My Wedding Dress Nightmare.

I admit that I am one of those gals who has been dreaming of my wedding since I was little. The dress was always a big part of the dream, I pictured myself looking like this, this or like this:

1 | 2 |  3

But the day Jason and I got engaged I knew that finding my dream dress wasn't gonna be so easy.  What I didn't know was that as a pregnant, size-14 vintage-clothing-lover on a budget it would be damn near impossible.

Now, please allow me to rant for just a minute.

First off, what designer genius decided that bridal gown sizes should be two sizes larger than 'street' sizes, so that if you normally wear a size 14 all of the sudden you wear an 18? Yikes. Talk about makin' a gal feel insecure.

Second of all, why doesn't someone make a line of stretchy wedding gowns? Ever hear of silk jersey and stretch-lace, people? I think there could be a fortune to be had-- I mean, look at the popularity of stretch pants and jeggings? Women like to be comfortable, yes? Yes!

Third of all, and I'm just keeping it real here, there are a lot of big ladies here in the US. In fact, when I'm out on the streets I see plenty of gals who are much, much larger than me--and a lot of us have good  GREAT taste and I'm wondering why we should be subject to a shitty selection of ugly dresses on a marginalized portion of an already mediocre wedding dress website? Can you tell I'm frustrated?

After giving up totally on finding my dream vintage Mexican wedding dress (or any vintage wedding dress for that matter) that fit me, I--even just for the experience of trying on 'real' gowns--went to David's Bridal.
Gulp. Talk about depressing. They have a 'plus size' section and I could barely even fit into any of those dresses, that, quite frankly, were totally not 'me' anyway. I looked like a caramelized marshmallow in most of them, not exactly the look I'm going for.

So I got home that night as had pretty much resigned myself to getting a dress at JCrew.

God bless J Crew, they go up to size 20 (Dear BHLDN, why don't you follow suit?) And as much as I like J Crew and have shopped there for the past 20 years, literally, I never thought that I'd have a JCrew wedding dress-- and not because they're not pretty-- they are but for someone as eccentric and crazy as I am the designs are pretty sober, especially the two dresses that come in the larger sizes that have empire waists--and therefor room for my growing belly. So, I left the J Crew windows on the computer open as I continued to search for other possibilities. I decided to use the search term 'Caftan' and finally, at shop called Thrifted and Modern,  I found a dress that I thought we be 'the one'.

Giddy, I began to text my bridesmaids and they all agreed that it was perfect--I ordered the dress. Done and done. Or so I thought. When the dress finally arrived two weeks later (due to a comedy of errors) I put on the dress and looked like a humerus combo of a hippie judge, a crazy old lady in a shmata and a gospel singer--and while I've got mad respect for all three of those types of ladies, it wasn't the look I was going for our wedding.

So my search continued until I decided that I just wasn't going to find my dream dress, I would have to make it. So this past weekend I got out my sewing machines--admittedly they hadn't been out in a while--and I went downtown to the fashion disctrict and bought a bunch of lace and I made a dress-- and dress that looked kinda great on my size 6 mannequin.

Only when I tried it on, I looked like a pregnant, drunk, flapper--not exactly the look I was going for either. Feeling more annoyed than ever I began to trim small pieces off of the dress in attempts to make it look better, until the whole damned thing ended up in shreds. Yikes. You can laugh. It's OK. I was laughing too thorough all of this, admittedly it's that kind of crazy laughter that's borderline crying--but laughter none-the-less.

So Sunday as I am recounting this whole nightmare to one of my BFF's and she suggests that I have her mom, (who is an amazing designer and seamstress) make the dress for me--something I didn't think that I had neither the time nor the budget for.  She and I now have an appointment on Friday, so keep your fingers crossed for me and let's hope that I don't show up stark naked to my wedding, and that this nightmare ends with a really happy fairly-tale ending, K?

Anthology Magazine gets all Jungalow

When the lovely Meg Mateo Ilasco, Creative Director of Anthology Magazine approached me about photographing the Jungalow, I'm pretty sure my heart visibly jumped a little bit out of my chest. Anthology is one of my very favorite print magazines and the aesthetic, voice and feel is right up my handmade/thrifty/worldly ally. Issue number 6 debuted last week it was SO much fun to see and read the article (written by editor in chief Anh-Minh Le - who is really f-cking cool BTW) about our little crazy abode. (Not to mention all of the other great home features, DIY projects, adorable graphics etc...)

When Teri Lyn Fisher (photographer) and Britni Wood (stylist) came over one sunny morning this past fall to shoot the Jungalow, I really wasn't too sure what to expect. I am so used to doing everything on my own--from styling to picture taking etc. that it was at once frightening and exhilarating to have other (albeit super-talented) folks capture my home in the way that they saw it.
Ultimately, everything about the piece--from the written word, to the photos and the styling--does an amazingly good job of telling my story. I am so happy, grateful and honored to be a part of this publication. If you aren't familiar with Anthology Magazine, check out their site, and then pick or a subscription or snag a copy at West Elm or Anthropologie.

For additional images, please check out this post on the Anthology blog.

We belong together.

Something about that room--and something about her gaze (not to mention the impeccable styling in both images, and the matching mood and colors) made me feel like they belonged together.
 --
Now that Friday is here I almost instinctively get that 'TGIF' feeling even though, truth be told, as a self-employed person there is very little difference between a weekday and a weekend for me--for better and for worse. Sometimes my weekends are more jam-packed with client meetings and deadlines than my weekdays (not that I'm complaining). But I also do know how it feels to work a full time job and for Friday to roll around--it's that feeling of some finally 'me' time that is oh so necessary, even if the time is used just to do laundry, pay bills and catch up on zzzz's, it's still like--the best thing ever. 

So weather for you it's a weekend for you full of family time and fun, tax prep and errands or creative project time--I hope that you find it relaxing and rewarding, peaceful and indulgent. I'm going to see I if I can't find the perfect wedding dress this weekend. Wish me luck.

Image Sources:  1 + 2

$12 Wedding Decor

I'm continuing to do little trials at home for DIY wedding decor ideas (thanks for all of your kind insights about it yesterday, BTW--super helpful-- I promise not to take on *too* much) but I ordered some streamers in my marigold/yellow/gray shades as well as some paper lanterns and LED lights.  There are several areas that I plan to decorate like this. Kinda smitten-- and best of all-- this whole plan fits REALLY nicely into ma budget. Oh and I put yesterday's boutonnieres into last year's painted beakers and they look pretty effing cute. Happy Thursdsay y'all!!

billy balls, boutonnieres and belly bumps...

Yikes. Sorry about no post yesterday. I've had headaches for the past couple of days (apparently, fluctuating hormone levels in pregnancy can cause them) and so I took a computer-free day, hoping that this might calm the throbbing. I am feeling a bit better this morning but I have a new-found empathy for people who get migraines--no fun at all. On my computer-free day, one of the things that I did was try out a few DIY ideas for the wedding. Above are the boutonnieres that I fashioned from plants in my yard, washi tape and a couple of Crespedia Billy Balls. I think they came out quite nicely. Trying to figure out now which stuff to hire-out for the wedding and which stuff to DIY--tough decisions as fleeting time, pregnancy and 100000 ideas occupy my mind. We'll see!
Did any of you all have to figure out how much to 'DIY' and how much to 'buy' for your wedding? What did you decide?

I hope you all are having a good, headache-free week (both literally and metaphorically!) Until tomorrow,
~Justina

The Multi-Talented Shutter

In the Compai Boutique that Faith and I had in Italy, we used old shutters and up-side-down drawers as shelves to display objet d'art and folded clothes. I loved the look of the old shutter then and I love it now. Shutters are very easy to find at salvage yards and can sometimes be found on the streets tossed away as rubbish. There are so many versatile ways to use them in design. How spectacular is that shutter wall? Wow!

Image Sources:
Shutter Console Table
Shutter Fence
Shutter Side Table
Shutter Headboard
Shutter Wall
Shutter Book Storage

How to add personality into your home

The word Person comes from the Latin word Persona, which means 'mask'--so it seems that a gallery of masks is a natural way to add personality into a living space. I have spent the last year collecting these masks and this weekend I finally felt like I had enough to create a little statement gallery in our bedroom. I added two little lion dolls I picked up in Mexico last year as well as a (Peruvian?) hat that I sometimes wear but use also use as decor, and included an East African necklace made from old records. This international cluster of personalities really does inject a fun, lively and even humorous touch to the bedroom that I love. How do you add personality into your home?

FRIDAY FAVES

Happy Friday!

1. SUNO  2. ANTHRO  3. OLSEN HOUSE 4. KILIM ($350)  5. KIFF SLEMMONS   6. CB2
7.SNOW LEOPARD

Gardinspire

It's starting to feel like Springtime in LA already, which makes me feel gardinspired.

1. Bohemian Garden Retreat
2. Green Bench with pompom pillows, originally from Plumo 
3. Peacock Chaired Patio
4. Moroccan Patio
5. Tropical Patio

5 ideas to pump up color + cut down cost

I'm really enjoying the challenge of designing a wedding for 200 guests on a pretty serious budget. It's kinda like decorating my apartment, only I don't really have any idea what I'm doing. That having been said-- I've come across a few great ideas that I hope to implement to pump up the color, and cut down on cost during the fête--hopefully, you'll find them inspiring as well. 

1.) Firstly, I am already saving glass bottles for the centerpieces. I want each centerpiece to be a cluster of different bottles filled with a few wild and colorful flowers. I may even tie the cluster together with twine, or add guests' names to the bottles as 'place cards' or even dip dye or spray paint them....we'll see. This will save on vase costs big time and save the florist cash for the bouquets and boutonnieres.

2.) Next up-- I love the idea of including fruit on the centerpieces. It adds a rustic charm and helps the pieces to look full-- plus I have a very fruitful lemon tree in my backyard, so that helps.

3.) How pretty is this dip dyed table cloth? I think dyeing some inexpensive muslin fabric might be just the ticket to avoid the trite white rentals...

4.) I'm plan to get a less expensive, more simple dress and pump up the glitz, glam and color with awesome excessories that I will wear again once the wedding is over.

5.) I love how these chairs are dressed up with ribbons--a little, easy touch, cheap that adds a festive flair to what could be boring rental chairs.

Image sources: Bottles |  Fruity Centerpiece |  Dip Dye | Earrings | Ribbons on Chairs (via)