Last night, we went to my mom’s house to celebrate my brothers’ birthday. They’re twins–24 years old! My mom even made two meatloaves, in the shape of a 2 and a 4. Arranged as “24” on the baking sheet. She’s such a nerd, but it’s so cute.
I’m so pissed I didn’t think to get a picture of the meatloaf. ;)
As always, my brothers had two different cakes. My mom has always done two cakes for them every year since their 1st birthdays. Even when they weren’t old enough to choose what they wanted, my mom still did two so they each had their own. These days, the boys have different tastes–Tyler wanted a Carvel ice cream cake, Trevor wanted a devil’s food chocolate cake. So we had both.
Holy smoke cloud! 48 candles! :)
Tessa says, “Where’s the cake?”
Happy Birthday, boys.
I love SNL during the election seasons. Just love.
Four days later, this is still funny:
They nailed Biden on his tendency to always compliment McCain before he bashes him. And Palin on her over-the-top folksiness. Even Queen Latifah as Gwen Ifill–LOVE it.
P.S. Is it time to vote yet?? (26 days!)
Well, we didn’t really trash the dress. As Judy, the photographer, said–it was more like “celebrate” the dress. And we did.
Judy just e-mailed me with some preview photos. Weeeee! She made sure to say, “These aren’t even some of the best ones… I figured I’d save those for later.” So now I’m really curious as to what they all look like. But I’ll share the teasers with you. Photos are copyright of Judy Cormier at Elementz of Fotographie.
To tell you a little bit about the shoot as I take you through the pics…
It was a lot of fun. When I got there, Judy had a makeup artist ready to do my makeup for the shoot. Judy wanted it to be dramatic, so that’s what she did. It was pretty funny to catch glimpses of myself in a mirror now and then. I don’t wear a lot of makeup so it was like I wasn’t even looking at myself.
We started off in an old, abandoned brick factory in Toronto. We sorta had to sneak in through an opening in a fence–which was a challenge in a wedding dress–and down this short, steep hill into a makeshift entrance at one of the corners of the building. As soon as Darsi (Judy’s assistant) stuck her head inside, she was like “Oh my god!!” (Judy and Darsi had never actually been inside before. They had only heard it was cool.) At first, I didn’t know if that reaction was a good or bad thing. As it turned out, it was good.
There was graffiti everywhere, which made for some interesting backdrops. All of the catwalks and kilns and such were all still standing, so I was all over the place in there for different poses.
At one point, when I was up on the catwalk, something happened to catch my eye on the far wall. Someone had actually spray painted “TRASH THE DRESS” in big red letters. So apparently we weren’t the first dress trashers to ever be in the brick factory. But of course we had to stop and take a few photos in front of it. Can’t let a perfect backdrop like that go to waste.
They also played around a bit, using a video light and a grate/cage looking door. These ones are actually sorta dark (almost creepy!) looking. Very non-bridal. I like it.
Then I went down into one of the kilns (they were long and hallway-like), and she asked me to run. From an axe murderer. OK, she didn’t say that, but doesn’t it look like I’m maybe in some horror movie?
I think this next shot is from Judy’s favorite location/pose of the day. Also in one of the kilns. The brick factory had these skylights all throughout, and in these shots, Judy used the natural light coming down from them.
I’ll recap the rest later this week/next week when I have the rest of the photos. I think some of the stories will make more sense that way.
To go along with the delicious paninis we made with the focaccia bread, I made corn, bacon and potato chowder. This is a recipe I found when I was on Weight Watchers a few years ago.
This was our first soup of the fall season–I can’t wait to have others. The weather has definitely cooled over the past couple of weeks, which makes cooking and baking that much more enjoyable.
Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder
(Adapted from Weight Watchers)
Ingredients:
2.5 – 3 lb.s Yukon Gold potatoes
2 stalks small celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 lb. frozen corn, slightly thawed
1 sweet red pepper(s), diced
4 strips turkey bacon, cooked and diced
3 cups fat-free skim milk
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
Directions:
1. Peel and chop potatoes. Place into large saucepan, and fill with water until it just covers the potatoes. Place over high heat until the water boils. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook for about 15 minutes, or until fork tender. Drain and mash the potatoes.
2. Meanwhile, coat a pot with cooking spray. Add celery, onion, corn and red pepper; sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Stir bacon and milk into pot; stir in mashed potato and mix well. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper; stir to combine. Cover and simmer 10 minutes (do not allow to boil–milk will curdle!). Stir frequently.
4. Serve with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Football Sunday. A late start for the Buffalo Bills game.
What does this mean? Good food.
And it’s a good thing we had good eats, because the game? Well, it was horrible. Stupid Bills. I hope they get their act together over the bye week and come back ready to go again.
Anyway, the day started off with baking homemade focaccia bread. I saw this recipe over at Amber’s Delectable Delights last week, and decided that soup and paninis (with the focaccia, of course) sounded like the perfect Sunday meal.
Blitz Bread: No-Fuss Focaccia
(Somewhat adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Ingredients:
– 1 1/2 cups warm water
– 3 tbsp. olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)
– 1 1/4 tsp. salt
– 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
– 1 packet instant yeast (approximately 1 tbsp.)
– garlic powder, onion powder, cheese powder, basil, oregano, and parsley (or whatever spices you would like to add)
– parmesan cheese, grated (approximately 1/3 cup)
Directions:
1. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, and drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in the bottom.
2. Combine all of the ingredients (I used the onion powder, garlic powder, and cheese powder mixed into the dough), and beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.
3. Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan (I tried to smooth it as evenly throughout the pan as possible), cover the pan, and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes, till it’s become puffy.
4. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.
5. Gently poke the dough all over with your index finger.
6. Drizzle it lightly with olive oil, and sprinkle with the dried herbs of your choice (if desired). (I used dried basil, oregano, and parsley.)
7. Bake the bread till it’s golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. (In the last 10 minutes of bake time, I opened the oven and sprinkled the grated parmesan cheese on top.)
8. Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This bread is really tasty. And it was so easy! Sure, you have to plan ahead a few hours to give it time to rise and bake, but it was no problem.
We munched on some of the bread prior to dinner. Then, to go with our Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder, we used the focaccia to make turkey bacon paninis. Really, really good. And we have enough bread for leftovers. Can’t wait to have these again this week.
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
