3.30.2011

wedding wednesday: the invites

I love weddings. Did you know? It's true. So begins a weekly wedding spotlight!


This week has consisted of names and numbers and addresses and colors. And it's been aaawwesome. After lots of mid-class searching, I finally found the invitation. I adore paper products. Especially beautiful ones. And the wedding invitation is the first glimpse that a person gets of your wedding and its style. I dug through all kinds of options - traditional, funky, vintage, print at home, thermography...the list goes on. But I couldn't get over my obsession with letterpress. I had finally decided that it probably wasn't a possiblity.


And then I found these ladies.


It's as if Erin and Annalee at Lucky Luxe Couture Correspondence got in my head and designed my dream invitations. These sweet Southern ladies are wonderful to work with, and they've got style. And they just so happen to be located in Laurel, MS - one of my besties' hometown.


I've customized the colors, but here is their original design we're using for the big day is August!


I die.


So, if you're in need of some invites or stationary or vintage hankerchiefs (oh yea...you heard right), check these ladies out. If I could, I'd have them letterpress anything that would hold still long enough.


Almost 127 days to go!

3.29.2011

reason to celebrate

When I was in high school, my mom and I took a break from sweets in the hopes that it would make our bodies forget how much we loved them. If I remember right, it was short lived. Even so, while we were living our sweets-free lives, we were watching TV and cake came on the screen. Without skipping a beat we both said (in the most pathetic and deprived voice), "cake." So, needless to say, this love affair is not a new one. And it's hereditary.


My dear friend Brooke traveled to D.C. for the weekend to visit her boyfriend and came back to Baton Rouge with something sparkly on her ring finger! That was a reason to celebrate, don't you think? And a reason to celebrate translates to a reason for CAKE!


I was inspired by i am baker's really stinkin' cook St. Patty's Day cake. Here's a little photo walk-through of the process.


I used two boxes of white cake mix. Be sure to follow the instructions and use egg whites only. You should have seen me separating all those eggs with my hands. It was a first for me, believe it or not!






Separate the batter into five bowls. In true college student fashion, all that was clean were these five mixed matched bowls. So I just had to do my best to guestimate that they were even. Then you add your food coloring. A tiny bit into the first one, a little more in the second, and so-on. Didn't know that this red food coloring gel was quite this strong. Next time I'll use food dye and muuuch less to start out with. We'll just pretend that I wanted pink to red all along!






I baked each of my batters in a separate 8-inch round cake pan, laid them out so they could cool, and sliced off the tops to make them flat (which makes for a great mid-baking snack).


Because I got so excited about doing it for the first time, I accidentally skipped documenting the crumb coating. If you're are curious (which you should be since this seriously WORKS), you can check it out here.


Then all you need is a little doily magic and TA-DA!






Isn't she going to be the most beautiful bride? It is such an exciting experience to get to witness and celebrate the Lord's orchestration of two lives becoming one. Cheesy? Maybe. Incredible? Most definitely.









































Pretty, huh? And it makes cake-eating that much more fun.


Again, here's a big CONGRATS to Brooke and Joe. Praying for a sweet time of engagement for these two wonderful folks.


Tomorrow (yes, two blogs in two days) starts a very exciting weekly routine. Come check it out!

3.21.2011

banner DIY and a life catch-up

It's been too long, but I'm back with a tutorial to try to divert your attention from the fact that sometimes I'm a boring blogger. I'm sure you've noticed the adorable banner trend here in the blog-o-sphere. Loves it! I was trying to decide if I wanted to go with the pennant style or all doilies or felt or any of the other many options. So this is what my version turned out to be:





I made this banner for a very exciting reason - to use in our engagement pictures we took today! You can add this weekend to the list of huge blessings we've received through this whole wedding  process. We had more fun with Kevin Beasley, his artistic brain and wonderful heart, the beautiful weather and our homemade banner.


We also got to spend some time with the fam and register at Townsend House and Pewter Co. in Ruston where we had wonderful help with the whole [and sometimes overwhelming] registering process. Dustin was quite the trooper! If you are ever in the Ruston area, you should [definitely] pay these places a visit.


Aaand we got to see this cuteness all weekend:



Speaking of weddings, it's officially Natalie and Nathan's wedding week! Who's excited? THIS GIRL.

3.08.2011

antique glitz

One of my absolute favorite vintage-inspired design elements is glass glitter. It looks old and loved but still pretty and shiny. The perfect combination, right? I have to stop myself from gluing it on anything that will stand still.





































 
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

3.02.2011

website

The wedding website is up and running. Ch-ch-ch-check it out!


3.01.2011

romance at the oscars

If you don't already know, I go weak-at-the-knees for a combination of blush tulle and antique silver anything. That's why these ladies are my favorites of the 83rd Oscars:


Halle Berry floating around in Marchesa. Hailee Steinfeld looking preciously age-appropriate, also in Marchesa. Proud of that fourteen year old for acting her age [that definitely made me sound old]. And Mandy Moore scoring big points in my book for the Monique Lhuillier pick. 

And while red definitely doesn't speak to my shabby chic-loving heart, I'm slightly obsessed with Sandra's fabulous dress. Who doesn't love a good Vera butt bow?

Happy drooling!