EASTER INSPIRATION

First off, Happy St. Patrick's Day! I hope you all are wearing green to avoid any pinching! ;) Today I am talking about another holiday, though!

It's crazy to think that Easter is already next weekend. I love everything about Easter; the meaning behind the celebration, time spent with family, delicious food, fun new dresses, and sure signs of Spring. Today I am dishing out Easter basket ideas for men, festive eats and treats, and a fun little DIY project to add a little Easter touch to your home decor.

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First up on the list are a few Easter Basket gift ideas for Men. Being newlyweds, I thought it would be fun for David to wake up to a fun little Easter basket on our first Easter as a married couple. Here are a few of the items I plan to include. I am still searching for the perfect and unique basket idea. Any suggestions? I thought about a tackle box and adding in some new fishing gear, but I can't quite decide. 

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These all look incredible, and am I right in saying that Easter colors are just so bright and cheerful? Puppy chow is seriously my weakness. My mouth is watering just looking at it! 

I am planning to make this adorable Bunny Garland this weekend to stream along my chalk board in my kitchen. Better late than never, right?

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Right now, Target has buy one get one 50% off on Easter styles (and all other clothing) and I am definitely taking advantage. I have these two dresses in my cart, ready to order! The pink dress has pockets. Talk about a dream come true! 

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I am obsessed with all of these neutral spring shoe options, but lately fringe just has my heart! These are also buy one get one 50% off, so I think I might have to add a second pair to my cart, too ;) Its justifiable, right? 

Happy Thursday! Hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! 

WOODLAND WEDDING RECEPTION

Well hello there, Friends! How's your day going so far? Please pardon all of the random wedding posts that will be scattered about for the next few months ahead. This little piece of the blogosphere that I call mine is a place where I document the triumphs and trials of this life I have been blessed to live. 

I love being able to look back on previous blog posts and reflect on the memories I have made through the years, after all, this is my digital scrapbook. The day I because Mrs. Butterfield is a memory I want to bottle up and remember forever. Since half the time I can't remember what I ate for breakfast, I want to take the time to document the details of October 17th, in hopes that one day I can share my wedding journey with my children and grandchildren. Bare with me ;)

When guests entered our reception venue we had an assemble of our engagement pictures, a hashtag sign (#BecomingAButterfield), coloring pages and crayons for the little ones, and playing cards for those who didn't want to spend the night on the dance floor. 

I made a photo book using Shutterfly for our guest book that was filled with an assortment of our engagement photos. I love the way it turned out with everyones colorful words of advice, encouragement, and signatures. 

Our wedding favors were homegrown pumpkins, compliments of my wonderful grandparents. When I was younger, one of my favorite memories was going to their house and picking a pumpkin to carve from their pumpkin patch. I thought it would be fun to incorporate this memory into our October wedding, with Halloween just two weeks after.

I picked up these little thank you tags from Hobby Lobby and they served as a great way to show guest how much we really appreciate them! 

When buying decor for our wedding, I always tried to ask myself how I would be able to use the item once the wedding was over. I justified this adorable pumpkin patch sign by telling myself I would hang it in our home every fall. 

We also used the pumpkins to add pops of color to the tables as well, along side some extra greenery, flowers, and pinecones.

I could eat trail mix for breakfast, lunch and dinner so I knew it was a necessity to include a trail mix bar at our wedding reception. I used apothecary jars that I had scattered around my home and filled each with some of our favorite treats. We included pretzels, peanuts, sunflower seeds, goldfish, m&ms, dried fruit, chocolate chips, and raisins. Guest could take it to go in a little bag with a decal that said "Maddie & David make the perfect mix" (Yes, I know! So cheesy! haha), or they could put it in a cup to enjoy their treat during the reception. 

Our chalkboard sign said: "Life is salty, but love is sweet, so please feel free to mix a treat!" 

We also had a pie bar with a variety of whole pies in case guest didn't love the flavors of our little mini pies. Let's be honest, I had to find a way to include Marque Letters! ;) 

The head table. 

We had an EXTREMELY large wedding party. We each had 12 bridesmaids/groomsmans on our side, so that called for a double decker head table. Wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

I have an obsession with wanting to be different, so mini fall flavored pies (pumpkin, apple, and pecan) it was, and of course delicious cupcakes made by my talented cousin. I made little labels for the pies and fun colored flags for the cupcakes. If you can't tell, I love details. 

Vanilla cupcake with raspberry filling and frosting! 

Caramel chocolate cupcakes. I wanted to sneak a box of these with me on the plane. 

My Grandpa cut me 2" thick logs to use as centerpieces for each table and my sweet Grandma sewed all of these table runners for me. Right before guest arrived, pies and cupcakes were placed around the vase of flowers on the logs. 

Ceiling decor above the dance floor. 

My best friend Madi is incredible at nails. I wanted something simple, but fun & I love what her creative mind came up with! 

And I can't complete a reception post without sharing a few of my favorite pictures from the evening.

My sister is the funniest human on the planet. Her Maid of Honor speech was something I'll never forget. Love that girl to pieces. 

And of course, my sweet bestie Taylor caught the bouquet! This girl kept my emotions intact during the wedding planning process. 

And yes, my Dad and I were secretly taking dance classes and surprised everyone with a little fun father/daughter dance. Will cherish this forever. My Dad is just awesome. 

And despite how much I loved planning every detail of my wedding, one quote was always in the back of my mind through it all: "I want a marriage more beautiful than my wedding." And for that reason, through all of the frustrations, selfish-moments, and good times,  I will try to live a life pleasing to the Lord, and be the best wife I can be.


Have a wonderful day! Thanks for stopping by.

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4th of July Menu Inspiration

I LOVE the Fourth of July! It is my sweet Grandma's birthday and I have fond memories of all of the family having a cookout, swimming, playing baseball and volleyball and eating lots of cake! 

It's no surprise that I obsess over a themed party, and the 4th of July is no exception! I obviously stalked Pinterest for some great inspiration and here are some of my favorites:

patriotic fruit flag

It's no secret that puppy chow has a little piece of my heart, but that was before I discovered 

red, white & blue puppy chow! This fun puppy chow is now my number one festive snack choice! You can't go wrong with puppy chow friends, you just can't. 

I can't get over how cute this cake pop flag is! 

Nothing makes me happier than the sight of red velvet cake bites.... but really.

And speaking of red velvet.. I present to you the most divine and festive red velvet cupcakes out there! These look delicious! 

Oh my goodness, I just can't get over how adorable these mason jar Berry Patchwork Tarts are! 

and how could you pass up a red, white and blue cake with sparklers on top? 

Truth is, you can't! This is a party essential! 

and just when you thought there could never be more red, white and blue, I introduce you to these adorable Bomb Pop Cocktails! Perfect for adults & they can be kid friendly too! 

Straying away from the red, white & blue and ahhing over how delicious these grilled chicken kebabs  look! So juicy and flavorful! If you want to make your guest happy, add these little guys to the menu! 

What's on the menu for your 4th of July festivities? 

Polar Tundra: AT Cooperative Style

I know I have talked before about Ann Tweedale, the wonderful place I call home here at Purdue. AT holds such a special place in my heart and has truly made my college experience more memorable than I ever thought it could be. Not to mention the fact that I have made so many life-long friends through the COOP system as well and found my future husband through the COOP system too! :)

Ann Tweedale Cooperative is Purdue's best kept secret.

The word cooperative by definition means helping one another in working toward a common goal. We take that very seriously. Our goal being to run a clean, efficient, and effective house. We cook our meals for each other, clean common rooms of the house for each other, redecorate parts of our house, and take care of each other like family all of this in an effort to make our house as much of a home as possible. We stay running because the women of our house work together and utilize each others diverse skills, knowledge and talents to overcome any obstacles we may face. And as a result of our working together we are able to keep our rent low and learn invaluable new things from 40 very diverse, wonderful women. 

Recruitment is a time when cooperative members showcase their houses and invite prospective members to come and learn more about joining a cooperative. This is always such as fun and exciting time for us and recruitment for this year is quickly approaching. I thought I would go back in time and reminisce about AT's recruitment decor from last year. We took on the challenge with a polar tundra flare and I loved it! 

"welcome home"

We had Christmas lights everywhere! 

Nothing beats a moose on the wall.

Or a bear for that matter.

We took out all of the furniture in our living room and put up white sheets as a back drop. We used artificial trees to create a little festive polar tundra forest. Check out that penguin! 

Having a polar tundra themed party wouldn't be complete without a hot chocolate bar, am I right?

And of course we had to include an igloo in the tundra. Who knew milk jugs could possibly be this cute?

In the dinning room we had a sugar cookie decorating party. We put a variety of sprinkles in these adorable little snowflake plates.

Loved, loved, loved recruitment 2014.

Here are all my sweet AT sisters. Love them all to pieces!

If you want to know more about Ann Tweedale click here.

To learn more about the Cooperative System at Purdue University click here.