Happy Holidays

Designing and styling are in full effect at AED—feeling incredibly blessed to be so darn busy with all my fab design and styling clients. You. Are. The. BEST!

And of course, having the most fun, warm, snuggly, sometimes-trouble-making family makes all the hard work worth it. They are the ultimate icing on the cake.

Five.

Happy fifth birthday G$! You're one fierce duck, duck, goose player, a great big bro, and the most super hero I've ever known.

Green cupcakes (by yours truly), dinosaurs, and Dusty Crophoppers all in the mix for this big kid's special day. Celebrating all week long, baby!

P.S.—G$'s third birthday

P.P.S.—photos by Sophie Mathewson

Happy, Happy Birthday Baby

Today we're celebrating the mac to my cheese, the icing on my cake, the ham in my McMuffin (er wait, that sounded dirty).

You make everything in life better. 

Happy Birthday!

My Birthday Wish List

If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter you know we're in the midst of a kitchen/lower-level renovation. So this year, my birthday wish list revolves around our new kitchen digs—from white macaubas quartzite countertops $$$$ to a bright throw $, this wishlist covers every budget. Hehe.

Follow me on Pinterest to find the links to all these fabulous goodies! And on Instagram #casadeespach will give you the inside scoop on our latest home updates.

WaHoo We're Two!

Hot Damn! Andrea Espach Design is two and it feels pretty darn great. I feel like I've really hit my stride as far as cultivating strong relationships with my amazing clients, designing artwork that is making the world a more beautiful place, and working hand-in-hand with the most kick-ass and knowledgable printers and programmers. 

Last year, I took some time to reflect on the past year to savor some of my accomplishments and I hope you'll bare with me as I hit you baby, one more time. 

• Hosted a Pinterest Party—presenting to the American Marketing Association last Fall. (And will be presenting again next week to a local college! Whoo hoo!)

• Designed letterpress and flat wedding invitation suites for six fabulous brides (& grooms).

• Opened the cyber-doors of the Etsy Shop which has brought tremendous traffic to the blog as well as making the scratch-off Save the Dates a best selling item.


I have a few ideas of what I'd like to see happen in the year to come:

• Dedicate more time to blog posts regardless of how busy I think I am.

• Pull off three—count-em 3—crazy successful PopShop Markets with my two fabulous partners, Kelly and Ashley.

But for today, I'm super happy and very grateful to these peeps:

McMuffin: You give the most insightful advice and I so appreciate your encouragement to Lean In. Best. McMuffin. Partner. Ever!

Cash + Trump: You inspire to me get my hands dirty and make really awesome work.

Mom, Dad and Lolo: Thanks for always boosting my artistic self-esteem and making me feel like Picasso (without the blue period). I love brainstorming with you and the great ideas you come up with—even if I act like I'm not listening.

To my clients: You are so beyond wonderful. I love collaborating with you to bring your vision to life. Thank you for letting me do what I love. 

Celebrate with me tonight by popping some bubbly! 

What I'm Working on Wednesday // Golden Birthday

I admit I had to Google what a golden birthday is, and for those of you who are wondering the same thing—it's when you turn your age on your birth date. This fancy lassy is turning 31 on the thirty-first and the theme is Shanghai's Golden Age / 1930's. Brilliant!

Fell in love with these metallic gold jackets for a wedding suite I created and thought they'd be perfect for this project as well. And I LOVE black envelopes with metallic gold pen addresses.
Ganbei!

Weekend Wrap Up // Brews & A Birthday

The Harbor Brew Fest was this past Saturday... crisp Fall weather, crisp beer and lobster rolls on crispy toast? Yea, pretty much a perfect day.

 How adorable are these little logo (mini) pint glasses?

And McMuffin and his buddy, Todd.

Ahhh, it was so cool to see the logo I designed pretty much everywhere I looked. 

Eeeeeeeee!

My vote for best in show: Angry Orchard Hard Cider

 Great design.

 Oh baby—Lobstah rollin'!

Great logo!

 

Good times.

A couple shots courtesy of Fairfield HamletHub.
Check out even more pictures when you like their Facebook page here. 

And lastly but mostly, a very special happy birthday to McMuffin! xoxo

Birthday Runner Ups.

McMuffin's birthday is on Monday! And no, I'm not giving anything away here, these are the b-day present runner-ups.

{ Alice Made This cufflinks // Brioni striped dress shirt // Canali tie // J.Crew shirt // These Are Things T-shirt }

And if you're still looking for something to do this weekend, totally check out the Harbor Brew Fest! Cheers.

Weekend Wrap Up // Visitor Parking

We had a few very special visitors this weekend...Danielle and her brand new puppy, Oakley. 

Pretty sure G$ was trying to hide him in our house. 

My Sister-in-law, Ali (author of The Adults, Wall Street Journal top 10 novels of 2011—just saying) was up to celebrate birthday month too. And today's her birthday! Here's to a day of connecting flights and warm 'Bama nights. Cheers!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Tomorrow's my birthday, and my wishlist is in full effect. Check it.

scarf // leather jacket // pants // sweater // smoking slipper // handbag // watch // cuff // earrings // booties

I'm taking the day off tomorrow but will have just enough time to announce the winner of the two Harbor Brew Fest tickets. There's still time to enter:

• Leave your name in the comments section below
• Like the Harbor Brew Fest Facebook page at: Facebook.com/HarborBrewFest
• Like the Andrea Espach Design Facebook page at: Facebook.com/AndreaEspachDesign

Birthday Giveaway!

These two little guys want to wish their Aunt Lolo a very happy birthday today. And so do I.

To celebrate mine and Laura's birthday week, we're giving away two tickets to the Harbor Brew Fest!

Entering is easy, just three easy steps...

• Leave your name in the comments below
• Like the AED Facebook page here
• Like the Harbor Brew Fest Facebook page here

Good luck!

A Very Happy Half-Birthday.

And the award for most hilarious client goes to Stella's Mama, Christie. Let's just say the original text for her little one's half-birthday-meets-non-religious-Christening-welcome-to-the-world-music-festival included references to LSD and smelly hippies. Papa Gilmore thought we could tone it down a bit, and what we ended up with makes me soooo freaking happy.

 Stellapalooza // Peace, Music & Love

My photo assistant, Trump.

In case you're wondering, the replacement text says to "Ditch: Tents, VW Buses, & Hitchhikers" Brillz.

In other news, I'm dropping some pretty fun news on Friday. Get psyched, cheerleader-style + sparkle fingers.