outfit post: adventurin' time

I'm dubbing this my adventure outfit....and I basically want to wear it every day.  Since Summer is taking its sweet time showing up, I've still been wearing pants way more than is acceptable at this time of year.  I paired one of my favorite coloured pants with a chambray and lace top, and added a few arrow accents to boot.  Finally, I would like to introduce my new favorite bag!  My sister got me this AMAZING Kelly Moore camera bag for my graduation present...and it is perfection!

 pants: plenty // top: plenty // belt: aeo // arrow necklace + bracelet: foreverxxi // brown + gold bracelet: handmade gift // oxford shoes: spring

I'm obsessed with delicate gold jewellery right now, and this arrow bracelet is one of my favorites!

My Katniss-inspired braid...haha. Oh dear.

And this is one of my greatest loves as well.  My mom picked up this beauty of a camera for 10 bucks!  It's just so lovely, and is a wonderful addition to my ever growing camera collection.

diy: tissue paper pom poms

Here's another diy that can be used to decorate just about any party you host!  We used it for a bridal shower, and two years ago Clara used them at her wedding!  I just love how adorable and cheap these pom poms are, and you can whip up a ton in no time at all.

For the shower, we decided to hang up a few of these pom poms in the windows, as well as use some of the smaller ones at the end of our bunting to give it more of a finished look.

Materials:

-tissue paper (we bought ours at the dollar store for a dollar a pack)

-thin wire (florist wire works wonderfully....or you could use twist ties if you have them on hand)

-fishing line (if you intend to hang them)

-scissors

Directions:

1)  First you need to decide what size of pom pom you want to make.  Our tissue paper was approximately 20"x26", and we cut it in half lengthwise to make our largest pom poms (which I thought were pretty large!). For most of our pom poms we cut the tissue paper in thirds lengthwise.  We also made some mini ones by dividing it in four lengthwise.  Experimenting is the best way to decide which you like the best!  There really is no right or wrong way to do it.

2)  For larger pom poms, you want at least 8 layers of tissue paper, and for medium to small pom poms 6 layers is enough.

3)  Once your tissue paper is measured out and cut, make 1.5" accordion folds, creasing each fold as you go.

4)  When your tissue paper is all folded, cut a small piece of wire and wrap it around the middle of your folded tissue.

5)  Then, trim the edges of the folded tissue.  We chose to make the edges rounded, although you can do whatever you'd like!  Experiment with different shapes and angles to suit your style.

6)  Finally, very carefully separate each layer of tissue.  Go slow, and be patient!  You may rip a few layers, and that's fine.  Once all the layers are puffed out, you will likely not notice.  Or you can use scissors to trim away any errors.

7)  If you want to hang our pom poms, then tie a piece of fishing line around the wire wrapped around the center of the pom pom.

p.s.  ♥ kelsey

bridal shower/wedding decoration ideas

Today I thought I'd share a couple of decorations that we used for the bridal shower my family hosted last weekend.  

The first idea is a "From Miss to Mrs." banner we created to be a backdrop for the bride-to-be as she opened presents!

All we did was print out each letter on a separate piece of paper (or you could do 2/page if you want it slightly smaller), and then cut each page into a triangle before hanging them on a string.  So simple, yet it had a big impact!

The second idea will take a bit more time (and planning), but was so worth it. 

I contacted the bride's fiance, and asked him if he could send me a few things that he loved about her.  He sent me five wonderfully sweet things, which I then typed out using various fonts.  Instead of buying new frames, I just stole a handful of mismatched frames we had around our house, and switched out our family pictures for the quote.  This made it such a cheap, yet personalized decoration, and I think everyone enjoyed reading each quote throughout the night!

The bride like them so much that she's decided to have them at her wedding too.  So this idea works for bridal showers, engagement parties or weddings!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey

tasty tuesday: soft pretzels

Is there any smell that tops fresh baked bread?  Or in this case fresh baked pretzels?

The correct answer is no....or at least it is 99% if the time.  Take it from me.  

Now, these have been a family classic for a looong time thanks to Jordyn.  She just has a knack for finding and creating wonderful things.  And these are perfect for movie nights, games nights, or basically any night!

The only thing that keeps me from making these every single night is that they take so long! Let's just say that I am not a patient person.  At all.  Especially when it comes to food.  

I'm forever pestering Jordyn whenever she makes them....saying "I don't think they have to rise that much do you?  Are they done now?  Can we just bake the dang things yet?".   I usually try and distract myself while they're rising so that I'm not peeking under the towel every five minutes to see if they're ready.  Yeah.  Patience.  Gotta work on that.  Must make more pretzels?  That sounds legit.

Soft Pretzels
Yields: ~12 pretzels

Yeast Mixture:
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup of warm water (you want it hot, but not boiling!)
2 1/4 tsp yeast

[In a small bowl, stir these ingredients together, and then let it rise for about 10 minutes.]

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of water
1 tsp of salt

Directions:
1)  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, water and salt.
2)  Then add your yeast mixture, and mix.
3)  Knead your dough on a floured surface until it feels "right" (about 30-40 times.....once you've made these a few times you'll have a better feel for what "right" feels like!).
4) Now place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a dish towel.  (It's best to place your bowl in a warm area, such as a patch of sunlight, or in the oven with the light on.  Let it rise for about an hour.)
5) Cut your dough into 12 equal pieces, roll and shape into a pretzel, and let rise for another 45 minutes.
[Optional]:  If you want a salted pretzel, brush the tops of your pretzels lightly with an egg white and sprinkle with coarse salt.
6)  Cook in the oven for approximately 12-15 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Now it's time to knead it!  Make sure you sprinkle down some flour on your counter before you dump your dough out, otherwise it will stick!  Add a teeny bit of flour if your dough is really sticky.

Once your dough is all kneaded, you pop it in a bowl to rise!  And do your best to not sit there and stare at it until it's done...

Once it's finally done, you get to shape it into whatever you want!

We cut ours into 12 equal pieces, roll them each out like a snake, and then twist them into a pretzel shape.

Not pictured are the pretzels covered by a towel to rise again.  Probably because I was too impatient...

If you don't have (or don't eat) eggs, you can always substitute for plain water. Your pretzels won't get as brown and crunchy on the outside, but they'll still be delicious!

Now please don't be intimidated just because there's yeast in the dough and because you have to knead it and let it let it rise...blah blah blah.  This recipe is seriously forgiving no matter your skill level.  I don't think we've ever had a bad batch of pretzels, and sometimes the dough looks WEIRD, or doesn't really rise.  But you know what?  When hot and fresh pretzels come out of the oven they always taste good. Always.

Make these for your next movie night and impress your friends!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey

weekly wrap-up: 100 pounds of strawberries and a bridal shower

So we had quite an interesting start to our week.  My dad got a call from a fellow farmer who had 400 pounds of wet strawberries that he couldn't ship, so he was wondering if we'd want any for a sweet deal.  Well....let's just say we can't say no to a good deal, and ended up with 100 pounds. 

100 POUNDS PEOPLE!!

So, we had 100 pounds of wet strawberries that needed dealt with asap before they went funky.  Let's just say I was the Queen of hulling strawberries....and the above photo is not even a quarter of the strawberries we went through.  We had delicious strawberry crepes for supper that night, and froze most of the rest for later!

And....it was the super moon this weekend.  I didn't even really think about it until I saw the most beautiful sunset last night that turned Mt. Baker hot pink.  By the time I ran and got my camera the colour was nearly gone, but it was still so pretty.  I am so lucky to have this be the view from our kitchen!

Also, this week we hosted a bridal shower for the fiancee of one of my best buds growing up.  Our families have been super close for over 20 years, and it's crazy that all us kids are grown up!  My mom and I (and Jordyn) had so much fun decorating and hosting, and the night was wonderful.  

For desserts Jordyn made delicious lemon cranberry scones and chocolate cupcakes, and I made sugar cookie brides and bridesmaids!

We had sooo much yummy food!

I'll be sharing a few decoration ideas as well as games we made for the shower in the coming week!

p.s.  ♥ kelsey

outfit post : photography days.

Every girl needs a go-to little black dress and as a photographer, I definitely own several for the weddings I shoot so that I'm not wearing out the same one. (Honestly though, it's just an excuse so that I can keep buying more cute black dresses.) This is one that I picked up in Korea :) Actually.... my whole outfit is from Korea - the dress, the blazer, and my peep-toe shoes.

I've also attached my newly vamped photography site to the bottom of this post, so please go check it out and leave some lovin'! The photo of the bride is from the last wedding I took and I think I'm in love with her lace jacket - gorgeous!

p.s.  ♥ clara