Friday, January 13, 2012

A rustic Maine wedding

To me, Maine will always be home. So, when Alf and I were searching for a venue for our September 2011 wedding, it wasn't a surprise that we gravitated toward those in Maine. After a couple of stressful weeks (mostly because every place we liked was already booked), we found the ideal location: Kingsley Pines in Raymond. A summer camp on Panther Pond, Kingsley Pines had everything we were looking for: rustic appeal, on the water, private (we rented the entire venue for four days!), guest cabins (that could sleep up to 200), lush and gorgeous grounds, and all the firewood we could possibly ever need for unlimited bonfires. What really made our wedding weekend even more amazing was the staff.  Drew Taylor, whose family owns the venue and who is the current manager, was incredibly welcoming, gracious, and funny. His staff followed suit. We couldn't have asked for a more amazing weekend - even the rain cooperated. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

invitations: Courtney Jo Schoenbaechler
photographer: Jeffery Harmon Photography with Kelly Berezansky
caterer: The Black Tie Company 
planning & design: h&a happenings

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Well, hello 2012

I'm not sure how it happened, but 2012 certainly arrived a LOT quicker than I expected. I wasn't ready, and now that it's here, I feel like I've been thrown into things on fast forward!

Anyway, I'm usually not a resolution kind of girl (mostly because I hate not being able to cross them off my to-do list if I fail to do them), but I do have a few things in mind that I'd like to accomplish this year:
  • Finish sending out my wedding thank you notes (this keeps me up at night, actually)
  • Paint my living room
  • Update my wardrobe (this is a necessity, really)
  • Sew, sew, sew!
  • Eat less cheese
  • Make a sectional sofa (yes, make)
  • Find an oval coffee table that isn't made of glass
  • Organize all my digital photos and make some photo books
  • Dye my hair red
One thing that I do like to do every new year is reflect on some of the amazing things that happened to me the previous year. So, 2011, I'd like to thank you for these awe-inspiring moments:
  1. I got married (to one of the most incredible human beings I've ever known)!
  2. I launched h&a happenings!!!
  3. We got our dog, Roscoe, to gain weight
  4. My grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary
  5. My grandfather (who turned 80 this year) had a heart procedure that was very successful
  6. My mother lost more than 40 pounds (go Mom!!!)
  7. I read 50 books
  8. My husband (who got laid off in April) found a job!
  9. We had four Christmas trees in our 900 square foot condo
  10. I had Twitter conversation with Donal Logue (aka Jimmy the Cab Driver and Agent Tom Colton)