My Best Friend's Wedding

My best friend got married to her Navy man a few months back! I've been holding off on the post, because I wanted to share some of their gorgeous wedding pictures too! Thanks for letting Danny and me be a part of your special day! We love you both so much and wish you all the happiness in the world.

A little MOH love to her best friend and groom. 
A small slice of my cheesy speech... 

"It is impossible to not see the love, respect and friendship between you. It is the kind of relationship we should all aspire too…one that pushes you to be your best, to trust in your partner and to live by the motto -- home is where your heart is / or home is wherever I'm with you. 

Love is powerful – it’s the virtue that holds all others together. Whatever plan God may have for your future, you will know with certainty that he gave you each other to get there as a couple

to love each other 

to support each other 

and to make each other stronger 

Cheers to Justin and Shannon and their greatest adventure yet.  May you both grow more in love each day and be surrounded by the support of family, friends and God’s immeasurable love.  Cheers to a lifetime of happiness."

A little wedding clip I put together:

"All I Do Is Dream of You" by Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van {S and J's 1st Dance Song}

 





Photography: jmfoto photographic co.  | Invitations: Minted  |  Venue: Twin Oaks Garden Estate  | Catering: Twin Oaks  |  Floral Design: "Petite Bouquet" | Linens & China: Twin Oaks | Wedding Dress:Allure Bridals 9121 | Suit Rentals: Men's Warehouse & Navy Dress Whites  |  Hair & Makeup: Annie Mergenthaler & Camille Smith 

DIY Chanel Vase

Ahhh one of my favorites. Coco Mademoiselle smells so good. Yes I used all of it, but couldn't part with this beautiful little bottle. So why not fill my home with my favorites, right? I thought it would be fun to repurpose this bottle into a small bud vase. 

Here's What You'll Need:

Empty glass bottle

Eye protection

Gloves

Mask

Marker

Water in a squeeze bottle (I actually used an empty Sriracha bottle)

Dremel Hand Tool

Diamond Wheel

How To:

-Put on your eye protection, gloves, and mask...working with glass dust can be dangerous, especially if you're a newbie! So make sure you're suited up.

-Use a marker to draw a guide line around the bottle.

-Lay your bottle on its side.

-Turn on your Dremel tool with the diamond wheel and start cutting along the marked line.

-***You'll need and extra pair of hands to squirt a few drops of water on the blade while you cut (don't get water above the attachment site on the Dremel). This will help prevent the glass from heating up and fracturing. Always keep the cut line wet.

-Go over your cut line a few times -- gradually getting deeper into the glass until it cracks off.  Keep the cut even around the whole bottle. Cut a little at a time on each side. 

-After the top is off, you'll want to clean up the sharp edges with your diamond blade. Make sure it's smooth and safe.

Painted Sugar Cookies

I was in a creative mood today and we have a family Easter dinner at my Aunt and Uncle's tomorrow so I thought it would be fun to try my hand at sugar cookies. Here is a sugar cookie and royal icing recipe that I love... the cookies are yummy and hold their shape while baking {not too hard & not too soft - just perfect with a sweet hint of almond and vanilla} + the royal icing recipe is easy and top-notch! 

Sugar Cookie Recipe:

Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (room temp)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla bean paste

1 tsp. Almond extract

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350F 

-Cream butter and sugar together with an electric stand mixer until smooth. Mix for 1 minute. 

-Add egg. Mix until combined.

-Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again. 1 min.

-Mix in vanilla bean paste and almond extract.

-Slowly add flour and salt. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to clump around the paddle. 

-Roll dough in between two pieces of parchment paper and set on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 20 minutes.

-Use cookie cutters to cut out your desired shapes.

-Bake in the oven on a silpat mat for 10 minutes or until the bottom edge of the cookies are light brown.

-Place cookies on a cooling rack.

-Decorate cookies with royal icing when they reach room temperature.

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Believe it or not this was my first time working with royal icing. I was tad intimidated so I watched a few videos on youtube before attempting it. This video was my favorite {he made it so easy}. I used 1/2 tsp. almond extract and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract instead of the 1 tsp. vanilla as listed in his recipe. It turned out fabulous. Really easy. Just add water when you need a "shampoo" consistency for flooding your cookies. 

Royal Icing Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups powdered sugar

2 large egg whites

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

water

Directions:

-In a stand mixer combine sifted powdered sugar, cream of tarter, egg whites and both extracts. 

-Beat on low until the sugar has liquified and then beat on high for 1 minute. The icing will be thick like toothpaste. 

-Add a tablespoon of water and beat for 3 more minutes.

-Mix in food coloring if desired {I just used the white icing}.

-Pour icing into a piping bag and decorate sugar cookies.

-Let icing dry and harden before painting {if you want to use my method}

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For Painting

I used Betty Crocker Classic Gel Food Colors {I got mine at Ralph's} and dabbed a few blobs of each color onto a ceramic plate. I used a watercolor paint brush to paint and mix the colors and a gourmet food writer for fine black details. Easy peasy. Be sure to  have a small cup of water for washing your brush out in between colors and a paper towel for blotting the brush. 

Have Fun!