We decided to do a preliminary photo shoot with the happy couple because photos the day of the wedding are usually a hectic affair, and Joseph’s breath-taking scenery was too good a back-drop to pass up. So the day before the wedding, Caitlin and I helped Aileen, wedding dress and all, into the car and [...]  Friday morning all the family and friends were arriving in town, but the work was still in full swing, for this hand made wedding. At my house, the bride whipped up cream cheese frosting for her almond wedding cake. The bridesmaids frosted hundreds of chocolate, maple nut, and strawberry cupcakes and Meghan worked her floral magic in [...] We thought we would do some of Aileen and Jason’s wedding photos in instalments. So here is the week of set-up at Mount Joseph Ranch, where we held the reception. The weather was beautiful and the scenery was fantastic. Everyone pitched in with hanging lights, cleaning, making blackboards, setting up tables and chairs, sweeping the barn [...]
I had a terrible fear of canning.
Found: An old cuckoo clock at a garage sale Inspiration: The colors in my door mat and Martha Stewart tea kettle End Result: Conversation piece in my kitchen entry  The beautiful wedding is now a memory, all the Japanese lanterns are flattened, the white lights back in a tangle, the wine glasses washed, linens laundered and Aileen and Jason are sunning themselves in Maui. So, what do you suppose the thoughts of some turn to? CATS! Andrew and I were following in our car while [...] I just made fresh tapenade for the wedding: 38 garlic cloves 12 1/2 Cups pitted kalamata olives 4 cans black olives 1 1/2 Cups capers 1 Cup fresh Italian parsley (courtesy of Taite’s herb garden) 1 Cup curled parsley (courtesy of Taite’s herb garden) 1 1/2 Cups lemon juice 1 1/2 Cups olive oil salt & pepper Blend in food processor and quit before it [...] I love Andrew’s toast to Zac and Cait. It was such a short time ago that Andrew was toasting them and now here we are again. He clearly told Aileen to stay in her laboratory but she didn’t listen. Unfortunately, mine is justified… I was totally bowled over. Sitting with Matthias doing a jigsaw puzzle he got for his birthday and waiting to get Erin at the airport at 11 PM, we suddenly heard the back door open and around the corner comes this family of four singing, “Happy Birthday,” to me! Caitlin and [...] Andrew brought home this article (How Obama Thinks by Dinesh D’Souza) last night and said I should read it, it would explain President Obama, why he’s not a socialist he’s just anti-American. It just made so much sense which was a real shame. Love the guy or not, it is worth reading.
Anyone who is familiar with Alexander McCall Smith will be glad to know he has another book coming out in October. I first came across this author through his No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. It is very light, easy reading and you know, sometimes that’s all you want to read. That’s where I’m at these days. [...] Aileen has single handedly made all the desserts for her wedding including the wedding cake! It has taken five dozen- 60!! egg whites. No yolks, just egg whites. We have lately been having French toast, just yolks; scrambled eggs, just yolks; fresh rolls painted with just yolks on the top. The wedding cake is amazing, an angel [...] The pesto craze came in like gangbusters years ago, and I still love it. The freshness of the basil and garlic with the nuttiness of the pine nuts mixed into the pasta. Well, let me introduce you to a twist on that favorite: Pesto Trapanese 3/4 lb. (2 1/2 C.) cherry tomatoes a good fistful (about a generous cup) [...] Do you ever get an unexplainable bit of happiness over something totally commonplace? I did last week when I tackled something that had been on my white board “to do” list for weeks: “Handwash vintage dresses”. I had found these four vintage dresses (ranging from the 1930′s to the 1960′s) that needed a little TLC. As they hung to dry on [...] There are certain blogs I go to every few days just to torment myself. Please, please tell me Pinkpeppers isn’t your secret torment! One, for me, is decidedly Christian and the Christian part is fine, in fact a great Christian blog would be, well, a great thing. But the one I go to when I feel [...]
Add this to your favorite yogurt and it will make you want to leap out of bed for the shear pleasure of this start to your day. One little, teeny, weeny promise you have to make though, is that you absolutely can NOT go skimping on the honey and oil. Promise? Promise!? Okay, then [...] |
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