Wedding Updates

I've been neglecting the blog... But now it's time to get back after
it. We had a blast with Katie, our photographer, shooting our
engagement photos in the end of October. We did them in and around the
house, since we are getting married near the house and attempting to
coordinate it all around South City. The photos came out great. We
were quickly able to turn them into our save-the-date & holiday cards.
We dropped them in the mail the day after Thanksgiving. I, being the
thrifty gal that I am, snagged a deal from Groupon.  I've never used
the website, but they came out wonderfully.  Perhaps I'll use picaboo
again.

I can't remember if I've talked about confirming our big day details.
Our Ceremony will be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. The
service will be at 10:30 in the morning.

Immediately following, will be a small family only brunch. We have
confirmed brunch to Hendri's Banquet hall. It is less than a mile from
the church ceremony, so it will be easy for the crowd to move over and
get the party started. The brunch will be from 12-4.

As brunch wraps up, the bridal party will take off in a limo/party bus
type dealy.  We plan to do pictures after the reception so we will
have more time. I'm still planing out all the "must have" shots.
Suggestions for a good pose or idea are always welcome.

After pictures, we have more planned. We are going to host a
celebration.  The celebration is slowly coming together. We are able
to rent what used to be a school. It has a large gym area with a
stage, a cafeteria style area with a kitchen, and plenty of parking.
We can have the entire facility with lots of parking. We can use the
stage if we get a band. We can bring in any food or beverage options
that we want. It's the perfect fit for us.  Now we get to start
investigating if we can in fact afford a band! Yippie!!

Winner!! Winner!!

Until recently, I've not put too much effort into entering contests
and competitions. But I've had the chance and gotten lucky.  A few
months ago, I won dinner for two by an underground restaurant called
Demitasse.  Tim & I enjoyed a fabulous dinner "on the house" and got
to meet some new folks.


With all the fun of the wedding hoopla, I figured I could use some
info about our wedding as the subject.  I submitted our "proposal
story" to the Recently Ringed column that runs in Alive Magazine.
After putting the pieces together and adhering to their specific
guidelines, I sent the e-mail off with the specified 5-6 photos.  I
got an e-mail back the next day letting me know that our story would
run in the March edition of Alive.  I'm very excited!!


Next, as I was browsing the web in search of bridal shows to attend, I
stumbled upon a contest about writing a blogpost about your proposal.
I entered a contest on the Off White Wedding Show website that was for
a small gift pack from Sublime Stitching. I won the wedding wishes
pattern & got to pick a textile to put it on. I chose a cute 1/2
apron. I asked Tim to pick out something for me to embroider too. The
pattern comes with a bride, groom, cake, toasting set, flowers, and
some wedding bands to put onto whatever surface I want. I was thinking
about maybe doing dish towels or something for the kitchen -- one of
our favorite places - as well. I'll keep you posted on my progress.


To see my winning blog post, click here. There is also 2 cute pics of
Tim and I with the post.

Old Navy Bundle Up Bash

So... non-wedding post here.  But still... I promise a bit of fun.  I am a crowdtapper -- it's a website that allows you to give feedback to brands and rewards you with points and fun stuff.  I am party of the Old Navy Style Council which is probably the best brand on crowdtap.  

This time, my "task" was to host a party at Old Navy and bring three friends.  In exchange for our time, we were rewarded with a new sweater, pair of pants, and a winter accessory.  It took a little while to coordinate a time (my work schedule has been nutty recently) and it took me a bit more asking than I thought it would to get three volunteers.

We met up at the Old Navy at 170 & Ladue here in St. Louis.  We were there for well over an hour (who knew it took so long to get just the right outfit?) and enjoyed ourselves.  The cords that they had were the clear favorite -- three of us took home cords in a sweetheart cut, a variety of colors.  Mine are a dark grey and they feel soooo soft.  Really really soft.  It's great.  We all got very different sweaters and accessories. The nice thing about Old Navy is that they offer a variety of tastes and styles.  I had a mixed bag of ladies there.  One had not been in Old Navy in years and thought that last time she was there everything was set up for teeny boppers/tweens.  Not geared towards adults.  I had the opportunity to show her that there was a whole bunch of items that fit into her style.  I also brought a friend that has a very unique style and is very expressive.  Things that looked strange on me, looked great and perfectly put together on her.

As I mentioned, three of us picked cords... and the fourth picked a pair of jeans.  Old Navy jeans come in a variety of cuts, colors, flares, etc.  It was nice that she was able to find a pair that worked for her as well.  As far as sweaters went, we all picked ones that were very different.  I got a lovely sparkley silver sweater.  Another one picked out a fuzzy cable knit sweater, a very classic design.  My uniquest friend picked what I called the "un-sweater."  It was very loosely knit and open, the kind of sweater you need to wear with a tank top or cami underneath.  The final sweater was one of those newer open vest type sweaters.  It's called a poncho here.

For accessories, we all migrated towards the scarves.  I picked a lovely black scarf that has silver ribbons through it.  It matches the sweater wonderfully.  One girl settled on a simple fleece scarf after they rejected the first one she picked out for her trip to Paris.  Another one snagged an infinity style scarf, which looked adorable.  And our final member of the party, picked a fidora hat.

All in all, a fun evening and lots of cool stuff to see and look at.  We were able to enjoy each others company and pick out outfits for upcoming holiday parties.  It's my favorite part of crowdtap -- being able to share the wealth.  I've gotten lots of buzz after this one... perhaps I'll have some new friends joining the style council.

Demitasse Dinner

As I mentioned before, I was luck enough to win a delicious dinner out on the town through my witty writing.  Woo hoo!  I took Timmy (of course) and we got to experience St. Louis' first 'pop up' dining experience Demitasse 665.  The idea being that someone takes over a location for a few days, a week ~ more or less ~ and has a specific/themed restaurant.  This is an off shoot of the hip underground dining events.  It is not just a meal or just about the food, it is an experience.

Timmy arrived first and got to introduce himself before I arrived.  The pop up was located in the Dorchester (665 Skinker Blvd) across from Forest Park.  The space was previously occupied briefly by Caitlyns Green Eyed Grill and longer ago as The Tavern.  Our host and hostess for the evening had decorated the space with items from their home.  There was a long table for all of us to sit and dine communally.  They also had some comfy chairs, artwork, and lots of pretty candles.

Upon arrival, we received Cava, a sparkling Spanish wine, with a cranberry floating in it.  The crowd was small and the space was intimate.

Our menu is listed above.  Yum yum!! 

When Marie deemed it time to start with dinner, we moved into the dining room and all gathered around the table.  While we didn't know anyone else there, conversation cropped up quickly and we all got to know one another.  To get our evening started, we enjoyed a spanish white wine as they brought out the first course.  The table was set beautifully and had a different demitasse at each place.  The table was elegant and lovely.

The bottle below is our first course white wine.  Yummy!!

Our first course, simply plated, was butternut squash wanton.  It was served on a bed of smashed peas with fried sage and toasted walnuts.

After the first course, Timmy told me no more pictures and that I need to just enjoy ourselves.  As a bit more luck graced us over dinner, we were closest to the kitchen door and were served first each course.  Yippie!!  It was a wonderful evening and each course was presented with anticipation.  They included two additional red wines to pair with our meals, and not surprisingly both tasted great and seemed to compliment well.

We got to know the folks sitting at the table with us -- directly across the table was a couple that lived in the Dorchester.  On the other side of me was the son-in-law of the chef and he is a pilot (but no longer flies commercially) and now is an accountant.  The conversation flowed about places visited, the building, favorite foods, wines, hobbies, and jobs.  All the things you might bring up with your new friends.

The seven courses were all smaller portions ~~ sort of like ordering a well matched array of tapas plates.  The advantage of this is clearly the ability to keep eating and trying new things.  You don't have to cry uncle before dessert and you're not allowed to overindulge in an early course so you are able to enjoy all pieces as they come out.  We had a tasty and artfully designed beat salad with goat cheese and freshly sliced avocados.  The soup was spicy and creamy.  It was the type of experience where you're not sure exactly what is coming next.... and while you wait in anticipation, you know it will be good and worth the wait.  The palate cleanser was a homemade basil sorbet served in a small sherri glass.  We had a course of fancy green beans that were perfect.  I do love green beans to begin with, and these ones were garnished with almonds and prosciutto.  Our main dish was lamb -- another favorite of mine -- served with potatoes and spinach.  After our main dish, we had a splendid dessert that was flavorful, filling, and rich.  It was a pumpkin sticky toffee pudding sandwiched with toffee carmel vanilla cream, a carmel drizzle, a dash of sea salt, and candied pumpkin seeds.  yum yum yum.

I'm not sure how many more seats are left for this special dinner, however, you can find out more by clicking here.  Would I recommend it?  Absolutely.  It was a memorable dinner with all the little touches that make it unique.  They take the time to talk about themselves, why they enjoy their food, and why they picked certain items.  Our meal was complicated -- 72 unique items went into the creation of our meal.  The mix of company was a blessing as it added to the evening.  The exclusive experience was a different way of engaging with your food -- if you're lucky enough to have the opportunity, you most certainly should give it a try.  After the Demitasse 665 closes its doors, they still will have unique underground dining opportunities.  To find out more, visit here.

yum yum yum... still enjoying it a few days later....

Meatless Monday - Veggie Pot Pie

This week's meatless monday was delicious.  We all liked it so much that I just had to share it.  I can take credit for finding it, but honestly Timmy made the majority of the dish.  I used the epicurious app to find it.  You can also find it on their website by clicking here.

this is the mix before adding into the pie pan

 this is the filling before we topped it with bread crumbs 

The finished product!! Delicious!!

Veggie Pot Pie
4 medium potatoes, preferably russet
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon light olive oil
1 medium onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
1/2 cup low-fat milk, rice milk, or soy milk
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley, optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
9-inch prepared good-quality pie crust, preferably whole grain
1/2 cup whole-grain bread crumbs

1. Cook or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done. When cool enough to handle, peel. Dice two and mash the other two. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and carrot and sauté over medium heat until golden.
4. Add the broccoli along with a small amount of water. Cover and cook until the broccoli is tender but not overdone, 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly. Cook until the liquid thickens a bit, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the diced and mashed potatoes. Heat through gently. Stir in the parsley, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and pat in.
6. Place the bread crumbs in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle with the remaining oil and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Sprinkle evenly over the pie. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie stand for about 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
The Vegetarian Family Cookbook
May 2009
by Nava Atlas