Stocking Stuffers

Smitten just found out about a cute little internet site that has great little gifts that would make awesome stocking stuffers. They have everything from spoons, of course!, to travel accessories and make your own mechanical toy box!

They’re having a little sale- Save $5 if you spend $50 or more online. And trust us, $50 is very easy to spend at this place!

I’m personally getting the gentlemen’s travel shoe bag for my dad 🙂

This cute shoe bag is only $13.95 and is great for that world traveller! The bag is made out of cotton and holds 1 pair of shoes.

This Make-Your-Own Mechanical Music box is a great novelty gift for your musically inclined friends. Comes with everything you need to create and crank out your own tunes! $15.00

Know a recent mommy? Forget your baby bibs at home? Try these! These cute Bibs to go come in a tear off pad so they’re easily accessible in your diaper bag. There are 20 bibs with 4 separate designs in one pad. $11.95

I just think this is so cute! This is a Babushka Doll USB Flash Drive. Who says USB drives have to be plain and boring! $24.95 and holds a nifty 1 gig of info.

Can find all of these and more at Spoon Sisters.

Smitten Weddings: Monica and Evan

We finally got these amazing photos in from wonderful photographer Shannon Renee and wanted to post them right away. Smitten provided coordination for Monica and Evan’s wedding this past September at the Hotel Figueroa. This was such a beautiful wedding filled with gorgeous details. The couple were lovely to work with and we were so thrilled to be a part of their big day. Flowers were provided by Peony and Plum and the cake was provided by Jamaica’s Cakes. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the lovely couple!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moroccan themed location

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This site was used for both the ceremony and the reception

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monica and Evan hired an amazing Mariachi band to play during their cocktail hour. So fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handmade wedding invitations by the bride herself!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the dress!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the shoes! love the color!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

we love the details!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a unique bouquet of flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yummy!…edible art

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Groom Evan wanted to play the song “I Only Have Eyes for You” by The Flamingos on an old record player for the bride’s walk down the aisle. so classic!

 

Congratulations Monica and Evan!!

 

date night: halloween style

 

 ok, we haven’t given you lovely LA readers a good date night idea in a while…so we’re making this one extra special, themed and a fantastic group activity for a possible double and triple date with your friends! My boyfriend and a few of our friends when to Pierce College’s Halloween Harvest Festival last year for a little pumpkin picking adventure and soon found ourselves running from a haunted house (yes, i actually ran out before it even started) and an even spookier haunted corn field (no, i did not even make it into the haunted corn field after the haunted house fiasco)! but we all had a blast and are now making it an annual adventure! so grab your friends and your lovies and head on over! i’m planning to stick it out through the field this time! happy halloween!

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                  

Rainy Days

Smitten was inspired by the few much needed days of rain Los Angeles had this week. We found these lovely photos below to share with you. It’s always safe to have a rain contingency plan when planning any event. Please make sure to take care of your guests as well as yourself. This can be as simple as providing umbrellas to your guests as favors or going all out with a beautiful outdoor tent. And remember, rain on your wedding day brings good luck and beautiful photos!

photo by eyefetch

photo by perfect wedding guide

photo by Snippet & Ink

photo by wishpot

photos by district weddings

photo by navy and lavender

Mini Pecan Pies

Fall always reminds me of pies, especially pecan! I was perusing recipes online the other day and found this great recipe on Avesta’s food blog, Check It Out. Pecan pies are great but mini pecan pies are even better! These will be a hit at your next holiday party. Guests won’t feel guilty about eating 1 or 2 of these as they would with a whole slice. You can even fill the crust with pumpkin filling rather than pecan and serve them at a pumpkin carving party, just in time for Halloween. This recipe is super simple as it uses frozen pre-made pie crust rather than baking from scratch. The recipe also calls for using mini muffin pans, which you can find at your local grocery store. I actually made these the other day but used a chocolate filling instead and the muffin pans made everything super easy. See the recipe and pics below, all courtesy of Check it Out. Let us know how your pies end up!

Mini Pecan Pies
1 frozen pie crust (thawed and rolled out into as close to a square as you can get it)

Once you’ve rolled out your crust, cut out an even number of squares (about 1 inch squares) I got 16 squares out of my crust. Use mini muffin pans that have been sprayed and floured and form little pie crusts in each space using your pie crust squares. Bake the crusts for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Pecan Pie filling:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

While the crusts are baking, combine the butter, powdered sugar and corn syrup in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil while stirring frequently. Stir in chopped pecans, turn off heat and mix well. This recipe is good for 16-20 mini pecan pies, double the recipe for 36 or 40 mini pies.

Pour your pecan mixture in each baked crust, bake for another 5-8 minutes. Let the mini pies cool a bit before removing from the pan.

Shoelry

We came across these amazing shoelry a few months ago during our usual blog reading and forgot about them until we saw them again today. This is actually an older concept as Erica Weiner states in her blog: “Shoe clips were first manufactured in the ornament-obsessed Victorian era, when instead of buying multiple pairs of shoes, women dressed up their plain footwear with a variety of detachable bows, buckles, and jewels. Flappers played croquet in rhinestone pairs, fast-talking female reporters clipped them onto their oxfords and Audrey Hepburn used all kinds to embellish her black ballet flats.”

And Smitten loves that Erica brought these back! We’re all about saving money and reinventing the old. Check out the below pics. Erica Weiner sells them on her website. $25 for a closet full of new shoes? Perfect!

Chalk Talk

We just found these great glassware at Cost Plus World Market the other day and thought they could be a great touch to your next dinner party! Cost Plus sells both wine and beer glasses and it comes with a pair of chalk! You can easily label each cup and use them as placecards for the table or write on different names of wines/beers for your next tasting party.

Purchase these at any Cost Plus World Market near you or online.

$15.96 for a set of 4

picture this!

a friend of ours went to a wedding recently and came back with a fantastic idea that we couldn’t wait to share with all of you. above the guestbook, hung a framed list…a list of what you might ask??? a to do list for the lovely newlyweds of adventures and things they want to experience together. we swooned over this nifty idea, not only because it makes a cute and fun read for your guests but also at the fun you and your lovie would have putting it together. a win – win!!!

photo by Flickr

real weddings: surf’s up sneak peek!

we are so very excited to bring you our very first real weddings feature! even more excited because it celebrates my dear friend amy’s festivities! we will have a full run down on all the amazing details for this destination wedding but we didn’t want to keep you waiting so here’s your sneak peek! congrats amy and gabe! xx

Destination Fun!

We just saw these on Nicole Goddard’s blog the other day and thought they were so much fun! This couple went to Maui for their destination wedding and decided to jump in the day before their ceremony. Don’t you love the frivolity of destination weddings?