Thursday, June 30, 2011

wedding recap

I'm settling into this being married thing. People say that things feel different when you get married, even if you've been together (and living together) for several years. It seems silly that one piece of paper can make such a difference, but it really isn't just a piece of paper. Yes, I've heard people say it before but I wasn't quite sure what the difference would actually be. What it would feel like.

I mean first there's going from calling the mister my boyfriend for a few years, to calling him my fiance for almost exactly one year (truth be told I tried to avoid calling him that. There's something about the word fiance and the way it felt coming out of my mouth that just never quite sat right with me) to now calling him my husband. Husband feels better. Still takes some getting used to, but it feels good. My husband.

And then... the changing of the name. I started with the little things, like changing my email signature at work (sure my email address is still my maiden name, but that seems like more trouble than it's worth to change it). I started giving out my new name for things like dropping off film to be developed (more on this later). And yesterday, finally, I went to change my name at the DMV and SSA. It was time consuming and a little anti-climactic as I have to wait for both cards to arrive in the mail, but it's done! I have a new name! Now there's the arduous process of calling all of my banks (yes, all of them. It's times like this I wonder why I'm dealing with 4 different banks. Why.), credit cards, insurance, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.

Now, I've been holding out for quite some time and there are going to be several more of these to come, but it's time for some photos! I am beyond thrilled with what I have seen so far of our wedding pictures. I seriously cannot wait until they are all finished and ready to go. I'm dreaming about putting them together into a photo book and maybe even putting some on the walls. Oh goodness.


Our first look photo. So glad we did this. Like so very very glad. It took so much pressure out of the ceremony and just allowed us some time to relax, have fun, and be comfortable together on our wedding day. So instead of all of the anticipation building to one moment where I'm pretty sure I would have been a puddle of nerves and emotion, what we got was pure enjoyment of the day -together-

All of my favorite details: hand painted wedding directional signage, hand-made bouquets, cake toppers, ring pillow (not pictured), glass coke bottles and grey striped paper straws, engraved wedding bands, water color paper chains... These things were painstakingly planned, labored over, and loved and cherished by me. And I think the mister kind of liked them too.

And that last picture? So pretty! I can't believe how lucky we were with the weather and the lack of sirens. It was a lovely day. :)

Still to come: photobooth details, film photos, music recap, (is there anything I'm missing?)

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Coast Modern

This makes my heart race a little I'm so excited to see it. It's everything I want for my home and for my life.

Monday, June 27, 2011

fit session

I decided to try on some new glasses thanks to Warby Parker and their free at home trial system (have I mentioned that I love Warby Parker? They're fantastic.) And I got this urge to try out new shapes and sizes since I have been getting very similar rectangular frames for years now. So time for something new.
 
 
 
 

I felt pretty stinkin ridiculous in most of them, but those last ones there (Finn, in case you were wondering) might just do the trick. Nice and small, and not quite rectangular. Going out on a limb here people!

My current glasses, for your reference.

 

In case you were wondering I have been planning some more wedding related posts but I've been waiting for just the right time to work on them. I need time, I need a good mood, I need... time. And I guess in a way I've been waiting for someone to ask for them. Response to all wedding related posts thus far has been dismal, and I guess that is a bit disappointing. Just trying to figure out what to make of all this.

But new glasses... that sounds good, right? :)

Thursday, June 23, 2011

work in progress

I've had this idea floating around in my head and I decided to give it a go! Totally making it up as I go along. Fingers crossed it remotely resembles what I have in mind.


Wednesday, June 22, 2011

20: things I want to do this summer

Source: etsy.com via Emily on Pinterest

1. swim in the ocean
2. make (and eat) lots of ice cream
3. watch 4th of July fireworks
4. wash my car
5. take a long walk
6. spend entire days not wearing shoes
7. cook out. a lot.
8. watch movies in our backyard
9. swing
10. read a book outside
11. ride some roller coasters
12. and maybe some roller skates?
13. spend time with the husband!
14. have a yard sale
15. eat funnel cake
16. wear dresses as much as possible
17. make some stuff
18. visit museums
19. not get sunburned
20. relax!

Inspired by this list of 100 things I love about summer over at Hula Seventy, but action oriented. (I sound like I have resumes on the brain. ugh) Call it my summer wish list.

Monday, June 20, 2011

finally inspired!

This was for sure my aha! moment today.
One of the most amazing things I have seen in a while.
Hand embroidered portraits on linen.

 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

pause

I seem to have hit a bit of a rut here. 
Could be that I was thrown rather abruptly from vacation into working 10 days straight, lots of work drama, stress, and exhaustion. Could be that I just haven't seen a whole lot out there that inspires me. That I wonder sometimes if anyone actually reads this (comments are appreciated, FYI). That the few things I really do want to post about will simply take more time to put together than what I feel like I can muster at this point in time.
Whatever it is, I want you to know that I am still trying. One of the main reasons for doing this blog to begin with was to remind me that there are lovely, fun, inspiring, creative things out there. I am convinced that I will find something out there to get me out of this rut (personally, professionally, and bloggerly. You know what I mean).
Until then...

Thursday, June 16, 2011

it's a sad, sad day

No, this has nothing to do with Anthony Weiner.

One of my favorite magazines ever has rather abruptly closed up shop and I am very very sad. Sad because it has always been a quality magazine, with great ideas and great values. Sad because it inspired me. Sad because it was one of the few magazines I have ever shelled out the money to subscribe to. I am cheap. No lie. I agonize over the decision to write that $12 check for a years worth of people's hard work. I just want to be sure I will really get the most out of it. And I made that tough decision, and got myself a two year subscription, probably a few weeks ago. And now it no longer exists. :(

I guess I could let you know just what exactly I'm talking about. Fine.


ReadyMade. I would link you to the website, but it's already gone. They apparently wrote a farewell blog post today but that is already gone as well. But at least someone apparently saw that coming and grabbed a screencap so those of us that aren't glued to a computer screen all day and missed this all going down get to see it. Here. I got the news from this post on DIY Life that the hubby shared with me.

Bummed.

I guess Real Simple had better keep me entertained from here on out. Do you have any other magazine recommendations for me?

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

killer heels


Katy of Dirty Hems took a plain old pair of black heels and turned them into neon fabulousness!
Spotted on Utterly Engaged. (I really need to rethink the nearly 50 wedding blogs I subscribe to. Probably no longer necessary. Probably never really necessary.)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

honeymooning

So we didn't actually go anywhere for our honeymoon, but we did take the entire week after the wedding to spend some quality time together. Several of these days were spent inside, wishing to go outside but dreading the heat (record breaking temps, heat indexes up to 110 degrees, miserable), but we did manage to get out and do some shopping, get much needed massages, and even go to the beach on Friday!

We went to Assateague Island, which I had never even heard of before but my family went up there when they were in town last week and it sounded amazing! Undeveloped beaches, no crowds, decent water quality, and wild horses! It sounded spectacular.


That there is some of the only proof I got on camera that there were wild horses here. Yes, there was horse poo everywhere, including on the beach. But, well, you take the bad with the good I guess. It was still beautiful.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Yeah, I took a lot of pictures. What can I say, I love the beach!
Just the other day the mister and I were discussing some of the good and bad points for moving away from the area (no, we're not planning on doing it any time soon) and I think the hardest part for me would be if for some reason I had to move away from the coast. I mean it's not like I live right by the beach here, and I acknowledge that we don't even go there very often, but I really like knowing it's there. Knowing that whenever I really want to (like last week) we can just hop in the car and get there. I wouldn't want to give that up.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

before I die...


Before I die I would like to write on this wall.
Created by artist Candy Chung, this abandoned house serves as a declaration of the things we all really care about. The things we most want to do in life. There are the standard answers (make a difference, save a life) and there are some more interesting responses (see my daughter graduate, write a book, feed an elephant, get my wife back, get clean, teach yoga, go to Florence...) and some that are a bit troubling (create a life and take 1).

Just a few things that I want to do before I die:
travel (Italy, Greece, Australia... the rest of my own country...)
write a book, even if I have to publish it myself
be my own boss
raise a family

What about you? What do you want to do before you die?

I was just going to link to the site but I can't resist posting a few more images. Sorry!


And more over here, of course. :)
Spotted and saved on Design Crush months ago and just got around to posting it.

Friday, June 10, 2011

I've been putting off the real wedding round-up posts because it's kind of a lot to process. Lots of photos to sort through, thoughts to think, etc. In general I had a pretty great time. The weather managed to stay pretty fantastic all day, despite threats of rain. Somehow, I don't know how, there were no sirens the entire day (we live just down the street from a fire station, and there are sirens all. the. time.) The ceremony was beautiful with lots of unique touches (a reading from The Jerk, sharing lemonade, guests blessing our rings), and our DIY elements truly stood out and served to represent who we are as a couple. And I loved that we were able to open our home and share all of this with our little group of family and close friends. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people. :)
The things that didn't work out quite the way we had planned it, well, I don't even think it's worth it to talk about. So, I'll get on with some more photos! I borrowed some photos from my brother and sister-in-law (I'm not quite sure who was behind the camera) and did a little photoshop editing to come up with this little collage.
Enjoy!


Oh and my darling little sister took some real polaroids of the day, and I can't wait to share! Just need to get them all scanned in. And some film from my Diana and my Fisheye that I need to get developed since my niece was kind enough to finish off the rolls for me! So excited to see how they come out!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

melting

In case you hadn't heard, we're having a bit of a heat wave here on the East Coast. Stifling, humid, suffocating heat. It's so bad I don't even want to go to the beach. And that's just crazy talk. But here's a few photos from the one day this week that we were able to get out of the house, before it turned into a sauna out there.

 
 
 
As it turns out, getting married creates some sort of chemical reaction in the brain that makes you want to make your house a better home. We're doing some organizing, and today we went home shopping and came back with a table runner, cloth napkins, and new silverware! Bring on the dinner parties! Oh yeah, and I'm really enjoying these last few days of quality time with the mister before we go back to work. It has been truly fantastic, calming, good for the soul. :)

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

insta-photodump


It all feels like a dream and these photos just contribute to that.
What you're looking at:
wedding directional signage painted by my lovely niece Chelsea
watercolor paper chains created by... a whole lot of us
boutonnieres by the best bridesmaids ever, Jessica & Kelly
bouquet by me (and braided wrap)
paper straws for days
random china cake plates
photobooth fun! (photobooth by me and the mister, signage by Chelsea)
the getaway car! by my family
just married spoon. we didn't really know what to do with it so we stuck it in some flowers
Mr. & Mrs. cake forks. love.
amazing hand painted marriage certificate by my now-brother-in-law Dave


I plan on doing some more detailed posts soon to talk about all of the DIY projects, our playlist, etc. Any requests?