Wedding Planning Wednesday - The flowers

Most of the weddings that I've seen are all about the glitz and glam. The bride wants to be pampered and treated like a princess with her big, poofy dress, jewel encrusted centerpieces, and dance floor complete with a custom made monogram. I, on the other hand, would be happy getting married in a barn with 20 close friends and family members and a vintage dress. I definitely prefer the look of DIY weddings and I know that I can create a beautiful day doing the planning and creating myself with a small budget. I love the personal touches you get with a DIY wedding that you just don't get when you use an event planner!

One way I plan to save money is with the flowers. Flowers are one of my favorite things about weddings. And because I worked in a flower shop and assisted with bridal arrangements I plan to go to the LA flower market and do the bridesmaids bouquets and centerpieces for the wedding myself. Here are some of the flowers I'm thinking of using!

Baby's breath is known as a filler flower. It's what you typically see nestled in between your dozen of red roses. I happen to think that it is lovely, delicate, and understated which is exactly the look I'm going for. I'm thinking of using a big bunch of it for bridesmaids bouquets and as far as centerpieces go, I love how it looks displayed in mason jars and antique vases and tea tins. And the best part? Baby's breath is very budget friendly! 

For my bouquet I might go to a florist if I end up wanting something more complex. Right now I'm really liking unique flowers such as ranucnculus and anemones. I think the above arrangement is delicate and whimsical and having the twine wrapped around  would make it tie in really well with my theme.

That's all for now! Tonight and tomorrow we'll be looking at hopefully the last of the venues and if all goes well I'll be able to share which one we chose by next week! YAY! XOXO

**all image sources can be found on my Pinterest wedding board here.

What's new at Mama Matryoshka

Even though I did start making the decor for Cayden's party, I still feel like I'm running behind. It hit me all of a sudden that I have little over a month to finish everything. Ahhhhh! Luckily, I only have one custom order to work on right now so I have plenty of time to really get stuff done. I even had a little bit of down time last week when I ran out of black cardstock and whipped up a new item for Mama Matryoshka!

I'm obsessed with the idea of a fairy princess party for a little girl. Cliche, I know, but I still think that watching little girls play dress-up and letting their imagination run wild is the sweetest thing ever. I really wanted to start making a few things specifically for girl parties because I have a boy and it's easy to get caught up in all the cute boy themes out there. I decided to make some cute ribbon wants that could either be used as photo props or party favors! I used 4 different ribbons with various colors and textures and securely attached them to 12 inch Wilton lollipop sticks. They are perfect for waving around and adding that magical touch to your next party!

My best friend was kind enough to lend her 15 month old daughter to me to use as my model. I have a much bigger respect for children's photographer's because it is not easy! This little girl was running around all over the place with her new magic wand (as little girls should!) and getting a photo that wasn't blurry was not easy!

To see the full listing in my Etsy shop click here. Custom colors are also available! XOXO

Friday Favorites: Father's Day

I've been so busy worrying about the wedding and Cayden's birthday party (1 month away! When did that happen?!) that I've completely forgotten about Father's Day. Okay, I didn't forget, I just haven't been focusing on it. Mando is the best partner, father, lover, and friend a girl could ask for, so it's really important to me to make this day special for him, especially after the amazing Mother's Day he gave me.

I've been scouring the web for some sentimental and fun ideas, and I've found a few things that I love that don't take too much time or money but are still super sweet. So without further ado, here are my favorite Father's Day gifts...

Themed buckets. I love these buckets. They are useful, manly, and so easy to customize. The first one is for the reno-obsessed father or one with a mile long honey-do list. The second one is filled with car washing supplies and if your husband is anything like Mando, they are OBSESSED with washing their cars!

 

Framed photos. Every great dad loves pictures of their children and I love the idea of taking a special picture just for dad. The first idea is framing some of your child's artwork with a picture of them making it. I think this is so cool and unique. The second one would work if you have babies who can't draw or paint yet. Just cut-out big letters spelling DAD and photograph your baby holding them! Lastly, if you have multiple children, you can do something like the 3rd picture. I am obsessed with kid/baby feet so this is super adorable to me.

Bake something. I'm always baking for other people that sometimes Mando complains I don't bake anything specifically for him. I thought it would be sweet to bake his favorite carrot cake cupcakes on Father's day and putting them in some cute packaging like the suit and tie bags in the second picture!

There you have it! I hope I've given a few of you some quick and easy Father's Day inspiration. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend! We're off to go check out some wedding venues! XOXO

*All image sources can be found on my Pinterest page here.

We chose a date, our wedding colors, and a new blog series!

So remember when I said that wedding plans are going to consume me for the next year or so? Well, I wasn't lying. I promised myself I wouldn't ask Mando any wedding planning questions the day of his proposal, but for the last 3 or 4 days I've been forcing hours of planning conversations on him. He humors me because he knows how excited I am to plan this, but I have to remind myself often to not overwhelm him! Therefore, I decided to start a new blog series called Wedding Planning Wednesday so you guys can see what I'm loving, what's inspiring me, and what decisions we've made regarding our wedding. Hopefully I'll be able to contain my wedding gushing to once a week although this is your official warning: lots of gushing to come in the next year! I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for this and I plan to enjoy every minute! To kick off the first Wedding Planning Wednesday, I wanted to share 2 decisions we've made in the 4 days we've been engaged as well as my first inspiration board!

The date. I originally wanted a Fall wedding, but the timing just isn't in our favor. I don't want to stress and plan a wedding in 3 months and I didn't want to wait a year and 3 months, so that idea is out. Since we are having an outdoor wedding, Winter was out so it was between Spring and Summer. I didn't want it to be too hot in Summer or too rainy in Spring so we landed in the middle and decided on Saturday, May 12th, 2012. I am a number nerd, and 5-12-12 looks and sounds appealing to me. I love it! Only 11-ish months to go!

The wedding colors. I am obsessed with our wedding theme. We decided to go with a 'Rustic chic' feel and I could not be happier. It took me a long time to choose the colors and it was important they went with whatever season our wedding was in. I wanted romantic, neutral colors and I want a lot of texture. The colors we came up with are ivory/lace, burlap, and a soft and pretty ballet pink as our accent color. I'm surprised that I chose pink (and that Mando agreed), but I think it'll be perfect delicate touch to our rustic event and because it's just the accent color it won't be overwhelmingly girly. I am so, so in love!

That's all for now! Hopefully I'll be able to refrain from posting wedding stuff until next Wedding Planning Wednesday, but it's going to be hard! XOXO

It finally happened...

Yes, you read that right! I'm happy to announce that Mando and I are engaged! FINALLY! He proposed to me on Saturday night and it was perfect.  

How it happened: Saturday afternoon Mando, Cayden, and I were over at my mom's having a garage sale and cleaning out the back yard over there in preparation of Cayden's birthday party. When we were done my mom suggested we take the night off and have a date night and volunteered to watch Cayden for us. After an early start to a long day I almost said no... going home and going to bed early sounded way better. However, Mando convinced me that it would be good to get out of the house and get a break so I reluctantly agreed. We went out to dinner with my mom and Cayden and had some yummy Chinese and then after they went back home we stopped and got some ice cream and took a trip to the lake. The sun was setting after a gorgeous day and all of the families were packing up to go home. We found a quiet bench overlooking the water and were just hanging out and talking. The next thing I knew I turned around and Mando was on his knee with a ring in his hand! I don't even remember what he said I was so nervous! He popped the question and of course I said yes. It was quiet, romantic, and intimate which is exactly what I wanted. I found out afterwards that everyone knew and he and my mom had set up the whole thing. Sneaky, sneaky! We got tons of text and phone calls right after it happened. We are so thrilled and I am beyond excited to start planning... After 3 years, and a baby this wedding is long overdue! Expect to see a lot of wedding planning posts around here, I already know it's going to consume me for the next year or so! Thank you to everyone who has already said congratulations, it means the world to me! XOXO

Friday Favorites: Wonderful one-pieces

I love Memorial Day because it's recognized as the official start of the summer. It represents the beach, BBQ's, and bathing suits! Sure enough, we spent the holiday weekend in the pool with some friends. Now, I'm not ashamed of my post-pregnancy body... after all, it's what grew Cayden and that is no easy task! I am however 100% positive that I will never be strutting around in a bikini again which is why I've been spending my time scouring the internet for a cute one-piece that I won't be embarrassed in. Luckily, I've found a ton of cute, vintage inspired suits on Pinterest like the REAL vintage ones above. Aren't they amazing? Here are a few of my absolute favorites. Now to actually buy one!

This ballet pink is becoming one of my favorite colors. It's flattering on my pale skin and it's girly while still neutral. I love the criss-cross detailing on the front!

This black halter bathing suit is my absolute favorite. I love the fabric over-lay, sweetheart neckline, and the halter looks super comfy and flattering. If it didn't cost hundreds of dollars and come from Europe I would totes buy it! ;)

This bathing suit is bright, girly, and fun. I love the little ruffle detail along the bottom and the bright color!

This pretty gray suit looks comfortable and effortless! I love the side gathering and the shape!

I like nautical anything, so when I saw this sailor swimsuit I instantly loved it. The plunging neckline is pretty without being TOO revealing and I love the bow detail (of course)! The only thing that concerns me is the horizontal stripes!

Polka dots, vintage cut, halter top... this bathing suit is everything I could ever want and need!

That's all for now! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend full of warm weather, water, and cute bathing suits! Happy Friday! XOXO

*All image sources can be found on my Pinterest fashion board here.

Domesticated Delight got a sweet little makeover!

So, what do we think of my new blog design? I AM OBSESSED. I have had the Danielle Moss graphic design website bookmarked for over a year now, and I finally decided the time was right for a sweet little makeover! I knew she would do a fantastic job and let me tell you, she did not disappoint. I think she truly captured my style with the red/aqua colors and the graphics and I am so in love. Not only was she was incredibly easy to work with and quick to respond to emails, she was also willing to explain bloggy things (that I probably should have known about already) and gave me her personal opinion on a lot of things which was totally appreciated. If you are thinking of getting a fresh look for your blog, I can't recommend her enough!

A few things to point out: I changed the links on my top navigation bar to include some updated information about my family and added a section for my Etsy shop as well! And guess what? Mama Matryoshka got a makeover too! Make sure to check out the coordinating banner over at the shop... I just think it's the cutest thing ever! I also have a new button, both for my blog and Mama Matryoshka located on the right hand side under Follow Along for those who would like to add it to their site! I plan to get all the buttons from the blogs I've been stalking to add to my page very soon! Fancy!

Let me know what you think of the new design, and I'll be back tomorrow for Friday Favorites! XOXO