24 days until Florida! So super excited for a White (sand) Christmas this year! And that will be my view...

Christmas

I've realized over the past few days that Christmas 2010 is going to be my last "single Christmas". So....if anyone is looking for ideas, here ya go:
*Hunter "Interlaken" Rain boot in Black, Size 8
*Brother 50-Stitch Limited Edition Project Runway Sewing Machine

After those 2 items, just browse our bridal registry at Pottery Barn, Macy's or Dillard's!

I'm actually pretty excited that from 2011 and beyond, we will have "married" Christmas. YAY!

We are officially registered! YAY! So if you are in need of a Christmas idea...or even just planning ahead...or just curious what we picked out, check out our registry! We are at Pottery Barn, Macy's & Dillard's. I'm super super excited!

Doing some registering today....SO. MUCH. FUN.

AND....MY WEDDING DRESS IS IN! YAY! Not that I was worried it wouldn't get here/be done in time, but it's nice knowing that it has arrived to the dress shop.

We have had so much going on between wedding planning and house/landscaping stuff, I haven't had a chance to sit down and breathe (and blog) in awhile. I promise I will start posting more.

To shop for groceries is human; to decant them, divine.

While browsing the "Off Duty" section of the WSJ (which, lets face it, is probably the only part I really care about) today, I stumbled upon a great website...fisheddy.com. I love the lifestyle boost: small projects with big impact column because that's exactly what it is- small and simply projects that really have a big impact. Today is containers of joy. Transferring you milk into a glass bottle. Using a pretty bowl to hold salt (which we actually already do). Keeping dry goods in ball jars. You get the point. One of their butter dishes came from the funky little website, so I decided to check out it. WOW! I've already got a wish list a mile long.

One of my FAVORITE things about fall is decorating Pumpkins! I've been browsing for ideas for a few weeks now, so I've got all kinds of ideas floating around in my head. So my plan this week while Gavin is gone (Boo) is to finish my pumpkins. We already have all the fall decorations out and the house looks very festive!! One of my other favorite things about fall is sampling all the yummy treats. This month's Taste of the South magazine had all kinds of tasty bites that I may have to whip up too!

But even alone it was beautiful and he fed the fire to cut the night chill. There it is again, he thought, that late summer chill to the air, the smell of fall.
--From the 1987 young adult novel Hatchet by Minnesota writer Gary Paulsen.

Gavin and I have been so busy lately between wedding planning and life in general, I haven't even had a chance to think about blogging...until tonight! I was on the treadmill earlier (where I always seem to have random thoughts) and realized it had been FOREVER since I had blogged! Sorry to anyone (is there anyone??) who actually reads this. If so, I'll bring you up to speed... We had our engagement photo session yesterday afternoon with our amazing photographer Catherine Marie Rhodes (check her out at cmrphotographer.com) and had a great time. Well...I had a great time! Gavin, on the other hand, wasn't exactly thrilled about getting our picture taken for so long but I think he secretly enjoyed it. We wandered all over downtown Columbia and grinned all day. I've already been able to look through them in the proofing gallery and we've picked out favorites to order for save the dates and newspaper announcements. We will soon be sending out our save the dates and you can see the pic's we have picked :)

Fall

Now that fall is here, it's time to start adapting our dinner menus and indulging in some yummy fall staples. Of all the recipes I've come across in the past few weeks, the first one I'm excited to try is Crispy Cauliflower with Lemon and Mint. It's only a few ingredients, super quick to throw together and looks D-E-L-I-S-H!!!



INGREDIENTS
1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 pound), trimmed and cut into small florets
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Salt
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
⅓ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
4 mint leaves, torn

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. In a large mixing bowl, toss the cauliflower florets with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Transfer the cauliflower to a rimmed baking sheet and roast, rotating the baking sheet and stirring the cauliflower halfway through, until the edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the cauliflower and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until crispy and warmed through, about 4 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower with the lemon juice, pepper flakes and mint. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Now that fall is here, all I can think about is lake weekends and summer games of Bocce ball... WHAT is wrong with my brain these days? I feel a serious, end of summer depression coming on....

I am so thrilled that football season starts in 16 days. More specifically, tailgating season is about to start! This means lots of black and gold, booze and blackouts. Football season also means the end of my favorite season- SUMMER! This summer has definatly been one for the books. The start of summer was marked with getting engaged to the most wonderful man ever! It's been filled with plenty of fun weekends with friends in both Columbia and at the lake. Lots of pool time with my girl friends. Denver. Baseball games on both sides of the state. Fourth of July fireworks with friends. Snoop Dogg. Bruised legs from too much tambourine at Leland & Dana's going away party (tear) with Dale Blue. All in all, I think that it's safe to say this has been the best summer of my life so far...and the good news is, it is only going to get better. I'm going to miss summer...but knowing that fall will bring cool weather, football games and lots of wedding planning (plus an Aspen wedding weekend) it's not too hard to look forward to the months to come.

Catalog Living...again

It's been awhile since I checked out Catalog Living...and I got quite a few giggles today while catching up!



Gary has no idea what exactly Elaine does in the shower every day, but he certainly knows better than to touch her wooden shower spoon or shower branch.

Hot Hot Hot

With a projected heat index in the 100's today along with a heat advisory, I think it's safe to say that today is going to be a VERY hot day! Luckily, I have the best recipe to help cool you off (along with staying inside in the A/C!) WHITE SANGRIA!!!
It's easy to put together and so insanely refreshing!



1 bottle of white wine
2 cups of apple juice or white grape juice
2 (or more!) cups of Vodka
As much fruit as you'd like- I like to use frozen to cool it down even more
A touch of Splenda (if you need a little more sweet)

Good luck Caleb!

Good luck in today's election to our good friend Caleb Jones! Caleb is running for Missouri State Representative 117th District. Unfortunately, I'm not able to go out and vote for him today but Gavin and I will be there tonight showing our support as the results come in.

I FOUND A WEDDING DRESS!!!!!

Louisiana

Louisiana, MO made it onto Midwest Living's 5 Small Midwest Towns You'll Love! Check it out at midwestliving.com

I don't know much about Louisiana, the tiny town to the South of Hannibal, but I do know that The Eagle's Nest Bistro is a FABULOUS place for dinner! It is also a winery and inn, so you can go eat, drink and sleep happily in this lovely location. It is 100% completely worth the 95 mile drive from Columbia! Check out their website that includes bistro menu, winery details, inn information and special events at http://www.theeaglesnest-louisiana.com/index.htm

Coconut & Crab Risotto

If you know me at all, you know that I am a freakazoid about seafood. . .like F-R-E-A-K, literally will do anything, bend over backwards for some seafood, for any meal and any day of the week. I'm more than happy to get up early and leave the house in Florida by 8 am (I fully believe in island time...so this is insane) for a seafood omelet at my favorite AMI spot. When I spotted this recipe for Crab AND Coconut (possibly my second favorite thing ever) Risotto (which I could also eat every day of my life) I screamed out loud a little and was grinning from ear to ear. This will likely be the demise of my wedding, eating healthy plan...and I don't even care!




Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 3/4 cup chopped sweet onion
* 1 cup Arborio rice
* 1 tablespoon brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon curry powder
* 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespoon fish sauce
* 1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk, divided
* 2 1/2 cups chicken broth, heated
* 1/2 pound lump crabmeat
* 1 ripe mango, chopped
* Flaked coconut

Preparation

Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add rice, and stir until well-coated and translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in brown sugar and next 3 ingredients. Stir in half of coconut milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is absorbed. Repeat with remaining coconut milk. Stir in the hot broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently, until each addition has been absorbed. (The entire process should take 20 to 25 minutes.)

Stir in crabmeat and mango, and cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with flaked coconut.

FUNNY. . .YET NOT SO MUCH AT THE SAME TIME

Check out the Gulf Oil Spill Tracker at oilspill.skytruth.org.

For How and Where to Volunteer, call the oil spill volunteer hotline at 866/448-5816.

If you want to volunteer your vessel for relief efforts call a vessel volunteer hotline at 281/366-5511.

I really wish...

I really wish it was appropriate to register for a Louis Vuitton!

It's not like Gavin and I need a toaster, blender, blah blah blah...We've both owned those things for years! haha! Something tells me that it wouldn't go over very well if I registered for the 3 bags I'm dying for at LV for our wedding....oh well...a girl can always dream!

I finished my newest issue of Coastal Living today on my lunch break and it was great! There was a great recipe for Cuban Corn on the Cob and some yummy cocktails that I will totally be whipping up at the lake in a few weekends with my family. In the meantime, don't be suprised if you catch me humming "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" while daydreaming about the warm sunlight and cool breeze coming off the water.