invitation to a christmas party

Happy Thanksgiving!

Guys, we actually did something ahead of time for once! Where is our medal? Considering it is now officially Christmas season (queue the N*SYNC holiday playlist), we ordered our holiday cards AND other holiday paper needs… because we found a one stop shop. In scrolling through the 500+ inexpensive holiday cards over at Basic Invite, I came across a variety of creative stationery solutions such as specialty paper, foil stamp, wood veneer, and acrylic stock. So being the paper nerd I am, I ordered a bunch of custom samples.

Thought I’d share the love: sample examples, HACKS, and a coupon code below!

So, full disclosure, this first one is a “would be” invitation to our Christmas party. Considering our house is an empty drywalled box without a kitchen sink, it’s not quite party ready. I will be saving this idea for next year, however. When I stumbled upon this template I knew I had to order a sample and shocker! I looooove the white on wood veneer! Really wish this soirée was actually happening because I bet it’s lavish, darling.

HACK: so this design is for a wedding save the date. Get a little creative with the font style and text placement and you can have a save the date for whatever event you feel like!

Here are a few more holiday stationery hacks that’ll take your Christmas party up a notch!

HACK: this sample is now a new piece of framed Christmas art! I became immediately inspired when I saw this clear wedding invite. I removed the additional information, added all the reindeer names to one text block, changed the font, and kept the token antler art. This piece might be my favorite.

HACK: that lil’ gift tag is an acrylic business card- hah! Place festive scrapbook paper or gift wrap behind it and I think they make the cutest topper!

HACK: another gift tag! This was originally a wedding coaster. I eliminated some text and increased the font size and viola! A fancy coaster for your Christmas party or a double thick gift tag.

I’m honestly very excited about these creative executions… hacks, whatever you want to call them. Oh and our aforementioned holiday cards? It’s a split between one of these two. Joy-ful-ous indeed.

Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers almost unlimited color options with instant previews online. Once you select a design you can change the color of each element on the card to over 180 unique color options so you can make sure the card is exactly how you want- down to the smallest detail. You can even change their logo color or remove it completely… which I’ve never found on another template site before. Basic?- I think not.

These berries were originally gold, but I changed them to red because I’m clearly going with a traditional green and red thing here.

I ordered samples of the four different paper options to compare. Smooth Coated, Premium Shimmer, Luxe Velvet, and Double Thick Matte. I tried to show the difference in sheen with my boomerang skills. (Shown here are the backsides, which you can also customize, of the above cards.)

The custom samples were very helpful. Having the four paper options in hand allowed me to gauge how the stock changes the look and FEEL, obviously. I ended up loving the Luxe Velvet best.

Forgot to mention- with over 40 various envelope colors (including shimmer!), custom envelope liner options, and an address capturing service, it’s sure to make your mail extra special this year.

Anyway, hope my nerding out on paper for the holidays was helpful for you too!

Right now Basic Invite is offering 30% off with coupon code: holi30

So turn on the Christmas music, and go get your holiday cards ordered here, today.

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This post was sponsored by Basic Invite, but all opinions are my own.

trip tease: m-31 in the fall.

Remember our little fall trip up north? Remember home movies? Well I made an iPhone version. Way less cumbersome than carrying those big camcorders around… haha.

I am really trying to get better at finalizing my vacation photos. I spend a decent amount of time culling, organizing, and editing- not to mention taking them. It’s important to me to get them into a format I can later enjoy. Whether that’s a blog post, scrapbook, or video, I want to have them. Our big trips are still in limbo- I took way too many pictures!- but it’s much easier to get through a smaller gallery, like this.

So without further ado, my first- of hopefully many- vacation videos. These are my favorite souvenirs. ♥

m-31 by truck.

Rocks. Sand. Water (liquid or frozen)- ideally all three combined. Surround me with these elements and I’m a happy camper. Send Dustin off in his new ride with a coffee drink in hand and a podcast or football on the radio and he’s a happy camper.

Two years ago and about two weeks earlier, we took off for a 24-hour cruise up M-22 for a breath of fresh air. Literally. We were waiting for the poly to dry on our wood floors as moving into our new home was imminent. So we couldn’t really be in the house anyway. We drove through numerous Northern Michigan towns, making stops along the way, all while in Dustin’s parent’s orange beetle.

Fast forward two years and two additional weeks. The weekend before Halloween, Dustin decided we needed to escape the confinements of our bedroom for a weekend up north. We’ve recently been quarantined to our bedroom and bathroom as the entire front of the house- entrance, living room, dining area, stairwell, and kitchen are being taped and mudded. It is very satisfying, but also very dusty. However, tomorrow (!) painting will take place and OH MY GOSH I can’t wait for that. We’re basically living in a 12 x 12’ studio apartment. So anyway, we ran away for a couple days. And rocks and sand and water and foliage and coffee drinks and podcast-ing were had.

Here are some snaps of our drive up to M-31 and time spent in Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Wilderness State Park near Sturgeon Bay.

Coffee drinks and snacks from Outside Coffee Co and we are good to go!

We stopped by my parents for a quick hello and to see all their pretty trees.

In rock heaven somewhere around Wilderness State Park.

Taking a limo to dinner, as one does.

A stroll in downtown Petoskey and our usual drive-by home hunt.

Do you see that little baby Petoskey stone?!

That other little speckly stone is a Charlevoix- aka Favosite Coral.

And a few from Walloon Lake, Mt. McSauba, and downtown Charlevoix.

Did you see Sasquatch?!

currently crushing: semihandmade.

September was such a busy fun month for us! But we’re getting back to working on the house and these past couple weekends were good ones. Although now that I’m finally sitting, I’m pretty sure my body has stiffened up to a point that I’ll never be able to move again!

We installed the last big piece of drywall in our kitchen. As I type, Dustin is finishing patching up the old light holes. Mannnnn, once you’re surrounded by that patchwork quilt of stone, it really helps to visualize the end result. We cannot wait for our kitchen to be done. Holy moly what a process. And we obviously have a long road ahead of us yet, but finally having all those walls closed up is such a good feeling. Mike the Mudder will be back to fill in all the gaps and smooth the corners from our hallway to the dining room, living room, kitchen, and stairwell. Then paint!

We purchased our cabinets from Ikea and decided on doors from Semihandmade. To keep our momentum going, I thought I’d share some drool worthy kitchens we’re pulling inspiration from.

I wanted all white appliances but was vetoed, unfortunately. Love this two tone approach by Almost Makes Perfect. Cabinet fronts from Semihandmade.

Not a kitchen, but a Semihandmade example nonetheless. Really feeling the Ann Sacks wall tile that Anna Bode used in her laundry room.

Color blocked cabinets for the win, indeed. See more from Veneer Design here.

That full wall of walnut doors! More at Vogue.

A Vintage Splendor paired Semihandmade Flatsawn Walnut, (which we loveeee but not sure our bank account would), with Fireclay Tile.

Another two tone example by William Howard Studio.

One of many colorful kitchens from Destination Eichler!

Mahogany doors and brass hardware- yes please. See Apartment Therapy for more photos.

This next photo features custom cabinetry, not Semihandmade. But it’s so inspiring, we love following along with their progress!

Check out Atomic Haus’ instagram to watch the transformation! Also- True Home Restoration, the design firm on the project, has even more custom cabinetry and MCM designed spaces on their site- do your eyeballs a favor and take a peek!

year one.

There’s no way I could do this all in one post. I tried and wrote a novel- one that has been in the works for months. It’s hard to sum up, or want to sum up for that matter, your wedding day. So for now, here are are few photos, and more will soon follow… with said novel. It is the best gift to have this documentation to look back on and trigger all the memories.

Happy first anniversary, Dustin! This year has FLOWN by. I can’t believe we said our I do’s 365 days ago. I have loved the trips, projects, and everything in between this first year has brought. To all the years to come; I love you so much. ♥

I can’t wait to post more! Oh- and our video… ♥

Venue: Michillinda Lodge
Photographer: Justine Montigny
Videographer: Gabby Hulst