An Update and Our New Gold Jewels

I can't believe it's the end of August already. It's been a crazy few weeks! We are officially leaving for Africa in seven days which is incredibly exciting and a little stressful at the same time. We put the banner on the website at the beginning of the month letting people know we'd be closed for most of September and were then very happily slammed with orders. We'll be spending the bulk of this week finishing those up, and then trying to figure out how to pack four weeks worth of clothing (and shoes) into a backpack.

I also went in for another round of scans a couple of weeks ago and got results last Tuesday. It looks like the bulk of the nodes they've been following are stable or shrinking. However, I do have one in my breast which is appearing somewhat larger. We think it may have been swollen when the scan was given due to me injuring it somehow, so my doctor is hesitant to count it in the overall results. Hopefully that's the case. In the end I was told to go on vacation and come back in for more tests in 7 weeks. It's tough going through this every couple of months because of course we just want to hear, "the treatment has worked!" That said, we're really, really grateful to be getting the results we are.

So... on to wedding related stuff. I just found a new jewelry line which I'm in love with. We're going to begin carrying it as soon as we reopen in October. All of the items are hand crafted using 24k gold, pink gold and freshwater pearls. Here is a preview...

Friends and Family Invites

I guess it's probably obvious that whenever one of my friends or family members is celebrating an event I jump in and offer to do the invites. I would be a pretty crappy friend if I didn't, right? I always think it's fun to work on these projects since I know the people well and can often get a little more create with the design. These are 2 invite orders I just finished up:

The first was a variation on our Luxe invites. I made these for a high school friend that I'd lost touch with for a few years. We live on opposite coasts, but we can still chat like we bumped into each other yesterday. One of the things I know is that she loves her pup Leo like a child. I was able to adapt a photo of him to use alongside the "deliver to" address on the reply envelopes. She also needed to bring in something to reflect her fiance's Taiwanese heritage, so we opted for a double happiness symbol tucked into the reply set. The tree imagery was reflective of a drawing her brother had once given to her a gift. When everything was stacked together I think it all "worked" and best of all really reflect the couple and will mean something to them.

The second order is for a close friend celebrating her son's Christening this Fall. She's a super stylish Mom and I think the simple, slightly retro motif (complete with the babies spiky hair) in this suites her perfectly.

Wedding On The Nile?

Today I was bumming around Trip Advisor trying to figure out how I can book a felucca (Egyptian sail boat) ride on the Nile next month when I stumbled upon what might be a perfect venue for a super tiny wedding. How romantic would it be to exchange your vows at sunset while cruising past some of the most important and scenic locations on earth? Check out The Glory of Nubia:

Lusting For Vintage Luggage

I should tell you up front that I'm really not a girl who goes crazy for handbags. I couldn't name you the brands of most of the purses I own, and the bulk I bought for next to nothing in a market in Bangkok years ago. This also goes for luggage. I buy them cheap and bang them up. That attitude momentarily went straight out the window just about 4 years ago when Dade and I were in Singapore and we ended up at the Samsonite store after having the infamous Singapore Sling at the Raffles Hotel bar. Does anyone else remember when the "Vintage" line of their Black Label came out? Oooooooh ahhhhhhhhh. I wanted to buy the entire set on the spot, but the price tags stopped me. Even the adorable little retro hat box bags were $500+ and I couldn't figure out anything practical I'd be able to pack in them.

Well, I begrudgingly held out and yesterday, thanks to our nasty economy, I found the suitcase I'd always wanted sitting at my local Samsonite store in Salem, NH for 80% off. It was all alone saying "please take me home." What could I do? Dade told me it could be an early birthday present. I am now a very proud suitcase mama.

I'm not posting about this just to brag about my shopping conquest. I know a lot of you are planning honeymoons, and you may need some luggage. I'm here to tell you to hit your mall because there are amazing finds to be had. The price I got yesterday is half of the best price I found shopping online, and they were thanking me for buying it! I also ended up paying the same price for a piece I love as I would have any normal hard sided suitcase, possibly less. So... I hope this leads to you guys finding a few scores of your own.

New DIY Menus (and Invites)

The summer is flying and the blogging has been slow going. Sorry! Between making plans to close down this Fall for our trip to Africa and trying to develop new ideas for stationery, well, the blog unfortunately has taken a hit. However, I will have a few new posts coming up this week including an amazing Day After shoot with an accidental dress trashing! Until then, I wanted to share our new DIY menu cards. They match our place cards and table cards, and are available in every design offered for our invitation collection. They are also 5"x 7" and will fit A7 envelopes for those looking for DIY invites for showers or rehearsals.