Thanksgiving 2013

I just wanted to pop in and say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  We had another wonderful "Seattle transplants" Thanksgiving potluck with our friends.  We had turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, bacon wrapped asparagus bunches, sous vide carrots, dressing, cheesy broccoli casserole, Brussels sprouts made in bacon fat, and a can of cranberry sauce.  It was a magnificent meal with some of our favorite people(followed by board games, of course).  Hope you enjoyed your holiday as well!

Wedding Dress Shopping

My parents made the trip to Seattle to accompany me wedding dress shopping last week.  I went a little overboard and scheduled six appointments at boutiques in the greater Seattle area.  I guess I was scared I would have another situation like dress shopping for senior prom where I visited a zillion stores and found nothing(happy ending:  I ended up falling in love with and ordering a dress Mom forced me to try on that I had seen in magazines and hated on the model).  Luckily, that didn't happen this time and I'm proud to say my dress is ordered.  I thought it'd be nice to write a little about my dress shopping experience, so here goes(sans pictures... I don't want to spoil the surprise).

Appointment 1:  Pearls and Lace in Burien
I lied about having an appointment here because they're awesome and don't require appointments.  Yelp said the store was pretty busy on weekends, so we headed south towards the airport around 3:30 on a Thursday.  The (huge) store was nearly empty when we arrived and I thought that was wonderful since this was my first bridal gown experience.  They had a fairly large selection of Maggie Sottero and Allure dresses at reasonable prices.  The ladies working in the shop were helpful and nice.  Unfortunately, nothing really spoke to me here(my repetitive complaint while bridal gown shopping "too much lace" started here).

Appointment 2:  The Wedding Suite at Nordstrom in Seattle
Mom and Dad met me downtown after work late on Friday afternoon.  We headed up to the 2nd floor where we found the Wedding Suite and met our consultants Chloe and Sarah(for Mom since she was doing a Mother of the Bride appointment at the same time).  These ladies asked us all the right questions so they could pull dresses for us.  Mom and I were both impressed with the dresses they chose for us and how much fun they made the appointment.  We both found dresses we considered "contenders" here.

Appointment 3:  I Do Bridal in Seattle
We arrived here around 10am on Saturday and the shop wasn't as busy as Yelp led me to believe it would be.  The store was quite small, but there were a ton of pretty dresses by Maggie Sottero, Mori Lee, and others on the racks.  I filled out some paperwork, had a quick discussion with my consultant, and we started pulling dresses.  The appointment went decently and I tried on quite a few pretty dresses, but none of them screamed "me."  Again, I just couldn't handle all the lace.  I also wasn't pleased about the no pictures policy.

Appointment 4:  Calla Bridal in Seattle
I scheduled an appointment at this higher end boutique for later Saturday afternoon.  We had to wait a bit as there were two appointments running over before us.  There was not as big a selection of dresses here, though I would say they were all prettier and more unique than those at my earlier Saturday appointment.  I ended up trying on several gorgeous gowns that could've been contenders had they been within my price range.  Unfortunately, the consultant never asked my budget and I didn't speak up like I should've so I suppose that's my own fault.

Appointment 5:  Bellevue Bridal in Bellevue
This was my Sunday morning appointment.  There were a few other appointments at the same time as mine, but thankfully the space was large enough and I didn't feel rushed or crowded.  They had a large selection of dresses and my consultant was very sweet and really listened to my feedback.  I tried on several different styles here that were definitely pretty, but nothing struck a chord with me(somewhat too much lace).

Appointment 6:  La Belle Elaine in Seattle
This was my final appointment and I was nervous that it would be plain and full of lace.  I walked in, filled out some paperwork, and was greeted by my consultant, Geneva.  She showed me around the store so I could get the layout of how the dresses were arranged on the racks and we talked about what I liked.  She was so excited to hear I consider myself a "beady" person and proceeded to pull some wonderful dresses.  All I can say is I wish I would've visited this store earlier.  The dresses were so much more my style(less lace, more bling), the space was borderline huge, and they even had a cool runway to show off the gowns as you tried them on.  I loved every single gown I tried on here, but managed to whittle it down to one official contender.

In the end, I had a very hard decision to make.  Should I go with the Kelly Faetanini from Nordstrom or the Kenneth Winston from La Belle Elaine?  After a few days of deliberation and probably pretty unnecessary stress, I chose the Kenneth Winston from La Belle Elaine.  I can't wait to see my dress when it comes in!

Engagement Pictures

Jeff and I met with our wonderful photographer JennyGG for an engagement photo shoot on a Tuesday afternoon in October.  As is usual in Seattle, the weather couldn't figure out whether it wanted to be dreary and rainy or let a little sunshine through.  We decided to play it by ear and make a last minute call if it was too gross out.  We decided to go through with it and it turns out that was a great decision.  Read on to hear about our experience and see some of Jenny's photos of us!

Keto Pumpkin Smoothie

I discovered something magical on the keto recipes section of reddit:  pumpkin smoothies!  I finally got around to making them this weekend and oh my were they good.  If you're in a pumpkin-y mood like me, I suggest giving them a try.

BBQ Pork Buns Class

Jeff and I attended a cooking class at The Pantry at Delancey two Mondays ago to learn how to make Asian pork buns.  Since Jeff is the cook in our relationship, I was really nervous about going.  I don't have a lot of kitchen skills and was afraid I'd need to perform some task that I wasn't capable of performing.  Lucky for me, it wasn't like that at all.