The Weekend

Hey there, welcome to this Monday! 

I had to force myself to type that exclamation point because it made me feel like a bit of a faker. Truth be told, I am fighting exhaustion with all my might today and I can't say that I'm winning. Can I just get an espresso IV, please?  Or how about a nap?  Yeah, that's not going to happen...

I hope you are beginning your week with an extra dose of zip and energy.  I hope you are still high on the joys of the weekend, and bubbly with excitement for the the next seven days that lie ahead. Another bright, warm, and likely humid, August week awaits us, let's live it!  

....But maybe treat yourself to a coffee first so you can actually function.

Thankfully, my Monday morning stupor has by no means stolen away the joy that this past weekend left behind.  It was a good one.  

Friday evening the fiancé and I piled into the car with good friends and empty stomachs, and drove until we reached what we believe to be the home of the best burgers in this country.  They are, in fact, pretty amazing.  Fried pickles and shoestring fries are just a small part of their majesty.  It may not look like much, but this is where your greatest burger dreams come true. 

Saturday was filled with packing up boxes, filled with our newly acquired housewares from last weekend's bridal shower, and toting them out to my parent's garage for temporary storage.  We will be holding the keys to our new home in just three weeks!!!  Which means... I have a lot to do.

We bravely bore the heat of the August afternoon and painted furniture before making a much-needed slurpee run.  Did you too drag obscenely large cups up to your local gas station for Bring Your Own Cup Day?  I had not had a slurpee in ages, (like maybe 4 years?) and the near-instant brain freeze reminded me why.  

I countered the cold sugar with hot wings later that night.  Now I really, really do not like spicy foods... but put a plate of hot wings in front of me and it's gone.  It's totally worth having greasy fingers for the rest of the night.

Does it sound like all I did was eat all weekend?  Well, it's kind of true.  

My very sweet fiancé had surprised me with a bag of fresh cheeses and some locally cured salami flavored with, you guessed it, black truffles!!!!!  And it was not one of those "truffle infused" kind of deals either.  This salami was very generously speckled with tiny flakes of rich, dark truffles.  I think I have mentioned my truffle binge once or twice here recently (ahem... Truffle & Brie Macaroni and Cheese), which is pretty much the most pretentious binge ever, but this salami was the icing on my unmami cake.

Would you hate me if I made truffle popcorn?  I have had it on the brain for weeks now but I feel like that's pushing things to a whole new level of obnoxious.  But I do not know how much longer I can resist...

Happy, happy Monday!  Oh, and get your food processor for the super quick and super delicious frozen yogurt I've got coming to you later this week!

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

75 Days...

Yesterday we hit the seventy-five day mark.  It feels like but a few hours ago that we were celebrating the much-anticipated “hundred day milestone.” The days have been long, warm, and deeply meaningful, but they have also passed with uncanny rapidity.  Unfortunately, my to-do list seems to grow rather than shrink, but I am trying to enjoy the process.  There is just so much.  So much beyond the wedding that must be done before that hallowed day. 

However, despite the looming tasks, we took the weekend off from wedding planning and made our way up to the orchard where he proposed nine months ago.  We ate our fill of peach donuts and cider slushies and worked on a peach sorbet recipe together the next day. It was a much-appreciated reprieve. 

Once again I have been reminded that the even the best made plans cannot save one from eventually reaching the point of exhaustion.  I have woken with a headache nearly every morning for a month now and that is simply because I’ve been incapable of shutting down this brain and getting myself to bed before midnight most nights.  It has become a horrible, irresponsible habit, but I am determined to break it this month.  Of course, I am writing this post at 10:06pm, so you can see how well that is going. 

We have signed a lease.  It’s official.  We have our home and will open the door for the first time September 10th.  That gives me six weeks to paint, and unpack, and make those white walls into a home for us newlyweds to finally move into on October 21st. 

We have found the groomsmen pants…I think.  They are not yet ordered, but I think I finally found the right shade of khaki.  Geez, who knew there were so many?

I have been baking/testing/shooting my hands off in an attempt to be able to give myself the month of October off from blogging.  Well, that side of it anyways.  

My first hair “trial” took place several weeks ago and after two and a half hours we had it just about perfect.

I have been testing the bag full of goodies I got from Sephora at the beginning of last month and have fallen in love with a few new things.  Right now, I am in love with this mascara and this illuminator.  I love the shimmer!  I'm planning to share my entire “wedding day look” once I’ve got it all nailed down and finalized. 

The next item on the agenda is addressing invitations and designing the programs.  I am definitely shoving all the addressing work off on my mother, because her calligraphy skills are far superior to my own. 

Amidst the emails and the phone calls, the fiancé and I have been watching The Great British Baking Show and I love this year’s challenges and competitors even more than last year’s.  And thank goodness for no baked Alaska drama. 

Two and a half months.  Two and a half months.  How?  My heart is very full today.

Sincerely,

Pedantic Foodie

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The Weekend

This past weekend was bursting at the seams with great food and even better company.  Friday evening was the night of my most recent supper club, consisting of the best scallops I have ever made (humble brag, but not really because all credit goes to bacon fat), Joy the Baker's Blueberry and Mint Lemonade, and a gluten-free key lime pie, which one of my diners dubbed "life-changing."  That's the magic of coconut macaroon crust, my friends. 

After standing in the kitchen for nearly 10 hours straight, my feet were screaming at me, and I fell asleep while sitting on the floor describing to my fiance just how tired I was.  It was the best.

The next day my sweetheart and I made our way down to the city and began our Saturday afternoon with truly classic fudge sundays at one of my favorite spots since childhood - a sweet little drive-in diner that has been serving ice cream and barbecue for 112 years.  Always get the limeade, do it. 

We went shopping and I tried on a dozen very unflattering dresses and one very nice dress and then turned to my better half and informed him that I needed to be fed.  Again.  I mean, it had been nearly three hours...

Rather than revisit an old standby, we decided to be adventurous (inspired by my Summer bucket list), and made our way down to what seemed to be a promising little hole in the wall. It was small, crowded, and filled with loud-laughers and Pokemon-searchers.  This hipster hideaway ended up being one of the best eateries I have been to in a very long time.  The menu was simple, consisting of  half a dozen or so tempting grilled cheese sandwiches and several varieties of decadent fries.  Even at the height of my creativity, I would have never thought of putting truffle-scented macaroni and cheese between two slices of bread.  But, thankfully, they did, and I ordered it, and I ate it.  In between bites I gushed about the utter genius of this perfectly executed sandwich, and then my fiance and I said a bitter farewell to our newfound favorite and sat in three hours of traffic. 

I hope your weekend was just as wonderful and filled with the best of food and friends. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie