FALL MANTEL + DIY GLITTER DIPPED CANDLES

I've officially been bitten with the Christmas bug and have the itch to start prepping our house for the holidays. Although that means that I have to rake about a million leaves in our yard, I'm excited to start seeing lots of gold and glitter around the house for Christmas!

Before I start switching things up with our mantel, I thought I'd snap a few photos of our mantel now.

I didn't do anything to fall-ify it except adding some pumpkins, a glitter L (pottery barn ornament for our tree) and made a "one year" banner that Chris and I used during our anniversary shoot.

 I'm not sure where I want to add this bulletin board I made over. I covered it with a natural linen and added nail heads - I love the layered look it creates with the mirror... so I may eventually add a few white photo frames and stick this in our office downstairs.

I actually DIY'd these candles for our Christmas mantel and it was super easy! All you need is cheap white taper candles, modge podge or glue and gold glitter. 

I wanted the glitter to fade at the bottom and top, so to create this look I put some glue on a napkin and rubbed it on the candles in varying heights. I didn't want a straight edge and this way the glitter looks dipped.

I love the way these look rather than your standard gold candles and the glitter will add some sparkle when they are lit!

VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS LIST

There are so many sales going on right now! I decided to take advantage of them and put together a virtual Christmas wish list. Click the photo to see where each item is from.

2013 Christmas List by caramundy featuring West Elm

FANCY GOLD THANKSGIVING TABLESCAPE

Once I saw wood chargers at Crate and Barrel, I knew I wanted them for a Thanksgiving tablescape. I think white and wood work so well together without trying. These plates are adorable - and you can find similar ones from Target! 

These white and gold monogram mugs are on my Christmas list. They would make the perfect gift for a girlfriend, too! 

To find where everything is from click the photo above!

WEEKEND RECAP: ROMANTIC BARNYARD WEDDING + RAVENS BIRTHDAY WIN

Saturday was such a special day for us to witness. Two of our closest and best friends were married. Chris was originally friends with Brittany in college, and the moment I met her, it was fate that we became best friends. I strongly believe people are brought into our lives for a reason, and I believe her and Chris were friends just so I could meet and become friends with her (totally true).

Brittany and Justin now have two sweet and perfect little girls, Jayden and Harper! These two have created and raised such smart, loving and precious human beings and for them to be a part of the wedding made the day that much more meaningful.

  

The stunning bride and her handsome groom.

Outside of the wedding venue were mums and handmade signs informing the guests of where to go and what they could expect!

We snuck a photo outside. The weather was PERFECT!

The wedding was held at The Tea Barn in Elkton, MD and the bride, her bridesmaids and mom DIY'd the entire thing! I wish I had more photos to show off the amazing transformation, but I definitely agree that when brides personalize and DIY their weddings, it's only that much more special and breath taking.

I love the alter, chandelier, strung lights, long tables and gold chivari chairs.

 The cake was gorgeous and even the cake stand carried the mint and gold theme! I especially love how there was a bird for each of the girls on the cake. So so sweet.

The cake wasn't the only dessert they had. An entire long table was filled with pies, cupcakes, cakes and rolls for the guests to enjoy. My favorite was the raspberry cupcakes!

They had pumpkins with each of the girl's initials in gold with photos on the guest book table... which was a wishing tree. 

The couple's new last name is Jones - so the drink sign was so clever and adorable!! It's hard to tell, but in those glasses are photos of the girls. 

Upstairs on the balcony, the couple had hay bales for sitting and corn hole for playing!

Sitting with my love just before the ceremony started! They had Britt's godfather officiate and he was amazing! He added the perfect touch of laughter and sincerity into the wedding. I also especially loved the vows and I always get choked up seeing the groom in tears of joy.

We got a little silly in the photo booth! Jayden was my partner in crime for most of these photos :-) I laugh every time I see the photo strip of Brittany holding the hoe sign pointed at Jayden!

I certainly will never forget this special day for an even more special couple. Wishing them a lifetime of laughter, love and memories as amazing as this day!

Sunday Chris and I met up with his dad and step mom and headed to Baltimore for the Ravens game. We had lunch and drinks at Nick's and caught a bus to the stadium! 

 I bought tickets for Chris' 26 birthday - which is a week from today!

The weather turned out for us and thankfully we won against the Bengals in OT. The last half hour of the game was a nail biter!

It was a packed weekend, but lots of new memories for the books.

Happy Veteran's Day!

THANKSGIVING DINNER INSPIRATION

Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! Thankfully, Thanksgiving falls a little later this year which means there is extra time to plan the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. If you are looking for inspiration, here is what I would make if I was hosting. 

Thankfully, my mom hosts ;-)

DRINKS

Spiced Apple Cider Sangria - this smells so good while cooking and goes fast!

Sparkling Apple Juice for the kids via

APPETIZERS

This Caramel Apple Turkey is too cute and a really simple appetizer that the kids would love to eat!

Cute Turkey Veggie Cups via

Donut Acorns via

MAIN COURSE

Maple-Glazed Turkey via

Sweet Potato Casserole via

Pomegranate-Cranberry Sauce via

Sausage Pear Stuffing via

Skinny Scalloped Gratin via

 Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Garlic Parm Knots via

DESSERT

Pumpkin Cream Pie via

Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake via

Pecan Pie Cookies via

I'm thinking of making the sweet potato casserole, the pecan pie cookies and bringing all of the ingredients to make the donut acorns for the kids to make with me!

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

I am very lucky to have a husband that is awesome at keeping secrets, plans romantic getaways and who I love to share a good adventure with. I can't believe a year has flown by already - it still feels like the wedding was yesterday.

You can check out all of the details and our wedding video here.

We started off our anniversary getting massages Friday evening, then came home to pack for an early morning road trip. Chris told me we were going to New York the night before and told me to pack something we could walk around in and something to wear to dinner. I love New York and Chris and I have only been together once before for Valentine's Day!

The drive there was gorgeous.

Once we got to the hotel Chris popped a bottle of champagne and we enjoyed mimosas and breakfast before hitting the streets. 

 Our first stop for the day was visiting the 9/11 memorial. Our hotel was literally right next to it and neither of us had been.

To say it took your breath away is an understatement. I feel so fortunate for the life we have been blessed with and cannot imagine losing someone I love to such a horrific tragedy. It was heartbreaking reading each of the names at the memorial - especially when you read "and her unborn child." My heart breaks for these families.

I loved reading about this pear tree. It is the only tree that survived the tragedy and they revived it from being only a stump in the New York park. Visiting in the fall only made it more gorgeous - being surrounded by all of the orange trees. 

Of course I had to stop and smell the roses ;-)

These flowers were calling my name as we were walking past a park. How gorgeous are these? A tiny patch of green in the concrete jungle. 

We decided to rent bikes and bike to the Hudson river. I love biking in the city! It was only 15 dollars to rent the bikes for a day, so we were sold. 

PS - I am that girl that will always have lipstick on her teeth. No matter how hard I try!

 We really lucked out with amazing weather. Last year we faced Hurricane Sandy the week of our wedding and were freezing taking photos outside. This year, the weather was gorgeous! Funny how things change in a year.

Also, these photos are proof that there is a God. How gorgeous. I am so thankful for this life and an amazing man to share it with.

We also found a turkey on our bike ride! 

After our bike rides we went back to the hotel, rested up for an hour then headed out to Stone Street to catch a drink before our dinner reservation. I love coming here and wanted to share it with Chris. 

For dinner Chris found a Mexican restaurant in Brooklyn. We walked and took the subway to Brooklyn and it was probably a good thing we walked so much - the food was awesome!

The next morning we took one last walk (New York is so picturesque in the fall) and enjoyed our coffee and breakfast on a bench. It was a bit chillier on Sunday, so it was the perfect day to head home (plus we beat all of the marathon traffic).

Rather than driving straight home, we drove to Kinder Farm in Severna Farm to meet up with Marisa from Misa*Me Photography (who took our awesome engagement photos) to have an anniversary mini shoot. She is an amazing photographer and her photos turn out so romantic - it's hard to choose a favorite! We definitely recommend them to all of our friends. Check out how gorgeous our friends Ashley and Doug look who also took advantage of the mini session for their engagement photos! Swoon :-)

Of course we couldn't forget to eat our wedding cake - which was surprisingly almost as good as the first time I tasted it. We had the Little Italy flavor from Baltimore Cakery as our cake topper and it is delicious!

I had such a fun and exciting weekend making new memories with Chris and celebrating another year in the books with my best friend. I can't wait to see what the next year holds for us!