Birmingham Trip Recap

This past weekend, we traveled down to Birmingham, Alabama to celebrate a college friend's wedding. The weekend was jam-packed with fun activities, catching up with dear friends and family, and enjoying some awesome 60 degree weather (I'm so over the cold right now!).

I am so grateful for weekends like this - it's such a treat to be with people who know you so well. I love the feeling of knowing I can pick back up right where I left off with these friends, no matter how long it's been since we've talked. I left feeling satisfyingly exhausted (know what I mean?), and yet craved more time with these gals I love. The moments when we're all (at least almost all - we missed you, Laura!) together are rare these days. Not to get all sappy and cheesy, but these times are simply the best. So thanks, Libby, for getting married this weekend (haven't uploaded those photos from my camera yet! ahh!) - I wish you and Ben the best as you start your lives together. You were stunning on Saturday, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to celebrate with you and spend time with some of my favorite people.

Until I get my act together and upload some photos from my "real" camera, here's a photo from my iPhone of (many of) my friends together after lunch on Sunday at Big Blue Bagel (one of my favorite places!).

So many exciting changes are happening with these ladies - three are having babies in the next several months, and one just got engaged. It's fun moving into new phases of life with them!

Now changing gears a bit to a design-related find from our trip...

We had brunch with some of my family on Saturday, and it happened to be at this coffee shop/restaurant that I'm going to go ahead and call a design goldmine. The inside was full of awesome vintage/antique finds and re-purposed items. I'll let the photos do most of the talking (again, iPhone photos!):

{Baskets and other containers as light fixtures? Yes please.}

{I'm dying to know what the original purpose was of those old bins with the wine bottles.}

{Old school maps - always a hit.}

{Anybody speak French who can translate the writing on these plates? I wanted to bring one of these home with me.}

{Yep, that would be an old gas cook top hanging from the ceiling.}

{Kind of dying over that table...and that art, actually.}

See how cool that place is? I could have spent hours just looking at all the pieces in there. What's your favorite thing? The more I look back at these photos, the more details I notice and love.

In case you live in Birmingham, the name of this spot is Urban Standard. Pay them a visit, will you please? Sip a cup of coffee, eat a sandwich, and admire their amazing collection of things and report back. I promise you won't regret it :).