The cutest bridesmaid proposal ever (if I do say so myself!)

Ever since he popped the question, I've known exactly which girls I wanted to stand up there with me, and I also knew that I wanted to make me asking them almost as special as him asking me!  I surfed around on pinterest for inspiration, but didn't really find anything I loved to draw from.
The idea struck me when I stumbled upon these super cute Valentine's Day plates at Target, which just so happened to be in the colours we chose for our wedding!
I bought a few of them, not knowing exactly HOW they would be put to use, just knowing that they WOULD be... and got cracking!

It started to come together when I found this frame.  I thought about decoupaging it in our wedding colours, but instead, I settled on decoupaging it with pages from a vintage romance novel (My one bridesmaid, Marlena, actually got a frame that was decoupaged with pages from a French romance novel!)



Then, I discovered this awesome program to use in conjunction with my Cricut machine called Cricut Craft Room.  It allows you to create a layout using cartridges you already own, OR, any Cricut cartridge, which you can then purchase online, directly through the program.  This made it a lot easier to visualize, because I could see exactly how big the letters would turn out.


I took my letters, and very carefully (using tweezers when necessary!) glued them on the inner matting of my frame.  The Craft Room program made it super easy to get just the three letters ("I Do") in a different colour, because I knew exactly where to position the paper on the cutting mat.  I used a glue runner to glue the letters down, because it's easier and less messy than white glue, a glue stick, etc.   You could also do it with mod podge, if you prefer.


I created some paper medallions, using this tutorial over at How About Orange.  Inside the centre of each medallion, I wrote Bridesmaid, or Maid Of Honour.  I then glued them to a piece of textured paper that matched the centre of the medallion, and on the paper, I stamped, "Will you be my"

Because the ribbons are higher than a flat picture, I couldn't replace the glass part of the frame, so what I did was include it behind the art work - that way, if the girls decide, they can replace the "proposal" part of the frame, with a picture of us at the wedding, afterwards!


I put it all together with some Cherry Red & Aqua coloured Jelly Belly's, and some cheesy, wedding related bubbles that I found at the dollar store (wedding cake & champagne).  I used the Cricut and some of my own decorative punches to create confetti out of matching paper.

I included a card that told each girl why I picked her, and how much she meant to me... Then I wrapped it all up in cellophane and hoped they'd say yes!
(They did!)

Feel free to Pin this on Pinterest and draw inspiration for your own bridesmaid proposal!  Please let me know if you decide to do something similar!

 

Romance Yourself

Blue Cheese Pasta

Big handful of dry whole-wheat pasta

¼ cup of blue cheese (or more) I used extra creamy Rosenborg

¼ cup of heavy cream

Pepper to season

Boil water and toss the pasta in and cook until al dente.

2. Put the cream and cheese together in a cause pan and on a med heat melt together. Toss the drained pasta into sauce and get it all nice and covered.

Meat Balls

1/3^rd of a pack of meat.

1 tablespoon of flour

1 tablespoon of herbs du province

¼ cup of red wine

Minced garlic

2 teaspoons of coconut oil

Mix all the ingredients together and roll the meat into small balls. On hot pan melt the coconut oil and fry the meatballs so they are crispy and brown on all sides.

I served it with homemade pickled red onions (very sweet and tangy) and a nice big glass of Cabernet Sauvignon by Jean Leon with it. For desert mini brownies and caramel ice cream on a bed of toasted pecans. I will put up the how to for the red onion and toasted pecans soon. This is a great love yourself or love somebody meal. Super easy to make but looks really fancy when you are done. In fact I would say it takes about the same effort as a box of Mac and Cheese. I am also sure that you could make this with other kinds of cheese.

Peppermint Pinwheels!

This was a I have too much on my mind so I need to bake cookie. They are super yummy with a nice crisp. They make super cute gifts too. I ended up being up way too late to get them done so keep in mind that the dough sits for about 4 hours. The longer you let dough set the nicer the cookies will turn out.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon red food coloring& 1 teaspoon pink food coloring

Now you can just about do any color combo you like depending what holiday you are looking to make the cookies for. I am going to try to do a black and white version next.

Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough

Directions

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside.

Cream butter and sugar together in another large bowl. Add egg and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and peppermint extract. Gradually add the dry mixture, beating until combined. Remove half of the mixture from the bowl. Add food coloring, beating until fully combined. In waxed paper, roll out dough to form a large rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick. Repeat this step with the other half with the other color. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Tear out 1 sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Sprinkle the surface of the paper with powdered sugar to prevent sticking. Very carefully, slide the red dough on top of the pink dough. Trim edges if uneven and patch if necessary. Roll dough into a log, creating a swirl effect. Place the dough back in the refrigerator and let chill for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Slice the dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on a parchment lined sheet tray about 1-inch apart.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

*********

If you want to have a bit of extra fun with them add lollipop sticks.

Place lollipop stick about 1-inch through the flat side of the dough before baking. :D