Yay for Friday! It’s pouring rain, so what better day to deliver paper goodies all over town?

Thanks a lot Murphy.

Have an amazing weekend!

Okay so I know it’s still January. But the weather here in Charleston has been crazy – sunshine and 70 degrees, for the better part of the month. I’m not complaining! Once Christmas / New Years is over, I would be happy to move right into Spring and be done with winter.

So although Spring is still well in future, I thought some pretty pastel dreams would be nice for today, especially for those of you who aren’t enjoying the springlike weather like we are.

{paper mache eggs} {cardigan} {church photograph} {pink trees} {spring wreath} {green clutch} {headband wrap} {picnic basket}

Happy Thursday!

I can’t believe I’m just now remembering to blog this one! This fun save the date is based on the wrought iron from the bride’s grandparents’ home. It was so fun to personalize this save the date for the couple and it turned out great.

I’m seeing more and more brides sending accommodations info with the save the date instead of or in addition to the invitation. It’s amazing how much my little hometown has grown in popularity – hotel rooms aren’t easy to get anymore! So sometimes it’s really nice to utilize the space on the back of your save the date to give people a head’s up about your room blocks and good places to stay.

We’re on to invitations next!

To office or not to office: it’s a question I always have swirling around in my head. Go out, sign a lease, and put a sign out front, or continue to enjoy the low overhead of my “meh” home office?

I think it’s something that we as small business owners all struggle with: how to grow the business. I often feel like I’m standing at an intersection where 100 different roads converge and all are viable routes. It’s totally my decision which way to go, but what to choose?

So the office question is one. When Spark closed, I lost the little satellite location I had really come to enjoy. I’m now back to my home office and that’s really not so bad. But then some part of me longs for a little office with a “dodeline” sign out front that looks something like this…

or this

this would work too

But then I remember…I probably wouldn’t go there in my pajamas. And that’s kind of a nifty perk of working from home. Some other perks…

• The big one: I pay the bills here regardless.
• PJ’s.  Nuff said.
• Weird hours.  If I am inspired at 10:00 and want to work, I don’t really need to relocate to do so.
• Food.  No bag lunches.
• Privacy and quiet.  Unless I got an office totally to myself, being out in the world can be distracting.  Not that I don’t like chatting and socializing but sometimes you need quiet to focus.

On the flip side: does having an “outside” office make you more legitimate?  Not sure.  I go back and forth on that.  In this day and age, I think more and more people are accepting of the freelance / home office business and you don’t have to have a brick and mortar location to be legitimate.  It seems to me like your website is almost more important.  Do you agree?

Do you have the same thoughts with your business?  Is there another major decision or direction you’re struggling with?

Hello there friends! A fun interior design find for you today. I recently had the distinct pleasure of working with The Beehive PR to design a fun & functional website for Floradora, Inc..

In case you’re wondering what a Floradora girl is…

Full, fluffy skirt; lace-trimmed bodice, with bishop sleeves gathered in at the wrist; and off-the-face picture hat. Popularized by the Florodora chorus in the musical show, Florodora. ” – A Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern by Mary Brooks Picken copyright 1957

Courtney Scott created Floradora, Inc., which reflects her background in costume design, and incorporates her amazing talents into a line of upcycled textiles for the home. She has table linens, pillows, & more!

Once we were done with the site I couldn’t resist buying a few, which showed up in my mail on Friday! Beautifully packaged I might add – and I was so impressed with how well done each of the pieces are. They are really works of art. And these colorful beauties are mine all mine!

So if you are in the market for some totally unique and eco-friendly pizazz for your home, definitely check out Floradora.

Happy Monday!

Sometimes you just draw a blank, ya know? It would appear today is one of those days.

I’ve had a good and productive week so I guess I’m just content. Not a bad feeling at all & so happy to see the weekend here so soon. Here are a few of the little things that put a smile on my face this week…

• The sweet comment my husband left incognito on the blog.
• Laughing and chatting with Ms. Scotti Cline & Ms. Katherine Miller << two very talented ladies.
• Brainstorming with the incredible Jeni of Seastar Arts, who always helps me clear my head and makes me laugh.  Okay I just realized that actual session was last Friday but who’s counting?
• New Girl. That show is the best.  I wish I could hang out with her.
• Re-doing my wedding invitation gallery. Always a work in progress, but I am happier with it.
• Designing some super fun moving announcements for a very special blogger, to be revealed soon!
• Meeting several blushing brides who are so kind as to include me in their wedding process, and shipping invitations to those getting close to their big day.
• Accomplishing a goal I can’t tell you about yet, but one day ;-)
• & last but certainly not least, looking forward to date night tonight.

What put a smile on your face this week?

I am a bit behind on the Word of the Year posting trend but I still thought it was such a good exercise, I’m joining in. I had to resist looking at too many other people’s words because you know how that goes…no way I’d be able to think of my own if I saw everyone else’s ;-)

So what’s it going to be?

If I had to look back on 2011 and give it a word, I don’t think I could. So many things come to mind: joy. Vibrance. Whirlwind. But also…stress. Hurry. Little bit of chaos.

So this year I just want to remember to breathe – to take in the little moments, to play hooky every once in awhile and not be quite so much of a workaholic, to appreciate everything I have. I’m happily married to my best friend. Healthy as far as I know. Blessed with a job I love even though it’s stressful sometimes. It is just so easy to get so caught up in the stress of everyday life and run around like a crazy person for days on end, never stopping to reflect or just be.

I guess in effect that’s my resolution for 2012. Working on that ever present struggle to find balance between the work I love and the life I want to live.

What’s your word of the year?

So I know I’ve taken awhile to post this, but here they finally are – my wedding invitations!

I played with these forever. It took a long time to settle on what I wanted and, although I played with a bunch of other styles and ideas, I ultimately settled on something that I feel is my style…modern with just a tiny hint of tradition / vintage elements.

Our wedding was kind of nontraditional…a very small private ceremony in the park with most people being invited to the reception only. So I needed to word the whole thing to work for one set to be “ceremony” and one set to be “reception.”

Since it was so small, there were no hotel blocks or anything to send to people, so I did one all purpose card printed on a warm gray cardstock.

The RSVP was almost my favorite part. I just realized that we totally failed to take a picture of the back. But anyway, it was double sided, with the one side saying “SAVE A SEAT” and the back side say “BE THERE IN SPIRIT” with space to write us a note. I loved what people sent in!

And then of course there is the day of paper. I had a lot of fun with signage and all the other little details…including our cake battle!

All photos taken by the lovely and talented Seastar Arts.

Happy Wednesday!

It’s my first printable of the year 2012! I wanted to start doing a monthly free printable just for fun this year and this is the first installment. Hopefully these will be fun and easy little Valentine’s Day cards for the classroom or friends at the office.

Just click the image to get to the PDF and download. If you use them, I’d love it if you’d snap a photo and share so we can post on the blog!

Have a wonderful Tuesday, friends…

Hello friends! After a lovely weekend, I am determined that this week will be my best week of 2012 to date. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? ;-)

Robert and I were wandering around Charleston considering dinner options on Saturday when he suggested we check out some place he’d heard of – Heart Woodfire Kitchen on James Island. I always love trying new places so off we went!

The food was delicious and centered on both seasonal availability & the big oven that you can see from anywhere in the restaurant. Interesting combinations and amazing service. When we were almost through with our meal, the manager came over to introduce himself and chat for awhile. I just love places like this.

So if you’re in Charleston, I highly recommend stopping by! There is a great write up on Charleston Restaurant Buzz & you can also go say hi to them on their Facebook page too.

After our lovely dinner, we headed to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries, where we happily stumbled upon the Food Truck Rodeo!

One of my favorites, Diggity Doughnuts, was there, along with a whole bunch of others. I love the Food Truck phenomenon, so much fun!

Do you have Food Trucks / quirky restaurants you love where you live? What was your favorite meal of the weekend?