Tick Tock Tick Tock

I'm not sure if this made the news, but the Polar Vortex was still happening around here....it cancelled school for a week and generally made everyone housebound.  

Since the snow arrived a bit before the PV, we got 6 inches in 36 degrees followed by a 50 degree temperature drop during the next 6 inches...which made for some "interesting" snow that glopped onto power lines and generally wreaked havoc.  But, the combo ended up creating trees covered in snowballs.  All the bushes and trees look like cotton.  Which is kind of awesome.

Snow

Field of Cotton, via

Being from Alabama, I'm always partial to cotton branches--they are lovely to drive by on road trips--but it can look a little gloomy and rustic.  I still like it for fall and winter in general.  

via

This weddding on Style Me Pretty is spring-y, and full o' cotton.  Sort of interesting.  Search "cotton" on Style Me Pretty and you can see that the plant is not unpopular...


(images by Perez Photography)

You can buy cotton branches here, here, and here.  The last link is to a store called Curious Country Creations, which is probably a sign that I should ignore my fondness for cotton and stick with the Trader Joe's orchids I kill on a monthly basis.  "Appreciation from afar" could probably be my mantra this year for many an internet source-able objet/tangent....

You'd think being snowed in for 4 days would get a lot accomplished, but I barely kept up with the newly created mess of 2 very bored children.  I did sit down on Wednesday and realize "WTF, its almost Valentine's Day!"  Not having been to work since before New Year's, I had not really been paying attention to time passing.  Why does this matter?  Because (as mentioned here) this will be Char's big party for the year thanks to my due date being too close to her birthday (technically, it is both Charlotte's and Molly's party, but Molly should get a bangin' 5th birthday in the fall).  So, after weeks (months?) of hemming and hawing about color schemes, and what to do, and how hard it is to find Gaga worthy snacks for a dessert buffet, we realized OH SHIT and grabbed a plan.  

Photo credits:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Thanks to pinterest and google image search, we pulled the above and below inspiration.  It mostly started with the black and white and pink and coral wedding in the top collage from 100layercake.com.   And then we found the invites from an etsy shop (coincidently, located in Indianapolis) and we can pay $5 to change the wording and $5 to custom color.  Done. So, we are going black and white stripes + hot pink, with some red and silver mylar thrown in for good measure.

Photo credits:  1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9

We are going to use Pretty and Posh Parties, who come set up spa or make-over/fashion show parties in your house.  We had to talk, since I needed to make sure they will be crazy enough--the original concept was a Lady Gaga themed party, so as far as I'm concerned the attendees should all look like a cross between Toddlers and Tiaras and Cirque du Soleil (and yes, faithful followers, Charlotte will get her pepperoni pizza dinner at the end of all this).  It will run about $300 (3 attendants, up to 9 girls), which is totally reasonable but a significant potion of the budget, so I'm being very careful about decor choices, and trying not to buy too many "just in case" decorations.  Charlotte really wants roses in mint julep cups, but we'll probably play it by ear and source flowers from grocery stores that week/weekend if the budget allows, since it is about $100 minimum order otherwise (mint julep cups are en route--at $2 each, I'll use them for something).  Charlotte also wants to forgo or add to the included "decorate your tiara" element of the Pretty & Posh Parties in favor of making fascinators...which is kind of like inviting a crack addict to a posh trunk sale of the best crack in the entire world.  After wracking up shopping carts tallying around $300 across 3 websites for various supplies, I decided that:

1. we weren't training future milliners; and 
2. hot pink and black and red fascinators paired with harsh make-up is going to be more cosplay than classy, so why am I considering authentic, high end millinery supplies?

so we could handle the less awesome/expensive bases from China and probably source most embellishments from my own "party basement".  This is for fun, not for keeps.  Do you still own/wear anything that you crafed at 7? Btw, this was my favorite YouTube instructional video....as you'll see, not a side attraction for children at a party. 

I've still got some goods in my etsy cart incase I want to go all Duchess of Cambridge.  

from this slideshow

Don't they make you want to be rich and British?  I'm sure that a large disk and feathers perched on my head won't look weird at all when I'm enormously pregnant this spring.

In other news, I spent the weekend touching up the paint in the living room, and starting to paint my bedroom a pale blue (with gray undertones).  I bought the Benjamin Moore Aura, which is like super paint.  It is SO GOOD...nice and thick, lovely coverage, and even seemed to wipe off the floor easier (the girls helped with the painting, so this was a key discovery).  It makes me want to buy some Farrow & Ball for the nursery--being 10x10, it is the guinea pig of the house.  I'll come up with a Master Bedroom post soon, as shit is happening up there.

And, as I discovered early this morning, CB2 outdid themselves on the new catalouge.  Seriously.  If you didn't see it in your mailbox, the online version is here.  A few faves: