When it comes to planning a wedding, there are SO many things to consider. Additionally, when it comes to planning a wedding, there is a TON of unsolicited advice. Well, I'm here not to advise you, per se. I'm here to simply suggest: plan and purchase wedding decor that you can repurpose in your home. 

When you scroll through Instagram and Pinterest, you see items that just make sense for wedding decor in your venue. But will they just go into storage after all the wedding dust has settled? My goal was to have items I could use as decor in my home. Here's how I decorated my home with the items: 

I'm sure most of you know this already, but Etsy is absolutely your best friend when it comes to buying signage and decor. Here are some of my favorites:

• Welcome sign
• Hanging banners
• Mirror decal
• Wedding song banner

We are finally feeling settled in our new home and I am so excited to share with you a little glimpse into it as well as the stylings of these pieces. 

I'll be doing a blog post talking about ALL of the items we "branded" with our wedding logo, so stay tuned! 

xoxo, B

Yep, that's right, just in time for the Super Bowl: Buffalo Caulifower Dip. Vegetarian-friendly, this dip will be SURE to *wow* the party. Bring this dip to any party and consider yourself a good friend and party-goer as you will be providing some vegetables to that table ;) 

This dish is super easy to make and really just subbing out the chicken for cauliflower. Let's dive in on how to make it. 

Feeds a crowd (8-10 people) 

Ingredients:

• 1 small head of cauliflower
• salt and pepper
• olive oil spray
• 2 blocks of cream cheese
• 1/2 cup (or 3/4 cup, depending on tolerance to spice) Frank's Red Hot Buffalo sauce (has to be Frank's)
• 1 cup Ranch dressing
• 1.5 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
• Dippies: tortilla chips, pita chips, carrots, celery, etc. 

As I write this, I am currently not in Michigan. I am, in fact, spending the holidays in Cape Cod where my parents live. 

Flashback to two days after Thanksgiving and we were traveling back to Michigan from spending t-giving on Cape Cod. Anthony claiming we don't need decorations up or a tree because we wouldn't even be spending the holidays at home. Well, you don't know me at all I retorted. I don't care if I'm there for 1 day or 40. Decorating is a MUST. 

So, as I sit here writing this post, our home is all decked up from head to toe, looking pretty for herself. I thought I'd share here so the decorating for just a few days did not go in vain. 

I wish you all a lovely holiday filled with love and happiness.

Two dogs under 1 years old (well, Ollie turns 1 tomorrow!!!!). Yes, we took quarantine puppy to the next level. We loved it so much we added a second! 

Ollie and Evie love exploring the yard. Ollie sniffs out the deer droppings and Evie follows him wherever he goes. The outdoors are SO MUCH more interesting than indoors with boring dad and mom. The only way we can lore the pups inside is by saying "treaty" "who wants some treaties" ?! And they stop their smelling and playing and wandering and run inside. 

Last Sunday, I harkened the call "treaties" and the pups came running. They reached the doorstep and I put my hand in the treat bowl and there was nothing left. All I see are two sad puppy faces staring at me. It was go time. I knew I had to concoct a treat that would be yummy enough to get the pups running to the door. 

So, here it is: Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Treats and they're puppy approved!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of oat flour (old fashioned oats blended in a nutri-bullet or food processor) 
• 1/2 cup of coconut flour
• 1 cup of pure pumpkin
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 2 eggs

What's better than holiday baking? Truly nothing, in my opinion. Baking is such a special way to share your love with the people you love. Snowball cookies are a holiday classic but I've added a little twist! Almond flavor is a nostalgic flavor to most-- found in Italian cookies and biscotti, in the middle of stollen bread and danishes. So pairing the nostalgia of Christmas and this flavor only make sense! Read on for the recipe: 

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of salted butter at room temperature (I microwaved 2 sticks for roughly 20 seconds to get this)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (sub for pecans or almonds!)
  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Powdered sugar for coating

Instructions: 

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prep two baking sheets with parchment paper
• In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer whip the butter until broken up and soft
• Add 3/4 cup of sugar to the butter and mix until fluffy (about 3 minutes)
• With the mixer on medium-low, add the almond extract and mix for another minute
• Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time with speed on medium-low
• With the mixer on medium, add nuts and mix for 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is getting mixed (desired texture will be crumbly) 
• Shape the dough into balls (about 2 tablespoons worth) 
• Bake for 15-18 minutes once you see a little browning on the bottom of the cookies (cookies will keep their shape)
• While the cookies are baking, prep a bowl with powdered sugar. While the cookies are warm, drop them in the powdered sugar and coat OR sift powdered sugar over the cookies! 
• Let cool on a wire rack and enjoy! 

In honor of our save the dates hitting mailboxes this week, I wanted to give you all a sneak peek into the bridesmaid and groomsmen boxes Anthony and I put together for our wedding party. We have a pretty big party because the more the merrier, right!? I have 9 girls and Anthony has 10 guys. My maid of honor is my sister, Catie, or Cat as most people who've met her after 7th grade call her and bridesmaids are: Kayla, Sarah, Brooke, Jill, Lula, Mag, Val, and Kelly! Anthony's best man is Alex and groomsmen are Kieran, Jon, Stefan, Peter, Garcia, Kevin, Buck, Corey, and Conor! 

For these boxes, we chose to stay within a color palette that would compliment the wedding. I have to say that the boxes we both put together were both uniquely us. Read on to see why!

brynne's boxes: 

I wanted my boxes to be warm and cozy with full hygge vibes which is exactly how I envision the wedding to feel. We intentionally chose a venue that gave off the vibes of warm, welcoming, cozy, and fall. For my boxes, I chose to highlight that feeling along with our color scheme, as well as some fall and Vermont vibes within. 

As extra as I am, I also wanted a handmaid component to the box so I dove into Pinterest. I found an element that went with my theme and was something I had always wanted to do-- homemade candles! I did some research and found this small company based out of the West Coast called The Wooden Wick. They specialize in the candle making process; selling wax, wicks, essential oils, and so much more. 

I got all of the tools and went to work-- a vessel, wood-crackling wicks, wax, essential oils, and a special added element rose quartz, the love crystal. For the labels, I created a special one for my girls on Canva and got them printed on special stickers from avery.com. Stuck them to the glasses and was ready to fill them with wax! 

Once the candles cooled, the boxes were ready to be assembled! I had my checklist ready to make sure they were perfect: 

• Candy bears from Sugarfina
• Birch logs from William Sonoma
• Cards from Etsy
• Candles from my kitchen
• Eye masks from Etsy
• Boxes from USPS
• Box stuffing from Michaels 

Check, check, check, and check. 

anthony's boxes: 

Anthony's boxes were so classically Anthony. When he was deciding what he wanted to do, I had him go on Pinterest to see if he was inspired by anything-- nope. I put him on Esty to see if he was inspired by anything-- nope. Anthony, being the man he is didn't want anything impractical. "How about a humidor?" I asked. "No one will use that" Anthony would retort. So I backed off. Then he had it. Practical and on theme with our color scheme. Vans. Huh? Vans and a card. You're sending your guys shoes? Yep, they're practical and useful. Okey doke, honey. And that was that. 

Since we live in Michigan, and our whole wedding party is pretty much all out East, we single-handedly kept USPS in business this summer 😆

Here's a little peek at our save the dates: 

Ingredients: 

• 15 apples
• 3 cups of apple cider
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 4 cinnamon sticks