Monday, August 29, 2011

The Glass Slipper - Prom & Wedding Dress Rentals

So last month I was in Idaho visiting family and friends for a few days.  While I was there I had a chance to see a couple of my friends from high school and college.  Alicia was my best friend from about 8th grade on.  We pretty much did everything together for many years.  Even though we are both very different in a lot of ways, there is something special about a best friend where your differences compliment each other.  In my opinion, she and her husband Scott are some of the nicest people on the planet. 


bestest friend since age 13 - Alicia

I was surprised to find when I got to Idaho that Alicia and Scott recently decided to open a new business.  I'm very excited for them!  The business is Prom and Wedding dress rentals and is called The Glass Slipper.  It's such a smart idea because girls never want to wear the same dress to prom this year that they wore last year, but with a rental gown, they don't have to purchase the dress, they only have to pay for one use of the dress.  I love the idea! 



Some girls are really sentimental about wedding dresses (or they assume they will be).  But you really won't ever wear your wedding dress again.  It's just going to go into your closet or a box or and take up a ton of space.  You might think it's going to be cool to show your children some day, but as I have found, my kids think my dress looks all 80s-tastic  and weird (it's a little blingy...I gotta admit).  My dress is STILL taking up a ton of space in my closet.  At this point, I don't even know what to do with it.  In retrospect, renting a dress would have been a wonderful option.  And if you're on a tight budget, there is no better way to get a gorgeous dress but pay a fraction of the cost!  (and these days, who isn't on a budget?)

The Glass Slipper solves all these problems! 




I had so much fun visiting Alicia in her shop and seeing the girls who came in to try on dresses.  It was just fun to be surrounded by so many pretty girly gowns.



If you're in Rexburg Idaho and you need a wedding, prom or homecoming dress (or any other special dance or event...she has gorgeous pageant gowns too), The Glass Slipper is your one stop shop where you can get a gown at a fraction of the retail price. 

All the way home from Idaho I kept thinking that I wished there were some place like The Glass Slipper in Phoenix.  My daughter will be attending school dances soon and lots of young girls I know are that age and I know how hard it can be to find age appropriate dresses that are beautiful AND inexpensive. 

And I kept thinking about it.

And an idea was born.  What if I were to open up a Glass Slipper PHOENIX? 

So that's what I've done!  I'm still working on getting stock and hoping to have enough dresses to at least be able to provide cute options for some of the girls I know who will be going to homecoming this fall.  I'll have long and short options for Phoenix girls and in all sizes!  Next I'll focus on wedding gowns and see where it all goes from there.  Eventually I'd love to have a retail space like Alicia does.  Right now I'm using a spare room as a "shop". 



If you're a Rexburg (or Eastern Idaho Upper Valley) girl, please visit The Glass Slipper's facebook page here: 

The Glass Slipper Rexburg Facebook Page

Or go by and visit the store, they are located at 110 E. 1st North




If you're looking for the phoenix version, the facebook page is here:

 The Glass Slipper Phoenix Facebook Page

And the new website is here:

The Glass Slipper Phoenix

I'm so looking forward to working a little in fashion again.  I loved selling dresses a few years ago and I've missed it! 

Please go to the fb pages and website for all the contact info, we'd love to find the perfect dress for you.  We'd also love to hear from you if you have a dress you'd like us to consign or purchase from you.  After all, most of us never wear those dresses again once that special event is over - you might as well clear up the space in your closet and make the dress earn some money for you! 


The Glass Slipper is the place for every girl to feel like a princess! ;)



Friday, August 26, 2011

Mid Century Marvelous

I'm excited to bring you a little house tour of a marvelous mid century home here in Phoenix!

The home belongs to Mason & Chris, and they have done a fantastic job with really cool decor and smart design choices.  I first saw their home last year and I loved it from the minute I walked in the door.  They have fabulous taste and have a home full of awesome vintage finds, cool art & some hand crafted touches that pull it all together to create a wonderful home.

I'm sort of a reverse snob about it, but I so love it when people create a fabulous home in the city from smaller properties and older houses.  I'm just so much more impressed with that than I ever am with a big Mcmansion in the burbs.

Without further ado let's get this tour started:


The minute you walk in the front door this super cool display greets you.  The albums are rotated on occasion to give a slightly different vibe.  The first time I visited the house it was a Pet Shop Boys/80s feel.  At Christmas, it was vintage Christmas albums and right now it's a very "Mad Men" era of delights like Audrey Hepburn on the cover of Henry Mancini's "Breakfast at Tiffany's".  Don't you just love it?

 a lamp rescued from it's fate at a second hand store now has a perfect new home.  


There is so much great texture and rich detail in this room.  I love the instruments on the wall especially, fresh fabulous art work, along with more vintage lighting. 

 

No mid century home would be complete without the quintessential Eames rocker. How much do you love the little tableau on the table, complete with 1950s framed wedding photo of Mason's parents.  Such a great idea!


amping up the cool factor, mesh Bertoia chairs, and the dining room is just beyond



There's lots to love in this room from the vintage bar ware on display, to the fantastic light to the marimekko print.  Also wonderful, is the hand made mosaic below of tiny little comic book cells, done by Mason himself.  (and I always adore the little details, like the mail chute just below the mosaic...I love mine, and I love to see homes that still use their's too many people install a box over the top of the chute!)
 

The kitchen is remodeled just enough to make it highly functional while maintaining architectural integrity. 




Here's a detail in the kitchen I think is genius - this was the area for the built in ironing board, it now houses a vintage salt and pepper collection!

Here's a small thing that maybe only people from Arizona can appreciate - when it's super hot during the day we like to keep our blinds closed to shut out as much heat as possible.  But in an effort to cool the house, we often make our interiors seem drab and dark - one great solution here are two windows in the home - one with a stretched fabric print framed over the space where the window is, and one piece of stain glass that fits the size of the window - both allow in some light, lots of color, add interest to the room, but keep it nice and cool. A great idea worth of copying.  


Even the hallways in the house are really great - these wall light sconces are so mid century awesome!

 

And here's another grat tip - don't be afraid of scale.  Several places in the home have large stretched fabric prints, many times people are afraid of placing large scale art work on their walls, thinking erroneously that a smaller space calls for smaller art.  Not true!  In this hall way the art takes up most of the space, but it really works to make what could be a boring hallway, really interesting. Love it. 

The master bedroom has a great blue - gray wall color and fantasic pops of orange in the art work and the bedding, kept calm by all the black and white accents.  I love how the orange works here, while it maintains a serenity needed in a bedroom.  


And last, but certainly not least, is the really great bedroom they've just finished creating for their soon to be arriving foster children.  Everything about it is caringly crafted to create a feeling of love and warmth.  I adore the blue color chosen as the accent and the Marimekko print is to die for.  So fun, and so lovely for the lucky kids who'll be living here. 






Patsy & I agree, it's all Fabulous Sweetie Darling.  ;)




 Thanks for sharing your home Mason & Chris! 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

I'm kind of a color freak and I may have passed on the gene to my children

Last night my kids wanted to stop at Barnes and Noble and grab a few books.  How happy am I that I have children (well at least 2 out of the 3) who actually look forward to going into a book store.  That's a parenting success in my book. 

My oldest child really wanted some moleskins and Barnes and Noble is one of the easiest places to get them.  He agonized for a reallllllly long time about what color they should be.  Red?  Blue?  Black is classy though.  oooooo look at this lime green...  But does lime green say what I want it to say about me? This process went on for about 15 to 20 minutes before navy blue and red were selected (because it became impossible to narrow it down to just one). 

I stood there watching this, completely absorbed in his logic about colors and I realized, finally, and for the first time "we're kind of color freaks in our house".

Color really really matters to me in a way that is sometimes difficult to explain to other people.  It influences what I wear, how I decorate - yes, probably normal things that color influences for most people.  But it also extends to the notebook I buy, the journal, a child's backpack, a dog collar, my cell phone, basically anything for which I have a choice of color becomes and important and somewhat serious process for me.  And it mostly works that way for my kids too. 

And I've always been like that.  I still remember all my school notebooks were color coded by subject and what color the represent:  Blue is math, Yellow language arts, Green Science, Red history/social studies.  Does this seem as obvious to everyone else as it does to me? 

Every once in a while I meet a person who claims they have no favorite color.  If they don't have a favorite because it's very difficult to pick one - well, that I can sorta  understand.  But if they don't have a favorite color because they claim not to care?  That really bugs me.  How can this be?

Because for me it's not only JUST about the color, it's about finding the perfect shade, the best tone, the greatest hue!  It is a quest I never get bored with...

My favorite color for a very long time has been green.  There is a little bit of green in most of my house.  Even in the rooms which are red or yellow, I will use a pop of green in the rug or a throw or a pillow.  It's the one color I can't really live without.  And I pretty much adore most of the different tones it comes available in, though at the moment, I pretty much love the limes and the kelly greens.

It is the favorite color of at least one of my children too. 

In honor of color freaks everywhere, here are some of the best of my favorite: green


The Kelly's:  






The Limes:


the jades: 

 Emerald

Chartreuse:


apple:

modern hunter:




 Celery:












Do you have a color you can't live without? 

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