The Owl Trend: "I like it."

("I like it" is what my two year old says when he sees something he wants like the bulldozers at work on the highways.)

For the past couple of years or so, owls have been popping up all over the place. (fabric above found on southlandtopology.com) Maybe it's Harry Potter bringing on the resurgence of an old 60s trend, or maybe it's just the usual trend cycles at work, but whatever it is, "I like it" & I have a soft spot for them. My family's always had this vintage owl stapler (below) and I remember playing "office" with it as a little girl:

As most of us know, owls symboize wisdom & knowledge. So it really is interesting (and odd) to me that they pop up everywhere in such "cute" contexts. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely something special about owls. They're beautiful & a bit mysterious... But we've taken this night-hunting bird and plastered it all over fabric, household items, pillows, toys, and anything else we can think of and portrayed it in a very "adorable" way. (Collage by Helen Musselwhite below from here )

I'm starting to think about Baby #2's nursery (2.5 months away from arriving) and so of course, I'm drawn to all the adorable owls everywhere!!! I love these sheets from pottery Barn Kids:

And even better are these adorable stuffed owls they're selling:

I'm also crazy for this PERFECT little owl pillow:

The thing is, we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl and these are definitely on the girlie side. (Although let's be honest here, after already having 1 child, I know that the nurseries are for the parents, not the babies. Babies straight up don't care. Give them something fun to look at and they're happy.) BUT still, it's more the principle I guess... So, loving the little owls and wanting some more options I've started looking around online and have found some great ones! I love this little guy found on sewmamasew.com below. But it's a pattern & you have to make him... ehhhhh and I haven't been feeling too crafty lately:

I also love these (found at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5199545) by Retro Mama. Totally could be ina baby boy's room!

And there are so many great prints out there too! How cute is this mam & baby owl print below? (found SOLD --argg- on etsy by popartcafe):

Loving this collage by Linda Solovic found here:

And this one has such a great vintage feel to me:

Getting a little more sophisticated (and girlie again) but I LOVE this fabric designer, Tula Pink found on Trueup.net:

And I can't even handle this little vintage guy found here:

I bought a weekly planner last night with owls on it. That's when my husband said to me "You're really into owls lately" and made me think to write this post. Check out these pretty journals found here:

How cool is this painting "Vintagse Owls" by Kendra Baird?:

Here's a beautiful owl pillow found on House Beautiful:

A great brass owl:

A little stone owl (found on Kaboodle) who'd be perfect tucked on a shelf somewhere:

And now onto the owls I WANT. I've been lusting after this owl drawing by Albrecht Durer for a year or so now... (He's the Medieval artist whose drawing I had blown up on canvas in our dining room.)

I really really want this pillow for my living room (from penhollows.com) but just can't spend that much on a pillow:

And this letter opener is just SO BEAUTIFUL:

And finally, I'd love one of these rings from Kris Nations:

I love it in both white & black & there are other gorgeous colors too. ONly $28!!! I think they'd make great Christmas gifts..

Anyway, I think it's pretty clear that I'm hooked on owls so I'll be joining Julia at Hooked on Houses for her VERY LAST HOOKED ON FRIDAYS BLOG PARTY!! Have an awesome weekend and thank you so much to everyone for all the touching comments yesterday!! Congratulations to a few of you who are celebrating anniversaries right around now too!!!

xoxo,

lauren

So It's Been 4 Years...

Dave and I were married 4 years ago today in Georgetown. It POURED rain like you wouldn't believe - a huge drought ended that weekend- and we had such a blast. (pic below of some of my childhood friends)




We got engaged at the ripe old age of 22 (him 23). We must have scared our families half to death! It was one of those things where we'd already been together a couple of years but I was only a year out of college... We knew we wanted to get married "someday" but were so young and "the age" for getting married is more like at least 26 now... But one day we were just talking and we thought "Why can't we?" "What's stopping us besides what people might think?" We knew we wanted to and knew that moving in with roommates for another couple of years & living "the life" just wasn't what we wanted anymore. So, in April, we started planning a wedding for October. It was a short engagement and I don't think I could have stood for it to be any longer. Wedding planning CONSUMES you even when you try not to let it. All of those phone calls, plans, etc. Here are my beautiful best friends & cousins (the bridesmaids) below. They all chose their own styles of dress by the same designer... something I really recommend because they were all able to pick what they felt most comfortable in:



I found them all unique vintage necklaces that reminded me of them & they wore them on the day of the wedding. Anyway, I thought I'd share with you today a bunch of wedding photos taken by our photographer, Mark Bettinger of Rodney Bailey photography. We chose photographers who shoot in in the photojournalistic style because, it's strange, but I'm REALLY uncomfortable in photos where I know the photographer is taking a pic and I need to stand there and "smile." I love all the details they captured. Below, Dave at the church, waiting:


And me waiting at my grandparents house:

The morning started fairly early as all the bridesmaids came to my mom's house to do hair & make-up. (A lot had slept over.) Wedding's these days are pretty much productions and ours, I have to admit, was too. As crazy as it was though, I remember just being so happy that it was finally "the big day" and looking out at the rain just gushing down from the sky and thinking I'd always sort of known it would rain on my wedding day & how it didn't matter a bit. (I really love a good rainstorm & I was actually fine with it but had lots of outdoor pics planned- oh well! :) Then my mom & I and my cousin Jen (my maid of honor) went over to grandparents' house where I grew up to get ready ^ take some pics. (My mom & I lived there with my grandparents for 6 years.) Here's my mom helping me get ready:

I didn't try on my wedding dress before I ordered it because the designer, Saison Blanche , is couture and doesn't do samples of most of their dresses. But, I saw a picture of it online & knew it would be perfect. I didn't try on any dresses before getting it. It was big a splurge (I'm SO not a couture girl in real life unfortunately ;) and have my mom to thank for the dress... I was crazy over the Swarovski crystals all over the bodice & cap sleeves & wanted my wedding to be a sort of mix of whites, metallics, & have a conservatory-feel with a little vintage bling... (I've realized it's similar to the scheme of my home.)

And Dave at the church with my little cousin, Christopher:

I'm going to let these pics speak for themselves.:

... okay, and I love to see the expression on the groom's face when he first sees the bride:

I remember it so well... it was like I had tunnel vision and just saw him at the end of that long aisle & everything else was a blur...

Sealing the deal ;) (below)

The wedding ring:

Mr. and Mrs.Liesss!!! (up until this point I was Lauren Maestranzi ;)

Hugging him alone after the ceremony (haha sort of- the photographer was there) felt so good...

We actually had the reception in Georgetown University's cafeteria. NICE cafeteria!! I fell for it because of the view right on the Potomac River and of course the chandeliers:

I loved all the hydrangea and gardenia and of course all the light in the room:

ok, this one needs explaining... THE LAMB CHOPS: mm mm mm

We had moss balls & topiaries everywhere... And very small floating gardenia centerpieces because the food was served family-style and there wouldn't be much room:

In my family (the Italian side), it's tradition to stand on the chairs & sing "That's Amore!" My dad started that one a LONG time ago...

We just had so much fun & the time flew by!!! At weddings you're so busy saying hello to everybody that you really have to make a conscious effort to get some QT in with your new spouse. I'd been to enough weddings to see how important it was to just relax, realize things won't work out exactly the way you'd planned & who really cares, and to focus on what really matters: your spouse & your marriage.

I didn't really care much about the cake (I'm more of a cookie girl) but it actually was SO FREAKING GOOD!!!!! (even a year and a half later- when we actually remembered to eat the top of it!)

My sweetie with the umbrella (below). (We'd had plans to go to the gardens at Dumbarton Oaks and take pics but coudn't because of the rain.) Sometimes things just turn out very differently from the way you'd planned, but have a way of working out, making even better memories than the ones you'd planned:

So, I know how personal (and possibly boring!!) this post was but just had to share. Thanks for enduring ;) Weddings nowadays end up as these huge events with lots of "ta-da-ing" that I hear older generations complain about... But I do have to say how much I loved and enjoyed mine and how incredibly thankful I am to my family for giving it to us. In the end it's all about marring the right person and I know I did that right.

Happy anniversary Dav - if you're reading this- I love you!!!

xoxo,

lauren