Out with the old, in with the new!

Friends, I started this blog more than three years ago, when I was a senior in college. I wrote my first post not at all sure what I wanted my blog to be about, but simply knowing that I had ideas to spare, and I wanted to share them. It has been more wonderful than I could have imagined to connect with so many wonderful readers as I found my groove over the last few years.

As P&P developed and I found my voice, however, it became more and more clear to me that Peach & Pearl was not the best name for my internet home. I chose it initially because I couldn't think of anything better and I was impatient to get started, and it's served me well.

But the time has come for something new, something that's more... me. I am so incredibly excited to share with you Em for Marvelous, which has picked up where Peach & Pearl left off. I would be so grateful if you'd come see what marvelous things I have in store for you! xo



P.S. Soon www.peachandpearl.com and www.peach-pearl.blogspot.com will redirect to www.emformarvelous.com, so please, change your bookmarks, feeds, subscriptions, and links if you'd like to stay up to date!

A very merry mix

Last night was the Duke Chorale Christmas Concert, an event which has quickly become one of my and John's favorite December traditions since moving to North Carolina. The Duke Chapel is just gorgeous, and the acoustics are unreal.


from Better Homes & Gardens

The concert definitely put me in the Christmas mood (despite the 70+ degree temps we've been having this week!), and so I thought I'd share my go-to Christmas playlist with you today. It has some old favorites ("Linus and Lucy," Ella Fitzgerald's "Sleigh Ride"), and some newer gems from Michael Buble and Dave Barnes. New or old, they're all festive and fun. The only favorite I couldn't add? "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" by Bruce Springsteen, which is possibly my favorite Christmas tune of all time (I don't think it's available on Spotify, sadly).

Listen here. And tell me: Do you have a jazzy Christmas favorite I should add to my list?

Christmas tartan

Our wedding florist posted this photo of her shop all dressed up for Christmas the other day, and I just had to share! I think it's so darling.

Much, much more about Elisabeth soon!!

Wreaths

Feeling inspired by pretty holiday wreaths today, on the first day of December! A few of my favorites:

The only thing better than one wreath is three, of course!


Martha Stewart

Love these pretty silver stars, and this would be such an easy accent for a store-bought wreath. I see chipboard stars like this all the time in Michael's, and you could easily paint or glitter them your favorite metallic color.


Creative Decorations

These petite wreaths hung in the windows are classic and chic.



This cushion moss wreath is perennially one of my favorites. This image alone is so inspiring to me, with the creamy whites and soft greens! A gorgeous Christmas palette.


Martha Stewart

And here's the wreath on our front door:



Still conflicted about the bow... thoughts?

Watercolor letterpress calendar

There are so many boutique calendar options for 2012, but I think this one might be the prettiest I've seen. The dip-dyed colors are so soft and beautiful, and of course I love the calligraphy!

If you love this one, too, quick -- everything is 15% off in the Parrott Design Studio shop until Friday! Use code CHEERS15 when you check out.

P.S. Looking for more calendars? Nole has tons of beautiful options right here!

Vintage state towels

Hi, friends! Are Christmas preparations in full swing at your houses? They are at mine. Our three Christmas trees are up (don't worry, they're all little!), as is our nativity, and we're excited to begin our Advent calendar on Thursday. I'm also turning a more serious eye to the remainder of my Christmas list. I'm about half done... how about y'all?

If your answer was "haven't started," I've got a suggestion: vintage state kitchen towels. I happened upon one the other day, and was reminded how fun they are. I think they'd make the best gift for a pal with a colorful home, a softness for vintage style, or some fierce state pride, and would look so cute framed or sewn into a pillow. A quick search yielded a few vintage and reproduction sources:



Antique Kitchen has 12 states represented, and each is $14.



Nanalulu's has several states, though their website is pretty hard to navigate. I like this Florida one ($9).



Here's a Minnesota kitchen towel for $6.30.



This pretty celebrating all of New England is $15.



I like this bold pattern for California ($7). This California one is pretty, too.



Finally, if you don't want to spend time searching, you can go straight to Cat Studio, though you'll pay more for the convenience. They stock just about every type of location, from states to cities, from regions and resorts to national parks and countries. Their kitchen towels are $20.

Happy hunting!

Peppermint drink stirrers in the shop!

I hope you all had the most wonderful weekends imaginable! Now that we're on to all things Christmas, I wanted to give you a quick heads up that I stocked the shop with some very festive drink stirrers! I think these guys would be so cute at a holiday party, or as a little Christmas gift for a friend who likes to entertain.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo by Braedon Flynn via Design*Sponge

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends! The things I am grateful for include, but are not limited to, my family (some of which is here with us, celebrating today!), my dear friends, Kraft macaroni and cheese, my kitties, John, the marvelous country we live in, STUFFING, and all of you! (In no particular order.)

I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with delicious food!

The perfect cardigan

I wear a lot of cardigans. They're perfect for North Carolina, because it's too warm in the winter to wear a heavy sweater, but too cold to wear just a short-sleeve shirt. I also love cardigans because they help me get extra mileage out of my wardrobe -- pair the same cardigan with three different shirts, and you have three different outfits! I actually just peeked in my closet and counted, and I currently own ten cardigans. I swear I am not a grandma (though I do love grandmas).

All this to say, I am something of a cardigan conneisseur, and I wanted to share my favorite cover up source with you today. I used to be a fan of J.Crew's "Jackie" cardigan, but as they've inched the price upwards over the years, I've grown less and less fond of it. ($62 for a simple, solid cardigan?? No thank you.)

My new go-to source is the Nordstrom juniors department, specifically the Nordstrom house brand, BP. They almost always have a cardigan very similar to the Jackie, but with a tiny bit more stretch, and a much lower price tag. In the winter they offer a long-sleeve version, and in the spring and summer, a 3/4 sleeve one. The quality on both has been quite good in my experience. Online, the long-sleeve version is going for $34 right now, but they're often on sale in store (I bought most of mine for about $24). You've seen this picture before, but here I am in the light pink, 3/4 sleeve version:



I hope this tip helps my fellow cardigan-wearers! If you are going to pick up one for yourself, I would suggest going up a size, since BP is a juniors line, after all. In my experience, they also shrink a tiny bit in the wash.

Thanksgiving dinner inspiration

I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner again this year. It will be very small by my family's standards (just five of us). I don't really have the extra cash on hand to buy new pieces for the table, so I'm trying to brainstorm with what I already have, and come up with something that will coordinate well with my blue willow ware dishes. Here are a few ideas I've collected:


acorn candle votives from Pottery Barn


pretty pink and gold table design by Tara Guerard from Southern Living


pinecone door decor via Something Green


napkin menu wrap via Project Wedding


more nut candles from Good Housekeeping


velvet silverware wrap via Style Me Pretty (photo by Brooke Boling)

Are any of y'all hosting Thanksgiving dinner?

P.S. Last year's Thanksgiving dinner

More silver for the reception!

My Mom came to visit last week for another round of dress shopping (spoiler alert: it was also the final round of dress shopping!!!). She brought with her a disc of images my aunt had taken of my grandmother's silver collection. Bingie (what my cousins and I call our grandmother) has agreed to let me borrow a few pieces for our wedding reception, which I think will add a lovely personal touch to the tables. Here are just a few of the pieces I'm considering using:




(Since we're not going for a vintage vibe, I wouldn't use the teapots or the pieces that look like they're from a tea set.)







Aren't they pretty? Grandmas are the best :) The coolest part is that as my Mom and I were flipping through the images, she kept pointing out pieces with stories behind them. I love that!

P.S. The rest of my silver collection, so far.

Cayman Islands

As crazy as it has been to be going, going, going for the last two weeks, I can't say I would trade my trip to the Cayman Islands! Here are a few iPhone snaps from my four-day stay. We went on a catamaran ride to Stingray City, and the water was so clear, turquoise, and gorgeous! The boat was neat -- the bow was mostly made up of nets, which you could sit on and watch the water flash by beneath you. This trip was also the first time I got to use my passport, which was thrilling :)











P.S. I did a little personal wedding scouting while abroad! These chairs are what I'm picturing for our reception, and I'd love to use lounge furniture like the pieces below.





P.P.S. Back next week with Thanksgiving prep posts!

The wedding morning

Lately I've been thinking about the morning before the wedding. I know this might seem like a really tiny and insignificant detail to think about in the grand scheme of things, but I have this theory that it's the moments in between the "big" moments that set the tone for your wedding day. And if you don't "control" those moments, then the entire day can end up not feeling like you want it to. By control, please don't think I mean micromanaging every last detail and stressing over whether or not everything is perfect. I just mean doing as much prep work in advance, so that on the wedding day itself, things flow smoothly and you don't need to stress. Of course not everything will go as planned, but I am a firm believer in putting as many blocks into place as possible, and then going with the flow when you can't do anything else. Make sense?

All this to say, I've been thinking about our wedding morning lately. A few things, in particular:

1. The soundtrack for when we're getting ready. I am already working on this, and I will most definitely share once it's finalized (which probably won't be for a few months). It's a happy mix of favorites from the 50's and 60's, combined with some newer (mellow but peppy) favorites like Brooke Fraser, She & Him, Ingrid Michaelson, and Mumford & Sons.

I'm building this playlist with Spotify. Are you all on Spotify? It's awesome. It's kind of like iTunes combined with Grooveshark -- there's a massive song library, but you don't have to buy the songs. You can collect them in playlists, but you can't download them. Love!

2. What I will wear when we're getting ready. As much as I love a comfy robe or sweatpants, that is not what I'll be wearing the morning of our wedding. I'm thinking something more along the lines of this:



As long as I can easily step into it and out of it (so as not to smudge the hair and makeup), why the heck not? I consider it just another opportunity to wear a pretty white dress :)

3. Who will be getting the gals prettified. Goodness, y'all. I am pretty much inept at anything concerning my face and hair, so bringing in professionals is a must, but they seem so dang expensive to me!! Maybe I'm just being a baby, though? If you wouldn't mind helping a girl out, would you mind commenting and saying what you paid, or maybe what you think is reasonable, for wedding hair and makeup? I would so appreciate it!

P.S. Photo above by Bryan Johnson

Inspiring menus

Sorry to be such an absentee host, friends! It's been a crazy week or two, and I've got a busy one coming up, as well! Just wanted to pop in and share some of these inspiring menus in the meantime...

Love this chic + casual kraft paper number:


Photo by Tara Rochelle, styling by Sara Westbrook and Sam Pothier via One Charming Party

I'm always in favor of the chalkboard menu.


Photo by Kate Headley, styling by Ritzy Bee via Snippet & Ink


Photo by Jessica Watson via Style Me Pretty

And these petite clipboards are perfect if you're doing stations and need several smaller menus instead of one large one.


Photo by Kate Headley, styling by Ritzy Bee via Martha Stewart Weddings

Bon appetit! :)

Sperry tents

One thing we're splurging on for our wedding is a Sperry tent, and I couldn't be happier. A normal frame tent would serve the purpose of sheltering us and our guests from the elements equally as well, but wouldn't be quite as beautiful. Plus, if we got a frame tent, I would want to line it, which would make it almost as expensive as, if not more expensive than, a Sperry. AND, from what I hear, Sperry tents have such a beautiful presence of their own, they require less embellishment in terms of other decor. Sailcloth + pine poles will do that for you, I guess!

How do you know if it's a Sperry? Look for rounded lines, dramatic peaks, and merrily waving flags -- my absolute favorite feature :)


Photo by Lisa Rigby via Style Me Pretty


via Merriment Events


Photo by Carlie Statsky


Photo by Justin & Mary


Photo by Weddings by Two via Snippet & Ink


Photo by Justin & Mary


Photo by Justin & Mary

Aren't they beautiful??

Faux fur fuzzies

Kind of in love with this faux fur jacket from Kate Spade, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have too many opportunities to wear it. I do enjoy that it has a built-in muff, which helps compensate for the 3/4 sleeves. (I never understood why winter jackets ever have 3/4 sleeves... anyone??) And that little bow! So sweet.



Unfortunately, this fine jacket has the not-so-fine price tag of $845, so I think I might have to console myself with these faux fur ear muffs, which retail for just $12.99.


My Mom is probably dying of laughter right now, because I'm pretty sure I adamantly refused to wear ear muffs as a child. But alas, my ears get cold, and I think I look weird in hats. So ear muffs it is.