Happy Mother’s Day, to both of my moms

05.12.13

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom, from your six kids. That’s right SIX KIDS. Thanks for the natural births, piano lessons since we were three, 4-H where we learned to sew our own clothes, and most importantly instilling a moral compass that is at times annoyingly unshakeable.

the starke family

Here are the six kids without significant others (Brian didn’t get in ’til later that day) at my little sis’s wedding. I don’t know why we posed like that. I’ll go ahead and blame it on our mother for raising us to be total weirdos.

starke family

And there we are with all the little adorable grandkids in tow at our family reunion in Wyoming, two years ago. She now has eight grandkids who adore the heck out of her.

I know I JUST posted this photo (below) last week, but I do love it so much, and my mom looks so pretty and happy in it, with her all matching, dressed-up kids. (I’m the baby on the lap.)

starke family

May I give my children the childhood that I was lucky enough to have thanks to my parents. Thanks Mom, for raising me to be incredibly productive, if not obsessive — I know I got that from her. Meanwhile, I’m not as empathetic, charitable, or as selfless as she is, but I’m hoping that maybe I will be some day. Love you, Mom.

Happy Mother’s Day to Brian’s mom, Suz. I couldn’t possibly have asked for a better mother-in-law. I’ve been in their family since I was 21 (four years now :)) and couldn’t feel more at home in their home and with them, where I am right now. :)

Brian Henderson and parents

Off to brunch where we’ll toast to how wonderfully she (and Bob) raised Brian. I would have married him strictly for his looks and chest hair, but the fact that he is crazy nice, respectful, considerate, and charming is probably all due to his mom, Suz. So thank you. I truly won the parents-in-law lottery. Totally priceless.

30 Best Easter Egg DIYs

03.27.13

best easter egg DIY

If aliens were looking down on earth this week they might think that human beings were certifiably disgusting creatures. I mean, we take the shells of unborn babies, which came from the chicken’s special parts, and force our children to blow them empty, dip them in colorful water, and play hide and go seek with them. Luckily for us, though, there are a lot of even more insane Easter options out there — all of which I want to do, none of which I probably will … until I have kids. Here are my top 30 DIY Easter egg ideas. Thank you so much Tessa for doing the research and putting this post together. And thank you all you Easter egg DIY genius’ out there. Nice job, friends.

gold easter eggs

1.By Kelly of Fabulous K   2.  She Knows    3.  Studio and Charm Blog   4. By Claire Thomas of The Kitchy Kitchen  5. Oleander and Palm  6.  Studio DIY  7.  Oh Happy Day

easter egg diy

9. By Chelsea of Lovely Indeed: One & Two   10. The Alison Show  11. Lovely Indeed  12. La Papier Studio 13.  14. By Chelsea of Lovely Indeed: One & Two  15. VK 16. By Teri & Jenny of Spoon Fork Bacon

black/white easter egg

18. Obviously Sweet  19. Bon Appetit  21. Paper & Stitch  22. Martha Stewart  23. Decor 8  24. B for Bel

diy easter

26. Design Sponge  27. A Daily Something 28. Joy Ever After  29. The Alison Show  30. Yummy Mummy Kitchen

Which one is your favorite? I’m tied between 7, 16, 18 and 26. I need children immediately because Brian and The Bear certainly aren’t lining up to get their Martha on this weekend, and after trying to choose my favorite I realized how much in fact I want to make some of these. I Dye.

Holiday Mantel Contest Winners!!!

01.01.13

I know, I know. Looking at holiday mantels on January 1st is like celebrating Halloween on November 11th; what is normally fun and festive turns to just kinda weird almost overnight. But stare at mantels we must for one more day because soooo many people entered so many amazing mantels in the holiday mantel styling contest on my facebook page. The contest ended New Years Eve at 11:59 pm (last night) so it’s time to announce the winners and send them their prizes, which include my favorite brass trunk side table as well as four other great vintage pieces.

Congratulations Kristen Russell Jackson, your beautiful mantel won the mantel challenge with the most popular votes. I love how bright, fresh, and modern it is, but totally warm and inviting at the same time. And clearly the mirror, chandelier, and the wood cuts in your fireplace didn’t hurt.

But there was more than one winner, my friends.  Kristen won the popular vote, but then I got to pick my other favorites and there were a ton that I really liked for different reasons.

This one below, by Trisha Olsen Phillips, is such a great modern traditional mantel. I love the wire Christmas tree ornament situation and the sweet pearls. When country/traditional is done right it is just so warm and inviting.

I love this one below from Brianna. So clean, fresh and bright with a great simple color palette of white, gold, and pops of red. Nice nice job Brianna Webb.

This one below is the best traditional color palette, totally pretty and modern, but with a trad/country bent. Nice job Laurie Chattin Jones.

Best DIY/inexpensive mantel by Melissa Lee:

I love how Melissa thought outside of the box, and created a mantel that is fresh and young and totally approachable. The composition is great and its festive and fun. I think that was a cotton ball garland, which is just so simple and kinda “why not?”

Kate Riley from Centsational Girl totally killed it. It might be my favorite, but I don’t want people to think that she is my favorite because we have worked together and I’m a fan of hers. But CLEARLY her mantel and living room was SOOOO beautiful.

Alice Patterson’s mantel, below, is such a sweet, simple, and well executed mix of vintage glam and rustic.

Last but not least, I love this “moment” below if you will. It’s not a mantel, but as you know it didn’t have to be because Emily Henderson does not discriminate against mantel-less people. So Dabney Frake did a great job of mixing some very stylish pieces together to create a very festive little photo. Nice job.

UPDATE:

Sorry I didn’t properly finish this post. Had an emergency room run that lasted the WHOLE day today, so I published it on the way out the door — and yes, it’s still up in the air whether I have Appendicitis or just bad gas. I’m not kidding. I know that I should hope it’s just gas, but man that is intensely embarrassing. :)

Anyway, yes there are seven winners and all seven will get prizes. I’m still picking out the prizes and buying some in Portland, but meanwhile I need addresses emailed to emilyhenderson at me dot com and I’ll pop them all in the mail next week when I get back!

Congratulations to everyone, and thank you sooooo much EVERYONE, every single participant, for styling your mantels all pretty and entering the contest.  I’m definitely curious what your feedback was and what contest you would love to do next or what giveaways you would love it win.

Happy happy happy new year.  Thank you so much for reading along, supporting, watching and commenting. You have no idea what it means to me.

And to all a good night

12.26.12

Wishing all of you and yours the merriest of days.

Here’s a video from our holiday dinner party  we had a while ago. It’s never too soon to relive some fun.

Video by Kasandra Baruch. Thank you soooo much!

Don’t forget that you have ’til New Year’s Eve to enter the mantel styling contest to win a dope ass vintage brass trunk side table. We have 122 entries already, and some are pretty awesome. All you have to do is upload a photo of your mantel. That’s it. Then people vote and I pick = five winners total.

Off to pack for my trip — Portland, I’m looking at you.

Best Thanksgiving Tablescapes

11.13.12

It’s that time of year where we put turkeys on everything, including our hips. I’ve been trolling for good DIY stuff but then I kept coming across all these beautiful not-so-DIY tablescapes, which I figured never hurts to share. A turkey can always dream, right?

For the first one all you need is:

A prop stylist to prep it for three days (around $500 a day, some more, some less), a food stylist for one prep, one shoot @ $500/day, $500 in food, $1500 in props, an exotic location rental @ $2500/day, an amazing editorial photographer ($1500 a day at LEAST), two PA’s, an art director and photo editor.

DIY it!!!


From Gourmet Magazine. May it rest in peace. Still one of my most favorite magazines even though I didn’t cook. Their spreads were just insanely beautifully shot and styled.

 

She-n-he photography

This one is WAY more approachable. It’s burlap (which is under $5 a yard) with pretty brass candlesticks that you can get at thrift stores across america for $1 to $3. Still rustic and warm and all thanksgiving-y.

 

styled by Scott Horne

 You don’t need to orange to say thanks. This table, styled by one of my best friends Scott Horne, is all moody and cozy and beautiful with the dark purple and black accents on that rich wood table. Yes. I’ve loved this shot for four years and I continue to love it. Shot by Kate Mathis, who is amazing.

via Bon Appetit

Green, orange, white with hits of black? I wouldn’t have thought of it, but YES, it’s beautiful. The natural elements keeps it feeling warm while the modern elements give it an edge.

via Elle Decor

Those white gourds are simple and fresh, but still say “thanks.”  This one needs some warmth, candlelight, or another dark color but it is BEAUTIFUL.

I’m rounding up the best DIY thanksgiving decor right now, which is why and how I found all these very much not-so-DIY Thanksgiving tablescapes. So stay tuned for all the ideas you can actually do. Meanwhile, which one would you do?