Jul 28, 2010
Posted on Jul 28, 2010 in real life | 4 comments
This weekend was one of the last 7 or so weekends until the wedding. That’s not a lot of time folks. And we still have A LOT to do. Like invitations. And we got very little (wedding related) stuff done this weekend. And that’s okay. Because life happens while we’re busy planning weddings. And it’s important to actually be here for it.
We did have dinner with dear friends who are moving back to SF in only a few short weeks. And I did tackle my backyard clean up/gardening extravaganza. And I did bake/frost 50 strawberry cupcakes for my friend’s daughter’s birthday party. And I did build a pretty awesome cupcake tower to display said cupcakes on. And I did go to the park and spend time watching the birthday girl, now two, eat three cupcakes at once and run back and forth on a mad sugar high. And I did receive many fallen leaves (from said birthday girl) as thanks for all my efforts. Best. Payment. Ever.
And then I came home to our (newly spruced up) backyard, nursed a beer or two and did a little work on our invitations. And I could finally relax a little because it’s all coming together and more importantly I think, because I finally took time to pick up the pieces of all the other life “projects” that have been mowed over or shoved aside to make this wedding happen.
So while it’s easy to get caught up in planning themostimportantdayofourlives (that’s what they say right?! ) I think it’s nice necessary to take a little time to enjoy all the other days too.
And with those deep thoughts I give you my delicious cupcake recipe- which was a hit with toddlers and their parents alike! I hope you enjoy it too!
Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. all-fruit strawberry jam
1 lb. tub (clear plastic) of strawberries
or about 20 berries
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your cupcake pans with cupcake liners
- Combine Dry ingredients in a bowl (flour/sugar/bakingsoda)
- Combine Wet ingredients in another bowl (oil/vanilla/white vinegar)
- Puree Strawberries in food processor/blender
- Add pureed strawberries and jam to the wet ingredients and mix well
- Pour wet mixture into dry bowl and mix until incorporated, but don’t over mix
- Fill cupcake liners almost full with strawberry batter
- Bake for 21 minutes
- Cool on wire rack & frost away!
Strawberry Ice-Cream Frosting:
8oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp. all-fruit strawberry jam
- Let cream cheese/butter soften to room temperature.
- Combine cream cheese/butter in food processor/mixer until smooth
- Add strawberry jam and mix
- Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix
- Transfer frosting to refrigerator for 20 minutes to firm up before frosting
A few notes:
*Why yes! The cupcakes are in fact VEGAN. But don’t let that dissuade you- they’re delicious, light, moist, and soft!
*Why no! The frosting is decidedly NOT vegan, but would be super easy and work just fine if you want to substitute vegan cream cheese/butter.
*The cupcakes will turn out a light pink color and while I kept it natural for the kiddos, you could add some beet powder/red food coloring for a really pretty red cake/pink frosting combo
*Try not to eat all of the frosting before you get some on the cupcakes. It really is yummers! (In my obviously humble opinion)
And finally a picture of a corner of our newly spruced up yard, and the awesome/fully customizable cupcake tower I built in under an hour for under $15. You know you want a tutorial.
I LOVE this cupcake tower (of terror) so much that it almost makes me wish we were having cupcakes at the wedding! Nom. Nom. And our yard. I LOVE our yard.
What do you LOVE about your life right now? Today? Wedding planning/insanity/details aside…
Jul 22, 2010
Posted on Jul 22, 2010 in fashion | 6 comments
That’s the Pre-Wedding Bob for all you acronym neophytes.
Or I just made it up.
Take your pick.
Anyhoo, like many brides-to-be I’ve been growing out my hair. I am not really sure why I decided to prescribe to this time honored tradition, because even with my super hair growing powers, it’s not like I’m gonna be Rapunzel (she’s the long haired one right?) come September. Then again, my most favorite hair inspiration ever does involve long(er) hair. You remember the 60’s right?
So with the wedding fast approaching, I’ve been patiently putting off cutting/dyeing. I figured I’d wait until a few weeks before the wedding and then actually make a decision. Yes. It seem(ed) a little crazy, even to me. But whatev.
Then this past Saturday I just happened to be in my Stylist’s neighborhood… My super amazing, shecandomiracles, longest relationship ever (7 years) stylist. So naturally I couldn’t resist popping in to see if she had time for a quick trim.
You see where this is going right?
I sat down and said I wanted short, thick bangs (an old standby favorite). Then during a mind-blowingly awesome, 15 minute head massage, I began musing about a short, choppy bob…
Done and done.
Next thing you know I had this:
And I love it! (Even in crappy office light w/no makeup!)
So now I just need to decide if I want to leave the color as it is or dye it dark brown, which is another standby favorite. There is this weird sentimental (or something) part of me that thinks I should leave well enough alone and get married with my “real” hair. However the reality is that I’ve spent far more of my adult years with dyed hair than with my natural hair of the moment anyhow. And I do love how it looks dark:
So what do you guys think? Dyed dark or au naturel?
What about you? Are you growing/cutting/making drastic changes to your hair before your wedding?
Jul 14, 2010
Posted on Jul 14, 2010 in fashion | 2 comments
So I think it’s time we revisit this whole bridesmaid situation. Clothing that is. Remember ohsolongago I debated between light, bright, or black & white? That feels like freakin’ forever ago. Yowza.
Anyhoo, in case you forgot (i almost did!) bright was the winner, and we decided that our ladies would wear a combo of plain/patterned dresses and suits in bright colors with a vintage feel. I ain’t gonna lie or pretend- we did NOT say they could wear anything they wanted. We didn’t give them our blessing and send ‘em out carte blanche into the world. Nope. We like to torture ourselves. So we went shopping.
Yes. One Saturday a few weeks ago we all piled into Lil’ Stripes Volvo and headed to the mall. I think I should tell you guys now, that while I shop for a living, (and truly enjoy it) going to the mall with my girlfriends is NOT a part of my reality. Sure it looks lovely on SATC, but we usually skip the shopping and head straight for the drinks if ya know what I mean.
So we’re at the mall for about 36 seconds before I realize that:
- I hate almost everything in the stores right now. Remember- I pretty much live in the mall.
- Not all bridesmaids appreciate this whole youallweardifferentdresses trend. It’s confusing. But whaaat color? Vintage/French/Modern/Carnival? What does that meeeeean?
- Shopping with each girl individually would have been a better idea.
- Um. We’re really at the mall now. Oh shit.
We needed drinks. And stat.
After eating in a generic butohsodisgustingly delicious restaurant we put our heads down and got to work. We sorted through the ugly, the shiny, and the fantastically expensive (and ugly) and eventually we actually ended up with a few dresses.
Clockwise from top left: Luckily Bridesmaid J shares my love for irony. Isn’t that the most fantastically ginormous bow you’ve ever seen? J is preggo (yay! congrats!) and that little avocado will probably be a pineapple come September, so we didn’t buy the dress. Not to worry- we’re having it made in a magenta raw silk a little closer to the wedding. Bridesmaid Sister L (all the way in Hawaii) still has to decide between these Modcloth dresses. Hear that L? On the off chance you’re reading: Make up your mind already! Lil’ Stripe picked this beauty out on her own (and somehow snuck a new color into our palette!) but doesn’t she just look gorgeous? And finally, all the way from Japan, Bridemaid N chose this fantastically flowered number (also Modcloth).
So yes. They’re fantastic. And our ladies are going to look stunning. And you couldn’t drag me and a herd of bridesmaids back into a mall EVER again no matter how much you paid me. And no matter how much I love our ‘maids. So it’s a good thing that this whole wedding business only happens once (knock on wood).
Not. Even. Kidding.
If you’re gonna go this route I highly recommend:
- Be less of a control freak than I am. Give the girls your blessing and send ‘em out into the world
- If you can’t (and oh how I understand your pain) and you still wanna shop, than do it one girl at a time. Individual attention and avoiding the toomanycooksinthekitchen phenomenom is key. Trust me- I’m handing out valuable trade secrets here.
- Modcloth. It’s vintagey, cheap, and easy. Post shopping trip, we browsed, emailed our remaining (naked) girls with pics of the dresses we liked, and told ‘em that if one struck their fancy to buy it and tell us which one they chose. Easy peasy awesome-sauce.
Dressing our eight ‘maids (Team Awesome?) is a trip. It’s the perfect storm of different styles, body types, personalities, and budgets. And we still have four more to go. *Deep breath. Next up, we tackle a couple more dresses, as well as vests/bowties/skinny jeans. Maybe. Jury’s still out on skinny jeans, but I’m loving the idea for a wedding!
Did you let your attendants pick their own attire? And did you have any ladies in pants? Oh! And be honest. Mixing it up-more or less stressful than sending ‘em over to Davids with a swatch of something shiny?
I
Jul 9, 2010
Posted on Jul 9, 2010 in fashion | 4 comments
All over our damn wedding checklist. Ha! Take that.
Oh. Hiya! Remember me? Yup. I used to have big deep thoughts about all this wedding planning jazz, but now as the date fast approaches, I just have glue gun burns, blistered fingers, sore wrists, and a quickly shrinking to do list. Hallelujah.
Yup. We’re up to our elbows in crafts and (mostly) loving it. We’re printing invites. My bouquet is nearly complete. Our coffee table is a crane factory. We have table cloths & runners & napkins in the works. Our wedding ensembles are nearly complete. Big sigh. Sitting here surround by all the crafty components of our wedding, I can finally see how it’s all gonna come together and I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be awesome.
Now I don’t really want to ruin the fun and post teaser pics until all these projects are in the can, but I also don’t wanna be a meanie….
So I’ll leave you with these pictures of C’s superfantasticandmagical wedding shoes:
Rad right? Are you up to your ears in wedding projects too? What are you most excited to check off your list?
Jun 28, 2010
Posted on Jun 28, 2010 in DIY | 15 comments
Greetings from Invitation Land! I just couldn’t resist sharing my new toy.
It’s an alphabet rolling stamp and it’s rad!
Check it out:
Seriously. My boss lady (as in the one I work with) and I became obsessed with finding this little tool after one of the stores we frequent started stamping our actors’ names onto a little tag on the bag. Cutest. Thing. Ever. And a vintage typewriter font? I die.
We started dreaming of all the things we could stamp and of course my mind went immediately to all the wedding stuff. We searched all over Los Angeles and beyond, only to finally discover this little tool here. Yes. Etsy to the rescue once again. Surprised? I’m not.
Anyhoo, a few weeks ago I decided to do our calligraphy myself (well our budget decided) and I thought maybe I could use the stamp as a bit of a shortcut and just write the name, then stamp the address. Not so sure about that anymore because while I LOVE how it looks, spinning those little letters around takes forever. I love the vintage feel though, and even the little imperfections. It’s definitely not the neatest tool (as in cleanest/most precise) but it is pretty awesome in my book.
So what do you think? Keeping in mind that our shindig is a quirky vintage/modern lovefest, do you prefer a mix of calligraphy/stamp or would you go with all calligraphy?
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