After this weekend's bridal shower, our home is turning into a Pottery Barn catalog...and I couldn't be happier! A HUGE thank you to everyone!

What to do when you are snowed in during a blizzard in Missouri?? Break out old issues of Bon Appetit and cook up a storm. Thank goodness we raided the grocery store just days ago. Stay tuned for my yummy concoctions & recipes!

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating."
-Luciano Pavarotti, My Own Story

Wedding Crisis!

The wedding is quickly approaching and all I have to say is WOW!
Today was the day of some pretty serious wedding crisis's (I know that isn't spelled right...) To start the day off, I got an e-mail from the person who was SUPPOSED to be doing my wedding cake. Well, to be honest, they were cupcakes and I was SUPER SUPER stoked about it! Long story short, we booked with this girl in November and thought everything was good to go...until today, when I got an email saying that she actually wasn't going to be able to do the cupcakes for my wedding (even though she confirmed the date already) and how sorry she was. Great..sorry, really doesn't help me when I'm less than 90 days out. So...word to the wise...DON'T THINK YOU CAN COUNT ON PINK CUPCAKES COLUMBIA FOR YOUR EVENT. EVER. UNLESS YOU WANT TO HAVE A MINI-STROKE BEFORE YOUR EVENT WHEN YOU FIND OUT YOUR CUPCAKES AREN'T HAPPENING.
Then...to top it all off...our wedding invitations (which have been a fiasco in itself) were sent to the wrong location. Now, normally this wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that people have been dropping the ball on these for over 3 weeks now and they are nearly too late to get to the Calligrapher. Holy Moly! My stress level was through the roof today! Luckily, I got booked with a kickass cake designer and I know this cake is going to turn out 100% better than those damn cupcakes would have...grr...
Oh the joy's of planning a wedding....

I'm so happy to say that in 90 days, I will be married to the love of my life. Now, if we can just make it through the rest of the wedding planning without going crazy we will be fine :)

Winter Veggies

Winter food totally gets my down after a while. You can only enjoy savory soups for so long before you start craving fresh veggies that you typically enjoy during the summer. Luckily, there are a few vegetables that are actually "in season" right now. I made this super easy (and yummy!) Cheese Crusted Squash a couple nights ago and it was a hit!All you have to do is mix 2 minced garlic cloves, 8 minced sage leaves, the zest of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 3 tablespoons each breadcrumbs and olive oil, and some salt and red pepper flakes. We try not to go overboard on the carbs, so I cut out the breadcrumbs and just add extra of everything to make up for it. Pat onto thin wedges of acorn squash. Bake in a single layer at 450 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes. Done and done! It is super simple and very, very delicious!

Over The "Moon"

I am so stinkin' excited to tell you that Gavin and I have FINALLY picked our honeymoon spot- - - - -CURACAO!! We are going to a fabulous little resort called Baoase and I am thrilled! It was recently named to the 2010 Hot List by Conde Nast Traveler and is amazing. Check it out at www.baoase.com! We couldn't be more excited and truly can't wait for the big day to be here...which is 101 days away! We've done lots of planning and our first shower is this weekend in Pine Bluff, AR. I'm so excited to get the party started!!

I've been a serious slacker the past few months when it comes to my blog. I've got plenty of excuses...wedding planning, holidays, etc, etc, etc...but I really just need to suck it up and get back to it. Gavin and I have been in Florida for the holidays and I have discovered (with the help of my mom) a super fun vintage store just a few minutes away. This one of a kind find is called Retro Rosie and Cobweb's Unique Finds. They have EVERYTHING! Today, I walked out with a vintage raspberry winter coat, gold elbow length gloves, a gold clutch and Vogue Sewing book (I've recently gotten a sewing machine and it is my new obsessionh). The coat is fabulous...and I nearly purchased one identical from Juicy Couture on Monday...however, this one was a mere $30 (and I'm sure much better made). So, consider this my comeback. I pinky promise to start blogging again.

Holy Carb Overload!

Holy Carb Overload! Today, I had a bagel, a doughnut and a cupcake. All of this was at work. WOW! I think I've taken in enough carbs to last a month..not to mention calories...and the sad thing is, I'm hungry right now! WTF? Put me down as FATTY today!!

Goat Cheese & Artichoke Dip

When I saw the email on my cracked out iPhone from "The Meaning of Pie" website, I had to look twice to make sure I was reading it right. Goat Cheese. Artichoke. That could be 2 of my favorite things. I could eat a log of goat cheese in about 10 minutes. And artichoke dip is...well...you know how good that stuff is! My thoughts then turned to one of my best friends, Amy, who loves goat cheese about as much as I do and I instantly knew I would be sharing this kick ass recipe with her! Thank you so much to The Meaning of Pie (www.themeaningofpie.com) for this amazing recipe..and all the other ones too!



Preparation:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, thoroughly drained and squeezed with paper towels
1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
5 ounces (give or take) of goat cheese, softened
½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
Dash of cayenne pepper
Dash of cracked black pepper

Let the cheeses soften a bit and then mix them all together thoroughly, along with the garlic and the peppers, using a fork or an electric mixer.

Squeeze the artichokes with paper towels until you have gotten most of the liquid out of them. You will be surprised at how much water artichokes are holding even after you have drained them. Chop them up coarsely and then add them to the cheese mixture. Gently fold in the artichokes.
Place the mixture into an oven-proof dish. I used an 8-½ inch round shallow baking dish, but you could easily use 2 smaller ramekins or some other dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes until it is hot and a little browned on top. Remove from the oven and serve.

This is still wonderful when it is cooled to room temperature. It is also one of those dishes that when served right out of the oven will scorch the roof of your mouth so proceed with caution. I have served it with Carr’s water crackers and it is also fantastic with sea salt seasoned pita chips.

Brunch

This has been a perfect brunch weekend. Relaxing with my honey before he is off to New York for the week. While I have lots of delicious brunch recipes, one of my favorites is Blueberries and Cream Soufflé (compliments of thenest.com). This recipe makes 6-8 servings, so I have to cut it down when its just Gavin and I.

Ingredients:
2 packages (8 oz. each) Neufchâtel or light cream cheese
10 cups cubed day-old french
Bread (about 1-inch cubes)
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
8 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
Blueberry syrup (see recipe below)

Spray a 3 1/2- to 4-quart casserole generously with nonstick cooking spray. Cut one of the cream cheese packages into small cubes. Toss together the cream cheese cubes, bread cubes and blueberries and then place mixture in the casserole dish. Soften the remaining cream cheese in the microwave for 60 seconds. In a Bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, eggs, milk, sugar and maple syrup. Pour mixture evenly over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until lightly browned and set in the center. Serve with blueberry syrup and sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a blender, blend sugar, corn syrup and blueberries. Pour into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Serve warm. Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Makes 2 cups

We officially are 100% decorated for Christmas! The Christmas tree is up and decorated, stockings are hung and the garland covers the mantle and staircases. It is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

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 :)