7.20.2010

Wedding Shower & Tears


What a week it was! Not only did I have a shower to host for my good friend, but I came down with a cold/flu (not sure which it was) during the week. Having a cold didn't help me pick away at my to-do list by any means. After dragging my feet around all week, I did manage to get most of my tasks accomplished. And the shower turned out to be a wonderful success.

I was mostly worried about making it as special as I could for Andrea. She is a dear friend and I wanted her to know how much she deserved a special day in her honor. I didn't get as many photos taken as I would have liked, but I did take a few. I tried my best at tying all the elements of the party together, from the invitations (see post here) all the way to the end with the parting gifts. I used the flowers from the invitations where I could and thought it made a nice touch on the notepad gift tags reading "Mahalo". She is getting married in Hawaii so I introduced a slight Hawaiin theme without going overboard.


To keep with the Hint-O Hawaiin idea, for the food we served (this was brunch) strata, garlic roasted potatoes, baby green salad, strawberries with lime curd or oh-so-yummy and easy chocolate sauce, vegan coconut cupcakes and vegan mini chocolate donuts from Seattle's Mighty-O. To clear up the vegan bit, my friend is allergic to dairy and soy so I had to at least try to serve most of the food for her to eat. To side step the strata part, my mom graciously made her an omlette sans cheese. And for drinks, we served mimosas tropic style with champagne and tropical juice accompanied with the drink umbrellas I made a while back (see picture here) which were a big hit!


The flowers Andrea's mom brought were just gorgeous and made the table sing! She put them in silver vases that were her grandmother's which made it all the more sentimental. And if that doesn't pull your heart strings, her long time friend Devon put together the sweetest slideshow of the cute couple that had us all teared up at the end! All in all I think it was a success and I just hope that Andrea enjoyed herself and knows how much I and all the wonderful ladies who came love her to bits.

PS - I made her an embroidered pillow which I will share in a few days or early next week. It was way more work I had intended, but in the end I am pleased how it came out.

7.06.2010

Outdoors vs. Indoors


Finally we have some sun and heat here in the Northwest!!! We are starting to use our outside patio again and it seems like summer is half over already! In my longing to be outside, I have been looking at outdoor furniture and decorations online. What I have been noticing is there has been a dramatic style step in the outdoor decor department. Many of the items being sold as outdoor, I would gladly have inside my home to offer a rustic approach. One of my birthday gifts that I adore is technically to be dawned outside, but it has found it's home on my living room coffee table. The rustic finial and large scale is just the ticket to offset the more formal lines of my sofa and chairs.


I have even seen furniture pieces I wouldn't mind having in my home. Restoration Hardware recently revamped their outdoor and garden wears and some of their pieces are stunning. My friend actually got this side table for her living room and I absolutely love it! The bonus of finding outdoor decor is that it's usually priced less than indoor decor...it makes as much sense as men's dry cleaning costing less than women's. Don't get me started!!!


Here is another finial from Wisteria that is deserving of the indoors.