Decorating Help: Renters

I totally related to this article I found on the domino mag website this morning..."Decorating for Renters." When you are not allowed to structurally change your living space the obstacles are a little more frustrating when it comes to decorating. Since I will probably be living in such a space a little while longer--I'm going to keep these ideas handy when we move.

1. Finding petite yet attractive bedroom furniture to maximize square footage
2. Kitchen Storage...we have this problem now. The folks at domino have put their silverware in a caddy and have hidden it behind the cute curtain and found a snazzy container for utensils. I'm also loving the exposed shelves with stacked dishes.3. (Another problem we currently have) Nasty laminate kitchen floors. Here they have covered the floors with flor tiles..perfect!
4. An oversized paper lantern to bring a little pop and dimension to the room (I have about 40 of these left over from the wedding!)

5. As a renter, I'm not sure how I feel about this project - but if you could find a small wall to wallpaper--that could really add a visual element to your space
6. Paint--of course (if you are allowed)!

Wiksten: Lovely Colors

[Images via Wiksten]

I've broken down and unpacked my winter clothes -- too bad I don't have any colors like the above in my wardrobe. I love how rich the colors are in this Wiksten line.

300th Post!

[Image by nushuz]

Yay! I've made it to 300--and in honor of my post I am going to have myself a cupcake and go vote early! :-)

Our Rehearsal Dinner Toast

At our rehearsal dinner we wanted to be sure and thank everyone who was near and dear to our hearts but we didn't want to leave anything/anyone out! So we came up with the brilliant idea of creating a video where we can collect all of our thoughts weeks in advance and cleverly express how we feel. To keep a few parts of our wedding intimate I have chose not to play the whole video on the blog but here are a few still shots to give you an idea--we think it was a big hit :)

Curtain Love: UO

Inspiring curtains and patterns from Urban Outfitters.

Studio Makeover: Pink Loves Brown

Nicole from Pink Loves Brown has completely renovated her lovely studio space. Oh how I love pretty organization....and look at that bamboo floor! You can check out more pics on her blog, Making it Lovely.LOOK at the before...major upgrade from the dragon's den![all images by Nicole Balch of Pink Loves Brown]

Sign me up for the not wedding!

Emily of Once Wed posted earlier about the "Tie the NOT" wedding show coming up in a couple of weeks in Atlanta--how intriguing :)
Doesn't this sound fun.."Come party the night away at Opera, the hottest nightclub in Atlanta, as we turn the tables on one of the oldest and most beautifully celebrated rituals of our time - the Wedding...." -Tie the NOT!
You are basically a guest at 5 aesthetically different weddings from start to finish...sounds yummy right? Too bad I'll actually be at a wedding that same weekend, coinky dink :)

Wedding: Parent's Gift

[Images: L-Martha Manning, R-Me]

Remember these? For the wedding, I framed my nest photos and hung them as decoration at the ceremony...Then as a surprise we gave one to each of our parents as a keepsake from the wedding.

Savannah

We spent the weekend in lovely Savannah, Georgia. It was our first trip to the area and although it was fairly short stay for the 5-hour drive (and the weather was not the best) -- we still enjoyed the southern charm and beauty :)I've been accepted into a graduate program for photography at Savannah College of Art & Design..so we went down to check out the school. SCAD has the best set up--I can just see us now living on a tree-lined street, biking to class :) Now we just have to weigh Dustin's job prospects to see if the Savannah or Atlanta campus would be more realistic for our new fam...to be continued..

See ya!

I hate to end the week early (yeah right!) but the hubby and I are headed out first thing Friday morning for a trip down south -- I'll be back Monday with pics to share :)

[Image by Chelsea of {frolic!}] Isn't her blog just grand, always full of beautiful clips :)

joetta maue

Currently loving the work of joetta maue. [image by joetta maue]

I like to bake.

Sometimes I get the sudden urge to be domestic -- and I start to bake :) I'm a fairly picky eater and not much of a cook but for some strange reason I really like to bake. Yesterday I made a two-layer yellow cake with buttercream icing. I'm not sure if I like the final presentation of baking or the fact that I have a nice new kitchenaid mixer ... who knows!

Our own "before & after"

Inspired by our recently upholstered chair, Dustin and I took on a bland footstool to get our feet wet with upholstery. Above is the footstool in it's original form.
We took off the fabric and with the seam ripper, separated all of the fabric pieces so we could have an exact pattern to go by.
By using the original fabric as a pattern we cut our new fabric accordingly and then started sewing. On the above right image, I'm sewing in the edge piping.
After sewing the three pieces together it was time to recover the padding and then staple it in place.
Ta-da! Much, much better :)

Another new addition..

Nope, not me and Dustin...but my brother and his wife just welcomed a little boy to their family not even a week after my wedding. I'm so proud, this is my first nephew :)
I couldn't help but blind the little guy with photos...thank goodness he slept through most of it. They have set him up a very sweet nursery pictured below...ahoy, it's a boy!

Have a great fall weekend!!

Newest Addition

There is an advantage to living close to a major state college - the university surplus: a place where all old university furniture is dumped and resold at a ridiculous discount. So far we've scored a filing cabinet, typewriter table and now our most recent addition...a chair!
We picked up this little (I say little, but no, it would not fit inside our compact car..another story there...) for only $5! With a quick upholstery job while we were gone on our honeymoon, we could not be more satisfied.

I am kicking myself for not taking a before photo. As soon as we got this chair home we had to toss it outside because of it's awful smell. Right when we put it outside the rain came and we had to cover it up. Needless to say the new fabric is a major upgrade.

My New Name :)

My good friend Lauren letterpress printed my first set of stationery with my new name. She printed my name in orange and paired the cards with mr. french patterned paper envelopes...love it :)

What to do next..

Now that the wedding planning has come to an end, I'm at a small crossroads as to where I want to take my blog. I love design, weddings, photography, paper, etc..etc.. and generally choose to post about whatever inspires but I am interested in knowing just a little bit more about what my viewers would like to see. So if you don't mind, would you please feel out this short (I promise it's short and easy:) survey...thank you!

Click here to take a Darling Dexter Survey

Dress Inspiration

[jcrew image in the middle]

Ding, ding, ding! Some of you guessed it, I fell in the love with the Jcrew Daphne wedding gown. But of course, it was discontinued by the time I was ready to buy. Thank goodness though, we ended up creating a significantly less expensive version.
Using the Daphne gown as inspiration, my mom pieced together patterns to create a dress that perfectly fit my body. I opted to use a sheer overlay as the top layer of the dress with a large floral print ... followed by a layer of taffeta for body, and then an attached slip with a cute netted edging. My mom doubled up the patterned fabric on the neck and puffy-sleeves so they were completely sheer yet sturdy. We attached a satin belt to break up the dress ... that snapped in the back with pearl buttons.

I am very happy that we could not get our hands on the Jcrew dress, the process of actually making the dress from scratch allowed me the opportunity to decide on every detail from the buttons to the lining. I highly recommend creating your own dress if you have the resources. For me it was very cost effective and became one of the most special wedding projects that I will never forget.

Bridal Luncheon

I had my bridesmaids and the immediate women in my family over for a bridal luncheon the Friday before the wedding. I set up everything on my mom's screened-in back porch and thankfully the weather was beautiful. I am a little proud of this luncheon because it is what one might call "entertaining on a dime."
I had one table and was able to borrow the other from my father-in-law, so no cost there. The chairs - I rented from a local company for $1.25/each. My white tablecloths were purchased from HomeGoods at $7.99 a piece. We were very lucky with the glass china - the week of the wedding a local thrift shop had a 72-piece set of plates and dessert glasses...each piece costing a whopping $0.50.I found these great doillie placemats from Urban Outfitters that I just lined up in the center of the table as a runner, I believe these were $1.25 each. Also from Urban Outfitters were the hanging stars which I found on sale at $2.00 each. I purchased the flower vases from "The One Spot" at Target for $1.00...and the flowers were free! They were handpicked from my Grandmother's garden. My mom put her sewing skills to use again and edged cheap white cotton fabric to make napkins and I tied them up with a piece of natural raffia. Last but not least, the candleholders were buy one get one free from Kohl's at $7.99 each.
As far as the food...I had my lovely and talented Aunt cater the event. A few home-cooked dishes, grilled cheese, fruit, etc...and it turned out to be a perfect luncheon :-)

We're Married!

I'm back...and married :-) We had a wonderful honeymoon and now I am patiently waiting to get the photos from our big day. I could not have asked for better weather, a sweeter ceremony, or a more exciting reception dance party.

Bridal Portraits & My Dress :)

I can finally show my dress! At the beginning of the wedding dress shopping period I fell in love with the dress that was no longer manufactured :( major bummer. So my mom and I rolled up our sleeves and took on the challenge of recreating the dress of my dreams. From fabric shopping to "rough drafts" she finally got the dress perfect and I couldn't have been happier.
Don't think I didn't venture into a few bridal dress shop, I did...and...it was overwhelming. There were too many to choose from, too many salesperson opinions, and too many strapless dresses that I could not keep my head on straight. I knew from the beginning I wanted a different neckline not only because it was unique but because I NEVER wear strapless things, I'm a more modest gal and coverage makes me comfortable...and on my wedding day I wanted to feel comfortable. Oh and let me not forget to mention that I have fairest skin tone possible...and I hate being cold..so all factors considered, strapless was not for me.
I loved the photos Martha Manning created for me, I thought they captured who I was as an individual and really displayed the love and work that went into creating my dress. I can't wait to see her photos from the wedding!

Wedding Programs

Here are our lovely programs...hand saddle-stitched and all! I decided to go with a small booklet style to keep it cost effective and petite. Besides the different cover pages, my favorite part of the program is my timeline page...I created a brief timeline of our relationship and thought it would give the guests a little something to read while waiting for the ceremony to begin.