so you're getting married...

Thursday, February 09, 2012

weddings seem to be in serious planning mode as of late. and i dig it.

there was a very brief period in my life when i wasn't utterly obsessed OBSESSED with weddings and planning and dreaming and helping and dressing up and eating the cake and drinking the drink.

i. love. it. ALL.

i was so obsessed in fact, once in college my roommate and i borrowed an engagement ring and went to two different bridal shops (sported said ring), acted as eachothers maids of honor and tried on dresses. best. day. ever. (well...at the time.)

the obsession continued when i was bored one day and stumbled into target. i blacked out and immerged in the parking lot with a pretty binder, page protector sleeves. and three wedding magazines. i wasn't even dating anyone, people. it was a sickness.

i had to buy these supplies because pinterest wasn't around yet.

this story becomes more unfortunate when said binder and magazines were found months and months later by my then boyfriend, now my farmer. oh, the humiliation. he told his friends. more humiliaton. they made endless fun of me. but i guess i had the last laugh...i married him!

(insert evil laughter here - muahahahaha!)

in honor of wedding planning season, here are 10 snippits i learned from my wedding:

1. negotiate with your vendors. as it turns out, they want your business. plus there are always little things they can tweak to make whatever you're buying less expensive. one less light here, five fewer flowers there. trust me...you won't miss it.
2. whether you hire a videographer or have a friend with a camera - FILM YOUR WEDDING. this will illicit tears during playback 97% of the time. (don't check my math on that.) film the ceremony, film the first dance, film the bouquet/garter toss, film the cake feed. just sayin'.
3. when walking down the aisle, remember to keep your bouquet low and centered. your pictures will thank you. nobody wants to see flowers under your chin. remind your b-maids.
4. on a budget? strongarm your friends and family into helping with the prep. if they love you, they'll love helping. you'll also save some mula.
5. nervous the day of? nothing a bottle of champagne can't fix. skip the wine glass and go straight to a water bottle or sippy cup. you don't want spills on your dress. also, a dance party with your b-maids and best gals will get rid of some of that nervous energy.
6. arrange a driver for post-wedding transportation. this driver should know exactly where he's taking you and should also be sober. which leads us to #7...
7. make sure your groom or you check-in to your wedding night location prior to arrival your wedding night. trust me on this one. trust. this is a story for another day.
8. do not do push-ups in your wedding dress on the beer-soaked dance floor.
9. if your dad does a keg stand, you should do a keg stand. trust.
10. pay for someone to clean up your wedding. your headache will thank you.

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i starve my farmer

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

it's that time again! our monthly edition of "bell cooks!" that's because i cook once a month. i decided to be an overachiever and get this cooking thing out of the way early.

this beloved recipe comes via miss amanda mays via the pioneer woman. the woman has it goin' on. it's a delish recipe and farmer-approved. my farmer ate half of the entire dish in one sitting. this may or MAY be because i starve him for the remainder of the month.

CHICKEN SPAGHETTI

just give that little title a click and it will take you to the printable recipe card!

first, the cast of characters:

• 2 cups cooked chicken (i bought a chicken from costco and diced up the breast...yum!)
• 3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two inch pieces (whole wheat)
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cups finely diced green pepper
• 1/4 cups finely diced onion
• 2 cups chicken broth
• dashy-dashes of seasoned salt (i was liberal with this...love me some salt)
• salt and pepper to taste

items i left out:

• 1 additional cup of sharp cheddar cheese (that's a lot of cheese!)
• 1 jar diced pimentos, drained (i live in the middle of nowhere)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (have you ever measured 1/8? it's nonexistent.)

my next step was dicing the onion and green pepper. according to the recipe they are supposed to be finely diced. well, finely diced to me means you're probably going to cut your finger off. so we'll say my peps and onions were moreso cubed, unfortunately. also, i used closer to 2/3 cup of onion. we love onion.

you're also supposed to grate three cups of sharp cheddar. i only grated two. this was a happy mistake because i didn't realize there was supposed to be three cups until just now...two days later. so one cup went into the mixture and one cup was sprinkled on top. still delish and a total calorie saver.

the next super satisfying step is to break a bunch of spaghetti into two inch pieces. i say satisfying because snapping all those little noodles feels good. i'm a freak. after you've snappy-snapped them, toss them into your two cups of chickn broth. you'll cook the noodles until al dente. yeah, we're speaking italian now. al dente means (in my world) a noodle that is not floppy, still firm, but cooked enough to be a little soft. does that make any sense? google it.

action shot!

while the noodles are cookin', combine your ingredientses (RHONJ!) in a bowl...you'll also put the noodles in there. when it came time to add the noodles, i didn't know whether to add the broth they were cooked in or drain it out...so i added it. i felt like it couldn't hurt the process. the only downside was that the final casserol was extra creamy...not soupy...but definitely couldn't be cut into squares like a lasagna.

you're going to stir everything together until it looks like poop. seriously...vomit. YUMMY YUM YUM YUM.

mmm...doesn't that look good? try it. really, it does taste good. i was pretty hungry at this point so i sampled and sampled some more. after i poured it into the casserol dish, i licked this bowl. i'm a freak.

now pour it into your casserol dish and sprinkle your reserved cheese on top!

and it will come out of your 350 degree oven lookin' like this...or probably better:

(i think it's the cream of mushroom that gives it that unappetizing taupe color. if it weren't for all that glorious cheese this dish would look totally disgusting.)

now, i must say i was pretty pleased with the results. the dish was delish and i was showered with affection from my farmer. he LOVES when i cook...you would think i would do it more. interesting. anyway, the results are in and this meal is a win. get cookin'.

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house update: cabinets

Monday, February 06, 2012

people...things are happening. we had a mini house-hiatus when we decided to go to mccall and denver, but we are back. we worked our fannies off this weekend on our kitchen cabinets. and by "we" i mean my farmer. i helped a pinch.

people...they. are. glorious. i. love. them.

we had two cabinets hung and i said to my farmer, "in these two cabinets we already have more storage than we do in the single-wide." i guess that means no more storing our canned goods on the floor in the corner of our kitchen. (we're classy like that.)

i wonder if you're asking, "why don't they just have less of a stockpile of canned goods?" well people, when you live 45 minutes away from anything that mildly resembles a market, you have to shop at costco.

you may also be asking, "i thought she didn't cook?" this is mildly accurate...but a girl still needs to have food stuffs in the "pantry" (on the floor). i'm not a heathen.

anyway, people...here is what our house is lookin' like to date!

 

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