Happy First Day Post-Book!

To start, this has been such a super emotionally charged time for me!  There have been smiles, tears (all good!), giddiness, and lots of love shared and I must just say how amazing you guys are!  From the beautiful blog comments, to the amazing tweets, Facebook mentions, Instagram likes, and emails, there really aren't words to describe how much I love you all.  You're my fantastic little family and I'm just so overwhelmed by everyone's goodness. I got some fab pics sent in by readers and I just had to share!

Hello coolest shot ever!!  Meow!!

EEEKKK!!!  Barnes & Noble!!!

Gorgeous MW sharing her copy!!

So my dad got a little jealous that my mom got featured yesterday, so today he gets his moment!  Yay, Dad!!

Keep the amazing shots coming!!  Share your pics via email, post on Facebook or use #NDADbook on Twitter/Instagram!  These are making my day :)

Oh, and another reminder for you Los Angelenos/So Cal readers...big launch night at Book Soup in West Hollywood tonight at 7pm!  Would love to have you there.  (PS, totally excited for those who have RSVP'd - can't wait to meet you!)

Plus I ordered way too many cupcakes and need people to enjoy them there so I don't turn into one this weekend eating leftovers!!

0 Days to Go! The Book is Here!!!

The day has come!  My book is officially out and I'm just on cloud nine!!

The first part of my thank you section is devoted to you - I never could have even imagined this possible without all the support, love, strength, feedback, input, laughs, corrections, emails, and lol's from all of you.  New Dress A Day has turned into the community of people who I ultimately needed after getting laid off three years ago.  I know all your usernames, read all your emails (and try to respond when I can, but need to catch up...I'll be on track soon) and feel like we exist in this little electronic world all together which makes me the happiest girl.  You are my friends and have become my online family.  I really am so incredibly lucky and hope that I can actually meet you all in person at some point.

To celebrate the big launch day, I'm doing a little bit of bookstore hopping, picking up some literary packages and will continue adding photos to Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram!  Would love to see pictures from you guys too!  If you ordered a book and it's on your doorstep, forward the photo along!  If you went to Barnes & Noble (like my mom), forward the photo along.

I'm going to start a #NDADbook hashtag!!  Also, there's a fun contest around the corner too, so sync up your social media(s) and stay tuned!

xo Marisa

.5 Days to Go: Malibu Wedding Ensemble

So you guys got to see the dress that I wore to the wedding yesterday without a vision of what the before piece looked like.  Are you ready???

Helloooo muumuu!!  Hello big sleeves!!  Hello big neck!!!

Time to do some backtracking!!

Right away I thought strapless!  The neck was big enough to fit around my bust, however it was SO incredibly tight.  I decided to open up the neck panel...

...and add a patch of elastic to give a little more stretch.  I pinned it in place and then hit the body of the muumuu next!

The sleeves were long and draped, so I decided to pin them shut!  This will work for pockets or an extra little layer of drape!

Once pins were in place on both sides...

...I sewed them shut and sewed the elastic in place!

With those two basic tweaks, my dress was Malibu-ready!

I loved the printed napkins with Rachel and Mark's name on them...

...and I loved the Malibu location.  I actually saw stars when I left, which for those non-LAers, doesn't really happen that often in our big city.  (I totally took them in for a bit before I left, while listening to the waves crash. It was my perfect little solo moment!)

Rachel is a college friend, so the USC alums stuck together.  We even crammed in an extra seat at our table to accommodate our eight.  The seats weren't assigned, so we were not pulling a wedding faux pas by adjusting seating arrangements!

We all took our glamour shots by the chuppah and in front of the ocean waves...

I'm kind of jealous I didn't think of wearing a turquoise tutu??

The blushing bride...

...wore her veil and her shoes...

...oh, so well!

The dance party continued even after the sun went down...

...and I was smart enough to bring flip flops to change into when my gold heels started causing some serious ball of the foot pains!!  But those pains are the true telltale sign of a successful, dancy evening!