For Your Perfect Picnic

Perhaps you’ve pinned adorable photos of picturesque picnic scenes and promised that you and your love would make this the spring to pack up a basket of your own and head to the park…
Via
…However…
That’s when you realize that the only basket you seem have is the one that still contains plastic eggs once filled with jelly beans and dollar bills from last year’s Easter…and that the only supplies you can uncover are paper plates and warped, mismatched tupperware…and that these ugly accessories are not fit for Your Perfect Picnic!
 I recently came across the solution to it all with this Picnic Basket for four.
A large woven tote comes filled with seriously stylish necessities including bamboo plates and utensils, a generous carafe for lemonade or mimosas, storage jars for sides and salads, a cutting board and knife for an indulgent spread, cotton napkins and darling French brasserie style goblets for sipping between bites.  
And now your perfect picnic is closer than you ever thought.
[image credits] unless otherwise noted photos via

Stand By Me…

What’s a bride to do when her favorite ladies live out of town when she’s all ready to ask them to be a part of her wedding party? I love the idea of taking the girls to a champagne brunch, or treating them to a spa day that provides the serene scene in which you ask them to stand up for you – but that isn’t always possible.
Four of my six bridesmaids lived out of town – from San Fransisco to Sydney. I knew I had to ask them individually – but didn’t want to do it via email or over the phone.
I wanted something creative and meaningful and found myself remembering the few times I assisted with the photo-styling of Oprah’s Favorite Things shows…Taking cue from the Queen of Talk, I decided to put together a collection of Kara’s Favorite Things and sent them to my girls. Here were the simple steps I took to create these bountiful bridesmaids boxes…
1. In an over sized glossy white box (with a separate lid that simply ‘pops’ off), I lined the inside with beautiful paper and bold tissue paper to provide a safe and snug fit for the treats.
2. I decided upon the elements that would constitute my favorite things…I wanted to keep things low in costs and hinted with humor. With little tags, I labeled each of my Favorite Things:
–A CD with my favorite songs (do people still have CD players?) with tunes by Frank Sinatra, Austrud Gilberto, Rolling Stones and yes…Dave Matthews
–A pashmina (I’m always chilly!)
–Sunless tanning spray (who doesn’t look better bronzed?!)
–A tub of frosting (now THAT’S not on the wedding diet…)
–A gaudy cocktail ring (I adore a classic ensemble with glitzy accessories!)
–Faux pearl earrings ‘for the gym’ (I’ll go down with the burning house before I leave with no earrings on!)
–The movie To Catch a Thief with Grace Kelly (my style crush!)
–A tiny bloom to represent my passion for the beauties
3. I finished it off with a wrapped box housing a letter written to each of my dearest – explaining how a silly collection of my favorite things wouldn’t be complete without each them etc. etc.
Who knew it could be so easy…