DIY Wedding Guest Seating Tags

Ok, it seems like it's time to once again post some little details and projects from our wedding last September. I'm trying to spread out my wedding posts so that I don't use up all my good photography in one fell swoop :-) Here was how we did our seating assignments for our guests. First, we borrowed the door frame (gotta love free wedding decor!), bought mini clothespins from ebay or Amazon, bought some jute string, made the chalkboard ourselves (wood, a saw and chalkboard paint), and then my sister in law hand-wrote all the names on little tags that we punched out on paper we got from Michaels. Oh, and we borrowed the tag punch too. I couldn't tell you exactly, but this whole project probably cost around $30. Perfect for our do-it-yourself wedding on a budget!

Verve Coffee Roasters - Santa Cruz, CA

I love it when something "wows' me.  I think it's because I have a desire for excellence in practically everything. So I was thrilled when earlier in April I found myself at Verve in Santa Cruz, CA. Not only was their environment awesome (think Restoration Hardware-ish), the seating was fun and different, the retail selection was simple and looked great and the menu was mostly non-frilly/coffee appreciator drinks. I think they've also won some recent espresso awards and a design award.  But I was totally wowed by the first sip of my soy cappuccino. I couldn't even tell you what it tasted like, but it was the best espresso I've had in a loooong time. And of course, the latte art is always a plus. The espresso is pretty pricey at $20 a pound, but I ordered some which came today. I can't wait to try it tomorrow morning and see if it tastes nearly as good as at the shop. I'll let you know! 

Trying out some new espresso at home

 Soy Cappuccino from Verve in Santa Cruz, CA

 Latte from Verve

Salted Nutella Cookie Sandwiches

When salted Nutella cookies popped up on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago, I of course had no choice but to try them. The original recipe posted was for a crunchy cookie . . . and I don't know about you, but I think cookies should always be nice and chewy unless it's an Oreo. So I used my staple chocolate cookie recipe, sprinkled a tad of sea salt on the cookies before they baked, and then put a large dollop of Nutella between two cookies. Yum!

I had every intention of putting the chocolate cookie recipe on here . . . but I can't seem to find it at the moment. Sorry about that!