And So It Begins

Good Morning, Gorgeous! As I'm sure many of you know, my amazing man and I recently got engaged. We both appreciated all your kind words of congratulations, and also enjoyed seeing how excited you all were to be in the loop when it comes to planning! Happily, the process is officially beginning today with our first visit to a potential wedding venue! I plan to take plenty of photos to share with you all, but for now, I thought I would show you some of the wedding ideas I've come across that I absolutely adore!

*Photos found on the knot.com, pinterest.com, & etsy.com

Contrasting a rustic setting with glamorous accents.

Favors that people can actually use.

Something for the guys (plus, my honey is a cigar lover)

A special hanger for my special dress (available here).

Simple but chic lighting accents.

So what do you ladies think of these ideas? Do you have any suggestions? As this journey continues, I hope to get lots of input from you all! Have a fabulous weekend!

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Guest Post on The Wear To Go Girls

Good Morning, Beautiful! Today I have a guest post featured on The Wear To Go Girls! I was so thrilled when Mel & Jamie asked me to write something about my favorite place to visit in Chicago, and knew exactly where to "take them!" To find out where I love to go and see what I wore for the occasion, click here!


Also, don't forget to enter my new giveaway! You could win your choice of any single bracelet or necklace from my Etsy shop! I hope you have a fabulous day! The weekend is almost here!

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Tara Lane Designs Esty Store Giveaway!

This giveaway has ended. See the Giveaways page for a list of current giveaways.

Hello Gorgeous! To celebrate the grand opening of my Etsy shop, Tara Lane Designs, I am offering one lucky reader their choice of any single bracelet or necklace from my shop! Here are some of my current handmade creations you can choose from:

Woven Chain & Chevron Combo Friendship Bracelet

Silver Tone Charm Necklace

Braided Stitch Friendship Bracelet

How to Enter:

This giveaway ends Wednesday, August 10th at 11:59pm CST.  Open to all followers (international).

*Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

Mandatory Entry- Publicly follow Haute Lunch via Google Friend Connect (see sidebar to follow) and visit my Etsy Shop, Tara Lane Designs. Leave a comment telling me which item you would choose if you won.

Additional Entries-

• Follow Haute Lunch on Twitter and  tweet the following: "Enter to win your choice of handmade jewelry by Tara Lane Designs via @haute_lunch! http://bit.ly/pY7KPd #etsy #giveaway! " - leave a link to your tweet in your comment (1 entry).
• Add Tara Lane Designs to your "Favorite Shops" on Etsy and leave a comment telling me you did so along with your Etsy user name (1 entry).
• Like Haute Lunch on Facebook and leave your user name in your comment (1 entry).

Rules: Only one of each entry method listed per person/family/household. No entering on behalf of others, using extra identities or others identities, no automated program entries, etc. This giveaway is only open internationally, ages 18+. All entries must be received by 11:59 pm Central Time on Wednesday, August 10, 2011. Winning entry will be chosen using random.org and winner will be contacted via email.  Winner will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If no response, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

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Awards Galore!

Good Morning, Gorgeous! The lovely Nancy-Lee of FashioCHICsta has graciously given me a plethora of blog awards including the Kreativ Blogger Award, the Versatile Blogger Award, One Lovely Blog Award, and the Stylish Blogger Award! Thank's so much to Nancy-Lee, and be sure to check out her fabulous blog!

As part of these awards, I'm supposed to tell you seven fun facts about myself and forward the award to other deserving bloggers. Since I can't think of seven different facts for each of the awards, I'm going to take the easy way out and give you one list of facts for them all. :)

1. I take longer to go grocery shopping than clothes shopping! I blame it on the wide variety of options for the same item (curse you, bread aisle)!
2. I love that my fiance sends me random pictures of cute animals throughout the day because he thinks they will make me smile.
3. Sometimes when my cat Noodle is sleeping, we pretend we're having a photo shoot for stuffonmycat.com and see who can put the most things on her without her waking up (don't worry, it's only very light, non-dangerous things...like socks)! :)
4. I can't get enough of Mario's Italian Lemonade (e.g. the best Italian lemonade/ice in Chicago) in in the summer. It's always a favorite place to go when taking a break from school work!
5. I am so excited about my new Etsy shop that I keep checking it every other hour to see if I have any messages, or even better, sales!
6. We get to take our first visit to a possible wedding venue this weekend! I will do my best to take photos for you all to see!
7. Due to the extreme heat as of late, my beautiful plants on my balcony (see this post) are really struggling. :( Hopefully they can make it through another week of heat!

Also, instead of picking seven blogs for each of these awards, I'm just going to award my entire "favorite blogs" list, which includes:

All Swamped in Flowers - Archives Vintage - Audrey Allure - The Average Girl's Guide - Bijou & Boheme - Blonde Bedhead - Bon Bon Rose Girls - Cake Wrecks - CC Loves... - Chic 'n Cheap Living - Chicago Quirk - Chicago Street Style - ChiTown Fashionista - Couture Carrie - Curly in the City - Curvatude - Defining Tabitha - Defying My Closet - The Embellished Life - The Fabulous Life of the Not-So-Rich & Infamous - FashionCHICsta - Feather Factor - Fierce | Fabulous | Fit - Glam Kitten's Litter Box - I Look Good Today - Modanista Junkie - Ms. Eggplant's Chronicles - Oh To Be a Muse - Peppermint Lips - Pink Beauty Bliss - Real Girl Glam - Red Lip Gloss -  Sartoriography - Scribble from Emily - Selective Potential - Smart n Snazzy - Teresa: Life & Style - This Free Bird - Thriftaholic - Tick Tock Vintage

I hope you all have a great day! Thanks again to Nancy-Lee for all these fun awards!

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Weekly Preview: Upcoming Sales on Beauty & Fashion

Hello Gorgeous! How was your weekend? As you may have noticed, I was busy putting together my new Etsy shop, among other things! I hope you are all caught up on your beauty sleep, because another week is about to begin. If you find yourself suffering a case of the Monday's tomorrow, just take a look through these fabulous sales to cheer you up!

Monday, July 25th:

Featured Sale: 

Banana Republic Mad Men Collection - 11:00am CST on Gilt Groupe

UGG Australia - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Da-Nang Blowout - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Pur Minerals Cosmetics - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Report Signature Footwear - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Taryn Rose - 10:00am CST on RueLaLa

Voom by Joy Han - 8:00am CST on 

Swirl

Michael Kors - 10:00am CST on Beyond the Rack

Kensie Girl - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

Adrienne Vittadini Apparel & Shoes - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

Tuesday, June 26th:

Featured Sale: M Missoni - 10:00am CST on RueLaLa

All Saints Apparel & Shoes - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Hugo Boss Fragrances - 10:00am CST on Biva

MICHAEL Michael Kors - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

Cosabella 

- 11:00am CST on MyHabit

Chocolat Blu 

- 11:00am CST on MyHabit

Yochi Designs - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

Tahari Outerwear - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

Wednesday, June 27th:

Featured Sale: 

Charlotte Ronson Shoes 

- 11:00am CST on MyHabit

Donald J Pliner - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

BB Dakota - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Joe's Jeans - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

7 For All Mankind- 10:00am CST on RueLaLa

Jean Paul Gaultier Fragrances - 10:00am CST on Biva

Esprit - 10:00am CST on Beyond the Rack

Andrew Marc - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

BCBGeneration Accessories - 11:00am CST on Ideeli

Thursday, June 28th:

Featured Sale: Furla Handbags - 10:00am CST on RueLaLa

Gypsy 05 - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Alfred Sung Fragrances - 10:00am CST on Biva

Puma Footwear 

- 11:00am CST on MyHabit

Friday, June 29th:

Featured Sale: Fusion Beauty - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Decadestwo.1 Designer Shoes - 10:00am CST on HauteLook

Magaschoni 

- 11:00am CST on MyHabit

Which sales are you most looking forward to? Personally, I'm pretty excited about seeing the Mad Men Collection from Banana Republic on Gilt tomorrow! Hope you all have a fabulous week, and happy shopping!

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