I still like pretty!

Oh hey there. I know it’s been a while. I seem to be all work, no play right now. Ok, not all work, but definitely more work. You won’t hold it against me, will you?

Also, if I ever get the privilege of turning 80, I really hope someone makes a big deal out of it. Am I right? I mean, really; 80 isn't something to be taken lightly.

There should be some flowers. Perhaps like these.

Or maybe these, all prettied up with some apples!

And there ought to be some tissue paper poms and some custom signage.

Maybe with a picture of me when I was a child (well, you know, if I was a little boy back then).

Maybe custom signage all over the place!?

If you hadn't guessed, we had a big ol' birthday party bash for my uncle's 80th.

There was a dessert table, because well, duh...

Some of the birthday boy's favorites made their appearance: homemade chocolate chip cookies,

homemade peanut butter blossom cookies,

non-dairy Rice Krispie treats,

and vegan (so I could eat them 'cause I'm selfish like that) mini-donuts from Mighty O Donuts (in two flavors - vanilla and orange, no less).


Also, got milk?


Maybe you do, but, do you got adorable milk bottles? (That just doesn't have the same ring to it, but I tried.)

The ugly cake was delicious (or so I'm told - it was made with cream and whole milk and cream cheese and butter, so it wasn't for me). (Do note my lack of photograph highlighting the drippy, lopsided cake. Not an accident.) It was homemade red (wine) velvet cake with a butter cream cheese frosting. Tragically, it turned out to be a massive cake fail in the pretty department. Probably one of my worst cakes ever, in fact. Sigh. That was a busy morning and I just didn't have time to tame uncooperative frosting.

There was also a candy bar because, well...because knowing when to stop is not my family's strong point.

Cinnamon lips.

Salted caramels.

Australian licorice, Reese's Pieces, Coconut Jelly Bellies (I wonder where those could have come from!? Hello, wedding leftovers!).


Oh, and Swedish fish!

Mmmm.

I know some people are over the vintage stripped straws. But, I'm not one of them. I'm still quite into these straws. This is why:

And don't pretend you didn't see that mini vintage suitcase. You know you love them as much as I do. (Ok, maybe not that much - I do have 3 sets. That might be a tad on the ridiculous side...again with the knowing when to stop.)

Did I mention there were donuts!?

A good time was had by all, and many were forced to take home way more treats than they wanted. But I betcha they ate them in the car on the way home.

Today's the day!!!!!

That Style Me Pretty - that, oh so lovely wedding blog that has sucked away more hours of my life than I can count, featured MY wedding! (Wait...I mean, *OUR* wedding...riiiight.) Check it out here!



I am so honored, and excited, and happy, and...someone get me a thesaurus!

Wedding Day Emergency Kit

Everyone needs one. Usually I raid the target travel section for a bridal shower gift for a friend (I know it sounds cheesy - but it's one less thing to worry about before a wedding, and peace of mind is a great wedding shower gift!).

This time, I did it for myself.


And yes, everything is there. Fingernail clippers? Check. Static cling remover spray? Check. Lactose intolerant? I got you.

(Well, plus there is will be vegan dinner and dessert options. That's just how us violently lactose intolerant folks roll.)

It's all organized by type.


I'm loving the clear bags! You can see it! (Although there is a small flashlight in there - just in case!)






And these velcro into a larger travel bag that will be coming with me day-of.

I plan to put these in the ladies room during the wedding so that if one of my beautiful guests might need some mousse or perhaps some floss (ok - *I'm* the one who always needs floss) it'll be there for their use! There will also be a list, so that people will know if what they are looking for is actually in there. But, I promise. It is.

Cost of all the miniatures: Probably something ridiculous like $80 - I may have gotten a tad carried away. Feeling prepared for anything on your wedding day: Priceless.

Divine!

So, of course, I love me some baker's twine. It's used by bakers. I heart bakers. And it's twine, so it also parallels my love of ribbon. I mean, obviously it was going to be a perfect match.


And when a certain someone told me about Divine Twine, which comes in a variety of lovely lovely colors, I jumped and immediately purchased a roll from WhiskerGraphics.


I love it. I'm imagining all of the uses for this goodness, and boy do they abound! I will be using the twine to tie the tags to the vintage skeleton keys for the place cards at the wedding. Yes, I will.

And you know how I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I love packaging? Well, Divine Twine did a fabby job of packaging this baby. Look at the adorable bird on the back...I mean, seriously!


And check out all the other little goodies that came in the mail with the twine!



A cute little thank you pouch with a sticker, samples of all the Divine Twine colors, some birdie stickers (!) and a business card, you know, for future purchases. How fun!

House of cards

I seem to have accidentally hit on a recent theme for the wedding: vintage cards.

I found these beauties on Etsy.


I purchased 15 consecutively numbered vintage playing cards for only $5.60, including shipping! Hooray for inexpensive, unique and vintagey table numbers! The Etsy store where I purchased them (30one) has a bunch of fun things like this.

The seller mentioned that the design on the back of the card left something to be desired, but honestly, I don't mind it. It certainly conjures up the look of old playing cards to me!


Although, I can't imagine what card game was played with a deck of cards that were numbered up to 15. Then again I'm no card playing expert. :)


You know what might have been my favorite part? They were wrapped in an old McCall's sewing pattern!


Love! I think I'll be using that to make a tissue flower for one of my tables. I'm so addicted to paper goods it's ridiculous.

I was completely reaffirmed in my belief that these cards were great when I saw them in a Seattle store called Watson Kennedy (purveyor of fine goods - yes, please!). I want my wedding to look like that store, except without the price tag, of course. And you know what's completely adorable - it's Chris' mom's favorite store in the city! She's got good taste, that Wisconsinite. And did I mention that the store is conveniently located across the street from our wedding venue. Win!

Of course, we had to visit while she was here, so my aunt and Chris' mom and I went to check out the venue and then wandered across the street for a little shot of fine goods. I fell in love with these cards (and 15 other things in the store, but, you know, I exercised some self control).


They're rather large, and extra sturdy. My lovely aunt purchased them for me. How sweet! Yes, they're more orangey than champagney, but you don't always want to be perfectly matchy matchy, now do you?





Check out the back! It's soooo the best part!


Apparently there are more words that begin with C than begin with K.


The detail on these babies is pretty great.


I can't wait to mock up a dessert table using all of these great vintagey monogrammed finds!


Oh, and I also love the tissue paper from Watson Kennedy (shown behind the cards in these photos). I will use that for some flowers as well. I'm like a kid - the packaging is just as much fun as the actual item!

PS - Some day I will learn to take photos in daylight so they look a little less...uh...dark. Some day...

Shutter! (Not shudder)

Remember these shutters I found? Turns out they couldn't ship them. But this is one of those rare "ask and ye shall receive" moments.

Guess what my aunt had hanging out in her garage!?


Pretty, right?


I'm going to add either some hooks or small nails to hang place cards with skeleton keys. See? Kinda like this...


except different. But you get the idea! How lucky am I!? And $0 fits my budget so perfectly!

BHLDN

Ok, so this week is busy. Really busy. There's a rainbow cake to be made and delivered, and packing to be done for our trip to San Diego with Chris' daughter. (Which will be fun, once I get over the 'getting up at 4am on Saturday' part. Mornings and I are not good friends.)

I know I'm behind, because the shop came online on Monday, but, I have to talk about Anthropologie's wedding line BHLDN (pronounced Beholden)! So vintage chic!

Clutch, anyone?


From here and here.

And guess what! There are dresses, too! (Obviously.) For the girl who wants to go vintage all the way, the details on this dress are stunning:

I also love the taupe-y color of this dress. Perfect for those lighter skin tones!

This next dress would be an absolutely perfect bridal shower or rehearsal dinner dress. Or perhaps an "I'm eloping but I still want to look completely lovely" dress. Or, an 'I want to look stunning without looking like I'm trying to hard at my casual wedding' dress. Oh, the possibilities.

I could see myself wearing that if I were having a different kind of wedding. It's so preeetty.

The dresses are gorgeous and whimsical, but what I'm really mad over are the accessories in the BHLDN line. This feather hairpiece looks a insanely similar the one I won from my photographer, Abbey Hepner. So, of course, I likes.



This one is just the perfect amount of bling for one's hair. I could also see it being turned into a gorgeous belt. Mmmm.



I also love these hair sparklies. Yes, I think that's the technical term.



This necklace could be completely stunning. It's way out of my budget, and I feel like I'd have to see it on to be sure, but it's simple and delicate, yet intricate at the same time. And so unique.



But the thing I covet the most is this brooch:

I have such a thing for anemones. I know it's a broach, but how gorgeous would that be in someone's hair!? Yep. Love.