June?

Where did June go? Honestly, I wish I knew. The weather here in San Diego was definitely not summer weather so it almost felt as though June didn't happen. Thankfully as of July 1st we have been blessed with warm weather, sunshine and cool ocean waves. And now we are down to just 38 days to finish up our planning and to get ready for our big day.

What I can say about June is that it was definitely filled with lots of love. We have absolutely loved getting the RSVPs returned to us. It's so much fun to see who will be joining us in August and I've been thoroughly enjoying tallying the dinner choices, creating seating cards, and imagining all the fun we are going to have together in just a few short weeks (5.5 to be exact but who's counting?!).

We have also been very thankful for the wedding gifts that have started to arrive. I can't explain the feeling of coming home from a long day at work to a box on the door step. It also means that Marc and I have finally started replacing the grungy chipped college stuff we had collected over the years with matching pieces that will we cherish as we build our home together.

And speaking of building homes together, Marc's sister Effie was married at the end of June to one of Marc's close friends and groomsman Lukasz. It was so much fun to celebrate their love and also to see some of Marc's family for the weekend. It really was a taste of what's to come and we are even more excited about spending time with both family and friends in August.

Keep an Eye on the Mail

This past weekend Marc and I finally sat down and addressed, assembled, stamped, and sealed our wedding invitations. Then, today Marc took our stack of invites to the post office. Which means that you should be getting yours soon. As in, if it isn't already in your hands it should be there by the end of the week. I can't tell you how excited that makes me!

So, if for some reason you have not received an invite by the end of next week, please let us know.

100 Days to Go!

One hundred days to go.

100.

It seems weird to type this. Two months ago if you would have asked me how I would feel at this point I would have told you I will probably feel scared as a hundred days seems like a quantifiable amount. I would have been worried that I would still have a very large list of things yet to be done. However, now that we are here I am surprisingly calm. Everything appears to be under control and a hundred days still seems like a long time away. But I also know I'm going to blink and it will be August.

So, for now we'll enjoy the calm and celebrate cinco de mayo knowing that it's our own special celebration too.

Details, Details, Details!

It's all about the details, or at least it has been for us over the past few weeks. We're busy working on the final details for the invitations which will hopefully be in the mail to you next month. We have also been working on the decorations for both the ceremony and the reception. It continues to amaze me just how many fun DIY ideas there are out there for weddings. I am also really excited about all the different ways we have been able to incorporate our colors into our big day. And don't worry we've also been working on the details for the food and drinks and trust me, you'll be happy.

Now if only I could shake the last of the wedding nightmares where vendors don't show up, I've lost my vows and somehow we didn't get our officiant registered to be an officiant, I would be able to relax and not feel like I've forgotten something. I guess I just need to trust in my groom to be when he says, don't worry Christina has it all planned.

She's Making Her List

Thankfully the wedding to do list seems to be staying about the same length now. As things get added, things get crossed off which, in my book, is always a good thing. Hopefully in the upcoming months it will start to shorten itself slowly but surely.

We have now booked all of our vendors and are working on the details like decorations, table numbers, types of flowers, etc. I have to admit that I find this the fun stuff and am trying to hold myself back by not taking on too many DIY (do-it-yourself) projects. For now I am limiting myself to finishing the design of the invitations with the intent of sharing them with you through the mail at the end of May. If by early June you have not received an invite, please let us know.

After that I might find myself doing little projects here and there. Hopefully Marc won't mind the transformation of his office space into wedding central.

Things they are a changing!

I started blogging in June of 2006. It was a way for me to share my travels with my friends and family who were always asking where I was and what I was up to. A few weeks after starting this blog I started a second blog entitled "On the Hob" to document my cooking adventures. Then in July of 2010 I started a blog, "Dinner Table for Two", to document what my and my now fiance were eating for dinner.

Recently I realized that I haven't really been posting to any of my blogs and it was a bit ridiculous to have three of them. So I imported all the posts from the other blogs and inserted them into this one. Now I just have one blog and hopefully the enthusiasm to start posting again.

The Labels on the right will help you find recipes from the cooking blog as well as specific adventures from this blog. I'm still working on updating all the labels and trying to make it so there aren't a million of them, hopefully it won't seem overwhelming. I also want to try to label the posts from our dinner blog with the label dinner.

So there you have it, things they are a changing!

Winter Wonderland

This past weekend we had a lovely winter trip to Portland. Now we just need one trip in the spring in order to have seen Portland in all the seasons. Thankfully the weather held off until we had all arrived in Portland before dumping over a foot of snow and then eased off again to allow us all to leave on time on Sunday. Unlike last year, this winter the weather seems to be working with us.

While in Portland we were able to visit with Marc's cousin Brian and his wife Mary and we also had a chance to introduce Marc's Dad Bill to both my Mom and Dad. Plus we got to spend a few hours on Sunday morning with Marc's nephews Jack and Ryan. I have to admit we're really lucky to be able to combine our wedding planning trips with family time. It only helps in building the excitement of having everyone together in August.

Being the organizer that I am, I tried my best to squeeze as much as possible into our weekend trip without overwhelming anyone. We met with all our vendors: caterer, dj, videographer, photographer, florist, and even had a tour of the ferry we have chartered for all our guests. We have officially tasted the food we are going to have at the wedding and as you'll see in the upcoming invitation you'll have a choice between a beef, fish or vegan option. However, if you or anyone you know has any special dietary needs please don't hesitate to let us know. Our caterers are fantastic and we can find something to accomodate everyone's needs.

I've also taken the time to update a few things on the website. I have added some helpful information about hotel shuttles and whether or not your room comes with a refigerator. By the time you get your invite you will also see sections about our wedding party who will be standing up with us in August, places to see and things to do in Portland, and recommendations on where to find lobster. Lastly we will be asking for your help in building our must play list for the wedding, so start thinking about your music requests now.

We Survived

We made it through the holidays and our crazy attempt to see as much as Marc's family as possible. Per usual we covered the northeast from Vermont to Pennsylvania. We started our Christmas in Vermont visiting Marc's Mom Diane and her husband Bud along with Marc's Uncle Billy, Aunt Mandy, cousin Jess and cousin Erin. Sadly for us Marc's cousin Heidi didn't make it up to Vermont this year. After a delicious Christmas dinner and a secret Santa gift exchange we had to hit the road early to beat the winter storm.

Lucky for us we made it to Marc's sisters house in Connecticut before the roads turned ugly. Unfortunately we only made it halfway up her driveway due to the ice and snow. After a few attempts of sliding backwards we decided to park the car and walk the rest of the way to her house. Check it out in the photo gallery. We spent 3 wonderful days at Effie's house and also had a chance to catch up with Marc's sister Stephanie and Marc's Dad Bill. We also spent numerous hours with Marc's nephews Jack and Ryan watching movies, learning to play the leapster, and playing in the snow.

The last stop on our trip was Marc's brothers house in Pennsylvania where we were able to relax and enjoy the New Year. I spent a wonderful girls day out with Marc's sister-in-law Katie and Marc's niece Elise as we went to her first movie, Tangled, and out to lunch. It was the perfect day out and a very entertaining movie. When we returned Marc, his brother Billy, and nephew Will were deep into a game of Civilization. Cousin Heidi was able to join us for New Years eve where we celebrated with an evening feast of everything from bacon wrapped scallops to chocolate fondue and numerous rounds of the game Apples to Apples.

We made it back to California with a couple of days to spare before returning to work. All in all I would say we had a wonderful Christmas. Now we are back to planning the wedding in full force. We have an upcoming trip to Maine in February to meet with all our vendors and to start settling some of the details. We'll keep you posted and please check back for updates to the website.

Heading Into the Holidays

Marc and I had a wonderful time visiting my family in Monterey, California for Thanksgiving. As you can see by the photos in the photo gallery we shared the weekend with my parents, my brother Andrew and his wife Carly, and their dog Jaeger. For Christmas we are excited to head back to the East coast for our usual tour of the Northeast in an attempt to meet up with all of Marc's siblings.

We'll start out in Vermont for Christmas Eve and Day visiting with Marc's mom Diane, Aunt Mandy, Uncle Billy and the Berry Cousins. Then we'll make our way south to Connecticut to see Marc's sister Effie and her boys. We're really excited to see what her new house is like and of course to spend time with Marc's nephews, Jack and Ryan. Our final destination will be Pennsylvania to spend time with Marc's brother Billy, his sister-in-law Katie, his niece Elise and nephew Will.

I think we are both excited to celebrate the holidays with the ones we love and get some real Christmas weather. Hopefully we'll get all our Christmas shopping done before our plane leaves and we'll be able to relax and enjoy the time with family.

Save the Dates

If you've found our wedding website it's probably because you have received our Save the Date. Besides designing, printing and sending those out we have been very busy with numerous other parts of the wedding preparations. We hope there is enough information on the website to keep you entertained for now, but please check back periodically as we will add new information when it becomes available.

We Have a Place and a Date!

After an enjoyable trip to Maine we are happy to announce that we have a place and a date! We spent the weekend exploring five different venues and after considering location, date availability and personal preference my mom, Marc and I all agreed upon the Harbor View at Jones Landing as our official wedding location. With a large wooden deck, a view from Peaks Island across the bay towards Portland and the setting sun we think it will be absolutely beautiful.

So in case you haven't already heard, August 13th is the date and we can't wait to see you there!

Stone Brewing World Bistro

Tonight we went out for after work drinks with Marc's coworkers. I have to admit that his co-workers are probably the greatest group of co-workers I have ever met. They turned their after work drinks plan into a celebration of both our engagement and the upcoming baby of another co-worker.

I have to give them major props though because with only 3 days notice (we told them we were engaged Monday and met for drinks Thursday) they put together an engagement gift for us as well as a bunch of white elephant gifts. One of my favorite gifts was the magic 8-ball which is supposed to help us make our wedding decisions without placing the blame on each other. We also received some pink beer cozies which say "I'm the Bride/Groom, that's why."

Also one of the benefits of being at Stone Brewery is that we were able to eat their appetizers. We had pretzels, hummus, crab cakes and fried mashed potato balls. Those were my favorite. We ended up staying out until 8:30 so by the time we got home we just had a couple of tacos and went to bed.

Macaroni and Smoked Gouda Cheese with Pork

This recipe was inspired by one that we found inside of Fine Cooking. The fine cooking recipe requires you to put the mac and cheese in a skillet with bread crumbs on top and crisp in the oven. Which, while it sounds delicious, takes a lot more time then we have available this week.

So tonight we decided to adapt the recipe to what we felt was good. Basically we boiled some pasta. While that was cooking we made a basic white sauce (butter, flour, milk) and added shredded cheddar and smoked gouda. We heated up some leftover pork and when the pasta was cooked we added the pork and cheese sauce. I though the sauce was going to be too cheesy, but I actually wished it was a little more cheesy.

This recipe definitely brought me back to the days when my mom used to make cauliflower cheese for us to dinner. Which is basically steamed cauliflower, covered with the above cheese sauce.

Clam Pasta

This recipe is one that Marc picked up from his grandpa. It was also the first dish he cooked for me at his house when we first started dating. It is one of our most frequent dishes mainly because it's pasta and easy to throw together when you're not sure what to have for dinner. Plus all the ingredients are staples in our pantry which means when you're out of food, you still have a delicious dish.

I wish I could share the recipe with you but unfortunately I do not know it myself. I know it includes a can of chopped clams, some garlic, pepper, and other spices spread over angel hair pasta. That's about all I know . . . maybe one day after we're married Marc will share it with me.

Pork Tacos

We have a lot of leftover pork. And by a lot I mean it's probably all we are going to be eating for the rest of the week. Since today was over 100 degrees we decided to keep the house cool by not cooking. The perfect meal for this is pork tacos.

We toasted the tortillas in the toaster oven, heated up the leftover pork in the microwave, diced up some tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and opened a jar of salsa. Honestly, they most perfect tacos we've had at home for a while.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Today we decided to spend the day at home, relaxing and watching football. With football season also comes crock pot season. Which means it's the perfect time for homemade pulled pork.

Marc headed out to tip top, our favorite butcher shop, and returned with 5 pounds of boneless pork shoulder. Which means that now we have a lot of pulled pork to eat this week. Luckily I planned ahead and saved some pork without seasoning for future dinners this week.


Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches
from Fine Cooking

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, halved and sliced
• 3/4 cup jarred tomato salsa (medium)
• 1/2 cup cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbs chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 4-5 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• sandwich rolls or hamburger buns for serving

Put onion, salsa, vinegar, sugar, cumin, chili powder and salt into your slow cooker. Mix well. Add the pork shoulder, rotating to coat with sauce. Turn slow cooker on high and let cook for 5 hours.

When pork shoulder pulls apart easily, remove from slow cooker and place on a cutting board. Using forks, shred pork. In a small bowl mix 2 tbsp tomato paste, 2 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 cup of juices from the slow cooker. Whisk until combined. Add pulled pork and mix well, adding more juices from the slow cooker if needed.

Put pork onto hamburger bun or sandwich roll and enjoy.

Il Fornaio Coronado

Today is my birthday. Which means that since the beginning of September I have been looking forward to spending the day in Coronado. Little did I know that the night before my birthday I would get engaged and that my birthday morning would be spent sharing the news with all those close to me.

This morning I got to open presents in bed and then Marc prepared a delicious breakfast for us both. We tried to finish as many phone calls as possible before heading out to Sea World for the afternoon. The shamu show was pretty awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed the Arctic Encounter. To end the day we drove out to Coronado and enjoyed the afternoon sunshine while watching the boats pass. For dinner we ended up at Il Fornaio. I've eaten at this restaurant before in both Palo Alto and Pasadena but honestly, I thought the food was much tastier this time around.




After dinner when we had completely exhausted ourselves we decided to head back home and crawl directly into bed.

Le Passage French Bistro

Tonight Marc and I got engaged! When he came home from work tonight I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk on the beach, as we do on so many Friday nights. Little did I know that this Friday night he had a ring in his pocket and the plans to ask me the exact same thing.

As we walked along the beach watching the kids and the surfers play in the water we started talking about relationships. We wandered back towards our end of the beach and as we stopped to watch the sunset, he dropped to his knee, pulled out the gorgeous ring and asked me to marry him. I was so surprised and excited and immediately responded, "Yes!"

Once we arrived home we called our immediate family to share the news. Then Marc told me that he had made a reservations for us for dinner at Le Passage. Now I know why he listed leftovers on our weekly meal schedule. Le Passage is a local french bistro that we have been thoroughly impressed with. What we didn't know is they would have a specially priced 3-course meal for San Diego's restaurant week.

The food was delicious and we ended up with a flour-less chocolate cake to take home with us. It couldn't have been a more perfect evening.

Grilled Salmon Orzo and Green Beans

Tonight we had grilled salmon. We've never bought Trader Joe's frozen salmon before so we thought we would give it a try. I have to admit that the color of the fish was so much more natural then the died fish you often find in the grocery store. The flavor was also delicious.

We paired our salmon with steamed green beans and one of our new favorites, orzo. I boiled the orzo with water and also the juice from the can of corn. Once it was ready I added a little bit of butter, some freshly cracked pepper and then mixed in some canned corn. It's a good mix of spice from the pepper and sweet from the corn.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemongrass

To celebrate the first day of fall (or so the cashier at Trader Joe's told me it was) I decided tonight to make soup. Even though it doesn't look very fall like outside my body has been craving some of the slow cooked delicious-ness of a hot meal. This recipe comes from one of the first issues of Fine Cooking I received. I tweaked it a little with the items that we had in the kitchen but it still turned out as the perfect kick off to fall dish.


I used dry udon noodles because I couldn't find any fresh and I also limited the soy sauce in favor of lime juice. Lastly I bypassed the garnishes although I really wish I didn't.