafood restaurants sits directly opposite the Space Needle (where they fire off the fireworks), so Mr. CP and I decided to take part in their NYE celebration. Seated next to us was the most adorable French couple I have ever clapped eyes on. They had to be in their 60s, but they were snuggling like teenagers, and boogying like champs. The French man was wearing a cravat. A CRAVAT! If I spoke any French at all, I would have teetered up to him in my heels and announced to him that he was my hero. Unfortunately, the only thing I know how to say in French is, "Je suis un poisson," and somehow I think he would have found it creepy if a strange woman had waltzed up to him and informed him in no uncertain terms that she was a fish. My favorite moment:  watching the French couple dance to the Beegees... right next to us... because I dragged Mr. CP out on the dance floor and made him disco with me. DON'T JUDGE ME, OKAY?! My father used to do an amazing Beegees impression... it was a thing of beauty. But I digress.

p.s. I apologize for my cosmetic-less face and un-curled hair. Light was fading fast in the lead-up to our New Year's Eve celebration, so I (very politely) demanded that Mr. CP follow me outside to take photos. 

What did YOU do for NYE? Happy 2012 (a few days late)!!!!!!! =D

BIG NEWS!

Okay! I know I promised you all that today I would post photos of my New Year's Eve outfit. However, there is something considerably more pressing that needs to be featured on the blog. Before you leap to any conclusions and assume that I finally, at long last, received my letter to Hogwarts, you should know that that is not the news. I'm still waiting for the owls to get their act together. The news I have for you, my friends, is even BETTER!

Want to know what the news is? Just follow (and by follow, I mean click on) the bunny!

Top 5 Outfits from 2011

Mr. CP and I spent a rousing night out on the town last night in celebration of the New Year. I'll be posting my outfit sometime tomorrow, but in the interim I thought I would go ahead and repost my top 5 favorite outfits from 2011! These are in no particular order. =)

p.s. Sorry I've been an absentee blogger for the past two-ish weeks. Things have been a bit hectic. I'm back now, though, and missed the ol' blog so very much.

Outfit #1

Outfit #2

Outfit #3

Outfit #4

 Outfit #5