Happy Halloween! Halloween Wedding or Party Treats!

Happy Halloween everyone!

I have had no time lately -- this week has been a beast! I couldn't resist putting together a few pictures for Halloween, though. Getting married on Halloween isn't really my cup of tea, but some of these pictures are so cute, I can see the appeal! I figured that for most of us, these would just be inspiration to throw a fabulous Halloween party.

Genius event planner Amy Atlas is responsible for the majority of these pictures. The picture of the table settings is from Real Simple. The dark chocolate graveyard pots de crème with tombstone cookies are from Sunset. (I linked to the recipes, although I think those are both prime "fake-it" treats if you're not feeling gourmet. Make some instant chocolate pudding, crush some Oreos over the top, write RIP on some Pepperidge Farm cookies and wedge one in the top of each dish.) They have some other really adorable Halloween party treat ideas, including these Spider Eggs:

(Mmm, deviled eggs and olives!)

And these cute little candy corn truffles:

Make sure to check out the Pina Ghouladas with these creepy "speared eyeball" garnishes from Hostess With the Mostess!

(Gross, yet delicious! I love lychees a whole lot and blueberries are one of Dylan's favorites. I just never would've thought to turn them into creepy eyeballs.)

If you're interested in trying one of the many pumpkin beers out right now, we'd recommend the Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale. We got excited and tried darn near every brand we could find of pumpkin beers and ales, and that was our favorite.


Okay, that's all for now. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite Halloween finds this week and hope that it provides some inspiration for your Halloween festivities!

Have a fun Halloween and a great weekend!

Citrus Punch – Backyard BBQ Wedding Theme!

I just showed Dylan this inspiration board and he said, “I’m not sure I’d be able to make it through the ceremony if I knew there was a reception like that waiting! YUM!”

I think that’s a pretty great summary for this theme. I call it citrus punch because it’s filled with so many bright, juicy fruit colors: tangerine, apricot, peach, mango and papaya shades of orange, with pineapple and lemon yellow.

This theme really emphasizes the fantastic food and informal fun atmosphere. Who wouldn’t love a backyard BBQ with bright yellow napkins and gingham tablecloths, homemade pies, cupcakes, and refreshing summer drinks? You could even do it potluck style if you’re on a really tight budget.

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Once again, Martha Stewart provided lots of help with the visuals, including the BBQ feast, the assortment of delicious pies, the apricot tart, the apricot place card holder, the peach prosecco sangria, the groom with the orange dahlia boutonniere, and the majority of the bouquets. Another appealing aspect for Dylan was that I had also shown him the Paloma Cooler recipe I found on Martha Stewart.

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The sweet photo in the center of the board is from one of my favorite photographers, Stephanie Williams.

The lemon cupcakes are by Jesi Haack Weddings and Sweet & Saucy Shop.

The orange marmalade was photographed by Victoria Pearson.

The pretty yellow and orange themed table and the matching stationery are both from a real wedding photographed by Union Photo.

I like the idea of a simple tan suit (maybe linen for a hot summer day), maybe with this J.Press bowtie.


The cute orange elbow length sleeve pleated cardigan sweater is from Banana Republic. Perfect for the bride or her attendants if the evening festivities start to get chilly.

Etsy finds:

The Chateauroux large flower hair clip is by Mandizzle. She’s going to think I’m stalking her with as often as I’ve incorporated her stuff, but she really does just have a great variety of lovely hair accessories. Plus, as I may have mentioned before, she looks like a super model, and I like to add lots of pretty to my palettes.

The mango pearl earrings (called Henna) and the honey jade earrings that reminds me of peach Jelly Bellys (called Vilette) are both by ThePeachTree.

The tangerine flower ring is by IndiaAndChic.

The green background of this picture throws it off a little, but look at these insanely adorable mason jar lemonades I found on Intimate Weddings! They would be so perfect with this theme.


If you do go with a theme like this, I have a great MONEY SAVING TIP – try to find a local flower farm and see what they’ve got that you might be able to use. I actually put an ad up on Craigslist for a friend of mine saying that we were looking for a certain color of flower, preferably something with large blooms and ended up receiving emails from a dahlia farmer and a begonia farmer who both offered insanely good deals. We’re talking about a dollar per stem, versus the several dollars per stem most florists would charge. For this palette in particular, I especially love dahlias and ranunculus. Daffodils, gerbera daisies and sunflowers would all be gorgeous, too.

Also, if you go with this theme, feel free to invite us! Or at least send us pictures.

Hooray for summer!

We made a Costco run on Friday and stocked up some of my favorite fruits – fresh figs, papayas, and white peaches – YUM! I also got some boccini (those little fresh mozzarella balls). I love using those to make caprese salad. When we got home, I remembered that I had recently seen a recipe in a Real Simple magazine that was like a new take on a caprese salad. You combine fresh peaches, mozzarella, a little olive oil, basil and sea salt (the recipe also said pepper, but we like it better without that.) Since we’d just bought both peaches and mozzarella, I was excited to try it! We always keep what I call “squeezy basil” on hand, so we were good to go. (Squeezy basil is actually Gourmet Garden Basil -- it’s seriously the closest thing to freshly chopped basil I’ve ever had, and sometimes I think I might even like it better because the flavor is so strong and fresh that you only need a little. Plus, it's a bonus to have it right there in the fridge.) I made the peach, mozzarella and basil salad Friday night, Saturday for lunch, and I'll probably make it again today. Dylan said yesterday, “I know this sounds stupid, but I would seriously just keep eating this stuff until it made me sick. It’s SO good!” (I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to know I quoted that on here. Sorry, sugar!)

Whether you’re planning a wedding menu or just looking for a recipe that tastes like summertime, try this deliciously unique and surprisingly simple salad! It’s so good!

Happy Sunday!