Cristina and her husband Oscar got married in Ecuador on a beach near their hometown of Salinas. I love that Cristina, a jewelry designer, created her own headpiece and knockout earrings, and I love all of the other personal and fabulous details throughout the whole day–bubbles and confetti thrown after the ceremony, plates and plates of delicate desserts at the poolside reception, the giant foil faceted pinata and of course the sparkler send-off for Cristina and Oscar as they made their getaway! It was an absolutely lovely day and a stunning ceremony–enjoy these photos from Clayton Austin that beautifully capture the magic of Cristina and Oscar’s celebration!

Finally, enjoy this video created by in.love.motion that masterfully documents Cristina and Oscar’s wedding celebration–I felt like I was watching a movie trailer for a tear-jerker! I totally got a tear in my eye–what a gorgeous and inspiring love.

Cristina’s bouquet is one of the most popular ones I’ve ever done–see more photos of the work up close in my original post here! You can also learn more about Cristina’s beautiful jewelry designs here on her website.

Congratulations again to Cristina and Oscar. Thank you for sharing a look into your exciting and gorgeous wedding day.

xo
meg

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I’ve been going to the gym every day now for about five weeks. I wasn’t going to talk a lot online about my weight loss goals because I feel like it’s one of those things that we all have, and we all talk about in the negative. What actually got me back into my cross trainers and out of the drive-thru were three things:

• My clothes–my clothes that I love to wear–didn’t fit anymore
• Watching The Biggest Loser on Hulu Plus
• Remembering about the existence of the steam room

I don’t have a scale, so I didn’t really have a number for my weight gain, but I knew it was there–the way my clothes fit. The way I looked in photos. The loss of energy. So I just got myself to go to the gym for one day. And I loved it. I love being able to watch tv and run. I love being able to increase the amount of weight I work with every few weeks because I can tell I’m getting stronger. I don’t feel like I look different. I haven’t lost as much as I want. I still can’t fit into most of my clothes. But I love this new routine. I like that it’s time not just by myself, but for myself–it’s more than “me time.”

So I kept going, day after day, closing up shop a bit early every night so I can get an hour or two in before bed. When I exercise, I want to eat better. When I eat better, I’m more excited by my results when I work out. I feel happier for having time to “zone out” every day. I feel happier for not sitting in my computer chair until 5am. And when the long-term rewards just don’t seem worth it, I remember my favorite short-term reward–that awesome steam room. (I close my eyes and imagine I’m in the Amazon. Have you ever done that? And dropping a little essential oil into the steam grate is fabulous.)

Here’s what else I’ve been up to in real life:

1: Part of the new “Flyover Country” chalk mural at CAMP created by Andrew Yoland. 2: My proof copy of Chris Guillebeau’s The $100 Startup, featuring yours truly. (And it’s available for pre-order!) 3: On Friday I dj’d a gothic dance set at House of Loom in Omaha.

4: Taking a break during a run to swing at a playground. 5: Alice’s new hair curlers from her great-grandma, “Grand Catherine.” They’re vintage but they were unopened in their packaging. I have to show the instructions to my hairdresser! 6: On Tuesday I spoke on a panel about mass media in a college class at UNO with Dusty Davidson of Silicon Prarie News and Steve Gordon of RDQLUS.

7: Ladies’ lunch at B&G Tasty Foods in Omaha. We had peanut butter sandwiches and fries. My mom tried the new peanut butter frenchee–it was intense. 8: Spectating at The International horse jumping competition tonight with Alice and Sarah from Fash Flood. Alice nearly lost her shit, she was so excited about seeing the horsies! 9: Alice fixated on the horses. She even brought her plastic yellow horse from the dollar bin.

10: Bedtime. Alice sleeps with me when Dave isn’t home–he’s at CAMP tonight managing a game designing competition. 11: Nap at CAMP in a little blanket nest on the floor behind my desk. 12: Purple tree encountered during a walk.

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I love getting orders once in a while for things that I don’t do very often…or things I’ve never done, like a flock of embroidered felt birds!

These are for Meghan and Jhonson’s wedding (I’ll show you their flowers next week!) and they’re going in each centerpiece, flying over each table of birdhouses and beautiful foliage. I made a small flock of colorful birds native to California where they are getting married, inspired by sketches sent to me by Meghan’s stepmother Barbara. I also made some purple and pink fantasy birds in their wedding colors embellished with vintage crystals and pearls. They each took a long time to make, so I’m really proud of these little guys.

xo
meg

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I was really excited to create Brittan’s wedding bouquet and outfit her bridal party with corsages and boutonnieres. She’s been a (very) long-time reader and such a joy to work with over the last few months on these flowers! Enjoy some photos!

Brittan’s bouquet was inspired by Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, and soft ice cream sherbet colors.

See the rest of Brittan’s order here on Flickr!

xo
meg

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Once in a while, Alice goes on a little venture with my project manager Shannon and her husband Greg. The other day, they went to the Joslyn Castle here in town and found a cute little garden patch next to a lilac bush. Their dog, Ruffles, joined the fun. I love the tiny chairs!

Alice’s outfit: Pants: Target // Shirt: Gap // Sweater: H&M // Necklace: Forever 21 // Shoes: Converse

Thanks Greg for the iPhone photos.

xo
meg

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