Sunday Southern Days

As promised, a contest for every 1,000 hits or 100 followers on The Final Boarding Call. I'm SO EXCITED to present my blog's very first contest ever (as I just hit 4,000 hits (get it?) and thought to myself 'Self, it's high time for a Raffle Giveaway.' So, what to give away? I started thinking about all of the adorable things I've seen online recently and thought .... Katie. Well, Katie is adorable, but I don't think she'd take kindly to me raffling her off to my readers. But I was so happy that she agreed to have one of her Katiedid Headbands be the first Giveaway ever on TFBC! Do yourself a service and check out Katie's Etsy Shop  here . Looking for great gifts everyone loves? Look no further. Katie sews these adorable elastic headbands from fun ribbons and other creative materials to bring you some stealthy stylish sporty fashion (say that 5 times fast). Giveaway Rules and How To Win!: Prize:  One of the Katiedid Productions Headba...

Taking a little DIY and home remodeling break to bring you some more summer wedding details from my day-job wedding planning :) Here are some lovely detail shots from Carolyn and Joe's June wedding -- seriously the nicest couple you will ever meet. It was truly a pleasure working with them as Carolyn and Joe brought together their dream wedding day. Silver Frames presented each guest's placecard. Buttercup Yellow Tablecloth and bright yellow and white florals welcomed guests. A photo booth gave guests an outlet to cut loose for the camera all night. Crafted Wisconsin Cheeses -- yum! Carolyn presented their family wedding photos from three generations back on each side. Carolyn and Joe's engagement photos were made into an album for guests to sign instead of a traditional lined guestbook. The whole Fields Ballroom was brightened with White Pintuck Tablecloths, White Lamour Chair Covers, and Buttercup Lamour Napkins and Chairties. ...

Remember that anniversary surprise coming from The Captain for our fifth wedding anniversary, celebrated a couple of weeks ago? It arrived. The monogram necklace from Marley Lilly . Just beautiful. Timeless. Versitile. Classic. Mine. You may remember when I mentioned this little gem in my current favorites post in June. I was beyond thrilled when it arrived last week (sorry about the delayed posting), and have worn it daily since. They also make it in silver and in various sizes and styles (necklace, ring, bracelet, etc.).  When she saw it, my friend Cira asked "You down with K-P-P? Hey, you know me!" (just a 90s rap throwback shoutout to Cira). If you haven't gathered this from my post, I just love it.

I apologize in advance for not taking anywhere near the amount of photos I should have for this project! I promise lots of description instead. First, a little background about this great rockin chair and footstool. According to my mother, her grandmother (my great-grandmother, Yiayia Maria), brought this over from Greece (or may have purchased it shortly after her arrival in America -- details are a little hazy) in the mid 1920s. There are unfortunately no markings that I have found to indicate Greek or American origination. When I was in middle school (mid-1990s), my mother had this rocking chair restored from the tatters it was in to this state: I remember finding the footstool in my parents' attic sometime while I was in college (early 2000s) and decided to adopt it to my dorm afte a little recover. After the rocking chair came to live with me in Chicago around 2006, I found a scrap of fabric in mom's storage that matched the chair and recovered the foots...

A huge trend in many of the parties and weddings I've recently planned has been the Candy Shoppe Buffet. Above you can see an adorable pink and yellow themed buffet for a Sweet 16 Party. I used mostly old fashioned favorite candies, like lemonheads, rock candy, chocolate bbs, various gummies, M&Ms, and pinwheel lollipops (a huge favorite). This wedding Candy Shoppe Buffet featured over 30 various types of candy, ranging from pixie sticks, lemonheads, bummies, ringpops, twizzlers, candy necklaces, and so much more! This wedding Candy Shoppe Buffet was themed primarily light pinks and purples, which were a tad more challenging to put my hands on, but between the strawberry sticks, lollipops, and button candies, we put together quite a display.

If you're into antiques, go get a handkerchief for the drool you're about to, well, drool. I present to you .... my coffee table. This is the antique trunk originally belonged to The Captain's great-uncle and great-aunt when they were living in Greece in the 1910s. They immigrated in depression-era America and settled in Aurora, Illinois, where they lived out their lives. In 1953, they sent for one of their nephews, my father-in-law's older brother, to be sent to them in America to live and work. When his brother decided to go to Australia instead, my father-in-law was sent, and so our family's history in America began. When my in-laws sold the family home were The Captain grew up, we found this old trunk in an attic closet, only containing some table linens and a few Greek dance costumes. I dutifully asked if my mother-in-law or sisters-in-law wanted it for their homes, fingers crossed they would all declined and it could come live at our house. I lucked ...

BLOG UPDATE! These placemats are now available on my Etsy store TheSundayPaperie Customize with any words you'd like! I saw this picture on Pinterest, courtesy of the design blog, Cottage and Vine , and fell in love with the simplicity and quirkiness of these placemats. The original poster advises some basic burlap and just using a Sharpie for the lettering. A great afternoon DIY project.  I set out to make 6 to use on my kitchen table when it's fully set. Now, for what the write? Here were a few options: 6 synonyms for 'eat': eat, nourish, chow, bite, dine, devour 6 ways to say 'eat' in various languages: eat (English), φάω (Greek), comer (Spanish), manger (French), essen (German), jeść (Polish) Or I was thinking to just write out the works one through six. After a little survey of friends online, the concesus was to write it out in various languages. So here is how it went down: I wanted each placemat to be 14" x 20", so I p...

A little look at my day job -- here are some shots from Amanda and Adam's wedding on June 9 at the Crowne Plaza. The selected a beautiful "A" for the cake as a nod to both of their first names. Cake by The Baking Institute, Wheeling, IL Amanda made these great bookmark place cards, in frames the guests would later use to frame their photo booth pictures! A cute menu card let guests know what they are eating. Not only a nice touch, but it helps the staff be proactive to any guest allergies before dinner service. The Bride & Groom make their grand entrance! The Fields Ballroom at the Crowne Plaza is great for that because of the elevated platform. Yellow LED Ceiling lightsbring the accent color into the room. Such a sweet couple! Radiance!