Spring Flowers

D.C. finally hit it's first HOT day and it got me thinking about flowers in bloom and what I may want to have in my wedding. All along DC there are a ton of tulips (I've always loved the red ones outside of the White House). In addition to tulips,  lilies and anemones and peonies are my favorite.

Lucky break for me because most of those are in season in the Spring! Perusing through one of my favorite blogs, LaurenConrad.com, I found a post she recently put up about which flowers are in bloom. I am swooning over the anemones and peonies. I envision for my own wedding, touches of light pink, white and cream flowers.

What are your favorite flowers? Do you know when they're in season?

The Engagement

Hooray!

Alex and I got engaged this past New Year's Day - and after living together for several years, and after many, many talks of getting engaged, he actually managed to surprise me!

The Monday before Christmas, and the day before I was set to fly to Florida to spend time with my family for the holiday, Alex informed me that he would in fact not be proposing to me when he came down that Friday.

What?

Yes, he had to tell me that because for the past year, he kept telling me the trip/or month in which he was planning on proposing (if any guys are reading this, I do not recommend this...)

So Monday night, before I am flying out, he informs he won't be proposing. Talk about getting emotional - crying, locking myself in the bathroom...(I have no shame) - little did I know that he couldn't propose because my ring wasn't ready. (minor left out detail)

Anyway, Alex flies down the following Friday. We have a great weekend and a great New Year's Eve. New Year's Day comes and we are flying out in the early afternoon. That morning, everyone went paddle boarding. My mom and I left a little early to go inside to pack up my stuff and to make breakfast for everyone. I showered and came out in flannel pajama pants, a UCF tshirt, and socks (important for the story). Left my hair frizzy and no make up (it was raining/drizzling in Florida).

Alex finally came in and was kind of annoyed that we had come into the house early. We all had breakfast and then continued to get our stuff packed together. That's when Alex asked me to walk to the dock with him because he left his socks out there and we could sit on the dock for a few minutes before we left.

So, I put on my flip flops while wearing socks, with my flannel pajama pants on, a UCF t-shirt, frizzy hair and no make up. Awesome.

As we start walking on the dock, I am skipping along ahead and Alex asks me to slow down (ok, heart starts beating a little faster now.)

I stood up on the bench of the dock and leaned over the edge to see if I could see any fish and out of my peripheral, I saw Alex fidgeting with the socks he left under the bench on the dock. Immediately, I see him pull out a ring box out of his socks (Ok, was the ring on the dock by itself the whole time?!?) The moment I saw the box, I literally pounced on him and screamed "Yes!"

And then it was all a blur and I may have blacked out.

I do remember him saying "It's been a great 4..." and then me continuing to shout "Yes!" and "But I'm wearing a UCF t-shirt!"

He proposed with his mom's engagement ring. It's a beautiful antique Tiffany's ring that I never want to take off. The ring we looked at earlier in the year wasn't ready so for now, I have his mom's ring. (I probably won't give it back.)

The moment it went on my finger, I started to run off the dock to tell my family. I then stopped halfway and turned to Alex and said "But wait, you didn't actually ask me and you didn't get on one knee."

Too late he said and we went into the house, popped a bottle of champagne and enjoyed celebrating with some family before we flew home.

Kudos to Alex for the shock value. Of course he would wait until I was not dressed for the day.

Took a picture on our way out to the Airport on the day we got engaged!

I can't wait for the big day!

XO,
Audrey

Wedding Dress Searching

The first thing I wanted to do when Alex and I got engaged was to find a wedding dress. I started looking on blogs such as Brides.com, Ruffled, the Knot and WeddingWire. After perusing the Internet, I was definitely more drawn to the new Spring 2014 line by BHLDN and Tara Keely designed by Lazaro.

After doing some research on designs that I liked, I then searched for upcoming trunk shows. Benefit of trunk shows is that most designers will offer some sort of discount. Luckily for me, there was a Tara Keely trunk show happening in Tampa in February. BHLDN has just started to open shops up as part of Anthropologie stores, but at the time I was searching for a dress, none of the shops had opened. They did have a warehouse sale in Philly that I considered going to, however, I ended up finding my dress before the sale.

The BHLDN dresses that I was obsessed with included this gorgeous Onyx Gown. Love the tulle skirting.

I originally thought that I wanted a dress that was fit & flare, with straps and all lace. I found this beautiful dress by Tara Keely 2306 (designed by Lazaro.)

I also found this beautiful more modern laced Tara Keely (2352)

I worked with Ashley at The White Magnolia in Tampa and asked if they would have the desired dresses in the shop for me to try on during my appointment. If you are considering visiting a bridal boutique, I would definitely call ahead as they do not carry every dress of a designer.

Luckily, the White Magnolia was absolutely wonderful to work with and had a few of the dresses shipped in for the trunk show - and without cost. Another trunk show I was considering attending for Tara Keely was going to charge me $75 per dress to have shipped in.

And so it was - at 4am on a Saturday, I hopped on a plane and headed down south to Tampa to try on dresses. It was an amazing experience and one I recommend every bride experiencing. I made sure to try on ball gowns, fit & flare, straps, strapless...the whole works. I mean, when else will you have this opportunity?

After trying on about six or seven dresses, it came down to two. Between the two left, I did not have that overwhelming feeling of "this is the one". I swear they make that up for TV ratings. I ended up going with the dress that my mother liked best and the one that 20 years from now, I think I'll still love. And as much as I want to share "the one" on the blog - I am going to wait until after the wedding day.

Thank you again to Ashley at The White Magnolia. It was one memory I will hold close forever!

XO,
Audrey

I'm Back

After a year hiatus, I've decided I want to start blogging again.

Since I started this blog, I've gotten engaged (!!) and have taken calligraphy classes. I will be posting some of my favorite wedding ideas and latest projects.

Stay tuned!

Cauliflower Fettuccine Alfredo

Alex and I were in Miami last weekend for a wedding, and for the 30 minutes that we actually stayed in the hotel (the weather was awesome and we laid out by the pool the whole time), we turned on a cooking competition show which was featuring a Cauliflower Fettuccine Alfredo vs. a usual Fettuccine Alfredo.

When we got back on Monday, and I asked Alex if he wanted fish for dinner (our usual weekday meat) he requested the Cauliflower recipe we saw on TV. And, because he asked so nicely, I obliged (rarely happens.)

I was too tired to compare recipes like I usually do, so I found this one from a Pinch of Yum, and decided to "fix" it to make it a little healthier and a little more to our liking.

Changes made to the recipe:
I only used 4 cups of vegetable broth- the boxes of broth from Whole Foods come with 4 cups and I happened to have an unopened one in the fridge. I also omitted the heavy whipping cream (you'll see it in the picture because I originally pulled it out to use, and then decided it defeated the whole purpose of making a healthier version.) Same thing with the butter-  use Olive Oil instead. Everything else we had in the cupboard and fridge (another reason Alex lucked out of getting what he wanted.)

Ingredients

1 lb. uncooked fettuccine noodles
3 small heads cauliflower
6 (4) cups vegetable broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup starchy boiling water from pasta pot

Added:
1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
Roasted shredded Chicken




Directions {according to a Pinch of Yum and updated with my changes}
1. Chop the cauliflower leaving the stems.
2. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over medium high heat and add cauliflower.
3. Cook until cauliflower is soft, about 20 minutes.

4. Add 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil to medium hot skillet. Add the minced garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes or until soft and fragrant.
5.  As the garlic and cauliflower are cooking, bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the fettuccine according to directions on package, reserving some of the starchy water to add to the sauce later.
6. Transfer cauliflower to a blender with about 2 cups of the broth. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender.
7. Add the sauteed garlic, salt, nutmeg, and black pepper and puree until very smooth, about 5 minutes.
8. Once the mixture is moving, stream the olive oil into the blender. Add more broth or water if the mixture is too thick to move through the blender. You want it to turn through the blender easily. When puree is very smooth, transfer back to the butter/garlic skillet.
Add the cream and cook over low heat. Add the starchy pasta water (or regular water if you’re not making pasta) and keep warm until ready to serve. 
9. Combine noodles and sauce in a large pot or skillet.
10. I bought a Roasted Chicken and shredded the meat and added it to this dish. It was delicious!

I found mine to be a little watery because we omitted the cream, so instead, I added in some nice shredded Parmesan to thicken it up. I also added in some parsley at the end to put a little green in the dish. Adding some peas or broccoli may be a good touch too.

Enjoy! XO

Weekend of Cherry Blossoms

The Cherry Blossoms are just starting to show their bulbs, and some are starting to bloom downtown. The closing events for the Cherry Blossom festival will take place this weekend. We plan on biking down Saturday morning, but if you're in town next week, you'll probably have more luck seeing more trees blossoming with the beautiful pink flowers - with way less crowds. Goodbye Spring Break tourists!

Found this guy on Monday outside the White House

Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan

And here is another easy, delicious, healthy Mediterranean diet recipe for you.

Ingredients:
Plump Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Oregano
Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions

• Heat oven to 400F.
• Slice Tomatoes (I cut mine into thick pieces). 
• Place on tin foil in deep dish pan. 
• Sprinkle with Salt & Pepper. 
• Sprinkle with dried Oregano (or use fresh if you want/have it)
• Sprinkle on Parmesan cheese (I grated a nice Parmesan on ours)
• Drizzle the Tomatoes with Olive Oil
• Place in oven for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes, broil for a minute or two to lightly brown the top of the cheese.

I served the tomatoes with a Parmesan crusted Tilapia I picked up from Whole Foods and Far East Garlic & Herb CousCous.

Enjoy! XO