Things We Heart: April Edition

It's officially April, hooray!! The saying goes April showers bring May flowers...so as we wait out these cold spring showers, we're imagining May's promised warmer weather and the eventual (glorious) Chicago summer! Until then, we want to share some of our absolute favorite things this month!

1. Girl Crush: Someone has a crush on us...it's The Girls of Lincoln Park! If you haven't already, make sure you check out our GOLP interview...so fun!! Thanks again for the feature, we're still blushing a week later  :)

2. Die Cut Invitations: We are head-over-heels in love with one of our newest creations, gorgeous lavender and gold die-cut invitations for a regal May wedding! We love die-cut invites--it's a fun way to add some unique flair to your invitations, without straying too far from the traditional wedding invitation.

3. Sand Tropez from Essie: We found the perfect nude nail polish...seriously!! If you haven't tried this chic color yet, run--don't walk to pick up a bottle today! This soft, sandy beige has us thinking of the beach every time we look down at our manicure. This color really works for all seasons, but we especially love it while we transition from our winter colors into the brights of spring!

4. Oceanside Candle from Bath and Body Works: Speaking of the beach, this candle is literally the beach in a bottle. Since it arrived, it has been non-stop burning here at N&L headquarters, and we love it!!

5. Starbucks Blonde Roast: We both can't live without our Starbucks, and have been loving their new lighter roast! So delicious, and a great morning pick me up! Yum!

Here's a closer look at our most recent wedding invitation eye candy...how amazing did these turn out?! So classic and beautiful, with a fun little twist! We couldn't be happier with how they turned out! Make sure to check back later in the week to see a beary sweet teddy bear themed kids party....so cute!! 

XO, 

N&L

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Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Birthday

Happy Monday!! 

We hope that everyone had an egg-cellent Easter weekend! Today we're sharing Caldwell's 2nd birthday! His parents threw him a planes, trains, and automobiles birthday party featuring Caldwell's favorite things! Such a creative idea, every little boy's dream party! We are obsessed with the cute snacks and munchies for guests, and the awesome transportation cake...so cute!

Such a cute party, but an even cuter birthday boy!! We had so much fun creating stuff for Caldwell's party, hope he had as much fun as we did!! 

XO, 

N&L

An Egg-cellent Easter Party

"Hoppy" Easter, Nico and Lala friends!! 

As we both head out of town for Easter (Nico to NYC, & Lala to Nashville) we wanted to share Nick's 5th birthday...a party that would make the Easter bunny himself green with envy! This party was every 5 year olds dream--complete with an adorable bunny cake, every Easter candy imaginable, and let's not forget the chocolate fountain. While the kids clearly enjoyed this sweet party, we loved the bright blue and lime decor that really brought this party to life! So hop on in and check out egg-cellent Easter party!

Such a fun and creative party, we loved being able to add some swank to this sweet event!! We hope everyone has an amazing Easter weekend with their friends and family! Make sure to check back on Monday for a fun transportation themed bash....beep beep!

XO,

N&L

Photo Credit: BIG thanks to The Party Designers in Branford, CT for providing their beautiful pictures!

Welcome to Miami

Hi everyone!!

As we muddle through this freezing cold Chicago "spring," we can't help but think back to our January getaway to sunny Miami!!! We spent a long weekend in the tropical city in an attempt to escape the brutal weather that comes with Chicago winters. We love everything about Miami: the weather, the people, and especially the art deco style that is present all over town. Our friend Maggie joined us as we explored this vibrant city and caught some rays while indulging in some much needed R&R. Check out some pictures from our adventure that have us wishing we were back in Miami!

While most of our time was spent on the beach with tall drinks in hand, we also spent time at some of the hottest places in Miami--as we explored the very best Miami had to offer. One of our favorite spots: Prime 112, a restaurant where celebs are frequently spotted. While we didn't have any star sightings, we enjoyed a delicious dinner (courtesy of Lala's dad--thanks Dad!) at this beautiful Miami hot-spot. Another chic local we visited: The Delano Hotel. This artistic hotel is the hottest place to be both during the day at their amazing pool, and once the sun goes down at their super swanky bar. We visited the artsy Delano for drinks and never wanted to leave!

Miami may be located in the "sunshine state," but we think Miami itself is the city of color!!! Bright colors were everywhere we turned, adding to the artistic feel of the city. While we loved the pops of colors located within the city, our favorite accents were on the beaches! How cute are these colored lifeguard stands?! They are everywhere, and one is more colorful and fun than the next! 

They are incredible, right?! Only in Miami!! It was such a great trip, we can't wait to go back! Speaking of trips, both of us are getting ready to go out of town for Easter weekend. We can't believe that next Monday is already April 1st...where did the time go?! We wish everyone a great spring break, until next time! 

Xo, 

Nico and Lala

Destination Wedding Welcome Bags

We would like to wish all of you a very happy first day of spring! The start of spring also brings the start of our favorite season...you guessed it...wedding season! With wedding season about to kick into full gear, we wanted to share an amazing wedding swag bag we helped create for a ceremony in the British Virgin Islands. As a thank you for traveling so far, bride Elizabeth and her husband Chris wanted to give their guests a very warm welcome to the Virgin Islands. And that's exactly what they got--with our help, they created the ultimate customized destination wedding welcome basket including everything from custom Ahead hats, t-shirts, koozies, beach towels, welcome itineraries, and playing cards (+ more!) to welcome their guests to the Caribbean. 

Is this picture not to die for?! One of our favorite highlights from their welcome basket--custom Ahead hats. These hats, which are regularly worn by golf professionals, were customized with their personalized wedding logo, as well as the longitude and latitude coordinates of where their ceremony took place. The sailing coordinates, paired with the boat oars included in their logo, both symbolize the groom's love of sailing. Also included in their wedding design is a flower--the logo of the Periwinkle Shop, the women's clothing boutique located outside of D.C. that the bride owns. Both the bride and groom wanted to incorporate things they loved into their logo as a symbol of uniting their lives. Together, these items combined to make one seriously awesome logo that graced the items in their customized welcome basket.

To have and to hold, and to keep their beers cold--how cute are these koozies?! Another fun item in the welcome basket are the customized lapel pins given to each guest. Each guest was given a custom lapel pin to wear during the rehearsal dinner to alert hotel staff they were part of the wedding party, signaling an open bar.

Are those not the most amazing destination wedding welcome bags you've ever seen?! We loved being a part of this fabulous wedding...we sure wish we could have gone as we're struggling through this -8 degree Chicago weather...YIKES!

XO,

Nico and Lala

Valentine's Day...Girls Night In!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

We are having a Girls Night IN tonight rather than out! Single ladies tend to stay in on this night..but whether you are out painting the town red, or snuggling up with single friends, here are a few of our favorites to really maximize your night! We shall all embrace the life we have, right?!

No Girls Night in is complete without some red wine, and our fave of the winter of 2013 is definitely Apothic Red. It is AMAZING. And of course with wine, you must have something to rest your glass on! Our monogrammed coasters are the perfect thing to swank up any coffee table! The colors we offer are FAB. 

In the southern drawl of Truvy Jones, next we have my signature collah lipstick...Revlon's Fire and Ice! It is just the perfect mix between  orange and fire engine red...you just never know who may knock on your door. :) 

Who doesn't love T. Swift? End of story. And number five on our must have Girls Night In List....our incredibly swanky new Ipad cover!!!! We are in a bit of a Robyn obsessed state after Lena Dunham's incredible dance moves to "I Keep Dancing on My Own" on the tv series Girls. 

We should all dance on our own. Today and everyday; single, married, divorced, whatever!

For some of that inspiration and confidence, our treat to you...take this image and make it your wallpaper!!!! 

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!! 

XO, 

N&L
Girls Night In, Valentines Day girls night, Taylor Swift Red, Red Wine, Red lipstick, Dancing on My Own Print, Dancing on my own wallpaper, Nico and Lala.

London Called!!!

Greetings from the super cold and windy Chicago!!! The tail end winds of Sandy seem to be hitting us! Hope all of you on the East Coast are faring okay..the pictures on the news are so devastating! Thoughts and prayers to all of you! So, as many of you all know, we have had some exciting things going on at Nico and Lala! In the past month or so we have launched a brand spankin' new website, traveled to Europe (so much to share and tell..), and moved apartments! It has been such an exciting but crazy time for us and well worth the late nights and long hours! We have literally been talking about doing a Europe trip for probably 2 years. And I know many people talk for MUCH longer than that about doing something and spending the money on things such as a 10 day European excursion, but we knew time was passing and things were hopefully never going to slow down for us! So, why not go now? Fall seemed like a great time..not too hot and not too crowded like the summer months can be over there! We finally decided on London, Barcelona, and Rome! We booked our flights and hotels (which were awesome by the way..), packed WAY TOO much, and headed across the pond with open minds, eyes and took it all in. It truly was a trip of a lifetime and there is too much from each city to put this all in one blogpost, so London...HERE WE GO! Pictures tell the best stories, so ENJOY! Off we go...HIP HIP!

The Punch Bowl..Guy Ritchie's pub, and it was all it was cracked it up to be! Does not disappoint!

The River Thames, looking back at Parliament and Big Ben..we were SO lucky with the weather! Gorgeous!

The London Eye!

Random man playing the bagpipes. It was so majestic listening to him and looking around and taking it all in!

Westminster Abbey! Beautiful

Photo op outside Buckingham Palace! HELLO to the Queen MUM! We kept picturing Kate and William waving on the balcony...and their kiss. hee hee

PANORAMIC shot on Portobello Road in Notting Hill!

The Flower Market on Portobello Road. This one is for you mom!

My signature color...TURQUOISE!

It was so incredible!!! We packed it in for the 3 days we were there! Next up, Barcelona!! Also, we now have an OFFICIAL Instagram account #nicoandlala ... so FOLLOW US! We will be posting LOTS of pics on here from everyday life, so be sure to keep up! :) XO, N&L