John’s and my brunch was just lovely, if I do say so myself. We had about twenty family members from across the country in attendance, piles of food, and some festive decor. The best part, though, was just having so much extended family in one place, especially since we’ve been missing our friends and family so much since moving down south.

I did, of course, throw in a few special details…

The white square plates are from Walmart ($4 each!), and the white cake stand is from Martha’s collection at Macy’s.

The descriptive signs were hand-stamped on paint chips.

We decided to buy plain white paper cups but use my collection of old china saucers for plates. I was a little worried because we had just enough plates for everyone to take one (with maybe one extra), but it worked out fine. The pitchers are also from Walmart.

I had grand plans to send everyone home with a sugar cookie packaged in a glassine bag sealed with a handmade sticker. The bags didn’t exactly work out, so I ended up just putting the cookies out on the table, but I thought I’d share my hard work on the stickers with y’all, anyway. I designed them in Publisher, printed them, and then ran them through my Xyron.

Recipes coming up next!

{Click to enlarge!}

Bond. James Bond. Isn’t the dinner jacket in the upper left so 007? It served as the inspiration for this classic black and white soiree, made a bit more complex with touches of cream, camel, celery, and blush. The clouds of baby’s breath, too, get an updated look in this board.

The Details
First row, left to right: dinner jacket photo by Leigh Miller; crinoline photo by Shyla Photography via Once Wed; cupcake from Martha Stewart Weddings

Second row: classic car photo by Jose Villa; buffet spread by MSW; centerpiece from Martha Stewart Weddings

Third row: baby’s breath bouquet and ceremony decor by Leigh Miller; cheese and crackers from Country Living

Fourth row: cake from Brides; chair decor via Classic Bride; heels photo by Leigh Miller

{Photo c/o Erin Hearts Court via Style Me Pretty}

Well, I accomplished my weekend plans! What about you?

This week on P&P: an inspiration board, a brunch recap, a few wedding photos, and, among other things, my new favorite house (it’s really, really lovely…).

P.S. I may (may) have worked on a Christmas project this weekend. Is that bad? Don’t laugh — I just really, really love the Christmas season. Any other early preparers out there?

P.P.S. It’s Veggie Week at Peach & Pearl HQ, per my 101 in 1001. Any delicious recipe suggestions?

Have you ever checked out Design*Sponge’s City Guides? D*S was always one of those blogs that I heard lots of gushing over but was off-putting-ly overwhelming whenever I paid a visit. Recently, though, I’ve been delighted with the links I’ve followed (as evidence, see my posts about Grace’s upholstered headboard DIY and Joy and Amy’s sneak peeks). I still haven’t added it to my Reader, but I am happy to share my newest D*S discovery: City Guides!

They’ve put together a guide of wonderful places to eat, shop, and check out for tons of cities in the U.S. and abroad. The ones that are of the most interest to me, of course, are the Raleigh Guide and the Durham Guide, but just to prove how plentiful the guides are…

…there’s a Providence Guide for Miss Wanda, she of the cupcake liner recommendation
…there’s a Twin Cities Guide for Sistah Peach
…there’s a Boston Guide for Sistah Pearl
…there’s a Portland Guide for cousins Molly + Hannah
…there’s a Charlotte Guide for Charlotte cousins
…there’s a Dallas Guide for my girl Jenna
…there’s a D.C. Guide for Meg
…and there’s a Paris Guide for my dreams

Courtesy of the Durham Guide, I now have a plan for tomorrow! First I’m going to visit the Durham Farmers’ Market (hopefully to find some bittersweet!). Then I’m going to pick up a tasty sweet from Daisy Cakes (They sell cupcakes! Out of an Airstream trailer!). Before heading home I’m going to browse at Southern Portico and The Scrap Exchange, both super-cool-sounding stores right down the street from Daisy Cakes.

Looking for something to do this weekend? See if there’s a City Guide near you!