#99 Vintage Obsession?

Short vintage wedding dress love...

via vi.sualize.us

Especially the centre image... lovely.

C x

#98 Now We're Getting Somewhere!

Things have been moving along of late, & it feels good.

Obviously I still have SO many things to, of which I shall probably STILL have most to do right up until the date?

However! A great many things have been achieved of late!

A recent trip to Adelaide ticked off a great many things from the decor section of the list, including:

1x Couch, 1x Mirror, 1x Typewriter, 1x Door, 1x Desk, 3x Wooden Crates, 7x Wooden Picture Frames, 

As well as yet to be counted vintage china, numerous bottles, jars & pieces of wood...

via vi.sulize.us

An awesome introduction to Gepps Cross Markets (look for a man with a van at a stall that is only china, & barter away!), THE single best antiques & vintage shop in Semaphore - think antique shop with op shop prices?!- I've forgotten the name of that store at the moment... or have I hmm? Maybe subconsciously I'm being awfully selfish because I just don't want people to go & buy all the things I couldn't figure out how to get on the plane home as carry on... 

Also, Adelaide Rural & Salvage. Blew my mind. If I ever build a house in SA, you can bet at least half of it will come from there.

Went to the North Adelaide Vintage & Fashion Fair (here on facebook) with the sublime Ms T my bridesmaid to be, the ever glamorous Ms S my sister to be & her lovely friend who was an absolute scream! It was here that I came perilously close to becoming a collector of teacups... Eeek!

I have booked our make up artist ( by our I mean the bridal party, not Mr N & I ) as well as our hair stylist,

hooray! We were going to attempt doing our own hair but I changed my mind... obviously I am to vain? Ha.

So more on that another time - hair & makeup not my vanity. 

Tapas at Mesa Lunga on Gouger St with Ms T & Ms S. AMAZING. And oh the Sangria!

Went a - shopping with Ms T for her bridesmaids dress... FOUND IT! It. Is. Amazing. Once again I am jealous. Also found her the most fabulous shoes, no luck with mine though. Barefoot anyone?

It was my birthday while away, & I was most amazingly spoilt this year with a trip to Kenji, a modern Japanese restaurant on Hutt St with Mr N, Ms T & Best Man Mr C, simply can not recommend it enough. Heaven in your mouth. 

Mr N & I also 'went away' for the weekend & stayed at the Stamford, dined at our favourite Yum Cha establishment Ding Hao & had drinks at  Dragonfly Bar & Casablabla both of which I would highly recommend!

Mr N gave me the new Julia Stone solo album  'The Memory Machine' which is, as to be expected, brilliant.

He also gave me a perfect solid silver engraved bangle, & the mens CK watch that I've been coveting for some time... my first watch in about 10 years?

As yet I have failed to book a florist, despite trying! I am currently thinking that it's a sign that I should stick to the plan to do my own.

I also received an email in response to my request (*ahem* begging)  to have a couple of photos taken at an unnamed horse riding establishment not far from our wedding venue. This I am taking as a sign to commit an act of horse-napping. Or perhaps more likely, climb a fence in my wedding gown at the first horsed paddock we come across....

Big Loves, 

C x

#97 My Sheepish Return...

So I went missing.
I'm sorry ok? I was busy... & feeling lazy... & to be honest, a bit burnt out & uninspired.
Feeling a lot better now!

So annnnyway...
How cute is this wedding dress by Elizabeth Dye?
I think it would be so gorgeous as a bm dress too...

Elizabeth Dye via Frolic

Also, I am seriously crushing on those shoes...

Cx

# 96 When to let it go

I recently read a post on the blog slow love life ' a lost friend leaves an empty chair'.

It really struck a cord with me, I thought I'd share a little...

"Sometimes you have to get divorced from friends, just like you have to get divorced from spouses. Sometimes that is the more loving thing to do--it means you are protecting yourself, and removing toxic energy from your life. Sometimes you just need a separation, while each person cools, and grows. Some friendships evolve as your life changes; others hit the wall. It is a painful rupture, not entered into lightly. It doesn’t mean the friendship was wrong to begin with--it means it has reached an impasse, or died. It certainly feels like a death; there is an empty space where there once was someone sitting in a chair, chatting and laughing. So be it. We become more cautious about giving our hearts wing, as we get older, because we are aware of the potential for loss, and anticipate its heavy burden."

image via sunday supper

I love this part of the Auden poem "the more loving one'...

How should we like it were stars to burn

With a passion for us we could not return?

If equal affection cannot be,

Let the more loving one be me.

And here's the rest over at slow love life.

Cx

#95 Well Now.

If that doesn't make you want to be a bridesmaid!

Stunning. 

Thanks apartment # 34 for this spectacular piece of eye candy!

I most especially love the dress second from the left...

Oh, & the one in the middle too? Yeah, her mumma made that dress... (jealousy is ugly jealousy is ugly)

 

More of this yummy wedding at jill thomas photography

I know I've been super absent... I've been procrastinating.

I do have lots of planning progress news though!

Cx

#94 Goodbye for a While!

Tomorrow we leave for Adelaide for a wedding, family times & a big hit of wedding planning bonanza.
Eeee! Excitement!!!
We were really hoping that the whole 'crossroads' life situation would be well & truly resolved by now & that perhaps Mr N could stay with us for the whole trip but failing a last minute miracle that is definitely not on the cards. So it seems it will most likely be one week with Mr N, one without, which is disappointing but at least he's managing to get away for some of the time!

Super excited for the whole trip, obviously the wedding will be fantastic & it will be awesome to catch up with everyone because it feels like aggggggees since we've seen them all, but also because I  feel like this trip is really going to remind us how close our own wedding is & make it feel really real?
Because we've been planning from interstate I think in a way we've kind of bypassed a lot of the moments that would usually ground the whole experience in reality, making phone calls & sending emails just doesn't have the same kind of impact as visiting venues & meeting with people!
So this trip we visit Glen Ewin Estate, OUR wedding venue (Can anyone say YEEHAA!?), I get to have a coffee free coffee date with our delightful photographer Ms Angelsmith, hopefully the whole makeup/hair shenanigan will come together somehow, & we also will meet our caterer for the first time & decide on our menu!
I am super super SUPER excited about meeting with the caterer, I've only spoken to him once (after I booked them?) but I've got a really good feeling...
That's a whole bunch of tangible right there.
I will also (touch wood) be going on a vintage treasure trawl with my brilliant sister outlaw Miss S,
as well as just some general organisation of lots of smaller wedding details while we are in town.

Not to say that a tonne of diy hasn't made things feel like they are actually happening but when diy is as ongoing & i guess 'repetative' as most of mine is, you certainly begin to forget why you're doing it in the first place!

So as we'll be staying with family & friends, not to mention trying to soak up as much holiday feeling as possible while we're gone, it's doubtful I'll go too close to a computer (with the exception of on the guaranteed many times I'll need to use google maps anyway!) .
SO! Stay lovely, I'll be home soon.

C x

#93 A Paper Story

One day...

   
It begins...
(*note- just to be clear, that is not a wedding invite sneak peek. That was our melbourne engagement party/2nd birthday party/missing you melbourne bunch picnic 'thingo' invite.)
 
 
Mmm paper...
 
The lovely hand of my lovely man...
 
 

And that, my darling Mr N, is why you should not multi task.

C x

#92 Whatever Could It Be?

I guess I may have mentioned before that I have undertaken a ridiculous amount of diy?

Truly, there are intervention step guidelines in place should I even hint at adding anything more to the diy project list.

Anyway, I thought I'd be a bit silly today & post a cryptic-esque photo of project wedding in progress...

Please excuse the poor quality phone camera after midnight image!

C x

#91 It Gets Better Project

An AMAZING project by Dan Savage, an American author, media pundit, journalist & newspaper editor.

So. What is it all about???

An excerpt from Dan's column about Billy Lucas:

"Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.... I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.
But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models."

"Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids."

"If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans, and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "F*ck, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them...."

The project was launched September 21st 2010 & there are now hundreds of 'It Gets Better' movies, each with hundreds & in fact some with tens of thousands of views...
The channel has hundreds of thousands of views.

See more of the It Gets Better Project here.


Dan Savage, Congratulations on being brilliant & THANK YOU.

C x

#90 Houses of Love

I've always like pottery, but lately I like it more & more?

Anyhow! How cute would these treasures from the little red door be as wedding favours?
Or as gifts for the bridesmaids or mother of the bride/mother in law?
OR, flower girls?

   

   

Lettering can be customized... I'm thinking ' n + c ' would be pretty cute ;)

   
via the little red door

I couldn't help but post the somewhat beside the point maple leaf house... I appreciate it... Sister E will appreciate it!
Also, the stores have had Christmas decorations up for over a month so I thought that was good enough excuse for me to share that last little snippet of cute. Yes? Yes.

C x

#89 Dress Lovin'

I've had quite the blog browsing day today, & am nicely chuffed to have found a few exceptionally fabulous new reads.

Amongst them is the wonderful Marvelous Kiddo, on which I spied this delight...

custom gown by leanne.m

C x

#88 A Waiting Game

'Today' has been postponed.

No immediate decision or results after all, just more head scratching & a teeny bit of of teeth grinding.

There's new details now, but not the ones we expected nor wanted, & all they do is raise more questions...

I am really not a patient person...

But this is my desk friend...

 

Reminding me today that this is the perfect opportunity to practice working on that!

Mmm... Wish me luck!

C x

#87 Crossroad

Today is a big day for our little family.
It is a day of decisions & outcomes.
It is a day of risks & sacrifice.
Of trust. That things will turn out just as they should & it will all be worth it.
Today will affect our life for years to come.

It is an interesting thing to be so firmly in the back seat at the crossroad that determines where this journey leads us next & how we will get there....

Today is a big day for our little family.

Hopefully, the beginning of something amazing.

Cx

#86 An Exciting Arrival!

A package arrived, & made my day...








custom 'tiny text bowl' via palomas nest

Hello my sweet sweet ring bowl...

Oh paloma's nest I love yooooou! 

It's just perfect & totally delicious to hold. Seriously, it feels so ridiculously nice, I can't even describe it without sounding like a complete fool.

This will be our ring bowl ('pillow') for the day & then a gorgeous keepsake forever & ever & ever.

Did I mention how much I love it?

Thank me? Thank YOU!

C x

#85 THE Save The Date

We are being less than efficient when it comes to getting invitations out, so to make myself feel a little better, I'm going to go ahead & share our save the date which we have been moderately efficient about & have already sent out.

One 'to do' gold star for me... hooray!

They're magnets.

I made them myself. 

It took ages.

I went a little mad...

C x

#84 Wedding Ring for Him

I came across this jewelers work on etsy a while ago & I must say I am quite impressed.
 Jewelery by Johan features rings for women & rings for men as well as wedding sets.
I particularly like his mens range, which include more classic contemporary pieces like the first two pictured below...



And the last two, a little more unusual with inlaid wood stripes & a diamond setting, or a matte titanium finish.

But my absolute clear favourite are these unique pieces...




Aren't they just wonderful???
Mr N likes them too so I think at this stage that one of these rings is definitely the front runner for the big day & ever after!
Which one? Well that is quite another matter...
Also, another piece of eye candy from Jewelery by Johan, & in the spirit of something blue?



C x