DIY Notebooks

It's back to school time (I wish that applied to me, too!) so this DIY tutorial from Design*Sponge seems appropriate for the season as well as a great wedding project.

 This is the simplest book making project that I've seen - no sewing!  It would make a great guest book or a thoughtful gift for bridesmaids. 

Find the tutorial at Design*Sponge

Casual Bridal Shower

A non-girly, non-gifty bridal shower?  Sign me up.  Fun for all and no one has to sit around watching as someone else opens presents.  (We're not in third grade anymore, people.  We don't have return home with a gift report so that mom has a better idea of what to buy for little Amy's birthday next year.)  Point being, anything that includes lawn games is a-ok with me.  And picnics!

Via Ruffled

Pretty, simple

Oooh, how pretty are these cards over at Urbanic?  I particularly love the swings.  Very cute for wedding thank-you notes, yes?  Sadly, you have to go to Venice Beach to get them.

Reality

You know, wedding planning was a lot more fun when it was a theoretical wedding and I was the only one planning it.  Things get complicated when people and money are involved.  S. and I agree on a lot of important things about our wedding - it's about our commitment, and sharing that in a fantastic party with our family and friends.  Things we don't agree on?  The planning process.   Here is S. in the role of CPA while I play Typical Excited Bride.

S. - "How much does that cost?"
Me - "I don't know.  I'll call and find out.  What kind of colors do you like?"
S. - "Colors?  What are you talking about?  What do we need colors for?"
Me - "Because that's like, the second step of wedding planning.  I like green and gray."
S. - "Why?  Where do the colors go?  How much does that cost?"
Me - "Nothing, it's just a unifying concept.  What do you think of this invitation?"
S. - "It's fine.  But what is the point of planning all of this without numbers?"
Me - "Ummm...it's fun? We get to decide on things together?"
S. - "Talk to me when you have numbers."
Me - goes to read wedding porn

Yeah.  That's pretty much how our wedding discussions go.

Weak...

Oh, the wedding magazine.  The indie DIYers feel superior to them and wouldn't be caught dead in a Barnes & Noble anyway, and the WIC-bride fails to see the problem - what?  It's only a magazine, and it has pretty pictures and advice!  I tried to tread a middle ground.  Whoops.

Somehow, spending $14 (really, Sarah?  really? where in your librarian's salary did you see the spare cash for that one?) seemed...unavoidable.  It's like porn with an expiration date.  There's the anticipation, the guilt-fraught purchase, the hiding it from the significant other (oh no, honey, I'm not incessantly thinking about weddings, not delirious with excitement and lists and ideas and unable to concentrate on work, I'm totally sane and you have nothing to worry about in marrying me), but then you get married and suddenly you have these over-priced paperweights and absolutely no reason to look at them again.

I succumbed to the seemingly practical advice, the simple wedding dresses featured, the oh-so-pretty-and-really-i-could-totally-do-that invitations, and the no visible ads!! in Real Simple Weddings.  And I justified this with the reassurance that the purchase included a year's subscription to Real Simple, a magazine I already get and mostly chop up for art projects.  Oy.  Well, it's done (until fair Martha brings forth her next issue), the wedding porn is bought, and I can only attempt to live with my weakness.  At least I have pretty pictures to distract me.

Tent honeymoon - with style

I take it back.  THIS is where I want to spend my honeymoon!  It is the perfect combination of outdoors and luxury - hiking, kayaking, and biking complemented by a tenthouse (!), a hydrotherapy tub, and private deck overlooking the rocky coast.  Yes, please.  Plus, it's more affordable than Patagonia!  And it has "secret cove" in its name.  Ok, so it's not hard to find something more affordable than flying 24 hours to South America. 

Rockwater Secret Cove Resort

Not-so-Real-World Honeymoon Destination

Ok, so I promised that this would be a blog about weddings and design for the real world, and this place is way too pricey to be considered generally attainable, but I LOVE it and it's in Patagonia (with which I have a history and small obsession) and so I'm sharing anyway. 

I've been eying this and other hotels in Patagonia for a little while, so when Apartment Therapy featured this hotel today, I decided to take it as a sign.

Ahh, Patagonia!  Jagged peaks, remote and rugged landscapes, dramatic backpacking, hiking, and climbing - in a word, amazing.  Not that I've been.  But if I could go, I would love to stay here.  The modern building is composed of wood, glass, asphalt, and slate with a grass roof (sweet!).  Minimal rooms highlight the surrounding landscape.

Seriously, look at that ceiling!

Their website is http://remota.cl/

Images via Apartment Therapy.