Put a ring on it...

It is a crisp, chilly fall day here in the MN. The sun is shinning bright and I can't wait for 5 o'clock. I am ready to start my weekend and relax a bit!

Tonight I am going to throw together a nice little dinner for my man and I. Today marks three years since he asked me to marry him and I love any reason to celebrate so bring on some festivity!

I couldn't ask to be married to a more amazing man. Aside from the fact that he does my laundry and keeps our belongings anally organized, he is the most tender, caring, and loving man I have ever met. He is such a sincere soul and puts me first in every sense of the word. Sure he can be stubborn, and of course he has a few annoying habits (don't we all), but those are so easily over looked when he wraps me in one of his warm embraces. I can easily say he is perfect, perfect for me that is!
Happy Anniversary love!

What am I thankful for today?

I am thankful to have family that I can travel and see the world with. When I was little, my family was always on the go, whether it be swim meets, hockey tournaments, trips to visit family. Some of our best family time was spent in a hotel room, just the 5 of us. And I continue to travel with my in-laws. 3 years ago when my husband purposed, we were on a cruise with most of his family, celebrating his grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. I am so blessed to have these opportunities that allow family to really spend quality time together!

How did they know?

How in the world did the Mpls. Star Trib know that my evening would entail making my very first wedding cake? Right, right, I know they didn't, but let's talk about crazy coincidence.

Today's Variety featured a wonderful article on the writer making a cake for her friends wedding. Coincidentally, I am making the cake and cupcakes for my aunts wedding. There were some great tips that I am hopping to put into play tonight...I will let you know how the cake baking turns out!

Mushy Post Day 3

It's here! The day has arrived!

Happy 27th Birthday to my Love! And Happy Anniversary to boot!

We had a wonderful night with friends and family, and had a crap load of stroganoff and cake! It was deliciously wonderful to be surrounded by love, from both near and far, and the good food only enhanced it.

Everyday, the love for my husband grows, and after 9 and a 1/2 years, it's some pretty intense love, and I know it will only continue to grow. We don't even know the half of it.

I look forward to growing old with my husband. I look forward to the future. I look forward to starting a family...so many amazing things have happened, and so many amazing things to come!

Mushy Post Day 2

On Wednesday, Chaz and I went to a Twins game to celebrate our anniversary. Our anniversary is not until Monday but since we are having a birthday party for Chaz that day, we decided to celebrate a bit early!

Chaz and I have a knack for reflecting on the past. Maybe it is just me and I make him reflect with me, but either way, it is fun to talk about the past and special memories we have. After 9 and 1/2 years, there are quite a few memories!

One memory that I love was not shared with Chaz, however, but rather with all my bridesmaids. After taking pictures and stopping for a bathroom break at my mother-in-law's friends house, we loaded in to two cars to head to the church. I remember shouting as we walked out the doors, "Let's go get Chaz some insurance!" (As he was in school and did not have worked provided insurance...or possibly any for that matter; I can't remember!).

As we were driving to the church, the Black Eyed Pea's song "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" came on the radio. We rolled down the windows, both cars had hands hanging out the windows jamming, and we all laughed at the irony that that night WAS going to be a good night! It certainly started the whole event off on the right foot. I will never forget sharing that moment with some of the most important women in my life!

Mushy Post Day 1

That title implies that there may be multiple Mushy posts and if you guessed that, well, then you are one smart cookie!

Next Monday we celebrate 2 years of marriage and I thought I would use this here blog to record some memories! That and Chaz shares his day of birth with our anniversary day so for the sake of not overshadowing that, I thought I could get some of my anniversary mushy overload taken care of right here and spare him most of the mush (and there is plenty to go around so never fear, he will be showered, I just think it's best I take it down a few notches so I am being proactive)!

So let's kick it off and what better way to kick off the merriment then sharing some pics of my ring!

This is the day Chaz decided to put a ring on it! November 4th, 2008! As I have mentioned before, this is a hard date to forget as it was election night, and not just any election night, but it was the night America elected their first black president...pretty cool, eh?!?

Prior to this night, I had no clue what the ring looked like. I also had no clue when it would happen. I may have had a small inkling that it was going to take place in the near future however.

About 6 months earlier, Chaz's parents were visiting, and they had all treked to Minneapolis for a lunch date. Chaz may have let it slip that they were looking at rings (how cool that his parents were involved-although that may be the reason it finally took place as my wonderful husband doesn't mind taking his sweet time on occasion!) so there fore I knew that in only a matter of months, I would get to start planning my wedding to the love of my life!

When Chaz let it slip that they were looking at rings, he also told me who was making it. I went home that evening, told my mom in a rather excited fashion that things were rolling, and we spent the evening studying the designs on the jewelers website. Everything is so unique and special that I couldn't even imagine what it would look like. And for that I am glad.

While I go the wild hair to searhc the website, I have always been the girl who did not want to know what her ring would look like, or when it would be coming. I wanted complete and utter surprise, and for the most part, that is what I got!

So on the night of November 4th, 2008, on a cruise ship with Chaz's family, Chaz purposed to me on the balcony, under the bright moon. It was a magical moment!

Good thing my mom had me get my nails done (wink wink)!

And boy am I glad that I had no say in what my ring would look like. I could have never dreamt up something so beautiful!

The ring is comprised of family jewelry, melted down, and reformed into this design...
To say I absolutely love it is an understatment. To me, it represents our history, our families history, on top of being unique, interesting, and just simply beautiful.

I would never say the ring makes the engagement, but in my case, it added so much to that special day. It was so intercate that I spent hours looking at it, and asking Chaz to tell me all the details that went into it.

I will need to ask him or his parents for the whole run down so we can keep it for future generations, but I do know that the diamond was Chaz's grandma's, the two small diamonds were his sisters, and his dad's first wedding band went into it (since it no longer fit him).

Talk about making a girl feel lucky!

Bridal Shower Part 2: Games!

Last week I filled you all in on the food part of the bridal shower I hosted for my aunt...


http://proudlybrewed.blogspot.com/2011/08/shower-part-1-food.html

I really feel the food is the key ingredient to a rockstar shower, of any kind, but ALMOST as is important are the decorations and the games.

I like games played at shower's. I don't love them, but it can be a great way to pass some time and get everyone engaged. Plus, if you pick games where there are prizes involved, everyone really goes hog wild!

I decided on the ever so common and popular toilet paper bride. If you have never played or watched toilet paper bride....well...I don't think we can be friends anymore. Just kidding! Toilet paper bride is one of those games that starts out with everyone cringing and morphs into everyone laughing hysterically by the end of it. Simply put, break your party up into teams, separate them throughout the house, and give them 5 minutes to create a designer wedding gown out of toilet paper! Bring everyone back together, let the teams explain their design to the bride and then the bride can chose a winner. I like to provide the winning team with a small gift and what better than toiletries! The dollar travel section is a great place to get body wash, lotion, body spray, what have you.

This is my grandma's sister and her double cousin posing as brides (my mom snapped this photo!)

Next we played Bridal Bingo and the dice game. Bridal bingo is simple. You can either use templates printed off from online, or, you can print blank sheets, along with a list of words, and have everyone fill in their card prior to playing.

The simplest form of entertainment and time-wasting is the dice game. Sit your guests in a circle, pass around two trays with dice in them. When someone rolls a pair, they can grab a gift, but not unwrap it. After all the gifts have been spoken for, everyone unwraps their prizes. However, they don't get to keep them. The next round is 5 minutes long and when someone gets doubles, they can steal a prize from anyone. This part of the game can get a little wild!

I suggest having plenty of prizes on hand. Pick up item from the dollar section of the baking aisles. I grabbed cookie mixes, cake mix and frosting, lotion, notepads, recipe cards, pot holders, salad spoons, just a bunch of random items that women swoon over!

I prepped the prizes the night before, wrapping them in colorful bags which is super easy and fast. I suggest eliciting help! Here's a quick shot of my little helper!

Yep! That's Kea (aka. White One!). Did you see her amongst the gifts?!

Next week, or maybe later this week once I get caught up on homework, I will fill you in on the decorations and talk themes!

Shower Part 1: The Food!

This past weekend I hosted a shower for my aunt who is getting married in October. Arguably, the most important part of a party, especially in the MN, is the food! I took that as a challenge!

To start, I created a spread that I was proud of.

Don't you see the contentment on my face?!

And to top off our beautiful spread, what better than to give food as a favor also! We decided to make mini loaves of friendship bread. My grandma helped me prepare for the shower and while she was able to bake during the day, that doesn't make such a favor off limits for those of us who work during the day. My philosophy while prepping for this shower, and ones I have hosted int he past, was to think of the effect that it would have on individuals, not just the bride. Everyone loved getting to go home with a baked treat! (And like I said, we are from the MN...everyone loves sweets and better yet, free food!)

We added a cute note of appreciation too! Our theme was a mixture of three words: summer, simple, country. I would say we pulled that off pretty well, but I will leave the details for another post!

Aside from the usual attendees at summer parties (fruit, crackers, cheese and meat) I decided to whip up two salads, one being a chicken salad to make sandwiches, and the other being a pasta salad to accompany it.

I wanted to share the recipes as the chicken salad was delicious! And the pasta salad was created by yours truly!

Chicken Salad (Adapted from online research)

2.5 cups cooked chicken diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup grapes, halved
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 bunch green onion chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients and chill overnight.

We doubled the recipe to make more, so instead of having to bake another small chicken, I picked up a rotisserie chicken for the second batch. Just a tip: This tasted wonderful and was easy! I will be going the rotisserie chicken route the next time I do this!


The second salad was a combination of Internet research, and personal preference!

Summer Pesto Caprese Salad

1 lb pasta (any shape!)
4 oz. pesto
3 tbsp garlic Olive oil (or add garlic to your saute pan if you use olive oil)
3 cups cherry tomatoes
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning mix
8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Cook pasta. While this is cooking, saute tomatoes in olive oil. Once they have cooked, mash them up into a sauce. Once pasta has cooked, rinse with cold water to chill. To pasta, add tomato sauce, 4 oz. pesto, fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste! Let it chill over night to flavors can develop.
All plated up!

Finish the party with some sweet treats! We had pistachio dessert (sorry, no photo), store bought cupcakes that were delicious, and cookies I had made from refrigerated dough and those packs of dry mix you can get in the baking aisle (hey, what can I say? It was crunch time towards the end!)

My best and most sound advice when preparing for a party...prepare everything ahead of time! Get everything cut up, placed on trays, and what have you the night before. We even prepared the trays with olives and pickles and just wrapped them in saran wrap! And notice my cookie tins? Such a time saver! I had those babies lined up all pretty Thursday night! And good thing, cause we had not a minute to spare prior to the party!

Hope you enjoy the recipes and advice! I think hosting a party can be a really enjoyable experience! I just hate the cleanup!

Wedding Shower and Graduation...oh my!

I will have a lot to recap, and I won't get it all in right now, but this past weekend was a blast!

On Saturday I hosted a bridal shower for Krisite! It went so well and everyone had a great time. When hosting a party, that is really what you want so I would say it was all around successful! I will provide more details later and fill you in on what I did!

Then yesterday we celebrate Mikey's graduation/leaving for college with a low key, family and friends party. It was relaxing and fun with some great summer time food!

This week will be busy with flag football starting and the continuation of school work...oh, and Mikey leaving on Wednesday for school :(

Speaking of school work, did I let you all know that my computer got a virus and crashed? And that I have no way to download the special software I bought for this really wonderfully fantastic statistics class I have to take...yeah, that's been a peach!

More to come later tonight!

blessings...

Tonight was a magical night...just a boat load of family fun and togetherness. We met my cousins and aunt to pick out a wedding dress for her (Yes! She is engaged!). And I am over the moon stoked to have a new wedding to provide advice for (or help plan!). I really must consider this as a future profession!

We went to a shop in St. Paul but due to the fact that we need the dress in 4 months, they really could not work within the time constraints. That, and the lady helping us was a Royal Biatch! We found a dress my aunt liked, but she didn't feel amazing in it so we headed over to a shop in St. Louis Park quickly before they closed. The whole experience was completely opposite!

They had racks of dresses that were ready for trying on. Tons of options, not to mention a group of overly helpful staff members doting on Kristie as she was the only bride there. Her first dress was the one, and we all knew it, but she tried on a few more just to be sure. Needless to say, she bought the one!

After that we celebrated with a large family dinner at Pizza Luce. My Aunt, cousins, grandma, mom, Thomas and husband. It was a joyous event. We were all happy and smiling. And it really made me realize how lucky and blessed we are!

a RoYaL eVeNt...

A few weeks ago, a big historical event occurred. The Prince of Wales, married his longtime girlfriend, and the world watched as they exchanged vows and promised to love each other till death do them part.

For this event, I took it to the extreme, and I did so for a few reasons.

The first is, I have Canadian family who love and adore the royal family. Like I have said, we called my great grandma the Queen Mum, and when Princess Diana passed, my parents had us up at 4 am to watch the funeral. They have just always been a part of my upbringing.

The second reason is kind of a why not. With our world so full of negative news, fighting and wars, why not wake up and focus on a piece of history that is exciting, fun, and downright wonderful. How magical for the world to see two people profess their love, create a foundation for their family, and do so with grace, elegance, fashion, and just the smallest hint of normality.

My mother and I got home the night prior to the wedding and assemble gaudy hats at the table with the D. Lo. It was fun sitting at the dining room table, 3 generations, creating outrageous hates to adorn the following morning.

We went straight to bed as out morning included being to Brit’s Pub in Minneapolis by 4:30…just in time for the 5:00 am nuptials! Of course my mom thought there was no need to get there right at 4 when the doors opened….boy was she wrong!

The two story, large restaurant with banquet rooms and all, was packed to the brim!

We luckily found two empty chairs in front of a large tv, found a cup of coffee to share, and were seated in just enough time!

As Kate Middleton left the hotel she was staying at with her father, the whole restaurant fell silent. You could seriously hear a pin drop. And if you were the one to drop the pin, you were certainly going to be shushed!

The wedding was beautiful and so much fun to watch. Prince Harry was a hoot and I really felt the Royal couple tried to make their wedding as intamite as possible, sneaking in little gestures of their non-royal lives.

After the wedding ended and the craziness subsided, we finally decided to have the brunch that the Pub was hosting. It was delicious and the perfect ending to an early morning wedding! That and of course the special brew of Crispin made just for the occassion! MMM...nothing like a cup of coffee and a pear cider!

So many colors, so many choices

Sometimes the hardest part of a wedding is picking the colors. Yes, the bride has probably dreamed of this day for a while, but when it comes down to it, you have to pick colors that are seasonally right, colors that will look good, and colors that will essentially match your theme.

It was easy for me to pick my colors. I have always loved very traditional, rich colors, and maroon and gold have always sounded beautiful. Then when I asked the husband what he would want, and those were his exact colors, I knew our fate was sealed.















My other friends have really had to play around though to find their right combo.

Tonya planned her wedding in a few short months and really had to play around to truly find what she wanted. Of course in the end, she chose green with hints of purple and honestly, I would call the colors perfect for her! The wedding was truly reminiscent of her style!





















And another of my BFF’s, Laura, was all over the place when picking colors! Her mind changed daily and many of the colors were bold and funky! In the end, she did purple with hints of green (colors like Tonya’s but played out differently!), and I would say that the wedding was very much her style too!















The Knot.com actually has a great area on their website where you can pick your main color and see what nice pairings would be for that color. They show pictures of the colors being used and it really is helpful for those wanting to see some different color variations. Here are some great ideas for color ideas using orange as the main color.

http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-colors/orange-wedding.aspx

Seriously, the orange seems to be a very fun, hip color to use! There really are so many combinations and hues out there, it really should be an enjoyable experience and true expression of the couple.

I have a wedding coming up in May and I am already so excited to see some new colors and ideas. It has been a few months since I have been to a wedding!

Wedding...yep, still talking about it...

So my wedding day was perfect, as I am sure most brides feel about their day. Of course my bra was over stuffed, and the church was hot so my bangs curled, and we forgot to have someone tape the first dance. However, the few little mishaps that did take place seem so little compared to the day as a whole.

Today, as I was dealing with a "lack of coffee" headache, and feeling a bit run down, I thought back to how perfect my day was and how it seemed nothing could happen to change that feeling. I don't know if my body went into auto pilot and nothing would get me down or if my body was just in top notch form that day. There was no "lack of coffee" headache, although I am not sure if I even had my usual amount. I wasn't hungry, or tired. I had no headache or body ache. There was no stomachs ache, and hardly any facial blemishes! And, the whole night, not one pee break! That's right. Made a pit stop at 4pm, right before the wedding and had no urge to go until the night was over and I was getting ready for bed. How does that happen? How does everything fall into place?

When I was younger, maybe high school, early college age, I always worried about what aliment might plague me on my wedding day. I always seemed to get sick at the most opportune times, or have a stomach ache from getting nervous. I was sure that I would be dealing with one of these issues the day of my wedding, but I experienced none. I felt so relaxed, so clam, so ready to marry my baby. I was happy and content. I even watched TNT for a half an hour, all by myself in my basement, in my wedding dress, right after my bridesmaids left to go take pictures. It just seemed so surreal, the feeling of peace I had that day.

So no doubt, for me, my wedding day was the best. I don't think anything could ever top the feelings of that day. I feel so lucky and blessed and if I ever experience such a day of peace and excitement, I will be sure to let you know!