Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Happy Halloween!

October went by waaayy too fast.... so fast, that I didn't even celebrate Halloween.  But that doesn't mean we can't be inspired!  So, with fall drawing to a close and winter coming fast, here are a few fun things I may be trying from Pinterest....

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Easy enough for all of you wine lovers out there!

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Click here to head to Broken Treasures- the creator of this adorable sign.

*I actually made something similar to this for a project you are about to see within the next few days!

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Cheese spread with almonds to look like pine cones.... super easy!
Click here to head to The W's for some more party food ideas.

Only 500 Calories for the WHOLE loaf
Click here for Pin Cookie's recipe for this delicious looking pumpkin bread :)

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Fleming-Rollins Wedding: Shenanigans!

Every night on the cruise ship, the photography staff would set up various vignettes for portraits.  Every evening, there would be a new set of scenes with their various props and every morning, the pictures would be printed, displayed, and available for purchase.  It didn't take the Maid of Honor, Margaret and I long to start having some fun with the photos.  

As evening approached, we would start scoping out the scenes and planning our poses.  We took over 30 photos throughout the week, got the wedding party involved, and would roll with laughter the next morning checking out our photos.

If they weren't $25/each- I would have bought them all. But here's a sampling of my favorites!



You. Are. Welcome!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Fleming-Rollins Wedding: Tulum

One of the port cities of the cruise was Cozumel, definitely a place I can't wait to go back to!  We decided to take a trip to the Mayan ruins of Tulum.  I would highly recommend taking a trip to see some Mayan ruins; these were particularly amazing because of their proximity to the ocean and the amazing views it afforded.

Getting to Tulum wasn't so easy. We had to take a ferry ride from the island of Cozumel to the mainland, Playa del Carmen.  The winds had picked up significantly through the night and I graciously grabbed a barf-bag from one of the ferry workers..... I didn't end up using it... but the waves were that bad!
As Evan called it, the Br-ee-some.

(Jared, me, Evan, Margaret, Michelle, Dan)
On the edge of the archaeological sight overlooking the beautiful ocean.

Token couple shot.
Evan forgot his sunglasses at home... and decided this was the least ridiculous pair he could purchase from a street vendor. Verdict is still out.....

Some of the Mayan ruins.  Tulum was one of the main trading cities in the Mayan empire.

More ruins overlooking the ocean.

Using that handy Photsynth app again - makes some really great panoramics!



Already planning my vacation back to Playa del Carmen. The group is hoping to make an annual or biannual trip together. With some of us in Texas, some in Michigan, one in California, and another in Illinois - it takes planning a trip like this to get us all together!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Fleming-Rollins Wedding: Wedding Day!

The cruise was such a fun idea to get the people you really love and care about together to hang out and catch up. While the cruise started on Sunday, the actual wedding wasn't until Wednesday (so that Dan and Michelle could be married on exactly their 7th anniversary!).

The ceremony and reception were held on the ship while we were ported in Jamaica. Most people had left the ship during the day but we were still spotted by many cruisers in our fancy-wear.
Aren't we dashing! On our way to the ceremony. 
The ceremony was short, sweet, kind, loving, and a little tear-jerking. Michelle looked absolutely gorgeous in her sweetheart dress and got everyone in the room to mist up while saying her vows.  

A short reception was held on board just after the ceremony; there may have only been 16 of us, but we definitely knew how to have a party! The cruise ship took care of all of the details - food, drinks, pictures, music!



After the reception, the entire group took some really fun pictures around the ship.... then Dan and Michelle took some phenomenal photos!

I was so glad to be apart of Dan and Michelle's wedding week! They really are a wonderful example of two people really in love with each other.  

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Fleming-Rollins Wedding Cruise - Day 1

Evan and I have been to a lot of weddings this past year.... a LOT of them! Not to offend any of them, because they were all fantastic in their own ways... but Evan and I had a ridiculous time on our most recent wedding, the Fleming-Rollins Wedding on the Carnival Cruise ship, the Magic. Seven days on the Caribbean in amazing sunshine. 

Here are a few images of the shenanigans that we may or may not have gotten ourselves into on the first night out at sea.

Maid of Honor Margaret, Bride Michelle, Groom Dan, Best Man Jared.

The guys - Evan, Jared, and Dan

The girls, myself, Margaret, and Michelle

hahaha.... awwwe :)

(Margaret, Jared, Michelle, Dan, me, Evan)
Who wouldn't think running around the cruise ship with towel capes was a great idea?

(Make your own caption :)

More to come....

Friday, October 19, 2012

Houston's Best 2012

 The annual Houston's Best Awards were held on October 6th at the Hilton America's hotel in downtown Houston.  It's always a fun party and a way to celebrate the past year's achievements in the Houston area's design and building industry.  

It's not ordinary party either; everyone get's all fancy and dresses up. Just check out Evan's James Bond outfit!
One of my favorite pictures of us... ever!

My standards for swanky parties were just set higher; personalized chocolate coins are a must!

There are so many awards given to the different areas in the industry including remodel, new construction, interior design, marketing, real estate, sales, green design, and many more. Several designers at BDI were finalist and award winners! Cindy Aplanalp won several awards including best Interior Design Bathroom and Living Room, Brenda Denny took home Best Interior Design Specialty Room!

(Me, Evan, Brenda, Peggy, Scott, Cindy, Amber, and Lucas)
BDI - we clean up pretty well.....

And, well.....we always know how to have a great time!


After the awards, I got to meet up with two old friends from Wayne State!!! Jarod and Diver Dan. We haven't seen each other in years and well... years too long!  Stay tuned to see some fun pics of Dan's wedding week extravaganza!


Thursday, October 18, 2012

Your TV can do what?!



Every so often, Evan surprises me with some amazing design product or article.  Usually they have some cool engineering feature and this find of his surely is amazing!

Ever been lying in bed, trying to watch TV, and you can’t get a good view without giving your self a neck cramp?

Well there is a solution! It’s called hidden vision TV mounts. This device mounts your TV on the wall above your head board. It looks like a picture frame, and the wires and every thing are hidden, which is even better.
hvtvmounts.com

The side that shows is an actual picture. Instead of having a big black hole that a TV can look like over the fireplace or above your bed, it looks like you have a framed piece of art. And it fits any LCD or LED flatscreen TV.

But the most awesome thing is, when you want to watch TV the mount extends out from the wall above the bed! This means that you can watch TV while lying in bed.

Way to go, Evan!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

You know it’s going to be a good day when….

I am an avid fan of Pinterest. In fact I’m going to pin this blog. Anyways, I knew it was going to be a good day when Erika said. “Hey I need you to make this paint chip art thing from Pinterest.”

I’m going to be honest, I’m not always a fan of DIY crafty things. There are good crafts and there are bad crafts. I mean does everyone remember those 90’s needle accented sweatshirts and vests?…YICKS!

Anyways, this one was awesome, easy to make, a lot of fun to do, and paint chip art is very popular right now.

Basically, you cut out paint chips in circle. I used a punch, because I am definitely not coordinated enough to cut out a perfect circle a hundred something times. Then, you glue them in lines on foam core, overlapping each line a little bit so you don’t have any white spaces. Now I used that double stick tape that comes in a roll like white out (which is super cool p.s.) so that there was not as much of a mess.

FINISHED!!!!
And TA-DA you have an awesome piece to frame and put in any room that needs a bit of fun and color. This piece for instance is going to go into a little kids room! Don’t worry we’ll post pictures of the final install.

 - Erin

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Christmas is coming!

Just a little reminder.... Christmas is on it's way! 

If you're looking for some special decorations, like this fabulous wall hanging below, you have to check out For All Occasions!

They've been working on their Christmas items since August! In September and October, their showroom turns into a magnificent and glittery winter wonderland.  You'll find the most unique and incredibly beautiful items at this showroom!

Friday, October 5, 2012

A little snarky....

I try to be pretty full of joy all of the time... but sometimes, I find a little bit of snarky deep down inside.

Here are a few bits of snarky laughter for your day :) 


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Traditional Get's a Facelift


There is a trend out there that I am just loving. Yes I know it has been around for a while, but I am still loving it! It’s taking old traditional items and doing something crazy, and wacky with them.

Take these chairs. They have classic frames and lines, but would you look at that fabric! Using bright saturated color or even a crazy patterned fabric to upholster your traditional furniture is a great way to add some spunk to any room.

houzz.com
Or take a look at this mirror. It is super duper traditional, bordering on over the top. But with by painting it pink it becomes an awesome focal point for any room!

houzz.com
These tips are great to remember if you are wanting to do a fun take on traditional or want to add some flare to a great eclectic style room.

-        Erin

Monday, October 1, 2012

Multi-purpose room - Husband and Wife Duo

A recent client of mine had quite a dilemma: her husband loves to watch TV (particularly live concerts) and she has a passion for sewing.  Sounds like a typical couple. Except, they wanted a single room where they could enjoy each others' company while partaking in their hobbies.  They happened to have a large game room on their second floor that could do the job- but it needed a little work. 

First- we rearranged the furniture. To the right (outside of the picture), is the entertainment center with the big ol' TV and speakers.  Behind the loveseat, is the wife's sewing table. So she can sew and watch TV with her husband.  You can see her work station in front of the window on the right. 
Next, we installed some dual purpose window treatments.  These room darkening curtains can be closed to make the room perfect for watching a movie.  However, when they are open, they add a soft feminine touch to the otherwise, very masculine room.

Close up of the drapery fabric.

The couple has a beautiful family of children and grandchildren which we proudly displayed on their walls. The photos are hung on Command Strips- the adhesive hooks - so we didn't hammer a single hole into the wood paneling. 

Finally, we replaced a large stone cocktail table with a giant custom ottoman. While the stripe adds a fun manly touch, the fabric brings in some much needed color. The ottoman is on castors so, if the wife is working a big project, she can wheel it out of the way and lay her pattern on the large open floor.