Mmm..bacon. And tomato. and other good stuff.

Momma G called these "mini open-faced sandwiches". I thought that was kind of cute, because she was basically right.

JEGs and I made these appetizers for a party we went to, and within the hour they were g.o.n.e. They are super easy, and you can stuff anything inside these pastries- the possibilities are endless!

Food not actually blurry.

Unless you've been drinking. In which case, you probably shouldn't be baking. Leave that to the sober folks.

Tomato Bacon Cups (yields 2 1/2 dozen)

1 small tomato, finely chopped

1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup bacon bits
1/2 cup shredded Swiss Cheese
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 teaspon dried basil

1 tube (12 ounces) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, separated into 10 biscuits.

In a small bowl, combine the tomato, mayo, bacon, cheese, onion and basil. Set aside.

Split each biscuit into three layers; press each layer into an ungreased miniature muffin cup.

Spoon tomato mixture into cups.

Bake at 450 for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Always & Forever,

ME

Initial Desire

Now that I have this brand new last name, I've been hankering to show it off.

Way back in January when we registered, I added these Monogram Coasters from Bed, Bath & Beyond to our list. At $19.99 for a set of four, I wasn't surprised when we didn't receive them. I tried, right?

When we went to Justin and Shannon's Wedding, they gave these sweet little coasters as favors


Birds and flowers? Love them.

They had a cut out for pictures in the middle, but I decided to go a different route. I quickly printed out some uppercase G's in a vintage font and cut them into squares

..slipped them into the back

...and voila! Personalized coasters that didn't cost me a cent!

Now-- who wants a drink?

Always & Forever,

ME

Resolutions: September Update

Well, it's September 1st, and that means it is time to update everyone on my resolutions. In March I gave myself a C+, and in June I upgraded to a solid B.

1. Get Married- done and done.

2. Be on time- I was going realllly well with this. I started to slide a little with getting to work on time, but I think the fact that my ceremony and reception started on time, I should get extra credit points. Don't you?

3. 86 Chunkasaurus- eh. I did really awesome around the wedding. I was down to 116 (in fact my wedding gown was too big on me!) but then then we returned from vaca, I was back up to 123. No bueno. At all. I had to remind myself that just because it doesn't bite me first, I do not need to eat it. I'm back to eating better, and NOTHING after 9:00 pm.

4. Cha- ching!- I am so proud of this, but JEGs and I are slowly but surely putting a little chunk of money away. Along with the very generous gifts from our friends and family, we have are about 7% away from our goal! We are going to meet with our bank's financial advisor soon to learn how to divide our money between savings, vacation fund, emergency and other things.

5. Good stuff- now that the wedding is over, I feel like I have more time to focus on me. As much as I love my job right now, it's not something I can see myself in for more then three more years. I want to start working on my next career move. I'll keep you updated.

All in all, I feel pretty good. I think I am holding pretty steady at a B... maybe a B+. But I'm not trying to get too cocky.

How about you friends? Are you holding up your resolutions? I love hearing your stories as well!

Always & Forever,

Meeeeeeeee.

Wife Chop

Remember back in June when I was desperate for a haircut?

Well, I should be careful what I wish for.

Seven inches later, this is the look I'm sporting now...

ironically, it wasn't until I just looked at these pictures that I realized I am wearing the same top and earrings as in my profile pictures-- and I don't wear them that often. Hmm.



I'm not sure how I feel about it. On one hand my hairdresser, Tara, did an amazing job with the actual cut. It feels light and oh-so-healthy (farewell dead ends!).

On the other hand it's short. Really short. Like so short, I don't even know how to style it yet. I can't pull it back in a ponytail, and when I finally do, there are so many bobby pins it would be an airport security nightmare.

My long hair made me feel sexy and fabulous. I felt powerful. I walked taller.

This kind of makes me feel very... married. With three kids. And mom jeans. Keds anyone?

I think if I give it a little more time, I will get used to it, but the sudden change of 7 inches takes some getting used to. In the meantime I'm seriously contemplating a wig. Or maybe I should bust out my white girl weave again.

Always & Forever,

ME

Our Furry Bundle of Joy

Ladies and Gents, I am please to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Layla.

Standing at a mere 7 inches tall and weighting in under a pound, her hobbies include purring, sleeping, scoping out the internet with her daddy JEGs and sipping drinks with her momma Lizzie.

momma's little wino. so proud

So this is the sitch- I has a couple hours to kill before work so I decided to scope out a yard sale my cousin was having. She's got some killer purses, and I was hoping to snatch up something cute for the fall.

When I pulled up, I saw a crate of three kittens and a sign that said "Free to a good home."

Well, I've got a good home, and I like free things. Fate? I think so.

JEGs and I have been talking about getting a pet for a while now. Ever since we had Murphy put down last September, we've both been jonsing for that extra companionship. After a couple questions I found out the were a friend of my cousins' 12-week old kittens that they just wanted to get rid of. When I approached the crate, I figured holding one of them wouldn't hurt, right?

Wrong. I fell in love.

I called JEGs and asked if we could give this kitten a good home. He said if they were willing to hold her overnight, we would go back the next morning (a Saturday) and pick her up. When the owner said it was ok, I was elated!

The next morning on our way to pick up our new pet, we tossed around some names. It wasn't until the ride home that JEGs said "We should name her Layla" that the name clicked.

The entire weekend was spent playing with our new little baby, and we are so excited to have her in our life. Just a warning for the future, there are probably going to be a lot of "ZOMG, Layla did the CUTEST thing the other day" posts. Just sayin'.

Always & Forever,

ME

----------------------

Update:

I originally wrote this post on Monday August 16th, with the intent on posting it later in the week. That afternoon I took Layla to the vet to be checked out. After finding out she was only 4 or 5 weeks old, severely malnourished and had worms, JEGs and I felt as though we had saved her from a dire situation. In our minds, we were heroes.

When I arrived home from work on Tuesday August 17th, I found Layla laying on her bed, not moving and barely breathing. I rushed her to the vet where they began working on her quickly. After stabalizing her the best he could, the doctor informed me he believed she had panleukopenia- a viral infection known to attack the gastrointestinal system. He said the best thing we could do was take her to a vet hospital for around the clock care. This would have cost us thousands of dollars, and because of her young age and weight, there was a 90% chance she wouldn't make it.

JEGs left work early and joined me at the vet's office. After much thought (and many tears), we made the painful decision to have Layla euthanized.

Our hearts are truly broken. Even thought we only had Layla for three short days, we had fallen head over heels for her. Even with her small stature, she was able to fill the hole in my heart caused by Murphy's passing.

My intent was to delete this post and not to speak of her at all, but that was not what this blog is about. I started this blog as a way to document my life lessons and personal growth. Although this lesson has been particularly tough, I feel as though it was an important one.

From this experience I have learned that JEGs and I have so much more love to give- whether it be cat, dog, or *gasp* eventual baby. However, just because we have the love to give, it doesn't mean it is the right time.

We will eventually get another pet, but not for a while. Right now we are going to keep on loving each other and building our future.

Wedding Fashion

Let's talk about the most important part of a wedding: the fashion.
More importantly, my dress.
I wore an Alfred Angelo dress, Style 1807.





I modified in two ways: first, we cut all the silk out of the train to create a more dramatic contrast for the chiffon against the grass, as well as to eliminate some of the weight (and lordy, did that help). Also, after falling in love with Anna Kendrick's Oscar Gown, my seamstress made detatchable straps that I used to mimic her soft, romantic look. I later took them off for the reception.

A lot of cussing went into this bustle the day of the wedding. It was so beautiful and very intricate. There were seven areas that needed to be tied together with "invisible string" as my maid of honor called them. She got a little frustrated, but I think it was worth it.



When it came to my accessories, I tried to stick with the "something old, something new..." theme.

My wore a new pair of tear drop pearl earrings along side of a pearl necklace that was given to me as a bridesmaid's gift about 15 years ago. My something blue was my fabulous shoes

My something borrowed was a white beaded clutch I borrowed from my mother. I believe this originally was owned by my great-aunt and purchased circa 1954. I also carried a hankie of my grandmothers who passed away in 1991.

Instead of going to a "wedding day" stylist I stuck with my hairdresser, Tara, who knows my hair, and did an amazing job. She curled my hair and pinned it back at the base of my neck to create a very textured look, while still keeping me cool on that hot July day! I also incorporated my 100% free DIY Hair Flower

When it came time to pick a dress for my bridesmaids, I originally set out for a short dress. I figured since we were having an outdoor wedding in July, I wouldn't kill my three favorite ladies by making them wear a long dress. However, once I saw this little number from Jasmine's B2 collection, I was smitten.

Luckily, it was made of a very light chiffon, which made them a little more comfortable in the summer sun. We ordered them in the Caymen Blue, and I love the way the orange flowers popped against the beautiful dresses.

The men wore black, three button suits with navy ties. JEGs' tie was navy with a light blue stripe. They all looked very hansome.

I think altogether, we looked preeeetty damn good.



Always&Forever,
ME

Reception

Psst... wanna catch up real quick on the rehearsal, the preparations, and the ceremony?

I have to confess, JEGs and I didn't really get a chance to enjoy the reception. Between getting my picture taken a hundred thousand times, cake cutting and other stuff, the reception flew by! This post is going to serve more as "This Is What I Vaguely Remember About the Reception"

Right after the ceremony, we were whisked away for formal portraits around the grounds

of the venue. Since we had chosen not to see each other before the ceremony, we missed the entire cocktail hour. We had just enough time to run up to the bridal suite so I could chug dainty sip some champagne while my bridesmaids bustled my dress.

We headed straight down stairs and lined up for the introductions.

Our first dance was to Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight".

We picked this song because when JEGs and I first started dating, he would softly sing me to sleep with this song. That's right my friends- not only can he reach stuff on the top shelf and fix my carburetor, but the man can sing too! I soooo won the boyfriend lottery.

I digress. Back to the wedding.

My father and I danced to Paul Simon's "Fathers and Daughters" while JEGs and Momma G danced to "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack.

We sat down to eat, but I was so excited about everything I only ate a few bites of my Caesar salad. When dinner was served, we were pulled out for more professional pictures and by the time we returned, my steak was cold. I ate a few bites of it, but had to leave it to greet our guests at their tables. When we were finished it was time for the cake cutting.

Our cake was so perfect. I had found two pictures of cakes that I like and handed them over to the people at Normandy Farm with blind faith that they understood what I liked.

I loved the overall look of the cake on the left, but fell in love with how the swirls matched our invitations and escort cards. I asked them if they could combine these two looks, and they did!

I was madly in love with this cake!

When it was time, we started to cut the cake...

ready... aim... BAM!

 

But like a good hubby, he helped clean me up.

The rest of the night was spent dancing, and my sister-in-law, Bryn, got some great shots of my brother getting his groove on

JEGs and I got in a little dancing too

The flip flop basket was a huge success!





All in all it was the most amazing night ever. If I could do it all over again (and I want to) I wouldn't change a thing. Everything came out exactly the way I envisioned it! The best part is at the end of the day I was married to my very best friend in the whole world :)
Next week I will have a full vendor review with more details, so stay tuned.
Always& Forever,ME