For Keeps

Good morning lovelies! Sorry I have been out of pocket for a few days, its been really busy! Oh well, I'm back and sooooo excited about my latest wedding obsession! Paloma's Nest out of Austin, TX makes gorgeous custom ring bowls and keepsakes to be used at your wedding or to mark a special moment in life. I ordered one that says "To have & to hold" & has our names and wedding date on it. So it will hold our rings at the ceremony and then we will use it as an ornament on our Christmas tree. How sweet is that?! I love that this simple little piece will be a lasting memento of our special day. 

A few details from the Paloma's Nest Shop:

"Each and every piece in the Paloma's Nest collection is designed and hand-crafted by Caroline Colom Vasquez in our studio in Austin, Texas, with care, pride, and passion. Caroline uses only all natural materials including fine clays, wood, paper, and cloth, knowing that these items will be passed on for many generations.

All ceramic items are crafted from either white earthenware clay or porcelain clay. Ceramic pieces designed for DECORATIVE USE ONLY; most all pieces are NOT glazed, but ARE coated in a protective surface finish to prevent the pieces from becoming easily soiled by fingerprints and such. We do this because we love the natural tactile feeling of unglazed clay and porcelain, and try to preserve that as an integral part of each piece. Once you touch one, you will understand!"

I love supporting local artists and am so passionate about Etsy- I love that so many beautiful original pieces are all in one place! Check out some of my fave pieces from the Paloma's Nest Etsy shop and find a little treasure of your own.

XO
-L

All images via Paloma's Nest on Etsy

Mommy like

Holy crap! I want this bag. BAD.
That is all.

XO
-L 

Knotted Satchel via Anthropologie

When the fiance's away, I will...decorate

Its Thursday, which means Geoff comes home tonight! Finally! I always hate it when he travels, but I always get a lot done when he's gone. Besides the Wedding Welcome Sign I posted yesterday, I have also been working on a cute little vignette for the dresser in our bedroom. The dresser had basically become a drop zone for all things: keys, change, receipts...basically just a bunch of crap that I got tired of looking at. So I got to thinking, if we had some actual decor up there, maybe we would be less inclined to make it messy. We'll see if it works! Check out the pics of my effort below- I tried to use things we already have around the house: my cute owl vase from Antique Alley, a stack of old books, some greenery I've had in my craft room for a while, one of our engagement photos, and a framed page from a Buddhist calendar. I'm so happy with how it came out. Have a lovely day all!

XO
-L

DIY Wedding Welcome Sign

Good morning! Its Wednesday- yay! Only one more day till Geoff comes home from his business trip. I hate it when he leaves, but in one way its good because I get soooooo much stuff done. When he's home, I'd rather be hanging out with him than doing chores! So I cleaned the house from top to bottom and got some wedding stuff done. I am super excited about the Wedding Welcome Sign I finished last night! I took the antique frame we used in our engagement photos (see below) and repurposed it. I wanted a cute sign to hang on the white picket fence outside our wedding venue to welcome guests as they arrive (and let them know they are in the right spot.) Scroll down to see the step-by-step directions and the final product! Adorable!
Have a lovely Wednesday all!

XO
-L

The frame in its original state in our engagement photos.

I bought a piece of plywood and the nice men at Home Depot
cut it to the right size to fit my frame.

I spray painted the plywood black (for a chalkboard effect)
and painted the frame a bright green to match one of our
wedding colors.

Instead of trying to paint such an intricate design, I had a vinyl
decal made at Fast Signs which I applied to the black plywood.

After applying the vinyl, I used Liquid Nails to glue the plywood
to the frame (because the frame was much too delicate to use nails.
I then weighted it down and let it dry for 24 hours.

And voila! Here's the final product- I love how it turned out!

Crazy Cat Lady

Yep- I am one. I'm loving Zara's cute kitty-printed dress. It's a little more subtle than the ladies that wear puff-painted cat sweatshirts, right? Right. And to really drive home the crazy cat lady point, here are some pics of my baby Ellie Mae. Happy Monday all!

XO
-L