Get yo' Grill On!

A lot of things make me happy.  One of them is grilling outside.  On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night we grilled Steak, Salmon, and Chicken (not pictured), respectively. :) We sided our meals with fresh veggies and had dark chocolate covered almonds for dessert.  

Besides my random bowls of cereal, some cheese (please), and a trip to our local ice-cream shop every now and then, Paleo dinners have become very easy for us.   

{Red Wine: instead of drinking it - we marinate with it! It adds the best flavor - I use it on everything}

Bell peppers are my favorite veggies right now - I literally eat them daily - these were chopped up and added to cauliflower rice (not pictured).

my master griller!

{A fresh mango salad and sauteed mushrooms were our sides on Saturday night.}  

{some of my favorite things: a glass of wine in a new wine glass and an open back door}

Project Organization - Kitchen

We spent our Friday night updating our kitchen.  We stayed up well past midnight cleaning and organizing. We took every item out, cleaned the cabinets, cut and placed new shelf/drawer lining, and then put all of our new stuff up in the cabinets exactly how we like it.  

I was reluctant to set anything up before we are married.  But it feels super awesome to have the kitchen situated.  Just one less thing to face when we return from the honeymoon!

{before}

{between & crooked!}

{after}

You may not see a huge difference, but it feels different which I guess is the most important thing.  Everything matches, is new, is ours...and is exactly how we want our kitchen to look and feel - for now.  I'm hoping for budgeted renovations over the course of the year. :)

{some old and new items}

{this makes me breathe easy}

{It feels like I have 6,548,613,518 coffee mugs - I'll post about that later!}

{a few pieces of our wedding china :) }

{an organized and functional spice/cooking cabinet}

{organization - Paul set this up - he is the organizer of the two}

{I hope this stays this way - but I'm also a little doubtful}

{our inherited butcher block island! - Paul grew up with this and I love it}

{baking supplies that are also decorative}

{I CAN'T WAIT to use this bad boy}

{we set up the coffee grinder and coffee machine - best addition to the house so far!}

{my biggest decision of the morning was deciding what coffee mug to choose}

I'll end this with a disclaimer for Paul - while he did do nesting/house duties all weekend long - he was watching sports while doing it. :)

On Saturday he also played golf while I had a massage and my final hair appt before the wedding!

a bachelorette for a few more days :)

I haven't blogged about my bachelorette trip yet!  It was exactly how I wanted to celebrate my last few weeks of being a single lady :) We went to Destin, FL on the gulf - got a lot of sun, got some rest every now and then, snacked and snacked and snacked, and had 2 really fun nights together!

the girls decorated the condo so cute over the entire weekend!  Friday night we had a fiesta themed dinner for cinco de mayoooo.

Saturday we got some sun and chilled out - it was great!

Saturday night they decorated with all sorts of bachelorrete accessories - they kept it classy tho thank goodness!  my favorite were the stick-on mustaches (pictured below)

some mustache for ya :)

Love you girls!

confession.

I have a confession.  I have been wearing my wedding band! eek!

Paul finally brought it home last week (for sizing) and I immediately placed it on my finger and did not want to take it off! I am so ready to marry him and be married and be a wife it could be classified a little crazy for a 25 yr old :)  Sure I have moments where I think about giving up my single life and how scary that is and all the changes that are about to happen but I'm more excited about all of the change than anything else!

I've been wearing it at home at nights and changed it over to my right hand this morning on my way in to work. But while I was sitting at my desk I wanted to move it back over to my left hand where it belongs.  I moved it back over and all sorts of overwhelming thoughts entered my head.  I've been engaged for 9 months and trying to prepare for this marriage in so many ways but it wasn't until I was looking down at my wedding band with my hand over my keyboard that it all hit me.  I'm taken. Spoken for. I'm someones wife. (in 9 days).  I'm making a commitment that cannot be undone.  I'm vowing to Paul, God, my family and friends that I will be in this relationship for the rest of my life.  I've never done anything like that!  The biggest contract I've ever signed before was for just two years!?!

So.  I've decided I'm going to keep it on while I sit at my desk and other random times.  It's a constant reminder of what I'm going to do next Saturday.  In my mind it's just another way to study, prepare, and reflect on the big moment! 

And for you superstitious folk out there.... I HIGHLY doubt me wearing my band before the wedding is bad luck or going to cause anything bad between Paul and I.... :)  My hotheadedness is much more likely to do more damage than wearing the ring a little early.  Besides, I don't believe in luck...I believe in ordered steps that are already written.  :) (well maybe just a little luck every now and then)

(and excuse my sausage fingers....I don't have the most delicate looking hands :) whatev)

Homemade Biscotti

{we had 3 mixing bowls going at a time, it kept things moving}

Paul and I spent last Friday night at his parent's house, Jenny and Rob came as well. It was nice to just hang out and catch up before the wedding.  On Saturday, Sandy and I made biscotti which will be a part of the welcome bags for guests and fits in perfectly with our theme...if you are attending the wedding...you shall see!  I think we made close to 500 biscotti cookies?? I seemed like a daunting task at first but with the two of us working together (and Paul helping every now and then :) ) and her organization skills, it went smoothly and efficiently!

{we doubled each batch and made 7 batches total - yes that is TWO whole sticks of butter in a batch}

{dough with dried cranberries}

{two loaves on each pan - thank goodness sandy has two ovens!}

{paul took well deserved breaks}

{he has a big fan and her name is Izzie - she follows him all around the house!}

{part of the production line}

{baked biscotti!}

{cut the loaves into 3/4-1inch wide pieces}

{we made lots and lots and lots of biscotti}

{and bagged them up for our guests!}

Recipe:

2 ½ cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 ½ cups dried cranberries

1 egg white, beaten till frothy

6 oz. white chocolate

Preheat oven in convection to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt to blend. Beat sugar, butter, eggs, and

extract until well blended. Mix in flour mixture and then the cranberries. Divide

dough in half. Using floured hands, shape on a rack. Maintain

oven temperature.

Transfer logs to work surface. Using serrated knife, cut logs on diagonal into

½ inch wide slices. Arrange; cut side down on baking sheet. Bake 5 minutes, turn

biscotti over and bake just until set, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a rack. Melt

chocolate. Using a fork, drizzle chocolate over biscotti. Dry 30 minutes.each piece into 2 ½ inch wide,

 9 ½ inchlong, 1 inch high log. Place each on a prepared baking sheet. Brush each with egg

white. Bake until golden, about 35 minutes. Cool completely 

Honeymoon Flight Outfit - thanks old navy!

It may be the last thing I should be thinking about - but whatev - I've been thinking about what I want to wear on our Honeymoon travel day.  I want to be comfy, but still feel like a new bride (my last chance!).  I saw this picture of Jessica Alba and it's exactly how I want to look and feel while in the airport and when we arrive in St. Barths!  The look is comfy, in cream/white colors, and with so many layers I will be able to stay warm on the flight and change to cool when we are finally in the Caribbean. 

However! We are def on a newlywed budget and things are getting tighter the closer we get to the big day.  I've been seeing so many of my friends wearing cute things from Old Navy that I attempted to complete the look entirely from there - and it was a success!   I love copying outfits I see on People :)  

 I chose items that look light, soft, and will be fine if wrinkled from our flights :) Again - all of these items are from Old Navy and every single items is under $30 bucks! - the purse is only $9.99!

It's been raining for 3 days up here in Boston...it's been in the high 60's and even reach 70 degrees yesterday.  Let's just say I CAN'T WAIT for consistently warm weather!

Rose Petal Confetti

{this is about 30...we have a lot more to make!}

I haven't shared to many wedding ideas/plans - mainly because I want them to be surprises :)

But while I was home 2 weeks ago my mom and I worked on these rose petal confetti tossers.  We are planning to do our 'big exit" after the ceremony instead of after the reception.  That way we can stay up as late as we want and guest can leave when they want. 

My mom found the scrap-booking paper at Tuesday Morning and I rolled them up and stapled them.  I didn't spend too much time on them making them look perfect... People are just going to toss the rose petals from them and then toss them aside...I'll spend hours on other crafts instead. 

{tada - I love the different patterns}

{inspiration from pinterest}

{can't wait to fill them with roses!}

Friday Fun Day?

I don't know if it's the fact that I've been eating a salad for lunch everyday for the past couple of weeks or the fact that it is a Friday, or the fact that I am moving this weekend, or the fact that I had to call AAA 2x in 5 days for 2 different cars....but I totally gave in today at lunch.  I skipped the usual salad line and got a grilled chicken wrap and picked up a bag of chips and a cookie and got lemonade!   I was ALL IN as they would say.  

However I did notice that the chips brand had changed from Cape Cod chips (a personal fav brand) to UTZ?  I also noticed that they blatantly stated on the front that the chips were artificially flavored...what is that??? I still bought them. AND ate them.  My friend Laura alsooooo informed me that they have multiple "artificially flavored" flavors...including CRAB.  what is THAT?!? Apparently it's a personal fav of hers...but I won't judge as I just finished off the bag of chips myself.

chocolate chunk cookie...worth it.

a flat tire on a rainy Monday.  awesome. and yes I did try to change it myself before calling AAA and waiting and hour and a half for them to get there but no i wasn't successful. bleh.

moving chaos. everything is messy. everything is unorganized. aka currently not sleeping well ;)

We'll be moving most of the weekend - fitting in a friend's baby shower and church in there somewhere.  Life is chaotic right now....looking forward to post-wedding, dual income, no kids bliss...only a few more weeks 'til we are there! (29 days for those of you counting)

anywhoooo.....Happy Friday!  

baby oh baby

I was able to meet one of my best friends and college roommate's new baby boy this weekend! 

Introducing Gable Wesley Fleming - born April 11th, 2012.

{I haven't mastered taking pics of babies yet - they just won't sit still ;) }

{I'd say he is a mix of both parents}

{love me some baby toes!}

{smushy wittle tushy...that's all the baby talk I'll do for now}

{he is already most comfortable with either mom or dad}

{she's a natural}

{I think someone is readyyyyy}

I start to think I am ready for one (or four)...and then I think about nights of endless bottles, diapers, and little sleep...don't know if I am there just yet - but I sure am glad we have friends that are!

another bridal shower! :)

{a throw-pillow (i love throw-pillows!) made by Ashley (host) and her husband Will}

I was thrown another bridal shower this past Sunday by some of my favorite women on earth.  It was such a nice time to have a quaint shower with family and some of our closest family friends right before the big day.  I was able to share some of our upcoming plans, wedding details, and some of my experiences living up North.  It was personal, intimate, and perfect. :)

Below are some shots of some great decorating ideas, food, and friends and family.  Every shower has been so different and they have had so many amazing ideas....I can't wait to be throwing my friends' showers soon and be using some of the tricks and crafts I have seen over the past 2 months.  When all of it this is over, I am glad I will have these blog posts to go back and read during my post-wedding blues.

{coffee table centerpiece}

{welcoming table with guest book}

{personalized details}

{pictures were displayed throughout, I was able to keep them and will be framing them soon!}

{sweets and flowers}

{flavored soda}

{Becca's homemade cupcakes - with champagne frosting}

{more homemade treats}

{prosciutto and cantaloupe - one of my favorite apss}

{with the shower hosts and my mom}

{grandmothers}

{some bridesmaids}

{an unplanned awkward prom pose}

{Amanda and Paul - he came at the end}

{someoneeee wouldn't cooperate - so that's what you get Carson!}

GA Wknd

{flowers from my mom's yard}

One of the best things of leading up the wedding is the fact that Paul and I have been able to see my family so much, whether they have come up here or we have traveled down South, we have had some good quality time lately.  

As always, we packed our weekend at home with as much as possible.  Staying up late watching home movies  from when I was little, meeting new baby Gable, church, longhorn (I miss chain restaurants sometimes), chickfila (paul ate 4 chicken sandwiches, FOUR people - he was done for the day after that), golf with Trey and Evan, shopping and manicure with my mom, wrestling with Nalla and Shadow....it was overall a great weekend!

Below are some pictures from my phone and a sneak peek picture from the Bridal Shower.

{Meredith's baby boy, Gable Wesley Fleming, born April 11, 2012}

{my mom doing her thing}

{Shadow and Nalla sitting where else but right in the middle of everything}

{Paul and Carson, 33 and 13 :) }

{So there is bird's nest in this flower bush - I swear we were about to be attacked by the momma bird!}

{I had my share of Starbucks from the Kroger grocery store}

{I want one two!}

{a sneak peak from Sunday's shower - it was soooo pretty!}

A few things...

Just a few things that are making me happy right now...

{our wedding invitations}

I had a little bump in the road this week with some car trouble...looks like one of our first big things to face as newlyweds will be shopping for a used car over the summer...pray for us.  But there are so many great things going on in my life right now that is hard to stay down about anything!

{a new owl from anthropologie...I counted...we have eight owls and counting...}

{the party favor from the Boston shower is starting to bloom!}

...such a great idea by Jenny...the note on it said "April showers bring May flowers!"  It's going to be a ranunculus and I'm going to try my hardest to keep it alive, it will be our first plant.

{coffee table is looking extra bright these days}

btw - we used a local girl in GA for our invitations - she was great to work with!

check out her etsy shop @ http://www.etsy.com/shop/TigerLilyInvitations

Fiesta with Friends!

This week Paul and I had our small group from our church (reunionboston.com) over for dinner and it reminded how much I love to host!  I really love our small group - it's a group of about 10-12 and includes 3 married couples and a newly engaged couple - so Paul and I just happen to fit right in.  Most of them live in Dorchester and I'm so excited to be making friends in our little area - makes it seem much more like a neighborhood.  They are also our first friends that Paul and I have made as a couple - most of our friends knew either Paul or me before we met each other.

I've said before how much I LOVE my little apartment in the NE, but with it being so little, it's not always the easiest thing to host more than 5 people there.  Now that Paul's place (with a lot more space) will soon be my place too, I plan to come up with a lot more reasons/occasions to have people over often!

We decided to serve a Mexican themed dinner...it's a pretty safe choice for a group since it mostly just involves meat and veggies (which also satisfied our paleo style as well) :)  

{I made homemade mango salsa - one of my favorite things to make in the warmer months}

{I prepped everything the night before - squeezing fresh lime juice in it to freshen it up the day of}

{the wine selection was made purely off the bottle decoration/coloring - however the eppa organic red sangria (eppasangria.com) was a hit}

{I found fun, festive, and inexpensive napkins at Target to brighten up the table}

 

{as I mentioned before, I prepped everything the night before - so I was able to just drop these into a large skillet and let them sautee away}

I didn't get any pictures of Paul grilling off of our back porch but he has started using our little charcoal grill (which we won and was blogged about way back here) a lot more - especially since the weather has finally warmed up....maybe I'll do a special blog post just on his grilling skillzzz.  

Rob and Jenny are Engaged!

Welp! Cat's out of the bag - Rob proposed last night and Jenny said YES!

his line?  ...they were talking about future living plans...where they are going to live...etc etc...and he said "there's just one thing missing...'' and he got down on one knee!!  How sweet is that?!

We met up with them last night afterwards and they couldn't have been happier.  I'm so so so excited for them and maybe even a little MORE excited to finally have a SISTER! :) Love them both and love them together.

April Showers bring...May Weddings!

Sure wedding showers can be for gifts but from my experience so far, they are so much more.  Fresh flowers, fun drinks, good food, sweets!,  thoughtful little touches, and most importantly, all of my favorite women in the world together for a happy reason.

I have had two showers so far and below are some take-aways from both: 

spring flowers

(seen above and below) - there is sometimes nothing better than a vase of bright colors to brighten your mood.

fun drinks

i would have to say my two favorite drinks are coffee and champagne :)

{bloody mary, mimosa, and cham cham!(champagne & chambord)}

good food

sweets!

thoughtful little touches

and of course, family and friends

{with my mom and paul's mom}

{my cousin Ashley who is my maid of honor}

{grandmothers}

{Sandy}

{GA girlfriends}

{MA girlfriends}

p.s. I can't wait to MARRY Paul!!! yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay :) :) haha.

Ch-Ch-Changes

The wedding is getting close!!! (53 days..but who's counting?) What is getting even closer is my move in date...  We have been cleaning out Paul's place as much as possible...leaving in the necessary items...I will be moving in a lot of furniture and knickknacks(which I will insist we need). We have also been doing some rearranging ... I found some old pictures of his bedroom when I first moved to Boston...

it's come a long way...and still probably has a little further to go :)

{September 2010}

{November 2010}

{I think the room looks so much bigger}

I'll be posting some bridal shower pics this week... I've been lucky enough to have two already! 

Needless to say...the lovebirds feel very blessed :)

Dreaming of a St. Barths Wardrobe

I was just introduced to the Emerson Fry Spring line and I have never loved a clothing line so much!  It got me thinking about spring clothes...and our honeymoon!  I've heard that St. Barths is very casual...but I'm thinking I could make it causal chic...?  If I could make my dream vacation wardrobe for our honeymoon...some of these pieces would be the first items I would buy.  Of course I'm just dreaming....knowing Paul and I , we'll be wearing the same thing everyday...but one can dreammmmm.  

Btw - I'm loving all the bold color this spring.  

 {dresses from the Emerson Fry Spring Line} 

{calypso st. barths collection - for a dressier night}

{tunics and casual skirts for days in the little town of Gustavia perhaps?}

casual clothes for comfy lounging....

I also plan to only wear flats and wedges....no dreaming on this...

and some colorful accessories to top it all off....would be fun and makes things flirty

{images from emerson fry,  calypso st.barth, j crew, and aldo}

Cauliflower Rice - The Paleo Way

While I haven't written about it much, Paul and I are still on the Paleo Diet  Lifestyle.  I definitely eat food that is not considered Paleo but I generally try to stick to it (and I now enjoy it rather than despise it)...I heard the saying 80/20...80% of food is paleo and good for me, 20% probably not so good.  

**side note on my despise for Paleo in the early days....  Transitioning to Paleo is not what I would call easy. There have been many tears, outburst, and binges on crappy food during the transition.  One Saturday night I basically kicked Paul out of the car at his driveway and peeled off to the nearest grocery store.  I rushed in, went straight to the cracker aisle and picked up a box of wheat thins (non-fat obvi), then I proceeded to go get some boursin cheese dip, headed for the checkout line and seamlessly picked up a diet coke while paying...I felt empowered...I was going to eat junk food and I was gonna like it!! I walked briskly to my car, got in, locked the doors, and sat right there in the parking lot and finished off half a box of wheat thins and I think the entire cheese ball, washing it down with a fizzy diet coke.  It was completely satisfying and I felt that self induced food coma I had been "missing" for the past 2 weeks.  I then put my tail between my legs and went back to Paul's house and admitted my food crimes....Paul of course just "laughed it off" ...he was probably nervous "katie kaboom" (my alter ego) would shower her ugly face again and his face would be ripped off for uttering any hint of..."almonds or some fruit might have fixed that craving"...NO THANKS...not that night at least. Other than moments like that I'm pretty happy with paleo! ;) ;)  I should also say that Paul in no way forces me to do this - I find it challenging, healthy, and usually fun.**

ANYWHOoooo.....One of our favorite additions/sides to any meal we make is Cauliflower Rice...I really do feel like I am eating rice when we make this.  And the real proof that it is delish?...We made it for my family down South who were all pretty reluctant to try it but actually really enjoyed it...Anna even made it on her own the following week!

Everyone has their own way of making it I'm sure, but here is ours:

{extra virgin olive oil, lots and lots of olive oil}

{grate the cauliflower - we typically use the entire head}

{add grated cauliflower to sauteed onions (not pictured) in evoo}

{stir together until cauliflower is cooked...about 7-10 minutes}

{we add extra veggies if we have them...diced tomatoes or red peppers are my fav}

And that's that!  It's delish and healthy - honest!  Let me know if you try it :)

Pies

Happy 'Pi' Day!  I thought it would be fitting, since it's pi day and all, to let you in on what we are planning for our dessert table...we are steering away from the traditional wedding cake and instead serving a wide variety of pies from the North and the South.  We tried some of them out at the Crane Cottage this past weekend - delish! They are all homemade and they instantly reminded me of my grandmother's recipes.

{pecan pie}

{chocolate decadence}

{key-lime pie}

{frieddddd cheesecake}

{creme brulee....which isn't a pie but was still delicious and prettyyyy}

What's your favorite "Northern" or "Southern" pie?? 

Pink and Orange

One of my favorite things this spring is the combo of coral, orange, and hot pink - I'm seeing it everywhere!  I recently bought a jacket from Forever 21 and then I saw these flowers in the garden at Jekyll Island Club this weekend.  It reminded of my jacket that I had worn to dinner the night before....I love it when that happens!