when james and i were planning a little getaway for last thanksgiving, we turned to katie to help with our plans. we told her what we were looking to spend, and the type of vacation we wanted. she gave us some different options, from the mexican riviera, a cruise, and jamaica. ultimately…we decided to book a week in negril, jamaica at the grand pineapple resort. thanks to katie, we didn’t have to worry about any of the planning details! we were able to focus on just enjoying ourselves!

here are some of my favorite things about our trip…
- awesome all-inclusive resort right on seven mile beach
- relaxing on the beach, red stripe in hand
- spending the day at rick’s cafe, watching the crazy divers and best sunset ever!
- smokey joe’s jerk chicken cart…mmm mmm!
- learning to shake it “dancehall” style at the jungle nightclub
- our amazing day-trip complete with learning about the different parishes, eating fresh coconut from a roadside vendor, peaceful trip on a bamboo raft down the martha brae river, lunch & dominoes with the locals, and night swimming in the luminous lagoon (where the water glows because of the bioluminescence)
- byron…the bestest driver ever
- lots of wonderful firsts for james and me, snorkeling in the reefs and ziplining through the forests
- meeting awesome fellow travelers from wales, london, new york, and italy
- the multitude of jamaicans we met that made us feel like family! (ya mon!)
- more red stripe…lots of it!
- that katie did the planning!
- and most of all…that i got to spend a whole week in paradise with my smokin’ hot husband! (life doesn’t get much better!)

here are just some of the 2,029 photos that we shot during the trip! just looking at these is making me want to go back right now…especially since as i right this, it’s 46 degrees here and 75 degrees there. i better call katie with ever after honeymoons to plan another trip for us!

to j, i never knew that our wedding day would be the start of many “happiest days of my life”, and i am so blessed to share them all with you! i love you more than you know…

our photo below is by the ever fabulous hystudio!

for those that have been following me for a while, you know how long i have been dying to redesign my site! well, after much design back & forth with james (my husband/assistant/web developer guru) i decided to scratch what we were working on and start fresh. after all, i’m a big girl and know best what i want, and james has way too many things on his plate to work with my ever changing mind. better to save his sanity! haha!

with my website i wanted to have the same aesthetic as i designed in my blog, but just a bit more streamlined…so you will notice that the smw butterfly was phased out for the website. of course i still love a clean white palette with a splash of my signature teal blue, so that was a serious must. my site also had to showcase the beauty & love of some recent couples that i have been so blessed to work with!

for those of you out there looking to redesign your site, let me just say that i am beyond stoked with creative motion designs! they allowed me to take control and customize my site out the way i wanted. not to mention, they have the best customer service & development team ever; always so quick to answer my endless questions and make sure my site was nothing short of perfect. thanks to mike, peter, and morgan…you guys rock!

so there you have it…my little website fabulousness for this week.

i am completely in love with it, and hope you love it just as much!

since i can’t drink eggnog everyday, i wouldn’t mind taking a bath in it everyday! what…you say?! yup, philosophy makes a decadent smelling
eggnog bubble bath that you can soak in. just don’t go pouring alcohol in the tub!

but alas, i cannot help but love this flirty necklace! imagine how awesome this would look for a wedding!

as cute little favors for the girls, i gave them a mix of aqua, amethyst, and gold bangles to wear for the party. bangles are always super fun to dress up an outfit, but my favorite indian inspired jewelry is by amrita singh. she has such a fabulous twist on traditional indian jewelry…like mixing jeweled and wood bangles. i also love that she has no shortage of turquoise colored pieces (of course!). i am so loving this bridgehampton cuff bracelet below. (maybe to go with my dream saree?)

oh yeah, i could seriously live on wine and cheese for the rest of my life! my problem is that i don’t know much about pairing wine and cheeses together. so to educate my tastebuds, i must get this cheese and wine guide by janet fletcher. yummy yummyness!

what’s new on my “must get list” from ruche? this awesome geek-chic necklace! this way i can still rock the glasses, even when i am wearing contacts. super cool!