We recently went to my (Bangalore) to introduce Bear to my family, do wedding shopping and of course to visit with all our friends and family. We bought all our clothes and jewelry for the wedding as well as all the stuff for the bridal party. I can’t wait to see everyone wearing it all.

Bear and I decided for our Bridal Shoot coming up (with the fabulous Nathan Russell Photography and his incredibly creative wife and my friend, Amy) that we would go ahead and wear our actual wedding and reception outfits. Head to toe. We paid so much for everything and it’s such a waste if we never wear it again…plus the day of will be so hectic we won’t have a chance for fancy pictures. But those won’t be revealed until January. In the meantime, here are some of my favorite experiences in India (getting sick multiple times is NOT included):

Spending time with my loving (and sometimes out of control) family

My talented cousin doing my mehendi

Hanging out with the animals on my dad’s family’s farm

Getting out of the city

The sweet party my parents threw for us

And my absolute favorite was when Gaurav and I bought this motorcycle for my cousins – they are such good kids and work/study so hard and really needed something more efficient than the bus to get around. It was an amazing experience to be able to help them.

This is my second post with the same title and how I wish I could go back in time to the first one and stay there.

Our baby boy, Trigger, passed away on Monday at 8 1/2 months old.

We are in shock and grieving and I don’t really know what to do with myself. I’ve spent hours writing to him and documenting everything so I don’t forget.

I miss him.

My birthday is a couple days away and instead of presents (Bear wanted to get me an espresso machine to support my recent Starbucks addiction…thanks to my recent Gilmore Girls obsession. Thanks Andrea!) I asked for a morning of garage sales and thrifting. We found some amazing things including great clothes, a desk for Bear and children’s books. But my favorite was this beaded tunic (only $8 or so):

Then my parents gave me something in this pretty bag….

It was this pretty bag!

I am so incredibly spoiled. Speaking of beautiful things and being spoiled, here’s my engagement ring:

The sides aren’t diamonds – the four leaves are my birthstone (Aquamarine) and the ends are Bear’s birthstone (Alexandrite). The Alexandrite changes from light to dark green/red depending on the light…just like Bear’s personality. Damn Gemini.

My ring is gorgeous but I wouldn’t ever recommend Brilliant Earth to anyone. Stay tuned for my bitchfest on their horrible customer service and the awful experience we had.

But that’s for another entry. For now, let’s all just enjoy my birthday week.

Whee!

Happy 2011! Hope everyone had a relaxing and happy holiday season…we did lots of family time and movie watching ourselves. We didn’t do presents this year because we got ourselves bikes, then our parents paid for them. But I did get some fun new boots for myself and then a scarf from Mama and Papa Bear:

Sweater, $15, Gap Outlet; Necklace, $1, Estate Sale; Scarf – gift; Jacket, $1, Thrift Store; Jeans, $120, Citizens of Humanity from Dallas Boutique Epic; Boots, $70, Steve Madden on Piperlime; Ring – Unknown

We also attended our last wedding of the year…appropriately on New Year’s Eve. It was a simple and sweet, very personalized event and we had a great time. Congrats to my lovely friends, Kaley & Alan! (Sorry for the bad lighting!):

Dress, $30, Kenneth Cole Outlet; Bangle – Free – Clothing Swap; Rings – $3 – H&M; Shoes – $12 – Nine West

We ended out vacation with my current obsession: making bath bombs! Last night we made Lavender + Green Tea ones in random molds just to try them out:

The result was fragrant and luxurious and left my skin soft for hours. I just ordered a bunch more supplies so I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more of this obsession.

Oh!

This week we start our hunt for a house…with a real, live backyard! We’re buying it for the puppy. Seriously.

Hope this Monday is as painless as it can be! (I myself am battling an allergy attack…at least that’s what I hope it is.)

Lately Bear and I have really taken stock of the people in our lives and come to the conclusion that we truly do prefer quality over quantity. We are putting all our focus and effort into the people who know how to be a true friend.

Luckily, we realized we are blessed with both quantity AND quality. So our gratitude this year revolves around the people in our lives that take care of us, are considerate and we really enjoy being with.

Here are some pictures from our first ever Thanksgiving potluck with the aforementioned friends. A real grown-up, sit-down dinner!

(looks gross but it’s from Greenberg, Oprah recommended it and it was/still is DELISH!)

Speaking of fabulous people, our weekend will be filled with family time, taking Trigger to Bear’s parents house, more leftovers and slowing down to catch up. Hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Our sweet friends just got married in a colorful and shimmery whirlwind. The weekend was full of…

Love

Family

(don’t know where Bear is looking but how handsome are him and his brother?)

Dancing

(that’s his cute momma)

A car bar/ lots of drinking

Fake prom pictures

(yes, we switched men)

A groom on a horse

And of course a lot of outfit changes and fancy jewelry (sorry for the hotel shots!)

BBQ With Friends: For no reason.

I bought this brand-new romper at a garage sale for 50 cents!

My wanna-be Kors watch ($60 from Citizen) that I’ve had for years now.

Fashion Lunch Two Weeks Ago: Have been meeting (almost) weekly with Austin Fashion Bloggers to talk shop. It’s been a blast!

BFF In Town: The lack of pictures is due to the fact that most of the time we were playing drinking games. Isn’t she GORGEOUS??

I’ve been obsessed with this lightweight French Connection dress I got at a resale shop for $1.99!

Friend’s Birthday: Too busy again to take pictures of the events but did get shots of the house they rented for the weekend.

The best part was this shower. there were three different places the water sprayed from and then a separate but included section for the huge bathtub. genus. i must have one.

Fashion Lunch One Week Ago:

D.C. To Visit Cousins: