BCAE Local Love 2015

Back in February, I attended the 2nd annual Local Love Market at the Boston Center for Adult Education. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the BCAE and all of the classes they offer, but there is something extra special about this event that they host. Vendors from in and around Boston come together to sell their local goods in one place, and shoppers get to spend an afternoon indulging in the beautiful items they have to offer. Many of the booths feature handmade goods, which as a DIYer is something I really appreciate. For the second year in a row I was happy to support the BCAE by photographing the event for them, and now I want to share some of those photos with you!

Last year at Local Love, I met the ever-talented calligrapher Julie of Posh & Prep, and have been enjoying her work via Instagram ever since. I was so happy to see her back at the market this year with a whole new array of fabulous prints and products. Julie not only sells these items in her Etsy shop, but also recently started selling at Neatly Nested Design & Decor, one of my favorite shops in South Boston. If you're looking for some serious home decor inspiration you should follow them on Instagram too - trust me, you're going to love every single photo they post!

Another favorite vendor of mine was Niche Urban Garden Supply. They had a beautiful display of plants, miniature gardens, and terrariums set up, and I really had to resist bringing all of them home! PS did you know that Niche offers gardening workshops? I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate spring…sign me up!

One of the booths that I spent the most time perusing was that of BCAE instructor, Loni Butera. I just could not get over how clever her sea glass art prints were! I spent far too long debating on which print to buy, but finally chose one that featured the most adorable pair of sea turtles I had ever seen. I’ll be keeping an eye out for Loni’s artwork in the future because just writing this post makes me want another print!

Of course I could not write a blog post about a BCAE event without mentioning my dear friend and expert flea market hunter, Becky of Pop & Circumstance. Becky’s business is all about making life beautiful with unique design and decor pieces that she handpicks or handmakes and sells in her blog shop. She truly has an eye for beauty, and you can see that in each charming piece that she had displayed at the Local Love market. Find her on Instagram for your daily dose of prettiness.

And, finally, a Local Love Market just wouldn’t be complete without macarons! Cameo Macaron returned again this year with their delicious sweets. If you’re in the city, keep an eye out for their food truck!

I love that through this event, the BCAE has introduced me to so many makers within the Boston community, and I'm already looking forward to Local Love 2016! 

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Visiting California: Big Sur Road Trip

I'm so excited to be sharing more about my California trip with you today, especially because it gave me a chance to look through all my photos again and remember how amazing it was! Since we went into the trip without a set itinerary, we were able to make plans on a whim while we were there. On the second day, the gorgeous weather convinced us that we needed to see the coast. And so began our drive to the Big Sur! 

Before getting too far, we made our first pit stop at the adorable Black Bear Diner in Gilroy, CA for breakfast and coffee. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was so fun. How cute is the little bear paw on the napkins?

After breakfast, our journey to the Big Sur really began. We weren't exactly sure where the Big Sur started, but we made our way to Carmel assuming that we'd know it when we saw it. And, when we arrived at Carmel River State Beach, we knew. We pulled right over to take our shoes off and take in the scenery. It was difficult to leave the beach, but we knew there was even more to see ahead of us.

While we didn't drive the entire 90 miles of the Big Sur, we did spend a good 4 hours driving / pulling over to make the most of each stop. It was so hard to not pull over every 5 minutes because the views were so breathtaking! I think my favorite view was of the Bixby Creek Bridge in Monterey. It was so beautiful, and I wasn't surprised to learn that it is one of the most photographed bridges on the Pacific Coast. If you look closely, you can see it in the photo below.

I seriously couldn't get over the scenery along the Big Sur, and could have driven along that road forever! But, as evening was quickly approaching we decided to make our last stop at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. It was here that I was able to lay my eyes on Redwood trees for the very first time, and they are incredible! This particular tree, The Colonial Tree, is 1,200 years old and is about 27 feet around! Although it wasn't the tallest tree in the park, because as the park ranger told us, it had been struck by lighting multiple times. Still an impressive sight!

The best part about our Big Sur drive was that when we reached our final destination and it was time to head home, we were able to turn the car around and see it all again from the other direction! I would absolutely love to go back to California and drive the full 90 miles of the Big Sur. It is 100% worthy of a bucket list, and if you're heading to the Pacific Coast, do yourself a favor and add it to your itinerary!

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Local Love Market at BCAE

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the Local Love market at the BCAE, and I have to say that I was really impressed by the event! Local vendors had booths set up throughout the building displaying beautiful products that were available for sale to everyone who strolled through. Walking from table to table, I felt as though I was wandering through a virtual Pinterest board (aka a bloggers dream)! The vendors themselves were all so personable and happy to talk about their work, that I felt such a sense of community among the creative group. 

One of my favorite vendors was Pollen Floral Design, because what girl can resist such a beautiful display as this? Not only were the flower arrangements gorgeous, but Krissy (the gal behind Pollen) had also created an amazing photo booth for shoppers to set up Instagram shots. Of course, I had to take advantage of that, and took home a beautiful bouquet for myself as well!

Some of the other fabulous vendors that I really enjoyed seeing were Adjewelry (see amazing jewelry below), Vessel Candle Co (who had some of the best smelling soy candles I've ever come across), Olives & Grace (and their amazing custom gift boxes), Sarah Wormann Art (see gorgeous prints below), ELM Events (and their LOVE-ly photo booth), and Posh and Prep (see her adorable Valentine prints below).

And, of course, one of my all-time favorite vendors at the Local Love market was my girl, Becky of Pop & Circumstance! Her collection of handmade and vintage items always look so gorgeous and blend together seamlessly. I think I could have spent all afternoon in her corner of the market. Her contribution to the market was so impressive, and she's definitely someone to keep an eye on for future pop-up shops! 

I'm very much looking forward to attending more pop-up shops in the Boston area, especially if they're as well done as this one was. If you attended the Local Love market, I'd love to know what goods you went home with!

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Sunset in New Hampshire

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a nice long relaxing vacation in New Hampshire with my family. I was enjoying finally having down time so much that I hardly even picked up my camera to snap pics while I was away. When the last night of my vaca rolled around, I figured it would be worthwhile to capture a few memories before another summer night slipped away. And, I'm glad I did. Just as the sun was going down, I was able to sneak in some photos of my cousins and siblings enjoying their time at the lake until the last bit of daylight was gone. 

I love the harsh contrast of sunset photos. I feel like it leaves so much to the imagination while telling a story at the same time. Plus, the silhouettes of little kids are always so cute. I seriously wish I was still sitting on that dock soaking up those last rays of sunshine right now. But, at least I have the memories of a vacation well spent. 

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Kelly's Lemon Themed Bridal Shower

This past year has been an absolute whirlwind, and I can't even believe that my sister is getting married next month! My younger sister and I are both Maids of Honor to Kelly, and last month, along with all of her other bridesmaids, we threw a lemon-themed bridal shower for her. We chose lemons because the shower was held on the second day of summer, so we wanted to do something summery. Also, Kelly's wedding colors are navy and gray with hints of yellow, and since the yellow will be secondary in the wedding, we wanted to make it primary at the shower. So, summery + yellow = lemons!

The shower was held at the Daniel Webster Estate in Marshfield. It was a gorgeous venue accompanied by equally gorgeous weather. With all the strange weather we've been having, we felt very lucky to have had such a beautiful day!

The weeks and months leading up to the shower were filled with tons of designing, crafting, and DIYing, and of course I couldn't have been happier about that! To get the ball rolling we sent out invitations that I designed that hinted at our theme, so that guests would know that they were in for a summery treat.  

One of the first things we crafted was a pretty big project. Kelly and her fiance Joe had mentioned a while back that they wanted to have some lawn games at their wedding reception since the location would be perfect for that. After some thought, I decided that a custom cornhole set would be a great gift to present at the bridal shower so that they could use it at their wedding. A few years ago, my uncle had built his own cornhole boards, and when I got in touch with him about building boards for Kelly & Joe, he was more than happy to help! The boards came out awesome and even had built in cup holders. From there, my sister Carolyn and I took over to give them a custom paint job that matched the wedding theme, using giant "K" and "J" stencils that we had created. The completed boards and bean bags (which we bought off Etsy) really livened up the entryway to the bridal shower!

Since the shower was held on such a beautiful day, we were able to make use of the pretty wraparound porch at the estate. We set up the kids table there so that the little girls had the freedom to run around and play outside. Each girls table setting was equipped with a personalized "Kelly & Joe" wedding activity book, crayons, and a lemon lollipop. Combined with the giant side lawn, there were plenty of ways to keep the girls entertained while their mothers enjoyed the shower. 

Inside, the Queen-Anne style estate added some elegance to our lemon theme. Bloody mary's (the brides favorite), mimosas, personalized water bottles, and of course, lemonade, were served at the bar throughout the shower. I designed the water bottle labels and "Kelly & Joe" straws to match our theme, and then got together with all of the bridesmaids for a craft night to cut, tape, glue, and tie everything. There was a lot of crafting going on and it was so much fun to see everything come together!

We kept the centerpieces simple because the estate was so pretty as it was that we didn't want the tables to be overwhelming. We simply stacked lemons in cylinder vases and finished the look by wrapping twine around the top of each vase. The centerpieces were given away as prizes for the guests who got the most answers correct in our "How Well Do You Know the Bride and Groom" game. One of my favorite parts about the shower was that instead of having favors for each guest, we opted to make a donation in their name to The One Fund to support the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. 

While Joe was in on the secret of the bridal shower, Kelly was completely surprised by the venue (success!). Joe had introduced my siblings and me to the estate about a year ago, when we got together to play a game of capture the flag on the front lawn there. He had actually gone to summer camp there as a kid! We were only able to see the outside of the mansion that day, but had talked about wishing we could see what the inside was like. Later, when mulling over venue options for Kelly's shower, I remembered the DW and knew we had to have it there.

Before arriving at the front entrance of the estate, there is a long tree-lined driveway that reminded us of the driveway leading to the bridal shower in the movie Bridesmaids. So, we totally took advantage and got the shower off to a silly start by recreating the scene and having one of my brothers meet Kelly and Joe halfway down the driveway with 2 mason jars full of lemonade. I mean, with the driveway and our lemon theme, we really couldn't help ourselves. Kelly was laughing and crying happy tears before she even got to the front door!

Kelly was the perfect bride-to-be at her shower, and was extremely happy, thoughtful, and thankful opening each gift she received. Not to mention the fact that she looked amazing! Her hair was perfect all day, and the dress that she bought just for the occasion looked great on her (she got it at White House Black Market)! Everyone had a great time at the shower, and we were so happy to give Kelly the perfect day that she deserved.

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