Ever since our wedding was featured on Green Wedding Shoes, I have received tons of emails from brides-to-be asking about my veil.  I was a little hesitant to make one for someone else because mine was kind of thrown together at the last minute, but after about the tenth email I realized that maybe I should give it a try.  Caroline contacted me raving about my ivory peony birdcage veil and how it was exactly what she wanted and I just knew that I had to make her dream come true!  I scoured the flea markets for a beautiful vintage brooch until I found a beautiful deep blue Austrian crystal one from the 1950s since Caroline’s colors are blue and yellow.  And she gets her “something old”, “something new”, AND “something blue” all in one item…SCORE!

I loved how it turned out SO MUCH that I am going to make a few more and put them up on my etsy shop.  And if you are a bride out there who is looking for a vintage twist, please contact me about making a custom veil for you!  Imagine the possibilities: any color/kind of flower, any color brooch, all tied together with a sweet little birdcage veil!

Savanna Lynn, my best friend for 21 years, is getting married to the love of her life this July!  Tim and I get to be a part of it in two very important and wonderful ways.  I have been asked to be the Matron of Honor, which makes me happy beyond belief, and Tim has been asked to be the photographer!  Ever since Tim and I met with our amazing photographers for our wedding last year, we have been really itching to start our own photography business.  We have done quite a lot actually, but we haven’t shot an actual wedding yet.  This will be JUST what our portfolio needs to get the ball rolling on our endeavor!  We flew out to Wisconsin this past weekend to see them and to take some pictures of them in the beautiful snow scenery…they turned out to be quite wonderful. Check them out at Sweet Little Photographs!

Savanna and Andy are an AMAAAAZING couple and I am so blessed to have them in my life.  It is so obvious how much they love each other and I love being in the same room with them because it just makes me so giddy!  Their love is so mature, so deep, so understanding, so patient…so beautiful.  I can’t wait to stand beside her in July and be a part of their celebration of love.

I love you Nani!
xoxo

A project near and dear to my heart is slowly taking shape and I finally have time to devote to it.  My ever-creative mother has been whipping up beautiful baby jackets, felt booties, and adorable aprons!  We created an etsy shop and we are planning to take our lovely goods to flea markets and craft faires as well.  Hopefully we might even get them into some fabulous baby boutiques!  If you have a little sugar baby of your own or if you know someone who does then please check out our shop for precious vintage ensembles.

This is a reversible jacket made with vintage fabric on one side and a sweet pink handkerchief on the other.

And these are the adorable matching booties made with felt and the same vintage fabric as the jacket on the sole.

We are in the process of adding the rest of the amazing items to the shop, but for now please take a peek at what we do have and please feel free to leave us some feedback!

Last week we sold one of our favorite dresses in the shop to a beautiful little darling named Jillian!  Here she is rocking out the teal and cream dress in photos worthy of a magazine!  Whether wearing it alone or spicing it up with funky accessories, she truly lets her own style shine through!  She’s a photographer too so check out her blog to see all of her amazing pictures.

LOVE IT!!!!  Thank you so much for sending in the photos, Jillian!!!

I have always loved Valentine’s Day, from the elementary school days of making cards out of red construction paper and elegant white doilies to the middle school days of sending Backstreet Boys valentines…and of course all of the chocolate!  When I was a sophomore in high school, I got a bouquet of roses and some delicious goodies from my first real valentine, and every year since we have found a wonderful way to tell each other how much our love has grown.  This particular holiday has a very special meaning for us now…last year my darling proposed to me and exactly four months later we got married!  This will be our tenth Valentine’s Day together.  He is my first and only valentine <3

Gimme Gimme GIMME!!!

Celeb Styles:

Lookbook.nu Styles:

Andy

Lauren

Frida

I know it’s been a long long time, and I’m sure you’ve been missing the vintage goodies in the shop.  We’ve been settling in and getting to know the New York vintage scene and trying to find the best stuff among the piles of clothes.  We found some great pieces but keep checking back for more!  Head to the shop to get all the details and to see more pictures!

I stitched up a few gifts for the holidays and it’s about time I posted the pictures!  I was in such  a crazy rush the week before Christmas to finish them all,  I didn’t even get to the husby’s gift…it has now become a Valentine’s Day present (fingers crossed!)  I have a few craft resolutions not necessarily for 2010 but rather for life: 1. Learn more stitches, 2. Stitch more often, 3. Relearn to knit, 4. Learn to quilt, 5. Organize craft equipment, 6. Show it off!

I’m really excited for all of the craftiness that I have planned in my head.  Let’s start stitching!!!

It is January 1st.  Isn’t that absolutely incredible?  I mean like…UNBELIEVABLE!!!  This year came and went so fast, but was filled with so many wonderful things.  I am looking forward to 2010 with all of my heart.  I have so many projects that I am going to dedicate myself to and I am going to work hard to see them come to fruition.  Here are some of my resolutions:

1. Work hard on Sweet Little Photographs and try to put ourselves out there more to build up a wonderful reputation.
2. Get going on Sugar Babies because this stuff is so cute you guys wouldn’t even believe it!
3.  Join a gym and get in shape just for the benefit of boosting my self-esteem and self-image.
4.  Be more aware of the foods I eat and how they affect my health/the world.
5.  Read more books.
6.  Take more time for myself.
7.  Smile at everyone.

This year is going to be great and I wish you all a very happy, healthy, and successful 2010 filled with love, laughter and new adventures!

My darling husby was checking the stats on the blog to see where most of the viewers are coming from, and he discovered this little gem!  I was featured as Lookbooker of the week for my fashion ensembles on the blog Dedicated Follower of Fashion!  A HUGE thank you to Kelsi Smith for saying such wonderful things about my looks!  And she has a sweet little shop of her own with vintage-inspired accessories that I am IN LOVE with!  Her Bellini cocktail hat is driving me wild!

I am totally blown away by all the blog love for our wedding.  We have been featured on so many wonderful sites and I am just so thankful for all of the positive feedback!   Most recently, we have been included in LA Style Unveiled’s Local Love Awards!  We are in a bunch of different categories including Best Eco-Chic Wedding, Most Creative Table Decor, Best Groom Style, Most Stylish Bridesmaids Dresses, Most Swoon-Worthy Shoes (damn straight!), and Favorite Los Angeles Real Wedding!  Wow!  We put a lot of thought and a lot of heart into these decisions, and it is so amazing to see that people are voting for them!  The polls will be open until January 7th, so if you haven’t voted yet then head over to LA Style Unveiled’s Contest and click on “Merrill and Tim” in every category where you see our names.  And you can read all about our wedding details and inspiration by clicking “Merrill and Tim” on the left side of the website so you can vote with confidence  Thanks so much everyone!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  My first Thanksgiving as a wife and my first Thanksgiving as a hostess with the mostess.  The husby, our good friend Scott, and I will gather together in our humble 275 square foot apartment and sit on the couch and lonely chair with our plates in our laps and enjoy cruelty-free mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and celebration roast, followed by a (hopefully!) delicious dessert of tea-poached pears in a chocolate sauce topped with candied pecans.  YUM!!!!!!  I can’t wait to put on my apron and start cooking!

Speaking of the holidays, I’ve been working on some sweet Christmas onesies for Sugar Darling:Sugar Baby and I even set up an etsy shop!  There are only a few items so far, but custom orders are my specialty!  Here are the two designs that I’ve stitched up so far.

My darling friend Candice loved the onesies that I made for her new bundle of joy SO MUCH that she placed an order for a Thanksgiving outfit.  I created a sweet little dinner scene with a fun rock and roll twist and I just love it!  She also ordered a onesie an adorable peacock design for her friend’s little baby.  Both were so freaking fun to make so I’m whipping up a few Christmas ones that I can’t wait to share!  If you have your own little sugar baby or know someone who does then please keep checking back…they will be so ridiculously awesome!  AND my mom has been creating the absolute cutest aprons for little girls so those will be up for sale soon too!  SO much good stuff for the bambinos!

This past weekend the husby and I took a trip to New Haven, Connecticut to see what other treasures the east coast has to offer.  Working hard to build up our portfolio for Sweet Little Photographs (check out the amazingness!), we did a mock bridal shoot in the beautiful fall leaves and they turned out so wonderful!

I have been ignoring my computer for the past month, just completely ignoring it.  I come home from work and we have so many shows to catch up on, or I’m at a really intense part in my book and I don’t want to put it down, or I’m just down right exhausted after ten hours of chasing a three year-old!  But for some reason, it makes me feel guilty that I don’t keep up the blog as much as I should.  So here’s a nutshell run down:  my mom’s visit came and went (highlights include Mary Poppins, a cocktail at The Boathouse, cheese platter at the St. Regis hotel, and plenty of much-needed mom time), Tim and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary with a Broadway binge (West Side Story, Wicked, Phantom), and IT’S AUTUMN!  The streets are littered with the fallen leaves, the trees are starting to get naked, and everyone is walking around town like they’re in a freaking GAP commercial.  The tights, the scarves, the boots, THE COATS…heavenly.  I want to go to there.

We launched our new wedding photography website Sweet Little Photographs just yesterday and we are already featured on one of our FAVORITE wedding blogs!  Kat from Rock n Roll Bride was so supportive of our engagement and wedding pictures a few months ago, and now she’s behind us once again as we start our own adventure into the business!

Another exciting piece of news is that Candice from Mark Brooke Photographers had her beautiful baby boy recently, and just sent me a picture of him wearing one of the rock and roll onesies that I made!  She is so thrilled with the results that she asked me to make more for her friends, and she’s spreading the word about my work!  This has really inspired me to make more and try to sell them so if you know anyone with a baby or a toddler and want a great customized gift, please check out my recent post here for an idea of what I can do with a needle and thread.  I’m down to do any theme in any size onsesie or toddler t-shirt!  For some great ideas check out www.sublimestitching.com to see some really cool patterns!  Perhaps a new line called Sugar Baby will be coming soon

So here’s to friends helping friends…I am eternally grateful!

xoxo

My updates have been few and far between for quite a few reasons…we’ve had a constant flow of houseguests, we got a little sick and just wanted to sleep all day, AND we started a new project that we are super duper excited about!!!  I didn’t want to say anything about it until it became a reality, but Tim and I have decided to start our own wedding photography business!  We were so inspired by Mark and Candice that we wanted to make other couples feel just as amazing as they made us feel.  We’ve been working really hard on a name and a logo and all the little details, but we are so happy with the results and now we are just keeping our fingers crossed for success!  So without further ado, we present to you Sweet Little Photographs!

Hi hi hi hi!!!!  Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend and that you are all ready to start a wonderful new week!  I have had an extremely busy September and am just here to catch you all up on my many adventures!

First of all, Scottie is here!  He moved here about two weeks ago and has been staying with us while looking for his own fabulous New York apartment.  He came just in time for Fashion Week, which we celebrated by attending a fashion show for New York Couture!  Tim and I both worked with the designer Cassie a while back when we did the photo shoot in the poppy field, and we’ve stayed in touch with her ever since.  She invited us to the show and put us on the VIP list so we were able to have access to super exclusive fun times!  We watched the models strut their stuff on the runway from the balcony of Webster Hall, so we had a fantastic view of the whole show.  Each piece was a ridiculous candy-coated acid trip that made my head swirl with madness…it was just awesome!  Please please PLEASE go to her website and look at all the fun photos!

Second of all, Ryan is here!  He is in town for a few auditions and hanging out with some of his NY friends, but he’s staying in our apartment so I’ve been able to get some quality time with him too.  He’s been catching me up on the world of Disney that I’ve been missing out on and filling me in on what’s happening in his life.  It’s been very nice having people I love come visit me in my new city.

Third of all, Tim and I have become completely serious about staring our own wedding photography company.  We were just so inspired by Mark and Candice and we want to make that magic happen for other couples.  We’ve already shot a few engagement sessions and they were just so much fun to do.  Tim has been teaching me all about using the camera and so that I’ll be an amazing photographer too!  We’ve been thinking of names for the company and we’re throwing a couple ideas around, but we haven’t come to a conclusion yet.  As soon as we do, we’ll have a website up so that we can start showing our portfolio and hopefully get more clients and really make this happen!

Oh, aaaaaand…we have a new dress up  in the shop!  It is so sweet and lovely that I just want to keep it for myself!  Head over to the shop and make it yours.

J Crew…the torture you put me through.  Your catalogs filled with luscious cashmere sweaters and oh so lovely coats make me swoon.  Alas, I live in New York and cannot afford your delectable treats on my meager nanny salary.  But I can dream in candy colors…

GIMME GIMME GIMME!