I love Etsy – not for all of the fru-fru bow or homemade DIY stores, but the amazing selection of custom stationery, stamps, prints, and decor. I recently browsed my order history (which is rather large) and realized how many gems I’ve found on this website. I decided to roundup my favorite stores so that you can hopefully feast your eyes (and wallets) on some of these gorgeous treats. Are you a frequent Etsy shopper? If so, which are your favorite shops?
I haven’t had much time for blog reading recently, but when I have a free second, I typically run down my blogroll – which used to only include big fashion bloggers (i.e. Pink Peonies, Gal Meets Glam, Cupcakes and Cashmere, Atlantic-Pacific), but has recently featured many Houston-based bloggers. I consider this my version of “going local.” I’ve compiled a list of my favorite Houston blogs, which range from party planning to photography, interior design to baking. So many pretty pictures to look at! I highly recommend you check out these blogs.
KiKiMac: I love Christie’s blog so much. KiKiMac is the perfect combination of creative party ideas, delicious food pictures and restaurant recommendations, and style. My favorite thing about this blog is the online (and in person!) friendship that has stemmed out of me posting one of her Adair Kitchen pictures! 
Sugarlaws: Katy’s style is always spot-on, and given that she’s only a few weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy, I’ve loved looking to Sugarlaws for maternity style advice. Sugarlaws is a great collection of fashion and lifestyle – i.e. makeup and recipe too!
Sugar and Cloth: My eye-candy obsession. Ashley is so talented at styling and making me very hungry with her amazing food posts. I could spend all day scouring through Sugar and Cloth posts. 
Ketchup on Restaurants: Patricia knows the way to my heart – through food! I absolutely love following along as she tries out new restaurants in Houston that I very often go to after she posts about them. I recently won a pie from her contest and got to meet her in person! What a treat (no pun intended). Feast your eyes on this blog if you want to stay up-to-date with the Houston food scene. 
Hellogirl*: Chelsea’s blog is wedding meets fashion meets pretty design. I love reading her posts – you’ll learn about new fashion trends, her upcoming nuptials (this July!), makeup tips, and more. 
Kimberly Chau: Kimberly is an amazing photographer, and her blog is a perfectly curated platform of pretty images. Kimberly posts engagement, wedding, food, and lifestyle pictures on her site, and it’s a pleasure to follow along. 
Perpetual Perfection: Words of inspiration and an interior designer lover’s paradise. Cathleen’s home is dreamy, as is the rest of the content on this beautiful blog! 
Brighton the Day: Brighton’s style is always, always spot-on. Whether it’s animal prints, neons, or florals, I am obsessed with her styling. I always forget she lives in Houston (that is, until I recognize a location post!). Brighton the Day is definitely a blog you need to bookmark. 
Pretty Shiny Sparkly: Kristina post topics range between makeup, food, health, and style – and she does a great job detailing all. The blog is most certainly pretty, shiny and sparkly. 
Featured image via Sugar and Cloth, taken by Kimberly Chau
I am ever-s0-slightly obsessed with glassine birth announcements. When I saw these on Etsy, I could not get over how cute they were! I love the colors, liner, letterpress, and typography… but most of all, the glassine envelope with Liam’s sweet photo. I love the simplicity of glassine envelopes – and especially when they are sealed with colorful washi tape (good online selections here). Another cute example is here. Making your own glassine invitation or announcement can be simple! You can order envelopes here on Amazon. You can get a custom stamp made on Etsy or Antiquaria and easily print on them, or leave them blank and include them as an accessory to paper goods. Have you seen any cute glassine invitations or announcements before?
Last weekend, I headed over to Christie of KiKiMac‘s gorgeous house with Danielle of Goat and Spoon, and we had a perfect “Galentine’s Crafternoon.” She had posted some Valentine’s craft ideas here and here. As you’ll see in Christie’s post, we ended up creating these pretty hearts. Please soak in all of her gorgeous touches – like the place settings, menus, and delicious vegan, gluten free food!
Of course, with this festive holiday approaching us quickly, there are lots of DIY and decor inspirations posted across the web. Oh So Beautiful Paper’s Valentine Crafting Party ideas include some of my favorite! I adore these printables from Oh So Pretty x Sugar & Cloth.
If you’re looking to have or host a Valentine’s girl’s brunch, be inspired here. This Glitter Guide get-together is seriously perfect. I love the bubbly bar and the glitter LOVE letters.
Another gorgeous Glitter Guide crafty party is featured here. Every single detail (and craft) is perfect. Every one.
I also love this cupid’s arrow cake idea! Sasha and I would never finish that big of a cake, but I think a scaled down version would be perfect. I could even use our new favorite vegan chocolate beet muffin recipe for the cakes!
Another fun vegan Valentine’s Day recipe are these chocolate cake balls. I love finding vegan and gluten free recipes – perfect for a dinner with me and my brother-in-law, Carl, who has Celiac disease.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, we worked with Papellerie on our entire stationery suite (save the dates, invitations, programs, custom napkins, etc.). I loved working with Riley and Amy so much – they were incredibly good at understanding exactly what we (probably more I) wanted. Every single piece of our stationery was better than I could have ever imagined. The only missing photos were all of the goodies they made for our guest boxes! I’m upset that I didn’t think to have Ryan to take any pictures of the final product (my very unprofessional iPhone pictures below). The only faux-pas we had was that our seating assignment board – a corkboard with pins and personalized wine tags for guest’s glass with their name and table number – was setup vertically instead of horizontally (as planned), which made the tags fall kind of… off? You’ll see below. It’s definitely not a big deal though. As an FYI, the calligrapher that Papellerie uses is Meant To Be Calligraphy and the map artist was Katie Gastley. Everyone was amazing.
Our Save-the-Dates
Our Invitation Set
Our Programs
Our Placemats and Menus
Our Table Numbers
Our Reserved Signs
Our Table Assignments – a slight deviation from plan, as it was set up vertically instead of horizontally so the personalized wine tags don’t hang quite right! You win some, you lose some!
Our Custom Drink Bar Sign
Our Cupcake Flavor Labels
Our “Write your favorite memory” Postcards (A + S were gifted by my sweet little cousin!)
#ASPWedding Instagram Sign and Taxi Vouchers
Grand Exit Sign (Noisemakers here)
My iPhone Pictures of Guest Box Assembly + Seating Assignments
