garden dreams in the texas heat

i've been totally inspired by rose moss. it's a hardy plant with succulent leaves that can withstand the texas heat and days without water. the bright blooms are right up my ally: neon shades of pink, poppy, yellow and orange. my iphone couldn't event register the brightness of these colors... #nofilter, y'all.

when we purchased our house, i had no idea how much i would enjoy gardening. i've been turning down some late night partying in order to get up early and hit the dirt. must be growing up. 

i pinned this photo a few months ago, and i keep going back to it. we're definitely going to spend the next few months trying to re-create this backyard. it's sustainable and just looks so damn cool. kudos to my good friend elyse who coined the term partio.

i'm torn between creating a modern, sleek backyard and an overgrown hill country garden. texas wildflowers need to 'planted' in september for spring blooms. i've been reading up on planting wildflowers and they just say to drop the seeds on dirt, don't bury them. how easy is that? you can order seed packets from wildseed farms.

here's a little peek of our backyard. blue agave, african irises and rose moss so far. still so much that needs to be done. can't wait to share the full picture.. when it's complete.

late to the party.

so sad to see google reader go, but i'm now using bloglovin to stay current with my favorite blogs. while pinterest and instagram satiate my need for constant visual stimulation, there is nothing like curling up in bed and reading an old timey blog post! will our children ever know what it was like to read a blog? or will they just zoom on through their pinstagrams and be none the wiser? now that i'm looking at the internet through rose colored glasses and have tugged on your heartstrings, you can follow me on bloglovin. Pin It

free press summer fest 2013

i learned some video skills last month at the blogshop video class in chicago and i put together a personal video of my free press summer fest experience! it was a great way to see a bunch of friends, celebrate my birthday and listen to new music. enjoy! turn the sound up :)

want to see another fun video i did for work?! check my market square park  video, por favor. and if you're in the houston area, come visit market square park for one of our movie nights! they are so much fun.

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gold, mint, coral & kraft bachelorette party invites

this invite was obviously heavily inspired by the neon bachelorette party invites from last year. i received a request from the sister-of-the-bride to re-create the invite and weekend itinerary with the coral, mint & gold color scheme. i love how they turned out. the toned-down colors give it a totally different look. still fun and girly, just a bit softer.

coincidentally, the gals receiving this invite were also doing a wine-tasting weekend in the texas hill country. i would do anything to do that weekend again -- it was so much fun. (cue matthew fox in that famous scene from LOST.)

tiny craft envelope with an expandable itenerary..

  

easy, cheap & festive party decor + house update

first things first! here's a picture of our house. it was built in 1937 and took a beating over the years. someone bought it late last year, flipped it and sold it to us. we were so lucky to jump on this house when we did - love at first sight and in a neighborhood we're excited to explore. 

..and now to more fun stuff. jon's sister graduated high school this year and all of her brothers and sis'-in-laws got together to throw her a little bash. we were all on a budget, but pulled off a pretty festive fajita soiree in our back yard.

with four kids and lots of birthdays to throw, my mother-law-in-law was smart to invest in a helium tank years ago. the balloons were a last-minute addition to the decor, but they were the best part! we taped fringed tissue paper to the base of the balloon to create these geronimo balloons-inspired floaters.

for the table, i used a dip-dye table cloth and crepe paper to create this striped runner. double-sided tape kept them in place.

to finish the ends, i simply cut out a little wedge.

and throughout the house, i made tissue-paper flowers. they brightened up the windowsills, tables, bathrooms and anywhere that needed a little pop of color.

here's the graduate with her bearded brothers. congrats callie! i was thrilled she happened to match the color scheme with such a pretty yellow dress.

my little nephew max is up-and-running these days. we tied a balloon to him so we easily spot him when he ran off. i think i might utilize this little nugget for when i have kids. my sister-in-law, chelsea, took the most precious photo of max with the balloons. 

that's all, kiddos. xo

green + pink high school graduation announcement

my sister-in-law is graduating from high school this year... she's grown up so much since i first met her in 2006, when she was just about to turn 13. so, pretty much i met her when she was starting all the fun (and awkward) teen years. can't wait to see what's next for her!

here's her graduation announcement...