How to Make a Wedding

A couple weeks ago, I did a two part post on some of our favorite wedding photos (check them out here and here!) Since then, I've had lots of people ask me about the details--who did what, where'd we get this and that...so, here is a list of vendors and friends who helped create our happy wedding!

• Save the Dates, Invitation suite, and other paper goods: Designed and printed myself
• Wedding dress: I bought the backless, sleeveless Forever Yours dress at Bridal & Formal in Cincinnati OH, then my mom and I filled in the back, added sleeves, and lined it. 
• Earrings: from my mom (she got them at an antique store in Venice)
• Anchor necklace: gift from Joey
• Veil & Hairpiece: Made myself (my mom helped with the veil)
• Joey's suit: Macys 
• Bouquet & Boutonniere: Assembled by University Florist in Lexington VA, designed and wrapped myself
• Ceremony "venue": Washington DC LDS Temple
• Reception venue: The Billingsley House, Upper Marlboro MD
• Wedding cake: Erin and Steven Talley
• Desserts: Joey's mom, Joey, and Jessica Stuart
• Catering: Northwest Fresh Catering, Washington DC
• Corn hole boards: Joey's dad
• Reception decor: Made myself (including 180 ft of fabric bunting!)
• Reception flowers: Bunches Direct
• Photography: The Wedding Format

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Want to see more of our wedding photos? Here are links to our Facebook Albums:

Pt 1: The Wedding

Pt 2: The Reception

Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup

A week and a half ago I posted about some of the yummy things we make in an attempt to eat more healthily and cost-effectively, which included my Aunt Jen's recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup. 

And after some requests, here's the recipe!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 Cans Chicken Broth (I use about 3 cups water and 3 tsp. chicken bouillon granules. It is cheaper.)

2 Cups Shredded Chicken

1 Cup Chunky Canned Salsa

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

1 Can Corn, drained

1 Can Black Beans, drained

3 Tbsp Cumin

2 or 3 Cloves Garlic, minced

Cilantro to taste

Cheddar or Jack Cheese

Sour Cream

Tortilla Chips

Put all ingredients except cilantro, cheese, sour cream and chips in the crock pot. Cook for a couple hours on high or simmer for several hours on low. When I made this soup, I also added 1 cup of uncooked, non-instant brown rice to the crock pot--a la Qdoba's tortilla soup. Serve with cilantro, chips, sour cream, and cheese. Joey and I also add lots of hot sauce. 

Enjoy!

Its Finally Here!

Hello everyone!

Well folks, after working for a few weeks and teaching myself a little HTML, I've finally finished revamping the blog for mine and Joey's new life together!

So take a look around, share with your friends, and make sure to update the new web address in your list of favorite blogs!

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Joey and I just took a vacation to Virginia Beach so we took a little blog break, but look forward to new posts, including more yummy food and recipes, adventures, projects, and other fun things we've been up to! But in the mean time, here's one of my favorite photos from our vacation--aren't these the most beautiful and colorful radishes?

Its a Girl!

Meet Marley!

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6 weeks old

0.7 pounds, 10 inches

A beautiful Tuxedo with a Tom Selleck mustache-lip

Joey brought this precious bean home on June 18th. He went to work at VMI that rainy morning, and some other ensigns had mentioned that they saw a little kitten outside. Joey, with lunch meat in hand, spent an hour or so in the rain trying to catch the poor thing but she kept running into the bushes and crying. After several unsuccessful attempts, he said a little prayer, asking that he could just find the baby and make sure she was ok. Almost immediately, she walked out of the bushes and just sat there as Joey picked her up. The poor little one was soaking wet from the cold rain and was so lethargic. He brought her home to me and I just about died. She was such a little thing!
I went by the vet and got a little kitten care kit and spent the day feeding her with a syringe and snuggling with her to warm her up. The next day we were able to see a doctor and we found out that she was about 6 weeks old and severely malnourished. She did have a virus, but considering that she wasn't dirty, didn't have ear mites, and wasn't acting like a feral cat would at 6 weeks, the doctor figured that she was probably dumped by someone (how terrible!).
For the next few days, my life revolved around her. Since she was just a baby, I had to teach her how to do a lot of things her mom would've taught her, like cleaning herself, going to the bathroom, finding and eating her food, etc. And the poor thing would just cry and cry if she wasn't being held (which meant some "baby wearing" for me) or if she hadn't been fed in a couple hours. I even had to burp her every time after she ate otherwise she would vomit (hmmmm, starting to sound like a real baby...). And to make sure she didn't get stuck somewhere where we couldn't get her out, someone always had to have an eye on her. As silly as it sounds, it was a bit of a crash course in newborns!

Now Marley is doing much better. She's gaining weight and has become a pretty feisty little thing. We weren't able to keep her at our apartment--you can bet I cried all weekend when we had to giver her up (I'm a big softy, so sue me). But luckily she has some awesome "foster parents"who are taking care of her (and putting up with her crazy kitten antics) until we can take her with us to South Carolina in the fall.

And because I'm a total mama, here are some of our favorite photos of Marley--