Vintage Peacock Glassware

I have been on the lookout for a nice set of vintage glassware for awhile now, but I told myself it would have to be both a really really nice design AND price (to prevent impending impulse buys). So when yesterday I found this set of seven glasses for only $20, after about a year of looking, I was finally sold!

I tried to do a little research, but so far with no avail. There are no markings to indicate the manufacturer, and I can't find any posts online with any sort of information. It looks like it would fit in with some examples of Cera glassware that I found, but I couldn't locate any information or history on the company. If anyone knows anything, I'd love it if you could share it with me! All I can say is that they are made with a thin layer of glass that flares out at the top and feels great in the hand. Images of flowers and peacocks are printed on the sides in aqua and gold and the finishing touch is the lovely gold rim.

I also want to use this post to mention this amazing shop I visited in Alexandria, Virginia that really inspired me to find some nice glassware in the first place. It's called The Hour and she started her shop because of the idea that back in the 50's people loved to host cocktail parties, which gave them an excuse not only to get dressed up and bring out their fancy party accessories, but brought people together. She sells some of her pieces online, but they are typically expensive because she knows their value and only sells ones that are in perfect shape. It's still worth checking out though, even if it's just to look at all the pretty designs!

Our Vintage Travel-Themed Wedding

Our wedding was so much fun. People are right when they say it flies by, because we wish we could have partied longer with our friends and family! We were lucky to have a lot of people willing to help. I wish we could have more parties like that!! I also highly recommend all our vendors to anyone in the Atlanta area; a little more info below.

Reception Hall: Mary Gay House

Highly, highly recommended! This is right across the street from the church (but even if you don't have your wedding there, they have an agreement with the church to use their parking lot). It was built in the 1820's and has quite a history to it. During the Civil War, enemy soldiers took over her home and forced her to live in the teeny tiny space where we had our buffet. The ballroom was added in the 1970's and overall it holds about 100 people (not including the outdoor patio). Tables and chairs for 100 are included too. You are required to work with one of their caterers, unless you provide documentation and an extra fee, but they do their best to work with you on other things as much as they can.

Flowers: Candler Park Flowers

I love this place because they have really exotic flowers. The arrangements are beautiful, and they are willing to work with you to create something unique that also fits into your budget. 

Caterer: Farm Burger

I can't talk up Farm Burger enough. They have a few restaurant locations in the Atlanta area which are already great. But a few years ago, they delved into the catering business and offered a few extra items up to their usual delicious standards. At our tasting, everyone was so friendly. Even a few cooks came out to greet us and give us wedding encouragement. They were really generous with the amount of food we got to try too. We ended up with burgers, coleslaw, deviled eggs, pasta salad and chips with onion dip. Their service was amazing and they even made sure to bring out two plates for us during the reception. 

Dress: Sweet Elegance Bridal

I found my dream dress: an a-line, tea length with lace, and I found it at Sweet Elegance Bridal, a mother/daughter owned shop offering designer dresses at more affordable prices. 

Cake: Icing Cake Design & Sweets

These ladies are amazing. They are two graphic-designers-become-bakers. I went in knowing what I wanted but from what I've seen, I would completely trust them with full creativity on a cake as well. Their icings and cakes are all made fresh.

Fall Themed Party

So the fall themed party for my church went really well! A lot of people came, and we served some really great food. We had games of cornhole and trackball, beer and wine, fall themed foods, and of course pumpkin pie milkshake! Anyway, it was a lot of fun to design and to attend.

Fall-ing Into Place

I got really excited when a friend of mine asked me today to help her plan for a fall-themed party at our church. That means leaves, nature, burlap, and pretty colors! :D

The first two photos are of a decoration I want to hang a few strands of from the doorways. I found a wooden leaf at Michael's and used that to trace and cut out the shapes for the leaves on cardstock sheets with the color palette I picked. Then I just punched a small hole at the end of each "stem" and tied a knot so they wouldn't all fall into each other. This might even work with a tree branch hanging above them...if there's a way to get it to stay up there!

Next is a bouquet I picked out as a centerpiece. Michael's is having a 60% off sale for these flowers this week, so they came out to a great price!

The next picture is the container for my edible contribution...I'm going to make some kind of a smoothie or milk shake or something like that and put them in these cute jars! I thought the tag was a good idea so people can write their names and they won't get mixed up!

The next few pictures are of the candle jars I picked out—I really liked the texture on the glasses. I also thought this would be another good idea for a bouquet, which is even cheaper and includes the exact colors from the leaves. It's the same technique I used for the one on my dresser. Basically you just pick out some fallen branches, cut out some circles and string them on.

I also wanted to include a photo of these really cute pumpkin baskets I found. These were also on sale (yay sales!) at Michael's so I bought these for my own fall decorations. I love that they're made of such rustic elements like burlap, branches, and wicker.

For the tablecloths, I'm thinking a brown checkerboard with a burlap table runner. But we will see about that. I'll post more as I go along!

Party Like It's 1949

Since I never really had a housewarming party, I got together with some of my friends and decided to host a 1950's themed Christmas party at my house instead. We had a really great turn out and a lot of fun! For party favors, I designed some refrigerator magnets and labels for 45s, and gave out mini coke glasses with candy cane straws. We watched Miracle on 34th street, had a hula hooping contest, winners for best costume, and served all sorts of 50s themed food—it was soo much fun!!!

These are the girl and guy winners of the costume contest

The Coca-cola glasses and straws that I gave away as party favors

I designed these labels and then we stuck them on the front and back of about a dozen 45s, like this one

These are the refrigerator magnets that I designed as party favors 

 Don't they look so genuine?!

I hope all of you have a very, very Merry and blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year too!