Thursday, September 25, 2008

its been three years...

our third anniversary came and went with little fuss. we celebrated in our own favorite way - T brought me flowers, and i cooked him dinner (classic meat and potatoes - very rare treat in our mostly vegetarian house).

it was sweet, low key, and perfect!

i have known T for over ten years now, and while 5 of those years were spent in different states (and even different continents!), it has been the most amazing journey.

we met when i was 17 years old, at summer camp! T was working in the kitchen, and i was a counselor in training. it took us all summer to even start talking, although absolutely everybody else knew about the enormous crushes we had on each other. we spent several months writing letters and emails, which eventually turned into phone calls, which eventually turned into visits. he came to California, i went to Illinois. he came to England, i went to Portland.

eventually we got married...












Thursday, September 18, 2008

i am the luckiest girl!

wow!

i hardly even know where to begin....

today was a pretty rough day for me. the kind of day when all you want to do is climb into bed and hibernate for the next week. the kind of day where you really wish it was a Friday, so you don't have to face anything until Monday. the kind of day where you end up being snippy with your husband, after he did absolutely nothing wrong.

but as you can tell from the title of this post, my day has completely turned around!

i received my package from the flirty apron swap, and boy oh boy i lucked out! my partner so completely "got" my dream vacation.

here is what i wrote...
I have a love affair with the ocean, so my absolute dream vacation would be located somewhere sunny, where the water was a clear blue, where there was a hammock hanging under a shady tree but still over the water, and i had a stack of amazing books! I would also get to eat amazing food, spend romantic nights with my husband in a hut that overlooked the water (perhaps it is one of those huts that is on stilts coming out of the water?), and take horseback rides down the beach, and of course i would never get sunburned, and i would have unlimited drinks but never get drunk, and i could swim and play all day and not get wrinkled prune-skin. :)

and here is what she created...

back in august (this girl was on the ball!) she posted about the fabric here. and i immediately fell in love with the darling mermaids, the sea turtles, the schools of fish, the colors... everything about it! i wanted so badly to rush out and buy some of the fabric for myself, but i resisted (i still had to buy the fabric for the apron i made for my partner after all). instead i just kept visiting her post, dreaming of this beautiful fabric and hardly even daring to hope that it would be for me. after all, there were probably a hundred dream vacations all having to do with the beach.

and then a few days ago, i saw this post about the finished apron, and i immediately showed it to T, saying something along the lines of "this is my favorite apron, and i really wish it were mine, but it probably isn't because it is too perfect." (still trying not to get my hopes up *too* high).

thankfully i was wrong, and this apron gets to stay here with me!


she also included many yummy looking recipes for fruity summer drinks, as well as two hurricane glasses - perfect for holding on to the last little bits of summer here in the NW...


and the pocket detail! its so cute....


i think what i love best about this apron is how it ties together all of the different parts of my dream vacation....
- the color scheme is so soothing and relaxing - it reminds me so much of beautiful sunsets, crisp clear water, and sand between my toes. it puts me in the same mood that a hammock and a stack of books does.
- the swimming girls remind me of those glorious summer days of my childhood, when i could literally spend all day in the water pretending i was a mermaid, diving under waves, body surfing, and making sandcastles.
- and the pattern is just "flirty" enough to entice T, who pretty much immediately asked for a fashion show (a la empire records... if you know what i mean).

like i said.... she got all of the parts of my dream vacation!

so a huge thank you to the wonderful creator of this apron... Adrienne - you definitely made my day!

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

its done!

just a quick note to announce that my flirty apron is finished and mailed!

check out my photos here

i will post more when i receive mine!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

flowers and flowers and flowers... oh my!

i love weddings.

i love the big white dresses, i love the flowers, the dancing, the cake, the guests. but i especially love seeing how people work elements of their own style into the little details. over the last two years i have watched two couples plan and execute their amazing celebrations, and both times i have been honored to be involved. with my own third anniversary arriving at the end of this month, i definitely have weddings on the brain. here are some of my favorite details:

the first wedding was a lovely rustic affair inside the octagonal barn at McMennamin's Cornelius Pass Roadhouse in Hilsboro Oregon....



....which we completely draped in lights. it was like dancing in a fairy castle....


the oh so talented bride did her own flowers....



and the favors were a mixed cd of the couple's favorite music and comedy numbers....

(professional photos taken by Adria)


the second wedding took place at gorgeous Bridal Veil Lakes in Corbett, OR. It was unusually rainy this August, however the precipitation only added to the lush ambiance of the lake (which is completely surrounded with trees and flowers)





i was able to help create the floral arrangements....


…and i can now say that i am an expert at providing “first aid” to drooping pomander balls!

the bride kept a vintage feel using old mason jars as vases (and by pairing an anthropologie shrug with her gorgeous handmade dress!)


(photo cropped to maintain privacy)

the couple escaped for a moment directly following the ceremony...



...and later shared a romantic boat ride!


a big thank you to these lovely ladies for letting me share your beautiful celebrations!!!