a little gift of music...................

photography by belathee

With the stress of wedding planning, my husband and I needed to have a little fun, so we decided on DIY wedding favor for our guests. Since music is a big part of our lives, we decided to make a CD and share a funky collection of songs that we love. It's not your typical mushy and sappy wedding CD, although I will admit there are a couple that still bring tears. I illustrated and designed the art and he managed the production for CD case. Voilà! Turned out pretty good, if I don't say so myself.
The CD included 2 songs that were in our wedding, "Perpetuun Mobile", which played while I walked down the aisle and Vinicio Capossela's, "Ovunque Proteggi" for our first dance.
check out the play list.......................

"Perpetuun Mobile", Penguin Orchestra
"Venus as a boy", Bjork
"All my friends", LCD Soundsystem
"Our lives are shaped by what we love", Odyssey
"He lays in reins", Iron and Wine/Calexico

"Nothing like this", J Dilla

"Song of the Siren" Robert Plant
"Monitor" Siouxsie and the Banshees
"I know what I know" Paul Simon
"Satellite of love" Lou Reed
"Everybody" Madonna
"Bumble bee orchestra" Lady Bug
"Ovunque Proteggi" Vinicio Capossela


We had our CD favors designed and produced by a company is called, mycd.it, located here in Italy. The style we ordered was a 4 panel, digipak, with a soft spot nub to hold the CD in place, rather then the plastic tray. They also provided a template so we could transfer the artwork created for the cover and inside. Since this site is only in Italian, I've include some links to a few sites in the states that have comparable designs/packaging.

Oasis Disc Manufacturing
Triple Disc Media
Cravedog CD & DVD Manufacturing

a little spring has arrived in my garden........

photographs by deirdre quinn

Spring has officially arrived here in Milano...............

This morning, while I was outside, I noticed 3 little blooms had fallen to the ground and immediately I rescued them. I believe its a Camilla bush but I'm not 100%, since it was here before I moved in. The color is so unreal! bubble gum hot pink! I think they look exquisite just floating in a shallow bowl...how perfect, not mention inexpensive for a table setting. Perfect for a spring or summer garden wedding.
as always, martha stewart has some simple and beautiful flower arrangement ideas....

a little sugar.......

I love love love living in Italy! its only here that I can would walk in to my neighborhood Pasticcerria Gelateria, Corregio, to find none other then sugared violets! Too bad I didn't think of decorating our cupcakes and small cake with these sparkling little jewels.....
It's a nice alternative to decorate your wedding cake with sugared flowers.
here are a few edible flowers you can work with......and don't forget you can also use fruit!

pansies
violets
viola's
mint leaves

To DIY, check out Martha Stewart's little recipe for sugared flowers and Redbook's recipe for sugared fruit.

the sugared violets paired up with sugared mint leaves

photographed by deirdre quinn

*for future travelers, if your ever in Milan, Italy, and want to taste some of the best pasteries, I recommend this pasticceria gelateria called Correggio, located at Via Correggio, 14 Milano, t. 024690887