Gobble, Gobble!

Check out this awesome centerpiece idea from Parents Magazine! Isn't he adorable?

Update your bookmarks

One of my favorite bloggers is switching locations! Be sure to bookmark the new blog, Pretty Good. Beautiful, wonderful photographs to make you smile.

Oh, green...

The most fantastic shoes I've seen in ages...And, you should see the dress! Click below to drool....

{Source.}

I've found the most amazing house

I'm mesmerized by this tiny little house in the Catskills (formerly a one-room school house.)

More pictures

{Source: Country Living, via Tiny White Bungalow.)

Apple cranberry brandy pie

I tried out this incredible pie from Sunset magazine this weekend, and I think I've found a definite win for a Thanksgiving pie. Delicious!

Ingredients

1/4 cup brandy
1/4 cup currants
1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries
About 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 tbsp. plus 1 cup unbleached or all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. finely grated fresh orange zest
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
6 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apples
(about 2 1/4 lbs.)
10-inch pie pastry for a single-crust pie
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) butter, cut into chunks

Instructions

In a bowl, combine brandy and currants. Cover; let stand until currants are plump, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Pick through cranberries, rinse, and drain.

Preheat oven to 375[degrees]. In a large bowl, mix 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 6 tbsp. flour, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. With a slotted spoon, transfer currants from brandy (reserve brandy) to sugar mixture; add cranberries and apples and mix well. Add more granulated sugar if desired. Pour filling into unbaked pie pastry and drizzle with brandy.

In another bowl, mix 1 cup flour and brown sugar. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or rub with your fingers until mixture forms small lumps. Sprinkle topping over filling. Set pie in a foil-lined 10- by 15-inch baking pan.

Bake on bottom rack until juices bubble, 55 to 65 minutes. If pie browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.

Printing Project I

I'm helping my best friend with some printed items for her wedding in two weeks, and I'm therefore giving my new printer a run for the money. Project #1: these little tags for the favor bags.

Eleni's

How cute is this box of wedding cookies from Eleni's New York? I don't know how I resisted it when we were in New York recently. It would make a wonderful surprise wedding treat.

I'm also LOVING these Obama cookies! Great for that upcoming inauguration party in January.

Vote!

I'm off today and we'll be hitting the streets trying to get out the vote. It could be all about PA today! Fingers and toes are crossed.

My love affair with a printer

As you may know, I'm an editor on an amazing and wonderful social networking site, Kirtsy. There are many perks to the job, not least of which are the FABULOUS ladies that I work with. Another recent perk was an introduction to the One2One Network, "a national matrix of thousands of socially-connected women who actively promote products and services they believe in."

The introduction came with one pretty spectacular bonus ... a new printer! I was in desperate need of one. Mine was kaput, and I have been forced recently to print invitations and the like from an area printer. Well, phew, those days are in the past. I now have Epson's Artisan 800 All-in-One printer.

You may think I'm just saying fabulous things because I got a new printer ... I'm really not that easily won over, and I totally would have been a crank if this thing wasn't so ridiculously cool.




Here are a few of my favorite features... 1) It has a flat, touch screen. Seriously. 2) It has two printing trays, so I can keep photo paper in it at all times, and switch out my card stocks as needed. 3) The color is AMAZING! I've printed several test pictures, and they are completed lickety-split with absolute flawlessness. You'd never know this was a home printer. 3) It's sleek and easy to use. My husband and I have been fighting over it lately. (No surprise that I usually win out.)

In addition, the printer is WiFi, so I'm literally hooked up now and it's printing upstairs. Pretty stinkin' cool!



So, if you're in the market, be sure to look here for more information! Also, stay tuned because I'm be featuring some printing projects in the next few days!

From time to time you may see product reviews from me now, but I promise you this ... I will not be biased. If I don't think something is up to par, I'm going to warn you! And, if you're interested and have time, be sure to check out the One2One Network and sign up to participate as well!

Happy Halloween!

{Source.}

Well that's cute, isn't it?

A simple vase wrapped in a bit of black tulle and tied with a red cord. I love it! An inexpensive way to add flair to an ikea vase.

{Source: Sam Hughes Photography.}

Jose Villa

Sigh... Jose Villa's blog is incredible. I get very stressed when I watch sports on TV, so I'm distracting myself by poking through some photographer blogs. I think I'll stop with this one and leave the sweet taste in my mouth.

So much inspiration.

(I love this long table amid the barrels at a vineyard.)

(Lace-wrapped pillar candles. Great idea!)

(And, seriously... how cute is that dog!?)

So much beauty.

Photo(s) of the day

I noticed these two photos on the Mi Belle Inc. blog today, and I just couldn't resist reposting. I'm having a chilly, rainy - and snowy! - day at home with my pooch today, so this is a fitting photo of the day.

(That says, "10 Reasons Why I should have been Best Man" and it was tied around the pups neck. Too cute.)

Seasonal proposal

A friend of mine from college proposed to his girlfriend recently. I noticed the proposal image on Facebook and just couldn't resist posting. I love it!


Yes, those ARE pumpkins!

Goop

Hmm, so it seems as though actress extraordinaire Gwyneth Paltrow has started her own Web site: Goop. It's unclear to me at this point all that it will contain, but I thought it was a beautiful layout, so I went ahead and signed up for the "newsletter". Low and behold, in my inbox this morning, a beautiful treat filled with yummy, healthy recipes.

Check it out if you are so inclined and see what you think? I'm excited to see what comes next!

Great Groosman idea

I'm always looking for great ideas for Groomsmen gifts. It's always harder to shop for a man, and that doesn't change when it's time to shop for a wedding. I came across this picture last night on A Bryan Photo, and I just thought, "Yes!" Brilliant, right?

Yay Leanimal

I was thrilled with tonight's results. Were you too?

And now we're moving on to the debate...

How will I ever decide?

It's going to be a busy TV night! Hope I get control of the remote.

New favorite blog

I recently discovered Armelle, and I'm a HUGE fan! Beautiful photographs, unique DIY projects, and yummy recipes. Definitely check it out!

Love

...a perfect color for fall. {Source: Martha.}

Awesome greeting cards

I'd like to give credit where credit is due, but I can't, for the life of me, remember where I saw these today! But, they were too good not to pass on.



Check out Old Tom Foolery for "unsappy, uncrappy letterpress greetings." So clever! (And I love the Christmas cards too.)

A little inspiration

Speaking of Twigs & Honey, Myra provided a little inspiration to us for my friend's recent wedding. See picture below:

How easy was this to pull off? $2.99 feather from Michael's (seriously). A small square of netting from the fabric store. Three/four bobby pins. It was perfect, simple, and the bride was able to remove the birdcage and keep the feather for the reception!

Jocelyn + George

I am completely and totally in love with both this wedding and the photographs ... and the rockin' attire! Check out Tiny Water Photography for more incredible pics! Here are just a few of my favorites:



How about that Twigs & Honey shout out!?

I just couldn't resist

Wedding in your pocket

I saw these cute books today on one of my fave daily reads: Suffix.Abuse.

Here's the write up from the site. I think they'd make an awesome shower or engagement gift.

What does it take to tell the story of a wedding? In our case, six books. Each book in the wedding series corresponds to a specific event in the process: invitation, welcome, ceremony, etc. A custom illustration by Adam McCauley opens each book, playing on cliche wedding terms (think getting hitched and dropping the anchor). The books combine honesty (ten things you may forget) with humor (how to find a hay barn in town), while maintaining a taste of elegance and tradition.

Fall Wedding Part I

You may remember a few weeks back I posted an incredible invitation that I received in the mail. The two friends getting married are both architects, with very modern sensibilities, and they chose the unique wedding colors of burnt orange and charcoal gray.

Well, their wedding was this weekend in the Adirondacks (an 8 hours drive for us!), and though it rained/poured on the trip up and back, the wedding day was shining and filled with a rainbow of fall colors.

I will post a full post shortly with all of the wedding details, but one I thought I'd highlight now were their cocktail table decorations: dried slices of blood oranges. The bride purchased a bag of oranges last season, sliced and set them out to dry on cookie sheets. Such a simple and beautiful idea! Don't they look great?

Malibu Wedding Part III

The festivities started with the cocktail hour, and when we pulled up we were greeted by the bride in a fabulously short BCBG dress and these incredible zebra-striped shoes:

The wedding took place under a huge tree with icicle lights hanging from the branches. It was a glorious setting with the sun setting in the background behind the mountains.

Centerpieces: Purple flowers, moss and artichokes in low, rambling containers, and tall branches with candles hanging from little pots underneath.

Heritage frame table:

The wedding cake! A definite highlight ... detail shots below: