and she said, LET THEM EAT CAKE!

this is very exciting news for our event! archana rao of sweet melissa patisserie -- a beloved pastry shop for anyone in cobble hill or park slope -- will be part of our little event in february! archana will have some sample cakes there, as well as tasting cakes for anyone to try.

before i chose my wedding location (which had a pastry chef on-site), i dreamed of having a sweet melissa wedding cake. i just adore melissa's scrumptuous desserts, and one of their cakes has to be absolute perfection.

mmmmmm...

best birthday gift ever!

so i never got to post this up on my actual birthday (3 weeks ago!), but in the spirit of oh-so-cute kids, i couldn't resist the urge any longer. my wonderful friends, john and tiffany, sent me these pictures for my birthday. brooklyn (7), johnny (4), and kaitlyn (a year) are so damn cute, and have the best personalities. dave and i got to spend time with them this summer in arizona, and we had the best time. so, after the rough holiday season we had this year, i needed something like this to make me smile.

introducing zosia bird reynolds

our dear friends, ehren and robin, recently welcomed their little gift into the world. zosia bird reynolds was born on december 21, 2007. what a great christmas present.

we just got these great photos yesterday. the one above is of zosia on 12/30.

mommy with baby.

daddy reading to her. she's going to be one smart and happy girl.

wedding cake

to all my fellow professionals and bloggers, as well as all the lovely couples out there who are married or getting married, i give you something entirely relatable and hysterical: the wedding cake.

fabulous flats!

if you know me, you know i rarely wear heels. i have really bad feet, so the gorgeous high-heels that i drool over are way too painful for me.

the bridal wishlist has posted a long list of fantastic flats for every budget. even if i'm not a bride anymore, can i still wear them? pretty please?


images courtesy of the bridal wishlist

registry bliss

if you haven't seen it already, don't forget to check out the "registry bliss" posts this week on perfect bound. they are oh-so-yummy. i really want to go back now and do the whole registry thing all over again!

image via perfect bound

sneak peek -- NicEvents & Kimera bridal event!

i just wanted to give you all a sneak peek into the event that i am hosting with yvonne chu at kimera at the end of february! we're both very excited about this. it will be held at the kimera store on atlantic avenue in brooklyn, so you can see all of her beautiful dresses and talk to me about invitations at the same time. =) and what could be better than that?!

if you would like to be on the mailing list for this event, feel free to leave a comment below or email me.

rug for sale!

the gorgeous dash & albert rug that we bought for our new apartment doesn't work in the space. it's too large and too beige for the design we're going for.

so we're selling it! if anyone in the new york area is interested, it's up for grabs on craigslist.

let me know if you want it!

very LOVEly

if you're looking for a fun gift for valentine's day, may i suggest these LOVE notepads by jane hancock papers. rajshel sent me one for christmas, and may i just say that i adore it!! i carry it around with me everywhere. it's small enough to fit in my purse, but large enough to jot things down on. brilliant!

pins and needles

i have an acupuncturist appointment today to see if it will help my headaches. wish me luck!

jealous

a friend of mine from college, jennie schaeffer, is currently spending her month at an artist residence in peters valley. i'm so jealous!! with all the work that i have to do for my business, as well as working on our new apartment, i have no time to paint anymore. and oh, how i miss it. jennie is an inspiration to me that i should still pursue this passion. and i'm so proud of her for pursuing hers.

check out her blog, emerging artist, for a day-by-day breakdown of what she is doing and why.

real simple weddings

EVERYONE is talking about the new real simple weddings magazine. the first issue has been eagerly awaited by all of us in the industry.

the great part is that they have online content that is thorough and thoughtful. one that i love -- of course -- is an article on invitation etiquette. great information on how to properly word your stationery and address your envelopes.

also in this issue:
• how to make bouquets from supermarket flowers
• movie & tv wedding vows
• what to ask your wedding venue
• hair and makeup guides

home in progress

since we moved into our new space, we've been bombarded by requests for photos of it. but it's still all in boxes!! with moving in right before the holidays, the stuff with my grandpa, and work, it's coming together very slowly.

still, i realized today that we're finally starting to get some of our stuff together. and even though the white walls and cardboard are still an appalling site, i thought i would present some new "before" photos today... along with some options for what we want to do with the space.


i thought we could start with photos of our new GORGEOUS table. we found it on sale at ABC Carpet and Home for so little money, we just couldn't refuse. it seats 6 comfortably, and we have a folding table to add to seating if we want to host more people.


check out the beautiful wood and rustic finish. the top seems like it was hammered.


just zooming in on my oh-so-fun Chilewich table mats, which were a birthday gift from a close friend.


as you may or may not have noticed, we are using the folding chairs that go with our folding table for now. we need 6 new chairs for the table. since we're trying to watch our spending, we were thinking of trying out these ladder-back chairs from ikea. they're fairly inexpensive, and totally appropriate for the table.



and i found this fabulous credenza on craigslist! it's really beautiful. it's officially ours, i just have to go and pick it up. but the finish is perfect for the dining space, adding a funky french-country aspect to it.


onto chairs and seating... our living room is quite large, and has enough room for 2 separate seating areas. so i plan on recovering some chairs to work in the room.


craigslist to the rescue!! i found both of the above chairs from different folks on the site. the top pic is of the wingback chair i picked up for $90, and the lower pic is of the louis XVI chair i picked up from a fellow brooklynite for $100. it's an antique from 1910.


finally, this great mid-century modern piece is something we've had for a long time. it worked in the original black fabric for our old apartment, but our new place might call for lighter colors.

our color scheme is yellow, blue, and white for the living room. so the fabrics for the chairs will be stripey blue/white or a fun print. i also want to recover one of them in a yellow and white fabric, just to add a little more yellow to the space. to remind yourself of what our couch looks like, go back here.

ok, that's it for now. i refuse to show the rest of the space until i can put stuff away. =)

have a good day!

where would you rather live?

i've been getting into this discussion a lot lately. friends, family, and colleagues (check out designsponge today for her take) talking about the unaffordability of this wonderful city. how even the outer boroughs, like my lovely brooklyn, are priced out of the range of middle-income NY'ers.

and they're right.

NYC has become ridiculously overpriced. not in food and fun, but definitely in living spaces. the biggest argument against the cost of living here is the size of the footprint you get. most of us live in apartments that are 1500 sq. ft or less. others that have houses are without yards, or only have small ones. it's a toss-up on whether or not you can get a home with a driveway, and parking is a bitch. so why pay so much for so little?

i often look at things from the other point of view... most large houses seem wasteful to me. anything that's 3000 sq. ft. and up for a 1 family home seem unnecessary and somewhat cold. i like the idea that you can cozy up with your friends or family in your smaller space, which often come with so much character. and of course, you pay the price for all that is around you in this great city.

but then, that's me. living here in my new apartment -- very inexpensive for this city -- i enjoy the size of it. while large enough for us, my office, entertaining, and one day a "baby block", it's still small enough to feel warm and snuggly.

so which would you rather? paying more for a small space in a big city? or paying less for a larger space in a less cosmopolitan hub?

accidental branding

as a designer that runs her own business, and has helped design brands/identities for other companies in the past, i find other business branding stories extremely compelling. what works, why, how to implement it... these are all great questions to be answered by some of the world's best brands.


a marketing professor and dear friend, david vinjamuri, has written a book on this topic. "accidental branding" covers such companies as burt's bees, craigslist, and j. peterman -- ordinary people creating extraordinary brands.

"accidental branding" is due to launch in late march. you can pre-order it now on amazon.com. and don't forget to check out david's blog at thirdway. it's a fabulously educational read.

beauty in dining

toast and tables showed off martha stewart's new collection with wedgewood this week. how pretty are these plates?! i know that smartha isn't always a favorite, but i do adore her taste and style. and these plates really show that off.

latest corporate piece

i don't post much about my corporate work. but after HOW magazine featured me in their december issue, i received a lot of email and requests. one such request for work was from jan at London Road, a design company in san francisco. she wanted me to design her company's holiday card, and so, i did!

it was such a fun experience. the cards turned out great -- letterpressed at Peter Kruty here in brooklyn -- and all parties involved were very happy with the project.

tune in for more NicEvents/London Road partnerships in the future!

it's my birthday!!

hey everyone! it's the epiphany, it's the 12th day of Christmas, it's the day of kings... and it's my birthday!! i always felt rather lucky to be born on such a day. and i love to celebrate my birthday.

even though there's a big part of my life that's missing this year -- and lord how i miss him -- i am so happy to be here and celebrate life with my friends, my husband, my family, and all of those that visit here.

so, here's to you, dear readers. and here's to life.

brideboard blogging about nicevents

christina over at brideboard has been so kind as to interview me for the board's brideblogs. check it out here... and let me know what you think. =)

happy new year

hello out there! i just wanted to wish everyone a very happy new year. yes, my holiday season has been quite difficult this year, but i see 2008 as a year with much promise. and my grandpa would want me to be happy and forward-minded.

so, keep on the lookout for all new stuff -- new lines for my DearNic etsy store, new and exciting clients, and yes, even my first event. life is looking up people! and i'm so glad that you're here with me.

to all my clients (past and present), friends, and colleagues -- all the best of luck and love in the new year.