Bottoms up

It's not even ten in the morning and I'm thinking about cocktails. I blame my wonderfully creative clients who have planned out every detail of their wedding to perfection including the offering of a signature cocktail.

Serving wine, beer and a signature cocktail is a great (and cost-effective) alternative to having a full bar. Dream up a specialty drink that complements your color scheme or unique wedding locale and your guests will be in awe. It's a special little touch that you can add, and you don't even need to be a skilled mixologist. Talk with your caterer about serving your signature cocktail and then let the fun begin! I meandered my way over to the Cocktail Times web site and found a photo of one of the most gorgeous cocktails I've ever seen. It's called a Black Orchid and it's the crème de violette that gives the drink its beautiful lavender color. Just perfect.

Gray skies are gonna...be here awhile

It's happening, it's really happening. Those in the know have been anticipating its arrival for quite some time, and it's finally here.

Meet GRAY...the new chocolate brown.

For the past year or so, I've diligently kept my shelves well-stocked with chocolate brown cardstock, but I started seeing the shift towards gray a few months ago and it's quickly gaining in popularity among my clients.

I'm loving the sophisticated new color combinations since gray and silver pair up so nicely with...EVERYTHING! If you haven't settled on a color scheme yet, you might want to consider gray as a subtle yet elegant accent hue.

Eat, Pray, Love

I love traveling for many reasons - eating, shopping and experiencing new things are among the most obvious ones. But another huge reason why I love getting away for a bit is because I actually find time to read.

As a child, I was an avid reader. I remember frequent trips to the public library with my mother and loading up on Beverly Cleary books. Through the years, books took a backseat to TV, boys, friends, and most recently, work. Putting aside some quiet time to read (and not fall asleep) is a rare thing these days, but I'm determined to kick my summer reading into gear.

On our recent vacation to Seattle, I started reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. I got about a third of the way through before LIFE interrupted. I'm embarassed to say that it's been sitting on my nightstand untouched for the past two weeks.

But I have a plan. A plan to carve out more time for myself, more time to unwind, and more time to enjoy the things that I used to enjoy before life got so hectic. Yay for me!

I shall call him "Mini Tree"

About six years ago, I purchased a Juniper bonsai tree. I thought it was the most beautiful and perfect tree I had ever laid my eyes on. There was even a small pond that sat under the sweeping branches of my bonsai, with an even smaller fisherman sitting at its edge. With his small bamboo fishing pole poised just above the water, I would often wish that I could be this fisherman...sitting on the edge of this most serene pond...under the most perfect tree...on the most pleasant day.

But then, I killed the tree.

I didn't mean to, but that's no consolation to me (or the tree).

As much as I hate to admit this, I was born with a black thumb. I've tried to keep flowering plants alive long enough to enjoy their beautiful blooms, I've tried not to overwater my easy-to-care-for succulents, and I've tried to sustain impossible-to-kill air plants on lots of love. Dead, dead, dead. I do remember successfully growing sweet pea plants for a seventh grade science experiment. Seventh grade was a very long time ago.

But I will keep trying, especially now that I've seen the gorgeous roses that my own brother is growing on his back patio. Perhaps his green thumb will rub off on me. For now, I'll just look at photos of plants that I someday hope to not kill.

Birthday blues

I celebrated my birthday earlier this week and had an unexpected guest show up for my birthday party. I was very surprised when this guest showed up because I hadn't seen him in awhile and never on my birthday! But I was raised to be gracious and accepting so I welcomed him, although a bit reluctantly, to share my special day with me.

His name was Father Time and he was kind enough to bring along a fun party game with him called, "Take stock in your life since it's your birthday and, by the way, you are undeniably the oldest you've ever been in your entire life." Guaranteed fun for hours.

So I set up the board, selected my game piece, and rolled the dice. I promptly landed on "Career Carousel" and thought about the strange twists and turns that my career has taken over the years. Who would've thought that with an accounting degree under my belt I'd end up as an invitation designer in the wedding industry? I continued playing the game with multiple stops at "Romance Alley" and "Friends/Family Boardwalk" and then I was done. I looked up and Father Time was gone. I had completed a thorough inventory of all life's lessons that I had stockpiled, given silent thanks for everything and everyone in my life, and declared myself the winner by a landslide.

Although Father Time was nowhere in sight, he did leave me with the teeniest, tiniest bit of the birthday blues. But my dear sweet husband surprised me with the perfect remedy for the birthday blues...more birthday blues...Tiffany blues. The celebration will continue this weekend with a proper birthday celebration dinner filled with guiltless birthday calories and lots of laughter.

Hold me

Picked up a pretty, fabric cup coat by Cup Couture recently and can't wait to try it out with my yet-to-be-purchased "I am not a paper cup" cup. Confused?

The cup coat is a thermally insulating and reusable sleeve that will keep your delicate fingers safe from harm when you're sipping your favorite latte. In other words, you can ixnay the cardboard sleeve from Starbucks and add some flair to your paper cup. Or, you can go a step further and hand the barista your own cup. My choice would be the "I am not a paper cup" which mimics the look of the traditional paper cup, but is made of thermal porcelain and comes with a silicone top. Looks like there's been a run on these cups lately, so I'm waiting patiently until they're back in stock. When I get my hands on one, I'll definitely post a pic!