Monthly Archives: August 2013

08.22.13

Wedding Week....something blue

Posted by Christina // 6 Replies

Are you loving Wedding Week as much as we are?

I sure hope so. I love seeing all of the DIY projects and crafts that other people put time into to make their event special. I truly believe it is all in the details, which is why I love Alysia’s project. Seriously, how adorable are those centerpieces. Tim and I still haven’t worked out what we are going to do for centerpieces. It feels like such a major decision, you know since people will be looking at them all dang night at everything. It’s fine if you can’t see over this tree people, it’s pretty.

I have been to many a wedding where my whole judgement was based on how cute their centerpieces were. Ok, maybe not that extreme, but I do always check them out and I may or may not give them a rating. I’m a harsh critic, or at least I was….until I had to plan my own. You mean I can’t afford for thirty table to be lined with peonies, succulents, and orchids? Bummer.

You score major bonus points if I can bring them home with me. Or if they have to do with booze like Alysia’s, I am a sucker for that stuff.

Are you so excited for Bridget’s something borrowed?
What is the worst centerpiece you have ever seen?
Anyone want to come help me drink wine so I can craft?

08.21.13

Wedding Week....something old

Posted by Christina // 2 Replies

I am so in love with Wedding Week, heck I could marry it!

You know how sentimental and sappy I am. So of course I get overly-giddy thinking about “something old”. You know, the bounce-in-your-chair-squeal-like-a-pig-and-maybe-even-hyperventilate type of giddy.

I only wish I could have something as special as Casey from Diy Playbook has…we are talking old school love letters circa the 90’s. Holy adorable. I bet reading back through those is so much fun. So much nostaglia and I bet a lot of times you just laugh at all the things you thought were big news back then! I heard through the grapevine that there are even some throwback photos making an appearance on their blog today. I am heading over there immediately to scope it out, I bet they look as cute as Miss Kapowski and Mr. Morris. If you need me I will be reminicing about yearbook slang and cute ways to fold love letters.

SWAK-TTYL-KIT-LYLAS.

How did you sign yearbooks? Any clever acronyms?
Do you have any old love letters?
Are you excited for Alysia’s project tomorrow?

08.20.13

Wedding Week...Something New

Posted by Christina // 28 Replies

We are beyond excited to be kicking off Wedding Week with “Something New” that we DIY’d to make our wedding a little more special and über-sentimental. It is my favorite project we’ve done to date.

One of the only things we know for sure about our wedding is the where. We fell in love with Lost Hill Lake Events, and decided almost immediately that we had to say our vows in the Walnut Grove. It felt special and magical, and just so “us”. Although Sofi Seck’s photo below is amazing, it is even better in person. Swoon. While thinking about our ceremony, we knew we were far from traditional. We both love the concept of a unity candle but I don’t need another candle that I can’t burn and I don’t understand how anyone keeps that unity sand looking pretty. Seriously, do you walk it home?

So Tim and I decided on a unity tree, with soil from both of our childhood homes. Wait, it gets better. The owner of LHLE is unbelievably sweet and almost as sentimental as I am and offered up one of their very own Walnut saplings. A baby tree from our wedding venue, with the soil from our families, to start our new life together…someone get me a tissue with a quickness. 1.2.3

We knew we wanted to include a unity tree, but we also knew we didn’t want just any planter. It had to be special. We had to make it. We looked at lots of inspiration from here and here and finally got to work. We even decided to use some of the wood flooring we yanked out during our bathroom remodel. In 80 years we will look at that planter and reminisce on our first house, and all the fun projects we tackled. I hope. I am so excited to give these jars to our moms, I know they will get a kick out of this quirky tradition. Much more than lighting a candle…and I can’t wait to get my hands on some of my future Mother in Law’s magic soil! Make our Walnut tree grow, grow big and strong, then maybe one day we will have a Walnut grove of our own. For now our pretty planter will sit waiting for new life and new beginnings. Until then, I am having fun imagining what our planter can be used for once our new tree finds a more permanent home. A pretty fern perhaps? Make sure you check back tomorrow for Casey’s Something Old.

Have you ever heard of a unity tree?
Any tips on growing a Walnut tree?
Did you buy the blue special edition tinted Ball jars too?

08.19.13

Hello Wedding Week.....

Posted by Christina // 8 Replies

When Tim & I got engaged we didn’t realize we were in such great company. Holler for commitment. My roomies for Haven were both planning weddings and invited us to be a part of Wedding Week.

Drum roll please…. That’s right, four DIY’ing darlings are putting their powers together to bring you something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. Every single day this week, one of us will give you a sneak peek into what’s making our weddings so special and how we made it.

From old love notes, to centerpieces, to gorgeous card boxes….brace yourself for some beautiful handmade goodness all week long. I am up first tomorrow with something new, so be sure to stop back by because I haven’t been this excited about a project in…well, pretty much ever.

Have you seen an amazing wedding project lately?
Have you seen Alysia’s blog? What about Bridget & Casey’s?
Any tips on how to get stain, spraypaint, and glitter off your hands?

08.16.13

Friday Favorites...eight one six

Posted by Christina // 6 Replies

Friday, already? I mean I am not mad about it but where did this week go?

I am too excited about this Etsy shop not to jump right in. How could I not love a shop called Anchored Inc. I don’t think you need an explanation as to why we love this shop. So all I will say is duh.

Want even more awesomeness? Get ready, comin atcha like a stack of pancakes from dear old Betty. Remember when vinyl wall quotes exploded? Every house you went into had an inspiring line or two and you immediately had to get one of your own and find a spot for it. Just me? Well, I feel like I could have the same problem with these canvas letters. Like every single room you walk in could have a quirky quote. I love that Kelly chose to paint them the same color as the wall, so subtle but such a great message. Don’t be surprised if you see a version of this soon. Ahhh tinted glass, is there anything I am crushing on more than that? Nah, nope, no way. I love this DIY terrarium from Henry Happened. I know terrariums are very B-I-G right now and I don’t see them going anywhere anytime soon. If only my plants would stick around just as long. True life confession, every time I think of felt I get the shivers. It takes me back to grade school craft time and all the fugly creations I made. I have yet to make anything that most people would call “pretty” out of felt. But check out these felt feather clips from Wild Olive. Ummm adorable. Makes me want to conquer my felt phobia. I apparently have a very serious sweet tooth. Nothing looks more tasty to me than this bowl overflowing with ice cream loaded with Reese’s peanut butter cups and Reese’s Pieces. Seriously, get in my mouth….not even my belly. I just want to taste you forever. Too much?

Did you find anything great this week?
Craving peanut butter and ice cream now?
Did you have a vinyl quote? Is it still kicking it on your wall?

08.15.13

His + Her Favorites....August

Posted by Christina // 10 Replies

It’s that time again…for us to round up all of our favorite things. If only we could give them away to everyone. “You get a boat, and you get a boat, and YOU get a boat”. Maybe one day.

Say wasssup to my favorite things. Feel free to stick your tongue out and shake. 1. You already know all about my trip to Haven. Clearly that is the highlight of my August…I am already counting down to next year. Now I can officially call myself a Haven Maven, and I like it. In fact that may be my first borns name.

2. When I was preparing for the conference I knew I would get sweaty (if we talked and I was glistening, I am sorry it’s just who I am). Then I worried makeup would just melt off my face and I would never make any friends. Upon a tip from Cara, I bought this primer from Benefit. In love. I did indeed sweat, but this primer held its ground right there on my face. I was warned from the Ulta girls that it can clog your pores and make you break out, so there is that if you don’t wash your face on the regular. Which I don’t….so when I am cursing breakouts remind me of this convo.

3. Just go to weddinggawker.com today, and try to spend less than five minutes on that site. It was hailed as the “Pinterest just for weddings” so I avoided it like the plague until there was a ring on it. Now it’s a different story, if only I had more hours in a day.

4. I have been really wanting to start rocking the head scarf. Particularly on days when maybe shampoo (even of the dry variety) didn’t make it onto my head. I have watched some videos on how to make it look effortless, but I always think they look funny on my head. Maybe I will order this one and try again.

5. I guess it is a good thing that I am obsessed with our new business cards. It sure would be a shame if I wasn’t. Thanks to Moo.com for always keeping it classy.

6. Remember when I threw up the great bag debate on Facebook? Well, I mixed it up and blended my favorite bag and my favorite color and got the Missy Mint. So far I am really digging it, super functional and lots of compliments come my way when I sport it. Get you one. 1. I am not a country fan. At least I wasn’t until Christina reset my presets. Now I find myself wandering over to our local stations and singing along. One of my favorite songs right now is Round Here from Florida Georgia Line, and Christina laughs every time it comes on because I can sing every word.

1.5 The shows above are just a few of my favorites that sucked me in while my fiancé was partying it up in Atlanta. I will admit I am sometimes a reality junkie, which you should know since I already talk about Duck Dynasty and Ink Master and etcetera and so on.

2. Recently, I bought a few banana plants and while at the local nursery I picked up some of this stuff. Which is probably why our plants turned into monsters. They are growing like crazy, which makes me proud of my ladies gardening skills and happy I spent the money on plant food.

3. Is there anything that says “late-summer” like sunflower seeds? Nope, there’s not. Fun fact: I actually used sunflower seeds to quit smoking five years ago. Instead of reaching for a smoke, I grabbed a couple of sunflower seeds and broke the habit cold turkey. Best decision I ever made.

4. I had heard talk about ASAP Utilities from Christina and her co-workers but always just thought I would have no use for it. If you use Microsoft Excel on the regular then you should go download the free trial and just play around. It’s basically shortcuts for all the tedious things you do in Excel. Just try it, you will thank us later I promise.

5. This was part of the Haven swag that my girl brought home for me. I swear it was like Christmas in her suitcase when she got back. I have been playing around with the Kreg Jig and can’t wait to tackle a big project. Wish we would have had one of these when we built the planters.

What are some of your favorites?
What are your favorite shows?
Do you get sweaty when you get excited?