Vivian Elle, My Birthday, and a New House

Let's look at some numbers.

31 - number of years I celebrated living a couple of weeks ago.
3 - number of friends that traveled from Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia to visit me on my birthday.
1 - number of pictures taken with an Oreo in Wal-mart while those friends were in town.

1 - tiara these friends made me wear when they took me out to breakfast on my birthday.
20 - approximate number of people that stared because of my tiara.

2 - number of Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) books by Mindy Kaling I received for my birthday.

7 - number of times I considered not posting the above picture for obvious reasons (but then thought, "ehhh...who cares?").

1 - day it took me to exchange one of these books for Bridesmaids.

8 - days it took me to read my Mindy Kaling book.

20 - times I had to refrain from posting every funny quote I read to Facebook.

25+ - number of videos that my husband compiled for me for my birthday of friends and family from all over wishing me a happy birthday.

100+ - number of times I've talked about how much I loved the videos.

40 - number of Christmas cards I've completed so far this year for Vivian Elle's Christmas Collection.
3 - number of samples I will now reveal.

{All of these cards are now available at Vivian Elle's Etsy Shop. Click here to visit!}

54 - total number of days between first going out and looking for a home and signing on our adorable little bungalow. 

2 - pictures we had taken of ourselves in front of our new home right before closing. 

1 - number of pictures I was able to pull off the internet of our new home. 

Sigh. I love it.

16 - days until we need to be out of our condo.
5 - weddings I am currently working on, attempting to get each done in the 16 days before we move.
30+ - boxes I already have packed.
61 - number of days we have between moving out of our condo and moving into our new home.
61 - days we will be bunking it up with my parents, who have graciously offered their home to us.
99 - percentage of time I spend thinking about how I'm going to decorate our new home.
1 - moving announcement that I already have designed, but will keep secret until I send it. :)

too many to count - number of times Luke and I have said how grateful we are for the support we've had over the last couple of months.

There you have it. These are the numbers that have been floating around in my head lately. In the midst of it all, there has also been a lot of Vivian Elle activity - buying another new printer, having boxes of product left at our front door, printing, assembling, stuffing...I love it all. For the first time in my life I can say that I daily love the work I am doing. And all of my brides make that possible. So to them - and anyone who has used me for any kind of invitation - thank you!

Big Announcement!

So...I acknowledge that we're not the first people to have done this, but to us, it's a big deal. So big that I (obviously) had to whip together a little design to share the good news.

We did our final walk through. We signed all of the papers. It's been a crazy two and a half months, and we can't say enough how amazingly fortunate we feel to have the support that we've had. The best part is that even with a very short amount of time to do it, we bought a house that we both absolutely adore. We didn't settle. We love it and can't wait to actually move in.

Also, I'm currently working on getting all of my spring weddings done, which I cannot wait to show you! I am working with some very creative brides. :)

Until then...we bought a house!

Seth and Abby's Pocket Folds

Oh, brides. I love working with them. 

I'm not even kidding. They're great. I genuinely enjoy my time with them and by the time the process is over, it makes me all that much more honored that they asked me to play a small part in their wedding day.

Abby is definitely no different. She has been amazingly great to work with and if I had to give Abby an award (what if I actually had an awards ceremony for my brides? how weird would that be?), it would be the Sweetest Bride award. Hands down.

You were introduced to Abby a few weeks ago when I showed off her simple but elegant wedding shower invites here. It didn't seem like much time had passed and suddenly it was time to send out the wedding invitations. Without further ado (my husband will totally make fun of me for saying that), here they are:

These 5x7 White Linen Pocket Folds perfectly hold together the invitation, the insert, and the RSVP card.  Even though the majority of the invitations I do are Pocket Folds, each one is so different and perfectly fits the individual couples' style.  I can't wait to show you more throughout the year.

Also, I'm completely in love with Seth and Abby's signature frame at the top of their invitation. How bad do I wish I had a signature frame? 

I love the subtle pops of purple in the invitation. The sliver of it showing behind the invitation adds an extra dimension and the sliver behind the RSVP (courtesy of the RSVP envelope) balances the entire suite out.

And we're not even done yet. We still have table numbers, menu cards, programs, and a super cool seating chart to make. Stay tuned for those in the coming months. :)

In other news, I am super happy today. Tonight, my three BFFs are gathering together in Chattanooga to make their trek to Michigan tomorrow.  You see, they live in Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee. I'm the loner up here in Michigan. So every year or so, they make their way up here to see me. This is their 6th or 7th Michigan Trip and each one is just as good as the last. In the midst of a crazy month (did I mention we should be closing on a house in a WEEK?!) I can honestly say that just relaxing with some of my closest friends is exactly what I need this weekend. 

So in honor of this upcoming trip, here's a picture of the last Michigan Trip, when Rachael (front and center) walked in and handed us each a card to announce her pregnancy (after being in the car with Heidi and Kauri for 9 hours and not mentioning it). My first reaction was to push her down onto the couch out of excitement. Naturally.