Wedding Wednesday - Getting Ready With The Girls!

Since I know several of my readers are here from Wedding Bee, I figured I'd feed your wedding appetites by writing some posts about our recent nuptials in Santa Barbara, CA.  Though it wasn't exactly the sunny California weather we are used to here, I think the day turned out beautifully.  In my totally unbiased opinion, of course.  I'll try to narrow down the 1,000+ pictures we have to give you a taste of our day.

To kick off these wedding recaps, I'll start with a few pictures of my bridesmaids helping me get ready.

Here's my dress, shoes, and flowers waiting for me...

In my attempt at sparing everyone the sight of my bum, I thought I could step into my gown and pull off the dress I was wearing over my head.  I didn't factor in the cathedral length veil that was now attached to my head.  So my bridesmaid Sally had to reach up under my gown and pull the dress down.  All the while being careful not to yank my undies down too.  So much for modesty!

Finally in the dress and zipped up, the girls button me up.  My seamstress gave me the great tip of using crochet hooks to button the little buttons.

My shoes and jewelry...

My something blue, Mom's ring...

My bouquet that I LOVED...

Applying some final touches before heading downstairs for our First Look.

Next week...our First Look.  Stay tuned!

All images by Kristen Grinnell Photography.

Adventures in Baking - Lemon Thyme Cookies

This is what happens when you forget to put the full amount of flour in cookie dough...

You get one big cookie blob!

As I was scooping out the dough onto the pan I thought to myself,

"Wow this dough is really wet and gooey!"

Duh.

I'm pretty sure I put in 2 cups of flour

instead of the 2 1/2 it called for.

Guess I was tired from waking up at 6:00am this morning

to see an early screening of Harry Potter.

(It was awesome, by the way)

After that sad mess came out of the oven, 

I added some flour to the dough until it seemed right 

and was able to salvage some cookies.

And I have to say, they're pretty darn good!

Lemon Thyme Cookies

Inspired by the big batch of fresh thyme growing on our balcony

Adapted from this Land O'Lakes recipe

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon lemon zest

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1-2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400.

Put all ingredients into a bowl.

Mix on low until mixed well, scraping the sides often.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a baking sheet a few inches apart.

Bake 6-8 minutes until golden around the edges.

Cool on sheet for a couple minutes, then move to cooling rack.

I was going to add the glaze that's on the Land O'Lakes recipe

but I didn't have powdered sugar on hand.

And I actually liked them better without the extra sweetness of frosting.

They're nice, light, with just enough lemon to be refreshing.

Perfect for a summer day!

Field Trip: Malibu

A few weeks ago we drove up to Malibu for the afternoon 

so Tor could surf and I could lie on a blanket 

and hang out with seagulls.  

Here are a few photos from the day...

They don't look that big in the picture

but the waves were 6-10 feet that day.

Huge in my books.

Which is why I was lying on the beach

and not in the water!

This guy kept me company.

Afterwards, we stopped at Duke's for a happy hour drink

We were lucky enough to get a corner table with a view

...and look who came to join us!

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Happy 4th of July Cakeballs!

It's 4th of July weekend

(in case you live under a rock)

and I wanted to make a festive treat

for our little get together with friends.

Originally, I wanted to make this flag cake.

But then I heard that the place that we're going for the 4th

does not allow outside food.

Seriously?

So I needed something much smaller

and more smuggle-able.

And what's more compact than a cake ball?

I took the idea of a red, white, and blue cake

and transformed it into a cake ball

by stuffing a blueberry in the middle!

Hopefully the 4th of July police

won't find the tupperware full of cake balls at the bottom of my bag.

Otherwise there's gonna be a group of people

stuffing cakeballs in their mouths at the front gate.

And that's not gonna be pretty!

In case you've never tried cake balls, here's the recipe

as adapted from Bakerella:

1 box of cake mix

1 can of cream cheese frosting

2 bags of candy melts or chocolate chips

Bake cake as directed on box.  Cool completely.

Crumble the cake up in a large bowl.

Mix in the frosting with the cake

(this is best done by smushing it with your hands).

Roll the mixture into quarter sized balls.

Put on a cookie sheet.

Note: my cake mixture was getting too warm and soft

and was making messy balls

so I had to put the whole thing in the fridge for a while

before rolling into balls.

Cool balls (hee hee) in the fridge for several hours

or freezer for several minutes.

(This is to help the balls stay together

when you dip them in the candy melts)

Melt the chocolate or candy melts

in the microwave or a double boiler.

Use a spoon to dip the cake balls 

in the melted chocolate/candy melts.

Make sure to get the whole thing coated.

Put on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Decorate with sprinkles, if desired.

Makes about 40-50 balls.

Enjoy!

Have a happy and safe holiday!!

Fillin' In The Blanks

Woo Hoo!

It's Friday!

And it's a 3 day weekend!

It's supposed to be really sunny this weekend

so I'm hoping to do a lot of this...

Interspersed with some of this...

I'm also thinking about whipping up some treats 

like this,

this,

or this.

In the meantime I'm filling out some of Lauren's blanks.

Go on over to her blog and link up if you want to play along!

1.   The best news I ever received was       Oh, I don't know....maybe getting into grad school.  I remember being super excited to get accepted to my program.

2.  Something I'm looking forward to is    the THREE DAY WEEKEND!  Though I have to admit I'm slightly bitter and jealous at my husbands five day weekend.  Seriously?  Five days?  He's so spoiled!

3.  Something I would never do is     get a tattoo, or a piercing.  I passed out in Claire's when I was 20 getting my ears pierced.  So let's just say that needles aren't really my thing!

4.  If I could choose someone to be my life coach (famous or not, living or dead), I'd choose   hmm, not sure I would ever hire a "life coach."  Maybe Oprah so I can learn to be as successful as her.

5.  If I had to put a label on my style it would be    physical therapist on weekdays.  Which is to say my wardrobe is very bland and unexciting - sensible shoes, pants, short sleeve shirts.  BORING.  Weekends are more easy comfort - jeans, cute tops, sundresses, flip flops.

6.  One should always       use their blinker when turning or changing lanes!

7.  I want to       get a pedicure today!

Happy Weekend!