Bon voyage!

See you in two weeks dear readers! I promise to return with lots of pictures, videos (we just got an underwater camcorder), and a tan. :)

xo!

 

Illustration by Devon Kelley Yurdin

DNA Event

The night before one sets off to Thailand for two weeks might not be the best time to go out and about.

However, I would not miss this event for the world. So expect to see Ken and I there, suitcases and all. :)

DNA (designers + artists) is putting on an "all vintage everything" sale, tonight, from 6-9:30 pm. I'm loving the fact that it's going to be held in an art gallery. Hope to see you there folks! 

Beach week is finally here

Well folks, June 30th is almost here, which marks the day Ken and I set sail for our honeymoon in Thailand. We will be gallavanting and soaking up the sun for 2 weeks in Bangkok, Phouket, and some other random city I can't remember the name of, home to a tree-house hotel we've booked for 3 nights. 

These beautiful beach pictures from Aura joon have me swooning and ready to hop on the plane pronto.

Raleigh Mai

I just finished the painting of adorable miss Raleigh Mai. It was commissioned for a beautiful home in Nashville, currently under construction. In October the home (and the painting), will be featured in a show put on by Mcpherson-Shaw Inc. If you're in the area, stop by for a look. :)

Raleigh Mai, oil on canvas, 40"x40", 2010

Hug

I am loving the animations of young British animator and illustrator, Julia Pott. This video was too cute not to share--especially the squish sound of the hug. :)

Akka, Israel

I just finished this commissioned painting of The Prison of Akka, based on a photo I took during my year long stay in Israel. 

I'll be accepting commissions for the rest of the summer, so let a girl know if you're interested. :)


*In case you missed it, here's another painting I did of Akka. 

Nashville Flood Relief

It's been a month since the devastating floods swept through Nashville, but the recovery efforts continue.  The Nashville Association of Art Dealers has banded together to host a Summer-long series of events to help rebuild and reopen The Finer Things Gallery, which suffered severe damage during the storms.

I'm honored to be one of the artists participating in the auction and donated the below painting to the relief efforts.

Dreams of Falling, oil on canvas, 30"x40"

This painting is based on a photograph taken by Dana Hoey, who graciously gave me permission to use her image.


I'm pretty astounded at how quickly Nashville recovered from the unprecedented flooding. Although I was in San Francisco when it all happened, I've been told by friends and family that they'd never seen people working together so harmoniously before. There was none of the typical raiding and looting that usually goes on at natural disaster sites--but rather a true spirit of service and compassion for those that had lost.

I think Chelsea said it best--beauty from ashes right?

Kinora Films

I'm in love with all things Kinora Films, aka Paul Bryant. This gent is a southern wedding and lifestyle videographer working in 8mm film and digital video. Bryant's inspirations include, "vintage cameras and polaroids,  home movies of the 1960s and 70s, deep yellows and hyper-saturated greens, all stacked in closets and attics now, amateur and glorious."

If any of this resonates with you, he's probably a good fit for your wedding or family event.

Here's a hilarious little clip of him using up his unshot ends on 8 mm film. He explains, "When I get to the end of a wedding day, after the bride and groom make their getaway, I often have film cartridges that have unshot "ends," sometimes just a few seconds, sometimes more. There's no way I'm going to send the rolls off with unshot footage, so:


"The Ends" Dance Party from Paul Bryant on Vimeo.

Photobooth love

It seems like no wedding reception is complete without a photobooth these days. Kenny and I are so happy we decided to go ahead and rent one--I think our guests enjoyed themselves immensely--maybe a bit too much, actually. :)

We rented the Neverland Booth from Video Amusement in South San Francisco. If you're planning a wedding in the Bay Area, I highly recommend them. They were so sweet to work with even though we booked them a week before the wedding!

Our props included fake mustaches, a unicorn mullet headband, mouse and pig masks, Ken doll t-shirts, boas, and ginormous sunglasses.

Fu-man-choos never looked better.

A Tiny Victorian Cottage

It isn't everyday I come across locations this special. I am absolutely in awe of this tiny cottage retreat, completely styled and renovated by Sandra Foster. She lives in the Catskills with her husband in a 1971 mobile home that sits across a creek from their magical gingerbread-like house.

After living in San Francisco, you begin to appreciate teeny tiny homes (our kitchen consists of a mini fridge and sink). This cottage has neither a bathroom nor kitchen, but is so stunningly beautiful, who really cares!

Ms. Foster has filled it with stacks of Limoges china, shabby-chic chandeleirs, and handmade tissue-paper garlands.

What I'm most impressed by is that Ms. Foster managed to renovate the 9-by-14-foot cottage (an old hunting lodge) by herself, for under $3000. Now there's a DIY fairtale.

*To read the full article and see more photos, check out the lovely NYTimes post here. 

Our place cards

I promised myself I wouldn't do any posts about our wedding until I had the official photographs back from Jose, but the wait is killing me! So to tide me over, here's a little sneak peak at one of my favorite details on our big day... 

As you may have guessed, I'm a sucker for creative place cards. I scoured the internet to find fun and imaginative ideas appropriate for SF's City Hall (they have rules about rules).

Three weeks before the wedding, I came across DivaEntertain's elegant chocolate bar place cards. Being the chocolate nut I am, and having already ordered chocolate party favors from Ghiradelli, I figured I should just embrace my addiction and do what any sugar loving bride would do--buy more. Can chocolate be a wedding theme? I'm gonna go with, yes. 

The paper wrappers arrived just in the nick of time! Thank you Debra for being so sweet and rush ordering them for me. And thank you to my thrifty brother, who sat down for 3 days straight and hand calligraphied our guests' names and table numbers onto the wrappers. We tied the silver ribbons on individually, then fixed the wrappers on the back with round silver stickers from OfficeMax--that was my dad's brilliant little addition to the project. :)

After the wrappers were ready, I went to Walgreens and cleaned out their Cadbury 3.42 oz chocolate bar stash. The cashier snickered when I put 3 crates of chocolate on the counter to pay, so I explained they were for my wedding--in two days. He promptly congratulated me, then invited himself to our reception. :) 

Needless to say, the final product was a hit with our guests! Sugar comas were reported from one and all. Many thanks to the beautiful fleur de jour for the photos! xo. 

And in case you missed them, here's a peek at some other fun place cards:

*Rae & Noah
*Wheelbarrows and weddings

Centerpieces

When I think about my all-time favorite weddings, Chelsea and Tec's ranks at the very top. One of my favorite parts about their love fest day--aside from Chelsea's famous yellow shoes and Jose Villa's magical photos--are the centerpieces.

These little works of art are so delicate and whimsical. And the trees! What a quirky, brilliant idea.

The centerpieces were designed in collaboration with the phenomenal wedding stylist, Joy Thigpen. Planning your wedding? Do yourself a favor--hire her! Joy is nothing less than a super talent in the industry.


And in case you missed them, here are some previous posts on centerpieces you might enjoy:

*Paper wrapped jars
*Pretty in pink
*Call me a pyro

Yvette Inufio

This print by Yvette is all things beautiful. Available for purchase in her etsy super store.

Merci

I've been spending the last two weeks writing thank you notes for our beautiful wedding gifts. Initially I found the whole task to be a bit daunting--but then I decided to forgo the generic thank you cards via Walgreens, and started making my own. I bought a rubber stamp from the Paper Source that says "Merci" and have been stamping away ever since.

I also bought the "Love" stamp, which I've been using for the outer envelope. I seal them with a little round silver sticker, reminiscent of our gray/white wedding color theme.

I finish them off with vintage stamps via The Paper Nickel Stamp Co. This company is amazing! You can order a pack of stamps online, or you can ask for a custom package if you have a theme/color that you want to incorporate. Each 44 cent packet is stuffed to the brim with a variety of sizes, shapes, colors and graphics and are rarely repeated.


Spanning from the early 1900s through the late 1980s, all their stamps are nationally and internationally valid and can be used through the U.S. Mail.

Needless to say, each thank you note has become a tiny work of art. :) For all you lovely guests that haven't yet received yours, worry not, they're on their way! xo.

Place cards

I love creative takes on place cards. Who would have ever thought a wheelbarrow could come in handy at a wedding?

Check out the rest of Megan & Seth's beautiful wedding here.

*photos via Bret Cole

Snoozer Loser NY

I'm loving the clothes at Snoozer Loser of New York. Their spring collection reminds me of Anthropologie dresses and Candace Meyer photography. Check out their adorable promo video as well.


Snoozer Loser Spring/Summer 2010 from Johnny Woods on Vimeo.

Happy Summer

After months of waiting, summer is finally here. :) Here's to short skirts, fireflies, and lots of pool time.

*photo via girlhula

DNA Event

DNA (designers + artists) is putting on an "all vintage everything" sale. This will be one SF event not to be missed. My favorite part is that TheSFStyle is hosting it in an art gallery! So exciting.

Blacksheep

I am loving everything about the new Etsy shop, Blacksheep by Velvet Leaf. They sell handmade and vintage items made from organic cotton, wool or sustainable materials.

Some of their styles remind me of Dear Creatures, making it obvious why I love them.

Porcelain Paint Pens

Check out these beautiful hand painted porcelain dishes by AMerryMishap. She wanted to revamp her china a bit, so she doodled on them with a porcelain paint pen, purchased at Michael's. 

Once finished, you just bake it at 300 for 35 mins and viola! New china. :)

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to all the dads out there. Here's hoping that you're all being pampered and spoiled today.

Check out this awesome picture of my dad from the 70s. If you think he looked cool then, you should see him now. :)

Sunday's Best

I'm loving the jewelry by Brooklyn based designers, Sunday's Best.

"Sunday’s Best is a Brooklyn-based jewelry line created by Sophia Keleta and Samira Chung, who launched their collection in the spring of 2008.

A strong connection to their cultures has informed their vision; Sophia has roots in Eritrea and Pakistan and Samira grew up in Equatorial Guinea. Influences spanning from the exotic—eastern patterns and heirlooms, vintage textiles, and Persian tapestries—to the ordinary, such as the chipping away of paint—infuse Sunday’s Best jewelry with intricate shapes, patterns and cut-out details that have come to define their aesthetic.

With a palette of gold, oxidized silver, bronze and vermeil that also incorporates wood, rope and silk ribbon, Sunday’s Best straddles femininity and masculinity with jewelry that is delicate, but not dainty; possessing a soft, understated beauty, but also a dash of edge. Sophia and Samira have set out to create special, treasured pieces that will invoke the very pride and confidence one feels when donning their “Sunday's best.”

Message in a bottle

Messages in bottles will forever be romantic to me. Photo via Yvette Inufio.

Free Ben & Jerry's

Apparently, some things in life are free--like seriously delicious ice cream. 

Ben & Jerry's is going all out this weekend with multiple free ice cream giveaways. Their goal is to increase awareness and educate the public about their environmentally responsible ice cream production and business model.

Join them at the following times/locations:

June 17th & 18th @ Justin Herman Plaza
1 Market St
12–3pm each day

June 19th @ Union Square
Geary St at Stockton St
12-3pm

June 20th @ Golden Gate Park
Bandshell/Fountain
12-3pm

Eat a scoop or two for the girl in Nashville. :)