Starting the Week with a Never-Ending Cold

Anthony and I share everything. Last week, he was sick and this week, it's my turn. Although, if I was really being honest, everyone in my office has been sick so I guess I actually am sharing with all my co-workers as well. What a generous bunch we all are.

When you feel like you're living in a virus-infested cloud, time seems to stop, or at least slow down. It's only Tuesday but the weekend feels like it was ten years ago. I can't recall much of what I did except for this awesome checkerboard cake I made for my father's birthday. This project was advanced beyond my baking skill set but I still managed to make a super-impressive dessert. Just imagine how much better it would have been if my head hadn't been pounding.

Now, I'm headed back to the couch for a little more rest before I go back to work tomorrow.  Hopefully, you're making it through the week happy and healthy. xo

It's All in the Details

I've started to organize our wedding photos, making prints and photobooks for our friends and family. It feels so weird to mail people a stack of photos since everything is digital now but I know I would be thrilled to receive prints from a friend so I keep sending them out. When you attend a wedding, you pose for an unbelievable amount of pictures and never see the results so it's been awesome to share these memories with our loved ones.

Our photographers captured every little part of our day in April. The random shots that I loved the most were the ones of our gift table and the tables. I spent a lot of time (too much, I will admit now) painting the table number frames and making our guest book, but from the photos, it looks like these personal touches really turned the venue room from generic into a fitting location for our event.

The unofficial theme for our wedding was chalkboards. I used them as table numbers and as signs on the gift table and sweetheart table. 

I actually made this envelope box for my bridal shower and decided to use it for the wedding as well. It's a modern take on a wedding cake using square cardboard hat boxes.

It's kind of 80's but we had matchbooks made up with our names and wedding date. They are adorable and I'm happy there were a bunch leftover so we can use them in the future.

I used our engagement photos to create the guest book. Bonus: because our guests tucked the little cards into envelopes, their messages were kept private until we read them the next day.

Our favors were small glass jars of candies in navy and pink. I made the labels and then used gold baker's twine to secure the tags.

There were a few other things that I wanted to do but at the end, I ran out of time. Our dinner was a buffet, and I planned to write the menu on a framed chalkboard so I could place it on an easel at the start of the line but the project never came together. Also, our reception venue didn't allow place cards but I used them at the rehearsal dinner instead. No one knew that I was planning on these things so they weren't missed at all.

The details are what made our wedding different from everyone else's wedding--our DJ sucked (he forgot our names several times throughout the night, among many other things), but I'll always cherish those few seconds after our first dance ended and the next song began. Anthony and I chose to morph right into "Tongue-Tied" by GroupLove and didn't tell anyone; it was mostly because we wanted that communal happy feeling right after the official 'first' stiff slow dance. Our guests didn't expect the upbeat transition but it definitely got everyone on the dance floor right away. And Anthony and I were able to dance carefree in the middle of all our favorite people.

Our guests might not remember any of these things, but they are surely the things that I remember. As of now, our envelope box, cake topper and guest book are displayed in our apartment and hopefully, we'll keep them out for a while. Anthony and I will never forget our wedding day but I love how all of these momentos remind us of it daily. xo

The Scoop

How convenient is it that on the day I was planning to post about our visit to UCONN's Dairy Bar, I came across this article which names the University's ice cream parlor one of the best in the country? It only took me two years to get up to Storrs but, seriously, it was so worth it.

Yes, this is the cone that I ordered, with the required rainbow sprinkles (I have standards). I don't think I've ever ordered a waffle cone but they were freshly-made and I couldn't imagine a better time to go all out.  Despite the hole in the tip of my cone, it was one of the best desserts I've had in a really long time.  I highly recommend the Jonathan Supreme and the Toasted Almond Amaretto, but since all of the ice cream is made from fresh milk, cream and other ingredients, I'm sure all of the flavors are just as delicious.  With its chill vibe and plenty of outdoor seating (good for summer, not a selling point in winter, obvs), this would be a perfect 'last stop' on a Connecticut food crawl.

I forgot how beautiful the University of Connecticut campus is. It's changed so much since the last time I visited but it's a great place to walk around and enjoy a late summer day. On this particular Saturday, there was such a wonderful mix of students and local families exploring the grounds and, of course, stopping for Dairy Bar ice cream. xo

Sidenote: For lunch beforehand, Anthony and I met our friend at Corey's Catsup and Mustard in Manchester.  I enjoyed my burger but the real stand-outs were the french fries and accompanying dipping sauces. We shared a couple of orders and still didn't finish them all. And when they say 'Garlic Parmesan Fries,' they really mean it. The coating was beyond impressive.

Weekend Reads

 

 

Short weeks always seem like the longest weeks, no? Yesterday, my day started with logging in to pay my credit card and finding a bunch of fraudulent charges in my account. I was less than pleased, especially when I was told my credit card had to be cancelled. Perhaps that's just the price I have to pay for living in a technology-driven world (I ironically state as I blog about this incident).

Anyway, today I had to put on a cardigan on my way to work because it was a bit chilly and that made me happy. And I'm gearing up for a bachelorette party tomorrow that's entitled "Sex on the Table: Aphrodisiac Cooking."  As long as they don't feed me raw oysters, I'm set.

In the meantime, I'm going to keep thinking about a visit to Bantam Bagels to try these amazing-looking bagel ball concoctions. Four of them equal a whole bagel. Let's just grab an entire box and eat a casual breakfast in the park one Sunday.

And now, some of my favorite links from the week. Have a lovely weekend! xo

• The new panda at the National Zoo is a girl. How cute is she going to look with little bows in her fur? Cute enough to make me want to jump on a train and visit, that's for sure.

• Splitsider featured comedy in television and movies for the fall. I'm really excited for some of these. 

•  I've been pinning recipes like it's my job. The one I can't wait to try: Jalapeno Cheddar Parmesan Cornbread

•  I want all of the products featured in this DailyCandy slideshow about drugstore beauty must-haves. I wish CVS let you try things out before you buy them though.

• Once is going to be at the Shubert in New Haven next year. I predict now that we will wait way too long to purchase tickets but will then snag really good, inexpensive ones last-minute. Optimism is my friend sometimes.

Photo of bagel balls courtesy of Bantam Bagels

Report: How I Spent My Summer

It's the Wednesday after Labor Day and there's Halloween candy at the grocery store already so it's obviously the perfect time to recap the summer. The season seemed to rush by.  I wish we had barbecued more and we never did get to play mini-golf, but autumn might just be the perfect time to do all that.

Some highlights from the last few months:

• Weddings
• Time spent on our balcony 
• A trip to the Berkshires
• An awesome weekend in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (travel diary forthcoming)
• Books, books, books
• Lots of Birthdays
• Sunday afternoons in the garden with my grandfather
• The purchase of an ice cream maker we have yet to use.

So, not bad. Also, I feel like every food blogger had a 'Popsicle Week' this summer. Are ice pops the new thing? I'm still stuck on s'mores. xo



Photo from our weekend in New Hampshire; we took a quick rode into Maine for lunch.

Picnic Improvisation

Sometimes, you plan a picnic but not everything goes as planned so you wind up cleaning off your tiny balcony, pushing two chairs together to create a makeshift table and enjoying the spread at home.  Our leisurely three-hour lunch consisted primarily of cheese and crackers, but it was the perfect thing to do on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.

Sidenote: I love how the cashiers at Trader Joe's never judge the contents of my cart, even when it only contains four blocks of cheese, a bag of pita chips, unsalted sunflower seeds and celery hearts. The man that checked out my order complimented my cheese selections and I totally felt validated. He was right; the New Zealand vintage cheddar is amazing. xo

Summer DIY Project That I'm Keeping Year-Round

 

I don't think there's a list-lover out there who doesn't love chalkboards, not only because they provide unlimited list-making options but also because they are aesthetically pleasing (or maybe that's just me).  I'm totally into all of the tutorials that design and craft bloggers have out there using chalkboard paint but they almost always involve cutting wood or making your own frame or painting entire walls. Here's the problem: we live in an apartment. We do not own power tools. We cannot paint our entire kitchen or refrigerator or floor in blackboard paint no matter how cute I think it looks. Let's just file this under S for Sad but True Realities of Being a Renter.

I wasn't ready to give up on the trend though. About a month ago while I was at a craft store, I thought, "Why can't I just spray-paint a piece of poster board and create my own temporary chalkboard?" I experiemented on our balcony with a small can of blackboard paint and the poster board, and was pleasantly surprised with the results (fyi, breezy conditions will totally ripple the paint as it's drying but additional coats will smooth out the area).

I wrote my summer to-do list on our new board in chalk markers and then using two temporary, easily-removable plastic hooks, I hung it on the wall opposite our stove. 

I couldn't be more into this project. It's really a cheapo diy hack but it doesn't really look that way when it's up on the wall covered in vibrant chalk markers.  And once summer is over, I'll just replace this list with another.

Perhaps this means that there is a way to overcome any design obstacle that our small home presents. If anyone can figure out how we can legally have a small fire pit on our balcony, let me know. xo