A black and white themed bridal shower

My best friend's wedding is fast approaching (December 1st! SO soon!), and as maid of honor, one of my duties was to throw the bride-to-be a shower.  Well, that shower happened the weekend before last, and it was a great success if I do say so myself! 

Megan's wedding colors are black, white, and light yellow, and so I stuck with those colors as a theme for the shower. Pinterest was a huge source of inspiration because, frankly, I have zero vision of my own when it comes to these things and, also frankly, I was shocked that everything came together as splendidly as it did in the end. Here are some photos from the day!

these salted caramel macarons from La Boîte here in Austin were a big hit!

gorg cake by the bride's sister

made the cupcakes myself, thank you very much! cupcake liners from Sur La Table.

by Martha Stewart Crafts, from Micahael's

wrapped clear tea lights with washi tape

for party favors, guests were given cute bags to fill up with goodies from the food table 

beautiful bride :)

Hope you enjoyed your peek into the shower! Happy Wednesday... (and incidentally, Happy Halloween!)

The Tea Tavern

Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend? You East Coasters gearing up for the big storm? I'll be saying prayers all week for friends and family in the line of fire. Hopefully everyone is able to evacuate or hunker down safely!

As for today's post, if you're in the Roanoke area, be sure and stop by the White Oak Tea Tavern. Kristin and I went there during my Virginia trip and I just couldn't help but share these pictures from our lunch. Everything was just so good and presented so beautifully! We got both Autumn Orchard and Lavender teas, and both were marvelous.

Have a great Monday...

 the most delicious warm chicken salad with spinach and artichoke my mouth has ever beheld. It's  served in a loaf of bread with honey on the side for dipping extra bread in.

Friday Features

Oh Friday! You sweet bearer of all good weekend-y, sleep-late-ish things. It also happens to be meet ' n greet day here on SOML. New friends? Get excited!

First up is Jessica, the girl behind the blog Jessica Who?. Originally from Texas, she now lives in beautiful Hawaii (jealous much) with her husband, and their adorable puppy Duke. This girl is chock full of opinions, honesty, and fashion inspiration. Oh, and do you love amazing giveaways?? Jessica Who? is where it's at!

Blog | Facebook | Twitter

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Miss Julie is no stranger around these parts. She blogs over at The Semi-Reformed Nerd, and if you haven't had the pleasure of meeting her yet, hop on over and say hello! This post about Halloween costumes she's considering for her pooch The Captain will def make you laugh! And for all you cooking types out there, her blog is a fabulous recipe resource! Julie also has an etsy shop where you will find some "cute and colorful digital prints for your home and office". They're SUPER cute, and it's time to start thinking about Christmas gifts, eh? Julie is offering 15% off to SOML readers with the code: soml15. Don't miss out!

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The day all my dreams came true.

Ok, so maybe not ALL my dreams. But I had this fully romanticized notion of what it would be like to pick apples from an orchard on a chilly autumn day, and Carter Mountain in Virginia delivered. On the way there you pass rolling hills and beautiful farmland, thick forests and lush vegetation, Monticello where Thomas Jefferson once lived, and then... then! You turn onto a side road and start to climb up the mountain. You climb and climb and climb through the forest (in the car, of course), until you wonder if you'll ever reach the top. But then you start to see peach trees, and then lots of clear blue sky, and then, BAM! Apple barn! Vineyards! Orchard for miles! Breathtaking scenery! Pumpkin patch! You're on the top of the mountain with a freaking APPLE ORCHARD!

I almost wet myself. Ask Kristin.

Here's way too many photos from one of the best days of my life.

 the perfect apple.

cider donuts! 

 an apple cider slushy!

'Til next time, Carter Mountain Orchard!