DIY Beach Wedding Centerpieces

I was in major DIY wedding mode these past few days working on my rustic beach wedding centerpieces. With just months left until the big day, I've been trying not to stress and working hard on all my beach decor. I'm determined to do most of it myself to save money and then be eco-friendly and re-use the decor long after my actual wedding. My rustic beach theme allows me to play with sand and shells all afternoon, which is fun and it definitely has me dreaming of the beach and summertime. Is it June yet?

These tiny little starfish are the cutest.

Close-up of the shells.

Lining up all the beachy decor.

The raffia adds a rustic touch to the DIY centerpiece jars.

They're slowly coming together.

More to do... the DIY beach wedding to-dos seem to never end. Final product to come soon!

NYC Engagement Photos

With the wedding in May, I've had a good amount of time to plan and build excitement. As I am obsessed with photography, picking our wedding photographer was the most important detail, for me. I wanted someone with a timeless style that has more of an editorial eye, than the typical wedding poses.

After much research I settled on John Paul Teuntonico, based here in NYC. JP can envision far beyond what I think a typical wedding photographer usually does. He's so aware of the small details and important moments, and he captures them beautifully.

Here are a few gems from our engagement shoot in June. I can't wait for round 2 at the wedding.

I highly recommend JP to anyone in the area. His work can be found here:  http://www.jpteutonico.com

(P.S. as if things can't get any better, check out his philanthropy work here)

Tulips & Springtime Blooms

My new house must-have spring blooms are tulips. Tulips and peonies are my favorite flowers and with spring just around the corner you can find tulips pretty much anywhere and most likely, on sale. This time I got a mix of colors and set them up as my centerpiece on our kitchen table. The colors are so vibrant and eye-catching. They definitely put me in a good mood.

Ready for the Weekend

What a way to start my weekend. A nearly competed kitchen nook, fresh flowers, and my Cold Season tea. Unfortunately I've come down with a sore throat which I've been battling all week. So, I've settled into our over-sized couch for the night to watch my manly man put together our new kitchen table and chairs. For once I'm not the handyman in this household - feels pretty nice! 

A few shots  from today...
A unique way to display fresh flowers. Probably the cutest thing I've purchased from Ikea in a while, these cutlery caddies are perfect for holding anything but... They'd probably look great in the bathroom holding makeup brushes .

Tea time! My cold season tea has been soothing my throat all evening and I can't help but love the inspiring messages on the yogi tea tags.

Hoping to feel better tomorrow. I'm off to up the level of blonde of my hair and then Pottery Barn outlet out on the eastern side of things to (hopefully) pick up our kitchen cart. Score of the week.

Happy Birthday Lindsay

Yesterday was one of my best friends and co-workers birthdays. While her birthday was on a Wednesday, the real festivities are coming this weekend, but we had a little celebration at work to celebrate the actual day. A spread of cheese, cupcakes, fruit, wine, and sparkling grape juice was laid out and we celebrated the last hour and a half of the work day. Happy Birthday to my my most favorite NY friend.

Puppy Time: Cooper

Snow Day in New York

It's a winter wonderland outside today.  Here's a small collection of my snowy instagrams. The gorgeous snow has me bundled up inside working from home. My lazy pup isn't helping in the motivation department though...

Visiting Seattle

Where am I headed tomorrow? Only one of my favorite places in the world... home! Also known as Seattle.

Welcome to Seattle - the land of coffee houses and clouds.

Although, ironically, there are no clouds in the picture directly below... 

Seattle gets a bad rep.

 

 The fiance and I will be visiting family for the holidays, going to the last Seahawks game of the year (I'm a huge fan!), attending my Seattle bridal shower, and drinking as much coffee as we can. I'll be sharing some of my favorite places this week and giving you a glimpse into my Winter Wonderland-themed bridal shower, hosted by my lovely Maid of Honor, Ashley. More to come!

http://www.complex.com/

One of my favorite coffee houses. I highly recommend. The bookcases are such a sight.

Gluten Free Molten Lava Cake

Growing up I was never a chocolate girl (or a coffee girl, but that's a different story), but as I get older I've begun this ever growing appreciation for chocolate. From white, to milk, to dark, I do not discriminate.  My favorite? Milk. Nothing gets better than creamy, milky chocolate. It is definitely one of life's little pleasures.

My biggest gripe lately though has been the fact that chocolate usually comes attached to something I can't eat like cookies, or cakes, or graham crackers (mmm!), or ... well, you get the picture. As I now live with a major gluten allergy, I've had to be a little more creative in how I prepare my chocolate. Eating bars or chips of chocolate can only get you so far, and it's just not enough.

Today we splurged here at home and I made gluten-free molten lava cakes. Sounds fancy huh? But honestly, it's so incredibly easy and simple that they could be a daily luxury if you wanted them to be.

Ingredients:

4oz mini chocolate chips

4 tablespoons of butter (unsalted)

dash of vanilla extract

2 eggs

(recipe adapted and found on myglutenfreecookbook.blogspot.com)

Begin by melting the chocolate chips and butter together in a bowl. I just microwaved mine because I'm pretty lazy like that. Once melted, stir until smooth and creamy. Add in two egg YOLKS (keep egg whites for later), 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the vanilla extract to taste. Stir well. With the egg whites in another bowl, beat until soft peaks form and then add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Continue to beat for another minute or so until all blended together. Next, combine the two bowls and stir together and then separate the chocolaty mixture into ramekins. I used two 5oz ramekins and two 3oz ramekins. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet, for easy transporting, and bake in a 375 degree, pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes. Let cool for a tad and enjoy! Oozy, gooey, chocolate goodness.

I topped mine with strawberries, fresh mint from my own garden (very proud of myself), and gluten-free Talenti chocolate chip ice cream. (Side note: I highly recommend the added ice cream. It combines with the chocolate cake for this semi-gooey, chocolaty, ice cream surprise) Amazing. Sat outside in the NY sun today and enjoyed. Tan + chocolate = a mini-vacation in my backyard.

Memorials & Mom Moments

Since my mom has been in town this week, I took her around the city this past week and one of her top sites -to-see was the 9/11 Memorial and the WTC area. Solemn but beautiful, the area is a must-see and I highly recommend it to anyone visiting (or even living here, like me) who has yet to see it. Still can't believe its been over 11 years since it all happened... it definitely brought my mom to tears. Powerful & Moving.

I LOVE NYC.

City Streets & Signs

Manhattan is an assemblage of some of the most artistic people imaginable. Walking the city streets inspires and you can feel the energy as you move through the streets. I personally find  myself always drawn to the interesting signs of the city. I love the type and colors and even the play-on-words that portray the soul of this amazing city. Here is a collection of some I saw around town today. Enjoy.

Being originally from Seattle, I couldn't pass this one up.

Not sure what Unicorn Meat is... but I'm intrigued.

This is the A-board sign outside of Pie by the Pound near Union Sq. Stopped in for some gluten-free pizza. Amazing. Oh, and the owner is super nice too!

Made you look! (This person probably has the most amazing sense of humor. Wish we were friends.)

Dinosaur wall. You can find the most amazing wall art in nyc.