{inspired} hibernating

It never fails. This time of year both Chris and I get the urge to hibernate. The days are cooler, the suns sets much, much faster, and (at least in Oregon) the weather is gloomy and rainy. I really do enjoy the slower pace of life, but last week when I was sick, sore and just plain tired, I was dreaming of places I would love to spend the day curled up with a book or movie.

I think everyone's idea of that dream place to curl up and relax is a little different. But even if you are just relaxing, it doesn't mean the room you're relaxing in can't be stylish and cozy :). If I actually had time to hibernate, here's how I would do it:

Blankets:

I love piles of warm, cozy, bright blankets.

Pillows:

Pottery Barn

A super comfy bed:

Interior Design Story

Or couch.

Lonny

Hot Cocoa.

Beauty in Everything

A Huge selection of books and movies.

Storage and Glee

Do you feel like hibernating this time of year? What's your recipe for a cozy fall/winter room?

{inspired} the non-inspired

Friends, do you ever have weeks like this? One minute (last week) I was completely on my game and then next moment (aka, this week) ... not so much. So, I thought I'd catch you up on what's been going on this week.

First, I completed a marathon! 

We walked. It was my dad's idea ... a dream, of sorts. He's not a runner, but he's always wanted to complete a marathon. He's 64. So when he asked me to join him, how could I refuse? I was completely overconfident (cocky?) about the race, and totally didn't train. I just climbed the third highest peak in Oregon. How hard could walking 26.2 miles BE? 

Friends. I died.

I had plans to take pictures along the route and share my adventure with you, but by about half way it became obvious that finishing was more important than pictures and it was taking all my concentration just to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I am definitely not as cool as the 80 year old woman who was participating in her 44th marathon.

So death by marathon + a horrible cold + really stressful, completely last minute work event / no prepared blog posts = a home in the making silence this week!

So I wanted to say hi! Tell me friends, what have you been up to lately??

{ahomeinthemaking} the wedding

This is wedding week at A Home In the Making, in celebration of our third anniversary. Wednesday I showed you all the planning that went into our wedding (you can read about it here). So, today I'm sure your wondering ... how did it all turn out? Let's take a look!

I forgot to mention our favors in the last post. They were simple brown boxes tied with raffia. Inside was a incredibly awesome truffle.Gold chargers, gold/bronze napkins, and brown table clothes created a great backdrop for the flowers.

And oh wow, were the flowers ever amazing. Seriously, the florist nailed my vision. Around the flowers there are million candles along with more flower petals, rocks, acorns, moss and other natural, organic materials that gave it the *rustic* I was looking for. 

This pic is sort of weird ... pic of a pic. But it shows a great view of the *tent* setting, all lit up.

And here is the table as it started getting dark. With the candles and the flowers it was so sparkly and beautiful.

I mentioned the flowers, right? I just could NOT get over how amazing they were. Seriously. Dahlias, lilies, roses, orchids, beautiful greens. 

Our wedding party was beautiful. The girls had brown dresses and smaller version of my bouquet. The guys were in tuxes with brown ties and vests. And the boutonnieres? Fiddle head ferns. SO. PERFECT. That handsome blonde? That's my brother :).

Want to see my dress?

Strapless, lace overlay at the top and at the bottom.

I never thought I was a veil girl until that veil. LOVE it. 

And guess what? It rained.

We made it through pictures, thank goodness. And we actually had set up a second tent so our guests wouldn't get wet, just in case. Again, thank goodness. It started sprinkling as the wedding party walked down the path, and it started full-on raining as my dad and I were walking. There was actually a collective gasp from the guests. It stopped when we reached the gazebo with the pastor. The whole thing was actually pretty amusing.

And really. How cute is she, holding the big umbrella. I died. She was rock star. I think this made the rain all worth it :).

And here's a couple of gratuitous shots of us. Friends, it was the perfect wedding. Everyone kept telling me before that I wouldn't remember any of it, it would all be a blur. I still can't get over how wrong they were. We had so much fun and I remember every detail. Every. Single. Detail. Chris and I still recount entire conversations we had with our guests. And to share how happy we were with all of our closest friends and family was just so perfect.

Of course, in planning a wedding, I learned a few things. And, thought I'd share, for anyone out there planning a wedding, or soon to be planning a wedding.

• The one change I would've made was seating chart. Seating charts are not common in Oregon and I got talked out of it by my family because they thought it would be too formal. Wrong. As we went table-to-table saying hi to everyone, it struck me that the wrong people were sitting together. I think some of the guests would've had more fun if they'd been seated with their friends.
• If you don't already have a day-of wedding coordinator, find one immediately. Even if it's just an organized friend. You do not want to be bossing people around on your wedding day, or worrying about if the florist arrived. A day-of coordinator lets you just relax and enjoy the festivities.

Sources (for you portland peeps who might be interested):
Photos: Holland Studios
Florist: An Affair to Remember
Site/catering: Abernathy Center