Wedding ponytail

These days, I keep finding myself drawn to relaxed, low-key weddings. My friends Erica and Patrick got hitched in Jamaica, and she wore a ponytail! Doesn't she look adorable and happy?

(Photos by Anna Robin)

Pretty things

Oh man, I just had my first (or third) pregnancy meltdown. I got super stressed over nothing and called Alex in tears, who was very sweet and thankfully did not write me off as crazy. Pregnancy hormones can really do a number on an otherwise regular person! On a happier note, here are two pretty things I've been thinking about lately...
Recently I've seen a few women wearing simple gold wedding rings by themselves (without engagement rings). I think it's such a chic, beautiful look, don't you?
Also, how pretty are these braids? Perfectly messy and lovely.

(Top photo by Our Labor of Love)

City Hall Wedding

My dear readers, over the next few weeks, I'd love to share a few cool weddings of some friends. First up? Bill and Fanny, who recently tied the knot at New York's City Hall...
"We got married really early in the morning," says Fanny. "I put flowers in my hair; then we picked up Simon (our best friend and witness) and drove our old white Volvo into town, picking up coffees on the way."
"Getting married at City Hall was perfect," she says. "You could feel the tension in the waiting rooms--the expectations and the wedding nerves. It was really nice to share that with the other strangers."
Aren't Fanny's white overalls awesome? "A couple days before the wedding, I was looking for something to wear, and Bill suggested popping into Steven Alan. When I saw the dungarees, I knew they were right. I wanted to be comfortable and low-key. My mother would have cringed, but she was unknowingly going about her day in Sweden."
"After we got married, we called our families," says Fanny. "Then we had brunch at Cafe Cluny and went to a spa. The night was spent with friends at the Jane Hotel bar. It was such a beautiful, magical experience; I was in a daze all day." Huge congratulations, Fanny and Bill!

P.S. Fanny rides a bike, and see their awesome apartment on The Selby.

(Photos by Simon Howell)

City Hall wedding hair

Jess and Mike got married at New York's City Hall, and I love that she just wore her hair down. Beautiful and so relaxed.

(Photos by Heather Waraksa, via Oncewed)

Side braids

Ever since Alexander Wang put them in his Spring 2010 runway show, side braids seem to be everywhere these days. Aren't they gorgeous? It would be such an easy look for summer brunches and bike rides.

Stop looking at me, bangs

Bangs don't look that great on me, but other girls look so cute in them, that I'm finding them very hard to resist.

(Photo credit unknown, via the Thinking Tank)

Messy French bun

My friend C. always wears one of those perfectly messy buns that makes it look like she just rolled out of bed in Montmartre. Here are her step-by-step instructions. (I say we copy her ruthlessly.) xo
Step 1: Make your hair dirty. After showering, you can massage in Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion. Or you can just wash your hair less often and use a dry shampoo to keep your hair from getting greasy.

Step 2: Next, pull together your hair and hold it straight up, like a Lucky Troll Doll.
Step 3: Then twist your hair down to a few inches above the crown.
Step 4: Wrap your hair around itself until it forms a loose bun, right on top of your head.
Step 5: Pin the bun in place with bobby pins. Anywhere from four to eight, depending on how thick your hair is. You want it loose but secure.

Step 6: Finally, pull loose strands of hair from the nape of your neck and around your face to make it look like you’ve worn the bun all day. Voila! The perfect bun!

(Photo by Anna Wolf for Cup of Jo)

Rosebuds

A pretty way to pull back your hair this fall.