A Scottish Wedding

By now you probably know that I love the British Isles and with my heritage being Scottish & Irish, I have always had a soft spot for these countries. I found this wedding the other day through Black*Eiffel and fell completely in love with it. Who wouldn't want to get married in Edinburgh, Scotland in a castle, right? Gorgeous!














All pictures via Paul Johnson Photography.

Marmalade

One of my favorite toppings for bread and croissants in the morning is marmalade. I've heard that it is pretty easy to make at home yourself, so this past weekend I decided to try my hand at it and make my own marmalade. I have to say that it came out very tasty and I think I will be making my own marmalade from now on.

I used Hartley's Ma Made purchased from Williams-Sonoma. I was told by an associate there that the thin cut makes the best marmalade.

First, I boiled my canning jars and lids in order to sterilize them for the canning process.

After the jars and lids boiled for two to three minutes, I put them on a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack in the over to keep them warm and dry.

I then placed the Ma Made concentrate in a large saucepan along with 3/4 pint of water.

Then I added 8 cups of sugar to the concentrate and turned the mixture on high.

I allowed the marmalade to come to a boil and added a dollop of butter to take away the foam.

The marmalade then stayed at a boiling point for 15 minutes while being stirred occasionally.

After boiling to the correct consistency, I tested the marmalade on a cold plate to see if it had jelled. After letting the marmalade rest for a couple of minutes, I poured the mixture into each jar and added the lid. Finally, I let the jars come to room temperature and cool down.

Now I have seven 12 oz jars of homemade marmalade and it is a wonderful treat in the morning on a fresh croissant with a cup of coffee or tea. YUM!

Beach Scene

I love this picture that I've seen around lately. You can purchase it in a print here. Makes me realize summer is officially here!


Found most recently via Jordan Ferney | Oh Happy Day!

Yellow Obsession

Lately, my new obsession had been yellow and goldenrod. I've purchase quite a few things in these colors and have been trying to find the perfect bag to tie them all together. Here are some of my recent purchases that have helped put me in the mood for summer!

Pin: Oh, Hello Friend

Earrings: Yeah... Hello?

Ring: Yeah... Hello?

Shoes: Target

Camping in Style

I've been wanting to go camping for a while now and just haven't had the right opportunity or time to go. Here are some camping essentials that I would love to use on my trip; all from my favorite British designer Cath Kidston!







All pictures via Cath Kidston.

My Ultimate Vacation

Sometime last year I came across a website in the UK Country Living magazine for retro VW vans that you could rent to take camping, Retrobays. These vans have been fitted to be used as campers and have been decorated in a fun, kitschy, vintage style. When I am finally able to take my long awaited vacation to the UK, I plan on renting one of these for an extended weekend. How fun!

Happy Weekend!

I am definitely ready for the weekend to begin.

I am ready for my new rug to arrive from Urban Outfitters...


I am ready to head to the Hancock Fabrics sale and steal up some Built by Wendy (Simplicity) patterns for $1.99 each...


And I'm ready to head to the Pepper Place Farmers' Market and the Antique stores this weekend...


Hope you have just as much fun this weekend as I intend on having!

Wedding Door Monograms

This is the final DIY project that my mom & I did for my cousin's wedding. We wanted something on the front doors of the chapel as you walked in and also behind the head table at the reception. So we decided to make L & J monograms.

We first found a font that wasn't very intricate and I downloaded it from 1001 free fonts. We used Chancery Cursive. I formatted the font big enough for an 8.5 x 11 piece of paper and we printed the letters on to overhead projector sheets. We used the overhead projector and traced the letters onto a piece of white poster board and then cut them out.



I then handed them over to my brother and he used the blown up letters to trace onto pieces of cardboard. We wanted the letters to be strong enough to hang on the doors, so my brother glued four layers of the cut out cardboard together which made them very strong and thick.



After these were glued together, my mom found bags of moss at our local landscaping store and used a hot glue gun to glue it onto the cardboard letters.



Once all of the moss had been put on the letters, she added some pink ribbon and a couple of white doves.




They came out gorgeous and I love that the project was a collaborative effort by the whole family (my dad even helped by telling my mom where to place the bows and doves).

Plaid Dress

I want this dress! But it's much more than my budget currently allows. Maybe I can get my mom to help me make one like it...


Found via blue moss from anthropologie.

Black and White Wedding Cake

I found this cake last week over on HotHouse Design Studios' website taken from a wedding that they participated in. It would go perfect with the invitations that I want to use whenever I get married!