Hello faithful readers!

Where have I been you ask? So many things are happening at work and I have been especially focused these past few weeks. Many changes for our portrait photography business, cobblestone rue and literally our storefront studio that should have happened a couple of years ago. We are excited for all the positive changes, and with all of it comes a shift in priorities and focus. But I am giddy to be blogging again especially this post!

A little history: We launched our portrait brand, cobblestone rue on Christmas Eve, 2007. Yes back then we worked even during the holidays :( Then we announced it to the public on January, 2008. So much has changed, but one brand that has remained constant and still continues to be a source of inspiration for us is kate spade. Our brand colors were (and still are) white and “kate spade green”. I was hooked on this company when I bought my first pair of kate spade sunglasses in 2005 and it came in a hot pink case. I loved their preppy, playful, and sophisticated style and everything that they did made me smile. I loved everything from their customer service to their packaging, and I knew that I wanted to incorporate what they did to our business because I believe in what their business stands for. It was perfect when cobblestone rue was born.

They have launched a campaign, “live colorfully” celebrating every month of this year a different color. In March the color was yellow, this month it is their signature green! So timely for all that we are doing for our brand!

They launched a promo video today on Twitter and of course it is PERFECTLY ADORABLE. They partnered with Adeline Adeline which is a great pairing. Remember my “dreaming of bicycles” post? Well the search is over! Everything else in the video is pretty much fantastic: the music, colors, location, style…the DOG!!!

Well done kate spade, I am a fan for life.

***Oh and one other thing. I have been nominated for Top 25 Party Planning Moms at Circle of Moms! It would mean so much if you vote for me it only takes a second and the best part is that you don’t have to sign up or register! Here is the link: http://www.circleofmoms.com/blogger/cobblestone-rue#_You can vote every day until April 11, just click on the gold thumbs up! Maybe I can throw a party and you are all invited when I make it! I just need to make it in the top 25, crossing fingers and toes! Thanks!

Happy Spring!!

On Campbell: 2 years old

Hair clip: The Sandbox children’s boutique (Chattanooga)

Gray sweater:Target

Brown dress: Target

Brown boots: H&M (Aberdeen, Scotland)

Black and white backpack: Stephanie Dawn collection (gift from friend)

On Gray: 5.5 years old (I think she dressed herself)

Headband: The Sandbox children’s boutique (Chattanooga)

Polka dot cardigan, gray dress, (gift from friend) knee high socks: crewcuts

Sparkly converse shoes: Old Navy

Would you like to submit an Out & About? We are now looking for Spring and Summer submissions. Click HERE for details.

Every little bit makes a difference: www.forjapanwithlove.com

And here are more information and links on how you can help with Tsunami aid and relief.

Oh there’s so much to say about this special little girl. She turned our world upside down two years ago and continues to do so with her love for life.

One night this week, as I was getting ready to tuck her in, she asked me as she pats the rocking chair, “Rock baby…manket?” (She was asking to be rocked with her blanket). I sang “Rock a Bye Baby” as I rocked her and she had the biggest smile. Its one of those moments as a parent I will always cherish and never forget. Well, every night this week, she asked “Rock baby?” How could I say no? My heart just melts and this is how Campbell is. What a sweet, cuddly, hilarious, strong, independent, loving little girl. The best daughter and little sister around.

I was thinking of her birthday party months before and even thought of a great theme, but it had been an unusually busy January and we decided to celebrate her birthday with just the four of us at home. But then I felt guilty thinking I wasn’t throwing a party for her because of all the busyness and everything else that had gotten in the way. So I decided, I would plan a small party within a month and to invite close friends and family…..I figured fourteen invitations was a perfect amount for a quaint and intimate event. Well with over 30 guests confirmed and add a little excitement with details…get ready for some picture overload…

I quickly emailed Liana for help with my concept for Campbell’s button theme party translated to her invitation. She and her husband, Mike designed it exactly as I imagined, the pink and grey colors were perfect, and the letterpress work is just gorgeous. It was so fun to also be able to use her birthday crown this year again.

It has become tradition when I host a baby shower, I give the mom-to-be a “wishes for baby” card where guests can write a message for baby. I now include this for the girls’ birthdays (with their name and age) and hope to do it every year. I also was able to get these wooden blocks as Campbell’s first and middle name initials from Paloma’s Nest. Another favorite detail was the grey polka dotted tablecloths!

My husband has been SOOOO supportive with my party planning obsession and I think he has gotten into it as well ;) He came up with purchasing wooden circles at Michael’s, drilling two holes in them and hanging them as garlands across the dining room. I also had to incorporate the tissue poms, they really add alot to events.

Ahh the cake…its been an interesting journey with cakes. I used to describe a cake to some of the local cake bakers, and they always seemed to come back the opposite of what they are supposed to look like. I got tired of it and started making them myself. I actually loved making them for birthdays! I also love the look and taste of homemade cakes. As I planned for this party and the more details and projects I did, I realized a week before the party that I will not have time to make the cake. I remember seeing on Facebook recommendations from friends and photos of cakes from someone local who I had met at a recent wedding who made the wedding cake. I contacted her and described the cake, forwarded some photos, mentioned milk allergies of family members…WOW, did she over deliver and did an amazing job! The cake was not only gorgeous, but tasted DELICIOUS! Every button was handmade out of fondant. It was chocolate with buttermilk vanilla frosting, (soy/almond milk was actually used) layers of cool whip and chocolate ganache….it was the best cake I had ever eaten. Trust me I have eaten tons of cake! If you are in the Chattanooga area, get in touch with Queenie Lewis!

The adorable handmade ceramic buttons from Paloma’s Nest are not normally for cake toppers, but they worked out perfectly.

I made pink chocolate melts with button molds and there were pink ranunculus flowers in mason jars, courtesy of the super sweet and talented florist, Grafe Studio!

I was really happy with the pink burlap to use as tablecloths for the guests. We tied huge pink balloons to the mason jars and I strung pink buttons on pink striped cotton twine that were placed in the middle of table.

We now use this bunting banner every year for birthdays.

Sooo fun…we had three stations we called “bar”. One was the juice bar. We had six different juices: pineapple, pink lemonade, orange-pineapple, grape, apple, and orange. Guests could mix them up and drink them with different sized mason jars. Really loved the striped grey and pink straws.

For the little kids, they had a special juicebox. We had these labels printed (along with the labels in grey frames) at Kinko’s.

The second and third stations were a burger bar and fruit bar. We had all of Campbell’s favorite fruits…she can eat fruit all day long!

The burger bar was a hit. Knowing that about 95 percent of the guests were vegeterians, we served 100 percent vegetarian burgers. There were three kinds: “chicken” patties, grillers (both were Morningstar brand) and the homemade patties, so good! We cooked up lots of those…I think there were at least 100 miniature burgers! If you would like the recipe to the homemade ones, let me know, I’ll see if my husband is willing to share the ingredients ;)

I made button sugar cookies…tried to do it Bakerella style, but did not really succeed, but they were yummy anyhow.

More overviews of the room. Garrett’s grandma makes the best pasta salad and it went really well with the burgers. YUM.

It was quite a surprise for the weather to be so sunny and the temperature around 70…in February. So as you can see by the lack of decorations on the back deck, we were not really planning for us to use the screened in porch but the kids LOVED eating outside and parents were able to eat inside and still be able to watch the kids through the open windows. It worked out so great!

Time for cake!

Gray is the most helpful big sister and she just adores Campbell.

Sampling the delicious cake for the first time. And taking a moment to be with my daughter.

We had three games. The first one was “Pass the Button.” Garrett drilled four holes, painted and tied fabric around the homemade button. Sooo cute! The kids loved passing it around with music.

Then we played a similar version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. We had “Pin the Thread on the Button.”

The third game was “Guess How Many Buttons?” Everyone had a chance to guess how many buttons in the jar…there were 374!

Soooo fun to have all the cousins and lots of friends together!!

Time to open presents!

One of my favorite details was the favor bags. I asked my mother-in-law to see if she could make a similar favor bag that I had seen online…I have very little knowledge in sewing and had actually asked her for sewing lessons 8 years ago…she is truly so talented and has quite a gift. I asked if it would be hard to make the bags and would we have enough time (this was two weeks or maybe less before the party). She graciously said yes, she could do it and it wouldn’t be hard at all…she even added special details with scalloped edged flaps and bow finished twine. It turned out way better than I dreamed of! Thanks Mom!

Everyone took home a favor bag and in it had the chocolate button lollipops, clementines, and pencil with pencil sharpener (for older kids). I love that the bag itself is re-usable for a toy, or give-able as a gift, etc.

Last but not least, the “thank you” cards. I just mailed these out last week…I think it was in record time! These were letterpress thank you cards made by Liana and Mike customized for Campbell. I absolutely love her monogram initials and button on the back! Their customer service is also the best out there, they truly go above and beyond.

Whew, you made it!

Thank you for reading this and I hope you were able to get some ideas for your next event! I wasn’t able to link everything, so if you have any questions, please let me know.

If there was something that I regret not doing, it was to have someone official photograph the event! I know I deserve a slap in the hand as we are photographers and we should know better! Honestly, we overlooked it and just totally forgot :( Garrett took most of the pictures and yes we indeed got some great photos, but we should have had someone there so we could actually be with the guests more and serve as better hosts. I almost forgot to have a family shot too, thank you Amanda! Lesson learned!!

To all our friends and family who came, we loved getting to spend time with you. I know Campbell had a blast. Thank you also to those who helped us out, we truly appreciate it! And for the ones who weren’t able to come, we sure missed you and hope to see you soon!

I want to especially thank my husband, Garrett for his wonderful support with all this! His creativity along with encouragement of all of my crazy ideas was unbelievable. He is a keeper :) And love to my beautiful daughter Gray for patience, humor, and being a wonderful little helper.

On to the next one!

I have always loved the blog Sweet Paul for its beautiful posts on food, design, and crafts. THEN they came out with a special kids magazine issue this week. Its Martha Stewart meets Real Simple. Totally my kind of magazine. Check out the online version!

From super cute kids’ recipes to simple DIY crafts, it is a magazine full of delicious eye candy and great insights for children. I can’t wait to get my printed version to add to my magazine collection.

Photo Credits: Sweet Paul

I have always loved the look of fashionable eyewear. More so for kids and there have been some fantastic ones lately! I also am glad Gray is showing interest in wearing one just for fun. Here are just a few of my favorites:

Super fun yellow glasses from one of my favorite French brand, Smallable. I especially love the polka dots detail. They are also available in red and blue.

I have always loved the choice of kids’ eyewear from crewcuts. Especially the Selima Optique collection. I want these clear ones just for me!

And one more from their collection…I love this shade of green.

I am always inspired by Emmanelle Khanh from Paris for her famous collection of retro-inspired eyewear. Of course, she has one for kids :) I adore the pink one!

Photo credits: 1: Smallable, 2 & 3: crewcuts 4: Little Fashion Gallery

If you don’t know what Pinterest is…don’t bother finding out, you’ll never get anything done. It is an addicting, informative, creative, eye candy of a site. I love seeing things I love all connected on my very own virtual inspiration board. It does create a challenge to be more creative since there are many ideas on there you want to do or you have thought of and there it is, shared by people you know, but its definitely fun and full of inspiration. I have been dreaming up home improvements since we finished our dining room and there is one I follow that has collected all the projects I have dreamt up!

I have been dreaming of a fun and new front door…not that we need it…but if for any reason we need a new one in the future, the above Dutch door is PERFECT.

I am hoping I will not be dreaming about our loft project forever. We actually have drawn up plans for it and hopefully will be starting on it sometime this year. The above loft is so close to what I am picturing ours to be.

Another project I would love to do is a built-in dining nook in our breakfast area. This is a teeny tiny private nook so I had to include it. I have a whole folder on Pinterest for built-in dining nooks and lofts….I have become obsessed.

If I was to describe a room just for me…this photo is it. Its a library with a private library behind it. I would stay in that room forever. Oh and yes, I am dreaming of another library room.

Don’t get me started on our girls’ rooms.

What home projects have you been dreaming of?

We have a fun-filled family weekend planned: celebrating Garrett’s recent print competition awards from WPPI! I am beaming with pride and you can read all about it on our photo blog! A baby dedication for our niece and Campbell’s 2nd birthday party (lots of buttons!) I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Find the original sources and photo credits for the projects on this Pinboard.

Photo Credit: ABC Television

I am honored to introduce to you Trista Sutter for my next Family Interview. From what I know, she is a wonderful person inside and out: a truly dedicated wife and fantastic mother. She married the love of her life, Ryan, more than 7 years ago and they have a beautiful family.

Briefly tell us about yourself, your family, where you live, and what you do?
Trista: My name is Trista Sutter.  I live near Vail, Colorado with Ryan Sutter, the man I met and married on ABC’s The Bachelorette. We have 2 beautiful kids named Max (3) and Blakesley (1). I call myself a stay-at-home-and-work mom, as I work from home on any projects I have at the time, so that I can personally raise my children.

ON FAMILY:
What do you love the most about your family?
Trista: I love that our family is grateful & loyal, fun-loving and happy.

Do you have any fun family traditions (birthdays, holidays, vacations, etc)?
Trista: My favorite tradition is during Christmas. Ryan’s mother’s favorite book when she was a kindergarten teacher was “Alfie, the Christmas Tree”. Every Christmas, we create our own Alfie by hiking up to a tree in our area and decorating it with homemade peanut butter and birdseed pinecones.

What are your dreams/goals for your family?
Trista: I dream of long lives filled with love, health, and happiness.

One piece of advice to other families/parents/soon-to-be-parents?
Trista: Know that there will be days that are all about laughter and days that tax your patience and happiness.  You are not alone.  Reach out for help when you need it and don’t be ashamed.  Then, when you find yourself in a day of abundant laughter, cherish it (and take good pictures!).

Photo by: Melissa Darst Photography

ON MOTHERHOOD/SELF:
What was your childhood/upbringing like and what effect has it had on your adult life?
Trista: I grew up in the suburbs of St. Louis…Chesterfield, Missouri to be exact.  My parents were extremely supportive of my interests and did everything and anything they could to ensure I had a happy childhood, even though they were not meant to stay married.  Even though I was devastated as a child, I now know that their divorce was for the best and that staying together for my sake would not have been beneficial for everyone.  Going through that, I took my time and did not settle in trying to find Ryan. I wanted to be sure I would not be faced with the decision my parents had to make…even though I know they made the right one.

As a modern mom, what are three things that you couldn’t live without?
Trista: I couldn’t live without my Toyota Sienna minivan, Jack’s Big Music Show on Nick Jr, and my husband.

ON BUSINESS:
When it comes to work and business, what are you involved with and what is your role?
Trista: I am involved with a few different projects right now, but my main focus is on my clothing collection with My Vintage Baby.  They invited me to join their company as a designer this year. I work with the owners of the company to design fun, unique, stylish clothes for both boys and girls, and they take care of the rest.  :)  Please visit www.myvintagebaby.com to find a rep in your area and either order online or book a home party.

Do you support any charities that we could mention?
Trista: We proudly support many charities, including the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation that receives a portion of the profits from my collection with My Vintage Baby.  This year, though, we have focused much of our attention on trying to raise awareness and money for an organization called First Descents.  They provide free outdoor adventure therapy to young adults, aged 18-39 with cancer.  Ryan has raised nearly $100,000 for them this year through a string of challenges he competed in.  Please go to:  http://101010.firstdescents.org to learn more.

Thank you so much, Trista, for taking the time to share your family insights with us. You and Ryan are excellent examples of true love, commitment in marriage, and devoted parents. I found the very sweet proposal scene and just had to share it!

For more information about Trista, follow her on Twitter or go to www.ryansutter.com.

I’ve been a fan of Audrey Hepburn for awhile now and for so many reasons. Her style, character, presence, career, legacy…well pretty much everything about her I adore. The above photo of Audrey Hepburn’s quote was a surprise Valentine gift from Garrett. He created it in Photoshop and had it mounted especially for me! It now sits above my desk as an everyday reminder to me of this beautiful message.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Trista Sutter’s Family Interview!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am receiving some fun party things in the mail and now that we have mailed the invitations out, I wanted to give you a sneak peek!

I collaborated with Liana and Mike to create a simple and sweet invitation. I am thrilled with the result!

Beautiful letterpress invitation designed and made by: Liana and Mike Hall of Apres un Reve.

Also you may have noticed something different on the blog. You can now read each post as a complete post instead of opening each one. You can also comment easier with the comment box visible and less things to fill in. And you can now  “Like” the posts :) Thank you Flosites!