happy <3 day

Hope everyone has a love-filled long weekend.

Drink some wine. And then save your corks so you can make neat tonally ordered sculptures on Sunday afternoons.







What about a cork bulletin board with the pretty pink parts facing out? I have a few more corks to work with.

Mini trip to Miami

Hi. I've been sort of absent this week. MUCH going on. But there are good things coming, promise.

We're going to Miami this weekend.. yesss. I love warm humid nights and sweat and kitsch and also I've never been so I'm pretty excited.

We've both been so busy we haven't had much time to plan or research so I was hoping someone out there might have some restaurant recommendations? You all were sooooo incredibly helpful for our honeymoon, I thought I'd see if I can milk some more travel info out of you. (more on the honeymoon stuff later too. seriously, we appreciated every single rec while we were wandering Australia.)

We're staying at the Standard which we've heard is pretty fun. Has anyone been to their restaurant? I like to know what I'm getting into.

our wedding: the rehearsal

Keeping with my theme of showing parts of the wedding that no one ever posts, here's our rehearsal!

I actually loved having a rehearsal. Up until that point the whole ceremony thing was a complete mystery to us. We've been to plenty of weddings and everything, and we loosely knew what the elements were going to be, but we weren't exactly sure how it was all going to come together. Which is where our super cute coordinator Allison came in. Yay. Someone in charge.

I forgot my mandatory ribbon bouquet from my shower, so I had to user a glass of water. Which was actually perfect because it was like 98 degrees that afternoon. Also, I didn't appreciate that you actually need the placeholder object for practical purposes, (like how am I going to hold both parents' arms with something in my hand?), not just for decoration.



(coordinator + clipboard = relief)









(we love palm springs)



(Brock's older brother Sky married us, which was completely amazing, but more on that later).



(I had both of my parents walk me down the aisle, which was really nice. I think I'm smiling so big because I'm trying not to start crying. In the rehearsal. Must save something for the wedding)





(again, listening to Allison the coordinator. Sooo glad someone was in charge).








Post Wedding Notes:

I felt so good after the rehearsal. Totally relaxed and ready for the real thing. And I can't recommend having at least a "day of" coordinator enough, to help orchestrate all of the logistics because there are A LOT. And it was great to show up to the rehearsal, laugh with our friends, give out presents and not have to be in charge. By then I was REALLY tired of being in charge. Did I mention that already?

And I also learned that wearing bright colors makes pictures so much more fun! And I believe it was east side bride who posted about planning your outfits during the days leading up to the wedding with photographs in mind. Seriously, do it. You forget that the camera will be pointed at your all. the. time.

If anyone in the LA area is looking for a great coordinator, I'd be happy to pass on Allison's contact info.

All images again by Michéle M. Waite.

new flowers from hoot & heart

If anyone out there is looking for an LA florist, you should definitely talk to Hoot & Heart. Something about opening a flower shop that sounds so romantic and fun and idyllic. Like you'd never get tired of going to work because it would be just about the same as skipping through a meadow on your way to a picnic every day. I'm sure this is how florists would describe their jobs as well.



They did a beautiful job with our wedding... which I will post soon, I promise.

jenna hein on daily candy

Dude.

Jenna's on Daily Candy New York this morning. You better book her like, TODAY if you want to use her this year. Daily Candy means the greater world outside our happy little blog bubble will know about her.

Article here and jenna's site (for the 20th time) here.

a new project

I've been working on a little somethin' somethin' with some designer friends. And we're about ready to share. But we were thinking maybe you'd like to see what's coming?

100LayerCake.com

can. not. get. enough. wedding.

I'm ready to admit it. And I believe that admitting your problem is the first step?

our wedding: the rehearsal dinner

Kay, here we go with the real photos from the wedding. I think I've waited long enough, no?

Our wedding agenda went like this:

Thursday night - Rehearsal Dinner
Friday - the actual Rehearsal + Cocktail party

Saturday - The Big Party

Sunday - Brunch. (Seriously tired. Cannot believe we did brunch. omg, that was one thing too many. I could barely talk on Sunday.)

SO, anyway. We shall commence with the rehearsal dinner. Which was so fun. And no one ever posts pictures of the events leading up to their wedding, do they?

We were super lucky to have Michele with us all weekend, which means we are also double lucky to have beautiful pictures from the whole amazing party.



(Mandatory pre-dinner cockail hour for mingling and calming of the nerves with martinis)





(DIY jam placecards in action!)









(Aren't Sky & Melanie cute? I love this picture)











Post wedding words:

Only allow yourself a finite amount of obsessing once you get your photos back. I keep looking at them and while I love love love them, I keep wishing I had done more to make it perfecterest. Which is so lame, I know. But I can't help it. My rehearsal dinner table needed heaps of fresh dates and flowers down the center and pretty things hanging from the rafters and dark chairs and cuter tags on the jam jars. But this is all easy to want when the wedding madness is over and you don't have 37 projects on your list at all times.

When you are in it, cut out as many projects as possible to ensure that you are not stressed in the days leading up to your wedding and allow you to spend time with the people who came to celebrate with you two. That is so much more important... well aware. Even though I can't help making mental changes. To the event that has already happened. Someone cut me off from wedding blogs.


Dinner was at The Colony Palms, on the second floor balcony above the pool... for the curious.

All photos by Michele M. Waite.

alec soth at the national portrait gallery

These are like opposing perfections:





If I lived in DC, this exhibit would be part of my weekend plans.

Via NPR (the other love of my life). Rest of his work here.

the picture tag

Afton at Freckle Farm (love her blog. If I move to portland will I automatically become a notch cooler? I'm thinking yes) tagged me the other day... You've seen this game going around?

Choose the 4th picture in your 4th picture folder and describe it.

I'm not sure how other people's photos are organized on their computers, but mine does not follow this sort of reason. Meaning there are about 6 layers of folders before you actually get to the photos. So I kind of adjusted, but still used increments of fours. This is the fourth picture from the fourth date folder from this year.



At least it's kind of in focus? and is not something completely devoid of life?

Brock's niece, Monique and his nephew, Isaiah... held by Brock's older brother Sky at a recent family party. Monique might seriously be the cutest little girl I've ever met. Even though she spent the entire party showing off the frosting coating the inside of her mouth. Still cute.

garden stalking

I have (yet another) mildly unhealthy obsession to share. SURPRISE! I like to cruise neighborhoods peering into people's gardens, snooping their ideas for plant combinations and ogling particularly impressive botanical specimens. Is that so weird, really? It's like unorganized garden touring...

Brock and I dropped into Del Mar for a moment over the weekend to have dinner with my grandpa while my parents are out of town, in Africa (ahem, jealous) for 3 weeks. And we fit in a little moseying around the old 'hood. Del Mar has some beautiful tangly gardens and overgrown alleys for interested parties like moi. Beautiful in the old, neglected, fed by sea air sort of way.



It was so beautiful in San Diego over the weekend I could barely take it. One of those mornings that makes us consider moving back down sooner than planned. The light, I'm telling you, it was all about the wintery clear light.

Also, the 2nd picture... current object of particular affection for me: Two. Story. Cactus. I want. It lives next door to Brock's dad. But that is not good enough. No.