Crafty days

I recently dived into pinterest. I'm still not 100% sure how to work it (I only have three pins). However, my bff pinned this:

Source: flickr.com via Annie on Pinterest

I thought it was super cute and I had a t-shirt with an annoying stain that I couldn't remove. Perfect! Mine did not end up perfect. My strings never rolled up, no matter how thin I cut them. Mine is more of a necklace/scarf.

I do love the color. It was a fun project for a lazy Sunday.

Any thoughts on how to make the fabric roll? Note: most of my strips are wider, but even the uber thin ones didn't roll.

Attack of the Fire Alarms!

Last night, when I got home from the gym, I set out to make Heather's Stuffed Acorn Squash. I'd even done some prep work before going. It turned out very tasty. However, this involved cooking bacon. No, I did not set the house on fire. However, bacon does get smoky. We turned on the vent and opened the window. Ten minutes later, I set the stuffed squashes into the oven. The smoke detector immediately went off.

Now, this is not just the normal smoke detector annoying beep. This was an incredibly loud alarm(s). We sighed and opened up a few more windows. I stood under the smoke detector and waved around a towel to get air circulating. Three minutes later, loud noise still going on. Jake and I looked at each other, and said "this isn't normal." Jake began investigating the alarm system (which came with the house and we've never used). I grabbed a stool and started disassembling the smoke detector. I managed to yank out batteries from both detectors in the hall. I also managed to ram my head into the doorsill. Ow... the blaring alarm was not helping matters.

We couldn't figure it out. There was NO smoke in the house anymore and the alarms kept going. I finally found the ATD help line and called. Ten minutes later, we'd detached every wire, pulled every plug, and still the blasting continued. The lady finally said there must be another system involved and suggested turning off the circuit breaker for the whole house. (At this point I remembered the squash in the oven and rushed to save them.)

We hung up and flung every breaker. Now the house was pitch black. And yet the alarms continued. Tears of frustration were forming in my eyes. We finally yanked out disassembled the remaining smoke detectors (there were two others hiding around the house) and yanked their batteries. Silence. Blessed silence.

Moral of the story: when you move into a new place, make sure you know where all the smoke detectors are, to what system they are hooked, and how to turn them off.

Silver lining: if there ever is a fire, those things will wake us (and our neighbors) up.

Domestic Before and Afters

Last weekend was the Atlanta Reception. It was fantastic! I was so touched by who all came - old high school friends came from out of state! I almost cried seeing everyone.

One of Dad's friends is an amateur photographer and came about an hour early to take family photos. Once he sends his photos, I'll post. He already brought my parents a poster sized picture of Jake and me. My photographer is still MIA. My parents are sure she's absconded with the money. Dad wants me to sue - he said I could use the practice.

I got home a few days before the party and asked to be put to work. Mom had me polishing silver - a tiny fraction of the work my parents put into the event. Did I mention Dad was washing pebbles at one point? Mint julep glasses, pitcher, and tray - very tarnished and dusty.



About an hour and a half later - look how shiny they got?

I am super glad now that Jake and I did not register for any silver. We will have more than enough once my parents downsize (which they constantly talk about doing).

Also on the domestic side, today I tackled our pantry. There was way too much stuff in it and it was driving me crazy. It ended up taking over the entire kitchen. You can't see, but the rest of counter and floors are just as crowded.


I still need some gripper thing for the brooms, but I got rid of the giant pile of user's manuals, warranties and random papers in there. I got all the sodas off the ground. and reorganized the baking dishes so there is no longer a danger of them falling on me (that happened once, and hurt). There is even some open space!


Now I just have to reorganize the office...

Fun Fall Friday

Sorry for the delay in posting wedding recap. My wedding photographer has decided to stop answering my email = lametown supreme.

Friday night Jake and I hosted a small dinner party. Two couples came over. All four of them have gotten new jobs in the past month so there was reason to celebrate. I made an Indian feast. First, Jenna's Channa Masala for the vegetarians. I also made Jenna's Chicken Tikka Masala. Both are amazing. If you are new to cooking Indian, I highly recommend both recipes. They are simple, though a bit of work, and garner rave reviews.

I also made this delicious creature.


Yellow cake mix frosted with a cream cheese frosting and decorated with strawberries. Mostly, I wanted to use my lover, the Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, to make frosting. :) A successful and fun party menu. Much beer was enjoyed and we lit the chimenea for a perfect Fall Friday.

10 years ago

Ten years ago, I was sitting in my early morning chemistry lab at Georgetown. It was my Freshmen year and I'd been in DC for about three weeks. Around 8:30, a TA ran into the room and said "we've been attacked." A bit of pandemonium ensued as the 15 or 20 of us tried to figure out what had happened. We turned on the radio, which first said Reagan National Airport had been hit. As I looked out the window, a huge plume of smoke rose into the air.

Our TA asked that we finish the lab as quickly as possible. When the news corrected itself and said that the actual target in DC had been the Pentagon, things got worse. Our TA's father and fiancee both worked in the Pentagon.

By 9:30, we'd all finished up the lab as best we could and went racing back to our dorms. Everyone was glued to TVs. About one out of 35 phone calls was going out. The RA was coming around making sure all of us could get hold of our family. I finally got a hold of my parents after an hour of trying.

My floor organized a prayer circle, where we prayed for the worst to be over, and for the families of all those lost. We had no idea how many had died at that point. We had just watched both towers fall.

Later, my roommate and I just sat and watched HBO - we couldn't watch the news anymore. We watched "Where the Heart Is." When it finished, the same movie began again and we just sat there.

Georgetown canceled class that Tuesday afternoon, but was adamant that school would resume the next day. Many students had loved ones working in the towers or the Pentagon. One boy on my floor had lots of family working in the twin towers. He spent most of the rest of September home in New York attending funerals.

I still do not understand how any person can hate that much or be that sure to use other humans as weapons to kill other humans.

Today, I pray that such acts of terrorism lessen and finally cease. I pray that humanity can grow closer together and learn to live with one another.

Wedding Recap: Rehearsal Dinner

Hi y'all! This is the first of my wedding recaps. This one focuses on the rehearsal Friday night.

This is the Villa, where we held the ceremony, and where everyone stayed (all 48 of us!) for the weeekend. We started the rehearsal around 6, when we hoped to hold the ceremony the next day. Jake and I really wanted to be outdoors. In Colorado, gorgeous views abound and we wanted to celebrate where we currently live.

Dad, Karl and I waiting for our cues in our mafia sunglasses. Can you tell I got my mother's height?


Once we got the music figured out (played by my uncle), we started.

Karl and Mom

Jake and his mom

Dad and I and my high heels negotiating the tiny steps

This is when we worried none of the guests would be able to actually see the ceremony due to sunlight. But it's so pretty!

The rehearsal went well. We ironed out some kinks and got through the readings and blessings (more on those later).

After the rehearsal, it was time to eat! Jake's parents spent the afternoon prepping for it. Jake's dad is an avid fisherman and known for his fried fish. We asked Jake's parents if they would do a fish fry for us.

All hands in the kitchen! We had enough fried fish to feed three times as many people. Delicious!

I hope to post more wedding recaps this week. Be on the lookout for "The Cake(s)," "The Ceremony," "The Reception," and "Odds and Ends." You don't want to miss the cake!

Worst Blogger Ever

Life has been extra crazy recently. We bought a house, moved in, painted, recarpeted, went to Vegas for my bachelorette party, and are getting married in 10 days!

I am surprisingly not losing my mind. People keep asking me how stressed out I am.

I am in love with this kitchen. I just got a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer as a wedding gift and I'm in love. I've made meringues and key lime pie.There is much more clutter happening right now. :) Turns out wedding gifts come with about a million boxes.

Two of my bridesmaids and I spent a weekend in Vegas. They planned entire incredible trip.


Let's just say these boys were involved.


Nice. I promise it won't be too long before I post again!