80th Birthday Celebration

I recently posted the invitation for my grandmother's 80th birthday brunch that I designed. Well, last Saturday was the big day and it was perfect! Between my obsession with designing things to communicate one's personality, my mom's organization and culinary skills and the perfect setting, this brunch was a lovely celebration.

I made menus that we included in the place settings, wrapped with the napkins and a piece of raffia with a sprig of rosemary. My mom made gingham table runners (my grandmother LOVES gingham) and she put together some lovely flower arrangements with sunflowers and key limes. For the buffet, I made small cards for each dish that matched the menus. We served spinach and bacon quiche, fresh fruit, cranberry almond muffins, rosemary roasted new potatoes, mimosas, and crab cakes with remoulade sauce. For dessert I made lemon cupcakes and sticky toffee pudding cupcakes. Yes, I channeled my inner Martha. All in all it was good food and good company.

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Little Boy Blue

I just finished these oh-so-simple-and-sweet baby announcements. Take a look!

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Santa Barbara was on fire!

Perhaps you've heard about the Jesusita Fire that made it's way through Santa Barbara during the last couple of weeks. We were close, and even had to evacuate for a couple of days, but are back safe and sound now. We are grateful for the effort from all the fire and emergency crew! Here are some shots I took from our front door just before the sheriff drove through the neighborhood issuing a mandatory evacuation.

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Wedding Wednesday: Krista & Phil

I met Phil and Krista shortly after they met each other, so I got to watch their relationship grow into a marriage.

I would describe Phil and Krista's wedding as elegant, old world charm meets rockin' summer fiesta. Between the romantic setting at Rancho Capistrano in San Juan Capistrano, California (with a pond as the backdrop to their vows), the hand-picked, bluesy-jazzy-rock band (made up of very talented friends), the vibrant purple and orange accents everywhere (not to mention the well designed printed material), and the handmade wedding favors, there was nothing more to add to its perfection.







Lucky for me, Phil and Krista asked me to design their Save the Dates AND invitations. From the very beginning Krista and Phil wanted to communicate how fun their wedding--and their union--would be. For their Save The Date we chose childhood photos of them with loose frame drawings and hand lettering. Their wedding invitation echoed the hand-drawn effect with illustrations of purple and orange peonies and playful type. We even pulled these elements into the programs, menus, table cards and table numbers. All in all, it was a fun project for an even more fun wedding, thanks Phil and Krista!!






Venue: Rancho Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, CA. Print design: Lilly Louise. Photography: Evoke Photography. Wedding Coordinator: Joyful Weddings and Events.

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