I LOVE my Job

...but I especially love the people I work with!

Cheers!

DIY Wedding Project

Because our venue does not allow confetti, rice, sparklers, or anything that falls to the floor - I will be embarking on a project of making my own ribbon wands for our sendoff - see example:

I'll make sure to post pics of the finished product.


Cheers!

Washers

Last night we had the pleasure of dining at Milan and Amy's house - delicious cocktails, wine, kabobs, mini cheesecake, lemoncello, and washers! 

Who knew a game with a couple pieces of wood, PVC pipe, and giant washers could be so fun - I highly suggest you try playing :-) especially if you are enjoying cocktails with friends on a beautiful summer night!

I sucked, Shawn dominated. Usual.

http://www.washergameplayers.com/

Cheers!

17 Days to GO!

Check out the progress on my "To Do" list - I am one UN-stressed Bride to Be :-)

• appraise and insure engagement ring
• confirm all vendors
• finalize menu/drinks
• pick out songs
• marriage license
• ceremony music selection
• wrap wedding party gifts
• make sure groomsmen/dads are fitted for tuxes
• work out wedding day timing
• ceremony seating arrangement
• e-mail photo list to photographer
• finalize flowers
• put together "favors"
• decide on reading
• find something "borrowed"
• hostess gifts for showers/rehearsal dinner
• loose 10 pounds 

Cheers!

Busy Not Blogging :-)

Here is a photo journal of the last couple of days....

Wine Tasting with Jacque and Amy

Ross Andrews Winery Dog - I wanted to take her home!

Bridal Shower at my Aunt Ginger's House

Teeny Cupcakes

Beautiful Bridesmaids

I turned 26!

Celebrated at my Mom's

Balloons and all (special thanks to my photographer Andreas)

Cheers!

Days to GO!!!!

My Mom is a ROCKSTAR!

52 and still able to cut!!!!

Cheers!

Almonst Official

Yesterday Shawn and I headed to Sammamish City Hall to get our marriage license. This is quite possibly the easiest thing that we had to check off our marriage license. Basically we signed on the dotted line and paid. Should it be so easy to get married? It was easier than getting a drivers license or a passport.............

Almost Mr. & Mrs. Fernandez!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers!

Playlist

We would love to have some input into the songs that are played at our wedding reception. Please comment with songs that you want to hear and we will add them to our "Play List"!

Cheers!

1 MONTH!!!!

We are officially 1 month away from getting married. Time has gone by SO fast! Wedding fever has taken over and we are in flow blown GO TIME!  Here is the latest "to do" list:

• appraise and insure engagement ring
• confirm all vendors
• finalize menu/drinks
• pick out songs
• marriage license
• ceremony music selection
• wrap wedding party gifts
• make sure groomsmen/dads are fitted for tuxes
• work out wedding day timing
• ceremony seating arrangement
• e-mail photo list to photographer
• finalize flowers
• put together "favors"
• decide on reading
• find something "borrowed"
• hostess gifts for showers/rehearsal dinner
• loose 10 pounds 

Any tips/suggestions on how to make this last month even sweeter please let me know.

Cheers!

Out of Towners

Our friends Dustin and Kayla have been regulars at our house of late, and stay in our spare room, dubbed "Kayla's Room." This weekend they were in town on a stop on their way home from Cancun (insert jealous sigh here). Kala and I haven't spent so much time since we lived together sophomore year of college. Love you guys and can't wait to see you again in 2 weeks!

Cheers!

Date Night

And when I say date night, I mean the kind of "Date Night" you have when you are saving for a wedding :-) We walked to the Sammamish Farmers Market (approximately 5.5 miles round trip, with LOTS of hills) and perused some local produce, goods, wine, etc. I am a sucker for Farmer's Markets. I love talking to the vendors, learning about their craft, people watching galore! We came home with this (plus some fresh whole wheat roasted onion pasta):

Beets, yellow bell pepper, basil, zucchini, cherry tomatoes

So, with our bounty of local goods I decided to embark upon yet another veggie pasta dish!

Zucchini Pappardelle

serves 2 if you have a big appetite like Shawn and I

• 1/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 TBSP garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, cut into strips
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup half & half
• 1/2 pound pappardelle (or pasta of your choice)
• 1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade
• 2 TBSP fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Boil heavily salted water for pasta; cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, saute onion, salt, and red pepper flakes over medium high heat until onions are translucent. Add bell pepper, zucchini, garlic, and black pepper. Saute until just starting to get tender.  Add chicken stock and half & half and simmer until liquid reduced by half. Add veggie mixture to cooked pasta. Toss with basil, parsley, and pine nuts. Divide into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and tomatoes.

We ate our pasta and watched The Bounty Hunter - I want Jennifer Anniston's body (she probably doesn't eat pasta though)! 

Yep, that's right, no wino on this night. Have final dress fitting on Monday!!!!

Cheers!

Overnight Oats

I have been following a couple of "Healthy Living" blogs and two of them I read most often, the authors are always boasting about something called "Overnight Oats" so I researched further after I had a jar of Raw Almond Butter that was almost empty and made something that was quite delicious, easy, and will  definitely make it into my breakfast rotation.

Overnight Oats: (Danielle's version)

• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk (any kind will do; soy, cow, almond, etc)
• handful of chopped almonds
• Squeeze of Honey

Combine in an almost empty jar of almond butter and shake. Let sit in fridge overnight. In the Morning, open up and add nuts, seeds, honey, etc and enjoy. Can be eaten warm or cold. NO COOKING!!!! (I love to cook, but not in the morning)

I didn't take a picture because they really aren't that pretty - especially when eating them right out of the messy almond butter jar, however here is a picture of my favorite brand of almond butter.

Cheers!

Very Excited!!!!

Yesterday I ordered the final book in the the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn. It has been almost a year since I finished the 3rd book in the series, and I have patiently been waiting for the final book to come out in paperback. I could have purchased it a year ago in hardcover, but you see I am somewhat of an anal freak about my books, and if I have the rest of the series in paperback it would have drove me absolutely nuts to see the lineup on my bookshelf (if I had one) of 3 paperback and one hardcover. So, alas I can finish up the addictiveness of the saga of Bella, Edward, and Jacob.

Cheers!

Great TV

There are few shows that I think are great - even less on Network TV however for the past 4 seasons, Shawn and I have been avid watchers of Friday Night Lights. It has struggled to stay on Network TV and will have it's last season next year. I don't know if people are turned off by the title and think it's going to be all about Football, or if it's Friday Night Time slot is a killer but this is truly a great show and I am sad that it will be ending. Every single episode has nearly brought tears to my eyes, made me laugh and provokes thoughts. The acting is great and really brings to life small town Texas. If you haven't seen it, I suggest giving it a try - starting from Season 1. You will not be disappointed.

Cheers!

Senior Open

This weekend, Shawn and I attended the Senior Open at Sahalee. It was a blast - we had perfect seats, decent weather and cold beers! I had no idea how much fun a golf tournament could be! Local favorite, Fred Couples was definitely the star of the show and it was really cool to see the crowd go wild for him!

Cheers!