Friends! We are back from our honeymoon, well-rested, and missing island time just a little bit. To soften the transition back to the real world, I thought I’d cook up a Nevis-inspired wedding inspiration board. I’ll have much, more more to say about this pretty little island in the coming weeks, but today, just know I focused on its color palette: the azure blue of the ocean and sky, the bright butter yellow of the plantation houses and rum punches, and the dry grass green of the palm trees, with a little waft of British colonialism heritage thrown in for good measure. Happy Monday, friends! Sandals photo by Garance Dore, coconut couple photo by Wendy Laurel via Style Me Pretty, rum punch (the unofficial official drink of Nevis) photo by Meredith Perdue via Map & Menu, striped stationery via Design Work Life, soft blue and green bridesmaid dresses photo by Judy Pak via SMP, pineapple centerpiece photo by Justin & Mary, cucumber honeydew margarita popsicles from Endless Simmer, photo of Montpelier Plantation by Meredith Perdue via Map & Menu

Hello, friends! I am so happy to be back and writing to you! I survived my whirlwind week, and I did it by putting one foot in front of the other and concentrating only on the task in front of me – whenever I didn’t do that, I got totally overwhelmed! It was a fabulous week, though: one where I got to take several beautiful drives through upstate New York; brave the streets of Manhattan in a rental car (the parking was actually worse than the driving!); stay overnight twice with two of my favorite New Yorkers; eat pizza with my Mom; see a ton of new pretty paper at the Stationery Show; have lunch with my three oldest friends; host a shower for my future sister-in-law and dear friend (can’t wait to share!); put on my bathing suit and lie in the sun; and get together with girlfriends new and old at the future sister-in-law’s bachelorette party (yes, both in one weekend!). The only thing I didn’t get to do enough of was squeeze John and my kitties, but now that I’m back in North Carolina, I’m making up for lost time! I definitely plan to share some highlights from NSS as well as shower details, but both will require me to gather my thoughts (and images!). In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of the inspiration I’ve been collecting for our wedding weekend welcome packs. (I haven’t decided if the goods will be housed in bags or boxes, so that’s why I’m calling them packs :) John and I have thought a bit about what we’ll put in our packs, but since so many of our lovely guests read this blog, I don’t want to spoil the surprise. I’ll report back after the weekend, though! In the

I do not know if they have mulberries in Hawaii. I do know that I found the cover of the most recent Martha Stewart Weddings very inspiring, and decided to craft an inspiration board around its perfect bright mulberry hue. I imagined this wedding in Hawaii, since who doesn’t need a little aloha inspiration in January? The Details: First row: Martha Stewart Weddings Winter 2012 cover, photographed by Sang An; orchid bouquet by Ariella Chezar from Martha Stewart Weddings; ambrosia mojito popsicles from Desserts for Breakfast Second row: cocktail tables photo by Apertura via Style Me Pretty; island trio photo by Corbin Gurkin via Style Me Pretty; from Sky Series by Eric Cahan Third row: dress from J. Crew; hibiscus flower unknown; mokuba orchid arrangement by Yvonne Design (photo by Apertura via Style Me Pretty