8. January 2012 by Parker.

Typically, I am not an advocate for having two similar posts back to back but since I am concentrating on my healthy new year; it seemed appropriate to add these motivational posters as well. These are my top ten!

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1. January 2012 by Parker.

I’m not a big fan of resolutions. I believe that if there is something you want to change or work on, you should start doing it when you think about it and not wait for a specific day….Say January 1st, to make it happen. That is why, ten days ago my husband and I decided we were going to try to eat better.

You should know, that we are BOTH picky eaters. We are creatures of habit and the staples in our house have always been pizza, grilled cheese, french toast, muffins, and more. Basically, we ate like teenagers even though we are in our late 30’s. So we sat down, agreed to try new foods and only buy healthy options and I must say, it has been a smoother transition than I ever imagined.

Here are 8 items that helped us steer in the right direction:

Hope they help some of you!

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2. December 2011 by Parker.

I hate being cold! In the winter, I live in flannel pjs, snuggly blankets, and have been known to wear mittens inside as my hands become ice. The only plus to cold weather is crackling fires, smores, and gorgeous coats!

My closet is full. Overflowing really. But that does not stop me from virtually shopping for a new coat every year. I’m obsessed. I want a coat in every color with coordinating accessories! So this year my eye has wandered to yellows, greens, and winter whites. But which to choose?

Obviously I am wanting a new A line coat since I wear a lot of dresses with tights in the winter. Which would you pick?

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29. November 2011 by Parker.

I was visiting my brother in Monterey for Thanksgiving and realized that my husband had not been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium since he was a kid. so we borrowed some guest passes and went to sped the afternoon with local sea life. Here are just a handful of pictures I took with my phone. Overall, I’m thinking they aren’t half bad considering they were taken through glass at moving creatures.

They are a bit creepy looking but their camouflage is amazing!

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5. November 2011 by Parker.

Yes, I know it has only been 2 weeks since I wrapped up this year’s party. Trust me, there are still remnants everywhere! Especially the pirate ship outside my window that my husband does not want to dismantle. Either way, my goal every year is to look at all the materials I gathered from this year and figure out how I am going to repurpose them for next years’ theme, therefore forcing me to come up with a theme pretty quick. Luckily I always have tons of ideas sitting on the backburner which made choosing the next party theme very easy. Are you ready for it?

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Tim Burton and his wonderfully eccentric world is my theme. Comical Horror is a great way to play with creepy decor without making it scary. It also allows the creator, me, to have as much imagination as possible worked into the decor. Disproportionate  characters, whimsical lines, crazy towns, and all in black in white. My goal is to create a completely grayscale party where there is no color anywhere. So here’s a look at some my inspiration pics for the year:

There’s plenty more where these come from. My file already has over 400 entries for costume to decor to food inspiration. It’s time to start collecting materials and planning out a timeline to make sure it all comes together next October. Wish me luck!

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25. October 2011 by Parker.

That’s it. It’s over. Another year done. Last weekend was our annual Halloween party and I must say that I was fairly happy with the final product. After a year of hard work and bringing ideas to life, our guests seemed genuinely impressed with the array of decor we provided.

We originally built a cave out front that guests had to come through to enter the party. I would have included a picture of said cave but we hit dew point the night before and so the entire thing sagged by the morning of the party. I managed to make it presentable by evening but there is no picture worthy of posting.

When you got inside the house, you were greeted by a large ‘X’ on the floor. This was the beginning of the treasure map of the party in which you followed all the dashes through the event until you reached the final ‘X’ at the treasure. So here’s a look at some of the things people saw along the way…

This was the Captain’s desk inside his quarters, where we had a leather journal for people to glue in their pictures from the photo booth that was in the room and leave us a message. As the night went on, the pics and comments got quite a bit crazy.

In the kitchen, I covered all the cabinets in cardboard painted to look like wood plank and added port holes lit by twinkle lights. The overall effect was very dark and cool which I loved.

In the courtyard, I set the large table for the Captain’s feast, complete with baskets of bread and fruit and a very, very large candelabra in the center.

At the fire pit, there were hand made canvas pop tents, bottles of grog, hay bales, and blankets where the pirates had landed on shore and made camp.

Once you made it to the pool, we covered the diving board in a 14 foot long plank that people could pretend to walk.

Of course, next to the pool, was the main attraction: The Ship! This piece was 60 feet long and 42 feet tall. As you can see in the foreground, I also cut planks of wood, stood them upright, tied rope to each of them, and gave the illusion of a dock.

The pool also had a series of floating candles in it as well as I pirate on a raft that was lost at sea. I need to put that pirate back in the pool and take a good picture of it to post.

At the end of the line was the treasure chest, a large steamer trunk lit from inside and overflowing with treasure. You can see the final ‘X’ in the picture as well.

Here’s a close up of the treasure. You can see that I even included a spray painted Chambord bottle in there.

My husband is always such a good sport about my obsession with Halloween. This is my favorite picture of the two of us from inside the Dollface Photobooth.

I need to mention my wonderful brother, Brian, who made the trip up for the party and wound up working all day to help me set up.

At the end of the night, I had my photographer take this picture as if I am ready to take my own life with my sword since the party was over and there just wasn’t anything left to live for! I hope y’all enjoyed it.

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1. October 2011 by Parker.

I was planning a wedding a few years back for a friend that loved both Victorian Gothic and the 50’s Pin Up Eras so my goal was to combine them in the wedding plans. Oddly enough, I started with her Honeymoon night lingerie  and Dita Von Teese for inspiration.

All lingerie courtesy of Fairy Godmother, one of my all time favorite places to find hip new pieces!

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17. September 2011 by Parker.

To my husband’s dismay, I’ve been collecting old doors for awhile now. They are stacked neatly in the garage just waiting for me to pick a project for them. In the interim, I’ve compiled a folder of some pretty cool repurposed doors for inspiration. Let’s take a look…

1. Benches

2. Shelf

3. Headboard

4. Tables

5. Chalkboard

6. Arbor

7. Room Divider

This last one is by far my favorite. I’m leaning toward manufacturing this one for Halloween this year by painting each door versions of black , white, gray, and silver with black and silver hardware. If it comes to light, I’ll post some pictures.

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4. September 2011 by Parker.

In honor of all the kids that just went back to school, I thought a quick post on libraries would be fun.

My husband and I are avid readers and have books in every room of our house. The library is overflowing into the hall and end tables are becoming cluttered with book after book. So it should come as no surprise that I am enthralled by beautiful libraries. Here’s a look at my current top 5:

As you can see, I love the blend of traditional and ornate when it comes to libraries. And the bigger the better! When I was a kid, I would have my mom drop me off at the library on her way to work and pick me up on the way home. Eight blissful hours surrounded by the smell, the feel, the stories, the knowledge…it was heaven!

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4. September 2011 by Parker.

My best friend, Jules, is getting married in November so I wanted to help throw her an amazing bridal shower. A shower that emphasized all the things that she loves. Her wedding theme is Paris meets India so I decided to concentrate more on the Paris side of things for this shower. Think Eiffel Towers, Pink, Shopping, and more!

But to take it a step further, I added Marie Antionette into the mix.  Since she was the Queen of France and know for her amazing wardrobe, wigs, and accessories; it only seemed fitting for her to be the true inspiration for the shower.

It was these two pictures that served as my inspiration photos for the shower. I had no idea what the space I would be setting up in would look like nor was there a large budget to play with. So here’s what it looked like:

My goal for her party was for all of her friends to bring her accessories as gifts. They were instructed not to wrap them and would be given  pretty hand made tags to sign and attach to the jewelry upon arrival. The gifts were to be used as the decor.

I took 2 mannequins with me to dress in sets of pink lingerie and added a boa for some flair. Then I recovered an old room divider in pink paisley fabric to fill an empty corner.

The food table was lined with silver serving trays with Baroque frames and hot pink paper listing the food items. Parisian boxes were used to add height as well as Eiffel towers and tea sets.

The dessert table was vibrant in icing colors. elegant shoes, cake stands, and metallic candy dishes. If you needed a chocolate fix, this was the table to see.

I purchased some affordable wine, soaked off the labels, and adhered new ones that I made for the bride. Showcased on a high heel wine holder made to look like a Christian Louboutin and sat next to a vintage tea kettle with pearls.

And in the other corner of the room, I set up an Eiffel Tower wine holder with Fleur de Lis rain boots and a black wire mannequin to even out the room.

And here is a picture of the happy bride to be wearing as much of her jewelry as we could possibly put on her. I’m fairly certain she was happy with the final product!

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