Tulips

Today tulips make me smile.


credit: Laroque photocredit.com

photographer: Elizabeth Lloyd

credit: Canadian Tulip Festival

photographer: Delia Anderson


photographer: Delia Anderson

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

March Madness

Its a basketball weekend!! The only problem is my husband despises all sports and my childhood best friend is in town visiting us for the week and she too is not a sports fan! Thankfully its only the first weekend of games. I did sneak in a few games in between activities this evening, haha! I also have 2 more weekends in which to get my basketball fill.

My family and I have a tradition in our house. We each fill out a bracket and see who the family winner is. We only win bragging rights but its is a fun tradition. Surprisingly I actually convinced my husband to fill out a bracket. We'll see how he does! PS. He picked the teams based on how he liked the name of the team :)

Happy March Madness everyone! :)

My Wedding Day

1) When was your wedding day?
July 7, 2007

2.) What day of the week was it?
Saturday

3) Did you get married in a church?
Yes...North Central Assembly of God

4) How many in your wedding party?
20
My side-2 matrons, 1 maid, 5 bridesmaids, 1 jr bridesmaid and 1 flower girl
His side-1 best man, 2 groomsmaids, 5 groomsmen, 1 jr groomsman, 1 ring bearer

5) How many guests were invited to your wedding
745, I think total attendance was like 425

6) How long did you wait to tie the knot after your proposal?
10 months

7) Did you register for gifts?
Yes, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target and Pampered Chef

8) Who did you hire as your photographer & videographer?
DigiPro Photography <-----Best Money Spent, If you live in the Central NY area, He's amazing!!

9) Did you have a DJ or a band?
Not really, we had a friend work the sound system for dinner music and his uncle was emcee

10) Did the father walk the bride down the aisle?
We lit a candle in my dad's memory and my brother walked me down the aisle

11) What color were the bridesmaid dresses & groomsmen vests?
Pink and Black

12) Who was the Maid Of Honor? The Best Man?
Kristina and Delia (my best friends) were my matrons and Krista (my sister) was my maid of honor; Josh (Jake's best friend) was the best man

13) Did the bride have a bridal shower?
Yes, I had 3

14) What type of limo did you get?
We borrowed a white Cadillac Escalade from the dealership I worked for at the time and a family friend was our chauffeur

15) Where did you go for your Bachelorette/Bachelor Party?
I actually had 2. A couple weeks before the wedding with some close friends, we went to dinner and back toa friends house for presents and games. The night before the wedding with my girls, we went to see a movie (License to Wed!) and back to a friend's house to hang out.

16) What type of wedding gown/tux did you two wear?
I wore a white Symphony gown with a sweetheart neckline and a rhinestone pin. Jake for a black tux with black pin stripe

17) How was the weather?
It was perfect, sunny and beautiful

18) Where did you go on your Honeymoon?
Disney World!

19) What was your favorite part of your wedding day?
I loved the whole day and would live it all again in a heartbeat (minus the planning!) I think the best part was marrying my best friend!

20) How long have you been married?
1 year and and 8 months

21) What was the most memorable "bridezilla" moment?
3 days before the wedding, I flipped out at while decorating/setting up the church, Jake had to "set me straight" and after that I was no longer involved in the set up of the church and wasn't allowed near the gym till after it was done.

22) What was your most memorable wedding-related mental breakdown?
Inviting over 700 people caused many mental breakdowns

23) What is the one thing you would change about your day?
I would have eloped! (just kidding but I can't think of anything I would have had the power to change)

24) What was your song?
The Next Ten Minutes from the The Last Five Years Musical

25) Who had the greatest dance moves at the event?
Since Jake and I had the one and only dance, then we were the best!

Syracuse Basketball

Orange Out Day at the Carrier Dome 2/14/2009

I am a native to Syracuse, NY, born and raised. Though I don't live there now, I am still a devoted Syracuse University fan, much to the dismay of my friend Julie, who is a devoted Duke fan.

I didn't attend the university (actually I did take a couple summer classes). I still wear my sweatshirts with pride. As I will be doing tonight while watching the Big East tournament. Now that I live so close to Madison Square Garden, maybe one day I will get to attend the tournament in person! Hey, a girl can dream, can't she :)

You will probably be reading some non-food related posts this weekend. I will be traveling back to my beloved Syracuse to visit my family! I can't wait. I also seem to be at a loss for food posts these days. Maybe I didn't have as much material as I thought to fill a 30-day posting challenge. I am not giving up. I actually had the lights off last night and got out of bed to post because I am determined not to fail! I am just going to have to get creative :)

Happy Birthday Braelyn!

1 year

These days I am surrounded by babies. I counted today and discovered that I have 12 friends that are currently expecting a child. I am super excited for all of them. Today I was uninspired to write about food. As I dug through my pictures nothing struck me until I found these pictures. So, today's post is dedicated to my favorite baby ever, my niece, Braelyn Dawn.

First Day in this World

I love this little girl to pieces. She is cute and adorable and fearless and mischievous and loud and funny and you just can't help but love her. I miss her terribly and wish I could be near her. The time I do get to spend with her is priceless. She turned 1 a week ago. I had to miss the festivities but we are going to celebrate when I see her very soon and I can't wait.

3 months

6 months

9 months

I think she looks like me in this picture :)

"I am a trouble maker but you still love me!"

NaBloPoMo

March is National Blog Posting Month! Since I need something to get my blog going again. I am giving myself this goal, to blog everyday in the month of March. I certainly have enough material to post!

The theme for this month is Giving (UP). I don't know if I will follow the theme or not. I do know that I am not ready to give up on this blog so if nothing else the theme is providing me with motivation to NOT give up!

Comments are always good encouragement, especially because I know that someone is actually reading my blog. Feel free to keep me accountable to this goal!

Viagra Commercial

Sometimes I just can't help myself!

Giveaway!

Who loves to win things??

Who loves new things for you kitchen??

I do, I do!!!

Check out Whitney's blog for a fabulous Thanksgiving giveaway!

Dedicated to My Husband!

How well do you know your husband/wife?



1. They are watching TV..... What are they watching?
Judge Judy, Jeopardy, Family Guy, Food Network

2. You're out to eat.what kind of dressing do they get on their salad?

Caesar

3.What's one food this person doesn't like?

seafood, peas, corn (that's all I can think of at the moment but I know there are others)

4. You go out for a drink. He/she orders...

Alcoholic: Corona, Non: Diet Coke

5 Where did he/she go to high school?

Eliakim (the school his parents founded)
Faith Heritage

6.What size shoe do they wear?

10, depending on the show because one foot is slightly larger than the other

7. If this person were to collect anything, it would be?

Disney lithographs and musical posters

8.What is their favorite type of car?

he hates cars and prefers public transportation

9. This person could eat __________ everyday?

Chinese (if only it were calorie free and fat free!)

10.Favorite cereal?

Wegmans brand Frosted mini-wheats

11. This person wouldn't be caught dead wearing...
Something that didn't match; he wears pretty much anything (I think!)

12.Favorite sports team?

He's not a sports fan but I can list his top 3 favorite musicals! Miss Saigon, Ragtime and Chess

13.Who will he/she vote for?

I'm not sure he even knows who is running

14.What is their sign?

Aquarius (We don't follow these so I actually had to go look it up)

15.What is something you do that he wishes you didn't do?

I tend to be a little too anal

16.How many states has this person lived in?

New York, born and raised

17.What is his heritage?
French

18. You bake them a cake for their birthday....What kind do they want?

German Chocolate

19.Did he/she play sports in high school?

He didn't play sports

20. This person could spend hours....

playing the piano

Now... how well do you know your spouse? (JKnotties, this means you!)

P.S. I borrowed this my friend, Laura!

My Month of May

I can't believe how fast the month of May has flown by. Jake and I had a super crazy and super fun month. With our schedule, I did very little cooking and when I did cook it was our favorite go-to recipes. I also missed another Tuesday. This week's recipe was Pecan Honey Sticky Buns. Madam Chow was our host. Check out her blog as well as the TWD blog to see the wonderful goodies that were made. I will be making this in the future and I will be returning next week!

Now for a slide show of the fun things we did this month...

Mother's Day weekend we traveled back to Syracuse for oodles of celebrations.
My sister-in-law's bridal shower. We were slightly hesitant about the weather but in the end bad weather held off and we had a beautiful day!


The day of the shower was also my mother-in-law's birthday! It was a milestone birthday for her but a lady never reveals her age! Isn't she beautiful :)

On the same day (yup, 3 events in one day!) my own mom graduated from Syracuse University with her bachelor's degree. She went back to school a couple years ago and she has worked very hard. I'm so proud of her!
I couldn't be at the actual ceremony because of the shower so my husband made sure she didn't take her gown off so I could see her and we could take a picture together as soon as she got home!




Through all the celebrations I managed to sneak in a baseball game to see my little brother in action!


And a weekend back to Syracuse wouldn't be complete without spending time with my sister and my niece! Aren't they beautiful!



The following weekend we had visitors back in NYC. My best friend and her husband made NYC a stop during their vacation. We had a great time.


Taken from the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) with the Empire State building in the back.



Memorial Day weekend we traveled back to Syracuse again!!
The celebration this weekend was the marriage of our wonderful, Beth and her now husband Mike. Jake and Beth (#2) taught at the same school together and co-produced two musicals during their time at the school. And, no Jake is not standing on the wrong side, he was a bridesman. Congrats, Beth and Mike!


We also got a chance to spend time with some other very close friends!
This is us with Colin, son of our friends Sam and Tim. Look at that face!



This is the whole gang minus Sam and Colin (it was his bed time!)


The Lovelies, friends since high school and beyond.


And more time with Braelyn...she loves her Uncle Jake!

I couldn't help myself!

from me to you...

I have had a rough couple of days this week. So, last night Jake decided I just needed to be pampered. This included making dinner for me. This is not an unusual task as we both love to cook so we share the responsibility. Out menu for the night was turkey burgers. We had planned ahead to try adding grilled pineapple on top for something fresh with salads on the side.


When he served dinner this is what I found...


...a smiley face :) Just what I needed. After dinner, he cleaned up and tucked me on the couch for some quality DVR time. What a fabulous husband I have!

P.S. The grilled pineapple on top was excellent!

What Spice are You?

You Are Cilantro

The bad news is that there are some people who can't stand you. The good news is that most people love you more than anything else in the world. You are distinct, unusual, fresh, and very controversial. And you wouldn't have it any other way.

What Spice Are You?

1st Married Valentine's Day!

Jake has always done very well at buying me presents and is even better at keeping the secret until the right moment! And on this first Valentine's Day as husband and wife, he did not let me down.

Wednesday, February 13th:
He called me on Wednesday after I left for work to tell me that when I got home I was NOT allowed in the kitchen. It was very difficult but I managed to keep myself from going near the kitchen (thanks Jknotties for the entertainment!).

The final surprise revealed...
...an Ultimate Chocolate Cake!

The weekend leading up to Valentine's Day I had a major craving for chocolate. Every show on the Food Network was dedicated to chocolate, thus fueling my need for chocolate. I drooled over the recipes by all my favorite chefs: Giada, Jamie Oliver, Tyler Florence. But my favorite was Tyler's Ultimate Chocolate Cake! Apparently, it was then that Jake decided what to get me for Valentine's day.
He even researched and found a specialty baking store to buy real chocolate. He said the store was amazing. We are planning to go visit together this coming weekend. Stay tuned for a review (as I hope to come home with a few new kitchen items!).
His master plan was to make the cake, do all the dished and then hide the cake behind a curtain until he got home. Well, his timing was ruined when the weather caused me to have a short work day. Thus, the phone call telling me to stay out of the kitchen. He hadn't had enough time to finish. Well, I was still very much surprised!
The recipe can be found here. The only change Jake made was a raspberry syrup instead of the liqueur because we didn't have any raspberry liqueur.
The frosting was a little rich the first day. I liked it much better the morning after!


Thursday, February 14th:
Jake and I had both requested to take the day off because we were going to go to the taping of a television show. Unfortunately the tickets never came through. We decided since it was Valentine's day that we still keep the day off and celebrate together.
We have been working opposite schedules for quite a few weeks and the time we have had together has been spent doing stuff like laundry and grocery shopping. So, some quality time together for Valentine's day was exactly what I wanted!
Instead of a big heavy meal that neither of us really needed. I wanted something light and relatively healthy (especially now that there is a chocolate cake in the house!). I read another blog that had the idea to do a picnic. Perfect!
It didn't turn out to be super healthy in terms of fat grams but it was certainly wasn't heavy and we had a lot of fun! It was an indoor picnic of course, watching No Reservations.

Our picnic:
apples
kiwi
bread
variety of cheese: brie, sliced mozzarella and sharp cheddar
spinach-artichoke dip
nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)



A perfect First Valentine's Day! :)

Foodie BlogRoll!

I jumped on the food blog bandwagon with some friends a few months ago. I try to post regularly although sometimes it turns into 3-4 posts all in one sitting! It started with just swapping recipes with a couple friends and a place to write about our experience making the recipe.

Shortly after starting my blog I was introduced to Google Reader. (thanks to CB!) Somewhere deep inside a fire was lit. There was a whole new world out there of people with food blogs from all over the world. Well, now I have a full blown bonfire inside of me. I have almost 200 blogs in my reader. I am constantly finding more. And, don't get me started on my starred items! There are so many fantastic ideas out there.

So, I joined another bandwagon, the Foodie BlogRoll Please direct your attention to my toolbar menu on your right. You will find a great big list of foodies and their blogs. I haven't even looked at a 1/4 of them yet! (I need a husband-free, rainy Saturday!)

Well, my blog is now on the list, won't you please join me?!

Our First Christmas in NYC!!

I know this isn't food related but I really wanted to share my Christmas excitement with all of you. It is our first Christmas as a married couple in our first apartment in New York City! See why I'm so excited?!!

This is a picture of our first snow fall down here. I am pleased to report that is didn't come until December 2nd! Back home it snowed the first week of November, yuck! Our snow was gone by the next morning, just the way I like it, pretty but short lived so as not to cause too many problems! :)


We had friends of ours from Syracuse come down to visit NYC this past weekend. They were going to see the Nutcracker at night so we joined them for some shopping during the day. Let me tell you the tourists that come to NYC at Christmas time...I have just never seen anything like it! But we had a fabulous time, seeing all the decorations and the tree at Rockefeller Center. We took a self portrait in front of the BIG red ornaments across from Radio City music hall.



This is picture of our first Christmas tree ! Isn't it beautiful?!



I couldn't help myself. I found the cutest first Christmas ornament at Hallmark and just had to add it to our collection! :)


For more pictures of our ornaments and Christmas decorations, visit my facebook!