Holiday Baking

Before we left for our holiday adventures Ryan and I baked up a storm, making some of my favorite christmas sweets. We made mounds bars for my Dad, Mamaw's ginger snaps for Ryan, and peanut butter free puppy chow for me. 

Ryan was a big help, cleaning each bowl for me when I was done. My favorite was when he had both hands in the puppy chow mix eating all the chocolate.

I substituted soy nut butter for the peanut butter so it still has a slightly nutty taste but it won't hurt my tummy. I was really happy with the results and we had plenty to share.

I'm enjoying a litte relaxation with the family right now. I'm probably still in my pajamas as you read this. Man I love the holidays. Enjoy! big kiss, bekuh

Holiday Bits Before We Go

Just a few holiday bits for you to enjoy before the holiday weekend:

Image 1. Katie gave me the gorgeous Rosemary Velvet hair bow from Red Velvet for Christmas. I got to check off another Christmas Wish List item!

2, 3, 4. Katie and I had a craft night last week and made some fun felt ornaments. We even tried our hand at a Skunkboy Creatures' Ice Skate Ornament. 

5. I've been happily attending holiday fetes and snapped a picture as I got ready for one. I'll hopefully have a few full outfit posts from other holiday affairs soon.

6. On my way to ship Christmas presents to family afar and friends semi-close.

 Ryan and I are off to Ohio today to visit my Dad and Grandparents for Christmas. Our trunk is full to the brim with presents and I'm happily bringing along a few presents already unwrapped. Are any of you driving or flying to a totally different climate this Christmas? What do you pack for the journey? big kiss, bekuh

Our Tree All a Glow

I am so so so very excited to be sharing the first ever Bekuh & Ryan Browning Christmas tree. We're two big kids at heart, and decorating for Christmas, and all the crafting that has ensued because of it has made me giddy with delight (and Ryan really happy. He's never giddy). He came home after a meeting the other morning to me sitting on the ground in front of the Christmas tree all lit up, like a kid.

We spent a lot of time figuring out what to do with decorating the tree, because we're a little short on ornaments. I have this thing where I don't want to just buy a bunch of so-so ornaments but collect precious ones over years of Christmases. That being said we still wanted a "fully" decorated tree. Ryan had the genius idea of using some of my scrap fabric garlands in the studio to wrap around the tree; it added that little touch of homemade that I adore in everything.

As our engagement gift my Aunt Dana gave Ryan and I a gift card to Hallmark to pick out our first Christmas ornament together. It took us months to decide and I'm happy to share the silly Snoopy and Woodstock ornament we chose for our tree.

My mom was gracious enough to bring over some vintage ornaments from my grandparent's collection and a few of my childhood ornaments too. The pretty little elephant on the right was a Christmas gift from my friend Lauren last year and I cherish him. When we had all the ornaments on the tree and vacuumed up the needles I grabbed a couple of old linen tablecloths to use as the tree skirt. I like this all so much better than store bought anything.

Here's our tree all a glow with ornaments and garland. big kiss, bekuh

On the First Day of Christmas...

I mentioned awhile back in my weekly obsession post about my Christmas wish list that I wanted the She&Him Christmas album, you can see the post here. Well, before we could trim the tree Ryan happily bestowed upon me a pre-Christmas present to enjoy while we decorated. I just wanted to share the happiness here with you!

This is my first vinyl record and I'm over the moon with excitement. I've listened to the whole album at least 100 times since opening the gift and can't get enough. It came with a free digital download and we will be listening to it on our way to Ohio next week. Has anyone else gotten a pre-Christmas gift? They're so fun. big kiss, bekuh

Rigging Up the Lights

I just can't get enough of this holiday season; when Ryan decided to buy those big vintage style bulb lights to hang on the tree I was giddy with excitement. We went ahead and bought six strands so we could hang them on the porch too. When we got home he went straight to work and didn't even ask for help. What a good husband, sigh. 

I loved watching Ryan take such pride in his work and carefully hang the lights along the porch railing.  Last year I won the vintage santa in a white elephant exchange and now he resides next to our doorway. He's all worn out and well loved and now I get to love him too. 

Here's the house all alight and I couldn't be more pleased. Ryan did a bang up job and all we need now is a wreath. Thank goodness I have the evergreen cuttings to make one! big kiss, bekuh

6QGH77QJK5GN (sorry for the weird code I'm trying to get my blog hosted on Technorati, thanks for understanding)

Girl in the Red Coat

What does one wear on their first Christmas tree hunt? A red coat of course! I couldn't help but share this brilliant red coat with you, it's by far one of my favorite closet essentials. I love wearing it on rainy days and sunny days and every day in between. I love the contrast of this jacket amongst all the green of the trees.

We had so much fun wandering through the trees searching for the perfect fir; it was one of those magical newlywed moments I'll always cherish. 

Coat: Thrifted

Jeans: Delia's

Moccasins: Minnetonka

T-shirt & Sunglasses: Anthropologie

Do you have a poppy colored something you just can't live without? big kiss, bekuh

The Hunt for the Perfect Christmas Tree

Last weekend Ryan and I went on the hunt for our first Christmas tree together, but we didn't just want any Christmas tree we wanted the Christmas tree. Like all things newlywed this experience needed to be epic, so we put on our super seventies shades and headed into the mountains to visit Slaughter's Christmas Tree Farm.

I captured this adventure using my new iPhone, yippee. 

The day was beautiful and the sun shone down on us as we trekked the hills. We looked up and down for our evergreen beauty and when we found her Ryan embraced the tree like a long lost relative.

She was so full, and healthy there was nothing to do but breakdown in a victory dance of joy and conquering. The poor tree hunters around us had lost the fight.

After a ride through the bailer our tree was hoisted on top the wagon and we headed home in Griswold style. Happy day, happy us. big kiss, bekuh

My Closet: Holiday Clothes

I'm notorious for planning out my holiday outfits months before hand, down to the underwear, but this year I just didn't have time. I'm glad because I ended up wearing a favorite dress that my dear friend Katie gave me and I was comfy all day long. While the turkey was in the oven Ryan, and I ran outside and snapped these pics of the ensemble to share with you.

Dress: Gift from Katie, vintage

Tights: HUE

Boots: Clarks

Necklace: Gift from Ryan, CatBird

Belt: JCrew

The weather has been so perfect in Virginia the last couple of weeks, I'm happy for an extended fall. big kiss, bekuh

Ryan's Perfect Turkey

I make fun of Ryan's love of research a lot. He is almost entirely incapable of making decisions about anything without researching into it at length. But, I was silent on his research of thanksgiving recipes for two reasons; first, I had to eat whatever he made and I didn't want to upset him and have him pull some prank on me. Second, I was a little nervous whether he could pull off a delicious thanksgiving turkey. I had nothing to fear, Ryan's turkey was perfect! Move over Martha, bye bye Emeril my husband's the new chef in town. Check out his bird.

{If you're a vegetarian or vegan you may want to look away}

I can never make fun of Ryan's obsession with research. This turkey was the most gorgeous, delicious, unbelievably perfect Thanksgiving dish I'd ever had. I think I won the husband lottery. Way to go handsome! big kiss, bekuh