Wine Cork Board

When the beau and I booked our wedding venue, the owner was gracious enough to give us a massive bag of unused wine corks! For months I tossed around wine cork craft ideas, trying to decide how to incorporate them into our wedding. A couple of weeks ago, we were driving home from brunch when out the window I spotted an old, wooden frame at a neighbor's garage sale. I knew just what to do with it!

First, I detached one side of the wire hang on the back of the frame just to get it out of the way. Then, I attached a trimmed down piece of poster board, gently hammering in small nails every few inches all the way around the back of the frame. I glued the wine corks in rows to fill the frame. It's near impossible to find a frame that will fit the exact measurements of your corks, so either cut down corks to finish off your rows or, the much easier option, find a way to cover the gap. I used burlap and lace to create a runner around the end where the corks didn't fill the frame and topped it off with a bow in the corner.

I'm not sure exactly how I'll implement the cork board into my wedding decor just yet, but I'm absolutely in love with it!

Favorite Things

Here are a few things I've been majorly crushing on lately that you should probably be aware of. 

How did I not hear about The Skimm until last week?! Kind of amazing. I always enjoy receiving in digest form anything I don't have time or patience for, and appreciate when it can be done in a humorous way. If The Skimm can make me chuckle about the DOJ violating the AP, they're worth a shout out. The only mistake I've found so far was their questioning why Bea Arthur posed for a controversial topless portrait, when the very article they linked to stated that she didn't actually pose for the painting. I'm not sure who spends their time imagining what old ladies' boobs look like, but to each their own, I suppose, and I'm not mad at The Skimm for such a tiny oversight.

I bought my Ray Ban Folding Wayfarer sunnies last year, but am still appreciating them to the fullest this year. I swoon for the big Jackie O throwbacks as much as the next girl... they're just so chic! But they come with massive cases that are only portable when carrying a massive purse, which I also swoon for, but recognize as impractical in certain situations. Have you tried to go on a sailboat or to a fair or on a bike ride with a tote large enough to be confused with carry on luggage? Sometimes you need something more like a small cross-body messenger, and if you also need sunnies, you need small sunnies. These fold up. Twice. And fit in a tiny case that also fits in your tiny bag. It's love.

I'm forever discovering wonderful services, places and things on Living Social, but this particular discovery was via Gilt City. I paid $40 for $80 worth organic groceries from Luke's Local, and it was worth every penny! Orders are placed through Good Eggs, where you can purchase goods from a variety of local suppliers. I got the seasonal veggies, fruit, salad greens, herb mix, honey, gluten free sourdough bread, pizza dough, cheese of the month, lunch and breakfast burritos, and a meal kit for chicken enchiladas. While some of the produce wasn't stuff I'd normally choose, it was all fresh and beautiful. My favorite was definitely the gluten free sourdough warmed up and smothered in the honey... so, so tasty. I opted to pick up my goods, but for just a couple bucks they deliver as well. Pick up sounded more practical but trying to park on Mission Street to pick up groceries from a bar was not ideal, especially considering the fender bender I endured. Not Luke's fault. Just not ideal.

Celebrating the Moms in my Life

Mother's Day has always been a really special holiday for my family because it's flanked by my parents' anniversary and birthdays for my dad, sister, nephew, uncle and now my fiance as well. It's kind of our mid-year "Christmas;" a do-not-miss gathering of loved ones to lump all our festivities into one. 

I'm beyond blessed to have been surrounded by incredible, inspiring, beautiful women all my life. My mother is straight out of a story book - loving, gentle, always level headed, a grade school teacher and Sunday school teacher, endlessly dedicated to the happiness of two daughters, two grandsons and her husband of over thirty years. Then there's my dearly missed Grama Moe, my dad's mom, who was as spunky and fun as they come. I treasure childhood memories of dancing like crazy to "Great Balls of Fire" and playing card games on her bed while sipping Cherry 7-Up. I can't tell you how grateful I am to still be enjoying daily chats with Grams, my mom's mom, who has been my biggest champion. She's strong, independent, capable, and has always made me feel like I can be invincible too. Then there's my sister - if you've met her I guarantee you instantly just got a smile on your face when I mentioned her. You'd never know she's had a hard day in her life, because her energy lights up a room and her laughter is infectious. Her love for her family is endless and even when people wrong her she continues to look for the best in them and want good things for their lives.

I could go on and on and tell you about all of the girlfriends I have who constantly awe me as genuine women and mothers but I think you get it. I'm lucky to have so many mothers in my life to celebrate this Mother's Day, and I certainly hope that you take the time to recognize those in your life as well.

My sister, Grama Moe and I at Easter two years ago

My sister and I at Easter this year

Family photo, Thanksgiving 2011

My mom and Grams

Mom and I on Mother's Day last year

Wedding Planning Update!

The beau and I spent our weekend in Amador County meeting with potential wedding vendors. Now that the sticker shock of these sort of appointments isn't quite so nauseating, we're beginning to enjoy the process a bit more.

Saturday we met with a few caterers and were reassured that our front runner is definitely still our front runner. We also dropped by our venue to take photos of the grounds and ask catering, rental and DJ related questions of the owner.

 

I haven't gone to any local wedding faires since all the vendors are likely to service only the greater Bay Area, and the faires here are generally too pricy to attend just for the heck of it. When I heard there was going to be a small wedding faire at Preston Castle in Ione while we were in town I couldn't resist!  

The entry was only $5 per person and benefited the Preston Castle restoration project. It certainly wasn't your average wedding faire packed with all sorts of vendors doing raffles and sampling - think small town, haunted castle, local vendors - but that's just what we needed. Our preferred caterer was there, a DJ we're really interested in, and we met a backup photographer just in case our current plans fall through. 

The best part of the faire had to be wandering around the haunted castle! That place is seriously cool... Maybe a happy alternative to a "trash the dress" after the wedding since the mere suggestion of partaking in the photo sesh trend sent my grandmother into cardiac arrest?

Engagement Photos

There is a misconception that photographers know what to do when being photographed because they're used to posing people for portraits. I used to be a photographer, I did it for eight years, and I can tell you this is so not true! I've only been on the opposite side of the lens twice - once for college graduation photos back in 2007 and more recently for an engagement shoot. Both times I found myself feeling incredibly awkward and at a total loss for how to look natural and comfortable. Thank goodness for good photographers who compensate for my awkwardness. My graduation photos were taken by Sarah Linda Gossett Raderman at an old cemetery in Oakland (way less creepy than it sounds - think old stone walls covered in vines) on black and white film, both 35mm and medium format. The beau and I went with a more modern shoot for our engagement sesh, posing all over Baker Beach for Jordan Murphy. I wanted to avoid anything San Francisco-cliche, but considering my fiancé is from the Midwest, thus half of our wedding guests will be from the Midwest, we decided some good ol' Golden Gate magic would be appropriate for our save-the-dates.

Here's a sneak peek!

Exciting Update!

I've entirely abandoned you all the last few weeks - I'm sorry! It was an action packed holiday season for me and I just never found the time to sit down and write. 

The biggest update I have for you is... I'm getting married! The Saturday before Christmas my beau took me to dinner and 'Twas the Night at the San Francisco Symphony and then got down on one knee in front of the lobby Christmas tree. Being the proper gentleman he is, he'd already been sneaking out to spend time with my family the month before and asked my dad's permission. He's a keeper!

 

Happy Birthday, SFBay.CA!

Last night SFBay celebrated their first year of publication at Salle Piano & Events with the help of an overwhelming number of contributors, readers, friends and sponsors. 

If you haven't checked out their website yet, please do! SFBay's coverage of Bay Area news, events and interests is impressive, and their staff happens to be stacked with some of my favorite professors from my good ol' days at San Francisco State's school of journalism.

Restoration Hardware Sale

I absolutely adore Restoration Hardware, but being the savvy bargain hunter I am, I don't wind up swiping my credit card there all too often. I mean, honestly - $500 chairs and $100 slippers? Give me a break. Well, for the holidays, that's exactly what they did.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself fingering through the RH winter catalog and about fell out of my chair when I saw the markdowns. So while I was in Walnut Creek doing some shopping with a girlfriend last weekend, of course I popped in to grab a few more stocking stuffers.

I can't tell you exactly what I bought since some items are Christmas gifts, but here are a few deals you can still get on their website, in case there isn't a location near you. I will tell you though, I regret not snagging one of those travel Scrabble sets, and if one showed up in my stocking on Christmas morning I wouldn't be upset about it... ;)

 

Slippers: $19, Throw: $79, Scarf: $29, Wine Bag: $9, SF Stamps: $13, Travel Scrabble: $24

Fall Crafts

I realize we're now nearly a week into December and the weather is fully winter outside, but better late than never, right? Here are some fun fall crafts I did for Thanksgiving, and since I'm so late posting those, a Christmas one too. 

A few years ago I got this idea out of Safeway's quarterly magazine, which featured recipes and craft ideas for each season. These are a bit messy to make, but if you're already carving up jack-o-lanterns it's no biggie to do these at the same time. You'll need a medium sized pumpkin with a stable bottom. Cut out a circle at the top of the pumpkin and gut it as clean as possible. Arrange flowers of your choice in the pumpkin and display! It won't last more than a few days to a week because of the raw pumpkin, but you'll get more time out of it if there's no water inside and it is displayed a cool place.

 The week before Thanksgiving I attended a friend's Friendsgiving dinner. She had a "Thankful Tree" and I thought it was the cutest idea so I made one to take up to my grandparents' house for our family Thanksgiving. You'll need a tall slender flower vase, reeds or branches, ribbon, and scrapbook paper. Look for reeds or branches with small knots in the texture so that the leaves will catch at various heights. Tie ribbon around the vase. Use scissors or a dye cut to cut leaf shapes out of scrapbook paper, making a small hole on one end. Allow guests to write on the leaves what they are thankful for and hang on the branches. 

I had a hard time finding initial ornaments that I liked, so I decided to make my own. You'll need holiday ribbon, wooden letters, and gold leaf paint (can also use gold spray paint but I went with a jar because of the size of the project). Paint the letters, allow to dry, and hot glue the ribbon in a loop to the back of the letter. So easy! I ended up hanging these on our stockings instead of the tree.

Apple Squash Galette

Makes 2 galettes

Ingredients:

o   Full batch of below pie dough recipe

o   1 ½ lbs butternut squash (peeled, seeded, sliced)

o   3-4 large granny smith apples (peeled, cored, sliced)

o   1 tsp ground cinnamon

o   ¼ tsp each round nutmeg, cloves, salt

o   3 tbsp wheat flour

o   1/3 cup brown sugar

o   1 ½ cup sugar

o   2 tbsp whiskey

o   2 tbsp coarse decorating sugar

o   2 tbsp apricot jam

Directions:

o   Set dough on lightly floured surface and roll into a large round about 1/8 in thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until ready to fill.

o   Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack on bottom rung. Lay squash pieces on a greased baking sheet. Roast, turning once, until tender when pierced.

o   Mix apples, spices, salt, flour, both sugars, and whiskey until evenly coated. Add squash and toss to combine.

o   Pour filling into center of dough, leaving a 1 ½ inch boarder. Fold edges over filling, allowing dough to pleat as you go. Dip a pastry brush in apricot jam and brush folded edges of dough. Sprinkles with course sugar.

o   Bake galette until browned and bubbling, about 75 minutes. Let cool before cutting. Best served slightly warm.

 

Pie Dough

Makes two pie crusts

o   Mix together 3 cups flour, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1 ½ tsp kosher salt in a food processor.

o   Add 1 cup cold, cubed unsalted butter and pulse into pea-size pieces.

o   Drizzle 2/3 cup very cold water over crumbs and pulse just until moistened.

o   Turn dough out onto a work surface and gather into a ball, turning to combine any dry crumbs.

o   Divide dough in half, form each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, chill at least 30 minutes.

 

Luxardo Thumbprint Cookies

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter at room temperature

½ cup sugar

2 eggs at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

2 cups wheat flour

1 cup chopped almonds

Luxardo Apry or Pruny Jam

Directions:

With electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.

Separate yolk from egg white. Set aside egg whites. Add yolks and vanilla extract to butter mixture and mix. Then add flour and salt to the mixture.

Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In shallow dish, whisk egg whites until bubbly and frothy. Chop almonds (I suggest tossing a couple handfuls into a food processor and pulsing a few times). Roll dough into one-inch balls. Dip nuts into egg whites and roll in nuts.

Place balls on parchment lined cookie sheet. Press thumb lightly into center of each ball. Fill each cookie with ½ tsp of Luxardo jam. 

Bake for 12-15 minutes until slightly firm. Cool and serve!