Tasty {Summer Siesta} Tuesday

If I could press pause to fully enjoy this beautiful 80-degree late August day, I'd first send out a lovely invitation inviting my nearest and dearest to a sweet supper by the (imaginary) pool.



I'd start the evening off with some delicous cold salad of avocado, shrimp and endive.



I'd continue to keep things light and fresh to pair nicely with the warm night air. Corn and basil stuffed tomatoes and salade nicoise would fit the bill.



images via martha stewart living summer 2007, uploaded by me!

I'd end the satisfying night with fresh stone fruit, honey and ricotta coupled with huckleberry and sweet cream cupcakes.

Are you hungry yet? Shall I see you tonight? Ahhhh, if only I could press pause....

Did you take note of the Apartment 34's giveaway this week? If you're considering a new DIY home project this one is for you!

MARTHA STEWART BLOGGERS' NIGHT OUT

Hello coco+kelley readers - it's your NYC correspondent Crissie - and today I have a very exciting event to share with you! Many of you know that last Thursday was Martha Stewart Living and Omnimedia's Bloggers' Night Out, and I was lucky enough to be invited to cover the event for Cassandra.

The evening was supposed to take place on roof deck of the Martha Stewart building however - in true summer form - Manhattan blessed us with high winds (and high HEAT) so we were moved inside (no complaints here as there was a/c!).

When I arrived, Martha was playing Ping-Pong with Kevin Sharkey (Senior VP, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc)...

And then addressed the assembled bloggers (here's a video  of her talking about turning your blog into a business) before she had to rush off (her dentist was coming to dinner…) The event was beautifully styled with craft tables, wedding vignettes...

And delicious food and drinks.

It was amazing to have so many bloggers in one place. Sometimes I get so caught up in my little fashion niche that I forget about the other types bloggers out there - but the event was filled with Mom Bloggers (and babies) Craft Bloggers, Wedding Bloggers, and Design Bloggers - it was everything you could imagine, and it was so enlightening to get to meet and talk with so many different people.

I spent the evening with Kelly of High Street Market, Camilla of High-Heel Foot in the Door, Deb of Living Livelier and even got to chat with Mr. Sharkey.

I wish you all could have been there. I highly recommend attending a blogger-meet-up near you if you have the opportunity (don't be silly like me and forget blog-business cards…) I hope I get the chance to meet more of you soon!

-Crissie

*photos via Martha Stewart, Living Livelier, and me!   

Great Inspiration

Stylist Shana Faust has been getting a number of mentions of late - you'll immediately recognize her work from the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings. 

Even more fun is her interactive inspiration board. When you click on an image you get whisked to another site to learn more. It's like a treasure hunt.

A few of my favorites are Tim Walker photography, hard to find bakers twine, and fabulous vintage furniture.

Find your favorite inspiration here. 

Wedding Wednesday {Paper}

On Saturday we hit the six month mark until the wedding! Proper wedding etiquette will tell you that destination weddings call for save the date announcements to be sent out at least 6 months in advance. 

Luckily, I love all things related to wedding invitations so I had a blast coming up with ideas and now that they've been sent I get to share the final product with you.

We came up with the idea of using vintage Mexican postcards . Fun, right? But hard to find. Thank gawd for Amazon and replicas!

I'm thrilled to announce that we decided to work with the uberfabulous Brown Sugar Design for our wedding invitations (more on their amazing work in the weeks to come!). 

Brown Sugar gave us the brilliant idea of having a custom stamp made to simplify the save the date process even more. I couldn't be happier with the final product.

The finishing touch was to put each postcard in a brown envelope tied up with string - it reminded me of old airmail packages and gives the recipients something to open.

The announcements should be hitting mailboxes as I type this post so I guess there's no backing out now. ;) 

In celebration of my love of all things paper I'll be featuring an amazing giveaway later today. Be sure to check back - you won't want to miss it!

In the meantime, be sure to check out Brown Sugar Design for more paper inspiration!

Somebody at Martha Stewart Loves Me. My Life Is Complete.

Thanks to an early morning comment from Chelsea at {frolic!} I discovered that I had somehow (miraculously fabulously shockingly) been picked for their Best of Blogs: Editor's Picks by Rebecca Robertson, Deputy Decorating Editor for Martha...


I think I'm still pinching myself over this one! I'm incredibly honored... especially because the other blogs chosen were two of my favorites: {this is glamorous}, and absolutely beautiful things. Congrats to these two very inspiring ladies as well! And a huge thanks to Rebecca. Martha dedicated her entire show to blogging today, and you can check out a clip right here on her blog.