turtlepapers: thank-you notes

personalized whimsy flat notecards (custom set of 20 with envelopes)


congratulations notecards (set of 6 with envelopes)

delicate and froufilly satisfying (yes, that is now a word) -- these are girly-notes done right. my sister has been looking for good thank-you notecards, and these even come custom-personalized with your new initial/old initial/preferred letter of choice. lovely! comes in a set of 20, or you can order larger quantities as well. if the listing has sold, you can send a note with your request. (see also the bundle of 6 assorted bird thank-yous, supercute.)

the congratulations set works great for those (like me) whose friends are either marrying or having babies (6 in the last 2 months!) in multiples. (for another great set, see the darling happy elephants).

seattle-based turtlepapers also makes gocco screenprints, adorable tees, and pretty, pretty cards. more at turtlepapers.etsy.com

happy holiday weekend, friends!

pamelatang: modern quilts

modern silk quilt in bordeaux red with rust brown


quilted silk journal

with all respect to dear mrs. freda, these are not your gramma's quilts. an australian designer working out of singapore, pamelatang makes stunning handcrafted limited edition quilts (both full-size and nugget-size), runners, table linens, journals, cushions and fabric artwork. unusual color combinations and attention to detail -- slight variations in design, asymmetrical piecework -- achieve a succinct mission: to reinterpret the traditional patchwork quilt with a stripped-down, eastern simplicity.

not everyone will love the 'shininess' of dupioni silk -- it has a certain formal elegance i don't necessarily want to cozy up to (although this runner would look smashing over a crisp white duvet)...

sage green and lime silk bedrunner

...but i admit i aspire to the sort of "monastic elegance" (my friend jeanne's term) of a simple, lovely, zen-like respite rather than the vortex of jewelry-making chaos that is currently my bedroom. time to class it up, perhaps!

shipping from singapore seems fairly straightforward, and these would make sterling and original (even one-of-a-kind) gifts for that impossible-to-shop-for couple. or register for your very own (myregistry.com), instead of the same-old pottery barn choices. very well may be quilt nirvana: pamelatang.etsy.com

gorgeous cupcake stands

I found this gorgeous Horchow cupcake stand thru Hostess with the Mostess, I couldn't resist! It's perfect for hosting a bridal/baby shower, or purchase a few in varied sizes for a small wedding. I love that the different stands all have different skirts, so pretty. AND they're on sale!

big, big news.

I know that posting hasn't been as regular as usual lately. This is mainly due to the fact that Dell and I have been searching for our first house... (pause for dramatic effect) WE FOUND IT! Since both of us work for ourselves in internet based businesses we had the unique luxury of living where ever we want. We didn't really want to leave New York per se, but in order to afford more space it had to be done. We ended up doing a lot of house hunting in Providence, Rhode Island. Providence is closer to my family and still cheaper than Boston. It's also a very charming city. On our first visit there both Dell and I were shocked by how charming... cobblestone streets, great restaurants and pedestrian friendly neighborhoods to name a few pluses. We ended up finding a beautiful 1930's home in the heart of the Providence's East Side. I can't tell you how excited we both are about moving into our first house together. Our tiny apartment was a wonderful home to us for the last 5 years, but it's time to GO! Leaving our friends behind is going to be the hardest part of this venture by far, and I'm still not quite sure how I'll deal. We're going to Providence to close on the house this week. Posting may be a little sparse until the beginning of next week, but I'll be back for sure on Monday.
I couldn't imagine finding a house and planning a move in tandem with planning a wedding. I salute all of you who try it, although how you pull it off is totally beyond me. Magical powers?

lemonlovespaper: happy homemakers!

happy homemaking helps ACEO*


vintage cookware mini journal

what is it about registering that brings out the "happy homemaker" in otherwise non-domestic sorts? my sister steadfastly refused all entreaties to yuppify her registry, which consists primarily of towels and power tools at sears.com. sadly, the realization dawned that while i'd never thought of myself as molly cooktop, suddenly she *NEEDED* an artisan stand kitchenaid mixer, and an oxo goodgrips pizza cutter, and a 12-cup coffeemaker (for when i visit, since she doesn't drink coffee for the love) and a ridiculous list of things to outfit the kitchen. not just bridesmaidzilla but the registry nazi. at least she cooks!

happily have returned to my pre-wedding anti-registry state, so the top ACEO* card isn't practical, but it made me laugh. something about that acid green color with the happy homemakers -- combine it with a happy vintage cookware mini journal and you've got yourself a cheeky gift.

or, even better for the bride-to-be:

blueprint mini journal

when planning, i found myself overwhelmed by scraps of paper with vital bits of info, by the dozen, and they all wanted to be in my purse at the same time. here's a pocket-sized mobile info center for all those notes to self. your blueprint for success, if you will.

no more bad puns. fun paper goods at lemonlovespaper.etsy.com, or check out megan's other store, lemonade.etsy.com, for more lovelies!

*Art Cards, Editions, and Originals -- essentially artist trading cards :)

clutching at clutches

I'd love to get my hands on one of these dress-up clutches from Roost in the UK. I believe (from what I read on their site) that they will ship to the US. I enjoy the patterned one especially, but they also have a blue option if you're in the market for something blue.

toybreaker (tielab): silkscreened ties

matching silkscreened groomsmen neckties

detroit-based tielab, aka toybreaker, not only prints rockstar neckwear for bands on tour, they offer a bulk wedding discount on multiples of their fierce hand-screenprinted ties -- poppies as above, or check out the revolvers, clipper ships, and mechanical prints. for weddings with 10 or more, you can purchase wholesale; a wide range of colors and styles available (give them 3 weeks lead time and they'll match your color). their motto: "be prepared for big dates, court dates, and dates with destiny." more glorious tie love at toybreaker.etsy.com

happy accidents

I think it's too bad that people wish for perfect weddings. While my wedding was perfect in all the ways that mattered to me, it wasn't without its mishaps. For these, I'm grateful.
My husband and I were married in a small loft in Manhattan. Since both the ceremony and the reception were held in the same space, we had to have everything we needed inside that space before the ceremony began. This meant (among other things) keeping the tables just out of sight on the balcony, and hiding the jukebox off in a corner behind some curtains until after the ceremony was over. This all worked out very well, except for one brief moment right before I walked down the aisle. All the guests were patiently waiting for me, (I was a bit held up) and all of a sudden over the sound system comes ACDC's "You Shook Me All Night Long". I can only imagine what people must have thought in those short moments. "Is she really going to walk down the aisle knocking us out with her American thighs"? Turns out, the jukebox had magically and randomly sprung to life, treating everyone to a rockin' yet totally inappropriate serenade. My friend Marty ended up making a lunge for the power cord and killed the sound before the band got thru any major power cords, but still. It was funny. Granted, at the time I had no notion of this little mishap whatsoever. I walked down the aisle without a clue. It wasn't until after the wedding was over that Dell told me about it and how everyone had giggled. We both laughed about it then, and we still laugh about it now. Every time I hear that song, I think of my wedding. Perfect, smerfect. Imperfect weddings have character.

Anyone else out there have any happy wedding mishap stories?

robandlean: titanium ring

titanium and diamond tension-set ring

this is just so cool and so different: a tension-set diamond with an indestructible titanium band. embodies strength, beauty, mystery, and faith: the delicate balancing act of marriage. mystery: how does it hold together? faith: we just know it will.

more gorgeous rings at robandlean.etsy.com

retrospectivedesign: invite map

custom invitation map and directions

having labored over my sister's map for hours in illustrator, and yes, i know that makes me bridesmaidzilla -- my sister couldn't have cared less what font or colors were on her map (no!! must... match... invitation... aiiiiee) -- i can say as a professional that this map is a both a great deal and a great idea. retrospectivedesign keeps it simple, clean, legible, and (most important!) easy on the bride.

the pdf file is yours to print on whatever stock (vellum! papersource trip!) you please. my tip, having attempted to print and cut all 150 myself (hell, i have a giant papercutter, how hard can it be?) -- have them printed and cut by your local copy shop, the what, $10? will be money very well spent. of course you knew that, because you're not bridesmaidzilla. like me.

a good map is important. brings me to a somewhat related point: the road ahead. having gotten my sister successfully hitched, i am confronted by the fact that i quite enjoy blogging about wedding shops on etsy, but as an unmarried-yet-attached woman-over-thirty, there may be a sad pathos in my continuing to do so. bridesmaidzilla no longer: now sister-in-law-zilla, way more satisfying and *much* less work.

so what to do? keep the blog going because it's fun, even though my mother asks for the umpteenth... so... what's going on with you and M? offer it out in the etsy fora and have someone take over? make a final sweet hurrah of a post and call it a day? i just don't know -- hadn't exactly planned on becoming a wedding-shopping blogger :). what do you think?

enough about that. i promised photos of cone boobs, and since my camera remained behind to enjoy las vegas, am relying on family to post photos to our shared photo site online, and promise to get you all a good one.

yes, etsywedding: your source for all things cone-boob. for great maps and other custom items, see retrospectivedesign.etsy.com

belabumbum

The name alone makes me want to wear them! Belabumbum. Aren't they sweet? Who wouldn't want to pack a few sets of these for the honeymoon? They also carry some pretty swimsuits if you're headed to someplace warm.

cake power

Lovin Sullivan has some beautiful new photos up on her site. While I've written about her bold color and amazing designs before, the entire "elegant wedding cakes" selection is new to me, and gorgeous. If you have time, check out the kids cakes too. So cute.

little black dress

The little black dress route is such a great way to coordinate bridesmaids without being too matchy. And what could be more elegant, practical or easy to find? These are some of my absolute favorites for fall, all from Saks, yet none too outrageously priced. I love the drastically different silhouettes, which may be necessary to avoid the we're-off-to-dance-back-up-in-a-Robert-Palmer-video look.

Notte by Marchesa Tulle Trapeze Dress
Milly Funnel Neck Mini Dress
ABS Silk Bubble Mini Dress

more favor tins...

I know I've been very focused on favor ideas lately, but I just keep bumping into great stuff. I can't help it. These customizable mint tins come in 21 different colors and are great for stuffing with any number of tasty little dealy-bobs. Also available from the same shop are these great CD tins: decorate any which way you like.

the bride's guide

We all draw so much inspiration from MS Weddings magazine, I'm sure you'll all be thrilled to hear that there's now a blog! Updated daily, "The Bride's Guide" is written by MS editor Darcy Miller. Even though it's fairly new, (I think it started at the beginning of August), there are already some wonderful ideas up there along with some beautiful photography.

allisonstrine: be happy

she is perfectly imperfect mixed media pendant charm

for my little sister: happiness today and always!

our grandmother's favorite toast:
salud, amor, muchas pesetas y el tiempo para gozarlas
health, love, wealth, and the time to enjoy them.



more lovely and beautifully sentimental things: allisonstrine.etsy.com

it's done!

what a strange feeling: my sister is married, the photos are printed, the brunch was hosted, and we all flew home. and it was *amazing.* so many stories i could tell. you'll forgive me for being away.

first valuable life lesson learned:
have a backup camera, in case you leave yours in a restaurant on the first night of the weekend like an ass. (or like me.)

second valuable life lesson:
*never* alter yourself to fit a dress. alter the dress to fit *your* shape.
those boobs from nordstroms? little silicone anchors. stupid little chest-weights.

combined with a strapless bra, i didn't stand a chance. i could feel the contraption sinking even before i walked down the aisle. thank god the video doesn't show me at all -- me with my red satin cone-boobs sticking out from mid-torso. but the photos do -- if you're nice, i will post a good one. better to show one's real strapless self than spend the reception hiking up your al-qaeda torture garment.

third valuable life lesson:
tell the hairstylist when something is going very wrong.
this one for my 11-year-old sister, who ended up with, in her words, "pageant hair." an odd soup-can-curl crown with a weird shellacked half-mullet. with sparkly pins stuck in it. (we're from texas, and we know from pageant hair.) the owner of the salon overheard us discussing how we'd wash it out back at the hotel room and insisted on fixing it, sweet mercy. the day goes by fast but the photos last forever. you don't want to pass by pageant hair in your sister's hall the rest of your life.

finally: have brunch the day after with everybody. sure, it's one more thing to plan, and not entirely necessary, but people love it. i loved it so much i've gone into hock over it (did you know that a carafe of coffee and two carafes of OJ is $106? only in vegas) and i swear i don't regret one minute. it was awesome to get everyone together again.

one of my uncles i hadn't seen since i was 16, who is barely out of chemo for a wickedly nasty cancer (and is at the moment miraculously kicking its ass), remarked on this at brunch -- these days the only times family comes together from all across the country is for weddings or funerals, and he was damn sure glad this was one and not the other. too true, and easy to lose sight of when you're freaking out about losing your camera and how the eff you ended up with pageant hair.

everything will be fine -- it will go by *way* too fast -- your cheeks will cramp -- you will yell at one of your closest family members (guaranteed!) -- something will go wildly off -- but the little blue spots on your retinas will fade, so enjoy the hell out of whatever you've put together for your day. do at least one thing that feels to you like the best celebration ever. and just think how weird it will feel the week after, not having everyone call you for 1000 decisions. i kind of miss it :).

let there be height

Brian Atwood makes some awesome shoes. A lot of them are perfect for a bride looking for a little extra height, and maybe a little splash of color and sparkle too. His looks are kind of attention getting without being trashy. One of my favorites is the one above, mostly because it's not something you see everyday, it also comes in blue.

favor boxes

This post over at Wedding Bee inspired me to find some DIY favor box ideas. I didn't have to look too far, as Martha Stewart Crafts had a bunch of pretty DIY favor box kits for sale. PaperMart is also really great for tiny boxes. You can get a whole bunch of them on the cheap, and then embellish them yourself with flowers, ribbon, stamps... however the spirit moves you. I've seen some really pretty ones that were stamped with a monogram, then tied with a ribbon. I forget where I saw that, but it sounds very Martha to me.

guest soaps

This might be a cute way to dress up a guest bath and offer an extra little favor at the same time. These little guest soaps come in a variety of beautiful scents and can be personalized with a message of your choice. Black and white, or brown and cream.

cake post!

Sometimes when it's late at night and you're jones-ing for some sweets, nothing but a cake post will do. While looking and thinking about cake really doesn't do anything for my chocolate cravings, it's all I've got (mostly because I don't actually have anywhere to get late-night-cake). So I'll just have to settle for the low-cal alternative.
Carrie's Cakes is a great place to browse lots of pretty cakes, and I mean lots! It's fantastic for egging on your sweet tooth, or gathering cake inspiration.

fun times

I caught the tail end of this tv show last night where they were showing all these different YouTube videos of hilarious first wedding dances. I thought this one was the best! I think it was my favorite because the couple looked like they were having an absolutely fantastic time. This one was pretty awesome too. Again, I liked it because the groom was just loving it, having a great time. I'd love to know what you all are planning for your first dance... funny, sweet, over-the-top?

time to kill

Dell's off for the week taking care of business, and I'm here in our apartment, all by myself. I feel like I should stay up late and paint my toenails or something. Maybe throw myself into Steel Magnolias and eat cookie dough out of that sausage casing it comes in, maybe slap on a seaweed mask... I'm not even sure where to begin. I have 5 days to kill, so I guess I can do all those things and more. Suggestions? What to you do when you're SO is out of town? Anything special?
I started the evening off with a little internet browsing, and found these adorable rings from Auto. I love the Princess Ring by St. Kilda on the left. Unique, precious, affordable, all the things I like in rings.

thebeautifulproject: sweet card

you are easy to be around notecard

awww. there are funnier ones (a la "hooray for me and f*@! you" and "even your farts are cute") and more practical ones ("hey, thanks a ton") in this vancouver-based etsy shop, but this one is just right. more at thebeautifulproject.etsy.com

weekly DBA: towel cake

this week's david's bridal award: elegant towel wedding cake

huh. so... it's a cake... but it's made from rolled-up terrycloth bath towels and hand towels... so... you can't eat it. but it *looks* like you can eat it. but you can't. and... it's $65. so it's not like you'd take it apart, really, and... bathe with it. you just... keep it? for next time?

huh.

weekly DBA.
(what's a DBA?)

tag. i'm it.

So the other day, I got Blog Tagged by Rhonda. Being tagged seems to come with a complicated system of rules, wherein, I have to publish 8 little known facts about me, then tag other bloggers. Sounds like fun to me! So these are my 8 things:

1) I live in small apartment on Seventh Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn with my husband. We both run our own businesses, and we both work from home. I don't think any two humans spend more time together than we do, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

2) When I have to leave New York, the thing I will miss the most (besides my friends), is crossing the Brooklyn Bridge by cab, looking back at all the lights of downtown, and feeling like I'm at the center of the world.

3) I know a lot about sharks. I'm very keen on shows about sharks, and all things sharky. I don't love sharks, in fact, I'm scared to death of them (see #5), I just really like to learn about them. Shark Week is like... my favorite week.

4) I spent a large portion of my childhood at gymnastics workouts. My favorite exercise was the floor, you can't fall off the floor. My least favorite was the beam, because it really hurts when you fall off the beam.

5) My greatest fear in life is being eaten by an animal.

6) I went to art school at Syracuse University having never taken an art class prior to my first day of my freshman year of college. I just thought it would be a cool thing to do.

7) I grew up in a small rural town in Northeastern Connecticut, there was nothing really to do there, so I left. Now, I wish for nothing to do.

8) My favorite thing to do is cook for the people I care about.

These are the bloggers I've tagged: Deirdre, Carey, Holly, Ms. Spinach, Erica, Karen, and Melissa.

sidneyann: coasters and gifts

vintage fabric tree-print coasters


flower vintage scarf coasters

sidneyann in seattle makes *wicked* cute coasters, handmirrors, and glasses cases with vintage scarves and fabrics -- plus great-looking custom cosmetic cases -- in sets, great for the bridal party, or individually as a shower gift. fun! more at sidneyann.etsy.com

worst. bridesmaid. dress. ever.

was feeling a teensy bit sorry for myself and my morticia-hair and my red satin barbie-ballgown last night. but really, it isn't so bad. in that vein, i present the following sent from the archival files of my dear friend.

her mother had a late december wedding, complete with ermine-trimmed wedding gown... so naturally she chose red as the color for the bridesmaids. but what to do to make them match a little better? why not trim them in ermine too?

ladies, i give you santa-bridesmaids:


see? it really isn't that bad.

don't miss it!

Abby, over at Style Me Pretty, emailed me earlier this week about me about her fantastic Inspiration Board Contest. Even if you don't enter, the submissions she's collected are really spectacular. The creativity represented there is just amazing. Seriously, check it out.

invitedink: invitations

"scroll of hearts" digital printed invitations

a mother-daughter team based in CA, invitedink has some unusual options, and does both letterpress and digital printing as well as custom work -- i love the rounded corners on the lovely card above. and the rrrrred. excellent.

plus -- who doesn't want to see the flintstones get hitched? one heck of a maiden name.

they also have a lovely website where you can look at swatches and get more info on custom orders/options. i think the best part is that grandma and great-grandma invitedink worked for the zellerbach paper co., so this has been in the genes for a loooong time. more at invitedink.etsy.com