Dinner for 11

I'm having my first real dinner party tonight! Ten relatives and close friends from around the neighborhood will be joining me for barbecue chicken, homemade mac and cheese, York county tomato salad (a la Kate), and drinks. I'll be sure to put up pictures of the result!

Pray for me. This could be a total disaster. 

xoxo

Wedding Bells

If only this  were my closet-- my life would be so much easier! 

You see, I'm going to wedding in a few weeks and I'm very stressed about finding the perfect dress for the event! It's before labor day, at dusk, in Mississippi. AKA hotter than anything else you've ever experienced. So, I've tried to keep that in mind in my choices. So far, these are my faves:

Milly, from shopbop. I love how summery it is! But maybe too short....

My BFF Marc always gets it right, but that neckline might be weird on me.

I LOVE this one (Diane vonFurstenburg) but could it be too hot with those sleeves? Although the skirt length might make up for it.

And then this is my number one:

look at the back!

I really love to be different, and this dress is so unique! And summery. And wouldn't it look so retro-chic with the new bangs I'm going to have?!

The only thing I'm sure of is that these shoes would go with all options, and therefore I really neeeeed them:

first three dresses from here.

last dress and shoes from here.

A Hair Brained Idea

I've been having serious hair issues lately. It's long, wavy, dried out, and feels like a winter coat in the Fresno heat. 

So, I'm going to make a change. I love having long hair, so I don't want to go pixie or anything else extreme, but I really would something a little different-- I've had the same haircut for a century!

I'm very intrigued by the idea of having bangs like these lovely ladies:

Jane Birkin. I would need to invest in a nice straightener to get the full effect, but I wouldn't mind! 

Zooey Deschanel! Ah, swoon. She wears them straight-across and to the side. But I don't know if mine would curl like hers....perhaps too much work to maintain this look? God knows I'm lazy...

Ok, Selma Blair, you just stop that! Doesn't she look tres Parisienne chic?? As of right now, this look is the front-runner.

And then the non-bang looks....very free-flowing...

Italian fashionista Margherita Missoni, one of my style icons, wears hers long long long and waaaavy! I'd like to think this is what mine will look like with a trim and some tlc. I wish.

Mary-Kate (on the left) has boho-chic just right. Maybe I should get a few inches off and wear my curly like her??

I am in desperate need of help!! Any suggestions? 

all images from style.com and google

What a Deal!

After a fun afternoon of babysitting (aka getting play-doh put all over my face and then my iphone stolen so I could be photographed with play-doh all over my face), I headed over to the J. Crew in Fig Garden Village for a little shopping and they have the most amazing sale going on!

You literally get  an extra 30% off sale items whose prices end in $.99. I got these jeans for under $15!!

Hurry over there quick!

Quarter-Life Crisis

sartorialist

I'm having a minor (major) freak out about my current stage in life. On the eve of my graduation, I feel a bit like Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. 

"What are you doing with your life?" seems to be the question to ask me these days. And I honestly don't know. 

How do I combine my skills, education and talents into the perfect career for me? Do I go back to school to avoid the worst of the recession? Do I stick it out and follow my heart towards a creative career and cross my fingers that I'll be able to eat without living in a paper box?

I'm in desperate need of advice. Or a job. Whatever you want to give me, feel free!

Les Femmes

I know that it didn't get the greatest reviews, but when I saw that The Women was on HBO this morning I couldn't have been happier!

I love all of the outfits, the houses, and I think it's hilarious! Not to mention the all-female cast. 

What could be better??

Just finished the Eva Mendes lingerie scene. I can hear the gym calling....

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Stella and Dot Trunk Show

My dear Catalina sister and sweet friend Katie Fruzynski is a Stella and Dot jewelry stylist. I check up on her blog all the time and spotted her fall line pics and knew I wanted to host a trunk show! Lucky for me, we've figured out a way to host a virtual trunk show here! 

All of their stuff is amahhhhzing, and it's so simple. Just go to www.stelladot.com/katiefru and in the upper right-hand corner click "can't make it to the trunk show, find your hostess" and enter 

Cece Fourchy. It's going to last for two weeks, so you've all got plenty of time! 

There's a great return policy too, although I don't see why you'd have a problem with any of these fabulous jewels!

If you have any questions, please contact Katie at katie.fruzynski@gmail.com, or shoot me an email and I'll pass it along. 

ALSO major bonus....anyone who buys something is entered to win the Stella Vintage Link Bracelet. 

So chic, I'm dying.

Happy Shopping!!

xoxo

A Rose is a Rose...

Charlotte Moss has these beautiful pictures and tons more under the section of her website called "C'est Inspire", and it inspired me to go out in the garden and pick some of my mother's roses! I put them in an old sugar jar.

Just a little something to brighten up my nightstand. What's your favorite flower?

Love Bunnies

How sweet is this little print from The Love Shop? I'm thinking about ordering it for a little pick me up! Happy Tuesday!

Californication

So, in a quick turn of events, I'm back home in California for a while. I won't be heading South again for a few weeks, so my posts will be westward-oriented. 

I've only been here for three days, but I've already done so much! Sometimes I forget how big my home state is.

Mom and I went to the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay and pretended to be prospective guests.

Before that we ate oysters for my sister's 24th at Waterbar in San Francisco.

Then we came back to Fresno for fabric shopping and playing with doggies.

And now I'm blogging from this makeshift desk situation in the middle of my kitchen at home:

So that's the current update. I'm not such a Mississippi Maven at the moment. More posts/updates to come....

xoxo

Summer Reading

My mom's house is full of books....

With a mother like mine (an English teacher) and an imagination like mine, I love to read, especially in the summer. I like to arrange my pile of summer reading and get through the whole thing by September. This year, I'm keeping it light light light! 

I'm currently ten pages into my first selection, Chic Savages by John Fairchild, and so far it's very sassy which of course I love.

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe. I've started it a hundred times but just can't seem to finish! I'm determined to do it this year.

Wendy Wasserstein's Elements of Style, which observes Post-9/11 New York City from various points of view. And don't you love that cover??

And last but not least, Music for Chameleons by my dear friend Truman Capote. It's my favorite book and even though I've read it many times it never gets old. 

What are you guys reading this summer? Any recommendations to add to my rather superficial reading list? 

xoxo

Bonjour Biscuit!!

Too cute not  to put up here.

Do you know the way to St. Tropez?

Although I've been itching to go anywhere out of the U.S. these days (as my friend Whitney said once, "Nothing has happened in the U.S. since the war, and by war I mean Revolutionary"), I can honestly say St. Tropez is at the top of the list! And Uncle Karl just made its stock rise even more. 

After the most fantastic Resort show there Chanel has decided to open up shop! Have you guys seen pictures from this show?? Amaaaaaazing.

In a bikini, this model looks so much like me I had to do a double take a first...

Metallic hot shorts?? Mother may I!

I'll just hop on the PJ and head over there for the weekend...anyone want to join??

Bisous

(Photos from style.com)