Letterpressed Physician

So if you been following my tweets from the weekend, you'll know that the Mr. is officially a Dr. 

I am so thrilled and proud of him.  I remember 4 years ago when I attended his White Coat ceremony and wondered if I would still be a part of his life to see his actual graduation.  Lucky for me, not only did I get to see his graduation, I got to see it as his Mrs.

This is a classic photo face for us. Don't be alarmed.

So what do you give the graduate?  We had a little cook-out complete with ice cream cake {requested by the new Dr and designed by Bruster's}

But I also wanted to get him something special.  My parents already gave him this awesome vintage army watch from J.Crew.

 

 

photo via J.Crew

So sticking with the vintage theme, I got him this fab vintage Doctor's Bag from Etsy seller: OdaraElle

I also got fellow blogger and one of my besties, Christen from Fashionplate Cheapskate to get her mom {Oopsy Daisy} to monogram a piece of fabric saying, " Dr. Blake Perry" so that I could adhere it to the inside of his bag.  Unfortunately, the first thing the future Dr. did was zip up the bag and lock it before I could tell him that I didn't have the key!?! 

I didn't want to stop there, so  I also wanted to get him his own personal stationary.  I haven't done much stationary that is focused for a man, so I knew before I tried to redesign that medical degree into personal stationary I should just keep it simple.  One color on a cream paper.  I also wanted it to be extra special, so I contacted my friend Jenny of Press Charming to letterpress my design. I love letterpress!! It takes everything up a notch.


Here's my design and here is my design "letterpressed" complete with the bag {locked}, his stationary and his monogram.

Know any good locksmith's?

The Secret Garden

Remember when my J.Crew catalog came in the mail and we took that trip to the Hamptons a few posts ago?  Well, my Pottery Barn catalog came in the mail this week and it's all about the "Inspired Garden."  After flipping a few pages into it, I was already whisked away into a fantasy land of the perfect patio.

This is about all we are working with at our little place.  Two iron chairs under one tree.  Which most recently, our landlord pruned so it doesn't even have branches right now.

But what if we had this instead:

photo via Pottery Barn

I would hop online and purchase a copy of The Secret Garden on Amazon.com for only $6.99 or download it to my Kindle for free!  Curl up on my Pottery Barn Trellis Bench for only $749 and soak in the warm sunshine in my own Secret Garden. 

Top Left:  Pottery Barn outdoor pillow for $32
Bottom Left: Pottery Barn wooden laterns from $49 to $99
Top Right: Rikshaw Design Classic Women's Kurtas for $70
Bottom Right: Southern Living Garden Menu consisting of : Honey Biscuits, Pesto Goat Cheese, Cucumber-Salmon Watercress Sandwiches, Fresh Lemonade and From the Heart Petits Fours
Bottom Row: Anthropologie Fleur De Lys Juice glasses for $6

You're invited to join me! Hey, maybe I could redesign that Secret Garden into a Spring Brunch invite. I'd use the lovely color scheme from those Anthropologie glasses of orange, green and pink with the laidback style from both Pottery Barn and Rikshaw Design to create the perfect invite.

I couldn't decide so I made two different invites. This one incorporates the arch and latern.

 

Now if only this rain would go away and we could actually sit outside and enjoy the season.  Do you have a favorite design?

Anchors Away

The new j.crew catalog came in the mail yesterday.  Every time it drops through my mail slot it transports me to another world.  If I had to pick one catalog that I wanted to live in, I think it would be j.crew.

I flipped it open and immediately my eyes were drawn to this nautical little number. I feel like I have been trying to find this dress every summer and luckily here it is!

photo via my scanner and j.crew's February catalog

For $78 I could purchase  the proclaimed "see-worthy" Maritime Dress and set sail with that darling man in the khaki pants, which hopefully in my j.crew lifestyle would be my husband considering I think he owns those exact pants already.

But why stop there! Let's pretend in my j.crew fantasy world, we also own this amazing Beachside cottage.

photos via House Beautiful

 And we are going to invite you and several of our charming friends over to kick-off the summer in style.  I would buy this delicate little anchor necklace that only cost $6.99 on Amazon.com. Yes, I am still being thrifty even when I live in j. crew world!

photo via Amazon.com

So pack your weekender bag. What's that? You don't have one? Perhaps this affordable tote from Brooks Brothers. It'll only set you back a whopping $35.20! I love a good sale.

photo via Brooks Brothers

Bring these bright wellies just in case it rains. Target has them online for $19.99! And come on over!

photo via Target

Okay sorry I have snapped back to reality.  It is still January and has been drizzling a cool wet rain all day.  But maybe I could redesign that whole j.crew dream world into a great little summer party invitation! Complete with clean, crisp lines, anchors, & red, white and blues!

Well my SS Reality has come back into port and I am pretty sure I have some laundry to fold and dishes to wash!