hola nola!

mark is working on his sophomore album 'smile' (appropriately enough).  it's going to be a pop record with a nod to his favorite artists from the 1980s, including phil collins, steve winwood  and rod stewart.  he has been compared to rod stewart by both legendary bass player lee sklar and more recently, sax player jerry jumonville; both session players who played on stewart's records.

mark has been traveling to new orleans to work with his producer wren lemieux.  they are co-writing and co-producing this adult contemporary album, which will be mastered by sought-after mastering engineer gavin lurssen.  lurssen is credited with working with foo fighters, queens of the stone age and elton john, to name a few.

the album debuts mid-2015 and will be available on iTunes.  as usual, mark will give his patients a signed copy.

to check out more of mark's music, please visit marklassitermusic.com.  to check out his dentistry, please visit rockasmile.com   oh, and the video to my song 'you're my favorite' is now available on you tube, check it out!

DIY personalized napkins

if you follow me on instagram, you'll recognize this picture i posted yesterday.  mark and i eloped on july 4th, but are having a party 'reception' at our home on saturday.  i wanted to jazz up simple paper napkins and have a very easy DIY project to share with you.  it took me less than an hour to make 150 of these super cute cocktail napkins for our guests...

items you will need:
paper napkins in your choice of color
one personalized hand-held embosser

 

i ordered my embosser from customembosserpro.com.  i chose a 2" round monogram style.  it arrived 2 days after my order was placed and they have tons of styles to choose from.  it's a small investment, but you'll have this forever and can use it over and over again.  my napkins came from party city :)

now to the embossing part.  make sure you choose a bottom loaded embosser position for this to work properly.  to keep the location of my monogram consistent, i lined up the embossing plate with the bottom and right side of my napkin.  press and repeat; yes it's that simple.

i think details are what make things special and this is an easy way to elevate something ordinary.  if you try it, share your pics, i'd love to see them!

how we met...

mark and i are newlyweds, more on that later...  for now, we thought it'd be fun to share the story of how we met.  for most professional adults these days, online dating is the norm, especially if you have children.  i signed up for a match.com account after some coaxing from friends.  forty miles away, mark was doing some research of his own on match.com.  turns out, he was very specific in what he was looking for, a brunette with blue eyes and 5'-5" in height.  when my picture came across his computer, he immediately winked at me.  something you should know before i go any further, i've been obsessed with teeth my entire life.  you can ask anyone who grew up with me, it's the truth.  so...when the 'wink' came across my computer, i first looked at his pictures (let's be honest) and then read his profile.  the first thing i noticed was his smile, and the fact that the stats he was looking for were an identical match to me!  i said to myself, 'hey, that's me!' no joke :)  the fact he was a dentist about put me over the edge, i told you, total teeth freak here!  i was interested, so i winked back.

we had our first date within a week, back in may of 2012, and we haven't turned back.  we were engaged 3 months later, and were married on july 4th of this year.  it's special to us that we share the same anniversary as my grandparents and great-grandparents.  our wedding day was my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary.  we didn't tell anyone, it was a small ceremony at home with my two boys and some friends for witnesses.  we're in the process of planning our reception that's coming up at the end of august.  

mark and i work hard on our relationship.  we understand what each other's needs and wants are, and have a vision for our future.  we are blessed everyday to be together and we've already done so many incredible and exciting things.  we've traveled to england for my work, hung out with the wallflowers and foo fighters, grown together in our businesses, and are raising seven children together.  we've created a life based on intention, we want to experience everything it has to offer.

life doesn't get much better than this...

personalized jewelry

while getting my hair done this morning, i saw a fab bracelet in the latest marie claire magazine.  i saved the source site and have been perusing it over lunch.  i'm completely smitten!  check out cwonder an awesome collection of jewelry, home goodies, accessories and more.  

i keep my jewelry pretty simple.  engagement ring on the left hand, gold stacking rings on the right hand, an occasional bracelet, and stud earrings everyday.  when i saw these on cwonder, they had to be mine.

who doesn't love a little personalization now and then?  these come in different enamel colors, depending on your initial AND there's a matching bracelet.  of course i got the bracelet too...

super excited for these goodies to arrive.  i know these studs will be my new go-to for everyday wear.  my next purchase will have to be those herringbone and lattice plates, i'm obsessed with any graphic pattern for my tabletop.

plunging neckline trend

as i assume most women were, i was completely smitten with the wardrobe of amy adams in american hustle.  the 70's attire is SO feminine and i love it! not saying i can pull it off, just that i love it.  

while perusing one of my favorite shops, forever 21, i stumbled across this stunning dress.  the color is amazing and the silhouette speaks for itself...  but would i have the guts to wear it out in public?!  i read the reviews and everyone was raving, so i decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. i decided to order it in two sizes, just to be safe, and told myself this would be a dress that was for vacations only.   

i was so excited when the dress arrived, and i quickly tried it on.  i love it, but think i'm definitely going to use fashion tape to ensure there are no mishaps!  it's funny, but when i put it on, it was an instant confidence booster.  it definitely makes a statement, just keep it classy. i think i'll style it with a chunky necklace to fill up some skin area.  

i'm really excited to wear this on vacation this summer.  if you can't be a little adventurous when you're out of town, when can you be?

what do you think of the trend?  have you tried it yet?      

    

gold polka dot love!

i love polka dots; always have, always will. they seem to be everywhere on everything these days and i'm really drawn to all the gold polka dots out there.  take a look at some of my personal favs.

and how adorable are these leggings from sugarplum lane

or this cute little DIY project from diy center

even west elm has this dot inlay side table

i love my boden heels, so chic!

and of course, my jcrew sweater...

how do you do dots?

i'm pulling the trigger!

i've been blogging for my interior design firm evaru, for a couple years now.  i've really gotten into writing and wanted a place i could write about more than just interior design projects, products and installs.  i finally decided to go for it and start a personal blog; lovingly referred to as 'life at 1824.'  be prepared to see content ranging from diy projects to makeup reviews, and of course pictures of my adorable little family.  thanks for stopping by...