wedding wednesday.

I love Wednesdays.  Made it through the half the week, the next day is Thursday, which is my favorite day and its Wedding time!  Currently I have no friends getting married, I am most definitely not on track to get married anytime soon so Wedding Wednesday has become something fun that I look forward to every week.  I feel sometimes when your planning a wedding for reals it can get very stressful.  And to all of you out there who are in this process right now remember that things may not be absolutely perfect (and this is coming from a somewhat perfectionist when it comes to events) but what is perfect is the fact that your in love, your marrying your best friend, and you get to spend your lives together.  So when you walk in the reception hall and the centerpieces (hint hint what do you think this post will be about?) are not exactly what you thought they would be don't freak out.  Take a deep breath, remember that no one will know but you, grab a glass of champagne and get the party started!

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Do you like how I always seem to add in personal advice in Wedding Wednesday?  I don't know how that always seems to happen.  Honestly, I have been to about five weddings in my life, only three of those being in the past five years and you would think I was Darcy Miller.  What I do know is, I read about weddings a lot, I've worked in the wedding industry, and its a huge passion of mine so I think I'm pretty knowledgeable on the topic.  So let's get to the topic at hand then.

Centerpieces.

Are. A. Tough. Choice.

They can be a huge part of the reception decor or they can take a more modest approach.

I think a big drama maker at very low cost is the baby's breath centerpiece.  Have you seen these?  I ran across them once looking for cheap centerpiece options for an engagement party I was throwing and really loved the look.  What do you think?

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Such a cool option no matter if your thinking of going big or small.  I priced out some centerpieces once and they told me about $30-$40 depending on the size of what I was looking for.  Just make sure when working with your florist that you give them very specific details, even pictures of what you are looking for.  The guy I worked had never even heard of the idea.  That way they have a more direct vision of what your looking for.

There is one drawback to baby's breath...it smells, and not in a good way.  I do feel though that it could be sprayed with a scent if it was noticeable, which in all do respect I highly doubt.  When I originally heard about the smell I thought people were just being weird but I once put my nose in a bunch of it, let's just say I was proven wrong.  That said I don't think many of your guests will do this.

So if you like it, go for it.  What are your thoughts?  Would the smell turn you off?  Or are you more of a flowers type of person?

Stay tuned, tomorrow is the big closet reveal!  Its so nice and pretty now, after my room was a disaster for a better part of the night it is completely finished.  See you then!

xo

just one more.

Browsing around online last night, I found a print that I saw for the first time in this very art shop in Charleston.  I never forgot about it, and last night happened across it.  Another piece that will also be taking a place of honor in house as soon as the US Postal Service gets it here.  Until then here is a little sneak peak for all you!

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xo

art.

As many of you have probably seen I have a large gallery wall in my living room.  Below you will find it all decorated for a party.  And as you can see there are a number of large empty frames.  I like it that way somedays and others I want to see a few of them filled with prints of some sort.  

Most of the frames are thrift store frames that I painted black.  A good amount of them have glass and old mats with some really interesting prints in them.  The others are just the bare bones frame.  Therefore it would be costly to put anything in them.  Professional framing and glass=expensive.  

For the ones that do have some of the hardware needed to put an actual print in I found some really great options.

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What do you think?  Leave them as is?  Or fill em up?  I am seriously loving that last one.  I think no matter what its going to find a place in my home!

xo

parents house.

I was visiting my parents the other weekend and got some great shots of their house.  Recently though my mom decided it was time to get rid of the 90s wallpaper that covered and I mean covered the whole kitchen.  Here are some before shots.

Look who came to say hello!  Richard!!

As you can see the wallpaper is very dated and busy.  When my mom asked what I thought about taking it down I responded an astounding yes so fast I think she was a little stunned.  The difference is amazing.  Here are some of the afters with just the wallpaper coming down.

As you can see it really does make a huge difference.  I am currently trying to talk her into painting all the cabinets white and adding a backsplash and new countertops but one step at a time.  She is not going for the painting as of yet but alas I will not give up.  I think it already looks amazingly better and so much bigger.  As you can see there are some spots of the walls that have to be repaired but she said for the most part it all came down pretty easy.

What do you think?  Should they go for painted cabinets?  Or try and work with the current shade of wood?

xo

sunshine.

I don't know about you guys but today has been so dreary I can barely stand it.  And it's a Monday.  Thought I would check in to bring a little sunshine to your day!  I'm loving all the rough wood with the sunny yellow, what do you think?

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I'll be back with a little something special later tonight.

xo

pretty, pretty

Sooo...the closet is still a work in progress, keep holding your breath or don't it might be awhile.  I promise I will have pictures up by next week!  Fingers crossed.  

I did want to share with you all a really amazing stationary designer that I had the luxury of working with during college.  I love her work, she does everything first with a hand drawing then hand painting, its insane.  Here are a few examples of her work. 

Saint Folly

Starting sketch.

Then the finished product.  Can you say WOW!

Another example of her work.  I love this chair note card so much.  That leopard print pillow kills me.  The attention to detail is stunning and really who wouldn't love getting a note like this in the mail.

 

Be sure to check back for her full product line coming out this year.  I know I will be a loyal customer!  All images via Saint Folly.

xo

wedding wednesday

It's that time again!  This week brings a little bridesmaid love.  Who out there has ever had to wear possibly one of the most heinous pieces of clothing ever created?  Raise your hands ladies I know its most likely the majority of us.  However I do feel there are really amazing options out there and with some of the new trends going on right now you can have a group of Best Dressed ladies!  I love how a lot of brides now are mixing it up and using different dresses in different colors to dress their maids.

Long dresses are the ultimate for all types of weddings, formal, simple, artsy, eclectic.  Sexy, sleek, looks good on a number of different body types and in a muted color=classy!

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Another long option this one a little more formal but in a great color such as this, amazing.

Short, sweet, simple, this isn't going to be a dress you put everyone in however it would be great for one person and then have your other bridesmaids in similar styles.

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 Another beauty from J. Crew.  I love how simple this is yet with accessories can be transformed to each girls individual style.  With a dress like this a cardigan would be a great bridesmaid gift to go along with it in case of a chilly night.

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Lastly, a pretty empire waist option that would look good on everyone.  Pair it with some pretty accessories, ballet flats, and your good to go.

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Now pair all of these together and you have a great mix of dresses that give each girl a little individual style.  It keeps everything from looking too matchy matchy as well.  

The key is to use shades of the same color, in this instance it was gray.  As you can see some are darker some are lighter some have a green or blue tones and so on.  Here are two great example of dresses in different shades of the same color.

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For a more eclectic look go for contrasting colors that work well together.  Here is an example of that.  Love this!

What did you put your bridesmaids in on your wedding day?  Are you liking the new trends right now in bridesmaid dresses or is the traditional style more your vibe?  I'm in the middle I believe, I really love mixing it up but I am usually a traditional girl in the end!  

xo

inspiration and ideas

I am currently hard at work getting my closet finished, to be honest at this exact moment I am thinking of all the work that is still left to do.  I am in the process of getting some organizational items that will help store all the clutter and have a question for all of you.

Thoughts on plastic verses wood hangers?  I have wanted to take the plunge and invest in wooden hangers but the plastic ones are so inexpensive!  Hmm, what to do.  I have a feeling plastic is going to win out but we will see on my trip to the store tomorrow.

However, I do have a lot of new ideas for the apartment.  For instance I am looking to put a console table in our living room and dining room.

Lighting has been a really big problem in our apartment since we moved in, as in we have one source of outside light in the common areas of the apartment, a sliding glass door.  Yes, I know what your thinking.  I try and never use the word hate in my life but I hate that door.  I hate that it literally takes away all the natural light in the whole apartment and its ugly.  I just want it to go away.

We need more light in the living room thus a console table behind the couch.  That will hold two lamps and house some extra storage as well.  I am really loving this one.

Its a little retro, which I love.  Its also the perfect height for my couch which is also Ikea and is very low to the ground compared to other couches.  I have been looking and looking for something that is the right height but nothing even comes close so alas its either DIY or go the Ikea route.  I'm still debating, at $199 I want to really like it so I'm giving it a little time to simmer.  For now I will continue to enjoy all the natural light coming in from Mr. Sliding Glass door. :)

Today I also came across a great older console at a thrift store that I loved.  I forgot to take a picture but it was in pretty bad condition so I am also still debating on that one as well.  I'm going to go back and take a second look later this week so we shall see.  It has a little bit of that hollywood regency vibe and I think painted a striking blue or even pink!!! would be an awesome addition to my dining room set and the scale wall, plus the added extra benefit of more lighting!

A little picture inspiration.

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We shall see, I'll share some real pics of some of the pieces I have found soon.  Hopefully the new closet reveal will happen on Thursday, keep your fingers crossed!

xo

a little recap.

Well hello there!  It's been a few days since I last signed on hope everyone had a great weekend.  Mine was packed but a lot of fun, just looking to spend the night relaxing, but I did want to do a photo update of some of the things I have been up to in the past two weeks.

A little shopping for some pretty jewelry.

Shopping trip to Ikea!  One of my favorite things.  I am getting some of the new purchases put up throughout the house.

Say hello to the love of my life, Richard!  He's a little devil, but how could you not love that face.

Some Valentines Day roses in my new Ikea vase...only $10, hop on that!

Flowers a few days later, so pretty how they opened up.

A relaxing Sunday Brunch to wind up the weekend.

What did you do this weekend?  I'll be back tomorrow, well rested and ready for an exciting week coming up!

xo

my closet...

Forewarning this is not pretty.

However, I figured if I put up the pictures in its current state of disaster I would motivate myself to really get the ball rolling on having a beautiful closet like this one...

"Hello, I live here!"  Quick what movie?  I'm waiting until later in the post to show you my real closet so you can have yourself a good laugh, I'm pretty sure this would be larger than my bedroom, its so big it has to have three pendent lights!  Not one, but three, ooo the life!

Back to reality now, here is some real inspiration that I thought could potentially resemble my closet somewhat in the future.

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There is a lot of storage in both, which I am desperately in need of.  I always feel like I have no clothes but I distinctly remember when originally looking at my apartment marveling at "HOW BIG THE CLOSETS WERE."

Then I moved in.  Womp, womp, wommm.  Not nearly large enough.

For storage in our whole apartment my roommate and I have four closets.  One in each of our bedrooms, a coat closet, and an outdoor storage closet.  Needless to say my one closet in my bedroom has to fit not only clothes but a number of other things such as luggage, laundry, etc.

Enough talk, lets get to the good stuff.  You were forewarned...

In case you were wondering, yes that is a down comforter hanging within a inch of its life that I threw up there because I have no place else to put it, and yes that is a bathroom storage rack that I turned into a purse storage shelf aka work with what ya got!

This is what my closet looks like on a good day, on a bad day, well I would not show you pictures of that.  I do try and keep everything organized by color.  Lately I have been doing pretty well, however if you look at the side my dresses are on you will see that only the part that is most visible to my room has stayed color coded.  As for the rest, well lets just say sometimes I have more pressing things to do!

I am hoping that I can find some solutions this weekend and maybe make things a little easier for myself.

Off to The Container Store I go!

xo