Hi, friends! Before the holiday weekend hits, I have some fun details to share from that Fiesta Bridal Shower I told you about earlier this month. Remember those DIY Fiesta Banners we whipped up for Valentine’s Day? Unbeknownst to all of you, that project was inspired by this one! Being maid of honor and bona fide paper goods fanatic, I was really excited to get the party started for my BFF, beginning with the invitations.

I kept the cut-paper effect throughout and played with a citrus-centric color palette. The bride-to-be loves pink. I mean, like loooooves it, so of course that had to be the primary hue.

Next, I tackled the decorations. There is an exceptional party decor store called Amols’ just down the street from where we lived in San Antonio. Their parking lot is always full because there is always a party going down in the heart of Texas. It’s a party-throwers mecca, I tell you. It might be just enough reason for me to move back there some day. We had a pinata, paper flowers, tiny sombreros and fiesta flags galore.

The day of the Fiesta Bridal Shower + Bachelorette Party in Minneapolis was jam-packed, but it couldn’t have been better. Our afternoon bridal shower morphed into a bachlorette party once the sun went down. We hit Crave in St. Louis Park for dinner and followed that up with fancy drinks at Prohibition, on top of the W hotel downtown Minneapolis. Par-tay!

And with that, our fiesta bridal shower mission (to celebrate the bride-to-be in style) was accomplished. Love to all of you who helped pull it off. ¡O·lé!

Some photos credited to Sparrow & Crown Photography.

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Exhibit A: Garden Bench – Isn’t this dreamy? I don’t have anything close to a green thumb, but this salvaged-pallet garden bench makes even me want to dig in and get dirt under my fingernails.

Exhibit B: Wine Rack – It holds bottles and glasses. Could it be more perfect? A little birdie told me that I could have the wine rack for our new house (more on that soon)!

Who thinks my dad should start his own pallet creation shop? Me!

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Sophie runs her own blog over at Dinners for Winners where you’ll find lots of healthy eating inspiration. If you like what you see here, there’s a lot more of it over there! Go see! She is funny, smart and incredibly upbeat about cooking. God bless you for it, Sophie; you’re keeping me on my culinary toes. With that, Sophie is here today (and will be again soon) to bring us our Week of Eats. Sophie, take it away!

Monday: Flatbread (cooked on the grill or indoors, weather permitting) with pesto, mozzarella and prosciutto
Green salad, lemon-poppy seed vinaigrette

Tuesday: Chicken kabobs (grilled or broiled) in pitas with tzatziki sauce and tomatoes
Orzo with brown butter and zucchini squash

Wednesday: Grilled salmon
Garbanzo beans over mixed greens with citrus segments and vinaigrette

Thursday: Quinoa and garbanzo patties with poached eggs
Pan-seared asparagus spears with a dab of white miso

Friday: Homemade hummus with fresh vegetables for dipping
Quiche or frittata with spring vegetables (asparagus, peas, spring onions)

I don’t want to take the easy way out in life, but I do want to simplify wherever I am able. Our days are busy, increasingly so as the weather improves and there are so many fun things to do. I enjoy cooking, but a few smart shortcuts can really stretch the budget of my time (and finances). We end this week with three recipes featuring our star, garbanzo beans, which are a nutritional powerhouse shown to help regulate cholesterol, blood sugar levels and reduce cardiovascular risks. They are also delicious! I love their nutty flavor and versatile texture, whether smooth and creamy in hummus or crisp-fried into a cocktail party nosh with rosemary and sea salt.

Try buying super-inexpensive dried garbanzos from the bulk bins at your grocer. Soak overnight in twice their volume of cold water, then drain and add to a large pot with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook at a gentle simmer until just tender to the bite, 15 – 30 minutes depending on freshness. Once cooked, they freeze well for future use. Canned garbanzos are also a great convenience – just make sure to rinse and drain well to avoid excess sodium.

Enjoy!

Quinoa and garbanzo patties with poached eggs

Yields 12 patties

· Olive oil
· 1 shallot, minced
· 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans
· ½ cup plain bread crumbs or almond flour
· 2 cups cooked quinoa
· ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
· 2 medium carrots, grated
· 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
· 2 eggs, beaten
· Splash red wine vinegar
· Salt and pepper
· Poached eggs, one per serving
· Sliced scallions

In a small pan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium. Sautee the shallots until softened and sweetened, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, mash the beans with a fork. Add the cooked shallots and remaining eight ingredients and season with salt and pepper; combine well.

Gently form into patties about ½-inch thick and 3 inches wide. They should hold together well, but if necessary, add more bread crumbs or almond flour to bind. In a heavy skillet or nonstick pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high. Cook patties in batches until golden brown and crisp, 5 minutes or so per side, reducing heat if browning too quickly. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain, and add more oil for the following batches.

Top two patties with a poached egg, and sprinkle with cracked pepper and scallions to serve.

*Note: This recipe is gluten-free if using almond flour in place of bread crumbs. If you have gluten sensitivities, make sure the quinoa you purchase is not processed in a facility that also processes grains, as cross-contamination can occur. To make this recipe dairy-free, omit the cheese and add a little extra grated carrot (and probably a little extra salt).

Photos by Sophie Hawley

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I thought it would be fun to round up other pallet-inspired items from Pinterest. Mom, this post is dedicated to you!

theater seating / arm chair / garden storage / wine racks / bookshelves + bike rack / vertical garden / coffee table

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Supplies

2 lbs, 6 oz. Borax

2 lbs Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda

1.5 lbs Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 jar OxyClean

1 Fels-Naptha Heavy Duty Laundry Bar Soap

1 bottle Purex Crystals (28 oz) (this is what will make it smell good)

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Gather the above ingredients.

2. Grate the bar of soap. You can use a hand-grater or a food processor…it grates just like cheese. Promise!

3. Dump all of the ingredients together and mix. Do in small batches if you’d like – this is a lot of detergent! Use 1-2 Tablespoons per load of laundry. We have a feeling we’ll be working our way through this batch for years.

4. Transfer to a cute container of your choice. Garnish detergent with darling downloadable tag, which can be found here.

The beauty of DIY laundry soap is that it lasts forever. So grab your ingredients, print off a few labels, make up a batch…and you’ll have gifts for an entire year!

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This time of year Portland is awash in pink petals. During the spring, Waterfront Park is especially breathtaking with it’s 100 ornamental cherry trees. The cherry blossoms have come and started to go, but not without first generously lining the sidewalks and streets. It’s not hard to understand why these trees inspired our Cherry Blossom Wedding Invitation Suite.

I’ve taken some time to build a set of inspiration photos for the brides-to-be who love this aesthetic and would like to pull it through all of their nuptial festivities.  The Cherry Blossom Wedding Invitation Suite comes in several pastel shades (gray, green, lavender and pink).

photo credits: Waterfront Park photo by Brent Wojahn for The Oregonian / Cherry Blossom Invitation Suite photos by Melissa Tomeoni / reception space / bride behind blooms / bridesmaid dresses / boutonniere plate / candles / walking couple / couple behind blooms

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My very best BFF is getting married in June. I’m one of her matrons of honor, and one of twelve ladies in her bridal party. Yes, twelve. Needless to say, she has a bazillion friends, all over the world, so we had to choose the most central location for most to throw her bridal shower and bachelorette parties.

We ended up in Minneapolis, MN on a 70+ degree weekend (miraculous!). It made the most sense to cram the shower and the bachelorette into the same day and let me tell you: it was fabulous. A day full of friends, food, cocktails and a pinata? Count me in again and again.

There was a lot that went into the planning of the-bride-to-be’s big day before THE Big Day; every detail of our fiesta bridal shower came out beautifully. I’ll share much, much more with you next week. Until then, adios amigos!

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Here’s the thing. We’ve had return address stamps in the shop for a few years now, but have I been able to order one for myself? No. Thanks to the military, we’ve been moving around. A lot. From Washington to Texas to New Mexico…and we’re not quite done yet. (More on that later.)

I love stamps. They’re easy, fun and pocket-book friendly. But what’s a girl to do when she can’t commit to something as silly as a return address?

She makes new personal stamps!

They’re cute, customizable and most importantly, address-less. So now I invite you to join me in adding a little class and personalization to your snail mail, thank you notes, DIY stationery, books, notepads, journals and other paper goods. Shop personal stamps now >

Go forth and stamp to your hearts’ delight. If you have ladies in your life who you think would like to do the same, treat them to a stamp of their own. For one week only, you can buy three stamps and get one free. This promotion isn’t exclusively for stamps, but it makes for an especially good stamps-as-gifts-buying deal.

Shop personal stamps now >

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THREE happens to be my favorite number. It also happens to rhyme with FREE, so that’s where our promotion has landed us: BUY THREE, GET ONE FREE!* If you pick three items to place in your basket, you might as well toss in a fourth. Use the promo code BIRTHDAYPARTY and that fourth product will cost you zip. Zero. Zilch.

Have fun shopping, friends. Every time you place an order, you can imagine us blowing a party horn and throwing confetti in the air. Thanks for joining in on the celebration!

*Sorry, Wedding Invitation Suites are excluded from this offer. Free item must be of equal or lesser value than the others in your basket. Promotion ends Thursday, April 30 at 12:00 Midnight, PST.

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A crisp breeze, salty air, beaming sun, shimmering waters. The nautical aesthetic hints at all these things and more. It’s high-class, urbane and a completely appropriate nuptial theme. With historic undertones, nautical wedding invitations can be executed in a lighthearted manner or with a seriously sophisticated attitude. Which would you choose? I think I like somewhere smack dab in the middle best.

1)  wooden invitation 2) lobsters in love 3) pinstripe set 4) anchor envelope liners 5) square nautical wedding invitation 6) ahoy suite 7) maiden voyage suite

Speaking of nautical things, did you see our DIY Nautical Coasters post earlier this week?

The post Trends in Wedding Invitation Design, No. 4: Nautical appeared first on hi, friend design | custom wedding invitations, personal stationery, press-printed cards and gifts.