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Julia Ideson Library-Inspired Save-the-Dates

The wonderful ladies at Papellerie are at it again, creating one of my favorite unique save-the-dates ever. They designed a bookmark themed announcement for a wedding at the Julia Ideson Library in Houston, and I love how they turned out!

While I love my Kindle, I still love a good hardback book, and I am totally against folding pages over to mark my spot. I want to receive one of these bookmarks in the mail! For more unique save-the-dates, click here, and to see all of the pretty goodies that Papellerie designed for our wedding, click here.

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Sasha and I attended a wedding at the Julia Ideson Library for two of our good friends last November, and I fell in love with this venue. Erin and Matt (well, perhaps just Erin) did a phenomenal job planning their big day – all of the subtle nods to the library surroundings were creative and very elegant. Both the bride and groom looked perfect. See some photos below, which I found on The Knot.

Nickolaslarger_image (4)nickolas2What is the most unique venue you’ve been to for a wedding? Do you have any examples of out-of-the-box save the dates?

PS Have you entered the Freshly Picked moccasin giveaway yet? You have until Friday at midnight!

Isla Loves: Freshly Picked Moccasins (Giveaway)

Freshly Picked is a company that has been a part of Isla’s life from the beginning, as I ordered a pair of platinum moccasins the moment I found out I was pregnant. I had been eyeing them for ages and was excited to finally have a reason to order them. We chose to use the shoes in our pregnancy announcement photo, which you can see here. I ordered Size 1, and although Isla has rather large feet, they haven’t fit her until recently. Now that she can wear them, I put them on almost every day. I love them, and I dream of having them in every single color. Freshly Picked kindly sent me a gold pair, which I am going to have to put into rotation with the platinum ones.

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These moccasins are made with quality leather and match almost every outfit. They’re just as cute on boys as they are on girls, evidenced by the fact that both Mason Kardashian and North West love them (although I imagine the watermelon pair are predominately worn by the ladies!). The heel of the shoe is elastic, so they are comfy for Isla’s feet. The best part (for me) is that she cannot kick them off like she does with all of her socks.

I know that I will be buying Isla Freshly Picked moccasins until her feet are larger than 7.34 inches! If your little one, or your friend’s little one, don’t own a pair already, this needs to change quickly.

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I’m excited to be teaming up with Freshly Picked to give away a pair of moccasins to one lucky individual! For the first time in the Isla Loves series, I am using Rafflecopter for the giveaway.

Follow the various entry options listed below – the more entries you get, the higher the chance you’ll win these sweet shoes. The giveaway ends at midnight on Friday, September 26. I will announce the winner by Friday. I look forward to reading your responses. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow Freshly Picked on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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PS The winner of A Little Lady Shop giveaway is Angie P. I will email you to confirm which bow you would like! Thanks!

I was given the Gold Moccasins by Freshly Picked for my review. I was allowed to keep the product, but the opinion I am sharing remains my own.

Dream Master Bedrooms

Sasha has finally (yes, finally!) agreed to redo our master bedroom. It was the only room in the house that we did not buy a new furniture set for when we moved, and I have been dying to decorate the room in a style that better sits both of us. I have long lusted after a crisp, cream room with a tall, fabric headboard, light bedside tables, a pop of color (perhaps in the pillows), a big mirror, tall bookshelf, big armoire, etc.

I have been saving images of my favorite master bedrooms on my computer, many of which are shown below. I will be bringing these with me as I begin my furniture shopping in the next few weeks. If you’ve got a good idea as to where I can find similar items to the pictures below in Houston (or online), please let me know! I’ve got Ethan Allen, West Elm, Restoration Hardware, Crate and Barrel, Design Within Reach, and Pottery Barn on my list.

You can also check out my dream kitchens and living room posts. Up next? Gorgeous office spaces.

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Gal Meets Glam

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Style Me Pretty Living

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Style Me Pretty Living

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New England Home

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SF Girl by the Bay

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Delorme Designs

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No Place Like Home

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DIY: Floral Crown

I seriously, seriously love floral crowns. They are perfect for weddings, wedding showers, maternity shoots, baby showers, newborn photos or just because! I have made suggestions on outfits with which you can style a beautiful floral crown at the bottom of this post.

Ever since I started my Floral Arranging 101 class, I’ve been motivated to create my own. I have read a number of DIYs (like this, this and this), and decided to give it a try! At first, I thought about doing a little one for Isla (she’s already worn this one in her newborn photos), but decided to do an adult-sized one and I’m so glad I did! I will admit that this DIY is perhaps not the most technical (as I use a hot glue gun, which would make many florists cringe!), but it works! Read the process below:

  1. I went to the grocery store and picked up some cremones and carnations. Then I went to my front yard and cut down some foliage for fillers – you can also find these in the floral department of your local grocery store.
  2. I cut all of the flowers so that they had 2-3 inch stems and then laid everything out on the island and placed it in the order I wanted for the crown.
  3. I took an 18 gauge floral wire and bent one end about half an inch from the end and thread one of the carnations through – it is important to use a thick stem flower versus a piece of foliage at the end.
  4. I then began to add the flowers and foliage by wrapping floral tape around the base and the floral gauge – laying the pieces along the length of the wire. When I got to a carnation or a cremone, I would take the wire through the stem of the flower versus the side layering technique.
  5. Tip: As mentioned earlier, I also used a hot glue gun to secure some of the floral tape to the wire, and in some instances, to glue the bushy leaves to the wire.
  6. When I finished filling the floral wire with flowers, I cut two pieces of cream ribbon 7 inches in length. Put a dot of hot glue on one end of each strand of ribbon and secure it to the end of the wire. Once the glue is dried, you can put it on your head and tie a bow at the back!

You can extend the life of your crown significantly by storing it in a drawer in your refrigerator. Mine lasted four days, then some of the flowers started to wither. Make sure you start the process with the freshest florals you can find.

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Arrange all flowers in the order you’d like them on the crown, then thread them through the floral wire (steps 3-5 above)

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Add the ribbon to the ends and tie, then voilà… a beautiful floral crown!


How to Style the Crown

Isla Loves: The Wedding Chicks (40% off Promo Code)

It may sound ridiculous to anyone who does not have kids or is not pregnant, but the first year monthly photos are a pretty big deal, and deciding how you will style and take them is something that takes a bit of consideration. Will you buy cute little stickers and put them on a pillow (like these: Lucy Darling Monthly Onesie Stickers) or on a plain onesie? Or will you style a photo using wooden blocks to spell out the months (like this cute photo)?

As you can see from the photos below, I decided to buy The Wedding Chicks’ Genny Monthly Onesies, and I’m so glad that I did. All twelve months have different cute fonts and you can select from a wide variety of colors. I cannot wait to put all 12 pictures next to each other to see how much she changed throughout her first year. The Wedding Chicks also have Ombre Monthly Onesies and Modern Monthly Onesies – I love them all.


I discovered The Wedding Chicks while planning our wedding a year and a half ago and immediately became addicted. I bought hankerchiefs for our flower girls and my dad, and recently bought Isla one after she was born to give her at her wedding. I am about to order Isla this onesie, as every Texas gal needs it!

I also love customizing totes and gift bags for engagement, wedding and birthday gifts. The prices are so reasonable, and it is such a nice touch to have a personalized present. Their selection of customizable baby bibs, onesies and shirts are so cute.


If you’re like me, you’ll want everything in the store, and fortunately, you can get it all for 40% off today (Friday, September 5) through next Friday, September 12. All you need to do is go to Shop.WeddingChicks.com, load up your shopping cart, and use promo code ‘SMTPromo‘ when checking out.

Have a great weekend and enjoy your shopping! If you have Instagram, I’d love if you followed my new blog account!

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She has grown so much in the past two months! See Month 1 and Month 2