Oh Hai

Long time no talk, no?

Things here have been madness and mayhem. Between wedding planning (just over 3 months away, eek!), and various other responsibilities and social engagements I have barely had a moment to catch my breathe, let alone update this blog! But as more things come together, I am able to relax. That is not to say there still isn't lots to do but with everything I check of the list (most recently, invitations and a photographer and the cake (well, cupcake tower)) I feel a little more relieved and excited!! The next couple of months will bring with it picking out all of the food, and securing the table linens and making all of the centerpieces/decorations. One of the things I am most excited about is since we are throwing this wedding ourselves, we can handpick the wine and beer served. Adam got some excellent deals from some local craft breweries and I am able to buy cases of actually GOOD wine to serve. Since wine and beer are important to us we are pumped to be able to serve something we actually drink ourselves and love. Oh and did I mention the cheese platters from Wasiks? Shit is on!

Anyway I thought I would pop by here for a bit. St Patrick's Day is coming up and I have committed to cooking a feast for Adam and my brother. The components of this feast are yet to be entirely determined but I know they will at least involve Corned Beef + Cabbage + Turnips as well as Car Bomb Cupcakes. If you are looking for a GREAT St. P's Day recipe check out my Pretty Things Lamb Stew recipe I posted on BrewEngland.com. Pretty Things is one of my favorite local craft breweries and their St Botolph's Town Dark Ale was fantastic in this stew.

Friday night Adam and I went to Ruth's Chris for Restaurant Week. It was delicious and a fantastic dining experience. Great service (Friendly and polished), divine food (filet that cuts like butter), incredible wine list and comfortable but upscale ambience. We couldn't have loved it more. I will comment on this though: there were a lot of people wearing jeans. I know I am old fashioned/a fuddy duddy but a nice dinner out to me means no jeans. I had thought the dress code was business casual but for all I know I am wrong and anything goes, which is fine and I'm really not judging anyone except maybe myself - this is why I should have been born in the 1940s - I am always overdressed! But that is the way it has always been and e'er shall be.

Moving on.

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with my good friend Peter. We went to a book signing at the William Sonoma in Copley featuring the lovely Joanne Chang. I have been a fan of hers for a while now, especially since throwing a birthday party for my friend Meg at her restaurant Meyers + Chang where the food and staff could not have been more wonderful. Anyway on Saturday Ms Chang did a cooking demo and showed us all how easily we could make delightful handmade pop tarts and then signed copies of her cookbook, Flour. I spent a lot of time on Sunday reading this cookbook and it's a fantastic dessert recipe resource. I can't wait to dive in and start trying out the recipes (first, per request of the boys I live with: Pineapple Upside Down Cake).

The month ahead includes a trip to Portsmouth for the night next weekend, and then the following weekend I will be in Seattle for a few days. This weekend the only thing I have on the books is a Partylite party on Friday night when I am actually really excited for. Someone once said that "Candles are the new sad thing" well then color me blue because I love me some candles! And it's perfect timing because all of my "Winter" themed Yankee candles are basically used up and I have not yet bought any "Spring/Summer" ones. Nerd Alert?

So that's all for now. I'm off to take some Airborne to stave off this disgusting cold that I can just feel lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on me.