The last post I made, Room 363's basement was flooded along with the rest of Naperville. We're all dried up and those few very wet days feel like an eternity ago because so much has happened at the store since that week.
The weekend after the flood, Downtown Naperville hosted their second annual Wedding Walk, where brides stroll through the stores getting ideas for their upcoming weddings. Mark partners with Traci from Whimsy to style the most amazing weddings, so he turned his courtyard into a vintage-inspired wedding backdrop. (Do yourself a favor and visit Traci's blog and look at the wedding pictures. The girl has some major magazine worthy talent.)
Andrew from Andrew's Garden in Naperville put together this beautiful flower arrangement. Where were all these talented people when I got married?
Immediately after the wedding walk, Mark transitioned his courtyard into a set for Alicia's Photography to shoot Mother's Day mini sessions. Here's what the courtyard looks like now.
Isn't it stunning? (I call dibs on the amazing pergola made from recyled vintage posts. Mark probably won't let me have it because he'll be all like, "Where you going to put that" and I'll tell him and he'll say, "That's dumb, you can't have it." I'll pout and he'll be unaffected. Damn it.)
The courtyard is so cozy now, Mark has to shoo away groups of teenagers congregating in the "living room" daily. There was even a mysterious stiletto left behind. Not sure we want to know how that got under the couch.
Check out this amazing shot Alicia took in one of her Mommy and Me sessions.
Mark also worked on a client's house last week. I'm loving this trend of bringing the outside in with the outdoor bench. It's perfect in this space.
Just in time for Summer, more tops came in also. Make sure you stock up for those upcoming beach vacations.
Mark's also been helping me with some small projects around my house. Not because he has the time, but because my way of doing things annoys the crap out of him and he'd rather just do it himself, I think. Works for me! Yesterday I texted him that I was wrestling with my hanging baskets. Next thing I know, as I'm sitting crisscross applesauce in a pile of dirt and ferns trying to pry apart metal chain with pliers and hoping I have some untapped kinetic ability to bend metal, he drives up shaking his head and completes the job for me.
My sad, sad limp fern is pictured on the left while his happy, perky fern is displayed in the picture on the right.
When I pull up to my house, it's like I'm walking into a volumizing hair shampoo commercial. My fern is the before example when the plant had sad, lifeless hair and Mark's is what you get after using the miracle shampoo that gives you big, sexy hair that smells good and is incredibly soft and manageable. I think my fern needs a hat.
Make sure you stop in this weekend for Mother's Day. From now until Sunday, if you show the e-mail Room 363 sent with a coupon, you'll get $10 off a $30 or more purchase. If you didn't receive the e-mail, send Mark a note at mark.room363@gmail.com and he'll add you.
Enjoy your weekend!
-Maria
