a little friday fun.

I know what your thinking...where are the invites and yes they are not ready yet.  They will be up this weekend I promise!  So check back...for now though I thought I would share these amazing pants I found.

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I mean seriously, florals, bright colors, and they are cropped.  In love.  I need these...yesterday, and plan on going to my nearest H&M asap and buying them.

What are you doing this weekend?  I will be at the office for most of mine, I know right, not the most exciting but this is always our busiest time of the year.  I am planning on taking some time to get out and work on my photography, take in a hockey game, and do a little shopping (hence the pants!).  Hopefully Sunday brunch (my favorite) will be in the mix as well!  See you all sometime this weekend!

xo

wedding wednesday.

Snowballing off of last week's post I wanted to address (no pun intended) envelope addressing and all the different options there are.  As I said last week I am a huge fan of all things stationary so naturally this comes as no surprise that I also want the outside of the letter to look just as pretty.  I spoke briefly about hand canceling and keeping the outside clean and crisp but what about the writing.

I love this...

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 And this... 

 

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And this too...

 

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And have you seen these new items floating around...

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How much do you love these?  I have been wanting one for awhile and I think it is finally time to make the purchase.  One of these would be an awesome purchase before its invitation sending time.  Depending on how many invitations you have it could literally save you hundreds of hours (okay maybe an exaggeration but you know what I mean!).  I for one would love one.  Any takers?  

Back to addressing the situation at hand (and again, ha ha ha), as much as I love calligraphy and how much of an impression it makes when it is first seen I, like most Brides do not have a unlimited budget.  And after much thought (yes, I do sit around and think in depth about my future wedding...husband yet unknown) I feel this is one place I may have to comprise on.  

I have played around with a few different things in the past and some of them have turned out really nicely.  To show them to you though, I have to go home and complete them!  Thus Wedding Wednesday will continue on into Thursday this week!  As if that is a bad thing...

Stay tuned...

xo

p.s. Did you enjoy my constant use in this post with the word addressing...I couldn't help myself

  

another great find.

I always love sharing with you all when I find a great photo or print for my gallery wall.  It has been over a year of a work in progress with very little change.  I have however been slowly finding some pieces that I love and started purchasing them.  With most of the frames consisting of only the frame it is quite expensive to have glass cut plus mats made as they are all oddly shaped frames.  So bear with me it might take awhile.  I found this the other day while perusing around the internet.  What do you think?  Absolutely stunning!  Goes to show that only nature can produce the perfect shade of blush pink!

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xo

weekend fun.

This weekend was super busy, it wasn't until Sunday night that I truly felt like I relaxed and took a breath.  It was fun celebrating a good friend's birthday with this little guy...

I found the tutorial here from the lovely Jordan Ferney and here as well.  I simply used boxed cake mix and can icing to make it super easy.  I probably should have taken a little more care with cutting the layers.  As you can see my cake is a little lopsided, however I think imperfections in baking seem to make it just a little more special so I didn't mind too much.  It was really good though and the small size was perfect for our little party.  We all just dug in with out forks instead of cutting slices.  Hey, friends are friends right!

Spent some time shopping with my other half L squared and got these beauties.

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And ended the whole weekend with this amazing show.  Who else is excited that it is back?  I am in love with everything about this show.  The decor of this period is my favorite of any decade so I love seeing all the interiors and trying to reproduce different aspects of them in my own home.  Are you a retro lover as well?  The couch in Don Draper's apartment is very similar to the one I have in my own house, now all I need are the tables and lamps to go with it!

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What did you do all weekend?  Any fellow Mad Men lovers out there?

xo

something so sweet.

I found something so amazing today that I thought I would share with all of you.  One of my favorite poets is Shel Silverstein, so many of my childhood memories involve his poems and it is great to find a way in which to incorporate that into your everyday.

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Who were your favorite poets as a child?  I think I might have to go through some of my old books and pick out a few favorites to have them framed on my gallery wall!  Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  See you all tomorrow!

xo

wedding wednesday.

Wow, is it really Wednesday already?  This week has seemed to flown by.  Now that I say that I know the rest of the week will seem to last forever.  However, it is Wednesday, aka one of my favorite days of the week in the blogosphere and I have decided that today is invitation day.

I love stationary.  Getting a hand written note in the mail is probably one of my favorite things and to this day I still send thank you notes and invitations by mail.  I mean seriously would you rather get a invite to party on Facebook or on a really beautiful invite sent via the U.S. Postal Service. 

With all that said, I think that picking out wedding invitations is extremely difficult, as it is the first glimpse to all of your guests into what kind of event you are having.  Is it going to be formal, playful, chic, rustic, simple, or relaxed.  Therefore I think all couples should really take the time to pick out something that not only represents them but also represents what type of event they are having.

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I think these are all great examples of different types invitations no matter the theme or type of wedding your having.  Great resources for invitations and stationary are here and here.  

Some tips when sending wedding invitations always make sure to send them 6-8 weeks in advance to allow people to make plans to attend, even more time if your having a destination wedding.  

Hand stamping and canceling is always a good option to take as it will keep your invitation looking just as beautiful as when you sent it out.  Make sure to have your completed invite weighed at the post office to ensure that there is the correct amount of postage.  And finally, its always nice to do a sample run with your invites.  This is where you take a single invitation package/envelope to the post office and have it mailed to yourself or a close friend.  That way you can see exactly how it arrives and how all your recipients will get theirs. 

But most of all, have fun with your invites and stationary!  I know its always fun to pay around with things and this is place where you can add that personal touch very easily.  Where did you get your wedding invites?  Did it take your 72 hours to pick them just like it will probably take me?  I am currently in the process of picking out all of the stationary for my imaginary wedding...is that bad? :)

xo

why hello there Pergo.

Today brings us back to kitchen design. Flooring...what to do with the floors? My parents are trying to save some money in certain areas of the kitchen therefore instead of hardwoods we were thinking Pergo. It's a great alternative to wood floors, is extremely less expensive, and I feel looks just as beautiful.

I did a good amount of research last night and found a lot of great reviews and at the same time a lot of not so great reviews. Everything from people having these floors in their house for years with no mishap and then people having them for a year and hating them. Here are some of the pros and cons I found...

Pros: Inexpensive
Just as beautiful as hard woods
Easy to install and if installed correctly will not swell or buckle
Keeps with the look of the house 

Cons: Scratching
Swelling
Water will buckle it
Buckling

Hmm...what to do. Let's look at a few pictures of what it could look like..

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I do really love the look of it. Is it hardwoods? No, but it will look really great and add a lot to the kitchen that I don't think ceramic tiles could do. So my question to you my friends is what are your thoughts on this? Pros? Cons? Have you ever had Pergo or other laminate wood flooring in a kitchen?

xo

love this.

Over the weekend I did a little shopping and found this gem.  Perfect for a night out, Easter Sunday, or any other reason you have for wearing a hot pink dress!  What do you think?

I am in love!

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xo

wedding wednesday.

Well hello again!  For another round of Wedding Wednesday I thought it would be cool to share with you some great ways to incorporate inexpensive items into your wedding to obtain a chic and elegant look.

Mason jars have such a range of possibilities.  Drinking glasses for an informal affair, candle holders for a more elegant country look or as small vases.

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Another great item to use that can make huge differences in decor is fabric.  Pick a print you love and work it throughout the entire wedding.  Drape it, make table runners to add some pop to otherwise simple tablescapes, wrap favor boxes in fabric and set on top of crisp white napkins for an added splash of color on the table, and so on and so on.  I love the four Lilly Pulitzer prints in the middle because of the vivid colors.  They would really pop with some other brights mixed in and incorporated throughout a wedding.  Geometrics  are also a great choice.  They would be a little easier to work with and can be combined with a number of different design elements to create a really cool look.

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Bulk bought flowers are also a awesome way to get a great look for a minimum amount of money.  For a friend's engagement party I ordered these flowers, which ended up working out perfectly.  They arrived a day early and I put them in water to rehydrate them and four days later were still looking beautiful.  At under $100 for over 125 white roses its a steal and could work with weddings too.  Brides and bridesmaids could do their own bouquets or small centerpieces could be easily created.  Here are some pictures of the flowers I used at the engagement party.

And here is the lovely bride with her bouquet I created.  A larger one could easily be made for a bride or bridesmaids.  I know most brides think of anything other than getting ready on the wedding day as a big no no but most of the time bridesmaids are sitting around waiting to get their hair done or make-up so this would be something they could work on while waiting.

I am all about some great inexpensive ways to make a wedding a little bit more affordable.  Any inexpensive items you used at your wedding?  Let me know.  I always love hearing new ideas!

xo

pretty little somethings.

I found Loren Hope's jewelry line the other day and loved all of her designs.  They are really great pieces that I feel are modern yet will stay in style for seasons to come.

 Très jolie!  What do you think?  Have you found any new designers that you are loving lately?

xo

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it's a nice day for a white kitchen.

Did you read that blog title the same way I did, a la White Wedding?  Its always good to end a Monday with a little Billy Idol, don't you think?

As most of you know my parents are redoing their kitchen.  They are making a lot of huge changes but also staying with some of the old elements they currently have.  They will be changing the floors, changing the cabinet color, and changing the wall color.  What will be staying the same will be all the appliances, the countertops, and furniture/accessories.

My suggestion was to paint the cabinets white and do a more moody color on the walls such as a darker gray.  The problem we keep having is, is it going to be too much white?  

Here are some pictures for inspiration.

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After looking through a ton of pictures I think they should go for it.  To break it up there will be darker floors, a little bit darker walls, and some great color accents to really make the white pop.

What are your thoughts?  Is white cabinets, white counter tops, and white appliances too much?  Do you think using other colors will help break it up?  And how was everyone's weekend?  Hopefully awesome!

xo

Ch ch ch changes.

What do you think?  Do you like the mirror?  I love love love it, so romantic and only $30 at Ikea.  I use to have two framed prints above my bed but alas one fell and shattered so out with the old and in with the new!

It seems as if lately I have only been making changes to my bedroom.  Why that is I don't know, I have a lot planned for the rest of my place just waiting for the right pieces to come around. 

What are you doing this weekend?  Any remodeling or decorating?  I am off to Lowe's tomorrow to pick out some colors and tiles for my parents.  Did I mention I talked them into painting the cabinets white?!?!  Victory!  I know its going to look great.  If you remember, this is what it use to look like.  As soon as all the work gets started I will be posting pictures.  Happy Weekend you guys!

xo 

as promised.

I promised I would show you some pictures of the wall I hang all my jewelry on two days ago, after this very pretty post, and here it is!

 My mom actually made them for me for Christmas.  They are basically wooden squares that you cover with fabric, screws hooks into the bottom and hang.  Simple enough right?!? It's a cute little project that is quick and easy.

Is anyone else super pumped that tomorrow is Friday?  I'll be back with a few more bedroom changes then!  Goodnight everyone.

xo

 

wedding wednesday

A whole lot of sparkle is on the way for today's post.  It's engagement ring time!  Now I know a majority of brides don't have a say in what their ring will look like, or do they?  I'm not sure, either way I love looking at all that sparkle!  Here are some of my favorites.

Who doesn't love a few large very, very large diamonds to end out their Wednesday.  All hands raised here!  Did you pick out your own diamond?  Or did your significant other make all the decisions?  I'm thinking I would want some say, then on the other hand I love surprises.  Hmm guess I'll have to wait and see one day! ;)

xo

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