Wedding Wednesday!

Last week I ranted about how difficult it was turning out to be to find a big house to rent near the beach for our wedding reception. (Go here to see why I don't recommend wasting your time trying to do so!) We gave up on that idea and finally decided to go the more traditional route and search for an actual wedding venue. Our initial plan was to get married in July (I've always wanted a summer wedding on the beach) but then we decided to wait until September since Santa Cruz turns into one giant tourist trap late May through early September. I searched high and low looking into probably 45 different venue options (some totally out of our budget while others were on the lower end of the spectrum.) After checking out a handful in person I'm excited to report that we finally booked a place and have set a date! October 15th in La Selva Beach!! (L.S.B. is a tiny little coastal community about 20 minutes south of Santa Cruz.) The place we found and fell in love with wasn't available until October so we are running with it!

The facility we are renting is a clubhouse that consists of a cozy hall (with a wood burning fire place!), a large kitchen, bar area and a outdoor courtyard. Here's a peak of what the outdoor area looks like:

Now envision this place just after sunset, some cafe lights and paper lanterns strung in the air, music in the background, the smell of the ocean breeze in the air, cocktail tables with adorable flower arrangements placed on top and insert a whole bunch of people having a really great time! Get the picture?!

Deal of the day

I spotted this white ceramic gourd lamp at Home Depot, of all places, today. I love the curvy shape and the crisp and clean white linen drum shade, but the price tag is really what caught my eye! At $28.99, I'll take two please!

Designing Women

I have serious office-envy when it comes to these designer's office spaces. I would kill to have ample, organized storage for samples and resources, room to work as well as space to meet with clients. Can't you just feel the creativity buzzing around these rooms?!

Kelly Werstler

Windsor Smith

Suzanne Kasler

Suzanne Kasler

Bunny Williams

Madeline Stuart

 Melissa Warner of Massucco Warner Miller 

 Amy Meier

Betsy Burnham

Buckingham Interior Design

Buckingham Interior Design

 Kishani Perera 

Go here to check out my teeny-tiny office!

Room of the day

Here's a gorgeous purple room to feast your eyes on this lovely Monday morning! I hope everyone had a great weekend, I know I sure did! I spent Friday on the coast checking out wedding venues with my sister and Saturday and Sunday was dedicated to spending time with my favorite guy! Oh, and I managed to squeeze a sewing project in as well! More on that later. How was your weekend?!

New Business Cards!

I ordered a new batch of cards and they arrived in the mail yesterday! They turned out super cute so I thought I would share:

Let's face it, I'm no graphic designer (although that is a field I would love to explore more some day.) I've managed to fake my way through simple tasks here and there (mood boards, blog header, etc.) but coming up with my own logo and committing to it is something I have yet to accomplish! I have adored these calling cards for a while now but wouldn't you know as soon as I went to order them they were no longer available. So I created my own! I used Gimp (it's comparable to Photoshop, but is free to download and fairly easy to manuever) to come up with the layout and Zazzle to have them printed. They turned out fantastic! $16 and a few days later I had a stack of 100 new business cards waiting for me in my mailbox.

Renting a house on the beach for a wedding reception isn't as easy as you think it will be!

When my fiance Paul and I got engaged we already knew we wanted to get married on the beach, toes in the sand style. We came up with the brilliant idea of renting a big house close to the beach to hold the wedding reception. We thought it would provide the perfect backdrop for the casual vibe we wanted in addition to being a major cost saving technique. We could rent a house for a week at the same price most venues charge for a six hour reception. So the hunt was on to find the perfect beach rental house!

The seemingly easy task of finding a house with a large enough outdoor area to hold approx 80-100 guests turned into a long, drawn out process. . . Everytime we thought we found 'the one' we were let down. Who would have known that every single vacation house for rent in the Santa Cruz/Aptos/Capitola area would have a contract that stipulate "NO PARTIES OF ANY KIND"?!

Just when we were about to give up the search we found the perfect old Spanish style house on a cliff with the perfect large patio overlooking the Monterey Bay, at the perfect price. We even did a little fence hoping to check out the backyard, which confirmed it - it was PERFECT. We contacted the owner letting them know we were very interested and they even sent us a contract. The contract didn't stipulate 'no parties or extra guests'. It all seemed to good to be true!

Isn't it gorgeous?! And it was HUGE! The price was good too. . . how does that old saying go? If it seems too good to be true, it probably is?! We didn't want to risk asking the owner if we could hold a party there in fear of getting turned away so we thought we would chance it. I mean, how much trouble could we get into anyways? What's the worse that could happen, they not give us our security deposit back?! No big deal, right?

Our 'brilliant' idea wasn't so brilliant after all. We sent in the signed contract with the huge deposit only to find out the owners had instated a new contract, rules and regulations. "NO PARTIES ALLOWED and if you do we will show up and kick you out, maybe even sue you while we're at it!" Ok, that's not technically what it said in those exact words, but pretty much what they meant.

Back to the drawing board. . . I'm on the hunt for a venue to hold the wedding reception and I have several appointments set up for Friday. Wish me luck!!!

Room of the day

via Schuyler Samperton

Spanish style architecture + antique furnishings + white sofa + pops of brilliant color = LOVE!

Friday at my house

Let the sun shine in!!! Today is absolutely gorgeous and I am about to head out to do some shopping, visit with a friend and just enjoy the beautiful day!

Here's a shot of my entry (if you can call it that - the front door opens right up to the living room and dining area) that I took this morning. My fiance and I purchased this carved wooden Buddha in San Francisco a few weekends ago. I think he looks lovely sitting by the front door next to my orchid that I got for Valentines day.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Happy Friday!

Bargain Hunting at Ross

While perusing the isles of Ross earlier today I spotted a large abstract painting on a canvas that stopped me dead in my tracks! It was huge (about 42" x 42"), filled with tons of color and was priced pretty reasonably at $39.99.

I think this affordable artwork would look great in a living room placed above a neutral colored upholstered sofa! So great in fact, I put together an example. . .

Doesn't the cheap-o abstract art look great with the neutral colored sofa, dainty brass end tables and glass gourd lamps?! Also, the purple pillows add an extra punch of color that rounds out the space. (Ok, it's only half of a room, it still need side chairs, a rug and a coffee table to be complete. . . but you get the picture!)

This is just another example of why I typically suggest selecting neutral colored furnishings for your big ticket items (sofa, end tables, etc.)  Then you can pop in some color through your art, pillows and accessories. If you get tired of the space you can always switch things out to create a fresh new look without spending a ton of money!

Can you tell the difference?

At first glance these images both appear to be the same room. But if you look closely you can see there are several subtle differences. One room cost over $10,000.00 while the other comes in around $4,000. Can you tell which is which?

a)

b)

Room a) is the more costly boudoir. I just love these high/low guessing games on Style At Home, don't you?! Oh, and what about those pink/honeysuckle colored walls?! LOVE those too!

Angie, Again

Since Angie Hranowsky is one of my favorite designers, I was stoked when I found out she had a blog! You can check it out here if you're interested. She touches on topics such as fashion, travel, art, design and more.

I know I've blogged about her before (here, here and here) but let's revisit some of my favorite spaces designed by Angie just because it's a Monday and because they make my eyes happy!

Room of the day

via A Life's Design

I love, love, love this all white kitchen and those yellow suzani bar stools! The open cabinets above the sink just gave me an idea for my own kitchen. . . hmmmm. . .

I'm off to go remove some cabinet doors and see how it looks! Wish me luck :)

Happy Friday ya'll!

10 reasons why I wanna be Jamie Meares

When Jamie Meares' (of the blog isuwannee and the Raleigh, NC shop Furbish) house was featured in the premier issue of High Gloss, it pretty much sealed the deal for me. . . I want to be her! Maybe just for a day?! Here's why;

1. She owns and operates a retail store/design studio/online shop (hello, my dream!)

2. Her house looks like this;

3. Her portfolio looks a little bit like this;

4. She gets to shop for cool stuff like this to sell in her shop;

5. She has this amazing eye for combining kick ass colors, patterns and textures. 

6. She gets to bring her dog to work. Everyday.

7. She wears crazy-cute clothes like this;

8. In addition to furnishings and decor she sells jewelry and other girlie baubles in her store and in her online shop.

9. Her inspiration board looks like this;

10. She's stylish, hip and hilarious, without trying to be.

Since we're on the topic of obsessing over Jamie, her blog and her shop, here's a few things she has available that I'm dying to get my hands on;

available here

available here

 available here

available here

available here

 

 available here

available here
 

I know it takes a lot of hard work to simultaneously run a retail store, design business, blog and online shop, but wouldn't it be fun to be Jamie for a day?!