walks with Bella

Head on over to Studio Swoon!!

2012-03-07T03:17:00.000-05:00

Come party with us at everswoon and check out the new home of walks with Bella, STUDIO SWOON!

Pop the bubbly and #dancetildawn with us on twitter as we celebrate the launch of Ever Swoon!

See you there!

x - tamra & Bella

Tomorrow is the day! 3-7-12

2012-03-06T01:42:00.000-05:00

I'm incredibly happy to announce my boutique event planning company, ever swoon, is going LIVE this Wedding Wednesday, 3-7-12. The website and my new blog, Studio Swoon, will be live and ready to party all Wednesday. Be sure to stop by and follow me on twitter as I #dancetildawn with the overwhelming joy I will have upon the birth of Ever Swoon. Every one is invited to SWOON!

Victoria of Vmac and Cheese is graciously hosting me today. Come on over to find out a little bit more about me and inspiration behind ever swoon. Thank you, V!

Are you ready to party?? Who is in?? Let me know via tweets at #dancetildawn

x - tamra & Bella

My nephew, the super blogger!

2012-03-05T23:07:00.000-05:00

I'm so obsessed with my nephew, almost every single photo we have together I'm looking at him. How could you not though, Maximino is the cutest!! Not only is he incredibly adorable, but he is also a super blogger!! Calling all super moms, moms to be, and Houstonian's, Max's Blog Mad Max and Family is taking the web by storm. What do you expect from a toddler who reads the NY Times, drinks Scotch, and BLOGS? He just revamped his site and I am one PROUD Auntie Tam.

Hop on over and check out this trendsetting toddler! He is also on FB and twitter. What does my nephew not do? :)

Stay tuned for some very special announcements coming up!! It's our last week here at walks with Bella before we are at ever swoon's blog full time. So much to be thankful for and celebrate.

Hope you are having a great week!

x - tamra & Bella

Today's Mantra

2012-03-05T12:33:00.003-05:00

*via pinterest

Honeymoon Haute

2012-02-29T02:11:00.003-05:00

Happy Wedding Wednesday, Lovelies!!

Recently, I've been trying to clean up my ol' pinterest. It's amazing how many pins one can acquire!!

While organizing the pin madness, I created a couple of new little boards, one of which is called STYLE: Honeymoon Haute. I can't wait to scour the web to pin the best attire for the newlyweds first getaway. Below is a recent pin that will have you #honeyswooning!

Can't you just imagine relaxing on the beaches of Capri in this darling one piece from Missoni? The playful ruffled neck adds a touch of femininity to the undoubtedly sexy low cut front and back.

Was your or will your honeymoon destination acquire beach wear?

x - tamra

Photo shoot wrap ups!

2012-02-27T13:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Happy Monday, lovelies! It is an absolutely beautiful happy day here in the city, and the mood is contagious. Hope you had a wonderful weekend. As you can tell from my blogging absence, I've been happily consumed with the launch of ever swoon. First, I would like to say Thank YOU so so so much for all the support, encouragement, and kind words on the launch. I'm so very grateful to have y'all in my corner!

For those who follow my instagram or ever swoon's facebook page you've probably seen some behind the scene shots from the photo shoots we had this past week. Below are some of those behind the scenes shots.

The above pics are from the event design photo shoot I planned with an incredible group of vendors, we can't wait to share with you next month!

Florist - G! Designs , Stationary - Ana Dolan, Couture Invitations, Photography - Erik Colonese

Yesterday, I donned my favorite gold Nicole Miller dress in the spirit of the Oscars for ever swoon's website photo shoot. I was nervous at first, but my amazing team made the entire experience incredible. We kept the champagne flowing and jammed out to some great play lists. What's currently on your fav playlist?

Photography - Chris Owyoung, Hair and Makeup - Tara Segall, Style assistant - Ashley Leutner

x - tamra

1st Bloggiversary!

2012-02-23T02:36:00.000-05:00

One year ago today, I posted on walks with Bella for the first time. Allow me to take you back in time, to the very post that started it all...

***

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2011

Once upon a blog...

“Once upon a time”… the quintessential opening line for all fairy tales and yet somehow it seems to have the perfect fit to my story. Perhaps, it is because my story started with a dream. Girl from Texas falls in love with New York City. She graduated, sold everything she owned, packed her bags, said "i'll see you soon" to the most amazing family and friends, told her precious Boston Terrier, Bella, she would bring her to the city as soon as she can and moved to Manhattan.

In 4 1/2 years, she landed a job in the biggest beauty company in the world, met the man of her dreams, hosted visits (adventures) with friends/family from TX, made fabulous new friends, moved into a soho loft with said man, received Confirmation within the Catholic Church, experienced an out of this world proposal, which included Bella and most recently married her knight in shining armor (akaTom Ford tux), on the most beautiful and perfect day....

Photo by Brian Dorsey Studios

New York City, where dreams are made. These are my dreams, inspirations and things I love. These are my walks with Bella.

***

Today, I celebrate my Bella, my heart beat at my feet that continues to inspire me.

I also celebrate this blogging community who has shared my walks with Bella for the past year.

I feel truly blessed to have connected with so many kindred spirits. walks with Bella has allowed my creative side to soar and I appreciate the support I've received. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm happy to announce that ever swoon's website and blog will be launching next week! The exact launch date will be revealed shortly and I couldn't be more excited!! In the meantime, my incredible and lovely branding genius, Erika of small shop, is sharing some SNEAK PEAKS and Behind the Scenes on ever swoon's website and blog. Head on over to see a BIG REVEAL on my new blog!!! I'm pretty much having a dance party all day I'm so excited. Be sure to sign up for my e-blasts to stay up to date on when I am officially moving from walks with Bella. In case you were wondering, Bella completely understands why we are moving blogs and she will have a big part in our new website. x

x - tamra & Bella

P.S. As you can imagine, things have been quite active getting ready for launch, so I appreciate your patience as I get back to your emails and comments. I can't wait to dive into each one of your messages and blog posts. So much excitement going on, please catch me up!

Today I'm over at...

2012-02-21T12:00:00.002-05:00

Hello lovelies, I'm over at Lili and Mae's today discussing a celebration that gives me swoonspiration!

Come on over and feast your eyes on this swoonlicious soiree!

x - tamra

Happy 7th Birthday Bella!!

2012-02-20T12:34:00.000-05:00

Today we are celebrating Bella's 7th birthday with extra walks, lots of peanut butter, ice cream, and anything this 7 year old's heart desires. Good thing M is home today, bc I brought back a nasty cold from my weekend bridal festivities in Dallas. I hosted a bridal shower and bachelorette party, and I look forward to sharing pics later this week.

In the meantime, I will be spoiling the 7 year old who has brought so much joy in my life.

How are you spending this President's Day Holiday?

x - tamra & Bella

{Wedding Wednesday} Utterly excited

2012-02-15T11:02:00.000-05:00

Happy Wedding Wednesday lovelies!

Late Valentine's day evening we got a very special gift, the new issue of Utterly Engaged went live! We are always excited when a new issue comes out, but this time even more so because our proposal story and some of our wedding photos are featured!!! Here is a little sneak peak.

Check us out on page 148!

For those who are not familiar with Utterly Engaged, it is an online wedding magazine (first of it's kind). Think Lonny mag but for weddings. Pretty fab, right?!?!

What is your current favorite publication?

x - tamra & Bella

Kisses from Bella

2012-02-14T11:21:00.003-05:00

x - tamra & Bella

Weekend Recap

2012-02-13T00:57:00.001-05:00

Friday, we celebrated my girlfriend's birthday and started out the evening with mojitos and tasty cuban food. Then we headed over to catch a showing of W.E. at Sunshine cinema, and I was swooning over the costumes and jewels!! For a night cap, we went to Apotheke to toast with some of the city's best "prescriptions" aka cocktails (and chic chandy).

I finally jumped on the Downton Abbey train (hooked now obviously) and gave myself a little Valentine DIY mani. The next morning on my walk with Bella, she pulled me in a different direction than where she normally goes and stopped right in front this beautiful classic pink porsche. Thanks, Bella! What a stunner.

This weekend recap would not be complete without mentioning the loss of one of music's finest. I can't count the number of songs I would dance to in recitals growing up. Whitney had an inspirational voice and a talent to entertain like no other. I hope that the words from Whitney's most famous song rang true for her.

*via

My favorite Whitney Houston song was "I wanna dance with somebody." What was your favorite?

x tamra

p.s. I'm hanging out with Carly today at her lovely blog, A Simple Affair, participating in her A-Z series, hop on over! xo

Birthday Shout Outs

2012-02-10T11:37:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to some very special people in my life.

Happy Birthday to my dear friend Robin! She is one of the first girlfriends I met in the city, (the first being her roommate), and we've been best friends ever since. Cheers to you, R! Looking forward to celebrating with you tonight! xoxo

Happy Birthday to my BEAUTIFUL and AMAZING MOM! Tomorrow is her birthday and oh how I wish I could be there to celebrate with her. My Mom has truly gone above and beyond her motherly duties recently, as I've been starting up my company. Mom, thank you for being my support system, friend, my inspiration, motivator, and everything else you've done to help me start ever swoon and more importantly make me the woman I am today.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

I love you and I celebrate you.

x - tamra & Bella

Eva Mendes March Madness

2012-02-09T01:58:00.000-05:00

I love Eva, even though she broke all of our hearts when the first photo of her and Ryan Gosling hit the glossies. Regardless, I still love her. Why? Well, besides the obvious show stopping beauty, she seems to write her own Hollywood story. Think about it. How often do you read dirt on her?? I can't remember one off the top of my head. She is sexy but it's her privacy that makes her alluring.

Oh and HELLO she is covered in gems on the cover of March's Marie Claire.

That is SWOONTASTIC.

Check out Marie Claire for more of Eva.

x - tamra

Top it off

2012-02-07T01:11:00.000-05:00

These cake toppers make my heart smile.

Anna's Crafts

This one is too cute, groom scooping up his bride, her smiling over the shoulder, and the 3 pups!

Anna's Crafts

The details are absolutely precious! You can find over a hundred handmade custom designs at the lovely etsy shopped I stumbled upon last night, Anna Crafts. Anna is an artist based in Seoul, South Korea and her passion for creating quality, life long momentos is undeniable. She hand makes each topper and personalizes them with extraordinary care. Check out more of her work HERE.

I think these toppers would not only be great for weddings cakes, but how cute would it be to create a custom one for the bridal shower, or even a special birthday party! I think Bella may need a topper. :)

What did you have on your cake or what will you have on your cake?

x - tamra & Bella

DREAMS.

2012-02-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

*via

Happy Monday, lovelies!! This month marks walks with Bella's 1st blogging anniversary (and Bella's 7th birthday!) and we are also less than a month away to ever swoon's launch!! Big month ahead with big dreams.

Congrats to my bloggie friend, Victoria of Vmac and Cheese and the launch of her new company Vivaleur. Check out her services, she wears all hats and is ready to help you!

What are you dreaming about today?

x - tamra

Brides in luck

2012-02-03T01:57:00.002-05:00

For all the women who are brides in the pinterest era, you are very lucky ladies!!

Are you following ever swoon's pins?

What are you pinning lately?

x - tamra

{Bella's Pick of the Week} Valentine Pillow

2012-02-02T07:01:00.000-05:00

Etsy: AlfieandRex

Words cannot describe the love I have for Bella, but this pillow does a nice job. Bella is my heart.

This would make a great Valentine's gift for those Boston "terror" lovers out there.

Bella would probably love laying on it as well, or having one of her pillow parties. When she is home alone, she loves to knock all the pillows off the couch for whatever reason. We call that her pillow party.

What are you getting your loved one for Valentine's day? Or will you have a pillow party?

x - tamra & Bella

{Wedding Wednesday} Royal GG wedding

2012-02-01T02:50:00.001-05:00

I'm dedicating this Wedding Wednesday to the wedding we all were dreading, Blair Waldorf and Prince ~~Loser Grossmaldi~~ Louis Grimaldi. Let's stick to the basics here, bc that episode was so intense I'm not sure how I can wait 'til next Monday. Chuck and Blair just need to get back together already, Dammit! Ohhh, blast you GG....OK, back to Wedding business.

*Disclaimer - if you are not a fan of GG and do not watch the show, some of my comments may seem particularly harsh, but understand it is all in good taste for GG.

First off, this scene. Serena, you look fab. Next.

As much as I love Blair's Vera gown, I can't get over her beach wavy hair. Pretty, of course, but for her wedding day, I feel as though it is taking away from her gown. Underwhelming hair, B. Oh wait, this makes sense, you aren't marrying your true love. As for Blair's mom, beautiful and composed of course, especially after a scotch, but I think her hair flair could be bigger.

The maid minions wore Vera Wang for David's Bridal bridesmaid dresses. What are your thoughts? NY Mag recapper Jessica described them as such, " unflattering dresses made out of pink shower poufs." Serena on the other hand looked amazing in Farrah by Vera Wang. Her dress was my favorite by far.

Oh, and minion (on the end) needs to lower her bouquet. Didn't she learn in minion bridesmaid training that bouquet is at your belly button?!? I guess she is too preoccupied staring at the prince, focus minion!

Major points for adding in Blair's stepdad, when he smiles, I smile. She was breathtaking coming down the aisle, I heart Leighton! Also, her bouquet, truly divine, but it is the PINK aisle runner that is catching my eye!! Kudos to the details.

That is not Chuck. Next.

Is the Prince wondering about her choice in hair style, too?

Dorota, you look exquisite!

Lonely Boy looking quite dapper. One of my fav parts of this episode is their dialogue down the aisle. Who talks that loud walking down the aisle? Oh yea, TV.

Perhaps I'm just really hungry, but the macaroon tree is stealing this scene. nom nom nom.

I spy a Prince's big behind, hair, and a dreamboat.

What will happen next for this Runaway Bride?? How did you feel about the Royal Wedding?

x - tamra & Bella

I'm on a bridal shoe mission at ANC's blog.

2012-01-31T07:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Stiletto Tuesday!!! Last week Ashley, of the lovely blog Ashley Nicole Catherine, sent me a request for a secret mission. The mission (ok maybe not a secret): to find her the shoe that will take her from Miss to Mrs. I accepted this mission with the utmost importance, like Jack Bauer would if he was Patricia Field.

I created three boards of opulent options. Come on over to Ashley's blog and check out how I put my shoe operative skills to test.

Btw - I'm still recovering from last night's Gossip Girl. Are you?!?! Let's discuss on Wedding Wednesday.

x - tamra

Irene went to Costa Rica and all I got was...

2012-01-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

A guest post! Yep, I'm in chilly New York and Irene of the kick a** blog, Design Stiles, romps around beautiful beaches. While they are finishing up their travels, I'm over at her blog discussing a very important part of vacations, souvenirs!

I love me some Tchotchkes! It would be super cool though if she can bring me back a tan though.

So, allow me to reminiscence on Bora Bora while you lovelies are heading over to Irene's blog...

x - tamra

{Bella's pick of the week} CHEWED.

2012-01-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

How long do your pup's toys last? One year? One month? One minute? If your pup is anything like my precious Boston terror, then you may have come across something that looks like this.

A murder scene. What did Raggedy Andy do to provoke such brutal violence? I'll never forget the email my mom sent telling me the horrifying story with the pictures you see here. This attack took place when Bella was living in Texas with my parents and her best friend Bailey Beans. My mom was decorating for the holidays and brought out this Raggedy Andy like she did every year since I could remember. Before my mom knew it, the big eared animals were flinging Andy around like a rag doll. He suffered multiple lacerations before my mom was able to intervene.

The perpetrators were put into custody and served time-out in separate cells. During their interrogations, both suspects stated they thought Raggedy Andy was having fun playing with them because he was smiling the entire time.

If you have seen your pups toy's become victims, then this is the book for you.

chewed.

I gave this book to my mom over the holidays, and we both laughed/cried at the stories.

Happy Friday!!!

x - tamra & Bella

{Wedding Wednesday} RHOBH Pandora's wedding

2012-01-25T11:52:00.002-05:00

Happy Wedding Wednesday, lovelies!!

Any RHOBH fans out there? The season finale aired this past Monday and featured Pandora's wedding.

How do we feel about the tiaras? One for the bride, one for the mom?

Wedding gown by Ian Stuart.

Pup in a tux! Kills me everytime.

Bravo to their event producer and florist, Kevin Lee! Did you know he was the inspiration behind Martin Short's character in "Father of the bride." That explains a lot.

I'm REALLY loving the table cloths. I wonder what is in those little silver boxes?
1. I'm a little confused by this photo, as the top tiers aren't touching but the bottom are? I'm thinking someone snapped this photo it too early and they weren't finished putting it together? What do you think?
  1. What are your thoughts on the wedding? Like or Love?
    
    x - tamra

{Guest Post} Lili and Mae

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

walking with Bella today is Mae from the incredibly lovely blog, Lili and Mae! A few weeks ago I participated in her New Year's style resolutions series on her blog and had so much fun getting to know her in the process. She offered to help me out and give me the day off so I can focus on preparing for ever swoon. Thank you, Mae! I'm pretty sure all I want to do is purchase the outfits she picked out below though. :)

***

Hi everyone! My name is Mae and I write a life & style blog called Lili & Mae. Tamra is just the sweetest, and I'm so excited to be back here with you again. I'm heading to a destination bachelorette party in a few weeks in Austin! I'm really looking forward to it, but want to make sure to pack light so I can fit everything for the weekend into a carry-on. I also have trouble deciding what to wear to bridal-related events....bridal showers, bachelorette parties and the like. I've found there's usually a range of outfits from casual to dressy. And since this is a weekend-long event, I need to be comfortable but also cute. I put together this style board to transition from day to night. Plus, it incorporates an item that I own but have yet to wear: the denim shirt.

What do you think? What would you wear to a destination bachelorette party?

Thanks again dear Tamra for having me! I gotta get to planning and packing!

Stop by and say hi to me anytime at Lili & Mae. I would love to see you!

enjoy your day,

I'll be at the Bar

2012-01-23T05:01:00.000-05:00

Y'all should join me at the bar this week, Bauble Bar that is! The fabulous online shop is celebrating their first birthday by ~~a happy hour~~ launching a "One Year Shop" featuring all of their best sellers and favorite pieces. Hit me again! The bar is open and this special shop will be serving you great prices 1/23-1/29, so if you haven't joined Bauble Bar yet, come on over the baubles are flowing.

The bar is packed with baubles of every kind! Here are a just a few that caught my eye.

Orchid Colorblock Bangle/Rose Quartz Signet Ring / Tuft Love Necklace

Lozenge Ring/ Step Pendant/ Lily Earrings

Smoky Rock Crystal Pendant /Sand Dune Drops /Mod Quad Cuff

It's always happy hour somewhere!

What's catching your eye?

x - tamra