Ruche: July 2011

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Style File: Blogger Roundup

Bloggers are wearing Ruche! Here are their latest styles:

Kendi in our ignite the light color block tank and livin' the simple life maxi skirt in coral. We currently have this skirt in taupe and jade too.

Maria in our sweet ocean air chiffon top and tea time talks dress. We still have this dress in navy!

Tania in our something smocked gray dress.

Keiko in our venetian square pleated dress.

We hope you're having a fabulous weekend! ♥

xo,
Ruche

Friday, July 29, 2011

Love Stories: A Two Week Cruise

I took a two week cruise that changed my life. My mom, sister, and I befriended all of the crew members we met, but one in particular caught our attention. I, alone, caught his. Pavle was a buffet steward during the day and wine steward during dinner at night. He was from Macedonia (a country surrounded by Greece, Albania, Serbia) and I was a sucker for his accent and Mediterranean skin.

In the first week, I was oblivious to the attention Pavle gave me. My mom and sister constantly told me that he was smitten with me and couldn't keep his eyes off of me. I guess I just hadn't noticed it. I shrugged it off, but I became a little more aware of what they were talking about.

In the second week, on May 18th, 2009, my life changed. My mom, sister and I were sitting at a table after Pavle's wine tasting seminar and I motioned for him to come over. As we we're all talking, I noticed his hand lightly brush my shoulder... and then lightly brush my back... It hit me like a ton of bricks and from that moment on, everything changed. I didn't sleep, I didn't eat. All I did was think about him, and all I wanted to do was see him. I had never felt that way. I planned my daily itinerary around his work hours so we could see each other. The crew wasn't supposed to "mingle" with passengers, but he spent as much time as he could at our table, despite getting spoken to by his superiors. There was a magnetic force between us that was apparent to everyone. He had flowers sent to our room, chocolate covered strawberries and wine...

On the last day of the cruise, we vowed to keep in touch. There was a glimmer of hope as the ship would dock in San Francisco, about half an hour from my home, every 10 days and I could pick him up for lunch or take him sightseeing. When I got home, I emailed Pavle immediately and I didn't hear from him for three days. I cried for hours, I missed him so much. I continued to email him, but no response. The first "10th day" came so I decided to go to the pier and see if, maybe, he'd come out. He never did. I saw another crew member we had befriended (who was also a friend of Pavle's) and I was disappointed to hear that Pavle couldn't get the day off and that his e-mail wasn't working. I took his friend around town, but I didn't want to be with him; I wanted to be with Pavle. I passed along pictures of us via his friend. And that was how it was every 10 days: no word from Pavle, I showed up at the pier, messages via his friend...

I found out Pavle's last day of his contract was July 13th. I had to see him. I needed some kind of closure before he flew back home knowing that we might, quite possibly, never see each other again. July 13th came and we saw each other before he boarded the bus to go to the airport. We were so happy to see each other! I met up with him at the airport. He gave me perfume. We had our first kiss. We were inseparable for the hours leading up to his departure. And then he was gone. I went back home deflated. He emailed me immediately after he got home and our courtship began -- corresponding with each other via emails, Facebook, phone calls. I miss yous, I love yous, I can't live without yous...

Pavle was determined to see me again. Soon. He came to San Francisco in September. He came for me. He was here for a little less than a month and then I decided to follow him back to Macedonia. I would leave in January, 2010 and stay for a month to make sure it was what I wanted. It was and IS what I want. I spent most of last year in Macedonia and we got married, here, on January 13th.

Corny as it sounds, I have truly never known love like this before.

♥

See the previous Love Stories here! If you would like to submit your story, please send an e-mail to lovestories@shopruche.com. You may attach up to 5 photos, and we welcome creativity! Please try to keep your stories to a 1200 word limit. You will receive an e-mail when your story is selected.

Heartthrobs: Blogger Edition

Elsie, the talent behind A Beautiful Mess, has a love for everything fashionable, vintage, and pretty. Discover her style and take a peek at her favorite Ruche items. ♥

xo,

Ruche

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Project DIY: Birdcage Chandelier

We happen to think this is a pretty ingenious way to use a birdcage don't you?

Birdcage Chandelier DIY

Project DIY: 3 DIY Ideas with Objects You Already Have

We love finding new ways to use old things. We've rounded up our 3 favorite DIY ideas that give new life to old objects.

Book Shelve

Spool Hooks

Framed Vases

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Wedding Wednesday: Unexpected Flowers

We are always on the lookout for new inspiration and stumbled across this wedding. Traditional roses are beautiful, but these flowers took our breath away. We swoon over the unexpected poppies, lavender boquets and vintage touches.

Via Ruffled

xo,

Ruche

Wedding Wednesday: Quirky Invites

We love the idea of custom wedding invitations with a touch of quirk. These handmade invitations from Ello There, can be customized with your names, wording, wedding colors and even made to look just like you.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Art Studio: Pixie Pixels

Pixie Pixels, a pretty shop on Etsy, creates modern-vintage prints and posters. We'd love to decorate our office with some of these classy and vintage inspired pieces!

Each piece is offered in standard sizes, but custom sizing is availabe. You can customize your colors too. ♥

xo,
Ruche

10 Ways to Love Yourself Today

(Source: Castle Artwork)

1. Go on a walk by yourself.

2. See a movie no one else wanted to see with you.

3. Treat yourself to a guilty pleasure.

4. Put on your favorite outfit and take yourself out to dinner.

5. Write down 5 things you love most about yourself.

6. Call up your best friend, the one that always knows how to put a smile on your face.

7. Have a movie marathon and watch all of your favorite feel good films.

8.Give someone else a compliment.

9. Do something nice for a stranger.

10. Never forget you are somebody's reason to smile.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Picture This: Cutting Out Objects in 2 Steps

Today we have another quick and easy photoshop tip for cutting out objects for collages and mood boards.

Step 1.

Select the Magnetic Lasso tool. Using the Magnetic Lasso tool outline the edges of the object you want to cut out. When using this tool, make sure to create anchoring points by clicking as you go along the outline. You will find that some areas will require more anchoring points than others.

Step 2. Once you have the object outlined, click enter and you will see the entire outline selected. Depending on what you are trying to achieve, you can do one of the following:

a.) If you want to cut out the background go to Select>Inverse. Set your background color to white (or whatever other color you like) and press CTRL X (Command X for Macs). You will notice that your background has been replaced by a plain white background. Use the brush tool to clean up the edges.

b.) If you want to cut the object out of the image completely, simply copy the selection after outlining it with the Magnetic Lasso tool and paste it wherever you'd like to. Use the brush tool to clean up the edges.