What's better than holiday baking? Truly nothing, in my opinion. Baking is such a special way to share your love with the people you love. Snowball cookies are a holiday classic but I've added a little twist! Almond flavor is a nostalgic flavor to most-- found in Italian cookies and biscotti, in the middle of stollen bread and danishes. So pairing the nostalgia of Christmas and this flavor only make sense! Read on for the recipe: 

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks of salted butter at room temperature (I microwaved 2 sticks for roughly 20 seconds to get this)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (sub for pecans or almonds!)
  2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Powdered sugar for coating

Instructions: 

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prep two baking sheets with parchment paper
• In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer whip the butter until broken up and soft
• Add 3/4 cup of sugar to the butter and mix until fluffy (about 3 minutes)
• With the mixer on medium-low, add the almond extract and mix for another minute
• Add the flour 1/4 cup at a time with speed on medium-low
• With the mixer on medium, add nuts and mix for 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is getting mixed (desired texture will be crumbly) 
• Shape the dough into balls (about 2 tablespoons worth) 
• Bake for 15-18 minutes once you see a little browning on the bottom of the cookies (cookies will keep their shape)
• While the cookies are baking, prep a bowl with powdered sugar. While the cookies are warm, drop them in the powdered sugar and coat OR sift powdered sugar over the cookies! 
• Let cool on a wire rack and enjoy! 

In honor of our save the dates hitting mailboxes this week, I wanted to give you all a sneak peek into the bridesmaid and groomsmen boxes Anthony and I put together for our wedding party. We have a pretty big party because the more the merrier, right!? I have 9 girls and Anthony has 10 guys. My maid of honor is my sister, Catie, or Cat as most people who've met her after 7th grade call her and bridesmaids are: Kayla, Sarah, Brooke, Jill, Lula, Mag, Val, and Kelly! Anthony's best man is Alex and groomsmen are Kieran, Jon, Stefan, Peter, Garcia, Kevin, Buck, Corey, and Conor! 

For these boxes, we chose to stay within a color palette that would compliment the wedding. I have to say that the boxes we both put together were both uniquely us. Read on to see why!

brynne's boxes: 

I wanted my boxes to be warm and cozy with full hygge vibes which is exactly how I envision the wedding to feel. We intentionally chose a venue that gave off the vibes of warm, welcoming, cozy, and fall. For my boxes, I chose to highlight that feeling along with our color scheme, as well as some fall and Vermont vibes within. 

As extra as I am, I also wanted a handmaid component to the box so I dove into Pinterest. I found an element that went with my theme and was something I had always wanted to do-- homemade candles! I did some research and found this small company based out of the West Coast called The Wooden Wick. They specialize in the candle making process; selling wax, wicks, essential oils, and so much more. 

I got all of the tools and went to work-- a vessel, wood-crackling wicks, wax, essential oils, and a special added element rose quartz, the love crystal. For the labels, I created a special one for my girls on Canva and got them printed on special stickers from avery.com. Stuck them to the glasses and was ready to fill them with wax! 

Once the candles cooled, the boxes were ready to be assembled! I had my checklist ready to make sure they were perfect: 

• Candy bears from Sugarfina
• Birch logs from William Sonoma
• Cards from Etsy
• Candles from my kitchen
• Eye masks from Etsy
• Boxes from USPS
• Box stuffing from Michaels 

Check, check, check, and check. 

anthony's boxes: 

Anthony's boxes were so classically Anthony. When he was deciding what he wanted to do, I had him go on Pinterest to see if he was inspired by anything-- nope. I put him on Esty to see if he was inspired by anything-- nope. Anthony, being the man he is didn't want anything impractical. "How about a humidor?" I asked. "No one will use that" Anthony would retort. So I backed off. Then he had it. Practical and on theme with our color scheme. Vans. Huh? Vans and a card. You're sending your guys shoes? Yep, they're practical and useful. Okey doke, honey. And that was that. 

Since we live in Michigan, and our whole wedding party is pretty much all out East, we single-handedly kept USPS in business this summer 😆

Here's a little peek at our save the dates: 

Ingredients: 

• 15 apples
• 3 cups of apple cider
• 2 tablespoons of cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of white sugar
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 4 cinnamon sticks

This whimsical dip is a fun addition to the dessert table. Serve it with ginger snaps, apple slices, or any hard cookie or sweet cracker. I love love love that this dip is only made with 4 ingredients. So quick, so easy. Great for a last-minute potluck addition. Read on for the recipe! 

During these emotionally draining and straining times, it feels as though the world is shifting. I see acts of kindness almost everywhere I go. We are being consistently bombarded with updates and world news stories that can tend to beat us down and exhaust us. But, be sure, we as humans are shifting. We are longing to be with one another. We are learning what we once took for granted. With all of these shifts, it is beyond important to begin looking inward. The importance of identifying: what makes us happy, how can we be at service to others, and how can we, as one person, help to better the situation at hand.

There are so many people suffering from this health and economic crisis, yes. But how can we, as individuals, aid in that suffering? One way that I have identified is to support local and small businesses. Remember when we were able to walk downtown, grab a bite, stop in a local bookstore, peep the windows of a unique boutique? What were those stores? Identify them. Find out if they have a website with inventory online. Shop (need some new spring or summer pieces, ladies😜). Repeat. I supported a cute stationery store that my cousin works at in Montana (shoutout Noteworthy Paper & Press and Rachel💛). They sent me this gorgeous stationery along with a note expressing great gratitude.

The second way I identified was to spread some love. I truly feel that these times are going to change us. They are making us more empathetic. They are allowing us to identify with a greater sense of humanity. I plan to spread some love by sending some snail mail to my loved ones! For me, there is no better feeling than receiving a little piece of love from someone you care about so I wanted to give that feeling to my people!

So, here is my challenge to you-- What will you do to better this situation? How will you provide some love and light to this dark period of time?

The move has been spurred by Anthony getting a promotion! We are so so so excited to start our engaged life and soon-to-be-married life out here in the Midwest. Michigan already feels so much like home.

The state is so beautiful. We are about a 30-minute drive from Lake Michigan and the city is surrounded by nature. Oh, it's also called "Beer City" home of Founders Brewery and so many great microbreweries. The food scene is fantastic and if you know us, you know that Anthony and I are foodies through and through!

The apartment we are in is absolutely stunning. We are located in the downtown part of the city and right on the Grand River with floor-to-ceiling views of the River. We cannot wait to make this place our home and welcome our family and friends into this space.