HOLIDAY GIFT

Brandon and I had our first wedding shower in Birmingham the other weekend and it was a blast. It was themed an "entertainment" shower and we received some awesome gifts ranging from serving ware, utensils, baking accessories, tailgate gear (WAR EAGLE!), and an awesome cozy blanket! The hosts and hostesses were amazing and could have not made it anymore perfect.

I wanted to share the gift I made for the hosts because I thought it turned out cute and with the holidays right around the corner -- it may be a quick and easy gift for you to make as well. It is appropriate for male or female recipients.

My Dad and his 2 buddies developed this delicious pork dry rub recipe and he was so gracious to make me a big batch to bottle. The ingredients and proportions are top secret, but you can find several other recipes online. This one looks good to me: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/BBQ-Dry-Rub/Detail.aspx I packaged them in ball mason jars and attached stainless steel tongs along with a recipe on how to use the rub. What do you think?

*NOTE: Yes, Dad and his 2 buddies named themselves the "Woman Haters Club", but they do NOT hate women ;) it is merely a joke on the wives so they won't nag!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Check out Brandon's excitement about the gravy boat! ;)

Me with my fashionista, Dana -- she is such a great help with all things fashion, and look for her blog coming soon!

OUR LABOR OF LOVE: heidi

Wow ... it has been awhile! I don't have any cool makeover stories about Melrose, or any fun crafty ideas, I simply wanted to share the amazing photographers of Our Labor of Love. 

1. because they are fabulous 

2. because they shot of my bridesmaids' weddings

& 3. because they are shooting my wedding! 

Our Labor of Love is based out of Atlanta, GA and consists of 5 teams of photographers, and they are all amazing! I met Heidi at my good friend Libby's wedding in Fairhope, Alabama. But before Libby and Lee's wedding I was all ready obsessing over OLOL's pictures on wedding blogs, so when Libby told me her photographer - I about died, I lit-ra-lly die. Well, Heidi was absolutely fabulous and as I soon as I got engaged I booked her! Check out the photos from Libby and Lee's beautiful, southern wedding - I love all the unique touches they added to the wedding. Libby is a fellow designer (and blogs!) and has great taste! Her wedding even made it to the Ruffled wedding blog!

A few of my favorites by Heidi of Libby and Lee's special day:

I just love the coloring of the photos, the styling, the composition, the editing -- I love it all! Looking back at their wedding + Heidi's blog gets me so excited about our big day!

KITCHEN CURTAINS

This past weekend I was able to finish up a project that I had been slowly working on. Since Auburn played away and Brandon made a weekend trip to the hunting camp, I had a weekend to myself to get whatever done I needed! I am so glad I devoted the weekend to getting these curtains up, because I so happy with them (for now)!

Melrose's double kitchen window looks straight into the neighbors house and has been itching for some cover up. As you know, I like things simple and monotone so I didn't want anything too busy or fussy. Mom found this picture in my New Farmhouse Style book by Terry Woods and it was instant inspiration:

Mom and I discussed how I could achieve this vintage, worn look and we decided with tea bags! So, I purchased some white linen fabric, cut them into panels, dyed them, hung them to dry, hemmed them, and voila! Here are some pictures from my process and the end result.

Not that this is super cool, but if you are interested -- I boiled some water, steeped the tea bags for about 5 minutes, removed, then let the fabric soak.

I hung them to dry outside and then measured the correct length for them to hit the window sill and pinned up the excess. I hemmed the bottom and cut off the remaining fabric.

For a little interest I made a top ruffle. I folded about 1" over and then stitched right along the fold so that there was a small open path for the wire to slide through. I tried to get the stitch as close to the fold as I could so that the wire would be tight in the opening and not allow too much slack.

I slid the wire through the pockets and attached the wire to the hooks in the window frame. They looked great, but I needed something else. So, I hung this beautiful lamb's ear wreath that I bought at the Country Living Fair to the center of the window. And now this is Melrose's kitchen:

check out the blue mason jars ... sugar, coffee beans, and brown rice.

This is an antique table I bought at Hanna's Antiques downtown Birmingham. My friend Catherine and I carted it from the store to the house without any guy's help! I purchased these stools at Overstock and it is the perfect breakfast nook.

I think the table was made from an old wagon wheel? Not sure where the iron stand is from.

A tea cup made into a candle - a cute take home gift from a shower. 

Cast iron pot rack over the table -- I was uneasy about this at first, I think I was concerned it would look too "messy", but I have come to like it. Fits in perfectly with the whole industrial theme.

And that is it! Just wanted to share the new curtain project. Now, onto the next!

DIY TOPIARY PROJECT

I love potted topiaries - real or fake - and I thought this DIY tutorial was super cute and easy. I actually found it on one of the wedding blogs being used for escort cards, but I think it is totally fitting for home decor. I could see two of these, maybe at different heights, on a mantel or console to contrast some shorter items on display (books, a shell, pictures, etc.). 

I love this mini flower pot, and it seems as if they lightly sprayed it with some gold spray paint for a little shimmer. 

Check out the instructions here and read the caption on the right of the images. If I make some I will be sure to post. I really like these because they look simple and natural - not too fake like a lot of the ones for sale in home stores.