black and white all over... again. and forever.

Black.. White. Bedroom. Diamonds. Fonts.  Yeah.  How could I not?  Image from here.

shopping in my closet

Don't you just love when you  find new life for your favorite things?  Personally, I've now got Xmas on the brain, especially after our quick trip to the city and my first  chance to peruse the "stuff".  I can't wait!  But I WILL refrain from putting anything up until December.  That doesn't mean I can't plot and plan in the meantime though! So how much do I love the idea of using my cake plates and trays from the wedding like the tiered one below from decor8?  I think it could be so so pretty!  I'm thinking of maybe doing a collection of footed plates along the back of our piano, piled with pine cones, berries, ornaments, etc.  How 'bout you?  Any dandy decorating ideas that you've just come across for the holidays?

purdy.

Eyeliner, vintage, greys, creams, pinks, a red-headed groom, and fortuitous use of baloons... Really they had me at eyeliner. Image from here.

freeeeeee!

So this morning, my buddy Jo called me up to ask me if I had heard of this Swap 'n Shop hosted by a church in the city, and well, nope, I hadn't... Apparently everything was FREE. Not just cheap, but FREE. So without further provocation I brushed my teeth and we were on the road. After standing in the rain in the wind for half an hour in a ridiculous line up (seriously, we do NOT live near a particularly large city, but there had to be well over a hundred vehicles there already!) we finally made it inside to experience the total mayhem that is hundreds of people being offered stuff for free! At about the twenty minute mark I heard one of the girls at the door announce "528" as the total of people through the door so far... yeah, it was nuts! But so SO worth it once we started to figure things out (where things were, what to avoid, etc.) On top of a pile of perfectly great kids clothes for my monster AND a neat stack of books, I also came away with everything you see below (ok, not really. But versions there of anyways!) Can you believe I got all of that for FREE! And the best part: they host this thing every six months! I can't wait to go back. Do YOU know of any great local resources that folks should know about?

Items in this set:
Crew neck cardigan, Maje Nicolas silk strong-shouldered blouse, Jeans Boyfriend von Paige Premium Denim ab 279,00 € im CONLEY'S Online Shop, Black Scarf Jersey Dress by Vivienne Westwood Anglomania, Women's apparel: Habitual Ava Skinny Jeans - Smokey

black and white all over...

I think I might have a problem... I was rendered speechless by yet another black and white room. It certainly doesn't hurt that it happens to include so many of my favorite design elements (smidges of browney grey to warm things up, purple flowers, huge windows, crown moulding, shell lamp). Though I'll warn you that from other angles I didn't love it quite so much, from this one it's *sigh* lovely. I want to nap there RIGHT now. Image from here.

yip yip! I figured it out!

So, here's the thing with been uber-cheap, but unwilling to just allow things to continue to suck due to said cheapness: it's takes a LOT of thinking to figure stuff out. You can't just run out to the store to BUY the table that would look perfect in that space. You need to somehow either MAKE it, or FAKE it. In general, I have a $40 maximum budget for any given project, and that has to include EVERYTHING needed for said project, regardless of size or involvement. So when I figure out a few ideas along the way (like buying paint that can be used for EVERYTHING, thus making it worth having a $25 bucket around at all times. Or like having yummy vanilla icing by the tub, that can easily be tinted any colour to suit, instead of making whole batches at a time. Or like the fact that a package of co-ordinating scrapbook paper can be a miracle when it comes to crafting (everything will GO but not match, and you'll look like a co-ordinating freaking genius). Or that Modge Podge came straight from heaven.) I get pretty excited.
So, after upcycling the kitchen table and chairs, and with snow on the ground inspiring future project-dom, I've turned my eye to the large cedar chest currently taking up residence at the end of our bed. While awesome, and the PERFECT size, this chest USED to be in my daughter's room, which is where it received it's FIRST redo... in hot pink felt (it's from the late seventies and was previously covered in ripped up, nasty brown leather. Not exactly princess friendly.) Yeah, oddly that glaring pink doesn't exactly GO with our champagne, pewter, and grey/blue bedroom (shocking, I know).But with the cost of fabric being, you know, stupid, not to mention (believe it or not) we're down to just ONE fabric store in the city which makes it HARD to get to, I've been trying to think of more cost-effective ways to recover the poor thing.... At first I thought "Aha! Ikea!" But the only fabric that was suitable was, obviously, the most expensive... So then I moved on to "Hey! I'll just use a cheap curtain panel!" But the "cheap" panels only came in either brown or taupe NEVER JUST EFFING GRAY (ok, ok. the no gray thing kind of frustrated me...)
But now, with the help of post over here I've got a think! I already have a fleece blanket that we're not using that'll match our bedroom suite perfectly! Yay! So off to the garage I go to wrangle up a staple gun and a screwdriver! Wish me luck! Image from aforementioned post.

great ressource XVIII: SpiroCreations

What can I say? Amazing shoes, completely handmade (no, seriously. COMPLETELY hand-made), and from the 'Peg (though not for long! Good luck with the move, kids!) I can just imagine how awesome these would look peeking out from the bottom of a wedding dress... or a pair of jeans, for that matter! And man, don't they just look SO comfy?! Check out their Etsy store here.

other people's weddings: Kelli & Toby

Are you kidding me??? A treehouse? That is amazing! Honestly, as soon as I saw the treehouse I was totally sold. Add in the super cool (and undoubtedly cost effective) paper garlands in the trees (such creative repurposing!), and the GORGEOUS palette, and I was a goner! Images found here by Brookelynn Photography.

me want

K, I know a LOT of people are going to want to kick my butt for saying this, but I'm kind of looking forward to cooler weather... if only we had more of a fall here. Honestly, usually it lasts MAYBE 3 weeks until there's snow on the ground... oh, well! Here's my "if I had money to blow" wishlist for fall... Though I'm thinking that one way or another, the boots, jeans, gloves and socks are all going to be showing up at my house in the near future (not THOSE ones... I wish! But reasonable fascimiles!)

Items in this set: The Sequin Tank, $295, Women's Matchstick Jeans - Women's Jeans & Denim Pants - J.Crew, $98, Honey Love Boot - Grey, $55, BLACK LONG GLOVE, $845, Nails | Cosmetics | Accessories, $2.99

other people's weddings: Debi & Dave

So, what can I say? I think there's finally been enough time since the end of my own wedding planning that I can begin to enjoy and appreciate the fun of it again! Trust me... by the day after I wanted NOTHING to do with weddings! It was SO nice to just NOT troll the blogs, buy the mags, etc. But they are SO pretty. And it can be SUCH a big help to find inspiration when you're planning your own, so I figure, maybe, once in a while, I'll post some pretties. Sound good? So with no further ado I give you a couple pics that seriously had me shouting (ok, not shouting out loud, per se, but definitely in my head!) "Oh, my god! That's MY idea!" Embellished flats? check. Sleek grey suit/tie? check. Peony, lamb's ear, and anemone bouquet? check. (my peonies bloomed a little too early and apparently I simply could NOT order anemones here. bummer. so I did roses and peony buds, which actually turned out pretty cute.) Pretty, simple hair? check. Yeah, you get the idea... Image found here.

Fashion from the boondocks...

Things I learned from flipping through the slideshows of the rtw collections for spring:

• Apparently myself and Charlotte Ronson shop at the same Value Village thrift store.
  
• If I see ONE MORE crotch which trails down to mid-thigh I'm gonna shoot someone. Who actually thinks making your crotch look BIGGER and your legs look shorter is a GOOD idea??? Oh, and then embellishing said crotch? To draw MORE attention to it? I admit. I'm confused.
• Just because something is over-sized doesn't mean you don't have to have it fit... like I mean, at all?! Lumpy, bunchy, etc. Isn't that one of the reasons people want to dish out dough for this stuff? To avoid lumpy/bunchy?
• I'm going to pretend I didn't see bike shorts at DKNY... though they seemed to get a much better grip on the whole loose/flowy/oversized/but still neatly fitted thing than most of what I saw.
• I pretty much hate double-breasted anything. Most every runway would disagree, though.
• However was responsible for styling the accessories over at Erin Fetherston should be punched. Preferably with a lacy-gloved fist. Can we say distracting, out of proportion, and out of place. Seriously. It was weird.
• The pants don't exist for women (not even skirts, really. granny panties or nothing. sorry, ladies.) and the guys pants were a horror show. No, seriously. See:
• Everything at Halston is pretty. And makes me want to pet the screen, the fabric's SO gorg! Maybe not groundbreaking, but it definitely seems to fit with the brand, and it's a pretty great debut.
• I never want to hear/read/see the word diaper dress, ever again.
• There was some seriously cute stuff over at LAMB. And I want that makeup. now.
• K, I get it. Recession. Yup. So, designers are trying to make things more conservative and whatnot. But holy hell, kids! Who in the royal eff is going to wear an assload of burgundy, or velvet, or high-necked lace in the middle of summer???
• I swear to god, Marc Jacobs: if you bring back fanny pants, in the words of Tina Fey: "I'm done. And by done, I mean I'm leaving the planet."
• While I really like this look, I realized that the REASON I like it so much is because it's almost a carbon copy of a pair of shorts that I keep putting off buying... from the clearance rack for $6 at Joe Fresh Style... which is in Superstore, a Canadian grocery store. You'd think Lela Rose could do better, eh? Still cute, though. And a few things I loved and would TOTALLY wear...Almost embarassed to say I would totally wear this... I think it's something to do with the pretty colours + comfort. I swear I'll deny it if you quote me, though! From LAMB.
  

BCBG Max Azria

BCBG Max Azria

Phillip Lim

Well, that's up to "M". More totally pointless observations on M-Z to come! All images from here.
**no I have no qualifications other than being a consumer and a lover of this stuff. But doesn't that make me their consumer? Good enough for me!

i'd invite you but...

I already sent my invitations out! Yay! Freaking finally! So I'm still waiting on a few addresses, and several of the invites will be hand delivered, but I got a solid 30% in the mail today! And DUDE! How excited was I to see that the stamps for this month were hot pink peonies?! How freaking lucky is that?! So, with no further ado, I present you with my invitation suite... Each and every envelope is lined in a different but co-ordinating textured paper, and I went ahead and edged all the invites in gold ink which actually went a long way to adding another layer of texture. I know it's kind of hard to see here (it kind of looks more busy and chaotic than they really are) but I think one of my favorite things is the contrast of the very clean, rather tradition blue, white and gold envelopes, with the darker, more graphic linings and invites. (Though I like this collage, I might just post the actual digital files so you can get a clearer idea of the actual colour scheme. This is pretty but also makes it look much more cream and vintage, than the crisp white that is actually the lettering and envelopes.)

screw it. i'm taking the easy way out.

So, I'm sure by now there's a good chance you've seen this invitation suite from the new Martha Stewart Weddings that included templates to diy it... Well, I sure did and I totally cheaped out and ended up using it. A bunch of colour changes and some Photoshop later I finally settled on invites! YAY! I can't WAIT to unveil them! Trust me when I say I'm not really giving anything away with this preview: they're quite different. The best part is that the whole suite (including all my table cards, menus, info cards, envelopes, invitations, the whole shebang) only cost me $47... pretty reasonable since that includes the cost of a custom stamp, cutting tools, and a CRAZY amount of cardstock... I swear I'll post updates as soon as I manage to run to town for ink (ran out just before the end of the run :( ) Updates coming soon!

pretty delightful... and gray

Yep, that's gray with an "a": go Canucks! Anyways, I digress. I'm hearting this suite from itsmematt that I found over on Oh So Beautiful Paper, easily my favorite site for paper inspiration (which makes sense, you know, given the whole "Beautiful Paper" thing). Aren't they lovely?

put a pin in it

You guys! I had pretty nifty brain flash! I was thinkin' about ring pillows/boxes/dishes/blah blah (cuz that's how I roll), trolling Etsy for ideas when I saw what I thought was the CUTEST ring pillow... But, alas, no! It was a pincushion! And wouldn't you know it, I found DOZENS of cool little pillows, every shape, size, style and colour, perfectly designed to be repurposed for a wedding... Clockwise from top-left: Lulu's Leap, Red Hen Studios, Ottoman, Createitcottage, Chet and Dot, Country Accents by NJB, Katwhitt, Loose String.

diy: ring pillow (1st draft??)

So, I'll have to tidy this up a wee bit yet, but I'm pretty happy with how cute our ring "pillow" turned out! About 20 min, $2, and a VERY minimal amount of effort later we have a damask-printed, black satin be-ribboned, pink "rose" topped ring box... I simply covered a $1 gift box in a sheet of scrapbooking paper (part of the large pack I've bought to co-ordinate all my paper goods), then I used a strong-hold glue to affix the "roses" which were a whopping $1 for the whole bunch, after ripping them off their stems. The trick I found was to start in the middle and work my way out, wrapping the petals of the outer flowers down over the sides of the box. Then I wrapped a satin ribbon around the top edge of the box to clean up the edges. Lastly, I looped another ribbon under the center of one rose to tie the rings to. And all done!

diy: future ring "pillow"?

Ooohhh... I see a diy in my future! I'm thinking this could easily be mimicked with a small cardboard box, a butt-load of faux peonies (or whatever), a hot glue gun, and some ribbon... I'll need to keep an eye out tomorrow for some appropriate "blooms"! Oh, also, the rest of the images from this wedding? Deadly good. Image from Jennifer Dery via The Bride's Cafe.

movin' on up: soft and smoky

Shockingly, I love me a smoky eye. BUT and this is a big but (haha! big "butt"... ok, sorry for that), I think it can tend to look kind of harsh and overdone, particularly if it's something you're not used to seeing on yourself. Which is why I have such mad love for a softer smoky eye in shades of grey, taupe, lilac, you name it. So much prettier and with the extra touch of colour you can seriously play up the colour of your eyes.
Rule of thumb: to play up your eye colour select from the opposite end of the colour wheel: blue eyes + brown shadow and vice versa, green eyes with lilac shadow, black eyes with silvers, etc. The other key to keeping it soft, and more wedding/bride friendly is to keep the rest of the look soft as well, no hard lines, sparkles, major tans, etc. Keep brows natural, slick on some lipbalm, and dust pretty pink or peachy blush and voila! Major bridal fox! Images from: Freida Pinto in Glamour, from the Erin Fetherston show in Glamour, from the Versace show in Allure, Mila Kunis from BellaSugar, Natalie Portman from Squidoo, from the Bottega Veneta show in Allure

shoes for sistah (or that's my excuse anyway)

So, I've pretty much got my shoe situation sorted out as per my earlier post("these shoes were made for dancing..."), but that doesn't necessarily stop me from pining over what-ifs... Thankfully, I feel like I can justify this drooling by looking for shoes for lil sis, despite the fact that she is MORE than capable of finding something on her own, more than likely cuter than anything I can come up with! Anyhoo, thought I'd send of the shoe-candy your way... Did you know that Victoria's Secret has some pretty great shoes now? Who knew? (And don't ask how I found out!) All from Victoria's Secret.

I am seriously crushing on the black ones, there, but I'm worried that, between the bow on the front of her dress and here, that's just too many bows!

Could be fun, either colour (well maybe not so much the green...)

Ok, the purple ones? Yep, love them. Like, LOVE them... Are purple shoes with a purple dress too much? Even if they're very different shades?

I think the black would be too harsh, and the lilac are a freakishly close match, but the grey could be pretty, no?

A Suit to Suit? II

Oh my, how did I not think of this??? I've really been digging on J.Crew's wedding collection for women, but for b-maids dresses it was a little steep, and really, I already had a dress myself, so it was just eye candy. So why I didn't think to look for A's suit there? Yeah, I don't know, I'm slipping. Anyways, the prices aren't exactly VV Boutique, but the suits are sweet! It's almost the perfect feeling: slim cut and fashion forward, but classic and comfortable at the same time. Check it out! Images from J. Crew.

This first one is SO gangsta! Maybe too formal for what I have in mind though.

K, the model's a doof, but besides that! A would look SLICK in this next one! Nice, huh?
And finally, my favorite! This would make it worth getting married, all on it's own, just to be able to see A in this. Delicious.