Sweet Nutcracker Party

I just had to share this amazing pink party inspired by the Nutcracker Suite! Kate, the event designer, pulled this off so perfectly.

Gorgeous, no? I love how delicately the color theme was carried out, the touches of metallic, and the poufs made from tulle. Get all the details over at Hostess with the Mostess and more photos and sources at Kate's blog!

Party by Kate Landers Events

Photos by Liza Voll

Thanksgiving Glimpse

We spent Thanksgiving in Florida with Cory's family... the weather was perfect, the food was scrumptious, and the fun was non-stop.

We ate the main event out on the porch. You haven't had turkey until you've had fried turkey, it's soooo good!

Cory's grandparents and aunt and uncle live out in the country on some farmland... perfect for four-wheeling!

His uncle raises Brahman cows... they are so beautiful! I have a soft spot for cows, not sure why.

This 1-month old baby was named "Blimey" by a little cousin... she was so sweet, I just wanted to take her home!

I hope your Thanksgiving was a happy time!

Not pictured:
- 4 turkeys. For a dinner for 12.
- A few "around the world" basketball games... my lack of skill is shameful.
- Poppy's BBQ ribs... mmmm!
- Sunshine!
- Black Friday shopping from 11:30 pm - 8:00 am. I told you they were hardcore... and I enjoyed every minutes of the insanity!

Shopping at the Shop

By the time you read this, I have probably already been trampled by the Black Friday crowds. Cory's female relatives are intense day-after shoppers, and we venture out in the wee hours of the morning to attack every possible sale in the universe. I don't usually come home with much, but it's fun to go along for the craziness of it.

If you're relaxing at home and are up for some low-key shopping, check out my Etsy store! After a very long hiatus, I am finally reopening. I've got about 20 necklaces listed so far, and a few earrings. I'll be listing a ton more earrings and bobby pins next week, along with some custom options!

Thanks

I hope you're able to enjoy this Thanksgiving Day with family or friends. I just wanted to give a little shout-out to my wonderful family, I'm so thankful for them!

This photo was taken at my wedding, 

feel free to snoop around some of the photos here.

Sweet Paul - Holiday Issue

I've mentioned my love for Sweet Paul before; his styling and design are pretty much the best around. Here's a peek into his latest issue, Thanksgiving + Christmas.

This issue features even more DIY project ideas, and of course drop-dead gorgeous recipes. Check out Sweet Paul here!

It's hard to believe, but Paul has been pulling off this stunning webazine with no funding. He pours his awesomeness into it, then offers it to us for free. Paul has a Kickstarter project to raise funding to improve and keep up the webazine. If you enjoy his work, please consider helping him out, even if it's just $1. See the Kickstarter details here.

Tablescapes

Here's some lovely tablescapes that have caught my eye recently... as you can see I'm not a huge fan of the traditional fall colors!

1. Sitting in a Tree

2. Apartment Therapy

3. Style Me Pretty (DIY instructions!)

Weekend Glimpse

This weekend was packed full of fun!

We started off at the open house for Dapper Ink's new retail store...
their space is fantastic!
There's so much great design in there, I'll do a separate post about it all.

Cory and Matt are buddies.

At Ashley Buchanan's fabulous trunk show I got myself these stunning earrings. If you missed the show, check in with Ashley at her blog!

Then it was on to a delightful birthday party for a 1 year-old sweetheart. I got to help with the party preparations and it was such fun.

Sunday started off bright and early with a road trip to Atlanta for Indie Craft Experience. We saw some of our wonderful ICP vendors and found new favorites. I came home with a few spoils, will share those later this week.

I arrived home just in time to put the finishing touches on Annie's birthday cake. The cake was delish. Recipe to come.

Happy Birthday, dear sister!

Not pictured:

- lunch at The Bohemian

- frosting chef 2 days in a row

- catching up with friends

- gorgeous fall weather

- bonfire time

- King of Pops!

Indie Craft Experience

This weekend, Libby and I are going to skip on down to Atlanta for ICE and visit some of our Indie Craft Parade vendors... you should come too! Indie Craft Experience will be held at Ambient Plus on November 20-21, 11-6 pm. Admission is $5.

 Finklestein's Center - Booth #62

 Sweeteeth - Booth #45

 So She Sews - Booth #1

 Three Bad Seeds - Booth #24

 Tot Toppers & When I Grow Up - Booth #23

 Jane Hancock Papers - Booth #39

Another Sassy Product - Booth #47

***

P.S. Don't forget about Ashley Buchanan's Trunk Show tomorrow!

Winter Wonderland Cupcakes

I know it's still fall, but I'm dreaming of snow. How sweet are these wintery cupcakes from Bakelab? Get the kit here and make them yourself!

(via oh joy!)

Book Art

Check out this gorgeous book created by Christin O'Bryan!

I love the elegance of her line work!

Christin makes lovely journals + paper goods and writes about lovely things, visit her at the shop and blog!

Ashley Buchanan Trunk Show!

I am so very excited for Ashley Buchanan's Trunk Show this Saturday! She was one of my favorite artists from Indie Craft Parade, do you remember her lovely booth?

Well, she's coming back to Greenville with her fabulous hand-cut metal jewelry: necklaces, brooches, earrings, and cuffs. Ashley will be at Art & Light this Saturday from 11-5 pm... if you're in the area you don't want to miss it!

Here are some of her recent designs, check out the blog for more work!

Ashley also takes commissions, and a piece of her jewelry would make a great Christmas gift! Maybe a child's silhouette, a favorite animal, a beloved state or country... the options are endless!

Weekend Glimpse

We started off the weekend with an opening reception for his final Alice exhibition, and there was once again rainbow cake.

Enjoyed a relaxing Saturday with me watching a movie and Cory drawing on the couch...

And finished it up with some homemade pizza (PW's crust, delicious).

Not pictured:
- sleeping in
- the Furminator!!! Why did it take me so long to get this?
- roast beef sandwhiches
- wedding flower planning, so exciting
- procrastinating
- gorgeous fall weather
- this song, rediscovered favorite

Sweden!

We spent 3 and a half days in Sweden, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

The countryside was beautiful...

We stayed in Göteborg, but took a day trip to Jönköping to visit the John Bauer art museum (Cory is a huge fan).

Beautiful food and drink...

Of course, the design world in Sweden was simply fabulous. From gorgeous bowls...

Illustrated cookbooks...

Marimekko fabrics...

 Lovely flower markets...

Fantastic vintage clothing store...

I went in one home design store that was so amazing, it deserves it's own post, so look for that in the next week or so.

The clouds on the flight leaving Sweden were so beautiful, I had to snap a few photos...

Thanks for a great time, Sweden!

Review:
Sweden was a lot of fun, and I'd love to return someday. Stockholm would be a blast to see! The design here is really like nowhere else.

Food: B+
We had one amazing, magical meal in Sweden, and our hotel had a fantastic breakfast, but the rest of the food was not that great. Though, the service was good and the restaurants very nice.

Scenery:
Sweden had a rustic beauty to it. I loved being on the train and watching the drab landscape pass by, and then all of a sudden a village of brightly colored houses would flash by. I wish we had time to go further into the country, I'd have loved to see the forests more.

Accessibility:
Everyone spoke excellent English, which was very helpful for us as we tried to navigate and get from city to city. The tram in Göteborg took us everywhere within the city. The only thing that was confusing about Sweden was the monetary system, we never did make much sense of it.

People:
The people in Sweden were the nicest, friendliest, most welcoming people of any country we visited. When we first arrived in Göteborg, we got a little lost trying to find our hotel, and asked someone on the street for help. He told us which way to go, then asked where we where from. We said America, and he gasped. "USA???" "Yeah..." He flung his arms wide open and proclaimed with a huge grin, "Welcome to Sweden!" He then wanted to shake our hands, as did 5 other people who overheard the exchange. Needless to say, we felt quite welcome.

Want to see more photos from Sweden? Check out my FB album.