WEDDING WEEK || champagne slushie recipe

Nothing says celebration quite like champagne.  I absolutely had to have bubbles at our wedding, but I wanted to do something a little different; my second favourite drink in the whole wide world, is anything slushie!  So… what do you get when you put ‘em together, a champagne slushie! Divine right?  

Here’s the recipe (via) for this pretty concoction, this can be modified with whatever flavour you fancy, we went with cherry and it was to die for!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cherries, pitted (frozen is ok too)
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon agave

DIRECTIONS

- Place cherries in a food processor and pulse until almost puréed. A few chunks is ok 
- In a small bowl combine lemon and agave with a whisk
- Add cherries to bowl and stir together
- Pour mixture into a shallow metal dish or pan
- Freeze for 1.5 hours scraping with a fork every 15-20 minutes

Now the fun part (not part of the recipe above)...scoop a couple tablespoons into your champagne flutes and top with the bubbly goodness, serve and enjoy - trust me you will!

WEDDING WEEK || modern glamour wedding decor

What a weekend, whew, celebrated two milestone birthdays with two very special people; it was delightful and all, but I'm spent.  I'm still in the milestone mood though, my two year wedding anniversary is tomorrow, so I thought I'd share some of my fave decor pics from our "Modern Glam" inspired wedding.  Black, white, gold and glamour was on the menu for our luxe meets DIY day.

We had guests sit at 25 foot long tables to encourage conversation and to create a more intimate atmosphere, oh and P.S. we ate with gold cutlery, my fave "decor" item, try convincing your future hubs that this is a pure necessity, no small feat I tell ya.

Here are just a couple of the 14 million DIY projects I did for our wedding, including painted, wooden table numbers, and personalized, hand stamped menus.

Check out the chapel we were married in; the first time I saw it took my breath away, in fact the second time, same thing, I was basically doing lamaze down the aisle. 

Can you believe how in sync we are, both cringing during my dad's speech in our plush thrones, a splurge item for sure.

Some more of my DIY handy work and my fave glittery gold bourgie lamp *swoon*

I had such a blast planning the decor for our big day, but most importantly I have a blast everyday with the love of my life who puts up with and encourages me in all of my gold and glamour antics...

CHIC SHACK || 1 year anniversary of our first home

It's a special day; this morning hubby and I looked at each other and realized, it's the 1 year anniversary of the day we bought this house, our first home!  Since neither of us really remembered until we rolled outta bed, we hadn't planned a celebration, hubs went off to watch a rugby game with the boys, so that leaves me here with a glass of wine writing this celebratory post - I'm suuuuure he will make it up to me ;).

I've been reflecting on the past year of ours in this sweet little home; I tell ya,  it's been jam packed with decorating o'plenty, entertaining, projects, laughs, cries, milestones and certainly lots of reflection on how grateful we are for all that we have and for the people that we share it with. 

Thought it would be fun to post a few highlights from our first year in our new home....

June 15th, 2011, the day we finally sealed the deal, a serious relief after a year of searching.

1 year ago today, new keys in hand!

Just a month and a bit later, we celebrated our one year wedding anniversary. Hubs did good with the gift, he got me my wedding bouquet all over again, romantic right? Shoot, cue the waterworks,  tear drops on the keyboard, I'm a sentimental gal what can I say?

Garden roses and ranunculus 

FETE || beautiful bachelorette party how to's

Hi lovlies!  Yep, it’s that time of year when frazzled brides start to wonder what their dutiful bridesmaids have in store for them for their last hoorah as a sexy single lady.  The idea of a bachelorette party can conjour up some pretty tacky images; I won’t get in to those details but rather share some pretty ones with you that are sure to make any bachelorette fete a fab one for the bride and all of her besties.

Create a theme 

I find when planning a party it’s always easiest to start with a theme. It’s a great jumping off point when selecting; the venue, food and drink, activities, décor and favours. Make sure your chosen motif is something that the bride will connect with, pick something that’s personal to her, maybe a hobby, a favourite travel destination or even a certain era she enjoys.

Vineyard vacation; my girlfriend's bachelorette in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Location, location, location

A beautiful location is the best way to start the day/evening off right. Make an effort to select a unique venue that is both welcoming and impressive.  It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get something unique, there are plenty of free venue options including; local botanical gardens, parks, private dining nooks inside restaurants, the party room in a friend’s condo building, or a secluded beach.  The options are truly endless, get creative.

Ravine Vineyard, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Personalize the details

You can never have too many details! Adding layers of personal touches will only enhance the experience for all.   Use the bride's favourite flower or colour to decorate, dream up games that center around her, give favours or prizes that relate to your theme or are items the bride swears by,  customize everything; the invites, menu, place settings, name tags, and activities.        

Glazed salmon on risotto, our bride's fave foods

Pamper the bride

The number one rule when planning a bachelorette party; make the bride feel special. If you’re keeping the details of the day a surprise, make sure to inform her of what to wear and what to bring – there’s nothing worse than a bride that feels underdressed or ill prepared.  Identify her as the bride (in a pretty way of course), carry her bags, give her the best seat in the house, make a lovely toast to her, ensure she’s not privy to any glitches that may come up, and give her a memento to remind her of this special occasion.

I know, this all sounds wonderful in theory, but pulling together a bachelorette party can be a challenge. Just remember, ultimately  it’s about celebrating the bride-to-be and friendship; don’t let the special meaning of this day get lost in the details.

LOVE SHACK CHIC || welcome!

Well hello, thanks for dropping by! I’m beyond excited that I’ve finally made my way to the blogosphere! It’s been on my life “to-do” list for a while now, a creative outlet I’ve been dreaming about.  As a newlywed and first time homeowner there have been tons o’ exciting milestones over the past couple of years and I’ve been dying to share all the juicy details with the people I care about and some new people too (that’s you) who are interested in the same things I love.  ‘What do I love you ask?’, where to begin: interior design, party planning, fun cocktails, baked goods, DIY’s, art deco details, antique markets, home décor, anything brass, trinkets, lovely tablescapes, the Great Gatsby era, anything with sentimental value, Old Hollywood, black & white, flowers of all kinds (especially peonies), windmills, French toast with mustard (try it) a good bargain, and also a nonsensical splurge (I’m constantly torn).

Let me get you up to speed on how we got here, to this chic little love shack of ours – our first home!  We started dating in 2004, were married in 2010 and bought our first home in 2011. We searched for over a YEAR, in Toronto’s most competitive real estate market for this gem. Because hubby and I are both fanatically fussy we viewed close to 100 homes, our agent Gail can vouch for that (what a patient lady) and made unsuccessful offers on 4 (could be more, lost count, we were beat out in bidding wars…ugh). 

Married July 24th, 2010

When we finally found this place, we almost lost it too, that’s because we nearly burnt it down! Lesson: never turn on the oven during a showing unless you are sure there is no Styrofoam hidden inside; yes, 911 phone call, fire trucks, concerned neighbours on their porches and a panicked MIL – I wasn’t kidding we almost burnt it down! Anyhoo, you burn it, you buy it and we did, one successful offer and this 20 x 95 foot lot was all ours! 

Now that it’s ours, we had to make it our own, make it chic. Over the past few months we’ve transformed this lacklustre full gut reno into a sexy beast… and we’re just getting started.