A last minute, but still lovely Valentine's Day!

Hey guys!!! What is up? Obviously, today is Valentine's day - I know there are lovers and haters of this holiday, but I am definitely on the love side. Of any holiday actually. Why not celebrate? I'll take any holiday as an excuse to make a cake! Valentine's day, 4th of July, World Nutella Day, Pi day, you know, the usual holidays.

Anyway, I thought I would pop in today with some super last minute gifts that are awesome. All are homemade or semi-homemade and really easy. Here we go!
(counter clock-wise)

1) Marshmallow pops. Ridiculously easy. Here are the instructions: Get marshmallows. Put a stick in them. Dip in some melted chocolate. Add accoutrements. Let dry and package cute. Sophie made 3/4 of ours herself!  They taste so, so good too.

2) Make a sandwich heart. Does this need any more directions? (heart pancakes are a good idea too!)

3) Brownie bites. Again, totally easy. Either make brownies from-scratch, or from a box. Let them cool. Roll into balls. See #1. Super easy.

4) homemade valentines! I fell in love with these (you can get the template here!) b/c Sophie loves bugs and she is in preschool, so it was perfect for us. Again, totally easy.

5) Red velvet cake batter cookies. Recipe here - easy and quick and an awesome end to dinner!

6) the DIY bouquet. Get flowers from the grocery store (double points if you are near a trader joe's or whole foods) - ok, not the ugly ones, but some nice ones - two bunches. Take them home, open them, ditch the plastic, put the flowers together, cut the bottoms the same length. Now, this is key - wrap them in paper. Not PLASTIC. Either wax paper, or parchment paper, or kraft paper, or even solid wrapping paper if you must, but not PLASTIC. Tie somewhere with a twine (think the twine from the bakery box, or some rustic cord from the garage, or ribbon - not the curling kind). This bouquet will get you way farther than that original one in plastic (hopefully the price was not still attached!).

And, just in case those gifts don't work...

Holiday Updates!

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the missed post yesterday, but I figured you all were busy enjoying your last bit of summer, so I saved it for the back-to-school/work Tuesday.  Hopefully you are not dragging too hard :).

Last week I was definitely dragging a little, we were all really sick.  Sophie first - usually, we are not the type to run to the doctor right away, but...her cough was really bad and she is starting school (!) this week, so I wanted to get her immune boosted fast.  So, we took her and she slowly got better and we slowly got worse.  I saved all of the energy that I had (and used a good antibiotic/dayquil/tylenol mix) for an engagement session that I was so excited for - Aaron and Brittany! 

We had planned to meet up in Essex (super cute town) where they will be getting married next month and I just had a blast.  Think dog, boat, awesome dress (Brittany rocked it!), and just gorgeous weather. Check out one of my favorite images (you can see a few more in FB and even more to come soon...):


For the weekend, we left ourselves the weekend work-free :), so we had some time to explore.  We were invited to a party by the lovely Mercedes up in Mystic, so we decided to make an overnight trip out of it and take Sophie to see the seaport and aquarium.  We had a blast - I hadn't been up there really since I was a kid and it was just so fun.  We rented a rowboat in the harbor and walked through town, and just had a blast.  We have taken a bunch of weekend trips this summer and I have been meaning to post some of my non-people photos from each of them, but just haven't had the chance.  This used to be all I shot, before I did weddings, etc. - I used to shoot more landscapes, and street photography and I still love to when I'm not shooting my most favorite mini-subject. 

Here are a few that I liked from the set this weekend...


And another from the end of that engagement shoot the other night in Essex.


And, so, that party I mentioned above.  Seriously awesome.  Just to set this up for you - I love all things detailed, I love pretty napkins, and good food, and coordinating accents, striped straws, pinterest and etsy and all things crafty, DIY and homemade.  Always have, always will. Not everyone shares this and I get that, and thats ok!  I love to make parties and details and food for family and friends and having them enjoy it.  I have been known to make my own vanilla extract, jam, wrapping paper, etc. - and I'm hoping to get on canning my own tomatoes this year.  Ok, so Mercedes is definitely my equal on this hobby, but she just might be a bit crazier than myself :).  I mean, she made her own dining room table - and its amazing.  I'm beyond jealous! 

I took some instagram photos of the party just to show the world her awesomeness.  She should definitely be a wedding/event planner.  Mercedes - just quit your job and do that now!  Her and her husband threw a clambake and it was just wonderful.  We left and drove home wearing lobster-soaked clothes and dreaming of what we could do with chalkboard paint :).  See the proof.
(pretty backyard, yummy lobster, chalkboard paint labeled mason jars, mismatched chairs, awesome food!, drinks, salad appetizers, string lights, soph and the dog :)

And a pic from their photobooth :)


And, I spied some wedding photos in their house!!! Love that.



In other news, did you guys see the wedding I posted on Friday?!  I know a lot of people were out of town, but definitely go check it out (its on FB too, if thats easier).  I'm in love.

Last but definitely not least - Happy 1st Anniversary to Samara and Brian!!!  These guys got married just a few days after the Hurricane last year and it was just the coolest.  This pic reminds me a lot of the wedding because the flower farm that they orginally were going to use got wiped out with the storm, so Samara found a replacement just days before the wedding!  Turned out just gorgeous.  Hope you guys are celebrating tonight!

Integrating Pinterest into my (and your) life...

So, the last thing I need is another website to follow, item to check, thing to do...but then there is Pinterest. All signs lead to it being perfect for procrastination and never actually using it - but, I love it. I love the instant inspiration and ability to categorize and I love that people are pinning Uplift photos to their wedding inspiration boards, so awesome. I think of it like one giant online magazine, where you can rip out the pages you want to keep and throw away the ads and other pages that just clutter up your house. But, if I am going to keep spending time there, I want to make sure that I'm actually using it! So today, I'm going to post a few of things that I have made, or bought, or been inspired by, through pinterest (mostly iphone pics, so don't judge :)! I'd love to see/hear what you guys have made too!! If anyone has photos of any projects/recipes, I would love to do a post about it - send me some photos (Mercedes, you know I'm looking at you!)

So, this necklace is one of the first things I pinned -- I was in love with it, went out and bought the supplies right away and then let it sit through the holiday rush. Well, I finally made it for my friend (for our holiday gift exchange) and she loved it! It was pretty easy and I think it came out really nice. The hardest part was braiding the separate strands and getting it to stay at the right angle.

I took inspiration from this Halloween costume for Sophie's costume! I love the way it came out, not exactly the same, but you can see the feather pieces underneath her 'wings'.


I have made a few pinterest-inspired recipes. The first one isn't inspired, I just copied it :). Perfect for Valentine's day and so, so easy. The second was modified from this recipe for red velvet cookies (I made mine with nutella and they.were.awesome). I made these for Valentine's day and for Soph's birthday party.


The last two things are ones that I bought! Love this lovely-chevron,-but-on-the-cheap side rug to liven up my upstairs office - adds a bit of trend to the room at a not-so-high price point. Please don't look at the oddly painted-and-wallpaper walls from the previous owner :). And, I now couldn't live without this ipad cabinet mount for the kitchen. It is awesome. Tim got it for me for Valentine's day and it makes cooking in the kitchen (using internet recipes) so easy (sorry for the ugly photo - we haven't gotten to the kitchen yet!!). Thanks pinterest!!


If you are on pinterest or facebook, follow me here and here :). I'd love to follow you back! Hopefully our new website (hint, hint) will have social media integration and it will be super easy to find us and share ideas.

Pinterest

So, pinterest is my new obsession. New procrastination tool. New favorite website. New source of inspiration. I love it! Is anyone else having a mini-love affair with it? If you are someone that surfs the web a lot (like me) - I read a ton of blogs, look at photos, fashion, art, shop, read recipes, etc. - and collects sources/photos/inspiration/etc., pinterest is definitely for you. Essentially, you create categories and then you 'pin' what you find on the web to your categories (called boards) so you share it with your 'followers' and archive the ideas for later. The archiving in one place is the best part, since I currently have folders of pics from the web on my desktop. My 'things to make' folder and list is ridiculously long...anyway, pinterest lets me keep all the things I think I'm going to make, organized :).

The point of this extended description is to tell you guys to a) check out pinterest for yourself, or b) follow me on pinterest if you are on there and I'll follow you back, and c) if you don't want to be in pinterest, you can see some of my pins here on the blog! Yay! For the start of this, I'm going to post a random assortment of my favorites, but probably from now on, I'll focus my pins on a certain category (say, weddings, baby stuff, style, etc.). Also, to keep credit where credit is due, I will list the person that originally pinned the item as well as the original source, as available.

I'm also apologizing in advance for the stream of consciousness type discussion below. My mind seriously works like this with ideas, so you'll have to live with that!



I pin a ton of things for my house! Getting the style that we want is super hard and I love all the ideas and inspiration I've been finding. I'm loving all things gray right now and Tim, if you are reading this, I would love it if you could make that apple crate bookshelf thing for whatever the next holiday is :). Thanks. I think I prefer it horizontal though.

[sources: apple-crate bookshelf, pinned: Sherryl Galt, sourced: cgi.ebay.com.au; nail head chair, pinned: Sarah Roberts, sourced: marthastewart.com; gray room, pinned: joni tyrrell, sourced: youpaidmorethanme.blogspot.com; gray kitchen, pinned: papermoon, sourced: westerbroek.nl]



Ok, some DIY projects. Love the quilt. Let's keep in mind that I have a sewing machine, and it is still in the box....since my bridal shower. But, I have good intentions. I love LOVE the wood plank on the table - definitely doing that for Thanksgiving. Love the hairstyle too - would be awesome for a wedding. Also, love the homemade sleeping bag/pad (again, need the sewing machine). The fabric embriodery hoops behind the baby are genius - super cheap, easy and you can use up all that awesome fabric you've been hoarding (or drooling over online).

[sources: tree quilt, pinned: Kaye Prince, sourced: flickr; word canvas, pinned: Paige Rennekamp, sourced: notonthehighstreet.com; sleeping bag, pinned: Toni Child, sourced: gltc.co.uk; hair, pinned: Rachel Passmore, sourced: style-hair-magazine.blogspot.com; baby room, pinned: Beth Saxton, sourced: aedriel.blogspot.com; table, pinned: Maryellen Quarles, sourced: louboosandshoes.blogspot.com]



I already bought the supplies to make the necklace! Oh yeah. Will update if it comes out nice. Love the square rings (been really into gold and stones lately). Cake is amazing - I haven't come across many specialized bakers in the area that make cakes of this caliber. And the recipes are there because they look so good! Planning on making one of them this week (I've been making a concerted effort to cook more during the week - super secret: I used to a cooking blog too!)

[sources: zucchini salad, pinned: Ekuni Mai, sourced: prouditaliancook.blogspot.com; necklace, pinned: Nicole Kathryn, sourced: ecabonline.com; cake, pinned: me, sourced: weddingbee.com; ring, pinned: T Lynn Williams, sourced: lilacbijoux.com; grilled corn salad, pinned: Mahtab Rezai, sourced: authenticsuburbancook.blogspot.com]