Websites and ideas needed!

Hey guys!
As noted in my previous post, I am getting a new bed soon...which means I need new bedding (must be King size) and I am trying to find room inspiration. Anyone know of any cool home-decor bedroom Pictures online to inspire me?
Corey and I typically like jewel tones- teal, deep purple, rust orange, gold, deep chocolate brown....we are not really into red. We have also considered (I act like Corey has considered this and that's maybe a lie- he has mentioned...) that we could have neutral bedding (white or cream or tan) and then decorate with fun colored pillows. Thoughts? Bedding websites? Decor inspiration websites?

Thanks for your help!
Here is our bedroom set so you can see the coloring and help us find good ideas!

Matching Furniture

This weekend has been very exciting! I am finally starting to feel better, and this morning I went out LOOKING for furniture- I suppose eventually we will need to furnish an entire apt or house and rather than buying it ALL at once, I thought I should see what I could do to start the collection.

I ended up calling Corey and told him to meet me at the furniture store to help me decide between 3 bedroom sets.

So, I walked out of there with a yellow slip and a lot poorer, but very excited because next week I can go pick up my (for right now)/ our new bedroom set--it is dark brown wood and includes a king size sleigh bed with 2 drawers at the footboard for extra storage (LOVE this), a tall chest of drawers, a nightstand, and a dresser with a mirror on top. I'm really excited---of course, it will be very tight for now in my house, but that's OK.
:) Exciting stuff, huh? Well...exciting to get it, not buy it. And now I just need to save up for a king size mattress. For now, I will just put my queen on it and it will look silly but who cares until I can afford a nice mattress. We went with King size because it was only going to be 100.00 more for the bed so it just made sense. Plus, Corey likes the idea of having the CHOICE to be far away in case he is hot in the summer. I made him promise me 10 min. of cuddling each night because we laid on a king mattress and I felt SOOOOO far away from him. He's an odd duck but I love him.

Registry Dilemma

Here is my dilemma about wedding registries:

1. I think they are great, because many people can be specific about what they really need or don't have yet in their house.

2. How do you register ahead of time if the stores are just going to change their inventory after Christmas---but every magazine tells you to register around 8 months before your wedding. How do I know what will be in stock still? What if something better comes out? It would be annoying to have to change it a bunch of times. But, of course, some people (like mom & dad) want it before Christmas to shop for me and Corey. Which, by the way, I'm sure Corey can't wait to get a garlic press for Christmas. Haha.

3. OK- here is my REAL dilemma-or question: How many stores should you register at? (Sorry to end a sentence with a preposition. Gross. ) I have family ALL over the country coming and some family members don't have certain stores. Plus, some stores have kitchen things I like and others have decor things I like, etc. Is 4 ridiculous? I don't see why it would be a bother to anyone except the registrant (me) because I have to manage and keep up with 4, but if I am organized I think it will be OK. Thoughts?

It is already confusing because I have a pretty stocked kitchen for a 25 year old single gal. So I need to track what I still need and then figure out what I want new of, and then I can pass my older stuff to my beautiful sisters. More wedding lists....

Sorry if this post sounds vain- it's odd to talk about people buying gifts for me. But, if I were shopping, I would like to have the options available to me.

Also- it is tough to register if you do not know what or where you will live- apt? house? Is storage an issue? Will you need 1 shower curtain or two? What colors do I have to work with? My first apt. had hideous AQUA and PINK tile all over the bathroom. It would have been tragic to have registered for like a red and black zebra shower curtain- you see what I am saying?? If only we knew what STATE we were living in---if only we knew if we would even live together after we get married (for a year we may do distance-also gross). Will we need to pay two rents plus all of Corey's 7 years of college loans? ::sigh::

Our "Not So Scary" Halloween Party [in the snow]

Julie kisses our visiting Mummy for the evening.

So, it started with the idea that we wanted to have our first "party" at OUR house, so we invited about 10 people to come over. Then, it snowed. Crazy. And then only 3 people could come (many were coming from about an hour away so I understood). Julie and I trudged out in the deep snow to get ingredients that morning, and we spent the entire day cleaning, baking, and cooking. and decorating. We had a blast! Here are some of our menu items:

1. "Witches Fingers"- these actually taste really delicious- we didn't use a recipe, but my mom had this idea and passed it along. It was fashionista Julie's idea to "paint" the witch finger nails with red food coloring for sex appeal, of course.


2. Cookies and Scream- also yummy. Thank you to Food Network for this idea. I love that magazine. These are NO BAKE peanut butter and fluff cookies. YUM!


3. Toffee Dip with Cortland Apples


4. These pumpkin cupcakes were so delicious! They had a surprise cinnamon streusel filling and the frosting was homemade cream cheese! YUMMY!


5. Cauldron of fiery cheese dip! SOOOOO addicting.


6. Hot Apple Spider


This was our mini beverage table. The hot cider was a mix of OJ, pineapple juice, a splash of lemon juice, 2 quarts of fresh apple cider, cinnamon sticks (I think I put 2 in), a dash of nutmeg, and I think that is it. I simmered it on the stove for 30 minutes. DELICIOUS! With a bit of tang, too.

I am sorry the photos are dark- I snapped them on my phone and didn't edit them at all. But, you get the idea. Here is what the decor looked like....

Lots of spider webs, candles, old twigs from the backyard, Julie's fun twig pumpkin (Crate & Barrel) and of course all of my awesome Willow House dishes and decor. :) It's nice because our house looks kind of old inside so it was a bit spooky. I tried to capture the pics on my camera, but it decided to die 5 minutes before the party.

The party ended up being a quiet girls night in with good conversation, some wine & cider, lots of laughter, and too many sweets! :) I guess everyone needs that once in awhile. We have leftovers if you are in the area. ;-)

And, in case you don't believe me about the snow- this picture was taken 24 HOURS after it had fallen. Our front yard- still covered the next sunny day. We had around 8 inches, I think.

I am terrible at writing in this blog!

For my current grad class, I need to keep a journal every day for six weeks. So all of my "writing" is going to that journal, and even my efforts there are less than impressive! :-/

Let's see---- what is new:

• Rihanna is amazing. Her songs get me every time. I just downloaded "We Found Love" and I can totally feel the music moving through my body when I hear it. It's like my little radar immediately starts searching for lights in a club. Preferably the one I went to in the enormous city of Seoul, South Korea, where I danced until almost 4 AM (with class the next morning at 8) :) I think this song will be on replay for the next hour. Good thing my sister loves it, too, because she will have to deal with it playing over and over and over...
• Save the Dates- were SENT- for the most part! It makes it more official that the wedding is coming up! I really really can't wait to marry Cor-baby (as my sister Julie calls him ha!)- he has just gotten extra adorable lately. All responsible and stuff...it's cute. I get to see him Friday for the 1st time in 3 weeks. I am hoping for a date night!
  
• I sat at a craft show with mom for SIX hours and we sold nothing. :( What a bummer and a waste of the entire Saturday.
  
• Thanksgiving break (6 days without students) is around the corner. Let's just say this has been the roughest toughest year so far, so I need a break!
  
• Julie and I joined a gym. We did Zumba last Thursday. Result? I couldn't move on Friday.
  

I want to post pictures of the Halloween party that Julie and I had- it was cute and fun to set up, but the snow kept people at home and we had only 3 people show up. :-/ Thank you to Bethany, Korina, and Scarlett for stopping by...but I still made 32 servings of hot cheese dip so it looks like Julie and I will be in a cheese coma until Christmas.