Friends:)

Every once in awhile you have a friend that walks into your life that you just click with and you both seem to know that this friendship is going to last for a long time.  I'm thankful to have found a friend like that.  Well, I shouldn't say, found, because both of these girls are my sorority sisters, and we went our separate ways after graduation and somehow fate brought us back into each other's lives at just the right time and I couldn't be more thankful for them. One of the girls I wasn't close with at all, I knew her in passing and that was about it.  The other girl I was very close with, we were even room mates.  But jealousy and hatred on another "friend" part drove her to move out and us to loose contact and for us to go our separate way.  Well fate worked it's magic and brought her back into my life and I could not be more grateful about that small little miracle.  She is truly a little glimmer of happiness in every day. She finds the good in everything and always has something happy to say.  She reminds me a little bit of myself, she is truly a little ray of sunshine.  A good soul, a good person, I couldn't ask for a better friend.  She is one of those people who when something good happens to me, I know that in her heart she is truly happy for me, and that right there is what being a friend is all about.  I am truly happy to have her back in my life.

My other friend; it started with a simple facebook post on my facebook status about girl scout girl scout cookies and from there on out we stalked each other about our weddings.  The first time we hung out, it seemed like we had been friends for a lifetime, we had more in common than I could have imagined and we talk with the ease of friends who have known each other for years.  It is nice to have a friend who is in the exact same stage in her life as I am in mine, it is nice to have a friend who is so easy to talk to and to have so much in common with, it is nice to know that although we haven't been friends for that long, that this will be a friendship that will last years.

I am truly blessed and thankful to have so many wonderful and amazing friends in my life.  I know that not many people are as lucky as I am and there is not a day that does not go by that I do not thank my lucky stars for all that I have.  Even those friends that I may not be as close with as I once was, I hope they know that I will always be here for them.

Abby Baby Update

That is what I arrived home to last night.  Abby Baby lounging on the driveway with Chris. Well Chris wasn't lounging, he was grilling.  It was his Monday off and he tends to grill out on his Monday's off.  Abby loves to be outside with her Daddy.  For those of you who know Abby, you know that she loves to stand at the door and meow her little head off, just begging to be let outside, only to then walk a couple of steps and lay down purring.  She never goes anywhere and she really only likes to be outside if Chris is outside with her otherwise she'll go outside just to turn around to come right back in the house.  But last night she was just loving life.  Chris will find any excuse to take her outside to spend some quality time with her, his little baby :)

On Friday night, she made a little squeak and we thought she was starting to get better but then her meow disappeared just as quickly as that little squeak had appeared.  Not another peep to be heard from her all weekend :( She kept trying, but nothing was coming out of her.  But yesterday she seemed to be getting a little something coming back, she still sounds terrible and it's not even close to a meow but it's something.  Not quite a squeak, I'm not even sure what to call it, but it's a little noise of some sorts which to me is better than nothing.  So, while it seems to be taking her quite awhile to get her meow back to normal, we are still very hopeful that it is slowly, very slowly, coming back and she is going to kick this tumor's butt.   We are keeping our fingers crossed that the progress, as slow as it may be, keeps coming and that this tumor is not malignant.  Please keep the prayers coming for our Abby. ♥



While we are speaking about animals, I filled out an application to become a volunteer with the Loudoun County Animal Shelter while Chris is deployed.  Honestly, I will most likely continue to volunteer to work with them once Chris comes home because my heart goes out to animals without homes, to animals who don't know what it is like to be loved, to animals who have been abused and forgotten about.  As much I would love to volunteer with them everyday, with my work schedule and gymnastics schedule that only leaves me with Saturday afternoons to help out, but once a week is better than nothing.  Once a week is enough to show some animals what is it like to be loved and to be filled with hope.  I already know that I'm going to want to take every single animal home with me, but on the flip side, I know that we don't have enough space for any more animals or enough money to provide them with the proper care and nutrition.  So, as much I as I'm going to want to take them home with me, I know that they'll be better with a family who can provide them with a better life than Chris and I can at this moment and time in our lives.  Maybe later in life we can have 3 or 4 pets, but right now isn't the right time for us.  I hope that I'll be able to make at least a small difference in the lives of these animals and show them the meaning of love and hope in my volunteering.  I'm very excited about it, and very much looking forward to helping out in the shelter.  It's a small step in what I would like to eventually be able to do in the world of preventing animal abuse but you have to dream big and start small.

Please don't forget to vote :)

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My Ring

I love my engagement ring.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  To this day, I still get compliments on it all the time.  Chris actually went to the jewelers and picked this out by himself.  He had no help from anyone.  You can't tell from the picture, but it has a lot of detail and is just a fabulous ring overall. I still catch myself just staring at it. The only problem was the size, when he tried to purchase it in my size (4) the saleswomen kept telling him she didn't think I was a a 4 because that's so tiny and that it's easier to go down sizes and not up.  Well Chris ended up getting so frustrated that he just bought it in the size she recommend (7) and called it a day.  For those of you who can't do the math, 3 ring sizes is a HUGE difference.  So big that when he proposed, I couldn't even wear the ring because it just fell right off.  Keep in mind that we were on vacation in Florida, so it just sat in it's pretty little box, and I just stared at it, anxiously waiting to get home just so we could get it sized so I could wear it.  Well we finally get home and I just took it over to Jared's because they do 4 hour sizing and they did it for free for us, the only problem was they couldn't go all the way down to a 4 because of the side diamonds.   Plus, going all the way from a 7 to a 4 is too drastic of a change for the diamonds, it creates too much of a pressure change and the prongs become to loose which will cause the side diamonds to fall out.  So they went as small as they could and put a couple size balls in the band and it worked I suppose.

Fast forward a couple weeks, Chris leaves for deployment and low and behold, the side diamonds start to fall out; just like the jeweler warned us would happen.  Well, I can't call Kay's corporate headquarters until Chris returns so for the next six months I'm in Jared's at least once  a month getting a new side diamond replaced and slowly getting a little more irritated each time.  Well he comes home and things get hectic with the wedding and trying to get last minute planning done.  So shortly after out honeymoon, I call up the headquarters and get in a battle with one man who is refusing to do his job and help us out (Chris did purchase the lifetime warranty so this should be no problem).  So after calling a million times, I finally speak to a women who tells me that it will not be a problem for them to specially make me the exact same ring in my correct size.  So, two months later, it has finally arrived and it fits perfect and it looks wonderful.  :) It was worth all the hassle to get a ring that isn't sliding all over my finger and I'm not hitting against everything!

Garlic Chicken and Cinnamon Corn

Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Dash garlic powder
Dash Italian Seasoning
Dash Paprika
1/4 cup olive oil
4 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 425 degrees
*Lightly grease a a baking pan
*Warm 1/4 cup olive oil, 4 teaspoons minced garlic, 2 tablespoons butter until the butter is melted
* In a medium mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients
*Salt and pepper the chicken and then dip in the olive oil mixture
*Coat in the bread crumb mixture
*Place chicken in the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the juices are no longer pink.

Cinnamon Corn

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup evaporated flour
2 cans corn, drained
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees
*Lightly grease a casserole dish
*In a medium saucepan, heat butter and sugar until the butter is melted
*Mix in flour, remove from heat
*Whisk in evaporated milk, then mix in the corn
*Pour into prepared dish
*Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the top
*Cook for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center of the dish comes out clean
*Let stand for 5-10 minutes while sauce thickens


Enjoy! xoxoxo

Washington DC's Hit Music NOW

Washington DC's Hit Music NOW: "DC's Hit Music NOW"

Please take a quick second to click on the link above and vote for me in the Summer Bride Contest! It takes about 5 seconds once a day and I would really appreciate it!! Just enter your email address to register and then you can vote :)

Thanks a million!

My Little Abby ♥

My little Abby. She's about nine years old and I've had her since she was a little kitten.  She's got her weird little quirks but I love her.  She's an odd cat and funny looking odd at that.  Not one that most people would refer to as a beautiful cat, but boy is she a lover. When she was a kitten she went in to get spayed and something when terribly wrong.  She was given the wrong anesthesia and a piece of the sponge was left in her stomach; well long story short she almost died and was left with some permanent brain damage leaving her a bit on the odd side.  But I still love her.  Yes, she's got some odd qualities, but that's what makes her Abby.  She's a loveable cat and she's mine (and Chris').  She loves to lay anywhere in the house that is sunny and stare at Marshmellow when she's being nuts with a "what in the world is wrong with you" look.  She loves to lay on Chris' chest as close to his face as she can get just purring away. Chris is extremely attached to her.  He tends to get annoyed with Marshmellow because she never settles down (but he still loves her to the moon and back) but Abby is his little girl.  He jus loves to snuggle with her and she just love to snuggle with him right back.  She loves to love on top of the cable box at night while we sleep.  She loves to "talk" to us all the time, whenever we are home you can usually find Abby somewhere close to one of us talking.

While we were on our honeymoon in May my mom was watching the cats for us and noticed that Abby kept getting sick and mentioned to me that I should bring Abby to the vet to make sure that nothing was seriously wrong with her.  So I took her in, and there was a tumor that was taking up 3/4 of her stomach.  Luckily, it was benign.  They did a relatively easy surgery and removed it and she seemed to be getting back to normal.  Until about two weeks she lost her meow.  At first we just thought it was because she is always meowing but as it got close to two weeks of her not having a meow we started to get more and more worried.  So last night, I brought her to the vet to find out what was going on.  Well it turns out that she has a really bad infection in her throat and a tumor in her throat.  The vet gave her a steroid shot and a antibiotic shot in hopes that the tumor is benign.  If the tumor is benign, the antiboitic will help the swelling go down and her meow will come back.  If the tumor is not benign, the swelling will not go down and her meow will not come back.  The vet seems to be hopeful that the tumor is benign, so I want to follow his lead and be hopeful as well. We should know within two weeks if the tumor is benign or not.  I just want Abby to feel better, so please keep my little Abby baby in  your prayers. ♥

First Peek Phots :)

When I sat down to meet with our photographer, she had brought along an album titled "First Peek," so immediately I asked her what these where.  She explained to me that she offered a private moment about an hour and a half before the ceremony for the bride and groom to see each other and she would capture it on film.  She offered this for two reasons; 1.) because the groom is often extremely nervous and seeing his bride usually calms him down quite a bit and 2.) being able to see each other up close is a much more intimate moment than across the isle.  Once she started explaining the reasoning behind her offering this option to her brides, I couldn't wait to go home and email Chris about his thoughts because I already knew that this was something that we were going to do, no matter what he said because I knew that the pictures would turn out amazing.  Well, it turned out that he did not like the idea at all.  He was much more traditional and thought that the groom should not see the bride until she was walking down the isle.  This just meant that I was going to have to work a little bit harder to get what I wanted because we all knew that eventually I would get my way.  So I kept bringing it up and he kept turning it down but I could tell that he was starting to waver just a little bit.  Eventually, if came time for him to come home and we went to go our engagement shoot in Washington, DC and our photographer explained more in depth to Chris the First Peek photo shoot and the purpose behind it.  Well, once we got in the car, he turned to me and said " You know what, I think that sounds like a really great idea and I think we should do it." So, there you go! We were scheduled to do our First Peek photo shot, and while many people may not have understood why we did it or thought that it was nontraditional of us, I would not have changed it.  It was Chris and I, it settled our butterflies, it left more time for us at our reception, our pictures came out much more intimate and we are both pleased with the end result.  While my bridesmaids were more basket cases (ahem heather) than I was on my wedding day, Chris was a bundle of nerves.  As I was driving to the ceremony/reception site my butterflies and excitement started to kick in.  I was about to marry the love of my life and start a whole new life with my best friend. I couldn't help but feel a little jittery.  So I walked up to Chris and put my hands over his eyes, when he turned around to see me and I saw his eyes lit up with love, I knew we were making the right decision.  There was never a doubt in my mind that we weren't making the right the decision, but to see him look at me the way that he did, I knew right then and there that he would love me until the end of time.  Those moments when we were standing on the ceremony site, just the two of us, knowing we would grow old together, knowing that this day was the beginning of our new life together, was the most intimate and personal moment of our lives and I wouldn't have changed anything about it.

Key Lime Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

*1 1/2 cups self rising flour
*2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
*1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
*2 1/2 cups sugar
*4 large eggs
*5 tablespoons lime juice
*1 tablespoon lime peel, finely grated
*1 1/2 cups buttermilk


For Cream Cheese Frosting:
*16 ounces cream cheese, room temp
*3 cups powdered sugar
*1 cup unsalted butter, room temp
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*2 drops green food coloring

Directions:



1.) Preheat overn to 350. Line cupcake tins with paper.
2.) In a medium bowl, whisk both flours together. In a seperate large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat butter until smooth.
3.) Add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
4.)Beat in one egg at a time.
5.) Add lime juice and lime peel.
6.)Beat in flour and buttermilk in three batches, alternating between the two.
7.) Pour the batter in the cupcake pans, filling each cup half way. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate pans halfway through the baking process.


For Cream Cheese Frosting:


1.) Beat the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract and food coloring in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy.
2.) Frost each cupcake.

Book Reviews

I am an avid reader, I simply love to read and with Chris being gone so much lately I find that I have more time to read at night and I'm able to get through books quicker.  With it being summertime, anyone who knows me knows that I love to lay out by the pool and enjoy the sunshine just reading a good book.  I don't really have a particular type of book I read I usally just get recommendations from family memebers and friends, or I like the ones that "People" magazine recommends.   I've recently read two pretty good books and thought I would share them with you all, because if you are like me you might be in the market for a new book.

Sister: A Novel

by Rosamund Lupton

When Beatrice gets a frantic call in the middle of Sunday lunch to say that her younger sister, Tess, is missing, she boards the first flight home to London. But as she learns about the circumstances surrounding her sister's disappearance, she is stunned to discover how little she actually knows of her sister's life - and unprepared for the terrifying truths she must now face.

The police, Beatrice's fiance and even their mother accept they have lost Tess but Beatrice refuses to give up on her. So she embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth, no matter the cost.

I really liked this book, it was written from Beatrice's viewpoint after she flew to London once she found out that her sister went missing and then later found out that she committed sucide and choose to stay there to prove that her sister was murdered. I  have a little sister I am close to so this book hit me emotionally. I could very well picture Bea's anger and frustration that no one would believe just how well she knows Tess. I would feel exactly the same under those circumstances.  I found this book to be very captivating because it was written as a farewell letter to Tess, from Bea explaining to her what had happened since the day of her disappearence.  It is a thriller which engages you from the very beginning. It is a compulsive read with a strong lead character, whose relationship with her sister is constantly questioned and disbelieved.  It's a great book about  loss, grieving and regret, and about the roles we play with those we are closest too.This book was hard to put down, causing me to stay up way later than I normally would in hopes of getting closer to the last page and finishing the book.  The ending is a surprise twist that you will not be prepared for, but it was such a good one at that.  I would definitely recommend this book for all those avid readers out there who are looking for a new book to read this summer.

Not My Daugher 

by: Barbara Delinsky
When Susan Tate's seventeen-year-old daughter, Lily, announces she is pregnant, Susan is stunned. A single mother, she has struggled to do everything right. She sees the pregnancy as an unconceivable tragedy both for Lily and herself. Then comes word of two more pregnancies among other high school juniors who happen to be Lily's best friends. The town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the emotional ties between mothers and daughters are stretched to breaking in an emotionally wrenching story of love and forgiveness.

I'll start by saying that I did enjoy reading this book. Overall it was interesting, exciting and suspenseful. It dealt with problems that our society is dealing with on an everyday basis nowadays as more and more teens are getting pregnant. Fathers have rights when it comes to their children. What started out being interesting ended up being irritating and yes, irrelevant.  The book was published right as a big story was making headlines the plot mimicking the Gloucester, MA pregnancy pact. Four high school girls decide that they are going to get pregnant together and thus support each other through the ordeal. The girls are but 17, high school seniors, and all seemed extremely immature despite the author telling us constantly that these were honor students and exemplar leaders of their class.  All in all, this is a book.  To that end, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Did the girls make a stupid decision? Absolutely! Would you, as a parent, react in the same way? Probably not. But that's the whole point. We all think we know how we'd "do better" when faced with similar issues.  But I personally, like this author, was it one of her better books, not really. Would I recommend the book as an easy beach/pool read to a friend, yes.

 

Honey BBQ Chicken and Broccoli with Rigatoni

Honey BBQ Chicken

Ingredients:
*4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup honey
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoon BBQ sauce
Directions:
* Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
* Place chicken in either a greased or foil lined pan
* Season the chicken with a little bit of garlic powder, pepper and seasonal.
* Place chicken in pan.
* In a small saucepan, combine butter, honey, BBQ sauce and salt; cook and stir over low heat until well blended and heated.
* Pour sauce over the pan.
* Cook for about 35-40 minutes until chicken is cooked all the way through

*This chicken held it's moisture really well and the flavor was amazing.  I would actually recommend making the sauce the night before and letting it marinate overnight in the sauce and then drizzling BBQ sauce over the top of the chicken while it's cooking in the oven.  Either way you decide to make it , it's a definite keeper in our household.  It's super easy to make and has some awesome flavor.


Broccoli with Rigatoni

Ingredients:
*8 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 4 cloves garlic
* 1 pound fresh broccoli
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 cup chopped basil
* 1 pound rigatoni
Directions:
* Cook pasta according to package directions.
* In a large skillet heat oil and butter.  Gently brown garlic, add broccoli and saute gently for 2 to 3 minutes.  Add broth, cover and simmer until broccoli is tender.
* Sprinkle with Italian seasoning, onion powder and squeeze a fresh lemon over top of the mixture.  Mix well.
* Toss the broccoli mixture with the basil and cooked pasta.
* Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

*This pasta also had really a really nice, light flavor and Chris actually really like it with the sauce from the chicken over top of it, so Iwould recommend making it with the chicken placed over top of the pasta!

Enjoy!!

Thank You's

I just want to throw it out there that I am normally very quick about sending out my thank you cards because I feel like people should know that their gift was genuinely appreciated.  Plus, we live in such a media friendly society that the days of receiving anything but a bill in the mail seem to be long gone, and I know that I personally love getting mail, so I'm sure that most people feel the same way.  It takes time out of that persons day to go out and buy a gift, just like it takes time out of my day to sit down and write them a thank you note.  It's so easy to shoot off a text or send a quick mass email, but how impersonal is that?  Those gifts people send to us are personal so writing a thank you card is a personal gesture back to them to let them know it's appreciated.  It's a gesture that I really hope isn't lost in my children's generation. 
On that note, I just wanted to say that after our engagement party, the following night, I sat down with my list of gifts and wrote every single person a thank you card and sent them out on Monday.  After my bridal shower, I sat down that very night with my list of gifts and wrote a thank you card to everyone who attended the shower and those who had sent gifts and all the cards were in the mail by Monday.  As the gifts slowly trickled in from people who RSVP'd no to the wedding, I wrote them a thank you note and send out their card the next day.  I do this because I want to make sure people get their thank you cards in a timely manner to know that their gesture is appreciated and their thoughtfulness does not go unnoticed and that Chris and I appreciated each and every gift we received.  I do this because this is what I was taught to do as a child.  I do this because I was told it it was called being grateful for what you have been given and not to take anything for granted, to show people that you are thankful for the love that they show you in the form of a gift or a card.  For the people who attended our wedding, the thank you cards have taken an extremely long time to get in the mail.  And I do have an explanation for that, I was waiting for the photographer to finish the thank you cards.  This is not in my nature to wait over two months after we have received a gift to send out a thank you, and I apologize, but they are on their way.  Our thank you cards came in the mail last night and since Chris was not home, I sat down with our gift list and a pen and wrote thank you cards for four and half hours so that they would all be placed in the mail these morning. 
To everyone who gave us a wedding gift; thank you from the bottom of our heart.  Every thoughtful gift meant so much to Chris and I and will are going to have so much love when it comes to decorating our own place. To everyone who gave us a wedding gift who is still waiting on a thank you card, I am extremely sorry they took so long to get in the mail but please know that it is not for lack of ungratefulness, we are both so grateful for everything we received and we were truly enlighted by how many people showed up (or sent us cards in the mail) showering us with love and support on our wedding day.  We couldn't have asked to have been surrouned be better people in our lives and can only hope as the years go by, the love conitues to grow.

As I was sitting down last night eating some leftovers I turned on the TV and got sucked into watching a rerun of 16 and pregnant. I strongly dislike that show. There was a 15 year old boy complaining to his 16 year old (PREGNANT) girlfriend that he's only fifteen, did she know how hard it was going to be to get a job at 15? But he didn't want her to give up the baby. Well, than maybe you should've thought of that before you jumped on top of her and got her pregnant. Two scenes later she was complaining that she wanted to finish school and go to college and me, me, me. Well newsflash honey, once you have that child your life no longer is about you, it is about that little person that you are responsible for. There is a reason why most people wait until they have finished school, gotten married and are older to have children. Younger people are not emotionally or financially ready to support a child.







I think that MTV's 16 and Pregnant is a horrible show, yes it shows how hard it can be to be a young child and get pregnant why do we even need to have a TV show about that? Most young children know this fact already. The show itself isn't so bad in terms of sending the wrong message to teens about what it's like to be 16 and pregnant, it's the teens themselves that are pregnant and still think that the wolrd revolves around them that makes me want to shake some sense into them.






Which leads me into my next rant...Teen Mom. Yes, I get sucked into watched that show every week. But why is MTV glamorizing these teen mothers?? Farrah puts the want of a boob job before her child's education first; she could be putting that money she spent toward a college fund for her daughter. You are a mother now, superficial things like boob jobs are no longer important. Gary and Amber can not get their act together and stop fighting and cussing in front of their daughter. So when she cussing is preschool no one else is to blame but themselves. And then everyother week at the grocery store, they are plastered on the cover of yet another magazine cover. Stop putting these mothers into the spotlight and let them focus on getting their lives together and providing the best life possible for their children so that they're not in the same position when they are when they're 16. Yes theses shows provide for good entertainment, but do they really provide a good example to any pregnant teens out there? Or teens in general? No. We are a media a society and we should be using the media to set a good example and as far as I'm concerned we could be doing a much better job of that. But, hey that is just my opinion.

Vegetables :)

I tried out a couple new recipes for vegetables this weekend...very quick, easy and super good ones at that so I thought I would share with you all :)

Fried Zucchini
*Cut the zucchini into 1/4 inch pieces
*Heat up 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan
*Make a breading using about 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese and seasoning of your choice (I used a little garlic powder, paprika and a touch of Seasonal)
* Beat two eggs in a small bowl
* Place a couple spoons of flour in another bowl
* Place the zucchini in the flour, then the egg and then the breading.
* Put the zucchini slices in the hot oil, fry each side about 3minutes, until golden brown.

Broccoli
* Heat 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons olive in a frying pan
* Once hot, add in either a clove of garlic or about a teaspoon of minced garlic, let simmer and brown.
* Once the garlic starts to turn brown, add in your FRESH broccoli.
* Let your broccoli cook on a medium-low heat until the tenderness is to your liking.
* Cut a fresh lemon in half and squeeze the entire lemon over the broccoli.
*Sprinkle breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese over top and let cook for a few more minutes

Double Decker Brownie Cookie Bars

Ingredients:



•Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer:


•24 Tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoon slices


•2 cup firmly-packed light brown sugar



•3 cups all-purpose flour


•1 teaspoon baking soda


•1/2 teaspoon salt


•2 large egg, at room temperature


•2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


•2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


•.


•Brownie Layer:


•12 Tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) butter, cut into tablespoon slices


•3/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (Ghiradelli brand preferred)


•1-1/2 cups sugar


•1/2 teaspoon salt


•2 large eggs, at room temperature


•1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


•3/4 cups all-purpose flour


•.


•Chocolate Topping:


•4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped (or substitute 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)


•1 Tablespoon butter


Preparation:


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with non-stick foil or grease with butter or shortening.






Melt 12 tablespoons butter over medium heat or slowly in the microwave. Remove from heat and whisk in brown sugar until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature, but still liquid. This will be for the cookie layer, after the brownie layer.






Brownie layer:


Melt butter over medium heat or slowly in the microwave. Remove from heat and whisk in cocoa powder. Scrape into medium-sized bowl with a spatula. Add sugar and salt, whisking to combine until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition until blended, adding vanilla extract with the last egg. Using a large spoon or spatula, mix in flour just until blended. Pour into prepared pan, and gently spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.






Chocolate chip cookie top layer:


Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork or dry whisk until evenly mixed. Combine flour mixture with cooled butter/brown sugar mixture until smooth. Whisk in 1 egg and vanilla extract, mixing again until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.






Space spoonsful of cookie mixture over the Brownie layer. Gently smooth with a spatula to create an even top layer.






Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with small gooey bits. Do not overbake. Cool to room temperature.

Professional Wedding Pictures :)

I finally got my DVD with my professional wedding pictures back! :) I thought I'd share a couple of them with all of you all in case you'd like to see them, if you don't want to see them well then booo on you! There's so many to choose from so I'm going to do my best not to overwhelm you all!

Theses are just a couple of my favorite, if you would like to look at all of our wedding ones feel free by going to the website.
http://www.sapphirestyle.com/
click on events
click on price and coviello
enter your email address
enter the password (becky-- all lowercase)
enjoyyyy!
xoxoxo

Scrapbook

I love to scrapbook, it's a hobby I have that most people would not expect me to have because it is something that is crafty.  But I love doing it, even though it is time consuming, I love the end result of it! I've made a couple scrapbooks for friends and given them to them as gifts because I think they are so personal and something they can keep for a lifetime and always look back on the memories we made. I just finished mine and Chris' "engagement"scrapbook (I did a dating one as well) and I thought I would share the end result with you all.  I'm not as pleased with it as I was with our dating one but I do love it. 

 The Cover

Page 1

 

The quote on these two pages reads "Once in awhile right in the middle on an ordinary life, love gives you a fairy tale."  The first page is dated November 23, 2010 because that was when Chris returned home from his last deployment and the second page the pictures were taken a couple days later; we were trying to get a decent Christmas card picture.

These pictures were taken during a couple outings to DC shortly after Chris had returned home

These pictures were taken a weekend we went up to New York. Even though it was freezing we had an amazing time.  We saw the Rockettes, which was an absolutely fantastic show, even Chris enjoyed himself! That was definitely a spur of the moment show and I'm so glad we were able to do it! We also bought our wedding rings in the diamond district, took a carriage ride through Central Park and pretty much wandered around the city all weekend and had a great time eating some pretty terrific food along the way :)

A couple of our engagement photos :)

Back to NYC for New Year's 2010! We went to see Lion King on Broadway for my mom's birthday the night before New Year's Eve and it was AMAZINGGGG!! I would highly recommend going to see it if you are in the city and have the time.  It is absolutely unbelievable! The characters voices sound just like the movie and it is so captivating, Chris who wasn't really looking forward to it loved it! We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset, which was beautiful.  It was a long walk, but so worth it, the view of the city is so breathtaking.  We went on a booze cruise with my sister, her boyfriend and parents for New Year's Eve which was a lot of fun, cold but fun.  We even got to see fireworks over the city at midnight which was definitely an experience.  It was definitely a fun filled weekend.

 My mom surprised us both and put our engagement in the local paper :) It's a simple page but that's all that's needed with something so special.  I'm really glad she did something so thoughtful for us and that we'll be able to show our kids in the years to come.

A couple of pictures from our fabulous engagement party. What a wonderful night that was,  we seriously have the most amazing people in our lives who are truly so happy for us and that night was such a blessing for the both of us, we had such a great time with all our friends and family.

 A select few pictures from my wonderful bridal shower that my awesome bridesmaids threw me.  A day that I will honestly never forget.  I have never felt so much love and happiness in one place, it was such a special day for me.

A rare opportunity that Chris left on his uniform to drive home and Fred had his camera handy when I got home so of course I drug Chris outside to take a couple pictures, clearly you can tell how happy his is about it :)

The quote reads " Love doesn't make the world go round. Love makes the ride worthwhile." Just some random pictures of Chris and I from throughout the year.  Clearly, I have an obsession with green screens and Chris "tolerates" my obsession.

Ahhhh, the night before the next chapter in our lives begins and what a fun night it was!!

Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it!

xoxox!