our wedding {part one}

I'm so excited to share about our wedding today!

I have tons of pictures, but I won't bombard you with all of them at once...

so here's part one!

I'll be honest, planning our wedding was a lot of work and a lot of fun, and I'm glad it's over.

The day before the wedding, as we were decorating and preparing,

I had to answer so many questions, make so many little decisions, arrange things just so...

I just wanted to get married!

 We chose to see each other and take pictures before the ceremony,

and I am SO glad we did.

He was super nervous, and I was pretty nervous myself...

I felt so much better about everything once I had spent some time with him.

And it was fantastic to get all the group shots done beforehand so our guests

didn't have to wait around forever at the reception. It made everything less stressful.

{this is one of my favorite shots!}

{some details}

my dress & jacket :: David's Bridal

pink shoes! :: Old Navy

necklace :: Allora Handmade

bridesmaid's skirts & flower pins :: made by me!

origami bouquets :: made by my very talented sister

sweaters :: JC Penney's

to be continued...

if you have any questions about any wedding details,

feel free to let me know!

coffee & cream muffins {recipe!}

A friend gifted me this book several years ago,

and it's definitely a favorite of mine.

{I also have my eye on this one...}

So many delicious muffins,

and they're all pretty easy to make!

I just wanted to share a really delicious one...

{ coffee & cream muffins }

   

you'll need:

• oil or melted butter for greasing {I always use paper baking cups}
• 2 tbsp instant coffee powder
• 2 tbsp boiling water
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• heaping 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• scant 1 cup heavy cream
• 6 tbsp sunflower oil or melted, cooled butter

{one} Preheat your oven to 450*. Grease your muffin pan or use paper liners. Combine the coffee powder & boiling water, stir until dissolved. Let cool.

{two} Sift together the flour, baking powder & salt into a large bowl. Stir in brown sugar.

{three} Lightly beat the eggs {separate bowl}, then beat in cream, oil, and dissolved coffee. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in liquid ingredients. Stir gently until just combined; do not overmix!

{four} Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake about 20 minutes, until well risen & firm to the touch.

{five} Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

{six} Top each muffin with some whipped cream, dust on some cocoa powder, and add a chocolate-covered coffee bean. Yum!

Enjoy!

linking up with Gussy's Inspiration Workshop today. :)

{things I'm loving...}

Just a few things I'm loving these days...

...I love being married to this guy.

He's awesome, and awfully cute. ;)

...homemade smoothies.

We've made a lot of these in our 2 1/2 weeks of marriage.

...inspired by Caroline,

a sweet scarf with a cute flower!

...if you've never listened to this song, you should.

It's amazingly beautiful, and my current favorite.

{Dell'Amore Non Si Sa, Hayley Westenra & Andrea Bocelli}

...it's been so long since I've worked on a crocheting project.

I started this one yesterday, and I definitely missed crocheting!

...and finally, I love coffee.

I love pumpkin spice creamer.

And that's my new favorite mug. :)

What are you loving today?

guess who's back?!

I'm back!!

It's weird to think that I haven't blogged for 2 weeks...

it was a lovely & much needed break, though.

And we're married!

{this picture embodies happiness. i love it.}

I've been loving married life.

Everything is so much better with my man by my side.

I have so much to share,

but bear with me - still sorting through wedding pictures!

I hope you all have had a wonderful couple of weeks.

Thanks to all of my guest bloggers & the sweet comments that were left;

I appreciate all of you so much. :)

Happy Monday...

chocolate brown {a guest post from kate.}

Hello, everyone!
While I'm off enjoying newly-married life, I've asked a few of my blog friends to share with you.
I hope you enjoy their posts, and please be sure to leave some comment love! :)


*****


Hello there friends! I'm Kate from Be merry, Kate and I'm so happy to guest post for Jacky while she is off celebrating her wedding and enjoying her honeymoon. Jacky has been such a good blog friend and I'm so happy for her as she enters this new phase of her life! In honor of her wedding, I decided to share a little {color love} based off of my own wedding.

If you know Jacky at all, you know that the colors brown, green and orange are very far from some of her favorites {and understandably so!} Our wedding was on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, so I just couldn't resist the fall palate. I think it worked too - doesn't everyone look great?!? {Okay, I'm a little biased!} So, here you have it, a color love dedicated to the color that stole the show at our wedding...

{chocolate brown}

I love this curtain

I'm also a big fan of chocolate brown Toms.

brown walls frighten me, but this room looks perfect

this chocolate brown Modcloth dress is perfect for fall

and the best part of chocolate brown is...

chocolate cake! {yes I had a chocolate cake on my wedding day, why not?!?}

 Thank you again to Jacky for letting me stop by for a visit! I hope you all enjoyed a little taste of one of my favorite colors as well as a bit from my wedding day. Do stop by and say hello sometime!

{don't worry}

pinned here

such a great reminder...worrying won't get you anywhere!

get organized {a guest post from gussy.}

Hello, everyone!
While I'm off enjoying newly-married life, I've asked a few of my blog friends to share with you.
I hope you enjoy their posts, and please be sure to leave some comment love! :)


*****

For weeks now {probably even months},

I've been writing little notes here & there with ideas, projects, tips, goals and dreams for me and the biz. More recently I decided it's time to stop creating lists and to-do's that scatter a half dozen journals and sticky notes >> I need them to be in one place. My first idea was to search Etsy for a shop that could make me a cute 3-ring binder to serve as my Gussy Folder -- I need to be able to re-arrange the pages so a bound book just wouldn't work. Sadly, I couldn't find what I was looking for, but hooray! I decided to make my Gussy Folder myself. I found this cute binder at Target (can also be bought online at www.russellandhazel.com {super cute biz name, by the way}) along with hole-punched pages & divider folders. Yippeeeee :] Three categories I'm constantly using: * goals * blog ideas * to-do These three are the top most important categories for my folder. Having goals is SO, SO important -- it's the only way I was able to quit my day job back in May. Plus, goals are really great ways to grow my business and add motivation to my day. Another category that keeps my blog running {the second biz I have} is a blog ideas list. Usually in the morning is when I come up with the best post/blog ideas, and writing them down is a super easy way for me to come up with a topic/remember ideas. The last category in my Gussy Folder is a to-do list. Having this list in a 3-ring binder lets me add pages to my to-do list without messing up the order of everything else in my book. Each divider page also has a pocket -- Lined paper inserts, perfect :] My Gussy Folder was super fun to make and it cost me less than $20 to create [binder was $7.69, paper was $4.84 and divider folders were $5.17]. On each divider page, I wrote the name of the category on a small piece of fabric {pulled from my scrap bin}. I then used the zig-zag stitch to sew the smaller piece to a bigger piece of fabric. I finished by sewing the fabric directly onto the paper using a top stitch. These folders are card stock-weight so it will hold the stitch well ♥.
One thing that will be super great about this Gussy Folder is I can look back at the goals/topics/to-do's I accomplished and be proud of myself. When I'm having a downer day I like to take a minute and focus on the praises in my life. Then I pray for some help *wink* Materials used -- * 3-ring binder * divider pages * lined paper {graph would be cute, too} * thread * fabric * fabric marker * embellishments to decorate the front of your binder {stickers, photos, marker, fabric, glitter glue, etc.}
 

Share with us -- do you have a special book to help you organize your business? If so, did you buy it or make it?

inspiring balloons {a guest post from mandie.}

Hello, everyone!
While I'm off enjoying newly-married life, I've asked a few of my blog friends to share with you.
I hope you enjoy their posts, and please be sure to leave some comment love! :)


*****


Hi! I'm Mandie from moxiemandie (blog - shop) and I wanted to share a little something while Jacky is busy getting married and honeymooning with her guy. I moved to Albuquerque, NM over 5 years ago to live with my handsome husband, and in doing so, was introduced to a very cool part of the culture here- hot air balloons. Now, I realize that more than likely, you know what a hot air balloon is regardless of where you live, but here in Albuquerque, ballooning is big because every year in October, our city hosts the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, and it's a sort of magical 9 days.

There are more car accidents during the week of balloon fiesta due to people paying more attention to the pretty baubles bobbing in the air than the roads they're driving on.

Source: etsy.com via Mandie on Pinterest

The balloon fiesta probably hosts more photographers, professional AND amateur, than any other event, and has been called the most photographed event in the world. To say that I have a blast with my iPhone (using my fave photo apps, instagram and hipstamatic) is an understatement.

Source: etsy.com via Mandie on Pinterest

So, that's the little something I wanted to share about our city. It's so fun to be a (teensy) part of something that can be so dreamy & inspiring. Thanks for having me Jacky. I hope that you and your mister are having a blast adjusting to married life! Best of wishes to you my friend.

{think about such things}

found here

plum {a guest post from caroline.}

Hello, everyone!
While I'm off enjoying newly-married life, I've asked a few of my blog friends to share with you.
I hope you enjoy their posts, and please be sure to leave some comment love! :)

*****

Hi lovies. I'm Caroline & I blog over at Good Times Never Seem Sew Good. Come visit me & you'll get to read about my life as a newlywed, my crafty projects, my favorite recipes, and my attempt at being fashionable~ I'd love for you to come stop by!

While Jacky is starting her new life with her man, she asked me to guest post on her little bliggity blog. Of course I obliged :) I wanna share with you guys one of my favorite colors for Fall this season: PLUM. Oh yes. I'm am pretty much obsessed with this color.

Pinterest.

here are a few of my plum finds for you~

1. miss margaret from Sunshine & Carousels.

2. ruthanne foldover from Peggy Ann Design.

3. zephyr maxi from Anthropologie

4. a fabulous fashion find from side by side blog on Pinterest.

5. wedding garter from Rosebud Lips.

 I hope you enjoy :)

today...

...I'm marrying my best friend. The love of my life. My favorite person ever.

I couldn't be more excited.

{wedding week!}

can you believe it's wedding week already?!

In 5 days, I get to marry my favorite person.

I couldn't be more excited. :)

I won't be around much on the blog this week

{I'm sure you all will understand},

but you can email me if you'd like to chat.

And I've got some lovely guest posts

all ready to go for the next couple weeks.

Just pray that I keep my sanity in all of this.

My goal is to relax & enjoy it all. :)

happy wedding week!