DIY Felt Name Bunting

I always make paper buntings for everything and rave about how easy they are - and felt buntings are just as easy! Also, you can readjust the steps below based on how "perfect" you want this to be - I normally would cut the flags using a stencil, but I was somewhat on a time crunch (when am I not?), so they ended up being a little uneven.

Supplies
Stiffened or regular felt, accent trim (optional), string or twine, rotary cutter or scissors, mat, glue gun (or regular glue would work)

Steps

1. Determine what you want to spell out and how many pieces you will need for the bunting (one piece for each letter). I only needed four pieces, so I ended up using one sheet of felt.
2. Cut your felt into the desired number of pieces for the bunting. It's up to you what size and shape you want this to be.
3. Cut the letters out from the felt. I used a piece of stiffened felt so that it would be easier to free-hand cut the letters (or you can use your die cut machine or stencils). I wasn't too concerned on how perfect the letters were, because after all, this bunting was for a dog!
4. Hot glue the trim onto the felt pieces.
5. Hot glue the letters onto the felt pieces.
6. Hot glue the felt pieces onto the twine.

I usually won’t cut the twine until my bunting is done, just so that the length of the twine is equal on both ends.

Here's Vega on her 2nd birthday in her matching birthday hat - she loved it!

Maine Trip Highlights

I am so, so, so excited to share details from my latest trip up north to visit family in Maine. My husband, Josh, is from Maine, and he moved to Virginia after college to be near me (what a guy!). We visit now about two-three times a year - sometimes more if we are lucky! This recent trip was even more exciting because six of our closest friends from Virginia decided to join us! 

We scheduled our summer trip around Josh's mom's birthday and threw a surprise lobster bake for her on the first day we arrived - complete with lobsters (and lobster bibs!), steamers, and grilled corn on the cob. The rest of the trip was mainly spent boating and boozing on Sebago Lake. During our non-lake days, we perused the cute little shops at the Old Port and tried a handful of delicious food joints - including Portland Lobster Company and the East Ender. Every time we are back in Maine, I always have a laundry list of places that I want to go to. Awhile back, I had heard about a restaurant in Portland called Duckfat that was well known for their fries. Well, let me tell you being the fry connoisseur that I am: these were the best fries I've ever had in my entire life! Their fries are fried in duckfat and you can select from a variety of dipping sauces to pair with your fries (I got the truffle ketchup and garlic mayo). And don't forget to try the original Duckfat vanilla bean milkshake, too. It was life changing.

And what about that cute pup? Well, Vega also had an amazing time learning to swim in the lake and was swimming like a pro by the end of our trip! She doesn't swim in Virginia too much - usually she plays in her baby pool on our back patio. So other than that, she's never really swam before - which is crazy, considering she is a Labrador! She definitely got used to Maine life quickly - waking up each morning (she got to sleep in the bed for a whole week because it was "vacation"), running around on the beach unleashed, swimming in the lake, sleeping next to the fire. Oh the life of a happy, loved dog.

We can't wait to be back again this Christmas to spend the holidays with our family...and eat more lobster, too!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Puppy!

As many of you know, I love celebrating anything. Especially birthdays. Maybe I tend to go a little overboard sometimes and I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm crazy. Although, I do think he secretly enjoys it! So anyways, with Vega's 2nd birthday approaching - I was busy running around and preparing for our mini-celebration. Josh was also coming home after spending a month in India for his job, so even more reason to celebrate!

Vega on the day we took her home!

On Vega's birthday eve, I made my first ever dog peanut butter cupcakes from a recipe I found on The Scrumptious Pumpkin. They were super easy to make and it was perfect because I already had most of the ingredients at home. I ended up using whole wheat flour and vegetable oil instead (as I didn't have canola oil) and ditching the cupcake liners. I also added a dash of peanut butter to the cupcake mix (the recipe only used it for the frosting). They turned out great and didn't taste too bad - yes, I took a bite!

And being the ridiculous dog pawrent that I am, I also made her a special birthday hat and banner (tutorials coming soon!). I set up her birthday display outside on our patio using the wooden crates from our wedding, along with a photo of Vega as a puppy and some of her favorite Milkbone treats. Vega is one lucky and loved pup!

We can't wait to post-celebrate with her other puppy pals later this summer!

The birthday dog!

DIY birthday hat and banner.

My happy girl and her homemade cupcake. Cupcake stand from Bed Bath & Beyond.

Peanut butter cupcake = great success!

The FourNest / Living Room Ideas

I've been (secretly) planning my next moves for redecorating and rearranging our living room. We spend most of our free time lounging around in this room, and while it serves its purpose and meets all of our needs, I've been dyyying to give it a makeover.

When we first put together our living room, we bought and selected pieces that we both liked, not really thinking about the space as a whole. I didn't originally have a specific vision in mind, because I was more focused on trying to furnish and finish the room as quickly as I could so that I could invite family and friends over. So now that I've had more time to rethink our living room palette, I realized that it's lacking some color. Josh and I both love neutral colors - white, gray, black, brown - you name it. Our leather couches are a deep espresso color and our coffee table, end tables, and media console are all black. I love color, but I seem to use it sparingly in my home decorating. We've had the same accents in our living room for a few years now - so I thought that it was time to give it a little splash of color!

With that in mind, the biggest things I'd want to do for the living room is find a colorful area rug or set of pillows, replace our coffee table, and add more decorative accent pieces. If we have enough space for it (insert: money), I'd also like to add a chair of some sort to put near our bay window. I already found the perfect coffee table to help tone down our dark couches and furniture from World Market ($229). I'm leaning towards decorating with an apple color, a few whitewashed frames, and mercury candle holders to complete the space. Hopefully in the next few months I'll have a before and after post to share!

Other decorative items from World Market.

Happy 30 Years

Today is my parents' 30th anniversary! My parents are both from the Philippines, and they met each other after being set up on a blind date. They married five years later in a gorgeous little church surrounded by close family and friends - and my dad paid for the entire wedding!

And towards the end of my wedding planning - and in the midst of being so caught up on every American tradition - I realized I didn't even have any of my families' culture tied into it. So leave it up to my dad to bring a little bit of Filipino tradition to the mix. Most men in the Philippines wear a barong to their wedding or formal events. My dad decided last minute to wear a barong for my ceremony, before he changed into a tuxedo for the reception.

My parents on their wedding day in the Philippines (1983) and my dad and I on my wedding day.

We decided to celebrate this past weekend with a lovely Sunday trip to a nearby winery! Living in Virginia, we are lucky to have so many amazing wineries within 30 minutes of each other. We decided to go to Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton - mainly because it is one of the closest wineries to us and it is dog-friendly. And it was such a gorgeous spring day, I couldn't imagine leaving Vega at home indoors! Vega's favorite pastime? Basking in the sun.

Look at that happy face!

Now that the wedding has been over (for awhile now), I've really looked forward to events like these where I get to plan and decorate all over again! I used mason jars, a whitewashed serving tray, and picture frames from my wedding. Remember my favorite cheese knives from my wedding registry post? Yes - those made an appearance again!

My favorite and most recent inexpensive purchase were the plastic crystal dishes that I got from the dollar store (and it was four dishes for $1!) - which I used for the fruit and nuts. 

I added a photo of my grandparents on their wedding day - their anniversary is the day before my parents. My grandmother lives in the Philippines, so it was a small tribute to her as well!

We purchased a few bottles of Chardonnay from the winery (delicious!) and I prepared some light appetizers and snacks beforehand. I purchased the off-white bouquets from Trader Joe's - which happens to have great flower deals every now and then. Overall, a relatively inexpensive little get together! And most importantly, we had so much fun spending time with my parents and family. And Vega was able to add another winery to her list! So far, she's been to two - can't wait to add more to it once the weather stays warm.

Sunshine and wine with my best friend. Skirt from Love Culture.