If you’re anything like me, you generally wait and wait and wait for the perfect time to put together photo albums/photo books of major events. Usually this means they don’t even happen, and then when they do they are big and comprehensive and usually just sit on a shelf. Recently, via Alt Summit and an affiliate program with Blurb, I had the opportunity to create a couple of books with them, and I wanted to make volumes that I would actually use and look at, so I decided to create a couple non-traditional books.

First up, I decided to make a travel sketchbook for our Europe trip. I culled through a ton of travel photos from the last decade, choosing a few from studying abroad in Finland, some from previous Europe travels, and some from D and I’s trips to Belize and Peru.

I titled it “Space and Light” and made a title page with a quote from a favorite historical architect (more on him soon!). Really, I wanted this to be an inspiration volume since I’ve been trying to get back into sketching and drawing to stir the creative juices. To turn this into a sketchbook, I deliberately left full blank pages as well as partial negative space adjacent to travel photos so that I could draw and sketch what was inspiring me in the environment, but maybe also be inspired by a past travel memory. I used Blurb’s Trade Book format (which is what people usually use to self publish literature) so that it would have an intentially dull-drawing-paper type of a finish, perfect for impromptu sketching. The size ended up being perfect (slim enough to carry in a day bag) but big enough to put some graphics on paper during our trip. Hopefully I’ll get around to sharing those during our trip-recap.

Shortly after I put this book together and showed it to Blurb at Alt Summit, they launched a new collection of Designer Layouts and encouraged me to give one a try. I checked out the layouts and they were so simple, classy and clean, all I had to do was drop in a few photos for a little gem of a book.

I know you guys are probably sick of me pushing my engagement photos, but when I looked through these designer books and saw that their sizing was small (7×7), it occurred to me that there were still some family members who hadn’t seen all our photos online (grandma), and that a little petite book like this would be nice to tote around during upcoming visits and let them sift through at their leisure (you know, stopping for a “when your grandfather and I. . .” every few pages).

I chose a little timeline for the front cover of my favorite series of photos from the shoot. The simple black background really let Carina’s photos pop off the page, and its just a sweet little reminder of this time in our lives. Plus, I love that its still a masculine looking Designer layout, so its a perfect gift for fiances (or DAD! see below)

I love that both these little books are different from the over-designed glossy books I’ve put together in the past. Lucky for all of you – Blurb is having a 20% sale on photo books for Father’s Day. Use code JUSTFORDAD through 6/10 for a simple clean book for the important fellas in your life.

One of the most fun moments of wedding planning so far has been the moment I asked 3 of my friends to be bridesmaids. I had already asked D to be my Maid of Honor, but I wanted to do something fun and a little silly for the other girls.

The first day we went out dress shopping (At The Dress Theory, a picture-perfect boutique here in Seattle), I made a surprise ball for each girl (even a friend from out of state who I mailed it to), and had them open them simultaneously (in person and via skype) when the moment was right.

It was so fun to watch them each search for the message and crepe streamers were flying everywhere!

See my full tutorial over (inspired by Megan) at Engaged + Inspired.

Also, since I haven’t shared links to my first few posts over at E + I:

Thoughts about starting a group pinterest board (hint: its fun!)

Finding our industrial venue (hint: its awesome!)

Many people have been asking us: where did you stay while in Europe?

After our group of girlfriends solidified our itinerary, we got to work researching places to sleep on our trip.  We ended up with a combination of very different places, all unique, but each was amazing!

We had a budget of $50 usd, per person, per night, for the 4 of us.

First up:  Paris.

Now, I was highly concerned this stop was going to break our budget or that we would be staying out on the last metro stop just to be able to afford something.  Then, B discovered through A Blog Named Scout this website called My Paris Visit.  Jackpot.  We stayed HERE.

They manage about 100 apartments around town.  I would say we should have looked more than 12 weeks prior to our visit for the best selection.  Additionally, you get the best deals if you can stay for a week.

The location was perfect, only two blocks from the Louvre.  Additional selling point:  amazing teeny boulangerie across the street.  I think I ate pain au chocolat every day in Paris.

Then, we traveled to Interlaken, Switzerland.

This proved to be the most challenging accommodation to come under our budget.  Who knew this small Swiss town would be so expensive without that many options?  In the end, location and view won us over.  We stayed at the Backpacker’s Villa.  It was an old house turned hotel, and we had a balcony to wake up to this breathtaking view of the Alps.  Plus, there were free lattes, free parking, and it was easy to walk around town from there.

Alps!

After Interlaken, we moved out to Montreux, Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva.

We found this funky apartment on Air BnB.  It’s a site where anyone around the world can put their home up for short term rental.  We have used it when traveling in the US, so why not try it in Switzerland?  We chose this place mainly based on the view from the balcony and being across the street from the Lake.   Plus, notice our indoor lime tree soaking up the sun?? The apartment was comfortable and a great location.  We used it as stomping grounds for visiting several small cities on the eastern, Swiss side of Lake Geneva.

One of the many sunset pictures taken on the Riviera:

Finally, one of the girls we traveled with, Jackie, had in-laws outside of Geneva who generously offered to have us stay with them.  They live in a small town, on a vineyard,  and overlooking Lake Geneva on the north side.  Bonus: they have a board game stash that rivaled mine!  They were amazingly generous hosts and it’s a miracle we returned to the US!

Above:  rows and rows of the beginning of the season vines with some new growth!  Below: The view as the sunset from the patio. Pink mountains!

Overall:  Accommodations were a success!

Happy weekend friends!  Hope it’s  full of relaxing moments, sun breaks, and smiling faces over coffee!

We have returned from an incredible trip to Paris and Switzerland with friends.  The jet lag has gone away and we have both jumped back into real life – work, studying, laundry, weeding, etc!  A special thank you to Sandra and Lisette who both guest posted for us while we were away!

The re-entry into reality has been a bit rough for me.  Everything seems to need my attention and all I want to do is have a four hour Parisian lunch over good wine and conversation.

Before I left, I stumbled upon this poster:  Travel has taught me…..

Over the next few weeks we are going to blog about our trip and attempt to reflect upon the many ways we complete this sentence.

For now, I’ve got this tidbit of happiness….