the haystack needle

three years ago

This is the pathway that I walked down to marry Dan. Three years ago today. It was a sunny September day in Maine. We had our families and close friends around us, witnessing our personal vows and later toasting to us under twinkling lights in a cozy barn. When I think of places that I want to bring Juniper, this is most definitely one. I'd like to walk this path with her someday. I'd like to tell her the story of how her mom and dad found one another in college, and then found each other again after years apart. I'd like to tell her how amazing it was to hear her dad speak his vows (which he wrote that morning), and how there wasn't a dry eye in that field listening to him speak such loving, genuine sentiments. I'm so grateful for that day, because when we're staring down a challenging time, it helps me to think of this field, that warm September sunshine, and the palpable sense of joy breezing through the trees. Happy anniversary, D. 

Photograph by me.

handmade weddings

When I was planning our wedding, I found a million and one reasons to hate the wedding industry, so I tried to make as much as possible by hand to avoid some of the crazy costs tagged to all things wedding —  and to make our day feel unique to us. I wasn't a big blog reader back then, but ironically, now (married) I read a few wedding blogs that I love to follow for inspiration. What I hadn't stumbled on was a book that captured that same modern crafting spirit, until now. Leave it to the Hello!Lucky sisters and an ex-Martha style editor, Shana Faust, to create a gorgeous book full of handmade inspiration. What I love most about Handmade Weddings: it's a resource for those of us who aren't in wedding planning mode, too. Here are a few of my favorites from the book. 

+ Fabric-covered favor boxes: Love this idea for any gift-giving occasion — how sweet for a baby shower where you're wrapping lots of wee things. 

+ Yarn-wrapped bottles: Perfect for a cozy winter party. Inexpensive and easy. 

Test-tube favors: Love those tags, though I think I'd fill with candy!

+ Pegboard seating chart: I'm inspired to riff off this idea to create a message board in our new apartment. The pairing of pegboard and japanese tape is hard to resist. (Remember my kitchen pegboard from the last apartment?) I'm lucky to have pot cabinets in this kitchen for storage, so I think I may repurpose my blue pegboard for use in my home office. 

Photographs: Joseph De Leo, courtesy of Chronicle Books

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of Handmade Weddings from the publisher — though I can guarantee I would have bought one for my library otherwise. The book is awesome! 

bridal shower gift

I got to see my friend Susan yesterday, which was so much fun. She's getting married in a matter of weeks, and I pulled together a shower basket of gifts. Everything is from Radish and the basket has a picnic theme. Susan also lives in Brooklyn, and I love the idea of keeping it local with gifts when you can. The basket included a gray plaid Mexican wool blanket, some mini Bonne Maman jams and honey, a tiffin set (I have the same one — it was one of my favorite wedding gifts), homemade ginger syrup to make your own ginger ale, and stripey straws since they make any picnic more fun. I love delivering a gift you're really excited about. 

lavender name tags

 

 

 

Thanks for following along with all my California recaps! Lastly, I wanted to share one of my favorite details from Trisha's wedding — not only because I love the way they looked but also because my friend Liz and I became intimately involved with these dried lavender bunches (our big project for Saturday morning.) Trisha created lovely escort tags by writing guest names on swatches of mueslin with a marker and stamped each mueslin tag with a letter from the word LAUGHTER. On the rustic wood table, we arranged her initial paperweights to spell out the word laughter, with the tied bunches of lavender for everyone below their table letter. Trisha bought two sets of the typewriter font paperweights (they're listed as coasters on the site but look more like paperweights to me), so you could spot your letter at your table. (That's mine above at our table R.) While I wish I'd had my trusty Japanese hole punch on me (rather than a pair of scissors) for pulling together the lavender name tags, Liz and I whipped together 40 escort tags while our guys managed to get the purple lanterns hung and move 80 vintage chairs up a hill for the ceremony. It was a team effort! That's just the way I love weddings. Happy wedding to Trisha + Cary!

 

 

 

point arena lighthouse

 

 
My friends Trisha and Cary chose Oz Farm as the amazing location for their wedding — and many of their guests chose to stay in yurts on the farm. Our college group went for less rustic accomodations. We rented a house together that turned out to be just down the driveway from the Point Arena lighthouse, on the westernmost tip of California. I felt like I'd just stepped into a movie. Incredible views! Each night as we drove up to our house, we followed the beam of the working lighthouse through the fog and darkness. I loved the purple flowers in front of our little house.

 

Sharing a house with a group of friends is the best — it's so much more intimate than staying in separate rooms at an inn. Terah and Erin worked on a puzzle through the weekend, and we all got really into Liz and Eric's game of Celebrity, which simply requires a pen, paper, and a good memory to play. 

 

 

 

Dan and I walked around the grounds and spotted some California seals laying on rocks in the rough surf. Calfornia wildflowers pepper the surrounding fields. Point Arena, I hope to make it back to you someday.

brick-oven pizza rehearsal dinner

 

The night before their wedding, my friends Trisha and Cary hosted a rehearsal dinner pizza night at their wedding location, Oz Farm. Best. idea. ever. 

 

 

Set within an orchard of apple trees, underneath a canopy of globe lights, we drank beer from mason jars and ate some of the best pizza I've had in my life (and I live in New York, so I'm not kidding around here.) Each wood-fired pizza that came out of the brick oven had a different combination of amazing toppings: artichokes, kalamata olives, pesto sauce, heirloom tomatoes. You name it. Someone should seriously steal this rehearsal dinner idea — the night before a wedding can be tense, but pizza and beer puts everyone in a laid-back mood. 

 

My task for the night: arranging the flowers for the tables. I was practically giddy as it was so fun to play with these amazing flowers. My friend Terah and I picked up the flowers from some florist on a back country dirt road. Two buckets of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen. I'm convinced that California has the best flowers in the country — I've been to Hawaii and I regularly hit up the flower district here. Nope, California wildflowers. Simply stunning. (Terah is an environmental consultant and knows everything about the topic — she explained to me that the ecosystem in northern California is unique so you see flowers you can't find anywhere else.)

 

 

Trisha and Cary asked friends to contribute a potluck of salads. Liz and Eric (cute couple above) were in charge of our salad. Homemade desserts were set up on one of the tables. In front of the barn, in a patch of field on the farm, we ate at rustic wood tables. Around each table was a mix of vintage chairs — my favorite look for a party or wedding. 

 
The pizza party set the tone for their beautiful wedding: a celebration filled with a sense of community and love. After we ate, we headed inside the barn to listen to a couple friends sing and play guitar (with kids dancing around them.) The night was everything you wanted in a good party. 

ps. I'm totally digging the tie-dye apron on the pizza chef. I might have to steal that idea. 

gilded cupcake toppers

The biggest thrill of launching our Cabin 7 shop has definitely been seeing other people's excitement in our work — I honestly get a butterfly feeling of happiness every time I ship out an order. But it's even more incredible to see friends we know love our little collection. So it absolutely made my week to send off our gilded letter blocks to be a part of the wedding of my friend, Lisa, to her guy, Mike. (And Lisa and Mike made their own wedding bands — talk about a personal handmade touch! They are such a cool couple.) Lisa thought of using our gilded vintage letter blocks as cupcake toppers. Brilliant! We custom painted the L and M blocks (from this line) black for them along with the plus sign block. I think the cupcake display turned out amazing. I personally love when cupcakes look more simple and homemade. Their cupcakes came from Sugar Sweet Sunshine (must check out that bakery!). 

A big congrats to Lisa and Mike! Thanks so much for sharing a peek at your wedding. xx Jen

Cupcake display/flowers by Kelly Moore of Ambiance Event Planning. 

Photography by Simon Jon Photo.