That lovely nail head trim table is a DIY made from two Ikea LACK tables.  !!!  And they are dirt. cheap.  My amazing friend Dean offered to pick some up for me on her daily Ikea run (she’s a designer so she’s there a lot – oh and by the way, you really need to check out her blog, My Little Apartment.  She’s been super busy with all sorts of stuff lately, but when she does post, her ideas are spot on.  GO!).  Anyway, I’m going to make two nail head tables to replace the tufted ottoman I made for the living room.  It’s cool and everything, but it’s just not functional for us.  And I maybe never finished it in the first place, so whatever.  So . . . I’m going to order the trim today and get started on this as soon as I can!  Oh and if you’d like to make it along with me, here’s the tutorial by Clementine and Olive!

Actually, I’m still pretty excited about that.  I’ve been obsessed with the idea of bringing a bright poster of agate or quartz into the kitchen –  we’ve got an empty navy wall above the stove, and I think the contrast will be so awesome.  With a simple, gold frame?  Shut up.  So anyway, I was seeing a lot of images I liked online, but the prints were nowhere to be found. And I didn’t think it was right to steal someone else’s work and have it printed up, poster-size, for myself (or rather, I didn’t think it was right to do that and then show it off on the internet).  So I thought I’d give it a go myself.  And yes . . .

I PHOTOGRAPHED THAT.

And I’m a pretty lousy photographer.  Thank you so much for the help, Photoshop!  And you know what is so cool about this?  It’s just a plain-ol’ rock off of the ground.  I grabbed it at my mother-in-law’s house in Phoenix, before heading to the airport, thinking it might work.  And holy cow, now I’m a dang rock photographer.  Don’t believe me?

This is what it looked like before I started getting that awesome gold to come through.  Amazin’.  I can’t wait to have it printed up and framed!

[Image by Veronica Sheaffer *high five*]

Look. At. That.  Holy smokes, you guys, I can’t get over how gorgeous the Trellis looks floating through the air.  I can’t believe I’ve never jumped up and down in this dress.  It looks like a flower!  And yeah, if you haven’t already made your appointment at Unbridaled  in Austin to see this thing in person, you best get a move on.  Just saying.  Right, though?  I mean come on.  It would look so pretty on you.  And I want to see you jump around in your wedding photos.

The image is from a recent shoot by Chicago photographer Dave Ouano and he sent a long this little peek.  So gorgeous.  I’m just dying to see the rest of them!

[Credits Photographer: Dave Ouano; Model: Nicole Guerin, BMG Models; Makeup: Loni Hale; Hair: Jen Bean; Wardrobe Stylist: Lora Michael; Florist: Southport Blooms]

It’s. GORGEOUS.  I am so lucky.

This right here?  That’s THE TOPS, you guys.  I can’t even wrap my brain around it all.  It’s so gorgeous that I’m just … done.  These are images from the Rodarte: Fra Angelico collection on display at the LACMA, and they so completely rocked it, I’m practically speechless.  And of course their States of Matter exhibit at the MOCA, with their Black Swan costumes, also killed.

P.S. The tutus twirled.  !!!  Stunning.  The Mulleavy sisters got it goin’ on.

[Images: via LACMA and Autumn de Wilde for MOCA]

I know what I think: RAD.  Well I still have some work to do, so . . . ALMOST RAD.  Everything used to be white, except for the cabinets which were that hideous fake wood – with the jadeite and milk glass and pink plates, it was way too cutesy in here.  So I painted it all a deep navy and added a white border to the drawers for fun and bought those awesome vintage pulls on ebay.  I need longer screws for the drawer pulls, but I’ll get them up sooner or later (after brightening them to more of a gold finish).  I also made that valance and did some fancy stuff to the bamboo shade, but I’ll tell you about that later.  Oh and check out our fancy new marble counter top . . .

. . . which used to be a coffee table.  *high five*  I was trying really hard for white marble, but when this appeared on Craigslist in the perfect size, after weeks and weeks of searching, we jumped.  And now I feel so fancy working on cool marble.  It’s just sitting on our original workspace – one of those tall, stupid kitchen tables that I painted green – but it’s way bigger and way fancier. I have to repaint the table legs of course – that green looks dumb now – but overall, I think we can all agree, Keith and I are now very FANCY.

Also, we just watched an episode of The Borgias, and someone used an acorn squash to mock someone else’s flaccid penis, and dudes, now that squash on the counter looks GROSS.

!!!  Can you get over this?  I. CAN. NOT.  This is the coolest thing ever.  Heather, who pens Home Modern, collected and sprayed toy horses for each of her wedding guests – and gives you a step-by-step here.  For sure, that’s a lot of horses and can get a little pricey – if you’ve got a lot of guests, I highly recommend ordering these wholesale if you can.  But even one large horse at each table would be so seriously cool.  I love this project so much, I want to hug this girl so bad.  And there are lots of other really awesome projects on her blog – you should go check it out.  She’s talking about making a Moroccan wedding blanket and I’m dying to see what she comes up with.  Hopefully she’s not like me, and announces she’s working on something and then never finds the time to finish it.  Ehem.

[Images by James Moes]

I’m using silk tulle, like, A LOT.  Plus those other awesome things pictured.  I’m dying to get started – I think it’s gonna be gooood.  Imagine sculpted, beaded bodices over yards of draped tulle . . . aw yeah. We ’bout to make you jump.

Guess what I have today?  Wedding pictures!  Remember Lisa’s J.Crew gown that she brought in to have fancied up a bit?  She wanted to add lace from her mom’s wedding gown and some straps and a new waistband and flowers . . . we took a simple, off-the-rack dress and made it the perfect look for her.  And isn’t she the sweetest in it?

And okay, this is going to sound really sappy, but when I look at the pictures of these two, I see a family.  I admit I totally got teary-eyed when she sent them to me.  And of course I know Lisa and her husband and how incredibly sweet they are, but you can just tell how happy they make the people around them.  Coupla cutie pies.  Oh and you have to see these:

Those amazing candle holders that they gave away as favors?  Yeah, Lisa made them.  All of them.  One for each of their guests. What?! She’s an art teacher and fired them in the kiln at school.  Can you believe it?  And they’re gorgeous.  Well done, darlin’.  And congratulations to you both! XO

[Images by Mark Campbell]

This is the Candytuft veil from the Fall 2011 accessories collection.  Marcella chose it to wear with the Ava gown from J.Crew – stunning combination, right?

I love how the simplicity of the look – no feathers, no beading, no lace – is what makes it so bold and feminine.  Just gorgeous.  Marcella ordered the taffeta from J.Crew to ensure a perfect match with her ivory gown, and I used the softest, springiest silk tulle for the veil.  The full-length veil is detachable, so the headband will be a striking and easy-to-wear accessory at the reception as well.  Marcella promised to share pictures with us, but we have to wait until summer (the wedding is in June).  And I will seriously have a hard time waiting – she is going to look GORGEOUS.

If you would like a custom accessory for your wedding (and dudes, the sky is the limit!), please do not ever hesitate to contact me.  I love all my brides and definitely want to hear your ideas!

[Bottom image via J.Crew]