Engagement Photos: Part Two

Now that you've read about the planning process for our engagement session, and the sweet coffee cup that's now hanging in our kitchen, it's only right to show you some pictures!

It was really hard to pick which photos to share -- I honestly love them all.  Each. And. Every. One.  All 120.  Thank you, Carly! 

In no particular order, here are a few of our favorites --

Outside of a coffee shop.  This photo only took a few rounds of "excuse me, we are trying to take engagement photos, can you please move?" :

This street was gold -- could have stayed all day:

Then we invaded Kingswood, and fully outstayed our welcome.  But, I had serious priorities.  And we were the only customers! 

OMG.  Does it get any more "spring in New York City" than this photo?  Hello, beautiful white flowered tree canopy.  I love you:

Casually hugging in the middle of the street, trying not to get hit by a car.  Typical Saturday:

And then there are the cobblestones.  Who can resist a good cobble?  Not I:

Oh, and this fab door in the meatpacking district?  Don't mind if I we do: 

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Style Queen

This is not my new nickname. I wish it were! Sigh. But, what it is, is a fabulous, affordably-priced jewelry collection!

I should back track -- I was first introduced to Style Queen by my sister. And loved the merchandise ever since. Sometimes a girl needs some nice looking costume jewelry. My first item -- the chain reaction necklace in gold -- is still a staple in my wardrobe. While not solid gold, it sure looks it. I've even been stopped on the street and asked about my necklace. It looks that good. In reality this necklace would be thousands if it were solid gold. But my version was just $48! And no one is the wiser. Domesticated Wolf: 1. New York City: 0. 

Fast forward to today -- here I am, still loving my chain reaction. I just recently wore it on Boo's birthday. I wear it. All. The. Time.  And I'm finding myself attending many events: wedding related or otherwise. And it's the same question every time: What jewelry to wear?  Here's were Style Queen comes in. Affordable and beautiful. Done. And they've recently come out with a bridal line -- appropriate for both brides and wedding guests alike.  Actually, it's good for everyone!  Who says you have to be at a wedding to wear something special?

Jessica at Style Queen was generous enough to send me a few of their new pieces. Cheer! Shout! Rejoice! This was a good day...

All Style Queen purchases come in these beautiful purple boxes:

And each item comes wrapped in a chic black felt pouch:

Let's start with the All Around Earrings.  They are stunners.  Not stunnas...they're too proper for that.  They are very big and very sparkly and very good:

Next up -- The Gina Necklace.  I am really into statement pieces right now.  And this is exactly that!  The green color is so pretty:

This Woven Toggle Bracelet is so gorgeous.  The color...LOVE it!  I took these pictures in different lights -- the bracelet looks great in both!  And, added bonus -- it's easy to put on!  Can't say that about every bracelet:

Don't you just love this big pearl beauty?  It's called the Ceremony Necklace and is part of SQ's bridal line...but would work perfectly for everyone -- not just brides!  Special occasion perfection:

And, perfect timing!  There's a Living Social deal going on right now!  $18 for the bracelet version of my favorite chain reaction necklace in gold.  Scoop it up, now!  

Which piece is your favorite?

xx,
The Future Mrs. Wolf

Dryer Sheets

I was definitely a hoarder in my past life. Like without a doubt, I needed an intervention. I'm sure I only hoarded the finest things though, like avocados, diamonds and silver spray paint. That's the life!

I love to repurpose things. Anything that has potential for another use, really. 

Exhibit A: dryer sheets

I use two in each load of laundry, which means by the end of the week, I have quite a few sheets to throw out.  But not before I use them for other purposes.  This is the certified pre-owned of home care, if you will.  Isn't the term "used" so ugly?

1.  Baseboards -- I've already shared my trick for cleaning baseboards.  And I still do this often.  As in, at least once a week.  Just run the sheets over the baseboards to quickly freshen up.  Literally one sweet and you're done! 

2. General dusting -- Dryer sheets attract dust like nobody's business.  And really, my dust situation isn't anybody's business.  So it's a good match.  I use dryer sheets to dust many a surface from furniture to picture frames to candles.  Have you ever noticed how dusty candles can get if left untouched?  One swipe of a dryer sheet and you're set!

3. Mirror cleaning -- I have an issue with fingerprints on our bathroom mirror. We are lucky to have three very large mirrors covering our vanity cabinets which means they get a lot of action.  As in - which cabinet did I leave the Le Mer in?  I will open each one until I find it. Totally kidding, this is not a problem I currently have. Although I would love to have the problem of misplaced luxury skin products, Le Mer is currently not in my skincare regimen. Back to the important things!  After cleaning a mirror, I occasionally noticed pieces of the towel I used to dry the glass would appear on the mirror. Even, at times, the towels specified for mirror use! No go, folks. But I soldiered on, and discovered dryer sheets work wonders on mirrors -- both in the drying department and the buffing department. If you're a fingerprint-phobe like I am, you surely can understand my excitement when I discovered this trick. Just by running the sheet over the fingerprint, you can turn back time. Not a mark in sight. 

It goes without saying that as an added bonus that since most dryer sheets do not emit all of their heavenly scent in the dryer, your baseboards, picture frames, furniture and mirrors will begin to smell like "fresh rain" or "summer cotton" or in our case, "gardenia". While I'm not suggesting anyone should smell your baseboards, I've yet to meet someone who doesn't enjoy the clean scent. 

Have you ever tried any of these tricks?

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Sunday Snapshots 5/5/13

A few shots from this weekend!

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Saturday

Lots of running around today...and celebrating Boo!  More to come...

Birthday Boo

It's Boo's birthday today!! Happy birthday, Boo!!

We'll be celebrating all weekend -- tonight it's dinner at Marea.    

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

Canopy Launch Party!

Last night was so fun -- we celebrated the launch of Canopy New York (a NYC based company specializing in sun protective clothing) and their kickstarter campaign.  It was the best!  If you missed yesterday's post on this amazing dress brand...you can read it here.

Here are a few pictures from the night --

First and foremost...the dresses!!

And the food!

The apartment was beautiful -- filled with baubles and flowers (my favorites!):

I wore a lovely combination of glitter and leather:

Can't wait for my dresses (and leggings!! and infinity scarf!!)* to arrive from Canopy New York!  Between wedding planning, cooking and DIYing, I really don't have time for sunscreen -- this line is literally my jam.  

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

*These are incentives from their kickstarter campaign.  They can be yours too!

Canopy New York

I just learned that May is Sun Awareness month, and I’m realizing there’s a lot of information to be aware of.  For example, did you know that 20% of Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer over the course of their lifetime?  It’s a sobering statistic.  Awareness of this topic is very important, because most people don’t realize that the sun’s rays can reach your skin through clouds and windows.  That’s why its so important to use sun protection every day – even if it’s overcast, or if you’ll be spending the day in an office.  

But if you’re anything like me, you aren’t excited to wake up and slather your body in sunscreen – it’s tough to blend into your skin, leaves marks on your clothes, and in my opinion, most sunscreens smell like chemicals.  

Luckily, there’s a better option for sun protection – Canopy New York makes clothing from fabrics that block 98% of the sun’s rays – the same level of protection that SPF 50 sunscreen offers.  Aside from the scientific benefits of Canopy’s sun protective clothing, their designs are also incredibly chic – I need to get my hands on a Popover ASAP.  But my favorite feature of the company is that my sister is the founder!

In conjunction with Sun Awareness month, she and her team are running a kickstarter campaign in an effort to raise funds to produce their first collection.  I’m going to celebrate Sun Awareness by ordering the Popover and the T (don't you love the two-tone?!) so that I can keep my skin protected whenever I come in contact with the sun – which I’m realizing is more often than I’d known.

Which design is your favorite?

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf

More Kitchen Updates

If you're following me on Instagram and Twitter, you may have noticed I spent much of Saturday printing our engagement photos at home. We bought a new printer about 6 months ago, and this is the first time I've tried DIY printing. See you never, Duane Reade -- there's a new printer in town. 

Carly is printing four photos for us (one each of 11x14, 8x10, 5x7 and 4x6) but because we have the rights to the pictures, we can print and distribute them as we wish.

Note to brides-to-be: get the rights! Without them you don't technically own the photos (even though they're of your wedding...) and you'll likely have to pay your photographer for every print you'd like. Which, if you're like any bride I know, will be a lot. 

We decided to print a test photo to be sure we knew how to properly insert the paper and use the settings. I am happy to report this could not be easier. And now we're almost fresh out of photo paper because I cannot stop. 

The first photo we chose was taken by Carly during our engagement session. I love coffee (and Boo!), so how perfect to pair them together?  Here's the sweet photo I am gushing about:

So what to do with it? Frame it of course! And hang it in the kitchen! In our coffee nook! Yes!

Here's where we started:

The steps couldn't be easier: we measured the space above the coffee machines and centered the photo between the cabinets. A few bangs of a hammer later, we had ourselves a hook to hang on!  That, my friends, was a wrap. 

Here's where we are now:

Doesn't it look sweet? I love this photo and coincidentally the colors tie in perfectly with the rest of the kitchen: the color of the coffee is almost identical to the cabinets, and the stainless frame picks up the stainless appliances, knobs, canisters, spice jars and soap dispensers.  And it holds a special place in our heart (no pun intended) since it was taken during our engagement session. 

As a refresher, here's what we've done in the kitchen to date:

Coffee station

Spice rack

Soft closures on cabinets 

Soap dispenser upgrades 

What do you think?  Do you like art in the kitchen?  What do you have hanging in yours?

xx,

The Future Mrs. Wolf