Slice O' Life: A wedding with lots of luck

Virginia Beach.  In case you were all wondering that is where I have been for the past five days  three of which rained but the last two days were AMAZING! 

This wedding was very near and dear to me heart.  All weddings for me are meaningful and magical but this time I got to watch my best friend's brother say his vows and marry the love of his life.  I was my best friend's date so on top of getting to attend the wedding I had the pleasure of staying in the wedding beach house right on the beach the whole week and joining in all the festivities!  Despite the rain, the wedding was a blast, everyone danced the night away and we all know what rain brings to the happy couple :)  Lots o' luck!!  Will and Kate, happy, happy wedding day and here's to a lifetime of joy, health, laughter and love. I love you both so much!

And of course you knew I wouldn't leave you hanging without some pictures of the big day!

A shot of the gorgeous wedding location:



What a beautiful family!

OOOO La La!

The bridal party

An amazing cupcake tower (seriously ate about 100 of these to myself, they were so good!)

And our beautiful couple!!!



Now let's do it again! 

See you swoon,

Shanna's Home: Curtains! Glorious Curtains!

I am usually so trigger-happy when it comes to great finds (especially if I have a coupon).  When we moved into our new home, I was amazed at all the coupons that showed up from great places like West Elm, Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel, Lowe's, etc.  I have had a 10% off coupon from West Elm burning a hole in my pocket since early June.  I wanted to use it toward something great and really get my money's worth. Did I ever!

I've been in search of the perfect curtains for my living room and dining room.  Naturally, I had a number of requirements:  the curtains had to be the same in both rooms, the curtains had to be light but not white, the curtains had to have a subtle pattern, the curtains had to be weighty but not heavy, the curtains had to go with the whole grey-white-blue color scheme I have going on, and the curtains had to be relatively inexpensive.  I came across these lovelies at West Elm that totally fit the bill:  the cotton canvas faux bead window panels, in a soft grey color.  Here they are with a bonus close-up shot:

And now for the math.  I needed four 84-inch curtains at $39 a pop.  The curtains had free shipping. So I was looking at about $160 and with my 10% coupon, that brought the total down to $144.  Not bad for four panels, especially since I have tried to keep my decorating on a budget.  Still ... I wanted to wait.  I knew it was risking having my 10% coupon expire (horror! no!), but I also had a feeling they'd mark them down.  And I was right! I got an email that West Elm was having a window sale - all window treatments were 20% off!  And free shipping! And I had my 10% off coupon that I could use.  That meant 30% off with free shipping, for a grand total of about $100!  I placed the order that day.  And I couldn't be happier with the results! Here are the before & afters:

{before: living room}

{before: living room}

{after: living room}

{after: living room}

{before: dining room}

{after: dining room}

{after: dining room}

I love them! I'm on the fence about adding some bamboo blinds (in the same wood tone as the floor) at the top of the window for some texture.  Right now, I am ok to hold off. What do you think - yes, no or maybe so?

See you swoon,

Wear It Again 2012: It's time to get this party started!

Come one, come all!  The time has come for Wear it Again ticket sales to open!  For those of you who missed our post a couple months ago you can check it out here but Wear It Again is our labor of love that welcomes women everywhere to wear their wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and mother of the bride and groom dresses again!  If we missed any dresses you want to wear again please feel free to add it in to the mix, we want everyone to be a part of this!

What: Wear It Again 2012
Where: Holiday Inn
             432 West Pennsylvania Ave.
             Ft. Washington, PA 19034
             (215) 643-3000 (for reservations)
When: January 28th 2012
Time: 8PM-11PM
Tickets: $45.00 per person

And now for the details ...

* What It Is *

Wear It Again will be a girls night out to remember with amazing music by Frederick Hart Entertainment (who we blogged about here), great memories captured in the photo booth provided by Roxanne at Shutterbooth Philadelphia (who we blogged about here) and our wonderful friend and photographer Lisa Levine Kempner (who we worked with here and here and here!).  All proceeds from this event will be going to our charity that we hold near and dear to our hearts and one that Shanna is a part of, The Nursing Mothers Advisory Council (with a little more information here).

* What To Wear *

Just to throw out a few ideas for those of you wanting to wear a wedding dress again but may, cough, cough, not quite fit into those lovely threads the way you used to or are hesitant to rip it out of the box you planned to keep it in for the rest of your life :)  Some of our friends will be visiting the David's Bridal $99 event to purchase a dress for the evening and will then donate it at the end of the night.  Of course you do not have to donate, but if you want to, we plan to accept gown donations at the end of the night and will take them to a local charity for resale to brides in need (we also plan to provide receipts for this for tax purposes).  We are also planning to have gown preservation available for those of you who want to break this bad boy(well girl really) out for one evening and then place her back into a safe home for all of eternity (unless you want to attend another WIA that we will have in years to come).  More details to come on these, but rest assured you will have lots of options for that lovely gown.

* How to Sign Up *

Ticket sales are now open!  Our evening starts at 8PM and will end at 11PM with open bar for the first two hours so make sure to to eat a hearty meal before you arrive and be ready to dance the night away with great music and memories to take home with you.  Oh and for those of you wanting to stay over, the Holiday Inn will have rooms ready for any ladies that want to take their girls night into the weeeee hours of the morning.  Signing up is easy!

1. Send us an email at WIA@swoonstylehome.com with your name, birthdate (sorry, event is open only to those 21 years of age and older ...) and telephone number. Please put "REGISTER" in the subject of this email.  
2. Then Paypal us $45 for your ticket.  Paypal address is the same as the registration address: WIA@swoonstylehome.com.  
3. We will provide a receipt by email with your ticket number within 24 hours (please note: receipts are not automatic responses).  
4. Save this email and the ticket number and bring the print out (or your ticket number) with you the night of the event! 

See? Super easy!  Now, if you do not have Paypal and would like to pay via check, just mention that in your registration email and we'll handle that with you.  Any questions? Just email us at the official Wear it Again email account: WIA@swoonstylehome.com.

:)

* Where To Stay *

Why, the Holiday Inn - Fort Washington, of course!  We've blocked off a bundle of rooms for the event, and the rate is very reasonable.  Plus the hotel is so super easy to get to! It's right off of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (Fort Washington exit) and is walking distance to the Lansdale-Doylestown SEPTA line with direct service to Center City.  We envision this as a girls night out/weekend away, so make plans with your besties, grab a hotel room and plan to spend the night!  The hotel is recently renovated and the rooms are bright and nice (my wedding guests and I stayed there for my 2009 wedding and everyone was impressed!).  Shanna and I will provide local info for you upon check-in.

And that does it!  We cannot wait to see you all there! Register soon!

See you swoon,

Easy Front Door Update

I finally got around to addressing the front door frame.  The very day we closed on the house, I removed the old storm door that was in front of our front door.  It served no real purpose and was not very pretty.  Plus, I knew it would block the eventual red front door, so down it came.  There were a bunch of holes in the door frame that I knew I'd need to fix up.  So I did.  I took some spackle, caulk and wood putty and filled in all the holes and cracks and then swiped on a few coats of glossy white paint. Done.  

But while I was out there, I noticed that the trim around the door was painted the same color as the siding.  I thought maybe it could use more of a punch.  So I painted the trim white.  It's not a major change, but I think it defines the door and makes the area look much more crisp.  What do you think?

Here is the before ...

and here is the after!

And of course I won't stop there.  I'll paint the trim around the dining room window white too.  And I am sold on adding black shutters on this window too and will paint all of the brown trim a crisp white.   Here is the area I'm working with.

Eventually I'll need to add some sort of furniture: a black bench, maybe some pillows in outdoor fabric ... and I am tossing around the idea of staining the concrete too.  What would you do? 

See you swoon,

A beach house that will make you SWOOOOON!

Ever since we left our beloved vacation home, this is all I have been able to think about.  This home was a dream home for Shanna and me.  It had the perfect paint colors throughout, pottery barn furniture and accessories which you know just made us crazy, I am surprised we didn't rent a moving van and just empty that place out when we left!  Lucky for us we will be going back next year and in the meantime, if any of you have a cool 1.5 million bucks that you are not using and want us to have so we can buy this beach house, we will be more than happy to have you over for a fabulous dinner...and maybe a card game as a thank you (warning we get competitive, but if you ever play with our father in law, watch out, he is dangerous and will win the entire game before you know what happened!!).

Most of the pictures I took were of the walls, I was trying to capture the paint colors which after a little snooping we found to be Sherwin Williams Morning Fog and Benjamin Moore Carrington Beige.  After coming home I ran to Lowe's to get samples of course and they seem a bit dark for the lighting in my house. I may have to add some white to lighten them a bit because these shades are to die for, I will find a way to make them work.  Check it out:



This beige is what I wanted in my bedroom all along, we will have to see if it actually ends up looking like this but folks, this is it.  Now for some real eye candy pro picks from the listing.  I know my pictures leave you wanting more:

Isn't it so much fun to feel like you lived in this home (or any vacation home) if only for a week?  I am still in love and this may be the only thing that gets me through the nasty, cold winters here in PA.  Anyone take a vacation this year?  We would love to hear about it!  And for my own pleasure if anyone has any amazing pictures of beaches with blue water please send them my way :)

See you swoon,