Tuesday, August 2, 2011

the summer wasting

friday i went out, as planned, with three friends it seems impossible to get in one room these days - 3 years ago, when i moved to the city, we were all relatively new to new york and hung out easily and often, all of us single or practically so and easy to gather up for a night on the town. flash forward three years and we're all living with our significant others, and i got MARRIED somehow. life's funny. so i got dressed up, drank too much, and had the best time out i have in ages.

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top: american apparel
skirt: super sale anthropologie
scarf: thrifted
shoes: devotte [who sadly seem to be defunct]
bag: cambridge satchel co

i ordered this bag months ago and had it embossed with my new initials - AEL. you married ladies, how did you make the transition to your new name (if you changed it?) i'm overwhelmed by all i have to do - it's official, on our marriage certificate, but there are still drivers licenses, passports, credit cards, and email addresses to change, not to mention the fact that whenever someone asks my name my auto-response is still "audrey dettmar." when does a workin' woman get to the dmv?! /rant.

after friday's shenanigans i slept until almost noon on saturday and then spent most of the day working on invitations for a shindig my parents are throwing for some friends and coworkers at the end of the summer. yep, my dad hired me to design the invitations! nepotism at its best. i made sure to give him his money's worth, though, working from noon til almost 11 pm to hand sew, assemble, and then decorate each and every envelope. thank goodness it's a small party.

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the idea was simply to try to convey summer with some graphic elements, so i made a template of a wine bottle and cut it out of each card, then formatted some type with the who, what, where, & when in illustrator to fill the wine bottle, and printed it on vellum; put the thing through my sewing machine to attach and add a bit of texture, and slipped it inside a little sleeve to hold it in place with the tag line, of sorts, of the party - "where did the summer go? come help us search for what remains." then i drew flags on each envelope, just to make 'em a bit more festive. pretty simple, but i'm happy with how they turned out.

after finishing the invites, i retreated to bed with my laptop and fell asleep watching so you think you can dance. the exciting life on a 20-something in the big city! the weekend was somewhat rescued, though, by a long bike ride to the farmer's market yesterday and a barbecue with friends to end the evening. all in all, not a bad showing.

more from me soon!

xo audrey

19 comments:

  1. I don't know what I admire more...the way you chopped off your hair to uncover the most unbelievably gorgeous gamine look in decades, or your remarkable talents?
    Sam must pinch himself daily to make sure being such a lucky man isn't just a dream!

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  2. i love the design of the invitations . simple but works with the idea very well :)

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  3. I love the tied scarf around your neck, also the yellow on yellow skirt & bag seriously rock.

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  4. Don't forget to change your Social Security card too! It was hard for me to change my name, and I didn't even drop my maiden, just tacked on my new last name (no hyphen). It's been 2.5 years, and I now officially don't have to think when I say my full name. It just takes some time.
    your outfit is gorgeous by the way! The invites are too.

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  5. Hmmm...still trying not to think about the logistics of changing my name next month. Too overwhelming!

    Love the invites.

    XO
    Lenore

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  6. it took me 2.5 years to finally get it together and change my name. i just never had the time. honestly, there isn't time enough in the universe for me to justify going to the DMV.

    seeparrot.blogspot.com

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  7. I LOVE what you did with the scarf in this outfit. It looks very cute. Yay for girls' night! The invitations look awesome as well. I really like the pennant design on the envelopes.

    I can't give the best advice on name changing because I simply added my husband's last name to my full name to make the transition easier. Since I did that, I only ended up changing my name on my Social Security card, driver's license and bank account. I didn't bother changing my credit cards or any other accounts. So now I officially have four names, which looks kind of pretentious, but it made my life easier...although I don't know if it's even legal that I didn't change my name elsewhere. I just figured I could get away with not doing it since my maiden name was still part of my legal name.

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  8. I am not looking forward to the work that goes into changing your name, but I am glad you reminded me, so I can get on the call come March. And, let me tell you, those invitations, SO GREAT! I love them and am adding them to my inspiration board pronto.

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  9. Love the invites. I'd hire you in a heartbeat. :)

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  10. love that you got the bright yellow satchel! i have a practical brown. i like it but it's too skinny to fit my camera not awkwardly so i havent used it in a while. and dang girl you got some swank graphic design skills- really nice invites!

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  11. Cambridge! Satchel! So jealous! And I love the adorable envelope bunting :)

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  12. Those are SUCH cute invitations! And I love your outfit. The skirt is such a divine color!

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  13. I love the scarf worn like that, I'm gonna have to try it! Those invitations are so clever!

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  14. great invites audrey! i'm getting an iconic twiggy mod cool vibrant vibe from the outfit, hair & color.

    http://honeybeelane.blogspot.com/

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  15. I'm obsessed with that satchel, everytime I see one I get angry haha! I have a confession..it's been almost 3 yrs and I still haven't changed my name, still not sure if I will! I think before we have kids I'm going to but right now I'm too lazy and it's too much work haha! I wish we had more married friends to go out with, the single ladies thing isn't really workin for me anymore. Sounds like you had a blast!

    Krystle
    http://dearwinsome.blogspot.com/

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  16. Oh man, if you were MY relative, I'd rope you into slave labor and make you design cards and outfits and dinner for me daily! You're just all kinds of talented, aren't you? Don't worry, I already know the answer to that. Was your dad overjoyed with the results?
    I love your girls night out getup. It looks so feminine and preppy + totally unique.

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  17. @Eleanor thank you so much! what kind words. i'm pretty sure i'm the luckier of the two - sam ends up having to do all my dishes.

    @Julia thank you! so good to hear. i'd been worried at first that they were too simple but they've definitely grown on me.

    @Loren thank you so much! i think this yellow is my new favorite color.

    @Michelle Kendrick Hartney aaah! lord. what a nightmare. i am so dreading all this paperwork. and thank you so much!

    @Lenore @ Lather. Write. Repeat. thank you and GOOD LUCK!

    @Lauren seriously. it is so nice to hear i'm not the only person with this problem - i think my little sister had changed all of her ids, cards, and everything within a week or two. she's the responsible one of the family.

    @Heather, 29 Skirts thanks lady! i spent way too much time drawing all those flags, but i'm really happy with how they turned out. i'm kind of wishing i'd gone that route - changing everything over seems like an overwhelming nightmare.

    @Chelsea@BucketsAndBunches thank you so much! good luck with your wedding!!

    @Heather thank you!!

    @hannah, heart city i have the same problem with mine - i can really only carry it on weekends since i bring my camera to work every day to do a post and there's no chance it's fitting in the satchel. thanks lady! hope your move was smoooth. . .

    @Cosmia thank you!

    @Marathank you so much! i'm loving this color these days.

    @FutureLint thank you! the scarf was a litttttle warm for the weather but i think will work perfectly in fall.

    @Teddi wow, thank you!! that is pretty much the look i would give off in my dreams. so sweet of you to say!

    @dear winsome hahaha. i'd been lusting after one forever and finally broke down - i have to say, though, it's not quite as practical as i would have thought - a little too skinny to carry much. i feel SO much better hearing that, hahaha! i guess i don't really have to hurry. such a bummer you don't live closer - i'd love some married friends to go out with, too.

    @Rachael girrrrl, any time! you are way too kind. and keep in mind that when you point at someone there are three fingers pointed back at you. talented-y mctalentmeister. yeah, i've seen your blog. i know you're funny, brilliant and artsy. so there.

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  18. such beautiful invites! i'm hosting a small afternoon tea soon, & this has inspired me to make my own invites too!

    Katie x

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  19. OMG..SYTYCD never disappoints me as a show. I don't know how I manage to get so wrapped into every season. Love the invites they are so so sweet!!

    And I was just having the holy crap I miss you like crazy convo with my girlfriends. Just 3 years ago we were all single dance party u.s.a and now we all have boys and never see each other!!! I heart the BF but I doooo miss my ladies.

    Your close look mega super fun! Fantastic outfit per usual.

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