Friday, August 29, 2008

Happy Cupcake Friday

Thought these studious little cupcakes would be perfect for all of the Back to School kids post Labor Day.

by CleverCupcakes

Have a Happy Friday and most awesome Labor Day weekend everyone!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Summer of Luv

I am starting to see it...the sunlight disappearing a little earlier each day. All the more to treasure our last bits of summer and to hang on a little bit more...as the long weekend is almost here! If you live here then you might recognize these courts that have a panoramic view of Coit Tower with the Cable Cars clanging below as you play.


Above: What a "Summer of Luv" it has been in the city! On this particular day, I was especially awful...the surfaces of the court are made of a different material and I felt like a monkey winging banana peels over the net. Despite technical difficulties, I had a great time!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Littles in London

I saw this in Rita Konig's blog via Domino and squealed with delight. All of us at the studio are obsessed with anything miniature. And street artist Slinkachu has captured the urban, London life of "Little People" in a book called Treasure Hunt. He describes them as "Little Handpainted People Left in London to fend for themselves". So awesome!



Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Vote for Mustaches!

With the Democratic and Republican Conventions gearing up, short of growing your own version, I thought these Presidential Mustache buttons would be perfect to wear!


above: and some other fun 'stache: mustache earrings

Monday, August 25, 2008

ShopFriend: Nestldown

My brother got married over the weekend and I thought I'd share some of the shots from Nestldown, the beautiful and whimsical location of their wedding.

above: Nestldown is located in the hills of Los Gatos and is actually a 170 acre private residence of one very lucky family! The ceremony was held down winding steps that opened up to water and majestic trees.

above: My brother's days of go-karting madness were more elegantly translated with an antique train that took guests for impromptu rides around the grounds.

above: The bride and groom arrived in vintage style.

Friday, August 22, 2008

ShopFriend: La Farine

These cupcakes hail from the much beloved bakery, La Farine in Oakland. Jess brought them in when we worked on her programs.



I am off to attend their rehearsal dinner and then their wedding tomorrow, so have a very happy cupcake Friday (and weekend) everyone!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Ode to Oda

Sometimes it's just nice to have something pretty to look at...
That, and the fact that the gals who design the fashion line, Oda , are San Francisco based and eco-friendly.


I love that they are self-described as having a style that mixes "Edwardian Tradition with Tokyo-pop flavor!"

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Do it Yourself: Sugar Veil

Believe it or not, these are "do it yourself" cakes by the company, Sugar Veil. The intricate lace details are created by their special icing and patented dispensers which you can create ahead of time and then drape over your cakes on the big day!


Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Light me Up!

And since we're on the topic of lighting today...
If you ask me how much time in the past I've spent thinking about light switch plates, I'll probably say practically zero. But ask me to consider some and I could likely ruminate for hours. Which is what happened when I was on Etsy looking up something for another post and happened upon these adorable light switch plates !


Of course, the same thing goes with tissue boxes. Please, someone out there tell me those badly drawn bathroom-floral-wallpaper Kleenex tissue boxes bother you too! I would much rather opt for this fun Popeye version.

Wish Tree for the home: Ingo Maurer

Yesterday's Wish Tree reminded me of my favorite lighting piece ever. Zettel'z by Ingo Maurer is my dream chandelier. Sans crystals...this piece is made with little notes and love poems and even comes with blank notes for you to pen your own prose on.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Wishing Tree

A wish tree in lieu of a guest book at a wedding or event is often the very first thing I get wowed by at the reception. No matter how many versions, it's a classic and I never tire of seeing them. This Dutch custom of writing wishes for the guest of honor is such a beautiful gesture and worth every bit of effort in creating one!

Click here for the full how-to instructions on Here Comes the Guide!

Friday, August 15, 2008

Olympics Cupcake Friday

What would a Cupcake Friday post be without an Olympic version this week?

Cupcake by Clevercupcakes.

Cheers to all of the amazing athletes and coverage that have left us in awe! And also wanted to give a shout out to my friend Jen who happened to just "drop" into the Nike Marathon the other weekend. Yep...no training...was so late for signing up she could only get into the half marathon, but ran the 26.2 miles anyway. Jen, you are crazy but that's why we adore you!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Ami Kroon

I haphazardly bumped into my cousin Patti last night as we were picking up our respective takeout and somehow in between the turkey burgers and pad thai, we found ourselves staring at the floral paintings hanging at (of all places) Polkers. I immediately thought of Ami Kroon for her space whose florals and portraits have such a modern Gustav Klimt vibe.


above: This particular painting seemed to inspire a girls' night out ensemble. Dress by Phillip Lim. Stella clutch. Marc by Marc Jacobs booties.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Shop Friend: Slide

When I was planning my sister's bachelorette party, Slide Lounge was at the top of my list. First off, who can resist that you can actually barrel down a real slide to enter the "prohibition" style lounge? The space is intimate (love that), with mahogany walls and booths and there's a baby grand that has been outfitted with a dj system so it can play electronic and mash-up beats. Perfect for a girls' night out!



Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Olympic Fashion

Are you glued to the tube watching the Beijing Olympics like I am? I'm still thinking about that earth shattering 400 meter freestyle swim relay on Monday! And who can beat the inspirational stories of athletes from so many different backgrounds? On a lighter note, I also loved seeing Lucy Liu's ode to the Olympics in month's issue of Harper's Bazaar. If only I could be so lucky to be able to shotput a Chanel purse like her!





Monday, August 11, 2008

Wedding Placecards and Programs

The wedding of my brother and future sis-in-law, Jess, is right around the corner and Sunday was spent prepping her programs and placecards. While the work of designing and printing were left to me, I thought I'd share some of the fun and affordable parts of embellishment that we did together as a group at the Paper Studio.

Jess chose a design from our Town and Country Wedding Album which was customized to fit her purple color scheme. With fabric hydrangeas from the craft store, the gals plucked while my sister and I glued.

For the aisles of the ceremony, we strung some of the remaining programs and created blossom medallions (little cardboard disks) to be attached and hung from the aisle chairs.

Little pearls make great accents for your placecards.

And because Jess is a sugar addict like us, we used sugary *gumdrops as placecard holders.
*They're a bit sticky, so we'll finish assembling them the day of the wedding. Thanks to an efficient and overqualified group, adding these personal touches cost pennies and took only a few hours. We even had time left to go and watch the Olympics!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Happy Friday: DJ Cake

This awesome DJ groom's cake is from one of Kenny Pang's weddings. Talk about your dance floor sugar high!

Happy Friday: Customer Appreciation

Thought we'd do a little customer appreciation for Happy Friday. We just love it when our customers come back and tell us that their dress or invites were a smash and I was so delighted when Audrey sent over these pics of her in a dress and top that she bought from our boutique.

We love Audrey for her bright smile and kick butt shoes.
And when she's with her boyfriend and their dog...the trio is just absolute adorableness (if that's even a word)!

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Swan Lake in the 'Hood

Rodarte's ballet-like photographs set me on a Swan Lake kick...
Although this adaptation would be more for something on my block!

above: Knit sweater dress at Anthropologie. Swan Boat buttons. Pop up card.
London Sole Ballet Flat.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I Heart Rodarte

I am a sucker for texture whether it's textile or paper or paint...
or these magical, ballet-like Rodarte gowns.



Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Candy Jars for your Candy Bar

I received some emails asking about the candy bar that Jubilee created for her bride. Of course, in looking up the jars, my mind got to wandering about decorating ideas, not to mention the amazing sugar high that your guests will be on as they dance the night away!

above: Thin bubble gum or candy sticks would look great in these jars from Pottery Barn. These art candy sprinkles aren't edible, but sprinkling them all around the jars would give a vintage sparkle to the bar. I saw these adorable "dulce" copper tags which would be so great looped with velvet ribbon and hung around the jars.

I think it would be so much fun to incorporate these apothecary jars into your reception tables by using number labels instead of table numbers. And filling your jars with lemons or limes would also make it affordable and chic!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Puppy on Polk Street

Drool! I forgot to post this last Friday. My friend James brought in Cafe, a seven week old toy poodle and I (along with everyone at the studio and on Polk Street) dropped everything to make goo goo baby noises at this little creature that looks like a little Steiff toy. What is it about a puppy that just makes the rest of your day all the more sweeter? James claims to not understand this whatsoever. He is normally Mr. Tough Guy...doing hard core training, competitive tae kwan do, riding his motorcycle, yada yada...but carrying around Cafe has turned him into a softie (sorry James, but it's true!).


Jubilee Lau: Four Seasons

As promised, here is the beautiful pink and black wedding that Jubilee of Jubilee Lau Events created for a chic, kid-friendly wedding at the San Francisco Four Seasons!

from Jubilee: "The bride and groom’s names are Alisha and Ryan. They basically did not have any vision for their wedding but Alisha knew one thing—she wanted it to be pink and black. As you know, pink and black can be difficult to do tastefully so it was a bit of a challenge for us but we had such a fun time with it. There were to be lots of kids at this wedding, so we even rented pink and black bean bags to create ‘kiddy stations’ for them!

It was a HUGE ballroom for her 120 guests, so I suggested that we split it into two. Rather than using the hotel’s partition (BORING!) we would use white chiffon drapery to separate the ballrooms into two sides. Alisha would enter through this beautiful drapery down the pink aisle runner for her ceremony. After the ceremony when guests were to enjoy cocktail hour in the foyer, we would turnaround that same side of the ballroom to become the dinner area, using contemporary square tables and the amazing black chameleon chair with rhinestone buckle. The guests were so amazed by the transformation in just one hour. We had more surprises waiting for them. After dinner, we pulled open the drapery in the middle to expose the other side of the ballroom which was entirely draped from floor to ceiling with white chiffon, accented with pink uplighting.

There was a huge black and white dance floor, and clusters of modern, chic lounging areas. It was a huge space for the kids to run around (and pillow fight!) and that was important for Alisha. As if the kids didn’t have enough energy we had a chocolate fountain AND candy bar waiting for them, along with the wedding cake."
For more information, click here to visit Jubilee's site!

Friday, August 1, 2008

Shop Friend: Jubilee Lau Events

When I met Jubilee at our studio for the first time, I remember being struck by her warmth and genuine enthusiasm for her brides. And her work shows...she is highly recommended by brides and colleagues alike, and her weddings are meticulous, beautiful affairs. Jubilee just finished working on a gorgeous pink and black wedding at the Four Seasons which I'll post up on Monday, but first I wanted to give an introduction to Jubilee's talents. She was kind enough to share with me her planning process in working with couples (see below).
Be sure to click here to visit Jubilee's site and to see more of her beautiful weddings!

From Jubilee: "What I love about my business is that I get to help people turn dreams into reality, and what makes it really interesting for me is that each couple is so different and unique in their own different ways...

"...I get to know them like friends, and ask questions like where they like to travel to, the type of hotels they stay at when traveling, their home furnishing style, collectible items, and on and on….until I am able to focus them on a design direction—classic vs contemporary vs eclectic vs garden-y, etc. We then work through all the details to make sure the design carries out well through each part of the wedding.

I also love helping couples personalize their wedding so that it reflects who they are. I had a groom that was very much into music, and I encouraged him to write his own music for the ceremony which he did and it brought tears to everyone’s eyes. I had another couple that were into cooking, so we took their favorite home-made recipes and had the caterers replicate them with a fun twist. Last weekend, my bride was a landscape architect and the groom was an architect so we created a modern enchanted forest in the Asian Art Museum!

I really enjoy making the planning process fun for my clients, because that’s the way it should be! A wedding is a very special occasion, and couples should not be overwhelmed with the planning and should enjoy the process. I work with a lot of out of town clients who plan destination weddings in the Bay Area, and they would travel out here 2-3 times during the planning process. I always create ‘wedding planning itineraries’ for them when they are here for the weekend, and I make sure the itinerary is efficient, yet fun. I also enjoy working at all the different venues because space planning is one area where we can get really creative."

Thanks Jubilee--It's no wonder your brides cherish your work so much! Be sure to check back on Monday for her pink and black and wedding.