halloween backtrack

well... thanksgiving is in two days, so i guess now would be a good time to post some pictures from halloween.  they are incredibly overdue, but technically it is still fall, so this counts.  we did all the halloween things you would expect - carved pumpkins and hosted our annual halloweenie ice SCREAM bash, although we did not make it to a pumpkin patch this year and i am still pretty torn up about that.

all in all - it was a great halloween, another warm one and alex was a huge help in the construction of her costume.  she usually decides what she wants to be somewhere around august/september, but true to form we didn't really get to work on her costume until the night before the all school halloween party and costume contest.  luckily i have become a skilled glue gunner and pulling something together in a relatively short time frame is getting easier every year.

this year she was a frost dragon.  oh... you mean you've never heard of a dragon that breathes ice instead of fire????  well now you have.  

  

she's had some pretty unique ideas in years past, but i gotta say, this year was probably my favorite.  how was your halloween?  i'm not sure if i'll take any thanksgiving photos, but if i do, i'll be sure to post them by christmas!

frosty the dragon

what have you been up to?  we've been dragon making over here.  as excited for halloween as ever, but seriously lacking in the anticipation building blogging.  many of you have probably already seen the end result, but you can pretend this is a super sneak peek...

a garage razing

we're going to pretend that the garage is already pretty much done, because what fun would a final shot be if we didn't get to detail the process?  i have held off on posting about it because evan really wanted to walk you through the build (inch by inch...) but since he has devoted every moment of free time to getting this thing up, with the help of some of our bestest friends and fam, we've been pretty scarce in the play-by-play.

so here are a few pictures of the first few days and the first few steps...

stay tuned.  lots of shirtless boys on top of buildings coming up....

making valentines + where to dine this year

i don't care how old i get, making valentines is still something i love doing.  my friend annie, who throws some of the most epic par-tays around, hosted a rock-star valentine-making-party.   everything you could want for the kiddos and their parents (who will never grow up) was on-hand.

have your kiddos made their valentines yet?  you can find details for making these and other adorable designs on her pinterest page and choose a favorite - or several favorites.  we made at least one of each, but really kind of went ape sh*t over these:

so cute right?  but don't think the fun stopped there.  she also set up a sugar cookie corner for decorating the perfect treats...

some people think of everything!  and okay - this will be totally cheesy to say - but we were totally in love with this deliciously darling way to get decked out for valentines day!

what are you planning to do with/for your sweeties this year?  we like to keep it simple and just go out to eat somewhere local and family-friendly.  then, we come home and get down to business - making fondue.

here is our list of favorite local picks for family-friendly dining this v-day:

eden alley  |  blue koi  | blue grotto  |  LuLu's   |  pizzabella |  spin pizza - (where we went last year + they are currently advertising a pretty sweet v-day deal)

what do you do for v-day?  homemade cards or store bought?  go out or stay in?

for the love of weddings

i couldn't be more excited to share some news with you today!  if you are a long time follower of 26 east, then you"ll recall that evan and i were married last summer.  you may also recall that we personally took on nearly every project associated with our big day from the invites to the flowers to the decor.

the majority of inspiration for our wedding came from hours of researching wedding blogs and finding bits and pieces of ideas that we could make our own.  as someone who has managed various special events as a career and who just absolutely loves weddings (especially the unique details that set them apart) having a resource for finding all that inspiration was key.

that's why i am so excited to announce that i will be joining forces with emily walters - the creative force behind middle of the map weddings - a resource for unique, midwest-style events!  i met emily earlier this year and she even featured our wedding on MOTM.  and now i am thrilled to have the chance to work alongside her as a co-contributor.   together, we'll be highlighting gorgeous events from all over the midwest and providing inspiration to brides and grooms everywhere! 

i'll of course still be blogging from 26 east but you can catch me over there now too.  be sure to stop by and say hello - and spread the word to any future brides you know.  or if you're like me and just really love to see how other people throw a really fabulous party, be sure to check us out on the regular! 

thanks so much to emily for putting her faith in me - i am thrilled to be a part of this beautiful spot on the map! 

ink magazine

a couple of days after the psa was shot in our home (more on that here), we sprang into action completing several house projects that had been put on hold because of it and because of, well, life in general.  we had good reason to get some things done - a date with ink magazine was just a week away. 

the timing was perfect.  the reporter and photog were in and out of the house in a little over an hour and two weeks later - on the morning of our one year wedding anniversary - our article hit newsstands around town and on the web. 

below are a few shots from the spread.  but you can check out the entire interview and see all the awesome pics they took here.  shout out to @Sarah_Gish & @kcjennhack of ink magazine / the kansas city star. 

we thought the piece turned out great and hope you like it too.  you may even notice several projects we completed last summer (the third floor!) that we haven't yet discussed on the blog - so stay tuned.  we'll be back with updates on some of those soon.

we've come a long ways since the beginning - take a look at the before & in progress pictures here. 

photos from ink kc magazine.  see more pics and the interview by clicking here.