:: real wedding :: yia & sal

Isn't Yia the most naturally beautiful bride?  I love the simple elegance of her details, her dress and the decor.  Yia and Sal were married along the California coastline in May and had the help of other incredible vendors: Wedding Coordination and Design by Amorology Weddings, Paper Goods from Flush Designs, and Photography by Paloma Images.  For a slideshow of their wedding, see more of Paloma's images from the day here.

Pin It

:: real wedding :: heather & jonathan

Let's give this "real-weddings-week" a second go around... Happy Monday!

I wanted to showcase some of the images brides have sent my way after we work on a piece or two... or nine, for their wedding day.  So here we go; let's kick this week off in style.

Heather and I were able to work together to make these sweet and unique pieces for her wedding back in the Spring.  She ordered her flower and the boutonnieres from the impressive Myra of Twigs and Honey and the flower girl's and bridesmaid's pieces from your truly.  I showed these pieces previously, but it's always so special to see the creations in action.  

Leo Patrone photographed this wedding and, as always, did a spectacular job.  For more images of the wedding you can view them on Leo's blog or over at Green Wedding shoes, who spoke with Heather and got a bit of insight on the day.

Images by Leo Patrone, c/o Green Wedding Shoes

Pin It

strawberry popsicles forever

I had an entire week's worth of real weddings to show you over the next five days, but for whatever reason, the photos are coming up as question marks on all of them!  Geez louise... So until I get that worked out, I hope this post can tide you over.  At least this one is a lot more refreshing and tasty and timely than the others! 

So here's the situation: The truth of the matter is, when you're reading this, the Petajas, the Byers (sis and bro-in-law), and the Hughes (parental units) are sittin' fat and sassy on the beach right now.  So in honor of sand and steamy summer afternoons, I thought I'd share something fitting: Strawberry-Coconut-Cream-Popsicles.  This isn't much of a recipe, seeing as how I don't really have specific measurements, but you'll get the gist of it and make them your own, right?  After paying $2.50 for a homemade popsicle from a joint here in Nashville (though they're worth every penny of that $2.50--don't get me wrong), I thought, Well, hot dang.  I can make these!  So, viola.  

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

Strawberries : Frozen Coconut Shavings

French Vanilla Coffee Creamer (I use Coffee Mate)

Milk : Popsicle Molds : Blender

Wash your strawberries...

...and remove the hull.

Throw in the strawberries (I used about 16 oz), 1/2 cup of coconut shavings, French Vanilla creamer to taste (I probably used close to 1.5 cups or so) and about 1/2 cup of milk.  Really, just add these things to taste.  Then blend the goodness together until it's the consistency of a smoothie.

Pour into the popsicle molds.

These will take a few hours to freeze, so make them in the morning for a late afternoon treat!  To remove the popsicles from the mold, you'll probably have to run the molds under warm water.  I've never made them with any other ingredients, but I'm sure they'd be tasty with raspberries or blueberries.  Heck, you could even get crazy and add in granola or oats to make them healthy... right...

Pin It

flower of fuchsia

My mom has the most amazing talent with flowers and plants and all things garden or lawn.  When we moved into our new home, she made three hanging baskets and two potted arrangements for our front porch.  Oh, and did I mention she drove 4 hours out of her way to deliver them to us so that we would have them for a party we were hosting for our brother-in-law?  Amazing, right?  

The baskets and pots are stunning; they're full of Elephant's Ears and Rabbit's Foot Ferns (which are, by the way, the creepiest/most amazing plant I've ever seen!) and my new favorite flower--Fuchsia!  It's aptly named and so delicate and droopy and dainty.  If you're in need for some pretty flowers for your pots, pick up these shade-lovers.

Pin It

petaja home, vol. V

FRIDAY : BEDROOM

I promise I'll be back soon with some actual handmades... It just seems like I get on these nesting kicks around the beginning of summer.

Have a nice and cool weekend, lovelies!

Pin It

petaja home, vol. IV

THURSDAY: OH, MY DEER or GUEST BEDROOM

This past week, the room has been used primarily as a guest bedroom since we've had back-to-back company.  But this sneak-peak is more along the lines of Oh, My Deer.  

Get a load of those "wrinkles" in our plaster walls.  That's what we're calling them because it sounds so much nicer than "cracks."  But hey, who or what doesn't have wrinkles when they're over 100 years old?

Pin It

petaja home, vol. III

WEDNESDAY : BATHROOM

This is a let-down, isn't it?  Would it help to know that those hardwoods are 104 years old?

Pin It

petaja home, vol. II

TUESDAY : DINING ROOM & KITCHEN

Though they're two separate spaces, they just go hand in hand, right?

Pin It

petaja home, vol. I

So this week is going to be dedicated to the new Petaja home and some of the touches and goodies we've worked on over the past couple of months.  We still have lots and lots of projects up our sleeves, so keep an eye out for those later this summer!

MONDAY : LIVING ROOM

Let's start this week off with a bang!

Pin It

as promised...

Here it is, Ladies and Germs: Shannon's Sandwich Buns!

Truly, they're the best.  Enjoy them as sandwich bread, morning toast, or as the recipe says, "with a cup of tea."  This recipe has you using a bread maker for the dough, though I guess you could make it without one if you're more savvy in the kitchen than me... which wouldn't take much.  And many, many thanks to my mother-in-law, Shannon, for these taste treats! 

In bread maker, in this order:

1 egg  :  1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter  :  1 1/2 teaspoon salt

In microwave, heat 1 1/2 cups milk for 1 1/2 minutes.

Pour in bread maker.

Add 4 cups bread flour.  

{Shannon swears by King Arthur flour.}

Make a little well in your flour and add 1 1/2 tsp yeast.

Have bread maker on "dough" setting and start.

When dough is complete, cut into whatever size ball you want.  Pat it on both sides lightly with bread flour.  Place on lightly sprayed sheet.  Cover with towel and let rise about 15-20 minutes.  Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes.  After done baking, remove from sheet and put on a cooling rack--one that lets the air under the rolls... Then enjoy with a cup of tea!

Let me know how they turn out if you end up making them!  I'd love to know how you enjoyed them.

Happy weekend, dearlings!

Pin It

summer in the city

: oh : me : oh : my :

Hello, to my third day of summer vacation!

Apparently, other than weekends and sporadic happenings, I'm terrible at posting towards the last half of the school year.  But--BUT--it's now officially summer in the city: our mini (fake-ish) garden is impressing me, our hydrangeas are pink and blue and shades in between, our house is clean and the AC is on, and we're home from the City by the Lake after being there to celebrate our very first wedding anniversary!  It is insane to me that our wedding was a year ago--sometimes it feels like just a couple of months ago and that we're just learning how to live together, and other times I can't remember what it was like to not be with him.  Either way, life with Tec is as good as it gets.

So anyway, this post is dedicated to summer in the South, my man, cutting rosemary to arrange in bouquets, and to our home being full of friends, the air conditioner, ice water, and the smell of homemade bread.  (Pssst--Keep an eye out for a post soon with the recipe my Martha-Stewart-mother-in-law gave me for her homemade bread/rolls!  Get ready to indulge yourself in your carb intake for the year!)

Pin It