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Easter

Our Real Easter

0 · Apr 3, 2018 ·

I’m still soaking in the weekend vibes.  It know its Tuesday already, but Gretta doesn’t have school on Mondays which makes it all too easy to make it a weekend bonus day.  Today feels like my Monday, but in a really good way.  I think it’s so cliché when people say my “heart is so full” but honestly right now I can’t think of another way to put it.  Easter has always been a really important holiday in my world, but this year it just hit me differently – the magnitude of what we’re really celebrating, how lucky I am to have the family I have in my life and again back to the fact that if Easter didn’t exist, nothing in this life would really matter.  We’d be hopeless.

When talking about missions, I once had a pastor who shared the importance of kindness and serving others, planning mission trips and helping the needy, etc.  But he said if we’re not also sharing the word of God, then we’re just sending them to hell with a full stomach.

As much as I love entertaining and decorating my life, if I’m not sharing the mission and heart behind it, perhaps I’m just sending people to hell with a bouquet of pretty blooms in their hands – figuratively speaking of course.  Perhaps dramatic, it’s a thought that I circle back to every now and then as his words seem to echo back to me from time to time.

Spring Centerpiece | TownLine Journal

Last week I shared a table inspiration that I put together for the Easter holiday.  On Sunday, there were 11 of us gathered in our space.  While it was a relatively small gathering, 11 people can’t always sit around one table and I always wonder what other designers “real” life tables really look like.  Its easy to stage a space but how does that actually translate into real life?  There are kids spilling, jelly bean stains mismatched chairs and extra card tables all around my house.  We were frantically trying to get primped and curled Sunday morning, hustling out the door and barely pausing the snap a quick picture.  Upon return home, there were dinners to prepare and Easter eggs to hunt for.  You can’t possibly make this all glamorous, right?

Easter | The Day's Design | TownLine Journal

Natural Dyed Easter Eggs | TownLine JournalEaster | The Day's Design | TownLine Journal

It may not be glamorous, but it’s real.  This is life and it’s the same for all of us. There’s no such thing as perfection, to achive it, one must shift their point of view, making all the perfectly imperfect moments perfection.

Easter Centerpiece | TownLine JournalEaster Centerpiece Ideas | TownLine Journal   Easter Centerpiece | TownLine JournalEaster Centerpiece | TownLine Journal

You know what’s not pictured around this table?  The people.  The people and the smiles and the love that sat around this table.  I didn’t pull out my camera as we cut into our homemade cinnamon rolls or as my dad ate his 7th deviled egg because sometimes you just need to live in the moment and soak it all in.

 

From the Heart of a Planner, Home Decor centerpiece, Easter, home decor, Spring

One Step at a Time

0 · Apr 18, 2014 ·

Do you ever see people around you doing amazing things and think “well, that’s just part of their personality, they’re super bold and outgoing.  I could never do that”.  Oh my, I have these thoughts a lot.  I tell myself that I can’t do things because I don’t know how.  And I don’t even know where to get started or who to ask.

But once there was a time when I had never planned a wedding.  At one point I had never emailed another vendor.  There was a while when I never planned a photo shoot.  And at one time I had never written a blog post and The Day’s Design’s website didn’t exist.  But somehow I figured it out (right, wrong or otherwise!)

I was thinking about all of this this morning as I’m gearing up for Easter and then a busy week ahead of that.  I started to panic, as I often do, thinking that my designs might not work out or something could go wrong.  Both true points.  But I have to start somewhere.  If I never move forward because I’m scared of the results, then I’ll just be left standing still.  And that just seems silly.

One step at a time.  Whatever you’re working on, just take one step at a time.

I hope you have a fabulous Easter.  I’m going to leave you with a picture from my first large scale photo shoot – I was 9 months pregnant and didn’t have a clue what I was doing.  But Bradley James Photography rocked it for me!  And the pictures are still some of my very favorites (you can see the whole feature here.)

TeaParty-8

Happy Easter!!

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From the Heart of a Planner, Wedding Planning & Advice Easter, first photo shoot, one step at a time, planning a wedding, styled shoots, Tea Party, the day's business, the day's design

The Light

0 · Apr 3, 2013 ·

I debated on whether to share these pictures or not.  So here’s my disclaimer:  This is NOT my best work, it was a great idea for a great cause.  I know as event planners we should always showcase our best work… that is what our website/blog is here for, it is an advertising platform.  However, this is real life.  Not every event turns out picture perfect.  Not every photograph is captured perfectly or emphasizes the most beautiful flower in the garden.

In real life we simply put our best foot forward and live every day to its fullest.  I try to inspire others while seeking my own inspiration.  And I put my whole heart into every project I work on.

I am posting my Easter Breakfast pictures because somebody may need to see the light.  Somebody may need to know that inspiration can come from something as simple as flipping on a light switch.  Additionally, last week I promised you the results, good or bad, and I am not backing down on my word.

So here it is.  The inspiration struck me as my husband turned on his bedside reading lamp late Wednesday night.  I was then reminded of one of my favorite verses, Psalms 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  I came alive with thoughts about Jesus being the light of the world and how he brought that light filled with hope back to a dark world on Easter Sunday.  Decorating with lamps suddenly seemed very appropriate for Sunday’s celebration.  With a little research I came up with several other verses about lamps and then slept pretty well that night.

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Easter Edited 21

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Photos by Unikke Photography

Here’s what I’ll leave you with today, Matthew 5:15-16 “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”  We all have a light inside us, let’s make them shine!

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Celebrations, From the Heart of a Planner Breakfast, Church, Easter, Easter Sunday, Jesus, Light, Light of the World, Psalms

An Easter Tabletop

0 · Apr 2, 2013 ·

Last week I shared how stressed I was about the upcoming Easter holiday.  Quick looks on Pinterest and Google results lead me nowhere.  I found a few pretty pictures, but nothing was really what I was searching for.  I was leaving on Thursday for my parent’s house, on Sunday I would be decorating for their Easter breakfast a Riverdale Baptist Church.  As of Wednesday, I still did not have a plan in place.  Finally, I was struck with inspiration laying in bed late Wednesday night, a “light bulb” finally went off!

But before I share the results of my epiphany, I would like to share the beautiful tabletop that welcomed me at my parent’s home.  My mother has a great eye for decor, so my talents come naturally as I have been surrounded by pretty things for most of my life.  She has also been my right hand at several events and helps with a little inspiration here and there.

Easter Centerpiece

Easter tabletop

Easter place setting

I am so ready for spring! To me, Easter always marks the unofficial start of spring, and it’s April already!   I want to see bulbs popping up in my garden and daffodils lining my fence.  Somehow, waking up this morning to a dusting of snow is not what I had in mind… have patience.  And I might just as well keep looking at pictures of pretty spring decor!

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Celebrations Easter, Easter centerpieces, Easter decorations, Easter ideas, Green Weddings, Purple wedding, Vintage china, vintage themes

Bunnies, Baskets & Hope

0 · Apr 1, 2013 ·

As I was sitting in church Easter Sunday, thinking about the violent and gruesome details surrounding the death of our Savior, I could not help but wonder where did this cheery, pastel, Easter bunny, egg loving version of Easter come from?  While I do agree that Easter is a cheerful occasion, as the darkness that overtook the earth on Friday was overcome by the light of Sunday morning, I’m just not sure that celebrating with bunnies and baskets is the correct approach to the holiday.

So naturally, I did what any curious American would do, I Googled it.  Where did these Easter traditions come from?  Here’s a snapshot of our Easter traditions, and if you’d like to read more, you can do so here.

Bunnies, Eggs & Baskets:

The bunny first arrived in the Americans in the early 1700s, brought over by German tradition.  The German children that settled in Pennsylvania created nests for the bunny to lay his colored eggs in.  As time wore on, the nest eventually transitioned to baskets and the eggs were accompanied by chocolate and other gifts.

Why a bunny?  Rabbits are an ancient symbol of fertility and new life, which is appropriate for a spring holiday.  Eggs are yet another symbol of this and are often associated with pagan springtime festivals.  From a Christian perspective, this symbol of new life represents Christ rising from the dead or the stone rolled of the tomb.  Decorating eggs dates back to the 13th century when eggs were a forbidden food during the Lenten season.  Since Easter marks the end of Lent, the eggs were decorated and then eaten on Easter Sunday.

The Hope:

But what Easter really brings is hope.  Hope to all of mankind and is a reminder of a love so strong, it overcame the grave.  It is a reminder to me, that I’m not in control, that God is and has a greater plan and vision for me and he loves me.  I am not going to lie, I get discouraged and feel like there is no point in moving forward.  But yesterday was a reminder that He keeps His promises.  Use your talents for a greater good, because your story is not over yet.

May your day be filled with hope!

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Celebrations, From the Heart of a Planner Easter, Easter basket, Easter bunny, Easter Eggs, Easter traditions, hope, Love

Easter Inspirations

0 · Mar 27, 2013 ·

Easter is this Sunday!  Did you know that?  That’s a mere four days from now!!!  I am starting to hit panic mode as I am helping my mother’s church with their Easter breakfast and guess who’s in charge of the décor?  You guessed it.

But I am having designer’s block (you know, like writer’s block, but with décor!)  So I have done what any reasonable lady would do, and it’s off to Pinterest!

My first thought was doing something like these tissue flowers, then adding some real blooms and greens around the room with them. They seem simple enough.  It’s cost effective and I could clear out some of the mountains of tissue paper that I have stored down in my basement, it’s a win-win!  However, my flowers flopped.  It’s okay, I can admit when I failed, and I failed with these.

ruche_flower_diy_final

{Tissue flowers are via Design Sponge, see the entire tutorial here.}

So it’s back to the décor board! It is like a jungle out there, idea after idea, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I continue to scour through waiting for some great inspiration to strike me…

Easter Collage

{Top Left: Via Ruffled Blog, Photography: Brion Hopkins / Wedding Planner: Joy de Vivre / Floral Design: Nico Designs;  Bottom Left: Via Style Me Pretty, Photography: Jessamyn Harris Photography / Floral Design: The Monkey Flower Group; Top & Bottom Right: Via Ruffled Blog, Photography: Jenna Trapasso of Red White and Green Photography / Event Styling: Ashley Hayward}

I love these ideas, so fresh and cute and they make me think warmer weather might actually be on the way! As a bonus, any design that incorporates aqua automatically has my attention!  However, these do not seem practical to replicate on large round tables, they would be lost. I have more than one table to decorate! That’s the trouble with clusters of arrangements; you have to make them big to have a big impact on a big table.

The real problem is this isn’t a styled photo shoot where we can play pretend and just photograph it from the right angle.  This, my friends, is real life.  And things here tend to be a bit trickier.

I’ll leave you today with a pretty picture of what I wish my Easter table could look like and I am off to do some shopping.  I will be sure to share the results (good or bad!) next week!

Small Easter table

{Picture via Ruffled Blog, Photography: Brion Hopkins / Wedding Planner: Joy de Vivre / Floral Design: Nico Designs}

I have a few other spring ideas that have inspired me, you can see them on my Spring Fling Pinterest board.  Have a great Wednesday!

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Celebrations Aqua, Easter, Easter centerpieces, Easter decor, Pinterest, Spring

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