next holiday, please...

i'd love this sweet little guy from anthropologie on my christmas tree... or maybe i'd just want a tree full of him!

here are a few other notables from their holiday collection... for a very wintry and natural tree.

color inspiration...

i'm a sucker for neutrals with bright pops of color, which is why this ad from Garden & Gun magazine (i know, right?) hit me like a ton of bricks in a REALLY good way.



i feel like this would be a fab living room... and it's def. the inspiration behind our wedding planning.

see...this yellow/green isn't exactly "burnished olive" but it's close, and we can use pops of it somewhere, i bet. also, the invitations (i hope i hope i hope) are going to be traditional and simple but printed on brown butcher paper, and maybe all of the flowers will be white.

got to figure out a way to incorporate the red/orange and maybe the blue... hm.

Anybody got any other ideas about how this color palette can be played out?

A LOT to be thankful for...

I'm off to my hometown for a little turkey, a little dressing, and lots of thankfulness! (and maybe a touch of wedding planning, too)



wish me luck! and happy thanksgiving to you!

photo from the kitchn

Wedding Wednesday... the maids!

i've been hesitant to talk about my upcoming wedding ceremony because, er...um.. we're still not totally sure about any of the details but we're only 179 days away from our potential date! yikes!

don't worry... we've booked a reception site and chapel, a caterer, the cake lady, and I've got a dress.
right now you're thinking, "so, what's the problem? you've got all the BIG things lined up, you're set."

weeeeelllll, the thing is, my mom hasn't actually SEEN the reception or chapel site and let's just say it's a little non-traditional.

How non-traditional, you ask?

VERY. we're talking a tin roof with pea gravel and a hanging stained glass window from one open-air side of the chapel, and a reception site with walls covered in blues memorabilia. Boone and i love it because it's laid back, non-fussy, and outside, which, unfortunately may be exactly the reasons why the mother-of-the bride may not.

riiiiight.

the worst part is that we won't know for sure if we get the go ahead until JANUARY...that's cutting it a little bit close, i think. if this doesn't work out, then we'll do something pretty pretty different and traditional in my hometown which, --let's be honest-- will be totally fine. i mean, at the end of the day we'll still be married no matter where it is or what it looks like.

all that is to say that i'm not really sweating it right now, but it sure would feel good to have those major details ironed out.



In the meantime, my beautiful friend-maids are picking out which of these fun little numbers they're going to wear on the big day. Originally I'd wanted them to be in any sort of navy or brown dress that they felt lovely in, but there were some points of contention about that. Sooooo... we went with the "burnished olive" and they get to pick out whatever style they like best. Word on the street is that # 2 and #3 are the most popular but i LOVE the ruffled one. love it.*

anyway, now on Wednesdays (for sure) and maybe a few other days, i'll share some wedding details and tidbits. let me know your thoughts.

* fyi the JCrew Aficionada gave me a little tip about a 20% -30% off sale code you may want to check out.
bride photo from snippetandink i think?

a few more beards...

beard book from the world mustache and beard competition, beard disguises,
sexy beards tshirt, reForm School organic tee,

beards are really my favorite...

especially this last one...mostly because it's true.

beard hats, artbear, a Cup of Jo

More Mustaches!

fab etsy mustaches.




jack rabbit, bread and badger, avrilloreti

Mustaches!

oh joy!, restoration hardware, atypk, not sure

Great day, hooray!

i officially joined my church this morning...i was a little worried that they weren't going to vote me in, but somehow i eeked by (this is a joke, my church welcomes everyone). anyway, it feels so good to have a faith-home that i really really trust and of which I feel thankful to be a part.

so the deal is that all of the new members write and participate in the service in some way (praying, singing, playing an instrument, serving communion) i'm not a big "talker in public" so i offered to design the bulletin cover based on the songs and verses incorporated into the service. we chose Psalm 139 "if I rise to the heavens you are there.." and the gospel tune "I'll Fly away" and here's what I came up with...

anyway, it has been a great day.

advocacy and rememberance through beautiful quiltwork...

gayle white at the AJC reported that kenneth cole (hello? the big fashion designer?) is coming to speak at the opening of Emory's "Quilt on the Quad" exhibit on December 1, which happens to World AIDS Day.

And, for that matter, so am i. (I don't get "speak" as much as remember victims of the virus by calling their names at the ceremony.)

This is the annual event where the university remembers victims of AIDS and raises awareness of the disease by displaying some of the panels from the AIDS Memorial quilt.
Cole is speaking because he's an Emory alum AND because he's chairman of the world’s largest HIV/AIDS research organization, so i'm definitely excited to be a part of it.

Anyway, if you can't make it to the opening event, you should definitely check out the quilt... i saw it last year and was really moved. here are two beautiful panels..

photos from the NYT .

it's never too early for peace and joy...

i've been thinking about holiday cards lately, since it's about that time of year. I really hate how commercialized Christmas is...so i REFUSE to send anything with reindeer, or santa, or christmas trees on them. BUT I also feel incredibly uneasy about sending greeting cards to my non-christian friends that celebrate the birth of "Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior," or things that communicate that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" or say "Merry Christmas" or really ANYthing with wisemen, or mangers, or angels. ick. (these images via google images)


The thing is, I'd be happy to get a card from friends during their major religious holidays celebrating the central beliefs behind the holidays... in fact, I'd be thankful and honored that you valued me enough to include me in the celebration.

But I know that Christmas is different.

It just feels wrong to force your beliefs on someone who doesn't share them, which may not be what people MEAN to do, but does have that effect in a culture where other religions are often marginalized and their faithful are evangelized by well-meaning (or maybe not) Christians.

My problem is this: Christmas has a very particular meaning to me, and I don't want to have to sanitize what exactly it IS that I'm celebrating no matter who my holiday card is going to.
The good news for me is this: Although i am celebrating the birth of Jesus, I am celebrating even more the MESSAGE of Jesus.... Peace, Hope, and Joy.

So... here are some cards I found on Etsy that offer just this message to all of my friends (yes, ALL of them. i mean, what religion, or person, for that matter doesn't want peace, hope, and joy?)



cards by: oldtomfoolery, yeehaw, isabelle's umbrella, paper dragonfly, dappling, everydaygrace, swallowfield

What does a not wedding look like?

like this...








now, i've never been to a bridal expo...and i'm pretty sure i NEVER want to go to one.

the thing is... Boone and i were excited to go to the notwedding over at opera on sunday because we thought it'd be a NOTbridalexpo.

turns out it was pretty much a bridal expo on a smaller scale but A LOT more edgy and cool. also.. there was dancing and drinking.

had my honey not had a stomach bug all weekend, we probably would have danced a ton more (we love to dance!) but as it was, we watched the ceremony, wandered around, got our photo taken in the photobooth, and i ate a dessert (or two).

all in all, we didn't get any totally new wedding ideas (I mean, we're going to get married outside in the middle of nowhere) BUT it was fun and cool and we were both glad we went. thanks for the opportunity, snippet and ink!

oh, and the "ceremony" band, jacob's reverie was pretty rad...