ACEVEDO DESIGNED ACEVEDO BUILT

A few weeks ago, Jose posted a photo of our newly finished product, the pergola! Acevedo designed and Acevedo build, the deck and the pergola are the newest additions to the FInding Arizona Home and we are one step closer to the wedding date and the backyard looking fabulous! I wanted to take this time to highlight the amazing team behind Pair of Aces. My amazing father in law and his business partner work so hard to deliver quality results and treat every project like it is apart of their home.

Our deck was the first project the Aces worked on. This gigantic 16x18ft deck was put up in 3 days and elevated the space in so many ways. We went from a 2x4ft plastic deck to a massive idahoan wood dance floor. I came home from work one day and had the pleasure of screwing in the last screw! Speaking of dance floor: it has been brought to my attention by a close friend, and professional that if you are attending the Finding AZ Wedding DO NOT wear skinny heels. Block heels, wedges and flats are preferred, not only for the deck, but the grass ceremony and gravel dinner. I am sure at one point all shoes will be off, but just a side note.

More recently, the pergola was designed and installed. I loved watched Jose use Sketchup to bring his design to life. I joked that the model in the photo looked just like him! Right?

After printing out measurements to the team, the Pair of Aces were off to work cementing in footings and getting all the wood we need to sand and stain. We wanted to work smarter so we sanded and sealed each piece of lumber prior to it going up. This meant late nights and sore muscles, but now that it is all up we are so glad we took the tame to protect the wood.

Each hour casts a different shadow on the pergola creating the most breathtaking shadows. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in our library gazing out the sliding glass doors in awe of the hand crafted masterpiece. From the block wall, to the deck to the pergola all I want to do is hangout outside in the yard and admire. BUT of course in the pool, because we have officially hit triple digit teens in AZ!

Time to book your travel plans and pack your bathing suit. I fixed up the guest room for some amazing people staying with us in July, and of course, will shared the details on the blog here! No, it’s not a real Air BnB but it feels like paradise to us everyday.

XoXo

Britt

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL INVITES BY DESIGN SQUEEZE

I got a text two days ago saying, “I got your wedding invitation!! So beautiful! Just like you.” BEAUTIFUL is exactly the word I would use to describe these custom watercolor invitations by Design Squeeze. From the custom watercolor agave to the classically, clean info sheet, these invitations are everything we wanted and more!

I discovered Design Squeeze through The Honey Book, like so many amazingly talented creatives we have worked with. I found out her name was also Brittany, and after scheduling a meet up at Copper Star Coffee, we saw how passionate she was and loved her open arms to work with us! Our meet and greet was getting to know her and her journey of transitioning from a side hustle to full time business owner and also venturing into the blessed world of motherhood. She met our puppy, Winter, and went through the timeline of the process: questionnaire, design, edits, production. What seemed like so long, is here now!

The process of working with Brittany at Design Squeeze is seamless. Her online web portal started us off with a questionnaire covering everything from favorite fonts and colors, to things to avoid. We had a fun time asking ourselves what we saw for our dream invites, browsing through Pinterest and clipping magazine examples. Getting our first draft back was as exciting as a Christmas morning. Always seeing what a designer envisions from your suggestions is my favorite part of the process. Brittany did a great job capturing our style in 2 very unique and different ways at first. Design 1, although I loved, did present more of a feminine feel with the pink colors and curvy fonts. Design 2 took my breath away. From the simple watercolor to the classic black and white feature card, I was smiling from ear to ear.

Each edit and proof was so easy to navigate and communicate. Within days the edits were made and Brittany was more than open to suggestions to ensure it was exactly what we wanted for our special day. When it came time to sample paper, I left it up to the the expert herself and when she hand delivered them to us I was nearly in tears.

This new mommy, who was gifted a beautiful healthy baby girl in this time frame also stuffed all of the envelopes! She truly is the best! All that was left was stamp and seal!

Browsing though the gram one day I saw an advertisement for custom stamps from stamps.com. Our face on a stamp? I thought I had to be famous for that! It was a great way to add another personal touch to our invites. We ordered 2 different types for the invites and RSVPs. Just in time, the maid of honor showed up for a weekend in the desert when the stamps arrived! We organized, sealed and sipped coffee one morning, then off to the post office for a photo shoot worth getting honked at.

My two favorite things about the invites are how perfect each piece is as a stand alone, but also how it comes together to complete the suite beautifully. These are extras we can keep as momentas forever. My second favorite is one of the things I was most nervous about addressing:
Dress Code & No Children. We love your kids, but keep them home. We want everyone to feel safe, relaxed and comfortable. We have a pool. We have drinks. Enjoy 1 night without the littles. AND wear Black and White ONLY. We want the whole party to feel apart of the “party.” Simple, classic and clean. Dont make me give you a Goodwill back up at the door.

It is not the end of our journey with Design Squeeze. We, of course, will be having Brittany on for a full episode on the Finding Arizona Podcast so everyone can learn about her amazing talents and why you want to work with her to from anything from invites to custom stationary to prints and signs! You can learn more and send Brittany a message for her services at designsqueeze.com and we will see some of you in a few months.

Looking forward to getting back your RSVP’s

XoXo

Britt

GUEST ROOM REDESIGN ON A DIME

It only took us over a year to fix up the guest room, but we did it! First, it was storage, then WInter’s Dog Room, and now a proper guest room for our future stays! I cannot be more excited about the first guest staying in the room, but before that, I want to share all the details of this design on a dime guest room.

When we first moved in and painted every room in the house I immediately used this room to practice an ombre wall. Blending blues for hours and hours I was very impressed by my work of art and have even used it for several photo backdrops. We used the blank walls to hang my Monet prints collection. Other than that this room was easy to clean up to prep for a makeover. A little paint to touch up the base boards that our wonder full puppy chewed up and the room was ready for furniture.

We wanted to go with a futon for function and sticking with the midcentury trend keep the style of the furniture like the house. A futon allows us to maybe put a bed in later or adjust the use of the room altogether. We also wanted to put in a credenza. Not a dresser and not a tv console, but both, and our guests can put snacks in their too! These two pieces are bold in color and purpose but we are happy with the outcome and function.

Thriting and repurposing was where the rest of the details came from. My favorite orange rug from Ikea is a simple and inexpensive way to add color and change up a room. I love the shag to it! Great for bedrooms! Speaking of Ikea this clock shelf was in my office for the last 6 years, and I still love to this day, which is why Ikea still carries it! The statement chair was a set of two from Costco 6 years ago as well and Costco doesn’t even carry things from 6 months ago so good luck finding that! Finally I thrifted this Ikea blue table at a Goodwill 50% off day and scored it for $3.

I would like to think I am pretty good at “Staging a Bookcase.” All you really need are: Books (lol), candles, plants (real or fake), art, photos, crystals (something unique). Make sure to balance each shelf meaning if you did a book on the right, a few shelves down, add book on the left. Always share photos of great memories and change them out from time to time or different seasons or guests. And finally, put some crystals in there. Cleanse the energy and give your guests something to admire.

A few candles and throw pillows from target’s clearance section and we are ready to put some fresh linens in the cabinet and have our first guest enjoy her stay. We are book through July and Last week in August, but message me and we can see whats open for the other summer dates.

XoXo

Britt