La Petite Chic

A Dream Wedding

I've talked about Mikey on my blog before. I'll wait while you go back and read this post to refresh your memory.

He's one of my dearest friends and I love him like the brother I never had. And now, I'm happy to say, he's ENGAGED!! He proposed to his boyfriend, Earl, on Valentine's Day and on the internet, no less! The proposal was totally romantic and sweet and poignant and my goodness, I couldn't be happier for the two of them. (Want to see the proposal? Click here.)

Now, here's where you come in. Mikey has entered Crate and Barrel's Ultimate Wedding Contest to win a dream wedding valued at $100,000. I desperately want them to win and hope you'll help them! All you have to do is click here and vote for them. It's that simple! And if you feel so inclined (and I hope you do!), please share it on your blog or Twitter or Facebook or even in an e-mail to friends.

They so deserve to have the wedding of their dreams whether they win this contest or not. Every couple in love should have that right.

Smitten

Allow me to introduce you to my new nephew, Jake Andrew.

He made his Auntie Kate and Uncle Jon fall instantly in love.

He's absolutely perfect, right down to his teeny tiny pinky nail, and even his big brother, Jack, thinks so.

 

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This was a weekend of babies for us, as we headed straight to a baby shower for our friends after meeting Jake. For anyone who's never been to an Indian baby shower, let me be the first to tell you that you're missing out. It was like a wedding reception, but better because there was the beer chugging from baby bottles! (Not to mention choreographed dancing and delicious Indian food).

The parents-to-be, Nehal and Nick

Blurry dancing, but it will give you an idea of how beautiful their saris were.

Right before I cleaned my plate. YUM.

Dark photo of me and Allison, but you can see my new favorite belt!

 

Christmas in Review

WHEW!! The holidays have a way of wearing one out, don't they? Our Christmas was the usual whirlwind of activity shuttling between Pennsylvania and Maryland, but oh, how thankful we were that our journey didn't start in Virginia as it used to. There's nothing quite like D.C. traffic to turn a girl into Scrooge.

We spent a lovely and quiet Christmas Eve with Jon's family where we stayed up late playing Apples to Apples and Pictionary, both of which I managed to win, the former all by myself and the second with my "incredibly good interpreter of stick figures" sister-in-law. She's due with her second child in January so that was probably the last time we'll see her before Jake arrives! I finally got to feel him kick, which I believe is the first time I've ever felt a baby quick. It's so crazy and amazing to know there's a little person floating around inside that belly!

We drove back to Maryland on Saturday afternoon to celebrate Christmas with my parents and sister. It was a madhouse of dogs, with Lola, my parent's two dogs and my sister's three dogs, plus the one she was fostering for the weekend. Love for animals runs deep in my family! Unfortunately, the rest of our weekend was marked by a minor flood in my parent's basement thanks to the two feet of melting snow.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it forced my parents to go through all of the old boxes and junk that's been collecting in their basement since moving there in 1998. My parents have some serious hoarding saving tendencies and this was a long time coming. We ended up having four carloads of donations for Goodwill, with many more soon to follow! Thankfully, our moving boxes are stored in a different section of the basement so they escaped the flood.

And in case you forgot (since I haven't mentioned it in what, a week?), we finally settle on our house tomorrow! We're both so anxious to get the renovations started and have already met with our general contractor to discuss the plans. Jon and I will be doing most of the demolition ourselves (the fun part!) and will leave the more complicated stuff like plumbing and electrical work to the professionals. Don't worry, I'll be taking a ton of pictures along the way, especially since Jon bought me a replacement camera battery charger for Christmas after I lost the original charger. Ooh la la, the romance, it is alive!

(He did get me some really wonderful Christmas gifts, including a Le Creuset large risotto pot*, a wicker basket for my vintage beach cruiser and charcoal gray Chuck Taylors! My baby is good.)

EDITED TO ADD: Julie, this piece was in Dijon (yellow), my second favorite of the Le Creuset colors. (Jon bought it at the Le Creuset outlet where the Caribbean color isn't carried quite yet.) However, the rest of my collection is in the Caribbean color...it's my favorite!

A Little Bit of This and That

Our life has been so, so hectic! We drove straight from work last Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with Jonathan's family in Pennsylvania. His parents always host their extended family so it was a busy day of catching up with aunts and uncles and cousins. I was sick with a cold so I didn't eat much, but hey, it was good for my waistline! I always like to bring a dish or two whether or not I'm hosting and this year I wanted to put a little Southern spin on things.

(As an aside, if you know a Marylander, ask them whether they live in a Southern state or a Northern state. Personally, I believe Maryland to be a Southern state based on the people and culture in the area where I grew up and live, but ask anyone north of Baltimore and they'll probably tell you it's a Northern state. It's always an interesting debate! Though we are south of the Mason-Dixon line so I think I win!)

Anyhow, I made a double batch of Paula Deen's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese and my goodness, was that a big hit! I substituted half of the cheddar cheese for Gruyere, one of my favorite "melty" cheeses, and it was absolutely divine. I also made Homemade Cranberry Sauce again this year and now I really don't think I can ever go back to canned. Don't get me wrong, the canned sauce tastes just fine, but the homemade sauce is just so pretty!

For an appetizer, I made Pumpkin Pie Dip, my go-to recipe for any occasion in the fall. It's always a crowd pleaser. I think I should just start carrying the recipe with me because someone always asks for it! And finally, Jonathan and I made a jumbo batch of Bourbon Slush. We brought it to Christmas last year and it was all gone by the time we got to dessert, so we knew we had to make it again. It is so delicious but you have to be careful because it goes down very easily!

I've already decided that I want to host Thanksgiving next year since we'll finally have enough room for both of our families to fit in our home at the same time. That never could have happened in our itty-bitty condo. Our new house has a formal dining room which I can't wait to break in. It wasn't a must-have on my house list, but it was definitely on my wish list. Now we just need some dining room furniture!

Speaking of the house, it was appraised on Saturday and we received some wonderful news: It appraised for $50,000 over what we paid for it, which means we have instant equity in the house! And that's before any of the renovations we have planned for it! This house is definitely all about location, location, location and it showed in the appraisal. That bit of good news helped to soften the blow of finding out that the first house we put in offer in on (the one we fell in love with on our very first day of house hunting) sold for just $3,000 over our offer. Three thousand paltry dollars! That is nothing in terms of affecting your monthly mortgage payment.

However, when we made that offer, Jon and I both promised that it was our bottom line and we couldn't have any regrets. That's easier said than done, but luckily we are just as in love (for completely different reasons!) with the house we're buying. We settle in just 28 days now and we've already come up with decorating plans. Since we are so close to the water, we want our home to be just like a casual and comfy beach house. We're planning on having a lot of grays and blues and greens and maybe some yellow here and there for pops of color. I can't wait to get started!

Our Florida Adventure - Part Two

Orlando

Our primary reason for visiting Orlando was to go to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.  We absolutely love going there, but haven't had the chance to go since we got married. There are unique and delicious food and drink tastings available in each country at the World Pavilion for just a few dollars each  and we enjoy just walking around and sampling here and there. They also have food demonstrations and seminars which are fun to stop into to beat the Florida heat!

Entrance to the Festival

 

Olive oil demonstration in Italy

Spirits tasting from Ireland (they had moonshine!)

The Wedding in Naples

Oh, my goodness, the whole wedding weekend was so gorgeous and romantic and most importantly, FUN!! They had a minor, okay, major, wind issue on the actual day of the wedding which threatened to blow over their chuppah and tangle all the ladies hair, but it's those unexpected things that makes a wedding memorable, isn't it?

On the beach at sundown during the rehearsal dinner
(Ignore the shiny forehead!)

Love this photo...they are always making each other laugh!

The new Mr. and Mrs
(Doesn't Amanda look gorgeous? I loved her hair and gown!)

Beautiful centerpiece and sand art

A candy bar in whimsical beach buckets!

Me with my cousin (the groom), Mike, and a groomsman
(Did I ever tell you all that he gave me a black eye when I was 6? Funny story!)

Lovely handmade favors of little shells with a pearl

I barely left the dance floor and managed to get Jon out for a few songs too!

Miniature desserts!
(Yes, that's mini creme brulee!)

My beautiful new cousin-in-law!

And last, but not least, the cake!  So pretty...and yummy!

Our Florida vacation went by so quickly, but it was well worth the over 1,300 miles of driving around the state!  Le sigh...until our next vacation!

Amanda's Bridal Shower

All that talk about amazing cocktail toothpicks and guess who forgot to upload those photos?  I'm blaming the one and a half glasses of wine (yes, I left a half glass behind) I had with our anniversary dinner last night.  Apparently three months without any alcohol will make you a lightweight.  I'll just post those pictures tomorrow with a quick (and terribly easy) tutorial on how to make them instead.  Onward to the bridal shower recap!

I daresay it was a smashing success.  We had just about fourteen people in total which in my opinion was the perfect size for a bridal shower.  Everyone was able to mingle with the bride, have a good view for the gift opening and split up into manageable sized teams for the games.  My mom and I got rave reviews on everything from the food to the favors to every last little detail that we made sure was perfect.  We live for party planning!  It was such a fun-filled day and the best way to officially welcome Amanda to our (crazy) family. 

Mike and Amanda are getting married on a beautiful beach in Naples, Florida.  When we started planning this party, my mom decided that starfish would be an ideal theme for the shower.  She found a bulk lot of starfish for sale on Ebay and we decorated them with ribbon and rings.  We finished them off by sticking them in a sand-filled large antique-y tub for guests to grab on their way out.  They were simple, yet elegant, favors.

Rather than doing a cake, I baked two batches of cupcake bites for dessert, half in chocolate with devils food cake and the other half in vanilla with funfetti cake. 

Since I had over a hundred of them by the time all was said and done, I individually wrapped some in cellophane bags (found in your local craft store), tied a ribbon on them and set them out for guests to take home.  They were very well received!

Here's a wider view of the favor table.

One of our favorite ways for Jon and I to spend time with Mike and Amanda is to go to all of the local wine festivals in the fall.  They are our wine partners in crime!  Again, my mom found the cutest starfish wine bottle stoppers online and bought them as the perfect game prizes for our wine-loving bride. 

You can't have a bridal shower without games, so we played three: How Well Do You Know the Bride? (guests answered questions about Amanda), Famous Couples Match Game (guests provided the name of a famous person's better half) and a simple drawing of a guest's name out of a basket by the bride. 

As I mentioned before, I didn't want to do a cake for Amanda's shower.  I wanted something cute and delicious and bite-sized.  Last Christmas, I baked wonderfully easy mini cheesecakes and thought they would look so darling on the dessert tray.  I baked a double batch and topped one third with fresh raspberries, one third with mini chocolate chips and the last third with a raspberry and chocolate chip combination.  They were delicious and taste just like the real thing!

Here's a close-up of the two versions of cupcake bites I baked.  It was so much fun to play around with the colors of the meltable candy!

And finally, the guest of honor, Amanda, opening a package.  She had on the most gorgeous, flowy dress and was such a graceful bride-to-be.  Notice the "sea" of starfish hanging on ribbons of tulle behind her.  Another one of my mom's idea.  She is so crafty!

My favorite part of any bridal shower is when the groom comes to pick up the bride.  Men are always so afraid to enter the realm of bows and ladies and estrogen!  Mike was a good sport though and even donned the ubiquitous ribbon bonnet.  These two are adorable together!

As promised, here is the recipe for the white sangria we served.  We had a red one too, but the white version was definitely the belle of the ball.

Just Peachy White Wine Sangria

Prep Time:

5 Minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc)
• ½ cup of Peach Schnapps
• ¼ to ½ cup of sugar (depending on how sweet you prefer your Sangria)
• 2 sliced peaches (frozen peaches work well)
• 1 sliced orange
• ½ mango peeled and sliced
• ½ liter of ginger ale

Preparation:

Pour wine and Peach Schnapps into a pitcher and add sliced peach, orange and mango.  Next add sugar and stir gently.  Chill mixture for at least one hour.  Add ginger ale or club soda just before serving.

If you would like to serve your Sangria right away, use chilled white wine and ginger ale and serve over lots of ice. 

Addition Ideas: 

Sliced strawberries, a handful of fresh raspberries, kiwi slices, a shot or two of triple sec, a cup of citrus soda pop.

 

A Spider Wedding

I had a very good excuse for missing BlogHer this year...it happened to fall on the same weekend as one of my best college friend's wedding!  Of course I wouldn't have missed it for the world because it's not every day that one of your best girls gets married.  Sherry and I were cross country/track teammates at the University of Richmond (Go Spiders!), neighbors our freshman year and apartment-mates our senior year.  Naturally, we spent a lot of time together and even more so because we specialized in the same event in track (3000 meter steeplechase).  She's one of those friends that you just know you'll have for the rest of your life.

The best thing about Sherry's wedding is that she married our fellow teammate, Matt.  It's been so awesome to know them from their first months of flirting in our junior year to now as husband and wife.  What an incredible journey!  They had absolutely perfect weather for their garden ceremony (albeit HOT!) and such a fun-filled reception.  I gorged myself on all of the amazing desserts they had (mini ice cream cones, a fondue station and delicious wedding cake) and was so happy to spend some time with them and my other Spider teammates. 

Here are a few pictures from the wedding...

The beautiful garden where they said their vows

Richmond teammates minus the bride and groom

 I had to take a picture with this sign on the bar..."A pregnant woman never drinks alone!"

 We've been doing this pose ever since we all dressed up as Mary Katherine Gallagher our freshman year.  Supastah!

Me and my handsome husband (who claims to be drinking for three!)

The gang's all together!

 Beautiful bride and groom cutting the cake

 It's kind of funny because I have always said that I would be pregnant by the time the rest of my girls got married...I guess it turned out to be true!  Girls, it's time for the rest of you to get on board because I love Spider weddings!  For the rest of the photos, see my Flickr link to the left.

Last Minute Gifts for Father's Day

I can honestly say that I did not procrastinate this year and have been done with my Father's Day shopping for quite a few weeks now.  That's usually not the case because both my father and my father-in-law are hard men to shop for.  They were both vocal with their Father's Day requests this year though so they made my shopping extremely easy.  However, I realize there might be some of you out there who are still scratching your heads and wondering what to get the first man who ever loved you. 

Don't fret!  I've come up with some quick and easy ideas for what to give your dad on the day to celebrate him for all the kisses of skinned knees, taking you to the New Kids on the Block concert and waiting with you at the school bus stop every morning.  (Thank you, Dad!)

CHEAP: A home-cooked dinner

A lot of what I know about cooking I learned from my dad.  Since Jon and I moved in with my parents, my dad and I have been sharing cooking duties and I think he's secretly proud that I love to cook as much he does.  I think any dad would be thrilled to sit down to a home-cooked meal made especially for him by his daughter (or son!).

For the main course, I would serve this Chicken with Balsamic BBQ sauce (pictured above) with a side of Lipton Onion Roasted potatoes and corn on the cob fresh from the farmer's market.  Simple, yet delicious!  I think a fruit pie would be a great ending to the meal and this Fresh Peach Brown Sugar Pie sounds heavenly.

ACTIVE: Take your dad on a long bike ride or hike 

 

(photo found here)

Let's face it; more than anything else, your dad probably just wants to spend time with you.  How long has it been since you've had quality one-on-one time with him?  With work or school and/or other obligations breathing down our necks, it's sometimes hard to find the time to sit down with dear, ol' dad and catch him up on what you've been doing and to find out what he's been up to.  If you take him on a hike or bike ride, the only thing to distract you will be the beautiful scenery.  Treat it like a father/daughter (son) date and send him an evite requesting the pleasure of his company.  Pack a few sandwiches, snacks and drinks and stop along the way for a nice picnic lunch.

FROM AFAR: Send your dad a handwritten note of thanks

If you live miles and miles away from your dad and won't be seeing him in person, why not send him a letter of thanks for all of the little things he's done for you over the years?  If it were me, I would thank my dad for working the night shift when we were little so that one of my parents would always be home with us.  I would remind him about those bumpy ponytails he used to send me off to school with and tell him how I can still feel his big hands clumsily pulling my hair back.  I would thank him for the amazing opportunity he gave us to live in Germany and for watching the History Channel so much that I grew to love it too.  See, it's not that hard!  Wouldn't you love to receive a letter like that?

SPENDY: Treat your dad to a day at the ballpark

If your dad is a sports fan like mine is, I bet he would love if it you bought him tickets for a baseball game.  It doesn't matter if you're in the nosebleed section or club level, nothing beats watching the home team play ball while enjoying a hot-dog and beer with your dad.  Make sure to take a picture together and frame it to give to him the next time you see each other.  This would be a great tradition to start for every Father's Day.

Does anyone else have any good ideas to share with the rest of us?

Last year, I shared pictures from the Jimmy Buffett concert.  Good timing; we're going to our first of two this year on Saturday!

 

On Driving in New Jersey (BAD) and Sherry's Bridal Shower (GOOD)

Let me start this post with an apology to the people of New Jersey:  I'm sorry.  I said some really awful stuff about your state on Sunday.  Stuff that would make a sailor blush and stuff that I thought back on later and thought, "Holy crap!  Where did I even come up with some of those curses?" 

In my defense, I was lost and late, two of the things I hate most in life.  When I'm lost, I get scared and frantic and when I'm late, I get irritable and anxious.  Those things do not add up to a pleasant Kate, as Jon can attest to when I called him frantically from some highway in New Jersey that morning.  Somehow I almost ended up in Staten Island, as in one of the five boroughs of New York City, when I was supposed to be on the Jersey shore for a bridal shower. 

Best of all, my iPhone crapped out on me.  Like screen froze, couldn't even power the damn thing off crapped out on me.  Thankfully, it re-booted itself five minutes after I tossed it on the passenger seat in disbelief and I was able to call Jon to get me the hell out of dodge.  All I'm saying, New Jersey, is that it would be helpful to label the Garden State Parkway road signs with it's appropriate title and not some green symbol and a large P because that was not at all useful to an out-of-state driver. 

I did eventually make it to the bridal shower, even before the bride, and promptly rewarded myself with a margarita for my efforts.  To say that this shower was organized would be an understatement.  There was a trivial pursuit theme and each category had something to do with the bride, Sherry.  There was a category by the drink section (i.e. What is Sherry's favorite mixed drink) and a category by the gifts, her childhood photos , etc. 

Sherry happens to be one of my best girlfriends from college.  She was one of my teammates and roommates and we, along with two other teammates/roommates, called ourselves The Core.  Sherry and I share a particularly important bond, however, because we both specialized in the 3k steeplechase as our race.  We've suffered through intense hurdle workouts and survived jumping over and in freezing cold water pits together and I love her to pieces.  I can't wait for her wedding next month! 

Sherry, the gorgeous bride

 Taylor, our fellow CORE member and a bridesmaid

Lisa, Sherry's twin sister and Maid of Honor

Sherry opening one of the many gifts she received.  I think we succeeded in showering Sherry with everything she and Matt will need for their marriage!

Sherry and I did take a photo together but the girl who took it completely cut our heads off!  Oh well!

Some Beach, Somewhere....

I must admit that recovering from oral surgery at the beach is the way to go.  Sunshine, cold beer, yummy (soft) seafood, salt water...what more could you need? 

We stopped by Seacrets before dinner one night and saw the cutest little family of ducks swim by the pub tables in the water.  

I love going there because the atmosphere reminds me so much of Sandals resorts.  You know, drinking in the water, island music, people hanging out in swimsuits...my kind of place!  Jon brought our son, Pleepleus, along to join in the fun.

On a recommendation from my uncle, we discovered a new hangout, Fish Tales, that we absolutely fell in love with.  Like Seacrets, it also faces the bay side and has colorful adirondock chairs lining the docks.  The crowd was a little more mature, not really in age, but in behavior, so it was a nice place to grab drinks and dinner after a long day at the beach.  Apparently I was so enamored with it that I forgot to take pictures, but here's one I grabbed from their website.

Pretty, huh?  As I mentioned in my last post, my parents were in Ocean City for the annual Ravens Roost Convention.  They held a big parade on Saturday and each Roost entered floats with a tiki bar theme.  My dad's Roost didn't win, but I thought their float was pretty amazing, regardless.

They even had a moving shark swimming after a Raven!

My favorite float was one made entirely from soda cans, mostly Welch's to be exact.

Can you imagine how much soda they had to drink?  Mind you, this float was huge; it was being towed by a tractor trailer!

Like most beach vacations, ours ended much too soon, but it was so nice to get away for a long weekend.  We'll be back in July for a whole week with Jon's family.  I'm already counting down the days!