Hitched

My older sister – teacher extraordinaire, craft maven, the social-est of butterflies, got married last month to her love of several years. (And about him I would say: reserves of compassion and patience unparalleled, eternal Deadhead with the very driest of wit).  You can’t sum up a wedding weekend in just a few words, but let’s just say there were lots of Italians, stunning purple hydrangeas, the most capable and bossy church coordinator ever in all creation, bobby pins, coral-themed everything, homemade ricotta cheesecake, a crazy quantity of ridiculously musically talented family members, the traditional Jesuit-led singing of “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” and an exquisitely beautiful reception venue. Not to mention the surprise father-daughter choreographed dance to this:

So here are a few pictures of the lead up to their wedding to commemorate the event.  (The real photographers photographed the ceremony and reception, which is for the best because pre-speech sweaty palms do not a good photograph make). Meanwhile, the happy couple honeymoons in beautiful Hawaii…

Good Things to Come

The past two weeks saw a blowout wedding in Washington, DC (where we rubbed elbows with Jack Black and Paul Rudd and drank Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey – GET SOME), and another wedding in Philadelphia, in which the best man was “flown” down the stairs to the Top Gun theme song to deliver his speech, and dance moves were measured in how sweat-soaked the Mr.’s tie was by the end of the night (3 inches past the Windsor knot. Life record?). There were Halloween-appropriate power outages in the suburbs where we visited my family, Chromeo proved impressive at the Electric Factory, Wayne & Garth, a fleet-footed and friendly caped luchador, a lost leather jacket, and 6 servings of PopChips and York patties between two people on the plane ride home. Not saying who. And this after watching my mom’s demonstration of how many grams of fat are in a burger and fries, represented by scoops of 20-year old Crisco.  (More on that later). The flight attendant was not impressed by the crumbs.

We’re going to see Childish Gambino tonight at the House of Blues. I’m excited, because he’s got the smartest lyrics I’ve heard in forever, all peppered with generation Y references.  The kind of lyrics you feel smart after you’ve figured them out, if you can get past all the extremely explicit stuff. And there’s a lot of it. So we’ll see.

Oh, and I start a new job on Monday.

Life feels a little like this right now, minus the static bar:

 

So my four readers (cough direct relations cough) will notice a backlog in posts that won’t last long, because I had this for breakfast:

Recipe: Fry an egg in butter or olive oil, over easy, and serve with/on anything.  In this case, polenta with a few tablespoons of spaghetti sauce because you haven’t had time to go to the grocery store. Salt and pepper. Inhale while very warm, and then face life with a full belly and a smile.

Targeted? How?

There usually aren’t mind games associated with the targeted ads you see on Facebook, at least in my experience.  In a relationship?  Get ready to be inundated with engagement ring photos. Like a documentary? Here are suggestions for other films, maybe a few festivals. Recently graduated? Click on this to read a few (a zillion) articles about how you’ll never find a job in this economy.  Just got married?  Within a few seconds, Facebook will throw out some extremely unsubtle hints for where to buy diapers and cocoa butter in bulk, on the cheap.

However, I can’t for the life of me figure out what in my profile, comments, likes, general aura inspired these brilliant ads to show up on the sidebar earlier today:

Thoughts and suggestions are much appreciated. Also, a fleshy palmful of babies is a rather ill-advised enticement for inspiring me to get my ultrasound tech degree online. A kid getting smacked by fat (in slow motion!!!) on the other hand…

Two Years

Two years ago today we got hitched with some of our closest, wonderful family and friends there to share in the day and throw confetti at us. And help everything run smoothly – a trillion thanks for that.  Especially to the moms and dads. The rehearsal dinner was exquisite. The speeches were killer (both nights!). The dance floor was hot, sweaty, and joyous. The band was pure amazing. Even the grandmas were moshing, albeit in their own way, to a polka and “Yellow Rose of Texas.”  Two of the numerous uncles, one a Jesuit priest, got up to the mic and whistled and sang Otis Redding. There was a spontaneous outburst of Jets and Sharks song and snapping during picture hour. The rain didn’t matter a whit, and crammed in the back of a car with loads of tissue paper, abandoned sportscoats, umbrellas, and my huge rumpled dress, we waved to a school bus full of co-revellers en route back to the hotels. I didn’t even taste the cake. I married my best friend. It was the best day of  my life.

Because this is a (somewhat) food-centric blog, I figured I’d put up the menu from the evening. I remember the polenta as being delicious; everything else is a lovely blur.

Appetizers
Sashimi Tuna Cones: Spicy Ahi tuna blended with ginger and cilantro in a crisp shell
Panzanella Spoons: Cherry tomato, English cucumber, perlini mozzarella, basil and micro-croutons tossed in a light red wine vinaigrette
Water chestnuts wrapped in bacon (you have to get something wrapped in bacon. Water chestnuts were the compromise).
Crispy Eggplant with Minted Tomato Confit and Goat Cheese: Small rounds of eggplant rolled in seasoned Japanese panko breadcrumbs and fried, then topped with diced tomato, julienne of mint and a small mound of goat cheese
Tapas Shrimp: Jumbo shrimp sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, garlic and lime juice
The Love Note: A phyllo envelope of Asian pear, goat cheese and caramelized shallots
Slow Cooked Duck: Slow-cooked duck served on a corn pancake and topped with grilled pineapple chutney
Pistachio Chicken: Chunks of white meat chicken coated with pistachios and finished with Sambucca liquor

Dinner
Salad of field greens with balsamic vinaigrette and toasted pine nuts
Rosemary chicken or Moroccan-style braised brisket of beef
Soft parmesan polenta and string beans with toasted hazelnuts and shallots