I have something exciting to tell you all! I have moved locations and I will no longer be posting on this site! Wishful Whisking was great to me for the last 2 years but no longer reflects my style, and it is simply time to move on and start fresh! I will be posting on my new blog http://www.touchesofblush.com! So please follow my new journey over there and all my journeys as a newlywed!
Our Christmas Cards
I have always awaited the day I could send my very own Christmas card. The month of December is seriously the most exciting time for mail, everyday checking it is a treat. Getting to see everyone’s family photos and the different styles of cards adds a little flicker of excitement to my day.
Since I am married, I finally get to join in on the fun and I could not be more obsessed with how our very first Christmas card turned out! We used Minted, which is absolutely great! Not only are our cards beautiful; they addressed each envelope for free! We used Minted for our wedding invitations, pictured below, as well. We could not be more thrilled!
(Photograph by Anna Joy)
Christmas House Details
I love the way my house feels around Christmas. A strand of lights and a few simple pops of red, white and green make the house feel magical. This truly is the best time of the year!
Puffy and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Since getting married in October, Nathan and I have not gotten to spend a Sunday together (not including our month long honeymoon in Europe, of course). Today we got to spend the day together and Nathan suggested we make chocolate chip cookies, binge on Netflix, and soak up our Christmasy home. I could not imagine a better way to spend a Sunday. This is simply a delicious recipe I would make again and again. Hope you enjoy… wedding and honeymoon pictures to come!
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cups butter
3/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
3-5 ounce pack of instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounce bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1. In a stand up mixer fitted with paddle attachment combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla and beat until creamy.
2.Scrape the edges add the flour, vanilla pudding, baking soda and beat until combined on low.
3.Scrape down the edges once again add the chocolate chips and beat on low until combined.
4. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Using an ice cream scoop make 8 cookie balls on a cookie sheet covered with either a silpat or cooking spray.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes.
My Bohemian Bridal Shower!
My bridal shower pictures are here! I had the best day celebrating my upcoming marriage surrounded by my family! Hope you enjoy the pictures all courtesy of Anna Joy!
{All of my favorite snacks}
{Word association game!}
{My sisters 🙂 }
{Flower crowns for everyone!}
{Sisters.}
{The most delicious and beautiful cake!}
{Childhood photographs of me!}
{Cousin selfies!}
{Baby Ellie!}
Happy Birthday Nathan!
We had the best day celebrating Nathan yesterday. I love you Nathan! Enjoy our pictures!
{Tuxedo cake, chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting.}
{hour devours}
{Reading his card. :)}
{The books I gave him}
{I made him homemade pasta.}
{Unfortunately I did not try any. Wedding is too soon for pasta!}
{His favorite meal. Pasta, peas, and steak.}
{We went to the beach for a sunset walk.}
{Came home for cake.}
{Happy birthday Bunny!}
What a successful birthday! P.S. Exactly one month until our wedding!
My week through my iPhone.
Nathan and I have been super busy this past week moving into our first place together! I won’t be living there until after the wedding but I am loosing my mind kicking into full interior designer mode! I can’t wait to share pictures of our glorious little cottage, and all the fun projects we have been doing making it beautiful! Here are some parts of my week as seen through my phone.
1.Tonight Nathan and I decided to walk through our new neighborhood after dinner. One of our favorite activities as a couple is taking drives and checking out cool houses. We were so amazed by how much more beautiful the homes looked from the sidewalk versus our moving car. You miss so much detail in the car!
2.I’m obsessed with baking in my new kitchen- ESPECIALLY with my new kitchen aid. While Nathan was at work I made him some delicious muffins. I blogged the whole thing so be on the lookout for that!
3.Nathan and I got dressed up in some 1960’s garb and took some photos with our good friend Anna Joy who also happens to be our awesome wedding photographer! I love this era so dressing up was fun for us.
4.My good old Pop had his birthday this week. Apparently we are to cheap to buy new candles so we did the math on his flan. He didn’t mind!
5.After a long few days of moving Nathan and I enjoyed our favorite cheese from Trader Joe’s, ‘unexpected cheddar’ accompanied by fresh strawberries and olives on our new couch. I live for simple moments like this.
6.I LOVE repeat LOVE old cookbooks! I scored a few at a thrift store this week and could not be more thrilled. The Better Homes and Garden’s book is KILLER with tons of recipes I’m dying to try.
There you have it. Happy Monday.
Classic Tarte Aux Fraises
Wedding planning is in full force and I am in complete heaven. However, aside from marrying Nathan, the wedding day is almost like a road block to the most exciting part: the honeymoon! A passion among many that Nathan and I share is traveling. Our days usually consist of at least one conversation about where we want to go, what we would do if we went there, and how we could make the trip happen. We are so fortunate to be heading to Europe the day after our wedding for a little over three weeks! We will start out in St. Tropez, France, head over to Paris, then Bruges, Belgium to Heidelberg, Germany, and finally England (we may squeeze Italy somewhere in there, too). Of course, with such an amazing trip less than two months away, my excitement is almost paralyzing! Today I decided it would be fun if I started baking and cooking dishes that represent the places we will soon be! What is more French than a classic tart?This tarte-aux-fraises is simply to die for, and a real crowd pleaser! I can’t wait to eat this on the shores of St. Tropez and along the Seine in wedded bliss!
Engagement Story!
I have been gone for so long. I have honestly thought and thought about what my first post should be about after such a lengthy hiatus, and it feels oddly overwhelming, for so much has happened in life, so I will start there! I am engaged! I have been so giddy and excited planning my wedding that I have neglected this part of my life – the part that makes my happier than anything – this blog! Today, I will neglect this blog no more, because I want to share the journey to my wedding with everyone. I will start with the story! 
Nathan and I have been dating since our senior year of high school. As our friendship grew so did our feelings. We dated our senior year of high school all the way through college. Nathan’s college was only 30 minutes away from mine, and despite the drive and seemingly different lives with different majors one thing never changed: our love. Instead of growing apart, we only grew closer! After graduating I moved home to Santa Barbara and Nathan moved to LA, and even still, distance was no match for our love. Nathan finally moved back to Santa Barbara and we were together in the same city again! On February 16 of this year, our five year anniversary rolled around. Nathan told me we were going to visit Palm Springs (which happens to be my favorite place on planet earth) so it didn’t seem like anything too out of the ordinary. I love to poke around the amazing shops, soak up the sun, eat at the amazing restaurants, swim, and feel the colorful and exciting energy of the city. We were going to walk around the grounds of La Quinta Resort which is, in my opinion, the most beautiful place California offers, before getting dinner and driving home. Nathan started acting odd and moving the hotel’s outdoor furniture around. He told me he was going to give me my card and gift, but he did not have one in his hand, so I started to wonder what his deal was. He told me he memorized his card and wanted to tell me it to my face. He started to recite the most beautiful poem that he wrote and was shaking, and I finally began to understand what was happening. Instead of crying like any normal girl would do, I started laughing and kept telling him to “stop!” The poem concluded with “Will you marry me?” Instead of screaming an enthusiastic “yes,” I grabbed the ring from his fingers, making him pry it out of my hands as I realized I had not yet answered. This was the most special day of my entire life, and I cannot wait to share my planning process with everyone! Click to see some engagement photo’s! All photos are by the AMAZING Anna Joy Photo. If you are in the Santa Barbara area you must check her out! Continue reading
Mid Century Modern Make Over
I am all about mid-century modern recently. The furniture is so classic yet whimsical at the same time in its interesting shapes. I found this gorgeous little table/desk for only ten bucks! Amidst all the junk at the thrift store I was drawn to its interesting leg shape and wood pattern on the front cabinet. By buying some new hardware and sprucing up the wood it looks so glamorous and expensive. I love it! I always am telling friends that you have to train your eye at thrift stores and antique shops to be able to single out pieces and see the vision of them outside of their cluttered surroundings! Click to read more about the transformation of this!
I started by rubbing this bees wax on the wood – always following the grain of the wood.
After removing the old pull knob, there were holes that did not match my new knob! I bought this wood filler to cover the holes.
I then drilled a hole for my new knob.
I love how glamorous this knob is! Knobs are a quick, effective, and cheap way to spruce up old furniture!
I added some fun accessories to spruce it up.
I just love how this turned out! So easy and fun!
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