Eggnog

Even thought Christmas is over, Eggnog is still a festive drink that will carry us through the new year.  Though I've never attempted to make this yummy beverage from scratch this recipe from Taste of Home seems easy enough.  Try it out and let me know what you think!

Photo from Taste of Home

MERRY CHRISTMAS

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!  Let's not forget the reason for the season :-)

Have a look at this fab Christmas tree I saw in Target at the beginning of the holiday season.

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BBQ

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to Lexington, NC to order a bridesmaid dress for a wedding I am in and take a look at a bridal salon that carries the dresses I was interested in for my bridal party.  On our way out of town we decided to stop for lunch, you can't go to Lexington in not have BBQ!!!  Next time you're in town, you stop at Bar-B-Q center for a delicious meal!

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Free State Silhouette Printables

I saw this cute printable on ETSY and had to have it.  Determined that it was a DIY craft, tried my luck at finding a silhouette of North Carolina.  After a pretty simple google search I found this gem from a fellow blogger and proceeded to doctor up the silhouette in Photoshop.  How did I do?

This would be an awesome Christmas gift for someone near and dear, all you need is a little time and a cute frame.  Originally I was planning on framing this and hanging it up, but I think I just might incorporate it in our wedding, so stay tuned!

From Etsy

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Tortellini with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce

In the cooler months, Pumpkin is one of my favorite things to cook with.  The tortellini recipe was simply divine and super flavorful.  It is perfect for the pasta lover everywhere!

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COLOR INSPIRATION: Black & White

Black & White is a timeless and elegant combination for any wedding.  It can be formal, relaxed, fun and elegant.

Picture from Green Wedding Shoes

Picture from One Wed

Picture from The Skyline Tent

Picture from  The Two Love Birds

Photo from Love Your Wedding

Pumpkin Pie

I know it's past Thanksgiving, but I don't think it's ever too late for pumpkin pie!  If you enjoy pumpkin like I do throughout the fall/winter season this is a must try recipe!

Photo from Very Best Baking website

Ingredients:

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup evaporated milk
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 9-inch pie plate.

Stir all ingredients until blended.  Pour into pie plate.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 30 minutes.  Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled.  Store covered in refrigerator 

*Serve with whipped topping if desired.

OUR WEDDING: Wedding Party

I just have to say, I'm super excited to be blogging about our upcoming wedding!  As a planner it's been a little difficult for me balance the joy of planning with Kimili and the "know-how" I already have.  I always tell my couples to collect or e-mail me pictures of any inspiration they find online.  Once they have amassed a collection, and they go back through it most often their "wedding style" pops out at them.  What kind of professional would I be if I didn't follow my own advice?!?!  The look on Kimili's face was priceless as I literally dropped this stack of inspiration on him one night ...

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After his initial shock, one of the first things we did was decide our wedding party.  Wedding parties are a part of a wedding that I very rarely deal with until the rehearsal day, so this was a fun new exciting part of wedding planning for me personally.  After a lot of discussion we settled on 8 members on each side (he still thinks that's way too many!), 3 hosts, 3 ceremony participants, a minister, and escorts for honored guests (parents and grandparents).

Since we LOVE entertaining, it is really important to us that our wedding not only celebrates our marriage  but our guests as well.  They always say invitations set the tone so, I wanted to come up with a unique special way of asking the special members of our bridal party.  Thanks to my inspiration pile, coming up with something for my girls was easy!  Though I opted not to do inspiration boxes since we would be sending them thought the mail, I loved the style of the cards in this brides DIY project on the Wedding Chicks site.

For the guys I had to get a little creative!  Kimili turned down most of the idea's I found through searching and Pinterest, but I think our final idea was a winner.  He is a basketball coach, in fact we met while we were both managers for the women's basketball team in college.  So for his invitation we created a media guide, which is like a booklet, that professional, college and high school teams publish with stats, team bios, schedules and expectations for the season.  His media guide included preliminary information about our wedding, attire, names of the groomsmen and important dates.  Since most of the groomsmen are heavily into sports as well, I think a media guide was meaningful and recognizable to everyone involved.

For the remaining members of the bridal party we opted to do hand written notes using a save the date template found here on Wedding Chicks site again.  Everyone was super excited to get their personal mail and LOVED the sentiment and thought put behind the invitation.  We are just as thrilled that these amazing people will be apart of our ceremony!

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Ravioli and Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe in the September 2012 Issue of Food Network Magazine.  It was super simple to make and very filling for a soup.  I was pleasantly surprised at how  much enjoyed this non traditional way of preparing ravioli.  Find the recipe here.

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Brysen's Baby Book

If you remember back in August I did a series on planning a baby shower for our friends Brittany & Ferron (find the posts here, here, here, and here).  One of the baby shower ice breakers we did was a "Wish Garland" where guests filled out answers to a few questions to shower baby Brysen with their wishes for him.  After the shower I collected them along with a few sweet photos to put together a special memento for the family to remember that special day by.  Have a look at a couple of the pages and the little cutie himself!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving and be Blessed!  Here is a special treat from me to you!

From Southern Living Magazine

Southern Weddings V5

Y'all know how I love Southern Weddings blog & magazine!  Their 5th anniversary issue finally hit the news stands, how excited was I!  I went searching for it in Target and had my heart broken when they didn't have it.  Luckily I have the most awesome finance in the world and he went on a city wide search for me while I recovered from having by wisdom teeth pulled.  He finally found it at Barnes & Noble, apparently it was pretty sought after according to the woman behind the check out counter!

P.S.  I hope everyone has a fantastically blessed Thanksgiving!

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Food Trucks

Lately I've had a small obsession with Food Trucks, I was so excited when I found out Greensboro was doing a pilot food tuck program.  Find out more about them here and  their food truck schedule here and go out and support their fight to continue servicing downtown Greensboro!

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Blue Ridge Parkway

After all of the excitement of last week's post, let's back track a little.  The mountains of North Carolina truly are breath taking this time of the year.  One Sunday afternoon about a month ago, we took a drive up toward Boone and traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway for a few miles.  If you live in North Carolina, and have never done this add this to your list of things to do next fall.  What a perfect way to celebrate this beautiful fall season!

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Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Next to our engagement, I'm pretty sure this is the sweetest thing I've experienced lately.  Growing up, I became a fan of coconut confections because of my Dad.  When I stumbled on this recipe for a take on Coconut Cake (from Food Network Magazine, September 2012), I absolutely had to try it!  Little did I know I would end up with two dozen cupcakes, which only tickled my heart because it gave me an excuse to share with my loved ones.  I kid you not, this recipe will turn non-coconut fan's into fans!

Let me know how you like it!

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Ingredients

3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut

For the cream cheese icing:

1 pound cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Make the cream cheese icing: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese icing and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

I'M ENGAGED!

That's Right!!!!  Last Thursday evening, my then boyfriend popped the question!  With the aid of our close friends, a tasty dinner at Mellow Mushroom and some exceptional planning they pulled of the BIGGEST surprise of my life.  I didn't even see it coming!!! I'm pretty sure I'm still in shock but I am so excited to share this news with you!

Here is a picture of us right before he got down on one knee & a picture of my beautiful ring!

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Loaded Baked Potato Casserole

This might be one of my new favorite comfort foods, Paula Deen's Loaded Baked Potato Casserole.  As tasty as a single baked potato, but much faster to make for a family.  This is a must try for fall!

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2 (24-ounce) packages refrigerated mashed potatoes

1/2 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 1/2      cups shredded rotisserie chicken

breast, divided

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup chopped green onion, divided

1 (12-ounce) package fresh broccoli

florets, divided

6 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled, and divided

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease a 13x9-inch baking dish. Peel back film at corner of each package of potatoes to vent. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, cream cheese, and pepper; beat at medium speed with a mixer until combined. Stir in 1 3/4 cups chicken, 1 cup cheese, 2/3 cup green onion, half of broccoli, and half of crumbled bacon. Spread mixture in prepared dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 3/4 cups chicken, remaining broccoli, remaining bacon, and remaining 1 cup cheese.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes or until cheese melts and casserole is heated through. Top with remaining 1/3 cup green onion.