Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you see it. For me, this is like a daily thing! I’m sure most brides (okay, women in general…) can relate. Today, these custom monogrammed table linens in natural burlap leapt off the screen and onto my Want List. Rustic weddings are still way in, and these beauties would add a finished touch to all that shabby chic charm. The monogrammed burlap table runner ($42) and the monogrammed burlap table topper ($38), both by Shop 24 on etsy, are available with a number or a letter. Divine thinking!

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My first thought on seeing this ribbon by TheLoneleyHeart on etsy was: “Awwww! What can I wrap this around for Hubby?”

My second thought,  given the time of year, was: “Wow! Imagine this going around and around a love-themed Christmas tree!”

We have a white Christmas tree for the bedroom & I instantly had grand visions of covering it with red, white & silver ornaments, tinsel, garland, paper hearts & this rustic, linen fabric ribbon, ordering several with different personalized messages of adoration. I couldn’t decide if the end result would look highly romantic (should I go Modern Love or Victorian Love?) or like a kindergarten holiday class project gone wrong.

Enough about me, this ribbon was too too good to not share with you. Check out their personalized custom ribbon by the yard, Christmas ornament & decorative display ball-o-love, too. Awwww!

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We’re always on the lookout for ways to light up a room. Especially a room filled with people you love most in the world… We recently added a handle of new ways to do just that, from crystal-studded votive candle holders & candleabras worthy of a wedding centerpiece on their own, to zebra-print candle holders & clusters of silver metallic mercury glass candle holders just right for a tea light. See them all under our Wedding Candle Holders category. And if you don’t find it there, drop us a note using the “Contact Us” form above. We love hearing about just what you need so we know what to add next. Flameless pillar candles? Strings of lights or colorful lanterns? Scented battery-operated flameless candles? Hmmm. You tell us!

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That about sums it up for me today.
Heart-shaped leaves growing in serene, green silence,
just as they were born to do.
I hope you are enjoying your day doing exactly what you are thankful for…
there is so much abundance all around…
if only we make time to see & give thanks.
Thank you for being here. Each visit from you is a blessing!

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I had to ask. Seems like I’m always one of the last to know about anything. Especially when it comes to technology. But I think I kind of like it that way. We don’t have TV. That should give you an idea of my level of “in the loop…”! Anyway, fans of Pinterest know that weddings are a HUGE deal there, both for creating your own inspiration boards by “pinning” images from across the Web & collecting them all in one place and for peeking at boards made by other brides who have done the same. If you need an idea of where to start (highly unlikely), just go to the Pinterest Weddings category and feast your eyes.  While Pinterest has its limitations (like, why can’t I rearrange the images on my boards?), they do make it easy to “repin” images you find to your own boards, email an image, tweet it, Like it or just admire it, no technology required. The lack of tools on Pinterest is likely temporary. So enjoy it while it lasts. Not being able to perfect everything you do there is somewhat liberating!

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I’ve always wanted to go to Bali.

Among about 200 other places.

Light one of these three Getaway Candles of beeswax & a sustainable palm wax blend and drift off to another land.

Paris, Florence, Bali… Hmmm. I can think of several other places they could do next. How about Provence, Tahiti and North Pole?

A cute gift for the honeymooners to light once they must return, reluctantly, to reality…

Set of three, $50 from ArhausJewels.com.

I can smell the night-blooming jasmine already…

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This striking little dish & its simple meditation keeps coming back to my mind after spying it on etsy a few weeks ago.

Handmade by MBartStudios, its powerful letters are stamped one by one into white earthenware clay then carefully filled with black glaze.

The artist credits the phrase to the poet Rumi (who I had to look up), while others credit it to Keith Urban. (I prefer to think that Rumi was the original on this one…)

Either way, it sort of stuck with me. A lot.

Sometimes a few words come along at just the right time, don’t you think?

Maybe it will stick with you, too…

Handmade quote dish is 5″ in diameter, $22.

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Torn about wearing my glasses–which I do wear ALL the time–I ran out & ordered contacts just days before our wedding day. And have barely worn them since…

I’m a glasses girl to the core, and contacts bother me. I can’t put them in, they’re a bear to take out, my vision just isn’t the same with a lens on my eyeball it seems.

I still feel a bit guilty about the cost. But I feel worse about the conformity of it all.

Why did I feel so compelled to go without my frames?

I think in the end, I have often felt that I hide behind them. And if there were any day on which I should reveal my whole, true self, it should be my wedding day, standing before my husband and saying these words to last a lifetime.

I do think it was the right decision. I felt exposed, vulnerable, new… and that seemed appropriate.

Still, when I saw this image from Ouma on etsy, my heart smiled.

Though staged for a wedding dress fashion photo shoot (check out her simple, vintage-inspired maxi wedding gown & other tulle-riffic bridal dresses for that matter), I do love a bride who dares to be be-spectacled.

Spectacular! Thank you, Ouma, for this refreshing image.

Now, to get that groom a belt…

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Brides love our 4-tier tea stands for wedding cupcake displays. Not only are the colors & details absolutely gorgeous in that Victorian, Marie Antoinette theme kind of way, but the large displays hold plenty of cupcakes with statuesque grandeur.

Simply scatter remaining cupcakes around the base of the cake pedestal. Some brides have used these vintage china cupcake stands as a tiered favor holder, candy bar buffet centerpiece or for cookies & treats on the dessert table alongside the wedding cake.

We love that you can use them at home for special occasions long after the big day. Assemble just 2 or 3 tiers for a smaller stand for everday.

Here, our bright pink cupcake tower shines with sparkly metallic gold details, $265. The vintage porcelain pieces hail from England, Germany and the US. Just watch that Grandma doesn’t try to swipe it from you. She’ll want to add it to her collection, for sure…

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If you haven’t seen this already, or even if you have, this quick video happens to be worth a watch. As one of the craziest but charming & creative marriage proposals I’ve seen in a while, there is one thing I especially love about it: he knows his girl. Obviously, this kind of a stunt, so to speak, would not have flown with a different kind of woman. But these two clearly know each other very well and the proposal went right off the edge, just as planned. Some would have wanted to pummel this guy. But when you see the newly-engaged’s million-dollar-smile as she flashes that pretty diamond ring, you know these two must be made for each other. Zany, but very sweet… and highly entertaining! Just imagine the wedding…

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