This weekend I found that one only needs two things to spice up her reliable old pal (a.k.a. the LBD). A pair of brightly colored pumps and a coordinating clutch instantly update your fave black dress and pack much punch for a night on the town. Easy as 1, 2, 3. Literally: shoes, purse, dress. DONE! Maybe throw on some hoops and a ring for an extra special occasion Check out Clutch and Pumps on Kazowie to see some sexy shoes and their matching clutch counterparts.

A friend of mine just sent out some clever save the date cards for her wedding in November. She and her fiancé used San Francisco postcards and had a stamp made that included their wedding date and website.  I thought it was a great idea and probably a good money saver! She submitted this pic to Daily Candy’s DIY project and won tickets to this weekend’s Maker Faire in San Mateo.

Check out some more Save the Date Cards

Having just created my own registry, and making an ongoing list of possible registry items over the past few weeks, I thought that I’d go through and pick out some registry necessities. Even if you feel like you have everything, you have to remember, now is the time to go for things that you may not normally splurge on for yourselves.

Bed and Bath
Frette linens have the splurge department covered- they are by far the most amazing bed linens I’ve ever slept on. Their famous Frette Hotel Collection is 100% Egyptian cotton, 200 thread count and comes in classic styles. Frette also makes amazing towels in 100% thick and absorbent Turkish cotton.  With your new towels, spice up your bathroom experience with the Yuzu Jasmine Hand Soap and Lotion duo. If you decide to go with Frette linens, you may want to add a little pattern to your bedroom with a graphic patterned Marimekko Lehtimaja duvet cover available at Crate and Barrel. They also have complete matching sets if you want to get pillow shams and sheets.

Kitchen
I am a firm believer in spending a little more for quality kitchen ware. Most quality stainless steel kitchen goods will last nearly a lifetime and you’ll find that they actually make cooking easier. You’ll never regret having a good All-Clad stainless steel, heavy-bottom sauce pan or saute pan- it’s amazing heat conductivity will insure consistent heat disbursement, saving you from charred sauces and the like. A good set of Shun Knives, if sharpened regularly, will last forever. And for the baker in the household, a KitchenAid Mixer will always come in handy. There are so many different attachments for the mixer- you can do anything from making fresh pasta to crushing ice. Don’t forget the NordicWare Bundt Pan. Everyone needs to be able to make bundt cake!

Dining and Entertainment
All entertainers should have some crystal wine glasses on hand. Even if you keep them boxed up for special occasions, they are good to have. My favorite glasses are made by Riedel and come in a set of two. You’ll also need to have a crystal decanter like the one from Schott Zweisel. Crate and Barrel’s Cove Dinnerware and accessories (like the Cove Pitcher), although simple in white or blue, will ensure a sophisticated dining experience while letting the food speak for itself.  To dress up your table top a little more while keeping it simple, grab some interesting tea-light holders like the Pixie Candleholder and the Chilewich Bamboo Placemats that come in a variety of colors and shapes and clean up really easily.

I found most of my these registry must haves at Macy’s, Crate and Barrel, Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma, but there are a ton of great places out there create a gift registry. Drop me a line if you have any must-haves that I’ve missed!

We just created our wedding registry on Kazowie and we both found it to be incredibly easy. We were able to compile items from 3 different stores (Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel and Sur La Table) into one registry, which means that our options are endless- we could choose as many stores as we want! When adding items to a Kazowie wedding registry, I found that all of the regular registry functions are available, like adding quantities for items, but you can also upload your own picture and edit the product’s description and name. I’m happy to be able to have just one web address to inform guests of where gifts can be found and it’s super easy for us to manage. Check it out: Sally and George’s Wedding Registry

With my wedding quickly approaching (where does time actually go?) I’ve begun the long and stressful process of coming up with the overall style of the wedding. Actually, I’ve known for a long time what the style was, the problem is focusing in on the details and bringing the vision to reality. In my search for the ideal reception table centerpieces, I’ve recently come to this important conclusion:

#1- Simpler is better

#2- Nobody is going to remember your centerpiece a year after your wedding.

Of the many (many) weddings that I’ve attended, I can’t remember what one centerpiece looked like. Except for a vague rememberance of a wedding where the centerpiece was so gigantic that no one could see anyone else sitting at the table except the people to there immediate left and right.  Definitely not a good idea if you want your guests to socialize.

I’ve decided that I’m a huge fan of the simple, minimal centerpieces with a single flower-type like these:

The one with the Lilies of the Valley on the left is from Pottery Barn. This is by far my favorite of the three. Simple and elegant, with the stalks of the flower adding some fresh greenery to the table. The tall vase (although a little spendy) can be found at Amazon and is another great example of simple yet interesting. The low bud vases from The Bridal People are something that anyone could whip up themselves and save money (at around $6 each)- just pick up a few dozen of your favorite flower and place the buds in the vase. So pretty!

Check out some more  Wedding Centerpieces- Square and Rectangular Vases and be sure to stay tuned for for more from my Wedding Series!

What do bullets, chicks, and weed have in common?

It’s probably not what you’re thinking. . . I’ve never done this before, but I added almost 50 products to one buyer’s guide on Kazowie today. Once I started, I just couldn’t stop. And you’re going to think I’m weird when you see the particular item that piqued my interest so much. . .

The buyer’s guide is called 47 Cool Ice Cube Trays. Why? Because there are 47 products, the items are all ice cube trays, and they’re all really cool, believe it or not. I never really thought much about investing in uniquely shaped ice cube molds, but if you’re throwing a party or want to spice up your daily cold beverage, this is the way to go. They’ll make an impression. I’ve included the most inexpensive ice trays I could find on my guide because you’re probably going to want to buy more than one tray of a certain shape, especially if you’re serving up drinks for several people. (It would be a shame to run out of dinosaur fossil cubes and have to switch back to REGULAR ice halfway through the party! Tacky.)

And get this: all the silicone trays featured in the guide also double as jello molds, chocolate molds, baking trays, or even butter-shapers (melt, pour, refrigerate)!

I also found these sick Progressive Ice & Slice ice cube trays, which involve putting slices of lemon or lime in the tray’s wells and allowing ice to form around the slices. If you’re as excited as I am about this, click 47 Cool Ice Cube Trays and select View Per Page: 50! That way, you can scroll through and enjoy all these awesome ice trays at a glance. You will not regret this.

Shown (L to R):Pi Symbol Ice Cube Trays, Fossiliced Dinosaur Ice Cube Tray, Fred Cool Jazz Ice Cube Tray, Silicone Alphabet Letter Ice/Bay Tray Set.

So far, the most fun that I’ve had with wedding planning has been picking out our save the date cards. At the beginning stages of planning, you’re allowed to go with something a little more fun that doesn’t necessarily have to match with the rest of the wedding theme. We picked cards that highlight San Francisco to prepare our out-of-towners excited for a fun visit to a great city.

In my week-long search for save the date cards, I came across some real gems. I especially like the cards with the initials of the be-trothed carved into the tree: The Weeping Willow cards come in 4 colors.

Hello Lucky makes some amazing cards that you can get in either digital or letterpress depending on your budget. You can get as simple or as fancy as you like with cards like: (left to right) the Monogram Letterpress cards, the Fancy Feather Cards, or the simple  Meadow Digital Grass and Gravel Card .

I’ve also seen a ton of DIY brides and grooms making their own cards. My favorites are the ones made by Miranda that are posted on Flickr. She even made the envelopes.

Check out some more Save the Date Cards

Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s almost time to think about picking up a few new cute dresses. If I lived in a hot climate, I would live in in dresses ALL THE TIME. Usually, in SF, when I throw on a dress to go out for the day, I end up totally miserable and shivering by 2 in the afternoon. But this fact hasn’t stopped me from buying amazing dresses. I can’t help myself!

By far, my favorite online store for dress shopping is Mod Cloth.  Mostly vintage inspired, the dresses are all totally unique and affordable; the most expensive is less than $200. A lot of the dresses are by Max & Cleo, the formal line of BCBG, who make amazing dresses with interesting silhouettes.

Here’s my faves (from left to right): The Total Betty Dress, The Swiss Miss, The Marlene Dietrich, The Live Concert Dress and The 4th of July Dress. Check out more about these picks and more great dresses- Dresses!!!

Guys have bad hair days too. I wear the same hat to work every day so I no one can see my messy crop of hair. Because I wear a hat so often, I’m very aware of other peoples’ hats, and have, as of late, become obsessed with all the crazy ones that are out there.

Some are crazy in a cool way (to see what I mean, check out the Bay Fitted Hats guide, which features fitted hats that represent the Bay Area, and the Pop Culture Fitted Hats guide, which are for those with very unique tastes), some are crazy in a not-cool-anymore way (see I’m So Cool, I Can Still Wear Trucker Hats guide) and some are just crazy in a crazy way (see Crazy Party Hats guide).

P.s. I love hats.

Pinocchio has got to be the cutest Disney character ever created. Seventy years ago, Pinoc, Geppetto, Jiminy, and the rest of the endearing movie characters made their debut in Walt Disney’s second animated feature, Pinocchio (after Snow White’s debut in 1937). The upcoming March 10th release of the 70^th Anniversary Platinum Edition DVD inspired me to think of a new party theme idea. Decorate your space like Geppetto’s puppet shop with Italian food and red apples, cuckoo clocks, magical Blue Fairy glitter, and plastic Pinoc noses and key chains for everyone! (Or take it to Pleasure Island with amusement park décor, Pin the Tail on the Donkey games, cotton candy, casino games, and candy cigars.)

Either way, if the hostess with the mostess decides to dress the part of darling Pinocchio, she can’t forget a black vest, blue bow tie, and red shorts! And of course, the movie must be playing all night on repeat! Check out my Pinocchio Style Guide on Kazowie.com for more fashion and party ideas!