Dakota's Party {Pretty in Pink}

Look how cute. I already raved about how adorable little Miss Dakota and her party was so here it all is to see for yourself now that Ally's seen them ;) There are plenty more but these are just a few! The fabric banner is the one Laura got me to make for Dakota's birthday gift. They thought we'd better get a shot of it after they unwrapped it. So sweet. Ally made a ton of paper poms and hung them vertically on twine (I think) and clustered them above the main table with all the yummy food. She had a bunch of different shades of pink to add some depth to it. And check out the balloons ... Nadia at Lots of Laughs in Comox made them up for her and they were so fun! Hope you love them Ally!

RYAN & TEREZA {SITTIN' IN A TREE}

Umm, this adorable wedding made me re consider wedding photography all together! I have one other outdoor wedding this Fall which I'm so looking forward to, however, besides that I've had to let go of other wedding photography opportunities. I generally, just don't have the time to give to them but Ta asked me to photograph her wedding ceremony to Ryan. The timing was perfect and the idea just fit! Can I start off by saying yes I had never been to Denman OR Hornby Island before today and can I also say that I'm SO in love with Hornby! I wish I had a bit more time to spend on this gorgeous little island but I'll happily make the effort to go back ... again and again. It's magical, really!

Onto what I'm really supposed to be posting about. Another little bit of magic ... Ryan & Tereza (aka Ta) were married island style this afternoon on Hornby. The dark and hazy storm clouds were rolling in as they exchanged vows right on the beach in front of a ton of people who you could see, loved them both a whole lot! Ryan & Ta have a gorgeous little boy together, Makeef, who was runnin' around the shore looking fly in his tiny suit. Below is just a small part of the gorgeousness I captured today. Thank you to you both Ryan & Ta, for inviting me to your lovely little island and for being so much fun today. Also to your wedding party, who were super friendly and made everything so easy! Enjoy everyday together.

P.S. Don't you just love Ta's pretty DIY LOVE BANNER? Ta knows I can appreciate the DIY love she put into it ;) 

OH LA LACE

This lace covered wire hanger is so pretty. Perfect way to beautify a space to hang your way too many pretty jewels. Cherie {who is my ultra chic Vancouverite cousin}  ... this feels like a project for you! That is if you can even find an old wire hanger in your place but the thrift store will have one for sure :) 

Construction Zone

As you may have noticed, I'm in the middle of trying to make some changes on the blog ... again :) I worked on things last night and a little this morning as well but I think nows the time that I need to take a little break on my day off and head over to visit with my two little pumpkins and the big pumpkin too {aka Casey, Colty & Eli}. I haven't seen them all week and I'm missing my boys! Thanks for the patience while I find the perfect groove for my blog!

 

A DIY DAY

 Just a few of the changes that I made during a long day of DIY projects around our house ... it's a good thing I enjoy doing them! I spent from 9 am to 11 pm just about straight, doing little projects about the house. 90 % of the knick nacks in these photos are thrifted. The fabric flowers were all handmade from the fabric left over from my maternal Grandmother's wedding dress. I met her when I was little but I don't remember her at all. I've seen photos ... she's small like me. Her wedding dress fit me when I was in grade six, can you IMAGINE being that tiny as an adult, let alone one who carried three children?! I wore it for a Halloween costume .. I was dressing up as Frankenstein's bride I think. A few years ago, the dress popped back up at my parent's place and I thought we mine as well do something with it. So we kept it and I used it to make our little cousin Shyanna's, flower girls dress in our wedding. I kept all the left over fabric that we salvaged and I won't ever throw these fabric flowers away I will always try to incorporate them in my space somehow. I would have loved to know her now but I'm sure we'll meet again one day. For now, I have her name as my middle name (as well as my paternal Poppa's too who I also know I'll see again one day) and I cherish that. The idea of having left over fabric in a photo frame was given to me by my friend Ally. She had her own dress made so had tons left over. I didn't have mine made but I had lots from my Grandmother's so I decided on using hers instead. I love sentiment. 

I found the candelabra at the thrift with the Cody & Company tag STILL ON IT which said $50 but I bought it for .49 cents and it's one of my favorite purchases to date. The mirror above the mantel is second hand, re painted a light sky grey/blue. All the vases shown as well as the books (simply painted white), frames, the clutter of things hanging on the wall, the teapot and other mirror in the kitchen ... all thrifted. Not only would do I suggest thrifting as a great alternative for your pocket, I like the idea of reducing waste and re vamping pieces that you may otherwise grow out of (which happens a lot with me!)

P.S. My best girlfriend, Laura, called me from Victoria this afternoon to tell me about a customer she had at her store who mentioned that she reads my blog ... how fun is that?! I really appreciate all the readers sticking around even though I don't get to posting as much as I'd like. I am going to get a few new things going on the blog asap, things to make it better organized and to find what you might be looking for a little faster. SO I'm sending a shout out and a thanks so much to that reader for tuning in. Feel free to say hello one day if you haven't already :) What a small world!

xoxo

bar star

What about a fun bar for your event? Guests tend to lovvvve something a little different, something a little more fun! Something like this is especially perfect for when guests don't know one another very well. It gives everyone something to talk about and something to do together. Gather your girlfriends or Aunts and  ask if anyone might be interested in baking you one pie to contribute to your wedding pie bar. Honor their graciousness in helping you by labeling each pie with Aunt ___'s  Bumbleberry Pie! What about an ice cream bar ... YUM! Try adding gormet flavors and toppings like cherries or crushed almond. I think my most favorite of all is the idea of the pie bar or a made with love cookie bar. If I did it all over again {our wedding that is}, I would definitely beg my Mother in law to bake a few of her FABULOUS fresh pies for our big day instead of a cake and I would have definitely done a homemade cookie bar! One of my Aunts made my very favorite Ginger Cookies for our big day and we added them to our candy bar. Ya can't go wrong with cookies (and milk) folks!

xoxo

Design Tip!

I was doing my morning blog reads, having a big glass of cold water and a jam packed smoothie when I came across a fabulous little party decor tip this morning! Hopefully this means today is going to be a great day! ;) Because I usually always use some type of backdrop for a main party table (a table that might hold your food/drinks/decor/whatever else), this little tid bit might make it so much easier and maybe a little more fun.

Next time you need something to use as a backdrop maybe try happily spending twenty something dollars on a pretty SHOWER CURTAIN rather than fabric that might cost you quite a bit more. Shower curtains are actually much wider than the standard fabric width therefore they will give you more coverage than a piece of fabric might. Also, the fact that shower curtains already have loops for hanging is a bonus PLUS they're already hemmed at a handy length. Try places like London Drugs, Target, Zellers, Walmart or if you're local try Fabricland - the one here in Courtenay have the best choices for pretty patterns (like this garden flower shower curtain in the photos below which was found at Target). I'm gunna try it!

xoxo

{photos courtesy of hostess with the mostess blog}