Throwing at a Wedding

Our wedding is now in less than three weeks and all the little pieces of it are coming together (thanks to my mom!). My mother asked me what I thought people should throw as my future husband and I are leaving the wedding and of course I want to do something special and different. Take a look at the fun ideas I've seen. Don't worry I omitted the releasing the butterflies idea--not my style.

Bubbles are fun and very beautiful--my friend (that works HERE) had them at her wedding 2 years ago and I saved the bottle because it's so cute and romantic! From this cute photog blog.

At the wedding I was in a few weeks ago for my bestie from college, we all got sparklers. It was very summery and fun. (I took this picture)

Lavender is a classic thing to throw at the new couple. My sister and her husband had that and it's very beautiful and doesn't hurt the birds like rice might. From HERE.

This is a super patriotic idea of everyone waving the stars and stripes as the couple heads off to their honeymoon. This could me a cool idea to bring all the flags from different countries represented at the wedding or of the two families background if they are different. From SMP.

This is my favorite idea--throwing pom-poms! I love the colors and it could be a really cost conscious idea too. This would also make amazing photos! From this fab pinterester.

I still don't know what we will be throwing...or do I? Maybe I'll have 100 white doves released as we run out of the wedding--I know my fiance would love that...and my dad too. HA. Does anybody else have any cool ideas?? What did you marrieds throw?

Alicia B.

Orkney Chair Love

My favorite part about my job is the shopping part--surprised? Recently I was asked to find some accessories and other items for a beach house. Though my idea was rejected I thought an Orkney chair would be fun in one of the bedrooms; perhaps the guest room. I was wrong but I decided to take a look at how else they are used. As a bit of history, Orkney chairs come from a small Scottish island of Orkney and were made from the materials that the inhabitants had readily available. What started out as a small stool covered in straw, became a unique looking hooded chair to protect them from the drafts.

Through my search, I saw them used as dining chairs. Mixing chairs at a dining table looks eclectic and collected and I love the Orkney chairs at the head of the table. Found this awesome image HERE.

I love the white washed body on this Orkney chair--it makes it softer. This room is just lovely and the Orkney chair is less predictable. By Phoebe Howard.

I love this image. This is like the book "Goodnight, Moon" where you try to find the little mouse in every picture. Try to find the mini Orkney chair in this one! What a sweet accessory in a child's room. By Shannon Bowers from Veranda.

This is a lot of wood tones for my taste but it's interesting to see the entire table surrounded by Orkney chairs. Heavy. By Mark Boone.

Here is another white painted chair in a beach house--perfect for a beach house like I thought! I'm loving the idea of an Orkney chair in a pool house--and I love the drapery fabric too. By Phoebe Howard again from HERE.

A chair at a stair landing is a perfect use of space. It's a nice focal point and usually you just walk by that area. I'm not saying that you'll sit in that but its a very beautiful chair and therefor the perfect spot for it. Orrick & Co.

The amazing thing is that these chairs are all handmade (if you buy right) and unique. You can find them at antiques stores--I was first introduced to them at my first job HERE. So, are they becoming ubiquitous? Do you like them? In my imaginary house on Nantucket, I think I'll have an Orkney chair somewhere in there. Maybe in the guest room...hmm.

Happy Friday (this day can't be over fast enough)!



Alicia B.

Bunting Flags in Real Life

SO my life lately has been all wedding all the time as I am getting married in less than a month now (YAY!!!) and somewhere in between there I was surprised with an amazing bachelorette party and my younger sister popping into town all in one weekend!! I've been busy and it's not going to change for a while, but I'd like to show you some of my inspiration right now. I designed the basic look for the rehearsal dinner before the wedding and it will have a bunting banner in it. I was perhaps a little overly ambitious when I said that I'd make it, so that's now I'm spending my Sunday afternoon.

I am obsessed with these nautical ones. The rehearsal dinner will be at a boat house and i've designed it to be very nautically inspired so I'm using all blue and white patterned fabrics. I guess I could buy these from Etsy...but what's the fun in that?

From Country Living, these are very summery and sweet looking.

Yellow and white has a very special place in my heart. Checks, stripes, and polkadots all look great as long as they are all yellow!

I feel like the colors should be consistent and thought out in advance but I suppose as long as they're not drastically different, it'll look good.

These little ones are super nautical and i love the yellow! The rope as a napkin ring may or may not be something we will be doing, too. (I thought of it first.)

Hay bails and balloons make this a very precious and "country" looking party! I love the action shots of people hanging the banners. It's going to be good inspiration when the time comes!

Burlap banners are looking pretty good right now. They are one sided, and you don't have to color coordinate...hmmm.

A little twist--combining a paper lantern and bunting flags! Is the trend going overboard here? This looks way too labor intensive for me...

So I'll let you know how it goes and show you my step by step. Trust me this isn't going to be super easy. I'm starting with a template of a triangle and looping it around a white rope. Also I fell into a time sucker called Pinterest. Check out and follow my Pinterests HERE. If you haven't joined, go for it! You can see all my sources there too...

Alicia B.

A Maine Event

This past weekend I was up in Maine fulfilling my bridesmaid role in the wedding of one of my dearest friends. The wedding was exquisite and my friend was breathtaking! Maine is a very beautiful state even though it didn't get above 58 degrees when we were there. Be that as it may, I decided to gather some beautiful Maine interiors for ya'll!

In Maine, chintz abounds. So does wicker. In fact, on our drive back to CT, we passed an actual wicker factory! Who knew they existed? Anyway, this is Tom Scheerer mixing brown wicker with a berber rug and a tulip coffee table and gorgeous chintz. I LOVE this room.

Martha has a house up in Maine--word on the street is that she isn't very well received up there...Anyway shes really channeling Arcadia National Forest on this tablescape with the faux bois and moss centerpieces.

Tom Scheerer is really capturing the spirit of Maine without falling too far into the "lets keep everything as it was in the 1950s" attitude. He keeps it fresh but not too overwhelming. As he says in the HB interview, "That's one of the things about Mainers. They're plain folk, and you don't want to go against that too much. Fleece is the uniform, not cashmere."

Ljbby Cameron definitly keeps it cozy here with Sister Parish's daughter, Apple's home. Yes, I said Apple. The unassuming furnishings are perfect for the Maine atmosphere but the fabrics are perfect for the daughter of Sister Parish.

From Country Living, I love the simplicity of this dining room and kitchen. The house looks perfectly weathered and all the furniture looks like they've had it for a few generations. The tablecloth is stunning but the plates on the wall are my favorite thing here.

I think I really love it because it's costal and nautical but not too "Hamptons" looking. The houses give off more of a cottage feel which is cozy. I grew up in New England and can completely understand Maine thing. The fact that it was 57 degrees up there this past weekend was surprising to me but luckily we were dancing too much to get that cold. The best part was that everyone says hi to everything and you walk in and out of people's houses without knocking. So adorable. I was glad to make the (9 hour) trip up there again for my friend.

Alicia B.

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

Today is my Mom's Birthday, and it's a big one. A BIG important birthday! This is a pic of my parents watching 4th of July Fireworks last year. You can tell she's pretty even from this angle.

I am so excited to celebrate with her this coming weekend. My mom is an amazing cook, baker, gardener, mom, friend, and all around super beautiful wonderful person! Happy Birthday Mom.

xoxo
Alicia B.

Berber Love

A few weeks ago I picked out a Berber rug for a client and they ended up loving it! I was so excited that they chose it and I learned a lot about these rugs and love them! I know they were hot about 3 years ago but I think they're back. Traditional Berber rugs come from Morrocco and are made from natural materials.

Maureen Footer designed this executive's office with a gorgeous light brown and ivory square pattern Berber rug. I love the super traditional style mixed with the exotic (in this setting) Berber rug.

As you will see, Jonathan Adler LOVES a Berber rug. There is one at the foot of the bed, and also a berber wedding blanket on the end, which is so beautiful.

Tom Delevan used a long and narrow rug in this living room. Moroccan rugs are typically more narrow than a typical area rug. The extra long fringe is fabulous. From Trad Home Magazine.

Ron Marvin used a Berber with a large diamond pattern with some mid century modern furniture in this Trad Home spread.

A medium diamond pattern creates a lot of movement in this room and brings together a lot of small furniture pieces. I've noticed that when people use a Berber rug, they make it a two tone color scheme but I love how designers Dransfield and Ross bring in a yellow for some color.

I cannot STAND this coffee table but I think this Berber is beautiful; the ends are an amazing detail. I wish you could see the throw pillows better because they are so much fun. Designed by the insanely gorgeous women from Domicile Interior Design.

Wooo! Some color! Can you guess who designed this? Jonathan Adler. Leave it to him to bring in some color here and a pouf!

In shopping for Berbers, I found a lot of Moroccan rugs with color in them and completely fell in love. I wish I could see some in action but check these out from Kea , Jonathan Adler and Anthropologie.


So what do you all think? Like them? Hate them? I think I become disappointed when designers simply carry out the black and white or brown and white color scheme and it's much more fun and exotic when they use color too.

Alicia B.