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one year later - part 2

2013-05-14T15:04:30Z

And onto the ceremony!

This is my mom about to walk down the aisle. She found some fabric she liked and had a girl on Etsy MAKE that skirt for her - pockets and all! Talk about clever!

Here's Tom Sellek or John Stossle my dad! We were giddy all the way down the aisle.

I do. I do. Kiss. Bam. Married!

It's about 90 seconds after these pictures (below) were taken when Brooklyn Boy finally told me where we were going on our honeymoon! Dominican Republic!

Naturally we broke out into an impromptu dance party immediately following the ceremony.

Now our getaway car. My dad is long time friends with Don, who has a small collection of fabulous cars and gigantic longhorns :) It was a done deal the second Brooklyn Boy heard Rolls Royce and longhorns in the same sentence. So off we went in true Texas style.

We had our reception at Patrizio's, a long time family favorite restaurant of ours! It was an unconventional option that I'd always had in the back of my mind. We didn't seriously consider it, though, until we decided to swap wedding dates and venues early in the game. Thankfully, Patrizio's was interested and available in hosting our reception which was HUGE, considering they'd never housed a wedding reception!

For our wedding, I wanted the ceremony to feel reverent and the reception to be a PARTY! We decided to nix some of the traditional wedding things (garter/bouquet toss, cutting the cake, speeches) to keep the momentum of the night moving.

All of our flower details were done by Junior at Garden Gate, who I just loved.

We had a variety of small and medium sized cakes provided by Chocolate Angel, a bakery in Plano. Lots of different flavors, all delicious!

Walking into our reception was certainly surreal!

What had upbeat first dances and father/daughter + mother/son dances.

And we danced the night away!! Some of our dear friends from Brooklyn took care of music for us and legitimately played the night away!

There was a beautiful patio strung with very Father of the Bride lights. It was a great spot for cooling off or traking a break from the crazy dance party happening inside.

I think we were singing Jay Z's New York at this point . . . The music that night was out of this world. Brooklyn Boy and I just danced and danced and danced!!

Sweet friends came from all over the place!

I'm getting so tickled just looking at these pictures.

And before we knew it, it was time to leave!

I think Brooklyn Boy and I would agree - we felt present, thankful and overwhelmed with our precious family and friends that night. They made that whole experience for us!

While nothing is ever perfect, there isn't one thing I'd change about that whole weekend. To us, it was just the best.

Thanks for reading the recap! Sorry it was a year late :_

One Year Later - Part 1

2013-05-13T14:26:34Z

Brooklyn Boy and I celebrated our one year anniversary yesterday! Can't believe it's already been a year. What in the world! I never did a proper recap of the wedding, whoops, so why not do it a year later! Back to May 12, 2012 everyone . . .

Saturday morning, all the girls in the wedding headed over to my parents house for coffee and pigs-in-a-blanket (a flora family tradition). It was casual and wonderful :)

We lounged around and apparently looked at something VERY interesting on someone's ipad! All the girls wore their bridesmaid / house-party gift - an oversized monogram button down.

Here's the whole adorable group. Most of us know each other from Auburn, but there are a few sisters and New York gals in there too. Between the group, we cover New York, Birmingham, Nashville, Atlanta, Tulsa, St. Petersburg, Dallas and Autaugaville.

The girls also picked up their snazzy Target Exhilaration shoes to wear with their bridesmaid dresses :) And we cleaned our wedding rings/bands. Cause thats what you do before you get married.

Invites by the one and only LeighAnn Tufts.

One of my grandmothers has always been known to my sister and I as the "Purse Granny." Before Christmas, each year, she would take us to pick out a new handbag. She was building our handbag collection that we'd have forever. And she was right, I still have all the classic little bags that she gifted to me over the years. Well, she felt the same way about my wedding shoes. She got these for me (and got my sisters weddings shoes too!) I just love knowing they are from her.

Back to the house! Once all the girls had grazed as much as we possibly could, we started getting ready.

Then we headed over to the church! I grew up in Plano, Texas, but hadn't lived there for almost 10 years (4 years at Auburn and 5 years in New York). So you can imagine how surreal and exciting it was to get married in the church I grew up in.

Sister and I before I put on my dress.

We took full advantage of the Bridal suite at church and loaded everyone in! Mom and sister helped me into my dress.

I love this picture of Brooklyn Boy and his sister!

It was just the most bizare and wonderfully overwhelming feeling for all of my worlds plus all of Brooklyn Boy's worlds to converge in the hometown that I grew up in!

We decided to have a first look before the ceremony. Honestly, I felt like we got TWO big reveal moments - the first look and the walk down the aisle. I gave him monogramed cuff links and he gave me a pair of Tiffany pearl studs. Bling bling.

Check out that pheasant feather. Brooklyn Boy looked so handsome in his Ralph Lauren!

Oh man, I love these next two pictures. Meet Luke, Elijah and Loretta - our ring bearers and flower girl. We are good friends with both sets of parents from our Church community in Brooklyn. It meant the world to us that they were in the wedding! Lorettas dress was from Zara Kids and those bowties were from a vendor on Etsy!

And here come the bridesmaids! The girls wore a variety of dresses from Donna Morgan's line at Nordstrom. Geez, bridesmaid dresses and shoes can totally get the best of you if you aren't careful. I don't know why, but it's weirdly stressful! So to make things a little easier, we did affordable dresses off the rack and shoes (like I mentioned) from Target!

Each girl held a bouquet of different flowers. Huge thank you to Junior at Garden Gate in Dallas!

Wouldn't be a wedding without a picture of 13 Auburn Friends (minus Melanie!).

And the boys! They looked SO sharp. Each wore their own black suit + a monogramed RL button down and bow tie.

Who doesn't love a simple understated monogram!

These brothers, high school, college and current friends represent Brooklyn, Florida, Charlottesville, Nashville and Dallas!

And that's all for part one!!! GIANT thank you to my dear friend Jessica Rawlings who captured everything just perfectly :)

Ceremony and Reception coming tomorrow!!

Life Admin & Sneak Peeks

2013-05-09T19:26:16Z

Happy Thursday! Here's a snapshot of our week:

- street merch is starting to reappear as the weather warms up! i don't normally recommend picking up upholstered stuff, but how bout this chair.

- some of our dearest friends in Brooklyn had their baby!!! Family is happy and healthy. Baby is puhhhhrrrreshos. Baby Luke Hudson. Darling name, hu? We helped with the baby room - it has a Boy meets Texas meets Brooklyn. Pictures to come.

- i've started an herb garden!!! we've had tons of rain the past few days and the garden is thriving. it's the most welcome sight when i look out our bedroom window every morning.

- our 1 year anniversary is this sunday. WHAT?! you can expect a full wedding recap on the 12th.

- i'm helping a client with her wedding registry and you know who i've got to recommend? Jonathan Adler. He has some great gifty stuff and covers a wide range of price points. You should check it out!

- also, i'm crafting a before & after post for the Jane street apartment redo. Here's a peek at the bedroom before . . .

thats all for now. enjoy the sunshine!

fridays are for diy projects & giveaways!

2013-05-03T17:45:34Z

Hello Hello!! Sorry for my radio silence this week, I'm just back from a quickie work trip to Miami. Aside from it raining almost the entire shoot day, it was a great trip. And the warm weather made it feel like vacation. What a treat. Brooklyn Boy and I thought about making a weekend of it, but he decided to be all responsible and selfless and instead, stayed in the city to help produce/host an event for one of our favorite non-profits, A House on Beekman. What a pip squeak that Brooklyn Boy.

Anyways. I know you're probably feeling maxed out with all these DIY videos, but I've got 3 left to share with you. Home stretch! You can totally make it!

Today - we're talking about making your own artwork. I would deck my walls with prints and paintings if I had the funds, but one of a kind artwork can get expensive! This is an easy way to spruce up a bare wall or even make/give a personalized gift.

Here's what you need:

Existing artwork / canvas / print

Sticky Letters (usually used to label mailboxes / boats (yes, I said boats, that's always the picture on the packaging! labeling your giant boat! anyways.))

Paint - Great time to use paint you already have or a new paint sample color

Here's the full How-To featured by the lovely folks at The Nest -

See, super simple right?

Here's where you come in - I'm giving away the finished product to a reader. Just post a comment on this post by next Wednesday at 5pm EST. Winner will be announced on Friday! And then bam! diy art at your doorstep! Ready go!

DIY Vases

2013-04-24T21:25:26Z

I'm back with another DIY collaboration with thenest.com

This project focus's on an easyyyy way to update a centerpiece using supplies you already own. I'm all about working with what you have, rather then purchasing more stuff. Simplicity just feels good sometimes.

Take a look!

Printic

2013-04-23T14:58:29Z

Product alert!

That's a term my sister and I use when one of us stumbles onto a new beauty-cleaning-recipe-tech find and feels that the other sister MUST know about it. We get really into our product alerts. Anyways, today's is an app called Printic! The founder, Flo, reached out and asked if I'd try the app for free / for fun. It's an easy way to print and share photos from your iphone, instagram or facebook and at 99 cents a print, it's really affordable!

The app was easy to use, and I received my pictures just days later after a few clicks through the app. So easy and I love the finished product! (disclaimer, I'm desparte for a manicure the following pictures!)

My first picture with Brooklyn Boy - an early dinner date at Tortilla Flats

Norma Girl

And our dear Brooklyn friends of ours who are expecting their first baby in three weeks!!!

Printic photos would make a great pick-me-up for a friend or even a gift topper. Thanks for letting me try it out Flo!

DIY Nautical Lamps + the Liza Oz Show

2013-04-19T16:30:52Z

Yesterday, I had a fun opportunity to lead a DIY project segment on the Lisa Oz show. Her show is on the lifestyle and wellness channel, Viera, and features a variety of lifestyle topics and guests. I was thrilled to be asked on! The producers and I decided on a super simple and impactful DIY project - a lamp shade + base!

Here's what you'll need:

- existing lamp base + lamp shade (think thrift store / grandmothers attic / garage sale)

- rope

- fabric

- hot glue gun + hot glue

- scissors

I found these lamps at the Hell's Kitchen Housing Works - ignore that price tag! I paid way less then that. The shape of these lamps was perfect for the project -

Here are my main materials: shade, base, fabric (leftover from my DIY headboard) and rope.

First, clean off the existing lamp base. Hot glue the rope to the bottom of the base as you slowly wind the rope around the base.

Adhere the rope to the base with hot glue every 7-10 inches.

Repeat until you get to the top of the lamp base and securely hot glue the finishing edge.

Once you're done with the base, it's time for the shade! First, pick out fabric you'd like to cover your shade with. Cut the fabric down to the approximate circumference of the shade. I actually found it easier to use two pieces of fabric, rather then wrapping the shade in one large piece. Wrap the fabric around the shade, using clothespins to temporarily hold in place. Check to make sure your pattern looks right.

Once your fabric is arranged, start making your way around the rim, folding the fabric over, making a nice edge and hot gluing to the inside rim of the shade.

Once the top rim is done, move to the bottom, repeating the same steps. (Ignore my unfinished edge!) You could easily add trim or detail to the rim too!

Done! Pretty painless, hu? Here's the finished lamp:

And here's the darling Lisa Oz and our finished DIY lamp. Thanks for having me!

I'll let you know when the segment airs!

DIY Ikat Painted Rug

2013-04-17T16:48:59Z

We're back at it with the Knot & Nest collaborations! This DIY video will show you how to revamp an existing rug or even a cheapy one from IKEA (like I used!) by adding a hand painted Ikat pattern. It's easier then it sounds! Take a look -

Jane Street Apartment Redo

2013-04-15T18:25:36Z

A few weeks ago I completed a full apartment redo of a darling client in the West Village. She lives in an up to date one bedroom in a great area! She had a distinct style and idea for the apartment: feminine, modern, romantic, cohesive, bright and creamy color palette and lovely. I loved her direction for the apartment, and found it to be a fun opportunity to stretch my personal taste in a different direction.

Today, I'm just going to focus on the living room. Here are a few before pictures:

She had a lot of great furniture to start with - which helped our process. She was really hoping for something dramatic over the couch, as well as additional pillows. In general, she wanted her apartment to feel more complete.

TV / Entertainment wall before.

And a side view of the built in book shelves and tv area.

My goal for the apartment was to make it feel approachable, lovely, feminine and complete! Bringing in flowers was also an important part, as my client lovesss flowers. So I brought in the wonderful (and fellow Auburn tiger!) Leeann Ricky. She is an uber talented full time corporate interior design / part time floral stylist. She creates the most beautiful and organic arrangements. And I knew she'd have just the eye for such a dainty/white/gold/girl space. Here she is in action!

Which brings us to the AFTER's!! Always the best part in these types of posts . . .

Here is the broad view of the living room after the refresh -

Using simple Pottery Barn gallery frames and $5 Wallpaper samples from Hygge & West , we created a large scale gallery.

Added some blush ikat pillows to her existing pillows.

Brought in coffee table books, interesting knick knacks and a large tray to spruce up the coffee table. Layering was the key.

Here are the spectacular flowers Leeanne created!

They were gorgeousssss!

The TV wall was something I really wanted to revamp. We brought in a rod iron console table and layered mirrored gallery frames along the sides of the tv. We'll actually be adding more gallery frames to this wall to amp up the impact.

More flowers. Couldn't help myself.

And the living room from the other view! Stay tuned for the bedroom reveal, for some major changes!!

PSA: the pressure

2013-04-11T16:24:55Z

This is a Public Service Announcement.

Why do we always feel like we're under pressure? Pressure to get to work earlier? Pressure to work out more. Pressure to blog more. Pressure to get married. Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. Gross.

Brooklyn Boy and I have been thinking and praying this a lot lately. I finally feel that truth beginning to shift my perspective. Shifting it away from the pressure to go/do/be more.

So as I return to blogging after oh.... a week or two of not blogging, yikes! don't shoot me!, I'm coming as I am. I do have fun stuff to show you, two installs, a baby shower for a dear Brooklyn friend, a blog redo and even some DIY, but right now there's just not time to do it all, and to do it well. I know that's a common reality for so many of us :) Heck, I may even be preaching to the choir on this!

That's really it. Just wanted you to hear where I'm coming from. Hope you stick around! There's more to come :)