40 Days

I emailed Steve this quote last September and had forgotten about it until he forwarded it to me this past week. I'm thankful for email, which serves as a sort of archive for exchanges like this one.

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being 'in love' which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. My wife and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two." -St. Augustine

30 Day Journal Challenge

My sister-in-law, Sara, wrote a post about the 30 Day Journal Challenge on her blog today. Because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I decided I want to try it, too! The challenge comes from Run With Scissors. Check it out and join along here. I am an insane person for committing to this throughout the month of June while trying to finish wedding plans. Insane person. 

I don't have a pretty journal or a set of Sharpies yet. I'm eager to scope out the selection on my next Target run.

Stay tuned!

Emily

Top Ten

The weeks start to fly by when the weather is nice and the sun is out longer. Winter in Minnesota is long and depressing; the worst part is when the sun sets at 4:30 p.m. While I want to get married sooner, I also want to stretch out summertime. I feel as though it was Monday and I blinked and it was Friday. Here are ten of my favorite things from this past week.

1. Bonfires and wine. Few things are better than good conversation shared with your best friend over a glass of Malbec. (Wine not pictured.)

2. Fresh flowers from the Nicollet Mall Farmer's Market. I'm lucky enough to work Downtown where everything is a short walk away, including the Thursday Farmer's Market. The Farmer's Market means food trucks, fresh fruit, and a bouquet of flowers for my desk.

3. The Five Love Languages. I'm reading this book right now, and thoroughly enjoying it. It offers so much insight on how each person feels loved, and shows love, in a different way. My love languages? Quality Time and Acts of Service.

4. Ray LaMontagne. Specifically him covering Gnarls Barkley.

5. This marriage proposal:

6. All the Rapture/Apocalypse talk. Read this post from the Center for Disease Control, and this article on a 5/21/11 Doomsday crazy. Both will provide you with some entertainment. 

7. Pinterest. I am addicted. Check out my boards here and let me know if you want an invite.

8. Recipe blogs. I am blessed with a job that sometimes requires me to research blogs. This week, I came across Annie's Eats, For the Love of Cooking, and Smitten Kitchen. I'm dying to try the recipes below:

Creme Brulee French Toast from Smitten Kitchen

Banana, Strawberry and Chocolate Chip Muffins
from For the Love of Cooking

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cake from Annie's Eats

9. This blog post about my mischievous niece, Lillian, trying to make herself a cup of joe.

10. Seeing old friends. Last night I had dinner with my college roommates from freshman year. Here we are in Seattle two years ago:

Have a great weekend!
Emily

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars

A few weeks ago, I found this recipe on the Petunia blog, and I've been eager to make them. They were delicious and I'm happy to say that there are hardly any bars left after the weekend. The bars are pretty easy to make and this recipe is definitely a keeper. I am pretty proud of myself because I successfully separated egg yolks from the whites after never having done it before! (Thanks to Steve, who made sure I knew to pour the egg back and forth between the two shell halves; he watches a lot of Food Network.)

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling mix
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2&1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup toffee bits, finely crushed

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, pudding mix, brown sugar, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and 1 whole egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan.

Confession: I mixed this dough with my (clean)
bare hands. Much easier than stirring.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining whole egg, 3 egg yolks and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over crust in pan.

Ta-da! All yolk and no white.

Oops, I forgot to let the cream cheese soften all
the way, hence the cottage cheese-like texture.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Immediately sprinkle top with crushed toffee bits. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

Someone wanted to do a little staging, and
couldn't resist staying in the picture.

Hope you all have had a lovely weekend,

Emily

Bad Blogger

I am a bad blogger. I have come to realize that a busy job plus planning a wedding doesn't allow for much leisurely writing time. I also felt that everything I had to say last week was kind of lame and irrelevant following OBL's death. (Side note: I feel kind of like a tool saying 'OBL'.)

So here's a quick update:

For those of you clinging to the edge of your seats in anticipation of how my battle with Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred would turn out, I'd like you to know that I surrendered after day 8. I've committed to a workout routine involving Just Dance II for the Wii. It's the perfect workout for people who hate. hate. hate. to exercise (me.) I had to dig through my junk draw and bust out my sweatband during a marathon session of "Proud Mary" tonight.

(Note: I am not Sharon, Karen, Louise or Tom, though
I do envy their scores.)

In other updates:

1) The wedding countdown is at 60 days.

2) Minnesota had a crazy storm tonight, giving the Metro area yellow skies, a few funnel clouds, and golf-ball-sized hail to delay a baseball game. The craziest part of this? The temp today reached 90, and just eight days ago, it snowed.

Via KARE-11

3) It was my mom's birthday today. We celebrated with Famous Dave's, "The Voice", and gifts from Patina. She's pretty cool.

That's all for tonight!

Take care,

Emily

Weddings on the Brain

My alarm is set for 4 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding (which, for some reason, is now a proper noun and can be capitalized). My grandma is from England and is staying with us, so that's what I use to justify my excitement for the wedding. Mashable says that over 2 billion people are expected to watch the ceremony tomorrow. Billion. With a 'B'. There are currently 6.7 billion people in the world, so just under a third of the world's population are going to be watching. No pressure, Kate. I'm already having mild panic attacks when I look at my wedding countdown clock (72 days!) and there will only be about 150 people witnessing our ceremony.

Needless to say, I have weddings on my mind. I wish I could post pictures of my dress and cake, but that will have to be a post to come. In the meantime, I'd love to share a few of my favorite weddings. 

I certainly wasn't alive to see Grace Kelly become Princess of Monaco, but as a little girl, I had a set of Grace Kelly paper dolls I played with daily. She looks so regal here. And that cathedral veil...wowza!

I didn't witness this wedding either, but how could I not include it? I wish I could crop Charles out of this. I also wish that puff sleeves were 'in' and Kate would rock something like this.

My grandparents got married in February 1958. My grandma met my grandpa when he was stationed in England for the Army. He wooed her and when she was just 17, she moved to the U.S. to marry him. Their love story will always by my favorite. My grandma told me that she and my grandpa spent their wedding night at a hotel in Windom (about 25 miles from where they got married in Worthington) and drove up to the Twin Cities for three days for their honeymoon. Kind of makes me feel silly for looking at $3000 Caribbean all-inclusives. In case any of you still think I'm crazy for waking up at 4 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding, I hope that you knowing that I have a lump in my throat as I write about my grandparents shows that sharing this with my grandma is about more than just watching TV.

My brother married Sara in March 2006. The day was picture perfect; we were on a beach near Cape Canaveral, Florida and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Sara has become like a sister to me, and I'm so thankful to have both her and Ben in my life (although it would be great if they moved back to Minnesota). I'm out of frame in this picture, which is probably a good thing because I'm weeping like a baby.

I met Ellie when I was in 6th grade. She came to a friend from church's birthday party, and by coincidence, we ended up going to the same middle school and high school. I felt so blessed to be a part of Jake and Ellie's wedding in August 2008. It amazes me that Ellie now has a one-year-old girl. I'm honored to have Ellie (who I think looks like Rachel McAdams) be a bridesmaid in my wedding this July!

Megan and Angelo are the newlyweds of the bunch, having just married this past January. They had a beautiful winter wedding and the day went off without a hitch. Megan looked like a bride out of a dream and it was amazing to witness the wedding of two people so in love. The two of them are very important to Steve and me; they'll both be in our wedding party! 

I love to think about not just the weddings, but the marriages of those closest to me. I'm off to get four hours of sleep! I promised my grandma that when I woke up, I'd make her a pancake in the shape of Prince William's head.

As my gram would say, "toodle-oo!"

xx, Emily

Easter Blessings

My family and I have experienced a lot of loss in the last year and a half, and holidays are very bittersweet for us. Easter this year was no different.

I consider myself very blessed; I have a great job, amazing friends and family, and I am soon marrying my best friend. Easter this year was extremely relaxing and joyful, yet we always anticipate moments of sadness during each holiday, and we carry on knowing that while many of our thoughts remain unspoken, we are all thinking and feeling similar things.

I'd like to focus on my Easter blessings, because in spite of loss and pain, the blessings always prevail! Check out my weekend in pictures:

In our Easter best following Saturday-night service at Eaglebrook

Nellie wasn't as excited about having her picture taken.

Eager to be a little kid again and dye eggs!

Being artistic.

:)

Ta-da! I had to bury Steve's "suicide" egg (dipped in every color of dye).

On Sunday, my mom, grandma, Steve and I visited my grandpa's
memorial at the National Cemetery. It was a beautiful day outside
and we had a short little Easter service there.

Someone decorated a tree with butterflies and Easter eggs
to bring a little joy to the cemetery.

We spent the rest of the day at my aunt and uncle's house. I'll admit I
took a short red wine-induced nap and played a few hours worth
of Mario Kart with my 6-year-old cousin. Also: a game of
tag is a better work out than Jillian Michaels. Sorry, Jillian.

A love/hate relationship with Jillian Michaels.

I'm on day three of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. I haven't technically completed day three yet; I'm off to do that next, but I'm a cheater when it comes to exercise and I like to trick my brain into thinking it's accomplished more than it has.

Jillian: My nemesis/biggest fan.

I can already feel myself getting stronger, which I love. (I didn't get winded as quickly today while running repeatedly from the main floor of our office to the second!) But I don't think that will stop me from exchanging dialog with Jillian while she's taunting me from my TV screen. Why won't she let me take a break and be lazy!? Jillian and her two cronies don't even have water bottles next to their mats! There are NO breaks allowed in the 30 Day Shred, and I think Jillian can actually see out of the TV because whenever I take a mini-break, she times her lecture perfectly. "I know 400lb people who can do continuous jumping jacks! You don't get a break!" Waahh.

Why is getting motivated to workout so hard? I really do just want to watch Mythbusters reruns and eat ice cream. 

Jillian won't let me.

Well, I'm off to sass back to a drill sergeant that can't hear me. And I WILL take a water break if I feel like it! Here's to having pre-crazytown Britney Spears abs in 30 days!

xx, Emily

Pretty much the greatest greeting cards ever.

I came across Zeichen Press while reading MN Bride Magazine's blog today. Their cards are some of the most creative/original products I've come across. From their about/contact page:

"Zeichen Press is Fran Shea, Jen Shea and 10,000 pounds of letterpress equipment. The division of labor goes something like this: Fran talks a lot and Jen does everything else. If you’d like to see how this could work for you and/or your company, contact us. Jen will pick up the phone and Fran will talk to you.

The message is fresh, funny, offbeat, and refreshingly honest. The design is bold and smart. The method is letterpress. VERY old-school. Think chamber pots and blood-letting. Think flogging-in-the-town-square. Think Wanted Posters... Think Bibles: So grim, so serious. Now stop thinking about that. Zeichen Press brought letterpress and humor together - at last! We’d like to give all the credit to indoor plumbing."

Perfect for your mom.

I probably did.

What self-respecting woman doesn't?

No, no I'm not.

Perfect to give to someone who has a flying phobia!
(Me and any Southwest Airlines passengers.)

Steve and I neeeeed to get these!

Bridal Style: Hair

To release some of the wedding clutter taking up space in my head (and causing worry), I've created a board on Pinterest to keep track of bridal styles. 

One of my biggest to-dos next on the list is pinning down a hairstyle I want for the big day. I have been blessed with neither straight nor curly hair, but a concoction of the two that ends up being a whole lot of frizzy kinks. I usually tame the mess with a straightener or hot rollers. Our wedding is outside in July, so I definitely want to wear my hair up. When my hair is pulled back, I think it looks best when it has some texture to it, so here are some of my favorite wavy updos:

T. Swift: the master of the wave. I love the one-sided bun;
a nice way to show off fantastic earrings.

Oh, I wish I had red hair! Beautiful hairpieces, too.

Sara and I are going to try to remake this headband.

Cage veils are so elegant. This hairstyle is very
understated and clean. I love that her hair doesn't
take away from her pretty face.

Please don't hesitate to forward me any wavy updos you come across! At 86 days away from the wedding, I need all the help I can get :)

Starbucks + Minnesota Nice

The beauty of working downtown Minneapolis is that there are endless breakfast and lunch choices. The downside of this is the temptation to spend money unnecessarily and more often than usual.

Behold: The wonder that is the Minneapolis Skyway System (in red.)

While at work today, I decided to treat myself to Starbucks. I justified it because I knew I had $11 left on a gift card. So, I stuck my gift card in the back pocket of my jeans, left the rest of my wallet on my desk, and cut through a few skyscrapers to the closest Starbucks. 

I ordered and handed the barista my gift card. She looked at me and told me I owed $2.84. In a small Starbucks full of people, I was totally embarrassed! I apologized profusely and told her to cancel my order; I had left my wallet in my office. She looked at me and with a nod of understanding and said, "That's okay, just keep the drink, sweetheart."

I thanked her, grabbed my white chocolate mocha, and told her I would be back in five minutes to pay. She was certainly surprised to see me a little while later, wallet in hand.

I know it took a long time to get to my point, but this is exactly what I love about Minnesota. Where else would you be given a free drink purely out of the goodness of an employee's heart? Where else would a person not be expected to pay for something, but return to do so? 

My little trip (well, two trips) to Starbucks this morning was just enough to turn my dreary morning bright, and remind me why I love Minnesota so much.