football mums

i love big fluffy flowers.  especially these ones, which will definitely make a debut on wedding day!

shoe fun

i've been on operation louboutin for the past 6 months.  really i've always wanted to flash that signature red heel, but now that the special day is coming up i think these are the perfect shoes to make a statement :)

below are some pics from my shoe shopping yesterday (but i still came home empty handed):

candied walnuts

i've been working out with garage jonny (my trainer) and it's been paying off; i am feeling stronger but still not seeing huge results.  i have to send him my food diary every week and last week was just plain BAD.  i gave him all the excuses of why i was home, why i felt the need to get pizza for lunch and have bagels everyday for breakfast, and why i had to have 6-7 beers over the course of a day and night on saturday, because, it was a st. pattys day festival after all!  when you have to start writing down everything you eat, it gets embarrassing... especially when you're not the only one reading it!

garage jonny said that diet is 65-75% of weight loss - so cutting out those horrible habits is really the only way to see results!  i asked if i could still have my brie and cheese once a week, and he said yes in moderation, but rather than suffer all week and give myself a "day off", i should find things i like to eat through the week so i don't lose all the momentum i gained during the week just by pigging out on sundays!

i've never been a salad person but lately i've found one that i love to make.  i take baby greens, scallions, strawberries, goat cheese crumbles and candied walnuts, and make simple italian dressing (the cruet with balsamic vinegar, a spice packet, oil and a little bit of water).  i've been paying more money for the candied walnuts until today, where trader joes ran out of them and i realized i'd have to make for myself.

they are REALLY easy and much healthier for you than the version you can buy in the store, directions are below along with my final product:

Candied Walnuts Recipe (courtesy www.SimplyRecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups raw walnut halves
• 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Use middle rack in oven. Lay walnuts out on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 5 minutes. Test for doneness. If not quite toasted enough, toast for 1 or 2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn. Remove from oven and let cool in pan on a rack.
2 Pour sugar into a medium saucepan with a thick bottom. Have walnuts nearby, ready to quickly add to the pan at the right time. Cook sugar on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon as soon as the sugar begins to melt. Keep stirring until all the sugar has melted and the color is a medium amber. As soon as sugar is melted and the color is a medium amber, add the walnuts to the pan, quickly stirring and coating each piece with the sugar mixture.
3 As soon as the walnuts are coated with the sugar mixture, spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet, lined either with a non-stick mat, or parchment paper. Use two forks to separate the walnuts from each other, working very quickly. Sprinkle the nuts with the salt. Let cool completely.
Makes 1 1/2 cups.

remember this song?

i'm trying to think of good songs for all of the wedding party to walk out to at the wedding.... but there are 16 of us in the party, plus 2 sets of parents, so it might be a bit much to choose that many different songs.  

as i was searching through though, i came across this one, which reminds me of being a little kid and making up cool dance moves:

our save the dates!

i know i've mentioned them but i wanted to show the final product.  my cousin courtney designed these for us and they are perfect.  very "us".  i'll walk you through them:

from the top left, going counter-clockwise:

• i love beach roses
• we live in san francisco, so she chose the Bay Bridge
• since moving to san francisco, we've grown fond of wine and wine tasting
• we both went to the university of rhode island, so she put the rhody ram (URI mascot)
• i grew up in guilford, connecticut
• pat's parents dog is next - carrie
• we love the beach and summertime
• i have the Page gene and find 4-leaf clovers wherever i go - it's my party trick
• my family's dog - hobbes (one-eyed bobby)
• me and pat (now we're in the top-right)
• i love hydrangeas
• hoboken is where we lived for 4 years, some of the best 4 years of my life :)

and here is the heart that court's designed that you will see everywhere on the wedding materials

 

colors

ok you know how sometimes your computer can finish your sentence for you when you search for something on google or enter your email on an online order form?  like your computer remembers what you want to put?  well, the sad thing is that when i was typing the name of this post, that happened to me too - because i am so ridiculously obsessed with colors, it's not even funny - check back in this blog, i've only written about it 4 TIMES!  i poll co-workers, family, friends, and people i don't even know at the dress shop as to what colors to do?  what sashes?  what about the actual dress colors?

it's pathetic!

but luckily today i finally figured it out and just made a damn decision.  how many other important things are there in the world and in my life, yet all i could think about today was different color options, how would they all look with each other, etc.  yikes!

anyways....here is the final color "palette" for the bridesmaid dresses.  i won't give anything else away as to who is wearing what, you can wait until september 25 for that!

let's not forget the flower girls in all this.  although it is an adult reception, we are excited to have pat's nieces, hannah, riley and lily (how cute are those names??) in our ceremony, donning the gear below:

 

and of course, the cutest ballet flats ever:

our next project is operation honeymoon, which we hope to plan this week.  the list is getting taken care of, one day at a time!!! 

for mimi

I Left My Heart in San Francisco

Tony Bennett

The loveliness of Paris
Seems somehow sadly gay
The glory that was Rome
Is of another day
I've been terribly alone
And forgotten in Manhattan
I'm going home to my city by the bay. 

I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me.

To be where little cable cars
Climb halfway to the stars!
The morning fog may chill the air
I don't care!

My love waits there in San Francisco
Above the blue and windy sea
When I come home to you, San Francisco,
Your golden sun will shine for me!

cheers to the matriarch

this one's for you, mimi

inspiration everywhere

i love flowers.  when pat and i go for walks, it takes an extra 30 minutes to get from one block to the other, because i am taking pictures of them, smelling them, and dawdling along instead of power walking.  that's just me.

check out these pretty flowers i saw outside at a market stand today, and at our local grocery store.  several of these will be pulled in to the flowers for our big day - which is just over 6 months away, i might add!!

 

  

  

  

i LOVE the seeded eucalyptus!! 

and to finish off my day, i see this as i walk in to the parking garage...

happy friday everyone!!

gorgeous accessories for less!

before i get in to this, let me preface by saying that i am not a cheap person.  my jeans collection can speak for that, and show some bad financial decisions i've made in my life.  but....

i am a target girl.  i could spend my life savings at CVS.  and forever 21 has to be the first store i go to if i hit up the mall, because there is just TOO much to see in there, it gets intimidating!!  but, it's always hit or miss...

today was a hit!  tons of great, trendy and did i say inexpensive clothes!!  i scored with a cute pair of skinny jeans - $9!, an awesome "vintage" top, and a few other things here and there.  but then out of the the corner of my eye i noticed the accessories, which are always amazing.  today though, they inspired me and made me think of all the wedding blogs i've seen...  check out the gorgeous pieces below - all for under $10!!!!!!

drawer of bows, flowers and sparkly clips for your hair or clothes

 

it's like the treasure chest at the end of goonies - except instead of gold coins there are pearls, gold necklaces, cute bangles and trendy earrings...

 

 

pearl bracelets and bangles galore

pretty "charm" necklaces...

did i mention headbands of every style and color?

 

feather and flower headbands - exactly like some i've seen online for $50 and up!

and to top it all off, the feather accessories.  i wish i could pull the peacock accessory in somewhere in my wedding, but it just doesn't fit in.  sorry peacock :(

5

my training sessions with jonny garage have finally started to pay off.  stepped on the scale this morning after trying to eat right, and working out hard with the trainer.  5 down, 7 to go :)

dress colors

i am so ridiculously indecisive.  below are the colors.... as of now.  rest assured they'll probably change again though :)

i went with the girls (minus courts and bre) this weekend to go try on bridesmaid dresses, it was a lot of fun.  we decided with a designer who allows for several different looks, but all the same color, except christine so she can stand out :).  i want everyone to feel comfortable and actually like what they're buying - i know everyone says that but i really do!  so everyone picked the style they liked and they should be coming in around july.

the list is slowly getting checked off!