Ah!

On a rainy gray-ish day like today, getting to look at this wedding again is just the happy I needed.

It was full of brights and bests; the day’s perfect summer light split between the classic formality of the Naval Academy and the casual elegance of a vacation home in the country. Carrie at Fleurish Events and Lauren put their genius creativity to its best use, and I can’t imagine guests appreciating their efforts more for that splendid night under the stars and tree-strung lights.

Ever since Lauren and Aaron’s engagement session last year I’d been especially looking forward to their wedding. They’re just the kind of fun people everyone likes to know, and HEYYY YAAAAA, now finally married, they’re even cooler than bein’ cool.

Here’s proof!

How sweet are their invitations? They were designed by Jen Olmstead (even the illustration!) and looked amazing.

favorite.

thanks to Sarah for exploring the Academy with the men!

the Academy Chapel!

PS!

This wedding was also just happily published on Elizabeth Anne Designs, so go check it out there too.

So pictures are nice and all, but there’s nothing like the feeling of paint drying on your fingers or a few scissor snips giving a different meaning to an everyday thing.

I love painting and crafting and making pretty things, and this year I’m set on making time for it again.

My first project was a necklace made from an antique lace doily, and I was so happy when the ever-lovely Ami of Elizabeth Anne Designs shared it on her blog as well!

I was making it for my darling chum Katie, and she has a particular bohemian-meets-Anne-Shirley style so I figured it was basically the most perfect idea ever. (she’s since agreed.)

Finding the right doily for this project might have been the hardest part – I wanted one that had good shape and structure, (so it wouldn’t fall apart) but could still look delicate. After a lot of searching I lucked out at a local antique store and got a few bags (!!!) of assorted doilies for about $10, and this was in that collection.

It helped to lay it out first and decide where I would cut, since I wanted it to be large enough to be seen for what it was, while avoiding bib-status.

After cutting the lace I dotted sewing glue around the edges to project it from fraying, and also where the chain would be added, just to be safe. I used needle-nose pliers and jump rings to attach the chain to the lace, and I had to try it a few different ways before getting it look right. (always important to let art develop on it’s own.)

BOOM. Necklace’d.

Ok, and I take back what I said. The hardest part was definitely giving this away : )

Happy Thursday!

xo

They were one of Those couples.

the No-We’re-Not-Dating, We-Just-Go-On-Dates-All-The-Time-And-Have-DTR’s-Every-Two-Weeks kind. Aaron liked her, Lauren didn’t like him, but they got on so well as friends so that’s how they stayed.

I’m sure 50 years from now he’ll still be giving her a hard time for how long she made him wait, but then again you can’t rush this sort of thing. His patience paid off when she realized some friendships have a way of never wanting to end, and now I’d say they’re pretty dedicated to their togetherness.

I met Lauren when we worked at Anthropologie together, (so of course their outfits would be this excellent) and she’s one of the most fun, laid-back dears you’ll ever get to hang out with. Aaron’s finishing up at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, so we had this party of a shoot all around there.

Enjoy!

So I’m a parttime failure at blogging, but in between all the engagements and weddings I want to squeeze in another part of what I love. So consider this the first installment of a Friday series I’ve been meaning to start. Not sure exactly what it’ll look like but some conglomeration of travel and fashion, like an If I Had Plenty Of Money, Here’s Where I’d Go And What I’d Wear.

No special reason why, it’s just that if I had sufficient funding and excuses I’d go exploring constantly…getting to travel + finding lesser-known interesting places is so dear to my heart. I also have a great love for fashion, not necessarily for myself but I adore finding what I love / shopping for others. (I work part-part-time at Anthropologie for just that reason!)  Of course right now I’m running out the door so this is rushed, but I’m looking forward to making this a habit and I hope you appreciate it : )

If I wasn’t off to the great Pennsylvania for the weekend, (and missing the Brazil vs. Portugal / US vs. Ghana games! heartbreak.) I’d like to visit this little village called Giethoorn.

It’s nicknamed the the Venice of the Netherlands since it’s navigated by little boats and pretty bridges. It’s just a smidge of a town but the thatched houses and lush gardens would make for a perfect weekend to catch up on my reading list.

Since the village feels so much like a garden, there’s this blouse I’ve been eyeing for a while from Anthropologie that would go perfectly -

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’d go so well with cropped jeans and chunky jewelry…I just love it. And finally, nothing ruins a good outfit like an ugly camera bag – so even though I have and love my Shootsac, I love the lens bags at Kelly Moore too. So chic! You’d neverever guess they were designed for camera equipment.

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