Office Organization

I guess the wedding being over was a bigger let down than I maybe expected because now I've moved onto fixing up the house. And, if you know me, I can never have just one project going on, I have to have about 5 at once!

So, not only am I slowly redecorating our living room, I'm also redoing our office which serves as Kevin's closet and our guest room (and lately our junk room that we shut the door on whenever we have guests over!). The space really hasn't functioned well since we moved in almost two years ago and now I am determined to change all of that!

I made a good dent last weekend after a trip to IKEA, but there is still much to be done. So, in the meantime, I'm looking at pretty offices for inspiration.

 

And my favorite of them all:

Ahhhh, organized bliss here we come!!!!

Why didn't I think of that?

I have a ton of these little white milk glass vases in various shapes and sizes left over from our wedding that I am slowly selling online. (Yes still selling stuff from the wedding! Yikes!)

Today I came across an adorable Bachelorette Party Shoot on 100 Layer Cake where they used some of the very same vases and added a layer of paint to change them up.

Why didn't I think of that?!! What a great idea. All you'd need is paint good for glass or ceramic and you can easily change the color of just about anything. Genius! I may just be keeping a few more of our left overs for myself afterall!

Happy Monday!

*Photos via 100 Layer Cake, "Let's Get Cozy" Bachelorette Party Shoot.

To Veil or Not To Veil?

I've never pictured myself wearing a veil in my wedding, even as a little girl. (Although I will admit, there was a moment right before the wedding when I started having doubts about my decision and thought maybe I should wear one. Thank goodness that only lasted for about five minutes!)

They say that to feel like a bride you should put something special in your hair. Kind of like the icing on a cake, it just adds a finishing touch. So, if not a traditional veil, then what? Flower? Headband? Clip? Feather?

My dress decided it for me: Feather - All the way!

I liked the old Hollywood Glam style of my dress and felt like a feather would be just the right touch of something special to kick it up a notch!

In true Elena fashion, I didn't like any of the feather fascinators that I was finding at the bridal shops and online boutiques and if I did, they were way out of my accessory budget or way too big for what I had in mind. So, I decided I would try to make one.

After looking around at purchasing feathers and reading up on how to attach and secure them, I quickly concluded that "Pre-Made With A Twist" would be the best solution for me!

Sav-On-Crafts actually had the perfect white feather fascinator headband for $29! I decided to order it and see how hard it would be to detach it from the headband and somehow secure it in my hair. Low and behold, it slipped right off! Thank you Sav-On-Crafts for saving the day!

(image from Sav-On-Crafts.com)

(image from Sav-On-Crafts.com)

Now for the "twist." I decided a broach would be the little extra touch to complete my new feathers! I scoured sites like Etsy and flea markets all over town until finally tucked in a display case, in an Ocean Beach antique shop on Newport Ave (a must visit if you end up in San Diego), I found it! It was just the right mix of art neaveau, pearls and pave to tie in my other jewelry and other details. And best of all, it was $12!!!

It was just perfect!

After attaching the broach to the feathers using the existing pin, I glued the clasp shut to lessen the risk of it coming undone. Voila!

The perfect feather fascinator for my perfect day!

(photo by Emily Faulknor Photographers)

(photo by Emily Faulknor Photographers)

We've Been Published!!!

Today I am elated! Our wedding was just published on the Style Me Pretty, California Wedding Blog! I literally couldn't be more excited to see our beautiful, magical day plastered all over one of my favorite blogs!

OMG!!!!

Major props to ALL of our awesome vendors and amazing friends and family! Without you, this day would never have come to life the way it did! Thank you!


Wedding Photography: Emily Faulknor Photographers / Wedding Dress: Allure Bridal + Prevue Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Nina + All-Star & Airwalk / Caterer: Bekker’s West Coast / Cupcakes: Babycakes / Bartender: RG Bar / Makeup: Denise Baker / Wedding Design + Planning: The Bride (Love, Life and Decorating) / Officiant: Andy McCuen of All Heart Weddings / Furniture Rentals: Allie’s Party Rentals / Wedding Venue: Leo Carrillo Ranch

Interior Texture

Happy Thanksgiving weekend! What did you all do for the holiday? We had a nice dinner out with a few friends and then I Friday I cooked an awesome turkey roast with all the fixings. It all turned out pretty awesome if I do say so myself!

In the last year I haven't had a lot of time to focus on interiors, but that doesn't mean I haven't been looking and loving and drooling! I've got many more wedding planning tips coming up soon, but for today, here's a little taste of some beautiful spaces that I'm loving.

Can't wait to have a cute little girl to create a totally chic bedroom for!

I'm in love with every detail of this room. Not a thing I would change.

One word: TEXTURE! I want a brick wall!

I'm pretty sure any pup would be envious of this super-hip dog bed.

Asian-inspired details in an all white bathroom feels so serene.

Don't know about you, but I want a stenciled floor! Holy cow, so cute!

L-O-V-E. Enough said.

Trashy Table to Chic Cupcake Tower

One thing I was really excited about was incorporating unique furniture items into our wedding decor. I got my heart set on having a tray table as a stand for our cupcakes. I wasn't thrilled with the cupcake stands that you could rent from the bakers, so I began to hunt!

I found several beautiful, shabby chic tray tables that would have been perfect for what I had in mind, but trying to keep within a tight budget, I really couldn't afford to buy one already finished.

So, just as I was starting to feel a little defeated, we came across this dirty, little lamp table in a local thrift store called Pat's Corner. Kevin must've thought I was crazy when I declared how perfect it was!

Before

For $25, $10 for the table, plus another $15 for them to remove the lamp, plug the hole and paint it, we had an adorably-chic little tray table hold our cupcakes. It was totally perfect!

After

Look how sweet it looked up on top of our dessert bar all covered in minis!

*photo by Emily Faulknor Photography

Skillet Lasagna

Okay, so I guess I took a slightly longer break than I had planned, but the honeymoon was just so much fun and so relaxing that it's taken me a little longer to get back into my groove! Can you blame me though? I mean look where I was:

Alright so, back to blogging! One of my very favorite meals is lasagna, but let's face it who has the time to make lasagna during the week? So I was stoked when I found this awesome recipe for Skillet Lasagna in a Pampered Chef cookbook called "29 Minutes to Dinner". I love this book because everything is super easy and takes less than 30 minutes to make. It's great!

As I commonly do, I've tweaked the recipe a bit to be my own, but it's delicious and easy anyway you choose to make it! (My version is a great way to sneak extra veggies into your kid's diet without them ever knowing it!)


Ingredients:
(From the cookbook:)
1 jar marinara sauce
3 cups water
8 oz lasagna noodles
1 lb hot Italian turkey sausage or sausage links (casings removed)
2 garlic cloves, pressed
2 oz Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 cup whole milk Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper


(From my kitchen:)
Substitute turkey sausage for lean ground turkey, regular noodles for wheat and whole Ricotta for low or non-fat.
2-3 cups Chopped veggies of your choice - onion, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms and squash all work well.
3/4 cup frozen corn.

How to make it:
In a large skillet, brown ground turkey or sausage (I flavor the ground turkey with dried oregano, onion powder, salt and pepper.) Drain as needed.
Add in garlic and veggies and cook for about 2 mins.

Break up lasagna noodles into pieces and layer into skillet with meat and veggies.
Add 1 jar sauce and water.
Stir and bring to a boil.
Reduce to a steady simmer, cover and let cook for about 20 mins.

When noodles are soft, spoon in Ricotta and stir in Mozarella cheese and frozen corn.
Let cook for another 3 or so minutes, turn heat off and let sit for about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve with garlic toast or a side of roasted asparagus.

Enjoy this delicious, fast and healthy comfort dish any day of the week!