Our Wedding Registry Revealed No. 1

I love being married to J. 

He's charming, handsome, appreciative, absurd... Oh how long the list goes.

But with our marriage came lots of gifts.

Lots of kitchen gifts. 

Talk about my little heaven. 

We have an amazing kitchen and lots of new tools and gadgets to work with.

So, to push myself to use them all...

And to share my new favorites and recipes with you

I will do my new Wedding Registry Revealed series of posts. 

J wakes at 5:00 am every weekday. 

While I am not obligated to rise at the same time, I am a morning gal and

find it easier to rise than to fall back asleep.

But by 7:00 am, my post workout coffee is a necessity.

This little tool, the Nespresso Frother, has made me a coffee snob. 

Coffee is not coffee without frothy goodness atop its energy laden self. 

Check out this beauty... It's tasty, but dangerous.

 A coffee without froth is just some flavored water in my snobby little mind now. 

But Starbucks has gone nothing on Ambucks. 

So really, I'm sticking it to the man right? 

I'm a coffee with a packet of Truvia and topped with frothy goodness... 

How do you take your coffee?? 

Peppered Maple Bacon

I married a manly man. 

You know how I know? 

Bacon is an every meal thing. 

If I served it breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, he'd only fall more in love with me. 

Would he have a heart attack at 42? Probably. 

So I save his sweet heart the punishment. 

But I do love to treat him to pure deliciousness... 

And I did that in the form of peppered maple bacon. 

Yep, he loved it. 

So does Baby Bear. And Bubba. 

Pamper your mister with this treat and he won't stop thanking you.

Just be prepared for the daily requests... 

What do you need? 

A pack of thick cut bacon (it'll be easier to flip in the oven) 

1/2 cup maple syrup

Black pepper

How you ask? 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Lay the bacon out in a single layer on two baking sheets. 

Pop in oven for five minutes. 

Once it's bubbling nicely, brush it with a layer of maple syrup. 

Let cook for ten minutes.

Flip and brush with syrup again. 

Finish for ten more minutes or remove when cooked to your taste. 

Sprinkle with pepper.

Enjoy! 

Seriously this stuff comes out HOT. 

J learned that when he popped it right into his mouth.

Talk about burning the roof of your mouth.

Maybe sit on your hands for five minutes while it cools... 

Another idea: 

I made BLTs for Bubba and J the first time I cooked this.

Tasty! The sweet and spicy really added another element.

Taking BLT to the next level!

See the bacon on the side...

I'm telling you, just can't get enough of this stuff!

Birthday Blues

Last Sunday was my sweet baby brother's nineth birthday...
Yeah, he's nine already!

Ten rambunctious third graders joined Baby Bear for a jolly jumping good time

followed by pizza and the Lizard Wizard...
Precious just doesn't cover it.

I quickly volunteered to bake the cake... Actually cupcakes because that's what Baby Bear loves.

I have seen pictures of layered rainbow cupcakes, but haven't felt like I could justify making them...

Then Baby Bear's birthday came around and I knew it was fate! 

These ended up being a semi-messy labor of love, but they were vibrant and appreciated. 

He loves yellow... That's why the frosting looks like mustard. 

And the little sprinkles are slices of Sour Punch Straws... They added the perfect contrast of sour! 

How cool does the inside look? 

I almost (alllmoossstttt) didn't want to eat them. 

But oh my didn't regret it once in my tummy! 

And this was all that was left at the end of the day. 

How amazingly artistic does that wrapper look?!? 

And how did I achieve the look? 

Following the process I found here!

1 box white cake mix 

2 eggs

1 cup yogurt or sour cream (I ended up using a half cup of each)

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup canola oil 

Preheat oven to temperature on box. 

(You'll bake according to those) 

Beat all ingredients together for two minutes.

(This makes it so airy and wonderful!) 

Once batter is mixed dish it into three, four, or five different bowls 

(this depends on the number of colors).

Add food coloring until it reaches the shade of your liking. 

*Aside: I used Wilson food coloring because it is fantastic and doesn't give the food coloring taste.

Line cupcake pan with liners. 

(go with light colored liners... then you get the tie-dye vibe)

To layer: spoon first color into a well. 

It won't spread like normal, so use your fingers to fill the base of the well. 

Repeat as many times as necessary. 

For the second (and remaining layers) plop a spoonful on top of the previous layer and spread. 

Fill about 2/3 of the way full and you won't get too overfilled. 

Bake for the time listed on the box.

You'll know they're done when you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. 

Let cool, ice, and ENJOY! 

IMPORTANT: This won't make two dozen cupcakes like the box says... 

I had to make a second batch of batter at the last second to finish!

New Layout, New Me!

so i'm married... (almost for a whole month now!)

boy does time fly!

and there's a new layout, 

as you can see. 

more understated. 

to remind myself it's ok to leave some time between my posts. 

here we are, happily married and on our honeymoon!

more recipes are coming your way. 

i'm back to cooking like a mad woman. 

check out these pictures and tell me how stoked you are!

yep, my mouth is watering too. 

i'm backlogged. obviously. 

and i'm off to make dinner for my husband. 

you heard me right, my husband! 

marriage, the ultimate union

We attended our first wedding as a married couple this weekend.
It was so fun to enjoy the festivities... Especially because it wasn't our day!
The wedding was so beautiful!
Duh, I was watching one of my closest friends marry the love of her life.

This reading was included in the ceremony and I truly loved it.

Union
By: Robert Fulghum

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance
to this point of commitment.
At some point, you decided to marry.
From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes,
 indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way.
All of those conversations that were held in a car,
or over a meal,
or during long walks –
all those conversations that began with,
“When we’re married”,
and continued with
“I will” and “you will” and “we will” –
all those late night talks that included
“someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” –
and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart.
All these common things, and more, are the real process of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another,
“You know all those things that
we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed –
well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time.
Before this moment you have been many things to one another –
acquaintance,
friend,
companion,
lover,
dancing partner,
even teacher,
for you have learned much from one another these past few years.
Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life,
and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband.
This is my wife.

I am so grateful that I get to share the rest of my life with my dear husband.
He is so much more than a best friend, a teacher, a dancing partner.

(yep, I'm sort of freakishly short compared to J... I never really knew until I saw this picture!)

The Much Awaited Wedding Pictures!

I know this isn't going to seem like enough... And really it isn't. 

Our photographer is still editing so we got these few as a sneak peak. 

Oh how we love them already. 

And here are two from the photo booth which was by far the BEST idea. 

When we get all of the photos from our photographer you will probably get an overdose of our day. 

It turned out so perfectly wonderful and was a night we hold so dearly in our hearts. 

(I can't wait for you to see all the little details!)