HAPPINESS IS...

Watercolor & Calligraphy Wedding Invitations

Earlier this year, I had the incredible honor of designing my dear friend, Melanie's wedding invitations. As promised, here they are!

After reviewing her mood board, we decided on the look of white calligraphy over berry-hued watercolor washes to set the tone for her stylish and sophisticated loft wedding.

I'm so happy with how they turned out. Thankfully, she and her now-hubby were just as pleased! As soon as the profesh wedding photos are revealed, I'll show you how Amanda, the event planner, creatively incorporated the calligraphy logo/monogram into the rest of the wedding... much to my surprise and delight!

Munchery Meal Delivery

Hal and I ordered our first Munchery meal the other night. Have you tried them? They deliver gourmet restaurant-quality meals prepared by top local chefs using fresh organic ingredients in (beautifully designed) compostable packaging. Perfect for those lazy days when you're famished and would rather eat a bag of chips for dinner than slave away over a hot stove!

Unlike other meal delivery services like Blue Apron or Plated, there's no assembly required. We tried Plated a few months back, and although the meal was fabulous, it took us over an hour to make it!

Here's my Munchery experience in a nutshell. In the morning, I placed an order (white bean lasagna for me, Asian short ribs for Hal). Plenty of vegetarian, dairy-free and gluten-free options. Both meals were under $10 each, around the same price as your average thai take-out. It arrived promptly on our doorstep at 5pm by a sweet gal who texted me before and after the delivery was made. The food came in a cute reusable tote bag with a gift hot pad, hand-written card and free cookie. Nice touch! We heated it up in the oven for 10 minutes and devoured it. Absolutely delish. Now I know exactly what gift I'll be giving my new mama friends!

This isn't even a sponsored post, guys. I just like the company and appreciate how they do business. They offset their carbon footprint by planting trees. And with every order, give a free meal to someone in need.

If you want to try them out yourself, use this link to get $10 off your first order - one free meal!


{Images via Munchery}

3 Little Birds - Music Fun For Your Wee One

Remember the business my friends and I were starting - music classes for kids? I finally finished designing our website and it's now officially live! Hop on over and take a lookie loo....

www.3LittleBirdsMusic.com

Things are happening so fast! Our first class begins on September 22nd. If you're a local NW parent to a sweet little songbird, newborns to age 5, we invite you to our Tacoma studio for a welcome open house:

Saturday
September 6th
10 am - 2 pm

There will be snacks, refreshments, discount passes and FREE mini-classes held throughout the day. We'd love to meet you and your wee ones!

For the rest of you, parents and non-parents who live so very far away (sniff) - we're taking song requests! We're in brainstorm mode as we create our curriculum and we'd love your input! What songs would you like to see little ones to sing & dance along with in class? Any style! Any genre! Any decade! Nursery rhymes, The Beatles, Katy Perry, Daft Punk, Frank Sinatra, Al Green, Joni Mitchell, Snoop Dogg? (profane lyrics will be altered of course). We want to hear it all - nothing is too silly or absurd! Songs that can be incorporated into our initial "around the world" global theme would be awesome. For example: during Antarctica week, we could sing: "Ice Ice Baby" - you get the idea.

Thanks so much friends! Leave your suggestions in the comments below....

 

Long Beach Living

Long Beach is the new LA. Or so it seems! I have 3 friends who recently moved there from Los Angeles and they absolutely love it. I can see why. Beautiful beaches, quaint canals, hip eats, affordable housing, an easy airport, and only 30 minutes from LA. When Hal and I were down there for a wedding, we got a chance to explore the the LBC in all its glory...

Just like the Venice canals! With gondolas and all. One of my favorite memories of living in LA was gliding through the Long Beach canals on a date night with Hal. I'm not sure if they do this now, but back then, Gondola Getaways provided wine, baguettes and cheese!

It felt good to be back in Cali. Especially for Hal, who misses home. One day... when we're filthy rich, we plan to own a place in Seattle AND in SoCal! But until then, we'll take full advantage of these little wedding weekenders. Next one's in 5 weeks!

Etsy Faves 10: Berrylicious

Hiya! Just returned from a quick trip to Long Beach, California to be a bridesmaid in my dear friend's wedding. Her color palette matched the watercolor-calligraphy invitation suite I designed earlier in the year - deep shades of rich n' juicy pinks n' purples. It was gorgeous! I'll be sharing more photos of the event later down the road. Until then, I've rounded up a few berrylicious Etsy faves....

 

1. Frozen Berry Handmade Tassels by Midgetgems
2. Raspberries By The Spoonful Photograph by B. Linton Photography
3. Annabelle Floral Crown by Love Sparkle Pretty
4. Capucci Violet-Clear Vintage Frames by Skomoroki
5. Dipped Twig Pencils by Storiebrook
6. All-Natural Berry Eyeshadow by Christina Marie Minerals
7. Hand-Knit Fuchsia Shawl by Kateryna Golovanova
8. Purple Abstract City Painting by Linda Donohue

 

Get Happy 20: Crystals & Gems

 

Gemstones are living creatures. They are active participants in nature. Protons, neutrons and electrons are flying around in an absolute bliss of balance and participation, upholding patterns of sacred geometry.

-Benjamin Dean

 

Everything on earth has a vibration, and crystals are no exception. Certain kinds resonate at extremely high frequencies and can raise the vibration of the energy around it, including our own. Some people collect gemstones and wear them as jewelry for this very reason. I carry around a moonstone to increase intuition and creativity!

Of course science is slow to support any alternative method of healing, but I discovered some pretty cool research that proves crystals and gemstones do have a positive effect on our happiness and emotional well-being. The double-blind study was conducted by world-renowned physician and pain-management expert, Dr. Norman Shealy, who gave one group of clinically depressed participants a genuine quartz crystal and another group a faux crystal made out of glass. They were asked to wear the "crystals" as pendants around their neck without taking anti-depressants. 3 months later, 70% of the people who received the quartz crystal showed no signs of depression. While only 28% of the group who received the glass remained depression-free.

So you might want to dig out that old velvet pouch you have hidden away in your drawer and start putting those pretty rocks to use! Got no stones? Start your collection with a crystal curio set!

{Gems via: Crystal Grids}

Point No Point

I'm noticing a lot of bloggers posting a little less frequently and spending more time away from their computers to soak up the summer sun, unplug and enjoy life. Myself included!

Here are a few photos of our recent couple's motorcycle ride to Point No Point. What a sweet little spot. We rode the ferry across the Puget Sound, up to the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. Picked up some sammies at the local deli, ate lunch in the sand, explored the lighthouse and people-watched on the beach. We ended the trip at our friends' dad's tasting room, Sound Brewery for a strong dark stout before riding the sunset ferry back home.

Do you have any favorite summertime day-trips?