Brunchin' for Baby Bach

Sunday morning the girls got together to celebrate Maddie's upcoming Baby Boy #2 with one of our favorite activities - brunch!  We met up at Sawyer in Ballard and spent several hours sharing breakfast dishes, sipping coffee, and catching up on all things babies.  I can't believe in less than 30 days this mama is going to have another little one to love, and I can't wait to meet him and snuggle him.  Congrats Maddie!!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

The Weekend {In Pictures}

{friday night dinner}

 {strolling through capitol hill}

 {saturday dinner with friends}

 {vegan ice cream that tasted amazing}

 {welcoming lizzie's newest arrival cece}

{sunday afternoon meal prep}

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Girls Night

Last night, all the girls got together to check out Erika's brand new deck - basically, an awesome excuse for wine, appetizers, and lots of catching up :)  It's rare we find an evening that everyone's free, so it felt extra special to hang out with all the ladies {and a few littles} - we even snuck in some ice cream sundaes to celebrate some recent birthdays.  The rosé was flowing, the food was so good {crab quiche! cheese! olives!}, and Calvin made sure each girl felt extra special with a big ol' sloppy kiss.  I love these summer nights where we can lounge around outside without sweaters and the sun stays out past 9 - it makes me so thankful to live where we do with such great friends.  Can we do this every night?

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Funfetti Sugar Cookies

This week I got to spend time with two very special little guys - first, dinner with Ryley, then a quick visit to meet Luke, Lizzie & Nick's insanely adorable little 4 week old.  I wanted to make something extra special for both of them, and I've been craving cookies, so I decided to make these Funfetti Sugar Cookies I've had pinned for awhile.  I'm not quite the baker, so it took me a little trial and error {and a call to mom} to learn that I should only put 6 cookies on a sheet at once {not 12 as recommended}, unless I want just one giant pan cookie {see below}.  You can thank all the butter for making these cookies spread like crazy, but that's also what makes them insanely delicious {seriously, when I opened the bag the next morning all I could smell was butter}.  The sprinkles add a little fun to the normal sugar cookie and could be customized for any holiday or theme.  The cookies were extra chewy and addictive, as evident by Ryley's chanting of "cookie cookie" after taking just one bite.  I'd highly recommend whipping these up for your next baking day, and I'll happily come taste test them for you :)

Funfetti Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup non pareils rainbow sprinkles

Instructions
1. Cream together butter and sugar with a mixer.  Add eggs and vanilla and continue mixing, scraping down the sides of the bowl.  Add flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder, and mix on low until everything is combined.  Add sprinkles and mix.
2. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours {very important!}.  
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4.  Scoop out about about 2 Tblsp of dough and roll into a ball.  Place 6-9 balls of dough each on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and chill  for another 15 minutes {this prevents the cookies from spreading too much}.
5. Bake for 9-11 minutes until edges are just slightly golden.  Remove from oven and let rest on baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack.

makes 36 cookies

adapted from cupcakes and cashmere

 fail!

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Maddie & Ashley {The Wedding}

The wedding on Saturday was absolutely perfect.  We spent the morning relaxing at the house while leisurely doing each other's hair and make up and chatting about how excited we were for the day.  The ceremony was moved inside last minute, which ended up being amazing - I don't think I've ever seen a prettier venue than The Great Hall.  After the ceremony, we sipped on wine and mingled with our friends before heading back inside to the gorgeous reception.  The toasts were sweet, the food delish, and the ribbon dancing was some of the best I've ever seen :)  We all had the most excellent time at this party that we never wanted it to stop, but by the time it did, I went to bed dreaming of white lace, dancing like a kid, and some of the greatest friends you could have.  Congrats Mads & Ash - what a wonderful way to celebrate you!!

first look

 maddie with her dad and hubby

 bridesmaids!

 the beautiful ceremony & reception spot

 ribbon dancing is my new favorite

 with liz and autumn as my dress was falling apart

 best man & me

the happy family :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Maddie & Ashley {Welcome BBQ & Rehearsal}

Thursday evening in Sunriver, Mads & Ash hosted a welcome bbq for everyone at the ginormous mansion we were staying in.  It was such a fun and relaxed way to hang out with everyone while drinking beers, eating hamburgers, and getting super pumped for the weekend's festivities.  On Friday {after a long day of recovery from the bbq} we headed to The Great Hall for the wedding rehearsal, before heading over to Deschutes Brewery for a beautiful private dinner {and some great beer}.  It was so fun to hang out with everyone and hear the touching speeches by a few special people, and I had the honor of sitting with the bride's parents, where we told stories and laughed the night away.  It really was such a special night leading up to the big day!

 my date for the bbq

 the instax pics were a real hit all weekend

 groomsmen lining up

 bridesmaids!

 me and the beautiful bride

the beautiful blue suede clutch maddie got us with a fitting inscription inside

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Showering Lizzie

Friday night, 6 of us girls got together to toast Lizzie and Baby Boy Battaglia at Volunteer Park Cafe.  This was my kind of baby shower - no games, no awkward conversation, just a group of girlfriends out for dinner celebrating the mama-to-be - with presents & cake!  The restaurant was a perfect venue for us to get a bunch of food to share {pizzas and mac & cheese were a total hit} and they allowed us to bring in the cutest sprinkie cake that Autumn & Maddie had made for the occasion.  It was so fun getting together with the girls to catch up and celebrate Lizzie at one of my most favorite restaurants, and I cannot wait until I get to snuggle that little nugget in just a few short months!

lizzie and her sprinkie cake

xoxo,
stephanie marie

Maddie's Bachelorette Weekend {Part IV}

Saturday night in SB, we decided to really do it up.  After a whole day of wine tasting, we had to keep the party going, or we were all definitely going to fall asleep by 7 :)  We went out to dinner at Opal, then headed out to find some bars and do some dancing, as is basically a must for a bachelorette party.  The pics are a little blurry, but I guarantee you we had a pretty awesome time dancing the night away and celebrating the bride to be. Mads - I can't wait to celebrate with you in just about a month!!  If this weekend was any indication, the wedding is going to be amazing :)

xoxo,
stephanie marie