Merry Christmas Everyone

Just wanted to wish everyone a very merry christmas. I'll be taking the next week off to spend with my family! Be back in 2008.

Preppy Winter Wedding Favorites

Just some of my favorite winter wedding ideas via Martha for all you January & February brides.


Use fun extra long bendy straws from for your party in a knot motif for guests.

You know my love for mason jars. I like the pairing of emerald and turquoise. Wouldn't these look great paired together in a night-time ceremony at a country church?


Love, love, love this cake. The garland details really work for a winter wedding.


Last, but not least, this raw bar display is to die for. Bring the ice from outside, inside my friends.

Preppy Cookie Exchange

I promised pics from this year�s cookie exchange so here they are!

The spread -

I love these fun placecards from Pottery Barn (last summer), they are super cute!





I used these placecards from the Martha Stewart collection at Michaels so people could write the names of their cookies.
Here�s the bar. I did champagne and chamboard with blackberries as the signature drink, so yummy.
And the other food table, I made this recipe for pigs in a blanket (one of my favorites). They were all gone by the end of the party.
I also got this awesome cookie box kit (also Martha Stewart Crafts) for everyone to take home their treats in.
All in all, a great party.

And just because I had the camera, here are some shots of the Preppy Wedding House during the holidays.


And Santa�s favorite elf.

Preppy Cookies

Just signing off for the weekend! Today is my Friday.


I'm actually hosting a cookie exchange on Saturday - can't wait it should be lots of fun. I think I am making these lovelies (do you see the peppermint obsession?). If I had married in the winter, we would have totally had this cake.




I'll be sure to post pictures on Monday ...

Preppy Tree Skirt and Decorations on Sale

So, I have something to confess. I have an addiciton to this webpage. I use it to reap the knowledge of lots of stay-at-home mom's trolling the internet for great deals.

And I wanted to share this one with you. Take a look at the post. Basically you re-type the pottery barn kids christmas codes and you can get this super cute tree skirt for 34 dollars and FREE shipping.

There are lots of other super cute Christmas deals there, so take a look. (MMM, I was thinking about you when I found this).

Looking for a good christmas cd ...

Try Mindy Smith's My Christmas. Love it.

Christmas Meme

Saw this over at More, More, More.

I warned you, I'm going all Christmas round here at The Preppy Wedding.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Tall Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
So glad to see this question. The husband thought our Santa growing up was just lazy. But, when I was a kid, I knew Santa would not have the time to wrap everyone's gift. Instead, he quite obsessive compulsively arranged everything round the fireplace.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Only White - I'm a purist.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No, can someone explain where that tradition came from. I'm sure some guy invented it as a way to get lucky.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
The weekend after Thanksgiving. It makes me feel ahead of the game.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish:
Does Edy's slow churned peppermint icecream count? Mimosas on Christmas morning (a new tradition).

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Going to see Richmond's legendary Santa at Miller & Rhodes (He's now at the Children's Museum). You got to have tea with Santa and the Snow Queen, Santa called you by name, there was a talking Christmas tree (Bruce the Spruce) and my mom went to see the very same Santa. Favorite holiday memory - minus waiting in line for hours to see Santa.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
Age 12. My sister's ghostbuster doll house had a Toys R Us price tag on it. I still subscribed to the thought that Santa made his own toys. Anyone else extremely sheltered as a child?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yep, our Christmas pjs.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Traditional red and green ornaments. These cool initial ornaments from Restoration Hardware for the whole family (including dogs). Old School Pearl White Lights. Big Satin Ribbon on top.

11. Snow: love it or hate it?
Loved it as a child. Hate it now. Especially when I lived in the city. Who likes the look of dirty snow.

12. Can you ice skate?
I fall ... a lot. But, I like the thought of an ice skating outfit.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Cherry red, old school Volkswagen Cabriolet. I was 21. Thanks mom and dad.

14. What�s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Making new traditions.

15.What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Handsdown - Ghirardelli Limited Edition Peppermint Bark.

16. What tops your tree?
A big red bow.

17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving - I like to come up with the really cool gifts.

18. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Silent Night while holding candles sung at the Christmas Eve midnight mass at Church.

19. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Elf.

20. What would be the best gift you could receive this year?
A Nickelodian circa 1990's style shopping spree at J. Crew (with a big shopping cart and a two minutes to fill it). A real ipod? An SLR digital camera?

12 Days of Christmas

So, I need to come up with a gift for my office's 12 Days of Christmas Celebration. I've already purchased some super cute green and red polka dot bags from the dollar bin at Target, so I'm thinking of doing this for each of the participants. You like?

Update: I am going to try to be crafty and do this one on my own. I did some similar for the dogs in my family last year (and I'll try to remember to take a picture and post this week). All you need is a matte ornament, paint pens, ribbon, patience and good handwriting.

Preppy Gift Wrap

Saw this in the December Country Living and was totally inspired. When you have a cottage (meaning small, older home) you have to maximize your space and this is so cost effective. I'm just thinking this would look so cute in our office and it could double as a craft station?

Also - must apologize for the lack of wedding related posts. It's December, so there will lots of Christmas talk around these parts.

Still looking for a holiday card ...

Try the shutterfly's new designer card collection. There are designs from Martha, Stacy Claire Boyd and Shirley Lee.

Here are some favorites:

Even better, this week they are 20 percent off.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving ... is it Christmas yet?

Just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a very happy thanksgiving. I got to attend dual celebrations yesterday (my parents and Mr. Preppy Wedding's extended family). Not counting the 3+ hours in the car, not a bad time. I managed to succeed in making this peanut butter pie (it was really good) and the good old standby - the green bean casserole. Next year, Mr. Preppy Wedding is obsessed with deep frying a turkey, which sounds like some fun!

Today, I popped over to the local outdoor mall (still wondering why an outdoor mall is a good idea for Richmond - it was 40 degrees tonight) and got the husband's big gift.

Right now, I'm still up burning holiday CDs for the 2007 Preppy Wedding Christmas Cards.

I know y'all are dying to know, so here goes for our selection this year ....

Here are the his/hers letterpress cards for relatives and work contacts. If you like these take a look at Looky-Loos etsy site. Her stuff is so beautiful in person and very economical.






And for our young friends this year, we're doing personalized holiday CDs using this kit from Chronicle Books (one of my favorite go to gift sites). I'm really excited about how cute they turned out. Just a little nervous about figuring out how to mail them, but I'm sure I'll make it work!!

Here are the songs I picked for the CD:

Christmas Time Is Here - Ivy
Love Came Down At Christmas - Jars of Clay
All That I Want - The Weepies
Maybe This Christmas - Ron Sexsmith
It�s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Martina Sorbara
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear - Sixpence None The Richer
O Come O Come Emmanuel - Sufjan Stevens
Grown-Up Christmas List - Michael Bubl�
The First Noel - Leigh Nash
All I Want for Christmas Is You - Billy Paul Williams & Lauren Carter
What Christmas Means to Me - Mandisa
Wonderful Christmastime - Jars of Clay
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve - Kate & Anna McGarrigle & Rufus Wainwright
Auld Lang Syne - Barenaked Ladies
Be Thou My Vision - Van Morrison

Hope all of you had a very happy thanksgiving and a very happy long weekend!

Preppy Christmas Recap

Hope everyone had a great holiday!

I managed to balance spending time with my in-laws-to-be and my parents this year while pulling off a rather yummy Christmas eve dinner party. All in all a successful, yet not exactly relaxing, Christmas 2006.

A pic of the super cute lil sis and the super cute littler cousin. My sister and I are diggin red as an accent color this year.

The husband-to-be seemed very happy with his presents, especially the light up Tetris game that Santa so nicely tucked into his stocking. I think that he has beat his high score many times over in these last few days.

But, onto wedding fun. I MUST, MUST, MUST link to this hillarious site - Godawful Wedding Crap. If you want to laugh your butt off spend some time looking at this amazing selection of awful wedding products.

As the months to my wedding draw near, I have lots on my plate this week. I had my first meeting with my alterations lady yesterday, I am finalizing linen decisions this week and my mom has booked the venue for the bridesmaids tea party.

I also snagged the ivory version of my jcrew bridesmaids dresses on ebay, so I now have a getaway outfit that will last through the wedding after-party at a neighboring bar. All for the low, low price of 30 dollars!

Merry Christmas from the Preppy Bride-to-be

Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas!

This photo was taken at a bar (where Santa obviously needed to wind down) about a month after the husband-to-be and I started dating. I�m guessing you never knew Santa was a gin and tonic kind of guy.

I�m taking a few days off to celebrate with my family. Hope that everyone enjoys the long weekend and has a fabulous holiday!

Homemade Gifts

From my last post on peppermint bark, take a look at this cute, homemade gift I created for my co-workers. MMITs, we CAN do this!

Preppy Peppermint Bark

I thought I would post an idea for all you monogram-mommas in training (hereby known as MMIT) who want to make something for that holiday party/dinner with the in-laws/special present for the co-workers. I find that when looking at a recipe, I can normally get to step three (which will use the term grate, double-broil or separate egg from yolk) before I realize I am in over my head and decide to stick with the hamburger helper AGAIN.

Once in a while though, I come across a recipe that tastes great and only has three steps. I found one this weekend that impressed my mother which is a large task. Here it is in all its glory.

Preppy Peppermint Bark

2 packages Nestle White Chocolate Morsels (2lbs)
12 crushed Bobs Large Candy Canes (1 cup)

Step One. Crush all candy canes in a Ziploc bag using some kind of metal instrument. (I used my nice ice-cream scooper)

Step Two. Melt chocolate morsels in the microwave in a large bowl (For all you MMIT�s make sure that the bowl CAN be microwaved). I would stir every 30 seconds. You�ll know it�s melted when it develops a liquid consistency.

Step Three. Combine candy cane pieces and chocolate. Pour and spread into a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Then chill in the fridge for 45 minutes, take out and break into bark sized pieces.

Now, what makes this bark preppy is the presentation. For presentation at an event, make sure to place in a perfectly preppy bowl. Like the one below from Joanne Hudson.

For gifts of �Yes I made this with my own hands", place in a clear bag and tie with a red and white polka dot grosgrain ribbon. Tres preppy!

Holiday Happenings

It�s been a busy Holiday weekend for this bride-to-be. After successfully navigating the groom-to-be through the last of our Christmas shopping (he didn�t even complain, well not THAT much), I managed to wrap 90 percent of our gifts and attend two super fun holiday parties on Sunday.

The first was a cookie swap at Anne�s house. Here�s the host passing around a sampling tray.












And here�s Lindsay and Sarah . Sarah may win the award for preppiest girl I know. And one of the cutest! She�s also a fellow Wahoo, so you KNOW she�s a smart girl too!








Mmmm. Cookies. So MANY cookies.

The second party was a family affair in my hometown at the home of a bridesmaid/best friend from high school. Santa managed to make an appearance and talk to all the kids. Well, all the kids who weren�t completely afraid of him!

Look at this face, isn�t he just the cutest.

This fun-filled weekend really took my mind off the wedding planning for a bit. Don�t worry, once I realize we are three months away, I�ll snap right back into planning mode. WAIT, THREE MONTHS AWAY �.

Christmas Gifts

I was just browsing the Pottery Barn website and there were lots of great ideas for personalized Christmas presents this year.

I'm adding these personalized PJs to my wish list.
And these would make great gifts or bridesmaid presents. The color of the thread can be customized to match your wedding.

I also love ticking (almost as much as toile). So wouldn't you just love this personalized cosmetic case?And the greatest gift of all? All these products are offered with free shipping. Happy Shopping!

Christmas Decorating

It is the first Christmas that husband-to-be and I will be in our new house. And although we may have disagreed on some decorating decisions (I am not really a fan of the mallard look), I am happy to report we agreed on almost ALL of our Christmas choices for the house.

First came the tree. It is fake. I'll admit it. We decided that until there are children, we will not put ourselves through the hassle of buying a real tree. I do miss that amazing smell, though. Behold our fifteen dollar tree in all its glory.












We purchased it at Target, along with cute red and apple green ornaments.

I also decided to take on a craft project for the tree. To maximize its preppyness, I went to the local craft store and bought the inexpensive wooden letters for each member of our family. Now we have a cute monogrammed tree for around twelve dollars. I also like these monogram ornaments from Restoration Hardware.












Now, you can't have Christmas without stockings. Because our cape doesn't have a fireplace, we decided to hang our stockings from our staircase. We secured them with twine from Lowe's and I bought small model clothespins to secure all the Christmas cards we receive this year.

The stockings you see are from Pottery Barn. I got them on ebay for very cheap, because they are last year's model. I still think the red toile makes them very cute and current!

Remember how I said the husband-to-be and I disagreed on a few things. Well, mostly it was this polka dot ribbon, I had made at a local craft store. He is beginning to understand my love of polka dots with the wedding planning, but it is still something hard for him to accept! This bow cost me four bucks and is super cute.

After getting the house set up, it was time to pose the preppy pooches for next year's Christmas card cover shot. They both looked positively preppy with their fun holiday scarves from their pedicure appointment this weekend. Here they are both staring in the general direction of the camera.

Dempsey is a little confused about this whole Christmas tree thing.

LuLu got very tired of this whole process and decided to take a nap.

I hope that you are enjoying all the fun of this holiday season!