Espresso!

Andy and I got this baby from his mom at my shower. Andy used to work at Starbucks so he actually knows how to use it! Now I can have nonfat iced lattes whenever I want. YAY!



and here is a blurry iced latte shot. I really need a new camera.

Bridal Shower!

Look at how adorable my cake was! My maid of honor, Tiffany made this!



It was a lemon cake inside. YUM!

I have more pictures but flickr is being slow. UGH!

GRUMPY SMOOTHIE!!

I. AM. SO. GRUMPY!!!!

This morning I decided to use up some of the plain oikos greek yogurt I was sent to sample. I got out the blender, 1/4 cup of cranberry-pom juice, mangos, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and started my smoothie.

I added the tbsp of ground flax that Dr. Fuhrman suggests. (Btw I'm currently reading his book "Eat to Live" and semi-following his suggested diet plan.)

Anyway I was excited to have a smoothie this morning until our stupid blender decided to stop working!!! It took me 15 minutes to blend the smoothie!!

Moral of my story: It's time for me to indulge myself with a high powered blender. Vita-Mix please?



Smoothie of death. It's too chunky to be good. UGH!



I switched the straw for a spoon. ha!

Time for more blogging and "Eat to Live" reading.



Have you read this book? What do you think? I'll post a review soon. I actually have quite a few books to post about.

Also congratulations to my sweet almost-husband (18 days!!!!) for completing his first year of being a high school teacher! I am incredibly proud of you.

Thanks Guys!

Thanks for all of your advice on what to do or what not to do while we are in Italy.

Gosh I'm excited about Italy! 6 days in Rome and 5 in Venice. Honestly I think I could handle being gone for longer but I always feel that way about travelling. I think I'm just meant to travel more. I never get homesick!

So I haven't been blogging my daily eats due to our disgusting kitchen. It's my fault that it's not cleaner, I've just been so unmotivated to clean it. I had yesterday off and I spent my entire day prepping for the wedding. I didn't even think about cleaning. I'm terrible, I know.

Enter Anthropologie, one of my favorite stores.



Oh of course I'd clean if I owned plates with the eiffel tower on it. Of course!



Oh and I'd invite guests over more as well.

All pictures from Anthropologie's website. Anthro

What motivates you to tidy up?

Honeymoon in Italy!

I weighed in today and was delighted to see that the scale has gone down another 3 lbs. I've been really focusing on eating more fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes. I think it's been helping!

What I am worried about is...our honeymoon in Italy. I will want to eat EVERYTHING.



Pizza



Pastries!



Pasta!

oh man, I am sooo going to gain weight in Italy. Any advice on avoiding this while still enjoying myself?

oh and I forgot!!!!

GELATO!!!



(The gelato pictured comes from Mozzicato Bakery in Ct but it looks amazing!)

anyone else doing weight watchers? I'm not new to the program but it has been a few years...their new program seems so much healthier than any other diet program I've tried.

What to do when you have almost no food in the house!

Ugh! We JUST went to Whole Foods last night but I already feel like we are out of everything.

Tonight I combined

1 orange bell pepper
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can low sodium baked beans
1 yellow squash
1/2 jar habernero lime salsa
broccoli
and a multitude of seasonings!

I was nervous because we didn't have any tomato based anything! I felt like chili would be the best choice based on what we had but who makes chili without tomatoes? Enter Trader Joe's Habernero Lime Salsa and some organic ketchup. Tomato base, check!





YUM! It was really excellent despite the yucky pictures. And I'm thrilled because it's healthy, filling and I used all of the EXTRA stuff in the pantry and fridge. Now I can feel okay with shopping for more groceries!

How amazing is our wedding food going to be?

First things first. The Rehearsal Dinner!



Our rehearsal dinner is at Cafe Firenze in Moorpark right by our house. You might know the Chef from Top Chef!



I am so excited about this even though I doubt he will have time to make an appearance at the dinner.

We will be having:

Appetizers

Bruschette with tomato and basil, zucchini and mushrooms.

Proscuitto with melon and cheese.

Shrimp Pancetta with polenta

Salad

Insalata di Pere- Poached Pear Salad
Baby Lettuces, Crumbled bleu cheese, caramelized walnuts and poached pears. (It was to die for!)

Main Course
Chicken Piccata or Filet with Peppercorn Sauce and 2 sides.

And a Trio of Desserts. ooooh!!!

(Can it just be July 3rd now?!?!?!?)

As for the food for the wedding...

We have food for the cocktail hour

GOURMET CHICKEN SAUSAGE & CHEESE STUFFED MUSHROOMS
BACON WRAPPED ALMOND STUFFED DATES (these dates were soooo good!)
Sweet Chili Meatballs
and a cheese table with Imported Brie and selected Fromage, Grapes, Nuts and Sliced breads.

I love cheese!

And I'll post the completed dinner menu once we have it.

I'm so thrilled about all of this!

I'm stressed out!!!

Our wedding is 32 days away!!

Andy and I have been really stressed. Just going through a lot of stuff...which makes it tough to blog. I really need to get back into the swing of things. I'm just so glad that we have each other. I love knowing that someone is on my side!

I haven’t blogged in forever! Life has just been strange lately. I graduated college finally and started working full-time. I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed with all of our wedding planning. It’s taking over my life!

This week I’m working on seating charts, finding a cute pair of purple heels (but not more than 2’ tall!), place cards and creating a signature drink.

Of course I HAD to fall in love with an adorable pair of heels ala Kate Spade. I really can’t afford them so I’m searching the internet for a similar pair. I’m hoping to spend less than $50. We’ll see if I get that lucky! Do any of you know of a good place to find shoes?



So you can see that I am constantly thinking WEDDING! One day I'll go back to normal. I swear.