Friday finds from Etsy

I've long been smitten with the idea of a winter wedding.  When I was married we choose late September, but I think if I were to have a go at it again

(yes, to the same man!)

I just might choose wintertime.

love the way this black sash pops...

you are cordially invited...

a pretty pearl and black satin necklace...

and a charming winter cake topper...

the little black dress goes fancy...

a fun invite for the bridal shower...

Looking forward to the weekend.  I will brave the crowds and get some Christmas shopping done, then back home for some baking with my boys - toblerone shortbread being the first on the list.

And weekend plans for you?

Friday finds from Etsy

some things that caught my eye -

oh, yes please to the boots!...

A stylish wool sleeve for a macbook! love!...

 

pretty bell flower earings...

a bit of homespun holiday...

sometimes you just need reminding...

I do have a love affair with the color gray.  I think this secretly puzzles my mother who loves true, true color, not some dreary shade.  Her favorites are blues and greens, the colors of the ocean, just as her mother did before.

Happy weekend, happy December!

it's been a while...

Ok, to heck with part 2.  Good heavens, I simply have just not gotten around to posting anything, but yet keep thinking of other things I want to share, but then feel like I have to finish that wedding post first, so then I end up not writing any posts, when really, I'm the only one who cares.  One day. 

So with that,
here was just something I wanted to share...

...my iphone case that will be arriving anytime soon. 

i.love.it.  a.lot.  :)

Hope all is well with you!

a glimpse ~

{ part 1 of wedding photos }

Again, I feel like I have fallen off of blogland.  I never did get the chance to have a nice sit and catch up on your news.  And I've just realized that on my side bar, on the bedside table, it's saying "One Day' and that's a book I finished reading over a month ago.  Which by the way is a great read, I quite enjoyed it.  A good love story. 

I simply have a hectic life of late ~ I'm not sure I remember a time that felt more busy?  Just simple stuff really ~ work, kids, after school activities, life,

etc, etc,

yet it is feels quite tiring nonetheless.  But! Coming up, I will soon have three day weekends, just long weekend after long weekend, and let me tell you THAT is something I am looking forward to!

I wanted to share a few photos of my girlfriend's wedding day!!

  On September 10th, her and her love were married!  It was a weekend of celebrations as Friday evening stretched into Sunday morning.  I planned many of the little details for her ~ way back when, I told her I would love to help her plan something, and that idea soon turned into her hiring me to plan it.  And while I like to plan small parties for close friends and family, I have only ever planned one other wedding before - mine. 

And at the end of it all, I would say I enjoyed it.  I invested much love into it, and I liked seeing the ideas come to life, especially when they were for someone else.  And she loved it, and that meant the world to me.  I never got a chance to take many photos of course, these are ones that were passed along, I was the one doing a whole lot of running around and it didn't occur to me until it was too late. 

I'm sure some of the 'magic' must be lost when you observe the wedding planner running around so frenzied! *sigh*

Above are the aqua mason jars I mentioned.  My sister and the bride's mom arranged all the flowers day of.  They did such a fantastic job.  The collection they were working with was gorgeous, of course, but I could never have grouped them together so effortlessly.  For the ceremony, we wrapped wire around some of the jars, and then hung them from inexpensive shepherd's hooks down the aisle. 

 

...these adorable feet belong to the bride and groom's little boy!

And gorgeous boxwood wreaths!  These were a bit of a splurge once you factored in the shipping and duties, but a very pretty first impression.  There were a 'M' and a 'C', and they hung on the outside gates as you first drove up to the Inn.  To get their money's worth, the bride and groom are going to bring them out at Christmastime, for 'Merry Christmas'.  With a bit of festive tweaking, it may just work!

  

More to come!

A wonderful New York trip

Hello!  I feel like I have been living under a rock! 
When you go off blogger for several weeks, I must say it's a bit of a weird feeling.  This evening, I am looking forward to having a glass of wine and visiting all of my favourite people and their blogs!  I've missed them!

So New York was great, really great.  Though the day before we left,
we found out that all of my husband's races for the World Police & Fire Games had been cancelled due to flooding on the mountain from Hurricane Irene.  He was so disappointed, but come on, it's still New York!  So we made the best of it and had a wonderful time. 

I loved the Museum of Natural History, adored SoHo, really wanted to buy something from Bloomingdale's just so I could walk around with a 'big', 'medium', or heck even a 'small' brown bag, but never did!  Went to Century21 on the advice of many people, but quickly walked back out. With mobs and mobs of people, I wasn't ready to sort through racks of designer clothing, even if things were a screaming deal.
Had fun walking up and down Fifth Avenue and then Madison Avenue, also had the blisters to prove it.  Quick note of advice ~ don't go out and buy an expensive pair of walking shoes the day before a trip. You will get blisters, though they may be labelled 'comfortable', they are still new shoes!

Our Yankees vs the Jays game was fun, though it was incredibly hot sitting there under the beating sun.  We were definitely the only ones in the nearby vicinity who were cheering for the Jays.  Had to take out a small loan just to eat a few hamburgers and have a few drinks, but it was worth it!

Here are some snapshots of the trip ~ I have been playing around with photos on Instagram with my IPhone and these are some of them, please ignore the many different borders and filters. I'm too lazy to go back and download the original ones from my phone.


stepping out from our hotel ~
we were certainly in the heart of times square!

our view of the game (Jays lost, by the way)...

resting the feet before we tackle Central Park ~

a beautiful place in Central Park...

my heart skips a beat every time I walk into a Sephora...

Jack getting his portrait drawn 

(there was not much of a resemblance, but he loved it!)

 at the LEGO store ~ a boy in heaven!

couldn't resist, I'm a girl who grew up in the 80's

(Big anyone?)

waiting for the subway at 81st Street,

after a long, fun afternoon in the museum

Shhh...don't tell!

A small boy in the big city!

holidays, baby!

The dog days of summer are coming to an end!

via

It is just wrong that it will be September next week! Like, really?  Does it feel that way for you too?  I know, I know, people as a whole are inclined to say 'well this summer just flew by", but for me, it really did this year.  Perhaps the late start on our warm and sunny weather had much to do with that?  It's just hard to believe that summer is coming to an end.

But! Enough complaining for me, because this girl is now officially on holidays!  And I have two wonderful weeks off and nowhere to go and nothing to do...oh, wait, that's right, I'm going to a little place called...

...NEW YORK!

So, yep, I'm pretty excited!  Flying out next Tuesday, back the following Thursday, and then off to a pretty, local island called Galiano for my girlfriends wedding.  This is the wedding that I have been planning, that I have been pouring my time and love into.  Aside from a few details that Misty and I have gone over, she has left most of the planning up to me.  Which has been fun and overwhelming all at different times!  So it will be a surprise wedding of sorts.  I will share photos when I return! 

  

xoxo for now!

help me find a paint color?

images via

I have long wanted to paint the front door of our home, and finally

I am going to get on it! 

(insert husband's eye-rolling here as I've been saying this for years a bit, but between you and me, I really mean it!)

I adore the look of painted front doors, I love the instant charm and personality that little detail adds.

I remember years ago my Mother-in-Law painted her wooden front door a rich, shiny black and it looked absolutely beautiful. 

And so I'm tossing around colors at the moment. 

Originally, I had wanted to go with a red for the door, more of a raspberry red than say, a brick red.  But after pouring through magazines, paint decks, and searching on blogs, I'm now thinking a pretty, soft aqua like the last image could be lovely too.  I thought I may as well put it out there to the wonderful world of blogland, to see perhaps if any of you had a good color recommendation?  And if it helps, our home is painted a dark gray (weathervane by para paints).

Curious, is your front door painted? 

Friday finds from Etsy

oh, i want this armchair for the lake house!

(ok, i so don't have a lake house, but if i did, i would want this!)

i love me some gray and white stripes!  a classic messenger bag

'paris is a feeling' photograph!  i agree!

look at this guy!  the fact that someone created this with

their hands and some wool amazes me, truly!

because i would share with you!

happy friday, happy weekend guys!

xoxo for now!