Fabulous Shoe Friday

I can't get my head out of summer mode apparently because I keep drooling over sandals. (via Garnet Hill)

These are my favorite-- but they're way too pricey.

I will take one in every color, please.

I have these in silver and changed into them when I was a bridesmaid for KA's wedding. The ceremony and reception were outdoors, and it had rained all day. There was no way I was going to be able to keep my heels on.

How cute would these be for summer with a little sundress or shorts?
Are you with me on the summer thing? I vote for winter to be over.

He's Just Not That Into You

I LOVED IT! With my dad and step-mom in town this past weekend, I just knew I could drag them to a movie. They love going to the movies. J and I rarely go to the movies, and I was excited to go. Unfortunately, my dad was sick as a dog by the time we got home from the airport. He didn't even leave the house until I took them back to the airport on Monday. But, my step-mom was just as eager to get out as I was. So, on Sunday, we drove into town and grabbed a seat at the matinee of He's Just Not That Into You. I'm sure this movie needs no introduction, as it's been blogged about quite a bit. I just had to throw my two cents in as well.

How true is this movie?! Seriously. I heard one girl as we were walking out try to deny that girls act like that. If she thinks that, then maybe she's the exception! I won't give away the movie in case you haven't seen it. Instead, I'll speak a little about the characters. Ginnifer Goodwin's character was too cute. I loved her from the beginning. Jennifer Aniston's character was almost too much for me to handle because it was total deja vu. J and I had conversations eerily similar to those of Jen and Ben. I actually got lumps in my stomach thinking of the whole thing. Scarlet Johannson made me want to throw up. Every time she came on the screen I wanted to hurl something at her-- even though the situation wasn't all her fault. Jennifer Connelly was in denial through the entire movie. I was surprised at how little of a part Drew Barrymore played. The guys were all perfect at their roles, too. Justin Long wasn't really on my radar much before, but he was super cute in how he befriended "Gigi" and set her straight from the minute her met her. I wanted to kill Bradley Cooper. His character was just plain wrong in every sense-- the comments, the lies-- but that's what his role was meant to convey. The ending was fairly predictable, but I still found it was a cute 'girly' movie. I recommend it highly!

Wedding Wednesday

It seems like I'm at a bit of a standstill in the wedding planning. With just over 5 months left, I feel like I can't get past this lull.

I have had a frustrating time getting DJs to email me back. The one that did was over aggressive (as well as overly expensive). I did finally hear back from a DJ that J actually knows-- they used to play on the same softball team-- and he is giving us a heck of a deal. The problem-- I contacted him on November 3rd and just finally got an answer from him last week. Then, when I replied to his email, I didn't hear back again. Ugh.

While my parents were in town, I decided to drag them to Safeway to see if I could get a better response from their floral department on whether they could order our flowers for us. No go. In fact, the woman was extremely cool in her response and clearly wasn't listening to what I was asking. Unfortunately, she was the same person that I had spoken to on the phone back in November-- the same person that admitted that she hoped she would be transferred in January. Yeah, not very friendly. My parents just stared at her. The funniest part of the conversation was when she told me that floral prices had skyrocketed in the past two months and I should consider not doing flowers at all. It was an interesting conversation, to say the least. But-- after a lot of internet obsessive searching, I found some great wholesalers online that I think will work. Considering I'll be creating at least 20 centerpieces and 5 bouquets within days of the wedding-- I'm seriously thinking of ordering the bouts on Etsy! Are any of you doing your own florals? Have you ever used the wholesale option?

The vintage wallpaper I ordered arrived today, all the way from Australia! I can't wait for the envies to arrive and see if this paper will actually work. At least that will get me past this lull.

Have you gone through a planning lull? It seems to me like I'm just stuck.

Weight Watchers Wednesday

J and I were on our way to Aspen during the scheduled Weight Watchers meeting this week, so I don't have a weigh-in update for you. Instead, I'll leave you with another recipe! I picked a sweet one in honor of the upcoming Valentine holiday. Enjoy!

Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes with Cookie Crusts

POINTS® value | 3 Servings | 12 Preparation Time | 15 min Cooking Time | 0 min Level of Difficulty | Moderate

Ingredients

• 12 items chocolate wafer(s), about 2 1/2 oz
• 8 oz Neufchatel cheese, softened
• 1 cup 2% reduced fat milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1 cup water, boiling

Instructions

• Line 12 muffin tins with paper muffin liners. Place a wafer in the bottom of each of 12 muffin tins (or custard cups); set aside. (If the wafer doesn't fit in bottom of muffin liners, break into pieces to cover bottom.)
  
  
• Place cheese in bowl of a food processor and process until loose. With food processor running, pour milk down feed tube.
  
  
• In a separate medium bowl, mix together sugar, gelatin and cocoa with a fork or spoon. Slowly add boiling water, mixing as you go; mix quickly until gelatin has completely dissolved.
  
  
• With food processor running, slowly add cocoa mixture through feed tube; process thoroughly, about 1 minute.
  
  
• Fill each muffin liner (or custard cup) with about 1/3 cup of cheese mixture. (Muffin tins will be filled up to the top; custard cups should be about 2/3 full.) Chill for a minimum of 2 hours. Yields 1 per serving.

Notes

These easy-to-make cheesecakes can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator. If you're a coffee lover, add a teaspoon of instant espresso to the cocoa mixture for an extra kick.

Wonderful Friday

My dad and step-mom are flying into town today, so I'm cutting my postings short. They decided to make a short weekend trip here for Winter Carnival. I will have some entertaining to do!

Also, J and I have decided to head to Aspen after we drop them off at the airport Monday, so I might not post again until Wednesday. We have friends there and never get to visit because of our conflicting work schedules. I finally said, "Screw it! I'll take a couple of days off!" (It helped that I had already asked off for half the day to entertain the 'rents!)

Have an amazing weekend!

Fabulous Shoe Friday

Here comes the sun (at least in my head considering it is snowing again today).

You can find these beauties at Piperlime.

Not so thrilled with the $200 price tag.

Almost identical for $35!


Can you tell I'm longing for summer?

Where's the Beef? Here's the Beef...

I have debated writing this post, but I decided to just say my piece and be done. What is up with criticizing others for their wedding choices or judging them on what their wedding looked like? I was perusing The Knot and discovered a feature called My Real Wedding where people can upload pictures of their wedding. I thought, "What a cool feature! You can get some great inspiration from other people's weddings." Until I noticed... dun, dun, dun.... "RATE THIS WEDDING NOW". I was flipping through them and saw that some weddings only had 1 or 2 hearts out of 5. C'mon ladies-- would you want someone to give you 1 or 2 hearts?! Stop judging. Move your finger away from the button. NOW.

That's all.

I'm a Weenie

I had mentioned at one point contemplating running a marathon before I turn 30 this year. Well... I bailed, balked, chickened out, ran the other way. Instead, I'm going with what I know and signed up for the half marathon. I've run the Steamboat 1/2 marathon since I moved to town in 2001. I know the course-- in freezing rain and in 80 degree heat. I can do it... and have done it without training. (Don't ask me why I would-- I just do.)

The race has been heralded as one of the most scenic marathons in the US and was voted 2006 Colorado Runner's Best Marathon. You should definitely check it out. If you're not used to elevation, it can be really tough though. So, I guess this could solve my inactivity issues I've been having lately. (The key word was could.)

Just for fun... here is a pic of me just after I finished the race last year and right before I downed a huge breakfast burrito.
Wish me luck! At least I'll be in better shape this year!

Weight Watchers Wednesday

Again, I gained. This time-- a whopping 2 pounds. I know that drinks with the girls Friday night (and the apps that came with them) and also the cheese dip fest during the Superbowl certainly didn't help. Honestly though, I've been a slug. I've had a hard time breaking out of my winter funk. I did go skiing with Jen on Sunday and had a blast, but other than that, I was a log. My focus needs to be moving. That's my biggest problem right now.

How have you been doing this winter? Have you been having an activity funk too?

Here's a recipe to try this week:

Ooey-Gooey Chili Cheese Nachos
(found via Hungry Girl)

Ingredients: -1 bag (7 oz.) Guiltless Gourmet Tortilla Chips, Yellow Corn flavor -1 package Boca Chili -4 oz. 8th Continent Light Vanilla Soymilk -3 oz. fat-free block cheddar cheese -2 oz. Velveeta made with 2% Milk -2 tbsp. fat-free cream cheese -2 tbsp. fat-free sour cream -3/4 cup Newman's Own All-Natural Bandito Salsa Directions: Melt all three cheeses in a saucepan with the soymilk; stir to combine. Prepare chili according to the directions on the box. Microwave chips until warm, and place on a large platter. Pour your low-fat cheese sauce all over your chips. Cover your chips with chili. Spoon salsa on top, along with a few dollops of fat-free sour cream, and, voila, there you have it! Makes 5 servings. *Feel free to use other brands as desired. Nutritionals will vary.

Serving Size: 1/5th of recipe Calories: 260 Fat: 4.5g Sodium: 962mg Carbs: 44g Fiber: 6.5g Sugars: 5g Protein: 16g *5 Points

Wedding Wednesday: Shower

Even though our wedding date is more than 5 months away, my bridesmaid Jen has been determined to nail me down on a shower date. After about 30 emails back and forth, we have a date! There were several things to consider:
-Who is coming?
-Do I have any date restrictions? (i.e. I plan to bartend at the rodeo again this summer, so it would have to be either on a Sunday or before June 18th.)
-Do the VIP attendees have any date restrictions? (i.e. bridesmaid KA's daughter turns 1 the first weekend in June; mom would have to fly in, so Saturday would be best, etc.)

After we started narrowing down what options work, we came up with Saturday June 13th. I threw Jen her shower last year. (It was posted the first month I had this blog!) She asked me to send invites to her fiance's mom and step-mom who lived in Minnesota, knowing that they wouldn't be able to make the trip but wanting to extend a courtesy. I got the funniest reaction to the invite-- both called and left messages telling me that "obviously" they wouldn't be able to make it. To avoid a similar reaction, I asked Jen to email the out of town invited shower guests now with at least the date and words "invite to follow", so they could decide if they wanted to make it or not. Here is the cute message she came up with:

Hello All!

My name is Jen C*, and along with KA C*, we are hosting a bridal shower for Abbie June 13th, 2009 here in beautiful Steamboat Springs. Invitations are to follow and the time and place are yet to be determined, but we wanted to extend you all an extra early invitation for this festive event in hopes that you will be able to attend. We know that times are tight and more time away from work and travel expenses are a concern, but we hope that you all are able to make it! Please do not hesitate to email us with any questions or suggestions! I am sure that you all are as excited as we are for this exciting time for J* and Abbie, and can't wait to meet you and celebrate!

Sincerely, Jen C* & KA C*

our e-mail contacts are * & *
or visit their wedding website www.

I thought the email was very cute. She sent it to my mom, sister, step-mom, step-sister, J's mom, and his sister. I had emailed my mom this morning to give her a heads up about the date because she wanted to start looking at flights. I never realized how important it might be to plan a shower so far in advance, but it makes sense if you'll have a large number of out-of-town invitees. Did you do anything or plan anything to accomodate those invited from out of town?