The countdown is on.

6 days until we leave for our Italian honeymoon!  Huzzah!

We fly into here:

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And after we take photos like this, we go here:

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We plan to do some hiking, relaxing on the beach and eating delicious food while watching the sun set.  

After our three days are up, we're moving on to here:

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We only gave ourselves two days here but that's okay.  Hopefully we'll be able to go to the opera but our travel guide says they highly recommend buying tickets in advance and quite frankly, the website where you buy the tickets doesn't translate enough for me to understand, not to mention that the map of seating is microscopic.  Is it just me?!

We're making a short but sweet pit-stop in Florence to see this:

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And finally ending our trip in an apartment here:

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I feel like such a lucky lady!   A wonderful husband plus a super romantic honeymoon in Italy?! 

La vita è grande!

Coffee Cake

Saturday night, we got wild.  We stayed in, snuggled on the couch to watch some TV and then decided to make coffee cake.  Wild, right?  Yeah.

We had some blueberries to use, but sadly they were moldy.  I hate when we let that happen!  So I made a basic coffee cake and have been slowly devouring it ever since. 

I followed the Joy of Cooking recipe, knowing it would be delicious.  Delicious it was!  Here is the recipe I followed:

Sour Cream or Yogurt Coffee Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13 x 9-inch pan.

Whisk together thoroughly:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine in another bowl and set aside:
1 1/4 cups sour cream or yogurt (I used yogurt a little of both, 1 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, beat on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 3 to 4 minutes:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar

Beat in 1 at a time:
2 large eggs

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed or stirring until smooth and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.  Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with streusel (recipe below).  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes (mine took 35, actually).  Let cool briefly in the pan on a rack, serve warm (we actually served it the following morning with coffee, duh!).

Streusel:

Blend with a fork or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs:

2/3 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour and it tastes excellent)
2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)
2/3 cup sugar or packed light brown sugar, or a combination (I used a combo)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt

And voila:

* I got a new phone over the weekend, so I immediately downloaded the retro camera app and tried taking pictures that way.  I realize now that I just suck at taking photos of food - sorry everyone!

We still have quite a lot of this coffee cake leftover...but I"m still pretty into eating little bits of it here and there!

Emmy wins

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How gorgeous does Keri Russell look in that dress paired with that hair?!  The gown is actually vintage, and it's something she has owned for nearly a decade.  Amazing.

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I think Tina Fey did a good job this time around.  I mean, I would wear that gown in a heartbeat.  Do you agree?  Who were your favorites?  And how were your weekends??

If you must know (he he) our was good.  Low key, but good.  Most of our weekends are low key these days and that's ok with us.  We had semi-delicious dinner at Green Zebra on Friday and then I promptly went into a serious food coma so we ended up hanging out at home in our pj's instead.  We both opted for the chef's tasting, thinking it was a wise choice.  I informed the waiter that I'm part of the anti-mushroom gang and he said I was in luck.  Most of the dishes were sort of bland or one ingredient overpowered the other.  But it was still good - just probably not worth the money.  However, my cocktail was delicious....

We also finished planning the honeymoon.  Much more on that later! 

Yellow Owl Updates

The brains over at Yellow Owl Workshop have been busy coming up with some new stuff for the store and all of it is adorably amazing.  Take these pendants, new to the shop and totally awesome:

Each pendant is gilded in 22-karat gold and hangs on an 18-karat gold dipped chain.  The price isn't even very much considering all the gold and all the amazing craftsmanship!  Go check out Yellow Owl if you haven't already.  I discovered this gem last year and stocked up on stamp sets and cards! 

Have a great weekend!

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It's finally here.  Because I'm unemployed right now it doesn't quite have that same sense of relief and excitement at the moment but I am very glad to have someone to share the next two days with all day long.  Tonight, we are going to fancy dinner at Green Zebra (thanks, Groupon!) but the rest of the weekend is looking clear.  Hopefully we'll finalize our honeymoon plans (eek, we leave on the 6th!) and get the rest of our thank you cards written.  Anything fun and exciting going on for you?  Whatever it is, I hope your weekends are wonderful.

Point Reyes

Hiking the trails and then camping in a cloud equaled to quite the experience at Point Reyes National Seashore.  Not only was it cold, but it was an incredible hike that proved to be quite the challenge for all of us.  I mean, take a group of city kids and throw them into nature (the epitome of nature) and you get quite the funny scenario.  We hiked with pounds upon pounds of food and water in our packs for 3 hours, up and down rocky paths.  It was hard but it was so much fun.

The day started off hot but that quickly changed for good.

Right after the hike ended, we discovered the beauty and seclusion of our campsite as we all just kind of collapsed for a brief moment (the sun was setting at a rapid speed and the temp was dropping just as quick).

We had so much space!  And right as we started to cook, a fox came half way out of the grass to inspect what we were making and to make sure that Jake wasn't actually on fire. 

As soon as the sun went away, we quickly made a meal and then all huddled around the picnic table in the pitch black, drank some wine and whiskey and then went to bed.  It was so cold and so dark...it just made sense.

The following morning we all woke up and took a stroll along the beach. 

And then because we were you know, getting married in two days, Badger and I took off and left the others to survive the elements for another day.  So we had to turn around and make the trek back up the brutal mountain, over the river and through the woods so we could get up to wine country and meet up with everyone who had flown in for the wedding.

It was exhausting.  Utterly exhausting.  But soooooo worth it.  Our closest friends, gathered together in nature in California of all places, working together to survive life in a cloud.

Have you ever been?

Emerson Made

Have you seen the new Emerson Made clothing line?  If only I could be half as cool as her.  Seriously.  She could go on Project Runway and actually win instead of winning in her dreams.

Go check out all her fabulous Emerson-made clothes and buy some for me, k? 

I won Project Runway!

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In my dream, that is.  Seriously, why do I keep dreaming about Project Runway? 

It was the final day.   Apparently, I had made an entire collection and it was unbelievable.  And let me remind you,  I can't sew to save my life.  Heidi or Tim or Nina weren't around, but Michael Kors was there and we were jolly good friends.  And I kept telling people I know in real life that I was friends with Michael Kors!  (For the record, nobody cared).  My heart was racing as the moment of truth was around the corner.  There was a large audience, filled with some friends of mine (my best friend and her husband were in the front row and I remember I kept high-fiving him over and over).  Everyone I talked to kept telling me there was no way I wasn't going to win.  No way.

Then Badger's alarm went off and I woke up and was so sad that I didn't get to know if I won...

Until I went back to sleep.  And it was one of those amazing things where you actually start to dream the same dream again, that never happens!  The only thing is that it was now post-Project Runway win and I was sitting around eating lunch with my family.  Now that I think about it, this dream is oddly paralelling the wedding.  I high-fived my bff's husband when they announced the bride and groom and I had lunch w/my family every day for many days after the wedding.  Weird.  Anyway, I won.  And you know what I was thinking in my dream?  This is fantastic - now I won't have to figure out what to do with my life/career!

If only that were true.

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Root Beer Float Cupcakes

I've been in the mood to make some mo cupcakes and today's need for groceries really helped me get on the ball.  I saved this recipe from Smitten Kitchen awhile ago and finally tested it out!

The good news:  they're delicious.

The bad news: they really don't taste like root beer (I guess that's good news if you're not so into root beer). They just mainly taste like chocolate and whipped cream.  Nothing wrong with that I suppose!

I even busted out the pastry bag with tips!  Now I just have to find some people to help eat the rest of them.  Any takers?

San Francisco

Finally, we uploaded our photo's from the California trip.  So prepare yourselves for a whirlwind of California photos (even though they're just lame point-and-shoot photos from our sony).

Drum roll please:

We stayed at Hotel Diva in Union Square.  This was the window shade.  It was....interesting.  However, it put us in a very key location for being sans car.  We were able to step outside and be immersed in all the craziness.  We always stumbled into some pretty good spots for breakfast (Jewish diner, David's Delicatessen on Geary St, so gooooood) and were steps away from all the areas we needed to be.  And for the record, we stayed at this hotel through one of those last minute book it websites for a pretty darn good deal.  Patting myself on the back for that one.

We climbed the Coit Tower and took in the panoramic views of the city and the bay...

Took some funny photos down at the Wharf....

 Ate at Scoma's (he finished his entire crab and then the waiter patted him on the back)

Went to the Japanese Tea Gardens...

And finished our picture-taking adventures in Sausalito before a scrumptious Italian dinner and drinks at "Bar". 

Next up: Point Reyes!

Another preview...

We're anxiously awaiting our wedding photo's that dear sweet Raegan is currently working on, but while we're waiting here's some more teasers!

* All photo's by the lovely and talented Sarah Graves-Cohen.


* Plenty more photo's of the entire trip await you!

Mo clothes and accessories

Here's what I would like you to think I'm wearing today (sadly it's not even close)

More Pour La Victoire...

Now, if only I had a plethora of money to buy all this expensive but awesome stuff...
(this is what I do with all my free time apparently)

Oh Jon Stewart...

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I'll admit it - I've got a little bit of a thing for this guy.  Sorry Badger.  But it's for many reasons!  We watch the Daily Show all the time and he never fails to make us laugh.  So last night, out of boredom and curiosity, I read all about him.  And you know what? I like him even more now.  You know how he proposed to his wife of 10 years?  He worked with New York Times' Will Shortz to create a personalized crossword puzzle for her.  Oh Jon Stewart.  Sigh.

Another reason that I can't get him off my mind is this:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Exclusive - Rod Blagojevich Extended Interview Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Blago got burrrrrrrrrned over and over and every last second was so enjoyable to watch.