business cards

goodness i love these simple business cards!

two colors, to the point, too cute! love the off centered hanging lantern image too. 

(photo from oh happy day!)

tiny houses

how cool are these tiny houses?! jay shafer, the creator of tumbleweed tiny house company, chose to build and live in a tiny home after he started worrying about the impact he was having on the environment by living in a larger home. he now lives in less than 100 square feet of space!

the tiny houses have wheels and can go just about anywhere an rv can. imagine taking your home with you across the country and stopping at some of the most gorgeous natural places in the us.

i would love to stain the wood a darker color and for the kitchen, find some bright colored tiles to make a back splash.

a video tour of jay's tiny house.

adorb.

mr. + mrs...in the conservatory...with the glass vase!

i set up a wedding saturday afternoon at the bitmore estate with one of my blossoms bosses. it was a very small wedding and the couple decided on a plated dinner in the conservatory for 28. i'm not a huge pink girl anymore (growing up, i was always pink and hannah was purple), but i just loved the champagne and blush colored arrangments! 23 vases with about 25 roses a pop. holy moly.

ps. not to be a total snob, but why don't fine establishments like the biltmore estate not steam and iron their tablecloths?!?! rookie mistake.

smash cake

while watching the barefoot yesterday, i was in awe of her guest, chocolatier brigitte browney's, smash cake. it's a giant cupcake form made entirely of chocolate, filled with more chocolate! ina was given a small wooden malet to smash the cupcake apart and retrieve some goodies from inside--fun!

i figure that this is a totally do-able household project when done on a smaller scale...get a cupcake mold (two separate pieces, a bottom + a top piece...or whatever shape you want), and coat twice with your favorite melted chocolate mixture. cool for about 15 mins in fridge (keep an eye out for it...you don't want the mold to crack from the cold). after you've made the two molds, fill the bottom portion with your favorite treats: truffles, wrapped candy, choco bark, small gadgets, whateva!

once you've filled it, use some more melted chocolate to use as glue and pop on the top. decorate to your liking.

how easy was that? (ina fans? get it? anyone?)

xx, c

(photo via metrowest daily news)

inspiration boards

you know when you land on a website that just leads you to one link, then to another, then to another and you find yourselves completely wrapped up in googling?? well, that is what has happened to me with the daily wedding inspiration website, snippet & ink. her inspiration board section is what's really hooked me: she focuses on a mood and a color palette and then puts together a series of gorgeous images that fit said categories. two of my seasonal faves :)

board #504: crisp autumn countryside
feeling very inspired to carve pumpkins and to make a front porch autumn display

board #425: autumn olive green
how gorgy is the house/barn/castle at blue hill farm in the third row?!
and the bottom steps (via {frolic!} with candles...so warm and inviting

the beauty is endless! xo

the wet-dog shake

npr's 'all things considered' had a pretty adorable interview yesterday: georgia tech graduate student, andrew dickerson, has been studying the way animals of different sizes are built to shake off water to dry their fur. bears and dogs shake at about 4-5 hz (in this case, the number of shakes per second) and the smaller the animal, the faster the hz. cats shake at about 6 hz where mice dry themselves off at 27 hz! 27 shakes per second!

this is the link to the npr page with info on his study (which he believes could improve the engineering of washing machines!) and a cute video of animals shaking in slow motion :)

xox, c

ps. read the comments at the bottom of the npr page...people getting fiesty!

(photo via wagntrain)

hungry!

i am so hungry right now and all i want to do is devour everything from radish! located on bedford ave. in brooklyn, the newly opened restaurant features prepared foods made with seasonal ingredients and products. what an extensive menu! i could really go for some of their orzo with kale pesto + goat cheese, a cup of brooklyn clam chowder and some roasted pumpkin salad...

adore the country store look

their chalkboard with gorgeous hand-painted seasonal foods

they sell the classic provençal market basket and now their chic yet utilitarian aprons

check out their facebook page for additional photos to entice you even more.

all you new york readers, head to bedford and report back!
xox, c

(photos via facebook and radish)

vinalhaven, me

my family has been going to the beautiful island, vinalhaven, in maine thanks to our wonderful family friends the niederhoffers, who introduced us to the haven something like 12 years ago? more? this year, my parents took the plunge and found the most adorable house on the island to call home! i'm so excited to head up there in the warm summer months...deeeeevine!

i absolutely love this idea for your closet! cut off the bottom 1/3 of the door, install shelves and there's the perfect space for shoes to grab and go!

kitchen! i bet much of the time indoors will be spent here. think: blueberry pie, blueberry cobbler, lobster, lobster risotto (made by dad a couple years back from handmade lobster stock!), sunny morning breakfast...ooooo!

view from the back porch

i'm giddy just thinking about going up there with friends and family. see you all in june!

xox, c

get the look: homey home

who doesn't know about etsy? well, dearest calee introduced me to the etsy blog the other week and it's great! really inspiring. yesterday's post is particularly so: makes me want to redecorate my entire house! check out the adorable bungalow below and the fun finds they suggest to get the look!

1. i'm so envious of people who actually live in nearly clutter-less homes! i think i'm giong to do a feng-shui, de-clutter-athon later today
2. the soft, mutted colors of the majority of her pieces and walls are so cozy, not cold or stuffy, and the pops of color make the rooms so inviting
3. loving stripes
4. a simple flower arrangement really adds so much to a room

xoxo

ps. a bunch more pictures found here...the house just gets better and better!

i love letterpress

i took a weekend letterpress workshop in august and fell in love! it's such an involved (and to start, slow) process that i found it very meditative and peaceful. i was able to go work in the space again the other day and worked on some cards. here are a few pics i took while at bookworks :)

first, i chose the type size and font and put together my text and images

headed to the press (one on either size of the wooden furniture holder)

i picked out my ink color and warmed it up by mushing it around for a minute or so

once i placed the type on the press, i arranged furniture pieces (various sized wooden pieces that hold the type in place on the press) around it and started to add ink to the rollers

after a few test runs, i needed to re-arrange the furniture a couple times to make sure the paper i fed through the rollers would fall where i wanted over the type

and voilà! the finished product

i've made several other simple cards that i will take photos of and post soon. i'm always looking for cute phrases or quotes to work on next...do you have some good ideas for me? 

xox cor

planted bulb gifts

how adorably charming are these diy potted flower bulbs from {frolic!}! time to start planting so you can have delightful surprises popping up in the spring --

tags designed by lauren willhite (such a great blog concept!) and can be downloaded via this link and this link

wedding at caxton farm

this past weekend, carly and i set up such a sweet wedding at the beautiful claxton farm in weaverville, nc. i loved the simplicity of it all and the easy, casual feeling of the decor and event space. each table had various sized mason jars with candles and vases with red and white flowers--delicate country i'd call it...

sweet treats from take the cake...i wanted a slice of everything!

carly setting up the arbor with the barn in back

and the farm has shetland ponies :)

zombie walk

asheville is so cool and weird! last night was the annual "zombie walk" where zombies get to freely roam the streets and go bar hopping every hour, on the hour. a few pictures from last night's walk! more info here--beware: kind of scary website!

a zombie was here!

thriller

even the undead pooches strolled for beer

photos courtesy margaret hester at asheville citizen-times

dear friend aaron. we're sorry they got you!