Tonight's Baking Adventure!

Tonight while Rob was out at the Gym I got bored. First I did some stuff on the computer for our wedding and then I decided to bust out the Pizzelle Press we got for our shower!
Now, I've never ever made Pizzelles before but they are my favorite cookie so I thought I would give it a shot.

I found a recipe online and this is it

Ingredients
3 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions
1.In a large bowl, beat eggs and sugar until thick. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder, and blend into the batter until smooth.
2.Heat the pizzelle iron, and brush with oil. Drop about one tablespoon of batter onto each circle on the iron. You may need to experiment with the amount of batter and baking time depending on the iron. Bake for 20 to 45 seconds, or until steam is no longer coming out of the iron. Carefully remove cookies from the iron. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
3.For chocolate pizzelles, add 1/4 cup cocoa sifted together with flour and baking powder, 1/4 cup more sugar and 1/4 teaspoon more baking powder. I find that for the chocolate mixture, the iron must be well oiled to start and then brush on more as needed.


So I mixed my Batter

This is the press we have. It goes over your stove burner and you put the batter on it (about 1tbsp) and then let one side cook for about 8 seconds and then turn it and cook the other side for about 8 seconds
The one on the left was one of the first few... it really didn't start out well. The house was full of smoke and the smoke alarm was going crazy lol but I'm glad I persevered because they started to look like the one on the right!

These are the final product. Like I said I haven't the slightest idea on how to make Pizzelles but I noticed as they cooled they got crispier like the ones you get at the store or bakery so they are hanging out on the cooling rack. I tried a couple of course and they are yummy!

Hopefully next time the entire batch comes out not burnt and tasty instead of only half like this time!

Bon Appetit!

My Unparalleled Photography Skills! LOL JK

So I am not a photographer by any means... but I do love photography!
I was lucky enough that my mom and Rob bought me a nice DSLR Camera for my Birthday last year and I love to play around with it.

I was going through my Iphoto and decided to share a few of my fav pics I have taken in the last year.
I love each of these pics for different reasons. Some for the raw emotion they show, some for their quirkiness and some just because I love the people in them.

Enjoy!

Some Wedding Inspiration for Wedding Wednesday!

Wedding on the brain on this Wednesday! Here are some ideas I love...

Wedding Invites Ready To Go!

Our wedding invitations are ready to be mailed! Tomorrow will be the big day at the post office!

We got out invites from etsy and I love them!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/brandynicoleweddings

I saw a blog post about wrap around labels and loved the idea so I decided to make my own!

(There is also a template on Marthastewartweddings.com if anyone is interested)

I designed them using Microsoft word and printed them of full size label paper. My mom helped me cut them all out and put them on the all the invitations. (My Auntie Joyce helped in the assembly process too! She was the designated envelope licker lol)

After they were all labeled and ready to go I went to the post office and bought some wedding stamps and finished getting them ready to go!

I can't wait to start recieving the responses!

Here are some pics of the finished product! (I whited out some of the addresses for privacy reasons)

I Actually Won something!

So I enter contests and giveaways online all the time but seriously I don't think I have ever

won anything! Until today!!!!

I follow this blog called BridalBFF and they had a giveaway last week.

The requirment to enter was to leave a comment about what you are doing for your honeymoon and what is the most romantic thing on the honeymoon you are looking forward to!

So I entered and actually Won!!!

So excited!

That aside... definitely check out and follow this blog! Its a great one! and she is on Twitter too!

http://thebridalbff.blogspot.com/2010/07/and-winner-is.html

Sunday Night Vampire TV!

I am really into the whole Vampire trend right now.
I love the Twilight Series even though I am not a Tween. I go see the movies on opening nights, I have read all the book and I am definitely "Team Edward".

Twilight aside, there are some amazing vampire series on TV right now that I am obsessed with!

The first show is....

THE GATES

The Gates is on ABC at 10pm on Sundays. The show is in the first season but is showing awesome potential! They are working on character development and as an audience we are still trying to figure out who everyone is but they are definitely keeping it interesting and captivating. I look forward to finding out more every week!

The Second Show is...

TRUE BLOOD

True Blood is one of the best shows on TV. Every week there is some nail biting twist that leavesyou wanting more and more. I hate waiting 7 days to find out what is going to happen next.The characters on this show are awesomely written and acted. Personally I am a huge Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard) fan.
The show is on Season 3 and just keeps getting better and better! I can't wait to see how the rest of this season play out!

If you are into the whole Vamp thing, I definitely suggest you check out these shows! Even if you aren't into vampires you should check out these shows! LOL

And finally, I will leave you with some Vampire Eric eye candy...

Pics to make you smile!

Just some pictures to make you smile on this Saturday Morning

(especially if you love dogs!)


Oh how I wish Chloe was is our wedding.....

LOL

Todays Wedding Projects!!!

Well tonight was a very productive night for wedding projects.

Rob and I made a trip to walmart and got some sharpie markers and some tags so we could get going on the flip flop baskets!

We made size tags for each pair of flops and then organized them into 3 baskets. Our wedding colors are pink and brown and I think these baskets came out pretty well! (the flip flops are from Michaels)

Here are some pics of the finished products! (quality isn't great/took pics on my phone)

In addition to our awesome flip flop baskets... we also recieved our wedding tree and framed it!I saw this idea on another blog (I think it was weddingbee) So we found this picture and Rob put his awesome photoshop skills to work and made it our own tree.

This will be set up in cocktail hour at the wedding with some green inkpads and our guests will "leaf" their fingerprint and sign their name and then it will be a unique "guest book" for us to hang in our house for years to come!

I can't wait to see the finished product with all the fingerprints! I think it is going to look awesome!

Wedding Nightmares

So anyone who knows me, knows I love just about everything wedding related. The one thing wedding related that I don't love..... WEDDING NIGHTMARES!

If you are married or are getting married I am sure you can relate.

Last night I had a doosy of a nightmare. I dreamed that I forgot to send out the invitations until the DAY before the wedding. For some reason everyone in my dream didn't think this was as big of a deal as I did.

Of course if you don't send out your invitations you don't have responses and then you can't do a seating chart! I'm sure you can imagine the panic that can set in at that point.

Thank god it was just a dream! LOL

If you had any wedding nightmares please share your worst one in a comment below! I like to know I'm not alone! LOL

Happy Friday Everyone!

Great Jewelry Company

So Monday night I went to a Networking event for Beantown Bride and met these girls from

Stella & Dot.

Stella & Dot is a jewelry company that does at home trunk shows! The jewelry is so adorable and very affordable! I absoloutely love it!

I am hoping to have a trunk show one of these days (maybe after the wedding) but I definitely recommend if you love accessories you should totally host your own! They have great host rewards!

Check them out and if interested contact Julie McKenna... she is a sweetheart!

http://www.stelladot.com/sites/juliemckenna/my-business

Meet My Household!

Alright, well my fiance's name is Rob. He is great! He works with computers and is very invested in his job.
He treats me like a princess and I am seriously lucky to have him. We love doing stuff together whether it is just hanging out on the couch watching TV or going on a Road Trip.

This is a Picture of us down on Rehoboth Beach, DE over 4th of July weekend.

Then there is Chloe (the true love of my life haha)She is our dog. She is 1 year and 2 month old. She is half English Mastiff and we think she is partly Rodhesian Ridgeback. Regardless I think she is the cutest dog on the planet and I am absoloutely in love with her. She loves to hang out with me all day long and gives me plenty of love and attention.

Isn't she the cutest??

My First Post

Well this is my first post so I guess I will try to cover a few topics just to get you caught up to date on my life!

As it says in my "About Me" section... I am currently engaged and getting married on Sept 25th. Time is flying by and I can't believe the wedding is in a little over 2 months! I am so excited! and since the wedding is just a little over 2 months away.... that means our honeymoon is just as soon! A lot of exciting stuff coming up!

In addition to being engaged, I am also unemployed :(
I lost my job last July and as unfortunate as that is financially, I also have to say it is the best thing that ever happened to me. I worked as a wedding coordinator at a banquet facility for 5 years and in those 5 years I had no life at all! I wasn't able to attend family functions or go to cookouts with friends or any of that fun stuff... I always had to work. So since being unemployed I have been able to enjoy my friends and family while I look for a new job!

I am sure since I am unemployed you are asking yourself.. "what do you do all day?!"
Well that is easy.... 1st: Look for jobs, 2nd: I plan our wedding and 3rd: I write for another blog called Beantown Bride! (Definitely check it out www.beantownbride.com)

Since I have worked as a wedding coordinator since graduating college and I am planning my own wedding, I am a bit wedding obsessed! I love to stalk other wedding blogs and find out the latest and greatest trends in the wedding world so I am sure a lot of my posts will be about wedding things so if you are planning your own be sure to keep up to date on my posts!