Archive for July, 2009
Our Big Announcement: NOT
Ok, so speculation about our major upcoming announcement has gotten quite interesting (and maybe accurate… then again maybe not). Just read the comments on this post and this post to see the rumors swirl. We know we’re being big teases, so we figured we’d offer up a way to help tide some of you over through the weekend. Starting right now, we’ll begin narrowing down the list of possible announcements by revealing what’s NOT happening (process-of-elimination-style) on our Twitter feed and Facebook fan page over the weekend so you’ll hopefully get a clearer picture as we tick things off left and right.
We won’t be posting any other clues here on the blog (and heck, with all that tweeting and status updating going on we probably won’t be posting anything again ’til Monday’s big announcement anyways).
So here’s your first eliminated possibility, courtesy of jbhat’s guess which stipulated that perhaps Burger is expecting. Our reply: Burger is NOT expecting puppies. He is in fact, a neutered male chihuahua who doesn’t even do the leg hump thing (sorry ladies). Please see Exhibit A below for additional “evidence”:
But we know it was a sarcastic guess, so this answer might not count as any real revelation so we’ll move on to divulge a bit more: Burger’s NOT getting a canine brother or sister either. That’s a definite possibility someday (if Burger would stop being so darn anti-social) but for now we’ll leave you with that NOT clue.
So for those of you who can’t wait til Monday, just click over to follow us on Twitter or fan us on Facebook for more juicy details later today and even throughout the weekend.
Wedding Week II: Where We Almost Tied The Knot
By now you all know that we had our wedding right here at Casa Petersik, but we actually booked a real venue right after we got engaged (before we ever laid eyes on our brick ranch). Of course as soon as we saw our future home we desperately begged for our deposit back (since it was still over a year in advance) and the venue generously handed back every last cent. We were super excited to take on an at-home wedding (you know we love a good DIY project) but we must admit that our first planned wedding location was pretty sweet too. So we stopped by two years later to take a walk down memory lane (and snag some photos to share with you guys). Without further ado we bring you the place where we almost got married: Stony Point School.
It’s a lovely little private school housed in a historic tudor mansion complete with amazing herringbone-patterned bricks, a slate roof and even a charming little breezeway.
Around back, just beyond that sweet little breezeway is a gorgeous green expanse of lush lawn to accommodate an outdoor ceremony, a tented reception, a patio for a swanky little cocktail hour and even some charming old brick walkways and other delicious details that had us at hello.
Here’s one of those sweet brick walkways that leads from the patio area down to the grassy lawn.
And look at this amazing brick archway covered in creeping ivy. Can you imagine the wedding pictures we could have taken with this backdrop?
Probably the most magical feature was this tree-lined path that ran parallel to the lush lawn. We pictured setting up a few “attractions” in this area just left of the reception tent (maybe our photo clothesline and a yellow & green themed candy bar could have made an appearance?).
And just look at this brick & slate birdhouse atop one of the brick walls that ran along the side of the yard. Have you ever seen such fabulous digs for a bird? It was details like this that made us fall fast and hard for this one-of-a-kind location.
Here’s another spot that would have been a killer photo backdrop. Who wouldn’t want to pose in front of that iron ivy-riddled gate? So green and gorgeous!
And here’s that amazing tree-lined path from the other direction. This really was our favorite feature of the entire venue. See that light steaming through the trees? It really is a magical little spot.
But even without the brick birdhouse and the rest of the amazing private school scenery, we still think our backyard wedding was the bee’s knees (and of course we saved some money by having it at home instead):
Everything happens for a reason, right? And maybe sharing this little Stony Point School shout-out will help a few engaged locals find the wedding location of their dreams!
What about you guys. Any almost-wedding locations that you pulled out of way ahead of time (or just days before?). Is there anyone else who has considered getting married at a school or a private home? Do tell.
p.s. Remember our BIIIIIIG ANNOUNCEMENT? Well, we’re dropping the bomb no later than Monday so stay tuned…
Budget Blooms: Lily Lovin’
I’m back to share my monthly bouquet (a super sweet Christmas present from the hubs). And just like last month’s roundup of roses, this month’s blooms didn’t hail from the grocery store at all. In lieu of the normal $3-5 bouquet, we spent nada and headed out the back door to clip some white lilies for a quick little display in our sunroom. Here they are adding some life to a collection of vases and recycled beverage and wine bottles (some which are left over from our wedding):
I love the big white petals and the chocolate polka dots that seem to hover above each bloom.
I’ve also noticed that we seem to especially love putting our budget bouquets in different vases and locations for a totally new effect each time around. While last month’s collection cheered up the living room, our new arrangement greets us at the door (we park in the back and enter through the sunroom so we get to see ‘em coming and going). It’s also nice to remember that anything can be a vase (so save those Pellegrino bottles and old toothbrush holders!).
What about you guys? Have you clipped any happy little flowers courtesy of your backyard or rescued any bouquets from your local grocery store? We’d love to know what blooms are tickling your fancy these days- and what free fauna your backyard is yielding now that summer is in full effect.
Wanna see our first grocery store bouquet from January? Itching to check out February, March, April, May and June too? Just follow the links for some pretty sweet cheap-o bouquets.
Delight Box Freebie Winners!
I think we should ask you to share your weird gift stories more often because your comments on our Delight.com giveaway were HILARIOUS. We know they say “it’s the thought that counts,” but some of your odd presents (breast milk? really?) sure made us wonder what your friends, grandmas, husbands, and parents were thinking. And yes, some of you were very clever in predicting that the quirkiest gift you’ll ever receive will be this week’s toolbox prize.
But even if you’re not one of the two lucky winners, everyone can enjoy 20% off their next purchase at Delight.com. Just enter “YoungHouse” at checkout (that’s case sensitive, btw) between today and next Thursday, July 16th to get the special discount. Thanks Delight!
Ok, I’ve been enough of a tease. We consulted random.org and have picked two winners to receive their choice of Alice Supply Co. Modern toolboxes. They are… Sarah (the “crazy cat lady”) and Carolyn (the proud owner of an “egg beheader”). Congrats! We’re looking forward to hearing which design you each choose.
We hope the rest of you toolbox hungry folks will put that 20% off code to good use this week. And for next week we’ve got another freebie lined up that could be described as a barrel of laughs, but that’d only be 50% accurate. Stay tuned…
Get more info on our freebies at our Giveaway FAQs page. Images courtesy of Delight.com.
Wedding Week II: Anniversary Traditions
One unfortunate fact about our wedding is that it flew by so fast that we barely touched our food. Which means we never really got to stop and enjoy the DIY grub (perhaps our most daring feat was completely nixing the idea of a caterer in favor of taking on the entire wedding menu ourselves… well it was either daring or just plain crazy, you decide).
So when our one year anniversary approached last July, we initially thought we’d get dressed up and go out to a nice dinner (maybe I’d even wear my dyed wedding dress). Until my sweet hubs tossed out the lets-recreate-our-backyard-wedding-and-finally-enjoy-the-food-at-home idea. It seemed fitting since we got married in our backyard that we’d throw some food on the grill and pick up a few side dishes to recreate that special night a year later (we’re lucky to own our wedding venue, so it’s easier to relive the fun). First we snapped this corny little photo under the arch where we said our vows (which we moved from the middle of the yard to the entrance to the back woods after the big day):
Then we got to work enjoying a dinner that very closely resembled the one our guests enjoyed in that very spot exactly a year ago. Of the three entrees that we offered up, we chose the blue cheese angus burgers with parmesan caesar dressing and added some other wedding-day fare (lemon pepper potato chips and rotini salad) to round things out:
But what about a fitting drink to accompany our marital meal? Leading up to the wedding we saved up a bunch of wine and beverage bottles. Instead of big plastic pitchers, we wanted the chic look of glass so we asked a local wine retailer to save old bottles for us (leftover from their weekly wine tastings and totally f-r-e-e). Once at home we made sure they were squeaky clean and hand labeled ‘em with a sharpie (which never rubbed off or faded in case you’re wondering). We used all the green bottles to hold water, brown bottles for sweet tea and clear ones for homemade mint lemonade (fresh mint + lemonade= yum). Of course we also had many bottles of red and white wine on hand along with some of those cute vintage glass bottles of coca-cola. We really think making the effort to avoid cans and plastic kept things looking clean and classic…
…but in our anniversary recreation we took a shortcut and enjoyed a refreshing can of Fresca instead:
If this picture doesn’t aptly demonstrate how deeelicious it was, I don’t know what will:
And you may notice the lemon-&-lime-riddled napkin that I’m using to delicately dab my lips. Well, a year later we still had leftover napkins laying around, so that part of the recreation was easy (here they are in place on the tables 365 days earlier):
Then it was time to enjoy our wedding cupcakes. The night of our nuptials, we placed two of them in wax paper and then slipped them into a tupperware container which we stored in the freezer for the following year. And just like enjoying wedding cake on your first anniversary, those cupcakes were just as good (really, they took really well to bring frozen!).
And our one-year anniversary night wouldn’t have been complete without taking a ride to a nearby diner to recreate our wedding night photobooth experience in their booth for $3 (we like to snag a photostrip to commemorate lots of special days and store them in a cup on our open shelves in the dining room):
So that’s our little first year anniversary tradition- but what did we do to celebrate our second one on Tuesday? Well, we considered making the at-home BBQ recreation an annual tradition, but then my sweet hubby suggested that we enjoy a tasty meal at Brio, the deeelicious Italian restaurant where we had a lovely little rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding.
Here’s we are stuffed to the gills after our delicious anniversary meal:
Of course before we left we remembered to snap a few photos in the backyard (this time we posed in front of the hedges where our family portraits took place):
Then after dinner we capped things off with another photobooth pic at that diner downtown:
So that’s how we spent our last two anniversaries. What about you guys? Do you do anything fun each year when it comes to celebrating yours?
To learn more about how we DIYed our wedding food for an upscale backyard experience, check out the details in our wedding album.
p.s. We have a HUUUUUUUUGE ANNOUNCEMENT coming in just a few days so stay tuned!
