~ fabulous new year's eve ~

If you are looking for me, this is where I am (in my dreams)...

A secret little spot that can't be found.  It is a fabulously warm locale without anything to distract me from relishing in the last moments of 2010 and anticipating what 2011 has to bring.  With all the crazy that has been the last couple of months, there is no place I would rather be on New Year's Eve than on a sunny beach with no iPhone, laptop, traffic, noise, television - nothing but the warm light breeze and the sound of waves lapping on the sand.  And all that I need to enjoy this day is...

...a white bikini, a pair of sunglasses and a cute kaftan.  After I have had my fill of sun and sand today, stillness and quiet will continue this evening.  A homemade dinner cooked for two, eaten outside as the sun sets, with a glass of bubbly and a silk tunic dress to get me in the mood to dance under the stars with no music but our own...

...and without worry of when the new year rings in except for the sun rising in the morning to tell us it has arrived!

Where ever you are and who ever you are with (alone is good too) may you remember that the new year brings a new start, a fresh beginning, a time for you to do what you have always wanted to do.  This is the year for you...may you relish in all that it has to bring and be thankful, that yet again, you have another year to do it in.  The slate has been wiped clean - it's time to create your own masterpiece.  Whatever that masterpiece may be!

Happy New Year my dear friends - I wish you your dreams!  See you next year.  Mwah!!!

xoxo,

Kristi

...beach picture photography via matt bird & clothing images via net-a-porter

~ guest post on glamour and grace weddings ~

Happy Thursday my dears!  I am guest posting on Glamour and Grace Weddings today.  Come have a look-see here at what I created for Megan and her lovely readers. 

Here is a little sneak peek...

Hope you enjoy!

~ Ciao

...first image via glamour and grace weddings & second image -concept, design, styling and photography by luna and chloe weddings

~ homemade: linen and lace details ~

I can't believe that this is the last Thursday of 2010!  Can anyone tell me where the year went?  Seriously, it went from April when my nephew was born to December in the blink of an eye.  Don't you remember as a kid days, weeks and months seemed so long?  Yet, as an adult they fly by.  If anyone can tell me how to slow down time, I would LOVE to hear it!

So for this final Thursday in 2010 I am posting the final pictures from my linen and lace photo shoot - some other details not covered in my previous post.  First up is the invitation...

Using a vintage linen I ironed on the invitation using a transfer.  The invitations were placed in a box with book page strips and tied with a book page and lace.  I love it when invitations aren't in an envelope.  I know, extra postage...but sometimes it is just worth it.  I know I would love to receive the box above in the mail.  Wouldn't you?  Up next is the lounge area...

The umbrella was an antique that was nothing but the frame.  A vintage linen round tablecloth I had fit perfectly over it.  To add some detail to it, I trimmed it in vintage lace and added a cute topper.

The cot is an old green army one that I covered with a vintage white tablecloth and topped it with a vintage lace tablecloth. 

It wouldn't be a wedding without some bubbly and some soft music.  The radio that you see below was Aunt Millie's first anniversary wedding present.

Next is the dance area...

A vintage radio, a roll of player piano music, a tiara, an apothecary jar and my great-grandfathers squeezebox accoridion (yes, he used to play it) all bring together a small dance area.  And two more pictures to pull it all together...

I hope you enjoyed this homemade photo shoot.  It was my first one, and I can tell how much my photography skills have improved.  So glad I never used it...as it was the perfect way to end the year!  Looking forward to 2011 and lots more homemade posts for you.  Thank you for following along with this one!

~ Ciao

...concept, design, styling and photography all by luna and chloe weddings

~ who says ~

...your centerpieces can't be made up of three artichokes on their stalks?

I love the simplicity of it...don't you?  Yet, it still makes a statement. 

And I just have to tell you that I have a soft spot for artichokes, as my family had fields and fields of them here in California before they sold them off.  One of my favorite, and fondest memories as a kid was riding the horses bareback through the artichoke fields.  Oh how I would love the opportunity to do that now!

~ Ciao

...image via sweet paul

~ flowers of the week: 12.27.10 ~

Another Christmas has come and gone.  Isn't it amazing how we look forward to Christmas for weeks, and then just like that - it's over.  It always amazes me and reminds me to appreciate it, and savour every minute of the special day.  I sincerely hope you had a lovely Christmas.  And that Santa was good to all of you! 

It also amazes me that once Christmas is over, I am ready for Spring and it's warmth and brightness that it brings!  And the Flowers of the Week this week are bringing a little brightness and warmth to me on this cold and grey winter morning...

I hope they add some brightness and warmth to your day too! 

~ Ciao

...photography by the amazingly talented jose villa

~ happy holidays ~

Absolutely adoring these two details made from an old wool sweater... 

Wishing you a warm and cozy holiday! 

~ Ciao

...images via sweet paul

~ homemade: linen and lace table decor ~

Happy Thursday loves!  Can you believe Christmas is on Saturday - eek.  I'm still shopping for presents, and spent almost 3 hours last night wrapping the ones we have.  I guess that is what happens when you go on vacation right before the holidays...you play catch up when you get back!  If I ever go on vacation before Christmas again I am going to make sure that the majority of my shopping is done before I go.  Good strategy I think!  I hope everyone is already done with all their shopping and getting to spend some time just enjoying the holiday season.

Anyway, I have the next part in my linen and lace photo shoot for you today!  This week it is the table decor.  Since vintage was my main theme - I really tried to look at the table from that perspective.  So here it is...

Don't you just love Queen Anne's Lace?  I do...can't you tell?  In the picture above you can see the escort area that I featured a couple weeks ago.  Also you might remember, I mentioned that each table was a chapter...well you can see in the picture below that the table was marked in just that way...

As I was thinking about vintage era's, and the time that my Great Aunt Millie grew up in...it dawned on me that a big thing back then was dance cards.  So I thought - why not set at each place setting for the ladies a dance card, and for the man a boutonniere, of course!

So from the left over chapter's in the book I made a dance card for the ladies...

I ran a piece of vintage lace down the side, and painted golf sized pencils white.  Yes, I painted them!  The gold just didn't go, and I couldn't find white ones at the time.  Inside I printed on cream colored construction paper (the only paper that I sure for this whole shoot that wasn't from the vintage book I used...remember I only used one book for this whole shoot) numbers with lines that the ladies could write who they danced with for each song.

And of course I had to have a happily ever after at the end!

For the boutonniere's I used a couple small pieces of Queen Anne's Lace and wrapped the stem with a vintage book page strip.

I have to tell you that the glasses you see in this shoot are Aunt Millie's.  Believe it or not - they were her grandma's when she got married over 100 years ago!  I couldn't believe she offered me them when I told her about the shoot I was going to do.  Let me tell you - I handled them with extreme care!

I adorned the glasses with a sprig of mint, and a stir stick made with a scalloped circle punch.  And below you can see one of my sets of vintage butter plates that I used to hold salt and pepper.  Also I lined some vintage book pages down the center of the table.

The below picture isn't that great...but it does show you the mini vintage mold that I used at each place setting.  (I also used a larger mold on my raffle table that I showed last week.)  I filled each with some Queen Anne's Lace, and a stick that had a cute line from the book.

Another detail I wanted to point out were mason jars that I used.  They actually said Good House Keepers on them - so perfect with my whole theme and the vintage drying rack escort area and the vintage ironing board that I used for the dessert table.

A couple more shots for you...

I adore my old, beat up red bench that I got for free.  It brought just a little extra color to the table.  So there you have it my dears - my vintage linen and lace table decor.  Remember next week I have some other details to share with you...which is perfect as it will be the last part of my photo shoot and the end of the year! 

~ Ciao

...concept, design, styling & photography all by Luna and Chloe Weddings

~ with style and grace ~

I had a lovely afternoon with Lisa of the fabulous blog With Style and Grace yesterday!  If you don't follow her blog you need to right now!  We had been planning on getting together since November - when we found out that we are neighbors.  Let me tell you she is SO darling, and we had such a lovely chat!  Oh and she is super sweet too...as she brought me a little gift! 

As I was driving home yesterday I thought to myself I need to show everyone how fabulous this little gift is (she did a post on her blog about it)!  The gift would be perfect to use as favors at a wedding.  And since I never did get my Tuesday Thought posted yesterday, I thought that I would use her gift as my Tuesday Thought instead...just so happens that it is posted on Wedensday.  Oopsies!

So here is the little gift I received...

So fabulous, no? And it would make a wonderful favor for your guests. You can always change the shape of the cookie and the color of the ribbon and thread...but the presentation is just perfection!  And the back looks just as cute as the front with her business sticker on it...

For a wedding just add a sticker with your initials, new last date, the date or a thank you and viola!

A close up of the yummy little man...

Who soon started to disappear...

And it was the BEST sugar cookie...

I have ever had...there was nothing left when I was done!  To get the how to and the recipe just head on over to Lisa's blog, With Style and Grace...or click right here.  Trust me, you will love these cookies!

Also I just have to share Lisa's hostess gift idea, that was featured on Courtney's amazing blog, Pizzazzerie...another blog that you must follow!  While the idea for these was to be used as a hostess gift, which I think is a wonderful idea, I also think they would make a great gift for the bridal party! 

Love it!  I could so use either one of these right now!  How about you? 

So there you have it.  A great Tuesday Thought...on a Wednesday...inspired by With Style and Grace! 

P.S. - Thank you Lisa for the inspiration, your time yesterday and our chat!  Look forward to the possibility of working with you some time soon.

~ Ciao



...cookie photography by me & drink  photography by with style and grace