Entertaining Made Easy
NoraFlemingEntertaining
My friend recently introduced me to Nora Fleming, and now I think I have discovered my new favorite gift to give.  Nora Fleming offers customizable platters that you can use from season to season. You simply pick your platter and a mini and then rotate the minis each holiday  My personal favorites for summer are the margarita mini and garish dish – perfect for salsa, sour cream and guacamole {all of my favorites for a perfect taco night}.
You can shop the collection online or find more information about what local stores sell the items here.
may just give these as hostess gifts for our upcoming couples shower later this summer.
xo

 

Summer Events: What to Wear
GinghamandFloral
Like I mentioned in this post, Bill and I have a handful of weddings this summer. We are about to begin a whirlwind few weekends of bachelor and bachelorette parties, bridal showers and other fun wedding festivities. With that in mind, I am trying to build a dress, skirt and romper collection for all of the special occasions. When I think spring, I instantly think fun, floral prints, but I am also loving gingham this season. I rounded up some of my current favorites in each print. I personally love both of the MINKPINK pieces and would dress them up or down throughout the summer, plus you can’t beat the price point!

xo
His and Hers Packing Tips

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{Her Style} Sunglasses | Top | Scarf | Denim | Sneakers 
{His Style} Sunglasses | Top | Denim | Boat Shoes

With lots of friends and family members currently on spring break, I still have traveling on my mind. Finding a great carry-on bag is a must, and I can’t recommend the Lo & Sons O.G. bag enough. It houses my laptop safely and still has plenty of room for my other travel essentials. My favorite feature, though, has to be the adjustable back panel sleeve that secures the bag over luggage handles. While traveling, my clutch houses all of my receipts and important documents throughout the trip. That way, I am not guessing where anything is and making the travel day a little less stressful.

For the guys: I bought Bill the older version of the weekender above, and he gets quite a bit of use out of it. I love the classic silhouette and two-toned elements. I also love that it has the top handles as well as an adjustable shoulder strap.

Below are a few more packing tips and trips:

+ When packing, pick a color scheme so you can mix and match items throughout the trip.
+ Pack items that can be worn multiple ways. For the ladies, I love a great black maxi dress because you can throw it on with a printed scarf one night and then layer a striped tee and statement necklace over it another night. For the guys, I love a classic t-shirt that you can dress up or down.
+ Save space by storing socks, belts and more in your shoes.
+ Pack a garbage bag to use as your laundry bag throughout the trip.
+ When filling up your suitcase, place the heaviest items, like shoes, by the wheels so they don’t crush other more delicate items.
+ Store lotion and other makeup products in a contacts case to help save space so you don’t need to bring the big containers.
+ Pack small chargers in a glasses case so they don’t end up dispersed throughout your bag.
xo,
An Easter Soiree

BT Easter 2015

Shop the Post: Happy Easter Egg Card / Wildflower and Fern Candle / Jolie Napkin Set / Phoebe Egg Platter / Burmese Blue Vase / Mixed Double Old-Fashioned Glasses / Striped Candles / Golden Rabbit Vase

Spring time. Sunday dresses. Deviled Eggs. Treats galore. These are just a few of the reasons why I adore Easter. I have such fond memories of childhood Easter’s spent hunting for eggs with my sister, masterly crafting beautifully dyed creations and digging into my dad’s delicious easter egg salad. Now, as an adult, I get excited by decorating the house, picking out an easter dress and whipping up a tasty family brunch. Each year I seem to approach my table setting with a new vision. Having just moved back into our newly remodeled house (see #deppahaven here) I am even more excited to host loved ones for a delicious feast this year. I’m all about fun and bright colors in our new digs and my Easter picks this year reflect the same. Vintage inspired glass ware for cocktails and deviled eggs. A modern bunny vase with a touch of gold, napkins that speak for themselves and candles that sneak in an everlasting love for stripes. It’s going to be an eclectic table this year and I just can’t wait!

What are your Easter traditions? Do tell!

xo

Perris

The Organized Closet
With the first day of spring quickly approaching, I’ve got spring cleaning projects on my mind. With the closet, I find it best to decide if you want to keep, donate or alter each item. Often, we keep pieces in our closet that don’t fit correctly, and they end up going unworn for months or maybe years {guilty}. Do yourself the favor of either going to the tailor or donating the item this spring. You will have a new, refreshed feeling when putting together outfits each morning when your clothes fit correctly or when you’re not feeling guilty about that jacket that still has the tag on it from two years ago.
In addition to my tips above, here a few of my favorite space savers:
+These baskets from Target house my scarves on the top shelves of my closet
+ These drawer dividers from Ikea help keep my undergarments nice and neat
+ This hanging shelf stores all of my workout clothes

Happy organizing!
xoxo,
The Organized Desk

DeskOrganization

With spring and spring cleaning right around the corner, I thought I would share some of my favorite organizational products throughout the month. I spend quite a bit of time at my desk so I like to make sure it stays tidy and that I’m maintaining a space that will foster productivity. One of my favorite tips is to incorporate trays on your desk to house various objects. I use this tray to store my business cards, lotion, jewelry and any other miscellaneous items throughout the day, and it helps make my desk space feel styled as opposed to disorganized.
What are some of your favorite organization items?
xoxo,

Welcome, Carly!

Carly BrassTacks Intro

Hello, fellow Brass Tacks lovers! It’s Carly here for my first post of 2015. As Perris mentioned last week, I will be sharing posts once a week, and I couldn’t be more excited! I thought to kick things off, I would tell you a little bit about myself.When I’m not actively posting on Instagram and attempting to make a #whitewineemoji appear on your keyboard {but really, where is it?!}, I can be found working in Milwaukee, WI, spending time with family & friends and planning my upcoming wedding in September.

A few fun facts about yours truly: I don’t think you can have enough paper products {Rifle Paper Co. & Sugar Paper are my personal favorites}. I order chips and queso from Qdoba more than I would like to admit. I make multiple to-do lists a day and occasionally write down a task {or two} that I’ve already completed just so I can check it off. I believe fresh flowers and handwritten notes can make any day better. I love
 birthdays and birthday cake and just desserts in general. I’m addicted to chai tea {no coffee here}. I like cookie dough more than cookies. And last but not least, I don’t think you can ever have too many LBDs.
I’m looking forward to sharing organizing tips and tricks, party inspiration, fashion favorites, product round ups and so much more!
xoxo,
Happy Belated Birthday, BT!

2015 birthday

My business baby is two! Another year has flown by so fast I nearly forgot to celebrate. The good news is it’s never too late for a little cake and bubbly. So here we are, a few months late, looking back on a wonderful 2014 and celebrating all that is to come in this new year.

Brass Tacks continues to grow and evolve in ways that challenge and inspire me on a daily basis. I’ve continued to be blessed with the BEST clients. People come to me through an array of avenues but ultimately have one thing in common- they’re people I now consider close friends. I count my lucky stars every day being able to work with people I so admire and love. They are individuals who are doing unique and interesting things in their lives. Pursuing their dreams- whether in the form of opening a small boutique or traveling the world. They’re people who, like me,  have big plans for life. Utilizing Brass Tacks to help them execute their plans is what makes my line of work so fulfilling.

The more clients I add, the busier life gets, which is great news for me, not so great news for the blog. The hustle and bustle of work, holiday and a little (big) remodel left my favorite little blog rather quiet for the past few months. One of my primary goals for 2015 is to utilize this space to bring you new and unique content that may help simplify your life or inspire your every day. With that in mind, I’m so excited to announce the arrival of a very fabulous guest blogger, Carly Haslee! PR girl, fashion maven, and soon to be Mrs.(!), Carly is a total sweetheart who will surely entice you to check the blog often. She’ll be posting on a weekly basis about everything from fun finds to how to stay organized. We’re grateful to have her and I know you will be too!

As always, there are a few other exciting projects up my sleeve. While I continue to focus on the service side of the business I can’t help but continue to pour my heart into the brand side. My goal is to better bring the Brass Tacks lifestyle to life by offering shop-able items that will simplify your every day. Keep your eyes peeled for a fun new product offering later this year which will hopefully be the first of many!

Before I’m off to that cake and bubbly I want to say a sincere thank you. For your continued business, support and general interest in my concept and mission! Being a small business owner is rewarding because of YOU! Now cheers to 2015 and whats to come.

xo Perris

 

 

Tickled Pink

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I was tickled pink when an editor from Minnesota Monthly magazine approached me wanting to feature Brass Tacks in their September issue. I am so passionate about my little business and nothing makes me happier than seeing it grow and prosper (except for seeing it on the pages of a glossy publication!). For those of you who are out of state, you can read the short blurb here. Thank you Minnesota Monthly for the love and thank you to all of my friends, family and clients for your sweet comments and support! xo

A Passion for Sleep

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At Brass Tacks my goal is to bring simplicity to your life. A large part of that mission is helping people slow down. For many of us, slowing down starts with getting the necessary amount of sleep our body desires.

As I navigate the wonderful world of remodels and am faced with daily purchasing decisions, I’ve been reminding myself to slow down as well. The older I’ve gotten, the more conscious I’ve become of my body. What I feed it, what I put on it and how I rest it. I’ve broached this topic here and here and now it is coming full circle as we hunt for a new king mattress. It is no secret that mattresses are often filled with nasty chemicals, regularly off-gassing VOC’s and other toxic fire retardants.  I’ll spare you the scary details but the more you look into it, the more alarmed you’ll be about that cozy memory foam bed you’ve been sleeping on. In my never ending search for the best brands and products, I stumbled upon Hästens beds. The most beautiful all natural bed you could ever dream of (and you’ll definitely be doing a lot of that when you sleep on one of these gems). Scandinavian born and dressed in gingham- I think it’s a relationship that’s meant to be…

For over 150 years, the Swedish based Hästens has been making beds by hand from only the finest ingredients nature has to offer. Horsehair, flax, wool, cotton and slow-growing Swedish pine are just a few of the elements included in these stunning beds built to last a lifetime. I won’t lie, the price is absolutely aspirational. But when you think about the most important purchases in your home, your mattress should without a doubt be one of them. Why? We humans spend one third of our lifetime sleeping. Yes, sleeping. We spend more time sleeping than we do eating or exercising.  And the quality of our sleep not only affects our energy levels but ultimately our health and happiness. When you consider the fact that these beds have a 25 year warranty (and are built to last far longer), it becomes frighteningly easy to consider owning one.

First I need to win the lottery but then I plan on embracing my passion for sleep by aligning myself with a company that feels the same way. In the meantime I’ll gladly become Hästens Minnesota brand ambassador (hint hint)!