We have been so busy lately and wanted to let you in on a few of our recent events so scroll away, lovelies!
A few teaser photos from Reb’s wedding! Still anxiously awaiting the lot from J&D Photography but they have given us a few sneak peeks! Bet you can’t tell which ones they took and which ones we did……..
Veuve & something blue are mandatory wedding day staples.
Here are some details from our soiree with Sarah Littlejohn, the designer of Ocie New York.
Sarah gave us a delicious rosè called “Summer In a Bottle” from Woffler Vineyards in New York. As if the bottle were any inclination, this is a great wine.
Last but not least, our selfie with The National RVA and our delish rosè we enjoyed at Rappahannock before the Brandon Flowers concert on Aug. 11. If Brandon tours to a city near you, make sure you take full advantage of the opportunity and go see him. He puts on a helluva show.
This post was promoted by Target. All thoughts & opinions are our own.
We have been living in Target Denim for the past two weeks trying out their new styles that just launched in stores. As long time lovers of all things denim, receiving a package of jeans for free addressed to The Crystal Press made our July. We snapped a diary of pictures to showcase and review each of our favorite styles for you guys. Our package was chock-full of fashionable styles that ranged from boyfriend to high-waisted to skinny to acid washed to flannel lined and beyond! In case you haven’t noticed, the two of our body types are complete opposites and we have different preferences when it comes to denim brands (aka legs vs no legs.) It was a relief to find that Target is a place we can do our denim shopping together!
// Things are about to get crazy for us because we have a very, very special day coming up next week! (drum roll please…) Reb is getting married July 25th at The Homestead. Stay tuned for lots of pictures of us spa-ing, celebrating, and one beautiful bride!
// However, we are not too busy for the most wonderful time of the yeaaaar! The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale! We’ve got our eyes on this fabulous jumpsuit & this TopShop Crop & Midi!
// We came across the Etro Fall 2015 campaign and are beyond thrilled to see Kate Moss, aka the queen, adorning beautiful bohemian threads. We need it all.
// If you are an iced-coffee & Iced-tea addict like us, you must grab one of these Starbucks Cards. Buy 5, get one on the house.
// Everyone knows you need a signature wedding day scent, Rebecca chose this scent from Lanvin and it is the perfect mix of romantic & clean.
Unless this is the first post on The Crystal Press that you have seen, you know that we LOVE Free People. On any given outfit post you are guaranteed to find any range of accessories, intimates and clothes from our favorite boho-boutique. When the Richmond store approached us to be a part of this #FPSummerDays anniversary event, saying that we were excited is an understatement. We had such fun trying out different outfits and most importantly getting our hair done by the lovely stylists from 1213 Hair Studio.
Oh and how could we forget: champagne & cupcakes. It was basically our dream event and these photographs definitely show us in our element – laughing, drinking and showing off some sweet threads. Thanks to all of the free people stylists and especially the store manager, Jamie, for putting together such a fabulous event!
I went to St. John a couple of weeks ago & I am finally getting my photo diary together! I am a lover of all things beach, but I must say in terms of the tropical vacations, St. John takes the cake. Everything in St. John is breath taking: from the food, to the people, to the beaches. St. John is a small island & the closest airport is located on St. Thomas. Do not fret, St. John is just a ferry away. There are two ferry stations in St. Thomas but I recommend ferrying from Red Hook to get to St. John. Red Hook is a longer car ride from the St. Thomas Airport, but it is a much shorter ferry ride to get to St. John. If the weather permits, get a seat on the top deck of the ferry. It is such a treat to see these beautiful islands by boat.
Gosh, it has been a brilliant week for us! Stay tuned for some awesome collaborations coming up and for more on the Free People Richmond #FPSummerDays event (selfie below from the magical evening!) Also below are some of this week’s obsessions. Read on, friends!
// We are still pining over this swimsuit Reb rocked at her bachelorette that we mentioned in our post here. Ever since Blue Crush hit the big screen, we have worn a matching bikini…never. Who doesn’t want to look like Kate Bosworth in or out of character? Anyways, this Victoria’s Secret black mesh swimsuit is the exception of all exceptions from our mismatch-bikinis-only-rule. We are convinced it is flattering on any body type and if you’ve been on the fence about high waisted bottoms, these are the ones to try. The mesh cut-outs are oh-so-slimming.
Not pictured: the bridesmaids chugging beer celebrating the bachelorette, in the classiest way. Definitely pictured:Flash Tats.
// MISTRESSES IS BACK. Yes, those caps are on purpose. Mistresses is in it’s third season on ABC & our ultimate guilty pleasure. Watch this show over a bottle of wine with some girlfriends, and you will never go back. Caution: the male lead, Harry, has the most divine Australian accent and is sexy af.
// We love champagne but we don’t love how you can’t pop bottles by yourself without a. over serving yourself to finish the bottle or b. wasting perfectly good champagne. Everyone knows champagne does not keep its bubbles for long enough. Meet the little contraption that has rocked our world: Le Creuset’s Champagne Resealer. Now, we can pop bottles by ourselves and be responsible with no fear of wasting or overindulging. To our fellow champagne loves, cheers!
// Here is an article on the importance of creating a 10 year vision from Lululemon’s blog. We enjoy exploring all things about vision and goals. Everywhere we look, the importance of both is stressed & this article has an enlightening but simple perspective on the subject. Our favorite line: “If you are just beginning your own journey, Derrick’s advice is straightforward: ‘Start immediately. Don’t consult anyone about the plausibility of the notion, don’t allow for any self-doubt. Just start doing the thing that you want to be doing far down the road, and eventually you will forget that there was ever an alternative.’ “
// Cath found this brilliant elixir – French Rose Linen Spray by Home & Body, Co. and included it in Reb’s bachelorette party lingerie shower gift! Spray some on your freshly clean sheets (or other fancy delicates) and you are sure to feel like you have miraculously been transported to Paris! Oui, s’il vous plait!
This post was promoted by Bud Light Lime. All thoughts and opinions are our own.
Reb is getting married in July, so a bachelorette party has been on our horizon for quite some time. The party finally came to fruition when we hopped on the Palmetto Amtrak to Charleston, SC (aka Chucktown) over a long weekend. Our destination was a beautiful condo in Wild Dunes on Isle of Palms that fit 8 girls and lots of suitcases comfortably, emphasis on the lots of suitcases.
Upon arrival to the island to kick start the party, Reb greeted her bridesmaids with a casual welcome party — including appetizers & adult beverages. After a long day on the train, Reb wanted a no hassle, refreshing solution, so Bud Light Lime® was the drink of choice. Because, who has time to make a margarita after a long train ride when you can just pop open a Bud Light Lime®? In any case, Cath knew this was a sure sign of a promising bachelorette weekend ahead.
This week has been a serious scorcher in Richmond, but luckily we found several distractions from the heat. We have made some fantastic discoveries, hit some excellent happy hours, & explored new parts of our city.
>> We are obsessed with the Tarte LipSurgence Matte Lip tintand have been rocking it in our latest posts! Our favorite colors are Lively & Hope.
>> We had an excellent happy hour experience at Wild Ginger in Midlothian complete with sushi, dumplings & of course, Kirin Ichiban.
>> We fell in love with Parachute bedding. So long college bedding, hello Cloud of Comfort! (their words, our thoughts exactly)
>> There is endless reading to do these days about blogging, branding, and making a presence for yourself etc and we are trying our best to keep up! Right now we have our nose in Leave Your Mark,by Aliza Licht. She kicks some serious butt on so many levels. The best quote worthy advice we’ve read in the book so far is: “If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. Be an educated risk-taker.” Well said, #DKNYPRGIRL.
>> We have been jamming out to the new Hilary Duff album,”Breathe In. Breathe Out” with absolute zero shame.
P.S Check out her acoustic version of “Tattoo” from her album on NYLON’s website here if you want to be left with “major feels.”
>> Speaking of major feels, we have gotten back into journaling. We don’t consider ourselves writers per say but we couldn’t resist reimplementing the habit when we came across this article in TIME magazine by Eric Barker titled “This One Simple Thing Can Make Your Life Much Better.“ Check out Eric’s take on journaling to see how writing can improve…just about everything in life. Here are a couple of our favorite journals: 1 / 2 / 3 and if you want to splurge, 4.
When we discovered that CCH Collection’s Flagship store was right down the street from where we live, we were immediately enthralled. We spent a lovely afternoon in the store trying on basically everything, talking with the collection’s designer, Carter Johnson, and picking out a few pieces to show off on the blog. (It was so hard to choose – everything is so versatile!!) Carter designs the pieces, they are made in NYC and her sister, Alston, works in New York with the sales and production aspect. We love the modern twist on gorgeous, classic pieces and when we asked Carter a few questions, her answers sum up the Collection perfectly. (See Catherine in the Pop Top here!) The Crystal Press: What Inspires You? Carter Johnston: I’m inspired every day by what I see around me… People Walking down the street, themes I see on the runway, pictures I see on Instagram… sometimes even a color story in graffiti on a wall can spark an entire collection!
TCP: What drives you? CJ: I love to create clothing that makes women feel comfortable and stylish at the same time. I always find that when I want to look put together I often cannot find something comfortable enough to wear all day long – or – if it is comfortable, it does not look stylish and sophisticated. Many times pieces I design come from the desire to fill a void in my own wardrobe and I think I represent a lot of working women out there that have children or busy work schedules, where they need to be able to translate what they have on at work or running errands into what they wear to dinner or drinks with friends. I hope that their CCH pieces will fill that niche!!
TCP: How did you know it was time to start your own line? Fears you had to overcome? CJ: I have always collected pieces that I have come across through the years – whether it was a discontinued sample from work that needed a fit revision, vintage pieces found from all over, amazing pieces from my mother or pictures of my Grandmother – I have quietly been creating my collection since as early as I can remember. I usually have the silhouette in my mind and then try to find an amazing fabric to make it in. I have these shapes floating around in my head and once I find the fabric, they come to life!!
TCP: Out of all the cities for CCH to pop up in – why Richmond? CJ: I am from Richmond and have always thought this would be the perfect location for a CCH Store because what we offer suits the lifestyle of many of the women here. Richmond is a stylish city and the women are sophisticated. They want to look put together and effortlessly chic. They do not crave trend… they want to look timeless and elegant!!
[ we could not agree more!! well said! ]
TCP: Who is your muse? CJ: The line is named for my Grandmother as many of the first silhouettes were based on either pieces she wore or a look that she embodied. There are many “vintage” elements in the collection (high waisted pants, feminine blouses etc) but I like to make the silhouettes feel current by tweaking their fit and making them up in fabrics that are conducive to the lifestyle of busy women today.
and a few fun ones to end on —
TCP: What is your favorite song?
CJ: I love “No One’s Gonna Love You More (Than I do)” by Band of Horses
TCP: What is your favorite quote?
CJ: “Fashion must be the most intoxicating release from the banality of the world” – Diana Vreeland
Love the wall of printed instagrams!
They have a variety of pumps to try on with the clothes, in case you are like us and never come prepared!
Make sure you go stop by the Flagship Store on Grove Avenue if you’re local. It is so beautifully curated and Carter is extremely fun, knowledgeable and talented! [ shop online here if you aren’t! ]
Sarah gave us a delicious rosè called “Summer In a Bottle” from Woffler Vineyards in New York. As if the bottle were any inclination, this is a great wine.
// Cath found this brilliant elixir – French Rose Linen Spray by 
The Crystal Press: What Inspires You? 
