Cutest Wedding Ever

Our friends Angie and Brett got married yesterday! The wedding was outdoors at a park in Madison. Everything was just gorgeous.

They had a woodland theme... so great. Perfect for fall. Here's their arbor, on the edge of the lake where they said their vows.

Perched at the top of the arbor were these little friends.

The musicians! Love that banjo!

Angie walking down the hill to the ceremony with her dad. Her dress was beautiful! It actually made me want to get married again so I could wear a dress like that. And boots.

Angie and I know each other through our knitting group. What a great bunch! Do you see Stacy's needles poking out of her red and white purse?

The Gomers (a local live karaoke band) played at the reception, and the knitters really rocked the house. I mean, not this knitter specifically, but Stacy, Kate, Anna and Pixie all belted out rockstar-quality tunes on stage. Karl and I did sing one song but it was so embarassing I don't even want to talk about it. I have some seriously self-confident friends.

We had so much fun! Angie's woodland touches were darling (hand-felted wool acorns, anyone? How about invitations with owls on them?), and of course the reception had us all laughing and dancing. Can we do it again next weekend?

Presto Pesto Chicken

Karl and I have been enjoying a recipe from this cookbook for pesto chicken and sweet potatoes. It's pretty amazing: combine three ingredients in the morning, and enjoy an actual meal in the evening. By "actual meal," I mean something other than granola bars and bagels. In the cookbook, the author gives instructions on how to make your own pesto, but here is my quick and easy version of the recipe:

Pesto Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

You'll need:

Chicken breasts (2 or 4, or I suppose any number as long as everything fits in the slow cooker)

Pesto (any kind)

Sweet potatoes (how many do you want to eat? That's how many you should put in. Again, I think any number is fine as long as they fit in the slow cooker).

A piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper about as big as your slow cooker (a little bit bigger. It doesn't have to be exact. Just tear off a piece and as long as it covers the slow cooker, you're all set).

Assemble and cook:

Put the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Spoon a big dollop of pesto onto each piece. Cover the chicken with the aluminum foil (just lay it on there. It doesn't have to be perfect). Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork and put them on top of the aluminum foil. Put the cover on your slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Then enjoy your meat-and-potatoes dinner!

Today

Today I am...

• Hoping my husband feels lots better in time for his finals


• Going for a lunchtime walk in the gorgeous sunshine


• Riding my bike home! There won't be many more opportunities to do that this year


• Looking forward to chili for dinner


• Ready for my banjo class... I've been practicing all week!


• Loving the fall colors (no I did not take that photo... I borrowed it from here)


• Hosting 'tween knitting club at the library


• A little overwhelmed with millions of work projects


• A little overwhelmed with millions of home projects


• Thinking that hot tea might be a nice pick-me-up this afternoon

Baby Biker Hoodie II

One of my most favorite things in the world is surprising people. I just love it.

When Kate's son was born a year ago, I knit him a little blue cardigan and was thrilled beyond words when I saw photos of him wearing it (in the garden, no less). So for his first birthday, I thought he'd need another sweater. I used the same pattern and some lucious red and white wool. For the past few months at our knitting group (which Kate is part of ), I've been lying about who the sweater is for. Tee hee.

This is actually my second Baby Biker Hoodie-- the first is probably the first of many. Who can resist a baby sweater with bikes on it?! Kate and her family love biking. I even got to go on a bike ride with them recently. So fun.

You can see some photos of the sweater in action here. Caution: cutest smile ever!

The Big Three

Karl and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary this week! It was on Tuesday night, and since he had to study and I had banjo class, we snuck in a special early dinner. We had figs, stuffed with goat cheese and wrapped with prosciutto, as an appetizer (sounds fancy, but they were really very easy-- the perfect appetizer to make ahead). Then we had salad, roasted potatoes, and a yummy rolled beef dish in the slow cooker. The beef recipe called for kitchen twine... I just used cotton yarn. No one's been sick yet, so I guess it was okay. I've always been terrible at photographing food, so I'll spare you most of the images and just share these:

It was still light outside when we had dinner, but I wanted candlelight anyway!

There it is... thin beef, wrapped around parmesan and parsley, rolled up and tied with kitchen twine.... er, cotton yarn from my knitting basket. Trust me, it looked good in person.

I ordered a mini version of our wedding cake from our favorite bakery. This also looked good in real life... geez, these photos are terrible. Just picture the best meal you've ever seen, okay?

I can't believe it's been three whole years since our magical day. I'm so lucky to have the best husband ever. Apologies to all of you other girls out there.

This is just to say

We picked up these plums last weekend at the farmer's market, and they've been ripening in a bowl on the counter ever since. I just love them. They remind me so much of:

• My grandma and the plum cake she used to make



• This scrumptious poem by William Carlos Williams:

This is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

This is why I'm not allowed in thrift stores.

Today I had to drive to Portage, a town about an hour away, for a work meeting. I grabbed my ipod, loaded with a very addicting audiobook, and headed out.

After the meeting, I really had no choice but to stop at the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Portage. And then at the St. Vinnie's Dig and Save when I got back in to Madison. I don't drive very often (usually I'm on my bike or the bus), so this was a rare chance for me to fill up our little car with thrifted goodies. It's a good thing our car is small, because I was really on a roll today and very nearly tried to tie a humongous hutch onto the canoe rack. It's such a darling hutch. I might go back tomorrow to see if it's still there.

Want to see what I brought home?

I know a little girl who calls these "corners."

There's a fine line between need and... well, it doesn't matter. I needed this globe.

Just in case our current tent ever malfunctions. Now we have a backup. Plus we might have kids someday and they'll want to play with a tent in the yard.


Lately I've been drooling over projects like this one. Soon the hideous light fixture in our guest room will be replaced by a work of art by yours truly. And even if it doesn't turn out to be as gorgeous as I imagine, it can't be any worse than what we've got in there right now.

Another project-to-be. I'm seeing blue paint... maybe I can use the same color on the light fixture and the table. Hey, what's that on top of the table? Is that a mug? Yes, yes it is. Why on Earth would a girl who already owns one million mugs need another one? I can't answer that. All I can say is that they regularly call to me from thrift store shelves and garage sale tables.

Come on. It has smiling lemons on it.

I've been thinking about trying pressure canning, but I didn't want to make a huge investment. Problem solved. And this is the second white enamel stockpot I've found this summer. This one might become a give-away for some lucky blog reader... since I've done so many give-aways this year (zero).

An embroidered tablecloth! My dream kitchen is red and aqua... this will fit right in. In twelve years when we actually get around to creating that dream kitchen.


In the course of taking these pictures, I managed to knock down our blinds and almost poke a huge hole in the couch. That will not surprise any of you. Just thought you should know. xo