A Chicago Shower

I had to share some pictures from the pinterest worthy shower my future sister in law threw for me this past weekend! The whole party really took my breath away, she seriously outdid herself! I am certainly one lucky girl. Just look at the gorgeous colors, and all of the lovely details…

The setting, completely gorgeous

lovely placesettings with tea cups & flowers that doubled as favors

enjoying some of the delicious food

even more beautiful in the evening!

the other half arrived…

soon to be sisters!

Summer Scent

After reading about Bobbi Brown’s “Beach” body oil on a cup of jo, I knew that I had to give it a try. I adore the beach, and therefore, how could I not love this scent!?

Bobbi Brown Beach

It arrived at my doorstep the other day, and I must say, I am completely smitten. It smells like a bottle of summer, not to mention that it is an amazing moisturizer.

There is definitely a hint of sunscreen (ok, actually, a BIG hint of sunscreen). I love the smell of sunscreen (how much more “summer-y” can you get!?), so this is a plus for me.  However, if you aren’t into the sunscreen smell once you leave the beach, this may not be for you. 

Happy Summer!

Wedding Cake

Even before getting engaged, I had dreamed of getting my future wedding cake from Bredenbecks , an adorable bakery in Chestnut Hill, PA.

I don’t know what I love more, their adorable store front, or their delectable pound cake!

Lucky for us, we discovered that our venue works directly with Bredenbecks for their wedding cakes (a major selling point for the venue)!

When it comes to cakes, I am a proponent of taste over look, and so I knew from day one that i’d want a buttercream iced cake (no fondant allowed!).

We had our tasting this past weekend, and it was a blast. I walked in with one idea of how I would want our cake to look, and walked out with a totally different plan. I had originally thought that we’d want something like this:

texture

…something with texture, and a homemade look.

However, when I walked into the bakery and saw the stunning sleekness of the following cake (minus the floral details), I changed my mind. I didn’t realize that buttercream could look so SMOOTH!:

lovely

Needless to say, I was sold. After some discussion, we decided on an ivory buttercream frosted cake, with the beading detail above, and a coral ribbon wrapped around the bottom of each tier sitting in the “beading”. The ribbon will match the bridesmaids dresses. We also selected some very subtle champagne gold detailing for the top of each tier, to give it a little sparkle.

We’ll have 4 tiers of cake (supplemented by sheet cakes behind the scenes) to protect the structural integrity of the cake. We selected chocolate chip pound cake, red velvet pound cake, lemon pound cake, and sourcream pound cake to make up the tiers.

Our experience with Bredenbecks so far has been amazing, and I can’t wait to see the finished product (and eat it!).

Wedding Photographer

I’m not sure how people planned weddings before the internet. As i’m planning a Philadelphia wedding from Chicago, I have relied heavily on all of the following to find my dream vendors as well as creative ideas:

– Blogs

– Wedding sites (like wedding wire & the knot)

– Wedding photography blogs (ones that tag the vendors that were used)

– Pinterest

– Facebook

I thought that I should do my part and add to the information that is out there by detailing some of the vendors that I am using. The first vendor that we found was our photographer, Nicole Peterson of Girl Photography .

via Girl Photography

Her pictures are everything that we were looking for: vibrant, breathtaking, creative…

via Girl Photography

From the first time that I spoke with her on the phone, I knew that we were on the same page, and that she was the photographer I was looking for. We had a face-to-face meeting this past weekend while I was in Philadelphia wrapping up some wedding decisions, and I became even more excited once I was able to meet her in person. My sister joined us, and she summed it up best when she said that Nicole has such a calming presence, but is also on top of her game, and you can tell that she will be able to get people to cooperate.

via Girl Photography

Needless to say, I am incredibly excited to work with her in a few months, and to share the photos from OUR wedding!

Rise & Shine

As my breakfasts during the week usually consist of oatmeal, oatmeal, and more oatmeal, nothing makes me happier than a special weekend breakfast! Therefore, when I received some Land O Lakes eggs to try through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I knew exactly what to do: MAKE OMELETS!

 

ready to go

 

Per Foodbuzz, “Land O Lakes Eggs are backed by more than 90 years of experience in delivering premium, quality dairy foods that families can trust. All Land O Lakes Eggs are “eggstraordinary” because they are produced by hens fed a premium vegetarian whole grain diet consisting primarily of whole ground corn and soybean meal, with no added hormones, antibiotics, animal fats or animal by-products. These eggs are gathered at the peak of the hens’ egg-laying cycles, which can make the eggs more delicious. “

 

fillings

all lined up

 

I thought that making an omelet with some fresh veggies & cheese would be the best way to really put these eggs to the test. I used green pepper, mushrooms (sauteed), tomato, mozzerella cheese, and some fresh basil that happened to be in the fridge.  

 

prepped ingredients

 

cracked

 

sizzling mushrooms

 

omelet time

 

trying not to mess up

 

When making eggs, I will usually give up and just make a veggie scramble, but this time I was DETERMINED to make TRUE omelet! My strategy was:

1- chop up vegetables

2- scramble 3 eggs in a bowl

3- pour eggs into a pre-heated pan (sprayed with cooking spray)

4- when it is possible to lift the edge of the egg “disk”  from the pan with a spatula, lift it slightly and tilt the pan so that the raw egg sitting on top of the already cooked egg can drip onto the pan itself.

5- when the egg “disk” is almost cooked, flip it over using a spatula

6- place toppings on one side of the egg “disk”

7- Fold into an omelet using a spatula, and press down lightly with the spatula.

8 – I then flipped the entire omelet one more time for good measure.

overflowing with toppings!

folded up

ready to eat!

Somehow, I made it work! Honestly, I usually purchase the cheapest eggs at the grocery store (guilty at charged). I didn’t expect to notice any sort of difference between the Land O Lakes eggs and my cheap eggs, but I did. They tasted better, they held together better, and they created a much more delicious breakfast! I still have quite a few of these left even after omelets, so it looks like another wonderful breakfast is in my future sometimes soon 🙂

Book Review: Neverwhere

"Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman

As part of my “Embrace October” list, I really wanted to read this book by Neil Gaiman (the Spring 2011 “One Book One Chicago” selection, that I had purchased by never got the chance to read).

It was definitely creepy & dark, a great book for the Halloween season! I loved all of the twists & turns, and crazy characters that all seemed to come from nowhere throughout the entire book. For some reason, I was constantly reminded of the David Bowie movie “Labyrinth”, which I can’t say is a bad thing.

Labyrinth

Anyways, if you’re looking to add a little Fantasy to your reading list, check out this book!

Book Review: Life on the Line

"Life on the Line" by Grant Achatz & Nick Kokonas

As you well know, I include little “book reviews” here on my blog more to keep a running tally of the books that I have read, as opposed to writing full on book reports. Considering I read this book while sitting on the beach this summer, I am obviously falling behind! Luckily, the # of book per month ratio dropped significantly after returning home from the shore, and so it won’t be too difficult to catch up.

I read this book at the suggestion of my sister, who had to read it for her job. She warned me that I would not be able to put it down, and I couldn’t. Grant Achatz’s story is an amazing & inspiring one. I also really enjoyed that a lot of the happenings in the book took place right in my neighborhood!

When my sister, her boyfriend, and my mom came to Chicago over labor day, it was absolutely necessary to pay a visit to The Aviary, as a visit to Alinea was definitely not in the budget for the weekend. It was an experience that I will never forget! The concept, the presentation, the atmosphere, everything was so incredibly impressive! It is definitely a place that i’d like to return too the next time that there is something to celebrate.

Embrace October!

My “Embrace October” List…

31  Things to do for 31 excellent October days!

1.Re-read Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone

**a little witchcraft & wizardry to get into that halloween spirit!**

2.Celebrate marathon season by actually RUNNING one

**the culmination of all that summer training!** I did it!!! Nike Womens’ Marathon on 10/16/2011!!!

3.Stock up on some turtlenecks

**my fall & winter staple, loving these tissue ones from JCrew…** 10/5/2011, in some basic colors

http://www.jcrew.com/womens_category/knitstees/tissuetees/PRDOVR~17656/17656.jsp

4.Commit to a color scheme for our wedding

**why is this nearly impossible???**

5.Indulge in some of my favorite “fun-size” Halloween Candy

** ”fun-size” being the operative word here** It’s not even Halloween, and I have accomplished this to the 1,000th degree.

6.Watch “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown”

**I love me some peanuts characters**

7.Stroll around Lincoln Park on a crisp morning

**a leisurely stroll to explore corners of the park that I have not yet discovered**

8. Make Cinnamon Brownies

**The thought of these is making my mouth water…**

[http://inthelittleredhouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/cinnamon-brownies.html]

9.Celebrate at a Cousin’s wedding in Philadelphia

**It is going to be GORGEOUS!** So much fun on 10/8/2011!

10.Enjoy my favorite parts of San Francisco

**after running the marathon** Such a wonderful weekend in SF with my sister & her bf! Even got to see the wonderful Lindsay Meyer!

11.Go for a fall foliage run in Valley Green Park in Philadelphia

**fits right in with the marathon training plan** This didn’t happen 😦 Replaced with marathon training runs through Chicago!

12.Carve a pumpkin

**bought carving tools on clearance last year, now it’s time to use them!**

13.Browse the Halloween section at Target

**Target gets me every time**

14.Watch “You’ve Got Mail”

** This movie just FEELS like AUTUMN!**

15.Read “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman

** I’ve started it, and it’s feeling spooky. Perfect for Halloween month** Finished this (sadly!). SUCH a good book!

16.Find a new pair of live-in jeans

**aka – the jeans I will not take off until next summer**

17.Browse the Lincoln Park Green City Market (with a hot cider in hand)

**must embrace living next door to this before I move in May**

18.Take advantage of free cupcakes at Sprinkles

**Working next door to Sprinkles + a daily cupcake giveaway announced on twitter is a deadly combination** Too many times, too many times…

19.Pick & Follow a few Fall television shows

**Must decide which new shows I’m going to add to my list**

20.Attend some fun, but *cheesy* wedding events & expos

**I have no reason to attend these as we can’t use Chicago vendors, but two words gets me – cake samples**

21.Pack up summer clothes & other summer things and put them in storage [L]

**get ahead of moving in May NOW by packing throughout the year**

22.Re-Do my budget [again]

**nothing makes me feel more organized than having a perfectly clean budget**

23.Celebrate future sister-in-law’s 30^th birthday!

**party time!** Suprise party on 10/2/2011!

24.Break the trench coat out & wear as much as possible!

** this city gets about 2 days of trench coat weather, must enjoy it!**

25.Eat an apple cider donut

**self explanatory** 10/2/2011 at the Long Grove Apple Festival

26.Do a closet clean out & donate clothes to goodwill

**already cleaned out the drawers & have 3 huge bags that need a good home**

27.Watch a movie in Spanish

**because my mind misses the study of foreign languages**

28.Celebrate APPLES: Either at a festival, or you-pick farm

**most likely at an apple festival in the North Suburbs that looks enticing** 10/2/2011 at the Long Grove Apple Festival

29.Create a game plan to look good in wedding dress in 11 months

**not looking forward to this, but must start early!**

30.Make an apple pie

**with apples from the apple festival perhaps!**

31.Find a florist for our wedding

**this is incredibly impossible, as I am too indecisive**

Book Review: Bossypants

"Bossypants" by Tina Fey

First of all, I had NO idea that Tina Fey grew up outside of Philadelphia. I discovered this while reading her book, and it made me incredibly happy.

Secondly, I don’t think that i’ve EVER laughed so hard in my entire life, at least not while reading a book. This book left me laughing OUT LOUD in many public places, including many a CTA bus. If you ride the bus with me, i’m sorry for alarming you first thing in the morning with my consistent laughter! If you haven’t picked this book up yet, i’d highly suggest you do it ASAP.

 

 

Some Favorite Things

The following is a hodepodge listing of what i’m seriously loving right now:

 

1- We Are Not Martha’s Quinoa & Black Bean Salad

photo via We Are Not Martha

Recipe here.. I have been making this very religiously on Sundays and bringing a bowl to work for lunch each day. It’s OH so good, and I have found myself quite addicted. It’s refreshing, filling, and HEALTHY! Also – I can’t forget that it’s a pinch to throw together. 

2- Pimm’s Cup

photo via myrecipes.com

 Recipe here.I am not a big drinker, but when I do have a cocktail, I love my gin. Maybe i’m a bit out of the loop, but I had NO clue that Pimm’s No. 1 is gin based! Well, I discovered this fact a few weeks ago, and now i’m obsessed (unfortunately too late, as it’s considered a summer drink). I’ve made a mental note to find a way to make this a signature drink at our wedding in some way, shape, or form.  

3- My Erin Condren Wedding Planner

photo via erin condren

 (obviously my planner does not say Jason & Samantha…) The planner can be purchased here.

After doing quite a bit of browings in bookstores & online, I had come to the realization that I was not going to find a wedding planner that I liked. I searched high & low, but all I could find were:

– frou frou planners with WAY too much writing and too little space for filling in details. I don’t want to carry around some huge binder tied with a ribbon and covered in lace  in my purse every single day.

– basic notebooks with no help on the organization front – just simple blank pages. 

I knew that I wanted some combination of the two, something that would help me keep track of dates & appointments like a typical day planner, but with some wedding flair. This is EXACTLY why I fell in love with the Erin Condren wedding planner. It is totally customized – everything from the monthly calendars that are included in the planner (it’s not based on a calendar year, it starts from your month of purchase), to the personalized stickers & gift tags. I chose not to add a picture – I wanted something a little more discreet in case I had to pencil something in at work or something. 

4- The Stick

photo via thestick.com

Can be purchased here. The fiance gave this to me for my birthday after watching me fall in love with it over and over again at far too many race expos. I have been experiencing some serious IT band pain lately as a result of marathon training, and this little gem has been quite the lifesaver. It hurts so good, and I can definitely feel a difference when I use this after a run, and when I don’t.