Happy Birthday Kristina!

Happy birthday to my BFF since Kindergarten, my college roommate, and my Maid of Honor, Kristina! You are the best friend anyone could ever ask for. XO

Just for fun, here are a few blasts from the past:

Rifle Paper Co. Fall Cards

It's no secret that I love Rifle Paper Co., and their Fall collection is no exception. Do you like to send snail mail to loved ones just because? These Thanksgiving and Halloween cards are so delightful.

Recipe: Chicken Chili

And so continues my obsession with soup during the Fall! This chicken chili is hearty and comforting on cold nights (like tonight in San Francisco).

What you'll need:
-1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
-1 cup of water
-1 cup chopped onion
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tsp ground coriander
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp chili powder
-1 tbsp dried oregano
-1 can of Ro-tel tomatoes
-1 can of diced tomatoes
-1 can of white beans (I like cannellini or Great Northern), undrained
-White mushrooms, sliced
-Cheese
-Sour cream

Directions:
-Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes.
-Add chicken for 5-7 minutes until no longer pink.
-Add water, spices, beans, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
-Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
-Serve topped with cheese and sour cream.

I hope you enjoy!

Denver Trip

My two best friends moved to Colorado this summer! Kristina moved to Colorado Springs for grad school and Meaghan moved to Denver to start her career as a consultant. I finally made a weekend trip last weekend to check out their new state and we had the best reunion! Meaghan's cousin, Brittany, was also in town to celebrate her birthday, so it was quite the party.

Kristina just adopted a new kitty, Sylvie, who is named after the famous ballerina, Sylvie Guillem. We doted over her all weekend!

 We walked around and explored Denver on Saturday and then went to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Below you can see Britt, Kristina, and Meg clearly acting out the movie poster. :)

 Lucky for us, Denver held it's annual Zombie festival, Eye Heart Brains, this weekend, so the people watching was amazing.

 We refueled with a little coffee and then got ready for the evening out!

I have to say that getting ready for a night out with girlfriends is much more fun than getting ready for a night out with Lucas. :)

 We purposefully picked a restaurant with good pumpkin ale. 'Tis the season...!

 Sunday was a lazy day and we all enjoyed laying around and snuggling with Sylvie puff.

Already missing my besties, Sylvie, and Denver! XO

Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our pumpkin. Pretty proud of how it turned out! :)

Bridesmaids Cards

Instead of dialing up my friends and asking if they'd be my bridesmaids, I decided to send these Rifle Paper Co. cards. I'm such a sucker for pretty stationary.

Vera Wang's Fall 2013 Bridal Collection

Vera Wang always has the most exquisite wedding dress collections. I'm thrilled to be wearing a Vera Wang gown in my own wedding next Fall, but I'm currently dying over her new Fall 2013 line. You can see more of the new bridal collection over at In Style. 

PS - the new Fall Temperley and Jenny Packham bridal collections are also amazing.

Recipe: Pumpkin Cranberry White Chocolate Cookies

Inspired by the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival, I decided to bake a batch of pumpkin cranberry white chocolate cookies, based on this recipe.

What you'll need:
-1 cup of 100% pumpkin puree
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-1 large egg
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp vanilla
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-2/3 cup dried cranberries
-2/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat over to 350 degrees.
-Spray cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
-Combine pumpkin, sugar, egg, butter, cinnamon, vanilla.
-Combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour, and sift into the other ingredients.
-Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries.
-Spoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes.
-Cool on a cooling sheet.
-The recipe will yield roughly 3 dozen cookies. Enjoy!

Photo Booth Backdrops

We are going to have our wedding photographer set up a photo booth to take the party to the next level! I want to make a backdrop to make the photo booth a little more original and fun. Here are a few sources of DIY inspiration spotted in the blogosphere recently.

{Seen on Ashley Meaders, Green Wedding Shoes, and Oh Happy Day}

Half Moon Bay Pumpkin & Art Festival

Lucas and I busted out our plaid and went to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival with friends this weekend! We started the day off at the Great Pumpkin Parade downtown on Main Street.

We decided to head over to The Half Moon Bay Wine & Cheese Company, where we did group wine tasting (our collective favorite was this Petit Abeille wine from Russian River!).

After the tasting, our judgement was impaired, so we decided to get palm readings! :)
We grabbed some pumpkin ale and headed down to the beach for a few hours to enjoy the sunny weather.

We had amazing pints of beer from the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. Our favorites were the Obama Ale and the Maverick's Pumpkin Ale! :)

 The air was crisp and breezy at the beach, so we threw on our matching sweatshirts from the festival.

 We headed back into town and grabbed drinks on the porch of a local bar.

We met up with a few more friends for dinner at It's Italia in downtown Half Moon Bay, where we ate an incredible meal of rigatoni and pizza.

 And finally, we ended the night right with Tara serenading us with some tunes.

We spent the entire weekend relishing in Fall. We love you, Fall!