Boring, misc....

I've been a huge slacker on the cooking lately - I have no desire to cook. It's weird, because I always do...but lately I've been really busy, gone a lot, etc., so Adam has been making our dinners. He's so awesome. He marinated and grilled chicken tonight, which we had with wild rice and salad...then he did all the dishes, as he always does. I was bored out of my mind - sick of the computer, sick of tv, so I played Scrabble against myself. I also played Sudoku (I have the game board version of it) but I STUNK so I had to cheat a bit and look at the answers for some boxes. I still screwed it up but I eventually finished...I much prefer Scrabble. :) The house is really clean, and I finally moved around some furniture and hung a few things that I had forgotten about, so it looks more put together. I still want a couple area rugs, but obviously will wait until later to get them...we found a great one at Ikea that was super cheap, however the drive to Detroit to get it is not our cup of tea at this point. All our $$ goes toward the wedding and savings at this point, as it should!!

I'm excited because I finished putting together the bridesmaids' gifts, and had my last dress fitting today! Adam's mom went with me, and we saw it on and actually fitting me this time!! I love it, but man was it stiff!! Sitting down was not easy...I heard some sort of popping sound, which the seamstress assured me was just a pin coming loose...hmm...no more pizza or bad food for me until after the wedding!! :) My shoes were a different story - they absolutely KILLED my feet and I realized I would probably have to wear them around the house for the next 3 weeks in order to break them in. I can handle it, though...my awesome seamstress is actually making a front bustle so if I want to wear flats of flip-flops at the reception, my dress won't drag.

This should be a good few days for Adam and I - tomorrow we're off to Garett and Janelle's house for dinner, and then on Friday we're meeting Erin and KC at Blue Water Grill for dinner, and then back to our house afterward...they saw it the day we moved in, and things were a mess and we had none of our furniture! Saturday we will head to Abby and Steve's house for their daugher Anna's first b-day party, and then probably just hang out at home on Sunday.

Adam is making fun of me as we speak, talking in a girl voice and pretending he's reading my blog - he has been obsessed with the Tigers today, with the trade and comeback game and whatnot...and he wonders why I blog?? :-) I think I will challenge him to a game of Scrabble!!

Good Day!

Today I tied up a LOT of loose ends for the wedding...these may seem pretty dumb to a lot of people, but it's just more things that needed to be done! I went to Meijer and cleaned them out of one of their 4x6 styles of picture frames (I bought 15 today) that we will use for our table numbers. I also went to a GREAT store downtown Rockford called "G. Willikers" that sells specialty paper products...everything you can imagine. I got some little things to add to the gifts for the bridesmaids, an awesome card for Adam, and all the blue/paisley tissue paper and wrapping paper to wrap all our gifts for the wedding...parents, wedding party, m/m of ceremonies, etc. It was one of those things that I just needed to get done!! I also ordered a few more things for the girls online. Adam is on a mission to find groomsmen gifts, but time is running short and if they need to be ordered, it has to happen this week. We're down to 25 days!! He wants to do something unique, but isn't sure what yet.

Most of our candy has shipped to us, and I was freaking out because the box that contained the blow-pops was smashed to bits on the porch...luckily, the suckers were not. :) I think this candy buffet will be really cool...I can't wait to see it all put together!! I'm waiting on the delivery of the gummy sharks next. :) Kurt is getting me some of his candy, too...

Today I also was able to have lunch with two members of my former 5th grade team, Erin and Christi. We at at the Corner Bar and all three of us ordered exactly what we always order...too funny. We walked around downtown Rockford and wandered in the shops (not Jade!) and found nothing. It was nice to come home with no explaining to do and no receipts to hand over. :) Tonight will be low key and Adam may head to the mall....not sure yet. I have gift cards to use, so I'm thinking I might tag along.

OH - and Kiki has not stopped purring and talking to us since we got home. She is so weird.

Home...after a great weekend!

We just got home from our long weekend in Pentwater. It was a beautiful, fun, relaxing time...we just had a blast. Well, Adam had an ok time...he is very goofy about sand and since the campground is basically on a giant sand dune, he was not really enjoying it. I think he wore tennis shoes and socks 99% of the weekend...but by Sunday I think he was finally ok. :-) I had a great time with my family, Adam's mom and Elmer, and our many family friends who we were able to see. It was great to say hi (in person) to our wonderful family friend "Jud" who was in Pentwater from Hermosa Beach, CA with his family...Lindsay and I spent a super long weekend with him and his family in Los Angeles a few years back...and I have not seen him since! As always, my parents were great hosts and made sure we were always full of food and drinks. :) Too much of both. I will post pics very soon, when I get them from all the smart people who remembered their cameras!!! I forgot mine, again...of course. I had a thought that if I got a NEW camera, maybe I'd stop forgetting it?? :-) Just kidding.

We're home and tired and both catching up emails, work, and laundry. Adam has TWO interviews tomorrow so we're hoping something good comes from them!! Kiki won't leave us alone and had not stopped meowing since we walked in the door. She missed us!!
I'll post more soon.

Update

All the cooking went well - Adam thought caramel corn on the beach would be too sticky - he's right - instead I made brownies and rice krispy treats (also sticky)...we can eat them by the campsite I guess. :) I always eat pretzels and iced animal crackers on the beach anyway. :)

We took Kiki to the vet yesterday, and it was determined that she has allergies...that's the reason for those nasty wounds she creates on herself with the scratching (she has another one on her head right now.) So, she got an expensive steroid shot that the vet is hoping will take her through allergy season...is that not out of control?? She also has a bum tooth and probably needs it extracted - just to have her teeth cleaned will cost between $260 and $360 dollars...not including the pulling of the bum tooth, of course...even more out of control. The vet made us feel bad about questioning the necessity of this procedure, when she told us how bad the tooth probaby hurts Kiki! :-( The tooth is a very ugly color...I won't describe, because it's gross.

Pentwater at 10 am tomorrow morning!!!! I can't wait...Lindsay and Tyler are already there, as well as my parents...I believe we are tenting it, since the camper sofa bed is odd....it's practically brand new, but a little small for my giant fiance and a little yucky for my bad back...who knows. I don't care, as long as I am there! :)

BTW, Adam saw the new Batman movie and said it was FANTASTIC. It lived up to the hype, he says...apparently Heath Ledger is amazing, too. :)

Kitchen Slave...and a Caramel Corn Recipe!!

Today (Wed.) I plan to spend a lot of time in my kitchen, preparing for our long weekend in Pentwater!! :) We are leaving early Thursday morning and coming home Sunday night. I am dying to get there - it's my favorite place in the world!! This gorgeous weather is not holding me back, either! I'm grocery shopping and cooking today, and here's what I'm planning to bring with us on the trip:

• Mexican Layer Dip (for happy hour on Friday when Adam's parents come for a visit!)
• Pinwheel Appetizers (my dad loves these, and he will probably eat most of them...)
• Blueberry Coffee Cake (every year I bring it and every year it's amazing. Yum.)
• Homemade Caramel Corn (a little excessive, but it is SO good and not really that hard to make - good for the beach)
• Pineapple Chicken Salad Pitas (everyone loves this recipe - I've posted about it before and brought it with me several places this summer - even my picky brother eats it. It's a fantastic make-ahead lunch for a beach day!)
• Probably "Ugly Dip" for my honey - he requests it often and will eat 1/2 a bag of chips with it in one setting - I may surprise him with it. :)

Here's a recipe for you!

Caramel Corn

15 c. unsalted popcorn

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. stick butter or margarine

1/4 c. light corn syrup

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Divide popcorn between two ungreased rectangular pans (9x13)

2. Cook brown sugar, margarine, corn syrup, salt in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly around the edges. Continue cooking 5 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in baking soda until foamy. Pour sugar mixture over popcorn mixture; toss until evenly coated. Bake one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool completely.

*For caramel-nut corn, decrease popcorn to 12 cups and add 3 cups nuts (peanuts are good.)

Today is the 2 year "anniversary" of my first date with Adam...we had met 3 weeks or so prior to the date, but had only talked on the phone...he lived in Detroit and me in GR, so it was a phone relationship for awhile. I had 2 tickets to see Counting Crows and Goo Goo Dolls at DTE, so I asked him if he wanted to go! (He had asked me to another date which I couldn't go to, so I responded with my date suggestion...he did make the first move!) I drove to his condo, nervous as heck, and stopped at a gas station to fix my hair and makeup before going there...when I pulled up, he was outside talking to a neighbor with a cooler in the car, and he had on tennis shoes and socks with a white polo and khaki cargo shorts...I thought he looked cutenerdy (a combo of the two words that I made up, meant to be complimentary) and was so sweet. Then, we get in his car...and it is a convertible with the top down!!! I silently freaked, for I know what happens to my hair during convertible rides...then he told me it would be at least an hour ride there, and I wanted to die. However, I kept a smile on my face and worked hard to hold my hair down in a chic way. About 15 min into the ride, my skirt flew up (because my hands were on my hair) and I was MORTIFIED!! It was a good ice breaker, and we were laughing in no time. He did not see anything, either :)

We had such a fun time at the concert, and it was a relaxed, flirty night...we ended up getting taco bell afterward, and since the car was a stick, I helped feed it to him. He told me later this was weird and embarassing for him, but I thought it was cute at the time!! Guess not. :) I thought guys liked to be taken care of!!

After that, he told me that he could not stop thinking about me and we started talking nonstop...a couple weeks later, our real dating started. It's funny, because it's now 2 years later we are meeting with our pastor who will MARRY us. :) I love that. Our wedding day is also one year exactly from when we bought our house.

Adam, I am so lucky to be marrying you - I love you so much and every time I have to be away from you for more than a little while, I'm reminded of how wonderful you are and how much I love spending time with you. I can't WAIT for 32 more days to pass, so we can have our wedding!!

**Pics above were taken at the concert - our first date!!

Weekend!

This was a superb weekend for me, because Saturday and Sunday were spent in my fave city Chicago for my bachelorette party!! 6 girls and myself met in Hudsonville at 9:00 am Saturday, where we carpooled to the city. We stayed at Grand Plaza, where my sister Lindsay's bf lives, and she/he hooked us up with an awesome 2-bed, 2-bath condo! It was supposed to be a day by the pool, but it was pouring rain...so we ate lunch, hung out, had a few drinks, and talked. It was sooo nice. When the rain let up a bit, we walked a few blocks to a nail salon where we ate more, drank more, and got manicures and pedicures! We walked back and got ready for dinner
(all of us getting dolled up - hair, makeup, dresses, shoes, the whole 9 yards) and I opened some super cute gifts! For dinner, we ate at Quartino, a nice Italian place where we all had a great time and good food. We went back to the condo, played a game or two and decided to go out on the town. Somewhere on the literally 1 1/2 block walk to Pops for Champagne, my wallet disappeared...I heard the dumb Tide stick fall out of my purse and hit the sidewalk, and when I had this weird feeling to look inside my purse, I noticed the missing wallet. Never found it, thought not for lack of trying!! Between the 8 of us, we scoured every place I'd been after dinner...but no luck. The girls pumped me up and convinced me that we should go out anyway, so we fanagled ways to get me into the bars/clubs (I am 30, after all) and the night went awesome!! I ended it with a 3 am (make that 4 am in GR) call to poor Adam - and he answered and was sweet to me. :) Sunday was spent recovering and doing a little shopping, with lunch at the Cheesecake Factory...yum. We actually didn't get home until about 8 pm!!

I have the best friends in the world, and I am so glad and grateful for those who were able to come to Chicago. It's awesome to have so many wonderful people right there, just because of you, and my heart and head were huge that weekend. :) Love you girls. Katy and Whitney - I love you just as much and know it would have been that much better if you were there...soon we'll do it again!!

Finally!!

I am soooo glad, because FINALLY the invites are all out. It's been a mini-nightmare, but everything is done, stamped, and ready to go today. I can now be back to normal. Thank you to all who have been patient and are still awaiting invites. They are coming! :-)

Delicious...Website and Appetizer!!

The Martha Stewart website is actually quite informational, and I find a lot of great inspiration ideas on it - gardening, cooking, decorating, weddings, etc...how good does this recipe look for prosciutto-basil crostini? SO easy and yummy....

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.fc77a0dbc44dd1611e3bf410b5900aa0/?vgnextoid=f4c8b276b490f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Fun Weekend Ahead!

This Saturday morning, my girls and I leave for Chicago and a little bachelorette party!! I am so grateful for the girls who are going and I know we're going to have a blast!! I will hopefully have a TON of great pics to share in a few days!

Steve and Bethany's Wedding!!

Last weekend, we were able to travel to Chicago for the wedding of my cousin Steven and his new wife Bethany!! We had a lovely time, and the wedding and reception were a lot of fun!! It could not have been better weather - the wedding was in Naperville, so I was able to see this talked-about suburb for myself - it was lovely, and I'd love to go back and shop, and possibly eat in an outdoor cafe in their adorable downtown!! Here are a few pictures of the fam at the wedding...let me just say to my brother, Kurt, that I will never forget his dancing with our mother. :)

Sugar Cookies with Kelsey and Cameron

I've been totally consumed with wedding details for the last 2 days, at least. I am getting emails and calls from everyone I need to - everyone is so wonderful - however, it's all coming at once and I am SO glad I am not working full time this summer. I can't believe how busy I am with tutoring and wedding/house stuff!! I've been working with our invitation designer, Anne, to finalize all the "paper" things for the wedding - programs, place cards, table #'s and cards for the tables, etc. She is doing a fantastic job with everything, and being so patient with me as I make all my little changes. :) I'm so pleased with how everything looks so far, and I can't wait to see it in person!!

This Friday, we go to the museum and meet with just about everyone - including finalizing our flowers. I am dying to go there and see everything in person again (without snow on the ground this time!) and see the place set up for an outdoor wedding. We are looking at where everything will go (for example, our candy buffet, place cards, photo booth, tables, head table, etc.) and I am hoping all my/our questions can be answered! Next week we meet with several other vendors, and I will have my second dress fitting soon - it's all happening quickly!!

Today was especially productive - we spent several hours cleaning the garage - sweeping, scrubbing the floor, organizing, pitching junk, setting up the recycling area, etc. We also washed my car, hung things on the walls inside, cleaned, I tutored and went grocery shopping, gardened, made dinner....Adam did errands and job stuff, and a lot more outside than I did - and then Kelsey and Cameron from next door came over and we made cookies!! We also played with Kiki - she is learning several new tricks (other than "shake") including jumping thru a hoop and "beg" or "attack." Kelsey has a plan to teach her to lay down - however I've been trying for months and she just won't do it. My uncle taught his cat to retrieve, so I'm hoping that's next for my Kikers.

Two days prior, I gave Kelsey my "cookie" cookbooks and had her pick what she wanted to make - she ended up choosing "the cookies you get at Meijer that are almost not cooked sugar cookies with the bright frosting." Yes - you know what those are...my students always have them for b-day treats, and they are awesome. I am not sure what they are called, but I thought we could try to recreate them....and we DID! We made sugar cut-outs and I added a little lemon extract - we rolled them a little thicker than the recipe called for, and baked them until they were JUST done - not brown on the bottoms yet. I was going to make a vanilla buttercream - however, their bedtime was drawing near, so I opted for the store-bought vanilla can frosting. Who doesn't like that? We decorated them with various sprinkes....and they were AWESOME! I really think they taste like the store-bought goodness. :) Here's the recipe:

Ethel's Sugar Cookies (for Cut-outs)
3/4 c. butter-flavored shortening
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon extract/flavoring (vanilla is ok too)
- Mix thoroughly

Stir in:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Wrap dough in waxed paper - chill dough at least 1 hour after mixing all together.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough to 1/4" thick (or 1/8" for crispier cookies). Cut with cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 6-8 minutes until just barely done - bottom/edge should barely brown.
*makes 2 dozen thicker cookies

Three-Bean Chili

Well, chili is not exactly the perfect summer dinner...but I made a ton of it in the early spring and figured I'd use up what we had in the freezer/pantry this week...Adam came home from the gym and was excited about how good it smelled in the house - and I can tell you that it tasted just as good as it did when I made it fresh! The best part is it's made in the crock-pot and you don't have to turn on the oven OR worry about it! Enjoy.

(I am in the process of uploading all the pictures from our fun Chicago wedding weekend - I will post them soon!)

Three-Bean Chili
1/2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 c. chopped onions
1/2 c. chopped green bell pepper
1 (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes, undrained - cut up
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can condensed tomato soup
1 (1 1/4 oz.) pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 (15 oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 (15.5 oz.) can great northern beans, drained
1 (15.5 0z.) can butter beans, *undrained
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

1. In a medium skillet, brown ground beef with onions and bell peppers until beef is thoroughly cooked. Drain.
2. In 3 1/2 - 4 qt. slow cooker, combine cooked ground beef mixture, tomatoes, tomato sauce, soup, and taco seasoning mix; mix well.
3. Cover; cook on high setting for 30 minutes.
4. Stir in beans - Reduce heat to low setting. Cover and cook an additional 4-5 hours or until thoroughly heated.
5. Serve in bowls with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese (this will thicken) and garnish with a few tortilla chips. Great with grilled corn on the cob, too! Freezes well.
*for thicker chili, drain butter beans

Recipe courtesy Pillsbury (with a few changes by Kristin)

Wedding Cakes?

*photos courtesy of theknot.com and http://sjophotography.com/ via http://www.pearlsevents.blogspot.com/ and http://sweetcakesdesign.blogspot.com

I have been going round and round in my head, regarding what our cake should look like - I've changed my mind a zillion times and for some reason, I can't figure out what I like. So many people find a picture and ask their baker to copy it - but I can't even find that, exactly. Here's a few pics of what I like right now...our colors are light blue, white, and navy/silver accents...if I do the pink cake, it will be white with pale blue flowers...I think that's what I'd prefer...the one on the top right (all white) is lovely, but it has fondant icing and I am told that is not fun for guests to eat/bite into...and if you only knew how wonderful the frosting is that our bakery has!!

I am a little overwhelmed with wedding details right now - although in the grand scheme of things, wedding details are pretty ridiculous things to concern myself with...but I have a million thoughts in my head of what I need to do, buy, plan, etc. - and I finally just wrote it all down (check that - I RE-wrote it...) and feel a bit better. :) 43 days and counting!!

Let me know what you think about the cakes!

What I Crave

I am in love with this bench from Pottery Barn - we almost bought it last fall, but for some reason decided not to...however, that was a mistake. The timing is not right for the bench to be purchased now, but I am literally collecting change and saving for it!! Our bench would be in black and go beneath our organization wall system in the kitchen. I'd probably do silver/metal baskets instead of wicker.

I'm also craving the rug above - I love all the colors and how it's whimsical but yet still classy. I will have it someday!!

Protector of the Catnip

Here is our baby, Kiki, protecting the precious catnip that she loves to lay ON TOP OF and eat whenever I'm working in the flower beds. :-) This picture is about a month old, and the catnip is now about 4 times the size with adorable purple flowers all over it! I'm excited because I saved the Gerbera daisies from the slugs, bugs, etc., and now they're all huge, healthy, and flowering. My poor marigolds have not met such a fate - they are completely leafless right now :( Not sure why - we bug sprayed again today, but I am thinking it's something else. Let me know if you have a suggestion!

Summer = Peaches

I've spent the last few evenings working on a little side gift for my future cousin, Bethany, who is getting married this Saturday in Naperville, IL. We're all making the trek to the wedding, and I'm looking forward to seeing the whole family together. My gift (aside from the check they'll get) is a collection of good, classic recipes that Bethany can use - she is a self-proclaimed NON cook, so I figured I would pass along some of our favorites/best ones that she may want someday. It's actually quite time-consuming to write them all out (just don't want to type AND printer is down) and I keep adding more to the pile of my favorites! If I typed them, I could always print them out for all the future newlyweds...hmm...maybe that's an idea.

Anyway, after a morning of tutoring and taking the Jeep in for some maintenance, I decided to take advantage of the super lovely peaches that I found at the store...and make some peach cobbler. It's tart and sweet at the same time, and is EXCELLENT with whipped cream flavored with vanilla and cinnamon...a great summer dessert. Unfortunately, a lot of it will go to waste in our house - we are one-serving dessert people...so my parents will most likely get the rest. I always seem to do that to them! I thought I'd share the recipe - I am not sure where it came from, but I've had it for several years. It's been popular in the past...so enjoy!

**Oh yeah - and how about strawberry shortcake and blueberry pie for other classic summer desserts?? The pie recipe I have is great, and I'll share it during blueberry season, but the shortcake recipe I'm keeping secret a little longer. :-)

Peach Cobbler
Filling:
6 large peaches, cut into medium slices (not too thin)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. cornstarch

Biscuit Topping:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss peaches with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch i a 2-qt. nonreactive baking dish. Bake in middle of oven for 10 minutes.

While peaches bake, make the biscuit topping...stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender or 2 forks, until mixture resembles coarse meal. If it gets too thick or hard to do, pop it in the fridge for 20 min. Stir in water until just combined.

Remove peaches from oven (keep oven on) and drop spoonfulls of topping over them. Sprinkle a little sugar over the topping. Bake in the middle of the oven until topping is golden, about 25 minutes. (Topping will spread as it bakes.) Serve with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream - serves approx. 4-6.

THANK YOU

Special thanks to Roy, Adam's dad, for getting our booties in gear, regarding our Thanksgiving visit to Plano, Texas for the holiday weekend. Greatly needed and much appreciated. I will be an official "Hubner" when I sit down for turkey dinner!! :) Yay!

Things I Love Today

Well, today I love several things...thought I'd share. Rainy days make me want to sleep, read, be cozy, and think...
I recently pulled out my all-time favorite book, A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins. I can read it over and over again, and still love it...check it out.

Adam's quirky sayings...he and I have different meanings for the words "cottage" and "cabin." I feel that a cabin is some lodgy place in the woods with old, rustic woodsy furniture. He feels that any residence on water or in the woods is a cabin. We are always correcting each other on this, playfully, and today he was on the phone and was correcting himself. It was cute. Sounds dumb I suppose, but it's just one of the many things I love about him.

Good friends - it's funny how many times you have the realization of who your true friends are. There are times when some people just don't come through for you, and unfortunately that's just how life is. However...my true friends have been there for me more times than i can count, and I love them for it. See pics above.

Pasta. I love it and crave it almost every day. I'm not a sweets person, but I am a pasta person. Tonight I'm using the basil I've been growing, as well as my new food processor (well, new at Christmas from mom and dad) to make homemade PESTO that I'll put on pasta and feed to Adam and I tonight. I've been excited about this all day.

Our home. I try to never take it for granted, and to steal the words of a co-worker, "I crave my house." Adam and I love being home.

The many times throughout the day where I'm grateful for such a supportive, kind, calm, loving, romantic fiance...I'm spoiled beyond belief and he is wonderful. :-)

Great Movie to Rent

We just watched Dan in Real Life, with Steve Carrell and Dane Cook - actually, even more of a great cast, too...it was a sweet, sweet movie and refreshingly NOT raunchy, weird, dumb, etc. Steve Carrell plays a more serious role (although he obviously makes you laugh at times,) and he is very, very good. I even cried a bit!!

I highly recommend it, and so does Adam!! :)

Other Bloggers...

I have to share a few websites/blogs that I love to read when I have a minute - I am always impressed with the photography blogs, and the bakerella blog has a lot of good recipes - awesome!!

A wonderful, local photographer - she is THE hot thing, according to the girls on theknot.com!
http://amycarrollphoto.blogspot.com/

Our awesome wedding photographer, Terri - beautiful photos and beautiful person!
http://www.terrigillisphotography.com/blog/

I just love this one, as she often posts recipes!
http://www.bakerella.blogspot.com/

Napa Crunch Salad & 4th of July!

Happy July 4th!!
Adam and I spent two wonderful days at my mom's cottage this weekend, and we had a great time sitting in the sun. We played bean bags (well, Adam did) and rode the wave runners and pontoon! My sister was in town from Chicago with her boyfriend Tyler, and my brother was there too. On Friday, my mom's friend Suzanne came for the day, and we really enjoyed talking with her and squeezing incriminating "Karen" stories out of her - which were actually not all that incriminating after all. :) On Saturday, my uncle Bob, Kerri, and Angie were there, and we had fun playing with Angie in the water and taking a very exciting pontoon boat ride. :) I was able to assist my mom in making dinner both nights, and the salad was such a hit (and it is whenever anyone brings it) - so I decided to post the recipe for my version. Someone brought it to our neighborhood party this summer, and it was repeatedly talked about there, too. Enjoy!

Nappa Crunch Salad
Salad
1 head Nappa cabbage (yes, there are 2 p's) shredded
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/4 cup margarine or butter
2 pkgs. Ramen noodles (any flavor), broken into small pieces (crush in bag before opening)
**note - do NOT use flavor packets
3 oz. slivered almonds
1/8 cup sesame seeds

Dressing (you will not use all of it)
3/4 cup canola oil (I always take a little away and sub with sesame seed oil - just a bit)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1/8 tsp black pepper

1. In a large bowl, combine cabbage and onions
2. In frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add Ramen noodles. As noodles begin to brown, add almonds, then sesame seeds, stirring frequently. When everything is golden brown, remove from heat; allow to cool completely.
3. For dressing: in jar with a tight fitting lid, combine oil, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and pepper; shake well.
4. When ready to serve, add browned noodle mixture to cabbage. Toss well with dressing.
**NOTE - you will not use all the dressing! Less is more with this salad.

On the 4th of July evening, we watched the fireworks from the sports deck of Plaza Towers (downtown GR) with Kurt, Brandi, Aaron, Erin, and KC. We tried to have dinner somewhere downtown with Erin and KC beforehand, but we found that the majority of the restaurants downtown were completely closed!! So weird. We ended up eating at The Woods and it was actually quite good. After the fireworks, we went out for a drink and I had an absolutely terrible headache, so we left and went home. I believe it was a migraine, as I've never experienced anything that bad before!

It's now Sunday, and in about an hour, we're headed out to Aaron and Heather's for a beach day and a cookout for an early dinner. Adam has decided that I have to apply his sunscreen from now on, as when he does it himself, he still burns quite ridiculously...we'll see how he handles day 3 in the sun today! I watched him do it, and I believe the problem is that he's just too fast...he rubs it on himself at lightning speed!! Really. I tease, but Adam is such a good sport about pretty much everything...whatever plans we have or end up making last minute, he goes with the flow and has a good time - no complaints. What an awesome guy. :)

Great Night!

Today I spent some time cooking and preparing for our family cookout on the 4th of July at my mom's cottage...I put myself in charge of the salads, with my mom making most of the other food!! We're heading to the cottage on Friday morning, and then meeting up with friends Friday night in downtown GR...should be a busy day and I'm hoping to get some sun!!

Tonight I went to dinner with friends from work, and then we went to Jillian's house afterward and talked and had some wine...we had a great time, and it was good to see my work buddies again. I spend literally hours talking to them every day during the school year, and then when summer hits it's like we don't even know each other!! So, needless to say, it was great to hang out tonight. Jillian and her husband BJ do some amazing things through their church and mission trips to Guatemala - such unselfish giving and such great role models to others...impressive. :)

I'm currently watching the Tigers and Adam is on his way home...the first baseman for the Mariners is Richie Sexson, who we met in San Francisco last summer - we were eating lunch at the bar of a restaurant, and he and a few other players were next to us - I knew he was a pro athlete upon glancing at him...giant guy and just looked like it...he was in SF for the all-star game. I love celebrity sightings. :)

I wish Adam would hurry up and get home, because I can't stand being home alone at night, when the windows are open; I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat!! Kiki is not going to protect me, I'm afraid. :) The other night I looked through the window that overlooks the deck/is next to our loveseat - and I saw an eyeball looking back at me. It was probably someone's dog, but it freaked me out and I can't stop looking outside now. I would like to think it was a ferocious coyote ready to attack me and Kiki, but I am thinking racoon or dog in reality. Still - freaky. At least it didn't look human! The girls from work suggested we get motion lights...but that might freak me out more than usual, which I probably don't want!

I want to wish everyone a wonderful 4th of July - enjoy the day and respect the freedom that our country has earned!! Safe travels and God bless! :)

Wedding Stress - and Garlic Bread Recipe!

Today was full of major stress - first, we had another "snag" with our wedding invitations - and then it dawned on me, after speaking to several wedding-related people, that I was not at all prepared for decorating the wedding ceremony or reception...I guess I was assuming things would be taken care of for us (microphones, candles, etc.) - but when I stop and think about it now, it just doesn't make much sense and of COURSE I need to plan for that stuff!! Anyway, it's on it's way to being all set and I figured things out and sent more emails...it's just a lot of planning and preparation. Plus, cake and florist need to work together, coordinator and chair cover person need to work together, invitation designer and photographer need to work together, etc...it is a lot of coordinating, if you ask me!! Anyway, my next step is to complete the addressing/assembling of the invitations, get postage on them, and go to Ikea for a few cute details!!

**I have to thank Jim, the fabulous man that is creating our floral masterpieces as well as the catering manager for our reception - he had great ideas today and made me feel awesome and comfortable!!!**

I think my problem is that I don't have a certain style or theme for our wedding - I look at so much of what I like online, which is usually postings from other people's blogs/websites, and I like a mismatch of styles - I love vintage, glam - but also traditional, classic - as well as funky, colorful, retro...but I think our wedding will be pretty classy, traditional, fancy with touches of other styles.

Today I took the June calendar off the wall and put August up!!! I can SEE the wedding date now!! It's crazy how fast it went (the engagement.) I am so glad we didn't wait longer to get married - I would go nuts! I want to be married like, yesterday. :)

Tomorrow I'm off to the beach with my friends, bridesmaids - and I am looking so forward to a day of girl talk, relaxation, and laughing. I feel like when I'm home during the day, I don't laugh much (at least not as much as I did when I was teaching!!) - speaking of teaching, I had the pleasure of seeing the lovely Venckus family today, including their adorable daughter Gertie. I am tutoring her in reading and some math this summer - it's so much fun. She is awesome, and I loved what we worked on today!! I told Adam the other day, that I was missing teaching...and I do! I am surprised it took me until July - but I am ready to meet my new group of kids and start fresh and make some learning happen!

Here's a great recipe for Cheesy Garlic Bread - I received it from my friend Katy years ago, and made it for the first time, when the fam was over for dinner last Friday night, and it was a hit!!

Cheesy Garlic Bread
1 medium loaf French Bread
1/2 cup butter, soft
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, halved
1 Tbsp. dried parsley

Slice the bread in half, lengthwise so you have two long pieces. Rub slices and top of loaf with garlic halves. Mince garlic. Combine with butter, garlic, parsley, and parmesan in a small bowl. Spread butter mixture between bread slices and on top. Wrap loaf in foil, leaving top partially uncovered. Bake until heated through - about 15-25 min at 375' - peek to make sure butter has melted. Cut in 1 inch intervals and serve!