it has been a busy week

i am sorry for the lack of posts this week, it has been crazy around here. on the upside, i have finished the inner envelopes and have figured out the issues of addressing these burlap beasts. here is a peak at the inners and more to come next week, along with regular posting ... i promise.

my new white t-shirt

*via la garconne

as i have said before i love a good white t-shirt and this one is a must have (in my alternate world where spending $190 on a t-shirt is a must). available here.

monique lhuillier

from ml's fall ready to wear line. i love the top dress (as in if i had seen it before it would be in the running for the wedding) and would gladly have any of the below for my closet.

a little late ...

yesterday flew by in a blur. so much happened i can hardly remember any of it. while taking care of a couple of other things, i completely forgot to post a picture of the invites. i am sorry. here is a quick glance for everyone. once they make it out the door and into the mail i will be sure to include a few more detailed shots.

oh cecilia

i love these birds and am actually kinda wishing i could have something quite similar for my inner envelopes. {illustration by cecilia}

speaking of invitations ... the burlap is almost completely cut! my thumb had developed a nice callous from the scissors but other than that things are going pretty well. and, the actual invites arrived yesterday! oh i love them so. i will post some images later on today.

slow and steady wins the race

i love these flats by slow and steady wins the race, available here.

for the love of missoni

{images via auto}

it is hard to deny these poufs a place in my home, but... one day if my decorating budget allows for such extravagances they are mine, at least a few of them. available here (start on the first page and just keep going)

hello love

a little preview of my most favorite piece of wedding attire ... my fantastic bolero. i'll have more pictures later of this and the dress, but thought a sneak peek was in order. still fretting over shoes ...

weekend happenings

i took the last two days off , well for the most part - i did finish cutting the envelope liners and one third of the exteriors! mas and i made the most of our two days free of work and explored a bit more of our surrounding area. we have been here for nearly four months now, but haven't even come close to seeing everything. i never knew the central coast of california was so jam packed with secret goodness.

on a jaunt to avila beach we discovered the avila valley barn, our new go to place for produce and pies. it was just wonderful. aside from the pick-it yourself produce their barn is filled with fresh local yields of the season. we made it home with about 5 lbs of edibles, and that doesn't include the ollallieberry pie or the white truffle oil. we walked around and visited the various animals, mas fell in love with a baby goat and it was all i could do to pull him away before he nabbed it and brought it back home to frances.

a little bit of pretty

from photo stylist rebecca thuss. her site is filled with lovelies. photo by thussfarrell, a creative collaboration between mrs. rebecca and her husband.

and the craziness begins

(the burlap and liner for the envelopes)

the pace is picking up and i have found myself completely consumed with wedding thoughts. the invites should be arriving from the engraver next wednesday, which means i kinda need to have these envelopes finished up by next friday (did i mention i am making them out of grey burlap that we are also using as table runners? i think i have my work cut out for me on this one as i only have three of the 60 i need made).

my mom is sending the invites from north carolina (where we are getting married) so i am going to have to box them up and ship them out soon. i hate deadlines and all of a sudden a million are coming my way. anyway i have a lot of work to do this coming up week so i will be not be posting as frequently ... though there are many exciting images to be shared in the near future ").

(one of the finished envelopes)

sarah cihat

{photo from rose and radish}

i love these plates from brooklyn based artist sarah cihat. she scours garage sales for old plates and turns them into these, a project she calls rehabilitated dishware. each one is unique and super fun. i would love to have about 10 of them. available at rose and radish and by contacting sarah herself.

{photos from sarah cihat}

commes des garcon + h&m

{photo found here}

every year, well since they started this whole collaboration thing, i have headed down to h&m in early november to stand in line way too long and brace the insane crowds (and cold weather) that go along with their designer collaboration releases. my favorite by far has been the stella mccartney coupling, but honestly they all hold a special place in my heart ... and my closet. this year it is going to be a bit tricky as i am at least 3 hours from the closest h&m, but for commes des garcon i am willing to figure it out. though the line isn't getting the rave reviews they have fetched in the past, i am quite excited about the possibilities.

guest blogging by moi

i have been asked to do my very first guest blog! kelly over at santa barbra wedding chic asked me to talk a bit about the process of designing wedding invitations, and i couldn't have more excited to do so. my post is part of a great week-long series on the custom invitation world including a post from nutmeg press and sugar plum invitations.

a new white shirt

ever since i can remember i have had a thing for white shirts. i can never have enough of them in my closet ... never. shirts from alison kelly and available here and here.

port2port

i have been in love with mav's work for a couple of years now. i signed my mom up for her card society a while back and have been amazed with the correspondence pieces she receives every month. anyway the port2port shop is offering free shipping for today and tomorrow so now would be the time to grab some of the goods.

anthony burrill

i love this poster. found over at the post family and available here (anthony's portfolio site is worth a look too)

new in the shop

it started with the elephant cards and now i have added an ostrich and a buck to the ever growing animal collection. available for purchase in the shop around 8:30 am (california time that is).

paper dolls

{paper dolls available here}

hmmm. this isn't exactly what i was expecting to see in my inbox this morning, but why not i suppose. pick your candidate, dress them and their wives ...

first wednesday of the month

my lovely 16 year old cousin and i have started a music exchange! one day i asked her if she was attending lollapalooza this year (she lives in chicago) and that led to a conversation about music. she hadn't heard of anyone on my playlist, and i hadn't heard of any one on hers. so as an attempt to bridge the generational gap we are exchanging cds once a month. and for all of you readers out there i will grace my blog with said mix (or as close to the mix as possible) via mixwit every first wednesday.

i discovered mixwit on little winter bride (thank you so much!) and it is pretty snazzy. there are some holes in their collection of music, so i had to make a couple of changes to this particular mix, but it is more or less the same. i hope you enjoy.

wall decals via SCAD

i graduated from SCAD a bit ago and i have to say i am wishing i could go back. besides the fact that it is a pretty rockin' school located in one of my all time favorite cities, their collaborations with outside companies are getting ridiculous. first i saw some prints in the west elm catalog, and now decals at blik?!? how wonderful. for more information about the programs that lead to the partnerships check out the working class studio website.

happy birthday to me!

{picture from the cutest cupcake shop in seattle - trophy cupcakes}

i am taking the day off to have a little fun ... i will be back tomorrow.

art class :: collections at urban outfitters

{play by c. ronson}

{lark & wolff by steven alan}

{rendez-vous by paul & joe sister}

have you seen the growing collection of designer lines specifically for urban outifitters? i first spied the cutest green dress from hawk by geren ford, but now they have added charlotte ronson, steven alan, and paul & joe sister. i am such a huge fan of the collaborations that bring the higher end designers to the public and this project is becoming one of my favorites. the designers they pick do a incredibly good job of keeping true to their audience and the prices are a bit higher than normal uo fair, but still pretty reasonable.

i can be bold

ban.do = a new line of fabulous wearables for you noggin. found over at frolic and currently moving to my absolutely must have list. and i should mention that one of the two ladies behind this project is my idol, and the other is is very well on her way.

sh*t happens

{dog poo bags by Junge Schactel, the design duo,
Nina Dautzenberg and Andrea Gadesmann
available here via notcot}

when we moved from chicago to california one of the things mas and i were most excited about was having a yard and a back door that led to that yard. you see, we have a little boston terrier named frances, and though we love her very much those night time walks are at times painful. needless to say being able to get off the couch, walk a couple of steps and open up a back door was nothing short of dreamy existence to us. but alas we couldn't find a house with a backyard that we actually wanted to live in, so we are still living the condo life-style. we don't have to take an elevator trip, and the winters here are significantly less chilly, but never the less when 10 o'clock rolls around neither of us ever actually wants to take the dog. that being said we still are on pick up duty as well. i'm used to it and living in a state that really cares about the environment makes it easy to find the 100% biodegradable bags. but now i have found these, both biodegradable and absolutely stylish and witty. i am clicking right over ...

manifest hope

moveon.org has partnered with shepard fairey for the manifest hope online gallery art contest. submit your work and it may end up at the dnc. click here for more details.

the serif

i just found this great new daily read called the serif, thank you lucy!

hooray for friday!

{papel picado found here}

it was one doozy of a week in the pretty.pretty.paper household and i am calling in early this friday to head to the county board of commissioners office to straighten out the last bits of my business paper work.

just so you know, the new elephant cards and envelopes are up in the etsy shop! i have a few more card sets waiting to dry that will be making their debuts next week.

enjoy your weekend, it looks as though it is going to be lovely here.