a trip to remember

i'm back from a very awesome and memorable trip to the netherlands and paris! when my friend alicia asked me to join her on a trip to visit family in the netherlands, i could not decline. while planning the trip i found out that florance + the machine (whom i am in love with) would be in paris around the time we would be in the netherlands....so we decided to take the train to paris and wander the city for a few days. here are some of my favorite photos and memories from our trip.

amsterdam.

mmmmm....i couldn't get enough of their mint tea. i'm completely obsessed now!

i loved all the beautiful flower markets in the netherlands, they were on every corner.

her family lived in a quint little town called santpoort zuid. they were the most sweetest family! we both agreed that are time with them was our favorite part of the trip. kb would cook three courses meals for us every night and wine, lots of wine! the tastiest food we had during our vacation was kb's dinners. oh and they had the cutest dog named kick and cat named pues that liked to go on walks.

i loved both the new and old architecture in the netherlands....they mix the two so seamlessly. there were very little eye sores. we spent sometime walking around the beautiful vondelpark in amsterdam.

 and i could not stop taking pictures of this herringbone stone road...it was pretty awesome. 

my favorite moment i captured in amsterdam. how cute are these dogs and i just got lucky with the way the tree and buildings behind reflected off the glass.

and now we are in paris! what's not to love.

arc de triomphe

notre dame

&

the louvre

when in paris, you have to have macaroons and tea! my favorite macaroon was rose petal, so yummy. and alicia well, she was obsessed with her raspberry sorbet.

we found a vegetarian restaurant while walking around paris, so of course, we had to stop and eat!

on our last day, we put a love lock on a bridge in paris.

paris in the evening is quite beautiful.

we had the most magical ending to our trip, on the last night we saw florance + the machine!

and lastly, my favorite photo from paris. jose snuck this sweet card into my suitcase.....i took a picture of it in front of the eiffel tower and sent it to him :).

♥. b-real

bon voyage

i'm all packed and ready to make my journey to the netherlands and france:) can't wait to share my trip with you when i get back.

p.s. how do you like my new travel bag that jose got me from ruche....i love it!

talk to you soon!

♥. b-real

flower arranging

i just recently had the opportunity to join up with a fellow designer/friend stephanie irwin to design and make flower arrangements for an awards ceremony. the ceremony was for the commercial real estate group here in jacksonville called NAIOP.

when planning we used mostly greenery with touches of classic white tulips and pops of yellow. we both were extremely happy with the results and more importantly everyone at the event loved them!

can't wait for our next event! 

♥. b-real

my new kicks

just because valentine's day is over doesn't mean you have to put away those super cute girly things, like my new toms. i love them so....

happy friday!

♥. b-real

valentine's day

happy valentine's day! i just love this cute little commercialized holiday oh so much! we are keeping with our v-day card tradition - yr #3.

after we took our valentine's photo i decide to get a little creative alone with my camera. i learn something new every time i do a little photoshoot!

hope you have a wonderful day filled with lots of love.

♥. b-real

masque noir - pictures

here are the pictures from the 333nye: masque noir party at moca jacksonville. the entire event was fabulous....i'm glad i was able to be apart of it!

mood committee: myself, kelly peck, casie simpson design studio & the conservatorie

photographer: leah macwilliam

cupcakes: sweet by holly

if you missed my past posts on the design concept click here and here.

and lastly, jose and i hanging out in one of the nooks.

♥. b-real

kelly green

i just completed my first furniture renovation of the 2012!

my dear friend asked if i could refinish this dresser for her soon to be baby boy. she selected a kelly green, found these cute button knobs and left the rest in my hands. i love the finished result and from the sounds of it they do too!

 before

after 

the nursery that this dresser will call home is going to be so cute....she has fabulous taste and i hope to share pictures once it is complete.

have a wonderful weekend!

♥. b-real

nye attire

happy 2012!

along with being on the mood committee for the nye event at moca i made my outfit for the event. if you remember me telling you the theme was venetian masquerade. i found a dress at an estate sale for $5...all the sequins were hand sewn, so pretty and exactly what i wanted! the only problem, it was too short. so i enlisted the help of my mom. we designed a train for the dress in a navy blue fabric. i handmade rosettes out of the same fabric to add as embellishments. and my mom made me a shawl with the fabric to bring it all together. for two women that have great ideas but are not seamstress it turned out beautiful!

i also made my mask...which was a lot of fun. i bought a mask that had a simple black fabric then i created a lace pattern on the mask by using lace and spray paint. i love this look and it was so easy. i learned this little trick from my friend kelly who did this on coasters. next, i added beads, glitter and created an asymmetrical accent out of tulle to finish the mask off.

i have a lot to share with you once i get the pictures back from the event. it turned out awesome and i'm so happy to have had the opportunity to join the mood committee and put my design skills to the test.

♥. b-real

bow making

happy christmas eve. hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

every year i try to make my gift wrapping out of something recycled. this year i made the bows with magazine clippings. they turned out super cute and were so easy to make...click to here to see the tutorial i followed.

♥. b-real

winter garden

i just pulled my first leafy head of lettuce from the garden this week. yum yum. i'm growing a variety of lettuces, spinach, beets, parsnips and peppers.

♥. b-real

happy thanksgiving

i'm having jose's parents over for dinner tonight....for the first time!!! lots to do so i will keep this short and sweet. i hope you a wonderful thanksgiving filled with lots of family and friend time.

♥. b-real

i see

i seem to keep things that i think will come back in style and that i might wear again later in life. my sister came over the other day and couldn't believe all the things i've kept from when we were young. and well and i guess my eyeglasses were one of those things. i was missing one pair, my very first pair (the little pink ones) and just found them at my parents house!...my collection is complete.

the evolution of my eyeglasses....my first pair seem a lot like the red ones i wear now. i can't wait for the really round glasses to come back in style....i'm totally going to rock the ones from middle school.

have a beautiful weekend!

♥. b-real

inspiration is flo'ing

hello there! i was super excited when i found out florence + the machine has come out with a new album!! i'm in love...she is insane. i had to post this video because it coincides so beautifully with the venetian masquerade new year's eve event i'm helping design.

this past weekend we had a workshop and made some awesome cardboard chandeliers for the event. i will share pictures soon.

♥. b-real

masque noir - part 2

last week i showed you my image boards for masque noir. this week i would like to share mine and kelly's concept for our main area of focus, which are the nooks. there is an intimate little niche under both sets of stairs that look out into the space. we are creating a cozy place for people to come and mingle. 

above is a floor plan which shows two different seating areas. one is using existing benches that the museum has as a base and building on top to create decorative backs for a romantic little get away . the other is an informal space where people can gather. we plan to use tree stumps as stools and high back antique chairs to create an eclectic area for conversation. below are two images that we are using for inspiration.

via: sweetie pie restaurant & martha stewart

we are also creating fun layering of textures with fabric that will swoop from the ceiling and recycled glass jars wrapped in yarn and lace that will hold candles. i will share photos and tutorials as we being to create these pieces....stay tuned.

have a beautiful weekend!

♥. b-real

masque noir

i got asked to be apart of the mood committee for this year's nye party at moca here in jacksonville and of course i said yes! this year's event is named masque noir with a venetian masquerade theme. with a tight budget most everything will be diy and with only two months away we have been brainstorming like crazy. below are my two image/mood boards. the other ladies also had awesome ideas and everyone is on the same creative wavelength! i can't wait to see it all come together. this past week we went further and provided sketches of the areas we are responsible for, i will share those next week.

i asked my friend/future business partner kelly to join the committee with me and these creative girls casie, meredith, amy, danielle and leah...:)

i didn't credit any of the images on my blog but you can check out my pinterest for image credits.

have a wonderful weekend!

♥. b-real