Mini Banana Muffins

This week has been super busy!! I managed to make time to bake a batch of mini banana muffins for my breakfast this week. I didn't include any chocolate chips to make it 'healthier' but these were still so dang good!

I used two recipes to make this. I searched Epicurious and found this well rated recipe first. 

Then I realized it would be so much easier to make mini muffins so I could bring a better portion size with me to work each day. So I went looking on good ol' Pinterest and found this mini muffin version to use the oven settings and time.

I may have left my muffins in the oven a tad too long (12 minutes in my conventional but newish oven) but I was able to make 36 mini muffins! That was enough for me to save 3 days worth of breakfast and give the rest away at work. Everyone LOVED them! (I don't think my coworkers would keep taking the things I bake if most of them didn't turn out well but maybe they are just super nice haha)

I am in the middle of a craft this week that is taking longer than I thought it would for me to fit it in to my schedule. I hope to have 2 crafts done by the end of this weekend.

So with that, happy Friday everyone!!!

Thank You!!!

What better way to end a month about parties than by talking about thank you cards?!?

I think a lot of people do thank you cards as an after thought following a party. Like, "oh yeah, I have to do that, right?" Whether you're hosting a birthday party, baby or wedding shower or it's your wedding day it is very easy to include thank you's in your plan.

A lot of store-made party decor themes will have coordinating thank you cards. If you didn't use a pre-made theme there are plenty of thank you card sets available out there. Or you can even buy simply designed, blank cards and stamps with different words so you can make your own cards for thank you's and other things.

Is writing that stack of thank you's daunting? A lot of times you already have to send out the invitations and have a list. Keep the list of names and addresses and if you get any early deliveries put what they gave you and send out that card right then and mark it as sent! Then when the day actually comes, print out that list and fill in the gifts you get as you open them. After that, type in the gifts and run down the list. Even just sending a handful a day for the week or so afterwards, that list will start to get smaller and smaller.

So, here are some thank you cards for inspiration!

(Wedding Thank You Photo Card)

(Artistic Color Thank You Card)

(Personalized Thank You Card)

(Silver Foil Floral Thank You Card)

(Kid's Thank You Photo Card)

Wedding Photography - How to Look Good in Photos

Now that you have an idea of what shots you want it is a good time to think about how to help make your photos amazing. I personally wouldn't have thought about how the type of makeup I wore would affect the outcome of my photos - I am SO glad someone told me! Here are some tips and tricks on how to make your photos great!

(Tips for Looking Great)

(How to Look Great)

 

(Exactly How to Look Amazing)

(How to Look Your Best)

(5 Tips)

(5 Makeup Tips)

Wedding Photography - Must Have Shots

There are TONS of experts in photography and I'm not going to pretend to be one today. I talked with my two photographers (both family friends) and together with their two different styles I got the shots that I asked for. I think the most important thing is to go look through some online albums and pull one or two 'must haves' from each one. Don't overwhelm your photographer though. And I think giving them a list would be helpful but obviously they probably won't be able to reference it the day of so give it to them well in advance. They are professionals so don't micro manage them!

Without further ado - here are some experts' lists!

(50 Must Have Shots)

(Wedding Photography Hot List)

(Must Take List)

(85 Photo Suggestions)

(5 Photos to Add to Your List)

Wedding Music

How do you select music for you wedding? It can be a huge task because maybe your everyday taste of music isn't something you want to play in front of your grandparents or maybe your soon to be spouse and you have different preferred genres of music or maybe you just don't know where to start. For me, I went to iTunes and started browsing songs that way. We were getting a DJ and I knew I wanted instrumentals for the ceremony and fun/upbeat more modern music for the reception but that still left me with a lot of choices. I frequented a few wedding websites to browse suggestions but a lot had a large proportion of old school or classic songs. I ended up being able to find a number of songs for the reception by going through my playlist and then looking up the artists I liked and googling their most popular love songs. Then for the ceremony I knew I wanted a version of Canon in D so I listed to other instrumentals and found some that went with that. I would give you my whole play list but I can't seem to find it!  In the meantime - here are some resources that could help you find your play list!

(RSVP Card Song Request)

What better way to get people on the dance floor than by playing 'their' song?! This is a simple but thoughtful way to include everyone in your day.

(Top 10 List)

This link lead me to 10 of their top 10 suggestions but there are more links to more top 10 lists! There are some classics but a lot of modern ones too.

(30 Modern, Upbeat Songs)

This list is about recessionals but I think you could use some of these throughout your reception.

 

(100 First Dance Songs)

Again, this list is for a particular part of the reception but I think a bunch of them would be great for the general playlist as well.

(DIY DJ Guide)

If you are going to completely DIY this part of your wedding I would definitely go read through some people's first hand accounts of it. They can suggest which playlist software to use, how to separate and name the playlists, give timing tips, etc. This can save a ton of money.

Wedding Favors

Give your guests a way to remember your wedding by giving them a favor they'll actually use and appreciate! Whether it is something to make them comfortable the day of or after your wedding or something longer lasting,

(Succulents in a Cupcake Wrapper)

You could do a succulent or cacti in a cupcake wrapper, a small tin, a teacup or a miniature terra cotta pot to go with an outdoor summer wedding.

(S'more Kit)

By simply stacking the ingredients for a snack in a clear bag you can give your guests a lovely treat!

(Sunglasses)

Even if it isn't 90 degrees or more outside, your guests will likely appreciate some shades.

(Classy Hangover Kit)

Especially if know that your family and/or friends are going to dance/drink the night away, this thoughtful gesture also leaves guests with an eye-mask and a laugh to remember the night by.

(Flip Flops)

Not only your bridesmaids but other female guests in heels, and maybe a few guys with too-tight shoes, will LOVE you for this gesture!

Wedding Flowers - Centerpieces

Your centerpieces can be inspired by so many different things! If you go with floral they should complement your bouquets and your boutonnieres but should also tie in with the venue and decor. If you go non-traditional they still need to tie things together to bring your wedding tables to life.

(Cactus Centerpieces)

Not only is this beautiful but you could give them as favors as well! Cacti are easy to care for and your guests would remember the day for years to come!

(Oranges and Flowers)

How amazing would this smell?!? A low container with oranges, lemons or limes and then an arrangement of flowers is casual but gorgeous.

(Candles and Flowers)

Using glass vases of different shapes and heights as well as clear candle holders creates a centerpiece that is dynamic. The glass pieces and white flowers keep this light and airy. I also like how your guests can see across the table to their table-mates since the flowers and candles are not too high.

(Candles and Flowers)

A different take on the same thing and lovely all on its own! The darker more traditional holders on the light colored table runner ground the centerpiece.

(Herb Containers)

Another cute way to work in favors as decor - this time with herbs!

(Flowers in Boxes)

You can create substantial centerpieces with simple flowers! Think about putting carnations, baby's breath or other fillers put together in a large grouping. It is a budget friendly option to consider for your wedding.

Wedding Flowers - Boutonnieres

I already told you about the story with my wedding flowers yesterday. Along with our bouquets the boutonnieres changed to mini calla lilies as well. It didn't look too much different but mini calla lilies are more structural than tulips and tulips are already a structural flower! I love the way they both look as single stems but tulips tend to curve and the bud opens up and mini calla lilies stay straight and the bud stays tubular.

Your boutonnieres do not have to be the exact same as your bouquets of course. I would suggest that if your bouquets are just one type of flower, try to do the same flower with one bud (like mini calla lilies or tulips) with a touch of greenery. If your bouquet has multiple flowers, try to narrow it down to one focus flower and 1-2 complementary flowers to frame it. Or, skip the flowers completely and do something unique!

Now, time for some inspiration!

(Rose with Accents Boutonniere)

(Non-Floral Cotton Boll Boutonniere)

(Lavender Boutonniere)

(Unique Floral Boutonniere with Toy)

(Single White Peony Boutonniere)

(Alstromeria Boutonniere)

Wedding Flowers - Bouquets

Bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces are totally different things to consider for your wedding so I'm going to do three separate posts. Today we'll focus on the bouquets :-)

The flower(s) you select for your bouquets should be guided by a few things:

1) The season
2) The formality
3) Your colors
4) Your budget

For instance - I had always pictured an outdoor wedding with daisies or tulips in a simple, mono-colored bouquet. My florist showed me some examples of tulip bouquets and I voiced a concern of making sure the tulip was large and open versus closed/petit. They said my wedding date (late May) would be close to the end of the season but that they would let me know if the size became a concern and put me down for a white tulips.

Lo-and-behold, 2 weeks before our wedding I get a call from them that they just got a shipment of tulips from their supplier for the wedding they had for the week before mine and the buds of the tulips were about the size of their thumb and closed. They said for the wedding they were preparing for the tulips should open and be fine but that they were concerned that my tulips that were going to be delivered the next weekend were going to be even smaller.

I was instantly starting to worry but luckily they already had a plan!! They said that their supplier offered to give them white mini-calla lilies for the same cost as the tulips which would be a similar look for what I had been going for (which is why I went for tulips over daisies). I happily agreed to switch to the mini-calla lilies (they had secretly been what I wanted but were out of my budget) and the end result was wonderful!

So, by paying attention to the season to make sure your flower will be available, considering the formality of your wedding to choose between multiple types of flowers that are in season, deciding the color(s) you want to use and of course making sure that you pick what works for your budget, your florist and you can create a beautify bouquet!

(Pink Peony Bouquet)

(Blue, Purple and Red Bouquet)

(Succulent and Flower Bouquet)

(Shades of Purple Bouquet)

(Simple White Tulip Bouquet)

Fabric Flowers

I thought I'd share some more craft flower's I've found tutorials for but this time they're for FABRIC flowers!!!

(DIY Fabric Peonies)

(DIY Large Single Bloom)

(DIY Fancy Flowers)

(DIY Fabric Flower Pins)

(DIY Lace Flowers)