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!

One of my most lovely friends, Jackie (a devoted P&P reader since its inception ahem), sent in these equally lovely photos of her bedroom furniture before + after. Jackie had just started her first year of graduate school and moved into her first post-college apartment and was looking for bright and cheery furnishings for her cozy abode. I’m very proud that she took matters into her own hands and then decided to share the DIY results on Peach & Pearl.

The before (minus a few pieces, but you get the idea):

And the after:

Squee!! I love her color choices, and (side note) I LOVE her blue and white shams! Fantastic job, Miss Jackie!

{Image c/o Postal Press}

In case you didn’t notice, I’ve recently updated my left sidebar to reflect some of my favorite DIY sources. I’ve personally ordered from most of them (and those that I haven’t have come highly recommended). Perhaps my list will motivate you to try a project this week?

P.S. I’ve also updated my Favorites (my favorite vendors) and my Loves (the blogs I love the most). They’re all worth a look!

{Please excuse my poor Photoshopping skills!}

Cousin getting married + extended family traveling to my new hometown = the perfect opportunity for entertaining! We’ve settled on hosting a brunch for the morning of the wedding, and these are the invitations I sent out. Stay tuned for many more planning details coming up next week in addition to a few last-minute apartment improvement projects (yay!).

DIY Details:

1. Establish the size of your envelope, then layout a design in the style and graphic program of your choice. I used Microsoft Publisher. If you like the look of my type, try selecting the “distribute all lines” alignment option.

2. Print and cut.

3. For extra pizzazz, I added fabric to the back of the invites with the scraps left over from this project. If you’d like to do this, too, lay out two invites at a time on newsprint and spray them with 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Adhesive (DO THIS OUTSIDE!!). Quickly smooth the paper onto the fabric and let the glue dry for a few minutes. Carefully cut around the edges of the invitation.

P.S. If you’re a member of my family and think you should be getting an invite after reading this post but haven’t received one yet, don’t worry! I only sent them out on Wednesday, so rest assured it is in the mail. And I apologize for ruining the surprise. :)