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Last Minute Gift Ideas

December 23, 2013

Scrounging for some last minute present ideas?! Forgot one of your coworkers? Need a gift for your gardener? Look no further! I love the DIY approach to holiday gift giving and often find it best to make a little artisan or gourmet treat…

Last year I made homemade vanilla and while it does take a little planning (or at least waiting on the recipient’s end – it takes 3 months to really ferment) it is SO worth it.

This year I went with an infused simple syrup route. I made my famous (to myself) Ginger Simple Syrup, and attached a homemade ginger ale recipe for the 21 and younger crowd and a Ginger Bourbon Fizz recipe for those that like to imbibe!

Super simple (aside from the sticky mess that your kitchen is bound to fall victim to) and so delicious! Plus infused syrups are now like $12-15 a bottle at the store nowadays… and you easily can whip these up (bottles and all) for around $3!

Other quick/less involved gift ideas:

wine (BevMo $0.05 wine sale!)
gift cards (Starbucks, Jamba, iTunes)
candles (I’m telling you… by them on sale when you see them!!!)
books (I love a great cookbook or coffee table book – Costco has great ones with CRAZY markdowns)
a beautiful frame with a picture of you and gift recipient (girls love pictures)

What are some other quick and easy gift ideas!?

Looks

Make It Yourself!

August 1, 2013

I am not a big DIYer… but when it comes to jewelry I sometimes make an exception. I used to be big into making my own jewelry in high school, but once I started college, I outgrew the hobby. So when I found my old jewelry/beading containers a couple weeks ago, I was excited to get back in the jewelry making game! I made a delicate beaded ombre necklace to match the Maya Brenner necklace my hubby got me with my new initials awhile back. Since then, I’ve caught the bug! I came across a gorgeous pendant at the bead store for and you can only imagine my surprise when I was surfing the Calypso St. Barth summer sale and saw this bracelet available for $70!

Materials: Center Bead, Hemp Cord

Step 1: Thread the cord through the bead.

Step 2: Take the right side string (we’ll call it String 1) and place it under the left side (we’ll call this String 2) – make a backwards 4.

Step 3: Take the end of the String 1 and loop it through the hole you’ve made.

Step 4: Tighten the string to create a knot.

Step 5: Repeat Steps 1-4 until bracelet is the desired length.

Step 6: Repeat on both sides to complete your bracelet.

Enjoy the perfect summer accessory and the fact you’ll be saving $65!

Party

Wedding Week – Decor and Details

July 10, 2013

Now the real fun begins… decor and details!

Flowers

We were lucky enough to have a gorgeous venue, but that didn’t keep us from indulging in flowers. I wanted a neutral palate for the wedding but wanted the focus to be the flowers… fun pops of color against a natural setting. Instead of giant centerpieces, I suggested going with a daintier, more eclectic set up of various flowers, vases and textures. This differently helped in the cost department as well. As I mentioned earlier, multipurpose arrangements (that can be used in the ceremony, then moved to the reception) are another great way to cut cost. If you are attached to a particular type of flower (i.e. peony), that may not be in season during your wedding, ask your florist for other options that are in season, which can help keep you in budget (we substituted garden roses for peonies and I was just as happy).

Details

This is where I had the most fun. We wanted people to know they were at OUR wedding… so this was a great way place to add monograms, personalized napkins, fun favors, customized menus, etc. Cost can really add up but here are some of my suggestions:

Invites/Programs: We used Minted.com for our Invitations. They do a great job of customization without breaking the bank (we also bought a $100 gift card for $50 on GiltCity.com). They also offered ceremony programs in the same suite, so we did that to add a fun touch to the day.

DIY Menus: I went to DaFont.com and downloaded similar fonts to the ones used in our invitation suite. From there I used publisher to create napkin bands with our menu on it (I picked up thick craft paper from Michael’s that I used for any DIY printed project for the wedding… so cheap!).

Ceremony Favors: We passed out bubbles, sunglasses and fans (not needed on our dreary wedding day unfortunately) and made fun little signs to put next to them.

Personalized Details: TheKnot.com had some super affordable personalized items. Some things we picked up – personalized napkins, lollipops, etc.

Seating Chart/Place Cards: I hand wrote our seating chart on black poster board (I was hoping it would look like a chalkboard!?), and then printed place cards and tied them with raffia around small paper bags that we placed a baguette in.

Other: We also created DIY straws with our favorite saying, a fun photo collage of pictures of us, sparklers (that we forgot to use) for the end of the reception, a DIY drink menu with our reception’s specialty drinks and DIY glittered letters to delegate the gift table.

Lawn Games: We bought a corn hole game and ladder golf to bring to our cocktail reception. It was a great way to get everyone interacting, and what better way to get people acquainted than with some friendly competition?!

*Images by John Plus Louise Photography

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