Ask Jeff cooper: Engagement Season

Did you know that 33% of all proposals take place between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day?

December is the most popular month for engagements, and the term “engagement season” is suddenly in the media because of this hilarious web meme that’s going around. Guess somebody is experiencing “engagement fatigue.”

All kidding aside, this time of year can be perfect for a romantic proposal.

Do you love the idea of giving the season a little extra sparkle and fire? Here’s Mariah to get you in the mood for planning (or dreaming of) a beautiful holiday engagement.

Featured image via.

Stay warm and cozy, everyone!

we love: red anemones & the best holiday cocktails

Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are over, leaving us with Christmas and New Year’s ahead. So mull some cider, grab a throw, and cozy up to some fun links that will (hopefully) inspire a glorious weekend!

The psychology of color! So much fun to ponder.

Use it to design your own Jonathan Adler. Fun!

Is your Christmas aesthetic ambitious? Or relaxed?

We’re in love with the Christmas-y pop of color in this wedding inspiration from 100 Layer Cake. It would be amazing for Valentine’s Day, too.

Need a breather from all the holiday bustle? These de-saturated photos of cloud forests are the perfect meditation.

Need more? Yuji Obata’s snowflakes will clear your mind if you look long enough. So lovely, refined and simple.

Cropped tops aren’t for everyone, but the rest of this holiday party uniform is so perfect, it works whether you’re 20 or 80. Worth an investment, we’d say.

The best holiday cocktails from NY Mag.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

And please donate to Cycle for Survival. Our David Cooper does it every year, to help win the battle against rare cancer.

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Black & White wedding dresses and holiday windows

“Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second.” ―  Mattie Stepanek

This week, we’ve been browsing the internet with a designer’s eye. There’s been so much interesting color and contrast to love, we collected it here to share with you!

Like amazing black and white wedding dresses. These are done so very well.

Holiday displays! We love them so.

Hidden treasures of MOMA, according to art critic Jerry Saltz.

Why are blue velvet couches so great?

How do you organize your books? May not be the most practical, but arranging by color is the prettiest.

How pretty is this little eye shadow collection? It’s so shimmering and jewel-like.

And of course, there’s this.

Our featured image is Macy’s holiday window.

Have a colorful and creative weekend, everyone!

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Hanukkah meets Thanksgiving aka Thanksukkah

Happy Hanukkah and Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Since they fall on the same day this year, some people are being really cute about it.

So, here are our favorite Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Thanksukkah links. Enjoy them, and each other, to the fullest!

The New York times know how to do Thanksgiving.

And Hanukkah.

Thanksukkah by the stylish Mrs. Lilien.

An adorable play menorah! If it’s wrong to be an adult and still want one, we don’t want to be right.

Thanksgiving tips by Bon Appetit.

Gluten free Thanksgiving recipes. And gluten-abundant dinner rolls for the rest of us.

And some fun Thanksgiving wine ideas.

The featured image is from our Joy Collection. Have a great holiday, everyone!

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We Love: The Thanksgiving Wedding

Why have a Thanksgiving wedding? Well, if you just love thanksgiving to pieces, you can really claim it for your own. Some couples love the symbolism, of giving thanks for each other. And you can rest assured, everyone has the day off.

You will need to consider your guests’ needs, when planning. If you have a lot of guests joining you from far away, Thanksgiving is a hectic time for them to travel. But if your guests are mostly family and local, we say go for it!

Even if you don’t plan for Thanksgiving day proper, here are some Thanksgiving-style wedding ideas we love!

We love this Thanksgiving wedding! The couple owns a bakery, and their sense of style is adorably old-timey and quirky. Her bouquet is amazing, no?

100 Layer cake has a great slideshow of Thanksgiving tabletop decorations. They’re amazing for a wedding or just to wow your Thanksgiving guests.

We think this apple-themed wedding fits. Beautiful pictures. And these pumpkins!

And of course, a Thanksgiving wedding needs some feather inspiration!

Here’s a list of tips from the pros on how to do it well.

So what say you? Are you on board with Thanksgiving weddings?

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The Best Camera Apps & Champagne Quotes

“I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.”― Oscar Wilde 

This week, it’s all about the best, funniest, most inspiring things the internet had to offer this week.

Here’s our best news: There’s going to be a wedding in the Jeff Cooper family this weekend, and our Hyacinth Wedding Band was featured on fashion website Refinery 29, as one of their picks for unique platinum rings. We’re loving that!

And while we’re on Refinery 29, check out this little trip down memory lane: celebrity couples edition. (This was the best waste of three minutes. We totally forgot almost all of these!)

And the best snapshots of major fashion icons as trick-or-treaters. Adorable!

Do you love phone photography as much as we do? Here are some of the best camera apps. 

The best thing we’re cooking this weekend.

The best ways to have fun hair in a couple of seconds: accessories!

The best Halloween-y engagement shoot. 

And the best champagne quote ever.

We wish you all the best, this lovely weekend.

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Bat Print, Clay Crafts & Isabel Marant for H&M

In honor of Halloween, we’re loving links that are arty, edgy, spooky, magical and just plain fall-festive. Grab a cup of mulled wine and an iPad and let’s go!

Amazing bat prints for the season.

We’re not super “crafty,” but we so want to do these chic clay crafts. The ring holders, especially. What a great engagement gift!

Apartment Therapy, stop making us want to DIY! This 10 foot candelabra is pretty great, too. We’d love it even more with more sophisticated candle colors.

Another thing to make? We can’t help loving this fall bouquet recipe.

Isabel Marant for H&M is the perfect way to give a chic designer edge to your fall wardrobe basics. And it’s going to be available online, which is swell if you ask us.

We love these creative, fantastical dreamscapes, starring an adorable baby!

And proving that words of love can be a little edgy too, is our featured image, by one of our favorite Young British Artists, Tracey Emin.

Finally, we’ll leave you with this, a true Halloween Classic. Have a spooky scary weekend!

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Rosh Hashanah Honey Cake & Brunch at home

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall. ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Shanah Tovah to all our friends and family celebrating Rosh Hashanah!

We love spending holidays at home with family, taking the time to make great food and great memories. And one tradition we love is hosting simple brunch at home.

How to do it right?

First, make the perfect Paloma. 

And drink it while cooking perfect scrambled eggs.

And serve this perfect lemon poppyseed bread.

Don’t forget to get dressed up like a fashion editor.

Just kidding!  A fancy manicure is enough to make things fun and festive. (And a definite must-have for any newly engaged woman.)

If you want to dress up your house a little, this Austin couple has some fun ideas. (We love the shag rugs, they seem so cozy and family friendly.)

And finally, some beautiful diversity to start the weekend (and the year) off right!

Featured image of Rosh Hahanah honey cake via. 

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