Mariah's Career Day Debut...

Today I went in to talk to my daughter Vianne's class about being a photographer. I was so nervous- I felt sick! Trish told me that I probably wouldn't have any trouble impressing the six year olds, but I wasn't so sure. Good thing I came prepared... I made this visual aid for the kids... the photos are all out-takes from weddings this year. I thought the kids might like to see me in action.

We also took a class photo- I thought the sunglasses might be a fun touch. That's Vianne in the lower right hand corner.

This is Vianne's fabulous first grade teacher- she wishes she could get married again so that I could do her photos.

Here's me and Vianne- luckily I was a smash hit- kids can be a tough audience, but I think I won them over. One of the little boys told me my hair smelled good- so I think that's a good sign!

Candy Cane Lane

It has been far too long since I've done a Three Elements post, so I thought today would be a great time to incorporate one as I continue with the red and white streak.

For the first board, I envisioned a bride who runs traditional in her tastes and who loves the romance of winter and the holidays. She would want her wedding at a quaint country inn, from where she and her husband would make a sleigh-ride getaway. She loves the combination of red and white for the holidays, but she especially loves red, a color that speaks to her of romance. She would even indulge in a second dress for her reception, a dramatic red gown that she envisions wearing in the years to come.

In the second inspiration board, this bride loves the holidays equally as much, but she has a more modern sensibility. Her wedding would take place in a white-washed city loft, and she would want her color palette to follow suit; since she loves red and white at the holidays, this bride would incorporate small touches of red into her wedding day, while keeping white as the predominant hue.

The three elements incorporated this week are:

Traditional Holiday Romance

Row 1: Elizabeth Messina via The Bride's Cafe, Gentl & Hyers, Bailey44 via Revolve Clothing, ara133 photography
Row 2: Brides, Carrie Patterson Photography, Rosa Clara
Row 3: J.Crew, Brides, Eden Ink's flickr
Row 4: Martha Stewart, Julia Russell- The Designer's Co-op

Modern Holiday Love

Row 1: Michele M. Waite, Alison Events via The Bride's Cafe, Julie & Adam- Our Labor of Love
Row 2: Elizabeth Messina via The Bride's Cafe, Artfool, Anna Be via Style Me Pretty, Gentl & Hyers
Row 3: Our Labor of Love, Lucas Allen, J.Crew
Row 4: Cannelle et Vanille, Eden Ink's flickr, cotton idea studio

*Had some computer problems yesterday, so this is a bit belated Wedding Wednesday post!

Albums, Raves & Great Ideas...

Some of you may remember Michelle and Joe from this summer- they made several appearances on our blog... engagement photos, wedding, trash the dress session! Here they are again, well- their albums anyway!

Michelle ordered a two volume set of albums. She chose the navy blue with light blue ribbon to coordinate with her wedding colors. The albums each live in their own little presentation box. I love how they look stacked on top of each other!

And here is the inside of the albums... this one is Michelle's fine art B&W album.

After Michelle received her fab albums she sent us this awesome thank you note. The photo on the front is a shot Melissa took at her wedding. It's a photo of all the guests on the dock during her cocktail hour... Fun photo & a Great Idea!



How cute is this stamp she had made at Zazzle.com?! One of my favorite photos from the wedding...

As if that wasn't enough great uses of her photos- Michelle used some of the shots from her engagement pics on this cute card that she put into the gift bags for her out of town guests- Great Idea!

We love it when people think outside the box and use their photos in different ways!

Thanks Michelle and Joe!

For the Love of {Red & White}

My love of red and white is apparently not limited to gift wrap this Christmas; I've been slowly saving holiday images, many of which I realized fit my red and white theme.

Marisa Crawford Indri

Lucas Allen

Phyllis Asher via desire to inspire

Brian Andriola- stylist

Kate Mathis Photography

Kate Mathis Photography

Carrie Patterson Photography

Krakvik & D'Orazio

I love the red and white stripe that runs through many of these pictures, and I am absolutely craving some Christmas sugar cookies and peppermint bark. Yum!

I have some more holiday things planned to share with you in the coming weeks, one feature in particular that I especially think you will enjoy. I hope to start sharing that with you later this week!

*As I was putting this post together, it probably should not have startled me to look up and realize that I had also decorated this lil' guy in red and white, yet it did! And I must say, he is quite cheerfully lending some holiday spirit to our hotel room.

Merry Happy

I've mentioned before how exciting I find it to chose my Christmas gift wrap "theme" each year; I love when holiday papers make their debut each fall! I typically whittle down the list of contenders until I have decided on my color scheme, but some years, all it takes is just one wrapping paper. I'll fall in love, and it is all over; no other contenders even exist from that point forward.


Two years ago, I went with a red and white theme for my gift wrap, and I threw in some apple green accents; I loved how cheerful the packages looked under the tree.

While I like to go with different themes each year, and even though it was a theme I chose not that long ago, I am finding myself drawn to the red and white color scheme again this year.


And I must admit, I still have some wrapping paper left over from that Christmas, so, in this time of economic-woe, it probably doesn't hurt to be a little thrifty; I'll probably stick to only red and white this time (no apple green in the mix.) I'll add some new ribbons, tags, and other packages accessories, and the look should be as good as new.

All tags from Cotton Idea Studio

*And, of course, I heart this and would love to throw it in the mix...yet because I have an insane amount of the brown and white version left over from my wedding, I am not sure I can justify purchasing more just yet...

Happy Weekend!

Photos here and here by Chris Everard

These photos are a little like me right now, although I am certainly not living out of such nice luggage! We are in the midst of our move, and we are in the phase of figuring out temporary housing. Right now, we are staying in a hotel, and Goal Number One this weekend is to find a short-term rental!

What are your weekend plans? I hope that whatever you are doing, you have a great one!

Remember you have a few more hours to enter the giveaway, and I will announce the winners soon!

Giveaway Extension!

I am extending the Delight.com giveaway until Friday, Dec 5, at 11:59 pm CST because it came to my attention though an email earlier that I didn't have anonymous comments enabled on my blog. I have fixed this, and I hope that this will allow anyone who would like to enter to be able to do so!!

To enter, check out the details here.