Make Your Bed!

Okay, so we said it was going to be good, and this is what we've been working on:
The lovely ladies of Rue got in touch a while back and asked us to style their exclusive peek at the new Kate Spade bedding line, and then topped it off with asking us to make a stop motion video with Trent Bailey Photography (and you know we can never say no to working with Trent!). You'll have to go take a look at our spreads in Rue, which comes out today, but here's our video, because you know we hate to keep you waiting...

Make Your Bed for Rue from You + ME* & Trent Bailey Photo on Vimeo.
Isn't it the funnest? Did you catch little Claire and Emi and Dex and Tahoe in there?
We worked with some amaaazing folks on this one--special thanks to:
Makeup: Jerry Johnson for Laura Mercier
Hair: Fetch Beauty
Collage art in kids' room: John Murphy
Headbands: Preston & Olivia
Props: Find Home Furnishings & West Elm
 

The Monday After

Hello, friends! We hope you had an absolutely fantastic Thanksgiving weekend. It's always hard to jump back into work after a long weekend, so we won't tell your boss if you decide to ease your way in by sipping on a fancy coffee drink and indulging in some blog reading.

As we've mentioned before, for the rest of the holiday season, we'll be posting on YOU + ME* Holiday on Mondays and Fridays. Today, we've gathered up some gift wrapping goodness for your enjoyment (after all, you have to do something with all of your Black Friday scores). Today's post is also a part of our Un-Gift Guide, which means it's about more than just pretty packaging.

Did you happen to see Brooklyn Bride last Wednesday? If so, you would have seen the inspiration board for our stop motion save the date with the fantastic Trent of Trent Bailey Photography (just a little peek above). Hop on over there today and you can see the full video.

Enjoy your Monday!

A Sneak Peak and The Giveaway Winner

Happy Monday, Friends! We hope everyone had a lovely weekend! Here are a few photos that Kay English took at our shoot the other week. We put together a 1950's-inspired elopement shoot for her, and when we release the full set of photos, you will not be disappointed!

Photography: Kay English Photography
Fashion & Prop Styling: You + ME* Lifestylists
Florals: Poppies & Posies
Jacket: Starkweather Vintage
Glasses: Vintage 1950's Glasses and Mom & Pop's Vintage Eyewear
Dress: Fancy
Veil: Preston and Olivia
Blue Suitcase: vintageparade@yahoo.com

Congratulations to Jessica of Living the Swell Life! According to random.org, you are the winner of a pile of pom poms. Please email your address to hello[at]youplusmestyling[dot]com and we'll ship them off to you straightaway.

We love visiting with you here, but we think you're going to want to spend some time hanging out over on Holiday this week. Starting today, it will be full of fantastic Thanksgiving ideas (from recipes to gifts for your hosts and traditions you may want to start with your little ones). Check out our favorite recipe resources today.

Cozy Couple's Shower

Good Morning! We hope you all are having a happy Friday, and that your weekend is filling up with good plans (or no plans if that's what you're hoping for). We're so excited to have our cozy couples' shower up on Brooklyn Bride this morning! Here are a few more pictures:

Aren't Mike and Amber the cutest? And the photos are stunning, right? Thanks, Trent Bailey Photography! We had so many wonderful, talented folks help us out with this shower--you can see them all on our "Featured Vendors" page. And here's a list, too:


Photography: Trent Bailey Photography
Desserts (fig cake, canele, leaf cookies, chocolate and caramel dipped pears): Cake Hero
Florals: Blossom and Branch
Couple series pillow: K Studio
Gray knit poncho: Wai
Knit scarves and bows (on packages): Emmadime
Burlap bags and other wrapping supplies: Olive Manna
Wreath and felt bows: ItzFitz

Elisabeth and I have our noses to the grindstone today for a big announcement on Monday (and some other fun stuff in the works, too!), so I'm off to go have my morning cuppa (or three). Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! We'll see you right back here on Monday morning!

Brooklyn Bride!

So we've been dying to tell you this, and now we can! We're beyond thrilled to be joining the guest contributors over at Brooklyn Bride. Our first shoot is the cozy shower that we worked on with an amazing cast of characters (more on that tomorrow). You can check out our inspiration over on Brooklyn Bride today, and be sure to keep an eye out for our cozy shower tomorrow!

Ashley and Aron Photos

Happy Monday, friends! We hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Elisabeth and I are shooting some fun and exciting stuff with Trent Bailey Photography today--you'll hear all about it later this month. In the meantime, here is some serious goodness for you. I know it was a long time ago (Friday), but remember how we shared our inspiration with you for the photoshoot we had with the amazingly fetching couple Ashley and Aron and the lovely and über-talented Brookelyn Photography? Well. Here are the pics:

Can you believe Brooke has never shot anyone paparazzi-style? These shots are amazing. We took some inspiration from Ashley and Aron's blog (it's hard not to get inspired by it!), and noticed that they both take amazing photos; we got them some vintage cameras to shoot each other during our shoot (talk about meta, right?).

After shooting at the Greenmarket, we walked downtown a bit for shots that were not quite so voyeuristic, but still captured the spontenaity that Ashley and Aron liked about the photos that they sent over. We love how these pictures turned out. This was like the trifecta for great photos: an adorable couple, a super talented photographer, and amazing weather. We feel so lucky to get to team up with Brooke (yet another step in what will hopefully be a long collaborative relationship for us), and so lucky that Ashley and Aron were our giveaway winners. Be sure to check out Ashley and Aron's blog, Hither and Thither, and Brooke's blog for more pictures. And if you'd like us to style a photoshoot for you, you can drop us a line right here.

Also? Can't wait to see what Catherine over at Rickshaw Design is cooking up for dinner tonight...

Ashley and Aron Inspiration

Yay, Friday! I have some big plans up my sleeve for the weekend (if all goes according to plan today, and you follow us on twitter, you can see a sneak peek this weekend); what about y'all? Anything good in the works?

(click for full-size image)
I've been dying to share this inspiration board with you since we made it. Ashley and Aron are the cutest couple ever, and we were so excited to work with them on last weekend's shoot. When they told us that they were inspired by urban shots of couples like John Jr. and Carolyn, we cooked up something a little unusual. After dropping off some accessories for the shoot earlier in the week, we told Ashley and Aron to head to the Greenmarket at Union Square, and to text us when they got there. Brooke then shot them paparazzi-style for a while, and then we got some awesome posed pics down near Washington Square Park. This is the point in the game where we should mention that we may not have even attempted this if we weren't working with an amazing photographer. Brookelyn Photography is the real deal. She didn't even blink when we told her that we wanted her to shoot the subjects without them seeing her. And the photos she took are amazing.
We'll all be posting pics on Monday; until then, friends, have a great weekend!

p.s. be sure to head over to domestic reflections to see what she's cooking up for the Pretty Mommy dinner recipe exchange!

Love Letter to a Bag Which I Haven't Met Yet

Hi everyone! We hope everyone had a lovely weekend (and for those of you in the states, we hope you have the day off today). The weather here in New York has been perfection the past few days. When it was rainy and cold, I had nothing good to say about fall, but with this weekend's cool, crisp air mixed with warm sun and golden light, I may have said a nice thing or two about summer being over. Which I will promptly be taking back when it gets cold.

Between the farmers' market and wandering the village with Brooke and Ashley and Aron on Saturday and an errand extravaganza today, I am seriously considering replacing my on-the-large-side purse with a heavy-hitter carryall. It's got to be strong, good-looking and up for some heavy lifting. Here are a few that I've been making eyes at (don't tell my purse--it gets jealous easily):

Well, hello gorgeous. You had me at "navy wool."

The Commuter, Sketchbook

Ooh, if you were mine, I would fill you with milk glass and 18th century tchotchkes that we would find together at undiscovered flea markets and thrift shops. 

 Original Flea, Fleabags (@Pretty Mommy)

You and I would snuggle on the couch and watch "Troop Beverly Hills" and drink hot cocoa out of the tin cups that came with our mess kits. In the morning, it would be up and out to explore the urban jungle together.

Scout Pack Backpack, DuluthPack

You, with your gold zippers and chains, make me want to be a better person. I would even put on pants that button when we go out so that you wouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with me.

Exhibitor Mega Tote, JCrew

Have you been cheating on your purse with a bigger bag? Do tell!
Also, here's a few sneak peeks at what we were up to this weekend:

We should have pictures for you late this week or early next week--can't wait to share!

60th birthday celebration

Hello, hello. I just returned from from our annual vacation with my husband's family to a lake deep in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Going on this trip always feels a little bit like stepping back in time since the same families have been meeting at this group of cabins for generations. There are freezing early morning lake swims, dinner bells, a daily rest hour (which is always the most difficult thing to lose upon returning home), theme cocktail parties, and sleeping porches, not to mention that the cabins are in such a remote location that internet access is intermittent at best and the cabins actually share a phone located in the ice house. It truly is a rustic retreat. 

August is a big month of celebrations for my family with loads of birthdays, anniversaries, and other festive occasions. Since we're often scattered about the country, our trip to Wisconsin tends to be the perfect time to celebrate together. This year was no exception since our trip just about coincided with my father-in-law's 60th birthday. To mark the occasion, we surprised him with a little party in the woods. In keeping with the spirit of our location, it was nothing fancy, but it was full of items meant to evoke memories of his youth.

 

I hope all of you get your own version of a retreat before the summer comes to its official end. Whether you're floating on a lake, digging your toes in the sand while watching waves break, or just eating an especially drippy ice cream cone in your backyard, you definitely deserve at least one more lazy day of summer.

Seating Chart

Hi there! Today is a big, big day. Have you checked out our giveaway yet? Huge news. Anyhow, I've been itching to share this project with you. Conor & Jerem got married this weekend in the Russian River Valley in California. The wedding was inspired by blues and greys, they also wanted a rustic feel as well. They asked us to come up with a creative seating chart that might also incorporate favors. We proposed making corsages & boutonnieres for all of their guests out of vintage buttons & vintage-inspired ribbon. We then hand-wrote all of the guests' names on paper luggage tags, and placed the boards on easels. What do you think?

Speaking of gay weddings, have you been to equallywed.com? It's a same-sex wedding magazine with great fashion, registry, fitness, and planning articles. Marni and Casey's Atlanta wedding is so. Freaking. Pretty. And their gold shoes? Swoon!

Photos by Drew Neman Photographers via equallywed.com