A Few Things That Have Nothing to Do With One Another

1. I just discovered an amazing thing: DayQuil and NyQuil LIQUIGELS! No more disgusting liquid NyQuil. Whenever I’m sick, I swear by NyQuil, but I dread taking it. When it’s time to take a dose, I prepare myself and get out a full glass of water and a piece of bread. The bread is the only thing that gets that awful taste out of my mouth. But now the geniuses over at the NyQuil Company have made it so I don’t have to use an entire loaf of bread each time I’m sick. Plus, it’s way easier to carry a bunch of liquigels in your purse than a bottle of medicine.

2. Our wedding video is now up on vimeo. When we first started planning a wedding, I didn’t want a videographer. The main reason was I didn’t want to have to watch myself on video. I didn’t want to see the awkward dancing or bad angles. Friends of mine (one of whom is a wedding videographer herself) encouraged me to get a videographer. “You won’t regret it.” “It’s totally worth it.” And I scoffed and stood my ground. But at the last minute, a man Kurt works with offered to do our video for a very reasonable price. The price was so reasonable, we just couldn’t pass it up. And boy am I glad we didn’t pass it up. He did a beautiful job. I was so impressed with this video (and it’s only the “short” version). I love watching it, something I never thought would happen. Ok, I still don’t love the awkward dancing part and look away every time it comes up, but still. I think my favorite part is when one of my bridesmaids ducks the bubbles. So, if you’re into watching wedding videos, click here. It’s only 8 minutes long. If you’re not and feel like you’ve wasted an entire 2 minutes of your life reading about wedding videos and feel like you haven’t gotten anything out of this post, click here to see the biggest insect in the world.

PS - if you're looking for a videographer, Bob Beebe is your man.

What 4 (or 5) Drinks Will Make You Do

We've had a busy few days. Thursday night, a few of my girlfriends came over for our weekly Grey's Anatomy Get-Together. I served Sparkling Peach Juice (which was AMAZING. Forget the Sparkling Apple Cider from now on) and this:

Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding

I think next time, a little honey drizzled on top would make it even better. But it was the perfect Fall dessert: hearty, savory, sweet, and chocolate.  Though to be honest, I'd eat pretty much anything that contained croissants and chocolate.

Friday afternoon/evening we attended my cousin's wedding in New Hope. I love a good wedding. Before we got married, I'd spend the whole reception making mental notes. Now, I use them as an excuse to dress up and wear my blue wedding shoes, because really, there just aren't enough opportunites in life to get dressed up and wear bright blue shoes.

The ceremony was at a pavilion at Bowman's Tower in New Hope, PA. They had a beautiful afternoon for it. The bride was gorgeous in her gown. But, when she walked down the aisle, for the first time in my life, I watched the groom (my cousin) instead. I couldn't actually see the bride from my seat, so instead of standing on my tiptoes and craning my neck in vain, only catching glimpses in between people's heads, I opted to watch his reaction. I am so glad I did. I could tell the moment he first saw her, as she appeared at the top of the aisle, because his face just lit up. It was so heartwarming to see how happy and in love he was. I always look at the bride, but my cousin's face was just so sweet as he watched his bride walking towards him, that I think I've found my new focus at weddings. To all future brides of the future weddings I attend, I'm sorry. To all the future grooms of the future weddings I attend, make sure you look MADLY in love. I'll be watching.

Later that night, at the reception, the fathers of the bride and groom provided cigars and Port for everyone who wanted one. Feeling adventurous, and surprising everyone, I convinced my sister to split one with me. I have never smoked anything in my life before. And for some reason (possibly it was the 2 martinis and 2 (or 3) vodka and sprites talking), I decided that night would be the right time to smoke half a cigar. We joined my father and uncle, and some of the other men (we were the only women to partake) outside on the patio, in the rain. It was fun in the way doing something out of character, even a little rebellious can be. (By the way, I didn't inhale it. I knew it would make me sick if I did. And, really, let's not get carried away. We all know me. My rebellion has to have SOME sort of control.) However, the next morning, I woke up to a sandpaper tongue and the taste of tobacco in my mouth. While visions of Pinocchio at Pleasure Island swam in my head, I drank glass after glass of water and brushed my teeth at least four times. No amount of water hydrated my tongue and no amount of mouthwash or toothpaste rid my mouth of the awful taste. Suffice to say, I will not be smoking any more cigars anytime soon. Oh well. The rebellious streak was fun while it lasted.