week in pins: 9.5 – 9.9

monday: woke up on monday morning and hauled ass out of a campground we snuck into the night before. okay…i know “sneaking” is not good. but come on! what in the heck am i supposed to do at 11:3opm when there is no one at the entrance to take my $40? leave? drive the 2 1/2 hours back to seattle after an AMAZING concert at the gorge?

heck no. you stay. you park. you camp. and then you wake up SUPER early to avoid trouble.

p.s. i TOTALLY would have paid up if we’d been asked : ) 

tuesday: i try not to think about it. but sometimes i have to. tuesday was one of those days when i have to think about it: my little sister coli lives far away from me and it hurts my heart. i used to think hugging her goodbye would get easier. now i’m realizing it will never be easy, but that hugging her goodbye ensures that i will cherish every second of our time together the next time i see her. missing you coli!

wednesday: i need glasses. never mind that i have a pair that sit unused in the kitchen most days outta the month (okay ALL days outta the month) but i really need to start wearing them. i used to have perfect vision and over the last couple of years my 20/20 peepers have gone down the tubes. i’m dying for some new glasses though…ones that make me look smart, chic and gorg all at the same time…

thursday: i wanted to do something BIG. i mean you only turn 30 once right?! sooooo i decided to take adam on a surprise trip to vegas for his 30th birthday this weekend and although the “surprise” was blown by none other than myself, he still has no idea which friends are joining in on the fun! it should be a great time! so excited to celebrate my best bud. 

friday: vegas. sun. gigantic margaritas. pool. great friends. adam. booyah.

photo cred: m {desire to inspire via apartment therapy} t {via house talk n original source unknown} w {peut etre magazine} th {via etsy} f {via aubrey road original source unknown}

pic me a palette: deliver me a sandwich.

I about died when I found this adorable gal who delivers handmade sandwiches and cakes from a vintage suitcase on the back of her pink bicycle.

Brilliant. Business. Woman.

photo cred: {francois coquerel for tifamade}

bow tie wednesday / 13.

bow tie shoe clips by ban.do

photo cred: {ban.do}

ice cream! you scream!

As summer begins to wind down, I always find myself clinging to anything reminiscent of warm months, sunny sunshine and light fashions. One of the things that always reminds me of a happy summer is: ice cream! AND I’m dying to find a couple that wants to substitute the traditional wedding cake for the yummy, brain freezing treat.

Imagine it: you walk into the reception and there standing in the corner is an absolutely adorable vintage ice cream cart topped with the most perfect umbrella and a list of flavors that just don’t stop. You even have your choice: cone or cup and gasp! it’s all you can eat! Yay for the ice cream cart!

For those of you living in Seattle…check out Molly Moon’s – we’re talkin’ fabulous ice cream straight from a truck! They’ll pull up right outside your venue and serve to your guests desires…um. Yes please!

Hope you all had an amazing holiday weekend!

photo cred: {chef chloe} {he and she photography via utterly engaged} {100 Layer Cake} {souvlaki for the soul} {zoe bakes} {elizabeth messina via kiss the groom} {delectable deliciousness} {sweet lucie’s ice cream}

defined: reception.

re·cep·tion /riˈsepSHən/

noun. a formal social occasion held to welcome someone or to celebrate a particular event OR the perfect opportunity to really let your personalities come alive.

photo cred: {our labor of love via green wedding shoes}

sunday dreaming / 22.

dreaming of…

living in the now.

Something I’ve really been struggling with over the past couple years is living in the present. I’m constantly (in every moment of every day) looking to what comes next…what now. AND it bugs me. A LOT.

I’ve always dreamt of being one of those people that can really breath in the current moment, lock it up in their memory and retrieve it in the future to share or use in times of needed comfort. I, on the other hand, am a person that can remember only the most minuscule things from the most precious times in my life (which is probably why I’m addicted to taking photographs – the memories tend to last longer), and I’m beginning to chock it up to my inability to REALLY be present.

I seem to be able to reign this desire in a bit during my travels, but I want it to become part of my everyday living. My goal this fall is to really live and breath the “here and now.” To put down my iPhone; to stop checking email; to really stop and LISTEN when someone is speaking to me; to open up my senses;  to stop frantically looking for what is to come next; to read a book or flip through a magazine without becoming instantaneously bored; to sllllooooooowwww down. To really just BE.

I had the most amazing dose of what this could be like last night as I warmed my tootsies next to a bonfire my husband made, poked marshmallows in the flames, gazed up at the stars and soaked in the precious moment with my sister and our dear friends Emma & Jason. These are the moments – the “here’s and now’s” that I don’t wish to forget because I was too busy looking for what is to come next.

Dreaming of living in the: HERE AND NOW.

photo cred: {katiedaisy}

friday find: not grandma’s milk glass.

I’ve been on the hunt for a while for some unique milk glass. I found some killer vases (GORGEOUS detailing) and some adorable little mugs while scouting in Colorado last week with my mama. I’m super excited to add them to the scout. collection.

photo cred: {jenn elliott blake}

week in pins: 8.29 – 9.2

monday: college seemed liked a decade ago. oh wait. it practically was! i spent monday gazing nostalgically at my old campus. it’s amazing how many memories come rushing back when you spend a little time around your old stomping ground. made me realize how much i really miss my years in fort collins.

tuesday: adam and i celebrated year #2 today and we couldn’t be happier. the past 2 years have been some of the most rewarding and life altering thus far, and i could not have survived the many, MANY transitions without adam. so grateful for him. also was stoked to find some of our wedding pics while pinning…pleasant surprise!

wednesday: my sweet tooth has been off the charts this week! this donut cake (for real??!??!) doesn’t help.

thursday: as things start to wind down from the wedding season i’m beginning to evaluate how this 1st year of biz went. lots of things are swirling around in my mind…”how would i have done things differently?”….”what things need/must change?”….”what things went well?”…but mostly “am i doing what i really WANT to be doing?”. after leaving a nursing career to pursue a passion, i’m doing my very best to be honest with myself, and evaluate if my biz is where i really want it to be. more and more i feel this draw towards full event design/prop styling etc. and more and more florals keep poking at me. i love flowers and had the time of my life doing the full event design and florals at my sisters shower last saturday. contemplating whether florals should make more of a mainstay in my design efforts….LOTS to think about.

friday: coli is coming into town today!!!! yahoooooo! coli is my rad 19 year young lil’ sis and i’m so stoked to have her in town for a few days. i have a full weekend planned for us…beach…scouting…yummy eats…and DAVE! i’ve waited for 4 years to see dave matthews at the gorge and the time is finally here!!! dave. coli. sunday. gonna be bananas!

p.s. WEEK IN PINS UPDATE! last friday i was contemplating whether or not to go red or ombre…well…i went RED! still adjusting to the color shift and planning to share pics soon! happy weekend friends!

photo cred: m {sarah b. via flickr} t {becky young via style me pretty} w {sweet and saucy shop & gabriel ryan photographers via camille styles} th {zinnia floral designs} f {patrick smith}

the short of it.

I don’t know if all brides have this experience, but every once in a while I get that feeling. The one where I wonder what it might have been like to wear another dress…one far different than the one I walked down the aisle in.

Not a ton of people know this, but I actually owned 2 wedding dresses on my wedding day. The 1st a short vintage flapper style dress that I worked a wicked bargain on leading to a pressured feeling that it was the “one”. And the 2nd, a long tiered lacy number which I lost sleep over and eventually wore down the aisle. The 1st still hangs in my closet – untouched and unloved. The 2nd makes a lasting impression in our wedding pictures that line the hallway in our home.

Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVED my wedding dress, and have reminisced about it quite a bit this week as Adam and I celebrated year 2, but I’ve wondered what it might have been like to wear a short wedding dress…maybe even the one tucked away in the cave I call a closet?

Short dresses make legs look fantabulous, and allow you to wear a shoe that can be seen! Yep. LOVE them!

Some of the “shorts” I’ve been swooning over…

What do you think about short wedding dresses? Yay! or Nay?

photo cred: 1 {kris atomic} 2 {melissa sweet by our labor of love via once wed} 3 {julie chidichimo by love me do via ruffled} 4 {jose villa} 5 {anne robert photography via style me pretty} 6 {aiden mattox by melissa diep via style me pretty}

bow tie wednesday / 12.

photo cred: {conor whelan for the trinity ball 2011}

inspired board #8: the woven rug.

photo cred: 1 {brita sweden via swedishness} 2 {via rugs direct} 3 {via johnny-tapete} 4 {marla mallett} 5 {sunara ikat via schumacher} 6 {via sun medallion original unknown}
7 {loom} 8 {loom} 9 {via nostalgia} 10 {kilim rug via etsy} 11 {via easy rug} 12 {purlbee} 13 {loom} 14 {via you yeah you}

pic me a palette #6: mexican dinner reception.

pic cred: {mexican dinner reception by  scott clark photography via green wedding shoes}

defined: balloon.

bal·loon/bəˈlo͞on/

noun. a brightly colored rubber sac inflated with air and then sealed at the neck, used as a decoration OR a charming way to incorporate some color and whimsy into any event.

photo cred: 1 {riso studio via style me pretty} 2 {martha stewart via everything fab} 3 {geronimo balloon-troopers}

sunday dreaming / 21.

dreaming of…

the perfect bike ride.

This weekend Adam and I are celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary – it feels like just yesterday we were sobbing our eyes out like babies in front of our friends and family : ) We have made a pact that every year around August 30th we will head back to Colorado and stay at the armstrong hotel, where we spent our first afternoon/night together as an old married couple. I’m so excited to be back this weekend and SO pumped for our bike ride.

On our honeymoon we took the most amazing bike ride around Paris for an entire day (we ate croissants until our tummies hurt, laughed like crazy, were drenched with rain, and rode until our legs ached – it was the BEST day I’ve ever had in my entire life) and lucky enough for us the Armstrong rents out bikes that are crazy similar to the ones we rode in Paris! I’m so so so so excited to celebrate my love for Adam with a bike ride!!!

photo cred: {seabrookwa via oh so lovely}

week in pins: 8.22 – 8.26

monday: ugh. monday’s are awful aren’t they?! i just despise them…i really, really do. and i think everyone else does too! this monday i did EVERYTHING to try to get motivated for the week and i failed pretty miserably….can you say “still in pajamas at the 6pm hour?” ouch.

tuesday: on tuesday while i was procrastinating i got to thinking about how many half read books i own…i can count 6 off the top of my head right now and that’s just the first stack! it’s a total shame that i have such little time for reading and an even bigger shame that i don’t MAKE time for reading. i have many goals for september and one of them is to read more books (okay maybe i should say: “finish more books”). does anyone else have this problem?

wednesday: sometimes (okay more often then not) my creative juices don’t start flowing until pretty late into a project. i’m usually wide awake ’til the wee hours of the morning the night before an event/party/wedding finishing last minute design details because for whatever reason my best ideas usually come just hours before i’m ready to get the party rolling. unfortunately a bright neon pink horse never came to mind this go round…although i wish it had!!!

thursday: hopping on a jet plan for the big CO today. i haven’t been home in months and i miss it ALOT. i’m pumped to host my sister’s baby shower this weekend although wish i’d had even more time to add details…details and MORE details!

friday: it’s time for a hair change & i wanna do something a little crazy. i have had my hair practically the same for the last 3 years and i’m b-o-r-e-d. i’m really tempted to go red or ombre, hoping i don’t just end up settling for the same ol’ same o’l thing. luckily i have a sis who’s a rocking hairstylist so if i wanna take a risk she’ll be able to bust out whatever i request…yay!

photo cred: m {heather pauline} t {vintage books by samantha lamb} w {pink horse via etsy} th {colorful colorado via words and eggs} f {drew via fashion fame and last look blog}