A Chi Chi Affair: March 2011

March 31, 2011

Making tablecentre pieces

A few weeks ago we celebrated my big sisters wedding - it was a truly fantastic day and such a lovely family occasion.

During the planning my sister Helen had tasked me with making the table centrepieces both due to budget and also I was sure I could do a great job! I came up with the idea of using pink single stem flowers in jam jars and armed with some navy grosgrain ribbon we began.

The first step was to collect the jam jars. They were a mix of food jars and baby jars collected by my younger sister and my nephew and we put them in the dishwasher to make sure they were sparkling! I also used some sticky stuff remover from Lakeland to get off some of the sticky residue.

A Chi Chi Affair

The next step was to fix the navy ribbon to the jars - we actually just used double sided sticky tape for this which worked really well. I love how the navy ribbon changes the jars instantly and makes them look really stylish. Here's a pic of Helen having a go at fixing the ribbon to the jars.

A Chi Chi Affair

And a shot of the jars nearly finished. The pink flowers at this point were just to see the effect.

A Chi Chi Affair.

And here's a shot of Helen relaxing with some lunch!

A Chi Chi Affair

Finally the day before the wedding arrived and we had to prepare all the flowers which were bought from the local flower market. We had a mixture of pink roses, ranunculas, giant pink carnations and pink gerbera and they looked even better than I imagined. We cut them down to size and put them in the jars ready to be transported to the venue

A Chi Chi Affair

A very tanned me (just faked tanned!) arranging the flowers

A Chi Chi Affair

When we got to the venue we just had to arrange the jars on the mirrored plates and I scattered over some rose petals which reflected in the mirrors. The venue was lit by candle light and we had tea lights on the table so it was such a lovely atmosphere

A Chi Chi Affair

And here is a shot of the whole table.

A Chi Chi Affair

Just thought I would share a shot of the top table where we used two mirror plates and lots of the little jars. Thats my mum and dad too.

A Chi Chi Affair

And one of my lovely sister. Dont you agree she makes a beautiful bride!

A Chi Chi Affair

And my younger sister and I? It was a little bit windy!

Hope you enjoyed this post!
Rachie xo

March 30, 2011

Whats happening in the garden: Spring 2011

Happy Wednesday!

A few weeks ago I posted about the first daffodil in our garden shooting its little head through the soil and since then there have been a few more additions which I thought you would all be interested in seeing.

Its so exciting to see whats already planted in our garden - its like a new surprise every day!

My mum was thrilled when we first bought the house and I showed her the garden and she immediately spotted the big Camellia bush. She always said the flowers would be lovely when they bloomed and she was right! We have a few flowers and I cant wait until they are out in full force as they are so pretty!

A Chi Chi Affair

We also have some gorgeous Forsythia which is going to look lovely in a tall vase when I get round to picking some. I love the yellow colour.

A Chi Chi Affair

There are some late snowdrops which are in shady place and look so delicate and pretty.

A Chi Chi Affair

And then these red flowers - I have no idea what they are: Does anyone else know? - Please leave a comment if you do but they are quite pretty don't you think?

A Chi Chi Affair

And lastly here's a shot of the garden - we have so much to do - we haven't even started yet but I cant wait to sit out there and have some BBQ's this summer.

A Chi Chi Affair

My garden makes me happy - Am I getting old?? (30 in a few weeks - eek!!)

Rachie xo

March 29, 2011

Fab Stationary Vendor: Mae Mae Paperie

I have another fabulous stationery find for all of you!

I keep seeing Maemae Paperie stationery around the blogs and I am so inspired by the creator Megan Knight Gonzalez' fab designs. I adore her unique style and I love the fact she is so inspired by what she does. In her own words she puts rich stories and dreams on paper through the means of design. Isn't that just so sweet?

Maemae Paperie offers three different printing methods, letterpress, flat, and print at home and can work to various budgets. And as well as invitation suites Megan also designs social stationery and stamps as well as branding for your business. Please go and browse the shop and Megan's cool blog here to see more of her designs and projects.

Here are some of my favourites.

The colours of this suite are so modern, love the order of the day fan, the menus as coasters and the cake toppers.

http://maemaepaperie.blogspot.com/

Again love that orange colour palate as well as that fabric bag and those confetti packets.

http://maemaepaperie.blogspot.com/

Especially liking the calligraphy in this one.

http://maemaepaperie.blogspot.com/

These are fabric envelopes - isn't that so cool?

http://maemaepaperie.blogspot.com/

Happy Tuesday

Rachie xo

March 28, 2011

Beatrix Potter 1st Birthday!

Look at this stunning 1st Birthday Party for Hudson that I found via the amazing Kate Landers Events It's truly inspirational - I haven't seen anything like this before, the details are beautiful and it can work for a either a little boy or girl.

Have a look at the pics and prepare to be wowed!

I adore this food table - the colours really fit with the theme and the background of the fence along with the burlap table cloth bring this to life. The wooden words are touch a gorgeous touch. So creative!

And Kate says "For food, I suggested lettuce wrapped sandwiches, vegetables and dips, pumpkin soup served in mini pumpkins...and Marti incorporated many of these elements at the party. She also created the most DARLING names for each of the foods, named after different characters in the book"

http://katelandersevents.blogspot.com/2010/10/beatrix-potter-first-birthday-party.html

Have a look at all the other details here - especially love the pumpkins!

http://katelandersevents.blogspot.com/2010/10/beatrix-potter-first-birthday-party.html

And the cake is something else - beautifully crafted!

http://katelandersevents.blogspot.com/2010/10/beatrix-potter-first-birthday-party.html

For more pictures and details check out Kate's post here

Rachie xo

March 25, 2011

Fantastic Friday Food - Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Muffins

Easter is fast approaching and therefore so is Hot Cross Bun season. Actually I like to eat Hot Cross Buns all year round but in the run up to Easter we seem to eat many more. I love all the different flavour one in the shops - cranberry and orange from M&S are my fave.

Anyway as a bit of a change from the norm I came across this recipe for Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Muffins on the lovely Bubble and Sweet Blog - Linda who is from Australia has some great recipes on her site so do take a look! :-)

And this recipe isnt as unhealthy as it first seems as it contains wholemeal flour - excuse to have two I say (!) Perfect with a cup of coffee on easter morning!

Bubble and Sweet

Here's the recipe

Chocolate Chip Hot Cross Muffins makes approx 12 large muffins

2 cups wholemeal self raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

3/4 cup caster sugar

3/4 cup chocolate chips

Optional cross decoration

3 Tbsp icing sugar, 1 Tbsp cocoa (US conversion 4 Tbsp powdered sugar and 1Tbsp plus 1 tsp cocoa)

1 1/2 to 2 tsp hot water

Method

Preheat over to 200 C, line muffin trays with paper cases.

Sift flour, cocoa, soda and cinnamon into a large bowl to remove lumps, tip any of the wholemeal flour husks that remain in the sifter into bowl with the already sifted flour. Add chocolate chips.

In a separate bowl whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs and sugar until combined.

Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

Divide mixture between 12 muffin cases and bake for 20-25 mins, if you insert a skewer is should come out clean. Well unless you hit a gooey delicious chocolate chip :) Remove from trays to cool on wire rack.

Icing for Cross
Sift icing sugar with cocoa into a small bowl and add 1 1/2 tsp water to make a thick icing, if the icing is too thick to pipe add more water in 1/4 tsp increments. Spoon icing into a zip lock bag and cut a small hole in corner to make a piping bag. Use bag to draw a cross on the top of each muffin.

Hope you enjoy making these!
Rachie xo

March 24, 2011

Placenames for a dinner party!

I do like an occasion even if its just having friends over for dinner, and for me it's the details that can turn that dinner into a bit of a celebration!

Those little extras really can make your guests feel special, a lovely place setting, a unexpected cheese course or chocolates with dessert or perhaps a signature cocktail. One nice touch that I am a big fan of are place names. They can really make your dinner an event and they needn't be complicated or expensive. Here are some lovely ideas!

Not only do these mini cacti/succulents make a lovely place name holder they can also be used as favour for your guests to take home.

http://artfulbride.blogspot.com/2010/03/wedding-inspiration-of-day-diy-seating.html

These are so cute for your summer BBQ event or a relaxed alfresco dinner party.

http://www.bravobride.com/blog/tag/diy-place-card-ideas/

Love the use of apples as a place setting - so simple and can eally add a pop of colour to your table.

http://blissfultree.com/a-is-for-apple-shower/260

Finally these DIY birds nests made out of shredded paper and a quails egg are perfect for Easter and so elegant and you can always use chocolate eggs! Will be using this for my Easter table!

http://www.weddingobsession.com/2010/04/16/spring-zing-photoshoot-3/

Happy Thursday!

Rachie xo

March 23, 2011

The Blue Room

Blue is definitely having a moment - its everywhere! And I'm really loving its fresh look. The different shades can have such a dramatic impact on a room.

From this subtle light blue, such a calming spring like space!

decojournal.com

To this mid blue which is really bright and fun but still feels classic (We have a very similar table in our kitchen diner!)

my deco.com

To this dramatic navy. I love how it makes such a statement but when mixed with white still looks really fresh.

http://erinbrady14.blogspot.com/2010/04/dark-blue.html

And navy is the colour we have chosen for our study. It's still a work in progress, it actually had clouds painted on the walls when we moved in (!) and we have to finish putting up the coving before we paint but I promise I'll show you some pics soon.

And just to combat the fears that the well meaning family have - I know its a small room, I know its going to be dark, and I know navy is a bold choice but I have faith its going to look really fab!

I cant wait to share it with you soon!
Rachie xo

March 22, 2011

Pip Studio!

So I was doing a little bit of shopping in my home town this weekend and found myself browsing in Lakeland. Now although Lakeland isn't particularly known for its stylish crockery I do like a browse especially at the baking goodies :-) It always inspires me.

Anyway something literally made me stop in my tracks. This lovely cake stand!

Pip Studio

It's from Pip Studio. And although its very girlie for my normal taste - I just think its so pretty! I adore the combination of colours! They also had these beautiful cups and this great jug which is such a lovely shape -don't you think?

Pip Studio

Anyway so I just had to check out the website and they don't just do crockery - Oh no! There is a veritable treasure trove of goodies, and here is my selection. I think that bedding is calling my name and that table cloth would be totally perfect to use in the garden this summer!

Pip Studio

Pip studio is also available online and from a number of different retail outlets including here and here.

Happy Tuesday

Rachie xo

March 21, 2011

Travel themed wedding

I totally swooned when i came across this beautiful wedding at Erins Heart Court Photography. There are so many stunning details that i really struggled to choose which ones to post so do go over and have a look here to view them all. I guarantee you will love them!

The aspect i like the most is how they have taken a theme and executed it so subtly with a beautiful colour palate of whites and light blues. Its so pretty!

The table plan is such a gorgeous idea. Love the flags

Its the attention to detail that grabs me - how they have decorated the lanterns, the elegant table settings and the letters and luggage tags at each place.