Holy Guacamole!

Chunky Guacamole Recipe

One of my favorite items to get when going to a Mexican restaurant, is chips and guac. When I say guac, I mean REAL guacamole. None of the "add water and mix" stuff. Being in southern California has raised my standards for Mexican food, and thereby guacamole. It makes me oh so sad when I order guac and what they serve me is a watery mush with barely recognizable avocado. Creamy, chunky, spicy, and FRESH are the words I am looking for to describe the perfect guacamole. So I set off to make my own restaurant style guacamole. 

Wedding Cornhole

Make Your Own Cornhole: a DIY Tutorial

What is a rustic barn wedding without a game of cornhole? Some may ask, "what is a cornhole?" Having grown up in southern California, I too would have asked that question not too long ago; but after spending a few years in rural Pennsylvania for college, I'd have to say that "cornhole" is no longer such a foreign term. I think my midwesterner friends would agree. Cornhole, aka "bean bag toss" or just "bags" is a popular carnival or tailgate game more often played in the midwest or east. The objective of the game is to toss a bean bag, or corn bag in this case, into a hole at the end of an elevated board. We decided to make our own cornhole game for our wedding cocktail hour along with giant Jenga for our wonderful guests to play. Now that the wedding is over, it serves as another piece of entertainment for our future backyard BBQs, picnics, and parties. 

Chevron Bean Bags

Make your own bean bags

These cute little chevron bean bags were made to go with our wedding cornhole. Of course we had to get baby blue buttons to match! I only wish we had a sewing machine. Nhan and I hand cut and sewed these bean bags for about 5 hours. I suspect if you have a sewing machine, these should take you 1.5-2 hours at max. Please bear with my hand drawn diagrams below to help you better understand the first few steps. 

Happy sewing!

It's going down, I'm yelling timber!

Giant Jenga Tutorial

Our flower girl playing Jenga at the wedding. 

What could be better than playing Jenga with friends? Playing GIANT Jenga with friends. This game brings me back to the days when we would go to the Barcade in Fishtown Philadelphia then stroll on over to Frankford Hall, a German-style beer garden, for a few drinks and a nice game of classic building blocks. Imagine my excitement when we found a giant jenga set at Ritual Brewing Co. right here in Redlands. We had so much fun with it and knew we had to make a set for our wedding cocktail hour. Now that the wedding is over, it serves as the perfect backyard prop for barbecues, parties, and all sorts of get-togethers. 

Fun Fact from good ole Wiki:

Jenga is derived from a Swahili word meaning "to build."

The Boy and the Baker Tie the Knot: A look into the DIY aspects of the wedding

I can't believe it's been almost a month since we got married! Although we are still waiting for our photographer to send us the professional wedding photos, we were able to gather some pictures from our guests. Here's a sneak peak into our DIY, very much so Pinterest inspired wedding. After one year of intense planning, two very talented and crafty parents, two dedicated siblings, and two busy residents were able to put together a picture perfect wedding ceremony and reception. Rustic vintage themed, the wedding took place at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine, CA. We could not have asked for a more beautiful sunny day, filled with love and happiness, and surrounded by our dearest family and friends. We can't thank our family enough for all the late nights and stressful days they put into making this day absolutely beautiful and perfect in every way.