Pumpkin Pancakes

 I made these with my Mom- YUM. Very moist and definitely spirited breakfast. We even ate with apple syrup and toasted some pecans for topping. This is a great fall or christmas morning breakfast- good way to start the day!  

Made with Love. 

mix dry ingredients

start wet in food processor

add wet & dry 

no lumps, all stirred up, let sit for at least 30 mins

Add some apple syrup, whipped cream, and toasted pecans- Bon Apetite!

God is quite the romancer

Today I had the joy of traveling to Montana de Oro (Los Osos) with my family, God did it yet again- boy did he show off. I don't know why I am surprised, he did invent creativity, and art, and romancing- and let me tell ya he has mastered it. Here a only a few snap shots of an amazing day in his creation. 

God is always romancing you, you need only to open your eyes and look around...

Nature's own staircase. 

Made with Love

Trees bending down for a big embrace. 

Merry Christmas!

Although it is indeed the day after Christmas, Merry Christmas! Billy and I were excited to spend our first christmas as a newly married couple, this meant only taking one car to each event and actually getting to be together on Christmas morning. Sadly all did not go as planned, the poor guy got food poisoning on christmas eve, but i suppose it tells for a great story. I was able to take care of my new husband and once he was done worshipping the porcelain god we got to snuggle up and watch Elf- favorite memory of the holiday. We felt very loved and blessed by our family and are very thankful for all God has blessed us with in this year.

Isaiah 9:6 "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Santa Hat Brownies

Seeing as it is the day before christmas eve- gotta get into the spirit! Made these for my ugly sweater christmas party, festive and Yummy! I was crazy doing decorations and such so I had to resort to Trader Joe's brownie mix, but you follow your heart and make your favorite brownies, here is how to make them holiday spirited....
Got the recipe from: http://www.ericasweettooth.com/

Ingredients:
1 pan of your favorite brownies, cooled and cut into desired size and shape (can use a round cutter)
12-16 small strawberries, cleaned and hulled
vanilla-mascarpone buttercream (recipe below)

Mascarpone Buttercream
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Method:
Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and mascarpone cheese until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add vanilla extract and salt.  Add 2-1/2 cups of sugar, half a cup at a time and continue beating until smooth.  Add more sugar, if needed to reach desired consistency and sweetness.

To assemble, pipe a ring of vanilla buttercream on top of each brownie.  Cut off the base of a strawberry so it is flat and place it upside down on each brownie, pushing slightly to secure in place.  Top the tip of the strawberry with a dot of buttercream to finish the santa hat. Bon appetite! 
Made with Love 

Thrones

 

I wanted to do something fun for my bridal party to set them apart from the sea of white chairs, being the crazy person I am I decided to paint 14 chairs uniquely to each bridesmaid and groomsmen. I collected all the chairs from Goodwill, Craigslist, and Garage Sales and never paid more than 6 dollars a chair. I upholstered the chair pads with sheets and other fabric to match wedding colors. These served as fun props for photos and were a gift to the bridal party to take home if they would like. Billy and I had a love seat we found on craigslist ($65.00) and had upholstered ($125.00), my mom made the pillows. This love seat now sits in our bedroom and is a fun piece to bring from the wedding into life after.

LoveBirdie Cake Topper

To Make these little love birds all I did was buy the nest at Michaels ($3.00) and the birds at a florist shop ($2.00) and then use some tool and felt to make the veil and top hat with a little hot glue and ta da! I have seen similar ones on Etsy, but they can be pricy- this was a way cheaper option.

Handmade Signs

The site I had my wedding at was along a gorgeous road that was hugged by large oak branches, but somewhat lengthy for someone not knowing the area. Hence why I made signs... 

Some old fence posts I got for free on craigslist. 

A little paint and a few nails...

Wedding details & inspiration

I am the freak that decided to do a "do it yourself" wedding. As if planning a wedding is not enough! Thankfully I had a longer engagement which gave me plenty of time to DESIGN. Thankfully I have amazing friends and family that all helped in preparation. I loved thinking about all the details of how the color scheme would work and what would be fun and interactive for the guests. These next few posts will be for you to see inspiration on how I designed my wedding.

Fans for the heat, they read "we are Billy & Sam's BIGGEST fans!" on one side and served as program for ceremony on the other. (Hot glued card stock to popsicle sticks, cost about 1.50 a fan)

 

 Old windows were around site for Signage, dinner plate displaying menu. (windows from Craigslist, sharpie glass marker for plate)

Everyone wrote love notes, so fun to read while we were on plan to honeymoon. 

Then there are no excuses! (shoes from Michaels, $1.00 each, trunk from Goodwill $5.00)

Love story in a nutshell <3

Why DESIGN?

  I believe that God has blessed us with inspiration all around us, and all it takes it a hint of creativity to make anything blossom. “Sign de deo” means “sign of God” (Greek), which can be “deo signe,” which can be DESIGN. That is what I love to do- DESIGN and show God’s endless creativity through it.