I'm back from a very productive weekend of Ikea shopping and house cleaning. With my due date about a week away, I realize that my days of solo shopping trips to Ikea on lazy Saturday afternoons may be limited, (which is really too bad, because solo shopping is one of my favorite sports, I'm very good). Hopefully this next chapter in our lives will be just as much fun as solo shopping, and I will not miss it one iota! Speaking of which, I should warn you that it's possible that sometime this week or the next (hopefully not the week after that) I may be mysteriously absent for a few days (maybe not that mysteriously absent, but absent none the less). Rest assured, I will be back with photos of the little one and updates just as soon as I am able. In the mean time, I will just keep on bloggin about pretty things. Keeping busy keeps me patient!
Speaking of patience... I found these amazingly detailed cookies on Sweet Ambs. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out! They are just so... perfect! I made lemon cookies the other day and got so sick of scooping batter after about 20 cookies, I started making them HUGE so I could be done. I can't imagine having the patience to create these little wonders by the dozens.

I will leave you for a stormy weekend with this awesome set of invites spotted over at Brooklyn Bride. You can click here to read the full story, but basically, Andrew wrote a sweet little story when he was 6 about a boy and a girl (together). His mom saved it all these years (!), then he and his fiance Jami interlaced it with photos and the story of how they met and turned it into the ultimate engagement party invitation. Pretty cool, huh? Go here to see the full booklet.

Sparkle by Blanca Monros Gomez. So dainty and chic...

What an awesome way to dress up a simple gown! I'm thinking that both of these sashes lend themselves especially to the Grecian category of gown, but the possibilities are endless! From Kirsten Kuehn. Absolutely perfect with an artfully wrapped one of these.

I gotta say, the price tag on this dress shocked me a little for J. Crew, but even so, I'll be darned if it ain't purty.

I'm signing off for the weekend. We're headed out to my parents place where there's the possibility of a cool breeze and the guarantee of a dip in the pool. I'm leaving you with a peek at some of the creative and classy works of Lili Swan. I love her antique and nature inspired pieces, and there's loads to choose from! Have a great weekend everyone!

Jessica Rust makes these adorable ceramic dinnerware sets, personalized with your initials or your wedding date. The birch design is my absolute favorite, I love the little initials carved into the tree!

Kaitlin from b. poetic emailed me a link yesterday to her adorable website. Her giant handmade blooms would make a perfect addition to a simple gown and her photos are stunning!

Maybe it's because I'm a total pattern junkie, maybe I just like eggs. Not sure. I have always been fascinated with the egg decorating traditions of Eastern Europe and the patterns and symbols used there. Some of the colors and symbols are actually meant for weddings, to symbolize union, fidelity and eternity. What a unique gift! These beautiful eggs are from Pysanky Panky.

Welcome to Monday all. It is insanely humid and rather stifling here in the Ocean State, either that or I'm very pregnant and it just feels like I have a toaster strapped under my shirt. I am not interested in clothes today; not gowns, nor veils, nor even shoes. Nay. Today I would like nothing more than to work in just my undies and one of these rather smashing bracelets. I imagine them to be very cool on the skin, like a wristlet of beautiful ice cubes. From Anthro. Stay cool, my pretties.

Guest BOXES, as opposed to books. I like it! From Cut the Cake Designs, available in a ton of cute patterns and colors.

Amy from Sweet Designs just sent me these amazing pics of a poolside dessert table she styled for a Hampton's birthday party. Aside from the amazing table scape, I LOVE the idea of popcorn in little boxes! I'm a huge popcorn lover and I love it when people fancy it up, it really is the perfect party food - an inexpensive crowd pleaser every single time. I would be delighted to see boxes of caramel corn on the dessert table at any wedding, and the boxes are such an adorable way to display your monogram or your wedding colors. These would even be great as favors, if you added a little wax bag to keep the popcorn fresh. Everyone loves a late night salty snack after a few drinks!
Photography by Dawn Giarrizzo.

I've posted about Freddy & Ma before, I even own one of their handbags (I got the hobo bag- but it doesn't look like they sell that style anymore). Since my last post, they've really done a lot to make their purses and clutches ideal for bridesmaids gifts and wedding keepsakes. They'll embroider initials into the lining for you, they'll use your own vintage fabric, they'll even loan you a stylist to pick the perfect combination of patterns. I love my end result, so I'm happy to recommend these as a fabulous gift for all your girls.

I'm back from what was a rather disapointing weekend. It started out awesome, I was planning to make a bunch of cute little softies for the baby. I managed to make one on Saturday, but then I came down with some sort of stomach bug and I'm still not quite sure if I'm better yet. It's iffy. We'll see.
Anyway, I hope everyone else feels a little better than I do on this hot, sticky Monday. I found these hand-cut, customizable banners over on Etsy, and I thought I'd share them. I love the traditional fiesta vibe they have and they come in loads of colors. Check them out!

beyond the sea, over the rainbow, in a galaxy far, far away- all brides dance with this much grace and joy at their weddings. Why don't they teach this stuff in elementary school right along with multiplication? Wouldn't we all be more joyful creatures if we could do this when our favorite song came on? So jealous.

I love, love, love a unique looking ring. I'm a sucker for them, can't resist! These are actually quite reasonably priced too, bonus!

These are an adorable way to commemorate your wedding day, and something you can keep your jewelry in after the big day! Love them! From Paloma's Nest.

What is this, you ask? Ribbon? A candle? What? Nothing less than masking tape, my dears! Japanese masking tape to be exact. I can think of about 9 million creative and handy ways to use this pretty tape; from gift wrapping, to invitation making, to favor packaging, to book binding, to flower arranging... I could keep going, seriously - on and on. Available at Ginko Papers, via Black Eiffel, my newest blog crush.