Wired Home Decorations

This weekend Luke and I high-tailed it out of Chicago to visit our families in Indiana and Ohio. This meant I had plenty of time on the train or in the car to check out what’s new on my favorite site: Etsy!

I came across these unique and sweet wire decorations. They are very shabby chic and whimsical. I could see them fitting perfectly into any girlie decor.



I thought all of these wire creations were so one-of-a-kind! They’d sure spark conversation in any room. The prices are great too, with most pieces costing below $50.

I am especially digging the birdcage wall hanging. I think I’d use it to hang key on near the front door. :)

Check out the artist behind these creations at Bird From a Wire’s Facebook page.

Totally Adorable House-Warming Gift Idea

My bestie Julia recently moved into a new home with her husband Jake. They’ve been busy decorating, gardening and getting their place settled in.

Luke and I got to check out their new digs last weekend during a visit to Ohio, and all their hard work has paid off! Their home is super cute.

I wanted to give her a house-warming present that was both functional and personal to them as a couple. I took to Etsy to see what I could find and came across these customizable, travertine tile coasters!

I love the idea of coasters. They’re always necessary and are a great way to add a personal touch to entertaining.

Plus the price was unbeatable. I was able to personalize 10 different coasters with their last name for just $34!

The coasters are really high quality with felt stoppers underneath so they won’t scratch a glass table. The seller lets you pick colors, words and designs to really showcase the personalities of your recipient.

Julia is a total girlie-girl who dreams in pink, so this coaster was a natural fit.

In addition to coasters, this Etsy store creates save-the-date magnets that I so wish I had discovered before our wedding!

Definitely check out this Etsy store next time you’re attending a house-warming party!

The Makings of a Memorable Wedding

Weddings that are planned and personalized down to the last detail are all the rage these days. As I’ve written before, it’s really hard to live up to those expectations when you’re on a budget and don’t have endless time to DIY everything.

Now that my wedding is over, I’ve realized that it’s not making every little detail personalized that makes a wedding memorable, it’s about the one or two things that really stand out in people’s memory. Think about it. When you recap your experiences at someone’s wedding, do you say “they had 10 things that were hand-painted with their monogram!”

Probably not. You likely WOULD say though, “They did XYZ that I’ve never seen done at a wedding before. It was so cool.”

For Luke and I, the special things we wanted to stand our from our wedding were our swing dance, the personal notes we wrote to each of our guests and Batman-themed table names. Everything else was just icing on the cake.

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I think it worked too, because we’ve gotten a lot of comments from people saying they remembered our “details” and were impressed with the level of thoughtfulness our wedding had.  Honestly though, we really didn’t focus on the little things like favors, monogrammed matches or centerpieces at all! It was just those few personal touches we paid attention to.

What aspects of your wedding did you focus on? What ended up being the things your guest remembered most?

Anniversary Gift Ideas For Him

Earlier this week, one of my readers asked for anniversary ideas for her husband. I always find it difficult to buy for men, so I know the dilemma she’s facing!

I asked Luke to think of some ideas and here’s what he came up with:

For the coffee drinker:

fp

a nice french press

For the Trendy Techie:

bag

Shoulder MacBook Sleeve

ipad

Pocket Ipad Case

phone

Leather phone case

For the Day Tripper:

duffel

5–Day Duffle

pass

Leather passport holder

For the City-Man:

watch

Vintage Field Army Watch

shades

Aviator Shades

galosh

Galoshes

For the Outdoorsy-Type:

knife

18-Tool Knife (a little scary, but Luke insists any guy would love one)

jacket

Light Down Jacket

For the Man-Foodie:

whisk

Interesting Whiskey (bottle can be engraved too)

rub

Good Grilling Rubs

scotch

A Bottle of Scotch

I am also a big fan of DOING something together to celebrate an occasion. That could be a steak dinner, comedy show or weekend getaway…just something that give you some uninterrupted QT together.

What do you think? Any ideas you’d add? I’m interested to hear from the men – would you like to receive something on this list for a present?