Wicked Bride Stationery

She's Here!

2012-05-14T20:41:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend - we had beautiful weather (finally!) in MA. I was missing my Mum who's moved down to Florida - but thankfully I had something to take my mind off that because...

We picked up my press on Sunday! (Collective YAY! from the crowd!)

Mike rented the largest truck available at Ryder because we needed a 3 ton lift gate for the 1500 lb press. We picked up the truck on Saturday (since they're closed Sunday) and bright and early Sunday morning we were off to Letterpress Things in West Springfield.

When we got there, John had the press running. I meant to take video for you, but I was so giddy I just plain forgot. She runs perfectly - and SO quietly - we just stood there in awe for about 10 minutes. Then John showed me how to use the new variable speed 3 phase motor and told us about all the challenges they had with this press. As I mentioned before, the old motor that came with the press had to be replaced because it was too fast, even though they had done a conversion from 220v to 110v. John and his mechanic Andy came up with a solution that was not only perfect for my press, but will enable them to easily motorize all of the presses in the shop. I'm so happy the challenges they had with our girl will help other presses in the future.

You may be wondering why I'm referring to it as a girl - well, I don't generally assign gender to inanimate objects (other than pillows...long story...RIP, Heebie Geebie) - but this press has been both expensive and (for the restorers) difficult - a real labor of love - so of course it's a she. Ha! I don't know - maybe I'm a crazy person, but the press just "feels" like a girl press. I remember meeting my friend Liz's press Gable, and it felt like a boy. I know, insanity. If there are any other letterpressers that get affectionate about their first press and can back me up on this, please do!

Then John gave me a bit of history on the press - which he had told me before but I was so excited that first day (and we were there for four hours - yes FOUR!) I was a little overwhelmed and not-so-retentive. First, I was wrong - I thought he had said previously that the press was from the 1920's but she's from the 1930's - they think she spent her whole life at the A.L. Ferdette Print Shop in Holyoke (I'm going to post the serial number to confirm), where John picked her up last year. The previous owner actually came in while John was working on restoring the press and John told him about me and where the press was headed. John said Mr. Ferdette was overjoyed at the second life the press would be getting, which pulled at my heartstrings a bit.

Anyways - after watching the press run and learning to use the speed control, it was time to get her on the truck. The shop has a loading dock, and John's an expert at this sort of thing, so Mike handed over the keys and John backed the truck right up to the dock. John had me take the ink disk and rollers off the press (got nice and greasy!), then they strapped the press shut.

At this time I wasn't needed, so I got to take a video of the loading:

Mike and John strapped her into the front of the truck (she looked so lonely in there all by herself - the truck was bigger than most studio apartments, ha!). We used some really great 1000 lb heavy-duty straps from Costco that we purchased last weekend for only $20.00. John liked them so much he said he was going to run out to Costco to pick himself up a set that afternoon. They came in a pack of four, but they only needed two to secure the press. We also lucked out and borrowed a pallet jack from my uncle's shop - so that was free.

John had also (very nicely, and very generously) brought down a bunch of items from their Chicopee store to get me started:

Oooooh, letterpress goodies! Basically with everything here, I could go home, unload the press and immediately start printing. I took almost the whole haul - I'm especially enamored with the case of furniture he had for sale (not that kind of furniture, this kind of furniture). It was his last set, and he had been holding on to it just for me (how awesome is he, seriously?).

Then we were off! We had a moment of panic at a rest stop when the truck wouldn't start, but I mentioned how the Jeep I owned in high school had a bad spot on the starter and taking it out of gear, then putting it back into gear would always turn the engine over - and thankfully that worked.

To be honest, when we got home, I hit full-on panic mode. I'd seen horrible images of presses falling off trucks. I was picturing all sorts of disaster scenarios in my head. Mike inched the press onto the lift gate - going slowly and carefully.

In no time, it was on the ground, safe and sound. I operated the lift gate and attempted to shoot some video at the same time:

From there it was an easy trip up the driveway and into her temporary home in the garage. (Collective sigh of relief!).

Then we headed over to Lowe's to look for some Simple Green to finish cleaning her up. John did a nice, light cleanup before we arrived, but she still has about 80 years worth of gunk built up that needs to get scrubbed off.

I can't tell you how excited I am for this new adventure in my life. Mike thinks I should name her - I was thinking either Ella or Clara (Ella is a family name on both my mother's and father's sides of the family, and Clara was my great-great-grandmother, I carried her handkerchief down the aisle at our wedding). But, good friends of ours (who met at our wedding!) just had a little girl and named her Clara, so I think that's out. I always said if I ever had a kid and it was a girl her name would be Ella Morgan (so we'd have the same initials), and well, as you know - Mike and I aren't into that whole reproduction thing - so I'm leaning towards Ella. Plus, Ella Fitzgerald debuted in the 30's, around the same time as this press was making it's first print, so I'm thinking it's all around appropriate. What do you guys think?

Pack it Up (with Moo)

2012-05-10T09:00:00.010-04:00

I'm kind of obsessed with packaging. Not sure why - maybe I think that anything you buy should be wrapped up like a present. I know, I know, this from a girl who doesn't even celebrate Christmas. But there is something wonderful about getting a package in the mail that was all wrapped up just for you.

I use 100% recycled materials for all of my packaging - I reuse boxes, kraft paper (I end up recycling a lot more than I use, it's ridiculous), bubble wrap and air pockets (I love air pockets, BTW - when I get a package in the mail and it's chock full o'air pockets, I get giddy). I'm always trying to add a little something to my outgoing stationery orders - first it was colorful bakers twine, then it was belly bands.

When one of my new kate spade bags came in the mail recently (someone stop me, I have a problem) it was all wrapped up in bright, beautiful paper and sealed with a label. For a hot second I totally forgot about my new purse and fixated on the wrappings. I thought to myself, "I can do this."

I went on a hunt to find some brightly patterned paper - was hoping for chevrons in particular. Alas, it was not meant to be. I found some bright, fun designs, but most looked like barfed up flowers. I could have my own tissue printed, but I'd have to buy 10 cases. That would be enough to last me through the apocalypse. In an effort to start small and subdued, I went with some wavy/chevron-ish paper from Paper Mart.

Next I needed some stickers, so it was off to Moo! If you guys haven't heard of Moo, I recommend you check them out. I got a sample pack from them awhile back and tucked it away, knowing I would do something with it some day. They also do amazing little mini cards and beautiful luxe business cards. I've always been a big fan of Moo and I was excited to finally place an order.

After waiting a week or so, my haul came in:

I like the wavy paper because it has a kraft background, so it matches all of my other packaging (although, I also found some sweet damask and houndstooth papers, so I think I may have to buy some more and alternate!).

The large labels above will seal up the tissue after everything is wrapped up and stacked in the mailing box. What's with the small labels? In every order I try to put an assembled invite for my clients to keep and a thank you note (always a thank you note!) in a plastic sleeve. These little stickers, which say "thanks" in six different languages, seal up the plastic sleeve containing the invite and card.

And here is everything all packed up and ready to go!

I hope my clients will now feel like a gift came in the mail for them - just a little something from me to show my appreciation and how excited I am for their big day!

What do you guys think - like the new goods?

Boston Skyline Invite Giveaway on Beantown Bride

2012-05-08T09:07:00.002-04:00

Good morning, everyone! Today I have a treat for you - Beantown Bride is hosting a giveaway of my Boston Skyline invitation set. The winner will receive 100 Invitations, RSVP cards and Belly bands. You can enter here by leaving a comment. The drawing is next week - good luck!

I'm actually in the process of tweaking the skyline design a bit (actually, I'm tweaking all my designs to be re-released this summer). You see there's actually a LOT more skyline in this graphic and a few recent brides (ok...recent meaning November of last year, haha!) have requested adding in the Zakim bridge. So I've drawn a mini Zakim and incorporated it into more of a panorama which now encompasses the Back Bay to the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. That zippy little bird isn't going anywhere though, promise! I've actually turned him into a plane on a few save the dates and invites for some Boston-destination brides!

Anyways - all this to say that the reason you haven't seen a lot of stationery posts is because there's a ton going on behind the scenes. I'm hoping to photograph a bunch of work from this past wedding season as many of my brides send photos from my blog that have inspired them. It's been impossible lately to set aside time to photograph the mountain of invitations and save the dates, plus get a nice sunny day - if you're from Massachusetts you'll know that we've been stuck under a cloud of rain for what seems like forever.

Maybe I should pack it all up and bring it down with me to Florida next week? :) That's right - Wicked Bride is going on vacation! I'll be back at the end of the month, but until then, get your keister over to Beantown Bride and enter to win some fab invites!

Oh and P.S. - you're not crazy, it is a new blog design - and you all know what that means: new site design coming soon. I got the blog done first and was too impatient, so it went up yesterday. The site is a whole 'nother beast...will be a couple more months before the debut.

Your Help Needed: Blonde or Black?

2012-05-01T12:31:00.000-04:00

And I don't mean my hair.

As Mike and I start planning for our first floor/future press room renovation, I'm materials shopping. And I'm stuck on flooring. Do we go dark, or light?

In real life, I'm not into blondes (sorry Brad Pitt, I know you're devastated). While technically I'm a blonde, an $8 bottle of Nice N'Easy fixes that in a jiff. But lately, I've been smitten with blonde floors:

{via Laura Casey Interiors }

I love the light, modern, almost-unfinished, industrial vibe these floors are sending out. I'm a big fan of the industrial look, but haven't managed (successfully) to incorporate it into the house in any significant way. I think the renovation might be a chance to infuse some industrial-chic into the space, especially considering I'm going to be putting a big ol' hunk of cast iron in the corner.

But Mike raised a good point: What about oil/ink/goo from the press? It would show up like a black eye on these blonde floors. I countered with the fact that virtually any flooring we stick under the press runs the risk of getting completely ruined and eventually replaced anyways. I'm not really sure that was a successful argument...

When we moved into the house originally, I pictured dark flooring everywhere. Dark, ebony stained floors upstairs and down.

{ via homedit }

Ohsosexy! Seriously, can this be my living room? I love the black floors with gray (would that be Universal Grey, perchance?) walls and monotone furniture and accessories. This flooring would look amazing with our new doors, too.

But during the Great Floor Debate (as mentioned above), my point to Mike about dark flooring is that, while it hides oil and ink well, it shows EVERYTHING else. By everything I mean those two little fuzzballs that live with us and shed constantly. The only reason our house doesn't look like the Wild West of cat hair tumbleweeds on your average Tuesday is because the floors upstairs are light - we can get away with a few days of shedding before having to break out the Dyson. With dark floors that ain't gonna happen. ~~I'll~~ Mike will be vacuuming every day.

Each floor option is beautiful - each has it's pros and cons. What do you guys think?

We could always split the difference and go Rustic:

{ via Big Dave's Woodworks }

If only it weren't a bajillion times more expensive.

Jonathan Adler, where have you been all my life?

2012-04-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

Apparently, (one) Amazon.com knows me better than I know myself and (two) I live under a rock. On a book buying spree recently, some design books by Jonathan Adler popped up in my "Amazon recommends" - they had bright, patterned colors (which we all know is basically catnip to me) and I dropped them in my cart immediately.

(The chevron rug alone on the Happy Chic cover had me drooling like one of Pavlov's dogs)

They arrived the other day and all I can say is, JA - dude, how did it take me so long to find you?

His style is nearly spot-on with what I'm trying to accomplish in our house - bright, bold patterns mixed with neutrals blended with modern-yet-whimsical elements with a shot of glam thrown in once in awhile. If you understood any of that, congrats!

Likely, I haven't heard of JA because he's not on HGTV/DIY. I'm so sheltered. Flipping through the books (which will be studied in serious review this weekend), I was a little reminded of this post, where I was pulling inspiration together for our living room.

It's a smidge Adler-esque (that's right dude, you're a verb now) with the mix of neutral furniture and bright patterns. And by "smidge" I mean not-even-close-yet-hopeful. I think the reason I love the living room and dining room so far is because they came right out of my brain AFTER we moved into the house. I didn't have any preconceived notions of these rooms, they came about organically - and I think because of that process, they feel much more "me."

As we move forward with a renovation of the downstairs, these books couldn't have come at a more perfect time. We're going to be gutting and redefining spaces and to say I need a little bit of guidance is an understatement. If you don't know by now, I love research. Love it. I was in college for six years, peeps - I'm either eager to learn or a masochist (it's possible that I could be both). Just like I researched the shiznit out of letterpress before actually diving in and purchasing a press, I think it's time I stop pretending that I know what I'm doing and find some inspirational advice. In the same Amazon spree that day, I also picked up Domino's design book, Design*Sponge's book, Undecorate, and Decorate (all popped up in my "recommendations" list after dropping the Adler books in my cart. Amazon = winning!). Will these books make me a better designer? Probably not. Will they give me endless hours of inspiration and kick-start my brain to get me out of this "I-hate-my-house" funk?

Good God, let's hope so.

Our New Addition

2012-04-17T09:00:00.005-04:00

Ok, I'll say it again, just so we're all clear. I'm not knocked up.

BUT - Wicked Bride Stationery (and our household) is growing! This past weekend, Mike and I took a trip out to Letterpress Things in West Springfield and purchased a press!

It's an 8x12 Chandler & Price (C&P) platen press - they think from around the 1920's. I can't bring this baby home just yet - it's getting a brand new motor and rollers, so it will be another three weeks or so. It needs a bit of love, but I'm pumped - I've been talking for two years about getting a press, but there were so many things in the way (for example: how to convince the landlord of your itty bitty condo to let you put a 1300 lb press in the living room). Now that we've got the perfect place, it was time to grow the business. I've been reading about letterpress for a year, stalking letterpress blogs for two years - it's just time.

I'm hoping to have letterpress services up in running for September, just in time for the start of next wedding season. In the meantime I'll spend the summer cleaning, oiling and learning my way around my new press!

And I may have created a monster: Mike is already talking about getting a second one...

What do Kate Middleton and I have in common?

2012-04-16T09:00:00.016-04:00

Um, not sure. But for some reason, we're both pictured in this article:

Yep, that's us! My friend sent me this article yesterday and I was shocked that our photo appears in it! How cool is that? The article was put together by the Thread, and includes our photo from the Knot. As I've said before, I love the Knot! From planning tools to vendor reviews to the community message boards, I wouldn't have been able to put my wedding together without this resource. And some of the girls I met on the message boards became dear friends. From the looks of it, the Knot loves us too! I mean, out of all the people who have suits instead of tuxes at their wedding (especially with details like mason jars and stuff that we didn't have but they mention in the article) - out of all those people, they went with our photo - what are the odds?

Happy Houseversary!

2012-04-15T19:07:00.005-04:00

Mike and I have been homeowners for one year, and we got you a gift: a heinously awkward video of me giving a house tour! (Lucky you!)

I have no idea what a "wood fire stove" is, but apparently, we have one in our den. Seriously, it took a lot for us not to crack up laughing every ten minutes - although I giggled crazily through a good portion. I used to feel bad for Mike for having to be stuck with me, but now I'm convinced he married me for sheer entertainment value. Because if you don't take me seriously (and I suggest that you don't) I'm really quite ridiculous.

Ok, so I was way too lazy to go through a years worth of photos and do a recap (BTW, if you'd like to see what the house looked like on the day we closed, check this out), so this video sums everything up. As you can see, we have a long way to go. Things are "done" but not really done, because we're eventually going to be reconfiguring spaces. I had to laugh when I read this post about all the plans we had the day we bought the house. Five years or less? Oh, poor, delusional pre-homeowner Erica, you had no idea. If I could talk to you now, I'd say ~~run run as fast as you can~~ things take a little more time, just be patient.

Things I got right:

1. The Town - When Mike and I were house hunting (2 agonizing years), this town wasn't even on our list. We were trying to stay closer to the city, but as we searched and looked at a lot of overpriced shoeboxes, the 'burbs became much more appealing. Originally, we weren't even set on staying in MA. Mike is from upstate NY, and we researched moving to that area but came across a major roadblock. Bad Economy = No Jobs. So staying put in MA it was. The further we got from the city, the more we started thinking, if we're going to be out this far, we might as well be close to family. And a large majority of my family lives in our town and has so for around 200 years (at least according to a really informative census I found from the 1800's). And now that we're here, I can't imagine being anywhere else. I love that my aunts and cousins are right down the street - I love running into them at the grocery store, at the fabric store - and yes, Dunkin' Donuts. I'm going to get cheesy for a sec here peeps, fair warning - I've never felt like I belonged anywhere before, but I feel like I belong here.

2. The Location - I'm not sure I ever pictured myself living out in the woods, but I love it. Well, except for pollen season when I can't breathe (apparently I'm allergic to several tree pollens. I know, you're shocked). It's quiet, which is a welcome calm after living on a main street for six years. And because we're next to a power company easement, no one can build next to us - ensuring that we stay the last house on the street.

3. The Potential - If you watch the DIY network, you'll be familiar with the phrase "buy the ugliest house in the best neighborhood." Ok, our house is definitely not the ugliest (not even close) - but there's a lot of potential here for some reconfigurations that can make the space much more functional, and by result, more desirable, should we ever sell. Also - things I hadn't thought of last year (buying a letterpress for one) are easy to accomplish in this home because our first level is on grade, meaning to get a press into the den all we have to do is wheel it in from the driveway - no stairs (and when you're trying to move a 1300 lb press, stairs are your worst enemy). Could we use more space? Sure, I think everyone can say yes to that question - were we planning for a family (to be clear: we're not) we may have gone with a larger house - but so far this space has met our needs perfectly. And I wasn't kidding in the video when I said "plans change daily." Just last week we were talking about putting an addition off the back.

What I got wrong:

1. The Timeline - As I mentioned, last year at this time I thought we'd be much further along than we are. But life happens. Mike works 80 hours a week, I average about 60. And even when we do have time to work on house stuff, projects always take a lot longer than anticipated. Plus, life gets expensive. A bit of a crisis came up this year and ended up being an unexpected expense - which is fine, those things happen - it just means no new kitchen this year.

2. The Bedrooms - Ok, before you sharpen your pitchforks and light the torches, I'm not saying I did a bad job decorating them...they just...aren't what I wanted. To be fair, they were what I wanted before I even moved into the house. I had all these grand plans and bought all this fabric before we even closed on the house. This was my biggest mistake - not living in a space before re-imagining it (Which is another reason why we are taking our time with major renovations - curtains and pillows are easy to replace - tile and cabinets? Not so much.) The living room, dining room, and Mike's office are probably the closest rooms to the overall look I want for the house - I should've waited until some of the larger spaces were done and translated those style elements into the bedrooms, but I didn't. C'est la vie. Live and learn. I will probably start re-doing these rooms next year. I want to slap myself for wasting both time and money (which I HATE), but at the same time, you have to fall to get up sometimes.

3. The Guest Bathroom - Oy. I really, really should've just left it alone. But no, I had to pick. While I'm grateful for the new toilet and sink (both water savers), it was just too much work for something I don't even like. It was a situation where I was working with what I had, and while it looks nice, it looks like it belongs in another home. Not mine. Again - it's fine for now, but I think I want to take a sledgehammer to it even more than I did before...

So all in all, not a bad year - yeah, I got some stuff wrong, but on the whole, it's really minor compared to more major issues we could've faced (like the house we almost bought that was on a main/dangerous road and had no closets. Not one.Single.Closet. in the whole house.)

One year down, folks! How about you guys - any other new homeowners out there?

Guest Bathroom: Mini Makeover, Part II

2012-03-26T09:00:00.003-04:00

Do you guys remember this post from last November? Mike and I had done a little mini-makeover on the guest bathroom upstairs for my cousin's baby party. But it was still pretty ugly. And gross. One day, a few months back, I walked into the bathroom, saw a corner of wallpaper peeling, and just started ripping.

I'm getting ahead of myself though - let's start at the beginning. On closing day, this is what we started with:

Sexy. Yes, that's carpet on the floor. Carpet.

Because we had guests coming over, we did a quick makeover where we took up the carpet, put a new floor down, bought a new cabinet, installed new lighting, hung up a new mirror and artwork, and threw in some new hand towels.

Yeah, it wasn't great, but it was an improvement.

Now, back to the day I started tearing the room apart. I just couldn't take it anymore, the room was so groady. And the wallpaper came off easily - mostly in large sheets. When we bought the house, the adorable previous homeowners told us that there was more wallpaper in the garage, should we need it, and then added "but I don't think it was very well done." Couldn't have said it better myself! I just hope they didn't pay someone too much to do it.

So, ugly wallpaper off - check. Plans to paint wide stripes in alternating monotone colors on the wall? Um... not going to happen. Why? Well, turns out the wallpaper was covering exactly what I thought it was covering - even older, uglier wallpaper that had been primed over. It would be easier to hang new drywall than to try and get it off the walls (which I'm planning on doing in the future - this whole room is going buh-bye).

Off to Lowe's, where I found some beautiful patterned paper by allen + roth. One problem. I have no idea how to wallpaper.

I understand the concept, and I'm sure I could figure it out, but I had neither the time or the energy. Next best thing? Bribing your mother to do it for you.

Mommalou came over one day while we were at work, and by the time we got home, the walls were papered.

And then... well, the wallpaper was so pretty, it made the baby-poop colored tiled wall look even worse (which I didn't think was possible). I needed a new strategy.

I didn't want to make too much of an investment, because as previously mentioned (over and over again), we're going to be gutting this whole bathroom someday. But "someday" translates to "several years." I thought of having the tile reglazed, but even that seemed like too much effort. My final solution? Paneling.

Paneling is super easy to install and covers a multitude of sins. It's also really affordable, I think we spent under $50 for all the panels we needed for the bathroom. To get started, we had to knock out the towel bars and soap dishes that were tiled into the walls, and take out the sink and toilet:

Then we painted the ceiling (I don't have a before picture for this - it was so gross it made me throw up a little):

Mike also disconnected the fan, which had been venting to... nowhere. Yep, just into the insulation in the attic, not out of the house. Once the ceiling was painted, Mum came over and got her wallpaper on.

Then Mike put up the paneling, adhering it to the wall using construction adhesive. We chose a wide plank, primed panel and topped it off with simple square moulding. We bought a new water-saver dual flush toilet ($98) and pedestal sink ($56) and then hung all the accessories back up.

Here's what the bathroom looks like for now (and until I take a sledgehammer to it):

We had to put a little glass shelf over the sink to hold soap, now that the sink is so itty bitty.

I found some pretty muted blue hand towels at Homegoods with the same trellis design - thought the blue helped bring out some of the colors in the bird artwork too (also found at Homegoods).

See, when you pull back the shower curtain, it's still the same old ghetto bathroom under the makeup (ha!). We did get a new showerhead and caddy though.

Mike's favorite part is the standing TP dispenser.

So, that's it for now. To be totally honest, I don't love this makeover. Granted, it's a million times better than the old bathroom, and I'm sure our guests will appreciate it. I can't place my finger on why I don't love it exactly - it's not really my style, I guess. But I'm still trying to figure out what my style is. Already I hate rooms I've designed in the house, and it's not even done yet! Ha! Maybe I'm just being a brat. All in all, from start to finish, this little mini-makeover probably only cost us around $500, and that's including the flooring, paneling, new cabinet, sink, toilet, mirror, artwork, and accessories. Not too shabby.

Anyways - what do you guys think? Do you have any home projects that once finished, you didn't like the end result?

Blog Killer

2012-03-15T15:44:00.002-04:00

I read this really interesting article today on SEMOZ.org about 12 things that can kill your blog post by Neil Patel. Since I get very little in the way of action on my blog (comments I mean - I know you're reading it, two-hundred and fifty people just looked at my DIY centerpiece post today - you're out there!), I wanted to see if I suffered from any of the offenses on the list.

The verdict? Meh, about half. Oops. Let's break them down one by one:

1. Crafting cute, clever or confusing headlines (or really bad ones)
Guilty. I come up with some ridiculous blog title posts (like the one about my "box" which has held strong in the #2 most popular spot since I posted it). This is something I don't see changing. If you've met me, you know I am in fact, pretty ridiculous. And I have a special kind of social awkwardness where double entendres fill just about every other sentence of what I say. A friend and I have even invented our own closing tag for it, </twss>. Besides, my mother thinks I'm hilarious and that's worth it's weight in gold, right?

2. Never linking to old posts
Linking to other posts was something I figured out a year into blogging - so my first chunk of posts, not so much - but I think I've gotten better about this in recent months. On several other blogs I read, they reference previous posts constantly, and each time they do, of course I click. However, other blogs have one thing I don't: a significant amount of significant content. To say my content is varied is being kind - most things I write about have little to nothing to do with one another, unless it's an ongoing project. There is a lesson in there somewhere, but I'm still stuck on composing a cute, clever title for this post to get it.

3. Never linking to other bloggers
Guilty-ish. Although, I did link to the original source of this article, which is outside my blog, so...brownie point? I do link to blog when they feature my work, or my brides, etc. But for the amount of blogs I read, and opinions I have, I really should do more of this.

4. Forgetting to fill out your page title and description fields
This one I didn't know about. I'm hosted on Blogger, and as far as I know, there isn't a way to do this - to add meta data to every page. Even their "labels" system works a bit differently from "tags" from what I can tell. If anyone has thoughts on this - please share!

5. Creating clunky URLs
Blogger makes URLs pretty tidy, but I admit it would be nice to be on a numbered post system so that the URL was shorter - although the title in the URL helps out #4 and all that SEO goodness, so really, I'm not complaining.

6. Plagiarizing other bloggers
As a ~~an in the closet~~ writer, this is something I never, ever, could do. I'm nervous just using this list from another site! Plagerisim and theft of intellectual property is something I take very, very seriously - and yes, I realize it happens completely unintentionally with no ill-will intended - there are only so many basic ideas in the universe. If I use something from a site, I quote it - easy as that. And, as the original post details, if I don't have any "fresh" content, I just don't post.

7. Publishing less than one post per month
I've been pretty good about this since starting up the blog on 12/29/2008 (Yikes, really?). I went back and looked through my posts, and over the past (almost) four years, I didn't make a single post in only 5 months, 2/10, 5/10, 1-3/10. In my defense, 2010 was a tough year, house hunting, house buying, house falling through-ing(?), more house hunting, more house buying. But still - I think I've improved by leaps and bounds. Most months have at least 3 posts, on average about 5. I've noticed as the stationery business has blown up though, the posts are getting more infrequent again (sorry!).

8. Writing big blocks of copy
Oh totally guilty. As much as I love to post big, pretty pictures, I can ramble on for swaths of sentences at a time. And that's even after I've edited the post to publish.

9. Zero presence on any social media platforms
Not guilty! Granted, I have not figured out Twitter yet. I doubt I ever will. I just don't get the whole concept. I think I'm looking at it the wrong way, however, and I'm attempting an attitude adjustment. But, the blog gets promoted on Facebook, which I do through a 3rd party app. The one downfall of this is that people think I'm on Facebook all the time because my posts are always appearing, so when they start talking to me about something everyone knows about (because it was, of course, posted on Facebook) - I get really, really lost. Secret? I hate Facebook. Hate it. But that's a whole 'nother post (one I won't write). I can't deny the powerful force that is Social Media, so I cope.

10. Never inviting readers to leave comments
Ok, this was something I tried for a stretch of months in 2009 - I ended posts with questions. You know what I got? Crickets. For whatever reason, people just don't comment on my posts, with a few exceptions. I figure by the time you've read the whole thing, you either don't have anything to add, or I've just plain worn you out. This is my biggest issue with the blog - because I don't get comments, I don't think anyone reads it = me not wanting to blog. Why blog if no one is interested? But then I check my stats and they are higher than I ever could've expected. So what's the deal? (I'm talkin' to you, Crickets.)

11. Writing about a topic nobody cares about
This might be the answer to #10, ha! Ok, ok - a lot of this is probably my fault. My blog suffers from a severe identity crisis. It started out as my wedding blog, but then I got married and didn't know what to do with it. I high-hosied it for my stationery business, but I rarely blog about stationery (in all honesty, because I literally don't have time to take photos of everything I do - if I did, I would do nothing else except photograph stationery). I thought about blogging about weddings for a time, but Style Me Pretty and Ruffled really have that covered (as do countless others). Then I started blogging about our house, so in came a totally different audience. And then, sometimes (like today) I blog about random musings (Who really cares about that, honestly? Why would strangers care what I thought or had to say? See #9 for my feelings about Facebook). To warn you - the random musings may become more frequent as we're putting a moratorium on house projects for the rest of the year after we finish up a couple small things (Wait, don't everyone leave! I'll keep posting, I promise! I'm sorry for calling you crickets! I like crickets!).

But my biggest problem? I think I talk AT my audience, and not TO them. I don't really leave room for conversation. I think I need to get into the swing of being less "this post has to have a point, it has to be informational, it MUST HAVE VALUE" and more "So what's up, dudes?"

12. Giving up
NEVER GIVE UP, NEVER SURRENDER!

How about you, my dear crickets? Any of you blog? Suffer from too-cute post titles and Velveeta-sized blocks of text? (See, I'm trying peeps)

Wicked Bride in Bliss Celebrations

2012-03-12T13:40:00.000-04:00

A lovely treat in my inbox today, newlywed Courtney, emailed me the spread from her wedding in Bliss Celebrations! Wicked Bride is listed under the vendors, and in the feature, you can see some of the signage I created for the wedding (city table numbers and dessert sign). Congrats to Courtney who's wedding was stunning - and to our shared photographer Lisa Rigby for capturing the all the amazing details!

Wicked Bride Wins WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award

2012-02-29T09:00:00.008-05:00

So I logged into my WeddingWire account a couple of days ago and there's a big splash on my dashboard about winning a Bride's Choice Award for 2012! That was a nice surprise! Wacky that I didn't get an email notification, but I'm excited nonetheless! I know from reading the WW boards that some vendors think the award is kind of a joke - but I don't. I'm proud of my brides and humbled by the fantastic reviews they've left me!

2011 was an amazing year for me both personally and professionally, and the way 2012 is shaping up (I've been almost fully booked through March since late November!) I know this year will be another great one. Thanks to the folks at WeddingWire for the recognition, and thanks again to my brides!

(PS - Happy Leap Day! I'm actually calling today my "Q-DAY" as today I'm going to put on my big girl panties, take a slug of ~~vodka~~ courage and begin querying literary agents for my novel!)

----{ Press Release from WeddingWire }----

{Boston, MA} – February 27, 2012 – WeddingWire, the nation's leading wedding Marketplace, is excited to announce Wicked Bride Stationery has been selected to receive the prestigious WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2012 for Invitations!

The esteemed annual awards program recognizes the top local wedding vendors from the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism within the wedding industry. While many industry awards are selected by the organization, Wicked Bride Stationery was selected based on its stellar reviews from past newlywed clients.

Wicked Bride Stationery is recognized as part of the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire local vendor community, comprised of over 200,000 wedding professionals throughout the United States and Canada. The Bride’s Choice Award recognizes the best local wedding vendors across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is thrilled to honor the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community,” said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. “Since the launch of the Bride’s Choice Awards™ program four years ago, thousands of outstanding wedding professionals have been recognized by the bridal community for their supreme service and dedication to the wedding industry. It is with great pleasure that we congratulate Wicked Bride Stationery for their continued professionalism and commitment to enriching the wedding planning experience for engaged couples.”

We are happy to announce that Wicked Bride Stationery is one of the very best Invitation providers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for taking the time to review our business on WeddingWire. Thanks to their positive feedback we were able to receive the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ for 2012.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at http://www.weddingwire.com/WickedBrideStationery.

To learn more about the Bride's Choice Awards™, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire™, the nation's leading marketplace serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 200,000 reviewed wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers. WeddingWire also offers a comprehensive suite of online planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire is the only all-in-one marketing platform for businesses online and on-the-go. WeddingWire offers one simple solution to build a professional network, improve search visibility, manage social media and reach mobile consumers. Businesses that advertise with WeddingWire appear on WeddingWire.com, ProjectWedding.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com (NYSE: MSO), Brides.com and Weddingbee.com.
###

Master Bedroom: Done!

2012-02-27T09:00:00.001-05:00

It took ten months, but one room in our house is finally finished - our master bedroom. Truthfully, I debated about whether or not to share this update on the blog. I know you've all seen bits and pieces along the way, but as someone who has been ripped off both personally and professionally, I've been apprehensive. My design inspiration for this room, if you remember, is from a Sarah Richardson design (Sarah's House 2). And, while my room didn't end up exactly like the inspiration, because of the unique fabric and same color palette, it looks darn close.

You would think I would have nothing better to do than struggle with moral complications surrounding a copycat bedroom design. Apparently, my three jobs aren't keeping me busy enough. But in all honesty, I feel like a cheat with this room. There have only been two points of reasoning I could come up with to allow me to live with myself:

One, when I was little, tracing paper was my best friend. I loved to draw, but I didn't exactly know how. So I traced. Everything and anything. I traced people in magazine, famous works of art, photographs of buildings - and the more I traced, the less I had to do it. I started to learn how faces were shaped, perspective of objects, composition. In a way, the tracing paper was my training wheels into starting out as an artist.

That's how I look at this room - training wheels for the rest of the house. I took a known quantity, something I knew I would love - and through the experience I learned how to select fabric, bedding, furniture and accessories. I'm trying to leverage these skills into the rest of the house now, with varying degrees of success.

Two, the original room doesn't exist anymore, so in a way, this has become an homage.

My room ended up with some big differences of course - it's a different shape than the original, so there are more windows, and thus, more curtains - same with the closet. I also made my own artwork and headboard (so glad my Mum convinced me to keep it.).

Ok, ok - enough hemming and hawing over what a terrible, sneaky, unoriginal person I am - on to the room!

Here's where we started, on the day of the closing:

And here's the finished room:

Walls painted with Glidden Universal Grey (the greatest grey in the universe).

Closeup of bedding and art:

You can click on the links I mentioned above to see where I got the fabric for the curtains and how I made the artwork. Here's the post about the bedding. Nightstands were re-purposed from our old bed set. And here's a post on how to make a DIY headboard.

More before & afters:

Some details:

Chair from HomeGoods, pillow from Target.

Candlesticks, vases and bowl from Ikea, feathergrain catchall from the Container Store, paper flowers from AC Moore, spider mums & silver dollars from Joann's, mercury glass owl from HomeGoods.

Dresser from Craigslist.

Ren-Wil mirrors from OneWay Furniture (buyer beware). I had also purchased a couple jeweled sconces for each side of the mirror (like in the inspiration room), but we hung them up and just didn't like them. They were only $19 at Zgallerie, so I'm hoping I can eventually find another place for them in the house.

We also wanted to include a television in the room - but I was nervous it would be a big, black hole. Thankfully, I found this Samsung at NothingButSoftware.com - it's perfect. The white frame matches the rest of the artwork in the room and it's ultra-slim design helps it blend right in. We got lucky, there is a closet right behind this wall (the linen closet in the hall), so we were able to put the components in there with a sensor for the remote.

So that's it! I've already promised Mike it will be a long, long time before I redecorate :) Our en suite bathroom is still a disaster - but I'm pretty sure it will remain that way for the foreseeable future. What do you guys think? Like it or loathe it? Think I need to ease up on myself for being such a copycat?

Buyer Beware: OneWay Furniture

2012-02-01T15:18:00.005-05:00

Ok, so I never do this. Not because I don't love to complain (I do), but I usually don't call out people or companies on my blog. It's not that kind of blog, and I'm (usually) not that kind of person. Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty laid back when it comes to certain things and like to give people the benefit of the doubt - I'm not one to write letters or submit angry emails to a complaint box.

But something happened to me recently and I feel the need to share it with the world at large so that it doesn't happen to any of my friends, family, readers and loved ones. Please, people, don't be as stupid as me, ok?

Let me take you back to December for a sec. Mike and I were nearing a point where we were ready to order the mirrors for our master bedroom. We'll be getting the TV off the dresser soon and onto the wall, and the mirrors are the showpiece of the room. (Here they are, left, in the ~~room design I ripped off from Sarah Richardson~~ inspiration room). Stunning, right? These beauties aren't cheap - so when they came down in price I ~~harassed~~ asked Mike if I could get them. This is one of the last pieces we need to finish off the bedroom, and since it took me months to track down who made the mirror and where I could find them, I was anxious to have these darlings in hand. (For reference, the mirrors are made by Ren-Wil, you need to buy from one of their authorized retailers, and the model number is MT926 if anyone out there is looking to purchase).

I had found the mirrors at CSN stores (now Wayfair), but when I checked my wish list in December, the mirrors had been taken off. Either they aren't stocking them anymore, or they've been discontinued. My mind immediately went to discontinued (remember this incident recently?) and I panicked. I was able to find the mirrors at a couple more places, but they were back ordered. This increased my panic, and I was worried the model was being discontinued.

I turned to Google shopping. I end up finding a lot of stuff through there as Google image searches tend to be rather fruitful for me. Now, typically when I buy from a place I've never purchased from before, I do my due diligence. I check out their ratings and rankings, etc. Unfortunately, I didn't this time.

When I saw that the first site listed had a good star rating, and 12k+ reviews (the first couple of pages of which only have a couple negative reviews - and every store gets negative reviews, I find them all the time on Overstock and I still shop there) I thought going with OneWay Furniture would be a safe bet.

I was very, very, very wrong. And that's what leads me to my post today.

I ordered 2 of the mirrors in December (you need to put 2 together to get the effect in the sample photo). Yes, I spent over $500 on mirrors - please don't slap me. If you're going to slap me, do it over what I spend at Kate Spade in a weekend - I deserve it. But I looked at these mirrors as an investment piece: they are from a high-end designer, we got a deal on everything else in the room (or it was free, or we made it), so it was just one of those high/low situations where I couldn't find a "low" substitute so "high" it was.

A week after I ordered them, I finally got a shipping notification.... the mirrors wouldn't be coming until 2/24. Ok... not exactly my ideal, we spent a lot of money on them and I'm excited about them - I kind of wanted them quicker, but I get that they are coming direct from the manufacturer and I'll just have to be patient (not my strong suit, we all know). Then, last weekend while my Mum and I were at Ikea picking up Mike's office furniture (more on that later), I got an email that the mirrors would not be shipping 2/24. They'd be shipping 3/6.

I was, um... a little irate. Seriously? Four months to get these things? Since the only emails I got from the company were shipment delays with no explanations, I decided to give them a call to see what was up. Again, something I don't normally do - but all these delays were making me further suspect that the mirrors had indeed been discontinued, and if I waited any longer, I might not be able to get them at all, from any vendor. So when we got home from Ikea, I got on the phone. For two hours. Yes, that's right, TWO HOURS. I couldn't get anyone to pick up the phone there. I called, and called, and called some more. And then, despite saying they were open until 6:00 pm EST, at 5:30 I got a recorded message that I'd called outside of business hours. That kind of sent a rocket up my ass. I emailed the company through their site to inquire about the delay, and left a message on their voicemail (to date, neither one of these emails or messages were ever returned or acknowledged).

At this point, I started doing some deeper Googling on OneWay and once I got past the benign Google shopping page, found all sorts of negative reviews. Yeesh. Had I seen these before, I never would've purchased from this company in the first place. The star rating at the top is totally deceptive - when you read the reviews underneath, it's the same story as mine.

On Monday, I again tried to call the company to see what the delay was. I was also considering just canceling the order after I read all those bad reviews. After an hour, I still couldn't get anyone to pick up the phone, no matter what option I tried for the different departments. I had basically had it, so I filled out their online form to cancel my order. I got no acknowledgement from that. I decided to call another company, Arcadian Lighting (who were second on that Google shopping list from above).

I can't even begin to tell you how nice, understanding, and helpful the folks at Arcadian Lighting are. I'm going to be shopping there for the foreseeable future based on their customer service alone - fantastic service they gave, I might add, before I was even a paying customer. The first man I spoke with at Arcadian was amazing - he even called Ren-Wil (the manufacturer) to see what the hold up with production on the mirrors was. When he came back, he told me they could get it for me in 2 weeks most likely, but he told me it could always take longer because the manufacturer could push it back (which was fine with me, because at this point I'm talking to a real, live human being who is being helpful and giving me answers). Plus, 2 weeks was a heckuva lot quicker than 2 months, so I decided to try calling OneWay again to cancel my original order, and then re-order through Arcadian.

Low and behold, the clouds parted, angels sang - someone picked up the phone at OneWay (yes, it took me another 30 minutes this time around). I talked to a jovial woman who got a kick out of me apologizing for the rather sternly worded emails I had sent through their website. She told me she canceled the order and a confirmation would be sent to the email address I provided in the order.

I instantly called back Arcadian and ordered the mirrors from them, this time speaking with a girl who was so pleasant and upbeat, it made my day better. They also extended me a nice discount for all the trouble I had been through. Arcadian was my shining knight on horseback that day.

Tuesday passes, and I'm wondering why I haven't gotten that cancellation from OneWay yet. No biggie, I think, I'll call if I haven't gotten it by Wednesday. If I can get someone to pick up the phone, that is. Wednesday rolls around with an email from them sitting in my inbox. "It must be my cancellation," I think.

Wrong.

It was a shipping notification. Not only had the order NOT been canceled, it had been shipped.

What...THE...$%#&!!

So I call OneWay. AGAIN. Wait on hold for an hour, AGAIN. This time, I'm crafty - I figure if they are going to pick up any line, it's the one to place an order, so I select that option in the menu. Yes, someone does pick up the phone - she's nice, and I feel bad that I'm about to be cranky, but I'm past this nonsense. I explain the situation, and when she takes my order number, she says - get ready for this:

"I don't have any record that this order was canceled."

I must've looked like someone slapped me clear across my face. No, I definitely called, I definitely canceled. She kept insisting there was nothing in the notes, no cancellation put through - according to them I never even called. She wanted to know who I spoke to, and when I couldn't produce a name (please, I can't even remember my own sometimes), I described the woman. Since there is only a few people working there (apparently) she said she knew who I was talking about. She put me on hold for a second, and when she came back, said:

"I spoke to her and she said she never talked to you."

OMFGRUKM? I was like - listen, I'm not lying, I'm not making this up. I'm not some kind of sociopath that likes to torment discount furniture companies. I can produce at least five coworkers who walked by my desk during lunch on Monday who can assure you that I did indeed call. She told me that she was sure I did, but they had no record and there was nothing to do now except accept the shipment. She offered to talk to her manager to try and get me a discount for the trouble - but I was dubious I'd ever hear back.

At the same time, I had to email Arcadian to tell them to cancel my order because while I love these mirrors, I do not, in fact, need four of them. They of course were wonderful and understanding - we have several things coming up to purchase and I'm definitely going to their site first, no question.

Then, later this afternoon, surprise, surprise - I got a call back from the nice girl at OneWay (despite how I feel about the company this girl in particular was very helpful and did seem to care - so kudos to her). She couldn't offer me much except a small dollar amount off my purchase. Like enough to buy coffee. Yeah, sure, fine, whatever - I took it. I had no fight in me left at that point.

So, the moral of this story? Google like a mo' fo. And always, ALWAYS look at more than one review site. I'll be honest - it takes a lot to fool me usually, and boy was I an idiot with this one. In my defense, the listing on Google didn't spell trouble - but I really should have kept going, kept digging.

In any case, the mirrors are now on their way. I just hope they are in pristine condition because I was also told (while being accused of not canceling the order) that the manufacturer doesn't accept returns. Let's hope Ren-Wil knows how to properly pack their mirrors (and since they make and ship them worldwide, I'm banking on the fact that they do).

PS - Life As We Know It (movie) has been playing round the clock on HBO lately, and if you look closely at the entryway in the stunning home/set they used for the movie, 2 of these mirrors flank each side of the front door :) Yes, only I notice this kind of sh*t.

New Chair & Television

2012-01-18T09:00:00.005-05:00

You know what the downside of being a stalker is? When something sells out on your wishlist, you panic.

Most of my purchases have been panic-related lately.

I'd been stalking the Albury chair at Overstock since April. I had no idea why I hadn't bought it yet, it wasn't outrageously expensive or anything. I think I just kept thinking, "oh, I'll get a coupon eventually," or something. It just wasn't a priority for whatever reason.

Until I went to check on it at Overstock and it was sold out. Now, typically I wouldn't be too worried, but the chair had also been out of stock at Target (the only two places I could find it, besides overpriced on eBay) for over 8 months. The only thing I could think was it had been discontinued and there would never be more. Nooooo! Not the perfect, sexy, sleek, modern white faux leather chair of my dreams!?! I HAVE TO HAVE IT!!!

I was a starving hunter in the woods of Google. I had to find the chair. I had to buy the chair.

Thankfully, it came back in stock at Target. Not only that, it was on sale with free shipping, so it ended up being the same price as Overstock. Sweet.

And it's perfect, right? (Yes, I had to make a very special pillow for it as well. That will be carved on my tombstone.).

Cassie lurves it too!

Poor Mike. He seriously got 10 emails in 5 minutes from me, detailing my frantic search for the chair, and my elation at finding it. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't pull the same stunt two weeks later with these oh-so-expensive-yet-perfect mirrors I've been stalking for our bedroom. I told him to blame Sarah Richardson, she was the one who put them in our inspiration room. He told me to stop looking at my wishlists.

Thankfully, there was one big purchase we made recently in which stalking paid off, big time:

After months of price-checking, we got an amazing deal on a 60" Sharp Aquos television. We got it at Costco, who doesn't have Black Friday deals, but just so happened to have this TV on sale... on Black Friday. Ha! Well, it was on sale all week, technically.

Anyways - it's so nice to have a large TV again. We put our old 50" projection on FreeCycle when we moved and had been getting by with the 32" that had previously been in our bedroom. We didn't realize how much we missed having a drive-in theater in our living room. We're big movie buffs, and Mike makes the yummiest kettle-cooked popcorn.

I also love how well it fills out the Besta media stand from Ikea - the whole room looks in proportion now. I'll have to post some updated shots of the living room overall soon - I've swapped out the coffee table as well. Now all we need is a new couch - which is still elusive.

Hey, Mr. Postman! Like Our New Box?

2012-01-13T09:00:00.015-05:00

(Yes, I realize the humor in that post title. Secretly, I'm still fourteen.) Here's what our old mailbox looked like. It was...um...not our style? Ok, it was ugly. When we pulled up to the house for the first time, it was the first thing I saw. I said "Well, that has to go." Mike was busy eyeing the white plastic fence. He added, "That too."

Mike had a deep hatred for that white fence that I never understood. It was pointless - three posts on each side of the driveway at an angle. I'm sure it was meant to be decorative, but it was just silly. I figured sooner or later I'd take it out with my car as I tried to back out of the driveway (not my strongest skill). But sure enough, the day we moved in, Mike was out there - in the rain, tearing the darn thing out. He claimed "it was in the way of the UHaul" but he just looked a tad too joyful when ripping those white plastic posts out.

All but one.

He left one post in because we planned on eventually putting a new mailbox in and it would get us ahead of the game with digging a post hole. So for eight months, our neighbors were probably a bit confused.

Until that shiny new mailbox went in! Here's a breakdown of the project. Mike did this all himself, including the photos - I just watched from the front window while I sewed the dining room curtains.

So here's a close-up of the previous mailbox. Dig the covered bridge scene? Yeah, we didn't either. The bottom was even worse; as you can see from the photo below, it was a cemented-in milk can. (PS - in the photo above, you can also see how pretty the new blue door looks!)

Mike started by taking out the last, lone post.

See? Already halfway done. Mike dug down to the height he needed, then...

He inserted the new post, and held it in place with some bracing so that it would stay level during the cement pour. Both the post and mailbox are from Lowe's. The post is cedar, and Mike brushed on two coats of all-weather lacquer before dropping it in the hole. I'm hoping this will help prevent weathering.

Mike then mixed a bag of Quikrete (How funny is it that a guy is using it to put in a mailbox pole on the bag? Ha!).

He poured the Quikrete in the post hole and left the bracing in place while it set up, which was about two hours.

Next, Mike added some brushed nickel numbers, also from Lowe's. They wouldn't be my first choice, but they were the best/closest to what we were looking for without having to special order anything. Our house is at the end of a spur off a larger U-shaped neighborhood, and around the corner, all the houses have the numbers on the post, which I liked better than having the numbers on the box itself (which is what the other side of the U has). Plus, I figure now we can take those big ol' numbers over the garage off the house.

Next, Mike removed the old mailbox. I kind of wish I had gotten video of this process. I watched from a safe distance in the house. He basically tied the old mailbox to the trailer hitch on his truck and dragged it out of the ground. Well, it was a bit more complicated than that - it involved using some wood planks to convert horizontal force into vertical force and pull the cement can out of the ground. It was all very engineering-ish. Anyways, out it came. It's hiding behind our shed at the moment until we can figure out how to dispose of it.

So here is the new mailbox, in all of it's metallic glory. Pretty, right? Makes a huge difference to the front of the house. The box is called "ironsides" - it's real heavy duty, which is nice - means we probably won't have to replace it. I also like the front flap, it's magnetic, so it closes nicely.

Mike used the dirt he took out of the new post hole to fill the old hole left by the previous mailbox, but it wasn't enough, and after the first rain, it packed down even more. So sooner or later, we're going to have to level out the old hole a bit better. Eventually, we'll be tearing out the driveway and will put in a straight, paver driveway (right now the driveway is narrow at the bottom and curves up to the garage - it's tricky to back out of because you can't just go straight back). When we do that, we're going to do an offshoot of the pavers around the mailbox, which will also create a pad for the trash can. But that's a long way off!

Decal Fail (and Office Update)

2012-01-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Remember this post, where we solved the mystery of the Mystery Room? Well, phase one was to paint. Check. Phase two - hang up vinyl decals. Check. Er... well, at least for 24 hours.

The painting went pretty easily, except for the charcoal wall we were going to hang the decals on. After two coats, you could still see the roller lines. So Mike did a third coat with one of those mini foam rollers and Bingo! it looked perfect. We waited a week, then applied the decals to the wall.

Turns out, we should've waited two weeks. When we woke up the next morning, this is what we found:

We tried everything: reapplying, taping up pieces, closing the door and shutting off the heat, etc. But in the end, it was a no go. We were bummed - not only was it a total waste of money, but they had looked so cool at first. It was disappointing.

Oh well, moving on. Here's what the room looks like now, freshly painted and with spiffy new curtains:

Let's recall, this is what we started with:

So... yeah. Definitely an improvement. Mike also put some shelves in the closet. This particular closet is going to house larger items, so it only needed a couple of sturdy shelves:

The curtain fabric is Dotscape Charcoal from DwellStudio. I got an amazing deal on it at a discount fabric shop. And by amazing, I mean these curtains cost me $10.00. The retail price per yard of the fabric is $28.00 - not too shabby! I totally goofed on them though - I had bought the fabric so long ago, I thought I bought the exact amount I needed so I could just cut the length in half, sew it to some lining, pop in some grommets and call it a day. Turns out, I bought a yard extra, which I only realized when I went to hang the drapes and each panel was 18 inches too long. Sheesh, this room was just a fail week for us all around. I pinned them up with safety pins for now. Eventually, I'll take them back down and hem them. Or maybe not. (Probably not)

We're still working on furniture for the office. Right now, we're thinking about a different desk from the inspiration photo, and maybe a different rug. I'm actually thinking about taking the rug from the guest room and sticking it in here, because I want a bigger one for in there. We'll see. The room is acting as a hodge-podge for the moment as we set up some Ikea tables (we own like, 5 table tops and a bunch of legs and just set them up when we need project space - it's the handiest thing ever) and dumped a bunch of crap on them. Mike emptied out the hall closet so he can install an outlet and new shelving in there (we're going to hide the TV components in there and hang a TV on the wall in our master bedroom), and last weekend I decided to peel off all the wallpaper in the bathroom... which is another blog entry altogether.

Stay tuned, we're hoping to get some furniture by the end of January and make more sense of this room.

Partnership With Dandelion Calligraphy

2012-01-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

I'm am SO excited to announce that I've recently partnered up with my friend Alyssa to provide calligraphy services for my brides. Alyssa has recently opened Dandelion Calligraphy and her work is very diverse. She has tons of styles to chose from, each one beautiful. If you have any interest in adding calligraphy services onto your Wicked Bride Stationery order, just let me know, and I'll put you in touch with her. Since Alyssa and I work together in our day jobs, it's a very convenient service for my brides. I can give Alyssa your envelopes, and pick them up from her when ready. This means everything - invitations and addressed envelopes - arrive in one package ready to mail!

Here are some examples of her unique style:

Something Old, Something New

2012-01-05T19:55:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everybody! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! We've been flat-out crazy since Thanksgiving. Just so much to do, so little time to do it in. Christmas was a whirlwind - four families, four days, two states. And Mike wonders why I want to go on a cruise next year? Thankfully, New Year's Eve was low-key. My mum came over with some yummy pastries and Chambord. Her and Mike mixed it with champagne. I had only a sip - unfortunately, I can't have anything carbonated (I'm that lame) - but they looked delicious! There was a Monk marathon on cloo, so we kicked back and dozed a bit until it was time for the ball drop. Yeah, we're real party animals. I think we were in bed by 12:15. It was nice to relax though, especially with how busy I've been both at my day job, and with the stationery. Mike's slammed too - we're both averaging around 60 hours a week for work nowadays. Really. Need. A. Vacation. I'll be in Las Vegas with my day job in a couple of weeks - but since it's the hardest week of work I do all year, I won't exactly be lounging poolside.

Anyhoo - I'm going to have to backtrack a bit in the next few posts. We got some projects started (one finished) over the past couple of months, and it's time to share.

First up, my new camera came! I love it. Yes, it took me two weeks to figure out how to zoom out, so what? :) When we unpacked the camera, Mike unwrapped the strap with "oooh, this is nice." I made the stink-eye. It was nice, don't get me wrong, but it was very, I dunno... boring? Utilitarian? Now, you've followed the blog so far, so you know I tend to lean a bit more to the masculine/clean/simple in my design - but I couldn't help but want something a bit more fun for a camera strap. Then it hit me - I have a great strap already.

All through high school, I took photography classes. My dad gave me his old Praktica camera - it has this amazing German lens. I think it's around 40 years old now - maybe more? I also used it all through college until digital cameras were mass-marketed and became inexpensive. Now you can't even find film, never mind someone to develop it. I also think it might need some work - I'm pretty sure there is a hole in the shutter because the last roll of film I developed (yes, this was back in the day when I developed my own film and made my own prints) had a flare on every photo. Anyways, it's been sitting in storage for years.

So when the new camera came, I thought it would be neat to take off the camera strap from my dad's old camera and put it on the new Rebel. Funny enough, I'm fairly certain they still make straps like this. But mine is true vintage - even has the smell to prove it. The strap kinda stinks. It's like wearing a musty basement around your neck. I kind of love it.

Here's some pics I shot of the old camera, bag and strap with my new camera:

Do you guys have anything old you've repurposed? For me, every time I sling the camera over my shoulder, I think of my dad, which makes me smile. Some days, when life is bananas and one smile is all you get, it helps to make that smile count.

Wicked Bride on Style Me Pretty!

2011-12-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

I might throw up. I'm not kidding, I'm that excited. Remember when I teased yesterday that next week I would be featuring another real wedding? Well, Style Me Pretty beat me to it. My former bride (now newlywed!) Liz emailed me this morning with breaking news: her wedding just debuted on the Holy Grail of wedding sites! I created Liz's Playbill invitations, along with a bunch of goodies for her big day, including cupcake flags and dessert signs.

Here is some of my work featured on the site:

{ all photos by Behind the Lens photography, please do not use without permission }

To see the rest of Liz's beautiful day, click here! Thank you so much to Liz for sharing this with me, I'm beyond excited for you and Brendan!

Real Wedding: Courtney & Paul

2011-12-14T09:00:00.002-05:00

Remember when this blog was actually about stationery? I'm bringing that back today, peeps. No house updates, no crying at Target, just a really beautiful Boston wedding!

You may remember Courtney's awesome Boston Skyline invites. This was the girl who started the trend, folks!

Courtney found me through our mutual wedding photographer, the mega-talented Lisa Rigby. If you are getting married, take a meeting with Lisa. And if, by chance, she has your date available, do not think, just hand her a check. She's amazing. Her work has appeared in countless publications and she's an absolute joy to work with.

Lisa shot some great detail photos of the pieces I created for Courtney & Paul's big day:

{ all images by Lisa Rigby Photography, please do not use without permission }

Thank you so much to Courtney, Paul and Lisa for sharing these images with me! To see more of Courtney's beautiful wedding - check out Lisa's blog.

Next week, I'm hoping to feature another great wedding where I got to make cupcake signs!

Stop Me if You've Heard This One

2011-12-12T12:57:00.002-05:00

A girl goes into Target, looking for an SD card that ~~the cats buried under furniture somewhere~~ she misplaced. She looks over the cards, images of her unimpressive blog and product photos dancing like sugarplums through her head (I don't even know what a sugarplum is, but I do know that I cannot take any more holiday music. I'm thisclose to a white padded room.), when an alert dings on her phone.

The Canon Rebel T2i that she put on her Amazon wishlist last year just dropped over $300.

Girl exclaims "F this!" runs from the store (and sugarplums), races home, allows herself ten minutes in which to consult a photographer friend and her husband (yes, in that order) before clicking "add to cart." Girl plots her next trip to Target, which will include a hunt for a new SDHC card for her soon to arrive Canon Rebel T2i.

Merry Christmas to me, ha!

Actually, Christmas already came early to our house, we scored a deal on a new 60" Sharp Aqous TV a couple weeks back. Yes, we had been stalking that as well. What can I say? It pays to stalk. I plan on posting pictures of the shiny new LCD beast... when my new camera comes. ;)

I think I also get bonus points for not sobbing on my return trip home from Target this time around. Before I left for my errands, I thought about pre-gaming the trip with a warning text message to my brother (only fair, right?) but I held it together this time. I also avoided the book aisle completely. That was the main contributing factor for my sh*t not being lost on route 16 somewhere.

Will post some more once the camera arrives! We had a major fail with a project for Mike's office, can't wait to share!

Dining Room: Progress

2011-11-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

I'm inching toward my inspiration in the dining room. It's a small room, and next year it's going to lose two walls - so I think for now it may be as finished as it is going to be, ha!

Here's where we started:

Then we painted, hung up a new light, purchased a rug, and then I got my succulent on. So here is where we are now:

The curtains are done in the same fabric as the living room, except in reverse colors. This is great because eventually, the living room and dining room will be open to one another - and I wanted the curtains to complement each other, but still be different enough to define them as individual spaces. The rods are the same as the living room as well, from Crate & Barrel.

I found this $5.00 piece of art at the Christmas Tree Shop. You really can't beat the price! I just wish they had another one so I could've done a pair - but it starts bringing in the mustard color that I eventually want to incorporate into the room with mustard dining chairs. But a new table and chairs are a long way off - the set we have now works fine, and when we open up the walls we will have new dimensions to deal with. Unfortunately, I think it's going to mean my geometric rug is too small (it's a bit to small already, but only came in one size) - we may have to reevaluate this space once the walls start coming down.

The drapes alone have made a dramatic difference though - the room feels like a new part of the house. And the windows look enormous. My mother says it's turning into a "magazine room" - ha! I don't know if that's true, but it looks so good, we should really start using it more!

Updated Entryway

2011-11-17T09:00:00.003-05:00

Once upon a time, I teased you with a photo of our front door, heavy with paint swatches. That was back in May. Yes, May.

This was just one of those projects that took us far longer to complete than we anticipated. We picked out a color, we picked out the hardware, we started researching options for a new side-window, and then I don't know what happened. I guess it started with the hardware - the new entryway handle we fell in love with went from $170 to $390 over night. Yeah... we'd pay that no problem for the new, modern door we have planned to install in a couple years - but for our crappy old door? Not going to happen. And then, turns out, the material we picked out for the new side window was more expensive to ship then the product itself. We hit so many snags we just moved on to other projects.

But one warm weekend in September, we finally got the updated entry way finished. First, here is what it looked like when we moved in:

No, that's not yellow glass in those panels in the side window - it's actually yellow plastic. Yeah. Awesome. It's hard for me to believe that anyone, anywhere, at any time, thought this looked good.

The front of the door was a muddy brown, and the old light fixture (which I can't find a picture of...) was a bug death-trap. It was a glass bowl suspended by a gold chain, and when bugs flew in, they couldn't get back out. It was like a little cemetery in our entryway. Gross.

Mike started by painting the walls, which we had left unpainted when we did the living room because it required what we call "Extreme Painting." 12 foot high ladders, the longest roller pole ever invented, railing removal - you can see how the task became daunting, and thus, why it hadn't been completed so far. He then finished all the trim in the same white that runs through the rest of the house, as well as the back of the door.

Once the walls were done, he moved onto the front of the door. We ended up selecting "Lagoon" from Martha Stewart. A popular door color in our town is "Cape Cod Blue" which is a true aqua (one of my favorites!) - the Lagoon is basically the same color:

So here is what the door looks like now:

I love it. It reminds me of a Tiffany's box, so every day, coming home is like opening a gift. We also ditched the old brass knocker and lockset and got a brushed nickel set. We're still dreaming of that fancy-smanchy set we have picked out though for our future door.

We got this great Soho Burst rug at Overstock on a great sale. I though the pattern, color, and texture would hide dirt well. I also wanted a huge rug for this landing spot. We had a smaller rug here for several months and the cats used it as a surf board down the side staircase. Either that, or they dive-bombed into it on their way down the stairs, resulting in a barricade when you tried to open the door after you've been stuck in traffic for over an hour to get home and really have to pee... Yeah so the little rug was out. This one is really thick, and takes up almost the whole space of the landing. They can't budge this sucker, and believe me, they've tried.

What's cool about this rug is that the "bursts" are three-dimensional and feel really great on your feet. There are some metallic threads running through the design, and at night when the entryway light is on, it kind of sparkles a little. It's like hallway bling. I like it. Although - it took me awhile to get used to the rug at first because it was so different - but once we had more progress completed in the living room, I thought the rug was perfect.

Buh-bye bug cemetery! We finally got our Capri pendant light hung up and it looks amazing. It makes a huge difference at night now, with the amount of light that pours out of it.

But the most dramatic difference is the new side window:

HUGE difference, right? It lets SO MUCH light in now - the entry way no longer feels like a cave. We went with a Plexiglas composite. At first I wanted real glass, but then when Mike reminded me that someone could easily shatter the glass panel and open our front door (or walk right through) and that a composite would be shatterproof - I was sold.

And the last change was small - but also makes a world of difference:

Mike painted the stair risings white and I swear - they make the entryway feel "lighter" somehow.

We aren't completely done yet - eventually we are going to get new glass and steel railings. When we had the railings off to paint, I loved how open everything felt, and I kind of wanted to keep them down. But then I pictured one of our guests tumbling over the side, and well, nipped that thought in the bud real quick!

Guest Bathroom: Mini Makeover

2011-11-15T09:00:00.005-05:00

Once we began actually having guests, I knew I had to do something about the guest bathroom. There was brown carpet on the floor (yes, I said CARPET), an old light fixture that made you look like you had a major case of jaundice, and way too many over-sized cabinets for such a small space.

Like the kitchen, I didn't want to spend too much money on this project because - see that brown tile wall? Yes, that one that looks like something in a baby's diaper. I'm personally taking a sledgehammer to that wall in a couple years.

But for now, we just have to work with what we've got. Although, we may be getting a better toilet soon because this one loves to leak and gush at 2 a.m. - we've been turning it off when we know guests aren't coming over to help save water.

Anyways - I decided to give the bathroom a little mini-makeover with a budget in mind of $200 or under. I think I came in somewhere around $175, which isn't too shabby - but I'm still not done. Here's the progress so far:

Starting with the floor, Mike took out the brown carpet that was covering the brown linoleum and the loose gold metal threshold. Thankfully the carpet was just a bound remnant, which was tacked down by the threshold, so that was an easy process. Originally I was going to lay the floor, but we were trying to get too many things done at once, and since Mike can't sew drapes, he was stuck with the flooring project.

He removed the toilet, cleaned the floor, and started laying new vinyl tiles. The ones I got were Pearl Grey by Trafficmaster - I got a box at the Home Depot for $30. They are really pretty in person - they have a metallic sheen to them that the camera doesn't pick up very well. Then Mike put down a new brushed nickel threshold that matches both the floor and the rest of the house nicely.

We ditched the dated medicine cabinet and purchased this mirrored frame mirror at Target ($30). I love this mirror - every time I stopped by target I visited the mirror aisle just to say hello. It was nice to finally take it home with me! This is one of the only things that will stay in the renovated bathroom in the future.

We took out both of the over-sized, black-hole cabinets and opted for one streamlined, contemporary cabinet instead. We also got this at the Home Depot online ($69). It's a Home Decorators Collection item, but the Home Depot was offering a deal that day, plus free shipping, so it ended up being a lot cheaper to purchase through them. The white waffle-weave shower curtain was a wedding gift, so that was free!

Yay, no more jaundice! We replaced the old light fixture (which, believe it or not you can still find at Home Depot) with this more modern one, also from the Home Depot ($24). This light isn't exactly my style - but it's pretty, and it was inexpensive.

Accessorizing is kind of my Achilles heel. I just haven't gotten it down yet. I'm so anti-clutter that my style could probably be described as "spare" - but I'm finding that little items here and there help warm up a house. For the back of the toilet, I got a tall pedestal vase at HomeGoods ($9) and filled it with the all the soap bars in the closet that were taking up valuable real estate. I think I saw this in a magazine once and always liked it as a good soap-storage option. Plus it smells nice. I also found a little basket at Michaels ($4) and filled it with some coordinating wash cloths I found at HomeGoods ($2 each). I'm big on geometric patterns and I'm planning on doing a hexagonal pattern in white marble someday in this bathroom, so the honeycomb patterned wash cloths were perfect in case I want to keep them after the reno.

More matching honeycomb hand towels - found at HomeGoods ($3 each). I tried to keep the new items in blues and browns to work with all the brown tile already in place.

And last, some bird artwork I found at HomeGoods awhile back ($25). I love this print - and it has gold metallic paint mixed in, which has inspired my future plans for the walls. This winter, I'm planning on tearing off that nasty wallpaper and creating horizontal stripes on the wall that wrap around the whole room. I'm planning on doing a tone on tone effect, except the alternating stripes will have either a opalescent or metallic finish paint.

So that's it for now - like I said, it's still an ugly bathroom, but it's also at the bottom of our gut/reno list, so if I can make it cute for the next few years, I'll consider that a success.