A delicious find

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? If so, can I recommend that you try the chocolate croissants. O. M. G. These things are incredible! Like having a French patisserie in your kitchen. Take the frozen nuggets out the night before, cover them with a paper towel, and when you awake in the morning they are quadrupled in size. Bake for 20 minutes, and you have the most decadent, flaky and yummy treats! MMMMmmmm...

Sex

I'm not going to give it away, but all I have to say is... SEE IT!! Now! Go! And then let's dish :)

Hello fabulous color

I was blown away by these photos today over at the Art of Love blog. That bride definitely got her girlie wedding ... and I'm lovin' it!

Jasna.Janekovic

I just discovered Jasna.Janekovic's photostream on Flickr and every single photo - of over 200 - is beautiful and makes me smile. Here are a few of my favorite for your viewing pleasure, but be sure to click the link of more beauties:

Happy moment

This picture from Millie Holloman Photography made me happy today. It's so whimsical. Just wanted to share.

It's really the start of summer

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! I spent it on a hammock in my parents yard - and picking these from my dad's garden. Yumm! Warm strawberries ... I'm not sure it gets much better that this.

I have a funny story

Sooo... I don't usually post such personal things on my blog, but I simply can't resist with this one. I've been getting a ton of laughs out of it, so I thought, why not!?

Two weeks ago I went to a new doctor's for my annual check up. I warned the doctor that I had gotten married last summer and had worked very hard to loose 20 lbs. Getting on that scale is usually the most dreaded task, but this was exceptionally bad because I fear I'd gained about 15 lbs. back. I warned her. And then I stepped on the scale.

BOOIINNGGG!!!

It was worse than expected. My mind started racing to the beers and burgers I'd had the night before with my husband and then the lazy night we spent watching movies and playing with our pup.

My doctor's response: "Oh, no, no. This is not good. I think we need to check your thyroid. This type of weight gain is just simply not normal."

My response: "No. Really. I've just been a fatty. I'm married. I'm cozy. It's all good."

"Oh no," she said. "I insist. I think this is a thyroid issue."

She wouldn't listen to me.

A battery of blood tests later I get the results: No thyroid problem. My explanation was, in fact, truth. The hamburgers, fries, beers, lazy nights and comfort of being married caught up with me. My poor, poor doctor was almost apologetic when she called to tell me my test results were normal. I was hysterically laughing! I told you so! I'm just a fatty!!

Uhm, needless to say, my husband was not entirely amused with this story. He he.

Truffles part deux

Thank you, Ina. They were delicious! I tweaked them a bit and added orange extract for the coconut covered version and peppermint extract for the simple cocoa covered, and they still turned out "heavenly," per one of the shower attendees.

The finished versions:



These are really simple and fun to make. I've perfectly the art of licking the bowl, and it's a wonderful activity!

Here's the amazingly easy recipe:

1/2 pound good bittersweet chocolate (recommended: Lindt)

1/2 pound good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Ghiradelli)

1 cup heavy cream 2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur, optional (recommended: Grand Marnier)

1 tablespoon prepared coffee

1/2 teaspoon good vanilla extract Confectioners’ sugar Cocoa powder

Chop the chocolates finely with a sharp knife. Place them in a heat-proof mixing bowl.

Heat the cream in a small saucepan until it just boils. Turn off the heat and allow the cream to sit for 20 seconds. Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into the bowl with chocolate. With a wire whisk, slowly stir the cream and chocolates together until the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in the orange flavored liqueur, if using, coffee, and vanilla. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour.

With 2 teaspoons, spoon round balls of the chocolate mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roll each ball of chocolate in your hands to roughly make it round. Roll in confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, or both. These will keep refrigerated for weeks, but serve them at room temperature.

Just a sneak peak

I was up very late last night completing the truffles - 120 in total! I leave you now with just a sneak peak of how they turned out. I'll post the recipes and finished photos later, but I'm off the to train for a long day of PhotoShop training and then a Tria wine class! Stay tuned for colorfully wrapped treats!

Mmm...dessert

I'm making truffles tonight for a shower this week, so stay tuned for pictures of the chocolate mess tomorrow. In the meantime, my latest fave thing to do is pop on Flickr and search for random treats. Today's search, "cake," turned up some fabulous pictures.



What do you Flickr search for?

Another installment of "if I could do it all over again..."

If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't make my veil, I would buy a gorgeous headpiece from Twigs & Honey. I've coveted the site for a while, and have read about Myra on a ton of blogs, but I discovered her own blog this morning and it's renewed my love affair.

You know something, I actually wanted a birdcage for my wedding, but my mom was kinda indifferent and my husband was kinda nasty. Grrrr.




I think I could get away with one of these for a special occasion, right? I wouldn't have to be the bride again?

Look! My colors!!

All I can say is YUMM

Good morning, world. Saturday morning here. Bright and early thanks to a very awake pup! Can I confess that I actually like waking up first with the sun, hunkering down on the couch as the sun begins to stream in the windows - chocolate raspberry coffee in hand? And...more importantly ... freshly and fully charged laptop plopped right on my lap. I think it's becoming one of my favorite things to do.

It's a good thing I'm not entirely awake and hungry yet, because if I were this site would drive me batty. I discovered via KIRTSY today, and I'm sure it will provide hours and hours of distraction. From what I can tell, Tastespotting is a site where you can post photograph of food from your favorite blogs. The photos link directly to the food entries when clicked. But, the homepage is just a collage of beautiful food. So far, I've written down recipes for buttermilk cake with blueberries and rhubarb, spaghetti pie (which I know my husband will *love*), and I'm getting up the nerve for crepes filled with corn and nutmeg!

Anyone can contribute to the site by clicking the fork in the upper left hand corner. Check it out!

Design on a Dime

Real Simple's fourth annual Design on a Dime in NYC featured 30 top interior designers who were given a white box to design, and as you can imagine the results were amazing. All of the items in those rooms were sold (at up to 80% off) to benefit Housing Works, the nation's largest grassroots AIDS service organization.

One of my favorite rooms happened to be the Real Simple room, created by assistant home editor Katie Parker.

Once Wed

I fully intend to wear my wedding dress again (on every anniversary while I sit on my couch and eat chocolate and drink champagne), but I have toyed with the idea of selling it. Every time I want new furniture for the house I think, "Ok. Now realistically, am I ever going to fit in this thing again?" I keep it as motivation to stay at my wedding weight (though it's nine months later and clearly that logic didn't work). I don't have any grandiose ideas of one day having a daughter who wears my dress. If I have a daughter and if she chooses to get hitched one day, I want her to have the thrilling experience of picking out her own dream dress. This is where Once Wed comes into play. It's a beautifully-designed site for brides to sell their previously - and new! - worn wedding dresses.

Hint: Once Wed is also a great way to find out what designer gowns really cost. Look for the details on what the brides originally paid for their gowns.

The site also features photographs from real weddings. Thryn and Gabe's wedding from just a week ago is my FAVORITE!! Sigh...

UPDATE: Do you love these photos too? Well then, check out Thryn and Gabe's Flickr set for images of the entire wedding. There are a ton! Also, visit Thryn's blog for fantastic eco-friendly finds.

Springtime bouquet

Last year, I was the DOC (day-of-coordinator) for a good friend's wedding. I just discovered these pics and was reminded of how much I adored her bouquet, which was filled with full and lush tulips. Forgive my silliness. After a 12 hour day, I'm usually a little delirious!



(PS - this is my Martha Stewart pose, otherwise known as the "head tilt". I'm famous for it, and I swear that it reduces the number of my chins. You should try it sometime!)

Kitchen...a work in progress

A while back, a loyal reader asked me to post additional pictures of my kitchen. I was flattered (extremely), but since it's usually a mess with dishes piled every which way, I haven't had the opportunity. We don't have a dish washer, nor do we have a garbage disposal. Very green we are. {Note: This is sarcastic. Anyone who knows me would, unfortunately, laugh at that. I try. I do. I'm just VERY late to the game, and I'm catching up!} It's usually spotless when we have guests coming though, and I managed to snap a few shots recently with my husband's camera. Ta da! A work in progress...




Believe it or not, this tiny little kitchen sold us on the house. Actually, it was the checkered floors, to be exact. They go PERFECTLY with all of my red accents ... uhm, he he, actually the kitchen aid mixer.


The door to the basement is painted with chalk paint ... perfect for writing the nightly menu! The X's and O's are from pottery barn.

Hidden Treasures

I hijacked my husband's computer tonight, and I've discovered a treasure trove of pictures that I'd forgotten I'd taken. This batch is from some of my DIY projects for the wedding.

Me looking like a goof while embossing all of our envelopes.

I had a stamp made from Impress Rubber Stamps. Embossing all mailing and return envelopes was tedious, but totally worth it. They turned out great!


Little purses that were filled with tissues (color-coordinated, of course ) and other goodies for the girls.

Thank you notes for my showers. "Merci" is embossed, of course. I was seriously obsessed.


Pretty handkerchiefs that we had made for the mothers and grandmothers. I thought this was a nice, old-fashioned gift.

Oh God, I'm greedy

Hubs, are you listening? I can't help it! I want, want, want. And, I just took a look at the calendar and my birthday is coming up!

I'm in love with Whitney Smith's pottery. Any of these would make me quite happy. Just a little trinket to make me smile?