Introducing...

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Keith Moore II

We did it! On Friday, October 24, Ron and I were married. The day was beyond perfect. We had gorgeous fall weather, everything went off without a hitch and we were surrounded by all our favorite people. To say that we have been tremendously blessed would be an understatement.

Before I get into the details of our big day, I have to apologize for my lack of posts since the wedding. With all the planning and preparation over and done with, you think I would have plenty of time to blog. NOT!!!! We may have gotten married during one of the most hectic times of the year. As soon as we returned from our honeymoon we quickly got busy with our 100 + thank you's, then it was time for Thanksgiving, then Christmas decorating, then Christmas cards, then holiday baking and much needed down time and then finally Christmas. Ok, ok! I could have found some time to write a post here and there but quite frankly I was enjoying any type of down time I could find after 15 months of wedding planning.

I plan on posting some of our DIY projects for the wedding in the next few weeks (which I promise to follow through on) so I'll keep this post strictly for the wedding day festivities.

So without further ado...

5:30 a.m. The morning of the wedding seemed to come ridiculously fast. I felt like I had just laid my head on the pillow after our wedding rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and then all of the sudden my alarm was going off...."Good morning, you are getting married today!!!!" No, that's not actually what my alarm was saying.

In order to get all my bridesmaids', mom's and my hair done on time, we had to start a tad early - 6 a.m. kind of early. Luckily, I have the most amazing friends and everyone arrived early for their appointments and were in good spirits. Their fabulous attitudes could have had something to do with the 16 coffees my dad and I picked up from Starbucks in order to bribe everyone to arrive on time. J

9 a.m. The boys met at Ron's parents' house for breakfast and eventually made their way to the church where they would entertain themselves with Wii Mario Kart until it was time to walk down the aisle. Boy did they have it easy that day...show up, eat some food, play some games and then the party started.

12 p.m. Gift time!!! I had been looking forward to this part for months....well, obviously the part of marrying Ron that day but also the part where he would open his wedding gift from me. Since we started dating, Ron and I have talked about traveling together - from visiting all 50 states to the countries we MUST visit before we have kids. I've heard many stories of Ron's studies abroad in Spain and his travels to Morocco and London and after our trip to Pakistan last year, I knew exactly what I wanted to get him. I found an old world atlas that was beautifully framed with a mahogany wood. The map was mounted on foam board so you can easy place push pins into it to mark all the places you have traveled. I had the map personalized with a small plaque that said "The Adventures of Ronnie & Bethany" and placed a few push pins in the map to mark places we have traveled to separately and together. He was surprised to say the least. That map now sits over our bar in our home and looks spectacular. J

Ron's wedding present to me was quite a surprise. He bought me a beautiful strand of pearls; something I have always wanted. Ron of course consulted with the bestie before making the purchase and then had her present them to me on the wedding day. I wore the strand of pearls almost every day of our honeymoon and try to pair them with every outfit possible. I kind of love them. J

12:30 p.m. Time to get dressed...

1:30 p.m. Who's ready to walk down the aisle?!?! Last minute preparations (a.k.a. reapply deodorant, run to the little boy's room, last minute tears of excitement and "holy crap, I'm getting married" moments) before walking down the aisle.

2 p.m. It's go time! You know, you can plan and plan and plan for the big day but nothing can honestly prepare you for the moment when you are on your father's arm, those church doors open and you see all the people you love and care about all in the same room...and at the very end of the aisle, the man of your dreams is standing there, waiting to marry you. Best...moment...of my life.

After the ceremony we held a popcorn reception in the church hall for all our guests, which of course was a huge hit. I'll be sure to post about that once I have all of our professional photos back and you can see the popcorn bar and the variety of flavors in all their glory. J

Our send off from the church was one of my favorite moments from the day. We planned an "UP" themed send off which of course included dozens of colorful balloons. Luckily for us, we had a gorgeous day and the balloons looked amazing as they floated away across the clear blue sky.

After the send off, we headed to Danada House for an evening of feast and merriment. The decor, our catering staff, the delicious BBQ buffet and our homemade wedding cake was more than perfect. It was so much fun to see all of our plans come together. All the little details and DIY projects looked amazing throughout the venue. We were certainly blessed with amazing friends and family who helped make the day and evening perfect by setting up all the decor and dealing with my OCD tendencies. J (Thanks Mary & Carly)

Following dinner, it was time for speeches. My dad's speech was sweet, with references to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", and my maid and matron of honor and Ron's best man had our guests busting a gut while trying to hold back tears as they regaled us with our years of friendship and how Ron and I met at the perfect point in our lives. They were all beautiful, heartfelt speeches.

The evening concluded with hours of dancing and lots of cocktails. My mom learned how to "Wobble", "Friends in Low Places" was sung at the top of the groomsmen's lungs, and the roof was definitely "raised".

And just like that, it was all over. 15 Months of planning and 28 years for dreaming...the night may have ended but the adventure was just beginning. That day, was truly the best day of our lives. Not because it was planned well or we lucked out with weather but because for the one and only time in our lives we were surrounded by the most loving and caring individuals who have been a part of all the important moments in our lives - from our parents and family to our godparents and grade school and high school friends, from our college roommates to our cube buddies at work. The Lord has truly blessed the two of us in more ways than I can explain and we are so thankful for everyone who could come be a part of the most important day of our lives - even those who couldn't attend but sent their well wishes and were with us in spirit.

Thank you for following the blog and for sharing in all the exciting and memorable moments over the course of the past year.

So now what? It's going to be hard to top the festivities in 2014. Well, you will just have to wait and see what's in store for next year. J 

New blog posts coming in 2015!!!

And they lived happily ever after...

30 Days, 3 Hours, 4 min.....

We are one month away from the BIG DAY!!!!!!!!! Well, 30 days, 3 hours and 4 minutes to be exact, but who's counting?! :-)

It's crazy to think we have been planning the wedding for the past 14 months. We've paced ourselves and accomplished a little each month to ensure we wouldn't be TOO stressed out this last month. So far, so good. :-) Me being the crazy OCD planner that I am, still have a ridiculous amount of "to-do" lists, post-in notes everywhere and an on-going "his" and "her's" project schedule, but other than that I've been super laid back about everything. HA! I can't help it though. I was born a planner and have thoroughly enjoyed planning, crafting, taste testing and researching all that has gone into our wedding with the help of my fabulous (and very patient) fiance. :-)

For the past few weeks I've been telling Ron and my mom that any crafting projects or small details that have NOT been accomplished by the Monday night before the wedding, will not get done. That is our cut off deadline. They more or less laughed at me with a "Yeah, right! Good luck with that!" smile and said they hope I can stick with that plan. Well, so do I. :-) I'd really like Ron and I (as well as my parent's who are hosting quite a few people throughout the week) to be able to enjoy the festivities and not be stressing about the little details. 

One of my FAVORITE projects for the wedding has taking quite a bit of our free time over the past couple of weeks. We've been making signage for the church entrance, Popcorn Bar and the reception. I originally saw beautiful wood plank signs on Etsy but each sign was between $30 and $50.  Ummmmm, no thank you!! Ron being the handy man that he is, suggested we buy the wood and stain and make the signs ourselves. It's been a longer process than we thought but the signs have turned out BEAUTIFULLY and have been very inexpensive. I'll blog about all the details and pictures of the signs after the wedding but here's a sneak peak. :-) We've made a total of 8 signs ranging in sizes from 1 1/2' x 2' up to 4'x 3'. We'll use some of the signs to hang in our home after the wedding but the rest we are planning to sell. :-)

Here are a few items left on our "to-do" list....

• Purchase Marriage Licence - Doing this next week!!!!! 
• Create Worship/Ceremony Program - I'm so glad we came up with our own design for all our printed materials. It's saved a lot of time (and money) not having to create a new look for each item.
• Buy Pumpkins - Unfortunately this can't be done until closer to the wedding but I'm so excited to use real pumpkins throughout our decor. 
• Assemble Wedding Party Gift Bags -EEEEEEEEEEE! I cannot wait to blog about this after the wedding. Ron and I have put a lot of thought and effort into what we wanted to give our friends and family as "thank you's" for standing up and/or helping with the wedding. 
• Seating Chart - While this can't be done until the week of the wedding, we have already started to group guests together so this process should go very smoothly when the time comes to print this out. :-)

This weekend I'm having a "Girl's Day" with my mom and Maid and Matron of Honor. We'll be working on last minute crafts, enjoying a few cocktails and watching some of our favorite wedding themed movies. Can we say PERFECT SATURDAY?!?!?! All of this will be taking place while Ron is at his Bachelor Party. He has a fun-filled day ahead of him will all his best guy friends. It still amazes me the wonderful friendship he has with this group of guys he went to grade school with and how willing they are to come into town to celebrate him and this exciting time in his life. It's going to be a wonderful weekend to say the least. 

In 30 days and in a few short hours, Ron and I will be pronounced as "husband and wife"! Who's excited?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? :-)

Let the final countdown begin!!!!!!!!!!!

"Final Fling Before the Ring" & Bridal Shower

SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014

When my Maid and Matron of Honor approached me for Bachelorette party ideas, I suggested a laid back, fun atmosphere that was unlike any other Bachelorette Party we had ever been to. I wanted to spend the evening with all my dearest friends, sipping some cocktails and enjoying some delicious food at one of my favorite Chicago venues - Ravinia. Plans fell into place when Ravinia's schedule was posted in the spring and we saw Train was going to be the headliner for the weekend of the Bachelorette party. It couldn't have been planned any better.

One of the fun aspects of Ravinia is that you get to bring your own food, beverage and lawn chairs. You try to arrive early enough to secure a perfect (and large) spot on the lawn so you and your friends can spread out. For my Bachelorette Party, my Maid and Matron of Honor made it easy for everyone and designed a group package that included all of our food and lawn chair set up so everything would be raring to go once the ladies arrived. The only thing the ladies were responsible for was bringing their beverage of choice.

While the weather was a bit iffy (aka torrential downpour, thunder and lightening) earlier in the day, it started to slowly clear up as we pulled up to Ravinia. By the time all the ladies arrived, the skies had cleared and it was a perfect night for an outdoor concert. Upon arrival my Maid and Matron of Honor surprised me with - what I believe to be - the best veil and sash EVER!!! My veil had  "Future Mrs. Moore" in silver and my sash was gold with "Bride to Be". They matched our wedding colors perfectly.

The rest of the evening consisted of champagne toasts, DELICIOUS food, hysterical games that shared way too much information, amazing desserts, glow sticks and glow in the dark rings, shots (but not too many), lingerie (of course) and lots and lots of random dancing. Oh, and there was a concert going on during all of this.

The evening was beyond anything I could have ever hoped for and I thoroughly enjoyed spending my "Final Fling Before the Ring" with all the fantastic ladies in my life.

The proposal! July 4, 2013

SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2014

I thought I had a pretty good idea of what my bridal shower "theme" would be but boy was a I wrong. I thought for sure the bridesmaids and moms were going to go with a fall theme given the date of our wedding and my serious obsession with the season. However, they came up with a BRILLIANT idea that fit mine and Ron's relationship perfectly.

On July 4, 2013, Ron proposed to me at one of his FAVORITE spots - on the beach in South Carolina. Having expected him to proposal that following fall in one of my favorite locations (Long Grove) I was completely taken off guard and shocked that he was down on one knee. (Hence the surprised look on my face and the butt sticking out.)

So my bridesmaids and moms decided to incorporate that special moment and have a beach theme for the shower. Decor included a beach photo booth with all the necessary props, beach signage and photos from the proposal, burlap runners and babys breath in wine bottles, tropical themed drinks and all my favorite food from when I was little until now.

I know this may come as a surprise but I've had my wedding planned since I was VERY young. Essentially since I saw Father of the Bride when I was 5 years old. Since then, my mom and I have had a running joke about the list of foods I've said I wanted to eat at my wedding. The list may or may not include a plethora of food that does not at ALL go together....cantaloupe, cottage cheese, olives, hot dogs, taco roll ups, spinach artichoke dip, taffy apple salad, etc. Since Ron and I were not able to incorporate all those foods into our catering for the wedding (except for the olives), they decided to have all my favorite foods out for a buffet at the bridal shower. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! Other people may have found it very strange but I was in heaven and went up for seconds and thirds.

After lunch we played some fun games and opened the very generous amount of gifts from all our friends and family. Ron quite excited to see the deep fryer he put on the registry and I was beyond thrilled to receive our Kitchenaid mixer from the bridesmaids and our moms.

The weekend was filled with lots of laughter and hugs, a few joyful tears and wonderful ladies. I (We) could not have asked for a better group of friends or family. I cannot wait to celebrate with all of them and so many more next month at our wedding!!!

50 Days To Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Celebrating Family

Last Sunday (July 20th) my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately that milestone is rarely reached nowadays; especially at my parent's age. They married very young, just shy of their 20th and 21st birthdays. To celebrate the exciting occasion our family ventured downtown to enjoy a delicious dinner at the Cape Cod Room in The Drake. We dined for about 3 hours  - sipping cocktails, slurping back (in the most elegant of ways) oysters, savoring every last bite of our lobster, steak and crab legs and finished with decadent creme brulee and cheesecake. It was rough but someone needed to eat all that food and keep that restaurant in business. :-)

The anniversary celebration did not end there...

For months I had wanted to surprise my parents with a vow renewal ceremony on their anniversary. It would have worked out perfectly since it fell on a weekend. Unfortunately with the busy summer and people on vacation, the actual day of their anniversary (July 20th) was not going to work. Luckily (and strangely enough) my parent's birthday falls one week after their anniversary - July 27th. Yes, my parents were born on the same day, one year apart. My dad is older if anyone was wondering. :-) So the planning for their vow renewal commenced and we decided to have it take place right after the church service this past Sunday. My dad, not being able to keep a secret, ended up telling my mother so she could prepare herself for the emotional renewal that was coming. 

This past Sunday (July 27) in front of our church family and friends, my parents renewed their marriage vows and were introduced once again as husband and wife. It was a beautiful way for them to once again profess their love for one another and to set a beautiful example of what marriage is supposed to be - for forever.

After church it was time to celebrate birthdays!!! As I mentioned before, my parents share their birthday along with my blonde bestie, Stephanie. Not only was it all their birthdays but it was my mother's 60th birthday. It was going to be a day of celebrations to say the least.

It seems like our family has a "theme" for every occasion - whether it's a birthday, anniversary or even a simple Sunday dinner. Given the fact that we would have three birthdays to celebrate we wanted to have a theme that everyone would enjoy and that my mother would be very excited about. Seeing as how we all LOVE going to high-tea, eating delicious pastries and munching on plethora of assorted mini sandwiches, a tea party was definitely the way to go. 

Our Menu: Chicken salad on croissants, egg salad (regular and curried) on Hawaiian rolls, smoked salmon with schmear on crostinis, olive tray, cheese, grapes, apples, garlic potato salad and pastries.

My mom was beyond excited about the tea party and even put on her special hat for the occasion. :-) We sat and enjoyed a relaxing lunch and more or less devoured everything on the table, including the pastries and cake I bought from Mariano's. 

In honor of my mother's birthday and in lieu of tangible gifts, my family and I decided to either perform a random act of kindness or make a donation to an organization or group that is near and dear to my mother. We then wrote separate letters to my mother explaining the act of kindness or donation that we made along with a birthday message. To say she was touched by the sentiment would be an understatement. She laughed, she cried, then she cried some more. It was the perfect gift. 

For the past two Sundays we were blessed to spend a lot of time with family and friends, honoring the most important people in our lives and cherishing the beautiful relationships that have been built through the years. Ron and I are beyond grateful to both of our parents for setting such an example and high standards for what it means to have a beautiful marriage. We look forward to following in our parents footsteps in our faith, in our home and with our own family in the future. 

Now that all of that planning and those celebrations are over, it's time to focus on ordering supplies and crafting for our upcoming nuptials. Next on the to-do list is printing and mailing our invitations. Eeeeeeee!!!

24 Days until the Bachelorette Party

25 Days until the Bridal Shower

87 Days until we say "I do"

Final Countdown

I think this is the only appropriate background music for this post...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw

We are less than 100 days from the wedding. Ahhhhhh! How did that even happen? When I started this blog the countdown was close to 300 days and the wedding seemed so unbelievably far away. Now, in three short months Ron and I will say "I do". :-) But before walking down the aisle to become his "Mrs" we have quite a few things left to do...

This weekend I'm moving into OUR new place. I just love saying that! :-) Ron won't officially move in until right before the wedding but we are moving 90% of his stuff with mine this weekend. Luckily we've done a really great job of going through all of our belongings and either throwing things away, setting them aside for a garage sale or finding a use for it in the new place. We've both lived on our own for quite a while and have accumulated A LOT of furniture and random knick knacks. We don't want to clutter the new place with a lot of random furniture but at the same time we don't want to get rid of pieces that mean something to us. So how do we make that work - lots and lots of DIY projects of course. :-) We are going to paint and re-purpose quite a few pieces of furniture to fit our new life together and the new color scheme of our place.

Speaking of color scheme, we painted the new place last weekend and it looks fabulous. We went with yellow, beige and shades of grey (not quite 50 but still exciting....haha, get it!). And for kicks we painted a chalkboard wall in the kitchen. I've got big plans for that wall including a master to-do list for the wedding. Woot woot!

Finished chalkboard wall. More pictures to come once furniture is moved in.

One of the perks of our new place is the large entryway. Instead of a simple painted wall, I thought it would be fun to add some stripes and make it a very welcoming space. Here's a quick preview of what we did.

We used a laser to make taping and measuring a lot easier.

Painting went very quickly once the tape was in place.

And Voila! Our fun entry wall. More pics to come once a
bench is in place and pictures are hung. 

I'll post more before and after photos once we are all moved in, furniture is in place and our pictures are hung. So, hopefully by next week. :-) I'm kind of crazy when it comes to unpacking and getting things settled so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can get our place in order fairly quickly because once that is done, it is back to wedding planning. YAY!!!

Only 98 days to go.....

Let's do this!!!!!!!!

Did someone say....Popcorn?!?!

This past weekend was jam-packed with wedding planning. Not in the stressful way but in the "holy crap we just accomplished a lot in three days" kind of way. I've been looking forward to this weekend since Ron and I decided we were going to have a Popcorn Bar for one of our receptions. This was the weekend we were going to taste test all the amazing flavors of popcorn and decide what we wanted to offer our guests. Luckily my mother has a fantastic friend, Becki, who happens to have her own popcorn shop and was willing to make all the popcorn for our big day. Perfect, right?

We set out Friday afternoon with both sets of parents and headed to Becki's shop in Utica. It's a bit of a trip out to the shop so we decided to make a day of it and planned to go to the Ottawa Wine Festival after the tasting. More about that later...

When we arrived at the shop, Becki had a plethora of popcorn flavors for us to try - from the classic caramel corn, cheesy cheddar and Chicago style, to savory flavors like jalapeno cheddar and garlic Parmesan...and for the sweet tooth, white chocolate cherry and Oreo. And that is just to name a few! We were in popcorn heaven!!!! The six of us could not taste test enough of the flavors and seriously wanted to pick every variety for our reception. Alas, we could not spend the remaining wedding budget on just popcorn, so we were forced to choose. We narrowed it down to SEVEN fantastic flavors from salty to sweet to down right scrumptious. I'm not going to tell you which flavors we chose, but rest assured, our guest's taste buds will be happy.

***Side note: If anyone wants delicious popcorn without boutique popcorn shop price, please take a look at Becki's website, giver her a call 1-866-898-CORN, or send her a quick email 
flutterbypopcorn@sbcglobal.net to find out the pricing (very inexpensive) and flavors she has available. 

Popcorn Bar Ideas

Now that our flavors have been picked, it's time to work on the popcorn display and decor. I got an excellent deal on bushel baskets at Hobby Lobby months ago and plan to put those puppies to good use. Here are a few idea I've seen floating around. If anyone has any fun tins, bushel baskets or popcorn scoops, let me know. :-)

After the tasting we had a laid back afternoon/evening with our parents...enjoying a delicious chicken dinner at Rip's Tavern (best chicken around) and then headed over to the Ottawa Wine Festival where the people and wine were an absolute delight. :-)

On Sunday we worked on our invitations and inserts. Designing your own invitations gives you a lot of creative freedom and will save you, or at least in our situation, a lot of money. I've done a ridiculous amount of research, priced out websites and shops and nothing honestly compared to buying a few designs off of Etsy, purchasing separate inserts and printing and building the invitation ourselves. Will it take some time, of course, but it will totally be worth it. The overall design has been finalized, fonts have been chosen and our last insert is almost complete. Our plan is to print the invitations between now and the beginning of July and then assemble them in August. I'll be moving in July and will not have the time or space to work on them so once again, we are working ahead of schedule. :-)

My big accomplishment the past couple weeks was a project I have been working on for my lovely fiance. Ron and his dad are big into cars and restoration and are always pointing out different makes and models when we are driving. When we first started discussing transportation from the church to our reception we thought it would be fun to have an "old-timey" car. Unfortunately, those cars come with a pretty hefty price tag. Luckily a friend of the family happened to have a wonderful contact in the area who had the type of car we were looking for. I did a little research and made a few phone calls behind Ron's back. Sneaky sneaky! After having a fantastic conversation with the owner of said car, he offered an amazing deal for our wedding day that I could not pass up.  That following Saturday I took Ron to see the car and to meet the owner. We were beyond impressed with both. I'm not going to give any details away but this car is fan-freaking-tastic and is the perfect color, make and model. Ron was very excited to say the least. :-)

Let's hope for another set of successful and productive weekends the rest of the month. Stay tuned for more updates including an exciting trip to the Tuscan countryside for our honeymoon. Woot woot!

Only 135 days to go...

Our life in a nutshell...

Don’t you hate when people start blogs, convince you to read said blog, get you excited (or even the least bit interested) in their life and then out of no where they stop blogging and you're left stranded without any inclination of what they are doing....Are they alive? How are their wedding plans coming along? Do Ron and Bethany not eat anymore because I haven't seen a new recipe in weeks? Ok, maybe that was a bit over the top and not that any of you reading really "care" that I haven't blogged for over a month; however, I still feel like I am slacking on my ONE resolution for the year.

Work has pretty much consumed my days, nights and weekends lately as it is my busiest time of the year. If I can just get through the next couple of weeks and a few more events, it will be smooooooooth sailing for the rest of year, per se. Knowing how crazy my spring workload would be, Ron and I worked hard to get a lot of big ticket items planned or booked for the wedding back in the fall and winter. Come June, we can start all the DIY crafting and fun projects. J

So what have the last few weeks entailed, you ask? Here's a quick recap of what we have been up to.

• Booked our DJ and got a phenomenal deal on the price and package.
• The search for an apartment/condo/townhouse/house has begun. We are not ready buy anything quite yet but are very interested in renting (possibly a house) for another year or two.
• Wedding invitation design/concept has been finalized. I found my inspiration via Pinterest, of course, and created an invitation that fits perfectly with our theme. 
• Linen colors have been chosen and they are FABULOUS!
• Went on another walk through with our caterer at Danada House and semi finalized the layout of the cocktail reception, guest book room (yes, we have a whole room dedicated to it) and then of course, the atrium where dinner and dancing will take place. J
• And last but not least, Ron has started to pack and get ready for his move at the end of the month. He'll be moving home to save some money until we get married. 

That's been our life in a nutshell. I can't wait to have my evenings and weekends back and I'm sure Ron will be happy to have a break from attending all my events. J He's such a good sport. Up next on our agenda is a wine festival and specialty food tasting in early June. Stay tuned for that blog post.

Only 162 days to go...

Recipe - Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Cups

If you are looking for a fabulously, delicious treat to make for Mother's Day, look no further. I made this scrumptious dessert for Easter a couple of weeks ago and my family DEVOURED it. Of course Ron and I added our own touches to the original recipe including extra coffee, whipped cream and the addition of Heath crumbles.

Be sure to use your adorable dessert cups or dishes to display this work of art. If you don't have specific dessert dishes, use stemless wine glasses, rock glasses or any other clear dish so everyone can see all the amazing layers.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Heath Bar crumbles (or your favorite cookie crumbles like Oreo) 
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon gelatin
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur, or cold espresso
2 cups (1 pint) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
3-4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons cocoa powder (or Nestle Nesquik which we had on hand)
1 1/2 cups diced strawberries

6 Servings - Serving size is about 3/4 cup.


OPTION 1
In a medium bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Mix until the crumbs are well coated. Reserve 2 tablespoons of crumbs for garnish. Divide the remaining crumbs evenly between 6 serving dishes and gently press to form a solid layer. Set aside.

OPTION 2
If you don't want the layer of crumbs at the bottom, simply smash enough cookies or Heath bars for garnish on the top of your mousse. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine the gelatin and the coffee liqueur. Allow to bloom for 10 minutes, then heat in the microwave for 8-10 seconds, or until melted. Let the mixture to cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl using a hand mixer, combine the heavy cream, 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar, and vanilla. Beat the mixture on medium speed until it begins to thicken, roughly 1 minute, then slowly add the gelatin mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture forms soft peaks, about 30-45 seconds. Reserve 1/3 of the whipped cream in a separate bowl for garnishing the desserts. Set the rest aside.

In a separate large bowl using the hand mixer once again, combine the cream cheese, the remaining powdered sugar, melted chocolate, and cocoa powder. Beat on low speed until just combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat until lighter in color, roughly 1 minute. Add half of the whipped cream to the mixture and blend for a few seconds. Add the remaining whipped cream and blend until no streaks of white remain.

Divide the chocolate mixture evenly into the prepared dessert cups. Sprinkle diced strawberries or any other fruit over the mousse, then top with the reserved whipped cream. Garnish the tops of the mousse with the reserved cookie crumbs.

Adapted from Evil Shenanigans.

Wine Night

One of the best ideas we've had in our wedding planning adventures took place this last Friday. My parents hosted a wine night for our family and Ron's family. Best...idea....ever!

Not that we need much of an explanation as to why we thought it was necessary to have a wine night - other than to sip/drink/swirl/smell delicious varieties of wine - but we really did have a good reason for getting everyone together. Taking a few steps back, one of they key reasons we chose Danada House as our venue was the fact that we could do our own bar. So many of the venues my friends have used for their receptions had standard bar packages starting at $20 or $25 pp and would go up significantly from there depending on what type of liquor and package they wanted. Well, we were not ok paying that amount ON TOP of the price per person for food, appetizers, desserts, etc.

Fun Fact - Did you know weddings are uber expensive?!?!?! J

Anywho...the idea of being able to build our own bar with the wine, beer, liquor, mixed drinks and delicious cocktails that we wanted sounded like a fabulous idea. So, that is exactly what we are going to do. Luckily our caterer provides all the garnish and mixers. We simply need to provide the alcohol and any recipes for specialty mixed drinks. Easy enough!

While Ron and I enjoy a good bottle of wine, we have our standard bottles we always tend to buy. Sometimes we try a new bottle if it's on sale or we are eating something special and want a good pairing but most of the time, we are pretty content with our variety of 4 or 5 wines. We wanted to get other people's opinions on the types of wine we should have available at our wedding. This is where our families and the wine night come in.

We asked that everyone bring a bottle of red and a bottle of white in a certain price range, preferably something they have already tried and enjoyed. My parents hosted the evening and provided delicious snacks including a plethora of cheese and crackers. I brought these adorable tasting glasses about the size of a shot which worked very well for this purpose. Although, some people ~cough, my sister, cough~ filled the glass completely full instead of just a tasting amount. She had a lot of fun that night. J

Starting with the reds, we passed the first bottle around, tasted it and then marked down our thoughts using only one descriptor word such as, smooth, dry, tasty and some even deserved the word gross. Ha! We repeated this process through the 6 bottles of red wine and the 7 bottles of white wine. It was a fun time to say the least. By the end of it, we decided on two reds that were a must have for the wedding. A couple of the whites were enjoyable but no one around the table seemed overly enthused about them. So, we will just have to host another wine night to taste more options. That's the only solution, right? J

It really didn't matter if we found the perfect wine for the wedding, it was just a good excuse to get our families together for a fun night of laughter and entertaining conversation....I think there was even some polka dancing that took place?! All in all it was a great night with fabulous company.

Next on our bar "to-do" list is the mixed and signature drinks. I guess we will just have to get our families together this summer for some drinks, BBQ and maybe a bags or croquet tournament. J

203 days to go!!!

Wedding Website

Well my blog has been a little quiet lately, mostly due to heavy workload, but we have been working hard on getting our wedding website up and running. And let me tell you, it looks pretty fabulous.

http://www.mywedding.com/heinmoorewedding

According to our wedding website, we only have 211 days til the BIG DAY! Heyoooo! That is coming up quickly considering when we first started planning we had over 450 days!!! These next few months are going to be jam packed with family gatherings, Chris and Lauren's wedding, moving, arts and crafts, anniversary and birthday celebrations, tastings, our wedding shower and bachelor and bachelorette parties and everything and anything else we will need to do to get ready for the BIG DAY. 

I'm so glad we worked hard in the fall and winter to get "ahead of the game". Personally, I think Ron and I have done a pretty good job of taking our time to make decisions, looking at all possible options and sticking to our budget. I don't think I've had too many freak out moments thus far....Ron might say differently though. J

Here's the list of big ticket items we've accomplished thus far and can √  off our "to-do" list.

• Start a notebook/file folder for wedding planning - Because I'm crazy OCD and I need to have a file folder and notebook for everything. J √
• Choose a wedding date  √
• Select a color scheme for wedding  √
• Finalize budget  √
• Reserve Church - This one was easy!  √
• Reserve reception venue  √
• Book Photographer - I booked Tasha (Redwall Photo) years ago before I even knew Ron. Perks of having a fabulous, talented friend. J √
• Finalize guest list with both families  √
• Formally ask bridesmaids, groomsmen and ushers  √
• Purchase wedding dress  √
• Order bridesmaid dresses  √
• Order groom and groomsmen tuxes  √
• Order flowers  √
• Choose hotel for guests / reserve block of rooms  √
• Design STD's (save the dates) and print  √
• Mail and Address STD's  √
• Order guest book - It's adorable!  √
• Create registries - This was so much fun!  √
• Finalize wedding cake - It's going to be delicious and absolutely beautiful. Why? Because a dear family friend and my second mom will be making it! J √
• Order cake topper  √
• Create wedding website  √√√√√√

The next few items on our "to-do" list...

• Select DJ - This is Ron's task!J   
• Order wedding rings 
• Book our Honeymoon - This is also Ron's task! 
• Finalize bar selection - wine, liquor and beer

Tomorrow we will be checking another item off our "to-do" list as we will be hosting a wine tasting at my parents. Our families are getting together to decide what type of wine we would like to offer our wedding guests. Each couple is bringing a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine. We gave them a maximum amount they could spend on each bottle to match our budget. I'm excited to not only figure out what wine we will be serving but to have our families get together for a night of delicious drinks and lots of laughter. Stay tuned for that post next week!

Wedding Party - The Groomsmen

Our wedding party is complete! We were finally able to ask our groomsmen to be part of our big day. Luckily they all said, “Yes, yes, yes!!” to quote one of the groomsmen. J Much like I did for my ladies, I asked Ron to put together a few quick blurbs about each guy. Ron has known a lot of these gentlemen since grade school and their friendship is absolutely amazing. He is incredibly honored to have them stand by his side on our big day...much as they have stood by his side throughout his life.

So, without further ado, here are Ron’s groomsmen...

CHRIS (Best Man)
What can I say about my best man? What can I tell you about him? What CAN’T I tell you?? He and I have lived together for the past 4 years. That’s weird to think about…it feels like a mere few months since we moved out on our own – living temporarily in a hotel in Kentucky (just outside of Cincinnati) playing soc-tennis, “bribing” the hotel bartender for additional free beer vouchers, and about to start our first adult jobs.

I’ve known Chris since 6^th grade at Edison Middle School, but I never really hung out with him ‘til 7^th grade. Our circle of friends had already started to intertwine in the year prior, but in 7^th grade we were in advanced math together. Nerds from the start, and nerds ‘til today, we’ve been very nearly inseparable ever since.

Chris is not only my best guy friend and Best Man, but through his upcoming marriage to my little sister, will soon be my little brother. The years have been full of goofy antics, tons of fun stories, and lots of laughs. I know that we will have many more to come.

CHARLES (Groomsman)
Charles is first and foremost the friend I’ve known the longest. We’ve shared a great number of adventures, from breaking various windows using an assortment of “weapons” and camping in the great wilderness of Amboy, IL, to completing business ventures together. 

We first met when I moved to Wheaton back in the summer of 1995, on the 4^th of July. Since then we’ve gotten into more than our fair share of shenanigans and gone through all sorts of hobbies together. Starting out with BMX biking and Razer scooters, then onto bigger and more complex toys, like cars. Charles is by far my most handy friend, and any time I’m in need of automotive assistance, I know I can call on him. We’ve recently completed our first “project car” together with the tear down and repair of a 2007 Scion tC.

It is still my hope that someday I can go into some form of business in the automotive world, with Charles as my business partner. It’s certainly been a good ride, and I look forward to the good times ahead.

NATHAN (Groomsman)
Nathan and I have been friends since about the 3^rd grade. Similar to Chris, our social circles had started to intertwine in the year prior, but it was through Math TAG (the Talented and Gifted math program at Madison Elementary School) that we really came to know one another.

Nathan has always been the friend I could discuss the deep stuff with – from theoretical physics and complex mathematics, to religion and life (as I know it, anyway). We spent our formative years taking very nearly all the same classes together, and only really started to vary to any measurable degree in college.

If on the first day of meeting him, I had been asked what Nathan was most likely to do upon graduating college, I would have told you that he would work for Microsoft or some such tech company. Sure enough, after graduating from U of Illinois Nathan decided to pursue his passion in computer and info tech and accepted a top-notch job offer from Microsoft.

MYK (Groomsman)
Myk and I have a very interesting and unique friendship. (Spoiler Alert) The truth of the matter is that it’s surprisingly similar to me and Matt Trevino. We actually met back in elementary school and played on two separate baseball teams together. We hit it off quite well, not only because we were the best at keeping benches at their optimal temperature of right around 98.6 degrees, but also because the time we spent warming those benches gave us the opportunity to realize how similar we were.

Perhaps on a certain level, we knew that we would one day meet in the future. I mean, we didn’t go to the same elementary school, and we weren’t going to go to the same middle school, but certainly we must have known that we would be going to the same high school, right? Well, no. We didn’t actually acknowledge that fact at all. So though I had a great friend on a team of jerks and losers, I figured that once the season was over, I’d be losing that friend and we’d lose touch.

WRONG! Myk and I did end up going to the same high school! One odd awkward freshman or maybe even sophomore year morning at school, I saw him in the hallway. I built up the courage and said “Didn’t we play baseball together?” And with that question, we’ve been the best of friends (again) ‘til today.

MATT T.  (Groomsman)
Much as I’d already spoiled through my story about Myk, Matt Trevino and I met in the 5^th grade (sorry, I couldn’t remember exaaactly when he moved here and had to ask him). We became close friends and even had the wonderful experience of sitting down in front of Mr. Grace as he chewed us out for rough housing and wrestling on the playground. What a random fun memory.

While we were always good friends, and always had a good laugh, for whatever reason throughout high school, we ran with different crowds and didn’t see much of one another. When we did, it was like no time had passed, and we were right back to laughs and joking.

After high school Matt and I hung out very sporadically. Throughout college, I was busy doing my own thing, and he his. At one point, before I moved to Cincinnati after college, I ran into him and we played volleyball a couple times. How random.

It wasn’t until after college, after I’d moved back from Cincinnati, and he’d moved back from Colorado that he and I reconnected and became close friends once again. It’s weird how time and distance can separate you, but in the end, people don’t often change as much as they think they do. Funny people with great senses of humor will often stay that way. Luckily, we learn a few new things along the way, and mature.

Matt and I have what Bethany calls a very unique relationship. We talk about literally anything. Anything. We laugh and joke, but often conversation lends itself to more serious topics. Matt and I have spent many a late night over a drink or two commiserating about past experiences and planning for future ones. He has become a close friend that I know I can always talk to.

ALI  (Groomsman)
Ali… hmm. What can I say about Ali? Almost nothing, because 98% of his file is classified, NTK-basis only, security clearance level-5 required, and the other 2% is in fact missing – stolen, in fact. Much like the Stig (from BBC’s Top Gear) some say he’s wanted by the CIA and that he sleeps upside down like a bat. Some say he never blinks, and that he roams around the woods at night foraging for wolves.

Ali has always carried an air of mystery about him. This shroud has of course slowly developed over the years, oddly enough, as I’ve gotten to know him more. We first met in 6^th grade, and believing that our sisters were best friends (I think they might have known each other, yes, and maybe worked on some school project together…) we decided that meant that we had to be friends too. Thus, history was made.

Ali and I have been friends from that point on, and we even roomed together in college briefly. I was present at his wedding in Pakistan, and won the Pakistani-look-alike award for having the most authentic beard. (It should be noted that I actually looked more Pakistani than some of his family members!)

Ali is a great friend and a wonderful confidant. Much as he’s been an expert at keeping some of the details about his own life a secret, he also keeps your personal stories a secret. At the same time, I know I can always count on him to be a great listener and to chime in with sound advice, often things I’d never thought of myself.

JOHN (Groomsman)
John and I have been friends since 7^th grade, when he moved here from California. We hit it off right away primarily due to John’s good sense of humor and easy going nature. It’s the one thing about California that has stuck with him. I know he’d like it to be some semblance of skin tone, but alas, no.  :)

While I like to think much is the same of all my friends, this is most true of John: even if we’ve been apart for months, and haven’t said a peep to one another, I can pick up from nothing and start having a goofy or serious conversation with him.

While we don’t always stay in close touch, I know that John is one of those friends that no matter how far either of us may roam, we will be able to call on one another and talk about whatever may be on our minds.

MATT M. (Groomsman)
Matt Mosconi and I have been friends since 2010, when I relocated to Cincinnati for my first job out of college. While many people experienced that connection with others that was akin to “survivor friends” in college, I felt a real connection with Matt. Not only was he my senior and mentor through Nielsen, but he was a few years older than me which lent him all sorts of sagely wisdom.

Even more than John’s California, whatever goes attitude, Matt brings to the table a passionate sense of apathy. Now, there’s a bit of witty oxymoron that could at first sound offensive. Buuuut let me explain. The things that Matt does not care about, he really does not care about. However! When it comes to the things he cares about, he is a juggernaut of information seeking. He does not rest until he finds out all he can.

He is much the same in his friendships. He is a close companion who has even faced a winter storm that dumped 5 or so inches of snow on us, just to come out to Oak Park from the city for dinner. Matt and I have had the happy luck to come together through work, but to truly form a friendship outside of the working relationship.

Keep Calm and Bake Cupcakes...Lots of Cupcakes

This past fall I was approached by a friend of a friend to bake cupcakes for her wedding. She had heard about this “famous” almond icing I make and it was a must have for her wedding. Needless to say, I was honored that the almond icing had such an amazing reputation that she wanted to entrust me to bake cupcakes for all her guests.

***Side note - this famous almond icing has been passed down from my mother who got the original recipe from her best friend.....who happens to be my Maid of Honor's mother. Adorable, right? J

After I talked through a few details with the bride we did a taste testing right after Christmas. I made three kinds of cupcakes with three different types of frosting – chocolate fudge cupcakes with buttercream frosting, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and French vanilla cupcakes with almond frosting. She and her fiancé, of course, loved them all and decided to go with all three options for their guests. Now, normally making a variety of cupcakes is a piece of cake but making a variety of cupcakes for 250 guests was going to be quite time consuming.

The wedding was the Sunday after Valentine’s Day – February 16. I decided to take off the Friday before (Valentine’s Day) so I could enjoy some extra time away from work and gather all the ingredients and materials I would need to bake and decorate the cupcakes. I made my INTENSE grocery list that included way too many sticks of butter, boxes of cream cheese and bags of powdered sugar than I’d like to admit. I figured out the timing for mixing, baking, cooling and decorating (with a little wiggle room) to a T! I gathered my recipes, did the calculations for double and triple batches and I was set to bake and decorate all day on Saturday...the day before the wedding.

When I woke up that Saturday morning, the sun was shining beautifully in the kitchen...I made a WHOLE pot of coffee, turned Pandora onto my wedding station (which by the way plays a fabulous mix of oldies, dance and feel good songs) and I was ready to start baking. Minus a few small hiccups with icing bags and my hand getting sore and tired, the day was a huge success. I managed to bake and decorate 250 + cupcakes in a 13 hour time span. It was a long day to say the least BUT totally worth it. I was even surprised at how well the cupcakes turned out and the fact that I was able to get everything done in ONE day.

***Side note - I have the most amazing fiance EVER! He not only picked up last minute ingredients I needed but he came over, cleaned the kitchen and continued to clean as I baked and decorated the cupcakes. My kitchen was an absolute mess and powdered sugar was EVERYWHERE. But, he was such a trooper and went on to make a delicious dinner once the craziness in the kitchen was cleaned up. He's a keeper. J

I bought these fantastic cupcake containers to easily transport the cupcakes from my place to the reception. I thought they looked pretty professional if I do say so myself. Once the cupcakes were ready to go with the final touches, including table tents I made describing the different cupcakes; they were picked up by the bride's friend and whisked away to the reception. Just like that, all my hard work was out the door and ready to be eaten by her 250 guests.

While it was a very long day and I started to get extremely tired by the end of it, I had quite a bit of fun. There is just something therapeutic about baking and spending the day in the kitchen creating something delicious. Maybe this baking and "side business" will turn into something. Ohhhh how I would love to have my own business and maybe even own a bakery one day. A girl can dream!!! J 

Sushi & Valentine's Day

I'm so behind on blogging it's ridiculous. But my excuse is a good one...I've been busy working on my little side business and planning a huge fundraiser at work. Both were very successful and a huge hit so I can't really complain. J Before I blog about any of that though, I wanted to share the wonderful Valentine's Day I had with Ron.

Knowing that the weekend was going to be fairly hectic with having to bake 250 cupcakes for a wedding (look for those details in my next post J) Ron and I decided to have a laid back day and make dinner at home. My lovely fiance surprised me with my favorite flowers, tulips, and a beautiful card with a hand written message. He's so good at that sappy stuff. I think it comes from having 3 sisters.

Deciding on what to make for dinner was an easy choice. We’ve become quite the experts at homemade sushi and thought this would be a fun and delicious meal for the “hallmark holiday”. We decided to spend a little more money and picked up smoked salmon and an Ahi tuna steak along with all the usual fixings...avocado, cilantro, jalapeno, cream cheese, green onion and cucumber. Luckily since we have made sushi in the past, we already had nori sheets (seaweed), sushi rice and wasabi on hand.

                     **For those of you wanting to try the art of sushi making and have never done it 
                        before, you want to make sure you have all the necessary equipment.

                                     - Sushi rolling mat                            - Sushi Rice

                                     - Rice Paddle                                     - Wasabi Powder

                                     - Nori Sheets                                     

Ron decided to get creative with our recipes and make additional sauces for our sushi rolls - similar to what you would get in a restaurant. He came up with the following menu:

                    ~ Salmon Roll with cilantro, cucumber and jalapeno with a spicy mayo sauce
                    ~ Ahi Tuna Roll with green onion, cucumber and cream cheeses with a sriracha sauce
                    ~ Salmon Roll with cream cheese, jalapeno and avocado with a spicy mayo sauce
                    ~ Ahi Tuna Roll with avocado, green onion and cilantro with an avocado sriracha sauce

While Ron prepped, chopped and mixed the ingredients, I was in charge of rolling everything. Now, let me tell you....rolling sushi can be quite the art. It has taken many tries for us to know the exact amount of ingredients that will fit in a roll without spilling out. You have to work quickly with the rice so it remains sticky and holds the roll together.

                   **If you are looking for a fun, creative and tasty dinner to make with your significant other or 
                       friends, sushi is definitely the way to go! It takes a little extra time than most dinners but the 
                      conversation is great and rolling the sushi is always a comical experience. 
   
After about an hour of prep work and rolling, the sushi was complete. We added dollops of all the sauces to the rolls, poured the champagne Ron brought and sat down to enjoy a wonderful evening and our second Valentine's together. J 

Ready to roll the sushi.

Our finished rolls.

Nom nom nom!