I think you all know by now how much I adore birds. Thanks to Dwell Studio, I’m hurtin bad for some of these cuties.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, they had to throw in this. And this!
But Dwell, if I can get real with you for a minute, why the devil does a throw pillow cost $98?!
Every time I get on Facebook or check my phone, I have a message, feed update or text letting me know that somebody else I know is engaged. Most of these people are acquaintances but some are good friends. With the quickly approaching nuptials come wedding showers. While not exactly my style, many brides register for everything they could ever possibly need in married life and then friends give 3, 4, 5 or even more showers! With that many showers, it’s fun as the hostess to come up with something completely different and unexpected than the typical afternoon tea with all the frills.
Monograms & Mimosas
Danielle hosted a shower like this and I think it’s darling! If your bride doesn’t drink or you’re hosting an afternoon or evening shower, you could change the mimosas to mochas or margaritas. Have guests bring the bride a monogrammed something (towels, pillowcases, lucite tray, wine glasses, shower curtain, silver, etc) and serve the drinks while she unwraps.
Date Night
Have guests bring a pre-packaged date for the couple. Examples include gift certificate to Fandango or the local theater and microwave popcorn, reservations at a fancy restaurant, a picnic basket and nice bottle of wine, gift certificate for a spa or two pairs of bowling gloves with certificates for the local bowling alley. Set the party up like a romantic date. Serve wine, have candles and let guests munch on oysters and chocolates. This works well as a couples shower.
Round the Clock
Assign each guest with a time of day and have them bring a gift of something you might be doing at that time of day. For example, 8:00 a.m. could bring a waffle iron or juice glasses, 10:00 a.m. could bring gardening tools, Noon could bring a panini press or placemats, 2:00 p.m. could bring a lemonade pitcher and glasses, 6:00 p.m. could bring a bottle of wine or a casserole dish, 8:00 p.m. could bring ice cream bowls, 10:00 p.m. could bring bed linens, etc. Present the bride with a beautiful clock at the end of the shower. The party could have a sort of vintage feel with pinks and mint greens and favors, invitations and decorations could revolve around the time theme.
The Alphabet Game
Assign each guest with a letter of the alphabet. Reach into a bag of Scrabble tiles and give out random letters or if you’d like, assign letters that spell a word out like “Best Wishes” or the bride’s new last name. Have the guests bring gifts that start with that letter. For example, the letter B could bring bathmats or E could bring an egg tray. Have the guests mark their gifts with the letter so that they spell out the word or have the bride guess what the word is. This works well for baby showers too.
Paper Shower
Give the bride stationery, wrapping paper, drawer liners, etc. Get creative with your paper gifts. Serve paper-thin crackers, use all paper plates/napkins/cups, decorate using only paper.
Organizational Shower
Give the bride storage bins, labels, drawer organizers, matching hangers, etc. Visit organize.com for creative and cute storage solutions. This works especially well for two people who’ve had their own lives for quite some time and are having difficulty meshing their things. This would be great if it was held at the couple’s new home and guests could help her organize things with her new tools.
Around the House Shower
Assign each guest a room in the house and have them bring a gift for that room. Ex: bedroom- sheets, bathroom- towels, kitchen- measuring cups, etc.
Other ideas aka things I”m too lazy to make a collage for include a Stock the Bar/Cellar Shower, Tool Shower (for the groom), Gardening Shower, Cooking Shower (have a chef teach the group a dish that’s perfect for 2 and have the guests bring a favorite cookbook and/or recipe ) and Stock the Pantry Shower
What’s the most clever and different shower you’ve ever been to?
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Instead of drinking green beer and eating corned beef and cabbage, I’d like to take a trip to Ireland to celebrate. I think I’ll stay at the Springfield Castle.
This place is seriously out of control beautiful! There are no words. I’m not even going to try to describe it. Even their website is beautiful. Just take a look at the grounds and cozy rooms:
And for you floorplan junkies:
You can even get married here! Wouldn’t it be gorgeous to have this as your backdrop?!
What fun to stay in a place packed with rich history and surrounded by beautiful scenery!
How do you plan to celebrate your St. Patty’s day?
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for good (authentic) country music and lonesome sounding bluegrass. To feed that need, Mama and I had the pleasure of enjoying the music of Mr. Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives Friday night. It was incredible, to say the least.
The show started by three gentlemen gracing the stage. Handsome Harry Stinson was on drums looking an awful lot like Paul McCartney. He was wearing blue jeans, brown suede cowboy boots, a black button down shirt, pale blue blazer and a long chain with a cross hanging from it. Pretty much what he’s seen wearing here:
Handsome Harry’s high harmonies (say that five times fast) really rounded out the sound. He sang “Working on a Building” and you could have sworn it was Del McCoury up there.
On the electric and upright bass, there was the Apostle Paul Martin with the thousand-watt smile. Paul was wearing a black button down complete with rhinestone-embellished white scarf, black jeans, fushia jacket and some of the shiniest white patent leather cowboy boots you’ve ever seen.
Rounding out the trio, was Cousin Kenny Vaughn, who is quite possibly the love child of Iola Boylen from Mama’s Family and Big Bird (I also think Kenny is what Gillian Welch & David Rawlings’ kids could look like.) Cousin Kenny’s legs were longer and skinnier than any runway model’s yet his black peg-leg jeans were seemingly painted on. Mama commented that she couldn’t take her eyes of those little twiggy legs. His sequin-studded cowboy shirt and peach neckerchief were only upstaged by his lime green patent leather cowboy boots.
But the unquestionable star of the show was Mr. Marty Stuart himself. Respelendent with his gravity-defying lavendar hair, tanned skin, sequined jacket, black button down, silver belt that had to have come from Chico’s, high-heeled boots and painted on jeans, Marty managed to outshine his sparkly wardrobe by rendering fantastic country, bluegrass and gospel music.
They played a few favorites like The Whiskey Ain’t Workin Anymore, This One’s Gonna Hurt You, Hillbilly Rock and Tempted, a few from their gospel album, a few classic country favorites and left me in a puddle of amazement when they picked out Long Black Veil and In the Pines. One of the most exciting moments in the show was when Marty told the crowd that a few members from the Lewis Family were in the audience. He had them stand up and wave then called Janis up to sing Matthew 24 with the band! I would have flipped out if I was Janis but I suspect she came prepared because her sparkly jacket rivaled Marty’s.
My only complaint was that the crowd kept requesting that he play Johnny Cash songs. Marty didn’t seem to mind, he and Johnny were friends and next door neighbors, but if I wanted to hear Johnny Cash songs, I’d go to any bar in Nashville. I wanted to hear more Lester Flatt, more Bill Monroe, more Marty Stuart! I really wanted to holler out my request of “Touch Me, Turn Me On and Burn Me Down” but I was afraid it would sound as if I was propositioning the married Marty and that certainly wouldn’t be my intention.
Afterward, Marty & the Superlatives announced they’d greet fans and sell cds, etc in the front lobby. Mama and I didn’t want to wait in line so we just skulked around the front windows looking into the lobby. Moments later, the glittering band members walked by so closely that we could have touched them (but thought better of it.) Marty is shockingly short. No wonder he wears his hair so high.
Best quote from the show: “Me and the boys just done something they ain’t done for a long time in Nashville… we made a country music album.” Ha!! Love it.
Warning: This is a random mishmash of things.
I’m working on a new batch of articles for the quarterly VeryVera newsletter but in the meantime, please check out the FABULOUS newly designed website. While you’re at it, order a Bailey’s Irish Cream Cake. I’m having to use a great deal of restraint to not drive over to the bakery and cram my face full of it right now.
Speaking of fabulous websites, I’m probably late to the game but I’ve been really enjoying Kendi Everyday. She’s a fashionable marketing specialist whose photographer husband documents her adorable outfits everyday. What fun!
Poor sweet Tater had surgery yesterday to repair a ruptured ACL. She’s supposed to take it easy for a month while she heals. That shouldn’t be a problem. :) 
And finally, I finished the last of Beau & Brittany’s wedding suite this past weekend. It was so much fun (and some hard work too) to put together their Save the Dates, Engagement Party Invites, Shower Invites, Wedding Invites, Rehearsal Dinner Invites, Placecards and Programs. It seems like just yesterday we were meeting for the first time to discuss colors and preferences and now their wedding is finally here! I’ll put together a little collage of their suite to post soon. Also, I’d like to thank Lenka, Rachel & Sarah for helping me stuff, glue, cut, tie, sticker and assemble a few of these projects.
I just bookmarked this page and this page. I think I need to rename my favorites “Things I think are cool but will never actually get around to doing.”
First pic from Martha, second one from ‘I Do’-it-yourself.
I’m trying to keep from vomiting my feelings all over the place since friends and acquaintances read this. So while I collect my thoughts and emotions (and work on 275 wedding programs) and come up with something clever, enjoy this prettiness from Green Wedding Shoes.
Flooding Susie's Inbox 
