My about-to-be-married, creative/foodie sister and her fiancé threw an engagement party last week. They made it an Iron Chef party, and asked every guest to bring a dish containing the special ingredient: bacon. Fun, right!?

I wanted the invitation to complement the wedding designs, but only subtly. Below you’ll see the same colors, type treatment, and clean-whimsy style as the save-the-date and wedding invitation—without replicating them exactly:

It’s hard to believe that my sister’s wedding is now only a month away! We arrived on U.S. soil last Sunday as part of our five-week holiday leading up to the wedding. Exciting! Right now I’m at my in-laws’ place watching my husband play with our three year-old, and waiting for our eleven month-old to wake up from his nap. It’s like a normal day, but only better because we’re all together. This is going to be a great five weeks.

All afternoon I’ve been sipping limonana, one of the greatest summer drinks ever, and it got me thinking. Or, more accurately, daydreaming.

I don’t even have to close my eyes to imagine myself with good friends, lounging on a cushioned wicker sofa, eating hot dogs, drinking limonana, and watching our kids jump about in a lawn sprinkler. We’re enjoying each other so much that we stay through nightfall, Citronella candles flickering in the moonlight.

I should name every outfit for the place I could imagine myself wearing it.

In which case, today I wore Paris. Black sheath dress, soft and drapey gray cardigan, black gladiator sandals. It’s what I imagine myself wearing if I were walking on St. Germain and stopping somewhere marvelous for cheese and chocolate.

I’ve actually been thinking a lot about sheath dresses. I only have one, but if I were ever to adopt a signature look, it would be the sheath. They’re always classic, effortlessly sexy, and insanely flattering.

Time to buy more sheath dresses and make a trip to Paris! Who’s in?

In preparation for my first trip to the U.S. in almost three years—and my first trip home in five—this has been a very busy month. It feels like we’re packing a summer’s worth of activities into the entire month of July!

And my mind is even busier than my self. I’m constantly thinking about this trip, making mental lists about what to buy, do, or see—whether it’s before our trip or during.

Also, the fact that we’re not returning with the same routine makes things more interesting. When we get back, my older son will start preschool immediately. (Poor kid, having to start school after five weeks of fun with his family, and with jet lag, no less!)

But I hope that, when we do return, I’ll be able to get back into a routine of designing and blogging, because my creative side is really taking a backseat right now and I miss it.

Alright, now that all that’s out of the way, here’s my July wedding inspiration board.

I was thinking about July weddings in the grass and wanted to incorporate a green accent color. When I saw the bridal bouquet wrapped in cobalt velvet ribbon (above), that was it! Cobalt blue as the main color, and apple and aqua as accents: the overall feeling is exciting, yet oddly calming. And don’t you just want to take the blue stemware home?

Maybe it’s because I’m surrounded by boys all day, but I have a sudden urge to roll around in pretty shades of lavender.