love + tattoos

a rising trend has been & continues to be tattoo-inspired wedding invitations & save the dates.

i happen to be a huge fan of this trend.  not all brides & grooms are traditional so why should their invitations be? 

i am DYING to do some of my own for any rockabilly couples!

know of any? send them my way!

 i've got plenty of ideas!

GET INSPIRED!
here are some of my
favorites i've come across!

photos courtesy of etsy

rockabilly inspiration  

 

brides.com

bella fiore

ink to paper is thoughtful.

ink to flesh, hard-core.

if Shakespeare were a tattooist

we'd appreciate body art

a lot more.

-carrie latet

143 days.

this is the number of days left until me + 4 of my favorite women in my family leave for a life-long awaited trip to italy. we have been literally begging my nonna [grandmother] to take us to italy + show us her hometown.   and finally, she has caved. 

in 143 days we will be on our way back to the place where it all started.





this is roseto valfortore. nonna's hometown. 

a little background. my nonna + poppop met in italy as i've shared in a previous post.

they were married when my nonna was 17 in a 3 ring ceremony including my nonna, her sister & her best friend.  after the ceremony there was an elaborate procession throughout the streets of the town that people came out of the woodwork for - so fabulous & dramatic. i love it!

my grandparents & his brother.

the gang. my nonna is top left.  

i am beyond excited for this trip & there are 

no other 4 women i'd rather be going with!

just throw it in the bag.

once again, after what feels like mere days after i've been home, i find myself packing, AGAIN.
this time my destination is the windy city, chicago.   i'm only staying one night & i feel like all of my luggage is too big so i've been searching for a cute weekender.  bags are one of my many vices, along with shoes, wine & music.      

i wanted to share with you some of my favs...

chloe

balenciaga

prada

d & g

tory burch

kimchi blue

gucci

here is the one i ended up purchasing since it's so last minute 

& i'm a little low on funds...

it's pretty cute & it was only 39.99 at target.... 

maybe next time i'll splurge. 

xoxo

i'd DIY.

my husband + i are obsessed with finding unwanted pieces + turning them into treasures.
it's easier on the wallet, it's fun to do + in the end, you end up with a piece that is all your own - what's not to love? 

below are a few of our favorite + most recent do-it-yourself projects from around our home.
enjoy!

this is the newest member of our living room. we were desperate for a zebra chair + believe it or not, i found this beauty on ebay.  all it needed was new legs & a fancy red pillow to tie it all together.   we used several coats of glossy lacquered spray paint for the chair legs.

this next
monster was found
buried in our grandmother's
garage.

we power-washed the hell out of it + kept the old, worn green paint.

add a table lamp + some magazines

and say hello to a vintage bedside table!

 next illustrates our love for ladders. they are simple + practical.  we found these on the side of the road, threw them in the truck, power-washed them and voila!
i also have an obsession with designer denim. what better way to display them?
























 

the other ladder is leaning against the wall in our dining room. we use it to hang all of our throw + lounge blankets.

i'll leave you with one of my favorites. it's a crummy old side table we found

+ painted yellow. we didn't sand down the imperfections, we embraced them

+ we think it makes for a really unique piece. it adds the perfect amount of

sunshine to our slate blue living room.

until next time!
xoxo

sail away with me honey

friends of ours have asked me to do their save-the-dates + wedding invitations for their destination wedding.  they have chosen sunny punta cana in the dominican republic. 

i'm excited about doing these because i think you can have a little more fun when scripting your pieces for a destination wedding. chances are, everyone you want involved in your special day as already been given a heads up that it's going to be overseas so when they get the save the date they won't be blindsided.

i also cannot stand when couples put too much information on a save the date. 

the save-the-date is just that. it tells you who, what, where + when and THATS IT.

if you have pertinent information that you feel is crucial then i would suggest setting up a wedding website. or a wedding blog (hello FREE!). it will keep your guests up to date on everything without trying to squeeze a ton of verbiage onto a 4x6 inch postcard!

here are some of my absolute favorite destination save the dates that i found while perusing the web they are all postcards so you can use the front + back, and the 4th one down are luggage tags - how cute is that!?

photos courtesy of etsy.com

it's a party in the USA.

party invitations are my absolute favorite thing to design.

i especially love when i can incorporate some play on words or a song lyric to

make them super fun + playful.

i wanted to show you some party invitations that i've done along with

some others i find inspiring.

these invitations were designed for a christmas bridal shower. 

i had so much fun literally brainstorming classic

christmas songs + substituting words in

to make it wedding related.

the winners shown here were:

"have yourself a merry little shower"

 +           

"joy to the bride"

my jersey girl engagement party invitations.
she asked me to design swirls that incorporated a heart. simple + romantic.
clean lines are important to me.
i don't like clutter.

who doesn't love a pig roast? 

vegans maybe?

i mean, i don't really dig on swine but the

vibe of a pig roast is undeniably fun

regardless of your food preferences.



i designed these pig roast invitations

for my uncle los' 50th surprise party.

playful + bold.

i am now planning a 30th birthday party for

my husband with a caribbean theme.

look for his invitations coming soon!

i am using bob marley's

"let's get together & feel alright"

besos!

i love you, blogs + coffee.

i decided to be festive + don red lipstick in honor of today.

i never wear red lipstick + i must say it gives me
a whole new demeanor.  i kinda like it!

i pulled some of my recent favorite valentine's day

inspired cards + prints.   cute alternatives to the

typical mushy crap found in your local drugstore.

enjoy!

photos courtesy of http://www.etsy.com/

no surf + turf for us tonight.
my hubby + i are sharing a nice romantic dinner
of homemade cheesteaks + fries + cervezas.
we rarely indulge in this type of food .. so it's a special
meal for us! 

hope you all get extra love today!
xoxo