Ashley Brooke Designs

In Ashley’s own words…

Ashley Brooke Designs is a luxury paper company where I create hand-drawn fashion sketches from scratch.  I love working one on one with clients to design exactly what their hearts desire.  Our designs are available on everything from stationery to coffee mugs to tote bags.  Contact me at info@ashleybrookedesigns.com and let’s talk design!

Penny Lane Designs

In Marina’s own words…

Penny Lane Designs is a small graphic design boutique that specializes in high quality, affordable custom blog designs, ‘Faux’ Sites, pre-designed blog layouts and print design. My goals as a designer are to create designs that are unique, clean, polished and to make my clients happy.

The Letter Tree

In Sherry’s own words…

The Letter Tree is a monogrammed gift shop that offers the best selection of monogrammed gifts with enough variety and style to have something for everyone.  If you are in need of something monogrammed, a special baby gift that stands out from the rest, fun gifts for your bridesmaids, a wedding gift, groomsmen gifts, specialty papers and personalized stamps, we have it all.  Adding personalization creates unique keepsake gifts that will be treasured for years to come. We strive to always provide great product selections and exceptional customer service. Please be assured if you shop with us, you will not be disappointed.

Monogram Chick

In Sarah’s own words…

What hatched at a dining room table has grown leaps and bounds into a web destination for personalized gifts. Monogram Chick is an extensive selection of fabulously unique products including gifts for bridesmaids, hostesses, sorority, housewarmings, children and babies. With items for any budget, Monogram Chick makes giving a personalized gift easy and affordable.

Wonderland Papers

momAgenda

In Nina’s own words…

As with many great inventions, the momAgenda was created to simplify the life of its founder – and caught on like wildfire. Today, momAgenda encompasses a vast range of organizational products, many inspired by its loyal devotees.

Kelly Moore Bag

In Kelly’s own words…

About three years ago, I started sketching and dreaming about having a handbag/lens bag line of my own. As a photographer and a woman, I was always left wanting more when it came to my options for a stylish, functional bag that I could use to carry my equipment while I photographed. I sat down and made a wish list of everything that I wanted in a great bag, and now 3 years later, I’m so excited that my wishlist has come to life!!

Minted. The Freshest Designs on Paper

In Minted’s own words…

Minted is a new online store offering fresh, modern custom invitations, stationery, announcements, holiday cards, and more.  We have gathered our collections from the most acclaimed independent stationary brands, and many are exclusively carried on Minted.com.  We also offer our own exclusive designs created especially for Minted.com.

Personalized Greeting Cards from Tiny Prints.

In Tiny Prints’ own words…

Tiny Prints offers an extensive collection of unique and contemporary stationary for both family and businesses, including everything from stylist corporate event invitations and other business stationery items to fun photo birth announcements, baby shower invitations, holiday photo cards and more.

Layla Grayce

In Layla Grayce’s own words…

At Layla Grayce, we truly, madly, deeply care about design, about creating the perfectly decorated room that expresses your unique sense of self, and finding perfect items for gifts or everyday. These are things that can make a difference in the quality of our lives and those dear to us. We feel that beautiful surroundings bring harmony, balance and happiness to your home and life, and strive to showcase products that will achieve this philosophy. Beautiful surroundings that express your personal take on lifestyle shouldn’t be a luxury – it should be a necessity.

For more information on advertising or sponsoring on Blue-Eyed Bride, please contact me at eeakin11{at}gmail{dot}com.

The next sponsor post will go up at the end of August, but ads can be placed at any time.

I think I threw away about 35 magazines. I try to do this every year, but I always like to hang onto the issues of Southern Living magazine. When I was flipping through the magazines I found this great article and knew that Hudson would need to see it someday. Because someday he’ll take a girl out for pizza and a movie. And someday he’ll take a girl as his date to a football game– hopefully an SEC football game. And I want him to have an idea of what she may be expecting from him.

I thought I’d share it with all of you to share with your sons and daughters, if you haven’t already.

If you’re not a southerner you may not appreciate it the way I do, but I like it enough to put it on my blog. I like chivalry. I like to think of myself as independent, sure, but I also like chivalry. And I want my son to treat his future wife, girlfriends, dates, and friends the way that we’ve always been taught that a man should treat a lady. Especially in the South where traditions don’t die easily.

15 Ways to Charm Her

Southern Living, July 2009

By Amy Bickers

“Want to impress a Southern girl? Just think “What would my grandfather have done?”

Number one: We still expect you to give up your seat for a lady. On a bus, at a bar, on a train. . . we don’t care where you are. Unless you are at a restaurant and the only lady in sight is the one taking your order, stand up. Now.

On a recent Friday night at a bustling restaurant bar, two friends and I waited for our table to be called. The barstools were occupied so we stood patiently, sipping wine and chatting about the workweek. When a couple nearby stood up, another woman – who had been there less time than we had – swooped in, reaching across us to put her purse on the stool. This isn’t the worst part. It’s what happened next: Her male companion then slid onto the other barstool.

Hang on while I do a geography check. Are we not in the South? If ladies are waiting for a seat and you have a Y chromosome, do you sit down? No, sir. No, you do not.

We know modern life is confusing. The roles of men and women have evolved over the years. As Pink once sang, “Shorty got a job, Shorty got a car, Shorty can pay her own rent.”

But come on, let’s keep some things old-school. My late grandfather- he of the East Texas upbringing, U.S. Navy captain status, and Cary Grant good looks – would never have allowed a woman to stand while he sat. And if you want a Southern woman to love you, neither will you. So, men, here’s a short list of things Southern girls still expect from you.

We still expect you to…

1. Stand up for a lady. Actually, this doesn’t just involve chairs.
2. Know that the SEC has the best football TEAMS IN THE NATION. Big 12 fan? Hmm, perhaps you should keep walking.
3. Kill bugs. Delta Burke as Southern belle Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women said, “. . .Ya know, when men use Women’s Liberation as an excuse not to kill bugs for you. Oh, I just hate that! I don’t care what anybody says, I think the man should have to kill the bug!”
4. Hold doors open.  This goes for elevator doors too.
5. Fix things or build stuff. I once watched in awe as my stepfather built a front porch on the house he shares with my mother. He knew just what to do, cutting every notch, hammering every nail. The project was complete by sunset.
6. Wear boots occaisionally. Not the fancy, l-paid-$l,000-for-these kind. We’re talking about slightly mud-crusted, I-could-have-just-come-in-from-the-field boots.
7. Take off your hat inside.
8. Grill stuff.
9. Call us. If you want to ask us out, don’t text and don’t e-mail. Pick up the phone and use your voice.
10. Stand when we come back to the dinner table. ”Just a little half-stand is enough to make me melt,” my friend Stephanie says.
11. Pull out chairs. Wait, that’s not all. Scoot them back in before we hit the floor.
12. Pay the tab on the first few dates. ”If you ask me out, you pay,” Stephanie says. “If I ask you out, you should still pay.” Listen, guys, it’s just simpler this way.
13. Don’t show up in a wrinkled, untucked shirt. Care about your appearance but not too much. Don’t smell better than we do. Don’t use mousse or gel. You shouldn’t look like you spend more time in front of the mirror than we do.
14. Never get in bar fights. Patrick Swayze might look cool in Road House, but in reality, bar fights are stupid and embarrassing. You don’t look tough. You look like an idiot.
15. Know how to mix our favorite cocktail JUST THE WAY WE LIKE IT. Fix your favorite too. Sit down on the porch (it’s okay if you didn’t build it), tell us how your day went, and we’ll tell you about ours.

We’ll leave the long list to the girl who falls in love with you.

After I wrote my post last week where I mentioned that I’d love to be in a supper club, a bunco group, and a book club, a few of you commented that we should do a blogging book club. Well it’s here and we’re all going to be able to participate! It’s a shame we can’t start a blogging supper club. That’d be loads of fun!

Just hop on over here and read what it’s all about: Book Beginnings and Bookends .

I’d love to hear how many of you plan to participate!

Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll find over on that blog:

p.s. Rachel’s mom thought of the adorably clever name for the blog.

p.p.s. TC can’t stand the phrase “sneak peek.” Glad I could sneak it into my post!

Movies

Going to the movies alone on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon is preferred, but I’d take a great date night with TC, too. I love getting lost in the movie, sitting in a chilly theater. Slurping on a fountain Diet Coke. Movies are no place for babies, so it’s definitely a nice retreat.

Netflix

I’ve watched three different TV series via Netflix in the last 12 months. I’ll sneak in an episode or two during nap time a few days a week and before I know it, I’ve seen the entire series.

Reality TV

Monday nights are my night this summer. I don’t watch TV any other night except for Mondays, but I can get sucked in.

Trips to Target

Just to wander. But Target is a dangerous place. It’s like there’s a $100 cover charge. Yesterday, however, I was determined to go in, get what I needed, and get out. And only have two shopping bags. And spend $30 or less. It was a success.

But Target is a nice place to unwind!

An Alone Trip to Sonic Happy Hour

I love to get some good music in the car and turn up the volume so I can belt it out when I’m alone. I’m not ashamed to belt it when I’m not alone, but it’s fun to just let your inner rockstar take the stage when you’re alone in the car. And just drive on down to Sonic to get a Diet Coke.

Books

I love to read. (A post about a blogging book club is coming up soon.) I’ve read 12 books since January and my goal was to read 12 books before the end of 2010. I’ve realized that it’s such a great way to calm my mind at the end of a busy day– or in the middle of a busy day. I’ll sneak in a few chapters during nap time or right after TC gets home.

Not Spending it Alone

A lot of times I want my “me time” to be spent with TC sitting right next to me. Even if we’re not saying anything and he’s enduring hours of horrible reality TV. I love just having him next to me.

Long Phone Calls with Far-away Loved Ones

Girlfriends, my mom, my dad, my brother, my cousins. I can really feel energized if I spend some good time on the phone with someone I love.

Take a Nap on the Couch

Preferably curled up with your little dog.

What’s your favorite way to spend your “me time?”

]]> http://blueeyedbride.com/2010/07/28/what-to-do-with-the-me-time/feed/ 64 http://blueeyedbride.com/2010/07/27/from-selfish-to-selfless-sort-of/ http://blueeyedbride.com/2010/07/27/from-selfish-to-selfless-sort-of/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:40:15 +0000 Blue-Eyed Bride http://blueeyedbride.com/?p=3055 So one day you’re a twenty-something engaged gal. It’s all about you (and your groom) and you’re planning a gorgeous wedding, being showered with gifts, enjoying the time with your friends and family and relishing every second.

Then another day you’re a twenty-something married gal. It’s all about the two of you, still. Your home, your fun nights at home with dinner and television, your fun nights out with dinner and movies. You love your freedom to head to weekend weddings and weekend away game road trips. Maybe a fun mini-vacation is on the horizon and there’s nothing stopping you from going. You’ve saved your money and any trip is relaxing.

Then all of a sudden, you’re shocked and surprised that you are now a twenty-something married gal who is 7 weeks pregnant. After being married for five months. You can’t be selfish because your body has been turned over to your unborn child. Your eating habits, your drinking habits, your sleeping habits are no longer for you. There’s a big invisible sign that says, “stop what you’re doing and do it this way instead.”

After 9 months of selflessness (which includes complaining a little about the selflessness), your baby is here. And there’s lots of love and lots of activity. There’s also a lot of activity that is just done out of habit. And habit turns into sleepless nights, which turns into running on adrenaline. You’re still sacrificing sleep and because you’ve chosen to breast feed, you’re sacrificing certain foods and all alcohol.

But after the adrenaline wears off and you’re running on fumes, you start calling for backup. Because we all need a little sleep every now and then. And we all need a little time to ourselves to be selfish. To read a book, take a bath, dry our hair and look like a normal twenty-something married gal.

And I think that’s normal and okay. In the beginning I had a lot of pride and was so worried that if I asked for help I’d look weak. And I’d look like I was saying, “I can’t do this.”

But I could do it and I was good at it. I also needed some time to be alone. And if that’s selfish, then I’m okay with selfish.

Now that I have a 13 (almost 14) month old, I’m getting lots of sleep. I’ve been getting lots of sleep since he was 4 months old. But this age comes with other issues. He’s loud at restaurants and I’m easily embarrassed. He is starting to throw tantrums and that makes me nervous about what’s to come when he turns 2.

I’m adopting a new way of thinking when it comes to our family’s focus. Less stuff in exchange for a higher quality of life. It’s hard not to think about stuff when you’re a blogger who reads other blogs with gorgeous furniture, beautiful clothes, and yummy restaurants. I want everything I see.

So I’m working on selflessness when it comes to what I want versus what we need. What my family needs. It’s a hard transition, trust me, I know.

But I can’t stop being selfish when it comes to getting just an hour of time alone every day so I can breathe and decompress or get lost in my book. I think this is how some women stop knowing what songs are popular right now. Or how they end up wearing scrunchies in their hair twenty years after scrunchies have gone “out.” We get stuck in time because we’re so focused on raising the little people in our lives.

So I’m working on a balance. I never want to have regrets where I look at my house and see lots of stuff, but I wasn’t able to help pay for my child’s college education. And I want to be able to feed the parts of me that need to be fed in order to maintain my sense of self.

It takes constant effort to be able to do both of these things, and as mothers; working mothers, stay-at-home mothers, older mothers, younger mothers, single mothers, married mothers, I think we all know what this feels like.

I had all this gorgeous fresh fruit in my refrigerator and wanted to bake something and then watch Mad Men. And open a bottle of Santa Margherita.

The recipe calls for frozen berries (probably in case they’re out of season), but I had packages of fresh strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries in the refrigerator so I used those.

Ingredients

1 12 oz package frozen blueberries (or fresh blueberries)

1 12 oz package frozen raspberries (or fresh raspberries)– I don’t care for raspberries, so I use strawberries instead

1 12 oz package frozen blackberries (or fresh blackberries)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 t vanilla extract

1 package refrigerated pie crust (with 2 crusts in the package)– or make it from scratch if you can or have the time

1 large egg, beaten

1 T sugar

Instructions

Stir together first 7 ingredient in large bowl until just combined

Spoon into greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish

Roll 1 piecrust to fit baking dish, place on top of berry mixture

Cut remaining piecrust into 1/2 strips and arrange strips in lattice design over piecrust

Brush with egg, and sprinkle with 1 T sugar

Bake at 400 for 55-60 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Top with Blue Bell vanilla bean ice cream because that’s how your husband loves it and enjoy!

To me, Blurb is the best bookmaking company out there. I have two Blurb books at home and I’m getting ready to make my third. I’m going to make a book out of all of Hudson’s first birthday photos, so I can have them all in one place like with our wedding books and engagement photo book.

This week, Blurb is going to give away 10 bookmaking codes for $39.95 to Blue-Eyed Bride readers! You can make a pretty sweet book for $39.95! Or you can put that $39.95 toward your large Blurb purchase.

Here is a link to a video that shows how to use Blurb BookSmart.

Some examples of Blurb books for your viewing pleasure.

To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me what kind of book you’d like to make!

The winner will be announced at the end of the week.

• Hudson’s new favorite word is “hey!” He’ll walk into a room and just say it over and over again and it’s such a sweet little sound. It’s also kind of a loud little sound. Today I caught him standing in front of the mirror on the chifferobe in the future playroom, saying “hey” to himself. So funny.

• After church this morning, a large group for our Sunday school class got together for lunch. Hudson was eating dry Cheerios while we waited on his food to arrive and all of a sudden, he was throwing up. Projectile vomiting onto the restaurant table. Yikes. We have some very loving, very understanding, likely to be childless for many more years thanks to today’s events, friends. Really, if y’all are reading: thanks for being so understanding. TC took Hudson to the men’s restroom to clean him off. There was surprisingly not much on him, but we needed to remove him from “the scene” so I could get it cleaned up. Hudson got sick because he was reaching deep into his mouth to retrieve a Cheerio and gagged. Hopefully he realizes that he shouldn’t do that. This kind of goes hand in hand with last week’s post about bringing Hudson to restaurants. Never imagined that would happen!  He was feeling fine immediately after. The boy is like his mama and he’ll probably gag when he brushes his teeth.

• I decided to make a list today of all the home projects I’d like to tackle. I don’t have a deadline or timeline on the projects. I just like to have a list of everything I know I’d like to do and maybe that will stop me from buying an unnecessary dress or a useless pair of new shoes.

• On Friday I’m leaving for St. Louis! And then next Wednesday I’m leaving for NYC. I’m so excited, but that’s also a lot of time spent away from Hud Bud and TC. The reunion will be sweet!

• Mad Men Season 4 starts tonight. I’m so excited and seriously cannot wait. I love Don Draper and Betty Draper and I’m so excited to see what happens to the new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. And I’m so happy Joan Holloway is back and we’ll be seeing much more of her. I’m just so excited.

• I’ve lost my Blackberry for the fifth time this month. I always find it, but I can’t stand the hunt and not knowing where it is. I think I hid it from Hudson earlier so he wouldn’t drown it while he chewed on it. But now I have no clue what I did with it. That’s what I get for silencing it during nap time.

]]> http://blueeyedbride.com/2010/07/25/mixed-bag/feed/ 19 http://blueeyedbride.com/2010/07/24/a-sad-sad-situation/ http://blueeyedbride.com/2010/07/24/a-sad-sad-situation/#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:58:03 +0000 Blue-Eyed Bride http://blueeyedbride.com/?p=3008 Have y’all ever looked at this website, Dead Malls?

TC is kind of obsessed with it and has a fascination with abandoned malls. He says it’s because he spent a good amount of his childhood in many of our local malls and it’s sad to see such large, sprawling structures turn into empty parking lots and empty retail space.

I spent lots of Saturdays growing up at the mall, shopping at Limited Too, eating Chick-fil-A or Sbarro in the food court, and sticking around to see a movie in the mall movie theater. Family Saturdays were spent at the mall.

Now you see empty food courts. And in one case in Columbia, even the Chick-fil-A has closed! What up with that?

We have two dead malls in Columbia and one that’s on its way to being dead. In one of these cases it doesn’t make any sense. The mall is located in one of the most prevalent parts of town and just can’t succeed. I don’t understand it.

this particular mall is lucky enough to still have a Dress Barn keeping the place afloat

the Richland Fashion mall– with a great Barnes and Noble keeping the place afloat– sort of

These days, though, I’d rather avoid malls and spend my time in local boutiques, supporting local business owners. We feel the same way about restaurants. We rarely eat at chain restaurants.

Walking around an empty mall makes me feel like I’m in a ghost town and that’s just a creepy feeling.

Do you think it’s creepy? Do you have dead/abandoned malls in your city?