Nautical and Southern

Valentines for the Boys

2012-01-19T13:09:00.008-05:00

I'm a big present person, I know that makes me sound bad, but my love language is gifts! I learned that from this book, which seems corny but is totally worth the short entertaining read.

I guarantee you will finish it with a new understanding of yourself and your significant other.

Anywho, in the spirit of not over gifting, which may have occurred over Christmas, I set a $20 limit for our Valentines this year. Something my husband is a big fan of (since he's currently a non working full time student).

I came up with a few ideas I have either gifted my husband or thought about gifting him for this Valentine's Day. Just something small and thoughtful.

J Crew Candy Heart Boxers

Art of Shaving Kit, I gifted this as a stocking stuffer this year, the sample size as I wasn't sure how he would like it, but it got rave reviews! He loves it and it smells great. 3 cheers for a little fancy man-hygiene. From Sephora.

Great for high ball drinks, whiskey, whatever your guy likes. From MOMA.

Something from the heart, a picture of our home state with an emphasis on Richmond (where we lived for 4 years before coming to Nashville). From this lovely Etsy seller.

Hope that gives you some ideas for your Valentine. As for me, I'll take hydrangeas, good truffles, and a sweet card. I'm a Valentine cliche!

The Twist

2012-01-04T12:23:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you but making bread, or a variety of bread, at home seems astoundingly difficult to me. I'm dipping a toe into the bread making pool with these pretzels that were very easy. I made these pretzels for game day on Sunday and they turned out really well. They do take a bit of time as the dough has to rise an hour but on the whole they're pretty straight forward and delicious!

Serve with a hot cheese dip and good mustard (We used the french whole grain dijon from Trader Joe's) YUM!

Alton Brown Recipe: Homemade Soft Pretzels

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Directions

Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

New Year

2012-01-03T13:09:00.000-05:00

In the New Year spirit, H and I were talking about the coming year. After spending a week with our super healthy/fit siblings over Christmas (and realizing that we are nothing like that) I'd like to make an extra effort to eat more cleanly and keep junk/extra alcohol out of the house. Less dessert, less junk food, and no drinking Sunday-Thursday should help immensely. We were also members of a local Nashville CSA (Delvin Farms) this summer/fall and absolutely loved it! Every other Saturday at the farmer's market we picked up a large box of fruit/veggies/herbs which really encouraged me to cook with more vegetables and get creative. I can't wait until spring rolls around to make saturday pick ups again.

I'm also in the mood to simplify our life. If I start thinking about all the possibilities that the future holds I get the shakes a bit. I think paring down will give me a stronger inner peace that I need, to combat my major type-A attributes. I've always had anti-hoarding tendencies, "honey can we go through your closet again to see if there's anything to throw out?" but I'd also like to focus on saving more, needing less, and appreciating what we have. We'd like to take a vacation to France sometime this spring and also start saving for a house, ahh goals! how I need you. So owning less, appreciating more, and keeping our goals in sight will certainly help!

Cheers to 2012! (my inner geek is so pleased with this even numbered year ;-)

Elvis Etc.

2012-01-02T12:46:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I can't believe it's 2012 and only a few short months until the Mr. graduates from business school. We had a pretty low key evening at home watching our alma mater, UVA, playing Auburn in the Chik-Fil-A bowl. I also made delicious homemade soft pretzels--so easy and in a totally different league than those cardboard pretzels you find at any stadium.

On Friday we headed to Memphis for a little Graceland experience (our Groupons were about to expire!) and had a great time. On Thursday night we ate at Restaurant Iris in Memphis, hands down best meal we've had in the state of Tennessee. I made a reservation weeks ago and thankfully we found an opening. The service was excellent and the food amazing. I tried the shrimp and grits and H had the short ribs. For any foodie or special date night this place is a must try!

Graceland the next day was definitely an experience. Though the house was much smaller than expected it was interesting the walk through the estate of Elvis Presley. We also caught a glimpse of his car collection and many, many stage outfits. Who knew the man invented jumpsuits? I'd recommend a visit just to see this icon's relics and learn more about his life.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-14T12:00:00.002-05:00

I'm sure most of you know about Pinterest--the addicting site with images and links to everything from Etsy finds to tailgate recipes. I found a cookie recipe months ago and decided to make it last night, in honor of H's last exam today. And can we talk about how there are only 6 months of MBA classes left? This last year and 1/2 has completely flown by with the wedding, meeting new friends, H getting buried in school work, and living the college lifestyle again (at least vicariously for me). Anyway so I made these cookies last night that blew.my.mind. They are the best version of chocolate chip cookies I've ever had in my life. The cookies are crispy on the edges and gooey on the inside with a salty/toffeeish flavor that is amazing. Definitely worth a shot and another great thing about the recipe is that you melt and brown the butter, no taking it out of the fridge 4 hours before you want to bake, perfection!

Here it goes:

Published May 1, 2009. From Cook's Illustrated.

Why this recipe works: Our perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe had to produce a cookie that would be moist and chewy on the inside and crisp at the edges, with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness. Melting the butter gave us the chewiness we were looking for. Cutting back on the flour and eliminating an egg white also improved texture and brought the brown sugar flavor to the fore. To give our chocolate chip cookie recipe the crisp edges and toffee flavor we wanted, we let the sugar dissolve in the batter for 10 minutes, then baked the cookies at a high temperature so the edges darkened while the centers stayed soft. (less)

Our perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe had to produce a cookie that would be moist and chewy on the inside and crisp at the edges, with deep notes of toffee and butterscotch to balance its sweetness. Melting the butter gave us the chewiness ...(more)

Makes 16 cookies
Avoid using a nonstick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the nonstick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is browned. Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry. This recipe works with light brown sugar, but the cookies will be less full-flavored. For our winning brand of chocolate chips, see related tasting.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda 14tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces) (see note)
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks (see note)
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Happy Baking!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-13T13:10:00.006-05:00

Christmas 2011 by lmr featuring cashmere gloves

J Crew long sleeve pajamas, $98J Crew j crew handbag, $238
David Yurman facets jewelry, $425
J Crew cashmere glove, $98
J Crew star scarve, $40
Outdoor Ornament Pine Wreath | Pottery Barn, $79
Dualit 5-Speed Chrome Hand Mixer, $80
Verso Clip Light - Lilac: Lightwedge: Home | chapters.indigo.ca, $17
Amazon.com: Christmas: Michael Bublé: Music, $12

So I thought I would venture back out into the blogosphere with a little posting about my Christmas wish list. H and I are exchanging gifts a little early as we're headed off to Utah for Christmas to be with his family.

Other Christmas traditions that we started last year include, driving around the beautiful Nashville neighborhoods in all their Christmas glory with hot cocoa and Christmas music, watching Christmas movies of course, decorating our Douglas Fir, and attending the Holiday festival in Franklin. I also want to visit the Grand Ole Opry to see their amazing decor and maybe take a walk through the ice sculptures.

Married, Honeymooned, and ready for Christmas!

2010-11-29T14:47:00.004-05:00

We did it! Our wedding in Virginia was over 2 weeks ago, I can't believe it. Everything went perfectly, our venue was amazing and took care of all the extra details. The ceremony was beautiful, Bryan's uncle did such a good job! Our DJ was fabulous and we happily danced the night away. I'll start recapping with pictures and vendor reviews for any other ladies getting married soon.

I will only say this, Etsy was my savior!!!

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We were on the tail end of our honeymoon in Napa/San Francisco so we decided to have a Chinese dinner in Chinatown, it.was.delicious.

For shoppers still looking to pick up a few gifts or holiday accessories, Pottery Barn is having an amazing one day monogram and free shipping sale on tons of great products. I scooped up a few things for our friends, family, and apartment!

After Party

2010-11-08T09:34:00.004-05:00

This is my post wedding/after party dress! I can't wait to wear it--though it's going to be pretty cold out, maybe with black tights?

Skincare Love

2010-11-01T16:20:00.006-04:00

I know it's been forever! since this bride to be has checked in for a recap of well...anything. I'm going to try to start back up with wedding details since the big day is less than two weeks away!

First off, skin care, something I used to know nothing about. When we were first planning the wedding I had heard it was a good idea to go all bootcamp on your skin, unless you already had a magical regime--I definitely did not. I started slow using these guys every night to take off the day:

Then I decided to spring for something I had been pining for:

The Clairsonic! is amazing. I am really a believer in this product and after using it daily for about 2 weeks I could tell my skin was softer and nicer with more of a glow. I didn't have any weird reactions to it, no bumps or irritation, just taking off the older skin cells and exfoliating like it was going out of style. This was my major skincare routine change and it worked amazingly well.

So I thought about doing facials for a more intense kind of skincare prep right before the big day. Instead I decided to try out the Boscia Black Masque from Sephora and now I give myself facials at home twice a week. There is a reason everyone is raving about this masque, it really cleans your skin and purifies amazingly well. I think this is still sold out at the Sephora website, I nabbed mine from the local Nashville mall.

There you go--my skincare regime revealed! What are some of your favorite products?

You're invited...

2010-08-20T14:29:00.003-04:00

So we have hit the 3 month mark until the wedding, can you believe it? The summer is flying by at lightening speed, even working at home--which I did not anticipate. My days go so quickly that I hardly have time to put on a real outfit, not involving pjs, and throw some makeup on. Bring on the wedding panic, we have no invites! I have been looking at invites for months and months, secretly before B and I were even engaged!

I hate everything, I don't know what it is--I feel like the wedding invite sets your expectation about the event, which I know is ludicrous, however after much website surfing and serious lamenting I found the ones.

Enter Etsy. I usually think of Etsy as a clusterbomb of stuff that usually scares me away(they need to organize that site!). BUT I loved the idea of supporting someone's local business and actually talking with the person who would make our invitations. I also thought prices might be more reasonable on the site, check!, yes they were (depending on what you're looking at of course). I was never under the delusion that I would make my invites, props to the people who have craft skills, this girl knows her limits. I just wanted something beautiful, simple, and elegant.

I found my dream invite and Amy at Amy Olsaver Designs, http://www.etsy.com/shop/amyolsaver, has been wonderful to work with. I saw her monogrammed styles and fell in love. She also customized our colors exactly and was open to any kind of changes that I wanted to make. I would recommend her to anyone looking to incorporate monograms into their wedding, either labels, favor boxes, or invitations.

Back from Hiatus

2010-07-22T11:34:00.002-04:00

Between vacationing to South Carolina, packing up our old apartment, and moving 10 hours from Richmond to Nashville it's been a crazy past month! But I'm back, blogging from my home office, and so happy to be a Nashvillian.

I would include some new pictures of our apartment, however, it's still a bit of a wreck. There is a lot of organizing, decorating, and buying new household items to come! Hopefully I'll be able to spotlight some of the new projects along with our Nashville, and other Tennessee, adventures.

Here are a few things I'd like to tackle in the weeks to come:

Organizing my closet! I love the idea of framing pictures of your style icons for instant inspiration.

There is now sand on my growing list of house must haves--I love this idea for makeup brushes.

I really want to do a gallery wall above our big couch in the living room--I have collected tons of black frames so I just need to work up the courage to start!

Packing for a Mystery Bachelorette

2010-06-14T10:15:00.006-04:00

My bridesmaid ladies, and other friends, are planning a surprise Bachelorette party for me this weekend! I don't really know where we are going, or what we're doing, and everything going on right now I'm so thankful to not be involved in the planning at all (totally going against my majorly type-A tendencies)--major dove love going out to everyone!! I have a few surprises for my friends as well--I just can't wait to see everyone and have an amazing, relaxed time wherever we are.

I've also decided I need to start planning some outfits for the upcoming weekend. I'm pretty sure it's going to be HOT wherever we are so sundresses are my new best friend. After another weekend in my hometown, with a jcrew warehouse sale--yay!, I picked up a few more essential items. Here's what I'm thinking:

a Metallic Beach cardigan, for cooler summer nights

I have been dying over these shoes since they came out and luckily snagged a pair over the weekend-

Love this simple, breezy dress

This jersey ruffle dress is so comfortable

A big straw hat will definitely be necessary to save me from the heat

Friday cannot come soon enough!

Hey Mambo, Italian Dinner

2010-06-08T15:53:00.003-04:00

I just bought the Everyday Food cookbook and I think I have been wrong all along...maybe Martha and I will be friends!

I tried the 3 Tomato Spagetti, which I was unsure of as there are only a few ingredients and it was a breeze to make. It turned out really well with lots of flavor! A perfect light summer meal--

Ingredients:
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato oil (from oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes)
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ to ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes with juice
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.

Heat 2 tablespoons tomato oil in a large saucepan over mediumheat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper; cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add canned tomatoes with juice and sun-dried tomatoes. Simmer gently over medium, stirring occasionally and breaking up canned tomatoes until thick, 15 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes; simmer until soft, 10 minutes.

Drain spaghetti, reserving 1 cup pasta water; return pasta to pot. Add tomato mixture; season with salt and pepper. Toss, adding pasta water as desired (I did not end up adding any). Serve immediately (and cover gratuitously with parmesan cheese!).

I also really like this cookbook as it's broken up by season--easy peasy.

Back on the Wedding Train

2010-06-07T14:51:00.003-04:00

Ok--we've decided to go ahead with the wedding. Hopefully that will be the only hiccup in the rest of our planning process, we've come so far I cannot imagine starting over entirely. Thank you for all of the supportive words and love from the blogworld. Last week was tough, like can't sleep tough, but now the sun is out and I'm getting excited about our wedding all over again.

To help get back in the mood, enjoy some wedding teasers:

I found these shoes at a J Crew warehouse sale and they are beautiful and incredibly comfortable--I'm not a big shoe person so as long as I'm tall and somewhat comfy, that is all that matters.

Love these earrings.

A cardigan over the dress, why didn't I think of this?--one more reason I'm so happy to be November bride.

Wedding Dilemma

2010-06-03T09:37:00.002-04:00

We just ran into a major issue with our venue. We are getting married at a small Inn in Virginia. The plan was for all of us to stay there for the weekend, get married on their grounds Saturday afternoon, and hold our reception at this same location. A few days ago we found out that the Inn had booked all of the rooms for another wedding, the Friday night before our wedding. There is absolutely no availability and not only did they not give us preference to book these rooms, we booked our wedding first, they did not alert us to this change at all. We found out after relatives called warning us that the Inn was not taking their reservations as it was booked.

I have been a mess for the last few days. We were given a rate for Friday night and told that we would certainly be able to book rooms. Now that we are still 6 months out we have the option to basically pull out of the wedding or continue working with our venue to make the best of things. They did admit fault and are trying to make this oversight up to us. What I need to know is, is this worth it? Should we just cut our losses and do something completely different? Readers who have gone through the wedding process, were you glad that you did? Is the stress and planning worth the end result? Would you have done it differently if you could go back?

I need your guidance to help wrap my mind around this new development.

What the Ladies Will Wear

2010-05-28T10:43:00.000-04:00

I just realized I never revealed what my lovely bridesmaids will be wearing for the wedding. I decided to go with the J Crew option, mostly because it's very accessible and I don't believe in fittings for bridesmaid dresses--why should they be doing the same amount of work that I'm doing to get into their dresses? We also scored in ordering some dresses on sale, the barely peach color was going out of style--I frantically realized one day when the styles were selling out online.

I let the girls pick from a range of colors and styles but in the same fabric, silk taffeta, to keep everything somewhat coordinated. I am in love with our wedding colors and was inspired by the following mood boards.

Here they are!

There is also a blakely dress in champagne but I couldn't find a picture online.

I opted for a strappy gold sandal, like these J Crew styles:

Easiest Frozen Key Lime Pie Recipe

2010-05-27T10:17:00.002-04:00

4 ingredients:
One container of light cool whip
One can of sweetened condensed milk, fat free
1/2 cup of Key Lime Juice (you can either squeeze your own or buy the bottled stuff)
One graham cracker crust

Thaw cool whip until soft and add in milk and key lime juice, mix until incorporated, pour into crust, freeze for 4 hours or until firm.

This dessert is super light and still tastes exactly like regular key lime pie. I'm off to the store to pick up my ingredients now!

Favorite Spring Things

2010-05-27T09:53:00.004-04:00

I've seriously been lacking in posts lately, sorry! We're dealing with the impending move, less than 2 months!, trying to clean out our apartment via craigslist, and weekends full of graduation activities for the little brother and sister.

To try to get back into the good graces of my wonderful readers, I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite things this spring.

My sister gave me a super easy and low calorie key lime pie recipe (see post to follow!)
I am officially obsessed with Jack Rogers, especially after learning that Jackie O made them popular in the 60s, I cannot stop wearing them. My most recent love is the cork and gold version, they go with everything!

I also bought my first pair of RayBans--I love the retro chic feel

Recently, all I want to drink is white wine, which I used to loathe--Particulaly sauvignon blancs and viogniers, I love the crisp fruit taste and semi dry finish (also for anyone who has been watching the Hills this season, have you noticed how Brody is always drinking white wine whenever they are out? It's so bizarre and girly, haha--I hope someone calls him out on it)

I cannot get enough of this everyday cardigan by J Crew, I shamefully own it in 3! colors, but its super comfortable and pulls any outfit together...

Honeymoon Ideas

2010-05-14T10:24:00.002-04:00

We are in desperate need of honeymoon ideas! With Bryan starting his MBA program in August and the wedding in November we'll be aiming for either a Thanksgiving week honeymoon or sometime in late December. It's a weird time of year weather wise so I'm pretty sure we want to do something beachy and relaxing. Right now the contenders are Key West and St. Lucia, but I need your help with more ideas! Please let me know if you have any amazing honeymoon recommendations or can offer a review of Key West or St. Lucia.

Thank you thank you and have a wonderful weekend!

Engagement Photo Shoot

2010-05-12T18:18:00.006-04:00

Our spring engagement shoot on the UVA campus--

All pictures by Beck and Call Photography!

Sketch my Dress

2010-04-16T12:17:00.000-04:00

This is the only picture I could find of my dress online---beautiful isn't she? I'm sure this was done by someone's boutique or seamstress, but it still helps!

We took our engagement photos on the UVA campus last night and had so much fun. Our photographer is great and I can't wait to see how they turned out...tune in for a sneak peak next week!

Spring Things

2010-04-14T09:21:00.006-04:00

Now that spring is officially here, I thought I'd share some of my favorite things so far this season. I love the nautical and safari trends so it's been a lot of neutrals for me lately, though I like throwing in some fun accessories to liven things up a bit.

These are J Crew's 3 inch chino shorts, perfect all spring and summer long--I love pairing these with my J Crew Chambray shirt along with a string of pearls.

I think aviators are universally flattering and add a little glamour to any outfit.

I have lived! in this shirt so far this spring. When it was colder I wore it with black leggings and tall boots but now I pair it with shorts--so comfortable. The boyfriend fit makes it feel very gender neutral, like something Katherine Hepburn would wear.

I used to be a Jack Rogers virgin but this spring I decided it was worth spending a little extra to wear these metallic sandals with everything all spring/summer. They only took a few weeks to break in and now feel wonderful.

I found this shirt at Target from Merona, I love 3/4 sleeves and the nautical pattern had me at hello. Perfect with white jeans or shorts.

I said yes to the Dress

2010-04-07T14:49:00.004-04:00

So I found my dress, after a few weeks of searching around Richmond in bridal boutique after bridal boutique, I found the one that I'm good with. I didn't have tears, hot flashes, or "the feeling" but me and my dress, we're cool, we get along alright and I think we'll jive pretty well when it's go time. It's a weird experience trying on dresses, I will say. I wasn't sure what to expect but after the first appointment, when you will do something embarrassing guaranteed because you've never stripped down to your skivvies in front of another lady while she dresses you, it's all good. Theres only one way to work out the kinks in your dress shopping etiquette, just go and get it over with.

Anyway, back to my dress--which I love!! It's a Marisa, who I'd never heard of, and I'll just describe the thing because, well, I can't find a picture of it online to save my life. It's a strapless, sheath fit style dress with all over alencon lace that will be a cream/ivory color. There are buttons down the back only half way down with a smaller chapel train we will be bustling as soon as humanly possible after the ceremony. Now I just need to find shoes/jewelry/and a good tailor in Nashville!

I'm honestly relieved to have found a dress that I really like. After trying on close to 100 dresses I was getting scared there was nothing in my price point that I would like...I have expensive taste--it's not my fault! So now on to other wedding details like locking down the DJ, finding some invites, and choosing bridesmaid dresses!

On the bridesmaid note, I emailed J Crew to see if they could send me a few fabric swatches to compare and they got back to me immediately saying they'd be putting them in the mail today. Yay! This is why I love you J Crew.

More to come--we're headed to Nashville tomorrow! Have a lovely weekend.

Best Margarita

2010-03-30T15:50:00.003-04:00

This weekend, while my mom and sister were in town for dress shopping, I decided to make margaritas. I've had this recipe from Southern Living forever, but just hadn't put it to use. Seriously, best margaritas I've ever made by far! It's all about the fresh lime juice, you must! try them.

Classic Margarita

Prep: 10 min. Make any size batch of this recipe and all the variations by simply multiplying the ingredient measurements by the desired number of servings. For larger batches, stir together all ingredients in a pitcher until powdered sugar is dissolved. Chill and serve over ice. For a sweeter drink, use 1/2 cup powdered sugar instead of 1/3 cup.

Yield: Makes 1 serving

Ingredients
Fresh lime wedge (optional)
Margarita salt (optional)
Ice
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons orange liqueur
2 tablespoons tequila
1/3 cup powdered sugar
Garnish: lime slice
Preparation
1. Rub rim of a chilled margarita glass with lime wedge, and dip rim in salt to coat, if desired.

2. Fill cocktail shaker half full with ice. Add lime juice, liqueur, tequila, and powdered sugar; cover with lid, and shake until thoroughly chilled. Strain into prepared glass. Garnish, if desired, and serve immediately.

Did anyone ever tell you that you look like Miley Cyrus?

2010-03-26T12:37:00.001-04:00

Can you guess where we're moving? ;-)

The newest member of the Fam

2010-03-25T13:25:00.002-04:00

Meet our newest addition! My uncle was selling his 99 Audi a few weekends ago, and since it's been the month of life decisions in our household, we decided it was too good of a deal to pass up. I bought his car and then promptly sold my car to an international student who had no business driving anything, least of all a moving vehicle. My old car is going to be super mad at me--poor thing.

Anyway I'm loving my new audi (well new to me anyway)! I love a sunroof, heated seats, and cd player. I'm obviously really into cars right ;-)

Nashville Bound...maybe

2010-03-10T13:33:00.002-05:00

Bryan got into Vanderbilt!! We have been on cloud 9 since Friday afternoon when we got the email...thinking for sure he didn't get in as it was the deadline to hear by that day. We celebrated all weekend and dreamt of our new life in Nashville...

Monday morning brought a sobering awakening that my job may not be as flexible as I thought, with the possibility that I may not actually have a job with my company should we move to Nashville.

We have some tough decisions to make in the next few weeks, it's either Maryland or Vanderbilt, though both good options. If we moved to DC I would be able to keep my job, no problem, however Nashville--for whatever reason--is going to be harder to work out. The other problem is that Vanderbilt tuition is considerably higher than Maryland, but its also a better school and where we both want to be. We would move to Nashville no question if I definitely had a job--we NEED an income to support us while he is in school. This is one of those times in life that the adultness of the situation is getting to me...we might have to go against what we'd rather do to survive financially, but the risk brings more reward should we choose Vanderbilt. Needless to say it's been a pretty tough week.

My two loves...

2010-03-02T16:34:00.004-05:00

So the dress shopping weekend flew by--I wasn't really sure what to expect but with my Mom and sister around it relaxed the whole process and became more and more fun to try on dresses. I did not run into any rude sales people or anyone who was giving off pushy buy this dress vibes--thank goodness!

I will say that I was a little underwhelmed by the whole thing, after cramming episodes of Say Yes to the Dress for the past few weeks I was expecting to be blown away...or something like that. Instead we had a good time shopping around at 4 very different boutiques in the area. I definitely have a much better idea of what looks best on and what I'm looking for--sweetheart neckline, strapless, fitted style dresses with texture! lace, rosettes, or ruching. While I know I need to keep looking I really love two dresses right now...both are very! different.

Watters and Watters dress, definitely very close to what I envisioned wearing, with a champagne sash

Allure dress, very fitted and different than anything I thought I would like--

Please see the rant below...

2010-03-01T13:52:00.002-05:00

Oooops! Well tonight is the bachelor finale so yea...I was a little early on my pre-finale scoop last week but tonight will still be exciting!

I'll fill you in on wedding dress shopping success tomorrow ;-)

Nashville Trip

2010-02-26T09:40:00.003-05:00

We had an amazing time and got to see a lot more of the city we'd love to call home. We did priceline for a hotel and scored the downtown Hilton for our long weekend stay. Our visit really started on Saturday morning, after the 10! hour car ride we were pretty much done Friday night. I spent the day hanging out with one of my favorite friends Hillary--shopping, grabbing some delicious lunch and then cupcakes!, and getting a tour of the city.

Saturday night we went to Cabana, a romantic and chic restaurant that has tapas as well as regular entrees--American with a little southern thrown in. I had the most amazing shrimp and grits! After dinner we went to this little speak easy bar in Midtown called Patterson House where they make every drink from scratch and there is a velvet curtain keeping people waiting from the library-like bar.

Sunday we went to Noshville, a NYC style diner, for brunch. Delicious fried hashbrowns, I was sold! It was freezing for our entire stay but especially Sunday so we hung out in the warmth of our hotel and watched the Olympics.

Monday morning we had to stop by the Pancake Pantry on our way out of town--seriously the best pancake you will ever eat. The place has been around since the 19th century and there is a reason they are still in business.

I realize this entire post has been about food thus far...we obviously ate pretty well, haha! The other reasons we had a great time in Nashville are the amazingly friendly people, the just enough but not too much energy of the city--it's just our size, and all of the fun things to do--live music, museums, NFL/NHL, country music star sightings!, great restaurants/shopping, outdoor activities, etc. It's in a beautiful state and relatively close to family--and Vanderbilt seemed like a great fit for Bry. Cross your fingers and we'll see what happens!

Happy Friday everyone--

Dress Shopping, part 1

2010-02-24T14:09:00.006-05:00

Hello! I'm sorry I've been slacking lately with my blog posts--there has been a lot going on between wedding planning, traveling, Bryan waiting to hear from schools/interviewing, etc. This weekend my mom and sister are coming into town for some dress shopping!! We had planned a weekend about a month ago but with all the crazy snow storms we had to cancel it. I was kind of feeling nervous about trying on dresses the first time we were scheduled but now after a little more time, and trying on a few at the J Crew outlet when I was home, I feel prepared and excited! I think I want a sheath style dress with some kind of texture, probably lace, and a sweetheart neckline. Here are some of the dresses I would loveee to try on (though I've heard you should try a bunch of different styles to really see what you like best):

Love this Monique Lhullier dress--

And this one for some reason...its gorgeous!

I tried on this confetti dress at J Crew and really liked it, though I wasn't convinced it was the one

Ok I am obsessed! with this dress--from Jim Helm, I love the darker fabric underneath and all the beautiful lace

Just because I'm the bachelor doesn't mean I'm a...

2010-02-22T15:02:00.002-05:00

NORMAL GUY!

Pheww if you've been following along with Jake and the smarter, more together, and much more attractive women this season (with the exeception of Vienna and that crazier than wack Michelle girl) you know it's been a "bumpy ride", could they have incorporated more airline puns into the show btw? And because of all the spoilers, which have been worse than usual, I know--but will not reveal, Jakes choice. Instead tonight I'll cuddle up with my kitty and a bottle of wine to watch what will most certainly be, "The Most Shocking Finale in Bachelor History...EVER".

I'm just looking forward to Allie jumping up there next! We need someone normal in the house--

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T12:00:00.001-05:00

We're hanging out in Nashville for the weekend but I wanted to wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day!

If I see Taylor Swift it will make my life

2010-02-12T13:22:00.004-05:00

On the way to Nashville for the weekend--be thinking of us during the 10 hour! car ride from Virginia. Bry is interviewing at Vanderbilt and I'll be hanging out with one of my favorite sorority sisters. I can't wait to get there for some delicious eats (including the Pancake Pantry, that will change your life), live music, touring the Country Music Hall of Fame, and seeing old friends!

Have a great Valentine's weekend everyone!

Ring Photo Shoot

2010-02-10T17:00:00.003-05:00

I finally decided to take a few engagement ring pictures with my camera, inspired by peoples beautiful photos on weddingbee.com. I love the way they came out and thankfully it was a sunny day so I got great light, which you have to have! I'm a big fan of using seashells and starfish around the house for decor so they served as the perfect photo props.

This is a picture from the night we got engaged, right before we ran out to get champagne!

Most.Amazing.Invites.Ever

2010-02-09T12:46:00.004-05:00

I have fallen in love with these Kate Spade June Lane invitations. After pouring over hundreds of different invitation styles, colors, fonts, etc. nothing has come close to how much I love these. Simple, chic, and a touch of whimsical. I love the gold dragonfly emblem at the bottom of the invite, and the little bug on the reply cards. Right now I'm still leaning towards white, gold, and either green or silver (to keep it all metals).

I also love the fact that we could receive matching Kate Spade china, frames, champagne flutes with the same pattern!

Why do these have to be so expensive?! Does anyone have a wholesale wedding invite connection? (if those even exist...haha)

Another weekend snowed in...

2010-02-05T11:07:00.002-05:00

"Why must it always snow on me?" We've got another huge snow report coming our way and snow is falling right now, as I sit at work....silently pleading with my boss to tell us to go home!

This weekend I'll be making chili, coffee cheesecake--come on, it's a snowed in must, tomato mozzerella and pesto paninis, and maybe some eggs benedict. We'll just be relaxing around the apartment with Reagan (Bryan's flight to NY was canceled today, so he won't be interviewing at Rochester in person--which kind of sucks) but at least he'll be home to keep me company! I'll try to make the best of another weekend stuck at home, with no chance of breaking out--if only we had better sledding hills near our apartment...it would be a totally different story.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Let's talk about Bras

2010-02-04T13:57:00.003-05:00

That's right, it's time to break down the bra situation that had been pushed into the deepest, darkest, inner circles of my brain until yesterday, when I stepped into Victoria's Secret and my world turned upside down. I'm big into buying clothes, shoes, jewelry, really anything you put on your body that other people can see...and that's where it stopped. I couldn't care less about the state of my braness, if this fit was working out for me, have I had these underwear since college--it was a sad situation!

I decided I had to go bra shopping to find something to wear while trying on wedding dresses (!!!!) which led to spending close to 200 bucks on new bras.

#1 I never buy anything retail, EVER, unless it's food or alcohol related--I feel like a little piece of my soul floated out while swiping my red-hot credit card yesterday.
#2 I have a weird size, I'll spare you the details, but let's just say I'm a small person with not so small assets (much to my chagrin).
#3 The teenage girls, I mean VS employees, were ridiculously apathetic to my cause--I had to hunt them down every time I needed a fitting room.

Needless to say I had a bra fit party last night, trying on every bra I have currently and ended up ditching 10! bras, bad fit, too worn, ridiculously small, etc. I have turned the corner and now understand the importance of a good bra! (and underwear) I don't know how I've gone this long through life without paying any attention to this area?!

Cabin Fever

2010-02-03T14:15:00.004-05:00

We experienced a lot of doing nothing this past weekend with snow piling up outside, we even missed a day of work on Monday because the streets were so bad. I love! snow--usually--but not on the weekends when you're supposed to be running around doing things. I also decided not to cook last week so our stockpile of possible dinner choices included takeout pizza, mac and cheese from a box, and other pasta related options. Haha it wasn't the greatest, but we got through it with a few bottles of wine--at least we had that!

We did however watch some awesome documentaries this weekend, The Cove which was a netflix pick, and then we rented Food Inc from the local movie place. Both were really really good! The Cove is amazing, kind of sad but you really learn about a practice that I had no idea still existed, I'm sure you didn't either. Food Inc made me want to be way! more conscious about what we're eating--add that to the New Years Resolution list. Its not very graphic or anything, which would have been a deal breaker for me, but extremely informative about all kinds of things Americans are sold by the meat/corn/fast food industry. Go rent them right now!

Wedding Related Discoveries

2010-01-27T13:35:00.007-05:00

We're still brainstorming for the wedding, though we do have a general idea of a guest list (80) and a city/season (Charlottesville, in the fall). I've contacted a ton! of vendors and tried to do as much research as I could. We're still working with a few different people to figure out the remaining details but hopefully! we are closer to booking a venue than we were a month ago. Though none of the big things are decided...at all, I've been having a great time discovering little wedding things here and there that I love!

Love the idea of getting my dress/his suit sketched and framed--a keepsake forever! especially since I think that I will probably sell my dress once worn (find this in Etsy under seller, MeganHamilton)

Did you know that you can rent jewelry now at bagborroworsteal.com? It's amazing and they have great choices for any occasion (this is one of the best tips on staying in budget I've run across)

Love! the idea of a short, flirty dress for the reception/send off/or after party (I'm looking for this sue wong dress, in white, size 4 if anyone comes across one)

White carnations are beautiful when arranged very closely, I mean if Martha says its right then I don't want to be wrong--another great budget idea

There is a company in Charlottesville that comes to your venue in a serving truck, think old school ice cream trucks, and makes fresh organic apple cider donuts for everyone--this has to be booked for our late night snack

So right now I've planned that I'll have a short dress, amazing earrings, a sketch of the outfit, a carnation bouquet, and apple cider donuts...not bad at all ;-)

Dirty Martini Friday

2010-01-22T12:53:00.003-05:00

I've always been that girl, at the bar, who doesn't have a go to drink. I'll hem and haw for a few seconds and when nothing comes to mind, or I feel ridiculous for just ordering a lemon drop martini, I'll go with beer or wine. But that uneasy feeling and my drink choice insecurity are banished now that I've found my drink. I'm not a big liquor person by nature--except in college when let's be honest, you would drink anything someone put in front of you--I don't like tasting actual liquor. Maybe I was inspired by Mad Men or maybe I'm just maturing into adult beverage choices, because no ones getting younger here, but I love love love! dirty martinis. I've had a few out at restaurants and bars and last weekend decided to make them myself.

After a fated trip to the ABC store, securing Kettle One vodka--which is the best by the way, olives, and Frangelico (randomly) we went back to the house to make our concoction. Bry wasn't convinced you needed to use good vodka for a dirty martini so we made one with kettle one and one with pinnacle vodka (cheap and good for mixing...heavily). It was not even a contest, the pinnacle was not enjoyable to drink--lesson learned, you need to use good vodka.

Here is my recipe for the best dirty martini that you'll ever drink...if you're into that kind of thing:

2 shots kettle one vodka
1.5 shots olive brine
3 blue cheese stuffed olives

And so it begins...

2010-01-21T09:56:00.003-05:00

Bryan's graduate school interviews began on Tuesday of this week. I decided last minute to switch my MLK holiday to Tuesday and work from home Monday so that I could make the trip down to Chapel Hill. We stayed at the beautiful! Carolina Inn, which was right on campus and close to shops, restaurants, and frat row--apparently ;-) I had to smile walking around on Tuesday listening to blaring 80s music escaping from frat town. The campus is beautiful and certainly rivals UVA grounds in Charlottesville.

We also ate at the Top of the Hill Restaurant, which is a brewery/restaurant overlooking downtown Chapel Hill--they had delicious food, and beers of course. UNC is Bryan's first choice and though the interview and day seemed to go really well, its the hardest school he is applying to--so cross your fingers! I was so excited to start envisioning us with a new life in a different city. More interviews at Wake Forest and Maryland next week, I'll keep you informed if we hear anything.

Has anyone ever lived in the UNC/Raleigh area? I'd love any information/advice if you have it!

Decorating for the New Year

2010-01-13T13:51:00.006-05:00

I received this book for Christmas and it is amazing! So many helpful tips about buying a sofa for instance, or decorating your entryway--all in a very comfortable and inspiring way. This book is also great as it doesn't focus on having a house, simply the space that you live in now--for our fellow apartment dwellers. I have decided that before our move, hopefully!, at the end of the summer we need to edit our apartment for style and function, maybe buying a few pieces that will last for a long time and make our next place feel more like home. I'd love to find a few pieces like these:

French Console Table from Pier One

Love this lamp!, from Pier One

Bailey Baskets, from Pottery Barn

Pottery Barn Chair, perfect for a bedroom

Ethan Allen.com is also a great resource for anyone who wants style inspiration.

Guilty Pleasures

2010-01-08T13:28:00.005-05:00

Here are a few of my guilty pleasures lately:

Love these! and I'll be sad to see them go...

I'm still totally obsessed with MadMen, we are halfway through the 2nd season and almost caught up (in dvd land that is..which is the best land of all btw)

I love love love! this popcorn and it is sooo bad for you. It's cheddar popcorn you microwave and then pour cheddar sauce all over it before serving--I am not making this up---and there's no reason to think about the ramifications of this one but try it! and you will not be disappointed...

Still rocking the Fuggs (costco brand) and they are needed more than ever as it's been in the 20s and 30s here lately....eek! so cold

This movie was soo funny, laugh out loud funny--and I'm a hard sell. Alec Baldwin is the man--I can't wait for new 30 rock!

Happy Friday!!

2010-- I can handle this

2010-01-04T12:55:00.003-05:00

Thanks for all of the thoughtful messages!! We're excited/overwhelmed at this point in the planning process, though things seem more manageable as we continue to let it sink in that we are actually engaged. I'll be counting on all you blogsters with any wedding experience or planning prowess to help me through this process, it is daunting!

I don't have many friends who are engaged or planning weddings so I need some extra back up. My resolutions for 2010 are to stay calm, be focused on the point of this whole thing--which is to get married!, and remember that it's only Bryan and I that matter here (and by that I mean I will try not to let my feelings be hurt by friends, family, or the like who aren't meeting expectations or putting us first in this process).

This will be my mantra:

“ I want you to believe in yourself, imagine good things and moisturize, I cannot stress this enough. ”
Vida Boheme, To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar

Happy 2010!!

Our engagement...and the blizzard of 2009

2009-12-30T10:03:00.003-05:00

Little did I know that the storm blowing through the East Coast would also be bringing me something more than snow...

On Friday morning we were all hearing weather reports for 6-12 inches of snow in central Virginia. My sister, who was in Orlando visiting a college friend, was trying to get back to our hometown before the storm set in. She decided to take a direct flight to Richmond, which left 10 hours before her original non-direct to our hometown. I picked her up at the airport Friday afternoon excited to spend the weekend snowed in and watching movies. The weekend went flying by and we literally did not leave the house the entire time--totally snowed in. On Sunday Bry got kind of dressed up, which I won't lie seemed a little odd to me, and meanwhile I was ironing and hanging curtains (which had literally been sitting in our den for months!). After he helped me straighten everything out he told me that he had another Christmas present for me in our bedroom---this is when I started freaking out a little. I walked into the room and there was a beautiful stocking over our bed full of old love notes and pictures. After going through the stocking, and not finding anything else--he gave me the ring later once my parents arrived, Bry started talking about us and how we were perfect for each other and asked me then, everything is a blur in my mind trying to remember except that I started crying. So we basically hung out for a while, him talking, me crying, and then decided we would wait to tell my parents who were due to arrive at the apartment to celebrate an early Christmas--since we would be in Utah.

The best part of the whole story is that Bryan was working with my Mom for almost a month! to research and purchase a ring I had found over Thanksgiving break at an Estate jeweler in my hometown. She was actually bringing the ring to Bryan on that Sunday afternoon. My mom, sister, and I had gone together to look at antique rings, my mom's obsession, and I tried on some wedding rings just to get an idea of what I liked. I found, and fell in love with, the ring I have today. I showed pictures of the ring to Bryan when we got back home but after that we didn't really talk about it. We went ring shopping a few other places but I never found anything I liked more than my ring. I also love it because I found it while shopping with my Mom and sister in my hometown.

So after telling my parents and calling friends and some family we decided to wait to tell Bryan's parents until we arrived in Utah on Tuesday morning. They were so surprised and thrilled at the news--so it made for an extra celebration over Christmas.

In the post below is the most accurate picture of my ring I could find online...

*I will say to all who are thinking about rings right now, go try some on! This was great advice given to me by several people. I thought I knew what I liked but after trying on more traditional settings I decided on something totally different.*

Merry Christmas Eve!

2009-12-24T11:29:00.005-05:00

It is 1 degree in Utah right now...that's right uno degrees. We're having so much fun hanging out with his family and skiing a little bit. Last night we saw A Christmas Carol and went out to dinner at the lodge.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday! Merry Christmas Eve!!

oh and one more thing...

we got engaged on Sunday!! My parents came into town shortly after it happened and we waited to tell Bry's parents until we got into Utah. So far it's been a flurry of calls, messages, and excitement from the families. More to come on how it happened...(!!!!)

Ski Bunnies

2009-12-21T15:25:00.003-05:00

We're headed out to Utah tonight for Christmas! I can't wait to see family and hit the slopes.

(but not in our neon 80's snow-suit attire...)

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!!

Change of Plans

2009-12-18T11:46:00.006-05:00

So with half a foot of snow descending upon Virginia it looks like we'll be shut-ins for the weekend. My sister is flying in today from Fla. because she couldn't get to my parents house before the snow starts. Thankfully I made a huge batch of Barefoot Contessa's Parker's beef stew, which is delicious--you can find the recipe here. During lunch I'm planning to run out to get a few extra essentials:

Popcorn tin of goodness--I have been wanting one of these for months!

Some beer to keep us warm!

Bryan has never seen this movie! tragic--so I'll be picking it up today too...

This is the beef stew--it's amazing...

I'm also planning to make Paula Dean's Mexican Wedding cookies tonight--I'll report back on that project. Other than that we'll just be opening presents!yay!, watching Christmas movies, and relaxing by the space heater. I hope everyone stays safe and warm in the east coast snow--have a wonderful weekend!

Fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra!

2009-12-16T14:27:00.004-05:00

I almost forgot my favorite Christmas tradition--phew...I am out of it

We always go out for Chinese food on Christmas Eve, every single year since....forever I can't even remember. There is also another family from our town that does this and we see them there annually--haha my hometown is obvi a small place. I will be sad to miss out on tradition this year but in memory of the Christmas duck:

"Deck the harrs with bows of horry, Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra! 'Tis the season to be jarry, Fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra!"

I'll be singing this all the way to Utah ;-)

It's like a birthday two weeks of Christmas!

2009-12-15T14:12:00.002-05:00

For those of you who don't know this, every year I celebrate a birthday two! weeks, one week before your b-day and one after. I find it hard to smash all the birthday stuff into one little day so two weeks is just enough time for flower deliveries, drinks out, yummy dinners, gifting...haha ok you get the picture. So this Christmas, without even planning it this way, we'll be celebrating for two weeks as a result of our Utah trip to see Brys parents over the actual holiday. My parents are coming up this weekend to exchange presents (and drink eggnog and sing carols--though they don't know about this part yet). We wrapped everything up last weekend and "put up" our mini silver tree a few weeks ago.

It will be strange not to be at home for Christmas this year and I'll miss our family traditions such as: wearing paper crowns during present opening...and the rest of the day (they come from the Christmas "crackers" that you pop open and they have little presents inside), watching the christmas story 5 times over, stifling laughs through our churchs' crazy choir directors christmas song choices (one year it was a very caribbean christmas to give you an idea), and eating tons and tons of fudge mom will inevitably make. Unfortunately our parents live on two different coasts, basically, so we won't ever be able to combine holidays. How does everyone else cope with splitting holidays?

best.cd.ever

2009-12-14T10:19:00.003-05:00

I somehow convinced Bry to let me open one gift yesterday--we had been wrapping gifts all morning and will be doing Christmas early with my family since the two of us will be in Utah for Christmas this year. I gave him a few jcrew items and he gave me the owl city cd! which I said I wanted a few weeks ago and it is amazing people. They have a very postal service sound but it's easy to listen to an hour of their music and will be perfect for the plane ride coming up. I would really recommend trying them out.

Other weekend notables:

Celebrating with newly engaged friends at fun bars downtown

It was the weekend of high school, just about everyone I saw this weekend was in my high school graduation class...which is a good/not so good thing. I still enjoy just a few people from my high school and thankfully they were sprinkled amongst parties

Mad Men: Season 1--still in love

Watching the Christmas at the White House Special: Oprah and the Obamas, amazing

Cheddar popcorn, sundried tomato pizza, chocolate eclairs....enough said

Coming Clean

2009-12-10T14:26:00.005-05:00

This is a post for all the single ladies out there (put your hands up!), haha ok enough joking. This is a serious post because I feel like it's time to share my SSB (remember this from sex and the city) yes, thats right, my secret single behavior. Some of you may be shocked, some of you may be appalled, and some of you may kindred spirits (if this is the case, leave a girl a comment of solidarity!).

For the record I know! I am not engaged, or probably that close to being engaged, though the talk of rings has picked up lately. We've looked at a few rings and discussed what I thought I might like, so it's not my fault--this SSB--once you try on a big sparkler I'd like to see you try to tell me the thought of having that thing on your hand permanently doesn't enter your ring-crazed mind every now and then.

So! without further ado I give you my secret shame:

my wedding files

I read somewhere that it's never too early to start collecting wedding day inspiration--obviously I took this to heart. The funny thing is though, I don't even know if I want to have a wedding--I don't like the idea of all that attention on me. Maybe a justice of the peace wedding followed by an awesome party or a destination wedding with few friends and family--I'm just not sure. I know it's supposed to be your decision as a couple and the options are pretty wide open but it seems like after you get engaged its decision making time (x 100)!

Finale

2009-12-09T14:38:00.004-05:00

Who's it going to be?

We've had top chef parties every Wednesday for the last 4 months and now it's finally time to find out who the winner is. We sat through the tats and the piercings, not! appetizing Bravo..., through the Robin drama, and the "brotherly" competition. It's time to pick a winner winner chicken dinner!

I really really hope it's Kevin or the good brother, Bryan.

Pick this guy! pick this guy!

Please do not! pick this guy:

The picture says it all...what a jerk!

Prepping

2009-12-08T12:15:00.003-05:00

I have been waiting for this to come on for two! weeks---and I am not a cartoon person, unless it involves Charlie Brown. It's tonight at 8:30 on ABC, yay!

We also watched this last friday:

Any other good holiday specials I should tune in for?

Weekend Recap

2009-12-07T10:39:00.005-05:00

Our weekend was finally! spent at home, running errands, and doing holiday related activities. Friday night was spent celebrating Bry's application completion to UNC. He'll be applying to a bunch of other schools in the next few weeks as well! I cannot wait to have this process behind us and looking forward. We are so ready for a new city to explore and new job situations. Saturday was costco run/christmas shopping, followed by massive amounts of football watching. Sunday we finished decorating around the apt. and did our cards.

We signed, sealed, and will deliver all of our christmas cards this week!

We pulled out our little silver Christmas tree, circa my 4th year in college. It was decided that we won't get an actual tree this year. A curious cat and a mess of tree needles, left alone for a week, doesn't make for a good combo.

I also attempted these wine bottle decorations, from good housekeeping. I didn't make them into candle holders but used wrapping paper and ribbon in gold and brown to keep the look consistent.

I made this delicious! apple bread, taken from Southern Living.

Here is the Recipe:

Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 6 min.; Cool: 1 hr., 10 min.; Cook: 5 min. Sour cream is the secret to the rich, moist texture of this bread. There's no butter or oil in the batter—only in the glaze.

Yield: Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples (about 3/4 lb.)
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake 1/2 cup pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6 to 8 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 4 minutes.

2. Beat sour cream and next 3 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until blended.

3. Stir together flour and next 3 ingredients. Add to sour cream mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in apples and 1/2 cup toasted pecans. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9- x 5-inch loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chopped pecans; lightly press pecans into batter.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, shielding with aluminum foil after 50 minutes to prevent excessive browning. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.

5. Bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a 1-qt. heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil 1 minute. Remove from heat, and spoon over top of bread; let cool completely (about 1 hour).

Note: To freeze, cool bread completely; wrap in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

TGIT

2009-12-02T14:10:00.005-05:00

Even though I'm on the road for work today and it's soo cold out--the little red netflix envelope I've been waiting for is here! Bry and I started watching Mad Men a few weeks ago and it is sooo good, and incredibly addictive. The characters are all developed so differently and the story always has some new scandal. I love being able to watch a show and go through all the seasons at once. If you haven't tried this one yet, I highly recommend it. The first few episodes are a little intense, a pretty strong dose of 1950s male mentality, but stick with it!, it evens out after that.

And we're back

2009-12-01T09:19:00.006-05:00

Everyone setting thanksgiving dinner...

Sorry it's been a while! I took a little vaca from my computer over Thanksgiving but here is the recap--

We had a really fun and relaxing stay in my hometown. We got in Wednesday night after a two hour ride in the car with ms. reagan who screamed and meowed all the way. Thursday was fun--we went to work lunch at the local Daily Bread where they serve meals for the homeless or anyone who needs a hot lunch or dinner. We went through soo much food it was unbelievable. After that we went back home and put in the turkey, watching some football here and there, and getting ready for the big meal. The turkey Mom made was soo good--she used a Barefoot Contessa recipe where you spread butter and herbs under the skin of the bird before you cook it, yum! We didn't do the Black Friday thing...it's just not my style to get up at 4 am, unless it's J Crew related ;-) On that note we did hit both outlets on Friday and found out about the secret! J Crew warehouse sale later that day, I guess it was word of mouth only. We came back, haha, at 3 pm when they opened the floor of the warehouse--it was the best sale ever. I found this coat:

And these boots:

Saturday and Sunday flew by. We didn't do much except well eat...obviously, and take long walks with my parents dog. There is a pasture with a horse barn close to where we live so we took some carrots and apples up to the horses. Overall it was an awesome weekend and I needed the break from work like you wouldn't believe.

The kids...

Weekend Recap--sorority style

2009-11-24T14:36:00.007-05:00

So my weekend in DC was amazing! I love seeing old friends and catching up with what everyone is doing and how their post college lives are going. My body may still be recovering from the large quantities of alcohol imbibed or the very late hours kept but it was sooo worth it. A few rounds of superlatives, shopping sprees, my first! dirty martini, and hours of laughter were just what I needed. Friday night we were low key and went out to dinner in DC and came back for pjs and superlatives (to be explained later). Saturday was really busy, we did the American History museum--hello first ladies and Julia Child's kitchen, then we ate lunch at this delicious spot, http://www.chefgeoff.com/, and shopped around Georgetown for a while. After going home to change and relax for a while, we went back out to Georgetown for dinner and bars. Sunday we had brunch at the Eastern market and shopped around all of the vendors for a few hours--it was such a beautiful weekend, though it felt more like October than almost December! I also miss having all of my girlfriends so close but we'll definitely be reunioning again soon.

I'm ready for Thanksgiving break--though I can't believe it's already here! I seriously need a few days off of work to relax and regroup. We went out to pick up the Thanksgiving wine yesterday and I'm planning on making this for the big day:

Barefoot Contessa's Pumpkin Mousse Parfaits, delicious!

Beer Me

2009-11-20T10:36:00.008-05:00

Headed to DC to hang with my sorority ladies! I lived in the sorority house with all these girls for a year and it was hands down my favorite year at UVA. We'll be reunioning, college style, in every great bar and restaurant in DC. I can't wait! There will be lots of this:

Margaritas will be had by all!

Does anyone know about the superlatives card game? It is amazing--

Shopping in Georgetown!

And in the words of Andy Bernard, "I forgot to tell you the plan for this Saturday. You, me, bar, beers, buzzed. Wings, shots, drunk! Waitresses - hot! Football, Cornell-Hofstra, slaughter! Then quick nap at my place, then we hit the tizzown."

Almost time to hit the tizzown~!

Be random like it's your job

2009-11-19T14:27:00.002-05:00

Thoughts this week:

Why did I have a dream about my friend marrying her boyfriend...in a kroger...in the produce section? Does that not mean something, I hope to god, or does it? I'm not sure I want to know...

Why is the weather making me want to quit working out while simultaneously willing me to drink more? Not good.

Dear ladies at Ann Taylor,
I want to thank you for your 30% friends and family discount this week, however, is it really necessary to kick my boyfriend out of the dressing room area b/c other ladies "might be uncomfortable", really?

I'd like to be finished with my Christmas shopping...right now, instead of not having begun yet.

Super steathly boyfriends should not ask you your ring size...randomly...in the middle of a totally unrelated conversation. Don't all guys know to take your ring and size it?--ok but in his defense I would freak out! if I thought I lost my college ring that I wear every day.

And lastly, is it Friday yet? then it'll be time to crack open those margaritas and party with my sorority sisters, like we're still in college-style

Thanksgiving Tables

2009-11-18T15:03:00.006-05:00

Setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner usually falls to me every year. I really like putting together a pretty table that everyone can enjoy for a few hours. We do thanksgiving at my parents house and they have a limited selection of, I'll just say table props, so I've been looking up lots of different ideas as I don't know what I have to work with. I like to use, and can always find, natural elements like leaves or fruit. The pottery barn website has a great inspiration center that gives ideas on centerpieces and tablescapes (ugh--I really hate the word tablescape, but moving on!). Here are a few pics I found for inspiration:

Love the texture on these...(from PB)

(PB)

I can definitely handle this! It's soo pretty and simple. (PB)

I love the idea of wrapping the candles with leaves and sprinkling them on the table.

Love! the white pumpkins, though I won't be trying to whittle them into candle holders...I'm just not that crafty, helloooo fire hazard.

Only 5 more (work) days until Thanksgiving!

Weekend Recap

2009-11-16T12:14:00.003-05:00

Hi all! Hope you had a great weekend. Ours was super busy with Bryan taking the GMAT early Saturday morning then driving up to Annapolis for a family dinner. His dad just retired from the airlines so they did a big dinner honoring all of the pilots. It was great to see lots of B's family, aunts, cousins, family friends etc. Though it was a short trip we tried to squeeze all we could out of it by stopping at IKEA for some much needed household goods. It was the day of the curtain, and will probably be the month of the curtain if I can't get motivated to finish. We bought the hemmable kind with basic black rods. I've never hung anything except some picture frames so this should be an adventure. I'd love any advice! I'm also planning to read up at the amazing! website, Young House Love. If you haven't visited this blog before it's a definite must for any young homeowner, or do it yourselfer (aparently I'm making up words today). When I first stumbled across YHL I spent hours, days! looking at all of the projects and dreaming of beautifying our apt.
So this week will be filled with IKEA installations, delicious everyday italian recipes, and trying to get back into the gym routine!

8 (work) days until Thanksgiving!!

Pot Roast Deliciousness

2009-11-12T13:06:00.003-05:00

Last night I ventured into the land of cooking meat...like big hunks of meat. I'd always wanted to make a pot roast--my grandma makes the most delicious one ever--so I decided to give it a whirl. I'm not into long or complicated recipes, not that this one is especially hard, however it does take some time. There's nothing I hate more than spending 2 hours and extra dollars to make a dish that doesn't turn out well. I was a very happy girl last night as this roast was totally worth it. All the vegetables simmer to make a great sauce and the meat is soo good. I used a 2.5 pound roast and halved the recipe below. Ina Garten, I don't know what I'd do without you (this is from her back to basics cookbook).

Ingredients
1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.

Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth (I used my handheld blender for this and it was way easier and without the mess). Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

I kind of want this...

2009-11-10T14:00:00.007-05:00

Here’s one roaring fire that isn’t a huge bother to get started. Simply slip this DVD into your laptop and place the virtual flames on an end table.

Find it here: Plasmavironments fireplace DVD, $15, plasmawindow.com.
________________________________________________________

Also happy veteran's day to all of our military men and women! Thank you for all that you do.

J Crew Outlet Finds

2009-11-09T10:32:00.011-05:00

Here are a few of the things I picked up this weekend (and I will not be shopping again for a while!):

Merino turtleneck sweater in light berry, love this color--it's soo pretty

Heirloom flora earrings, hopefully these will help me stray from my standard pearls

Kelsey ruffle top, love this ruffle blouse, perfect for layering

Alpaca long shawl cardigan in fawn, this sweater is really cozy and perfect for fall

Crystal libretto necklace, this is so sparkly and beautiful with a classic white shirt

Matchstick jean in indigo, great dark jean with flats

Weekend Recap

2009-11-09T09:26:00.003-05:00

I decided to go home this weekend to visit the family, and give B a quiet house for studying. The weather was beautiful, judging from the rays of sunlight streaming in through the J Crew outlet windows ;-) kidding but I might have done some serious damage on that front. Friday night we ordered chinese--yum! and watched Animal House which I had never seen in its entirety. I feel like being a member of the Greek system makes you appreciate the movie even more, oh the frats.

Saturday my sister and I went to the J Crew outlet and then sat through the Penn State game half watching and half cringing/turning the channel at every opportunity. My Dad went MIA, of course, as he does during all Penn State football games--literally gone for 4 hours when we found him in his car in the driveway listening to the game, hah. Sunday was beautiful and we took a long walk on my old high school cross country course--I can't believe I ever ran 6 miles a day for cross country and then indoor track season. My hometown is also called the "hill city" for a reason...brutal for a runner, well a runner who doesn't like running.

Being home for the weekend was relaxed and fun and I can't wait until Thanksgiving. My parents were asking if Reagan would be making the trip with us--if you've ever been with a cat in the car a lot of them make this horrible crying sound and Reagan belts it out as if she's in serious pain. I know she'd rather be with us than alone at home but I know she's going to cry for 2 hours straight.

Gmats and Charlie Brown

2009-11-05T09:59:00.003-05:00

With all of the studying going on in our house over the past few months, I've officially become a GMAT widow. Bry has been studying more and more with the test coming up next weekend. I won't kid you, I do enjoy watching Say yes to the Dress without extra boy judgment, but I can't wait! until it's over. We've been thinking about moving for a while now and it just seems like the right time. I'm leaning towards North Carolina but anything is possible! When I first started looking at colleges I wanted to move far away--do something different, and somehow I ended up an hour from home. Then as I was looking for jobs I really! wanted to move to Boston--and then I ended up two hours from home. I like being so close to my family but I feel like now is the time to branch out and make a big change while we're not tied down at all. I'm sure I'll be asking all you lovely readers about city recommendations as we start to look at schools!

It's also time to dust off the Christmas cds! I make myself wait until November to break out the Christmas music every year. My favorites include Charlie Brown Christmas, absolute favorite of all time, and the London Symphony Orchesta Christmas, great classical christmas music.

50th post party!

2009-11-03T13:41:00.002-05:00

I was just thinking about a way to legitimize buying this necklace on jcrew.com. I love! it and have been eyeing it since it came out months ago. The price has finally come down and I'm debating about whether to wait and try to find one on Ebay which might be cheaper or spring for the one online (and they have free shipping that ends today). Does celebrating my 50th post count? What do you think?

Weekend Recap

2009-11-03T10:12:00.007-05:00

I hope everyone had a great halloween! We were pretty low key this year going to a costume party on Friday night and then out to dinner Saturday for restaurant week. Our costumes turned out pretty well, courtesy of Target--I'm sure my rosette witch hat will come in handy again. I also put eye liner on Bry, which he thought looked weird and then rubbed off which gave him this creepy black eye look. I also tried to find Hocus Pocus all day Saturday and Sunday but with no luck. It was rainy all weekend so not much occurred except football watching, candy eating, and cleaning the house.

It's also election day, wow I can't believe it's already November--

Everyone remember to go vote today!!

Friday Tags

2009-10-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

Thanks to DC Prep and Susan in the South for tagging me!

The rules:
1. Answer with 5 answers.
2. Tag 5 favorite bloggers.

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

it was 1999 and...
-I was a freshman in high school, wow
-Running cross country and flirting with my soon to be high school boyfriend
-Dreaming about getting my drivers license
-Thinking about Homecoming and what to wear...(haha I did this a few weeks ago but for college)
-Watching some serious penn state football (ok, so this one never changes!)

2. What are 5 things on your To Do list today?

-mail Halloween cards for my siblings
-put finishing touches on my Halloween costume, haha I mean start thinking about it
-look extra professional for yearly performance review (failed, i wore a fur vest to work...oops)
-buy wine for halloween party
-dress up for tonight in black, and decide between witch or femme fatale look

3. Snacks you enjoy?

-Cheddar Chex Mix
-Grits, random I know--it's only a phase
-white cheddar popcorn
-Yoplait yogurt, raspberry cheesecake is the best!
-a really good apple

4. Where are 5 places you have lived?

-Lynchburg, VA
-Charlottesville, VA
-Richmond, VA
-Oxford
-anddd thats all I've got...for now ;-)

5. What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?

-I would payoff my family's mortgages and then buy a ski house in Utah, a summer house in South Carolina, and an amazing everyday house.
-Give considerably to Red Cross, Brain Tumor Foundation, and Cancer Research
-Travel travel travel
-Work part-time/volunteer at a job I truly loved
-Buy a season football box at UVA and Penn State, throw amazing tailgates

My 5 tags are:

One Preppy Day
A Preppy Girl's Guide to Cross Country Living
Queen Bee Swain
Glamorous Newlywed
Nautical by Nature

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a great Halloween weekend!

Peanuts Halloween

2009-10-29T15:43:00.003-04:00

I love all of the Charlie Brown movies--we used to look forward to seeing them every year. I watched the great pumpkin playing on ABC last night and introduced Bry and Regan to the tradition...

I'm getting excited for the halloween episodes of my favorite shows tonight--and our property people brought in a huge pumpkin filled with candy, and not the dumdums and crappy chocolate kind, really good! candy...urgh. I've been eating milk duds all day--thankfully there was no candy corn or I'd be totally sick right now.

I also went to Target over lunch and found a really cute witch hat, if J Crew made a witch hat it would be this one with rosettes and feathers all over (I couldn't find the picture online). All of target's costumes are 30% off right now so if you're cutting it close there are deals to be had!

Wednesday's Philosophy

2009-10-28T09:36:00.005-04:00

I just started using the Philosophy skincare line the last few weeks. I think these products really enrich the softness and quality of your skin, even after a short usage. Though they are a little pricey I would recommend getting the sample packet of items (I got mine from Sephora) including regular skin moisterizer, lip and eye moisterizer, daily wash, microderm packets, and a scrub. Give it a try!

They also have a line of delicious shampoos and body washes~

I also loved! Valentino: The last emperor dvd we watched last night. I ordered it from netflix a while ago and after a rave review from Southern Champagne Wishes I was excited to see it. The movie is documentary style and follows Valentino through his last few shows, including his 45th anniversary show in Rome--which is amazing. It's fun to watch his designs come to life and as an added perk you see all kinds of celebrities throughout the movie at his parties and shows.

Fashion Idol

2009-10-26T14:58:00.006-04:00

I loooove Rachel Bilson's style. It's always so effortlessly put together yet classic and chic. I'm also loving her monthly style Q&A in Glamour--

Happy Friday!

2009-10-23T11:35:00.003-04:00

I'm so happy to be in town this weekend--no more traveling for a little while. It should be a relaxing weekend filled with college football, errands, and wine! Have a great weekend everyone--

Traylor Papers

2009-10-23T09:43:00.003-04:00

This has been circulating around the blog world but I thought I'd give it a try. These notecards are too cute to pass up.

"Send us an email to VIP@traylorpapers.com with your name & address and we'll send you a free customized card with your name. Tell us your favorite colors and/or style (i.e., whimsical, classic, girly..., etc.) and we'll try to make you a match ;) BONUS: post this offer on your blog or wall, send us a link and we'll send you a few extra! Good thru 10/28/09!"

Some of my favorites:

They also have adorable holiday cards!

Costume consultants

2009-10-21T14:17:00.007-04:00

I need a service that will research and prepare my halloween costume every year. I am historically bad at coming up with ideas and then pulling something together. You would think that I'd have mastered the craft by now, seeing as how I had a different costume themed date function to attend every other month in college...BUT sadly no. This is why I was a princess for halloween my first 10 years of trick or treating. I like actually putting the costume together once I have a feasible idea. I have a few standouts like Kelly Kapowski (Bayside Cheerleader style) and Catwoman (I had a whip for this one!) but this year I struggled again to come up with an idea. Enter my sister--who is blessed with the costume gene. She had the idea to go as a black widow, sold!, I have black clothes and can definitely whip up some web-like eye makeup. I also may have bought a little black number on ebay a while ago...this is definitely do-able.

Ahh who remembers this scene?

So this is what I'm going for, or something like this--

Does everyone else have their halloween costumes all ready to go?

Apparently it's winter

2009-10-20T11:46:00.004-04:00

Since it has been so incredibly cold lately I decided to try out a new soup last night, Roasted Potato and Leek Soup, courtesy of Barefoot Contessa. It was really delicious and hearty--perfect for a cold night in. I couldn't find arugula anywhere, is it out of season or something?, so I nixed it from the recipe. I did make the crispy shallots--after a few intimidating reads of the recipe I went for it. My mom gave me a candy thermometer a while ago which I promptly laughed at and threw into the back of a drawer but it's suprisingly easy to use and the end result is definitely worth it!

I also used my fancy handheld blender for the first time! It cuts down on time putting the veggies in the blender and transferring them back and forth, I always make a mess doing this. I have the Cusinart Smartstick and love it! It's perfect for making soups.

Ingredients

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts, cleaned of all sand (4 leeks)
1/4 cup good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups baby arugula, lightly packed
1/2 cup dry white wine, plus extra for serving
6 to 7 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
3/4 cup heavy cream
8 ounces creme fraiche
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
Crispy Shallots, recipe follows, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine the potatoes and leeks on a sheet pan in a single layer. Add the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss to coat the vegetables evenly. Roast for 40 to 45 minutes, turning them with a spatula a few times during cooking, until very tender. Add the arugula and toss to combine. (I skipped this part) Roast for 4 to 5 more minutes, until the arugula is wilted. Remove the pan from the oven and place over 2 burners. Stir in the wine and 1 cup of the chicken stock and cook over low heat, scraping up any crispy roasted bits sticking to the pan. (A good amount of the leeks got pretty crispy, or black in my case, I threw out the really burnt ones but I think it's expected since they're so thin.)
In batches, transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor fitted with the steel blade, adding the pan liquid and about 5 cups of the chicken stock to make a puree. Pour the puree into a large pot or Dutch oven. Continue to puree the vegetables in batches until they're all done and combined in the large pot. Add enough of the remaining 1 to 2 cups of stock to make a thick soup. Add the cream, creme fraiche, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper and check the seasonings.
When ready to serve, reheat the soup gently and whisk in 2 tablespoons white wine and 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Serve hot with an extra grating of Parmesan and crispy shallots, if using.

Crispy Shallots:

1 1/2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 to 6 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin rings

Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it reaches 220 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, until they are a rich golden brown. The temperature should stay below 260 degrees F. Stir the shallots occasionally to make sure they brown evenly. Remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon, drain well, and spread out to cool on paper towels. Once they have dried and crisped, they can be stored at room temperature, covered, for several days.

Yield: about 1/2 cup

Penn State Homecoming

2009-10-19T10:35:00.006-04:00

We had a great weekend in State College! Despite below freezing temps and snow flurries we made it up late Friday night. Saturday it was still cold and drizzling but we layered up and went to the game after spending some time warming up and watching the other college football games. After watching the lions dominate Minnesota (thankfully!) we headed downtown to the Allen St Grill for dinner with my grandparents. I tried to order a hot buttered rum to warm up after the game but all they made were Hot Toddys (old school, yes). I wasn't a big fan of rum and tea and would advise against them....blah. I also realized this weekend, haha more like remembered, how insane my family is about football---we literally discussed all of the big games play by play and critiqued the Penn State game the rest of the night. I also learned about the fiasco my aunt caused having her wedding on the biggest PSU game day of the year 20 some years ago...haha. It's no wonder I've turned out the way I am...

ps. check out the guy in the pig hat behind us...not cute no matter how cold it is

pps. note Bryan is wearing an 80s rainsuit, yes pants and! a jacket, courtesy of my grandfather, haha it was hilarious

All bundled up and ready to go!

Brady Quinn Friday

2009-10-16T12:14:00.006-04:00

It's time for a celebrity (or athlete) crush! I've had my eye on Brady Quinn since he started playing for Notre Dame...because, well, he's pretty attractive--and he plays football which always helps. He also seems like such a nice guy, haha but I have absolutely no idea. He was the reason to watch Notre Dame in college and slightly more of a reason to watch the Browns today, though they're pretty awful this season. He is definitely my idea of dark and handsome (except Bry of course!). Enjoy...

We're also headed up to State College tonight to visit family and see the Lions play Minnesota tomorrow afternoon. I'm soo excited to go, except that it's been snowing! in PA all week and the high on Saturday will be about 30 degrees. I feel like I'm going back to my second alma mater this weekend, after being at UVA for homecoming last weekend. My family has been visiting State College every year since I was born so the campus is like home to me. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

This is my game day outfit, brrr.

Costco Snobbery

2009-10-15T04:26:00.000-04:00

Did anyone see Modern Family last week? Haha ok well first of all it was hilarious--go watch it, secondly I'm sad to admit that I too used to be a Costco snob. It's not that I thought I was too good for Costco I just didn't really see the benefit of signing up and buying food in bulk for 2! people. Well the times have changed! A year and 1/2 later I am as obsessed, if not more, than Bryan--and he is a Costco freak. We go probably every other weekend or so to stock up on food, household stuff, and clothes. At any given point in our apt you will find approx 50 sponges, 25 rolls of TP, and a 75 oz. bag of pita chips. I have become a bulk-believer.

Here are my top 5 reasons to love Costco:

1. Um free samples, yes please---I could have a full lunch of samples any day at Costco

2. The cheese section--amazing, they have at least 100 types of fancy and delicious cheese

3. The beer section is also great--they always have cases of seasonal stuff
4. You can buy movie tickets, ski passes, and entire vacations! at a discount

5. The Fuggs are amazing

Homecoming Recap--finally!

2009-10-14T12:15:00.006-04:00

Here is my belated weekend recap! We were in Charlottesville for Homecoming and it was an awesome weekend. I came in Friday night to stay with my sister while Bry was at home studying for the GMAT that he took on Saturday. We went to a new-ish restaurant the Local, which I thought would be amazing but...wasn't so much. After dinner I went over to a friends to pre-game and then out to bars on the Corner. I might have had a little too much sweet tea vodka/whatever someone put in my hand throughout the night but I was proud of myself for staying out until last call, on a Friday!

Saturday was the game and UVA unexpectedly killed Indiana--I mean it wasn't even fun to watch. The weather dropped literally 40 degrees on Saturday so it was a cold night out. Bars were packed and I got to see lots of old friends and some other unexpected people--that's coming later. Sunday we watched the Dallas Chiefs game, yay Dallas won--that was an exciting game that went into overtime. Now don't hate on me for liking Dallas, the boyf likes the cowboys and I think Romo is super cute--so it's not really a choice.

Overall it was a great weekend--I felt like we were in college again!

DCC, no, not the Dems...Cheerleaders!

2009-10-13T10:29:00.007-04:00

I just discovered my favorite show is back on CMT! It's kind of ridiculous, and I'm probably the only woman actually watching this show, but the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team is amazing! Yes it might be about "grown up" women trying out for a cheerleading squad. Yes, they run around in skimpy outfits and have a can of hairspray duck taped to their hands. Yes, its flashy and trashy and all things superficial but I LOVE it!

I used to watch this show in college with my roommate and we did not miss an episode. The women are well...let's go with a little airheaded until proven otherwise. It's also an excellent showcasing of Texas style--big hair and big attitude. I love Texas, especially Dallas, and it holds a special place in my heart. My BF lived there for the first year we were dating, I was in VA and he in Dallas. We flew back and forth for months and months but I had the chance to spend a lot of time in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio--places I would never have visited otherwise. Whenever the show has clips of Dallas sights I can remember flying into the city late on a Friday night and seeing the green building all lit up and the Dallas skyline. I actually grew to love Texas during the course of the year, though it's certainly a state with lots of personality. I always thought it was funny that I was considered a "northerner" from "up there" in Virginia.

Closet Swap Out

2009-10-12T11:24:00.006-04:00

This weekend was the first of many cold days to come. It's time to switch out my closet! I'm so tired of looking at my summer clothes--time to pack them up. I've done a little bit of fall shopping thus far, just basics like thin turtlenecks for layering and a sweater dress or two. I'm big into layering this year so I've also been stocking up on the open cardigans that seem to be everywhere (I really think they make you look skinnier because of the shape). I'm trying to keep a running list of fall must haves in my head as I shop, here are a few ideas:

I have these J Crew cords in a ton of colors. My office is pretty casual so I'll be rockin these with boots all fall/winter.

I am so into scarves--especially cashmere! This Burberry is so soft and timeless. I also found a great organic cotton scarf at H&M, really big and comfy.

The open sweater--goes over everything.

A fitted tweed jacket is great with jeans or even this strapless J Crew.

Weekend Recap is coming tomorrow! We had a great time at Homecoming--I even felt like I was back at school, isn't that what homecoming is for anyway?

Friday Goodness

2009-10-09T14:08:00.007-04:00

Tonight I'm headed to Charlottesville for dinner with my sister at a new all organic restaurant--it's supposed to be delicious! I hope we get to sit outside on the beautiful porch. Then we'll be headed out to see everyone in town for Homecoming festivities, I can't wait! Saturday UVA plays Indiana (hopefully it won't be too ugly) and then another night out! It should be a great weekend...I need to start planning my outfits stat--

I'll also be bringing some of these minis along for tailgating--sooo good with Arnold Palmers or just sweet tea!

Weddings and Chicken

2009-10-08T12:08:00.005-04:00

I am so excited for the Office wedding tonight--not that it takes a lot for me to get excited for a wedding, but it's Pam and Jim, how could you not be pumped up about it?!________________________________________________________________

I'll also leave you with this Chicken Saltimbocca Recipe, courtesy of Giada. I made this last week and it was absolutely delicious!!(surprisingly). I'm usually not a huge fan of Giada, especially watching her shows when she says things like prooooscuittttooo and parmesshannn--but I'm sure she's very nice--moving on! This recipe takes a little bit more prep work but the outcome is soo worth it. The sauce is to die for--I served this with cous cous, enjoy!

Ingredients

6 (3-ounce) chicken cutlets, pounded to evenly flatten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 paper-thin slices prosciutto
1 (10-ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Place the chicken cutlets flat on the work surface. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each chicken cutlet.
Squeeze the frozen spinach to remove the excess water. Season the spinach with salt and pepper. In a small bowl, toss the spinach with 1 tablespoon of oil to coat.
Arrange an even, thin layer of spinach atop the prosciutto slices. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each chicken cutlet as for a jellyroll. Secure with a toothpick.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a heavy large skillet over high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice, and scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover and simmer until the chicken is just cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the cooking liquid over high heat until it is reduced to about 2/3 cup, about 5 minutes. Season the cooking liquid with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove toothpicks from the chicken. Drizzle the reduced cooking liquid over the chicken and serve immediately.

Luke...where is your blackberry?

2009-10-06T09:59:00.002-04:00

Friday night I went to the dark side...and bought a blackberry. I'm not one for new "Techie gadgets" or updated apps, or whatever else people seem to be so into. Instead I have been living in the dark ages with my desktop computer, flip phone (whose extra features include texting), and VCR--haha ok it's not quite that bad, I do own a 8 yr old dvd player. I won a laptop from my company a few weeks ago--they have a fire-sale of old laptops for super cheap when they are no longer being used. It has become my love and I even bought a monogram to make it cuter.

So I had the full Sprint phone credit and saw that BBerrys were only $50!! after discounts, mail in rebates, etc--I mean a BBerry for 50 bucks?! yes, SOLD. So Bry and I went to Sprint on Friday night for a hot date/to get new phones. 3 Days later I'm still pretty amazed at all the things this phone can do--I'm in awe that it can take pictures, much less get emails, gps, internet! it's craziness. I'm now a rightful member of the 21st century!

Weekend Recap

2009-10-05T10:15:00.007-04:00

This weekend flew by, as usual, but I got tons of errands and football watching completed! Costco and H&M runs on Saturday turned out to be incredibly sucessful. I found some serious fall basics at H&M, 3 turtlenecks, 1 black sweater dress, organic cotton scarf, brown open cardigan, and bangles. Bring it on fall layering, bring it on.

Once again my Nittany lions came out on top--it will no longer be too emotionally damaging to post images such as these (let's just say I've been a little down about the Iowa loss two weeks ago):

Sunday was the Wine Festival in Richmond. The weather was beautiful. We drank wine for 3! hours--I can't believe I made it that long. Tons of local wineries were there doing tastings, I love Virginia wine! The Cabot cheese people were also there...probably the main reason I was able to sustain all that wine drinking. I must have eaten at least a block of cheese yesterday, tipsyness + cheese= lots of cals. I tried horseradish cheese for the first time--amazing!

Ebu(a)ys of the Week

2009-10-02T11:56:00.000-04:00

Though I'm trying to cut back on my online shopping habit I still don't have the ability to bypass amazing! bargains that may find me on Ebay....or that I might find--whatever. In the spirit of holding myself accountable, while at the same time flaunting my thriftiness, I thought I would share my recent finds:

Loving the J Crew bubble necklace--even with all the gray and black for winter this will spruce up some of black tops!

Lilly Pulitzer Bee flats--these will look great with jeans this fall. They are in need of some serious wearing in though.

Hunter Lady Boots--these are on the wishlist for now!

Have a great weekend everyone! Ours will consist of the usual Costco run--exciting, I know, Chinese food takeout--I've been craving this all week for some reason, college football Saturday, and wine festivalness--I can't wait, it's been such a long week!

October Road

2009-10-01T15:44:00.012-04:00

Today got me thinking of all things of all things October. It's the beginning of Birthday clusterfrick in my family with 3 birthdays within two weeks later this month...I need to get shopping! What does one buy their 17 year old little brother? It also gets us a little closer to Thanksgiving--my favorite holiday, cold weather (crossing my fingers for snow days), and the best movie season of the year!

First official pumpkin beer purchase!

Trips to the Orchard to pick some of these--and apple cider! There might be some serious pie baking in our apt this fall.

Homecoming at UVA!! I can't wait to see old college friends and tailgate all day--

And Halloween--yum look at that candy corn. I'm also notoriously bad at costumes, I should have started planning months ago. I was always that girl 3 hours before a date function that needed an idea and an outfit STAT!

Tomato Nirvana

2009-09-30T12:09:00.003-04:00

Last night I made Barefoot Contessa's Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup, from her Back to Basics cookbook, people it was amazing! I had some Hanover tomatoes on hand and whipped up this easy and delicious soup. It was perfect because this week has been chilly--it's time to switch out those summer clothes!

A few tips--- I used fresh from the market tomatoes and would recommend using good quality as it's the main flavor in the dish, I used a blender instead of a food mill and then put the soup through a sieve--adding a little bit of the pulp for texture, and finally I served this with cheddar jalepeno bread which was delicious! (thank you baker's crust) which gave the meal a little more substance and some heat.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped red onions (2 onions)
2 carrots, unpeeled and chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
4 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, coarsely chopped (5 large)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup packed chopped fresh basil leaves, plus julienned basil leaves, for garnish
3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
Croutons, for garnish

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add the onions and carrots and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, tomato paste, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper and stir well. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Add the cream to the soup and process it through a food mill into a bowl, discarding only the dry pulp that's left. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves and/or croutons.

Enjoy!

Vest Obsessed

2009-09-29T12:28:00.001-04:00

I love vests...there I said it...I'm not ashamed. I love puffy vests, businessy vests, and more recently faux fur vests. Maybe I've been watching too much Rachel Zoe or maybe it's my inner stylist finally getting trendy but I'm digging some faux fur right now. I do think I might need to sprout a few inches to pull this off--heels will be necessary, otherwise I look like I'm drowning in fur. I've been checking my ebay options for these beauties:

Rachel Zoe...I bet Taylor HATES this vest and thinks it's soooo unfair--like everything else in her life

BB Dakota love

And just because you can never have too many of these...

A case of the Duvets

2009-09-28T14:06:00.005-04:00

The things I hate shopping for the most are:

1. Prom Dresses---this was a yearly saga often ending in tears and an empty wallet (mostly caused by my hatred of having! to find a dress in a short amount of time and living in a city where Target is considered an upscale store)

2. Suits---maybe this is just me but I cannot find an amazing suit, everything seems too big or formal or...I guess I just don't like suits

3. And Duvet covers--the bane of my existence, what is the deal with finding a pretty duvet? I admit I might be a duvet snob (more like definitely) but pottery barn cannot be the only option right?

So now that it's becoming colder-ish...I think it's time to swap out our very summery and nautical! duvet cover, which looks similar to this:

I like these options from PB but I don't know where else to look.

Any advice on searching for duvets? This is also a gender-neutral challenge--help!

We will not speak of this again--weekend recap

2009-09-27T18:32:00.006-04:00

So this weekend was...not what we expected. After I worked my butt off at the UVA Career Fair all day on Friday I was totally exhausted. I spoke to at least 50 soon to be college graduates, many nerves, sweaty hands, and gum chewing--really?! I also decided this was the perfect way to contract swine flu--so I purelled the hell outta my hands as often as I could. Post career fair we ordered a pizza, watched I love you Man, and stayed in for the night. Saturday we went up to DC to visit family, and we had a few surprise guests. My sister and aunt ended up coming in for the game so we had 9 people! hanging out. It was really great to see everyone, especially baby davis who entertained everyone all night. He was obsessed! with my digital camera and ran around showing everyone the pictures of him I had taken...and occassionally launching my camera into the ground, haha. And the game....well that was a letdown. The nitts couldn't get anything done---at all. It was bad. So long great season, so long.

Bryan got a birthday surprise, dallas cowboys style.

And some of us got blue food coloring in our hair...

Game Day, sorry hawks

2009-09-26T10:42:00.007-04:00

Tonight we're heading up to watch the Penn State big ten opener with my family in DC. Yes, PSU football is an event that we will travel hours to watch on someone elses tv. Last year the Iowa Hawkeyes beat Penn State, by ONE point, and ruined their otherwise undefeated season, by ONE point--so tonight they will be after revenge. No I'm not bitter about it or anything. Hopefully State will be able to put up a nice lead so my blood pressure will go down enough to enjoy the game, and my family of course. We've also got some birthday surprises planned for Bry! It should be a great weekend--I'll report back with our Ikea finds, cute toddler D pics, and a highlight reel of Penn State's Iowa stomping.

Hopefully including this--

And this--

Have a good weekend everyone!

Reagan-licious

2009-09-24T10:05:00.006-04:00

Today Reagan is going for her 6 month vet checkup. I realized I've never talked about her on my blog--She is the worldest greatest cat, for those of you who haven't met her. After going back and forth for months about getting a cat and taking on the extra responsibility I decided to just swing by the SPCA, just to look, not to take home anyone. Well...in theory that was a good idea. Reagan was the only kitten in the SPCA at the time, I went looking for an older cat btw--haha you try turning down a kitten! it didn't happen. We played with her for a while and had a one on one visit. As we were leaving, and I thought I'd made up my mind to come back later, I stopped and asked about putting a hold on her, which you can only do for an hour because kittens are so popular. I called my roommates and pleaded with them to ok the decision. Then Bry and I went shopping, supermarket game show style, throwing stuff in the cart to meet our hour deadline. We made it, barely, and Reagan has been here ever since. She has the most affectionate and playful personality and loves to hang with everyone we have over. She is a source of constant entertainment and companionship.

Sleepy Reagan as a kitten.

Looking curious and stylish with her Virginia sweatshirt.

Things I don't miss Tuesdays

2009-09-22T10:51:00.007-04:00

As a child of the 80s/early 90s, here are a few things I do not miss wearing, seeing, or loving in my everyday life:

Stirrup pants (though I was never wearing 3 inch heels with these lovelies--more like an oversized sweatshirt and clogs)

Staring at the school clock all... day... long...is it recess yet?

Ohhh crimped hair, which I was WAY into--yikes

Why were Doc Martins ever popular? How ugly are these shoes??

Also making the list are warm-up suits, jinkos, grunge-wear, acid washed denim, and crazy colorful (sorry Mr. Cosby) sweaters

Weekend Recap

2009-09-21T13:11:00.005-04:00

They won!! Now we're number what?! in the country?

This weekend was wonderful. We had no plans to do anything but watch football, run errands, and eat delicious things. My mom ended up coming into town for brunch on Sunday and some shopping--I acted as personal style consultant for the day, aren't there jobs where you get paid for this? I need to look into that....Anyway we found some great fall clothes and I saw the largest human being I've ever! seen in real life. This poor guy, I say poor b/c people must just stare at him the entire time he's out in public, was at least! 7 feet tall and maybe taller. He was not a basketball player, as Bryan immediately inquired, he was just a middle aged dad with his, seemingly tiny in comparison, normal sized wife. My mom made me go stand near the guy, in the baby section no less, to compare how much taller he was than my shrimpy self. Anyway, the weekend went by too fast as usual but we got our costco run out of the way and our football fix met until next weekend.

I also picked up another pair of F-Uggs (fake Uggs) at Costco, in brown, which I was super pumped about. I am obsessed with these shoes--they are soo comfortable and at $35 bucks it's more than worth it.

This week I'll be heading to Charlottesville and then DC this weekend to visit family/watch Penn State play Iowa. I can't wait!

Football and Appetizers

2009-09-18T12:19:00.005-04:00

The boys are back!

I'm really looking forward to being home this weekend...it's been a while since I've gotten the chance to relax and enjoy being around town. I'm also planning to cook up a storm, appetizer style. I love me some spinach artichoke dip--so obvi that is on the menu, and I'm going to try a buffalo chicken dip recipe--we'll see how that turns out. The house is stocked full of beer and chips, and a bag of baby carrots so we don't get scurvy, so it should be a wonderful weekend! I'll be enjoying watching the Nittany Lions on our brand spanking new Big Ten network (which rocks my world) so we'll actually be able to see the game. Our other football picks are in (we're doing a pick-em' league every week with friends) so I'm crossing our fingers we did better than last week--ugh we chose 3 or 4 games correctly out of 10!

Delicious, my all time favorite.

The best part about these appetizers is that they both call for massive amounts of cream cheese...

Happy Friday everyone and have a fabulous weekend. If you have any appetizer recipes to share I'd love to hear them!

Under the Weather

2009-09-17T13:33:00.001-04:00

Bryan has been sick all week so it's no suprise that this morning I woke up to a sore throat. I am usually super immune to everything and never get sick! --that is until I moved in with two elementary school teachers and my world came crashing down. I was literally as sick as a dog for weeks and weeks during that year. I do have a helpful remedy for sore throats however, Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat Tea--it is amazing and it will change your life. The tea tastes like licorice and literally soothes your throat everytime you take a sip. You find it in the organic section of the grocery store.

I've also got new NBC tv to look forward to tonight! I am so pumped up for some Office antics and I think Community Development looks promising too. The love of my life 30 Rock won't be airing until October I think...so it's only reruns for the next month!

Happy Thursday--we're almost there!