25 September 2011

The Wedding

My cousin's wedding in Estes Park was one of the best weddings I've been to. Of course it had this gorgeous backdrop


And she was beautiful

It had a few firsts for me.

The first wedding I've been to where the bride didn't walk down the aisle to the typical wedding march. The first wedding I've been to that didn't have a flower girl or ring bearer. And the first wedding reception I've been to that had a surprise flash mob.

Surprise Flash Mob at Wedding Reception from Cara on Vimeo.


My cousin made all of the centerpieces which were very personal (she works in the film industry)

In addition to those paper flowers she also made all of the ones in this wreath

Not to mention the 100+ cupcakes she baked (the pumpkin with cream cheese icing was my favorite). She put Martha Stewart to shame.

I wore a new dress by Suzi Chin for Maggie Boutique. I had never bought this brand before. I ordered it online and it arrived the day before we left. Luckily it fit. I originally found it on Nordstrom's but then found it for half the price on Blue Fly. Ahh, the benefits of shopping on the internet if you have the time to find what you want and then search for it for cheaper. I don't think I have anything in this color but I decided I really like it.

All in all it was a nice weekend getaway.

A Month of Dinners - Day One

With my recent traveling I picked up the latest Real Simple magazine that touted it's Month of Dinners on the cover. I followed a similar article nearly 10 years ago that I loved so I was excited to try this one.

As soon as we got back from our trip to Colorado today I grabbed the preprinted grocery list and headed out. Day one is Salmon With Gingery Green Beans and Bok Choy

Real Simple is blogging about it here as well.

I would not make this recipe again. Granted I bought frozen salmon and I think that was my first mistake but the fresh salmon had all been cut up and only had ends left over that didn't look appealing. And I think I overcooked it. I drowned it in soy sauce in order to eat it. The kids wouldn't touch the vegetables. And I thought it needed a starch so I made a box of rice which was the only thing anyone ate.

Let's hope day two is better!

23 September 2011

Hello from colorado

I am writing this on kevin's iPad from Estes park Colorado. We are here for my cousin's wedding tomorrow. We are staying at a motel that only has 6 rooms but it has been updated so it is actually really nice.

We walked around downtown before our room was ready. It is perfect for women in their 50's who want to buy another cloth patterned bag and bear decorations for their guest bedroom back home that has a lodge theme.

It reminds me a lot of lake Tahoe... Earthy, outdoorsy, organicy. I am not one with nature. I have allergies and my asthma is bothering me a little bit with the altitude. I forgot an albuterol inhaler somehow and our rental car has had a smoker in it. As much as they tried to mask it by vacuuming and air freshener I noticed it immediately. I like to look at the mountains I just don't feel the desire to be in them. All those family vacations when we used to drive for hours remind me of how carsick I can get. Hence the reason I prefer to fly everywhere. But only on large planes. Those small ones make me super sick too. Ah I'm such a high maintenance traveler. But I'm good once I reach my final destination.

I got an hour nap in. Much needed sleep after the recent conference at exacthtarget and no catch up since. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

19 September 2011

September Meal Planning (week of 18 September 2011)

Sunday - leftovers from company picnic
Monday - Chicken fried steak
Tuesday - Country Captain Chicken with White and Wild Rice
Wednesday - I can't remember now...
Thursday - Corn Chowder from Help My Apartment Has a Kitchen

Last week I was in Indianapolis so Kevin was on his own all week with the kiddos. I imagine they had frozen pizza, chinese food and take out pizza.

05 September 2011

Meal Planning (Week of 04 Sep 2011)

Sunday - Kabobs + Salad
Monday - Taco Soup
Tuesday - Steak Salad
Wednesday - Brats + sides
Thursday - TBD
Friday - Eat Out