Tuesday, May 31, 2011

motions...

life has been so incredibly crazy lately. so many emotions and feelings that have almost been impossible to recognize and allow myself to feel. i love my job as a preschool teacher...but in my heart i feel like i want more. bigger & better. i heard somewhere "never give up on something you couldn't go a day without thinking about". when i was younger i applied that to guys & dating and it took awhile but i realized that sometimes you do need to give up on certain people. no one's fault or to blame. it just needs to be done. and when you let go & let god...amazing things happen. his bigger & better plan. i've been blessed with the most amazing man & i can't wait to spend the rest of my days with him. but i feel now that the previous quote can be applied to other areas of my life. things I'm not willing to share right now, because when you finally admit something out loud to other people it truly makes it real. so i'll keep it inside for now, i just pray that gods' will be done and i have the patience to sit back and enjoy the ride :) big things are happening... i can feel it this time

my best friend lost her nana the other day. my heart breaks for her because of the loss, but leaps for joy at what an amazing life she had. how amazing to pass away surrounded by your children, grand children and great grandchildren! i can only hope that my exit will be filled with that much love and comfort. i love the alfano dearly, and although they have lost a beautiful soul, they are so incredibly lucky to have had such a wonderful nana :)

life's a dance, you learn as you go, sometimes you lead & sometimes you follow <3

Thursday, May 26, 2011

She gets it from her momma....

So here's the final product...much better than my kitchen looking like a blood bath...

before the homemade cream cheese frosting,,,( can you tell how old the birthday boy was turning?!?)


 Ta-Da!

I have found my passion for baking again! Too bad my wedding diet won't appreciate this renewed love :(

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Cupcakes

Note to self- When making red velvet cupcakes, do not be alarmed when your kitchen looks like a massacre has taken place.


Thursday, May 19, 2011

Happy Birthday!

Happy 30th Birthday to my handsome hubs-to-be!


I'm attempting to try some new recipes tonight. Fingers crossed that I don't burn the house down. :)


I went to the Red Sox game last night and was fortunate enough to see a dear friend living out his dream. Alex will always be my favorite Tiger and I'm so happy for him & all he has accomplished. He has a beautiful wife and I wish them all the best! Oh how I miss college...





5 weeks till I'm reunited with my best friend and MOH, Kathleen Alfano! It will be my first official wedding event...my Sweet Southern Shower! I cannot wait to be back in Tuscaloosa. It might be a good idea to book my ticket soon...

Of course I've been bragging about my upcoming shower to my friends around here, and I've been shocked at how different weddings are up here!

1. No one has heard of a grooms' cake. They don't exist in Boston. This I just can't wrap my head around... who doesn't want an easy excuse to have a chocolate cake?!? ( we're having one by the way, even though chef still doesn't understand what the point is)

2. There's 1 shower and 1 shower only. When I was telling my co-teachers about all the possibilities of showers in the south they couldn't believe it. They had never heard of kitchen & gadget, stock the bar, monogram, gift card, his & hers, around the house showers just to name a few. What a bummer!

3. Oh, that's another thing! NO ONE embraces the monogram. Thank goodness I have a southern MOH who has gone above and beyond to bring as much southern charm as possible to this east coast wedding. And when it comes time for baby Doyle I can rest assured that he/she will be coming home from the hospital in a monogrammed onesie! And there will probably be seersucker involved too :)

So here's to my best friend & Maid of Honor who will never let my southern side die no matter where I may be living... I love you D.W













Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Oops!

I'm beginning to think it's time to start building an arc....The rain hasn't stopped around here for days. I really wouldn't mind this weather, except for the fact that I have 20 little ones to entertain all day. So we decided to take my kids for a walk today because our playground is flooded and it wasn't very enticing to change 20 pairs of pants, socks and shoes before lunch. Our walk was very productive up until we heard the famous last words "Oh uh, I need to go potty"! Usually this wouldn't be an issue, because we can get the kids back to our school in time to use the potty, but today wasn't the case. This child was beyond doing the potty dance, and it wasn't just for a pee-pee. So us quick thinking teachers knew there was a friendly grocery store near by and knew we could use their facilities. It's amazing how quickly you can get 20, 3-5 year olds to put a little pep in their step when you mention that a friend is going to have an accident. We rush into the store, find the bathroom and corral 19 preschoolers in the corner. There's only so many times you can sing. " I'm bring home a baby bumble bee..." After a couple minutes our little emergency potty child walks out of the bathroom and announces to the world, "Don't worry, it was just a fart!" Deep sigh of relief. And the day continues on.

I love my job.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Hello, Lunch!

A couple months ago my wonderful future in-laws came to see me and chef in the city. We took them to our favorite restaurant, Neptune Oyster. Let me give you a little background on my experiences at Neptune...My first experience I was introduced to oysters, and I fell in love. My second time it was sea urchin, delicious! And by the fourth or fifth time I was getting really brave.... I thought I was surprise chef and order something really crazy that even he WOULDN'T like ( Note to self...chef eats everything, and I mean everything! )Octopus cocktail was on the menu, and me and my brave self ordered one right up. It was not what I expected at all. I was thinking that tentacles, long nasty arms, and a huge head would be arriving on our table and scare the pants off him! WRONG. What appeared was a very colorful dish, that almost reminded me of a pasta salad. So the joke was on me, Brian LOVES octopus. And of course, being the future wife of a chef, I needed to do my wifely duty and try it as well. Brian's favorite saying for me since we first met has been, "Don't knock it till you try it." (growing up we weren't exposed to many exotic foods, ketchup was considered a spicy seasoning). Well I took a big, heaping bite....and LOVED IT! It had a wonderful vinegar and cilantro flavor that was heavenly. So ever since then, when we bring people to Neptune, I insist that they try the Octopus cocktail. So chef and I brought his parents and made them try it, and they too fell in love. So months pass and Mother's Day is around the corner and my lovely chef decides that he is going to remake the cocktail for his mother who really enjoyed it. Chef asks is he can finish the dish at home, if he starts it at work. I remember how delicious the finished product looked at the restaurant, so why would I hesitate to not let him make it at home?  RULE #1 about living with a chef...NOTHING EVER STARTS OUT LIKE IT ENDS! This is what I came home too...


Not okay...this is NOT OKAY! Long story short, the finished product was delicious, but next time I don't want to be a part of the process. Just let me eat :)

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Here We Go Again!

My life has changed so much since my first blogging days, and I can't wait to see where this one takes me. Here's what you need to get caught up...

I moved to Boston February 4th 2010, got a job on the 5th, met the chef on the 6th and the rest is history :) Our wedding is January 14, 2012 and it can't get here soon enough.

We have such a blast together and I wish people could experience all the delicious things that I get to. So my intention is to share our epicurean delights with our family and friends, and also give us something to look back at when we are old and gray and still grabbing each others bums in the nursing home. Here we go, again!