Excuse the grainy iPhone pictures here, but in my fury of preparations for last weekend’s bachelorette party, this was the best shot I got of a fun little item I added into favor bags. I refuse to subject my gal-pals to the hot pink/zebra/glitter products of the bachelorette aisle at party stores and went with a DIY approach to favors. Among the contents were these mini envelopes filled with Advil for the after-after party. I got the bags and stickers at Gus & Ruby Letterpress, and drew a few silly sayings on the closure labels to let guests know that recovery was on the way – and from my personal experience, they came in handy come Sunday morning.

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Now that our wedding is over, I’m back in the bridesmaid saddle and helped host a shower for one of my best girlfriends this weekend. It’s so fun when your fellow bridesmaids love party planning, this was an all-star team of girls working to put on this shin-dig. The shower had a Palm Beach-inspired theme with bright pinks and greens, lots of friendly lawn flamingos, and pom-poms galore. My favorite detail? The flamingo cocktail stirrers!
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It’s been radio silence over here for a few days as I started my new job and have been preparing for that little event I’m planning: the wedding. We’re just two and half months away which means it’s becoming ‘go-time’ — I’ve been spending my evenings lining envelopes and neatly practicing writing out addresses. Just another week or so and those invites will be out the door (and then onto the next project!). Not that I’m complaining, playing with stationery, picking out ribbons and floral details, and writing to-do-lists happen to all fall in the category of my very favorite things.

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A poor selection of flowers at my local Trader Joes this week inspired me to whip up a sparkly centerpiece for our annual New Year’s Eve party. I hit the Christmas sale section at the craft store and gathered up some tinsel garland and metallic tissue papers. With a hot glue gun in hand I wrapped some tinsel garlands around foam cones to create two tree-like pieces. With the silver and gold mylar tissue paper I layered strips of hand-cut fringe around the third cone. I topped all three with sparkly drink stirrers that I also found in the Christmas clearance bin at Target to finish them off!

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And of course I couldn’t pass up all of that discounted tinsel, so I used the extra pieces to outline some cardboard cut-outs of 2013 and strung them up on the wall — it’ll be a perfect backdrop for some festive photo-ops!

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I’m very excited to kick-off a new series on the blog today where some of my favorite bloggers are going to share their summer entertaining essentials for being a savvy hostess this season. Kicking off the series is my new friend Sarah of Chevrons and Stripes!

I was so excited when Kate invited me to guest post on my summer entertaining style because I absolutely live for the summer social season (phew, that was a lot of s’s)!  I’ve spent every summer since I was born at my parent’s beach house in Bridgehampton, NY and below are a few of our BBQ and bonfire essentials.  Stock up folks, because beach season is upon us!

1| levain cookies, 2| nickel lantern, 3| white pillar candle, 4| slate cheese board, 5| elderflower cordial, 6| mini sparklers, 7| faux bone servers, 8| rope pitcher, 9| table tennis set, 10| opal glass vase, 11| chevron blanket 12| mortar & pestle, 13| shells for decorating the table

Are you counting down for the long weekend like me? Memorial Day is always a signal for me that Summer is officially here — which means days at the beach are just around the corner! Are you hitting the shore this weekend? Which beach look would you choose?

Preppy: tote, sandals, towels

Bohemian: tote, necklace, towel

Glamorous: tote, sunglasses, towel

Sometimes I think I’m over chevron — but let’s be serious — I just can’t shake it. I love the idea of using wallpaper behind bookshelves; the black and white pattern here is such a graphic balance to the traditional style of the room. Now — where, oh where, can I get some shelves like these in my apartment?

Image via House Beautiful

I had an amazing birthday weekend. My friend threw me a fabulous cocktail party on Saturday night, I had a relaxing Sunday, and then I took Monday off for my actual birthday and had a long lunch that turned into cupcakes that then turned into more cocktails. See that cupcake below? It’s a cinnamon chai cupcake with sticky caramel and pecans. Yup. Be jealous.

Plus I got some awesome gifts, like all new bathroom linens and Kate Spade’s Twirl perfume from my family, a chevron bag that has my name written all over it, and an adorable print of stacked suitcases from a friend’s etsy shop. I’m still playing around with hanging up my new print in different spots in the apartment, I can’t make a choice because I want one in every room.

The present that takes the cake is my new Dwell Studio Draper bedding from my boyfriend, I’ve been talking about that set for months and am SO excited to wash them tonight so I can get them on my bed and take some pictures to share!

Thanks to everyone for all of the sweet comments here and on Twitter, it was a spectacular birthday!

I’m beyond thrilled with the outcome of my kitchen chair makeover! As a reminder, here are the craigslist finds I was working with:

And onto the big reveal:

I’m obsessed with them. Can’t wait to have the kitchen all set up and see how they look with the kitchen table!

I’m counting down the seconds until the clock hits 5 tonight so I can leave work and run home to tear open the package waiting in my entryway which is filled with several yards of this delicious fabric:

I hope I can manage to paint the frames and reupholster the seats this weekend so I can share some ‘after’ pictures of these craigslist finds next week:

 
 
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