Major, double, tripple, seven.times score!!! Upon rummaging through our office supplies closet for some disposable cups, I managed to stumble across 7 of these lovely little burlap sacks!! My boss sorta-kinda caught me in the act {I was going to ask first, I promise}, but before I could get the words out, she offered them to me free and clear.

One man's trash is indeed another craft-woman's treasure!

I have been wanting some of this rough 'n' tumble fabric for numerous craft ideas (wedding and sans-wedding if you please) and viola! God just handed them to me for free! Plant holder-covers, wreathes, pillows….my mind is blossoming with the possibilities!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

success in a jar

I did it. One of the last huge wedding projects is finished! The centerpiece jars are embellished (might I say) perfectly with our colors and concept. Thanks to a free Friday night, some extra-strength possibly toxic bonding glue and the cheer leading efforts of Ben, I managed to add complimenting accoutrements to all 17 vessels. Whew!  

Friday Find: Pinterest

She’s done it again. My friend Kirsten, whom I credit for my Etsy addiction, has found a way to introduce me to yet another substance of which I may abuse.
I know for many of you, this is neither new information or any sort of ‘find’, but to me over the last few days it has become one…of mass appeal I might add.
She emailed me about 9 months ago in a conversation revolving around my efforts to discover the perfect save.the.date.
“Have you heard of Pinterest?”, her tone so sweet and unassuming.
The moment I read those words, I should have known I was about to be swallowed up by something powerful.
So there I went, clicking away, finding myself lost in the absorbent amount of vintage-chic, wedding-whimsical, blissful-bounty, creative-cooing of images & ideas galore ‘pinned’ to user boards. As one article put it so daintily, “Think of a teenage girl’s room with posters of kittens, Tiger Beat heart throbs and innocent shrines to pop stars splashed across a pale pink room. Now, imagine this in a grown up online-world, where you get to pin up everything you ever thought was cute, cuddly, handsome, yummy and delightful without abandon.” Enter: Pinterest.

An online community of 97% female users, the site is a majestic creation of bulletin-board-like pages filled with clips and pics of any and all items ranging from home décor, to wedding ideas, to party and entertaining design – it’s like one massive board of inspiration. You can scroll the main page of recently pinned items or search in the box for specific items of intrigue. Users then get to ‘re-pin’ these items to their own personal bulletin boards, sharing the wonderment with their followers over the find they just scored. The collecting is only the beginning. No more cutting out magazine pages, no more ‘right click, copy image, save’. It’s all right there for you. The highlight of Pinterest {and one I think they just downright deserve an award for} is the Pin-It tool users are able to download to their IE Favorites toolbar and when you come across an image of delightful enchantment, all you need to do is scroll the mouse over the Pin-It icon, and the image is automatically uploaded to the user’s board! Magnificent!

all Ball-d up

Tonight I’m gonna get my jar on. That’s right. You heard me. My hope is to transform these:

Into these:

We shall see...

March: Makin’ it…

I can.NOT believe we have made it to March! With my birthday a mere 6 days away, I always put it in my mind as a sort of marker as being “so-close” to the wedding day. And now I/we are actually here. For reals.
So…to come full circle in this blogging moment, as my work BFF puts it best, “Monday through Wednesday, you talk about what you did over the weekend: How was your weekend?, Do anything fun this weekend?, Man, I’m tired, weekend was too short! Wednesday through Friday, you talk about what you’re planning to do this coming weekend: Any big plans this weekend?, So, what’s up for this weekend?"…so for the last 4 months any time anyone asked me what I did or had plans to do, I mildly skipped over the urge to explain “I am planning a wedding fool, don’t you understand I don’t have a real life until June 2^nd?!?!” a.k.a. WEDDING CRAFTS. That’s what I’ve been up to and am still into.
Here’s a craft-tastic teaser of what all those weekends have been filled with:

February: Movin' on Up

Did we really make it here? By the time January ended, it seemed like spring was in full swing. The rain was at bay and clear skies prevailed for the duration of the month-of-love. The lovely weather worked in our favor because by the first weekend of February Ben moved into our very own, very first place. I had found the rental on Craigslist on Friday, Ben called on Saturday for a viewing on Sunday and by Tuesday it was ours. God just walked us right through that one.

Sushi picnic to celebrate!

In addition to an extensive spreadsheet of home-good necessities and 3 separate trips to IKEA, I immediately launched Operation Clean Condo. After about two days of progressing from good-idea, cute ‘green’ cleaning products to full-fledged astringent and perhaps a bit toxic scrubs I managed to touch every faucet, sink, drain and floor particle in the place. Ahhhhh, home.
 

2 men. 1 TV. Anyone see something wrong with this?

Ben is loving every day in his new man-castle. The control freak that I am, it’s become almost impossible to walk in there and not let out a peep about the shoes thrown where I was taught they don’t belong, cabinets full of things that have a home somewhere else, and un-organized clutter that is calling my name. But for now, I let it be…and whisper in my head ‘just wait til I get a hold of you’. It has been a true blessing to have found, moved and be able to pay for our new abode. It already feels like home and I’m not even moved in yet! I’m going to take that as a good sign. Ben has also put on the chef’s hat (literally) and conjured up some pretty tasty meals in the past month. It’s been 4.5 years and the man has made me eggs, grilled cheese and pancakes up until this point. He has really come into his own as head of the kitchen and even treated me to a delicious v-day meal of rich, buttery, sausage & cheese fondue (dress? What dress?) with apple, pear, broccoli & bread dippers to boot! He has impressed me so much I may just give up the cooking duty all together. Although my mind may be focused on bridal showers, bachelorette parties and honeymoon preparations, I absolutely cannot wait to have our friends and family over once I’ve settled in. I’m an entertainer at heart, and to finally have a place to call my own to welcome people into, is honestly a dream come true. Look out for your invitation in the mail!

Pre-church pancakes. Tradition? I think so.

Make.shift dining at its finest.

January: Newness

2012 was rung in by countless trips to the porcelain god, followed by 2 days of not eating and feeling like my stomach was at war with my mind. I was the recipient of good ol’ fashioned food poisoning (admittedly a toxic swirl of alcohol and lethal cuisine) 1 day before New Years. This was the second year in a row that I ruined it for Ben/missed the ball-drop/didn’t have a proper good bye to the old or a fabulous introduction to the new. 2011 kicked off with a debilitating migraine, when I woke up, it was a new year…it’s quite odd actually if you haven’t experienced it before. All this to leave B in his own way to ring in the new year; I felt awful…still do a lil bit. Thus, I vow to make 2013 a huge celebration!...oh expectations…

With January also came our first consultation with our new invitation stationer – Out of theEnvelope. We had popped into the quaint down-town boutique in early Fall to check it out and returned promplty after our first trial went south. We worked with Samantha (shout out to the greatest graphics designer a girl could wish for!) to pin down exactly what we were looking for. As soon as she read our wording and saw our inspiration, she said “Yeah, like this…” and I knew from there on out this was our girl.

This time, I came in with guns blazin’, ready to rock this thing out. Here’s a little snippet of our ‘inspiration’ that we worked off of.

A wedding shoot that our photographer did a couple years back, this invitation kept resonating in me, so when we finally had to buckle down and make something happen, this was our inspiration de jour. Obviously, as seen here, our efforts paid off and we were able to collaborate with Sam on a custom invitation fit perfectly for our swore.

I also was treated to a few ‘firsts’ in this #1 month of the year. In celebration of Jill’s b.day, we ventured to Roux, a lovely Louisiana style bar/restaurant in Santana Row complete with Mardi Gras décor and southern cuisine. This would also be the first time we carried left over chicken into a bar (goodness forbid I waste it!) and then proceeded to hide it’ in style’ in Cate’s mom-sized purse. Next up on the experience train was my very first knife-skills class. Something I had asked for as a Christmas present, my brother sent me and my sis-in-law to Sur la Table to get a course in knife management. It was such a great time! Very relaxed, super educational, and the free food wasn’t bad either. I highly recommend this class. It’s great for anyone who cooks more than once a week in their kitchen. Great tips including segmenting oranges followed by a dash of balsamic and a sprinkle of sea salt for a little snackppetizer. Yum!

A Japanese Christmas

Along with Christmas music via Pandora, a glistening tree in the lobby and the smell of fir as you walk into work for 25 days straight, with December also came our annual holiday work party. We were treated to Japanese Teppan grill this time around which included yummy sushi appetizers, extermely large bottles of Saporro, a private banquet room and of course sake galore. It’s always fun to let loose with the co-workers…some a little more loose than others, but it’s all in good fun!

My work BFF & I. XOXO

All dressed up...

…Alright, where were we? Oh yes, December. Amidst the holiday preparations, it was time to choose the bridesmaid attire. With a malfunctioning voice and a flu that would knock down Goliath, I met my bridesmaids at Trudy’s for dress pickin’ time. Although navy was at the forefront of my mind, I went in open minded to any and all colors, fabrics and lengths (I highly recommend this to all future brides out there)…eager to please my ladies in hopes that happy friends = happy bride, we went about the shop pulling and, of course, judging the dresses at hand. My gorgeous team of blondes hit the dressing room (thank you Jill for your mighty love for me enough to do this, and to Cate for adding the attitude and sass needed to properly assess each garment) and by the third round of runway modeling, I knew which one was the winner. With everyone on board we decided the best fit would be the short, butter-yellow – yes, yellow – strapless, pocketed number. After measurements and ordering we headed over to Cafe Artemis for some Greek grub and gab time. I walked away that day so thankful for easy going b.maids and thrilled with the outcome after making the choice to see where the thread took us. I can’t wait to see them all in their country-chic way that day.

Sitting Pretty

Okay, so this may not be in consecutive order, but I’m just so proud and delighted that I must jump a bit ahead to share with you my weekend victories.

1. We got a steal of a chair at TJ Maxx! That’s right, $100 (marked down from $400) for a lovely green chenille armchair. I think it adds a bit of funk in with the all-mod décor so far. What do you think?

2. Wedding invitations are in the mail!!!!! I will save you the messy details of how we got here and how the USPS once again received a strike in my book, but rather relish in the freedom of knowing our most important detail has been pressed, printed and posted! It's quite the relief and celebration for us. With 87 days to go, I melt at the fact that the most important stationary of my life is about to hit mailboxes around the country. Sigh...

November: Rise & Fall

As fall was in full swing, so was life. Isaiah turned one and thus was the birthday party of the year including a handmade banner, jungle theme invitations, branch centerpieces, banana cupcakes and his very own monkey cake that his mommy and daddy diligently mastered. It was a wonderful occasion to celebrate this little one’s life.  The weekend following, Ben and I had our second engagement picture session. This was an opportunity I had hoped for since my first peek at Ashley Maxwell’s work, so it was literally a dream come true the day she showed up on my grandpa’s porch in her artsy scarf and bubbly self to take these amazing photos. I will treasure them always for what they resemble: the beginning of a dream realized. Click here to get the full run-down and to cruz through the pics.

Next up was Ben’s bday. I love planning this day every year for one mere matter: the guys pretty much asks for nothing all year long, so this is my excuse to give him the world. After a yummy dinner at Kyoto Palace {think Asian food meets grill with massive doses of entertainment} the birthday boy opened his gifts to find a very special card announcing he’d be a new uncle. (Shout out to baby.girl.Allen due in July of this year!) After the hub bub we continued the celebration with carrot-cake cupcakes topped with caramel fortune cookies made by yours truly. These were not your average fortunes either. After molding soft caramels into a ball, flattening into a disc and finding out after about 10 tries finally how to pinch the ends together to form the fashioned fortune cookie shape, I added Chuck Norris-ism’s into each candy treat. My personal fave: “When Google has a question.... It ChuckNorriss it.” And that pretty much rounds that up.

With November came our very first viewing of {what we thought would be} our wedding invitations. If you know me at all, you know that the invitations are the cru de te, the focal point, the piece de resistance, the icing on the cake for me in all of this wedding shananigans. If I told her once, I told her twice, my mom knew I would spend less time searching for that illusive dress than I would for invitations. And boy, was I right. After about a minute of scanning over the tragic efforts of our ‘referred’ designer’s creation, I knew it was too good to be true. I could not get over the mismatched college sweatshirt & cowboy fonts, inkjet printing and a color combo that can only be assumed was chosen by the color blind. The only things missing were rhinestones and spritz of cheap perfume. In that moment I knew we were never going to meet on the same page, let alone the same book, and following a blunder of poor customer service my groom and I left deflated and not knowing where to turn to find someone who would bring my vision to fruition.

And then came December…

October: My Dress & A Dillon

Thanks to the help of my fab consultant Linda, I said YES to the DRESS in late October. Oh how I’d love to post pics of my new love, but for now, I must not spoil the big reveal. I will share that it is an ivory ‘classis’ style dress with lace, rouching and yes, of course a bit of unexpected flare. It was so special to have my support team {mom, m.oh. & bmaid Cate} there for the day I said yes to that lovely little {all 20 lbs of it} white gown I’ll be wearing when I meet my man and say I do. I knew it was ‘the one’ not from any inner resounding confirmation, goose bumps, butterflies, or how it 'flattered my figure'. Nope, it was only when it occurred to me that this was the dress that was always in my visions & dreams and the only thing I could ever imagine in a kazillion years wearing down that aisle. I keep telling him “you aren’t going to believe it…you don’t even know this amazingness of a dress even exists….you will not know what to do with yourself”. It’s that great.

Following the big YES, Ben and I ventured to the seashore for an extended weekend with my family. The smart cookie that she is, my mom won a getaway package to Dillon beach. Dillon beach? You may ask…my sentiments exactly. Turns out it’s a farm-town meets beach meets middle America. Yes. Imagine it. Quaint. Unique. Adorable. About an hour north of San Francisco, Dillon is a super small community nestled along California’s coast. After passing grazing cattle and sprawling hills galore, we somehow managed to make our way to the tiny cottage (2 rooms, 1 bathroom, 6 adults, 1 baby…you do the math). Besides the small quarters it was such a lovely time. No television meant the Monopoly {Disney Edition} challenge of the century, which for the less than competitive Silva clan actually meant something. Dennis proved to be the surprising monopolist, but unfortunately towards the end he lost his game (literally) to the competitive bully Ben. When we were lucky to get Ben away from the paper money, we toured the down town city nearby and brought Isaiah to his very first pumpkin patch. It was a wonderful getaway from the usual weekend scene. A new place to venture to and a well deserved family retreat.

Present

Just when you thought I’d given up all blogging mojo, moved to the arctic and hunkered down to drown out the crazy of this world, I’m BACK.

I wish I could say I’ve taken a nice 5month-long tropical sabbatical that has emptied my mind and rejuvenated my soul….quite the opposite my friends.

Instead, I’ve been in the concrete jungle that is San Jose, playing auntie, becoming a bride, wrangling my employment status and oh.so.many other things that I can barely keep up!

Forgive me for the absence. I’m a bit embarrassed as to the lack of blogging and the extensive amount of life that has transpired since our save.the.dates were published (refer to last published post).

In hopes of catching up on life’s adventures, the following posts are snippets of the last months of this crazy beautiful life. Enjoy!

it's official

Well friends, we finally got {the long-awaited} save.the.dates out in the mail this week! Thank you mom for making not 1, not 2 but 3 trips to the post office for us! Friends and family flooded my inbox with much appreciation and praise over the lil reminders of our nuptial date. I am very proud of them all in all. I’m a fan of font {you must know this} and I think the announcement speaks well of my vintage-crafty flair and Ben’s precise-modern style..not to mention a bit of a teaser as to what is to come this most incredible day of our lives. I hope you all enjoy them and can’t wait for what’s to come June of 2012!

Jonesin' for some FALL

I have been so pre-occupied with work & wedding shananigans I haven’t had time to blog about my most favoritist season of all! I’ve got some decorating to do this weekend for sure and secretly hope it rains so I can bake and decorate to my heart’s content.