happy friday

happy friday.  have a great weekend.

studio mela on etsy.

etsy love {bayou salvage}

i love these. aren't they lovely?  i purchased several lace tablecloths of varying sizes and shapes from ebay and thrifting for the wedding table toppers.  i gave several away, but i still have quite a few left...more than i need.  what a cool way to reuse them and keep a memento of the day. from bayou salvage on etsy.

diy backdrop

how cool are these?  i'm lucky enough that my current job is so close to home that i can walk to work.  today i walked past grosh scenic rental.  they have these huge elephant doors that are open to the street and i can see inside to the scenics painting the cool backdrops.  earlier i had just read sara's post about diy photo booths, and i simply love this couple's cool backdrop photo, so i found these banners on grosh's site.  fun for a circus wedding...

new music on monday {angela mccluskey}

ok, so i discovered this on sunday & it's not really that new.  but angela is an amazingly talented singer and this song is gorgeous.  angela is part of my friend's cabaret troupe, the citizen's band. {more on the citizen's band in another post.}  i had the opportunity to have dinner with her last year & she not only is talented, but a truly lovely human being.  

the video is a little dodgy at the end, but it's beautiful.  you can download the mp3 here.

eco etsy street team

i just found out about ecoetsy-- a site of etsy sellers dedicated to reducing, reusing and recycling!  wow, i wish i knew about this site when i was planning my wedding.  when i was searching on etsy, i would add "green" or "reused" or some other description before what i was looking for {ie, green invitations} to try and find etsy sellers who were selling not only hand-made products, but green as well.  what a great resource. 

you can go to the site to find items and get information, or you can follow their blog.  additionally, once you are on etsy, you can use the search term "teamecoetsy" to find their wares.  good stuff.

best acceptance speech of night

if you haven't seen it yet, it's worth a watch.  beautiful.  congrats to dustin lance black and sean penn.

other folks weddings: {amy & ana}

i was just catching up on one of my favorite bloggers, rock'n' roll bride, when i stumbled upon this.  what a gorgeous, lovely, carefree wedding.  the details are amazing.  the wedding was held in a historic opera house in new mexico--such a fantastic backdrop.  i love it all--the dress, the suit, the flowers! be sure to click through to the photographer, leigh miller's site to see the rest of the photos.  i watched her slideshow and cried. seriously.

enjoy! 

this has got to be one of my favorite backdrop couple photos--so whimsical!

i love the sweet home-made jams as a favor.  such a sweet, personal touch. 

congratulations to the happy couple!

photo credit leigh miller photography via rock'n'roll bride.

gorgeous green paper {smock}

i had such a struggle finding fabulous eco-friendly invitations for my wedding. i absolutely love paper, but it's such a guilty pleasure.  check out these beautiful designs--all on bamboo paper.  from smock in upstate new york.  gorgeous.

celebrate love: freedom to marry week blog carnival

day 5: celebrate love.

still feeling a bit under the weather with a cold, so this will be a short & sweet post.  the photo is one of the last photos of ruby before she got sick.  true love.

today we're going to the dog park with our dogs, driving to the pet cemetery to pick up ruby's ashes, seeing some friends and relaxing at home.

i'm so grateful to have patty & the dogs in my life.  i'm grateful too for the love of my friends and family.  everyday, i celebrate my overwhelming abundance of love.  that's all.

love.

something blue: freedom to marry week blog carnival

in celebration of freedom to marry week, i'm participating in the other mother's blog carnival. day 4 post is "something blue."

this week, i've been really sick with a horrible cold and feeling a bit blue. last saturday, our beloved dog, ruby passed away from hip cancer. she died peacefully on her own, in her sleep. i'm grateful that she is out of pain.

i'm also grateful for her and from what i've learned from her: unconditional love and living in the present. our dogs love us no matter what--they accept our faults, our strengths--it doesn't matter. even though i'm feeling blue over her loss, i'm incredibly grateful for the unconditional love she has taught me.

ruby, like all dogs, also only lives in the present. she doesn't dwell on the bad day she had yesterday, or worry about what's going to happen tomorrow. she doesn't waste her time, she lives in the present moment. a true gift. again, even though i'm feeling blue, i remember what ruby has taught me: to live in the present moment, enjoy i have today and unconditional love no matter what.

something borrowed: freedom to marry week blog carnival

in celebration of freedom to marry week, i'm participating in the other mother's blog carnival. day 3 post is "something borrowed."

my something old and something new posts were both technically "borrowed" materials from others...so i struggled with this post for a little bit. however, the idea of borrowing--recycling, re-using, re-appropriating-- is such an important element in my life, i almost overlooked it. in all aspects of my life, i try to resist purchasing a new item. i do this to avoid adding more stress to our already over-burdened earth by keeping items out of the landfill. i love my life and my abundance, and i want to pass something on to future generations.

i also love the idea of an item with history, something that has been loved and something that has it's own life.

in our wedding, i didn't really borrow anything. most everything i wore however, was vintage. i also encouraged my bridal brigade to wear dresses that were either used, or borrow a dress from one another. the photo i posted is of one of my best friends, romy, in a dress she borrowed from shannon, trying on shoes she borrowed from antonia.

we try carry the recycling or borrowing mission out throughout the year. about every three months, we have a 'bitch & switch' , where we swap items of clothing that we are no longer wearing. it's fun to see my friends wearing some of my well-loved pieces. i always look forward to these swaps, not just for the fun new clothes, but more importantly to spend time with my ladies. loving the earth & loving the ladies, doesn't get any better.

something new: freedom to marry week blog carnival

in celebration of freedom to marry week, i'm participating in the other mother's blog carnival. day 2 post is "something new."

today is a new day. every morning i wake up, i am grateful for the new day and i ask the universe to help me guide me today and to help me be more loving. to be more loving towards everyone i encounter and to start my day from a loving place. each day is new and so every morning, i repeat the same ritual. it helps me stay centered throughout my day and to be more loving to everyone--including the person driving the car that cuts me off on the way to work, or the guy in line who is rude to me.

freedom to marry is ultimately freedom to love. and for me, that's loving not just my spouse, patty, but everyone i encounter. and to love those who don't want to allow me to have the freedom to marry.

each new day, there are several things i read and meditate on. i don't know who wrote this, so unfortunately i can't give them credit. someone sent it to me in one of those email chains, but i love it. it sums up my philosophy in life, the things i try to do to remain {steady happy} and loving every new day. i thought i'd share with you:

1. take a 10-30 minute walk every day. and while you walk, smile. it is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. talk to god about what is going on in your life. buy a lock if you have to.

3. when you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement: "my purpose is to ___ today. i am thankful for ___.

4. eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. drink green tea and plenty of water. eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. don't take yourself so seriously. no one else does.

12. you are not so important that you have to win every argument. agree to disagree.

13. make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. don't compare your life to others. you have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. no one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. frame every so-called disaster with these words: "in five years, will this matter?"

17. forgive everyone for everything.

18. what other people think of you is none of your business.

19. god heals everything--but you have to ask.

20. however good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. your job won't take care of you when you are in need. your friends will. stay in touch!

22. envy is a waste of time. you already have all you need.

23. each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: "i am thankful for ___. today i accomplished ___.

24. remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. when you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. you'll be smiling before you know it.

photo credit here.

something old: freedom to marry week blog carnival

in celebration of the freedom to marry week, i'm participating in the other mother's blog carnival. the first post is "something old."  

i've shared my love for gertrude and alice before, and i've even shared the movie we made about this poem, however, i thought this was a perfect opportunity to post the text.

this is a love letter from gertrude stein to alice b. toklas on her birthday written in 1926:

To my baby on its birthday

My baby is a birdie sitting on a

bough, and the bough is hubby.

My baby is a forget me not, which makes

every bouquet lovely, and her

hubby is they bouquet for his lovey.

My baby is a treasure sitting on

its pleasure, and its pleasure is

its hubby

Blessed baby on its birthday.

My baby is so beautiful so tender

and so true so feeding full in

the most difficult days the

most lovely and cherished in all

its ways, oh blessed baby, I

just cry when I think how tenderly

you are me and I am thee,

oh baby sweet oh baby dear

oh baby tender oh baby

baby my baby my love my delight

baby my baby I hold you tight.

Baby on its birthday,

My baby on its birthday is tender

and sweet and true, my baby on its

birthday its hubby is all to you, he

loves you he adores you he is all yours

wifey mine, oh baby I do love you, 

I love you all the time and so

much more and so loving, baby my

delight, I love you oh baby blessing

I love you with all my might,

on your birthday and always bless

you oh bless you my wifey.

gertrude and alice lived for decades as "hubby and wifey."  it's nice to remember the ones who came before us.  honor them.  learn about them.  and be grateful for what they have done to help us get where we are today.  they all had different notions of relationships and marriage, but freedom to marry is freedom to love your partner as you choose.

gertrude and alice

djuna and thelma

natalie and romaine

sylvia and adrienne

virginia and vita

dorothy and marion

phyllis and del

robin and diane

have more to add to the list?  post a comment.

photo credit here.

freedom to marry week

this week is freedom to marry week.  over at the other mother, she's started a blog carnival.  since i've been in a posting desert lately, i thought this would be a fun and informative way to blog this week.  here is the schedule:

tuesday feb 10: something old

wednesday feb 11: something new

thursday feb 12: something borrowed

friday feb 13:  something blue

saturday feb 14:  valentine's day, celebrate love

what a great way to keep up the conversations.