I heart Sundance!

I was at home in IL over the weekend and saw one of my favorite catalogs sitting on my parents coffee table.  I always forget about how awesome this catalog is until I go home and usually find the latest edition somewhere in my parents house (not surprising since my Mom has a subscription to every magazine and catalog in print).  I love Robert Redford and everything about his Sundance catalog!

Check out some of these lovely items in the latest Spring catalog:

Lillian Dress

This might be cute for our wedding weekend picnic!

Crocheted Capelet

And maybe for over the dress instead of a cardigan??

Bellaflor Belt

They have so many cute belts - and this one is a Fair Trade item

Tori Bag

Perfect bag for a tropical honeymoon destination

White Ballad Tunic (love it in yellow too!)

Lotus in Bloom Ring

Margot Ballad Flats - come in a variety of colors

These look comfortable for a long night of dancing

Don't even get me started on all their home stuff - if I had the money and a space to put it in I'd buy all of it but can probably only afford this candle!

Woodland Votive

If I weren't saving for a wedding I'd have to splurge on something from this latest catalog.  I heart Sundance!

DIY festive fabric flags

I love that folks are using fabric flag pennants as decor at weddings.  It's not only something you can use on your wedding day but you can incorporate them into a fun backyard design.  Of course when I started seeing these I had to have them as part of our wedding weekend too!

{via} 100 Layer Cake

{via} 100 Layer Cake

Love these flags that really brighten up the ceremony seating area

{via} Scout Holiday

I like all of these examples but I LOVE my fabrics!  Again...I'm very blessed with so many creative folks willing to help me make the wedding weekend so special.  My sister and mom have been working hard cutting out fabrics and getting ready to make me some festive flags for our "hair of the dog" picnic the day after the wedding.  Since we are going with that "fiesta" theme they've picked out some super fun orange, red, brown, striped, polka dot fabrics...check it out! 

Love my fabrics!

See the orange, brown and yellow ribbons on the left?

 Those will be used as the top ribbon to string them together

So many projects left to do and we just hit the 2 month mark yesterday!

Raise a Glass - Signature Drink

Since we are getting married at a vineyard and to save some money we've landed on just serving beer and really good wines.  We do love the idea of one signature drink during the cocktail hour following the ceremony - something unique and refreshing.  During one of my yearly work trips to Sonoma the bartender at the hotel was making a drink that looked really interesting and since I'd had my fair share of wine decided to try it.  The drink was a Pimm's Cup (kind of an old fashioned drink) - I'd never heard of it before but it was fantastic!  It tastes like a lemony iced tea with touch of cucumber and ginger ale - maybe that doesn't sound so good but it is.  Since then our work crew enjoys Pimms Cups every year we go back to Sonoma - or wherever else we can find a bartender that actually knows how to make one.  I introduced the Pimms to my Guy who shares my taste for this yummy drink and he decided to make a few for us last weekend when we were trying to decide on our signature drink. 

{via} My Guy

The Pimms Cup is really easy - just add Pimm's (should be able to find at most liquor stores), Ginger Ale, splash of FRESH lemon (never use lemon juice in a bottle - it's the only thing we had) and garnish with cucumber and a strawberry or an orange.  If you google Pimm's you'll see there are several variations to this drink but we've found this is the tastiest.

See those wood planks underneath - we'll be using those at the wedding too!

So I think we've landed on the Pimm's Cup but I think everyone should come up with a creative name that ties into the wedding - so what do you think?  Maybe "The Loving Cup"?  We could always play the Phish version of this Rolling Stones classic during the cocktail hour.

And I just bought these fun paper straws to go in them!

Friday Favorites

Headed home this weekend to IL for my niece's first communion and my first dress fitting (hope it fits!).  I'm sure there will be a good deal of wedding planning and last minute details to go over with my folks and sister since this will be my last weekend home before the wedding - my last weekend home ever as an unmarried woman!

Some great inspiration out there this week but here are some of my favorites:

I found this wonderful blog Brancoprata and clearly we have the same taste b/c every time I look at her blog I'm about to or have just posted the same thing!  And she posted a beautiful wedding today that I've seen around the blogosphere this week.  I already posted the awesome dessert table yesterday but love these lace trimmed votives that the bride made with vintage laces. 

Check out this bride's blog @ The Loveliest Day

Love this chalkboard - we're gonna make our own cool design on a board

This whole Sundance wedding is so sweet!

{via} Green Wedding Shoes

Inspiration Board of the Week

So fitting for the Easter holiday {via} Lucky Me!

Naturally the folks from Emerson Made would have the most adorable house

{via} Design Sponge

Outdoor Fireplace {via} Elizabeth Anne Design

Big shout out to a real bride - A Homegrown Wedding - for these adorable DIY invitations

Have a great weekend!

Dessert Bar

You are seeing all kinds of different dessert options at weddings these days which certainly makes me happy b/c I love dessert!  But, remember the ornate multi tier traditional fondant wedding cake of days past...you know...like this one. 

Awww, so cute - those are my folks!

Don't get me wrong, I love me some cake but I'm not a fan of the cake cutting, throw-cake-in-your-face bit.
If we were going to do that it would be this cake!

{via} Martha Stewart Weddings

I love coconut (and limes) so maybe a "put the lime in the coconut" cake?

There are some different smaller and creative cakes out there that would be a nice alternative.
 
 

{via} Green Wedding Shoes

{via} FS Photography

 

Or offer a smaller cake as part of a bigger dessert table

And then there are some really unique dessert offering...

Fondue Table

Individual pies in small mason jars - yes, pls!

{via} Gabriel Boone

Donuts!  We'll have these at the picnic (more to come on that)

But I think we are leaning toward a dessert table or bar and I found the best dessert lady and can't wait to share her creations with you in the near future.  She offers some really unique desserts and I think it will be a treat for our guests to pick out whatever dessert they are craving.  This decision will be all me since My Guy doesn't eat dessert and for the most part can't have them unless they are vegan.  Don't worry babe - we'll have some treats for you too! 

Here are some really yummy examples of beautiful dessert spreads.

{via} Jasmine Star

{via} Green Wedding Shoes

Today I'm 32!

Yes...today is my birthday.  I'm 32 years old today.  I've been extremely blessed so far in this life and feel the best is yet to come and that's a tall order given the past 32 years.  Today at 32, I feel my life is just beginning and that there is so much left ahead of me...so many adventures in front of me.  If you asked me two years ago at 30 I would have told you I thought the sky was falling and that the fun years of my youth were over.  I'm embarking on a whole new adventure this 32nd year of my life and with the greatest life long partner at my side.   

When he asked me what I wanted for my birthday I honestly couldn't think of a thing.  Sure I could dedicate an entire blog post to all the wonderful treasures I'd love to have but just having him home is enough for me.  He works a job that sometimes keeps him away months at a time (in fact for 3 months right after our wedding, boo!) so I treasure the times he is at home more than anything else.  Since he's been home he gets up early (even though he doesn't have to) makes me breakfast (ususally eggs which he can't even eat), sends me to work with lunch and has dinner ready by the time I get home not to mention does the laundry, cleans the house and works on wedding projects during the day while I'm at work. One of my favorite lines from "The Art of Marriage" that I might use in my vows is "the little things are the big things" - so true!

Birthdays are usually a huge deal for me....I guess b/c my parents always made them feel so special and important.  In fact I refer to March as my birthday month and use it as a reason to celebrate all month long. But the only thing I really need on this birthday is what everyone needs on their birthday.  Cake! - like I always say, "it's not a birthday without birthday cake"....so today what I look forward to most is spending the night at home with my love and eating my birthday cake (maybe even in my birthday suit)!

Yum!

Dress Obsessed!

I think this dress I spotted yesterday is up there with the top three wedding dresses I've ever seen.  For some reason now that I'm down to my own dress fittings I'm seeing all these amazing dresses.  Don't get me wrong - I'm still so excited to be having my dress made and to be involved in the entire process of seeing it come together and can't wait to see the final product but I do have dress envy over this one.

This tops the list at number one!  This dress is a dream.  I saw it yesterday on Inspired By This and then immediately linked over to the photographers website at The Image is Found to get more of this gorgeous gown. And naturally...this bride is a model if you couldn't tell.

My other favorite dress (that I've posted some many times before) has slipped to number two but I still love it.  Clearly I have a thing for eyelet lace and while my dress won't be eyelet it will be lace.  Guess I'll have to get an eyelet dress to wear some other time during the wedding weekend.

{via} One Love Photo

Even when I did a bit of looking when I found this first dress I couldn't find one eyelet lace wedding dress that had the appeal of these - in fact I couldn't find one eyelet lace wedding dress at all.  Anyone else seen anything like these out there?

Now....for the soy candle giveaway...the lucky # is 1 from random.org. 

Congrats to Sarah Ester...you are my winner.  Shoot me an email and I'll send you out some of our soy candle creations. Cheers!

Spring Break 2010!!

I know I've been a little absent these past few days but for good reason. My Guy and I decided we'd take an impromtu road trip to the Florida Keys.  What a weekend!  It was exactly what we needed - a break from wedding planning and a reminder of how to be spontaneous again!

One of the many reasons I feel in love with My Guy was for his carefree, laid back, free spirited nature and how he brought that out of me again when I met him.  Back in the day I was always the one to convince my girlfriends to jump in the car and take a long weekend roadtrip or hop the next plane out of town on a weekend E-saver to whatever city sounded like fun that particular weekend.  Somewhere along the way I really started to lose that piece of me...started to take myself way to seriously.  Until I met him and found it again - it was never gone just suppressed for entirely too long.  Shortly after we met, some of my girlfriends would even say - "I don't know what happened but it seems the old Debbie is back...and we really missed her." 

When we first met every weekend we were doing something different - Saturday boat trips out to the sandbar, roadtrips to Charleston or spontaneous weekends in Costa Rica.  Lately it's been nothing but wedding planning, projects around the house or future planning preparations.  Even though we probably could have filled up our weekend with all the things on our "to-do" list we were long overdue for a weekend of blowing off our responsibilities and hitting the road - no better place to do this than Key West!  My Guy lived there for five years and still has a bunch of friends down there so it turned out to be a birthday/engagement/bachelor-ette/party Spring Break 2010 kind of weekend with really killer weather.  I thought I'd be bummed to come back to work today but I'm not at all.  I'm back with a renewed energy and a good tan!

I missed my Friday Favorites last week so I thought I'd share with you my one favorite thing from last week.  When I saw this I was completely smitten!

Speaking of free spirited and carefree - check out this uber sweet bohemian style wedding dress.  She got it off Ebay!  Who would have thought to look on Ebay...I didn't.  If I had known there would be finds like this I certainly would have.

{via} Once Wed

One more day to enter my giveaway for soy candles - I'll annouce the winner tomorrow!

DIY Ribbon Curtain

I'm lucky to have some really creative and crafty friends and relatives - my sister is working on some fabric flags for the picnic and my cousin is working on a ribbon curtain for the wedding.  I've seen a lot of ribbon inspiration out there but wanted to do a ribbon curtain that would add some drama and flair for the ceremony entrance and something that would seperate the ceremony/cocktail area from the inside of the barn reception/dinner area.

at our venue - Gorge Crest

We would hang the ribbon curtain in the door way behind where the bride (my new friend Emily) is walking

Another view from the inside - I hope we get that kind of weather!

 I love the ribbons - here are some of the inspiration pics we are using for the curtain:

{via} Sash and Bustle

{via} Homegrown Wedding

{via} Green Wedding Shoes

Love this look on the back of chairs - you could do this for the ceremony too

{via} Jose Villa

Maybe we could use the ribbon curtain in our house after the wedding!

{via} Casa Sugar

She just sent me some ribbon samples the other day - all different shades of purples and various styles and textures.  I can't wait to see it draping across the doorway at our wedding. 

Don't forget to comment on the giveaway for some free natural soy candles!  I'll pick a winner Friday or maybe Monday.