happy birthday with love..

i know i'm technically closed, but i had to stop in to wish my baby brother, aden blue, a very happy & wonderful 8th birthday <3

i love you, buddy!

alaina

christmas vacation

hello lovies!

i hope you all had a delightful christmas (or whatever you celebrate) spent with loved ones!

our offices at ore originals are closed this week, so i'm going to take the opportunity to enjoy myself! which means the daily do will be "closed" for a couple days.

see you all in 2012!

alaina

ho ho ho!

on the eve of this christmas..

alaina

stocking stuffers: for pets

hello. my name is alaina, and i make a stocking for my dog every year..

here are some fun ideas for your pet's stocking:

you can bet lilly will be getting this kick-ass stache dog toy this year!

great for both dogs and cats, this dart cat & dog toy will keep your pet entertained for hours! what animal doesn't love lasers, anyway??

bubbles will be everywhere if your cat gets these kitty bubbles in her stocking!

if your dog goes hiking or running, these pet tops are a necessity!

petsmart is a great place to go for stocking treats. they have these great packs for so cheap!

if your dog likes dress up, you obviously need this!

you're obviously into your pet if you're making him or her a stocking - so why not a custom pet portrait phone case for yourself?

a design-minded kitten is sure to love these merimice felt toys!

if the only kind of pets you can handle live in a small bowl on your bedside table, consider this betta bed leaf hammock. we have one for violet, and no joke, she actually lounges on it!

not necessarily stocking-sized i guess, but this kittens and puppies calendar will brighten up each one of your days in 2012!

alaina

*need stocking ideas for your favorite people? check out stocking stuffers for him, for her, and for kids!

pssst! make sure to sign up for the perpetual kid newsletters to take advantage of their weekly coupon codes!

gift guides from around the web and #winning

christmas is days away, and while i'm sure most of you are on top of it and have all your gifting under wraps, there are some moments when you need a quick hostess gift to take to a last-minute party, or those moments when you realize you forgot your sister's husband's mother's nephew was going to be at the family gathering this year and you'd be forever shunned if you didn't bring him a little something.

to help keep these uh-oh's from keeping you down, here are some gift guides from around the web:

check out elsie's list of 10 handmade gifts. i have my eye on this calendar journal - it would also make a great new mom gift!

you're sure to find a cute + quick craft if you browse chelsea's 50 diy days of christmas. her cheeseball snowman would be a perfect dish for a holiday party.

katie published a great list of gifts for people who might be a little harder to shop for.


and if you're all done with shopping, visit jess's favorite christmas songs and have a celebratory christmas dance party!


**don't forget to check out the lists of stocking stuffers i put together. tomorrow is the pet edition, so don't miss out!

aaaaaaand.. i won a free wedding dress..!!

alaina

wedding wednesday

as a novice photographer, i've thought a lot about whether or not i want to have engagement portraits taken of randy and me.

i love engagement portraits that have a lot of character!

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my favorite engagement photos to shoot & to look at are ones that really communicate something fun or personal about the couple. the photo above might look weird to you, but it means a lot once you know that jackie works in the financial and banking industry and that thomas is a bio major that works in a tech lab..

at this point i don't really know what i'd want the theme of our photos to be, though i think randy and i have decided that we would like one of our friends who dabbles in photography to take our pics (skylar: let steve know he's got a job waiting for him!). if it was based on hobbies, it would be randy playing video games while i'm in the background begging him to turn it off!

one thing's for sure.. lilly will definitely be in our engagement pics if we take any!


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alaina

more iphone pics..



happiness is only real when shared <3

 

randy calls it "the bible"





getting down to business



a beautiful gift from randy's cousin, carissa

 

a red for him & a blush for me <3

 



my main man <3

  

get your free polaroid frames here!

follow me on instagram: @thedailydo

alaina

ps. this is my 300th post! yooo-hoooo :)

2011 favorites

there are 12 days until 2012! (disclaimer: not counting today..)

to commemorate another passing year, i thought i would share my 12 favorite posts from 2011..



feb 18; a fashion profile on my dad, tim



march 20; a recap of how we celebrated randy's 26th birthday

 

may 17; a post for lilly's 2nd birthday <3



may 28; our norcal road trip for a friend's wedding, family time, and a giants game

june 17; the very first what i wore post



june 29; my post on body image



july 19; my explanation of the slow-carb diet. i've lost almost 15 pounds this year, and i think this helped..

july 21; the first (and apparently only) thyme to cook with carey

sept 23; my first posting of pictures from carmella's wedding on baby a

 

oct 1; sharing the start of my arm piece with you

oct 26: the best haunted house in long beach - that i was a part of!

  

dec 5; sharing our engagement story (november 28)



 

alaina