Busy... Busy... Busy

Today involved a lot of driving around.  Some of it was productive, some not so much.

First, I drove the FI to the airport.  He's in Utah all week for work.  Then, instead of driving straight home, I figured that I'd stop at Ikea and pick up my hanging lanterns (for the shephards' hooks that will line paths throughout the reception site).

I'd done a bunch of research online, trying to find attractive and reasonably priced lanterns, and settled myself on the Karaboda's (I think... the Ikea website has been wonky lately).  The lantern has frosted glass, a place for an over-sized tea light and a silver handle.  They are very pretty and delicate.

So, after loading 20 of them into my cart (b/c the venue coordinator told me there are 18 hooks available), I wandered around to look at candle and vase options.  I took a lot of time looking at some larger lanterns I was considering for the centerpieces and then found myself carefully examining the Rotera lanterns.  They are small and black (other colors are available) with stars cut out and room for a standard tea light.

All of a sudden, I was frozen.  Was I making a horrible mistake by buying silver colored lanterns when the hooks are black (iron, I'm guessing)?  I stood there for a long time, two lanterns in front of me, sipping coffee, debating with myself...

I finally realized that there was no way that I could make this big of a decision by myself...  Seriously, this is what I thought.  I called the FI, who was just getting in line to board the plane.  He had zero opinion (or interest) in the debate on if the lanterns needed to match the hooks.

So, I gave up...  Unloaded the lanterns from my cart and left Ikea empty-handed.  Fail!

On the way home, I called my mom and explained my issue.  She was shocked that I couldn't make a decision "that's so not like you".  No kidding.  I have bride brain and my decision making skills have been reduced to null.

Oh well.

The afternoon brought a nice break from wedding related stuff - drawing class at the North Hills Art Center.  I took in some of the cake balls I made yesterday (for a party that we didn't quite make it to):

Then, home for an Insanity Fit Test (can't believe I'm re-starting that program again) and dinner.

Finally, a trip to meet potential photographers.  If I could describe an experience opposite to my first meeting with a photographer, this would be it.  They were energetic, smiley, happy to talk about what they do (they actually seem to enjoy their jobs!) and I can definitely see them shooting the wedding.

Now, I just need to chat it over with the FI to make sure he's on board.  But, and I can't believe I'm typing this, I may have found my photographers!  (Hope that didn't jinx it b/c I can't imagine any more searching...)

Brain Cupcakes (First Attempt)

When I read the following line from an invite to a friend's party for the season premier of Walking Dead: "We'll supply the beer, but you must Bring Your Own Brains." I instantly thought of the many 'brain cupcake' images I've seen online lately.  They'd be perfect for this party.


So, this morning, I decided to try and make some.


The results?  Eh, you'll see below.  But, I feel it was a solid attempt (there's always room for improvement).


First, I mixed up a box of Duncan Hines Super Moist White Cake mix.  I followed the instructions but added about 10 drops of green food coloring.  Then, I scooped a bit into liners, and put a bit of strawberry jam in the middle:

Then, I covered them with a bit more batter.  Baked according to directions.


Next, I took a tub of Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting and dumped it into my stand mixer.  I beat it while adding some powdered sugar (probably about four heaping tablespoons).  I also added two drops of red food coloring.  


The frosting was put into a zippie bag with the corner cut off.  I piped two D shapes and filled them in with squiggles:

Definitely not perfect.  But, I think everyone will know what they're supposed to be (thanks to the theme of the party).

Notes for next time:

- Need to figure out a way to keep the jam in the middle of the cupcake.  Mine sunk all the way to the bottom for some reason.

- Add more powdered sugar to the frosting.  It wasn't quite firm enough for piping.

- Consider getting an actual icing bag + tip to pipe with...  This would prevent a lot of lost icing when the zippie bag splits at the seam all of a sudden.

A Zombie Time of Year

Yesterday was the epitome of an October day in Pittsburgh: cloudy and dreary in the morning, clearing up to clear skies in the afternoon, all the time chilly with a ridiculous wind blowing the leaves everywhere.  Perfect fall weather...

Perfect for making hearty meals and getting scared!

After a huge foodperks! redemption shopping trip yesterday morning (finally made it to a full $60 savings), I decided to make a pork loin with sauerkraut, potatoes, onions and apples.  Comforting and delicious (recipe below).

Then, we set out to meet some friends at Kennywood for Phantom Fright Nights.  It was super crowded but so much fun.  We got to go through several haunted houses, rode on some of the lower key rides and watched countless teenage girls run from guys with Jason masks carrying chainsaws.

I have drawing class this afternoon.  Then, hopefully dinner at Alchemy N Ale (gotta get that Groupon redeemed).  And, then, we're going to watch the season premier of Walking Dead at a friends' house.  For that occasion, I'm making brain cupcakes...  Some pics and the instructions should follow soon.

In the meantime...

Fall Pork Loin Bake

Pork Loin - about 1.5 lbs

Sauerkraut - 1 lb bag (or canned would work fine)

Red Potatoes - About 8 to 10 small, quartered

Onion - 1 medium, thinly sliced

Granny Smith Apples - two, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper and Brown Sugar (optional) - to taste

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat up a dutch oven and add a little bit of oil.  Salt and pepper the pork and then brown on all sides, about 4 minutes per side.  Pull the pork out of the pan for a bit later.

- Add a bit more oil and throw in the onion and apple slices.  Saute till a bit browned and tender.

- Pull the onions and apples out of the pan and tun off the heat.  Dump the sauerkraut into the pan.  Add a bit of brown sugar if desired.  Put the pork loin in the center and sprinkle the potatoes all around.  Cover everything with the onions and apples.  

- Bake, covered, for 2 to 3 hours.  (I had to pull mine out at about 2 hours.  The pork was cooked through but could have used a bit more time to become tenderize.)

- Enjoy!

Snarky Vendor & A Sense of Relief

One thing I never counted on being, as a bride-to-be, was an emotional mess.  Since the e-ring was placed on my finger, I have noticed a ridiculous amount of mood swings: crying one minute and feeling giddy the next.  Say, for example, the song that we are planning on having for our first dance starts playing on the car radio, as I’m about to pull into my office’s parking lot, and I break into tears…  That’s perfectly normal, right?

So, with this added sensitivity to absolutely everything around me, it seems that personal attacks from vendors are definitely something I’m not prepared to handle (nor are they something I was expecting from so-called professionals).

As of my last post, I was explaining my wedding photography situation.  I had met with a great photographer (quality of picture-wise) who left a little to be desired in the personality area.  Move ahead to the end of last week and I receive a follow-up email from her, just checking in to see if I had any additional questions, etc.  I replied, thanking her for her time and letting her know that I would be using a different photographer…  I know I don’t actually have another photographer signed (I haven’t even met with any other photographers yet), but I knew I wasn’t going to hire her.

Done.  Moving on.

Not quite.

I received another email from the photographer, which struck me as mature and professional.  She was requesting feedback so that she could better her offerings.  A surprise and a bit of a dilemma.  Should I be as honest as possible, offering the best constructive criticism I could create?  Should I just offer lip service and make something inane up to explain my choice?  Or, should I delete the email and forget about it?

I chose the first option: honest, constructive criticism (or so I thought).  My email went as follows:

“I wanted to get back to you with the feedback you requested.  There were three main parts to my decision for a wedding photographer, which are listed below with some points of comparison that I hope help.

1. Quality and Style - Your photographs were some of the best I saw online and in person.  I loved the detail and you definitely placed very high on my list for this part.

2. Price - At first, I felt that the price you listed would easily fit into my budget.  When I started adding the items I wanted plus the holiday surcharge and tax, it became one of the more expensive options I was considering.  It seems like engagement sessions and a guarantee of two photographers are included in quite a few packages, which were more important to me than any kind of album or prints.

3. Personality - This is a tricky one because my fiancé and I both hate having our pictures taken.  I am trying to find a photographer who is outgoing and personable, who will hopefully be able to get us out of our shells for the engagement shoot and on the wedding day.  I can't really explain this much more than saying it's a gut feel when I meet with people.

Anyway, I hope this helps and wish you the best with your photography.”

Done?  Moving on?

Of course not.

I was shocked yesterday, when I opened up a response from her, which blamed me for the personality issues in point 3.  To summarize, she said that during our meeting, it didn’t seem like I wanted to be there to ask questions and get information.  I guess maybe it could have come across that way…  But, my thoughts are that, as a professional photographer, she should realize that I may have never thought about what questions I should be asking.  I wanted to be sold, maybe even charmed a bit.  This person is going to be around all of my closest friends and family members on one of the most important and memorable days of my life.  I want to like my photographer, at least on the surface level that we’ll be on in the few minutes we meet.

Oh well…  Good decision on not hiring her I guess…  The search continues…

Photographers & Heartbreak

So, earlier in the week, I was prepared for three meetings with wedding photographers.  I had one scheduled for Monday, another on Thursday and the last for this evening.  One (and only one) meeting later, I am starting over from scratch.  Harrumph.

What happened?  Here's the breakdown:

The meeting on Monday was with a photographer whose work I absolutely love.  She has pictures of a wedding at my venue featured on her site and I found myself looking at them over and over, replacing the bride and groom with myself and the FI (we looked fabulous!).  She has tons of close-up, artsy pics of the details I'm looking for: beautiful hanging dress shots, cakes aglow with sunlight, etc.

The only problem?  While reading through her FAQ's, I found her tone to be a bit short, bordering on rude.  Not a big deal, I thought; some people aren't great at communicating through written word.  Sarcasm doesn't translate well, etc.  Plenty of excuses were found b/c I loved the pictures.

Ok, so there was another slight problem...  Someone else, a wedding related professional, knew of someone who had had a not so great experience with this photographer.  The photographer had left the wedding without letting anyone know and missed several important picture moments ( the father/daughter dance being one of them).

In my mind, I had already decided against hiring her.  I can't get past the idea that pictures are the one tangible thing that lasts beyond the actual day of the wedding (ignoring the marriage, of course).  I'm just not willing to take any unnecessary risks.  But, I drove the 45 minutes to her studio for the meeting anyway, perhaps hoping that she'd blow me away with albums and charm.  Alas, no such luck.

So, one photographer down...  I tried to think a bit more logically.  I made a spreadsheet detailing what was included in each package and at what cost.  After looking closely at the numbers and going back over the website portfolios, I decided that I was probably not going to hire Photographer #2, who I was supposed to drive another 40 minutes to meet with on Thursday.

After deciding on Photographers #3&4 (the third meeting was with a married couple who shoot together), I emailed #2 to say that I had made my decision earlier than expected and would be cancelling our meeting.

Fast forward to sitting on the couch with my FI, watching some Thursday night TV, an email comes across from my chosen photography company: they're cancelling the meeting b/c they've been booked.  WHAT?!?

Heartbreak sets in and I frantically start visiting the links of recommended photographers they sent with their cancellation.  Some are good.  All are less expensive.  So, I've filled out a bunch more information requests forms.

Now, I wait... And, maybe do a bit more searching online...  And, consider the possibility of student photographers?  Eh, we'll see.

The Great Race (really)

Like I said, yesterday was an amazing morning for a race.  There were somewhere between six and seven thousand people running the 5K that started in Oakland and ended in Downtown.  That's a whole lot of people, especially when you're trying to keep any kind of consistent pace.  But, the course was fun; running along the river was definitely the best part.


Both the FI and I were able to beat our last 5K times.  He came in at 36:01 and I came in at 38:14.  I probably could have pushed myself a bit harder, but I was happy to have improved a little.  Now we're debating our next race...  Should we push for something in October or give ourselves a bit more time to train?  Either way, I guess we've decided that we're not quite done with the whole race running thing.


That means that I'll have to keep up with my tread-milling routine.  I'm also hoping to get back into practicing yoga soon.  I bought a Groupon for Yoga Flow, which is very close to where I work.  Next week might begin my month of unlimited yoga...


I'd start this week, but I have three meetings set up with potential wedding photographers.  The first was tonight, but I won't give up the details till I've had a chance to compare and *fingers crossed* make a choice.

The Great Race (to the Altar)

This morning was the Richard S. Caliguiri City of Pittsburgh Great Race, the second 5K race for my FI and I.  There was perfect weather for the race: cool and sunny with a nice light breeze.  The best part?  Running, especially in an actual race, tends to make me think about how my FI proposed and (even better) leads to daydreaming about our wedding...


Neither myself or my FI are what you’d call “outdoorsy”.  We both prefer overcast skies to sunshine (we do live in Pittsburgh after all).  We like being at home, watching movies or playing games.  So, how did we end up getting engaged on a sunny July afternoon, at a picnic, beside a lake?
 

 Spring is a good place to start.  We (more I than he) decided to run our first ever 5K with a couple of friends.  The race was scheduled for the beginning of June and we needed to start training outside.  After more times around a nearby quarter mile track than either of us could stand, and showing up one afternoon in the middle of a high school competition, we decided to try running at North Park.  That afternoon, running in the cold rain, along an empty lake (recently drained so that it could be dredged), we decided that it was still better than going around in circles time after time.


We started making regular weekend morning trips to walk and run through the park.  We saw all sorts of races and even heard a barbershop quartet singing for runners one morning.  The weather improved, the trees bloomed and grew new leaves.  We pushed each other to run beyond each others’ comfort levels and started to feel ready for our own competition. 


Then, we ran our race.  Well, I didn’t quite manage to run the whole thing.  But, I met my time goal and soon after, we decided to sign up for another race in the fall.


Quickly, the temperatures rose above what either of us were comfortable running in and we stopped making our weekend journeys to the park.  My birthday came and went.  We both got very busy at work.  I began to wonder if all our trips to jewelry stores to look at engagement rings were a bit premature, because a proposal didn’t seem to be in the works.


Then, on a Friday evening in the middle of July, we went to a nearby church festival.  We wandered through the food and game booths, stopped by the BINGO area to say hello to a friend and then checked out the flea market items.  In a room full of kitchen stuff, we saw a few picnic baskets.  I mentioned that we had never been on a picnic and (here was the first clue of what was coming) he excitedly said “yes, let’s go on a picnic”.


We had plans to do some shopping in the Strip District with my Mom Saturday morning and for dinner and a night out at Sing Sing with my sister and brother-in-law.  So, Sunday was chosen as Picnic Day.  We went to the grocery for a few things and I whipped up some sandwiches: turkey, goats’ milk cheese and pineapple habanero jelly on mini ciabatta (in case you were wondering).  We also had a citrusy five vegetable slaw and some assorted mini desserts from the bakery.


While I was packing things up, my darling FI asked (get ready for clue number two) if we could make this a “fancy picnic” and take some wine.  I guess I seemed less than enthusiastic about the idea and he let it drop.  Then, before we left, he asked if I wanted to change into something dressier (clue three).


So, after changing out of my t-shirt with paint all over it, we drove up to the Park.  We hadn’t been in a few weeks and were excited to see that the lake was re-filled.  It was beautiful.  We drove around for awhile until we found a picnic table on what looked like a cement docking area, right on the lake and surrounded by trees but no people.


We settled ourselves, enjoyed the beautiful lake and ate our lunch.  Then, he went down on one knee and held up a beautiful little box wrapped in a bow.  “You make everything in my life happier.”  That is the one thing I will always remember from his proposal.


Then, I said “YES” and got to see the beautiful ring:
  It was nothing like what I would have ever expected or hoped for.  It was simple, quiet and so completely like everything about us.  It was perfect.