Apology from an Absen-bee blogger

I'm so sorry! I have truly been an absentee ("absen-bee") blogger over the last few weeks. Life really got out of control, and to be honest, it got the best of me. I was just way tooo overwhelmed with all the things going on and couldn't find a spare moment to blog. Worst of all, I missed you all dearly. Whenever I had a spare moment (or a rare fifteen minutes of internet access), I would read your blog posts, and your loving comments and wonder how I lost my way...

After four glorious months in Amsterdam, Mr. P and I finally moved back to NYC and we had exactly two weeks to move into our new apartment, finish DIY projects, get beautified, graduate from law school, etc. etc. etc. If that wasn't enough, I spent the first two days back in NYC hotel room without any luggage, proceeded to get really sick, then my computer broke. I know these are all just excuses ....

But now I'm back and I'm MARRIED!

I have soooo many things to tell you. The wedding was beautiful. I am such a lucky, lucky girl. My friends and family were just A-MAZING in Costa Rica. I have so much to share but for now I just wanted to apologize and let the hive know, I'm NOT dead and I will be sharing everything (well, as close to everything as I can!) I've learned over the last 4 weeks.

Surf, Sun & Swimwear

{Etsy via Lovely Cluster}

It's sprrrrrrrrring!! I love spring. Let's be honest,I really just LOVE the sun! I adore the sun, so much so that Mr. P often calls me "solar powered." I love being hot. Not just warm, I love being a little too hot with a slight breeze. Although I've enjoyed traveling Europe, it turns out there isn't nearly as much sunlight as I need.

This is really the longest I've ever gone without tropical weather. Last winter, Mr. P and I went to Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic. The year before we went to Miami and Mexico. This year we didn't go anywhere because we are saving for the wedding and the we had the big move to Amsterdam. So let's just say I am in desperate need of my Vitamin D, but since I can't afford to fly to the tropics I've decided to spend my days shopping for the perfect wedding weekend swimwear.

In order to avoid bridal bikini lines, I've decided that a strapless bikini would be the best option. I'm totally obsessed with Vix and love everything I've bought from them. Unfortunately their swimwear is a little pricely so I have to wait until the suits I love go on sale. There is something about Brazilian swimwear designers that really speaks to me. I also adore Californian swimwear. I don't know that much about flowers, dresses, make-up or shoes but when it comes to swimwear... I am totally in the know. In celebration of summer, every year I get myself a brand new swimsuit. This year it gets to be EXTRA special.

1. Something Bridal a.k.a.white - I love white swimwear but always worry about transparency.

{Vix- $99}

2. Something tropical - I love mix and matched swim wear. I love bright colors and I LOOOOVE prints.

{Vix -Top $49;Bottom $50}

Here are some more budget friendly options:

{ASOS- Top $27.58; Bottom $20.69}

{Victoria's Secret- $38}

Don't forget an adorable cover-up!! How cute is this ?

{Vix-$99}

Anyone else missing the summer sun?? What are some other great budget swimwear stores I should consider?

so many projects...so little time

Today was my very last day of class...EVER!! Like, seriously, I am officially both a JD and an LLM! TWO graduates degrees under my belt...how did that happen!!?!

ok. well. not "officially." I still have to finish my thesis, submit one paper and take a final...but I'm oh-s0-close. Once I'm done with that I can FINALLY focus on the wedding.

Speaking of which, I am getting married in ONE MONTH!!!! WOOOHOOOOOOOO.

As a little celebration, today after class, I decided to stop by a great little antique store on my way home. Here's what I picked up:



As usual, I made an impulse vintage purchase and now I'm wonder, what should I do with them!?!?Originally, I was thinking I could use them under the centerpieces but I don't think I'll be able to get nearly enough. Then I was considering using them on the dessert table under the cake stands and such. Theeeeeeeeen, since I don't have enough on my plate (*note the sarcasm), I thought I should MAKE something! Of course, why not?

How great is this?

{Made it}
While cutting them in half would allow me to get more bang for my buck, I don't feel great about cutting apart vintage handmade doilies. The owner of the antique store spent nearly 20 minutes telling me about all the places her (recently deceased) mother bought each and every one of these doilies. I just wouldn't feel right cutting them in half.

So the search continued and I found this:

Emily O /Elizabeth Anne Designs}

According to the DIY tutorial, you just have to iron and starch the doilies a little to get them to hang without flopping all over the place. This certainly seems like a viable option. It's a simple DIY project that doesn't complete destroy the doilies.

Best of all, when I told the owner I needed a small one to try and make a ring pillow, she threw this one in for free! She said "for luck and a great marriage."


I was thinking I could just get some linen/burlap and make a little pillow and then stitch the doily onto the pillow. Then I found this:

{Soda Pop Design}

It's a DIY doily ring bowl! Granted the tutorial is in German but if you just stick the link into google translate its totally DO-ABLE! Unfortunately I don't think the doily I have is great for this project but I thought the tutorial was so great that I just had to share. PLEASE someone make this and tell me how it goes. Even if I can't make this for my own wedding, its a great present for future weddings and so adorable.

Does anyone have any great doily inspiration they can share?! I need something easy that I can do with only a handful of doilies.

A lovely lounge

I've been doing A LOT of vintage posts recently. From my love for vintage mismatched plates to my obsession with vintage hankies, I've been vintage crazy! Now, as a change of pace, I want to talk about my Cake & Champagne reception.

As you may recall, we will be having an early morning wedding. Originally, I wanted to get married at sunrise (it's been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember) but we decided to spare my guests the agony of waking up at 5am.... sooooo we are having the wedding at 9. (I know, I know... but the invites are out so it's happening at 9!) After getting married down on the beach, the guests will join us back at the villa for an amazing brunch!

One of the common complaints about brunch weddings is that people can't really "party" at 11am! After much thought, we decided to also host a Cake & Champagne reception in the evening. At first we were going to do it in the main living-room but the space seemed like it may be too large for our group and there is something so special about dancing under the stars, so we decided to take it upstairs! If you remember the rooftop terrace at the villa, we've decided to hire a dj and turn that area into a lovely dance/lounge space.

This is what the space looks like:

{Punto de Vista - Facebook}

We are going to rent a clear tent, rent some great white furniture and hang ribbon and candles in the space. We are also trying to get our wedding logo screen-printed on some throw pillows to add color to the space.

These three photos are the inspiration for the space:

{KT Merry via Style Me Pretty}
{Jasmine Star via Style Me Pretty}
{Mel Barlow + Allan Zepeda via i love swmag}

The great thing about the villa is that there are already lots of throw pillows and great white furniture at the house. So hopefully we'll be able to get away with renting just one or two pieces and just screen printing a dozen pillowcases or so. (Plus, I'll be able to take the pillowcases home!)

So here's the furniture at the house. How much do you love the little round chairs? I think they are so adorable and SO perfect for the lounge!

{Punto de Vista -facebook}
{Punto de Vista -facebook}

Here's the furniture we are thinking about renting:

{weddings costa rica}
What do you think? Do you think my guests will love it or think its a little self-indulgent to invite them BACK for more festivities?

***Later, I'll blog about the great desserts and late-night snacks we have planned! After all, it wouldn't be a late-night lounge with out late-night bar foods, right!?!?

To love and to cherish: Vintage Hankies

{Melissa Musgrove via Marry You Me}
First of all, I want to apologize for my absence the last few days. That being said, my wedding is NEXT MONTH!!

Despite all the wedding planning I should be doing, and thesis writing I should be finishing, in the last month, I have been to Spain, France, Belgium, and Germany. Along the way I've managed to collect a number of great little trinkets to include in our big day. I'll blog about all the great stuff I've picked up but today I just want to talk about vintage hankies!

Much like the rest of the blogosphere, I am head over heels in love with vintage handkerchiefs.
I've been picking up handkerchiefs at flea markets across Europe at around $0.25-$0.50 a piece!

Here are some of my favs!

{Personal Photo}
Last weekend, I also picked up three handmade lace embroidered hankies in Brugge, the lace capital of the world.

{Personal Photo}
This one is for my bridal bouquet. Since it's all white I'll probably use some twine or pink ribbon to add some texture and color.

{Personal Photo}
I picked these up for mama Pancakes and my FMIL . I am considering getting them embroidered with our wedding date but they are so sweet already, that I may just leave them alone!

Now that I have all these lovely floral hankies, I have to decide what to do with them. I originally thought I would take the traditional route and put them in a basket for my guests, much like our very own Mrs. Cheeseburger.

{Mrs. Cheeseburger/Photographer: Jessica Ames}

But then I began to have second thoughts. This may sound a little selfish but hear me out. One of the reasons I am reconsidering the hankies in a basket option is because I am not sure that many people will appreciate having a vintage hankie. On the other hand, I would LOVE to own 30 vintage hankies. I would use them all the time! The less selfish version: I really want to give my guests favors/gifts that they will not just appreciate but enjoy and cherish. So I am thinking perhaps I should use the hankies for something else.

Here's a great way to present these hankies as gift to your bridesmaids. Lauren's blog has a complete tutorial on how to put together these sweet little gifts.

{Lauren Elise Crafted}

Now if you've been on the wedding blog circuit from awhile you will recognize this next picture. I mean, who doesn't love Dani, from Oh hello Friend! Not to mention the gorgeousness that is Simply Bloom (and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you should probably head over and check out both their blogs. After you finish reading this blogpost, of course. :D)

{Simply Bloom via 100 Layer Cake}

Point is, a vintage handkerchief banner could be soooo perfect. Imagine it hanging over a dessert table with a gorgeous cake and lots of baked goodies piled high on perfect little vintage cake stands!

I think I prefer the triangle look but the squares with the clothespins also has a certain rustic sweetness to it. I image this option would photograph really well at an outdoor wedding with a slight breeze. Doesn't that sound to die for?

{Jill Thomas via Style Me Pretty}

Then there are these less traditional uses which I don't love as much but I thought I'd share!

{Once Wed via Fill Your Well}

{For a DIY tutorial check out: Skip to my Lou}

Last but not least, here are some great things I could do with the hankies after the wedding.

Wouldn't a vintage hankie quilt make the best wedding memento?

{Etsy: Mary McCulty's Design Shop}

{Poppytalk}

What do you think? How would you put these vintage lovelies to use? What other options did I miss?

Presenting...My dress {sort of}

After much debate, I have decided to post my dress.

Ok... well, kind of.

It's not me, its just other people in my dress.






*** I'm serious Mr.! if you are reading this, continue at your own risk!***






So here it is:




{Christine Farah via Ruffled}
{Christine Farah via Ruffled}
{Sacha Blackburne viaDestination Inspirations}
{Saab Weddings via Destination Inspirations}
How fabulous is it! I heart it.

At first I hated seeing other people in my dress. I know that's ridiculous but it made her feel less special somehow. Now, I kind of love it! I love seeing the way she looks in different context, on different brides, and at very different weddings.

Do you stalk your dress? How does it make you feel to see it on other brides?

Mini-moon anyone?

{Source}
As everyone knows, one of the best things about having a destination wedding is getting to have your wedding and honeymoon at the same time. Unfortunately, Mr. P'cakes and I won't be able to enjoy Costa Rica or the post-wedding glow the way we had hoped. As it is, my law school graduation takes place the Monday before the wedding (which I will be skipping) and I start bar review classes 3 days after the wedding. So, we've decided that we'll do our honeymoon after I take the Bar at the end of July. At that point we'll be able to take 2-3 weeks to travel to some exotic location like Bali, South Africa or the Maldives. ( a girl can dream.)

However, that doesn't mean we can't take a mini-moon! With all the stress of moving back to NYC , getting ready for the wedding, graduating from law school and getting married, we figure we'll need a few days of relaxation before we get back on another plane. It would be just 3 days/2 nights to reconnect as husband and wife, and enjoy the post-wedding glow.

I know a lot of ladies have honeymooned in Costa Rica so I thought I should share and get some feedback!

These are my top three choices:

1. Hanging in the Tree Haus at Rancho Pacifico

{Rancho Pacifico}
Perched on a platform 20 feet above the ground and amongst the treetops, the treehaus hideaways offer seclusion, tranquility and an up and close experience with our extensive and pristine tropical rainforest environment.
Why we love this place? A great place to unwind after the big weekend and prepare to dive back into life in NYC.
Price: $450/night


2.Glamping it up at Rafiki Safari Lodge

{Rafiki Safari Lodge}
Rafiki is a wilderness luxury tent camp and conservation project focusing on adventurous sustainable tourism. The spacious luxury tents were imported from South Africa. The lodge is nestled on 842 acres of pristine jungle along the Savegre River, 30 km south of Quepos and Manuel Antonio in Costa Rica.

Why we love this place? This place has amazing reviews. We would be able to go white water rafting come back to a unique location and enjoy the natural beauty of Costa Rica.
Price: $282 for 2 person tent/$4oo for honeymoon suite

Since our flight leaves early in the morning on the 24th we are planning on doing our last night in San Jose.

{Finca Rosa Blanca}
We are looking at Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn, which is is an organic shade grown coffee plantation right outside of San Jose. At the Inn, guests are encouraged to participate in the picking, processing and roasting of Finca Rosa Blanca coffee. What could be more amazing than enjoying fresh organic homegrown coffee IN Costa Rica?
Price: 250/night

The truth is, there are LOTS of cheaper options at equally gorgeous boutique hotels. The thing about us Pancakes, is that we love adventures. It wouldn't be a honeymoon without a little Costa Rican adventure thrown in. It just doesn't seem right to stay at a Marriott or a Hilton when we could stay at a family-owned (luxury) coffee plantation instead!

So, what do you think? How did you decide where to 'moon? What were you looking for romance? adventure? relaxation?

Let's dish about mistmatched vintage dishes

{Source: Etsy -$108}

Mr. P and I are soon-to-be a homeless married couple. Right now, we live in an adorable one-bedroom in the center of Amsterdam, overlooking a lovely canal filled with swans and ducks, but come May 2nd we'll be HOMELESS! The reason I am telling you all this is because I LOVE vintage plates. I am head over heels obsessed with vintage plates. BUT, since we don't have a home, we really aren't in a position to accept a lot of traditional gifts. We literally have no idea where we'll be from May - October but chances are that we'll be living out of suitcases and a storage unit. (***I would love to be in Latin America, but we may be in NYC, DC or LA) That being said, we have to be careful about what we buy and what we register for.

One of the most amazing things about living in Amsterdam is the proliferation of antique stores! I spend at least 6 hours a week just wondering through all these trinket-filled stores, running my hands over everything.

So here's what I've decided. I would really love a set of small mismatched vintage plates of my very own. I know other Bees have blogged about this in the past, but I can't help it.

Is this just a passing fad?

{Source}

{Source}

{Source}
{Source}

There are really two issues at play here. One, I want mismatched vintage plates at my wedding. and two, I want vintage plates of my very own. For many people, I suppose these two things would go hand-in-hand.

1. For the Wedding

I did a little research and it looks like there are dozens of UK based companies that rent vintage plates, and only a handful based in the U.S., and NONE that ship internationally (understandably).

• Idyllic Days (UK)
  
• Vintage Teas and RSVPs (UK)
• Table Graces (NY)
  
• Rent my Dust (DFW, TX)
• Anyone for Tea (LA, CA)

This means there is virtually no way I'll be having vintage plates at my wedding. :(

2. For me

Although I'm strongly considering collecting my own vintage plates over the next few weeks and shipping them back to the U.S. myself. I recently stumbled across Antiquaria, an amazing online vintage home goods store. I immediately added half of their plates, cake stands and tea cups to my registry. I mean, how amazing is this 5 piece china place setting?!?

{Source}

So even though my wedding may have to be "vintage plate-less," perhaps my home won't!

Do you still love mismatched vintage plates? What about other places to register for vintage China?

You are cordially invited {Full disclosure}

This will be a very short post. I just wanted to follow-up on my post invitation post from yesterday!

Yesterday, I posted my invitation suite but as many of my fellow bees pointed out, I didn't post a picture of the invitations themselves. oops! I apologize for the repeat post but here is the whole suite, inside and out!



I did two separate mailings:

1. boxed invitations for all my friends and domestic family. I did a mix and match of different postage stamps and a luggage tag inspired wrap around label.

2. Envelopes for all my international family.

My mom is one of 7 and my father is one of 13. I have almost 100 cousins, and 2 dozen aunts and uncles...all living overseas. As such, it was just not financially feasible for me to send them all boxed invitations. To cut back on cost, simple envelopes for my overseas family.



*** You should know that I actually hand wrote ALL my mailing labels but they got lost in the mail from Amsterdam to Connecticut. I was on a two week vacation in Spain when I found out that the labels never arrived. After one late night at an internet cafe in Calahonda, Spain, I typed out all the labels and made do.

So THAT's it! My COMPLETE invitation suite.