let them eat ... {cheese}

do you remember my friend kate? the one with whom i'm throwing a wine and cheese party? kate's not big on sweets. in fact, she's told nick that he can have free reign of the cake when they begin to plan their wedding.

kate hates cake, but loves cheese. i think she may want to renegotiate her terms on the wedding "cake" with nick after seeing the beautiful creation on ran across today on a cup of jo.

it's a cake made of cheeses!!!! and a rather pretty one, if you ask me.

what about you? are you all about the cake? what kind & where will you be getting yours from?

happy saturday!

the weather is just too beautiful to stay inside today! i'll leave you with this invitation ... it just reminds me of this glorious season we're in! i'm off to play ...

national dog day!

in honor of national dog day {today}, i wanted to share some all too cute finds for the puppy loves in your life.

i recently discovered martha stewart's pet line at petsmart. i. love. it. i already told travis i know exactly what conor is getting for christmas this year. my favorite is the red and blue combination. i will absolutely be getting the doggie bed and the red/blue leash and collar for him. i also really like the crocheted pet toys and the all too precious terry cloth bath robe!


happy national dog day to you and your puppy loves.

dinner tonight.

photo from the personal blog of jenny collier

doesn't that look delicious? my friend jenny posted this recipe on her family's blog some time ago. while trying to think of something light, but tasty i was reminded of her yummy post. since i enjoy it so much, i thought you might enjoy it as well. check out the recipe below:

yum!

picture from everydayfood@e.marthastewart.com

Can you say yumm-o?? I'm always looking for new, easy-to-fix recipes, so I subscribe to Everyday Food e-newsletter {thank you Martha Stewart!} Today, I started drooling as soon as I opened my email. "60 Ice Cream Treats" Really??? I LOVE ice cream {I mean, who doesn't love ice cream}, so I was delighted to see an entire newsletter devoted to this creamy goodness.

I leave you with a preview of a few of the tantalizing treats! Check out the recipes for the following and more. {Again, thank you, Martha!}

christmas is on it's way ...

Okay, so I'm really not that ready for Christmas to be here ... even if I did listen to six different versions of Baby, It's Cold Outside while driving home the other day. {I think that was more wishful thinking than anything on a 105 degree day}. I'm really, really looking forward to fall {as if you weren't aware}, and I plan to enjoy it to the fullest. I don't want to skip over that glorious season by any means. In fact, just this morning I was looking for yummy soup recipes.

Shops & stores are already rolling out their holiday season decor, however, and I would by lying if I said I'm not excited about jolly reds and greens like those on the too, too precious enclosure card above.

And really, in the next month or so, everyone needs to start thinking about their Christmas and other holiday cards. Orders will need to go in early as things start to get a little crazy once Thanksgiving hits.

happy sunday!

cake image from theknot.com; additional editing, framing, etc, mine.

happy sunday to you all!

WOW {Wedding OpenHouse Weekend}.

Calling all brides! Don't forget tomorrow, Sunday, August 22, is the Wedding OpenHouse Weekend -- this is "Tulsa's new type of wedding show -- Visit 6 wedding venues in 1 day, all for one $5 ticket price."

You can visit the Tulsa Wedding Show page for more details about the Wedding OpenHouse Weekend as well as other upcoming wedding shows.

toil & trouble.

believe it or not, halloween is just around the corner! as i began thinking of new ideas, i remembered one of my favorite invitations from last year.



mallie & kennedy have birthdays that fall very close to halloween. last year their mom & dad decided it would be fun to combine their birthdays with the halloween season. everyone was invited to dress up in their favorite costume and join the girls to celebrate. guests loved the idea and the event was a huge success. the kids loved having the opportunity to wear their costumes more than once.

what do you do for halloween? do you just take the kiddos trick-or-treating? do you have a fun party with cocktails and creepy hors d'ouevres? i want to hear your ideas for this year's halloween!

baby love. part three?

i decided to go ahead and continue my baby love for one more day. since i may never have children, and since conor is more my baby than anything, i thought it would be fun to post a few of my favorite sweaters i like to dress him. in the summer, we occasionally put conor in little t-shirts, but living in oklahoma with 100+ temperatures in the summer, we tend to not do it often. preppy puppy sweaters are another reason i'm looking forward to fall.

the above pictures were all found at the yuppy puppy boutique. clicking each of the pictures will take you directly to their purchasing page.

baby love. part two.

welcome back for part two of my baby love post. yesterday i posted chic styles for your mini fashionistas. today i'm sharing the styles i would dress my little man in if i had one.

the above pictures were all found on www.gap.com. you can click each picture to be taken directly to the purchasing page for each item.

here are a few of the styles i love from crewcuts; i wasn't able to post any of the pictures here, but i love the idea of my little guy running around in a cashmere v-neck sweater, over a thomas mason patterned washed shirt, and aviator sunglasses. too, too cute.

baby love. part one.

i don't have children (aside from my sweet boy conor ... who is a maltese), but tiny little fashion bugs make me swoon. i decided to do a two-part post of what i would be dressing my kiddos in this season. today i'll start with these sweet styles for chic upcoming fashionistas.

the above pictures were all found on www.gap.com. you can click each picture to be taken directly to the purchasing page for the item.

i also love these styles from crewcuts, but wasn't able to post any of the pictures here. the idea of a cute little toddler running around in dark skinny jeans, cashmere swirlette cardigans and raw-edge satin ballet flats brings a smile to my face.

tomorrow i'll bring you part two of baby love, with all things boy.

to see what we could c.

i recently did a post on this particular baby shower package. a friend of jessica's contacted me interested in the design, but she wanted to pull in a classic font. i enjoy that a change as simple as a font choice can completely recreate a design. i sometimes spend more time than i care to admit looking at individual fonts and the effects they have on my designs.


i was thrilled with the outcome of this note card! thank you girls for keeping life interesting for me! congratulations to mrs. c & her upcoming arrival!

puppy love.

i took this picture directly from the brides of oklahoma, we love pets! post. i just had to pass these sweet faces on to you!


i wish i could take credit for this precious arrangement of puppy pals, but the credit goes to the brides of oklahoma and the talented photographers who took the pictures: from left to right, top: artworks tulsa photography, angela cornell photography; from left to right, bottom: chris humphrey photography, beautiful day images (middle and far right photo).

if you are anything like me, your puppy (or other pet) is more like family than a pet. my maltese, conor, is even more like my child than just a member of the family!

what about you? do you have pets? will you incorporate them in your wedding day? how do you plan to train them for the special day?

the pottery barn party planner. {it does exist}

Remember the post I did earlier this week about Pottery Barn's Party Planner? And remember I said Pottery Barn no longer offered that fun little resource? Well, it turns out, my friends, I was {happily} mistaken! I scouted around a bit more and found that the Party Planner does indeed exist! I wanted to be sure and share with you because I've been able to draw inspiration from Pottery Barn for years.

On the site you'll find tips and tricks for throwing a Pizza Party; a Movie Night; a Mediterranean Tapas Party; and more.

Summer and fall put me in such a mood to host a party; who am I kidding? I'm up for hosting a party any time of year!

Besides holidays and birthday parties for the kiddos, what other events and parties do you enjoy hosting?

getting maui'd: a sneak peek.

in june of this year, i headed off to the beautiful island of maui, hawaii. a dear friend from high school had asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and i couldn't have been more excited.

i've been dying to share some of the details from her wedding. it will probably be another month before the professional pictures are ready, however, and i couldn't contain myself any longer. these 100+ degree temperatures in oklahoma are reminding me of how divine it was laying out by the ocean, so here's to a little wishful thinking ...

andrea and ryan {pictured below} were wed at the olowalu plantation in maui. it couldn't have been more picturesque.

for their wedding colors, andrea and ryan decided to use fuschia and tangerine, with touches of sand and ivory throughout.

aren't those table arrangements beautiful?? we created table cards named after the different hawaiian islands. the bride and groom and their wedding party were seated at the island of maui.

what a beautiful couple!

the tables had ivory linens, fuschia napkins with menus tucked inside, favor boxes filled with hawaiian cookies from a local bakery, and bamboo table runners.

parasols were provided for guests to shade themselves from the sun beating down.

most of the pieces included the bride and groom's signature logo or monogram

{close up shot of the favor boxes}

{palm fans provided to each of the guests}

{star fish doubled as escort cards}

{oh so beautiful flowers}

{guest table: here you see the star fish escort cards nestled in black sand, the custom-made guest book, an engagement picture of the bride and groom, a letter from the hawaii-native president obama, & a basket of wedding programs}

{the happy (gorgeous!) hursts!}

wine & cheese party.

last august pottery barn offered the party planner. it was a resource on their site dedicated to making it easier than ever to throw a party -- they had the serving ware, bar ware, decorative items, downloadable play lists, and more. i was browsing the site today, but they no longer offer this fun little corner on their site.

i fell in love with their featured wine party, though, and have been looking forward to incorporating a lot of the ideas myself.

image from potterybarn@enews.potterbarn.com

i love the table display! my friend kate and i share a love for cheese and wine. i'm thinking a wine & cheese party is in order ...

banana blueberry baby shower.

i think polka dots are so fun. i don't often choose them for myself, usually opting for a damask or toile print. i should choose them for myself more often, though, because they're so playful. i like this color combination.


while blue is often associated with boys, i think this invitation could work well for a little girl, too, in these very same colors, in pinks, whites ... the possibilities are endless.

where's fall when you need it?

i snapped this shot this morning before heading into the ol' office. i can't decide if it means fall, glorious fall, is just around the corner, or if our lovely trees are being cooked to a crisp by the 100+ degree temps we've been enduring for over a week.

as i type this and think of the approaching fall season, i'm reminded of a quote from one of my all-time favorite movies, one that i haven't seen in quite a while.

"don't you love {insert your city here} in the fall? it makes me wanna buy school supplies. i would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if i knew your name and address."

you've got mail

mmm, i can almost smell the spiced chai lattes and feel the crispness in the air. i can't wait! what are you most looking forward to about fall?

i want this dress!

i have been daydreaming of this dress for the past week or so ... and then i saw it on another sweet girl's blog, which reminded me of the dress again and made me want it even more {for those of you who followed the link yesterday, you probably saw the dress then}.

image courtesy of anthropologie.com

tulsa is getting an anthropologie this month, and i couldn't be more excited! some of their pieces are a little too bohemian-chic for my tastes, but so many of their outfits are classic with a touch of trend. i love it!

jones design company. swoon.

oh my goodness. i stumbled across the cutest blog today {don't you love it when that happens?}. jones design company has beautiful products created from pages of old books. i think my favorite is the book page wreath. i've seen it before but didn't realize that it was by jdc. i also love this book page canvas that she makes:

images from the jones design company blog

aren't those precious? she has several images of these canvases, each with different embellishments and their own little pieces of flair. i am in love.