Inspiration: Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Just in time for the Red Sox to start their season, here's an inspiration board that looks to classic baseball for influence and imagines an afternoon wedding as a day out at the old ball game. In dusty shades of brown and tan, with a few touches of red and blue, it is a simple, relaxed style, and has a casual charm about it. I've included some really great groom and groomsmen details to round out the look-- cufflinks made from old maps of Boston, Fenway Park, and Lansdowne Street, Van sneakers emblazoned with the wedding date, custom made cigars, and personalized beer steins. Here at Beantown Bride we tend to show a lot of love for, well, Beantown Brides, but today we thought we'd focus a bit more on all the Beantown Grooms out there. And, lest we forget, I've included man's best friend, dressed up quite dapper for a wedding day. (I couldn't resist, as a certain adorable Boston Terrier is our mascot of sorts here at Beantown Bride.) Go Sox!

Clockwise from top left: "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" Concessions Tray by Rebecca Thus, Boston Terrier Wearing Vintage Bow Tie Print by Christine Edwards on Etsy, Boston Map/Fenway Park Cufflinks by dlk designs on Etsy, Groomsmen in Suspenders by Kyle Hale, Baseball Wedding Invitation by Byvik Ink letterpress on Etsy, Blue Boutonniere by Shyla Photography, Cigars with Custom Designed Bands by Boston Cigar Factory, Couple Under Parasol by Samuel Lippke, Vans Personalized with Wedding Date by Patricia Lyons, Bride and Groom Cake Toppers by Embellish My Wedding, Personalized Etched Glass Beer Stein by Personalization Mall 

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT BEANTOWN BRIDE ON APRIL 2, 2010

write on

It is April. Already. Is it just me or is this year flying?

Spring in Boston thus far has been a mix of torrential rain and unseasonably warm weather. Thanks, global warming!

Indeed, April is the cruelest month, aaand with that in mind, it's also National Poetry Writing Month!

I've been feeling a little bit lost with my writing in recent weeks, or rather I should say, I find that hours I aim to spend doing creative writing at my computer have very easily been flitting away. When I spend a decent amount of my time, some of it for work, scouring the internet that is not at all difficult to do. I'm the kind of person who if there is text in front of me I need to read it. If there are pretty pictures in front of me I need to see them. So online that amounts to needing more, more, more and just falling farther and farther down the rabbit hole, and then hours pass until I reach information overload.

So. I have started again, wait for it... putting pen to paper. And writing in a journal. Nightly. As opposed to sporadically. In various journals and on scraps of paper. (I still do that too, which is totally fine though.) Which has led to all sorts of amazing developments. Like going to bed earlier. Reading even more. Checking in with my planner at the end of one day, planning the next, and being more productive overall. Wearing my retainer. (Yes, seriously, as it's home is on my night table by the aforementioned journal.) All of these things. I think when writing anything of length it is easier, for obvious reasons, to work at a computer. But it's such a good way to focus, and, well, to quiet the ever buzzing mind to unplug in this way. I find that to cut out some computer time helps me make better use of my time when actually behind the keyboard. And I've been feeling more motivated and inspired as a result. So I'll be doing the whole NaPoWriMo thing-- in the journal, not on here-- and hopefully come out of the month with some more good raw writing.

Yet again...

Yikes, I know, it's already the end of March, the last month has flown by so quickly, and so on and so forth. Does this sound like my last post? Rather than say once again, oh no, alas, I have not written, I will instead just write.

Should you care, here's a quick update: Over the last month I've been a busy little bee and had a lot of stuff happening. I left my job! That's right! I left my job! With only a vague plan for how to, you know, make a living! Bold, right? Seriously though, it's a good development, so it calls for a great big HOORAY! And now I trying my very darndest to do work that I really care for and enjoy, so we'll see how all of that goes! I've also spent a good amount of time organizing my very wee studio and archiving my writing. And organizing creative chaos can be quite a chore. I've been at work on some fancy lil' accoutrements, have launched my Etsy site (for real), and will be adding about half a dozen new items each week. Aaand I've been busy with writing and design work for Beantown Bride, and actually just had a lovely night out with all of the ladies who do work for the site-- it was splendid to meet the rest of the talented crew and put faces to names. So I've been, you know, just generally getting my creative life in order., which is what I aimed to do. Lots of good happenings, which obviously call for some blog celebration, aka lots of exclamation points!!!

So long story short, now that all of that has been taken care of, my writing will find a home here much more regularly. I promise! And you'll also see some fancy schmancy changes made to the blog's layout soon. (Blogger has new custom layout tool, which is awesome news and long overdue. Do you know this? You should know this!)

Time To Cook

Isn't it splendid when you try your darndest to remember where you found an amazing recipe, or article, or video, and then, voila, google helps you get there almost immediately? I've had a beautiful fresh bunch of dandelion greens sitting in the fridge for a few days, and in the back of my mind I knew that not too long ago I had stumbled upon an amazing recipe for greens and potatoes, googled as much, and sure enough it was a Minimalist recipe. I should have known. While not entirely Irish (it is an Italian recipe), it does amounts to green potatoes, so I'll argue that it's completely appropriate for St. Patrick's day, especially for this lil' mutt.

And so with the dandelion greens, some potatoes sitting in the back of the pantry that were starting to grow eyes, copious amounts of extra virgin olive oil, hearty homemade breadcrumbs, and gobs of garlic (this was my own addition, as my own Italian grandmother always makes delicious bitter greens in this fashion-- diced, cooked briefly in oil, and then threw the blanched greens in quickly before adding them to the potatoes), I whipped it all up in a jiffy. Needless to say they were delicious. And addictive. This will certainly become a new staple meal. Creamy potatoes, bitter greens, sweet oil, crunchy bread-- yum, yum, yum!

And, in case you're wondering, why yes, this was my first casserole as a newly married lady! (I know, quite a milestone.) It's worth noting that since leaving work about two weeks ago I've been cooking a lot more, and it's been such a wonderful thing. I adore cooking when I have the time to really enjoy the process and then linger over the finished product with good company. I often think of my mum when cooking, and when making this dish today I thought of her own mother, my Grammy Emily, who, when I would speak about or even vaguely reference doing anything a little outside of the box as far as career choices go, would worry, and say, "How will you feed yourself? How will you cook? How will you eat three good meals a day?" And so I couldn't help but think about how, even in these last few weeks, just a short while after having stepped away from a 9-5 desk job to try and focus on doing creative work that I care for, it's now that I find myself pouring over recipe books, standing over a stove in the early evening, and cooking delicious meals for myself and my husband. It's funny how things work out. But I think she would be happy. And I'm happy.

Aaand the casserole made a perfect meal before gearing up to see fairy sprite Joanna Newsom play her harp on campus tonight. Eeeee! Can't wait!

Inspiration: Graphic Nature

If I were to suggest that you use all things floral as the crux on which to base a wedding design, you may very well have nightmarish visions of all things stuffy and frou-frou-- the sort of style that's outdated and one that you'd certainly prefer to avoid. Don't fear my compatriots, there are a lot of modern florals are out there are anything but. They're playful, modern, and even fashion forward. And if you pick a flower that's graphic to begin with-- like poppies, used as the springboard for my inspiration here-- half of your work is done. Right off the bat you've got a color palette, suggested a mood, and have a signature image to use throughout your day. A little goes a long way, which will help to keep both fuss and spending to a minimum. The actual floral arrangements seen here certainly speak to this aesthetic: spare peonies in simple ceramic vases or a singe bold bloom wrapped in a dapper bow speak volumes and don't break the bank. And this high-impact look invites the chosen flower to show up in even more surprising places: in graphic prints in dress fabric, in repeated form on the invitation suite, and even in sculptural style thanks to the use of interesting materials, like paper, felt, and sugar seen in the decor hanging over tables, in adornments for hair, hand, and dress, and of course, in tiers of desert. And the shoes-- golly, hand painted and with floral clips-- don't forget the shoes! Overall it's a look that's modern and bold, fashionable and fun, and the palette of poppy red with touches of leaf green and pale yellow is incredibly contemporary-- certainly not for wallflowers!

clockwise from top left: Pippa Orange Poppy and Emerald Floral Necklace by Luxe Deluxe on Etsy; Invitation Suite by ExQuisiteInVitation on Etsy; Poppy Boutonniere from Once Wed; Oversized Felt Flower Brooch by Starz Selection in Etsy; Table Setting from Project Wedding; Rosette Fascinator by Giant Dwarf on Etsy; Poppy Fields Silk-Lined Clutch by ViaBella on Etsy; Red Bloom Muff of Fabulousness by Birdism on Etsy; Kate Spade Graphic Floral Print Dress from Real Simple; Maddie Floral Shoe Clips on Hand Painted Shoes by Chloe & Maddie on Etsy; Poppy Wedding Cake by Polka Dot Cookies and Cakes

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT BEANTOWN BRIDE ON MARCH 5, 2010

bright, shiny, new

Oh dear goodness, I haven't updated in ages! (Disclaimer: I think this post will amount to little more than a Dear Diary... so sorry that I haven't written... kind of entry... cue imaginary violins.) Life has been busy, busy, busy over the last month, but fortunately it's been full of a lot of new exciting happenings. I've got some fun new work ventures, well, in the works, some creative projects on the horizon, and will have a lot more free time on my hands going forward which I trust can only be good for the art-making. Mysterious, no? Rest assured I will be writing here more often and making this a home for a decent amount of my creative writing going forward. Organizing all of that is on my to-do list to as well. (Ha!) On that note, happy Friday! Tonight I'm off to celebrate the great wild yonder that is my future with a Paula Vogel play, some cheap Chinese food, my secret twin Carrie, and assuredly some drinks.

Inspiration: American Classic

When I think about the phrase "American classic" my mind can't help but wander to tried and true fashion, food, and music. Truth be told, this probably says a lot more about me than it does the term. Regardless, I think of Levi's worn until they're paper thin and Converse sneakers so well-loved they're tattered at the seams. A red and white gingham dress in a classic cut topped off with a bold shade of red lipstick. Apple pie, milk and cookies, and a heaping helping of comfort food. A great guitar that mellows with age and dancing with your sweet heart to old love songs on vinyl. Strung together they're something like an incantation for simple pleasures and simpler times, but when grouped in this fashion there's something really hip about their pairing. Both qualities of which are worth taking note of: you can easily build a beautiful day that's equal parts familiar and modern with items and that are near and dear to you. Rather coincidentally, this inspiration board came together in shades of red, white, and blue, with touches of greenery and shades of sepia to compliment. Because in addition to the triumvirate listed above, classic Americana also makes me think of landscapes full of sun and old photos brimming with smiles. Cool, casual, and a tad sentimental, it's a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll.

Clockwise from top left: Leaping Converse All-Stars via Santa Barbara Chic; Chenille-Dot Tulle Veil with Bow by Suzanne Couture Millinery at Martha Stewart Weddings; Table Setting via Snippet & Ink; Apple Pie via Martha Stewart; Guitar Shot by Katerine O.; Red and White Gingham Anqelique Dress by petapledger on Etsy; Just Married Sign by Modern Press via Kiss The Groom; Farmhouse Photo by Jasmine Star via J'adore Details; Cookies and Milk by Martha Stewart Weddings

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT BEANTOWN BRIDE ON FEBRUARY 19, 2010