Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

My brown sugar was really giving me sass the other day.

I had decided to make Martha Stewart's chewy chocolate chip cookies with white and semisweet chocolate chips.

But lo and behold, my brown sugar was a brick. Seriously, I could break windows with that brown sugar. I could build homes with that sugar. It was ridiculous.

I googled all the tricks for softening brown sugar and found this one to work (sort of; the sugar still clumped like crazy):

1. Place sugar (still in bag) in the microwave alongside a cup of water.

2. Heat for 3 minutes.

Sugar should be softer after that.

The sugar hardens because of lost moisture; anyone have a storage tip for brown sugar to avoid this?

Anyways, I added the sugar to a stick of butter and granulated sugar. Then I beat it until it got "fluffy." I put fluffy in quote marks because if anything, the clumpy brown sugar just got clumpier until it looked like I was making a breakfast cereal. But whatever; you know me, I just steamroll ahead.

Added the vanilla and eggs, then beat it into oblivion.

Oooh pretty.

I slowly added the flour/baking soda mixture.

Which eventually turns the batter into this thick mass.

I folded the white and chocolate chips into the batter, dropped it in clumps on my cookie sheets and voila:

COOKIES!

About these cookies: They were good, they tasted like cookies, they looked like cookies. But they were way cakier than they should have been; I'm figuring this has something to do with the butter temperature (it got very soft while I was wrestling with the brown sugar brick) and maybe the brown sugar?

I'm starting to realize I might have to actually learn what different ingredients do to achieve different consistencies. LOL. I'm sure you all just read that and said, "ABOUT TIME!"

Have a great weekend you guys! I think I'm going to try pizza again.

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Honeymoon Dreaming: The Banyan Tree Mayakoba

Honeymoon Dreaming: The Banyan Tree Mayakoba

I'm not sure if your idea of an amazing honeymoon is all about peace and serenity (that would be my idea). But if it is, then the Banyan Tree Mayakoba looks dreamy. Located in a carefully preserved ecological site, Banyan Tree Mayakoba is the first resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico, to offer couples and event planners the option to host their events in a carbon responsible manner.




Banyan Tree Mayakoba uses the internationally accredited EarthCheck Program to carefully manage and measure the amount of energy and water consumed as a result of the event. A symbolic carbon measure is then offset locally through Reforestamos Mexico, a certified organization, which in turn links to the Scolel Te project.



This forestry carbon sequestration initiative involves the indigenous communities of Tzeltales, Tzotziles, Choles and Lacandones in Chiapas, and the Chinanteca communities in Oaxaca. The project is based on the Plan Vivo System, using a guiding methodology for land-use based carbon project development that permits participation from cooperative farms and communities in carbon capture, biodiversity preservation, endangered species protection and the environmental services market.



Couples will receive an event verification certificate provided by Reforestamos Mexico, certifying that the event took place in a carbon responsible manner. Each event guest also receives a wooden souvenir crafted by a local workshop in the Buenavista community, which salvages wood from trees felled by natural causes and crafts them into figurines that represent the beauty of Mexico’s Riviera Maya. To get additional information, visit their web site.

email your questions to: bridalwishlist@gmail.com & visit our sister site, the capitol fashionista (http://thecapitolfashionista.blogspot.com)

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Title: Owl city - Super Honeymoon

From Owl citys album "Maybe im dreaming"
Singing; Super Honeymoon.

Enjoyy~ :]

Title: #3 Super Honeymoon - Owl City (Maybe I'm Dreaming)

(NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED)

------- (Lyrics) -------

Glamour and fashion
Models and magazines... a striking runway entrance
Beauty and passion
Stardust and high class scenes of popular teens
When I lived in Denver, I met a millionaire
With ribbons in her blonde hair
I still remember
She was like a princess straight from a dreamy castle in the air

So lovely...
She was everything to me

Both alone in the dark
We long to see the sun
Rise over the Bering Strait
I was sick of the west
When I turned 21
So I moved to the Sunshine State
We played golf on the moon
And tennis on the sun
Like athletes of the afternoon
The solar flares burned my arms
And made her makeup run
On our super lunar honeymoon

I was the youngest son of a congressman
And everything was my fault...
She was a gymnast, happily swinging
On the uneven bars, tucked in a somersault

╔═╦╗╔╦╗╔═╦═╦╦╦╦╗╔═╗
¦╚¦¦¦¦╚¦╚¦╔¦╔¦¦╚¦═¦
¦╗¦╚╝¦¦¦╗¦╚¦¦¦¦¦¦═¦
╚═╩══╩═╩═╩═╩╝╚╩═╩═╝

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A Winter Holiday Soiree

A Winter Holiday Soiree

I've posted a number of winter wedding inspiration boards this week and last, so when my sweet friend Janie at The Bride's Cafe asked if I'd like to share this winter holiday shoot with you here on Snippet & Ink, I jumped at the chance. And that was before I'd even seen the photos! Created by some wonderfully talented ladies, including Janie, Courtney from Merriment Events, and Katie from Open Air Photography, this lovely shoot is exactly what I love - beautiful and thoughtful without being overdone. Whether you're looking for inspiration for your winter wedding or for next week's holiday party, you'll definitely find some great ideas here...




The tree was decorated with pine cones and mercury glass ornaments hung with jute twine.


Courtney created this garland by stamping the letters on vintage tags, then stringing them on jute twine.


Vintage sheet music can be found throughout the shoot, from accordion "garlands" on the mantle, to paper pinwheels, to gift wrap. (Can you see the name on that gift tag? It's Kathryn! How much did that make my day!)


Gifts were also wrapped with kraft paper and tied with gold ric rac, upholstery ribbon, or green satin. This one was embellished with vintage skeleton keys.




The mantle was decorated with various flowers in mercury glass vases and a vintage box filled with jute twine and silver ornaments. Silver serving trays were hung on the wall above the mantle - what a simple and effective way to fill up wall space!




Janie decorated the table with white amaryllis, French anemones, Victoria white ranunculus, supergreen parrot tulips, and white peonies all in mercury glass vases. Using only one type of flower in each vase allows each flower to stand out, and is simple solution for centerpieces. The amaryllis arrangements are rather tall, so they can be removed once guests are seated to allow for conversation across the table.


The menus were lettered in the shape of a star, and embellished with little stars made of sheet music.


Menus and place cards were calligraphed by Jen at Pretty Pen Jen, using gold ink on ivory paper.




Croquembouche is a perfectly dramatic and appropriate dessert choice for a winter wedding or party. This one, created by Jenny at Sweetest Thing Bakery, is drizzled in white chocolate.


For the winter brides out there, a bouquet of white peonies, gray dusty miller, nearly black privet berries, and tied with beautiful striped French wire ribbon.





Thank you so so much to all of these talented ladies for sharing this beautiful winter shoot with us - now I can't wait to throw a holiday dinner party! I hope we'll be able to have all of you back on Snippet & Ink again very soon.

Photography: Katie Stoops at Open Air Photography

Styling: Courtney Spencer at Merriment Events / Little White Book)

Flowers: Janie Medley at JM Flora / The Bride's Cafe)

Calligraphy: Pretty Pen Jen

Cake: Sweetest Thing Bakery

Hair and makeup: Sarah Valentine at Mango Hair Salon

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Board #492: Love and Surf

Board #492: Love and Surf

I was having so much fun thinking about where my honey and I might go on our honeymoon, and then we found out we might not be able to take one right away. So disappointing! But, one thing inspiration boards are good for (aside from helping to pull together a look for a wedding) is imagining, so I imagined up a trip to Hawaii...

Mood: Hawaiian casual
Palette: sand and surf, red and yellow

{click image to enlarge}

Top row from left: surfboard photo by Thayer Allyson Gowdy, vintage surf postcard, tropical fruit wedding cake from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 2: tropical orchid bouquet by Matthew Robbins, photo by Thayer Allyson Gowdy, beach wedding from Martha Stewart Weddings
Row 3: beach and palm tree photo from Real Weddings, popsicles via Ruby Press, red and yellow hibiscus in bud vases by Nancy Liu Chin via Green Wedding Shoes
Row 4: pink Hawaiian quilt from The Quilt Complex, ukelele photo by Dave Robbins, signature cocktails with dried pineapple garnish from Martha Stewart Weddings, surfboard and food truck photo by Ericka McConnell

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Real Wedding: Julia & Ben

Real Wedding: Julia & Ben

Okay, I'm snagging this intro right off of Lillian and Leonard's blog (they're the talented photographers here), because it really is the perfect summary of Julia and Ben's elopement:

"Wouldn't it be great if we could just elope to Scotland?" Julia asked Ben in the midst of planning a large and traditional wedding on Australia's Gold Coast.

And so a plan was born. The bride, the groom, fourteen friends and family members and a tiny Scottish chapel in the Highlands. A meal at a renowned hotel, a cottage in a sprawling estate and an evening of drinking and celebrating in the local pubs. All of the ingredients, in other words, for the perfect Scottish elopement.

The rest of the story comes to us from the bride...

A few years back Ben and I went to Scotland to live and work overseas for nine months just after he proposed to me - we had been together two years at that time. We started planning a huge traditional wedding back in Australia 18 months ago, but it felt like everything we were deciding on didn't really represent who we were and were not meaningful to us. One night while sitting on the couch Ben said in passing, "I wish we could turn back time and elope in Scotland." I told him I would do it in a heartbeat, and when we looked through our budget we realised that for the amount we were paying for a large wedding of 80 guests in a popular venue location on the Gold Coast, we could spend traveling through Scotland for a month revisiting memory lane - as well as a wedding! So we started calling our parents and siblings right then and there to see if they would be up for the adventure and we got the all clear. So it was set. We completely changed our style of wedding that night and started the crazy, internet-based planning for a destination wedding - which was the best decision that we've ever made.


Julia wore purple shoes by Tony Bianco.


Our wedding was very low-key, but we wanted to make it as meaningful as possible, not just for us but for everyone involved. Because we had a small budget (because we were spending money on a three week trip around Scotland as well as a wedding) we aimed to let others create elements of the day for us with love - things being perfect never entered my head. Details we could look back on and say, "They did that for us, how amazing," that's all we wanted. My Friend-Of-Honour always wanted to be a hair-dresser, so she asked to do my hair on the day. My sister loves stationery, so she put up her hand to create the Order of Services and the box for Ben's wedding gift. My mum made my mantilla, which she hand-sewed every sequin, and she loved every moment of creating it (I have no idea how someone could love hours of this kind of thing, but she was just beaming on the day knowing she made it, and that made me beam).


Music provided by Spud the Highland Bagpiper.


The ceremony took place at the temple on Belladrum Estate, which the couple found through a Google search the same night they decided to elope. The reception took place at Bunchrew House Hotel, just a short walk away.








Julia's dress by White One.


Every piece of jewelry was borrowed from the family. The necklace was the necklace my granddad had made and given to my grandma on their wedding day, then my mum wore it on her wedding day, and then I was given it by grandma last year before she passed, so it was an extremely important item on the day for me to represent my heritage and was the one item that started the vintage/antique theme. The pearl earrings were Ben's mum's who was given them by his granddad the day Ben was born.


Some wonderful advice from the bride: Go with your heart. In everything. Don't be afraid if you want to change your mind. Don't be put off by others' opinions. Let them know you love them and explain to them what's important to you.






There wasn't much in the wedding that Ben and I actually bought for decorations. We had one suitcase to fill for everything, so we wanted everything in it to be meaningful. Our cake-topper was a Willowtree sculpture we've had a couple of years now that we thought would be less expensive to have than buying something else. And a linen tablecloth - I love linen, and I wanted something to keep that I could say was a part of our special day that we can use all the time.



Julia and Ben hired Alastair Brown to create a video of the day that they could share with friends and family at a larger celebration back home in Australia.



Congratulations Julia and Ben! I love being able to share your story with other Snippet & Ink readers, and hope they'll draw as much inspiration from your wedding as I have. Thank you to Cara and Nye, the husband and wife team behind Lillian and Leonard Photography, for sharing these photos with us - just beautiful! You can see even more from Julia and Ben's sweet Scottish elopement on the Lillian and Leonard blog (like I said, I snagged the intro straight from their post!).

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