Second Verse, Same as the First?

We were able to get a great honeymoon recap from Kelly & Nick last night... complete with videos from their new Flip Video that left us figuring out how to get down to Savannah ASAP!  And, of course, left me feeling like reminiscing about ours... 

We were incredibly fortunate, and my wonderful Aunt & Uncle gave us our honeymoon at Disney World in Orlando, Florida as a generous wedding gift.  We planned to hit the parks for 2 days, then spend the remaining few days lounging by one of the several pools at our resort.

Unfortunately, the weather did not pay attention to my bulleted-out trip schedule.  We had rain... and thunderstorms... almost the entire week.  At one point, we heard on the news that there was enough rain to qualify the storm system as a tropical storm!  We affectionately call it our monsoon honeymoon.

making the most of a break in the clouds...

about 1 hour later, it looked like this...

so we hit the spa, for a couples' massage... listed as 'Catherine' and 'Jess'

which led Jeff to a lot of this...

But we still made it to the parks...

even though there was a little of this, for the hubby... 

mostly, though, lots of this...

Fast-forward 365 days to our recent 1-year anniversary trip... The weather in San Francisco was great; a nice, slightly overcast, and slightly cool escape from the quickly rising temperatures of North Carolina summers.  But, in keeping with our honeymoon theme, it rained on our trip to Sonoma.

We had to laugh when someone at the winery told us, 'the rainy season ends by April around here... we usually never have this much rain in May.'  Why?  Because the entire time we were honeymooning in Florida we heard, 'I don't know why it's raining so much this week... our rainy season doesn't usually start until June.'

'Why does it keep raining?' ...Disney, then Sonoma

I've heard from my Yiayia so many times that rain on your wedding day is good luck...  I'm going to extend that theory to rain on your honeymoon and anniversary trips make for a lucky marriage!  

But, for now, we're looking forward to rain-free, non-anniversary trips to New York and Miami in August!

Congratulations, Andy & Lauren!

We had another busy & incredibly fun weekend! Friday night I grabbed a quick dinner with my dad and sister, then headed home to clean house and take care of laundry (not so fun, but definitely a life-saver when we came home on Sunday with no chores to do).

Early Saturday morning, I dropped off Ellie with her Grandma & Grandpa Whittaker (who we owe a huge thank you for all the weekends they’ve kept their sweet little grandpuppy)… and picked up Amy for an afternoon at the lake. Our husbands headed up the night before, after a Masonboro Boys show at Andy & Lauren’s rehearsal dinner.

After a half-day of boating and water skiing, we caravanned to High Point for the end of the World Cup (and showers) in time for Andy & Lauren’s nuptials! I think I speak for everyone when I say that the wedding was an amazing time!

{gorgeous flower center pieces}

{with my dashingly handsome hubby}

The band kept the party going, with a costume change mid-way through the reception and lots of great music. The bride was beautiful (her dress was stunning!), and the groom was beaming!

{first dance... so sweet}

{with my favorites, early in the night}

{my favorites, late into the night... we are really fun}

{sending off the bride & groom}

We headed back home on Sunday morning, and were able to spend dinner with Kelly & Nick – fresh home from their Savannah & Saint Augustine honeymoon!

Now it’s back to that pesky 'to-do' list…

MIA

Dear friends, Posts may be slightly few and far between over the next several weeks... We've been out of town (or here with visitors, parties, showers, you name it) every weekend for the past 8 weeks! 

Not that I'm complaining... As you can see from the ol' blog, we've been having the best summer!  But, all this fun and travel has put me oh-so-slightly behind in my 2 summer classes, editing work*, and general life organization.  And for those of you who know me, even slightly behind leaves me feeling majorly unbalanced.

I'm going to try to catch up on all the work piling up around me... I tried to start last night, but ended up feeling sentimental and making Jeff watching our wedding video with the hubby.

So now I'm serious... Must.check.items.off.to.do.list.

{via Eddie Ross}

*Shameless plug:  If you or someone you know needs a freelance editor, please contact me!  My current project is editing some academic work but am open to anything.

Yes please

I love this cute fleur-de-lis desk set... I feel like it should make the necessary-for-purchase list to add a little excitement to my cubicle.

Wedding Weekend!

We were so fortunate to celebrate Kelly & Nick’s marriage this past weekend! It was definitely another successful Whittaker wedding…

The celebrations kicked off with a bridesmaids luncheon on Friday at Myers Park Country Club. The setting was beautiful, and the food was delicious… Each person in the wedding party even had their own personalized cake for dessert!

{tables at the luncheon}

{me, sister Laura, sister/bride Kelly, mom Karen, Aunt Cindy, cousin Meghan, & Aunt Mary Ann}

On Friday afternoon, we had the rehearsal at the church, followed by a rehearsal dinner at The Ivey. For some reason, rehearsal dinners are always my favorite part of wedding weekends… This one was a great chance to meet some of Nick’s family! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Nick’s sister Mandy’s blog, Kuzak's Closet, a daily read for me and now featuring her amazing pictures (so much better than the ones in this post) of the wedding!

We were also able to catch up with Jeff’s family, in from New Orleans, which is always so much fun (and we wish happened more often!) To finish off the night, there was an amazing slide show and lots of great toasts.

{at the church rehearsal}

{Whittaker girls at the rehearsal dinner}

Saturday was the Big Day! Of course, Kelly looked absolutely beautiful! Not to mention how the bride & groom both just radiated with happiness… I feel so blessed that they included me in such a special day.

The reception was on the beautiful campus of Queens University… I can’t wait to see (and share) all the pictures from the photographer. I know there will be so many great shots of the gorgeous bride!

{the bridal party enjoying some of the fine scenery, post-reception}

Needless to say, everyone had a great time at the reception! I’m convinced that you can’t have a Whittaker wedding that isn’t fun. The band kept the party going, and there was a lot of dancing…

And a lot of celebrating…

{my hubby, me, Dad, and Mom}

{so happy for his little sister}

So much love & congratulations to the newly wedded Mr. & Mrs. Chappel!

One More...

clip from the weekend that I couldn't resist posting...


Just in case you needed some more proof of reception good times.

Good Husband...

who hung this heavy mirror on our mantel with all the necessary hardware... and little to no complaining!

I absolutely love the mirror (it looks a little orange in this picture, but it really has more bronze/antique tones).  I'm just not sure what else to do with the mantle...

Interestingly enough, I have a 'favorite mantles' folder on my desktop... Poor husband.  Lots of inspiration, but so far, no motivation to action.  Maybe a trip to the Sleepy Poet soon will get me there?

My College Life

We had my college roommates in town over this past weekend... And it was too much fun!  I apparently thought that college roomies meant college-style celebrating. Unfortunately, recovery is a little harder these days than in the Creel Street house!

On Friday night, we headed to Arooji's for dinner with Shiva & Brian, her family, and Sarah & Ryan. I have to highly recommend the salmon piccata with the shirazi salad on the side. After Shiva’s dad, Steve, generously filled our glasses, we headed over to Brazwells, and remarkably, we made it all the way until last call!

Saturday morning, Lindsey, Kaylie & I hit the Flying Biscuit for breakfast. It opened pretty recently in the shopping center down the street from us, and I’ve really wanted to try it. We had a nice, leisurely breakfast then headed over to Sarah's for a pre-concert cookout.

Wine-spritzers, as Kaylie points out, are not just for old ladies. We topped our white wine off with some club soda and orange mango Italian soda… and lots of ice to deal with the 95 degree weather! Beverages and World Cup watching began around 2, followed by grilling out, then a processional back to our house for those not attending the Phoenix concert.

fully endorsing Shiva & Brian's relationship

Some more Charlotte friends joined me, Jeff & the roomies back at our house for the rest of the night. Hopefully it bumped the Queen City up on Lindsey’s future home list!

Sunday morning was spent in recovery mode, but we did manage to get going in time to try Yoforia on Selwyn. Hmmm… This pattern of food and drinks also looks strikingly similar to our college days!

I’m so glad that Lindsey, Kaylie, and Shiva were able to come in town for the weekend! It’s amazing, but when we all get together it feels like not a day has passed!

Quick Office Update

There is nothing like upcoming visitors to get me moving on my constant 'to-do' list for our house.  And I am absolutely thrilled that this weekend my college roomies are coming to Charlotte!

Aren't they so pretty?

Anyway, this office update is nothing spectacular... No room rearranging or even furniture painting.  But it's a room I haven't featured on the ol' blog before, so I decided to share.

First up was a quick reworking of our bookshelf.  I love to read, and I love to purchase said books, so I can go back and re-read them later.  That habit, in conjunction with my current school books, quickly made our bookshelf into a less-than-eye-pleasing spot.

Before, cluttered & too full:

After, organized & cleaned out:

And, of course, I couldn't stop there with our quick update.  Unfortunately, I don't have any 'before' pictures (bad blogger), but just imagine the current set-up with our purple couch (from the 'before' living room pictures), dark brown rug, and guacamole walls... yikes!

Here is the 'after'...

We used our old mantel as a wall shelf above the newly slipcovered couch, and managed to negotiate a trade with my younger sister for the tan colored rug (from her old college apartment... traded for a doggie bed).  For some reason, the shelf looks disproportionately high in this picture, but I promise it's not. 

I also have mixed feelings on the use of a slipcover, but the purple on green was not working in this room, and I'm pretty happy with how much brighter it makes the room feel.

Finally, I rounded up a few new desk accessories...

Before, plain & plastic:

After, with a new lamp shade and desk storage:

Including a new purpose for one of my favorite milk glass vases:

Again, nothing too crazy... But it was all done with items from around the house and on the Whittaker-friendly budget of $60 (slipcover: $30; lamp shade: $12; baskets & white desk bins: $18). 

I feel like the lighter colored accessories helped with the dungeon-feel our office had before... I'm still thinking about painting the Ikea bookshelf white and plan to make a table skirt for the console table (not pictured, in front of the sofa). 

For now though, I'm happy with the finished-in-one-night (just in time for my visitors) updates!

Keep It Fresh

It is no secret that I love all things older… Milk glass? Yes please. Vintage, antique pieces? Umm, who would say no to that?

And my home decorating style really reflects my love for the old and the traditional. My biggest challenge is how to avoid being a twenty-something with a house that looks like it belongs to an eighty-something.

I feel like Jenny does an outstanding job of striking this balance. Here are my non-professional thoughts on what makes it work:

Bold Colors

A punch of color really goes a long way in making a traditional room feel younger.

{via Domino}

{via Little Green Notebook}

Lucite Accents

I love, love, love this Lucite coffee table from CB2… And still wonder if it would’ve been perfect for our living room. I’m going to try to resist for now, but can’t make any promises once we have our sunroom addition.

{via Two Ellie}

Graphic Patterns

Mixing in throw pillows with graphic patterns, stripes, or bold colors is another small way to add a younger feel to a room.

{via Little Green Notebook}

{via Two Ellie}

Go Wild

After I got over my earlier dilemma on my feelings about animal prints, I've found myself storing tons of images featuring zebra print rugs.  I feel like it adds a little fun to otherwise traditional rooms.  

{via Bryn Alexandra}

{via Cote de Texas}

What do you think?  Do you have any thoughts on how to keep a traditional room feeling young & fresh?