Our Registry

I'm pretty excited to share today's post! Ryan and I have tirelessly been seeking out interesting and unique items that say something about us to include on our Wedding registries. We did the traditional Macy's registry and the soon to be traditional Crate and Barrel registry but the one I'm most excited about is our My Registry.com registry. My Registry is unique because it let's you pull from a wide variety of online stores. I'm going to share some of my favorite items from all of our registries because it's fun to think about Ryan and I starting our new life together and finding items that we both adore....well, at least like a lot.

So this one is a little more me than Ryan but I LOVE this Kitchen Aid mixer. The Pistachio is perfect and because both Ryan and I cook it will get a lot of use. What's not to love with it's vintagey vibe look and practical use?

 

I do not claim to be the perfect entertainer but I do really enjoy it and this platter will make a pretty addition to any party. I was suprised by how much Ryan really loved this and he convinced me to register for the serving bowl too!

We are in desperate need of a coffee table and this one fits the bill perfectly. Ryan's style is a little more rustic, dark and heavy than mine. I'm a little more french, vintage, city, so this coffee table caught both of our attention. It has the manly feel Ryan needs and the streamlined worn wood look I really enjoy.

I have wanted these pot holders for years! That may seem like a silly statement but Anthropologie came out with these beauties ages ago and they've never gone on sale, it's so not fair.

Ryan spotted this awesome scratch off map and I must admit it's one of my absolute favorite items on the registry. It would look so nice over our mantel. smiles. I just realized half of what I posted is from Anthropologie but I'm okay with that. They have so many pretty options to choose from. big kiss, bekuh

Decisions Decisions

As Ryan and I dig full force into wedding planning I'm starting to notice a disturbing trend, we have to make quick decisions! This may not sound super daunting to most people but to Ryan and I this is no easy feat. Take for instance a typical night out scenario...

Ryan: "What do you want to do for dinner?"

Me: "I don't know, what do you want to do?"

Ryan: "I don't know, let's go out."

Me: "Perfect, where?"

Ryan: "I don't know where do you want to go?"

Me: " I don't know? I don't want Italian I know that."

Ryan: "Well, I don't know either. I hadn't even thought of Italian."

Me: "You decide because I'll go wherever."

Ryan: "I know you and you don't want to go wherever. I need you to decide."

Me: "I don't know I don't want to decide. Where do you feel like eating?"

Ryan: " Chinese or Mexican..."

This is not an exaggeration folks, we literally do this every time we try to go out to dinner. So, making "quick" decisions on things involving the wedding has been horribly difficult. I mean it's our wedding!!! I wouldn't feel such huge pressure if Ryan and I hadn't decided that the beginning of October was going to be the day. That's pretty much four months to plan, implement and put into action a life time of wedding day dreams for the both of us.

I feel like my head is going to explode. But then relief sets in. We have managed to make a decision about the location, the wedding party, the table linens, the flowers, the centerpieces; all the ridiculous bits that go into throwing the biggest party of your life! But it's decisions like the open bar, the line up of live and recorded music, the honeymoon, what the ring bearer will carry and how exactly we want those burlap table runners to look that cause me to stumble into completely dispare. Oh the drama.

I am so looking forward to the glorious day that Ryan and I get married but man I can't wait to be done with the planning of it. big kiss, bekuh

Bingo Chip Thumb Tacks

I have been on the hunt for attractive thumb tacks for ages. I finally gave up pursuit and of course that's when inspiration struck...I could make decorative tacks that fit my aesthetic and fulfill my creative do-it-yourself needs! So, I went on a quick hunt to find some interesting tack heads on Etsy and came across these little vintage bingo chips and fell in love.

This super easy DIY will make even the simplest cork board look like a million bucks.

What you'll need:

1. Glue gun and glue stick

2. thumb tacks from any supply store, like Staples

3. Any small flat objects, in this case vintage Bingo Chips

The Steps:

First you'll grab a thumb tack, I used only black ones to give all of the tacks a cohesive look. Next, you'll heat up the glue gun a put a small dot of glue in the back of each bingo piece and while still hot push the tack down on the glue. You may want to hold the tack down for a second so the glue settles evenly, otherwise your thumb tacks may slant a little. The back of your tacks should look like this:

Let the tacks dry for a couple of minutes flat on their backs and then they're ready to go!

I used my new thumb tacks on a cork board in my kitchen, that way I can pin recipes to try where I might actually remember to cook them. I'd love to see pictures of your DIY thumb tacks! big kiss, bekuh

Dad's Day

Today is Father's Day and I wanted to send a little shout out to my old man, Dad. He's a true original.

 No other man on the planet can be such a goof ball one moment and the most sensitive and caring person in the next. Though he loves to wear Hawaiian, and that is indeed a fault, he's still number one to me.

I know I complained a lot about this as a kid but thanks for your nose, your blue eyes and your sense of humor. I'm honored to be your daughter. big kiss, bekuh.

Fun in the Summertime

I'm so excited it's Friday. My weekend is going to be full of summer-time favorites; a cookout, swimming and a sleepover. Throw in slice of watermelon or two and I'll be in a coma of sheer bliss. What are your weekend plans? big kiss, bekuh

Waking Up Late

I woke up late this morning, I mean really late. I'm one of those annoyingly early people so the fact that I woke up 5 minutes after my normal departure time put me into panic mode. I quickly pulled a dress out of the closet, slipped on some underwear and ran out the door. Thankfully I had my makeup in the car for a reason I'm still unsure of, must be providence. Anyway all this to say I'm not exactly myself today and I feel really stressed out for no reason and like suddenly summer isn't summer at all just an excuse to have every second of my life preplanned into oblivion. I need a real day off... before the real miss grouchy takes hold. big kiss, bekuh

I Dream of Scotland

The new Anthropologist newsletter came out today and it's featuring the work of David Eustace, an incredible photographer and history nerd. I like him already.

I found this quote a wonderful description of Scotland "It is a landscape of many contradictions: an often cold and barren land where the weather can be as severe as anywhere, and then in an instant turn glorious, offering a spectacle of richness and warmth equal to any place I have visited." -David Eustace for the Anthropologist

I hope you like this random post of glorious Scottish Landscape. big kiss, bekuh

The Crawl

     

        

For Natalie's bachelorette extravaganza we headed to downtown Roanoke for sushi and a mini crawl of a couple bars downtown. Just a couple of shots of the fun, including the mass texting in the back seat. Silly. big kiss, bekuh

Moroccan Themed Party

Natalie's Lingerie Shower came and went yesterday and we topped it off with a mini crawl in the "mean streets" of Roanoke. I loved the way it turned out. I'll share the moroccan now and the party shots later.

I made the tent out of an old canvas drop cloth, it had paint all over it so I pinned a variety of bright colored and floral patterned scrap cloth all over. I then strung two pieces of twine across the interior of my porch and draped the canvas over top. I made for a pretty cool effect.

Though traditionally people think of intricate gold pieces when they imagine a moroccan them I decided on a lot of mercury glass and silver. I think it still made for a rich effect.

For the seating I took all of the cushions off a love seat and placed them along the back wall of the "tent." I then added every single decorative pillow in my house to the mix to create a colorful combo with a lot of moroccan flair. It was super comfy.

The beautiful bride and her sister (MOH) and super sweet close friend Carrie (Bridesmaid). We were total bums and just lounged on the cushions for hours, grazing and drinking sangria.

I made these traditional moroccan tea cakes called "peasant cakes" for some of the snacks. They had bananas marinated in apricot brandy and a sweet ginger crumble on top. I'm pretty sure none of us could resist 2+ of these delectables.

I really wanted to find bakalava for the other treats but to no avail. I settled for some walnut pastries and cocnut macaroons.

I made Sangria, which is Spanish, but it's delicious and they drink it in Morocco too. I also made mint tea with fresh mint and a lot of sugar. It was gone in no time.

No pictures of the lingerie, we don't want to chance the Groom sneeking a peek. I loved throwing this shower it was so much fun and I'm pretty sure I made the moroccan theme work on a teen tiny party budget. Pictures of the Bachelorette fun next! big kiss, bekuh

Lingerie Fun

I'm hosting a lingerie party this weekend and I couldn't be more thrilled! I've been narrowing down the menu, moroccan sweets and mint tea, and picking up the naughty and nice lingerie pieces and I'm starting to see how this party is going to take shape. I shared awhile back my inspiration for the Moroccan themed shower here, here and here and now I'm going to share a little sneak peek of some of the decorations.

Using a decorative hole punch I'm creating these lacy garlands in the pinks, reds and oranges I'm using throughout the decoration scheme.

 

I don't like to waste things and when I noticed that the punch created these neat tear drop shaped paper scraps I decided to save them to use as confetti. Perfect and an awesome money saver.

I'll have lots of pictures after the event to share you how it all took shape. big kiss, bekuh

Scrap Fabric Curtains

I've been making a set of scrap fabric curtains for my studio for some time now. It's been a lot of fun taking the leftover bits of projects and turning them into something new. I love all the colors and it's the perfect accent to the tiny windows in my studio, they still let in lots of light!

I started by going through my piles of fabric scraps and ripping them into smaller strips.

Then I tied the strips together until they were long enough to drape over the curtain rod and create a window to baseboard length curtain. I just layered on the strips from there. 

I really like the rough edges along the bottom, they sway when you walk by the window.

It was funny but I had a really hard time ripping up some of the fabric bits. I have so many fond memories with some of these fabrics.

 I had to constantly remind myself that the fabric was being transformed into something new. It helped.

The finished product has kind of a rainbow-like effect and I love the way it looks when the afternoon sun is shining through. big kiss, bekuh

Christine's Bridal Shower

I promised a LONG LONG time ago to post these pictures and at last today I will. I wrote a post on Bridal Shower Goodies ages ago and today I'll share the results of all my inspiration.