2010, reviewed. 2011, ready.

wow, what a year it's been. i've been pretty quiet around here for the past few weeks- working on overdrive to get out christmas orders and finish out the year. ready to start 2011 with a bang. very excited/anxious about what I have in store starting out next month. so before the clock strikes 12, let's recap. we'll highlight the big things, otherwise I could go on and on and on...

january-march: basically all 3 months encompassed wedding planning and lots of trial and error in creating the perfect gift for my bridesmaids. :)
april: married the most wonderful man and experienced joy like I had never felt before celebrating with our family and friends. you can read more about that here. or just watch this. so so so fun!
may: a relaxing, lovely month. just enjoyed being newly married.
june: it's about to get wild in my household. our wedding was featured online and it seriously changed the course of the next half of 2010. all because of the picture used as the header in this blog (scroll up to see). it was the kick in the butt I needed to open my etsy shop where I had 2 orders before I even posted any pictures. whaaaa??
july: began learning about the power of social media. holy moly did I have a lot to learn (and still do!) so thankful for the wonderful community I've found. #TWIPS!
august: realized I really need to get better at time management because balancing a full time job, a household and a small business is really tough. oh, extracurricular activities? wine nights with friends? gym at my usual 545 am after staying up until 1 or 2? forgoing these more often than not stinks.
september- november: realizing how much I love working with the ladies that visit the shop. loving that I get to create something special and unique for each bride. totally makes late nights and long days worth it. especially since I'm starting to receive great feedback.
december: little bit crazy. note to self: have a lot of merchandise in stock next year for christmas orders. made some life changing decisions (I think) that are going to kick start 2011 into being an amazing year. starting with attending making things happen in tampa next month. hope you'll follow along.

i'll leave you with just a few photos that make me smile. {ELD, Style Me Pretty, Erin Werner}

xo- mckay

baby it's cold outside.

Short, sweet and to the point post today. It's tuesday shoesday. My sister has them and I'm jealous. {buy them for me here}

alright stop. collaborate and listen!

I love the holiday season. Exciting stuff is going on the studio right now! I'm overloaded a tad on caffeine and sugar (thanks for the peppermint patties, Mom) and the fabric is flying. Just for giggles, we teamed up with Collared Greens for a little holiday accessorizing, and debuted a limited edition of the CG/OLADE Clutch online this weekend. Collared Greens was founded in Sun Valley, Idaho and is geared towards american made, eco-friendly clothing. They make the most beautiful silk ties that would certainly please any bride/groom looking to top off a wedding day ensemble. Here are a couple in action. Modeled by the men in my family. Handsome, right?? So here's our thought. Coordinating clutches for the bridesmaids and ties for the groomsmen. I think it is the perfect combo- not too matchy matchy, but ties (ha.ha.) it all together. Simple, preppy, classic. What do you think??

Check out their site and let us know what patterns you would like to see in upcoming collaborations. They've got some great patterns to choose from (stripes, plaids and penguins, just to name a few!)

I'll leave you with these super sweet bowties. I die! {photo courtesy of collaredgreens}

thursday- etsy day!

The 'thursday purseday' bag I wanted to feature today sold out on etsy (boo!!) and I couldn't think of a back up on the spot. Oops.

Anywho- I was looking through my list of favorites today and since it is the winter/holiday season I had to show you all this gorgeous 'Christmas Tree Forest' painting done on a slice of a real tree trunk. (Paintings on a wooden plauqe? sold!) I so want this to hang on the wall right now! Do you have any favorite etsy items you'd like me to feature? I'm going to start making sure I do a weekly post on etsy finds.

Go see more of Sarah McCay's work at her shop A Lost Feather. (um you guys- do you have any ideas why I like her even more now that I know her name?!?!?!?) :)