favorite things...

We live in condo and the kitchen is, well, small. The main living spaces are open floor plan, which gives the illusion of more square footage. The kitchen appliances are well laid out and, between the available counter space and the occasional use of our dining table, I do generally have plenty of room to prep and cook. DH bought this condo about a year before we met and completely furnished and decorated it on his own.

When we merged homes last year and I moved in we had conversations about the addition of some of my belongings and the subtraction of some of his. One of the major points of conversation was over dishes. He thought his $10 special dishes were just fine and saw no reason to oust them in favor of the FiestaWare I had started collecting (and planned on adding to).

Let's face it. On certain issues, there really is no compromise:
Over the past several days, NY has experienced an early taste of summer. Weather in the 90's had all of the local dogwoods prematurely busting into bloom. I snapped this shot on our walk up to the library book sale on Sunday. Aren't they beautiful?
I generally use my camera far less during our long winter months, other than for holidays and other indoor occasions. It felt good to have the strap around my neck again and my shutter clicking away. Good practice for what's to come next month ;-)

confession and redemption...

I use jarred tomato sauce - all.the.time.

To many people (and nearly all of my own friends) this is unheard of, not done, equal to a culinary sin. Most of my friends are Italian, at least in part. They grew up on homemade sauce and have known how to make it themselves since before they were tall enough to reach the dials on the stove. My mom made her own sauce, too. I have vivid memories of the blue enamel pot of delicious scented red sauce simmering on the stove in my childhood home for hours. It was rarely eaten the same day, instead made ahead of time for meals over the week. The extra was then frozen for another time. Everyone knows sauce (as is true with stews and soups) is better the next day, after the flavors have all melded together.

I've made sauce once or twice in my adult life but, living alone for more than 12 years post-college it just didn't make sense to make a huge pot of sauce for one. So, convenience won and I gave in to jarred sauce. Over and over and over.

Then, I moved in with my fiance and domesticity set in. I've been cooking a lot, baking some and doing the majority of grocery shopping and meal planning for our little family. Dinner has become a thing of pride for me. We've even entertained a few times. This week, we will have another couple over for dinner. It's getting pretty cold here in NY and I want to make comfort food. Something delicious that won't require a half dozen pots and pans - I actually want to entertain AND enjoy the meal with our guests - go figure. So, I'm planning to make baked ziti. However, one of our guests is Italian and I just can't do it. I can't serve my guests (namely one who will know better) jarred sauce. My pride, and the fact that I actually do know how, had me in the supermarket at lunch time buying cans of pureed and crushed tomatoes and a bunch of fresh basil.

Which brings me to this: Penance for years of Classico, Ragu and all brands of jarred sauce and quick-fix meals. A simmering pot of sauce. Homemade. By me. In preparation for a meal that is still two days away. The house smells heavenly!

Crap. I think I might actually be a grown-up.

we need to register for HOW many gifts?

We set out this morning determined to finalize our two registries. We had started them early on in our engagement and have added one or two things here and there. With the holidays approaching, and with them more time commitments, we knew we needed to just finish up or it would be difficult to get to it in time for my bridal shower (January 17th).

When you go in to register, the Bridal Registry Consultant will often tell you how many items you should register for based on your total guest list. We were advised to register for at least 200 items at each store for our 140 guests. What??? Madness. We do NOT NEED 400 things. Heck, we don't even need 50 things at this point. We are both in our thirties and just finished merging two complete households this summer.

Not only do we NOT NEED any more stuff we are, in fact, bursting at the seems with stuff.

But, it is stuff we've registered for. Lots and lots of stuff. Mind you, we really do like it all. Mainly things we gotten by without up to this point (rice cooker, wicker hampers) or things that we figured could use an upgrade (glassware, matching luggage). Some things, such as a lot of silver photo frames, are in anticipation of pictures to come and the dream of one day having a lovely wall of family photos. And then, there is the Kitchen Aid mixer. In red. Because, really, it's not a true registry without a Kitchen Aid mixer. Seriously. When searching for a google image of the particular model we covet, I even came across a blog post entitled "kitchen aid color harmony" that put together inspiration boards for brides suggesting kitchen accents that will coordinate with their shiny, new culinary treasure. here is ours:

As if I needed further evidence that wedding planning is utter madness.

Still, the cloth napkins would be pretty cute at a dinner party. Just change the embroidered initial to "B"...hmmm...

techno-speak...

About two months ago I signed up for a Facebook account, mainly so that it would be easier to keep in touch with my cousins who are of all ages and scattered across the country and the globe. Stumbling though it for the first month or so until I figured things out, the experience has been, well, lackluster. I didn't really see what all the rage was. Yes, it was interesting to have old friends from college and high school getting in touch after many years. Mainly though, it was just one more web page to monitor and keep up to date.

Then, my fiance joined.

Suddenly, facebook has a whole new meaning.

Last night, we were in separate rooms on our own computers and we were talking....through Facebook. Clearly, there is something very wrong with this. LOL!

love with hiccups...

It's been an interesting weekend.

No solid plans
+ hot/humid/nasty weather, followed by driving rain
= crankiness.

By the time Hanna hit us, it was late Saturday afternoon and was a tropical storm, bringing gusty winds and a LOT of rain for our severely overpopulated area. Our home is well above the flood zone. Although we are only about 5 blocks from the waterfront, it's five blocks straight uphill. Thankfully. But, when it rains like that, we're still locked in because the highway infrastructure just can't handle the run-off.

We were both hot, tired from a long week and just wanting to relax and/or do something to work off the lingering work frustrations. Not under these lovely conditions. Mainly, I read and he worked on repairing a computer. All was well. Then, a slight temperature battle ensued (a/c vs. stifling humid outdoor air). Aggravating. Thank goodness for my spontaneous friend who happened to call and suggest getting a quick coffee. She picked me up (using the not-so-flooded local roads) and unwittingly 'rescued' me for an hour. Once I returned, the boy made amends and the status quo was re-established. Then, today, a little bit more of yesterdays not-so-nice stuff. It happens, we talk, it's over and we go along on our happy way. As we were sitting watching football a little while later,

FI: "I'm sorry it's not all perfect but, I always love you."

Me: "It never needs to be perfect. Sometimes our love just gets hiccups."

No, there is no such thing as perfect in relationships or in any other aspect of life. I've never excepted it. Not of living together, our wedding or our future marriage and family. What I expect, and what we both strive for is: more good times than bad, to treat each other gently and well and to approach everything we face as a team.

the sweetest thing...

My FI that is. His parents are on vacation and he has been taking care of their home and lawn. On Saturday, he went to water their plants and came back home to give me this:

A beautiful rose from his mom's garden, just because. A little dose of romance on a summer afternoon.

and today marks...

Just six short months left until our wedding! Every time we reach another milestone in the planning time frame I have an overwhelming flood of conflicting emotions - joy and panic. Joy wins today.
A few minutes ago, I sat down with my planner to write in holidays and such that are coming up through the end of the year and...SCORE!!! I have a LOT of time off during September and October. Days where I can concentrate fully on DIY projects and all things wedding related. At least, that's the plan. My office is closed for holidays or, I am taking vacation on:

• September 1 - holiday
• September 12 - vacation for florist appts and shopping with my mom for her dress
• September 30 - holiday
• October 1 - holiday
• October 9 - holiday
• October 14 - holiday
• October 30 - vacation for engagement photos!

Now, I just need to really organize my thoughts (and supplies) about each of my DIY projects, schedule them out and make a plan. And, maybe, use one of those days to shop for BP gifts and Christmas gifts at the same time.

On another note entirely...I may have mentioned earlier that I have a cat. I adopted him 11 years ago as an adult rescue and, until I moved in with FI, he was my only roommate for all this time. My poor boy has not handled this move well at all. He's not acting like himself, is not using his litter consistently and doesn't seem to be bathing himself as well. He is an elderly cat but, these are not good signs. So, I'm taking him to the vet this afternoon and just hoping they have an easy solution for us.

where did THAT come from?

I'm a fan of television in general. Particularly, wedding shows right now (go figure) but during the regular season I'm addicted to Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, Lipstick Jungle, Chuck, Law and Order: SVU and a few others. When I moved into FI's house in June, we counted the televisions and just shook our heads. FOUR sets for TWO people. A 27", a 25" and two 13". Seriously a disgrace. We have one in the living area (open floor plan living/kitchen/dining), another in the bedroom, a third in the office and the last in the garage. All plugged in and functional.

On Saturday, FI called me me from work and had me write "Sunday 11:00 am West" on the fridge memo board, telling me he had to pick up a surprise and that I could not ask questions. Umm...okay? Later, he tells me that he will be picking up a pre-wedding gift and that he was asked not to tell me who it was from just yet. Fine. So, Sunday he went out to run his errand and came home with this: A 42" LCD HD-TV. Yes, shamefully, we now own FIVE televisions. Seriously. Conspicuous consumption is alive and well in the MrB and SoonToBeMrsB household!!! A lovely and unbelievably generous gift and one that will have at least one old set sitting out at the yard sale next weekend. FI was finally able to reveal the gift-giver last night - a long-time, close friend of the family who will be unable to make the wedding and wanted us to have the gift now.

Now, how exactly does one go about writing a thank you note for something of this magnitude?

domestication of a feminist...

While growing up, my sister and I were raised to be independent, well-educated and strong women. Not surprisingly, we both chose to attend women's colleges (NOT girls schools). Might as well have tattooed "FEMINIST" on our foreheads at birth. I moved out of my parent's home at 17, when I left for college, and never returned to live with them. I have lived alone (with the exception of my cat) for the past 14 years - bringing me to present day and the ripe, young-ish age of 33. This July, FI and I merged households and I moved in to his condo.

Fast forward to 2 weeks after the move: I came home from work, brought groceries into the house, ran downstairs to switch over the laundry, returned to the kitchen to prep ingredients for dinner, went back downstairs to get the dry clothes and...stopped. When had I become so damn domesticated? It's as if some deeply buried, 50's housewife switch was flipped. My younger self marched in feminist rallies and swore she would never be slave to the stove or housework. Yet, without a thought, I automatically fell into the role. And, most puzzling? I. am. content. Holy crap!

One of the things that probably keeps me happy in all of this is simple cooking. I have found that I don't mind cooking but, elaborate meals are reserved for special occasions and dinner parties. Regular weeknights? No thanks. I work full-time and quick and easy, yet healthy, meals are the order. This one has been a huge favorite of mine for years and now, FI asks for it regularly. The best part? It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish:

Raspberry Balsamic Chicken
(adapted from Cooking Light magazine)

1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt, divided
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin
1/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion; saute 5 minutes. Sprinkle rosemary, salt and pepper over chicken. Add chicken to pan; saute 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Add preserves, vinegar and pepper to pan, stirring constantly until preserves melt. Spoon sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings, 4 WW points per serving

chaos and calm

Co-habitating.

Such a simple little description for something that is utterly and completely complicated! We have a great relationship, full of laughter and open communication. Last fall we decided that it would make much more sense for me to move in to his condo once we were engaged and the lease on my rental expired. Since we lived only a block apart throughout our relationship and saw each other daily, how much of an adjustment could it possibly be? Ha!

I had lived alone (with one feline exception) since I was a junior in college. He has owned his home for three years and had a roommate that he didn't see a whole lot of. Prior to my move, we discussed at length our needs for personal space, time for hobbies and general "me time."
Fast forward to one month later and we are still trying to figure it all out. God help us, we are getting though it. I am grateful everyday that we made the decision to move in together before the wedding! The good moments outweigh the frustrating ones so, I'll call that a success for now.



Found this fun little jumble generator at wordle. Give it a try!