Victoria's Secret Soft Line.

Here is the inspiration for that color pallet I featured earlier. I was browing Victoria's Secret's newest line and came across their new Secret Soft collection. These would be perfect for a fall or winter honeymoon. Even better? They really are super soft and comfortable. The colors are just gorgeous too. I love all the ruffles, bows and pleats. Here are some more lovely pieces:


They also have a great collection of white wedding night teddies too. Check out their bridal page for more.

Fall Color Pallet

Sometimes I find inspiration in the strangest places (later today I'll show you where this pallet came from). I'm always looking for alternatives to more traditional fall wedding color pallets. This is my new favorite. It's so soft and still very modern. The wine is beautifully balanced by the soft cornflower blue, gray and oatmeal. I think blue thistle would be a perfect with these Jim Hjelm bridesmaid dresses and ivory roses.

Cake Toppers by Miss Avacodo

Lastly here are some of my favorites from Miss Avocado's collection of illustrations. She turned some of her beautiful illustrations into toppers attached to stakes which then are inserted into the cake. She also embellishes them with tissue paper, glitter and other mixed media items. After the wedding these would be so cute in a shadow box or scrapbook. Check out her shop for more info.

Elephant Cake Toppers by Bunny With a Tool Belt

These are some of the most unique toppers I've seen. Handmade by Hilary Pfieifer at Bunny With a Tool Belt these are made of wood and painted with food safe paint. They stand 5 inches tall and are beautifully detailed. I love the bride's little birdcage veil. They also have a number of other equally adorable cake topper sets in their shop.



Wish they had a donkey set I could feature as well. Ooh election season.

Cake Toppers by The Small Object

This next topper is just adorable. They are hand made by Sarah Neuburger at the Small Object on etsy. These wooden clothespin dolls are also fully customizable (see picture and listing for all options). Basic customizable options are hair colors, flower color, suit color and style and ribbon color on the base. I just can't get over how sweet their faces are. They also have a number of pre-made sets.

Two New Sale Alerts

Whenever I see a good sale I try my best to get it up ASAP so no one misses out on it before it's gone. Here are two that were emailed to me this morning.

This first one is a beautiful silk Diane von Furstenberg dress from shopbop.com. Originally $325 and now only $162.50! The aqua and red scheme is so hot right now too. Any bridesmaid would be lucky to have an excuse to but this dress.

This next one is from Nordstrom. This BCBGMAXAZRIA cable cardigan in ivory looks so soft and cozy. Over the right dress at the right fall or early winder wedding it would be the perfect cover-up. Was $178 and is now $88.90. Mmm... wool too.

Back to your regularly scheduled blogging...

Cake Toppers by Goose Grease

Today I'll be featuring my favorite cake topper sets from etsy. There are so many beautiful ones but in my opinion, these are the best of the best.

The first set is by Goose Grease. These darling hand painted wooden toppers are completely custom from the hair to the clothes to the accessories. And they are VERY reasonably priced for a custom cake topper set of this quality. They could work in a very modern wedding or a very crafty wedding. They would be so cute on a shelf or dresser as a keepsake from the big day after the wedding is all over. They also do "child size" wooden dolls. How sweet would it be have children made to add to the family as your family grows.

Fascinators by Pink Tigers Den

I just founds these and I HAD to share! I just couldn't wait. How fun are these beautiful fascinators from Pink Tigers Den on etsy? All of them are custom made for you in the color of your choosing. They have a wide range of sizes (from delicate to very dramatic), styles and price points. All are handmade with care. They are all just gorgeous and and so unique! Here are a few more I loved.




More of her work and her color charts for custom pieces can be found on her website. Have a great weekend everyone!

"Wood" Rings

I love trees and I love jewelry. You may have seen Jared's ring in my post from earlier. His wood and titanium ring is one of my favorite little details. I've noticed a lot of wood and tree inspired rings popping up on etsy . Here are a few of my favorites. The one above is from Robandlean.

This one is from Ash Hilton.

These beauties are from Beth Cyr Jewelry.

Cheeky Rings from MoMA

I was browsing MoMA's online store today for a gift and happened across their jewelry area. For the right bride this ring by Alissia Melka-Teichroew, would be perfect. Just enough sarcasm and irony but still sophisticated and beautifully designed. It also comes in clear and red acrylic.

They also have this one by Kiel Mead, that is made from casts of real strings tied in knots. Could be a lovely promise ring or wedding band even. It reminds me of being a little girl and tying a string around my finger, pretending I had met the man of my dreams, only now it's cast in silver.

(Unity) Candle Holders - One Sale!

I wish we were doing a unity candles just because these are so beautiful (I may purchase them for the heck of it). I found these on sale at Anthropologie for $9.95 and $14.95 for each! Not meant to be a "Unity Candle Set" but they would be gorgeous and would look beautiful in your new home together afterward. The dogwood flowers and tree branches are made from delicate white porcelain a hold a typical size tall thin candle.

Anthropologie Wedding Dresses

I'm currently on the prowl for a dress for our second reception in Ohio. In the most recent catalogue from Anthropologie I ran across these gorgeous white (and ivory, cream, etc.) dresses. They would all be perfect for a lovely garden, seaside or picnic wedding. It's Anthropologie so I'm sure the quality is beautiful in person and the price is way under a bridal salon's prices. Here are a few more of my favorites.

Monogram Letters (On Sale!)

I just had to share these before I got to work tonight! I was browsing Anthropologie's website for future posts and I found these babies on sale! They would be just beautiful on a cake table or reception wall. There aren't many letters left, but if you are lucky you might be able to find yours in there.

The wooden letters used to be $16 a piece and are now $3.95 each! They are made of salvaged wood from railroad tracks and are 7.5" tall. The letters left are B, J, K, M, Q, T, V, X, and Z.

The fabric letters used to be $12 each and are now a mere $1.95 each! Talk about a deal! They are 9" tall and come in assorted colors and patterns. The letters they have left in these are D, F, I, N, O, P, Q, V, X, Y and Z.

Let me know if anyone decides to use these! I'd love to see them in a wedding setting! I'll have more from Anthropologie in coming days, so stay tuned!

Paperiaarre

On the prowl for a guestbook? Look no further. Paperiaarre on etsy has the most beautiful handmade guestbooks I've seen in awhile. We purchased the one above for our wedding and I couldn't be more impressed with the quality. They are flawless and come in the most adorable linen bag (see below). The coptic binding makes them lie nice and flat and the inside of the covers are lined with beautiful paper (a cute surprise when you open them up). She also has lovely little brooches and pouches in her shop that would be great for bridesmaid or mother gifts.

Precious Meshes

Oh my goodness. I am so in love this the jewelry on Precious Meshes' etsy shop. The work is so intricate and beautiful. Pearls are always very bridal but this is a really neat spin on a classic style. I'm dying for that bracelet in gold and the nest in gold with white eggs! The bracelet would look superb with my dress. I think the Nest necklaces would be a fabulous a mother of the bride gift (or how cute for a baby shower gift). It was so hard to just pick a few favorites. There are so many beautiful pieces. Check out their shop for more!

Kate Wilson

Ever since Jared sent me a link to a page of Kate Wilson's little birdies I've been hooked. Her style is unique and her images are so ridiculously cute. Come on. It's a little bird with a cupcake on it's head. Can it get any cuter? She sells prints (which I'm hoping to maybe get as a Christmas present or when I have some extra cash) in her etsy store.

Also check out her blog, little doodles for more of her illustrations.

Rings that coordinate but don't "match".

For our anniversary (which also marks our one year from the wedding date) Jared took me out to find my wedding band. He bought my ring from Jared's Jewelers (yes, Jared "went to Jared's". Ironic, I know) and we returned to find my wedding band to assure they were on the same insurance plan and since we were very happy with their services so far. My engagement ring is not a part of a set and is an unusual setting to begin with so I figured I would just get a simple band with little diamonds and maybe some mil grain to match and leave it at that. When we went in to look I tried on a few plain bands and they just seemed to be lacking that "something". The jeweler asked me to take a look at this band "for the heck of it" and as soon as I saw it I was sold.

I guess what I'm trying to get at is when you start looking for wedding bands don't worry about matching. Look for something that coordinates with your engagement ring and even enhances it. If you don't plan on soldering them together (we are not) make sure the band can also stand on it's own. Unusual pairs can often be the most beautiful.

I really think this also applies when you go to find your future husbands band. Jared doesn't get "excited" about much. But when I found this ring from robandlean on etsy.com he actually was somewhat enthusiastic about it. It certainly doesn't match my set, but together I think there is a certain metaphoric beauty about the way look together reflecting the dynamics of our relationship.

Check out theknot.com's article on selecting your bands for more tips. And perhaps I can get some of my favorite ladies out there to donate some pictures of their unusual sets for a future post.

West Wind Fonts

Don't lie. You know you have a few novelty fonts in your library. I stumbled upon these beauties at West Wind Fonts. These were my three favorites (besides "Little Days" which I had already gotten from dafont.com and use constantly, including in my wedding print items). Free and fun. What could be better.

Hammerpress Invitations

Wow. If I had all the money in the world these would be mine. After a good friend of mine directed me to their site I've been madly in love with the wedding invitations at Hammerpress. Naturally they only do custom work and every set on their website is so different you can tell they really reflect the couple's personal style and relationship. I love the set above on the left. I even used it as the inspiration for the board I created for Style Me Pretty's contest this summer.

Domino: The Book of Decorating

If any of you out there are Domino readers I'm sure you already know. If you are not subscribed to Domino, you should be! Regardless, on October 16th they will be releasing their new book which promises to be loaded with beautiful spaces and killer ideas. The October issue has a little preview and it looks like it's going to be a must-have for me.

Domino readers get a 35% discount at Barnes & Noble's website when they pre-order. Head on over today and reserve your copy!

Klean Kanteens

For my very first post I figured I'd post about my newest obsession. We all need to do our part to rid the world of unnecessary "disposable" plastic bottles. Most are never recycled and end up in landfills where they take 700 years to start decomposing.

As a former fan of my hard plastic water bottle I was so disappointed when the reports of BPA, found in many of these bottles, was linked to many diseases. Then I found these beauties. Klean Kanteens are made of stainless steel and are 100% recyclable, BPA-Free, non-leaching and sustainable. They come in a variety or sizes, colors and top styles (I personally love the moss green 24 oz. with the loop top). They are light weight and with the carrier are even great for my tea this fall.

Who'd have thought I'd fall in love with a water bottle? I really can't say enough about these. Check out there website for more info. Oh... and did I mention they are affordable?

just my facts.

Welcome to the first day of my blogging adventure.

This is just a little place to share all things I find fabulous in a variety of equally fabulous categories. I'll be posting daily about products and projects pertaining to the home, crafting, wedding planning, fashion, art and design and anything hip ladies like myself enjoy.

So why "lu lu belle"? My grandma has nick names for everyone. And since before I can remember she has called me Lindsey Lu Lu Belle, Lu Lu, Lindsey Lu or Lu Lu Belle. When I was younger I hated it. But in recent years it's really grown on me. Eclectic, feminine, soft in it's own way, trendy, lady-like and driven.

A lot will be things from my own everyday. I'm a 21 year old commercial interior design student with a minor in art history and fine arts (I'm a print maker and jewelry artist on the side). I'm also in the middle of planning my August 15th, 2009 wedding in Cannon Beach, Oregon to my very own prince charming, Jared.

So stay tuned! I have lots of lovely things in store.