A DIY Wedding

When Tim and I started planning our wedding I knew that I wanted to take on some DIY projects. I love arts and crafts and it was a great way to personalize our special day. Instead of going the traditional route of choosing wedding colors, we decided to choose a theme. We wanted to go to Italy for our honeymoon so we decided on a rustic Italian theme. Once we decided on the theme all sorts of fun ideas started pouring out! Here's some of the items I made for our wedding:

Boutonnieres for the groom, groomsmen and fathers. So simple to make and they will last forever!

A floral headband for our flower girl!

I made the pillow for our rings using a template I found via Martha Stewart. I love how it turned out!

A lot of the venues we looked at would not allow flower petals, so I decided to make a flower ball for our flower girl. I liked it better than having another bouquet and it was super easy to make! 

I wanted a simple cake (the simple ones always seem to taste better to me than the super decadent ones) and when I found these faux grapes I had to have them! 

I made a "thank you" ("grazie" in Italian) sign to put on the table with the favors for the guests. I used a map of Rome as the background. It's one of my favorite pieces from the wedding. I also built a mini wooden leaning tower of Pisa as a table accent. It was one of the more challenging projects but also very rewarding!

Excuse the poor quality of this photo- this was taken at our old apartment when I was testing out the set up. I found a little suitcase at one of the craft stores and decided it was the perfect card box! I added a few more faux grapes to spruce it up a bit. 

Instead of table numbers we opted to use table names. I drew pictures of famous Roman monuments for each table. Time consuming, but worth it!

Making our wedding invitations was another one of my favorite projects for the wedding. It saved us a ton of money, and although it was a lot of hard work, it was certainly rewarding! I loved the traditional Italian paper- it added just the right amount of color!

One night I stayed up late working on assembling the invites while watching Bridget Jones' Diary. I giggle every time I see this photo- it was a complete accident that I snapped the photo just as they were kissing!

Looking back through all of these photos makes me a bit nostalgic for those days. I put in a lot of long hard hours but oh how it was worth it! 

Did you make anything for your wedding? What was your favorite project? I'd love to hear!

8 Months

As of yesterday, the second day of June, Mr. Butter and I have been married for 8 months! A wonderful 8 months!
And this week Mr. Butter bought me flowers- big, beautiful sunflowers! They make me smile. So I will share them with you and hopefully they will make you smile too.

Are you smiling?

:)

Mini Home Tour

Over the past few months I have been working hard to turn our little apartment into a cozy home. This is the first apartment we picked out together as a married couple. I think it does a good job of showcasing both of our personalities. It's classic with a twist (Tim's the classic and I'm the twist). :) Here are some previews:

From top left corner (clockwise): Bust of David; Framed photo of a lion statue, our built in fireplace, and a driftwood tree and flameless candles; Faux fur blanket and linen pillow case on our sofa. All from Restoration Hardware.

From top (clockwise): A selection of our books (mine are on the left- art and music/ his are on the right- lots of biographies); my jewelry display and a photo of us (Vintage frame, hooks from Restoration Hardware); our bed- taupe and ivory pinstripe euro shams, ivory pillow cases, stone quilted pillow shams, linen accent pillow, stone linen duvet cover (all Restoration Hardware). 

Just a little glimpse into our living room and bedroom style. I have to admit my favorite room in our apartment is our guest bathroom. It's probably because it's extra feminine, always smells good, and where I take all of my bubble baths. I know it's strange to love a bathroom, but it's just so lovely! I'll share more photos from around our little home some day. 

:)

And It's Monday Once More

I hope you had a great weekend filled with sunshine and mexican food! Luckily we had both of those! I also made waffles with our brand spanking new waffle iron purchased by my sweet and loving husband. After a delicious brunch o' waffles we took advantage of the gorgeous sunny weather here by enjoying a cigar (i know- but it's actually fun! It's one of those manly hobbies my manly husband enjoys every once in a blue moon) out on our balcony with our good friend Chris.  Afterwards we visited the Donahue side of the family for the first BBQ of the season and oh my was it delicious!

Ah but alas, Monday has come again. Thankfully the week ahead looks quite promising, including a chocolate tasting extravaganza this Friday night.

Here's some highlights from the weekend:

I love this photo of our friend Chris because it really captures what a fun and happy person he is! He definitely brightens up our lives with his infectious laughter!

I'm keeping it gansta at the Donahue house.

...

7 months and Counting

On May second Mr. Butter and I celebrated seven glorious months of being joined together in matrimony. I know, it's silly that we're counting months but I get giddy like a school girl when the second day of each month rolls around and my sweet ginger husband greets me with a "happy __ month anniversary, baby!". Sometimes he kicks it up a notch and surprises me with a lovely bouquet of flowers that he proudly put together himself. So in honor of our little anniversary I am going to share our engagement story!

A little over a year ago I went on a weekend trip to San Antonio to visit with my family. When I arrived back in the Portland airport I was expecting to simply go home and see Tim when he got off work. I was on my way down to the baggage claim and curbside pick up when I spotted a handsome gentleman looking rather dashing out of the corner of my eye. I had to do a double take to realize it was Tim since I was not expecting to see him at all! I was so excited that he made a surprise visit to pick me up and wow, he even brought flowers! I had a good one, that was certain. That good one of mine kept wrapping me up in hugs. It was a little suspicious but I thought he must have just really missed me. As I was distracted by admiration for the gorgeous white bouquet he brought me Tim got down on one knee (in front of the whole world! And by whole world I mean PDX) and held up the most gorgeous sparkly vintage ring for me and popped the question! I am not entirely certain what happened next but I believe I started jumping up and down and saying yes over and over and over. He tells me that I didn't even let him put the ring on my finger, I snatched it up and stuck it on immediately!

Everything after that is a blur. I just remember my cheeks were hurting because of all the smiling I was doing. People always ask us what everyone's reaction was in the airport but neither one of us can remember! We were completely wrapped up in each other and our happiness.

Here are some photos from our engagement session done by the fabulous Kelly Lindmeier of K.Lindmeier Photography:

I love looking back on these. It was such a special time for us. And oh my! Tim's hair was so long!! 

xo!

...

Kiddos

This photo of Tim when he was just a wee little one melts my heart. It makes me all ooey-gooey and crazy for a little red headed fellow of our own. It was such a treat to revisit all of our childhood photographs when we were putting together the slideshow for our wedding. Let's do it right now!!

Your eyes are not deceiving you, that really is the most awesome of awesome photos you have ever seen. I mean really now, how great is the profile enlarged in the background? They don't make them like that anymore I tell ya! And oh, how my heart swoons!!!

That there is me and my grandfather with a very interesting couch and shag carpet. Oh, and don't forget the wood paneled walls! 

Here I am with my sister on the porch swing at my grandparent's lake house near Austin. I believe we were all gussied up for Easter. She's decked in pearls and white gloves while I am rocking that fierce bonnet. 

Tim totally takes the cake for awesome baby photos. Check out that mini bike and rad sunglasses. He is the coolest of cool. Perhaps even ice cold (oh, forgive me...). Thank you Mama Donahue for documenting your son's adorable childhood years in such a wondrous fashion!!! 

Here I am with my great-grandfather. I had (and according to my husband, still have) big squishy chubby cheeks. I kind of want that dress in an adult sized version right now....

And there's my sports loving husband in all his baby glory. 

I really hope that someday we are blessed with our own little red headed trouble maker. 

xo!

A Case of the Mondays

Yesterday was Monday. You see, Monday and I don't always get along. Yesterday Monday decided to be extra cruel to me. The day began well. The sun was out (good job, Portland!) and my spirits were up! I was ready to conquer the day. But it wasn't long before I was feeling defeated by the no good Monday. 

That is until my loving husband came to pick me up from work and lifted my spirits up with his comforting and encouraging words. Just when I think there is nothing anyone can say or do to change how I feel, he goes and does it. He even suggested we have cereal for dinner! We got 3 boxes of cereal, including the delicious Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, just to make sure we were covered. I am a pretty lucky lady. 

So thank you husband for always making me smile and for helping me look to the future with positivity and excitement.  And for knowing that sometimes cereal for dinner is what a girl needs. You make this little lady pretty darn happy. 

xo!

The Honeymooners

Mr. Butter and I had the blessing of being able to travel to Rome on our honeymoon. It was an absolute dream come true! Instead of having a traditional wedding gift registry, we opted for a honeymoon registry with Honeyfund. We are so grateful to everyone who contributed to making our Italian honeymoon a reality. 

More photos and tales of our adventures...

We endured quite a long journey to get to our destination. I made sure to keep Tim informed and educated him on the history of Rome. Yes, I am a nerd.

Once we experienced the sweet joy of finally arriving we were greeted with sunshine and much welcomed warm weather. It was absolutely gorgeous. 

There were so many sights to see, so many wonders! 

And the food, oh the food. We ate pizza, gelato, and pasta every single day. It was delightful. 

We were carefree and enjoying every single moment in wedded bliss.

I gave a thumbs down at the Colosseum. I'm tough.

Mini car!!

We had some serious jet lag during our time abroad. But some of my favorite memories are from the nights spent awake together in our little apartment, sneaking off to the kitchen for a midnight snack of salami and mozzarella, and feeling like two kids who were up way past their bed time.

We couldn't get enough lattes and cappuccinos. We looked forward to it each morning...and maybe a few times throughout the day as well....

It was perfection, and yet full of surprises and adventure! I will cherish those memories forever.

.....

I am excited to announce that I will be doing a series of city guides. First up, Rome! I spent a semester doing study abroad in the Eternal city, and have been a visitor many times since. I am looking forward to sharing all of my favorite places and spaces with you!

Mr. and Mrs. Butter

Recently Tim and I celebrated our six month anniversary of being married! We were married in October of last year and it has been such a fulfilling and exciting adventure. I can't wait to see what the next six months of this first year of marriage brings us. It's amazing to see how much we have grown in ourselves and in our love, and to look out at all of the possibilities that lie ahead. 

Here are some photos from our wedding held at the Bridgeport Brew Pub in Portland, OR:

I love this photo of one of my best friends and bridesmaid Liz

My favorite picture of me and my father

Another favorite

Photography by Kelly Lindmeier of K.Lindmeier Photography.

...

What are some of your favorite moments or memories from your wedding day? Some of mine include: watching our slideshow of photos with all of our friends and family (tears, laughter, more tears!), dancing to Brown Eyed Girl with my father, listening to the toast my sister wrote, all of the happy tears, and standing at the altar with my husband as I was shaking, holding his hand, and fighting back the tears.

xo!