It’s time to make some room on my book shelf for some new wedding titles. And that means for the next month or so I’ll be offering up some brandy new (or almost brandy new) wedding books to my readers.

This week, I’ve got a copy of Khris Cochran’s The DIY Bride: 40 Fun Projects for Your Ultimate One-of-a-Kind Weddingthat I’m giving away, along with a copy of my book Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style. The winner will receive both books!

Khris Cochran’s The DIY Bride: 40 Fun Projects for Your Ultimate One-of-a-Kind Wedding is chock full of step by step DIY projects for your wedding including everything from handmade announcements and invitations to personalized favors. Khris includes valuable cost-comparison sidebars that clearly detail the huge savings involved. She also shows brides how to involve their friends and families in the project-making process, making this a fun journey for all.

Intimate Weddings: Planning a Small Wedding that Fits Your Budget and Style is a must-have book for anyone planning a small wedding. You can read all about the book over here.

To get yourself in the running, just fan me on Facebook, and let me know that you ‘fanned’ me by leaving a comment at the end of the is blog post. I will be randomly choosing a winner from the comments below. The winner will recieve both books in the mail. Contest is open to U.S and Canadian residents only. You have until December 13 11:59 Eastern Time to enter.

What timing. My 10-year-old Kenmore upright vacuum cleaner is just about on its way to vaccuum heaven (or hell, given how much of a pain in the arce it has been.)  What luck when I was asked to review this fancy bride-white Dyson DC25 Limited Edition Blueprint Vacuum on my blog.

Some of  you might be thinking of adding a vaccuum to your bridal registry. Well, here’s the lowdown on the Dyson DC25 Limited Edition Blueprint Vacuum

What I like:

• It picks up a ton more stuff than the tired old clunker it’s replacing.
• It maneuvers like a charm when doing carpet and running it over floors.  That articulating ball thingy works great.
• No bags! Whohoo! I can see when it’s getting full, and boy can I see a lot! With our family of 4 plus 2 cats and 2 dogs, it fills up fast with all kinds
  of dust bunnies, animal hair, and kid’s trinkets that have fallen behind dressers and under beds and into every nook and cranny imaginable.
• It’s lighter (about 16 lbs) than the old clunker (about 19 lbs) and I notice it hauling it up and down stairs.
• Once you get used to the techie whiz-bang attachment thingy, it’s pretty easy to go from vacuuming floors to vacuuming couches and using the dust tool.
• The simple attachment for vacuuming the couches and getting at the stairs is quite good, and the suction is great. Does a much better job on my couches than my old vacuum.
• The “Flat Out” floor attachment works great, maneuvers incredibly and gets under all but the skinniest little openings.
  Continue Reading Dyson DC25 Blueprint Vacuum Cleaner Review: Yah or Nah for the Bridal Registry?…

Sarah and Jaime had 50ish guests at Mercury Hall in Austin, Texas. I was really impressed by the  personalized touches – and the lovely colours of this intimate wedding!

And look at that adorable venue! Aimee Villa of Lizze Belle Events coordinated the wedding day events and The Nichols shot the gorgeous photos.

Real weddings. They’re all over the blogosphere. The thing about ALL of the real weddings featured on this blog is that they are all intimate weddings (less than 75 guests.) If you’re considering an intimate wedding, but need a little inspiration (or encouragement), take a peek at some of these fabulous stories (and photos!)

Terrace Wedding in San Francisco

An Ontario wedding with ice cream

Toronto schoolhouse wedding

A $3,000 wedding in downtown Texas

At-home wedding in Georgia

A small Swedish wedding

Destination wedding in Scotland with owl ringbearer

Scottish castle wedding

A rustic winery wedding in Ontario

Sunny DIY Wedding

Stylin’ $1,000 wedding

wedding in the vineyard

Schoolhouse wedding

$6,000 winery wedding

PA plantation wedding

A Misty North Carolina Wedding

Deep Forest Wedding in California

Peacock Themed New Orleans Wedding

McKenzie & Jeremy’s Oceanfront Wedding

Jennifer and Scott’s Glass Studio Wedding

Sandra and Jason’s Vancouver Island Wedding

Candice and Rob’s Florida DIY wedding

Lucy & Rob’s Vintage Glam Wedding

Destination Wedding in Whistler

At Home Wedding in LA

A Wedding Aboard a Trolley

A Destination Wedding in New York City

California Restaurant Wedding

At-home Military Wedding

Now that you’ve got the best caramel corn in town from this homemade caramel corn recipe, you’ll want to share some of it. Perhaps you’d like to give some of it away as DIY favors or gifts. Okay, maybe you don’t really want to share it. Maybe you want to hoard every last delicious kernel, but just in case you are feeling generous, I’ve got a lovely way to present your scrumptious caramel corn – complete with instructions. The talented Nanette over at SweetPea Baby has generously designed some freebie labels to add to your caramel corn favors. BTW, do check out Nanette’s Etsy shop which is chock  full of beautiful printables. I love the bridal shower invites and the Christmas cards!

Kudos to my mother-in-law who came up with idea of putting the caramel corn into tins. (She also helped me make the caramel corn.) I think my mother-in-law is the most faithful reader of this blog. She’s my own personal copy editor, not to mention cheerleader! She always has words of encouragement and praise – and believe me, they go a long way on the days when I wonder what the heck I am doing! (Yes, I have those days!) She’s also great at coming up with ideas for the blog. (Stay tuned for Homemake Sponge Taffy!)

So, here it is: