grand rapids events Archives - Page 15 of 46

It’s the Most Wonderful Time

December 10, 2013/in Decoration, Flowers, Home /by Jessica Swagman

I feel like December snuck up on me, completely out of nowhere and hit me over the head. Bam. Last night I was frantically researching easy Christmas cookie recipes, wrapping presents (yes, I have almost all my Christmas shopping done, with gifts en route to Denver and Reno as we speak), and looking over my notes for my final wedding of 2013. A few days ago I finally had time to try my hand at decorating a mug with a sharpie (I’ve only seen a million tutorials on Pinterest). The perfectionist in me probably made it a hundred times harder than it should have been, but two hours later I had my decorated mug. Will I ever use it? Never. Can you imagine if the gold started to wear off? I would probably cry.

This past weekend I was gifted a lovely bouquet of flowers from a very dear family. When I got home, as I was unwrapping the cellophane, I noticed a few stems didn’t have blooms, while others were a little smushed. The not-so-lovely side of buying flowers that are all pre-picked at the store for you. So, I tromped outside into my snowy yard and cut a few branches of leaves and greenery, and rescued this sweet little bouquet. See, you can make a grocery store bouquet look lovely!

With that said, I hope you all enjoy this beautiful, wintery week. And may all your days be merry and bright.

Joy

November 26, 2013/in Events /by Jessica Swagman

I stumbled upon this quote today and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The road to comparison is never a good road to go down and it never ends well. It is a slippery slope and once you are on it, it is very hard to get off it. You would think at some point we would learn to be content with who we are and what we have. You would hope that at some point we would grow up and get over it. If only it were that easy. At 28, I still have not learned my lesson. This past week has been hard; I think I have beaten myself up about a million times by comparing myself to other people and their perfect lives.

With Facebook, Instagram, blogs, etc, sometimes we look at everyone else’s life and think they have it all. After all, it’s really easy for people to make their lives look and sound perfect. Plus, there are those little numbers constantly reminding us that we are still far from 1,000 Facebook Likes or 10,000 Instagram followers. Why do we use those numbers as a gauge for our self-worth? See, not a good road at all.

Ironically, Thanksgiving is just a few short days away, reminding me that I have so much to be thankful and joyful for. I am truly blessed. We are all truly blessed.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sneak Peek: Katherine and Cole

November 22, 2013/in Events, Weddings /by Jessica Swagman

November 9, 2013

Where has autumn gone?

November 19, 2013/in Events, Fashion, Flowers, Home /by Jessica Swagman

With one wedding left for 2013, I find myself cocooning inside my house covered in blankets, staring outside at the chilly air. Oh wait, that’s only in my daydreams. With only one wedding left, things are winding down on the wedding front, but picking up on every other front. So, instead of sitting inside with a cup of steaming tea, I find myself bundling up in my woolen scarves, with a mug of hot chocolate in hand, running around town for clients, emailing late into the night, picking up thousands of fabric scraps that have migrated all over the house, and feeling like autumn has literally passed me by in my sleep. Is it winter already? I was looking at my planner today, thinking to myself that I should get started on my Christmas shopping, wondering if I have time to pick up my tofurkey before next week, and wondering if Superman has a phone number so he can help me with those mundane tasks like buying clothing labels, hang tags, and POS supplies. Thankfully, I have some pretty fantastic friends and family who have given up their days-off to help me winterize my succulents, create my fashion brand, make jewelry, and guide me on balancing event planning with fashion design. For you, I am forever thankful.

I am also thankful for nights when my internet is on the fritz, so instead of working, I get to take the night off and watch (I mean really watch, not working and watching) a movie with popcorn. When the sun shines for just a couple hours and I can finish spray painting my trunk.