oatmeal lace (the delectable cookie)

Ok, so as I've stated before, this blog is dedicated more towards my fabric creations and less towards food- even though my company's namesake was derived from my grandma and her cookies. This is where Jessica comes in. She is the brains, looks and muscle behind My Baking Heart; a blog dedicated to her passion of creating yummy treats and generously sharing the process with the world. Thank you ma'am! She, too, drew inspiration from her mom and grandmother (we are some lucky ladies to have amazing women in our families) Now, she cooks in the same kitchen where she used to watch them create as a child! How cool. :)

She was kind enough to purchase a custom collegiate clutch from me to support her TCU Horned Frogs. If you are here via facebook, you may have seen the adorable photo she posted on my wall. Here's a photo of the clutch for reference: So what is the point of this rambling story, you ask? Jessica asked me for the recipe to the Oatmeal Lace cookies and did a write up over on her blog. Please go take a look here at how amazing they came out and then take a look around for even more delectable goodies to create in your own kitchen. You will not be disappointed!!!

And if you're feeling a little inspired after perusing her blog, head over to the Project Food blog here and vote for her for the Next Food Blog Star. Voting ends Thursday, September 23rd, so any love would be appreciated. :)

roll tide! collegiate clutch round IV.

I figured it was time to show a little love to college's #1 ranked football team, good ole Alabama. Plus- houndstooth is an integral part of their gameday stylings (thanks bear bryant) and I think you all know my fondness for the pattern. :) So, for your viewing pleasure this Tuesday morning, I present the B.B. clutch (and matching pin). Roll Tide!!!!!

bags, lately.

haven't shown some of the bags i've been working on for clients and just for fun lately so this will be more of a 'photo' post than a 'mckay rambling' post. for those of you heaving a sigh of relief, you're welcome. do you have any particular design/color you want to see for fall? i'd love to hear!!! just leave me a comment below. :)

(click on any image to view larger)

Real Wedding, Sara & Jordan in Sioux Falls, SD

I cannot even express how excited I am to share a little bit about Sara & Jordan's big day with you all. Not only was Sara the first bride to use one of my Oatmeal Lace creations for her own wedding, she also runs a stellar blog, Eco-Vintage Weddings, that is devoted to vintage-inspired and budget-friendly weddings that have little impact on the environment. Um, sign me up, please?! You can head over there to check out even more pictures of her beautiful, DIY wedding in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. All photos were taken by the talented Creative Kindling. (Click on any below for a larger view!)
Enough from me- here is Sara to walk you through her day.
Our wedding day was the hottest day of 2010 in Sioux Falls thus far - it was over 100 degrees with humidity! We had ambitious goals to do most of our wedding photos outside, but we decided to alter that plan once we experienced the heat firsthand. Our wedding was vintage-inspired, nature-inspired, eco-friendly and absolutely, 100% us. We were engaged for 11 months before our wedding, and I spent most of those 11 months working each day on something for the wedding. (side note) Seriously guys- Sara and Jordan were really a DIY duo! Check out just a few of the things they created for their wedding: all the wedding stationery, from save the date cards to programs to thank you cards, a rice krispie treat wedding cake (I die!), cake table bunting, burlap table squares, all signage except for the guestbook itself, garter & throw-away garter, bridesmaids hair pieces, and more! Amazing. Ok - back to Sara! We spent 6 months designing all of the pieces in our wedding invitation suite, and probably another 2-3 months designing all of the other wedding stationery. It was some of the most enjoyable months of wedding planning - these were projects that my husband and I completed together, and we enjoyed putting our creative minds together. The end result is more than we could have imagined! Our reception centerpieces included 1-2 birdhouses (my mother collects birdhouses, so we honored her by incorporating pieces from her collection. The birdhouses also brought in our nature-inspired, eco-friendly vibe; since she already owned the birdhouses, we didn't need to purchase centerpieces, thereby reducing our waste impact!), a wedding photo of our relatives, a wooden letter "G" that I painted ivory and distressed, and a sign, explaining our centerpiece choices and our commitment to being eco-friendly. We also made napkins out of fabric that we purchased locally, and folded cootie catchers with trivia about my husband and I as a couple. Last, tucked inside the napkins on the tables was a ticket to our Photobooth, encouraging guests to take 5 minutes in the photobooth that we made.
We served Mexican food (our favorite), danced to Michael Buble's "Everything" for our first dance, and boogied the rest of the night away to our favorite tunes blaring from our iPod. It was the most memorable day of our lives, and we feel so grateful to our families and friends for all of their help, love and support.

Such a wonderful DIY wedding! Thanks so much for sharing, Sara, and congrats again to you and Jordan!!!

Vendors:
Photography: Creative Kindling
Flowers: The Flower Shop
Ceremony: Augustana College Chapel of Reconciliation
Reception: Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science
Dress: Happily Ever After Bridal Salon (I wore an Alfred Angelo gown that has since been discontinued)
Birdcage Veil: Symphony Bridal
Hair: Salon Ne-Zhoni
Tuxedo: Evelyn's Floral & Formalware
Guestbook Tree: Lovliday
Etsy sellers: Paloma's Nest, Oatmeal Lace Design, LeahLeah, The Lucky Button, Y&E Bridal, BPoetic, Nomsa, Whisker Graphics, Whisker Works, galla 15, Earmark, ARemarkYouMade, QACreate, BoutiqueSophia
Sheet Cakes: HyVee Bakery, Sioux Falls, SD

a lil' smilebooth midweek cheer.

i haven't watched this in awhile and it seriously made my afternoon. if you were not in attendance it may not be quite as enjoyable to watch but at least you get to listen to some rockin B-52 loveshack. :) enjoy friends!

and if you still want more, feast your eyes on this fun spread matt miller made for us on his blog. such a freaking fun day!!!! (click image to enlarge)