i've come down with a serious case of wanderlust

hello loves!

i hate to be so MIA this week (& without fair warning),

but my day life (aka: my job) totally blew up and is consuming nearly every last ounce of energy...

BUT i will be able to return fully charged next week :)

in the meantime, the extra stress has brought on a serious case of wanderlust!

stop on over to two delighted, where i am sharing my current top travel destinations.

do you know two delighted?

if not, you absolutely must meet megan & colleen...

these sweet sisters are two of my most favorite bloggers :)

& they are currently traveling around paris & the uk...lucky girls!

in the meantime, i'll keep dreaming!

have a lovely day & see you all next week!

XO

brynn

create: the kid-o-mobile

remember that mobile from the baby shower earlier this week?
well, today is the day i share how to make it :)
let's get to it!

for streamers:
pretty papers
(TIP: lighter-weight papers are easier to work with!)
styrofoam balls
(i used 1" balls, ordered from amazon)
twine
scissors

for mobile images:
more pretty paper (for backside)
choose a theme or random assortment of images you love :)
i went with the adorable drawings on this vintage fabric!

step-by-step:

1. cut paper into strips wide enough to wrap over the styrofoam balls -
if using 1" balls,  cut paper strips approximately 3" wide
2. fold paper into thirds
3. place styrofoam ball inside of the folds
4. twist paper at each end of the ball & tie with twine - like a candy wrapper :)
*leave extra twine hanging off of one end -
you may need to "stitch" together multiple to make longer strands

5. insert next ball
6. repeat, repeat, repeat to the end of the paper strip
7. if you want to make longer strands -
snip extra paper from the tied ends, leaving just enough to keep it together
8. take the 2 longer ends of twine and wrap, wrap, wrap around the ends to tighten and secure -
knot it & snip the twine ends

repeat all steps until you are happy the the length and amount of streamers you have made...
TIP: have fun and mix multiple patterns

ta da! now your streamers are ready to go!

instructions for mobile images are not visually available, but are super easy!
just print & cut out your desired images,
cut pretty papers to the dimension of each of your images,
use adhesive (double stick tape, glue, etc.) of your choice to attach each image, backed with paper,
punch a hole in the middle of each card
& hang, at various heights, with twine from the streamer strands!

to hang:
i had to attach mine to a chandelier since we were using a temporary space,
but to hang more permanently, you can tie long twine strands from each end of each streamer
then gather all twine strands together in the center & hang from a hook in the ceiling

and that's it!
pretty easy, though a little time consuming...
but makes a wonderful moment as part of the party
& makes an adorable, thoughtful, hand-made gift :)

have a lovely day!
brynn

Insta-style!

preface: 

my lovely bloggie friend, ashley, from her adorable blog, one fine day

gave me the SWEETEST instagram shout out, which resulted in a whole new slew of followers and new friends for me to follow!
do make sure to check out @onefinea on instagram...she is worth a follow!
and her blog, too!
okay...

so, i am most definitely NOT (and never could be) a fashion blogger.

i admire fashion bloggers OH SO MUCH!!!

it takes major (admirable) guts, what you fashion-loving chickadees do 

& i just don't have it in me.

HOWEVER!

i DO looooooooooooove style 

& i have absolutely NO shame for selfie-from-above instagram shots! lol :D

i love clothes and shoes as much as the next girlie

& since i wish i had those (admirable) guts to post fashion shots of myself for the blog, 

i find it just satisfying enough to post partial shots of my outfits of the day :)

are you following @chartreusetwist on instagram?

i would love to follow you :)

have a lovely day!

XO

brynn

a bright & cheery cupcake shower for baby!

by now, you all must know how much i love to party :)

usually i am just mocking up parties...which is great fun, but i love the real thing best of course!

well, yesterday i got just that. the real thing!

color palette: lots of orange w/ pinks from light to bright... it's a girl!!!

my co-workers and i hosted a (not so traditional) baby shower for one of our teammates.

there were no smelling the candy bar diaper games (sorry to disappoint!)...

just cupcakes, laughter & lots of cute decor!

location: cupcake royale, a local fave!

this one happens to be in an old pancake house that looks like snow white's cottage :)

want to know one of my favorite easy table runner tricks is?

wrapping paper!!! no joke...a roll of wrapping paper goes a long way.

simply unroll on the tabletop & voila! insta-cuteness! 

flowers: ruffly peonies & cheery gerbera daisies in bright white milk glass vases 

& orange le creuset ramekins added a lovely, fresh touch

i wanted to add a playful touch, 

so i made this little mobile that hung overhead from the chandelier! 

(look for the diy post later this week!)

i was thrilled that the momma loved it so much that she ended up taking it home with her :)

you know i gotta get that up & close peony shot ;)

this was one sweet party!

my co-worker, mina (aka: "the favor queen"), 

wrapped candy bars in pretty papers & added an adorable little hooray! note 

to celebrate sweet baby matilda :)

**mina is seriously my go to girl when it comes to favors & wrapping...she is so talented!**

i have had this adorable vintage fabric pic in my pinterest for a year now

& it easily became my inspiration for the palette!

also, the design was so cute - playful drawings of animals, alphabets & other fun things - 

that i decided to print and cut a bunch to sprinkle on the table as confetti!

the momma-to-be happens to love vintage everything, so i found this as quite suiting!

overall, it was a lovely afternoon spent with lovely people :)

congratulations, megan!!!

i know you will be a wonderful momma!

& i can't wait to meet miss matilda :)

XO 

brynn

bohemian summer soirée

summer is on its way,

and i can not help but dream of warm nights and dinner parties with friends.

and what serves as a more perfect summer theme than

bohemian?

the warmer months ahead give me boho fever...

bright & bold colors, 

shiny gold,

& eclectic beauty.

to set the table & the vibe...

find a colorful, patterned fabric you love and have it cut to size to drape over the table

(no sewing necessary... this is la bohème, darlings)

& while at the fabric store, pick up some fun gold trims

(i rolled small cuts of sequin trim into balls & wrapped gold trim around my antlers!)

gather some natural(ish) elements

(antlers & rock elements will do, or even these glazed clay coasters)

maybe even sprinkle some glitter on the tablecloth!
(even though it is messy to clean up, it sure is pretty!)
use eclectic silk scarves for napkins

(they add the perfect touch!)

set a variety of pretty glassware

& pop in some gorgeous florals!

i imagine serving up this gorgeous salad & onion tart to start,

followed by one incredibly big bowl of this prosciutto, asparagus & parmesan spaghetti

(all served family style, of course!)

for dessert we would need something cold, no doubt...

thinking this pistachio ice cream w/ pistachio nougat will seal the deal!

& now we are set for one incredible dinner party, my friends!

won't you join me?!

have a lovely day!

XO 

Brynn

wild, pretty things

i got a wild hair this weekend & decided to make a lush floral arrangement...

i realized that - for years - i always stick to simple floral arrangements at home,

usually with just a single type of flower.

not that an entire bouquet of peonies isn't completely stunning...

duh!

but i started to wonder what else i might want to mix with those pretty, feminine ruffles. 

so,  to market i went...

i picked up some pretty peonies - one bunch white, one bunch coral -

one bunch of white freesia (mmm! the frangrance is so heavenly!),

& a couple small bunches of greens - eucalyptus & boxwood.

once i returned i popped out to the backside of our home, 

where the wild things grow, 

& i picked a few other random pieces in various textures.

i thought that my new pot from anthropologie would make 

the perfect container for the arrangement! 

then, i went at it like a mad woman...

snipping, tearing off leaves, popping in piece by piece

until, finally, the arrangement was complete.

and this is what you see.

i think that i might have found a new passion, friends!

though admittedly an amateur,

and for all i know, i could have totally gone about this the wrong way...

perhaps mixed flowers and plants i shouldn't have,

or used weird textures together...

but i love that it is so pretty & so wild, all at the same time ;) 

and i loved the process of creating it.

and, come on now... i love breaking rules!

have a lovely day!

XO 

brynn

pink + coral + red

you know, there are just some color combinations that i can never seem to get enough of...

and this one is definitely it!

i love, love, love pink, coral & red together...don't you?!

i think i especially love it as summer draws near.

it makes me crave to sip on a guava mojito with my legs kicked up on the porch...

hurry up summer!

on another note, i pulled all of these images from one of my most favorite websites to 

draw color inspiration from - the purl bee

their blog is filled with lots of amazing projects...

lots of knitting projects, some sewing...

if only i could knit! i have tried, believe me! but it just is not my thing!

but really, i could just flip through the blog and stare at all of the pretty colors.

it's like eye candy ;)

what is a favorite color combo that you can't get enough of?

have a wonderful day!

XO

brynn

p.s. i hope you all had a lovely, long weekend! 

i definitely enjoyed lots of me & craft time as well as time spent with friends!