Joyful Joyful #6: Making a Wish and Checking it Twice

Macy's has a wonderful Christmas campaign this year called "Macy's Believe" . You may have seen the commercials with celebrities telling Virginia that there is a Santa Clause. Here is what they have going on:

For every child that brings a letter to Santa into the store, they are donating $1 to the Make-a-Wish Foundation . This is near and dear to my heart because, not only did I work for the Make-a-Wish foundation for a bit during college, but I also got to make a wish.

For those who do not know, here is a bit of my story: I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when I was 15. 18 months of chemotherapy and a few surgeries later, the cancer was gone. It was a tough battle at a tough time in life, but I am thankful for all of the many blessings that came out of it. One of these blessings was getting to Make-A-Wish. My wish was to go to New York to see Broadway shows. It was an absolutely amazing trip: flying first class, staying in a great hotel right in Times Square, getting to see a show every night for a week with incredible seats, getting a tour of NBC studios (including SNL & meeting Rosie O'Donnell and seeing her show), and getting to shop, relax and spend time with my family. It was a slice of normalcy in a time that was anything but normal. It gave me hope to keep on trucking and feeling like my pre-cancer self brought me and my family so much joy.

Because of this, I encourage you to support this campaign. If you have kids, siblings, nieces, babysit-ees- any connection to a child- have them write a quick letter and drop it off. Fun for them, but even more fun for kids who are battling life threatening illnesses.

For more information on The Make-a-Wish Foundation, please visit their website.

Also, if you visit Macy's website for the Believe campaign , you can turn yourself into Santa. Here is my lovely creation:

I have to warn you, it is a little creepy when your picture starts ho-ho-ho-ing and laughing.

I am off to work on my Christmas cards (a post of them coming at the beginning of next week). If I could make a wish right now, it would be that my cards would finish themselves. If only...

Joyful Joyful #5: Cozy and spicy

The wonderful Viola from Chewing the Cud has designed the cutest little bags of Cider spices.

How sweet are these sachets? You can purchase them in her etsy store. 

I think they would be wonderful hostess, coworker or any random person Christmas gifts. I just bought two- one for myself (I love serving apple cider at holiday get togethers) and one to give as a gift.

If you have not discovered it yet, Etsy is a great resource for Holiday gifts. From jewelry, to letterpress calendars to posters to crafty decor, buying handmade and supporting crafters and artists is a great way to holiday shop!

Joyful Joyful #4: Keeping it in the Family

My brother and his family built their dream home a few years back. Every time I visit, I either want to steal it or move in. The house itself is lovely- the floorplan is very open and wonderful, but what takes it beyond amazing is my sister-in-law Lindsey's knack for decor.

I have posted before about her adorable flower pins & other handmade goods and today, I am going to pass on some of her Christmas decorating ideas. You are sure to be inspired!

 

Lindsay has amazing flea market finds that she has refurbished over the years. What she is great at is re-purposing them for holidays and parties. This is a huge Christmas decoration tip: Use what you have!  By throwing in a few ornaments, you've just made your everyday decor Christmas-y. She did this above in the lantern and below in her birdcages (which I would like to steal, by the way).

 

How adorable are those? I have to mention that she made all of those polka dot ornaments by sticking on glue dots and rolling in glitter.

She sticks them here, she sticks them there....

 

  

I could sit in front of her fireplace for days.

For more details and inspiration, be sure to check out her blog. While you are there, click on the link to her shop, The Pleated Poppy: lots of great stocking stuffers!

Great Tips on Hiring Vendors

The wonderful Liene at Blue Orchid Designs is doing a series on questions to ask when hiring your wedding vendors. It has been great so far and will continue throughout the month. So far, she has addressed catering , churches , venues , planners and photographers . I highly suggest taking a look if you are just beginning your wedding planning- she has included a lot of wonderful advice!

Happy tuesday!

Joyful Joyful #3: Fa La La La La

In our house, Christmas music can be heard playing the day after Thanksgiving. We eagerly await the first play. Music is a huge part of my life and Christmas music, whether it is old classics or new originals, really brings the season to life for me.

The past few years, our most played Christmas album is by Sufjan Stevens , one of our favorite artists. It is actually a collection of 5 short albums- he records one each year and released these as a set. I could listen to them over and over. Quirky, creative and entertaining. I highly suggest checking it out. Click here to listen to it on iTunes. If you can, I would suggesting buying the actual collection, rather than buying it digitally, because it comes with a great booklet, a funny poster and stickers.

The second Christmas that gets a lot of play around here is The O.C. Mix: Have a Very Merry Christmukkah. It is super random because I did not even watch the show, but just happened upon it a few years ago. I love the unique songs. I skip "Christmas is Going to the Dogs", but other than that, it is a really cool album. I especially love "Rock of Ages" and "Christmas".

One of my new finds this year is The Hotel Cafe presents Winter Songs. I love it! One of my favorite singers, Sara Bareilles , who just got nominated for 2 Grammys! and who I also happened to go to college with, sings the opening song with Ingrid Michaelson and it is all good news from there. The Hotel Cafe is a small venue up in LA that we used to go to during our time at UCLA. The album has some more well known ladies, such as Fiona Apple, Colbie Caillat and KT Tunstall, mixed in with some great newer artists. Some beautiful stuff. Even better: some proceeds from the album will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Along side those are classics such as A Charlie Brown Christmas, which my husband and I danced to last night once we had decorated our tree :)

Here is a list of some of my other Christmas favorites (in no particular order):
1. Coldplay: "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
2. Ben Harper: "Silent Night"
3. Death Cab for Cutie: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"
4. Norah Jones: "Peace"
5. Sarah McLachlan: "The River" (Rachel Yamagata's version is also beautiful)
6. Harry Connick Jr.: "I Come with Love"
7. Ella Fitzgerald: "What are you Doing New Years Eve"
8. Mariah Carey: "All I Want for Christmas is You" (gotta love it, right?)
9. Sarah McLachlan: "The First Noel/Mary Mary"
10. The Darkness: "Christmastime (Don't let the Bells End)"
11. Kristin Chenoweth: "The Christmas Waltz"
12. Mick Jagger & Joss Stone "Lonely This Christmas"
13. Louis Armstrong: "Christmas in New Orleans"
14. Sarah McLachlan: "Song for a Winters Night"
15. Billie Holiday: "I've Got my Love to Keep me Warm"
16. Band Aid 20: "Do They Know its Christmastime at All?" (Bono, Chris Martin, Dido, Joss Stone, The Darkness, Keane and others)
17. Remy Zero: "Someday at Christmas time"
18. Tyler Hilton: "Merry Little Christmas"
19. Otis Redding: "Merry Christmas Baby"
20. Paul McCartney: "Wonderful Christmastime"
21. Kingston Trio: "Last Month of the Year"
22. David Toney (my hubby) & I: "Feed Trough" (You can listen to it here . #11. #11-#14 were from our Christmas single album last year. We record one every year to send out with our Christmas cards!)


What are your favorite Christmas songs/albums/artists? I'd love to hear!

Joyful Joyful #2: My favorite Christmas performance

I will be posting later on my favorite Christmas albums and what is currently playing on my iPod. However, I could not post about Christmas music without posting this first.

I loved the TV show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. We don't watch much TV, but we absolutely got hooked on this show's witty writing and perfect mix of plot and comedy. Needless to say, we were so sad when it got canceled. However, every Christmas we watch the Christmas episode. It is one of our favorites.

The reason it is so good is in the last 5 minutes of the show. They have a brass version of "Oh Holy Night" (which happens to be my favorite Christmas song) played by 5 musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina. In the background, images from the New Orleans disaster are played throughout the song. It is absolutely beautiful. Having been to New Orleans to help during the relief efforts, it made me cry the first time I saw it.


You can see the whole episode here or listen and download the beautiful performance by Troy Andrews here.

A Joyful Joyful sneak peak

A glimpse of what I was up to this week, which will be featured in a Joyful Joyful later this week:

Be sure to check back often this week- I have a lot of treats! First up, tomorrow: my Christmas music picks. Happy sunday night!

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

This is why I love Anthropologie :

I once told my husband, David, that I wish my office could be in the middle of the store. I would have so much fresh inspiration! They are so creative with their design and packaging.  From their window displays, to the adorable vintage pieces they use to display their items in the store, to their tissue paper and now to their customer perks.

I received this adorable little package in the mail last month. It held a coupon for 15% off for my birthday. How sweet is that? If you are enrolled in their customer loyalty program (which is free- not a credit card) they send you this cute little guy for your birthday. Isn't that an incredible way to make a discount even better? They understand what every wedding planner knows: it is all in the details.

I thought it could not get any better. Until my birthday. My husband surprised me with a couple of super cute items from Anthropologie and look how they came:

That is the box and box that you get from the store for any purchase. Free! How amazing is that? I am definitely saving the bands and reusing them.  Wouldn't it be cute to incorporate buttons into your Christmas wrapping?

Oh, Anthropologie, if you keep being so amazing, how will I ever say no?

Joyful Joyful #1: Store Decor

Welcome to the first edition of Joyful Joyful. For the next few weeks, I'll be sharing some Christmas finds and tips: from decor to music to traditions and treats.

One of my favorite things about the holidays is that stores get all decked out. Being that decorating is one of my passions, I love that everyone gets into it at this time of the year. I have been inspired by a few stores in the past week and today I am going to feature one of them.

Now, I am a Coffee Been or Peets girl, no doubt about it. However, Starbucks beats them at holiday decor hands down. They always have the cutest decorations: simple, clean and creative. Right up my ally! 

Here is what is in my local Starbucks. (I'm not sure if they all have the same decorations, but this is what is around me):

The bird motif is super popular right now, so it was fun to see that incorporated. However, I absolutely adore the use of balls of yarn. How fun is that? I love that wreath. There are also similar wreaths on the door with birds hanging in the middle.

So simple, yet so fun! I bought myself some celadon green yarn that I am going to try to use in my christmas decor at home. I'll let you know how it goes!

I heard a rumor that they sometimes sell the decorations after Christmas. And cheap too! I will definitely be trying to snag one of those wreaths for next year!

Happy decorating!

*disclaimer: I am not a photographer, although I wish I had mad skills with a quality camera. Thus, you will have to excuse the poor quality of any photos I take. :)

The Wedding Party Bridal Show

Sorry I have been MIA the past couple of weeks. Between the flu, my birthday, thanksgiving and a wedding (my last of the year), it has been non-stop around here. I will make up for it this week, though. I promise!

Here are a few of the things I have in store for you:

*A few weddings from the past year that I have not posted yet

*An introduction to a new face around here
*A sweet and simple bridal shower

*A new series I am starting titled "Joyful Joyful". I will be sharing some of my favorite Christmas finds: from decor, to gifts, to crafts and party ideas. I am so excited about this! It will start tomorrow.

Today, though, I am excited to finally show you photos from the bridal show we did back in October. We had some issues getting the photos from my sister's camera to my computer, but they are finally here! It was the first bridal show I have done and I absolutely loved how our booth turned out. 

The look I was going for was graphic, chic, simple and modern. Here is how it turned out:

Tablescape:

My inspiration was the killer middle vase from Pottery Barn . I saw it in the store and immediately fell in love. They also had the great solid black and black & white paisley containers. They are more of urns than vases, so they also came with lids that I was able to use as well.

The absolutely amazing Kristin of The Treasured Petal offered to help me with the floral arrangements. I gave her some sketches and ideas and not a whole lot of flowers to work with- the flower mart was very picked over on the day I went. We were planning on using a ton of dinner plate dahlias and ended up with a few small dying dahlias. I got the last 8 branches of phalaenopsis orchids in the whole mart. Needless to say, I was blown away with how she worked her magic on what she was given. Thanks Kristin!  

In addition to the orchids, we used hydrangeas, a few small dahlias, aribicum, ranunculus, some white berries and tulips.

To incorporate the lids of the urns, I had Kristin make small pomanders out of green button mums and I just stick them right in the lids. It was a really fun touch.

For plates, the dinner plates are by Calvin Klein and are actually mine- wedding registry items! The adorable salad plates are also from Pottery Barn. The napkins are from my beloved Anthropologie .

I loved the stemware. The green wine goblets are from Pottery Barn, the black champagne flutes are from Nordstrom and the adorable little water cups are from Anthropologie. Given the choice, I would have all three of these out on my table every night!

The table number frame is from Z Gallerie and I cut out the number with my Cricut . The background paper actually came in the frame- how perfect is that?

I got to try out a fun favor idea that I came up with for one of my 2009 couples. Giving a donation to a charity as a favor is an incredibly meaningful and useful gift. Many of my couples have done this and it is absolutely wonderful. This idea is a twist on the usual take on it. I am not going to give away all of the details just yet because I want to wait until it comes to life at their April wedding. However, I will give you a sneak peak at a trial run:

One of my favorite aspects of our booth was the framed chandelier. I made this by using a great wall decal bought off Etsy from seller Single Stone Studios and applying to a piece of thick plastic that my wonderful husband hand cut for me. I found the frame at an antique store at a great price ($14!). It was actually a message board- it had fabric and chicken wire on it. Here are before and after shots:

A few other details:

Slideshow on an amazing green side table that I wish was in my house right now:

Our fun new info cards. They have a sweet backside too. A big thanks to my husband for helping me design them (he is the computer mastermind around here).

Fun candle stand from Z Gallerie (on sale!) with candles from Target.

*notice my signature suitcase. Those who have worked with me in the past know it is always with me on wedding days (it is my wedding day emergency kit). I had to have it there with me!

The Joyful Team:

(l-r: Darcie (associate coordinator), Me, Rachel (our wonderful intern))

I had the gift of being able to have a booth right across from my good friend Jenetta . It was fun to wave at each other when we had no one walking by our booths. And it was especially helpful when I was trying to take pictures with my sister's fancy camera and clearly had no idea what I was doing. Thanks for helping me out Jenetta! 

 

A huge to thanks to the other vendors who donated their goods to our booth:

Chairs, silverware and lounge benches: Megan at Classic Party Rentals 

The beautiful dupioni silk tablecloth: The wonderful Fusion Linens 

The background stand: Jenetta to the rescue again! It was actually made out of light stands!

The stationary: Serendipity Designs 

It was fun to experience exhibiting at a bridal show. Not sure that I will do it again, but I am proud of what we put together and had a great time! This was how you could find me the second I got home from the show:

Exhausted on the couch- not moving or interacting. I am already regretting posting that picture! 

Be sure to check back often over the next couple of weeks- there are a lot of goodies to come!