Spring update!

The summers always end up being especially busy for the fiance and I, and this one is no exception, we've got birthdays, weddings (including our own), benefits, and get togethers with friends booked solid through August. But we did manage to squeeze a couple dates in for ourselves....a weekend at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire and the Billy Joel & Elton John concert in Massachusetts in July. June 3rd is 3 years together, so we'll definitely make plans for that too. Other than that, life is just busy and stressful. The fiance's Nana died the day before Easter, which left a lot of questions about what would be best for his mother going forward, a lot of which are still unanswered. The both of us have been putting in extremely long hours at work. Friday we actually had a "date night in" because even though we live together, we hadn't actually seen each other for a week. In June I'll be heading to NJ for a week for work. The fiance and I haven't spent a week apart ever. Not in three years. Isn't that crazy?! That will be an esperience, for sure. Luckily I'll have my laptop handy :-)

And then there have been cakes. I've had two big projects in the past month, one for the baby shower of a couple who are adopting a beautiful baby boy from Russia. The theme of the baby shower was anything but traditional, which I love because there are only so many baby showers you can handle that are pastel and decorated with ducks. The whole theme were the coun tries of the baby's heritage, Russia, Germany, Ireland, and USA. There were Irish musicians playing, the tables were decorated with flags, and everything was bright and cheerful. I ended up making a seperate small cake to represent each of the countries, which then ended up being auctioned off for over $30 each to raise funds to bring the baby home! The second cake I worked on was for a sweet 16, which was a lot of fun. Because the birthday girl was a new driver, her mother wanted the cake to be a spoof on that. So the cake ended up having the birthday girl driving a blue convertable into the flowers and bushes, knocking over their street sign and loosing a tire in the process. Definitely my favorite cake so far.

And the wedding planning. Getting married in Las Vegas is definitely the best decision we have made. If we did it in Connecticut not only would it have been impossible to plan all the details of a wedding while working full time, but we would have ended being a big overbudgeted monstrosity of an event rather than the small gathering we really wanted. With the Las Vegas wedding everything is included - ceremony, reception, flowers, music, minister. The only thing we've been doing is helping friends and family with travel plans and, buyinh gifts, and booking a rehersal dinner. Absolutely no stress. Since neither one of us are fans of the cookie cutter wedding, this will be our perfect day. Most of our friends and family will be out there for about a week, so it will be great just getting to spend time in our favorite place with our favorite people. Even the bridal party is no stress. We're getting married at noon on August 15th, and the girls will wear sundresses of their own choosing and the guys will wear khakis and navy jackets. We're just so appreciative for everyone who is coming out for our big day, the last thing we wanted to do was to make people go out and "buy this" or "wear that." It'll make it more fun for everyone. Only about 3 more months to go!!

Ramen, the epicurian delight

I spent the afternoon making marshmallow fondant for the baby shower and 16th birthday cakes I have coming up this month, and neglected the fact that the fiance doesn't do the kitchen thing, and dinner just wasn't going to cook itself. Because I've been so caught up in cake making lately, I really haven't been doing much cooking. The fiance has been putting up with what I've been feeding him, but I actually wanted to take the time and cook an actual meal. I was feeling creative, and invented the following recipe using Ramen, the old college go to meal. The fiance is a really picky eater, and he absolutely loved this. Score.



Ramen Casserole

3 packs of Ramen. Toss the seasoning packs in the trash
1 pound of ground turkey
Dried minced onion (or fresh, whatever you prefer)
1 stick butter or margarine
1/2 cup of flour
5 cups of milk (any type)
4 cups of your favorite shredded cheese (I used mild cheddar and Parmesan)
1 12 ounce can of low sodium chicken broth (you will only use half)
1 small bag of frozen corn (or any frozen veggies)
black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground mustard

Preheat the oven to 350

Place the blocks of Ramen (unbroken) in a pot of hot water. Soak for 5 minutes, flipping each block and continuing to soak for 5 minutes more. Drain the water, and set the Ramen aside.

Brown the ground turkey in a frying pan. Add the minced onion (fresh onion can be used. I used dried minced onion because fresh onions make me cry WAY too much). Season the meat with black pepper, cayenne pepper, and ground mustard to taste (or use whatever spices you like). Set browned meat aside.

In a large sauce pan, melt the butter or margarine. Add the flour and whisk until a paste forms. Add the milk, 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until boiling and thick. Add the cheese, 1 handful at a time, whisking until fully melted. Turn off heat.

Add the ground turkey, Ramen, and frozen corn into the pot of cheese sauce. Add the half can of chicken broth. Mix well. Pour into an ungreased 9 X 13 baking dish and bake uncovered in the oven for about 20 minutes or until heated through.



The best thing about this recipe is that it's pretty much a blank canvas......and quick. Follow the general recipe for the cheese sauce so the consistency comes out right, but as far as meat, veggies, cheese types, and spices go....use your imagination. This can't be screwed up. If you don't want to make the cheese sauce, which is the only part of this recipe that takes a bit of time, you could probably get away with using cream of cheddar soup or something like that. I think the cheese sauce is way worth it though.

And then there were plans

Leave it to a snow day to make you do something unexpected. I woke up last Monday to a foot of snow on the ground, and the weathermen saying that it would be blizzarding (not sure if that is actually a word) all day. Given that my commute is 42 miles ONE WAY, I wasn't going anywhere. Once you get engaged, it's only natural that people ask, "so when's the big day?" Until Monday the fiance and I had no clue. As I said in a previous blog, I'm not a cookie-cutter wedding type of girl. So, Vegas it is. And no, it won't be at a random drive-thru wedding chapel. We're having the ceremony and reception on August 15 at Planet Hollywood, which is an absolutely beautiful and sexy resort smack dab in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. It's going to be a small wedding, only about 30 people, which is letting us plan some pretty rocking surprises for our guests. It's just hard narrowing down the guest list.....I'm already over our numbers budget. Blast.

So check the place out!

http://www.planethollywoodresort.com/

My Relaxation Therapy

So about how I relax - I like to bake....cakes, cookies, etc....for other people. I'm out of the house everyday for work from at least 7:30am-6pm. After cooking dinner and cleaning up, it's usually around 8, and then I'm back in the kitchen playing around until 10 or 11. My energy level surprises me when I think about in. In any case, we really don't eat much junk food, and since there's only two of us living in the condo, a whole cake is really too much. So usually, I'll bake cookies to send to my brother who is serving in Iraq with the Marines (Semper Fi!) and cakes for friends' birthdays. I'm posting a few of my creations. Honestly, if I could do anything in the world I'd be a baker or a cook of some sort. To me it doesn't seem like work because I like it so much, and the chemistry all the processes really appeals to my inner nerd, hehe.

If anyone is interested in knowing details since I haven't figured out how to do captions yet, the "Happy Birthday!" cake was a white cake with a cannoli filling and vanila buttercream frosting, the "Rachael" cake was a 3-tiered cookies-n-cream cake with a cookies-n-cream filling and chocolate buttercream frosting covered in marshmallow fondant, and the "pink" cake was a strawberry cake with a cheesecake filling and strawberry buttercream frosting. I don't use mixes or anything from a box, so every one of these cakes was 100% homemade!

I DO.................but not in that way

Since getting engaged in December, I've been doing the typical bride-to-be stuff....research and planning. I swear, it could be a full time job. Flowers, cake, dresses, DJ, photographer, videographer, musicians, ceremony location, reception location, etc. etc. I could go on and on. There's so much to think about and consider, but in the end what it all equals out to is a big expensive party that we're throwing for other people to come to. At least when we have our annual Superbowl party our friends bring beer, wine, and snacks. But not for a wedding, this one is all on us. I did find out that the average wedding in Connecticut costs $22,ooo. Um say that again? Yup, $22,000. And that's average, as in, nothing special.

To me, a wedding should be something special and unique that should be remembered for years to come. However, every one I've ever been to has always been the same: same food in a reception hall of some sort, same photographer asking you to "hold that pose" at the worst time, same lackluster DJ trying to "get the party started." While the brides and grooms swap in and out for their own day, the monotonous repetition of each one has melded all the seperate weddings into a single event, and I couldn't distinguish the wedding of couple X from couple Y if I tried. What is the point of spending all that money on a wedding if it's just going to be the same as every other one that you've ever been to?

So seeing as how everything is so geared towards tradition, what does one do if that tradition is not what is desired? Saying I'm a non-traditionalist only scratches the surface.

And on the first day......

........She blogged. So here I am at 27, finally giving into the peer pressure and getting sucked into the world of blogging. Why am I doing this? Easy. Because everyone else is. My mom would be so proud.
I figured that most of the people who would find their way into my little domain would be people I already know. You know, friends. But in the case of attracting an audience of strangers (I mean that in the nicest way possible), here’s what you need to know:
Like I said I’m 27. I’ve officially graduated into the late twenties category. I live in Central Connecticut with my fiancé, who I was lucky enough to find after a lot dating mistakes and wasted time along the way. A LOT. Luckily the mistakes go away so you can actually find someone worth your while. And no, there is no date set yet. Weddings are mucho expensive and we just bought ourselves a condo that our two cats let us live in. At this point, we are already owned by the bank. I work in the environmental field, which excited my parents because I’m actually putting the two college degrees they paid for to good use and earning a decent paycheck doing it. I spend my days as a modern day Captain Planet, which does wonders to satisfy both my inner nerd as well as my inner child. It’s been nice being a grown-up in a grown-up world, since I don’t need my parents to help me out financially in order to survive like I did in college. Love that!

I am a travel junkie. Near, far, or wherever, I just always feel the need to go out and experience the world around me. Luckily the love of my life has the same urge and in just over 2 1/2 years together we've been to Las Vegas (3 times), California, Michigan, Florida, Canada, Mexico, Arizona, and every state from Maryland to Maine. I just love the idea of going someplace totally new and different and experiencing what it has to offer.

I've always been active, and I Love me some sports. All sports. I played soccer and basketball growing up, rugby in college, and kickball, kayaking, hiking, and rock climbing now as stress relievers. Nothing beats a crazy work out at the gym after a crappy day at the office, and it'll also help me get into my ideal wedding shape. Other than that I like nothing more than watching the Red Sox or Celtics with the fiancé at our favorite sports bar. Don't bother to ask me about mainstream tv.....I have no interest in it other than watching Sex and the City on DVD.

My Vices - the fiancé, Coach bags, Tiffany silver, dark chocolate, and a good dry red wine.......like my best friend's aunt says, "White wine is for amateurs."