A Side of Sweet

Elsie Green – Concord, CA

Elsie Green - Concord, CA - Vintage and Beautiful Things for the Home I had the pleasure of traveling to the east bay to check out the new (or newly improved, I should say) Elsie Green in Concord, CA. Elsie Green is a small, sustainable family run company. Started by Laurie and JP Furber, the owners travel the world looking for unique furniture and pretty things to decorate the home. With a pedigree including companies like Pottery Barn and Eddie Bauer, they really know their stuff! They aim to help clients turn their homes into a beautiful, sustainable haven. They also have the charm and personal touch of a small business. Laurie and JP were full of recommendations for things to do in the area and their children made us coffee and lovingly wrapped our packages!

Elsie Green (formerly Greenhouse Design) recently moved into a new space and celebrated with an open house, complete with cupcakes and champagne. As soon as I arrived at their studio, I immediately wanted one of everything! Although most of their items are out of my budget for now, it was a beautiful space full of inspiration. I did buy a couple of vintage butter pats to use as props for the blog and I can’t wait to use them! If you care to check out Elsie Green for yourself, their next studio sale is November 8th and 9th.

Elsie Green - Concord, CA - Greatness Takes Time Elsie Green - Concord, CA - Vintage and Beautiful Things for the Home

Elsie Green
2954 Treat Blvd., Suite C
Concord, CA 94518
866.575.4437
http://www.elsiegreen.com/

Frosted Halloween Brownies

I’m looking forward to celebrating Halloween in the children’s hospital! It’s definitely the most excited I’ve ever been for Halloween. I have my costume planned out and I’m just putting the finishing touches on it.

One of the best part of working with kids is being able to let out my inner kid on a daily basis. In my humble opinion, pediatricians are the best dressers in the hospital. Most of us don’t wear white coats regularly – too intimidating! Instead it’s brightly colored blouses and pretty printed dresses with playful accessories.

Best Vegetarian Lasagna

Vegetarian

Have you heard of Cook’s Illustrated? They are my go-to recipe source when I want exceptional results and delicious recipes. Cook’s Illustrated is the brainchild of a bunch of science nerds who love to cook – just like me. They perfect basic recipes – like pie crust or Thanksgiving turkey – through countless recipe “experiments” until they have the ultimate of whatever dish you’re looking for. They come up with innovative techniques to fix a typical recipe flaw – like with this recipe for vegetarian lasagna. Typical vegetarian lasagna has a variety of issues, from soggy veggies to goopy ricotta. This recipe of theirs fixes that, by precooking the veggies and replacing ricotta with tangy cottage cheese…. Read More »

Wedding :: The Reception

Our reception venue was the pavilion at Olin Park in Madison, WI. The pavilion is available for special event rental from the City of Madison. In order to secure it, we had to enter a lottery in the fall before. With the help of some family and friends who stood in line with us, we were able to secure it as our first choice! The pavilion is an old barn with beautiful wood floors and high ceilings. It was absolutely spectacular.

The main focus of the reception was the food, provided by Blue Plate Catering. They were absolutely fantastic and incorporated our requests for local and seasonal food without raising an eyebrow. They also worked very well within our tight budget.

During the reception, we had toasts from both of our dad’s. Pat also gave a toast. I have never laughed and cried so hard ever! Looking at our photos, it’s good to see the happiness on all of our guests’ faces as well.

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We also hammered nails into a wooden box containing a bottle of our wedding wine. The purpose is to put aside a bottle to enjoy at our 10 year wedding anniversary! Of course I messed up the nailing and Pat had to fix it for me. This is pretty standard.

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We also signed our marriage license and made this marriage legal!

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It was so nice to share our first dance to Sweet Pea, by Amos Lee. It was a little quiet time with just Pat and I. I just smiled and smiled. Pat-+-Kelly-2013-428

Because I spent so much time on the dessert table, I really wanted Pat and I to serve dessert to our guests instead of the hired servers. I was momentarily furious with Pat because instead of the typical dab of frosting, he attempted to shove a whole plate of cake in my face! Luckily I squirmed away – can you imagine my wedding makeup mixed with a plate of buttercream!? Pat-+-Kelly-2013-431 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-432 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-433 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-434 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-436 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-438 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-440

I danced with my dad to My Girl, by the Temptations. Pat-+-Kelly-2013-444 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-445 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-446 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-449 Reception Reception1

Vendors:

Hair: Anna Lutzke, Be Inspired Salon
Make up: Erin Helley
Dress: Custom
Shoes: Kate Spade
Jewelry: Kate Spade
Flowers: Fontaine
Photography: Kinsey Mhire Photography
Food: Blue Plate Catering

Our DIY Wedding Alter

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One of the most special details of our wedding was the altar that we got married under. It was made for us by Pat and was made out of tree branches that he “reclaimed” from a part that was just a few hundred feet from our apartment in madison.

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It was such a great feeling to stand under that homemade arch and say our vows in front of all of our loved ones. In addition, the cost to make it was literally just the nails that held it together. It was a great budget wedding DIY. Ceremony2

DIY Wedding Alter from Reclaimed Wood

You will need:

Tree branches and stumps to form your arch. The two sides of our arch were *** feet and the top branch was *** feet. We also had smaller branches to prop up the main branches.

Nails –

Knife

All wedding photos by Kinsey Mhire Photography

More Wedding Photos – First Look, Part II

I hope you’re not sick of wedding photos yet! I have another batch to share with you today. These are the photos we took after the ceremony. We took the majority of our photos before the ceremony, because we wanted to spend the first moments of married life surrounded by family and friends, not quickly whisked away to take photos. I’m really happy with that decision, but I do love all of these photos of our family and bridal party.

You can see more of our wedding photos by clicking here.

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I thrifted the victorian couch on Craigslist for $99! It also became a part of our “wedding lounge” for the reception. Although I got some raised eyebrows when I asked some of the guys to carry this heavy old couch into the grassy area of Olin Park, I am so glad I stuck with my guns on it! The photo of our family looking down on us is definitely a fave.

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Thanks again to Kinsey and Josh of Kinsey Mhire Photography for these stunning photos! They captured our day perfectly and I’m so thankful for all of these wonderful photos that I’ll cherish forever. Pat-+-Kelly-2013-319 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-327 Post-Ceremony-Photos1 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-330 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-332 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-414 Pat-+-Kelly-2013-417

Vendors:

Hair: Anna Lutzke, Be Inspired Salon
Make up: Erin Helley
Dress: Custom
Shoes: Kate Spade
Jewelry: Kate Spade
Flowers: Fontaine
Photography: Kinsey Mhire Photography

See more of our wedding photos & DIYs:

DIY Hanging Twine Balls
First Look Wedding Photos, Part I
First Look Wedding Photos, Part II
Wedding Dance Party Photos
Wedding Details – Dessert Table & Table Decorations
Wedding Updo – How to Chalk Your Hair
Wedding Ceremony Pictures
Wedding Getting Ready Pictures
Vintage Drawer Pulls as Placecard Holders DIY
DIY Wedding Photobooth Setup with Printable
DIY Gilded Upcycled Plastic Cups
DIY Glitter Upcycled Silverware
DIY Honey Jar Wedding Favors
Rustic Wedding Cake Frosting Technique
Stuffed S’mores Cupcakes Recipe
DIY Glitter Swizzle Sticks
DIY Embossed Envelopes
Engagement Photos, Part I
Engagement Photos, Part II