Wedding: The Date

 I really wanted to get married in October, my favorite month. That would mean we would have to plan a wedding in 9 months. I was okay with that but Sean likes to take his time, and thought it was to fast. From November to the end of March New England is gross. I hate the cold and refused to bring friends and family to a place I love at it's ugliest time. They might not ever come back! So then we were thinking late spring. My birthday is in April and and our dating "anniversary" so April was out. We also knew that getting married on a Sunday was cheaper and the end of May is quite nice in New England. That is how we landed on our date....May 26, 2013. It is Memorial Day weekend so people will have the Monday off for travel and recuperation. 450 days to go!

Average Night at Our House

Sean on one of his gadgets (or multiple gadgets) me on the computer or watching TV and Logan being a lap dog.

Mardi Gras: 2012

We had our first Annual Mardi Gras party at our house on Tuesday. I made this wreath out of one of those Styrofoam rings at Joann's, a bunch of beads and some hot glue. Super easy and cute. I might go back and add a bit more beads so you can't see as much white. 

 To go with the green, purple and gold I some yummy chocolate with matching colors.

 I made fried grits! Fried grits!! Everyone loved them. I used this recipe with cheddar cheese and bacon! I will say it is the first thing I ever fried and it was a little smokey in the house for awhile. Luckily I did them a couple hours before people got there and kept them in a warm over. I'm glad to say the house did not smell like smoke when the guest arrived. Also, I served this with ranch. Why not?

Everyone did not love the Hurricane I made. I don't blame the recipe just the drink in general.  Gross. 

 The king cake I do blame on the recipe. BOOOO. I was not happy about it. Instead of a baby we used a little plastic comic book character. They don't sell little babies around here. It worked out fine.

 At least the cake looked pretty. Emeril let me down though. Here is the recipe. If you try it and it works let me know. Maybe I did something wrong..

We had lots of fun. Although it was officially a Mardi Gras party it was also a house warming/ engagement/ new job party. That's right I got a new job! With a raise! And an office! I start on March 5th and I can't wait.

Vday: 2012

As you can see I did not decorate for valentines day but skipped to Mardi Gras. I am finally inviting over friends to the new house and I figure what better excuse for a party than Mardi Gras. I ordered a cheese plate to go from Sierra and some buffalo wings for Sean and we stayed in with a couple glasses or wine and played the trivial pursuit game I bought for us. It was quite perfect. I also got Sean a bunch of sour candy and I organized and framed all his concert tickets for his room in the basement with the ticket from the concert we met at in the middle, of course. 

That was all done on Monday because Sean had to leave for a work trip to Flordia Tuesday morning. 

 I received these at work Tuesday. They were quite beautiful.

Then I got this picture in a text from Sean...he has such a tough job..


I am ready to have him home and so is Logan.

Recipe: Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Cake

My dad finally got to see my house early in February. I was so happy that my whole family was there, in my house, that we own! And I'm engaged! I even got to show my sister and mom my dress. I was such a special moment and I felt very grown up. We invited Sean's family over and we all had pizza and cake to celebrate my moms birthday. It seems so weird and yet normal to have our family together. Either way I was glad to have them all there. 

The cake recipe was from Annie's Eats. As you can see from the messy pictures this cake was made and eaten quickly. Not a lot of time to wipe up plates or crumbs for pretty pictures with little girls eyeing those fondant flowers. I have to say for the amount of effort this cake took it was not my favorite. I liked the caramel butter cream the least. The chocolate frosting was quite good but the cake was dense and to heave for my liking. Everyone seemed to like it but I don't think they would say it was bad. My mom even took some home with her so maybe I am too critical. 

Recipe: Popper Dip

Yum. Make this. I made it a long time ago and can't believe I never posted this! Cheese, Spice, more cheese. Annie's Eats does it again!

Trip: Niagara Falls, ON

We took a long weekend (and a long drive) to Niagara Falls and Toronto, ON. We had fun at the falls, ate some good food at Canyon Creek, Jack Astor's, and Zorro's. I would recommend any of them. 

 It was very misty at the falls but they were very fun to see in person. I think I would like to go back in the summer where there is a lot more to do.

 We also lost some money at the casino...

 Used a lot of the hotels wi-fi since our phones had to be in air plane mode...

We also went and saw my dad in Toronto but there was only one picture from that and it's at 6am with no makeup on so I will spare everyone. I wish we could have had one more day but we raced home to see the Patriots win a spot in the Superbowl! It was a fun trip but next time I would take one more day off!