Wedding Update:: Papers

It's a chilly, yet sunny morning here in Northern Michigan and thankfully it is off on a productive start! I've been working early this morning to get actual work done before I head off to a fun day of 3 wedding meetings & lunch with a friend in Harbor Springs.

Joe and I were lucky enough to get the large aspects of our wedding booked fairly early AND painlessly for the most part - only leaving the ever so important details. I do have to admit that I was a bit naive to the efforts I would be putting into the details. Silly me mentally compared planning our wedding to my old corporate event planning process and; they. are. not. the. same!

One large detail currently in process are our formal invitations.

I'm so excited about these, you better believe I will be getting them framed! We are so lucky to be working with such a talented designer [& friend] - Erin of Erin Waineo Design and Simple&Me Custom Invitations.

Erin did a great job with our save the dates by keeping the future invitations in mind with the design elements. She selected fonts that could remain consistent on the invitations, used colors that could be "dressed up" and  honored my request for having an almost "logo" that could be utilized across a variety of printing.

As I developed ideas for the formal invitations, these are the elements I hoped to include::

grey & white colors

letterpress printing

enclosure ribbon

cards for extra events [rehearsal dinner, girls yoga, etc.]

Can't wait to share the final product!!

inspiration images via Pinterest

Comfort Food For Winter

It's been chilly lately & I've been buried with work - one part, travel; one part, grad school proposal writing for my thesis. As a result, we've been enjoying fairly healthy, crock-pot friendly meals from Pinterest!

Here's a recent favorite even Joe is asking for again and again - I can't help but share!

 Red Wine Stew & Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Recipe found via Katie at the Kitchen Door from Home Made Winter.

Serves 8.

Photo via Home Made Winter

3 lb stew beef [I bought the pre-cut cubes; aprox. 2.5lbs & be sure to pre-season!]

1 bottle red wine

salt

 freshly ground black pepper

3 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

3 carrots, peeled & cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 orange, washed well and cut into 8 wedges [I substituted by using clementines that are easy to piece apart]

1 large onion, peeled & cut into rings

2 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced [I minced them to be smaller]

olive oil

1 6-oz can tomato paste

3 1/2 oz. pitted black olives [I did not try the olives]

I mostly followed the recipe as posted, but made a few slight modifications. Be sure to season the beef - helps to layer the flavors. I also used a crock-pot instead of a stockpot - easier for me to prep and leave it alone!

1. Season beef.

2. Combine all ingredients except olive oil, tomato paste & olives. Let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

3. Remove beef and brown the meat with olive oil on the stove. Add beef, marinade & tomato paste to crock-pot on high for about 4 hours. I used high to cook everything down - even added aprox. 1/2 cup beef broth. 

4. Add olives if using aprox. 15 minutes before ready to serve and prep mashed potatoes!

5. Enjoy!!

Comfort Foods For Fall

A favorite part of fall for me is the warm, comforting [and hopefully healthy] food!

Here's a few favorites! If you have any suggestions - please share!!

Hot Apple Cider

local, fresh cider

heated

drink!

via Pinterest

Creamy Soups

tomato basil parm

follow the simple recipe after the link

substitute with gluten-free flour!

via Pinterest

Roasted Veggies

carrots, brussels, cauliflower, broccoli

place on tin foil, olive oil, season

bake & eat!

via tealwhitegarden instagram

Back For Fall

Back on the blog for fall!

It's been quite some time since I posted pictures from London during my amazing United Kingdom adventure with my Mom, and I would be lying if I haven't felt guilty for not getting on the blog to post since. Of course, I have the age old excuse that it's been so busy.. but, it has! I have so many more pictures to share from the rest of London, Dublin, western Ireland & Scotland.

I realized this week that we're no longer flirting with the start of fall - it's full blown here in Northern Michigan. The colors of the leaves are on fire, locally grown pumpkins are everywhere & I'm back to daily coffee!

This fall I'm loving ::

glittered pumpkins
well made brown boots
plaid shirts
boyfriend watches
natural colors of the leaves

Check out a few of my favorite Pinterest images ::

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

via pinterest

Empty Frames No More

Lions - and tigers - and empty photo frames - oh my! We have too many empty photo frames around this house. And, it's time for the madness to end. 

It's not that we have a lack of fun or fantastic memories at all. It's more so my trips to Ikea and wanting the frames and other wall decor hung so I feel like there is "progress" towards decorating our house. Budget friendly decorating, naturally. Of course I have grand ideas of adorable black and white photos from our engagement shoot that will populate these frames, soon. But, after friends visiting recently told me that the frames were empty last year too - it was time. 

So today, I stumbled on a few super cute text prints and.. printed them. Amazing. So simple & so easy to change out for each season!

I'm interested to see how long it will take J to notice the updates!

"enjoy the little things" now hangs in the living room

frame from ikea, candles & holders from pottery barn

"cuddles" now hangs in the non-decorated portion of the bedroom

frame from ikea

Engaged : Now What?!

The 4th of July will now always have extra special meaning and fireworks, because last week J proposed!  Although it may be a surprise with my work in online branding and having a blog, we're both fairly private when it comes to such personal moments. So.. I will just say that he did an amazing job planning it out, surprising me and creating a great memory - complete with yearly fireworks!

But, like I've heard from so many before me.. you get engaged, the moment's amazing - now what?! Where and when do you start planning?

Well, for me that meant.. right away the next morning. I'm a planner and wanted to be sure I started pulling together the resources that will keep me organized, ahead and enjoying the process.

Here are my favorite tools & finds::

Erin Condren Wedding Planner - I use Erin Condren's Life Planner for my daily scheduling with work and like and absolutely love the customization and colors. So, naturally I selected one of her custom Wedding Planners to help me plan the big day and stay organized. I can't wait till it arrives! The planner spans 18 months and includes all of the lists, budgets and reminders necessary.

Weduary - This is the best wedding website service out there, in my opinion. It's super easy to use, has free options and can interact with your online profiles if you wish to do so. The creator Brit Morin of Brit Media is a former Googler and her husband is a former Facebook original, so the programing and abilities are fantastic!

Simple & Me Custom Invites - I've been lucky enough to know and work with creative director and owner, Erin from Simple & Me in professional projects. So there's no surprise that I have turned to our Teal White Garden sponsor to create custom save the dates, invites and all other paper goods we will need.

Stephanie N. Baker Photography - Amazing. That's how I would describe my friend Stephanie's photography, personality and the care she puts into her work. I can't wait to work with - who I feel, is the most talented photographer in Northern Michigan!

Pinterest - Yes, who could forget adding Pinterest to the list?! I have a feeling it will end up being the absolute best tool to help with the wedding. Already I've been able to create and add to multiple boards, share the boards with my bridesmaids and collect lots of fun inspiration for the big day.

At the end of the big wedding day, it is still about J & I wanting to spend the rest of our lives together and that's the important part!

But, along the way I will be sharing inspiration, tools and how-to's on Teal White Garden so be sure to check back for updates!