Murtemberfest
noun (mur-tem-ber-fest)
A festival thrown in honor of a great dude named Murray, celebrated not in his chosen month of October (which would have been called Murtoberfest) but in September, the month (and day) on which he was to be married.
cue Edward Sharpe’s song ‘Home’ …
if you actually have that on whatever device you are reading this from, you should probably hit play now.
… it went off without a hitch. Really, it was an incredible event that I am so incredibly proud to slap my name all over. I worked hard for this. Really hard. I have been crafting up ideas for the last year and 1/2 to make this wedding/celebration exactly as I had always dreamed it could be.
Dad and I arrived in Iowa on Wednesday evening to open arms and a delicious dinner. On Thursday we figured out where this party was going to happen and what needed to be cleaned, swept and power washed. We accomplished that and rounded out the night with some of my lingering crafty projects. On Friday I went to Omaha to get a great friend from the airport, had lunch with family, bought some last minute goodies and headed back to keep on working. There was much to be done but more specifically, I needed to keep my mind from wandering to what I ‘should’ be doing at that very moment. From what the rehearsal would have looked like. From what last minute projects I would have felt were necessary that Murray would have deemed LONG ago to be over the top and unnecessary. Perhaps those handmade napkins?? 
Then it was Saturday.
Shortly after getting up and downing a trusty cup-o-joe, I headed out to the site of the festivities to get crackin. The tables were going to arrive before too long and once those got there I could plow ahead to make this an unforgettable party… And drag along anyone who was willing to help, which to my delight was EVERYONE!
We unpacked candles, paper lanterns and bamboo forks. We discussed the placement of the never-ending supply of Christmas lights. We hemmed and hawed over the weight of string and if the string in hand would be heavy enough to hold all those lanterns we had just unpacked. We got the mason jars with their ‘necklaces’ in position and labeled all of the home brewed beer.
At about 3:30 I finally felt like I could breathe … just about everything was in place. The space was absolutely stunning. And the remainder of my best friends in the whole wide world were starting to trickle in. That was my cue to wash the several days of moving, sweeping, packing, unpacking, crafting, thinking and crying off of me.
The rest is a bit of a happy/sad blur … There was an amazing crowd, great music, a beautiful sunset and most importantly, lots of hugs, smiles, laughter and memories. In light of everything over the past year, I really honestly couldn’t have asked for a better day. And that’s part of what made everything so hard, I think. I knew going into this, one year ago, that Murray would never let this day be anything but flawless. I knew he would give us the most amazing weather he could. He would get as many people there as he could. He would get everything to come together with as little frustration or tears as possible. And he sure did! At some point during the evening I stopped in my tracks and gazed up at the beautiful moonless sky and my friend beside me said ‘this is just perfect’ and I wholeheartedly agreed. It was.
I’m so proud. Not only of the beauty but for how all of us embraced everything and plowed forward. We took the lemons of a day that was supposed to be amazing for so many other reasons and made lemonade.
Besides talking about the festivities and sharing some photos, I also wanted to extend a HUGE thank you to everyone that helped make this happen!!! If you were there and helped serve pies, hang lanterns and lights, make signs, drink beer, eat that pie or hug us, THANK YOU! If you could not make it but sent thoughts and messages either through text, email, facebook or writing in the clouds, THANK YOU! And while I’ve gotten pretty good at taking self portraits (if I do say so myself), I certainly can not claim the ones above as mine. A big chunk of these lovely photos are credited to my amazing friend, Emily, who is 1/2 of why this date was picked in the first place. I made a point to leave my camera in the house during the party because Mur had joked (at least I think it was a joke?) that he would hide my camera on the morning of the wedding. So that’s what I did – I hid it.
While I hate to stop writing here since it makes the reality that all the hoopla is over that much more real, I believe the photos and words paint an amazing picture of not only the celebration, but of how truly loved and missed Mur is. And that is my goal.
I’ll conclude with a BIG thank you to my amazing clients who have had incredible patience for the last month (well, year). It has helped more than you may realize! And now, I’m on my way to a shoot a lovely pittie who, rumor has it, loves people AND treats – my kind of gal.
Read Morelittle things grow :: minneapolis family photographer
More than before I’m amazed at how quickly time can pass. Yes, a long day can feel like a long day, but when you look back on life it goes by in a blink of an eye. And since I really don’t understand how my life has moved beyond September 1st, these photos were pretty crazy to weed through. Pretty crazy and pretty amazing…
You may remember this peanut from her baby photos last November. Well, she’s gotten bigger!! And somehow, even cuter.
… and she has the sweetest expressions!!!
AND I was ecstatic to learn that the little onesie I made her before she was born still fit her in April!! y.e.s.!
While I can’t claim the idea as my own (you could {and probably should!!} buy one here) I did painstakingly make this one over the course of a few late nights in front of the fire with the girls and some wine … You may remember these photos from this post:
…and here is my little assistant!!!! Doesn’t she look like she is ready to tote a camera with a dog treat in hand??
amazing, right?? her excitement in the next few says it all … she can’t wait!
love ya, Char Mu!
Paper Hat :: s minneapolis boutique
Welcome to one of the CUTEST shops around!!!
Paper Hat is a magical shop featuring hand made goods from artists across the country. Think Etsy with physical walls. And the owner, Greta, loves to find things locally so you better believe that a lot of what is in there is made in the glorious Twin Cities area. I stumbled upon this shop last fall and was thrilled when Greta was interested in selling some of my greeting cards there – hooray!!! You’re able to find my ‘classic’ designs and those that are hot off of the press in her shop
Paper Hat is located in South Minneapolis not only incredibly close to my place but nestled amongst other great stores and restaurants on a main drag, 50th St. Ever been to Broders? Yes? Then you know right where the store is (next door)!! and if not, you should swing by the shop and then head there for food. It’s fantastic!
Inside the store you will find all sorts of cute and amazing hand crafted goods that you won’t be able to live without. Trust me.
but I think Greta would do a better job at explaining what is so special and amazing about the store…
Have you ever made a paper hat? Every new fold says something about the maker: a tuck here, a twist there, designed for simplicity or topped off with flourish—absolutely anything goes. The best part is there’s no wrong answer along the way, and the end result usually comes with a matching smile.
That’s what Paper Hat is all about. Original. Unexpected. A little whimsical, too. We believe that things made by hand are an extension of the maker. The flaws are part of the perfection. The individuality shines through. It’s how you know that the artist, the art itself and the person who takes it home are all completely one-of-a-kind.
To bring that unique perspective to life, we’ve created a fresh place to experience the world of artists and handcrafters. It’s an environment that’s laid back and fun, somewhere that creativity and possibility live. It is a unique shopping experience for those who value quality and originality. With ever-changing merchandise and festive gallery openings, the store is an approachable venue, designed to fill one’s life with meaningful pieces and a broader appreciation for art. Because great art should be attainable—how else will we get close enough to touch it and take a little piece for ourselves?
bah … so cute!!
I hope this gives you oodles of ideas for upcoming gifts as well as shopping/eating expeditions! South Minneapolis is a great place to go for adventures and I would definitely recommend Paper Hat be included in your itinerary
Need more reasons to go? The shop has a Happy Hour on Thursdays where they make amazing crafts + drink wine. There are also parties for featured artists each month. Check out their Facebook page or website for more information!
And tell Greta I sent ya!
Besos!
Read Moreplaying dress up :: minneapolis pet photos
we’ve been over this. I love mail. All kinds of it. The e kind and the physical ‘old school’ in the box kind. And I like to make others happy by getting it because I know I’m not alone in this sentiment.
so yesterday when I got home from a busy, busy day at work I was THRILLED to see these in the mail …
The girls and I have been waiting for these. Well, ok, not so much them … more just me These are from my favorite collar lady, restowe. I’ve talked about these before because I have a leash for each of the girls because yes, I’m THAT lady that walks her cats around the yard on a leash. My neighbors can attest to the fact that it can take, oh, a few hours to get from the backyard to the front and back again. Ha! Well now I can replace their rather boring collars with something more fancy … I can’t wait to get them on and see what they think
… because clearly my cats need MORE fancy. A diet of meat just wasn’t enough 
2012 … the year of the gift
** note … this is a much longer post than I anticipated when I settled on the title and edited the photos included.
In a nut shell, it’s about making people happy in 2012 with {handmade} goodies but for more details, read on***
Well, the 2011 Holidays have come and gone. Anniversaries. Birthdays. Thanksgiving. Christmas. New Years. As the year wore on after September and October, I started thinking that it might be best if I just ‘skipped’ the holidays this year. Yes, I would experience the actual ‘dates’ but I wouldn’t necessarily do the same things that I had done in the past. I knew I wouldn’t be able to celebrate the same so what did it matter if I didn’t really celebrate at all. The Nelson family gatherings have always been more about spending time with each other, trying out new recipes or re-experiencing old favorites and playing some sort of game than it is about the celebration of a specific holiday. I’ve come to learn the Perdues are very similar. I figured I might be able to handle all that if I just pretended it was just an ordinary Thursday or Sunday. To some degree it worked … there weren’t quite as many crying fits as I expected, I got hugs when I needed hugs and space when I needed space and at times I was able to pretend I was still in August because the sun shone bright and the temps were unseasonably high. I thank Mur for that.
I went on little hikes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years which I know he would have loved. I took photos of the animals around me and I enjoyed the outdoors. I ate a LOT of good food and drank my fair share of wine and champagne. I received amazing gifts and gave some that I was incredibly proud of, all of which made people smile.
And that is {one of} the points of my post… I decided that 2012 is going to be a year of gifts, mostly handmade, for people that I love more than anything else. I want to bring people joy on a random Tuesday. I want to send cards through the mail. I want to write down my thoughts, feelings, appreciations and congratulations. I want to be crafty.
After I got back from Iowa in September my dad brought over a stack of cards that came in the mail while I was away. While they were all nice and incredibly touching {and I honestly appreciated them all}, there were 2 different packages that really stood out to me. They both came from long {and to some degree, lost} family friends. As I have discussed on here in the past, my mom was an amazing woman who touched so many people’s lives. It’s absolutely incredible how many people still carry her with them. One of her close friends {Cindy} sent me a beautiful journal and a heart filled card that was originally gifted to her by my mom. Inside was a {rather cute} picture of me and Cindy from when I was quite a bit younger. It really touched me that she still had this card and photo but even more so, that she gave it back to me to be something I could treasure. It reads as if my mom is giving it to me in a time of need and no words can really explain how that feels.
Another of mom’s friends {Barb} had also saved cards and letters that my mom sent her back in the 80s and 90s with heartfelt messages and lots and lots of love and ‘sloppy kisses.’ Even just touching them made me feel closer to her. I absolutely love that handwritten and handmade things can mean so much to people for a life time. Those that are keep for years and years can evoke such emotion and memory at even just the sight of them. Sure, today we have digital photography and emails that easily live on computers and hard drives where they can be protected, but for someone to take the time to construct something that is meant for you alone and to take the time write out a card letting you know how important you are… that’s something beautiful. And I surely don’t think I’m alone with finding joy in the discovery of treasures in my mail box.
So alas, this all has given birth to ‘2012 – the year of the gift’ …
I kicked it off at New Years with goodies for my Iowa family.
Murray would love this. Man oh man. He would love this! But I think he’d want a star in place of a heart so it’s more dude like. The story about these starts back in late September. I stumbled upon a lovely artist at a craft show who had a pendant for sale in the shape of MN, with a fork and a knife cut out of it. Being the food lover and crazy-proud Minnesotan that I am, I had to have it. I gave her my business card as well and mentioned what I did and told her how much I loved this pendant! Soon after that she found me on Etsy and long story short, I asked if she ever did custom creations and she said “no problem!” I just had to provide her the location of Griswold, and that was that. I am so in love with these!! It’s a simple and totally special way to stay connected to that home for all of us, even if we aren’t always there. I know it means different things to me than the rest of the Perdue’s but I would still hands down call that one of my homes.
So, once I had the pendants I whipped up the chains and such and then made my new favorite thing to make … packaging.
goodness sakes … the sewing machine that I got for Christmas last year helped me make just a few projects in it’s first several months but in 2012? That baby is going to purr night and day!!! I’m so excited. SO excited.
Besides the necklaces, I made some {super!} cute onesies for my little niecey but shame on me, failed to take photos of them when they were done. I have my fingers crossed {quite tight} that I’ll be able to see her in my absolute favorite one but she is growing like a weed so I’m a bit worried. Again, fingers.crossed. While I don’t have photos of the completed onesie, I do have a few ‘in progress’ shots. Here you can see all the necessary ingredients for creating it as well as a partially complete version.
Well goodness… that turned into a long post!! … There will be far more crafty things on here over the course of the coming year. I have a new {homemade} sketch book of ideas I want to make and couldn’t be more excited to get started!!! Take care everyone!! And I encourage you to find something that sparks you as much as being creative and making people smile seems to be making me. I reach for any ray of sunshine I can these days and this is a huge one for me!
Besos!
… and don’t worry, more pups + kitties to come soon.
Read Moreneed a reason to send a card??
… look no further!
I am SUPER excited to share that I have what I think are some cute, cute cards with some of my favorite pups on display photographed and ready to sell online! Woot! They are posted on my etsy site.
I love etsy. I have found some amazing stuff on there. And I have made some great connections through the site. And while yes, photography on it’s own is artsy-craftsy, it’s not the same as having something finished and in your hand. That’s a big part that I love and am extra giddy about! Yes, I adore nature and think preserving trees is important but boy, I’m also a HUGE paper lover. So take a look at the photos of my cards and then head on over to my little corner of etsy if you are interested in owning {or giving!} these bad boys.
voila!
I only have one set of 6 and one set of 12 listed on the site but I will relist as they sell, so don’t fret, there is a HUGE supply! And in case you haven’t done the math at my site, if you order 2 sets (so, 12 cards) you save $10! Gotta love saving!!!
minneapolis photographer :: my first bridal shower!
I did it! My fears aside, I’d have to say I threw one GREAT bridal shower. The guest turnout had much to be desired but what’s most important is the bride-to-be has fun, right?? And I think she did …. I mean really, there was wine. Who wouldn’t have fun??
… and there were cute decorations …
wine ….
and amazing food …
Ok – I just don’t feel right about something. I must confess that the Carlo Rossi was brought to the party and not really part of the party. It was intended to be drank in order to create empty jugs for wedding centerpieces. Phew – needed to say my piece about the kinda-not-so-great-jug-wine And sorry Charly, the jugs have barely been touched.
This last weekend marked the big event! I was nervous beyond what’s probably normal but excited all at the same time. Mur and I had spent a lot of time coming up with good food/wine pairings and after scaling back just a wee bit we settled on 4 different wines and 4 different foods + 2 desserts (because who doesn’t love 2 desserts??). I also scoured websites to get ideas for what to do for not only a bridal shower but a cute, wine themed bridal shower! My colors were purple and green and I was thrilled with how the apartment looked in the end!!
And there is a shot of the lucky gal, herself! Hooray!!
I also set up a photo booth for fun.fun.fun photos… but it didn’t get used during the party. Oh well – the photos that came from that later in the evening with our neighbor will probably show up on here at a later date. They are pretty funny. But Mur did help me get the booth all set up!
rock star, right?
… ok, how about just 1 more cupcake shot. These were the best darn cupcakes I’ve ever had! So excited to have a reason to make them again! How’s Saturday looking for people?
Yeah – CONGRATS Charly!! Let me know when you are free to do the originally scheduled seasonal wine pairing party
minneapolis pet photographer :: kitty accoutrements
Oh boy!!
I am a firm believer that one of the best things that can happen in your day is that you arrive home, check the mail and have a package in there addressed to you! On the flip side, one of the biggest bummers is when that package in your mailbox is addressed to someone else. Boo. But this post is about situation A, thank goodness.
This evening when I got home I found these in my mailbox…
Squeal!! AMAZING, right?? A few weeks back I was doing some casual perusing of Etsy to see if I could find a wedding gift for some friends and I stumbled upon The Copper Poppy. I immediately got so excited at the prospect of getting stinking CUTE tags for the girls! I hemmed and hawed and then as soon as I opened up one of my dust covered windows and thawed out the door to the square, I realized they were probably necessary. The girls went nuts! Where they used to sit and meow at the back door hoping for an adventure to the basement, they now sit and howl at the door to the square with the hopes I will let them get just this much closer to the birds. If I’m going to let them drool over birds they need to have name tags on because I could see one of them getting a little overzealous and leaping after said bird and then investigating the neighborhood. At the very least they need my digits attached to their neck.
Thanks Copper Poppy!! They look amazing, arrived incredibly fast and are the perfect kitty size! I’m so excited to get these on the girls so they can spend some time outside in the warm MN summer!
