Quote of the Week

What a wonderful verse to start off the New Year!

Christine + Ian’s Woodland Wedding Invitations

My favorite invitation blog, Oh So Beautiful Paper, featured these invites as their favorite of 2011. I'd have to agree. They are pretty amazing! These were inspired by the woodland setting of their wedding venue, creating an incredibly cool laser cut invitation with pop-up cut out details!

 From Christine: Our wedding will be in the woods on Ian’s parent’s home.  From the first day of brainstorming, we both agreed that we wanted our wedding to take place amongst the trees.  For the past few months we’ve spent nearly every weekend at the property, building and landscaping to make what we hope will be an incredibly beautiful wedding location.

We wanted the invitations to give our guests a sneak peek into our wedding, without revealing too much.  We used a laser cutting machine to create a pop-up forest that surrounds the headline message on our invitations – Join Us in the Woods.  The laser cut cover stock was then sewn to laser cut kraft paper for a cool multidimensional effect.

 

So beautiful and creative!

Quote of the Week

May you BURST with thankfulness and joy this Christmas Season!

Oreo Truffles

All I can say about this recipe is Y-U-M.

I made these oreo truffles last Christmas for my co-workers, my husband's co-workers AND our neighborhood, and can't tell you how many times I was asked for the recipe. Have you tried them? If not, you absolutely must and I promise you'll be hooked.

So I decided to make it a tradition and do it again this year. It also doesn't hurt that I'm 9 1/2 months pregnant (yes, pregnancy is actually 10 months!), so I was craving them and saved a bunch of extras! This is dangerous because they are my weakness :) My parents are coming in town this week, so let's hope they're a few left for them to enjoy...

Orea Truffles:

- one package of oreos (remove 7 cookies, you can save these for later)
- 8 oz. of cream cheese
- package of almond bark

- Crush the oreos in a food processor until they are completely crushed into powder.
- Mix oreos and cream cheese in a large bowl (kitchenaid mixer works well for this)
- Form into 1" balls and place on wax paper
- I placed the wax paper on top of a cooling rack b/c it's much easier to move around the kitchen


- Melt almond bark in a microwave (I melted ours on the stove top)
- Drop balls one at a time into the melted bark and coat well. I used a kitchen spoon for that step.
- Place them back on the wax paper.
- You can crush the extra oreos and use as a topping. I love sprinkles so that's what I use! Then stick them in the fridge until they cool.

They're a little messy but totally worth it! ENJOY!

images via chocolate and carrots

The Art of Gift Wrapping

There’s something so special about a beautifully wrapped gift. I grew up with a mother who made every wrapped gift a work of art — you would never get a gift from her with tacky little stick-on bows to go on top. She to this day uses the most beautiful paper and ribbon, and always adds an extra element on top, whether it be an ornament or simple clippings from outside. She has always thought outside the box, literally.

It's not that the paper or ribbon has to be the most expensive in the world. Sometimes my favorite wrapped gifts are simple and use natural materials you can find in your own backyard. For example, I love the example below wrapped in natural kraft paper with Christmas tree trimmings and pinecones secured by natural raffia ribbon.

 

Happy gift wrapping. The truth is anyone can do this, it just takes a little extra creativity to add some personality to your gift wrapping.

images via {atlanta homes} {pinterest}

Wednesday Words of Wisdom

Such a good reminder, especially during the Christmas season. Happy hump day everyone!

XO

305 Sea Lane

Did someone say dream home??

One of my favorite blogs, House of Turquoise, featured this incredible beach home located along the La Jolla coastline in California, filled with a beautiful blue and white color scheme, fabulous outdoor areas and breathtaking views. The master bedroom is simply amazing with the large windows and to-die-for views. Same goes for the outdoor areas, exactly what I want in my dream home!

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Wednesday Words of Wisdom

So cheezy but so true. THEY are what I love most about my home. And soon we'll have a new addition that will fill our lives with so much more joy and love — I just can't imagine!

Our little Bea is enjoying her last few weeks as "the baby." I couldn't resist sharing these photos. She just melts my heart and look at those paws crossed...SUCH a little lady!