A Fond Farewell

Hello all you sweet readers out there!

As you may have noticed, there have been very few posts the last few months {not that I was ever the most consistent blogger...}.

When I started this blog during the summer of 2007, life {and the web} looked very different {hello, Pinterest!}.  Eric and I were newlyweds without even the thought of children on our minds, and we had just moved into our first home.

I decided to blog back then because I really just wanted a place to catalogue all the inspiring things I came across... art I loved, crafts I wanted to try, unique entertaining ideas I wanted to remember, beautiful spaces I wanted for the the home file.

I've always been a picture clipper, and I had stashes of magazine clippings here and there of all those same things, along with scrap papers with cool websites and resources I'd found online scribbled on them.  The paper clutter was starting to get to me, and when I realized that I could cure that by cataloging it all here, I was quick to get started.  Along the way, I really enjoyed showing off my own projects and styled events on the big world wide webber.

It's been fun getting to share with you!

As I mentioned, things have really changed since then.  All that free time I used to spend crafting, decorating, and entertaining has now been overtaken by other wonderful activities... namely, doing life with my two tireless little boys {and equally tireless husband!}.

There's still a lot of collective creativity happening here, but there's just not an extra hour in the day that I want to spend blogging about it anymore.  Given a laundry/cooking/cleaning/kid free moment, I choose SLEEP.

On a much deeper level, there's quite a bit more to it than that.  In the season my family is in, I want to be present and to really focus on the things and people at hand, and spend a lot less time on the computer and a lot more time investing in the real-life relationships the Lord has surrounded me with.  The Facebook account was closed first, and this blog is following suit.  I'll keep it at that and spare you the rest.

All this to say, I'm going to officially close the book on this blogging chapter of life.  I'll keep the blog open so that you can still reference any of the posts you have found to be helpful, but I won't be moderating comments or checking emails related to items found here any more.

So with that, I'll say goodbye, it's been fun, and thanks again so much for reading!

My Settee: A Love Affair

Make that an EXPENSIVE love affair.  I normally am not one to talk money numbers, but at the risk of looking quite tacky I'm going to because the whole process and the end price tag of this restoration adventure took a little bit to swallow at first.

Let's start waaaaaaaaay back at the beginning, where I would stay up late many a bleary-eyed night searching Craigslist for an antique settee for next to nothing.  I guess everyone else had the same idea because I never did come across one.

I also considered a few antique-wannabes at Ballard Designs and Wisteria, but never did make the plunge.

Some things are just meant to be, because one day after many fruitless years of searching I got a glorious email from my friend Gem.  One of her neighbors, Rena, was ready to part with a 300-year-old lovely that apparently came over with her family from England years and years ago.  Ummmmm...seriously?!!!

Yes!!!! I'm more than interested, as in, when can I pick this thing up and I'm literally on my way to the ATM...how much is she asking??

Free to a good home.

Oh. my. gracious.  I hope I don't wet my pants!

So, I went to meet Rena and see the settee in person, and after making absolute certain that this amazing benefactress was seriously letting this thing go, and seriously wouldn't take a penny for it, she helped me load it up into the bed of my truck.

There was one small catch... the sofa had a broken arm and needed some upholstery love {the fabric and trim had been well-worn and the original horsehair was popping out in places}, but she had already priced out the repairs a while back and didn't think they'd be much.

I hugged the right side of the road the whole way home at 30 miles per hour, throwing many admiring glances at my amazing treasure through the rearview mirror.

We were in the middle of our big move at the time, so the piece sat lonely in my garage for a number of weeks before I could finally get her into the upholstery shop to assess the investment, knowing I wanted to "do this right" and not attempt a DIY project on my own.

After careful inspection, the shop owner looked at me with a furrowed brow and asked, "So, exactly how attached to this thing are you?"

Not a good sign, but seriously, how bad can this be?  I'm committed, I told him.  He said not one but both arms were broken, and they were pretty ugly breaks, and I'd definitely need all new fabric, stuffing, and the springs needed repairing.

Deep breath in.  Exhale.  OK, still committed... ball park figure?  {Gulp}.

He gave me the upholstery estimate, minus the cost of fabric, and said he'd call in his friend -- a local Englishman -- who specializes in antique furniture repair.

A week later I got a phone call.  Yes, both arms were badly broken and it would cost half a Ballard settee to fix.   I told him I'd get back to him, and sat down that night to discuss with the hubs.

And this is the part where I adore my husband.  I told him it didn't make much sense, apart from it being cool to save such an awesome piece from the dump, to spend all the money fixing it up when I could have something brand-spanking new and sturdy with custom fabric for less than it was going to cost me to repair, buy fabric, and reupholster this particular settee.  As many of us know, reason doesn't stand much of a change when something's gotten a hold of your heart, and while I didn't love the money pit this project was turning into, inwardly I was already too attached to quit.

Eric listened, and then said screw logic and reason, and to stop thinking in terms of dollars and to instead think in terms of benefit and value.  He said if I felt that we should keep the sofa and fix it up, then I should commit my creative talents and know-how to doing just that, and doing it well, without considering the financial cost.

What a guy.  So, I gave James the repair specialist the go ahead to fix up our settee.  A week later he called to inform me that he hadn't realized how badly the legs needed reinforcing.  Cha ching.

Another week and he called again to tell me the work was done and he would drop her back off at the upholstery shop.

I had ordered my fabric already, and in the do-it-right-or-don't-bother spirit, I spent a small fortune on gorgeous Dwell Studio fabric that I'd been admiring for a while with plans to use it on the front/inside portion of the piece.  I chose a coordinating fabric for the back/outside of the settee, a less expensive but quality upholstery-weight taupe and white stripe.  It came in soon after ordering, but the Dwell fabric was on backorder for a month.  I placed the order despite the long wait, but after its delivery date came and went I ended up canceling my order with Calico Corners and repurchasing it elsewhere.  A week later it arrived and I took it to the upholsterer.

New springs, new stuffing, and new fabric later and she was ready to be picked up.

I LOVE HER.

{Even in bad lighting, she is still a stunner!}

She cost me a fair sum more than any of the nicest options in her class at Ballard and Wisteria, and while we have some beautiful things in our home, she is still the most expensive piece of furniture I own.

The kicker is that even after all the mending and reinforcing, she still can't bear much weight... I guess people were smaller and thinner back in her day {typing this as I drink my Sonic Route 44 Dr. Pepper and munch on leftover rock candy from Emerson's party}.  So, instead of being the showstopper in our living room as I'd originally planned, she now sits confidently at the foot of our bed in the master bedroom.

She quietly holds her own as she faces the brand-spanking-new Restoration Hardware printmaker's dresser that was made to look like it came over on a boat from England 300 years ago, even though it definitely has never seen a printmaker's shop, held a single inking brayer or type block, and more likely came over on a boat from China.

But still, they look great together and I'm sooooo pleased to have such an amazing piece of heirloom furniture in my home.  It truly is beautiful and I've loved the process of giving a well-worn item a new lease on life.

Thanks so much, Rena, for generously gifting me this beautiful sofa that I know has meant so much to you and your family.  I enjoyed the process of giving her a face-lift and I hope you're as pleased with the results as I am.  We will enjoy it for many, many years to come!

Our Little Man Turns One!

Wow what a summer!  Long time no talkie.  We've had a lot of goings-ons the last few months.  Great stuff really.  Lots of family travel.  A big move {well, it was only a few miles down the road to the next town over, but any move involving kids and all their stuff = mighty large move}.

So, we spent the hot Texas months -- and they've been record hot...oy! -- packing and unpacking suitcases, and packing and unpacking boxes.  The rest of the time was spent in the pool or at the ice cream shop that is dangerously close to our new place.  So then the rest rest of my time had to be spent at the gym trying to keep ice cream deliciousness from firmly adhering to my lower half.

We finished off the summer with a wonderful cool front {so it was under 100 degrees!} over Labor Day weekend and also celebrated our little love's first birthday.  He surprised us by coming a few weeks early over labor day weekend last year, and his big milestone celebration fell perfectly on Saturday over the long weekend.

We celebrated with our nearest and dearest, our pool, a taco stand, rented margarita machine and lots and lots of sugar.  And cigars.  And bubble pipes.  And faux mustaches.

Above is the front and back of the invitation I created in Photoshop for the party.  I fuzzed out all our too-personal info, so hopefully you can get past the wonkiness of the above feature and picture it all filled in.

Here are some photos of the details...

{My eldest on the morning of our party modeling the YUM! chocolate mustache pops he helped me make}

{The table at the party entrance}

{Bubble gum cigars for the kiddies.  I placed a round 1.25in sticker printed with a red "E" over the "it's a boy!" phrases printed on each individually wrapped cigar.}

 {the main table, two side-by-side rented 6' tables with draped cloths.  This was the main food section with the taco stand and all the fix ins'.  Delish!!  The industrial frozen margarita machine we rented sat just to the left of this table, because you can't have tacos by a pool without ice cold 'ritas!}

{To make the "bunting," I printed a necktie shape onto scrapbooking paper and then cut them out and attached them to cord using mini clothespins} 

{Hard to see in these pictures, but you might see the detail if you enlarge -- I've got some teal universal man symbol paperweights that I found on sale at Target holding up "Happy Birthday Emerson" banners on top of the red wire baskets.  The photo is one I took of my son and blew up on Shutterfly.  The cupcakes are topped with chocolate 'staches.}

{Since my son and most of his friends are picky eaters, I put together lunch bags with a more child-friendly menu in mind, and secured the bags -- tops cut and folded over to mimic a dress shirt -- with bow ties I made out of little clear bags filled with turquoise and red M&M's and fastened with a red pipe cleaner. }

 {Our favor bags were made out of the same white paper bags cut to look like dress shirts and adorned with more scrapbook paper ties.  They were filled with little man treats, like faux 'staches, those funny bushy eye brow/big nose/black rimmed glasses, bubbles and two bubble pipes, a harmonica, bubble gum cigars, wax soda bottles and other red & turquoise candy.}

{"thanks for 'combing' over!"}

 {Mr. E's smash cake...he loved it!}

{Iced necktie sugar cookies I made two nights before the party...lots of late night fun there!}

 {The beverage bar... "Please Wet Your Wiskers" with custom labeled water bottles}

 {Even the soda bottles on the beverage bar wore labeled neckties}

 {Real cigars for the not so little men}

{Centerpieces I made from beer cartons -- beer bottles replaced with flavored sodas and tissue paper -- that held three balloons each in our party colors}

{Other small poolside tables were adorned with these re-labeled soda bottles and balloons.  **Tip -- hold them in place with velcro!}

Here are a very few personal pics from the day...

 {My eldest and one of his best buddies are excited about cupcakes!}

 {Our little man LOVED his cake and did an amazing job smashing/eating it!}

{Our sweet little fam with the birthday boy.  **Personal Note To Self:  Do not let husband wear favorite traffic-cone colored shirt during milestone-moment photo ops}

I'm not gonna lie, this party took a LOT of work with all the crazy little details, but I loved every minute of it and I actually had plenty of time to pull it all together.  At our 16 week sonogram when we learned our little man's gender, I left with no ideas about a name but knew exactly what his first birthday theme would be!

I was first inspired by this party from Hostess with the Mostess {you can see that I blogged about it way back when...}.  I chose the colors {turquoise, red and gray}, and had so many of my own ideas that I didn't really look online too much for inspiration.  Over the last year, though, it seems many talented party people took inspiration as well and came up with their own spins on this fun theme {I found a load of sights while browsing just now in search of a great blog that I want to be sure to credit for our goodie bags and necktie garlands}.  If you're planning a little man or mustache themed celebration, be sure to tap into the wealth of Google images for an enormous number of creative ideas!

Hope you all had a lovely summer, it's great to be back in touch!

Creative Party of the Bagel Variety, Plus A Party That Sadly Won't Happen

If you've hung around here long enough, you know that I live for hosting parties.  Doesn't matter the occasion...I've always got my party hat standing by!

So you can imagine my dismay when I found out that my darling husband scheduled a trip to Disney World with our son THE SAME WEEKEND AS THE ROYAL WEDDING.

What?!

It's a terrible problem to have and to whine about, I know, going to Disney World and all with our Pixar movie and Mickey Mouse-loving fan of a three year old.  {le sigh}

But STILL, I had been planning a great get-together for my favorite gal pals around this blessed event for months!

I'd already ordered some fabulous Union Jack bunting {gorgeous in person...made from Laura Ashley toile fabric from wonderful Etsy seller tiny cherib} and it shipped all the way from the UK. Can't get much more legit than that.  I nearly cried when it delivered.

I have GOT to start keeping a better calendar situation, lest a scheduling miscommunication/conflict this terrible ever try to befall me again.

My beautiful bunting would be the only blue and red color pop/British reference in the place.  The rest of the party -- menu completely planned -- was going to be fit for a real wedding!  White and taupe flowers, napkins, etc.... a perfect white wedding brunch.  Because you know how I love brunch.

And, while guests would have been directed to wear proper wedding attire and to please not forget their finest occasion hats, I had talked my sister into arriving complete with wig and skirt suit as the Queen.

Ah well.  This thing only happens once or twice in a lifetime, so no big deal!  {*tears*}

Moving on!

I found a super duper creative party idea I adore.  Props to mom's who take their kids party suggestions and roll with them.  How imaginative and adorable is this bagel party I found over at The Indigo Bunting?  Blogger Erin's {cool name!} nephew requested a bagel theme, and boy did she and his mommy deliver!  Here are a few pics of the party favors, but be sure to check out Erin's post on this sweet shin-dig for more.  And...

Don't miss even more great photos from this party can be found on the blog of bagel-lover's mommy, Mount Custard...

Ya'll, My Life is Crazy

Seriously.

Came back from an amazing escape to Cabo with my darling hubby to celebrate our five year, only to face CA-RAZINESS all the way around here at home.  I love my life, I really do.  Never a dull moment.

Anywhoot...since I'm staying so busy with stuff on the home front, I'm going to shuffle you on over to visit my friend Gem...you may remember her as cape seamstress extraordinaire.

She just started a blog herself, and with all her creativity and know-how on everything from crafts and design to gardening, etc, I know it will be a hit, so click your way over and leave her an encouraging comment.

If you sign up to follow I know you won't be disappointed, and then in a year or so when An English Accent is roaring huge, you'll be able to say you've been with her since the beginning! ;o)

Kristin's Alice in Wonderland-Themed Baby Shower...

{Shower honoree and mommy-to-be, Kristin}

The invitations I sent a few weeks ago invited guests, if they felt adventurous, to crawl down the winding rabbit hole and join us {punctually, of course!} for a mad hatter's tea and brunch {or send regrets via the white rabbit}.

Obviously up for adventure {and/or mimosas}, a great group of ladies joined us this past Saturday to celebrate our friend Kristin and her soon-to-arrive baby girl Rosalind.  Here are a few a ton of pictures of all the details... {click on any photo to enlarge in a new window}

{This framed sign, which I created in Photoshop using illustrations from the book that I found online,  hung on my front door and gave clear instruction to our attendees, as well as helping to get them in the spirit for what was waiting inside...}

{I typed up and framed an excerpt from the book to sit on the coffee table in my living room, along with a mug...tried for a teacup but it didn't work out...for Miss Rosalind and her own copy of Alice, plus a new chandelier and a fun basket full of girlie goodies.}

{Target's Archer Farms bottled water {they have a great, clean shape for this kind of thing}, wrapped in ribbon and embellished with a custom label I made in Photoshop using 2.5-inch round labels from Paper Source}

{we re-labeled peach and grapefruit flavored Izzy pops...}

{My favorite party planning partner-in-crime, Carrie, has an amazingly talented daughter who made our official "mad hatter's" hat for us using cardboard, fabric and spray paint.  Thanks Kayla!  Along with another framed Alice quote... "You used to be much more muchier.  You've lost your muchness...", a gorgeous antique tea cup full of roses and ranunculus', a key from Hobby Lobby and a vintage looking tea box, the show-stopping headwear perfectly completed our beverage bar.}

And for we non-preggys there was a mimosa bar on the kitchen table, along with flowers my sweet hubby sent me the day before, "just because".  =) }

{Remember the "cake tiers"/cupcake stand I made for my son's superhero themed birthday party back in January?  Well, here are those same boxes/lids, recycled and covered with sheets of moss}

{In the dining room, we set up the mad hatter's tea party/brunch.  We wanted this section to look to our guests as though they had stumbled upon a tea party in the middle of somewhere outdoors and magical}

{The cookies/favors I mentioned in my previous two posts}

{lots of faux natural elements such as moss, bark, butterflies etc. plus plenty of metal keys, clocks, and tea sets both miniature and large made up the scene...}

{Including a little white rabbit, minding the time, of course!}

{Delicious thumbprint cookies spilled out from a hollowed out wooden stump bowl that I scored at Target a long while ago...it normally holds loose change on my husbands dresser.}

{of course, we HAD to have tiny petit four cakes with "eat me" clearly telling our guests what needed to do}

In the living room where we planned to open gifts, we used my mantel and the area around it to establish the "red queen's" corner.  Please excuse the few leftover trimmings I had laying on my mantel when this picture was snapped.  We made a garland out of heart-suited cards and finished it with black satin bows...

{Another branch tree held mini glass heart ornaments I had on hand in my stash of Valentine's Day decor}

{Guests were encouraged to scribe encouraging words, prayers, or other sentiments for the special family on tags stamped with silver keys and hang them on the tree.  Wish I'd gotten a photo of all the tags hung up along with the glass hearts...oops!  Looked pretty cool, I must say.}

{Carrie made these cute little topiary balls out of felt...love them!}

{Carrie also attached red paper roses to a topiary and then made a paint can complete with dripping paint brushes to sit next to it, referencing "Paint the roses red!"}

{I made the vintage-looking feather and rose headband myself for little Miss Rosalind.  It would have been a great idea to take photos along the way and do a tutorial, or at least get a better final shot, but since I'm probably the worst blogger you know, I wasn't thinking along those lines.  I'm hoping Kristin will give me a cute picture of baby girl wearing her head piece and tutu to show you in a few weeks!}

{Finally, our guests found one last bit of instruction on their way out the door along with all the tools they needed to snip a clock cookie from the tree on the buffet table and bag it to take home and enjoy later with another cup of tea.  The thank-you tags on the bags read "We hope you've had a splendid time!"}

Carrie and I were pretty thrilled with the way it all turned out, and more importantly, our precious friend loved it and felt as special, valued and loved as she deserves to feel that day.  Hope you enjoyed peeking in on our little party.  I'll close with a few a bunch more pictures from the shower...

{Super cute preggy friends!}

{Carrie, Kristin, and Me}