Inspiration from Chrissy+ Danny

Chrissy and Danny are hot stuff! What beautiful details they had at their September wedding. Flowers were by Semia and Invitations by Val Marini of the Paper Perfectionist. The purple and green were such a fun color theme for the day, I know that Semia had fun with Chrissy and working with her colors...check it!

Insta-snap!

We discovered this totally fun and fabulous Fuji camera... for instant photos. Like Polaroid only updated and stylish! Who doesn't love instant photos? I know we do.

Kevin, our ever excitable UPS driver delivered two of these puppies today so we took them for a test drive around our office ...

Look at all the fun photos we took. We had no problem burning through 3 packs of film but then we are the snappers.





The camera has adjustments for close up and far away... a built in flash.... and lightening and darkening features. Photos develop in a few minutes, and pop out of the top of the camera.

Too fun! Here's a link- get one!

You'll have the best time, and it's great for scrapbooking too.

A Moment With Melissa

I love to read! In my elementary school they had a reading contest every year. Guess who ALWAYS won? ME! No one ever came close to reading the amount of books that I read. I was a reading legend.

The amount of books I read definitely plummeted a few years ago. If you buy all the books that you read it sort of becomes an expense. Plus who wants to spend $20 on a book, read it and then it turns out to be awful. So, I became a shadow of my former reading self. Then came Zoe and the library...

The library has always intimidated me. I can never find what I want to read. I hadn't been to the library since I was a kid. I remembered how much I loved it so I decided to start taking Zoe.

Here she is enjoying her library time...

Then one day I went to the library web site to find out when they were open and my life was changed! I was so ignorant to what the library has to offer!! Did you know that you can search out books and have them delivered to your local library for you? No more searching aisles of books and not being able to find anything! I just go to the front desk and they have all the books I want waiting for me!!! It's like amazon but free!

Think of all the cookbooks they have access to! Look all the way to the right... The Cake Bible!!!

I'm also a fan of getting parenting books from the library so I can be an educated Mommy to this little bugger! I wouldn't say that I parent from a book, but I like to see what "the experts" are saying. Right now I'm reading "From One Child to Two"





Now that I know I can get books so easily from the library I'm back to my old reading self. Not only do I get my scary horror novels, but I've also been checking out lots of cook books, interior design books, and I'm going to teach myself how to sew! The possibilities are endless!

Some things I've recently read...

An Invisible Sign of My Own by Aimee Bender

Domino: the Book of Decorating

Ratio: the Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

The Sookie Stackhouse Books by Charlaine Harris

So, this is the end to my love poem to the local library. Definitely check it out for yourself! I bet they have lots of wedding planning books!

Vintage Camera Inspired Canvases!

Do you love vintage cameras like we do? Of course you do! How adroable would one of these photos be in your home? We can add a wedding photo with vintage treatment, and voila! an amazing conversation piece and canvas print that will make you happy everytime you look at it.
We have 5 vintage camera styles to choose from...

And just because I can't get enough of the snap! kids...

These images are perfect for babies and kids too!

We are offering these canvas prints in small square sizes: 8x8 to 16x16. Hang them individually or as a set. Email Mariah for more info!
First 3 people to purchase a camera canvas recieve $25 off!

Dish with Trish No. 5

This is the BEST custom gift idea ever!!!

I had never even heard of pyrography until I saw one of these creations in person and I knew I had to have one! They are made by Brooke Brink and Corinne Melzard of Love Handles.
The photo below is a gift to my friend Molly at her recent baby shower (as seen in a previous blog) from her friend Brooke. It's a toybox for their baby with pictures of all things meaningful to them. They have a pug, they got married at the Towers, Thaksgiving is their favorite holiday, Stephen loves to take pictures and they have a zebra theme in the baby's room, it's just awesome!




I happen to be the very lucky owner of this gem! It was my Christmas present this year. I told my husband that it was the only gift I wanted and I ordered it for myself, but I didn't see the finished product until I opened it on Christmas morning and it was a wonderful surprise!
So I decided on a Rhode Island theme for the mirror and just printed out images from the internet of what things I wanted included and sent them along to Brooke. She emailed me a few times to ask questions, but the design was 100% hers, I had no idea what it would look like.
She came up with the "At Home in Rhode Island" which I thought was so clever, I had sent a picture of the RI license plate so that she could incorporate the wave somewhere and to my delight she made a little Isaac license plate!!! I also couldn't believe the Newport Bridge, I sent a photo of the bridge at sunset with the lights on but I was sending it more for the shape, she totally recreated the photo on the wood, how is that even possible?!
This is my most prized possession after my scrapbooks of course!

When Mariah and Don decided to get married I was so excited, not so much for their marriage, but to order something from Brooke!!! I decided on the lazy susan because they have a big kitchen table that is the center of activity.
Since they were planning an elopement on Block Island, we needed a Block Island theme combined with wedding, what's better than that?! I came up with a list of things I wanted to include, names, beachy stuff, ice cream etc. and also sent an image of the ferry boat and the map of what the island looks like...wa la! Another masterpiece is born!
It was so fun giving it to her and seeing her reaction, she cried and couldn't believe it, there is just something so fabulous about these things!
Mariah also say that this is her most prized possession, it's what we're grabbing if the house is on fire...aside from people of course!

And here is one of the oh so talented crafters...Brooke Brink! Isn't she adorable! You'd never know what kind of talent lies underneath that sweet face just by looking at her...

You can buy pre-made pieces on their Etsy store or you can email Corinne or Brooke@lovehandleschicks.com to talk to them about a custom order.

Wouldn't a wedding theme or Newport theme be an amazing wedding gift?! It will guarantee your gift being the best one the couple receives!

If you are the bride, tell someone you want one, or order one for yourself! You could also do a box to have at the reception for cards!

Who doesn't like to have something that's one of a kind?!
I know I do.

Inspiration from Leanne + Ted

Leanne and Ted had an awesome green and brown themed Fall wedding back in October, seems like a really long time ago now! But here are some of their fun details that give a great feel for the day...

Mondays with Mariah

My Little Monkee is turning 30. I can hardly believe it. I am having some kind of strange emotional episode. For those of you that have not been blessed enough to meet her (and I feel bad for you!), Monkee is my younger sister Mandy. She is 8 years younger than me and she is the Gilligan to my Skipper, the Thelma to my Louise, the spaghetti to my meatballs. I have loved her since the moment I saw her sparkly little face behind the glass of the hospital nursery. Ever meet somebody and think to yourself, wow! that's someone special!

Monkee just has that effect on everyone she meets everywhere she goes.

Here we are celebrating Monkee's 9th birthday... 1989! I am 17 and rocking the acid washed jeans. Monkee hated this red striped outfit and is probably wearing it out of guilt.

That's my Heather Locklear-esque mother with the cake.

I loved being Monkee's big sister... long talks while she watched me put on my blue mascara in the bathroom mirror, answering all her questions about periods, boobs, and boys, trips to the mall for pepperoni pizza and a movie, and all the vacations with the fam. I watched her turn from a funny, clever, charismatic little monkee to a beautiful wife, mother and teacher. One day when were out for lunch at the Mattapoisett Chowder House, (the old stomping grounds) we saw these two old ladies (twin sisters) wearing stretch pants, sweatshirts and gold lamay (I know this is spelled wrong) hats and sneakers. They were driving a convertible red Firebird, and really yucking it up. We decided that would be us someday, (we'll probably out live the husbands) and then we can spend all of our time wearing matching outfits and driving around in an outrageous car. I can't wait! (No offense to our lovely husbands).
Happy 30th Birthday Little Monkee,
love your biggest fan...
Rhino