Rosemary + Cranberry

Thanksgiving is this week and I keep thinking about the winter season and how it snuck up on me. I went to my first winter event a few nights ago and it got me jazzed for the holiday season. When I was living in Seattle I would always team up with my bestie, get dressed up (falsies and red lips), and hit a few holiday parties. Now that I am living in Connecticut I am still trying to navigate my way around this new area. I am a bit removed from the city and I find myself wondering where all of the “cool” stuff is hiding. Well, I found it in Niantic!

This upscale little store called Grace held a lovely Holiday Shopping Party. Everything in the store was white and sparkly, check out their Instagram feed here. They laid out cheese plates and served delicious cranberry + rosemary sangrias. It felt like home. I was tempted to have a little taste of the sangria but I was a little worried about getting crazy looks sipping on a drink with a baby bump. I ended up buying a lovely cranberry colored sheer sweater and a sparkly cardigan. I am going to NYC in a few weeks and I can’t wait to wear them.

The colors and cocktail inspired me to pull together this little wedding inspiration board for Winter! While I was doing a little research about rosemary I discovered that it is rooted (pun intended) in tradition!

 

Photo credit: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4

I love the idea of doing a simple garland of rosemary down the center of a rustic table. I have also seen (and you probably have, too) the DIY rosemary wreath place cards. I feel like that was really big last year and getting a little dated but I don’t mind the rosemary wreath/crown as a headpiece for a Bride. Not to mention, rosemary has been linked to being a stress reliever and increasing memory. What could be a better combination on your wedding day!?

Lastly, I found this lovely bridesmaid’s dress on Asos and it’s on sale! I swoon over winter white weddings but I love when Bride’s add color via their wedding party. This dress is a steal at $63.00! It would be great paired with a gold belt or a statement necklace. I love when I can help Bride’s save money in certain areas so they can go big on their ‘dream list’ items.

I have a lot of great content coming up in the next few weeks! If you live in or around Connecticut I would highly recommend checking out Grace and if you are a bride looking for some inspiration feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me so I can address your questions! I am currently booking weddings for 2015!

Overnight in Napa

Hi everyone! I posted earlier this week about our move from WA to CT. Given the distance of the move we decided to make it as much like a vacation as possible. We were gifted a night in Napa from my in-laws. It is perfect! We checked in to the Zinfandel Inn which sit across the street from a winery. It’s a lovely old tudor style bed and breakfast. We were offered fresh cookies and champagne and the house has lovely architectural details. The owners were so inviting and had so many tips for the area. 

After we checked in we headed out to a few wine tastings and to walk around downtown St. Helen before our dinner reservations. We ate at the most delicious and lovely restaurant called Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen.

The restaurant was lined with flowers and was tucked away off of the main road in St. Helen.

The restaurant decor was lovely. The floors were dark wood and the walls + architectural detail were painted white with beautiful patterned wallpaper. The glasses were pastel colors and the bar was serving speciality cocktails. I had a “No-Heat-O” because I am pregnant and obviously can’t indulge in the rum. 

My husband and I had greek lamb meat balls, summer squash soup, and I had the meatloaf. SOOOO good.

He indulged in the duck burger with hosin and shiitake mushrooms. The fries were amazing and I ate way too much aioli (aka, lemon mayo) I make no apologies! YOLO 😉

We are ending our trip with a little window shopping and breakfast. This was a much needed getaway and a great little taste of Napa Valley!

Thanks L+J ♡

Accommodations: 

www.zinfandelinn.com

www.cindysbackstreetkitchen.com

Reminiscing // My Favorite Weddings

I have been doing a lot of updating and networking over the last week in preparation for moving Say Yes Events to Connecticut and I was going through images of weddings I have worked on and my heart still skips a beat thinking about the amazing couples and fun little touches that we added to make their day special. The coming blog posts are a shout out to some of the first Brides and Grooms that made me fall head over heels for my profession and for being a small part of their big day.

Halia + Wes

I met Halia at a Starbucks and I knew the instant she sat down that I was going to have fun at this wedding. She was a city meets country girl and wanted a farm wedding with cowboy boots, turquoise accessories, and a candy bar. The day before their wedding I showed up at their family farm to help set up and in true Washington fashion it was raining! Of course everyone had on their rain boots and parkas. We spent a few hours going over where tables would be set up and the back up plan in case it rained. The next day was the wedding and it started off a little cloudy and damp but by afternoon it had cleared up.

The set up for this event was so much fun! Huge signs pointed people in the direction of the events, there were yard games, a horse drawn carriage, and a bathtub full of wine and champagne! 

Halia and her bridesmaids were gorgeous in lace and boots! Wes and his guys all wore suspenders. 

The party lasted well into the night and after spending 10+ in heels and cleaning off the last few tables I had to bid my goodbyes as everyone partied on. I love when events are on private residences. It takes the pressure off of the Bride and Groom to push everyone out of the venue for clean-up. Weddings are such a joyous occasion and it’s so much fun to see everyone want to continue to celebrate. 

So, a year later, I am still thinking about Halia and Wes and hoping that their first year of marriage was full of excitement and love. Thanks for letting me be a part of your day! 

{ Photography: Lovelight Photographie }

I’m moving East! Connecticut to be exact <3

I don’t even know where to begin, lol. I feel like I have had a few of these posts over the last year and here I am again with an updated update. 😉

Last Fall I decided to move from Seattle to Sacramento in June of 2014. I was moving for a few reasons. One, I wanted to shake up my life. I wanted a breath of fresh air, I wanted to escape the never-ending circle I felt like I was stuck in. My professional life was great, my Wedding and Event Company, Say Yes Events, was doing wonderful and picking up speed but I wanted to escape the gray and rainy Seattle scene and I was yearning for sun and warmth. It seemed like the prefect time to move, my business was still fairly young and could take the hit early on and I was in dire need of rain-free wedding days! (for me and for my Brides!) California seemed like the obvious choice. As I geared up for my move things kept surfacing that changed my course. I got engaged in April. My fiancé {now Husband} is in the Navy and was getting ready to go underway. When he returned I would be in Sacramento, and he would meet me down there with-in the month of his return. It felt like God was working his will. I was all set up for the move and my husband somehow landed the perfect job in the Navy right in the area I was wanting to move to! We decided to elope right before he left which was kept under wraps because I was planning a Lake Tahoe wedding for the following Summer. However, two days before my big move he returned early with bad news. He wasn’t going to be transferred to the Sacramento area. Wowza. It hit me hard. I was a newlywed, I had been planning this move for close to 9 months and now I had to go with my husband wherever he was going to be moved to. I had to give up my California dream. It was hard. Really hard. I cried for a few weeks. All of the preparation for the move left us couch surfing until we were told 3 weeks later that we would be moving to Connecticut in September. Holy Heavens! That is across the United States! Not to mention right back into rain, snow, and gray skies!

I am sitting in Lake Tahoe right now writing this as we have our last little vacation before the trek to Connecticut starts on September 1st. It’s a little bittersweet. We would have had our wedding the last week of September and looking out at the beautiful “Tahoe Blue” Lake (anyone who knows Tahoe knows the color I am talking about, you can’t even describe it. It is a color of it’s own) I almost can’t believe the I will be moving from the West Coast to the East Coast. Who would have ever thought this was in the cards?? I have had to make a little daily routine for myself to keep myself reminded of God’s grace and to keep my spirits high. I do my morning walk, I think about the exciting adventure God has sent me on, and I reflect on my lack of ability to plan this out- which is hard because, HELLO!, I am a wedding and event planner. This is what I do for a living.

“Tahoe Blue” I thought I would add a visual 😉

I have never felt so helpless in terms of being able to have control over my life then I feel now. I know God is working on my heart and he is loosening my tight grip. I am finding comfort in being able to enjoy what he throws at me. This is not close to anything I would have ever planned for myself, yet, in my daydreams I always wanted to live on the East Coast… I just wouldn’t have the ability to uproot that far from my family or pony up the money to make such a change… and now we are getting paid to do it and everything is taken care of. I guess it is a blessing in disguise.

So, in defense on my absence. It’s been an emotional crazy year but I am back and Say Yes Events will be in full swing this Fall in Connecticut. I can’t wait to meet new vendors and make new contacts and have years and years full of blushing brides, stylish events, and a few happy tears!

 

Insecurities that lead to apologies

I go through these cycles/phases in my life where I hyper-focus on certain ideas, thoughts, or decisions. I am currently focused on the idea of insecurities that lead to apologies- I have noticed this cycle in my life, over the course of my entire life, actually, where I move to a dark place of insecurity then I apologize over and over for everything which leads me into more insecurity. It’s a vicious circle.

I was apologizing to people who meant nothing to me, I was apologizing for my past mistakes and I was apologizing for my successes! Yes, even my successes!! I would apologize for not picking something and instead focusing on what I felt I needed to be focusing on and, in turn, I would apologize for not being able to juggle both my current success and the projects or people that were moved on to the back burner. Talk about feeling robbed of the enjoyment of my hard work!

I also found myself really impacted by those around me and their thoughts of me. I felt that I had to apologize for not taking their advice, apologize for living life the way I needed to live it based on my situation at the time, and most of all I had to apologize for being a human being that straight up has made some shitty decisions- shitty decisions that lead me to amazing places.

I made a conscious decision a few weeks ago to work really hard at not apologizing. When I need to say “NO” I say No without an apology attached to it. Let me just say, that is hard to do! However, once I started doing it I felt better about myself. I felt more confidence and I felt like I had ownership of my choices and statements.

I am not saying that apologizing is something that should never be done. Quite to the contrary, I am a believer in saying sorry when it is necessary. After becoming more aware of the times I was saying sorry when not necessary it made the apologies that I did need to give more meaningful.

Tying this back to the insecurities… I feel like my insecurities and the pressure to be better and compete with those around me has been a huge issue in my life. I have always felt the pressure to be the person that was the best, smartest, right (all the time), and have endless energy and creativity… and never make a mistake. That kind of pressure and fear of failing is what fed my insecurities and would lead to the apologies. I am growing each and every day and learning a little more about life and I am coming to terms with finding happiness in not being the best at everything. Humility goes so much further then I ever thought it would and it makes you a more enjoyable person. That is what I want- I want to be make it while being a friendly, humble, and loving person and I want the same for those around me… because at the end of the day we all deserve to celebrate our successes, apology free.

Have you ever experienced something like this? How did you address it?

Craigslist finds: Sacramento

I love Craigslist for finding gems that people don’t realize are worth money! It’s like winning the lottery! Since I am transplanting to Sacramento and I am moving with almost nothing I thought it might be fun to see what little treasures I can come across. Here are a few finds that I think are worth taking a look at!

Check out this lovely little bar table/cabinet! The price is a bit steep at $225 but it is a great vintage 1960’s piece. Who is ready for a cocktail?

 I found this beauty priced at $500. It could probably use new upholstery but the lines and tufting are so much fun. I don’t believe I have ever seen this style of sofa in sectional form. I would put the price tag of reupholstering with tufts at over $2,500 but I could see something fresh like the sofa below…

or how about funky with the Pantone Color of the year, Radiant Orchid!? In Velvet!!

How about this Lehigh-Leopold Office Desk? It has great bones and looks to be in decent condition. I love the symmetry and the brass capped legs.

I found this similar desk on Etsy for $350. So, I would say the above desk is a steal!

And now for the FREE piece!!

 I would totally snag that chair for the low low price of free!

Where do you search for bargains in your area?

Female Friendships

Hello everyone! A few weeks I posted about an experience I had with workplace bullying and it has had me thinking ever since about female friendships, women bashing on other women, and what I want my daughter to learn about her self-esteem and the friends she is blessed with.

I grew up with a very nomadic childhood and that has had a huge affect with how I have learned to make friends. The fact is, I have never been great at making friends and there is something a very painful about that. Because I haven’t always had the easiest time making friends I have spent a lot of time observing other’s relationships and I have have become very sensitive to this topic in particular. Women love bashing other women. I have been guilty of it, we all have…. but why?? Why do associate a woman who is wearing a mini shirt and high heels as being a “slut” or a women who is really thin as looking “sick” and “in need of a meal” or a woman who is above a certain size as “needing to go on a diet?” Why do we, as normal everyday women, point out the imperfections of other women? We do it to those we know, most of the time behind their back… and we always insert our opinions about those we don’t know as if they are just faceless people with no meaning.

It seems so ingrained in the female culture that it is widely accepted as everyday banter. This really got me thinking about the message that this sends to my 4 year old daughter. My little, innocent, 4 year old daughter has already made comments about not looking pretty enough, needing to wear “lipstick” which is actually chapstick and I have seen so many signs of insecurity in her that breaks my heart. I don’t feel like I have said anything in front of her that would prompt her to think these things about herself but I know that in the culture we live in she has been exposed to this level of self-hate and female-on-female hate from those we come into contact with. The women in the fitting rooms make comments about looking “fat” in the items they are trying on, the women in line at the coffee shops rejects the pastry because she “needs to watch her weight” and Ariel (the Little Mermaid, a movie she recently watched and will never watch again…) is told by the mean Sea Witch that she must rely only on her looks to seduce the man of her dreams because “she” is not enough. It was like a semi-truck hit me, this is what my daughter is exposed to on a daily basis.

So, this is the battle: Trying to figure out how to teach my daughter to love herself and at the same time surround herself with other girls who also love themselves. I want to teach my daughter about building an identity that isn’t rooted in gossip, judgement, and hate while also learning how to have strong female relationships that are rooted in building other women up on the foundation of respect and love.

In the handful of friends that I have made I have learned a lot about what strong female friendships look like and even more about what investing in another person and their life looks like. I haven’t always been the best at it but I have come a long way.

In a few short months I will be moving away from the ladies who have been my rocks over the last 7-26 years. Who have supported me, loved me, held me, and prayed for me. My daughter will also be losing her handful of friends that she has grown up with and had many of her early experiences with. This is going to be a learning experience about moving to a completely foreign city and making friends from scratch and I am blessed that I have been given amazing examples of what a successful female friendship looks like. To my lovely friends, thank you for not gossiping about me, thank you for pulling me out of my bouts of self-hate and doubt, thank you for standing up for me, thank you for your honesty and understanding, thank you for late night cocktails/wine while I cried like a baby, and lastly thank you for being my friend and allowing me to do the same for you!

Heather, Sarah, and Amber. I love you ladies.

Annabella, Evelyn, and Lexi- Adyison loves you.

get the look | layered rugs

Has anyone else fallen for the trend of layering rugs? I have seen images over the last few months and filed it away in the back of my mind but when I logged onto One King’s Lane this morning I was reminded of it. They are having a rug sale and styled the lovely image below and I fell in love with the idea all over again!

I am a sucker for the preppy pink and navy rug placed on top of the jute rug. I think the fringe on the rug adds a layer of texture. (The navy and pink rug is sold out but you can be added to a list if they decide to add inventory!)

Here are a few examples of interiors that use this trend!

In this image a cowhide was used to add a different shape and texture to the space. West Elm has a cow hide priced at $550! That is a great price for a piece that can be added to almost any space.

Anyone who owns a jute rug knows that they will stand the test of time but they are not kind on the feet. I love the look and texture of jute but it isn’t something that you would associate with being cozy. That is why I love the idea of layering another rug on it to add a layer of softness.

I also can’t help but wonder if a more durable rug placed under a delicate one will help keep the rugs integrity and increase the lifetime of both pieces. When a jute rug sits on a wood floor for a few months it can get really dusty under there. Maybe by layering a heavier textured rug will protect the move delicate one on top from excessive dust? Do any of you lovely readers know more about this? Am I onto something here?

I am in love with the room above and you can get a similar look by combining this Kiara rug from Anthropologie with a jute rug from West Elm.

Lastly, I have really been into this black+white pattern on pattern lately. I stumbled upon these two rugs while researching and I can’t help but imagine how great the combo would look in a bedroom or office!

The black and white stripped rug can be found here and the white polka dot rug can be found here.

What do you think about layering rugs? Are you a fan of the trend?

Bullying: 5 things I have learned

I have spent the last 15 months really focused on improving my life, making heart changes, and focusing on becoming the person that I would want to call my best friend… I am getting close 🙂

Last year, I left a very toxic job at a start-up company because of work place bullying that wasn’t only happening to me but was also happening to some of my coworkers. I wouldn’t say this company was a bad company but there were many instances where the gossip was so bad across the board that I hated my life for a good 3 months straight. I finally had to quit for my own sanity and because I felt that there were some serious moral issues being pushed under the rug.

I left and went 100% full force into my business. I took it from nothing to a business that turned a profit and sustained me. I learned a few things…

1. What someone whispers about you is really just a screaming reflection of their character. Their insecurities flow from their mouth in mumbles.

2. Toxicity is toxicity and unless you remove those people from your life they will find anyway to break you down. Be the bigger person and move on.

3. Surround yourself with people who are the strength to your weakness and lift you up daily.

4. Take vacations often. Life can get so compounded sometimes that it’s hard to wake up everyday carrying the weight of your personal life on your shoulders. People pick up on that so easily and hurt you with it. Take a break and some deep breaths.

and lastly,

I came across something a few days ago that was said by one of my former coworkers that was a very recent dig at me. (the joys of having mutual friends on social media) I couldn’t believe that 15 months later this person was still trying to bully me.

To that person, I forgive you for all of the times you made rude comments in my direction, I forgive you for all of the times that I left work in tears, and I forgive you for making my life so unbearable that I felt forced to quit my job.

I hope you can find a productive focus in your life and that your heart will be healed and happy so you can also refocus your energy on improving your own life. Life’s short and words hurt. Be the example you would want your daughter to see.

Best,

Balance

Okay, my faithful followers… I have a major question.

How does one find balance?

I struggle with this to the point that I often feel like I can’t seem to get on track with my own life. Do any of you have tips? I am sure I am not the only one dealing with this.

Between juggling being a single mom, trying to have a boyfriend that I do not completely ignore, keeping my friendships in tact, running a business, getting ready for a big move to a different state, and trying to finish up my degree I can’t seem to get things in order. I am always dropping things or people off of my list because I can not handle all of it. I have this overwhelming sense of guilt.

Do any of you have any suggestions on how to find some balance in life?

I think my first step is to not worry and to focus. I am unsure of anything past that.