another year gone by...

wow. i can't believe it's been a year since i've written anything on this blog. i usually like to revisit my new years to do list..and a few of them did get completed...but i honestly spent most of my time making this:

you can read all about him here.

<3

{happy new year} to do list: twenty-ten

so, just like everyone else, i want to eat better, get fit, blah blah blah..in addition to those, here are my top 5 things i'd like to accomplish this year:

1. go on an exotic vacation. whether it's to hawaii, aruba, or some other far away land (bora bora in the picture below) i'm going! sure, i'd love to go to europe, but i'm feeling this is this year for some fab beach and cabana time.

{photo from here}

2. get my dollars in check. sure we have a savings account, and yes we pay our bills on time and credit cards in full..i'm talking cd's people. stocks..you know...get serious about where my money is going..you never know when that big rainy day will come...

3. learn something new. i like having this as an ongoing 'to-do'. i had this one last year and it feels so good to continue my education..whether it is sewing, understanding the chemistry in cooking, or canning. i'm looking forward to whatever it is i might get my hands into this year...

4. plant a vegetable garden. now that we have a backyard, i can grow tomatoes again, but this year i want to do carrots and other veggies as well. i'd also like to learn to can a few of them for use in the winter months.

5. reduce the stress and continue to be optimistic. so this was an issue that bubbled up this past year. i was completely stressed out the point of insomnia and hallucinations...until my boss told me one day, "it's not cancer." this statement rings in my ears every time a little bump in the road comes up. it has helped me get thru the silly little problems and focus on life's more important things...i hope i continue remembering that if i mess up, or if things don't work out exactly how we want, it isn't cancer. no one is going to die. (well, unless i am driving like a maniac or something like that..but you know what i mean)

so wish me luck! i hope your to-do list includes some fun stuff you've always wanted to do and i hope you have the energy and the health to accomplish them all. happy new year everyone!

xoxo

{happy new year} to do list, past reviewed...

2009 has been such an amazing year for me. it definitely had it's crappy moments, but for the most part, it was fantastic! i got married to a brilliantly lovely man who has an equally brilliant lovely family..my career is going well, my health, for the most part, was on the up and up and i accomplished many of the goals i set out about this time last year:

2009 to do list:
1. pay more attention to my posture. ok. so..i did, or at least i thought i did this very well, but looking back at some of my wedding photos, i think i must have forgotten this during all the excitement. aw well.

(ack! why didn't someone tell me to stand up straight?!!!)

2. eat more leafy greens & cut down the sugar. i did this very well ..until recently. my sugar intake is thru the roof and i plan to get it back in check just after midnight. ;)

(mmm. smores. these were amazing)

3. turn off the tv. yes! i think we did this very well..we've been on hikes and now that we have a big back yard, we tend to that every now and then and we even went on a hot air balloon ride!..although when we discovered the 1st season of lost on dvd..we were hooked for 3 months straight. it was awesome. but now we wait for the final season just like the rest of you lost fans out there...can't wait!


4. learn something new. while i didn't learn to sew (as i've been threatening to do so for some time), i did learn how to knit. i'm still in the process of making my first scarf and i like it!

(ok. so this was a little wide i found out and just tore it all out and started over. it's much skinnier now) :)

5. write more handwritten notes. ok. so, this was kind of cheating. i had to write a bajillion thank you notes after the wedding. :) but! i did also write a bajillion christmas cards too... i think that counts.

6. go for a walk..or run. which i totally did for a week straight. and then i hurt my knees and refuse to run on pavement ever again. the pain was ridiculous. back to the treadmill for this cookie.

i wonder what next year will have in store for me?

bummer.

{image from here}

somehow all of my pictures in my 'blogger' folder on my picasa account got wiped. sorry for the lack of beauty here folks..i'll see what i can do about it this weekend.

{shopping} for the girl who has everything..

i bought one of these at a holiday fair last week and absolutely love it! i feel so sassy when i wear it on my boot, and glammed up when around my neck. if you're looking for a gift for that super sassy friend in your life, this would be a definite smile-maker on Christmas morn (or just treat yourself like i did!)

here are some of her other styles, but be sure to check out her website(s) for more unique bootlery:

stivali
website
etsy shoppe
how-to video

{santy claus} best stocking stuffer ever...

wow. and here i thought restoration hardware was just for the serious...who knew they knew how to have serious fun?!

{cake topper} by me!

'remember this little buddy i diy'd a while back for my own wedding? weeeell, my fatastic photog (from our wedding) and his beautiful bride requested one for their big day..check it out..


i think it turned out really well! i'm working on putting together an etsy shoppe, but in the meantime, if you are looking for a custom, handmade cake topper for your event, drop me a line in the comment section or find my email address on my profile page.

more fantastic pictures to come from this gorgeous, vintage inspired wedding..

{photos by austin gros photography}

{shopping} just fine, thank you very much...

hello loves! i know i've been amiss, and i've really no good excuse other than i've been busy! (although i know you are thinking that i was even busier when i was planning my wedding and STILL managed to post something at least once a week).

but i digress.

i haven't come here to bore you with my life details, i've come to show you these:


they're cutting boards and aren't they just darling? see the whole lot of them at 'fine little shop'.

{hair-bows} she's at it again...

i always look forward to the posts chelsea makes over at oh my deer..i mean, she did do my lovely hair-bows too! (i know they really aren't hair-bows, but i have a problem calling anything that goes in my hair..well, a hair-bow.) well..she's at it again...


check out her sweet little blog or etsy shoppe to see the full collection.

{diy} initial wreath

saw this yesterday over at design sponge and thought about how lovely this would be for a fall ceremony..and looks easy too!

{fashion & design} oh joan.

i will be making a quick trip to nashville just in time for my bff's birthday celebration and she wants to do it in style..by style, i of course mean mad men. {if you have not seen this show, i highly recommend you sit your fanny down and watch it, if not for the deeply intense storyline, then for the beautiful women, fashion and set design}.

my inspiration for my outfit? joan of course.

because i am not the birthday girl for this event, i decided to go with something a little less...red:

and of course i had to get new shoes:

next up..jewelry.

{random} still alive...

hello my dears! i can't believe it's been over a month since i've posted anything to my beloved blog..but life has been busier than ever! i have so much to share with you, including a move to the suburbs, a san francisco wedding, and a secret project!

but for now, check out these beautiful, dreamlike photos taken by the ever-so-talented erica berger at a friends wedding right here in san francisco:




more to come!

{diy} 'pennants' stamp

from cathe @ just something i made. check her out..tons of inspiration and good laughs.

{diy} 'rose' stamps.

from martha, of course.

{random} i'll keep the book, thank you very much.

i read the time traveler's wife last summer and absolutely fell in love with it...no book can ever compare now to the love i have for the character's in this story..i miss having henry and claire in my life, so much so that my husband and i have agreed to name our children after them! well..henry at least...so when i heard the movie was coming out, i was ecstatic!

well, after reading the reviews, i just can't bare to see a beautiful story ripped to shreds and i refuse to see it, for fear that i will no longer love the characters as i have imagined them in my mind. and come to think of it, i don't ever remember a movie telling the story as beautifully as any book can do..have you?

{random} ahhh. shoes.

i am so picky when it comes to shoes...well, now that i live in a city where walking up and down steep hills is a daily thing (so heels are usually out)..and i've noticed i have traded comfort in place of style. sigh. so i usually throw on my chucks or some flip flops and carry on..searching for that perfect flat that marries style with comfort and doesn't cost a fortune..well, if some of you out there are a lot like me, then i hope you will find these shoes as perfect as i do:

behold the ecco ballet flats. they are just darling on the foot -very french i think- and the leather inside is that super soft and supple leather that gently caresses your foot as you move. i adore them..and best of all, they seem to go with everything. find them on sale here.

{wedding day} save the last dance for me

our last dance was so magical..can't you tell by the guy puking in the corner? ha. i love this picture..i love it because you can almost feel the love between us, i love it for the candles glittering in the background, and the delicate cafe lights dangling above our heads, and yes, i even love my husband's friend doing whatever he was doing (coughing? sneezing? puking?) in the background..it, to me, represents the sense of humor we will always carry with us. :)

we danced to heavenly day, a patty griffin song..and it was perfect.

Oh Heavenly day
All the clouds blew away
Got no trouble today
With anyone

The smile on your face
I live only to see
It's enough for me baby
It's enough for me
Oh heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day

Tomorrow may rain with sorrow
Here's a little time we can borrow
Forget all our troubles in these moments so few
Oh we can right now the only thing that all that we really have to do

Is have ourselves a heavenly day
Lay here and watch the trees sway
Oh can't see no other way
No way
No way
Heavenly day heavenly day heavenly day

No one on my shoulder
Bringing me fears
Got no clouds up above me
Bringing me tears
Got nothing to tell you
I got nothing much to say
Only I'm glad to be here with you
On this heavenly heavenly heavenly heavenly heavenly day
Oh all the troubles gone away
Oh for awhile anyway
For awhile anyway
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Oh heavenly day

{random} loving julie & julia...

so you might think this post is just about a movie that i liked and i'm trying to get you all to go see it..but it's so much more than that...

if you blog. if you write. if you even read these blogs that so many people across the world get up to put their words out there as they drink their morning cup of coffee and push 'publish post' ..then i think you would like should see this movie. this movie is so inspirational on so many levels..and amy adams and meryl streep were amazing in it. i laughed, i cried, i was inspired!

oh..and..this was super cool..so we're sitting there, drinking our red wine, watching this fantastic movie admist a crowd of handsome gay men, obvious food lovers, and of course the 'older' crowd..and i notice around julie powell's (amy adams) neck..this fantastic little pendant:

only hers was on a pretty little silver chain. can you believe it?! i just posted about the cuff links i got for my husband on our wedding day..i must have it! i simply must! right?

oh. and while were doing a little pretend shopping, i might as well get this too:

to learn more about julia child (in case you didn't grow up watching her on tv) you can watch the old pbs shows here.

btw. did you know you can still read the blog that was initially the whole reason for the movie? yup...and i just added it to my fav. blog list..i think i'll start from the beginning...

{wedding day} gifts...

i had totally forgotten to write about the secret gifts until one of my readers reminded me (thanks stephanie!)...

for the groom...
ok, i'm warning you..this really isn't very unique..to you..but for my groom, it was perfect. we got engaged in new york, he needed cuff links for his new french cuff shirt (didn't own a pair), and our style for the wedding was vintage..so of course, i just had to get these:

they are vintage nyc subway tokens set in sterling silver. gorgeous in person..and he loved them.

for the fam...
we really wanted to do something special for our parents. without their examples of love and the support of our relationship, this wonderful day would have never happened. so we presented them with a small token at the rehearsal dinner to represent the gift that would arrive later:

a cherry tree, already picked out and paid for was to be planted at each home, representing the strength of our love that they can watch grow over the years.

what are your unique or thoughtful gift ideas?

{that's life} sirens, smoke, and sleeping pills...

don't mix those 3. it's kinda scary.

saturday night, we both took a sleeping aid..and right before we went to bed i said, "you know, we really need to only have one of us take medications in case there is an emergency..so we aren't both so out of it we make a fatal mistake..etc." he agreed and we went to bed..a couple of hours later the fire engine sirens wake me up..and then i smell the smoke. i was terrified..shaking my husband to wake him up..yelling at him to open the window to the fire escape and was gearing myself to jump out of bed, grab the dog and make a run for it ..i thought for sure we were about to lose everything, but didn't care as long as we were alive. he finally jumped up and looked out the window..and sure enough, there were several fire trucks right under our window..but the fire (praise the Lord) was outside..someone had set a car on fire.

holy bajeezus was it a scary moment.

so..no more duo medicated people in our house. it was good, because we had that conversation we've never had before..what to do if we did have to leave in an emergency..and we both agreed that no one thing in our place was worth risking our lives..we would just leave it all behind (after, of course, i joked about saving my makeup..i mean, there were like 10 cute firemen outside for peet's sake!). really puts life into perspective.

have you guys talked about what you would do in an emergency?

{wedding day} reception details

photos by daniel meigs

while we were finishing up some post-ceremony pics, our guests enjoyed refreshments and filled out the wish cards for our "guest book."

Don't: think you need to have a "cocktail hour." we set up cucumber water and orange iced tea outside of the reception area along with mints for our guests to relax with. by keeping the doors closed to the reception "barn," it encouraged our guests to linger in the garden before the sun set, fill out the cards for our wish bowl, and mingle with friends. i don't think they minded not having a glass of wine or beer at this time, but i'm sure they did enjoy the refreshing beverages on such a hot day.

Do: take dancing lessons! we so enjoyed practicing in our living room during the weeks leading up to the big day, and still bust out a move in the middle of a store, or on the street when a song puts our feet to action! we also started our reception this way..after the pics, the guests were asked to enter the barn and wait for our arrival..as soon as we entered, our song played..and we danced..it was a great way to kick off the party and gave us an opportunity to then visit our guests at their tables afterwards.