scenes from this weekend...

a weekend shut-in the apartment (aka David's on call)

Friday night dinner. Baked ziti. I forget how I made it last time so this wasn't quite as saucy - still delicious.

Sunday morning breakfast: Cinnamon Toast the Pioneer Woman way

Surprise overnight snowfall. Oscar Bingo - Oprah Winfrey presents an award was the final answer for both of our cards. Competitions that end in a draw are far less fun! David's new go-to dinner: grilled cheese and tomato soup.

friday favorites

Wine & Chocolate

Nothing says lovely evening at home quite like these things.

(and, as in today's case, the greatest stress reliever)

creature of habit

Rain, rain, go away!

My blogging was going so well...until Florida.

This trip completely through me off my rhythm.

I brought my camera with the best intentions but I didn't take a single picture. Maybe it was the familiar sights. It sure doesn't help that I knew what I wanted to shoot...and at those times found myself without camera. Oh well. I'll be back there in a couple of months and I'm sure I'll make my way back to those locations.

Then there was the return to RI. I had adjusted to the cold so that 35° felt lovely. Well that was thrown by Florida's beach weather. Needless to say, the return (without coats) was brutal.

And my sleep schedule. I slept 12 hrs Monday night expecting to be reset. Then I fell asleep before 8p Tuesday night and finally made it back to normal Weds! Back on the gym routine - all was normal.

Now it's horrible outside. And this is weather I refuse to walk through to get to the gym...

Back on track next week? Fingers crossed.

better with an egg

Last night's dinner was my favorite kind of meal. A bunch of stuff tossed together and topped with an egg. "Stuff" in this case = spaghetti squash, beets, onions, garlic, grape tomatoes, olive oil & goat cheese. For as simple as the combination is, I really had to work for the parts (roasting beets and spaghetti squash is a process!).

It was delicious. I stuffed myself.

location. location. location.

{Style Me Pretty}

There is something so romantic about being outside under the cover of (elegantly lit) trees. It just adds a sense of intimacy to being out under the open sky. I love it.

{Once Wed}

One of the planners we met with described our wedding style as "very Anthropologie." I didn't see it before. It certainly fits our inspiration photos and what we see for our day.

More importantly, the description fits us.

Anthropologie is romance and vintage inspiration. The stores and the clothes just make me happy.

{Google}

While in Florida we began our search for potential venues. Our criteria: romantic atmosphere, bay view, outdoor space. NO BALLROOMS.

One was incredible. The views were breathtaking. The space was grand. It wasn't us. We don't want the focus to be the venue itself - and it would be. Our vision includes candlelight and lace which would simply have a tough time competing with the elements of the space. We would need to be more dramatic - and that is not us. Plus the rental agreement was pretty inflexible and our time there would be extremely limited.

The second was romantic. The house was beautiful. It has the bay view that we wanted. It's just missing the trees that I love so much...

So what are our options?

Find a local farm that will be romantic and have trees? Catch is, we're not farm people. While the venue would be nice and may suit the vision - it says nothing about the two of us.

Go in a totally different direction?

A ballroom? ::gasp::

An industrial space? It fits our urban side - but traveling to Florida to pretend you're in a big city seems silly to me.

Golf course? Country Club? Another city/state/country? No. No. No.

So, though I don't like feeling like there is only one option, I think I know which way to go.

scenes from this weekend...

Past due.

Please note the Scrabble score (not that you can see it well): Gillian - 399 | David - 265

*Trick to perfect bacon: bake it on a rack @ 400º for 15-20 minutes

And yes, I tried to implant some blueberries into the biscuits.

Valentine's Day

It's only fitting that the bulk of my Valentine's post is belated.

David and I are famous for our tardy V. Day celebrations. That's not to say that we don't do anything for Valentine's, we just keep it lower key on the actual day of. Then we use it for a reason treat ourselves to a nice date night soon after.

I spent the better part of my day alone (6:30a - 9:00p) making our first Valentine's Day as an engaged couple perfect (for us). Making cards. Making brownies (from scratch - Tartine recipe - DELICIOUS). Making a tablescape. And, of course, making myself pretty for my beau.

David brought home a delicious margherita pizza from Nice Slice. We shared some delicious Rosé and brownies. Bedtime came too soon.

Even so, we had the BEST Valentine's Day ever.

Valentine's warm-up

a step up from candy hearts.

sweettart hearts.

friday favorites

Today I am starting a new series: Friday Favorites. 

There are so many things I use all the time that I'd love to share.

This week it's my teacup. My trusty, thin, Disney teacup. Warn paint. Faded gold trim. 

My Aunt Kathy bought it for my mom who knows how long ago. Mom has a similar one at home with Mickey and the general Disney gang on it. If something were to ever happen to our apartment and I could only grab one thing, this would be my thing (besides David, but I'd certainly hope he could carry himself). It's so sentimental. David won't wash it for fear of being responsible for breaking it. We wouldn't even let it go with the rest of the dishes when we moved.

I love it.

this week in food

David's first chili experience in...20 years? He loved it!

Indian Curry (was Makhani but I took serious liberties with flavor)

hopeless

pride can stand a thousand trials

the strong will never fall

but watching stars without you

my soul cried

heaving heart is full of pain

oh. oh. the aching.

'cause I'm kissing you. oh.

I'm kissing you. oh.

touch me deep, pure and true

gift to me forever'

cause I'm kissing you. oh.

I'm kissing you. oh.

Kissing You (Love Theme) - Des'ree

If you don't know it. Download it.

Today I learned that I was a hopeless romantic at age 11 (if not before).

I can't even count how many  times I've seen Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet since it came out - including today on E! ("Movies We Love") That channel gets it right - I watch Knocked Up every time that's on.

So my recommendation for you is to watch this movie, especially if you have never seen it. And if you haven't seen it...where have you been? Do you not know Baz Luhrmann makes you melt? Watch it! It will make your heart smush.

And the music. Quindon Tarver and Des'ree. Then all the old grunge stuff.

Love it!

P.S. Don't mind the tragic bits

getting organized

<<Organizational Heaven>>

22 month engagement = planning marathon

Slow and steady wins the race...and hopefully some savings!

Being the nerd that I am, I was excited to receive my beautiful planning binder and Moleskine notebooks. This little kit from russell + hazel was a little pricey for a notebook but it's gorgeous  and I'll use it and their website has great templates for my planning enjoyment.

Now I need to move my notes into the new notebooks.

Planner phone interviews are complete. In-person meetings are scheduled (well, all but one). Two venue appointments have been made (I'm supposed to call one other place but haven't).

I just need to find out whether we can get a ride to/from PVD and set up a car rental for our stay at home.

scenes from this weekend...

Some scenes from this weekend...

Oh, how I've missed thee.

I planned on writing Friday and wishing all a bon weekend but my productivity got the better of me and I kept myself busy from 7ish am to 7ish pm. Clean dishes. Clean laundry. Clean floors. You name it, I cleaned it. I even got a couple of resumes out!

Then my lazy weekend began!

The weather man said Saturday was supposed to be dismal so David and I planned to do absolutely nothing. Well, needless to say, the weather man got it wrong (until later in the day) but we still kept to our lazy day.

We started the weekend with pancakes. Bisquick style. Don't they look delicious? They came out beautifully. They tasted like cardboard. I would have posted photos of the partially consumed stacks but after a couple bites I pitched them and went with the ol' standby: Shredded Wheat. At least we got a fun photo-op out of the cooking!

Sunday Sunday Sunday! I donned my green sweater and gold headband, stocked the fridge with (Wisconsin) beer for the game & slapped together some creamy, cheesy spinach dip. Perfect combination for a nice evening of Super Bowl watching.

Good game. Bad commercials. Full bellies. Great outcome.

"weds"-day

Lace. Romance. Candlelight. Antiqued glass. Low arrangements.

Inspiration: beautiful slim-line lace dresses and the feeling you get from low amber light.

Plus: Mediterranean architecture on the bay. 

Romance. Romance. Romance.

And of course, great food, mucho dancing and all my lovies.

= D&G Wedding Eve 2012

(Image: source unknown)

February: "Do" Month

Productivity my way (note the checklists under the pen and in the upper right corner - I simply couldn't survive without them)

I have declared February "Do" Month. I am making a conscious effort toward maximum productivity in all areas: professional, domestic, nuptial and on and on.

Today, being the first of the month, was definitely a good start. However, I must say, the job front in these parts is bleak. I had a couple springs of hope yesterday, but in today's further research they don't seem to be the right fit. I push on.

Domestic improvement begins Friday. This is my least favorite. Our place just gets cluttery. It looks lived in. Scrabble board and yoga mat ever on the living room floor...but I like them there. I do have to clean the floor. Too much salt for these old wood floors.

While we have made no solid decisions concerning the wedding, we have already contacted a number of wedding planners. We have the group narrowed down for phone consultations and then from there will narrow down for in-person meetings when we go to Bradenton over Presidents' Day weekend. Stay tuned for more to come on some of those d's...

I don't know if the weather here is attempting to support or hinder my productive efforts. And I also don't know if the Rhode Island weather is at all due to the fact that David and I have been discussing our love for NYC since moving here. Let's recap: March - 100 year rain. Summer - one of the hottest summers on record (according to Esquire magazine). January - 4th snowiest January in Rhode Island's history. We may be beginning to see a pattern.