DIY's for your Big Day!

A couple months back I gave my advice to Wedding Magazine on DIY projects for your big day. I love a little do it yourself project for your wedding day, personal touches are something I am adding a lot to on our big day and think are well worth it. This being said, I also believe that just because you are planning your wedding, does not mean you all of a sudden turn into Miss Crafty when you use to have no desire to cut, glue, sew and glitter everything. I love crafting and enjoy painting and doing little projects, however if this has never been your thing, its OK!

 The picture above are some projects I have been working on over time. Below I rounded up some of my favorite DIY projects that do not require 101 hours of your time, but I think everyone of all craft levels can do. My biggest advice, if you are taking on a lot of projects, give yourself a month before your wedding as a deadline to have your projects complete. Nobody wants to be stressed up the night before their wedding adding glitter to 101 candle holders! 

{Image from BHLDN}

Make your own Pom Poms, purchase tissue fans from companies like Peach Blossom and start gluing to your backdrop! The nice thing about this project is it does not need to look perfect, thats the look. 

{Image from Best Friends For Frosting} 

Make your own confetti sticks! I know we are having guests throw confetti after our ceremony, it is very British and I LOVE it! Having the confetti already in little tubes would be a great way to pass them out to guests. 

{Image from Paper N Stitch blog}

This & sign above is amazing! Making this floral ampersand if actually pretty easy! I would suggest asking a friend if they would be up to helping with it the day before the wedding so you are not running to the flower market 24 hours before you walk down the aisle. 

{Image from 100 Layer Cake}

A clear inexpensive glass candle holder with a lot of gold glitter is easy to create and adds a lot of bling to your reception! DIY glitter cancel holders.

{Image from 100 Layer Cake} 

How about adding a little glitter to your bridesmaids shoes! Easy and pretty idea, find it here. 

{Image from Confetti System}

The image above is the real paper hassle garland from Confetti System, however you can DIY your own for 1/2 the price. I found this step by step tutorial easy to use, search Paper Tassle Garland on Pinterest and you will find a lot of suggestions. 

These are just a FEW of my favorites! I will be adding a few more later on the week. Happy crafting! 

xoxo - Becca 

Adding a little SPRING to my step

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!", that is the noise of my feet screaming to finally GET OUT of my knee high, winter, leather boots. Spring has finally arrived and the stores are bursting with Spring clothes and pastel colors. Everywhere I turn, there are new spring like shoes on sale with bows, peep toes, glitter and all things pretty and feminine. You know me, bows and glitter are some of my favorite things! Below I have rounded up a few of my favorite shoes I hope can find a place in my closet this Spring! 

1. Kate Spade Della Wedges 2. Kate Spade Gabe Flats | 3. Boden Pointed Slingback's | 4. Ted Baker Crystal Court Shoe | 5. J.Crew Lillian Glitter Wedge | 6. Topshop Jester Kitten Heels | 7. Accessorize Metallic Ballerina Flat | 8. LK Bennet Estela Peep Toe Wedge

Happy shopping! I hope you find some pretty shoes to let your feet know they no longer need your wool winter socks! 

xoxo - Rebecca

My Little British Bridal Shower

I can not believe in less then three months we will be getting married! WOW! The planning still continues and things are starting to get a bit stressful struggling work, plans, travel and life, however it is still fun. I've been missing my mom, sisters and US girlfriends to share in the wedding celebrations throughout this entire time, thankfully I have such great friends here, they truly made me feel SO special a few weeks ago by throwing me a little British bridal shower! 

On a beautiful sunny afternoon in London I headed to The Soho Hotel for a fun afternoon with my London ladies. I had no idea before moving here that Bridal Showers were not a UK thing at all, it is very American to throw a bridal shower AND a bachelorette party. Bridal showers are such nice reasons to get together with the bride to be and girlfriends, drink cocktails, talk about the wedding, it was such a nice afternoon! 

My friend Ann was too sweet, she took our crest from our save the dates and made me a canvas tote that I will for sure be toting around the week of our wedding! And how cute are the Laduree gift bags, with the custom stickers, I've got some good friends here for sure. 

 Tea and flowery cocktails are a highlight to tea at The Soho Hotel. The hotel is very stylish and in a quiet side street in the busy area of Soho. We did not feel rushed leisurely eating all of our high tea goodies, opening gifts and drinking tea and cocktails for a couple of hours, I would highly recommend it for an afternoon out with girlfriends. 

 Scones and clotted cream are NOT on my wedding diet, but hey, you only live once right. 

 My girlfriends gave me such sweet gifts. Instead of buying things off of our registry, they gave us experiences in London which we can not wait to use! An evening out at a wine bar {we will be using pre wedding to relax}, photography classes for our new camera, and how about a gift certificate to our favorite local shop La Fromagerie to indulge in….after the wedding! 

 After high tea we walked to the Royal Air Force Club where Ann is a member, yes, a pretty posh bridal shower right, no crazy hen do for me, we like to keep it classy;)

 A couple bottles of prosecco later, with the queen looking over our shoulder, and dinner in the pub, we managed to talk life stuff and wedding stuff for many many hours. 

I love the pretty wallpaper and the pretty royal glasses at the RAF club, fancy no?

 It was the sweetest afternoon! Big or small, it meant so much to have a little celebration here in London with some friends. Dressing up, drinking tea, toasting with bubbly, gossiping with girlfriends, it was a lovely day. I do not know why the Brits do not have bridal showers, but I highly advise them, they make you feel like a princess for a day! I will truly never forget my little British bridal shower, it was lovely. I highly recommend if you have a friend getting married soon, treat her tea and bubbly, bring the American bridal shower tradition across the pond. I know I will look back very soon and think, can I do it all again! 

*81 days and counting until the big day! 

xoxo - Becca

Soiree Style: Doggie Birthday Bash

There is no reason you can not throw a huge soiree for your furry friend! Sir Oliver's birthday is today and I'm sure we will have a little treat with some festivities in honor of our dog of honor for the day! Why not go a little crazy and host an all out bash for your lucky dog! 

1. Amazing art to inexpensively decorate the party: Dog Silhouette photo by Julie Harrell 

2. Save some money and send the tail wagging birthday invites out as an e-version. Dog Party Invite by paperless post

3. Dress up your pink tee! Tshirt by screened

4. What party doesn't need a piñata! Dog Bone Piñata by Birthday Express

5. Serve the pooches specialty treats for the day:  Black & White Cookie Dog Treats by Pretty Fluffy, Steak Frites by A Dog's Life and Puppy Kisses Dog Treats by Pretty Fluffy 

6. Serve stylish dog drinks to your friends/dog owners Real Dogs Wine by A Dog's Life  and Salty Dog Martini by Food & Wine 

7. Hand out Pooch Treats by Tie that Binds when guests are ready to go. 

Happy doggy planning! xoxo - Becca

Happy Birthday Sir Oliver!

Today our little furry guy turns three! Yep, I'm a crazy dog mom, people who do not know me, probably think Oliver is a real little boy the way I talk about him! Well, today Sir Oliver turns THREE!!!! I remember Beau and I bringing him back to our house in Florida {2nd image at the top row} and he was so tiny at 4 months old. Three years later Sir Oliver has travelled to 3 countries, made a move to another country and has grown into the cutest, 

most loving fun companion we have. 

Seriously it sounds silly but it is true what people say, having a dog, they are just so much fun and become like your children. Having a bad day, when I get home and this little guy is wagging his little bum {or has torn through the entire trash} I still can't help it but smile. Happy big 3 birthday #siroliveruk, thanks for bringing lots of laughs and cuddles and smiles into our life!!! Hopefully you have many more years full of bones, chasing squirrels, herding dogs in the park, spoons of almond butter, cuddles, stick chewing and doggie smiles. Thank you for bringing TONS of smiles into our life!

*need a little smile in your day, follow Oliver's hashtag #siroliveruk 

xoxoxo - Becca

I Fancy Friday v. 26

You know those weeks where you feel like the Energizer Bunny that keeps going and going and going and going.....well this week was one of those for me, I'm tired! So needless to say, I'm happy to see that it is FRIDAY! I took a little break from blogging this past week, which I think was great for mind, and now I'm back! Throughout the week I've seen tons of things I' have fancied and wanted to share with all of you. Happy Friday! xoxo

1. I am thinking that this may be my new morning coffee mug!

2. I am really loving this article about Camilyn Beth. Not only am I psyched to wear one of her dresses at my shower {and kind of want another for my bachelorette!} but I love being inspired by ladies who follow their dreams and are shooting for the starts and getting there!

3. I know I am not the only one, who else wants to throw a party just to use all of the cute products from Oh Joy's Target line! I am loving the Target for Oh Joy! Ice Bucket, now too bad the UK doesn't have Tarjay…sniff sniff.

4. I saw this event by Hey Gorg and stopped. pretty. Isn't it PRETTY! The furniture, the flowers, all the details are lovely. Inspired again! 

5. After not coloring my hair since our move to London, I have decided some brightening up is WAY overdue and in order for our June wedding. I think I have found the perfect color and inspiration, thoughts? Ombre Hair on Style Me Pretty. Photo by Rebecca Hollis

6. Peanut Butter Buttonhole cookies, ummm yes please. They are cute and look tasty! 

7. Kylie Minogue's new album "Kiss Me Once" has me wanting to put my dance shoes on and head out for the night! This album keeps me going during my commute on the tube, tapping my foot at my desk and well, I'm loving it, who wants to go out dancing?

Happy Friday! xoxo - Becca

Dining In London: Hally's Parsons Green

On a recent cloudy Sunday afternoon Beau and I were across the city in Fulham early in the morning. I wanted to check out a place some girlfriends are staying during the wedding and we thought we should explore the area a bit more. I remember reading about an adorable beach like cafe in the area, but because we live in North London, so we are rarely that area. I did a little search and minutes later I was excited to discover a really cute gem in the area,

  Hally's Parsons Green! 

 I love that the description of Hally's is that it is a California inspired cafe, because actually I did feel a bit like I was on the US West Coast at a beach town or maybe even….Florida? The vibe at Hally's is really layed back, however, located in a nice part of London, you are not going to find college students in their pajama pants here, more like stylish young parents with their cutely dressed babies. When Beau and I arrived it was a bit crowded so we sat at the bar {hello amazing yellow stools!} and ordered a Bloody Mary. Hally's food is all based around healthy, organic and ethical products. The bar had a number of organic, gluten free and delicious looking pastries, however, I treated myself to the Bloody Mary and passed on the pastry. 

 The decor of the entire cafe is quite stylish and is decorated like the owners would decorate their dream California beach home, they win in the decor category for sure! From the neon light at the bar, the dip dyed chairs and the AMAZING bathroom wallpaper, this small little cafe made me feel like I was having a relaxed brunch near a beach town. 

 Let's discuss how much I loved the bathroom wallpaper and lights!!!

 A Monmouth organic skinny cappuccino in a cute green cup, love long brunches with lots of coffee!

 For brunch Beau had the smoked salmon on rye bread and had the avocado and red pepper on toast with a poached egg, yes, yum! The menu at Hally's has a lovely mix of yummy and healthy items; from porridge with almonds berries and honey to a chorizo, red onion omelette. 

 

 I did not take half enough photos of Hally's, however if you are over in the Putney/Parsons Green area, I would recommend stopping by for breakfast in Hally's! An airy, beach like Americana spot that is popular for families or girlfriends to catch up! Hally's is even…DOG friendly. We didn't bring Sir Oliver, but by the grainy yucky picture below, the dogs even like the place!

Bon Apetit! 

xoxo - Becca

Happy SPRING!

 Welcome Spring, officially the first day of Spring, I am so glad to see you! These past two weekends London has been in bloom, the sun has been out and things feel so much happier and brighter. Months of rain and dark mornings and shorter days has made me appreciate these beautiful days even more then before! My feeling is that Spring seems to give me a restart, a time of the year to recharge all of those New Years goals and resolutions. 

There is something about the sunshine that just makes everything better, no?

{picture from our trip to Holland a couple of years ago}

As you can tell recently, I have a lot going on, but don't we all! Days full of sunshine and walks around the city make me think a lot more of the wonderful things I have going on in my life that sometimes get stuck in my mind between all of the to do lists. These past few months have been a really crazy time for me but also a time that I am really trying to appreciate every moment. 

I have a lot of huge ideas of how to grow this blog, what I want to do with my career and the feeling of wanting to figure it out soon, projects for around the house, trips planned to the States, nights spent with Beau and Sir Oliver and wedding plans galore. Maybe it is the longer brighter days we are having recently, or just too much time thinking on the treadmill, however, I am starting to finally take a step back and think of whats next. I guess, Spring is making my ideas bloom and ideas for the future. This is a bit of a ramble, that being said, I guess my point is that enjoy this season! Take this new time in Spring to breathe a little more, bloom creatively a little more, do the things you have been saying you want to get done, enjoy it, I know I'm trying to.  Happy Spring! 

xoxo - Becca

Live a Little

Good morning! As you may have noticed, I have been a bit quiet on the blog front this week. I have decided to take a little "Spring Blog Break" for a week and step away from posting. As I have mentioned in past posts, life is a little busy right now; new job, wedding planning, travelling, socializing, and the list goes on. All good things happening in life, but also I am finding that I need to step away for a few days so I can come back with better posts, fresher ideas and check off the major to do list that has been hanging over my head. I will see you next Thursday, the first day of SPRING! I hope you also take a little time to step away as well! 

Xoxo - Becca 

Afternoon Blog Break

Saturday was such a sweet and special day! My girlfriends threw me a small bridal shower here in London. We had high tea, indulged in too many sweets and spent the evening drinking prosecco and gabbing about weddings and life, it was perfect! After spending a lovely day out on Saturday and then a beautiful sunny day out yesterday with Beau, Monday morning I have woken up with a to do list miles long. I keep reminding myself to breathe, and that enjoying fun times is a good thing and not to stress because I didn't get my list checked off! With that, I am going to take a little break with a cup of coffee and get caught up on some blog reading. Take a break, an afternoon blog break! 

{picture from my shower on Saturday} 

Black and White style, polka dots and stripes, I love both! 

An IKEA gilded nightstand, hello beautiful. 

Everything about this inspirational post makes me want to run to Hawaii now. 

 I love reading about business owners and their ideal clients, style, etc! 

Wishing I was in Palm Beach and could wear something bright and sunny like this. 

Oooo I love this beach fairground engagement shoot! It reminds of ones Michelle took before we moved!

Jennifer Lawrence's best friend wrote an article about her experience at the Oscars, interesting. 

I love Michelle's pictures! How pretty is this bride and groom AND her red bow shoes. 

Bite size appetizers, mini food, this is what we want to serve. 

Taco party anyone? Sounds fun to me! 

xoxo - Becca

Spring Flowers

It was a LOVELY weekend here in London. Yes, I had to use all caps on lovely because I'm shouting about it because it was amazing. The weather has changed from winter to a beautiful spring day in a day. Yesterday, the park outside our flat was full of people having picnics, buying ice-cream from the ice cream truck and taking walks in flip flops and shorts {I didn't think it was THAT warm, but whatever!}. One thing I absolutely love about Spring is the amount of flowers that are out this time of year. Flowers from the market, from the grocery store, from the park, they are everywhere. 

No matter what budget I am on, I have always kept fresh flowers in my apartment. A vase full of pretty flowers just brightens up your home! Tulips, ranaculas, daffodils, there are so many gorgeous spring flowers! 

Not the best picture below, a little fuzzy, however, this is a picture of the park by our house on Friday night. The daffodils are blooming EVERYWHERE and it looks beautiful! 

 Recently I have been a bit stressed out feeling. The wedding is starting to make my shoulders tense and fill my mind with too many items on my to do list! A fresh vase of flowers just brightens up the day and taking a few minutes out to cut and arrange them is a bit therapeutic I think. I am SO looking forward to the few months ahead full of sunshine and pretty blooms here in London!!!! If you don't have any flowers in your house right now, head outside and get some in a vase, it just makes you happier coming home to pretty blooms!

xoxo - Becca

I Fancy Friday v. 25

YAY! It is FRIDAY!!! I am so looking forward to the weekend ahead. We have had a fun filled week with the fun event at Kate Spade, we found our wedding band and took a long night time stroll through London. This weekend however I am looking forward to some girly time with a few ladies in London that are throwing a little bridal shower for me, little and oh so sweet, I am really looking forward to the weekend ahead!!!! For now, there are a few things I have fancied over the last few days and I wanted to share! Happy Friday! 

1. London's Largest Bake Sale - This Saturday at the Old Queen's Head Pub, N1 8LN London,  bakers are all getting together for all over London to sell their goodies. 

All items go to Refuge Charity. 

2. Kate Spade Roanne Top - I went to a fun event at the Covent Garden Kate Spade store last night

 and fell in love with this shirt. 

3. Canvas Art - She leaves a little sparkle wherever she goes. What an easy way to create art, download these quotes, print online on a canvas and voila, lovely prints on your wall! 

4. Chick Lit Candles  - With candle names like the Girls Girl and Wedding Boss I knew I would love them. The creator started her career as a writer, which you can tell by the amazing candle stories. Now she is connecting candles with our thoughts and ideas and well, I need to get one soon. 

5. Pretty little baubles. Little airplane studs by LC Lauren Conrad and Opulent Pastel Necklace from Forever 21.

6. Make Ahead Breakfast Items - In a rush? These are some great make ahead breakfast items for the work week. 

xoxo - Becca

The Wedding Registry

The process of registering for your wedding gifts is suppose to be fun, right? Well Beau and I found it a bit stressful and almost a bit weird registering and asking for gifts for ourselves. Living in the UK but having family, friends and most of our wedding guests living in the States, Holland and China made us question where to register and what to register for. We have lived together for over 4 years and combined have a lot of home wares, so we are not looking to clean out everything and get ALL new items. That being said, we did want to register for timeless pieces and new fresh items to have as a married couple {hello new monogrammed sheets!}. Not being able to register at Pottery Barn in the US or find the perfect pattern of china in London, we were excited when we found the website MyRegistry.com !

MyRegistry.com  allows you to register from ANY store, even Etsy shops! West Elm does not have a proper wedding registry set up, so it is amazing that you can add gifts to your registry from the site! You add a "Add to my Registry" button to your homepage and when you see gifts on websites, you click. Easy. It reminds me of Pinterest in a way! However, like the scanner gun at department stores, make a list  first on items you want and add the fun items last. After you finish your registry, go over it the next few days and edit it, add, delete, etc. What I have found when registering for items is we ask ourselves, "Will we want this item 10 years into our marriage?" if I say yes, then its a good gift! I have tried adding kitchen items we want, new knives and the rest of our Le Creseut collection. We have asked for two sets of sheets, one monogrammed and one not. Nice new sheets is something we always want but never buy ourselves, add them to your registry! Also, because we are getting married in England, I wanted to add some pretty pieces from British pottery designer, Sophie Conran. We have not registered for new everything, not all new glasses and ten sets of flatware, but everything we decided on is pretty, good quality and items that we like to add to our future home as a couple. 

Take some time and think about what you want to register for, what you have, what you are looking to add to your home together. Putting together a registry can be overwhelming at first and you want to add one of each, but think about it for a bit before clicking on every item. Do not just think of these items as gifts for only today either, add things you want to have for your life together. MyRegistry.com is really a great spot! If you are in the running to register for your wedding day, I highly recommend it! Living abroad as well, it is wonderful because you can edit currencies to specific stores, you can edit addresses as to where you want things shipped {not every 2 bedroom flat has room for tons of china!}.

Any thoughts on things you received or wished you had asked for, add a comment, I would love to hear!

xoxo - Becca

A Man in a Tuxedo….a White Tuxedo

Ladies, there is something about a man in a tuxedo, right? A man in a tuxedo with a big smile makes your heart flutter a little more? Mine does! Actually a man in a white tuxedo jacket makes me even a little happier! I convinced Beau to wear a dapper white jacket for our upcoming wedding and can not wait to see him looking like an old school Hollywood actor on our wedding day, so handsome! When I saw the best actor and best supporting actor on Sunday both dressed in white jackets, I knew it was the perfect choice!  

{image from People.com}

{image from Entertainment.wise}

 {Image from GQ}

{Image by Caught the Light on Style Me Pretty}

{Image by Jonathan Canlas in Southern Weddings}

{Image by Raquel Reis on Style Me Pretty}

{Image by Becca Borge on Floridian Weddings} 

{Image by Jennifer Hughes on Style Me Pretty}

How do you feel about a man in a white jacket? :) xoxo - Becca