My favorite part of wedding planning...

...Is shopping for outfits for the cutest little baby in the world: James Henry Dunlap

Seriously. Look at that face! And those chins!

Today, I found this little ROMPER for him to wear to the wedding...only challenge is that the largest size is "9 months" and at this little guys rate-of-gain, that *might* be a tight squeeze!

New Gear!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love gear. All kinds of sporting gear. A lot of girls love purses and shoes...and while I think that those things are fun, nothing gets me more excited than a new Patagonia fleece.

I come by this obsession honestly - my family also loves gear. In fact, when I was really young, a family friend who owned a sporting goods store had our family do a photo shoot for their Patagonia ski jackets - from that point on, my love of gear began.

It is no coincidence that my long-distance running habit also has a built-in need for gear. There are lots of reasons that I love running, which I'll write about later. But one of the more retail-oriented reasons is because of the gear you have to have to make running long-distance bearable.

Over the past-year I ran a half marathon, marathon and now am training for another marathon. This amount of distance running accumulates a lot of miles, and there is a rule of thumb that you should get new shoes every 300 - 500 miles. This weekend, after running 18 miles, I realized that I must need a new pair of running shoes based on how sore my feet are today.

So a trip to the Front Runner was in store for the afternoon! I got a new pair of running shoes - Saucony (which is the same brand I had last time)

I also bought some more running gels...some Sport Beans, which I usually eat, and some new "Shot Blocks"

Finally, I needed some anti-chafing stuff. If you are a runner and you have ever had any body part chafe, you MUST try this stuff. It's a must have.

And finally, I got a new pair of running pants:

I know it's been ages since I last posted, and I'm not keeping up on my New Year's Resolution - sorry! I have some good photos stored up, so I'll try to be a lot better from now on.

#1 most frequently asked question

On July 31st, I will get to marry the best companion I could ever imagine having in my life, Matt:

(insert obligatory couple photo here)

And while I couldn't be more excited for that day to get here, there seems to be something between now and then (aside from the obvious component of time)...

Wedding Planning

I'm not about to write on here how overwhelming this task is....because to be honest, it really hasn't felt like "too much". I have a wonderfully helpful mother who is handling a lot of the details, for which I am oh-so-thankful.

About once a day, I get the question "So...how's the wedding planning coming along?"

To which my response is generally "Ah, it's coming along."

I don't know what the correct answer is to this question. Do people ask this question as a lead-in to want me to share more details about the wedding? If so, I apologize to anyone that meant to ask this and I didn't answer appropriately.

My current job has a title of "project manager". This title alone insinuates that planning is something that I do on a daily basis - which would be a true assumption. Over the course of 5 years, I've learned that it's often difficult to tell that planning isn't going well until it gets too close to the point of no return.

So, in an effort to not have that be the case, I thought tonight I would share a status report on the wedding planning, and see if anyone wants to raise red flags:

Attire:

- I have a dress!

- I have NOT picked out bridesmaid dresses. I found one I loved at jcrew, but sizes didn't work with the bridesmaids. So, I am on the lookout for a cute, printed summery dress

- Matt / groomsmen do not have outfits, but we have decided on khakis and navy sport coats

Ceremony:

- We have a location!

- Location is too small for guest list, so we're limiting the ceremony invites to family and close friends...still need to decide who makes that cut.

- We do NOT have readings, vows, etc.

Reception:

- We have a location! (our family farm)

- We have a contract for tents, tables, place settings, tablecloths, etc

- We have a band

- We do NOT have a playlist for cocktail hour

- We do NOT have timing of the reception worked out

- We have food, but still need to coordinate logistics

- We have a budget for alcohol

- We have NOT decided on gifts for invitees

- We have a guest list (only 415 of our closest friends....!)

Decorations:

- We have flowers

- We do NOT have table centerpieces

- We have lights (thanks, momma)

- We have willing hands to help get the farm "camera ready"

- We have a photographer

Paper Goods:

- We have Save-the-dates (mailing at the end of this week)

- We have everyone's address (almost)

- We have not picked out final invites (our friend Josh is designing)

- We do not have menu cards designed ( I want them to be a map of of the food stations)

Honeymoon:

- We have a location! (Hawaii)

- We do NOT have flight / hotel (have good leads though)

I feel like we have a pretty good handle on the plans...but let me know if i'm missing something major :) As I was typing up this list, I couldn't help but think of one more thing, and quite possibly THE most important aspect:

- I do have the LOVE OF MY LIFE to marry

- I do have a wonderfully supportive family and the best friends to ask for

With those two points alone, I know the celebration will be a success!

For Abbey...

The other night at dinner, Abbey shared her 7 New Year's Resolutions. One of the top 7 was to cook dinner once a week. Without exposing her skills in the kitchen, I told her that I'd share with her some easy recipes.

First off, I believe that to learn to cook it's important to start easy. I swear by these "5 ingredient / 15 minute" weight watchers cook books. So many times, a recipe will look really great, but it calls for all these crazy ingredients that you rarely use. Then your grocery list will get crazy expensive, and you'll start to hate cooking.

The recipe tonight was called Santa Fe Ravioli Soup. Ingredients were super easy:

- 2 cans of low-sodium chicken broth

- 10 oz chicken breast (I used 2)

- 7 oz Ravioli (I used the "light" kind)

- 1 can of black beans

- 2 cups of fresh salsa

- 1 teaspoon garlic

- 1/4 c. fresh cilantro

- 1 lime (I added this on my own)

- 1 tablespoon reduced fat sour cream

First, I must tell you that prior to cooking dinner was a bit of a meltdown, because I didn't set out any meat to thaw this morning. Matt taught me an old "restaurant trick" by running the frozen chicken breasts under warm water. He says "this is what you do at 11pm when you've cleaned up the kitchen, and you get a two top that wants dinner..." Thank you, Chili's 1998 Line Chef of the Year :)

Matt cut the chicken up into little pieces and sauteed them in a pan with a little bit of olive oil:

Meanwhile, I brought the chicken broth to a boil. Then added the ravioli for 3 minutes:

While this was going on, I rinsed and drained the black beans:

Then I added the rest of the ingredients: Cooked chicken, black beans, 2 cups of salsa, ravioli and garlic. I let that cook for 5 minutes and then added the chopped cilantro and lime juice.

I added a scoop of sour cream, and here's the final product! It was tasty, warm and filled us up....not to mention it's a low-calorie meal, that made 4 more lunches. All-in-all, this is the kind of recipe that is worth having under your belt!

Although, Charles would have loved to have some of this soup, he opted for his rawhide bone as a post-dinner snack:

The wine or the glass?

This past weekend our friend, Liz, who used to live in Columbus was in town from San Francisco! On Saturday night, we had a nice dinner out at Easton - where we went to the madhouse that is Brio. Seriously, Jackie put our name in at 6pm, we were seated at 7:15...and when we were seated I overheard the hostess saying that the wait was 3 hours! Whenever people say that the economy is still hurting, I invite you to visit Easton Towne Center on a Saturday night.

After dinner, we went to Spagio Cellars in Grandview. Surprisingly, I had never been there, even though a few short years ago I lived only 2 blocks away. I had a great glass of pinot noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon called Cloudline. Very good wine, great atmosphere and even better company.

Then, on Sunday, Jackie had us all up for dinner at her place. Being married 2 years now, having a super crafty husband and an impeccable eye for design makes Jackie's home a place that few would believe is owned by a 26 and 29 year old couple. She used her Sunday night company to actually use the GORGEOUS dining room that gets zero foot traffic.

Here's our meal in review....I made a big salad consisting of: Spring Mix, Romaine & Spinach lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, green peppers, and sundried tomato and basil feta cheese. For a dressing I tried a new flavor of a favorite brand: Old Cape Cod Sundried Tomato and Basil . Here's the salad along with Jackie's homemade bruschetta:For our main dish, Jackie made this AMAZING Tortellini soup. Not sure of the actual recipe, but it consisted of: red wine, spinach, onions, garlic, tomatoes and beef broth for a base. Then, she sauteed sausage which was added early on and let simmer. Finally, she added cheese tortellini....You could probably make a healthier version than what she did (subsitute turkey sausage, light tortellini, etc) but it sure was tasty:

Even though the meal was great, I was reminded of an important distinction to make about "great meals". When Matt and I were in Napa doing winery tours, a man at Cakebread Cellars said he was a conference where the owner of Riedel glassware asked: "Which is more important: the wine or the glass"
The answer, is "neither - it's the company with which you share it."

Sunday night was definitely a good testament for that perspective!

Ah, winter...turns out I didn't miss you!

Not only was this week a harsh one after having almost 2 weeks away from work, and trying to get back to the swing of things...but on top of that, winter has decided to smack us in the face.


Oh sure, it's not terrible. A few inches of snowfall during the day, roads aren't too slippery and the temperature is hovering anywhere from the single digits to the teens.


Nonetheless, today I had several harsh realizations that it truly is winter:

1. Winter Footwear: I realized that outside of casual boots (Uggs, Snowboots, etc) I don't have good winter shoes for work. Today I had to wear a suit, had no winter shoes and opted for...ballet flats...? Words can't begin to describe what a bad decision this was. Matt always preaches how important "proper footwear" is (ie: don't wear your unbroken-in Torey Birch shoes to an OSU football game tailgate and then complain that your feet hurt) Today, I could have used a refresher on his footwear sermon.
(not really my feet...I did have the sense to wear stockings and pants!)


2. On-Street Parking: When I bought my house, I remember making a very clear decision that I didn't care if I had only on-street parking. "I've never had a garage before....why do I need it now? As my car has been sitting on the street for the past few snowfalls, and I'm a little too lazy to actually do a full warm-up before driving it, or really do more than dust it off, I found myself excited that I had to park in a garage for a client meeting for several hours today and was dissapointed that the ice and snow on my car didn't magically melt while I was in the meeting.

(Ok, it's not this bad...I found this on google images for car covered in ice...but it FEELS this bad.)

3. Crazy Pup: This is the newest addition to the winter duldrums...Turns out that when it's cold out, I have little capacity to walk Charlie for longer than necessary or take him to the dog park. As a result, tonight he decided to pull all the pillows off the couch and even eat a hole in one of them, and proceeded to pull the stuffing all over the living room. Awesome. Guess who is going to doggy daycare tomorrow?
(Charles at Doggy Daycare, Loving Life)



As it turns out, my new years resolutions shouldn't have been to blog more, but it should have been to better prepare my footwear for winter, start my car 15 minutes prior to useage and commit to wearing ski gear to take the dog to the park.

A Year in Review & 2010 Resolution

Over the past week, being away from work, I've had some time to think about New Year's Resolutions. I typically don't like to do New Years Resolutions that are critical, but rather resolve to add something to my life. This year's resolution is to become a more consistent blogger!

Kicking off the resolution, I decided what better time to summarize the wonderful year that was 2009! Looking back over the year, I have to say that I really am a very fortunate girl to have such amazing friends, family and celebrations to review.

January 2009: Kicked off the new year with a New Years Party at my house!

Then, we had Kate's birthday party at the end of January - which also happens to be the birthdate of our affinity for luxury. Here's a funny picture of the "3 best friends" doing a photo shoot:

February 2009: We celebrated Katherine's 25th birthday in VAIL. Such a wonderful weekend of skiing and hanging out with good friends. Every time that I go to Colorado, I'm even more convinced that I'm meant to live in the mountains. There really is a reason that they call it "God's Country"

With Danielle, Vanessa and Kitty for our photo shoot at Blue Sky Basin:

March 2009: We got a puppy - Charles! I have wanted a dog for a long time, and when I saw a poster in my office building for a puggle puppy looking for a good home, I told Matt that I just wanted to "meet him" and see from there. Of course, about 30 seconds after meeting him, I was making arrangements for him to stay permanently. With a face, this cute - how was I supposed to say no? (Side note: It's that exact phrase that gets me into trouble with actually training him)

April 2009: My girlfriends and I went to visit San Francisco! When I first graduated from college I had this group of friends in Columbus that definitely formed my first fun post-college years. Sadly, 3 of the 6 got new jobs in New York and San Fran and our group in Columbus spread across the country. The best part about them moving, is that we're really good about planning yearly trips to see each other. This year we had 2 reunions! The first was in San Fran, where the entire weekend was spent telling everyone what time it was on the East Coast:

Also, this trip was in the midst of training for a half marathon - so that weekend included a killer 11 mile run with crazy hills, AND a short 3 miler across the Golden Gate Bridge:

May 2009: Began the craziness that was summer 2009. I ran a half marathon the first weekend of May, and only have "post-race" pictures because my parents missed me crossing the finish line (and consequently didn't get any action shots). I even re-enacted the finish and they still missed it:

As soon as I finished the race, I remember saying to myself..."I could have run longer" - and thus began my summer of running and training for the Columbus Marathon.

Memorial Day weekend we celebrated Katie B.'s bachelorette party in Charleston, SC. Such a fun weekend with a great group of girls. Here we are in downtown Charleston:

June 2009: We celebrated my 26th birthday with a party at my house:

July 2009: We started off by an awesome trip with college friends to Lake Chautauqua, NY. Somehow, I don't have any pictures from this weekend! Sad, but here's a picture of the beautiful lake:

Also, we had another reunion weekend with the 2005-2006 Columbus crew. We re-enacted the weekends we used to have when we were 22, and suffered the harsh realization that we're getting older:

August 2009: Wow. Where do I start? We had 3 weddings in one week - the first week of August. First, my best friend from growing up and college got married to another Denison friend. The wedding weekend in Granville was basically a cliff notes version of our 4 years in college.

Here's the happy couple with DJ Don (the creepy DJ who worked all of our sorority bar parties in college - good news, he hasn't changed a lick.)

After their wedding, we flew to Aruba for Matt's college roommate - Traver's wedding. Trav & Allison had a gorgeous ceremony on the beach...seriously, does the backdrop get any better than this?

The night after the wedding, I planned a dinner for just Matt and I. Little did I know, that this dinner I planned would end up being the site of our engagement! Matt asked me to marry him while at a lighthouse on the end of the island! We celebrated with a beautiful champagne dinner at sunset...Here we are in our first picture as fiances:

Then we flew back to Columbus to celebrate the Brumbaugh-Brollier wedding! Such a wonderful couple, great party and of course, full of luxury and love. Also, it was pretty much a Denison reunion (part 2):Love these two:

If the whirlwind wedding / engagement week wasn't enough..my friends planned an engagement party for the next weekend! Here we are with our lovely hosts:

Finally, to wrap up August 2009 - Eric and Mackenna got married! They had a wonderful celebration in Columbus, with great wine (Eric's a wine distributor) Here's the happy couple:

September 2009: Over Labor Day - we joined the annual hike up Mt. LeConte in Tennessee. Here's the entire gang, and then a picture with Nug at the top of the mountain, were we stayed after our hike up:

September was also filled with a lot of training runs and Buckeye games. Here's a picture from the OSU - USC game:

October 2009: I ran my first marathon! I've already had a full post about this one - so here's a quick picture summary:

I also took my friends to the Circleville Pumpkin Show:

And Vanessa's and I went to Chicago to visit Kitty (she moved there in August):November 2009: The Coe's announced that they are moving to Chicago - and the only way to make up for their departure was to throw an awesome party! Here's a great picture with my crazy co-workers:

And then my co-worker Liz got married - and the Weber crowd brought the party :)

The beautiful bride, Liz:

December 2009: The birth of my nephew, James Henry! We saw him over Christmas and he is just the most wonderful little boy. We also had our annual Holiday Luxury party, Weber Christmas party, Christmas in Marietta AND DC and then New Years (all those pictures are still on my camera, and will be a future post because I'm running out of steam!)

I know it doesn't seem possible - but I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be even better than 2009! And, thanks to my new year's resolution I'll bring you all along for the ride (if I still have any readers!)