Happy New Year!

What an eventful year 2009 has been.  The wedding consumed my life for the first half of the year.  I really do not know how I did anything else those first six months of 2009!  The second half has been a focus on work, school and being a newlywed!

I would love to engross myself in a project for 2010 that challenges me to venture into new things. I would love to take cooking classes.  I would love to take a digital photography class.  I took photography in college but boy has it been a while. How fun would it be to take a glass blowing class?  Of course I hope this is the year I finally figure out how to eat right and lose those newlywed pounds, moving in together pounds,  oh and the I am in a relationship and comfortable pounds. I hope this year I also figure out how to save money, like really, really, save money, especially at the Grocery. That is truly a skill that I need to learn!

2009 was fabulous! Cheers to 2010 and what the New Year will bring!

Cute & Stylish Camera Bag

I am looking for a camera bag...one that is cute and stylish and does not scream "I AM A CAMERA BAG"!  I did not see this as a being a difficult task until I started to search for one.  Seriously, why are there not more options for women?

After about a week of Google searches, I have finally found some.

So just as a reminder, I am going for the non-camera bag looking bag...

I found a few Etsy sellers that make camera bags. At first, I thought this was the perfect solution...I pick the fabric, and in a few weeks it will arrive on my door step.  Then I remembered how impatient I am. Nonetheless, this post may help others so here are some of my favorites from Etsy.

{Etsy Shop Janine King Designs}

{Etsy Shop GypsyRoseHandbags}

There are so many fabric choices if you go the Etsy route.  The prices are reasonable too for a custom bag, and it appears that all your gear is adequately protected. 

Somewhere along my search I came across *emera.  These bags remind me of  "Kate Spade meets camera bag".

{*emera}

I really love "The Print".

{The Print via *emera}

Is this bag not channeling Kate Spade? Well maybe Kate 9 years ago or so.

I also came across Jill-e bags.  I do not love these bags, and they are more than I would want to spend for a medium/large camera bag.  I will share one that I kinda like...

{Medium Bone Leather Camera Bag via Jill-e}

I need to include The Shootsac in this review of stylish camera bags.  My understanding of this bag is that it is for photo sessions and not to store your gear all the time.  More for pros doing quick lens changes. So while I love the fashionable covers that this bag offers, I need something else right now.

{The Shootsac}

{The Shootsac}

The bags I was most excited to find are from epiphanie. I love the turquoise bag and the red bag.  They even have contrasting liners which I think is super chic!

{via Shutter Sisters}

{via epiphanie}

Belle and Lola are my fave's right now...there are new bags coming out next year from Epiphanie...I do not know that I can wait that long!

inside of Belle

inside of Lola

Doesn't everything look so nice and cozy inside?  I am not sure what bag I am going to order.  So many choices! What bag do you have?

truffles and tortes

I am trying out two recently acquired recipes on Chris' family tomorrow for their annual holiday get together the Sunday before Christmas.  I love making new and fun appetizers and dips to bring to a party.  I will be honest that I have been craving the cranberry walnut torte concoction from Trader Joes. So when posed with the task to bring something different...I decided to see if I could make one myself.

{via Season to Taste}

I altered the recipe as the container I was using to make my torte was a 1 qt. souffle dish.

Here is my version:

8oz. package low fat cream cheese {softened}

5oz. crumbled Gorgonzola {room temperature}

Dried Cranberries

Walnut chips

I also used cling wrap in my dish instead of waxed paper. Check out the original recipe and directions here.

My next new treat are Oreo Truffles. The Beginning of Forever recently blogged about cake balls and how she calls them truffles.  Which is so perfect...really, I wish I would have thought of it. lol. This rather settled my issue with "cake balls" so I am proud to say they have a new name now....cake truffles!  I am so excited I found this Bakerella recipe.  

So back to the Oreo truffles.  After reading about the existence of these delectable delights I decided it was a perfect time to make them...

{via Flickr}

The recipe is super simple

1 package Oreo's divided

8 oz. cream cheese {softened}

White Chocolate Bark coating

Visit Bakerella for all the details.

Chicken? Again?

I have a weird thing about chicken...I really am rather grossed out by it tend cut off all the parts that are "suspect".  Like that long white stuff, or the other gross things that are in/on a chicken breast.  So now you know something strange about me.

I am on a quest for good chicken recipes.  I have been making a very tasty breaded chicken, I can do chicken and rice, I even ventured into stuffed chicken breasts and brussel sprouts after reading this post...but every time I tell my husband we are having chicken for dinner...I get the "oh" response....meaning....is there anything else!

So I need some good recipes.  Anyone have anything to share?  Don't be chicken! Please share!

Frankie and the Christmas Tree

 {Clary Pfeiffer Photography}

I love my little Frankie. I love his occasionally crossed eyes and all! He is my little cuddle-bug and is always happy to see me when I come home.

{Clary Pfeiffer Photography}

Frankie is a talker, a feline trashcan {he eats anything....anything}, and a destroyer of all Christmas trees.  No matter how much I love him,  the fact that I cannot even get my Christmas tree decorated has me peeved.  Tonight, I came home and there was a large gap in branches on the tree as if a cat had taken a nap in the tree.  While I do not have physical proof of Frankie being in the tree, I would bet money that he did in fact take a nap in the tree.  Looking at the amount of droop in the branches, it appears that it was a very long nap.

Good thing Frankie is cute and likes to cuddle.

6 months!

Today marks 6 months since we got married in June.  I was looking forward to this day because we were going to the Fabulous Fox Theatre to see "A Christmas Carol".

{The Fabulous Fox}

The show was very good.  Sometimes I get disappointed if I have a preconceived notion about what the performance/story line will be like...I was definitely not disappointed!

Then we were off to Our Lady of the Snows Shrine to see the "Way of Lights".  We were too early so we went to have dinner.  Nothing worth talking about here...we went to a place in Belleville, IL and I would not go back again.  So we finally left dinner and it was dark so we went to see the lights.  It was pretty, but so chaotic with all of the vehicles that I was so caught up in vehicles not observing the 2 lane rule that I really did not enjoy the lights.  Again it was pretty but way crowded, and not organized well for the amount of traffic coming through.

So in the end, I convince my wonderful husband to treat me to something delicious!

We went to Ted Drews and checked out some holiday lights in South City.  I was hoping the ice cream would cure the headache that was caused by the "way of lights" fiasco, but no such luck! 

All in all it was a wonderful day, and I am counting down the days until winter break! {7}!

Oh Christmas tree!

I was so very excited to get our tree this year.  Chris' family has been cutting down their tree's Thanksgiving weekend, from the same tree farm for over 20 years.  For the past three years I have been a part of this tradition. This year we went the Friday after Thanksgiving.

I was determined to find the perfect tree this year.  Year one we got a white pine...long soft needles, very light in weight with flimsy branches.  Since this was the first tree that I got to decorate all on my own, I went a little crazy with ornament purchasing...the poor tree could not hold many of my heavy ornaments. Our kitten at the time, Scout, pretty much left the real tree alone, but fell in love with my 4 foot pre-lit white tree...after much abuse, the white tree has been retired.  Year two, I picked a beautiful Fraser Fir.  It was pretty, but too round for our small living room. We also added an addition to our family in the form of a tree-climbing kitty named Frankie.  He loved climbing the Fraser. We have always wanted a slim tree, but narrow trees were not available.  This year, we were able to go to a small area with new trees that were a little more pricey.  We selected a Canaan Fir.  It is perfect.  I wish I could take the credit for picking it, but my MIL actually found it.  She has much more tree picking experience than me!  Frankie is limiting his contact to nibbling the tips of the branches, and Scout leaves it alone. 

So the tree has been undecorated, unlit in the living room for almost two weeks.  I finally put the lights on...my least favorite part. I bought 2 strands of these really pretty lights to mix it up a bit, but part of one strand it out.

{via Target}

I love the way they look with the regular lights.  I did not put on very many strands since I dislike putting the lights on so much.  I am too impatient!

On another note, I received a Winter scented candle from my MIL.  It is such a wonderful smelling candle...I think it has really gotten me into the tree decorating mood! I smell "tree", so I looked it up and it "is a festive blend of shimmering pine, crisp bay leaf, red cinnamon and warm winter woods"

{Bath and Bodyworks}

We have been burning this candle the last few nights and it is just so perfectly holiday-ish.

 

Rehearsal Dinner Recap

Our rehearsal dinner was at the beautiful Spink Pavilion at the Missouri Botanical Gardens.  I loved the pavilion in the dead of winter...freezing cold!  So I had visions of perfection for June!  The weather was gorgeous.  Catering St. Louis is the caterer for MOBOT, and food was delish! I have blogged about the rehearsal dinner a few times and specifically about Spink here.
So now for the pro pics.  As always, all photos are from Clary Pfeiffer Photography.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Engagement Session May 2009

The recaps will now begin!  We put off getting our engagement pictures until the month before the wedding.  I really would not recommend this!  Getting these pictures done let me know a few things...
First, we or rather I cannot be "dipped" to save my life.  Such a bummer as I really wanted a romantic "dip" picture. This just did not work for us!  Second, we need lots of direction.  Our photographer Clary Pfeiffer captures moments instead of lots of posing which is a huge reason why I love her style so much...but we really needed direction, REALLY, taking pictures is hard work!  I envy the couples that it all comes so natural for.  SO enough about my photo issues, here are some of my favorite shots from our session. All photos are from Clary Pfeiffer Photography.

Semester is over!

I am so thankful that the fall semester is over!  I am just thaaaaaaat much closer to finishing.

I hope to FINALLY post wedding pictures, I mean it has only been about 6 months.  I miss reading blogs and staying up to date with everything on my blog lists.

So....Here is a shot from our fabulous photographer Clary Pfeiffer visit Clary's blog too!

Dear Santa,

{via Paper Source}

This would be perfect for a wedding picture! I love birds, love white on white frames.  I would like this please Santa. :)

As a side note, my 4 yr. old nephew has been perusing catalogs and "signing up" for what he wants for Christmas.  He makes some sort of markings and "sign's up"!  Too cute. 

busy

I really dislike being busy. Wedding planning was fun. I loved it. I know that all brides do not though. I loved seeing everything come together and have a beautiful end product that I have crafted and designed.

It seems that I have gone from wedding planning heaven to dissertation hell. Now that the wedding is over, I have to devote my free time to this beast of a paper. Chapter 3 {rough draft} is due this Monday, but honestly....I still have not written chapter 2 {rough draft}. The lit review has left me with writers block. I have a much smaller paper due this Monday and I am using that to cure this block of mine. So today (saturday and tomorrow) I am writing. While everyone else is enjoying the uncharacteristically warm weather I am inside writing. Am I procrastinator, why yes! Do I love writing papers, and reading hundred of articles? Ummm, no. I like making things. This is why I enjoyed my undergraduate degree in Fine Art. No final papers usually for me....I got to make things.

So it is fitting that my dissertation topic revolves around learning styles...

I have time to write this 100+ page document. I am projected to finish May 2011. Plenty of time to solve my procrastination issue.

Groom's Cake

I had decided on doing a groom's cake for our rehearsal dinner rather early in the planning stages. I decided to use Hock Cakes after reviews from Stlwed.

I did not know what I wanted the theme of the cake to be and believe me, it came down to the wire for me to decide. I have a serious problem with giving gifts that I am not sure if the receiver will like and this felt very close to something like that.

In the end, we love our cats Scout and Frankie. At the time, being summer and all, Scout would love to spend time in Chris' flip flops, with both from feet through one of the flip flops.

I know this post is rather out of order in the grand scheme of wedding recap, but I came across this recently on the Hock Cakes blog.

{via me}

The cake was such a hit at the part, some of our guests said it was the coolest cake they had seen! It looked really good, and tasted even better. Frankie, our siamese, looked pretty much like him, minus the occasionally crossed eyes. Scout was not as big or fluffy as he is in real like, but I am sure it is difficult to create fluffy hair with fondant. Other than the Scout critique, it was perfect. Most importantly, Chris love it!

blog love ~ Anna & Farid engagement pics

I was so excited to find out that Beth Berry Photography posted the engagement pictures of my dear friend Anna. I was even more excited to see how fabulous they are!




There will definitely be more to come about this May wedding!

cake balls?

{via flickr}

I was first introduced to these sweet cake treats a few years back. Unlike the above image, they were red velvet goodness covered in white chocolate. I first gave them a try for our housewarming party in 2006, and took them to work once too. They are so good, but the name "cake balls" does not seem to adequately describe their sweet, delicious gooey on the inside, crunchy chocolate shell outside! I am making triple chocolate cake enveloped in white chocolate for Halloween tomorrow to contribute to the family potluck feast...you can only eat so much candy!

Slice of Lime Feature

{via Slice of Lime}

Emily of Slice of Lime created the invites, programs, photobooth sign, candy box labels, candy jar labels, sign board, rehearsal dinner invites, bridesmaid luncheon invites, thank you notes...and provided countless hours of therapy!

Just a side note...the busty pic of me is NOT my fav.

cracked mac...

My beloved MacBook Pro has been ill of late. Funky stuff has been happening to the screen. Chris and I discovered that if we pinched the frame of the screen on the right side that we could get it to work. You just had to type with one hand, surf with one hand, etc...rather inconvenient.

This leads me to the other night. Chris was on the Pro and I heard this loud snap sound. The screen CRACKED internally. Not working now. Do I have an my stuff backed up? Nope...

I do not know what to do! I know I need to go to the Mac store and see about replacing the screen...anyone go through this? Ugh.

This has been one big reason why I have procrastinated about posting wedding pics. So inconvenient with the goofy screen...now I may lose everything! grrr....

Good thing the wedding pictures on on a disc. Wish me luck!

haute halloween

{Rosanna Inc.}

I love this website! They have such beautiful and fun items. I am still in love with this that I have blogged about, and maybe one day I will get it! I am excited about the black ceramic items, I already have the small cake plate and the black teapot. I would love the medium size black cake plate to do a little mix and matching with my martha cake stands. I have the round set and the square set. I love cake stands!

So how cute would these cake stands be with some cupcakes decorated with candy corn or halloween candies? So fun!

mourning.

I am still mourning not being able to wear my lovelies on my wedding day, so I got them out to play! I am thinking about dying them....but I don't know. They are so pretty...and if you recall, they have baby blue soles. so pretty.

thank you!

I have been moving at a snail's pace to get the thank you notes finished. Finally, the last one has been written and then are stamped and ready to mail. I waited to mail them all together...not sure if that is what you are supposed to do, but that is the way I did it.

I love our note cards. Slice of Lime Design created them. I chose three different colored envelopes for fun! a yellow, chartreuse, and tiffany blue.

Ahhh.....something to cross off the list!