Lavender Kay

Here is a postcard I bought at a cluttered vintage store in Stockholm, Sweden.  The store was located in a narrow, cobblestone ally and was so full of stuff you could barely walk through the aisle ways without things toppling over on you.  There were piles of old books and magazines that reached almost to the ceiling.  It was magical.  I found this postcard while I was rummaging through some stuff at our apartment the other day and I have been feeling very nostalgic about Europe ever since.  I am amazed at how easy it is to get back to your normal routine and go through your daily life while forgetting  all about such an experience as backpacking through Europe.  Oh how I miss it.

Last night Jonathan and I went to our neighbor’s house (who also happens to be our landlord) for a neighborhood BBQ.  Four houses of people attended, making the guest count about ten people in all.  And what a great time it was. My introverted nature sometimes keeps me from taking part in these types of events, but when I give in and attend, I am always surprised by how much fun I can have. We spent the night having good food, good conversation, and much laughter with the people who were strangers to us just hours before.  I also gained much insight into the act huckleberry picking and how the term, “pecking order” came to be.

I am encouraged by all the wonderful people I live next to.  Knowing your neighbors seems to be a thing of the past.  But I hope that can change.  I hope we can go back to befriending our neighbors and knowing the people we live next to.  (After all, I did end up marring my neighbor) I read somewhere that “community died when we stopped building front porches.”  Maybe a little extreme, but I believe there is some truth to this statement.  Instead of spending a sunny day on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea and a hello to the people passing by, we have built fences and garages attached to our houses, making it much harder to even come into contact with our neighbors.  I don’t think this is true for everyone, but I think it is true for me.  Ever since Jonathan and I have moved into this house, we have spent a lot of time sitting on our front porch.  The neighborhood BBQ was born in part, by sitting on the front porch and talking to our neighbors.

So here’s to front porches and wonderful neighbors!

Kristen Marie Photography

I have a deep love for ribbon and twine.  Or string or anything of the sort.  I find all the colors, textures and sizes enchanting.  There is just so many things you can do with them.  You can make beautiful cards with ribbon.  A unique piece of ribbon can transform the wrapping of a birthday present.  You can hang different pieces of ribbon against a plain wall to make it fancy.

I find myself keeping ever scrap of ribbon from every present I have ever received.  Jonathan is always surprised to find new pieces of ribbon lying around our apartment.  But I just can’t help myself!  It is so useful. Without twine, my wedding bouquet wouldn’t have turned out as perfect as it was!  So to ribbon and twine, you are one of my favorite things.

PS Thank you to Allie and Kayla and Danielle and everyone who made the beautiful bouquets at my wedding!  They were superb.

I just finished up designing and packaging some wedding invitations for a friend of Holly’s.  I had SO much fun with these invitations and I am just loving paper bag brown right now!  Here are a few pictures I took of the invitations.  They kind of took over our living room for a few days!

Sometimes I forget what a walk through my neighborhood does for my happiness.  The long winter spell Spokane had this year took away all my desire to go on walks.  But with new neighborhoods to explore and glimpses of the sun, I have gained a new appreciation for walking. It calms my nerves and clears my mind.

Weddings bring about so much stress whether we want them to or not.  I plan weddings for a living and I am still amazed by all the little details involved.  Make reservations.  Call florists.  Set up appointments.  Make a thousand decisions.  To do lists!  The hope is that it is all worth it in the end and you can enjoy the big day.  I am going to commit to enjoying my wedding.  What a novel idea!  I am not going to let the day pass we by but instead I am going to try and soak up every moment.  I am going to enjoy all the wonderful people and dance the night away.  Hopefully 🙂

I was going through old photographs for our wedding slide show and found a few that I had to share.

World Fair

Sunglasses

Easter dresses

While in London I stumbled upon a fresh flower market similar to this picture.  The store was white and clean and fresh.  This is the inspiration for my wedding theme.  Market Fresh. (Jonathan came up with the name:)

So I haven’t written in a long time so if anyone reads this, I want to thank you in advance for being a dedicated follower to my blog!

I originally started this blog for my European adventure and now I have decided to extend it to the rest of my messy, thrilling life.

To start – I am getting married!  Jonathan and I have decided to spend the rest of our lives together and I couldn’t be happier.  For those of you who don’t know our journey together, here it is.  We grew up next door neighbors. His sister Joy Anna, was my best friend and Jonathan was just the older brother who gave me rides to school.  We became friends before I graduated high school but soon after we lost track of each other for almost 7 years.  Then last year found each other again.  We fell in love and it has been nothing but joy and laughter ever since.  I never believed people who said when they got engaged they just knew it was right.  Until now.  Saying yes to Jonathan was one of the easiest decision I have ever made.  Thank you Jonathan for being the most wonderful person I know.

So we picked a date, April 9th and will get married in the White Room in Spokane, WA.  I have never really wanted a conventional wedding and by the way we have planned this celebration, I think I will get my wish.

Stay tuned for more on our wedding plans and the exciting future ahead!