It's Official... I'm a Bridezilla.

I went to the Post Office today to buy stamps for the invitations. Each one costs 81 cents to send, but they don't have 81 cent stamps. The poor lady must've thought I was crazy, asking to see a bunch of different designs and styles. I finally decided on using two 44 cent stamps with the King & Queen of Hearts design because they fit together to look like one stamp. And yes, it's wasted postage. My thoughts: after all the time and effort put into those invites, I don't want them plastered with strange stamps. I want them to still look pretty even after going through the rough road of the USPS to your hands. My bridezilla moment for the day. :)

Anyway, invites are going out next week!

Pie in a Jar

Ever have a craving for a slice of yummy homemade pie, but don't want to take the time to make one? Introducing the Pie in a Jar: homemade pie in individual jars that you can freeze and when you've got the craving, bake up in no time- still in their jars! Plus you can throw a lid back on them and take them on the go to work or on a picnic. :)
All you need is regular pie crust (I always use homemade), regular pie filling recipe (could be apples, cherries, or boysenberries as Dearest loves), and 1/2 pint wide mouth mason jars. Use the pie crust to line the inside of the mason jars- no need to roll it out, just push little pieces onto the sides and bottom, making sure there are no holes or cracks. Be sure to leave enough to make top crusts for them.Fill the jars with filling, about 1/2 cup is needed for each one. (I made apple.)
Make tops for the pies- I did lattice tops and regular tops. If making regular tops, make sure there are vents for the steam to escape when baking later.
You can brush the tops with a bit of butter and sprinkle sugar on as well.
Cover them and freeze until you're ready to enjoy!
If you're worried about the jars busting open (they won't- they're canning jars made for high heat), put the pies in the oven before preheating. To cook: bake at 375 degrees F for 35-45 mins if fresh, 50-60 if frozen.

I got bored....

...so I made a flower for my hair for the wedding. I picked a vintage-looking button for the center to go along with my vintage engagement ring. What do you think?

Invitations!

I am so happy to say that the invitations are done! We finished assembling them and 95% have been stuffed and addressed, all ready to be sent out in April. It's been a long road with these invites.... After going to Paper Source with my mom and seeing all the beautiful samples with embossing, we were hooked. Seemed easy enough, until we realized that it was 13 stamps (and powdering and heat gun-ing) PER invitation. We made 100 invites. You do the math. Needless to say, I'm glad it's over.

Dresses!

I was browsing through my pictures and found some of the dresses that I've tried on. The dress I chose may or may not be in here. You'll just have to wait and find out. ;)
The first one (pics 1 &2) is a gorgeous Oleg Cassini satin dress with tons of beading and a super long train. The second is so light and flowy- perfect for a beach wedding! It's got a beautiful lace up back, too. The third and fourth are definitely two Dearest would like- they have ruching across the bodice and show off my curves. ;) The fifth I've already posted about, but it was my runner up dress.

Forever and always....

Often a phrase associated with love, "forever and always" has popped into my life in a different way. On my quest to be toned and skinny for the wedding, Dearest and I have been running a lot. He thinks it's for marathon training... Shh... ;) We're about 3 weeks into it and I've lost about 4 pounds. My jeans fit a little looser (except that new pair I put in the washer), so I decided to venture out and try on my bikinis.... *GASP* I've been holding onto one for more than a few years, hoping that someday I'd fit into it again. And I did! :D Woohoo! But that's not my point of the post. That's when I realized that all my bikinis have polka dots... As many of you may know, I'm a obsessed with polka dots (hence the background). So love may come and go in my life, although now it's here to stay, but polka dots will be with me forever and always... :)

Food Tasting!

People only really go to weddings for the food, right? We had our food tasting for the wedding at the hotel tonight. All the food looked amazing and tasted so good. For hors d'voeurves we had crab cakes with a creole remoulade, portobello puffs (red peppers, cheese and mushrooms wrapped in puff pastry) and mini beef wellingtons. Dearest picked the beef wellingtons since we always watch Hell's Kitchen and they seem to be the hardest for the chefs to cook.
Entrees consisted of Sonoma chicken breast served with wild rice, zuchini and squash.
Alaskan halibut with a saffron beurre blanc over mashed potatoes with asparagus.

Herb crusted salmon with a citrus glaze over mashed potatoes served with broccoli and cauliflower.New York steak with a green peppercorn sauce served with yukon potatoes and green beans.
In the end we decided on the chicken, steak and salmon (with asparagus instead of broccoli). A little tip- the steak was by far the best and the salmon a close second. During cocktail hour, you'll be munching on crab cakes, portobello puffs and rosemary crusted lamb lollipops. Enjoy!