Happy Anniversary: One Year of Blissful Marriage!

Today I have a very special recipe... the recipe for the perfect marriage. Yup, cheese ball.

I really can't believe that one year ago today, I walked down the aisle and said "I do" to my best friend and the most unbelievably wonderful man I have ever met.  (He's also pretty handsome, too.)

As many of you know, I didn't only play the role of the blushing bride (blushing partly because it was such and amazing day and partly because tulle is not a breathable fabric!), but I was also my own wedding planner, florist, designer, and decorator (with the help from my bridesmaids of course!) Throughout that process I certainly developed a love for DIY projects and I even learned how to arrange flowers. Being able to put my own personal touches on every detail made our wedding day so much more special because everything was a representation of Richard and I.

I have to admit, as I walked down the isle I did feel a little bit proud of myself for pulling it all off... but not nearly as proud as when my new husband took me aside and said "Even if I had written this night in one of my scripts, then rewritten it ten times, I couldn't have made it more perfect. For the first time in my life I can honestly say, I wouldn't change a thing." But even sweeter was the wonderful blurb he wrote about us, and our wedding, when our photos were featured on my favorite wedding website, Style Me Pretty. (Check out our feature HERE!!!)

So, without further babbling and mushy gushy stuff (and a little bit of crafty braggery).... here is our wedding trailer by Everly Films... if you've ever been over, I have probably already made you watch it... several times.... but let's be honest, you know you have been dying to see it again!

Sarah + Rich | Malibu, California from Everly Films on Vimeo.

Thanks to Jay & Chelsea Worsley of Everly Films for making this amazing trailer!!!

The one thing I can't help but feel every time I watch this video is that I am certainly one lucky lady because Richard Keith is most definitely the bees knees. Happy anniversary to my handsome husband! I can't wait to spend all of my years with you... I love you!

R+S

DIY: Wedding Band

While your wedding vows may be until death, odds are your husbands wedding ring is not. So, if you need to remind the wandering eyes of other actresses and waitresses that your man is taken, sometimes you have to make a wedding ring on the go. Luckily if you're wearing a pair of jean shorts, there's a quick fix. Just follow my recipe for this DIY Wedding Band.

I wonder what he's supposed to remember!?

Need:
Frayed Jean Shorts... or string.

Method:
Pull a piece of string from the frayed part of your jean shorts. Not wearing shorts? That's ok. A piece of string will do. Grab your husband's hand, not too tight even though you might want to strangle him, and tie the string around his "wedding finger" as I call it.

Live happily ever after in married bliss.

Pumpkins On My Table & Pumpkins In My Bread

Good news! We were finally able to survive a day without needing to run the AC from 9am to 8pm which can only mean one thing.....

It's fall!

Well, almost. Today and yesterday were fall and then next week it's back up to 93 degrees (kill me.)

But either way, I got a taste of chilly weather so it is officially fair game for holiday baking! ee! However, according to my husband (butterflies...still....) the holiday music may have been a bit pre-mature. Bah humbug.

But, this time of year is so magical... while all the cool kids are watching football,  I can literally spend 8 hours a day elbows deep in pumpkin and cinnamon (sometimes eight hours cooking with it and sometimes eight hours eating it), only taking breaks to arrange pressed leaves and gourds around the house. 

Today I really covered both bases..... the house is decorated, I am forcing Pumpkin Whoopie Pies (recipe here) down anyones throat that I can get my hands on, and I just pulled some pumpkin bread out of the oven. My house smells like heaven, maybe even better.... and yours should, too! Time to get baking.....

PUMPKIN BREAD

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/3 cup cake flour

2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

4 eggs

1 15oz can of pumpkin

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup canola oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine dry and wet ingredients separately. Mix together. Pour batter into two greased loaf pans. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the loaf. Let cook for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. 

Happy Valentines DIY....

I am having a really hard time writing this blog because all I can manage to do is sit here and stare at our FILTHY apartment. I feel I should also point out that according to Richard, "this is not filthy by guy standards." So I guess I should more accurately say, our apartment looks more like the back room of an arts and crafts store.

One corner of the living room is piled high with different colored tulle from my latest DIY project. The coffee table is covered in pearls and scraps of twine from making bracelets for my darling flower girls. The kitchen.... as usual.... has 3 different stovetop creations cooking away and the dining room table is piled high with sad looking Valentines Day decorations that are about 24 hours past their prime... which after the drinks I had at dinner last night, is also how I feel at the moment (more on this later.) Okay, in hindsight, maybe I went a little overboard this year....

But come on, a holiday that celebrates love with obnoxious pink and red sparkly hearts and cheesy sayings to fill your darling's head with? Please. I LOVE this day.... and 2 hours ago anyone that would have walked in off the streets would have taken one look at my (our) apartment and could have said with certainty one of two things: A. I robbed a hallmark store or B. At one point.... Cupid MUST have lived and /or died here.... or something along those lines.

yes, I did cut out all those hearts by hand. 

My (our) apartment looked like a scene out of any man's worst nightmare... paper hearts strung from every corner, red and white dollies (heart shaped, duh) covering every inch of space visible to the human eye, and valentines piled high on every surface...... what can I say? I'm a romantic.... and I am also someone who will take any opportunity to decorate, throw a party, or plan a totally cheesy expression of my undying love for my VERY patient and sweet fiancé.

So 3 paragraphs later we are going to get to my point (it takes longer to get there with every blog I write... which based on the other long-winded blogs I read, means I'm in danger of officially becoming a real blogger.) To my point... I swear!

A breakfast worthy for St. Valentine himself.

On the menu:
Caramelized onion and bell pepper omelets with melted jack cheese.
Heart shaped bacon bites
Fresh mixed berries
Heart shaped toast

Yes.... "heart shaped" was indeed typed twice up there..... I already admitted that I went over board, but hey..... the way to a man's heart is with food (even if that same food will slowly kill his heart), no matter what shape it may be in.

How to charm his socks off with heart shaped bacon bites:

Begin by cutting each strip of bacon in half. Then, on a lined and rimmed pan (unless you want bacon fat flooding your oven) take the 2 halves of bacon and form hearts. Each half strip of bacon will be on side of the heart. 

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

...more heart shaped perfection.

indeed.

his and hers mugs hand crafted by yours truly.

Now, I know what you are thinking "Gosh, Sarah, you are the best fiancé ever.... how does Richard ever live up to this high standard of romance and creativity that you have set?" Well, let me tell you....

My darling fiancé proved his love to me with a stunning bouquet of broccoli flowers that he grew himself (gosh, I love him) and the most fabulous Valentines dinner date. He is a charmer. 

freshly picked form our garden. 

We had dinner at Fig and Olive and it was fantastic. Now, I am not the biggest fan of dining a la prix fixed menu, but I must say that the food definitely lived up to the hype. Everything was wonderfully prepared and the service was amazing. 

For your viewing pleasure and to get your mouth watering......

 I started with a braised veal tenderloin carpaccio with caper mayonnaise, shaved mushrooms, and pine nuts. Unfortunately I was so hungry I didn't stop to take a picture of this amazing dish.

For my main course I had a grilled free- range chicken breast marinated in fresh thyme and white truffles and served with leek confit and truffled mashed potatoes.

2 cucumber martinis later and a very full stomach later......

I am a girl who rarely finishes her plate and I may have well licked it clean last night. I even had a few bites of Richard's grass fed Filet mignon. Every single bite was to die for. I think I still smell of truffles. 

And while I've mentioned my aversion to pre-fixe menus,

the one bonus is, they INCLUDE desert. Which means you

have to eat it, right?

 

Yes, that is a plate with 3 different desserts. 

A heart shaped chocolate soufflé.

Lavender and honey madeline.

Amaretto ice cream. 

oh my. 

So, to sum up this years Valentine's Day, my first and last with my fiancé (next year he'll be my husband, yay) in one word... over-indulgence. Does a hyphenate count as two words? Either way, Valentine's Day is a holiday of excess. Excess food, excess wine, and excessive romance. And I for one, excessively love it.