From the monthly archives:

August 2010

thanks to the august sponsors

by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 31, 2010

Many thanks to the August sponsors and advertisers!

Ashley Brooke Designs

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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

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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

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

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

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In Laura’s own words…
Wonderland Papers was created after my own 2008 wedding and my eyes were opened to the world of wedding paper design. Creating save the dates and hand drawn wedding maps for your special day or keepsake maps to remember your courtship, your college days or any special period of life has become my passion. I truly enjoy working with my clients to capture the special moments in their life. All my illustrations are hand drawn and digitally colored and can be adapted to fit your style and needs. I can be contacted at wonderlandpapers@gmail.com or through my Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/WonderlandPapers

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 stationery 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 stationery 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.


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mom-style monday: emmy style

by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 30, 2010

I just thought I’d share my favorite Emmy red carpet looks from last night. These types are lists are always so different for everyone, but these women are wearing things that I’d like to wear. And I also think they look drop-dead gorgeous.

Who were your favorites?

all photos from People.com

Lea Michele in Oscar de la Renta, Claire Danes in Armani Prive, Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera

And another favorite I forgot about was Julie Bowen in J. Mendel. I think Julie Bowen is absolutely flawless.

Favorite Moments of the Show

1. The opening number of “Born to Run” starring Jimmy Fallon, the cast of Glee, and many other television stars including Jon Hamm (yum), Tina Fey, and Jorge Garcia( yay, Hurley)! I have a school girl crush on Jimmy Fallon. I think he’s so funny and I love that he can laugh at himself. It doesn’t hurt that he can be silly without being rude or crude.

2. Jimmy Fallon’s tribute to the shows that said goodbye was also great! I think it’s safe to say I love Jimmy.

3. Seeing Jon Hamm not as Don Draper. I love Mad Men, but I love Jon Hamm more because he smiles and laughs and gets on stage with the Glee kids.

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weekend recap

by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 29, 2010

We had a pretty eventful, fun-filled weekend. TC was really productive around the house, Hudson did lots of playing and talking, and we had a little bit of fun.

  • Our “pet” spider that has been living in our kitchen window is now being fondly referred to as “Peter Parker.” TC started calling the spider Peter Parker on Friday night. Peter Parker was very busy on Friday night and was moving all over the place. When we woke up on Saturday morning, it was confirmed that Peter Parker is, in fact, female. And she was also pregnant! I knew it! And I told y’all there was a baby boom going on. Check out Peter Parker’s little egg sack. I know it’s icky, but we have really been fascinated by this spider’s activities.

  • I helped organize a Christmas music kick-off for our choir. We had a Christmas-themed party on Friday night and it was a lot of fun. I’m not ready to rush the season, but it was fun to forget that it’s really hot outside for just a little while! We started rehearsing some of the music this weekend and I just love it.
  • I built Hudson’s first “fort” out of a big quilt (my Alpha Chi Omega tee shirt quilt) and four chairs on Saturday morning. He absolutely loved it and really liked running out from under it and running back in. Pay no attention to the mix and match pajamas. Sometimes we just don’t have a clean set!

  • I have a dental appointment tomorrow and I’ve been nervous about it for a week. Not because I think anything will be wrong, but because I just can’t stand to sit there for an hour with the hygienist’s hand in my mouth.
  • I got sucked in to the Emmy Awards and the pre-show red carpet tonight. I absolutely love award shows and the Emmy Awards are probably my favorite. Why? Because I love TV, obviously. You all should be watching Glee, Modern Family, Mad Men, and Damages! And all of the terrible reality television shows, too!
  • We splurged after church this morning and actually went out to eat. We always go home because Hudson is so tired after being in the nursery that we are afraid to risk eating at a restaurant. But we took the risk this morning and went to DiPratos. It’s a great deli right down the street from our house and they have the best brunch. And Hudson did great!
  • Go on over to Book Beginnings and Bookends today to get the discussion questions and link up your blog for The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes in the morning!

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the september issue…. of Southern Living

by Blue-Eyed Bride on August 27, 2010

It’s amazing. It’s one of my favorite issues of my favorite magazine. I think the Idea House issues are always favorites of mine because there are lots of things I can tear out and save for later, but this September 2010 issue was full of great things including a list of  Details with Southern Style.

My favorite thing about the issue, though, was a fabulous article by the one and only Amy Bickers. I have a writing crush on Amy because she always writes things that I’ve thought before and I read her stuff and feel like she took exactly what I’ve been thinking but made it sound funny and smart!

Amy also wrote the article that I posted a few weeks ago that drummed up lots of conflicting comments.

If you haven’t picked up this issue of Southern Living, you should! And if this picture doesn’t make you just want to move right in to the house on the cover, then… I don’t know. But it makes me want to move in and sip sweet tea on the front porch. But not in September. It’s too hot in September.

Dear Hollywood: An open letter to our friends in showbiz, bless their hearts

by Amy Bickers

Southern Living, September 2010

Attention, Tinsel Town. As the fall TV season begins, we hope you aren’t tempted once again to dust off those Southern stereotypes that make us cringe. An example: the crime show that featured a cold case in Nashville and depicted the city’s police chief as a man who asked people to call him Big Daddy. Seriously? In a city with right around 600,000 people? We think it’s high time we let you in on a little secret. Contrary to what you might think, it’s really not all moonlight and magnolias down here. It’s not all cats on hot tin roofs, either.

For starters, Southern women do not go around saying things like “Why, I nev-aaaahhh!” or “I do declare!” (Okay, sometimes we do say that stuff, but we’re kidding. The same is true when we yell “Free Bird!” at, say, a Celtic Woman concert. We are in on the joke.) More than 70 years have passed since Scarlett stood on that hill and bellyached about Tara, yet you can visit your local cineplex or turn on the tube any day of the week and hear actresses doing that accent. And frankly, my dears, we do give a, er, care about how very wrong that is, especially when they’re playing truck drivers or steelworkers. But, in your defense, it’s easier to channel Scarlett than to nail the difference between a New Orleans accent, which sounds like Brooklyn on gumbo, and a West Texas accent, which is as dead level as the prairie it came from. Kudos to the HBO drama Treme for getting it right. Then again, it’s filmed in the city and casts actual New Orleanians, so the real props go to our fellow Southerners for keeping it real. (As for the accents of those Louisiana vampires in True Blood? No. Just no.)

Using actual Southerners doesn’t always help, though. Southern-born celebs are sometimes the worst offenders. We won’t name names, but we’re looking at you, Julia R. Even Reese Witherspoon, who did our beloved June Carter proud in Walk the Line and was just a pistol in her Man in the Moon debut, veered offtrack in a film we won’t name, playing a New York City fashion designer who hides her Southern past because she grew up in a trailer with a Civil War-re-enacting daddy and a mama who makes bologna cake. Who among us has ever heard of bologna cake? Does that take buttercream frosting?

Stereotypes are tempting—we get that. And if you need to telegraph “Southern,” the easy route is to trot out Bubba or Big Daddy and have him drawl like Foghorn Leghorn while driving a pickup and spitting into a dip cup. But the thing is, we love the South. We live in it, and not, for the most part, in rusted-out camper trailers or Greek Revival mansions. You’d be shocked if we told you how few of us have verandas. Are you sitting down? Some of us live in condos.

And one last thing: We have air conditioning. You know, that thing that makes it feel cooler inside than it is outside? We do have it. And that is why we do not sweat indoors. We do not glisten and fan ourselves while sitting in courthouses or hospitals or grocery stores. In fact, because of the South’s obsession with AC, our public buildings are often so cold in the summer that we have to keep a sweater handy in July. Stop showing us sweating, please. Unless it’s Texas native Matthew McConaughey and he’s “lost” his shirt yet again. We’ll give you a pass on that one.

Notes from Erin: I just love this. I’ve often heard Ms. Roberts botch the Southern accent and I’ve heard many actors think they’re doing the South Louisiana accent correctly, but they’re just not. Amy’s comparison of the New Orleanian accent to Brooklyn on gumbo is just spot on– and hilarious.

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