DIY Wedding...

Well, I can't seem to fall asleep tonight, so this seems like a good time to post some more tidbits from my wedding.  This is one of my favorite pictures of myself and my lovely bridesmaids.  I love how well the silvery pussy willows show up against their black frocks.  Their pussy willow bouquets were one of my many DIY projects and they turned out really well. One of the best ways to save money is to find an alternative to floral bouquets and these were the perfect solution for my wedding.  My man and I cut down swathes of pussy willows during the spring before the wedding and I spent the summer turning them into various decor aspects for the big day.  The bouquets were great because I was able to make them months in advance and they saved me hundreds of dollars.  I like to call these my smitten kittens...

A smaller version also made a sweet bouquet for our adorable flower girl to carry...

The pussy willows were also perfect for the guys' boutonnieres...

And the remainder of the pussy willows made beautiful arrangements in tall cylinder vases that I lined up along the back of the favor and gift tables.  The bridesmaids' bouquets also doubled as table decor...we just slipped them into the same clear glass cylinder vases and used them as decoration for the guest book table.

All photos by Orange Girl Photographs.

Missing Paris...

It's a gray day out there, and I'm looking through some of my pictures for inspiration.  I'm trying to bring a touch of old French elegance to my bedroom...it makes me miss those few short days I spent wandering the Latin quarter and the halls of the Musee d'Orsay.  Now if only I could go back again!

Fall to winter?

Well, we appeared to have virtually skipped fall in my town, and while autumn is my favorite season, falling snow is so magical I can't find it in my heart to be sad about its early arrival.  While I wish the above picture was the view from my window (rather than a sad little street) those wonderful floating snow crystals are an exact match for the icy white confetti swirling past my frosted window pane.  I know we haven't had halloween or Thanksgiving yet, but the first snow always means the advent of Christmas for me...my head is already brimming with ideas for making the house beautiful and filling it with wonderful scents of pine boughs and home cooking.  

I love winter because it transforms even the smallest mundane things into frosted works of art.  As in the world of interior design, it seems almost anything looks better dressed in white!

Rainy days...

Fall is here, but alas today was not the bright crisp fabulousness that one would hope for when the leaves crunch underfoot and the geese fly overhead.  No. It rained, and the wind blew and the sun never came out.  And not even the sort of dramatic thunderous roof pounding rainstorm that makes me want snuggle in sweaters and sip tea from one of grandma's teacups.  Instead, it was one of those pitiful damp days where gray drops spit at you periodically from a muddy sky.  Not romantic in the slightest, just inconvenient and uncomfortable.  So to counteract the mundane reality I am reaching back to a more romantic moment of my past, my trip to London a few years ago.  It rained that day too, but somehow, when you're walking along the Thames after having just wandered the halls of the Tate, a London rain shower seems just the thing.  And it photographed so lovely. Sigh...