Artwork by JoJo Now at SIMPLY ELEGANT DALLAS

I have a VERY SPECIAL announcement for y'all!

Acrylic on 36" x 48" with Silver Leaf | I Wanna Dance with Somebody | Available at Simply Elegant Dallas

Artwork by JoJo is now available at Simply Elegant Dallas in Victory Park!

Acrylic on 36" x 36" Canvas | I Want Candy | Available at Simply Elegant Dallas

I am thrilled and honored to have my pieces hanging in Heather's [Simply Elegant Dallas Owner] Victory Park location! Her floral creations and glamorous decor items and specialty gifts are not only simply elegant.... but, PHENOMENAL! 

This is just SO fantastic! Not only can you get my artwork in her shop.... but, she can work together any stunning arrangement you may need. Check out what she has done for us, personally:

See what I'm talking about?!?!?!

Checkout more of her work and follow her on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, and Simply Elegant's WEBSITE.

Hope to see ya in the neighborhood!

Thanksgiving Table Setting

Thanksgiving is this week... I can't believe it!

So, I am running around getting things accomplished in time for my out of town guests... my parents.

I LOVE hosting them... and I LOVE to cook a big meal.

I also LOVE to plan for a big meal.

How about you?

Part of my planning preparations always include a dry-run with the table setting.

This year, I decided to keep it simple and use elements I already had on hand.

This is the PERFECT time to use my Grandma's china. 

These pieces are so very special to me.

I am blessed to have my Grandma still around, but she gifted these to me over a decade ago. They are vintage [from the 50's or 60's] and I have a service for about 20+ people! Simply amazing! The silver trim on them are so elegant, but yet, the simple wheat sprays provide a casual feel about the pieces. I paired the china with silver glass chargers and my gold silverware.

I wanted the table to have a glamorous style with a rustic twist. So, I added natural elements in the set-up. My authentic deer antlers were just the perfect size and compliment to the centerpiece. I was also able to use my agate coasters in a different way... I turned them into napkin holders! I had some vintage lucite napkin rings on hand and then I just glued the coasters onto them. Easy-peasy!

I echoed the mix of silver and gold in the centerpiece with some simple vases and candlestick holders. I added an additional element of nature with the floral assortments. I wanted to keep them simple and "natural" feeling by just grouping these selections in their appointed vases. I love how they add a pop of color without overshining the china.

Hope you have a wonderful week and a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Coffee Table Styling

I recently spent some time procrastinating styling our coffee table with some pretty florals and fun accents.

Instagram Shot : jojoherda

Instagram Shot : jojoherda

I love to incorporate color in our home through florals. It's a temporary addition which can be enjoyed for the week or so then we can move on to another color scheme with some new florals. 

It's not that often when I can bring pink into the color scheme of our home... especially with my 9 year old boy... that is a color that isn't really "allowed" much. So, it's wonderful to be able to enjoy some pink through flower arrangements!

I enjoyed layering texture, height and materials in this little vignette.

I keep pretty much simplistic styling overall in our home, so it is a lot of fun to get to create such a fun space!

The flowers are still looking fresh... so, I get to enjoy pink for a little while longer! 

So, which color scheme will I get to play with next?

Maybe something a little patriotic: red, white and blue?!

Linking up to Not Just A Housewife and Thrifty Decor Chick link parties.

REFLECTING: Easter Dinner

As I sit here exhausted from the festivities of the past two days, I am reflecting on what a beautiful, glorious, and fun Easter we had yesterday.

I had worked all day on Saturday preparing, baking, cooking, and cleaning. But, it wasn't work really. Do you ever just get into a zone and love all of the activity that you are doing in said zone? That's how I was on Saturday. I had "alone time" all day since the boys were away. I had quiet all day since said boys were away..... ahhhhhh.... it was nice. Me, quiet, and my zone... heavenly!

Then Sunday came, Easter Sunday.

Bright and early before it was light, I awoke and started preparations for a wonderful day. Early church service with the family and then the rest of the day was filled with fellowship and eating.... heavenly!

I made everything on the planned menu I share in this post. And the outcome was extraordinary! I followed all the recipes I linked to and it was.... well.... heavenly!

Good food, good fun, good fellowship and a GREAT EASTER!
I hope you had a lovely weekend....now it's back to the week ahead!

Easter Past

I was looking through some old digital photos and organizing them when I happened across these...

Oh, the day when I could have many collections of items in my home.

To be able to store them and bring them out when the time was appropriate.

My little Easter Bunny and blown eggs were some of those items.

And the days when I could have both my white porcelain and milk glass collection AND my celadon collection..... ohhhhhh the days when....

I also had a huge multi-colored rose bush in the back yard. 

That would bloom.... and bloom.... I LOVED IT!

With time... comes change.
And that is the path that we have been on.

But, you can always make things beautiful no matter where you are!
There is SO much beauty around, it's easy to make it happen!

I look at these images remembering how beautiful my surroundings and belongings were in the suburbs not with a heavy heart, but rather, a grateful heart.

Grateful that time has passed, surroundings have changed, belongings are different, but BEAUTY..... BEAUTY remains to be same.... all around me!

Easter Dinner Preparations

I am starting to clean and gather my items for our Easter Dinner Celebrations.

I have so much fun deciding what to pull out and use!

I don't have that much fun cleaning every item, but it is a necessity after sitting on a shelf and collecting dust. Dust would not be so appetizing to our guests... I'm sure.

I start with a color scheme while deciding what to use in the tablescape.

This year, I am going with a neutral sophisticated palette.

I'll be using silvers, white, cream, gold and lilac/purple. I'll incorporate the lilac/purple color through an ombre selection of florals.

I will be using my ikat plates I purchased at the 2013 Dwell with Dignity Fall Thrift Studio. Plus, this is a perfect time to use the vintage white china passed on to me by my mother-in-law. These both will look wonderful on a mix of silver glass and fabric chargers.

I have decided to pull out my little vintage white milk glass vases to hold the ombre selections of florals. I will be utilizing the arrangements as our centerpiece along the length of the table.

To pull in some more natural elements, I hard boiled these brown farm eggs and will use them in these cute little egg cups! I'll add a few egg-shaped clear paper weights from my collection for contrast and sparkle.

And last, but not least, my fun gold flatware and gold patterned napkins will be getting some love on Easter!
I love the contrast on the natural table runner!

I can't wait to pull together this table and engage in sweet fellowship and food on Easter day!
We have a lot to celebrate and I am going to make sure to shower my guests with wonderful food, drinks, and laughter!

I have compiled my planned menu below with links to most of the recipes in case you need some ideas for your meal. My menu is planned with healthy options for some of the guests that are on specific diets. I have not yet decided on what type of drinks we will be serving other than peach iced tea and infused water. I'll probably stick to a selection of wines for the alcoholic beverages.

APPETIZERS
Shrimp Shooters
Deviled Eggs

MAIN COURSE
Sweet-Hot Plum-Glazed Ham
Lemon Rosemary Salmon
Salad with Fresh Pears, Strawberries and Candied Bacon [I'm using Feta instead of Blue Cheese]
Asparagus Amandine without butter
Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
Rosemary Orange Biscuits

DESSERT
Lemon-Coconut Cake
Banana Pudding Pie
Berries and Whipped Cream

Yummy! Many of these items I can start prepping or complete on Saturday. That way, I am not running around too crazy on Sunday... going from church to cooking in the kitchen.

We also plan to have our annual Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt on Sunday. We seem to change it up a little bit every year, but this year I am planning to do something quite different.... it should be fun!

Happy Easter Preparations, everybody!

Fiddle Leaf Fig Trees

I'm really not a fan of these plants.

I know... that's pretty rebellious at this moment in time!
You see these things popping up all over in the design world.
But, I have really never been of them... ever. For real.

But, if you are into this style and want some greenery in your home, I thought I would pass along a WONDERFUL article I found on Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree Care by Angela Elias over at Pop Sugar.

Source

It really is a great article. And I can really see the desire of having greenery in your decor.
Maybe this old dog can change her mind?... We'll see.

Our Vow Renewal Celebration

I am still in the glow of last weekend's events.

The love.

The beauty.

The specialness....

just simply DIVINE.

I thought I would share a few of the simple and easy details we added to our special day.

First off....

THE INVITATIONS

I found the perfect invites on Pinterest {of course}!

I thought they totally set the theme of what we were doing.... a Vow Renewal. 

The theme:

WE still DO!

minted.

The invitations were for the celebration party only. I copied the design, look and theme for our ceremony invites in Word and printed them in black and white. The ceremony was very small and intimate. It was held at 10 am at the church. The ceremony was very special. I didn't think it would be SO emotionally powerful... but, it was. Thank the Lord for waterproof eye makeup!

THE DRESS

I found the perfect dress at Nordstrom {of course}!

It suited me perfectly. 

Classy

sophisticated

modern 

with a little bit of edge!

The Eliza J Bell Sleeved

Lace Overlay Sheath Dress

It was perfection in every way!

I paired it with strappy silver heels and silver earrings and an adorable ring for the ceremony. 

I simply changed out the heels to high and silver glittery stilettos for the party!

The dress was very comfortable and easy to go from the church ceremony... to brunch.... to home... and to the party!

Here I am with my VERY WONDERFUL and HANDSOME groom!

THE BOUQUET

The bouquet was created by H. Bloom.

The design had a huge nod to the white roses which were at our first ceremony. Although, white tulips were my flower of choice for the original wedding. They just weren't in season at our summer ceremony. And considering, we purchased our flowers from a grocery store {we were so young.... and with very very little money back then}, we really had no say in what we were getting. We, truly, just prayed for any white flower. 

This ceremony was quite different!

I met with a representative from H. Bloom.

See, we live in a high rise condo that is connected to a very fine hotel. H. Bloom is contracted for the floral arrangements for the residence portion, as well as, the hotel. I knew I would LOVE whatever they designed because I LOVE all of their arrangements on site.

I had total trust.... and they did NOT disappoint.

This is my bouquet:

Again, it was important to me to convey a....

Classic

Sophisticated

Modern...

Design in all elements associated with the ceremony and celebration. After all, that is what my desire is in all design and art I am a part of.... hopefully, this celebration exuded those very components.

I think it did.

THE DIY COMPONENTS

These items were pretty minimal compared to my other parties and celebrations. But, I wanted them to pack a powerful PUNCH..... especially, since I wasn't devoting a lot of time and energy into them.

It was very important for me to enjoy this day and not to be bogged down with all the details.

So, I grabbed a whole bunch of very cheap wood letters at a rather large flea market. They provided a very good price per letter since this was for a vow renewal. They were so sweet and the letters turned out AMAZING!

I simply spay painted them GOLD.

The theme was really incorporated in the decor: WE STILL DO!

I had three sets of the phrase spanning the entire length of the lounge area.

Next up..... our CAKE TOPPER.

This is where our kiddo had to include his tastes, likes and design element.

He designed our Lego Minifigure Cake Topper.

An element that had to include him.

He is EIGHT years old. And we have been married for 15+ years..... so, he has a pretty heavy participation in our wedded union.

He also participated in the ceremony.

He is, after all, a "mini-me" of his "minifigure daddy". 

Can you tell the similarities?

The cake came from Society Bakery.

They are PHENOMENAL!

They also created some Vegan Cupcakes for our Vegan guests!

AWESOMENESS!

See..... kiddo was a party animal!

And having his grandma there to whisk him away.... at just the right time..... led for a lovely celebration.

We held the celebration in a lounge at the W Hotel - Dallas that is connected with our condo units.

They provided all the desserts and small bites.

Champagne was passed around on trays to all our guests. As well as, divine hearty appetizers.

We had a lovely full bar, bartendar and staff.

They provided such great service and a well-rounded pizzaz that was greatly appreciated by us and all our guests.

The W Hotel..... SIMPLY AMAZING!

It couldn't have been planned any smoother.

It couldn't have been executed any smoother.

I was a bride..... a planner.... but also, a guest.

It was a blessing to me!
I have done many many MANY events.... and this was BY FAR, the best!

Isn't that the way it should be?

I am so grateful to the family and friends that participated, prayed for this day and were such a part of this event.

It means so much to us.

Thank you!

Linked up at Thrifty Decor Chick & Suburbs Mama.