Happy Valentine's Day

Image Via Wishing Daisy

Floats & Milkshakes

This is the perfect 4th of July dessert station with milkshakes and Coke floats!  Strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream set out with fresh berries and milk for handmade shakes along with a selection of toppings included chopped nuts, sprinkles and mini chocolate chips.  See more photos and details on Green Wedding Shoes!  Happy 4th!

Image via Alicias Wedenborg

Color Way... Orange, Purple, and Sand

Spring orange & purple by simplyna featuring retro dresses

Dolce Gabbana retro dress, 3,185 GBP
Paul Smith Black long sleeve top, 150 GBP
Lillybee flat shoes, $138
MICHAEL Michael Kors michael kors handbag, $398
Jamie Joseph oval pendant, $1,115
J Crew straw beach hat, $35
Dried Lavender Bouquet | Pottery Barn, $19
Amazon.com: 22" Purple Glitter Twig Branches - Pkg 12 Glitter Twig..., $29
LÖNSBODA, $3.99
when i laid my eyes on you flower hair clip, $19

Thanksgiving Napkins Ideas

Here's some effortless napkin ideas for your Thanksgiving table by Better Homes and Gardens.

Black & Bling Halloween

Images Via Better Homes and Gardens

Smitten Sticks

Smitten Sticks are simple, playful and perfect for creating those fun moments just begging to be captured, whether it’s during a wedding, birthday party or any other celebration rife with photo opts.

Available on Etsy, Smitten Sticks are sold in kits and are easily assembled. Perfect for wedding photobooths, favors or polaroids, Smitten Sticks are for the couple who are planning a unique, imaginative and most importantly, a fun-filled celebration. After all, who knows happily ever after better than these ladies?

DYI... Another Great Rustic Centerpiece

I found these simple rustic candle centerpieces at Once Wed. Perfect for a fall wedding!

What you will need:

· slice of wood ( 11′ diam x 2.5′ h)
· glass cylinder vases ( 11′h, 9′h, 6′h x 3.5′ diam) you can find these at
Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michael’s Crafts, and Hobby Lobby
· pillar candles ( 3 varying heights to fit in each vase)
· ribbon & yarn
· fabric, wood, or dried flowers
· double sided tape
· scissors

Instructions:

1. Cut 3 pieces of ribbon/yarn (one arms length per piece). Wrap each vase with ribbon/yarn. Attach ends of ribbon/yarn with double sided tape to surface of vase. I chose to wrap with a knobby yarn, satin ribbon, and grosgrain ribbon to create a variety of textures. I also wrapped the ribbon/yarn at different heights on each vase to create more interest.

2. Attach fabric/wood/dried flower to a piece of ribbon and tie around tallest vase.

3. Insert pillar candles into vases. arrange cluster of vases on wood slice, keeping the sides with the tape facing the center.

4. Arrange fabric/wood/dried flowers on wood slice around the vase cluster. Light the candles and enjoy your rustically elegant centerpiece!

FYI: The wooden flowers shown are no longer available for purchase. I would suggest creating fabric flowers or heading to a local craft store and picking up some dried botanicals. If you are interested in creating these centerpieces in large numbers, I would suggest ordering the vases in bulk.

Traditions - Chuppah

My favorite part of a wedding ceremony is the many cultural, and religious traditions I've seen. This week tradition is the Chuppah. The chuppa carries a religious significance in a Jewish ceremony. It consists of a cloth or a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles. It is sometimes carried by attendants to the ceremony.


The wedding ceremony takes place under the chuppah (canopy), a symbol of the home that the new couple will build together, and the spiritual birth of a couple's life together. It is open on all sides, just as Abraham and Sarah had their tent open all sides to welcome people in unconditional hospitality.

The Ashkenazi custom is to have the chuppah ceremony outside under the stars, as a sign of the blessing given by God to the patriarch Abraham, that his children shall be "as the stars of the heavens"(Genesis 15:5). Sefardim generally have the chuppah indoors.

Images via Project Wedding

DYI...If I Could Save Time in a Bottle

Here's a great way to display vintage family photos. Follow these few easy steps from Yankee Magazine.
You'll need: glass bottle or jar glass cleaner photocopy of a photograph or print scissors two wooden skewers

1. Choose an attractive glass bottle or jar, whether new or antique (the larger the neck or the mouth the better). Clean it and dry it thoroughly. (Polident denture solution works great for getting old glassware clean.)
2. Make a color or black-and-white photocopy of your picture on regular copier paper. The copy should be small enough (in length and width) to fit unrolled inside the glass container. Trim excess paper if necessary.
3. Wrap the photocopy, blank side showing, around one of the wooden skewers and roll it into a tight cylinder.
4. Slide the photocopy cylinder off the skewer and slip it, right side up, through the bottle's neck (or the jar's mouth).
5. Insert both skewers down through the neck (or mouth).
6. Working from the blank side (to avoid damaging the print), use the skewers to unroll the cylinder until it's flat inside the bottle or jar. Pressing toward the front of the container from the back of the photocopy works best.
7. Leave the top of your bottle or jar open if you like, or finish with a cork or clean metal cap.