Marta Writes: Family Bonding

i wish i had more time to share with you today, but i am just swamped {and happy to be so}. =) i'll just share another fabulous find from earlier this week.

earlier this week marta writes posted this super cute plaque, and it just warmed my heart. travis and i had just gotten back from vacation with my brother and his wife. i was so grateful for the time with my brother. he and i were so close growing up (for ten years it was just him and me). now, we're both grown with families of our own and we never visit as much as i would like for us to.

i also found a gratitude journal i had filled out a few years ago and so many of the entries were about my brother, my sister, my mom, my dad, my best friend and my sweetheart; each of them are so very near and dear to my heart.

remember to tell your family {whether biological or hand-selected} how very grateful you are for them.

Oopsie.

If any of you have Google reader or another feed, you probably saw a post from previously this evening that was actually supposed to be posted on my own personal blog. It was probably a little confusing because I referenced the fact that I haven't blogged since February ... which is clearly untrue ... for the Notably Noted blog anyway. Sadly, my personal blog has suffered in silence for a while. I'm making an effort to jump back on the blogwagon ;) there as well, though, because looking back on the memories in those posts are far too important to me.

If you saw the blog before, you got a glimpse into a more personal side of me ... I hope you don't mind.

For now, I am heading to bed. Sweet dreams.

Addicted to Decorating with Tidy Mom.

Do any of you follow Tidy Mom? I'm not a mom {to tiny humans anyway -- just to my fur babies Conor and Oliver} but I love, love, love Cheryl of Tidy Mom. {She's not aware that I'm a stalker of her site, but it's true}. She's one of my favorite kind of bloggers -- she tells stories about her life, offers fun DIY projects {that I may never attempt, but will always swoon over}, shares delicious recipes, and suggests wonderful bloggers that everyone should be following.

Yesterday in her I'm Lovin' It Wrap Up she shared a link to Addicted 2 Decorating {not the first time she's shared a link to the site, but the first time I followed it}. I'm telling you guys, it was love at first sight.

That beautiful oh-so-cozy room was created from this:

Can you buh-leee-ve it? I am still mesmerized by the transformation. You have to check out the rest of the pictures.

I recently found myself in a brand new house, and I have no idea what to do with it! None whatsoever. My office is a little sad with only one tiny inspiration board and a ribbon board filled with old photos and invitations. Have you ever noticed when you get a new car, you suddenly see that car everywhere? I'm kind of experiencing the same kind of thing now, only with decorating. I need to decorate and suddenly incredible transformations and fun DIY home makeover projects are catching my eye. Now if I could just figure out how to get them into my own space ...

Thanks, Cheryl for the share! Addicted 2 Decorating, I can't WAIT to see what other tricks you have up your sleeve.

too, too tweet.

after a week of vacation in florida, it feels good to be home! don't get me wrong -- a tropical holiday was definitely in order -- but it's nice to be back in my comfy chair, surrounded by my familiar things.

on my first day of vacation i received an email asking if i could create an invitation for a "tweet one" birthday party. miss alyx will soon be celebrating her very first birthday, and her mommy needed an extra-special invitation for this tweet, tweet day {sorry, i couldn't resist}. =) i could hardly wait to get back home and start working on the design -- truth be told, i couldn't wait, and i pulled out the trusty laptop on the drive to florida, at the house, and again on the drive home.

i've said it a million times before, and i'll probably say it a million times more, but i.love.you.guys. love you!! for real! you bring so much inspiration and color to my life. i don't know where i would be without you.

kristi knew she wanted to use a mix of fun colors and incopoate the tweet one theme with a cute little bird.

here's what we came up with:

join us for chirps and cheers! alyx's birthday will soon be here. if this playful little guy doesn't set the stage for a super fun summer party, i don't know what would. ;) i love it when i get to mix all kind of colors, shapes, and designs together. and this color combo? definitely a fave.

next on kristi's list? a fun banner of course! this banner will actually have ribbon running through it, but you get the idea, right? =) each of the pennants are about 5 inches wide - perfect for a tweet little one's tweet little celebration.

finally, we created these precious 2-inch cupcake toppers. i just love that little bird!

alyx reece, you are one lucky little girl to have a momma and daddy who love you so much! i can't wait to see the fun pictures from your birthday party. {of course, it's not until august, so we'll just have to wait ... don't you know i'm terrible at the waiting game??}

Independence Day Inspiration.

Jenny Collier does it again. I'm telling you, this girl knows how to throw a party. It's been a while since I've shared Jenny's {gorgeous} photography with you, and while I know the 4th has come and passed, I just could let the month go by without sharing a few of the fabulous details of Jen's Fourth of July extravaganza.
I love that Jenny has a banner for every occasion. {Did you see the precious printables she and the kiddos made up for Father's Day? Her creativity makes me heart go pitter-patter}.

There are so many fabulous elements to Jen's holiday decor, but I think this little side table here, might be my absolutely favorite. God bless America! The light just dances off the apothecary jars and the stars and stripes couldn't be more beautiful. This picture just screams summer to me.

Everyone can always use a little subway art around the house.


A few more apothecary jars {I love using apothecary jars for decor -- do you dig it as well?} - this time they're displaying fireworks and glow sticks. Such a cute idea.


I am love, love, loving the straw flags we've seen lately -- how appropriate that these straws have their own little stars & stripes waving proudly.

Oh snap! Don't forget to grab a favor on your way out.

Isn't it incredible what a little fabric and some ribbon can do for a display? {I should also mention that not only is Jenny an incredible mom to a two year old and a one year old, an entrepreneur with her husband, a photographer extraordinaire, a part of the dynamic duo reponsible for mamarazzi workshops, and a party planning phenomenon, she also painted, yes, I said painted, that gor-or-or-geous wall you see behind this table -- using a stencil she made herself! Martha Stewart, look out!}

I hope you enjoyed your Fourth of July holiday with a fun, festive event, too. Travis and I found ourselves driving to Tulsa from Edmond on the night of the fourth and couldn't have timed our drive better. The skies were lit from Sand Springs to Broken Arrow with professional displays and backyard shows. I think it was one of my favorite displays -- I wish I could have captured a few pictures to share with you.

Justin hearts Maria.

Kate recently hosted a bridal shower for one of her college girlfriends. Her vision for the bridal brunch changed a few times, so our designs changed, too. I loved every single invitation we created together; the last one is definitely one of my favorites of all time though. It looked so gorgeous printed out.

We knew the color combo all along would be a bright fuscia and tangerine (now that I sit down and really think about it, these would have been a perfect compliment to Andrea's wedding invitations!), with a few other shades of pink mixed in.

I thought it would be fun to walk you through the invitation as if you were a recipient. =)

Once we get to the invitation, you'll notice that the script and block fonts are the same as those used on the invitation. I love the way the black really stands out on the fuscia envelope.

We didn't print a return address on the back because Kate has an embosser from Williams-Sonoma that she wanted to use.

Is it just me or does anyone else share my love for envelope liners. I love it when you open the seal and find youself face-to-face with a fun liner and a cascade of flowers. In this case, the tangerine really pops against the fuscia (even if it is hard to tell from my grainy pictures).

This picture almost makes it look like the invitation is mounted to a fuscia card, but I just had it lying on the envelope. The white invitation looked so crisp and fresh with the splashes of color dancing across it. It reminded me of raspberry lemonade on a summer afternoon.

I haven't received the pictures of the event from Kate yet, and I can't wait to share them with you, so in the meantime, here's a sneak-peek. Just a couple of pictures of the "aftermath" but it gives you a glimpse of the fun event Kate hosted.

Congratulations Justin & Maria! Thanks for hosting such a fun shower, Kate!

Chicken Salad & Croissants.

It's over 100 degrees outside today, which means it's July in Oklahoma. I don't know about you, but when it gets this warm, I don't feel like eating a lot, so big heavy meals are out. Several of you have reached out for the menu and recipes that I served at my mother's tea. {and can I just say I'm loving episode five of Brothers and Sisters and am loving the reminder that a girl is never too old to need her mother). I'm thinking of whipping up a bowl of this cool chicken salad for dinner tonight, and I thought it would be great time to share this recipe with you.

The recipe calls for the chicken salad to be served on croissants, but it's also delicious on crackers, pita bread or chips, romaine lettuce, or even in a bowl all by itself.

A Cowboy Thank You.

Hello, dear readers. I'm so sorry for the long hiatus. It is incredible the millions of directions I find myself pulled. I love sharing with you the latest and greatest projects I'm working on and the showcasing the fabulous designs that you inspire. I promise to do better with the ol' blog because I truly couldn't do what I do without you.

I've recently moved and while working to get my new office set up, I ran across a precious card from one of my clients. Do you remember the happy trails invitation and veterinary graduation announcement I shared earlier this spring? The fun OSU graduate sent me "A Cowboy Thank You." The words touched my heart, and I thought I would share them here with you.

Rhiannon, I don't know if there are words to thank you for everything you did to
make my celebration AMAZING! You were so wonderful working with mom and showing her things she didn't even know she wanted until you brought it together. The party invites were perfect and don't even get me started on the announcements! They were absolutely the classiest, most professional looking, best
announcements, and EXACTLY what I wanted. The candles were fabulous and look
pretty much a thousand times better than the cookie cutter B&BW ones would
have look. So basically, you rock! I am so glad Aunt Kerry knew you, because it
wouldn't have been the same without you. Thanks forever! Sincerely, Kendi, DVM

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Getting to work with incredible clients like Kendi, doing what I love to do so much, really is a dream come true. How did I get so lucky?

Summer Saturday.

Mmmm. There is nothing like waking up on a Saturday morning to sunshine and that "new-home-smell" in the office. My senses are on overload and I'm loving it. Warm sunshine on my skin, the smell of Topeka coffee wafting through the house, puppy kisses on my toes, and season one of Brothers & Sisters on Netflicks. A good morning so far.

I would like to say I'm working on delightful new designs, but instead I have to work on the books. I. hate. accounting. Hate it. It's one of the unpleasantries that comes with running your own business. I look forward to the day that I can hire someone else to do this for me.

Everyone shouldn't be punished, though, so before I go, I would love to share with you a design I recently created for a fun summer birthday.

Captain Jonah is about to celebrate his third birthday, and his mommy contacted me to create a special invitation for this special boy. A pirate party in the park suits this little boy just fine, so I set to work on his very own treasure map invitation.

(Of course I had to take out the important details, which explains the splotchy marks in the invitation).

I love the bright, bold colors often used in little boys' invitations. So full of life and excitement! I have lots of new stories to share with you, but for now, QuickBooks calls and I must answer {unfortunately}.

The sounds of my puppies playing is filling the air, which doesn't make it any easier to get started {but at least I know they'll let me work for a bit.

Happy Fourth of July weekend! Be careful out there while having all the outdoor fun this holiday calls for.

Cheers.