Merry, Merry Christmas... one day early!

{via this is glamorous}

I hope your day is merry and bright!

P&P Christmas, Day 7: Movies

{via Apartment 34}

I wouldn't say that a huge part of my Christmas festivities involves watching movies, but there are a few that worm their way into my December schedule every year. Usually I'm content to just watch whichever ones come on TV (except for Love, Actually -- I own that one and it gets played every year without fail!), but this year I decided to be a bit more proactive about things. Yes, I stocked my December Netflix queue full of holiday favorites.

Some old stand-bys (for me) that made the cut?
It's a Wonderful Life
The Santa Clause (yes, with Tim Allen... don't laugh!)
A Charlie Brown Christmas

And a few new ones I've never seen:
Miracle on 34th Street (the old, black and white version)
White Christmas
Four Christmases

What's your favorite Christmas movie? Any I missed that deserve a place on the list?

StillMotion

{Disclaimer: this post may end up sounding a bit dramatic. I swear to you, everything you're about to read is exactly how I feel, without hyperbole or exaggeration.}



Okay now. Have y'all heard of Stillmotion? They're a mixed media company based in Canada, but what they're really known for (at least in the circles I run in) is their Same Day Edits. The idea with the SDE is that the crew films the day of your wedding up through the ceremony, then edits the footage to share at the end of your reception.

And it's amazing.

Mrs. Penguin of Weddingbee recently shared an exchange with one of her recently engaged friends. Here it is:

Robin: We're engaged!

Pengy: Congratulations! Have you heard of Stillmotion?

My thoughts exactly.

Ever since I saw Cheryl and Andrew's SDE on the 'bee, I've been yapping about Stillmotion to anyone who will listen. At this point, I think about 85% of my friends and family have seen C + A's clip. I don't have very good video-embedding skillz, so I'm not going to even try to upload anything, but if you love beautiful things, and you're okay with getting a bit verklempt, then for the love of wedding cinematography, please watch the following two clips... and then every other clip on the Stillmotion site.

Cheryl + Andrew's Same Day Edit

Robin + Carlos' Same Day Edit

Thank you. But trust, you'll be thanking me soon.

Monday, Monday + Winter

{Image from House Beautiful}

It's the first day of winter! Isn't this lodge beautiful? The interior is equally so. See more here!

P&P Christmas, Day 6: Our decor!

In decorating for Christmas, I realized there are very few available, flat surfaces in our apartment. We did what we could! You like?

And yes, that is a stocking for the kitties.

Lovely Love Shoot

Love this series from Yvonne Wong. So happy, great light. Wouldn't it be such a fun indulgence to have a photo shoot every year on your anniversary?

See more here.

P&P Christmas, Day 5: My favorite things

{from flickr}

Are you a ritualistic sort of person? I definitely am. I love traditions of all sorts, and though I'm not a stickler for doing things exactly as they've always been done (ahem sisters), I do have a few activities I try to make a habit of doing every December.

Make peppermint hot chocolate and watch Christmas movies (I want to try my hand at homemade marshmallows next!)
Go ice skating outside
Hang an Advent calendar and open it through December
Drive around to look at the neighborhood Christmas lights (inherited this one from my grandmother!)
Hunt for a Christmas tree at a cut-your-own farm
Make tweeks to my Christmas decorations
Make and mail out Christmas cards to friends and family
Attend the candlelight Christmas Eve service(s) at my church
Buy a new Christmas CD
Bake cookies
Pick (or make) the perfect gift for family and friends (seriously -- one of my favorite things)
Get creative wrapping gifts
Attend a performance of the Nutcracker
Put up a wreath
Go to a Christmas concert
Read the Christmas story from the Bible
Eat Monkey Bread on Christmas morning

High-Boys

{via Real Simple}

I'm thinking something like this could look neat on the high-boy (cocktail) tables at Kate and Cormac's reception. They most likely won't be having sit-down tables and instead will have a collection of higher and lower cocktail tables. We've been scouting for a low-cost, low-floral, simple-to-set-up arrangement, and this one, by Michelle Rago for Real Simple, would fit the bill, I think. The manzanita is even evocative of driftwood! (Remember, driftwood is an important part of the scheme.)

Sister Kim and I tried our hand at these floral flowers (so cute! so easy! photos coming soon!) over Thanksgiving and think they would look great in place of the tissue ones Michelle used. I'm seeing crisp navy and white stripe fabric flowers alternating with yellow and white striped ones.

Any other ideas for an arrangement that is:
-- low-cost
-- low-floral
-- easy-to-set-up
-- appropriate for the afternoon (i.e. no candles)
-- able to stand up to the wind?

Thoughts?

Board No. 61: Cherry and Sky Holidays

{Click to enlarge!}

Like last week's aqua and kelly inspiration board, I thought this week's sky and cherry palette was a nice twist on red and green. A little red party dress, some brightly hued ribbon candy, and, of course, the Lenox Chirp dinnerware that inspired it all. Isn't it amazing? I would really, really love to have just a few pieces of that pattern, but alas, it is obscenely expensive. Le sigh. They do, however, have some Chirp ornaments right now that are also beautiful.

The Details
Clockwise from top left: Lenox Chirp dinnerware from Macy's; ribbon candy from Amy Atlas; paint chip wrapping from Real Simple; Christmas tree from Christmas Traditions; envelopes calligraphed by May Belle; little red dress from Demoiselle; notions by Allsorts; carnation chair decoration photo by Jennifer Kloss; jelly bean favors from Martha Stewart Weddings; poinsettia card by Smock

Monday, Monday + One Horse Open Sleigh

{via this is glamorous}

Or two horse, as the case may be! It's my last week down South before heading back to Connecticut for the holidays on Saturday, and I'm already getting excited about the possibility of a white Christmas! We haven't had one in a few years (and by that I mean snow actually falling on Christmas morning), but I'm still holding out hope.

P&P Christmas, Day 4: My Cards, Part I

My Christmas cards! Or, at least one version of them (I made three this year). These definitely have a handmade quality to them, but I actually love that you can tell I cut the circles by eye. Also, the colors are a nice twist on traditional red and green, don't you think?

Holly Farrell

Love her paintings. See more here.

P&P Christmas, Day 3: Gift Wrap Inspiration

{paint swatch tags from Real Simple}


{silver tissue paper from Martha}


{bow tie pasta bows from Real Simple}


{criss-cross yarn from Martha}


{velvet ribbon from Real Simple}


{black and white graphic paper from Blueprint}


{silver bells from Martha}


{tone on tone from Real Simple}


{DIY gift tags from inchmark}


{bright on bright from J. Crew}


{vintage paper initials from Martha}


{vintage ephemera from d.Sharp}


{dots on dots from Carolyne Roehm}

A little gift inspiration for you from some of my favorite sources. Have you started wrapping yet? It's one of my favorite Christmas preparation activities, so I always try to start early.

More Modcloth

More dresses that aren't right for the wedding but would look just right in my closet. Because I can't get enough, clearly.













All from Modcloth, and all (all!) under $100.

The hunt for the bridesmaid dress is on!

And mind you, this is me making that declaration. I have this vision in my head of what the maids should wear at Kate and Cormac's wedding, and I think Kate vaguely agrees with me, but I'm not exactly sure. I'm guessing the two other ladies will have some opinions, as well, so really, this is just me doing my own research.

Or trying to do research, as it turns out. The image in my head is of a navy and white patterned dress, knee length, in a summery, more casual sort of fabric. A fancy sundress. Or else something like this:


(Image by Brooke Schwab)

Cute, no? That's what I thought.

Well.

So far I have looked at the online sites of:

J. Crew
Ann Taylor
LOFT
Banana Republic
GAP
Old Navy
American Eagle
Coren Moore
Jenny Yoo
Melissa Sweet at POB
Thread Bridesmaid
Queue
Vineyard at POB
Anthropologie
BCBGMaxAzzria
and Shoshanna

Whew.

Unfortunately, I really didn't find anything, except for this frock at Old Navy:



Then I remembered Modcloth. And whoa. I didn't exactly hit the jackpot (as in, the perfect dress for the maids), but I sure did find some cute possibilities, and way too many dresses that I just plain want in my life. Here are some I found that could possibly work for the wedding:

A.



B.


C.


D.


E.


F.


G.


H.


I.


J.


So tell me, which Modcloth option is your favorite? Or do you like the Old Navy one better? Or do you have another source for cute summery dresses that I'm forgetting to check?

P.S. I'm thinking maybe the situation will improve once designers/companies debut their spring/summer lines. Thoughts?