p & b featured on ruffled! (plus a rug decision)

Hey there luvlies! Hope you had amazing weekends filled with hot chocolate, knit throws and fuzzy mittens! The temperatures around here went from unbearably cold to unseasonably warm overnight on Saturday, and we lost all our snow. I have to admit I'm a bit bummed about that. I don't miss freezing my ass off, but I do feel like this year's winter wonderland is being a bit of a cock tease. Hopefully it'll put out soon.

In other snow-related news, the Winter Wedding styled shoot that my amazing photographer friend Dallas Curow and I put together last year was featured on Ruffled today! So humbled that the Ruffled team chose our work for their wonderful choc-full'o-inspiration blog. I loved putting this shoot together, and learned so much in the process. Like the subtle tricks of food porn, and that it truly is an art, and one I hope to someday master:

I'll get there. One glass of Bailey's and block of shaved chocolate at a time.

Thinking about this shoot reminds me that I should not be complaining about weather, because our trooper of a model twirled her gorgeous butt off for hours in -32 degree (that's -26F) weather, and looked damn fine doing it.

Now that's balls.

Me, when I tried that dress on and flitted around like a giddy schoolgirl it was in the comfort of my own bedroom. And purely for preparatory reasons, of course.

P.S. for those of you who read p&b on the regular, and especially for you sweet things who weighed in on the debate, my lowball bid on the oriental rug was accepted, so it looks like I'm going that way! I sort of can't believe it, since I bid 180$, and it's an 8'8" by 5' rug. Kind of unheard of for a rug, no? I'm crossing all fingers and toes that that doesn't mean it's a hot mess!

peonies & brass featured on green wedding shoes!

I am so excited/elated/beyond chuffed to say that our Underwater Garden Wedding - the latest inspiration shoot styled by yours truly and photographed by the talented Miss Dallas Curow - is featured on Green Wedding Shoes today! This project was truly a labour of love, and I feel positively tingly all over knowing that it's getting love from others too! For more pics, details and sources, please visit my original post about the shoot and/or Dallas'.

If you've come to this site by way of GWS and are here for the first time, then welcome! I hope you'll stay and look around a while. Here you'll find everything from styling trends and tricks to d.i.y. tips to inspiration pics, and almost everything girly in between!

If you're a regular reader and have no idea what Green Wedding Shoes is, be sure to check it out. GWS is one of the top wedding blogs in the world, but you don't need to be getting married to appreciate the pretty!

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to do a little happy dance  . . .

underwater garden wedding

I spent five full nights pairing, arranging, re-pairing and re-arranging my favourite photos from this styled shoot before I finally gave up. The fact that I'm still wholly unsatisfied with the result lets me know how truly proud I am of what we created. I loved every minute of dreaming up - and bringing to life - this "Underwater Garden Wedding".

After our borderline opulent winter wedding shoot, Dallas and I knew we wanted to switch it up and create a dreamy, d.i.y affair to inspire brides on a budget. Top on our list of priorities? Finding a dress that was cheap by anyone's standards (less than 200$), but was in no way forgettable. The off-the-rack beauty we chose ended up inspiring our entire theme, and was the talk of every onlooker. By drawing attention to - rather than away from - our thrifty find, we ensured that no one would suspect it was chosen with the bottom line in mind. 

How incredibly adorable was our couple? I truly don't understand working with professional models - you just can't fake that kind of love. 

I'm still convinced that I haven't managed to properly convey the beauty of the shoot and of Dallas' work, but here's hoping you disagree. Just in case, please visit Dallas' blog for more (better laid-out) loveliness, as well as a list of vendors and sources.

Dal is also planning to post a behind the scenes look at how we pulled it all off, including details on some of our d.i.y projects. I'll be sure to post about it here once it's up! For now, I'll leave you with my favourite pic of me "on the job". 

That's what you get when you combine wind, a tablecloth that won't stay straight, and one anal retentive perfectionist. 

lookie what I did: an entrance makeover

A few months ago I decided that despite having no budget at all to pull off a makeover, my entrance just couldn't stay the way it was. It was stark and bland, and simply not an inviting space to come home to. Here's what it looked like at the time...

It's clear from these pics that it needed a bit of life added to it, but what isn't clear is that the floor was in really, really rough shape and never looked clean. The door also looks ok from this angle, but the knob had obviously been drilled into the wrong spot, and then the huge original hole had just been polyfilled when they fixed their mistake.

Since I was on a budget, and since I rent and can't wallpaper (which would have been my #1 choice by a mile), I decided that I'd complete as much of a transformation as I possibly could using only paint, a stencil I cut myself, and art I already owned. The results? None to shabby!

It's not perfect by a long shot, mostly because cutting your own stencil is a stupid thing to do (seriously, don't do it. I'm an idiot.) and also because I couldn't find gold paint no matter where I looked and ended up using acrylic paints from an art store (seriously, don't do that. I'm an idiot). But even without crisp lines I love it.

You can't see it all that well because I need a mat and so didn't want to show it yet, but I also painted the floors a grey-ish purple. So pretty. Once I have that mat and a new roman blind, I'll be all done!

Speaking of which, anyone have a lead on where to buy cheap, ready-made fabric roman blinds? IKEA no longer sells them (!!!) and I'm coming up empty everywhere else I've checked. Why is it that sometimes the simplest things can turn out to be the most complicated? That last 10% . . .

treasures in the attic

My parents' attic is filled with stuff that I used to think was junk, but that now I know to be pure gold. I've found amazing crystal, beautiful dishware, even the fur coat I used in the winter styled shoot! My coffee table is a vintage Moroccan tray table very similar to this that I found up there, and I absolutely adore the thing, despite the fact that I'm constantly kicking the top off of it. Usually when there's a glass of brightly coloured something or other on it. My poor rug.

Most of this stuff used to belong to my grandparents, and it's weird that rummaging through it and discovering so many things that I love has actually made me feel more connected to them in a way. I feel like the things we collect tell a story about us, and I'm getting to know them piece by piece. Realizing that we share similar taste has been really nice. 

My most recent find was a beautiful porcelain Chinese lamp, and after rewiring it (so much easier than it sounds), popping on a new lamp shade and giving the inside a good gold-leafing, I think it's pretty much the perfect addition to my bedroom.

Isn't it pretty? I still need to clean up the edges of the gold leaf, but it's good enough for now. It's amazing how it contains all the colours from my room, no?

Here's a little closeup of the detail:

So much nicer than anything new, and so much more meaningful. I wish I could shop all the attics of everyone I know and love. I swear, I would never need to go retail again.

Well, maybe for soft furnishings. Bed bugs freak me out man.

photo shoot styling: winter wedding

The inspiration for this shoot came when I was busy planning the last one. Scouring a rental website for props, I came across an antique wing back chair with dark, curvy wooden legs and plush emerald-velvet upholstery. I was in love. It was pure elegance - quietly glamorous and luxurious yet incredibly cozy and inviting. I immediately pictured it in a bank of snow with a glowing bride perched on top, enveloped in a sea of tulle.

While the chair itself didn’t end up making it into the shoot (logistics, logistics), the feel of it was everywhere, from the rich woodwork and warm glow of the chandeliers, to the traditional-with-a-twist Kenneth Pool gown. The cherry on top was definitely the beautiful cake created by Cathy, aka the Cake Whisperer. The ruffles, the gold accents, the deep emerald colour . . . could it be more elegant? Even better? Cat is just one of those people you can't help but like right away, and we knew pretty fast that we had found the perfect baking partner in crime!

The amazing new faces surrounding us didn't stop there though. First, we were so lucky to have real-life newlyweds Sarah and Peter stand in as our models. They could not have been kinder, more patient, or more visibly head over heels in love. We also got to work with our amazing friend Jenn, who is the talent behind the bride's flawless makeup, and who helped us with everything from putting together bouquets to topping hot chocolate with whipped cream! She was a godsend. Big love hun.

Finally, Dal's husband Brian joined her in photographing the shoot. I love that their style is so in sync, and that she's clearly even more in her element when he's around. It's pretty beautiful to see, really.

I feel like I was surrounded by nothing but love at this shoot, and that it really came across in the photos. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy just looking at them, despite the fact that it took place on one of the coldest days of the winter. I hope you feel the same.