One last dress rehearsal...

...before the big show!

Handsome devil. 

Taylor's buddy Caffall (another one of those friends whose first name I didn't know until recently!) married wife Cara at the absolutely gorgeous Zenith Vineyards venue in Salem Saturday.

It just dawned on me this is the last wedding we'll attend before our very own. Taylor again served as a groomsman, and he looked dazzling in his suit and tie. I think he'll wear a suit instead of a tux at our wedding. But, this post is not about us.

Back to the wedding.  

Cara chose a peacock theme, and my favorite part (aside from watching Taylor strut down the aisle) was the table o' pies. The pies were fantastic, and I don't even really love pie. I do, however, LOVE wedding toasts, and the bride's father sang her a song and played his guitar, which was very entertaining.

In true Kate fashion, my fairly new camera (I got it for Christmas...or was it my birthday?) really started bonking. I don't know what it is about me and technology or electronic gadgets. You may recall I dropped this camera right before we made it to the top of South Sister Mountain AND GOT ENGAGED! Perfect timing, no?! It's been hanging on by a thread, but I think it's really kicking the bucket now. Photo quality is suffering.

Spotted: Groomsman No. 2 looking great!

Since I was in the back, I got a great view of the bride making her entrance. Love this part! 

It was tough getting a shot of the whole party.

Equally tough getting a nonblurry photo of us.

I'm bummed this photo turned out blurry as these were my dates to the wedding...Lindsey and Juliet. Their hubbies are youth coaches and they had a game at wedding time, so they made the trek alone.

Favors = apple butter. Cute. 

I liked the centerpieces...the wine bottles didn't have bottoms so they plopped right over the candles. I might try this at home.

KETLER SIGHTING! Poor Ketler's new wifey, Ashley, fell ill, so we didn't even get to chat with them as they left right after the ceremony. I did get a shot of a big Ketler bear hug, though. 

This is it! Yum! 

They danced to a Journey song...the same song Nick and Melissa danced to at their wedding. And when I realized this, I realized I've been to far too many weddings. 

Congratulations to the Caffalls who are off to Europe for three weeks (lucky!).

I'm getting excited and anxious as the countdown begins. We're about six-and-a-half months from our big day, and that is thrilling and scary!

Lessons from the Lady

The before...

Among other errands and this-and-that-in', my mom taught me how she makes her apple pie from scratch today.

She'll tell you I made my own, but that's such a lie. I made the crust, but she provided the step-by-step, along with defrosting the apples she previously picked off the tree, cored, peeled, and separated into individual "pie-size" baggies.

Oh, and meanwhile, she was just "throwing together" turkey soup from scratch and starting dinner for my dad.

All of this prior to our walk down to the gym for our second workout of the day.

Not a bad Friday, eh?

The after...gotta get some of these rings for the oven...lifesavers!

A day in the life...

Taylor called me lazy tonight.*

Because I didn't blog yesterday.

That's true, but for very good reason. Our friend Rob caught a giant salmon Sunday, and he and his wife Erin (my running partner and inspiration) invited us over to enjoy it with them yesterday. (Side note: Rob is Taylor's fishing buddy. Taylor was out of town at a bachelor party Sunday. Taylor was pretty bummed he wasn't with Rob when he caught the fishy. With a fly rod. Not bait. Just had to let everybody know that.) We didn't get home till semi-late, and jumping in bed before the 10 o'clock episode of House Hunters seemed like a better option than blogging.

Yes, folks. This is my life. I live for HGTV shows, Food Network shows, turning pages in my book, reading the entire newspaper in the morning, Zumba and gym dates, and cooking something new and different every night.

And this is Taylor's life.
Like father like son.

I feel like I've been super productive, but I've definitely developed a new lifestyle of involved dinners and a full night's sleep. I wonder what will happen when I land a job again.

Sunday's dinner: Pork and poblano stew from the October issue of Better Homes & Gardens. Unique dish. I'd never cooked with poblanos before. Also called for a whole cinnamon stick and orange peel. It didn't knock our socks off, but it was different, and we enjoyed it. 

Yesterday, I had three job-related meetings--two in-person and one over-the-phone. I must say, it's very draining. Emotionally draining, I guess. I'm not a fan of talking about myself and all the qualities that would make me perfect for companies x, y, and z. When I'm asked what my ideal company or job would look like, I can't help but think it was the company where I worked. One woman I spoke with said when you get laid off, there's a bit of a grieving period to overcome before you're really ready to embark on selling yourself for a new job. I had never thought of that before, but I think it's totally true.

I've been extremely lucky with the phenomenal people I've connected with over the past month, but I'd be lying if I said I had a burning desire to chase a company or a job like I did with my last employer. I'm getting there. Slowly but surely.

Until then, I'll continue to blog about the same things. I really feel like a broken record, but I do like the challenge of blogging every day.

Tonight's dinner: Beef Stroganoff meat balls over spaghetti from the October issue of Everyday Food. I was pretty excited for this, but I couldn't get the sauce to reduce, which seems to be a frequent problem. The dish came with a history lesson as I asked Taylor to find out the origin of the word "Stroganoff." Welcome to our exciting life. :)

*Disclaimer: Taylor said this in a very joking manner. He's always very respectful. His mother should be proud.

Always learning

At my most recent place of employment, my co-workers and I had to take the Strengths Finder quiz to measure our top five strengths. Why? I'm still not sure, but I love these kind of personality tests. I've taken lots, and they always reveal something new or interesting.

I can't find the book right now (imagine that!) to confirm the four below, but my top strength was/is LEARNER.

What can I say, I just love to learn. Whether it's learning about new ingredients (like the sambal oelek I'm going to use in a recipe this week), reading the daily news, or finding some DIY goodness online, I enjoy soaking it all up.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  

-Henry Ford

This weekend, I went to two different church services, where I heard more about two totally different books of the Bible. I learned something new about Mark's gospel, including speculation there could have been a thirteenth apostle. See! That kind of stuff is super interesting and worth writing down.

Right now, while on my sabbatical (I think I should start referring to it as that, huh?), I'm learning about what I can tackle in a day without work. I have yet to be bored or have a day without a list of things to do. I apply to jobs, visit companies, make lots and lots of calls and send plenty of emails. Oh, and you know I have been cooking and baking! I try to workout as much as possible (and especially with girl Schady) because that's just what I love to do when I have loads of time. I've been spending great quality time with my mom on her days off, with Taylor in the evenings, with my friends, and with my old co-workers. Oh, and I've been working as hard as I can to downsize and reorganize the condo. 

You'll never know everything about anything, especially something you love. 

-Julia Child

All that said, I've just realized there's one huge thing I've been neglecting: wedding planning. It's been brought to my attention that I haven't done much since securing the church and venue for our reception. Oopsies. It's kind of true. So, that's on my to-do list for the week. Get back in wedding planning shape! 

I'm still learning regardless of whether or not I'm working...no matter how hard I try, I can't be on top of it all!  

As always, more to come...    

Food festival

I live a full life. Lately, though, I know it seems like I've just got a full belly. This is not a food blog, but it's certainly moonlighting under that disguise.

The Story of My Life will return to the story of my life relatively soon. Just let me wrap up the week of scheduled meals first, OK? 

Always planning ahead to the next meal, I made two casseroles Thursday evening. With Taylor out of town for the weekend, I've been enjoying the leftovers.  

I found this recipe on the Southern Living website while searching for casseroles. I didn't even have to click on the link to know it would be a little on the rich (or as Paula Deen says, "reeech") side, so I decided to challenge myself to cut the fat while keeping the flavor. Notes in line with the recipe. If I do say so myself, it's pretty delish. 

Chicken Casserole D'Iberville 

• Ingredients
  
  
• 2 (3-pound) whole chickens  (*I used 2 cans of chicken in water, drained and shredded)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 celery stalks 
• 1 onion, quartered 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 (6-ounce) packages long-grain and wild rice mix (*I bought the rice mix in bulk, so I just eye-balled 12 ounces and used chicken broth from TJ's to cook it)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine 
• 2 (8-ounce) packages sliced mushrooms 
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (*TJ's carries cream of mushroom soup seasonally, but it's not in just yet...I like to buy organic cream of mushroom soup, and I think I purchased the Pacific brand at Whole Foods for this recipe)
• 1 sleeve round buttery crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups) (*I used whole wheat crackers)
• 1 (6-ounce) can French-fried onions, crushed (*Not going to lie...I had a can of the TJ's French-fried onions tucked away from last Christmas...so delish!)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

1. Bring first 9 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven. Let chicken cool. Pour broth through a fine wire mesh strainer into an 8-cup liquid measuring cup; discard solids.
2. Cook rice according to package directions, substituting 4 1/4 cups reserved chicken broth for water and omitting butter. (Add water to broth to equal 4 1/4 cups, if necessary.)
3. Skin, bone, and coarsely chop or shred chicken.
4. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add mushrooms and green onions, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, chicken, sour cream, and soup. Spoon mixture into 8 (2-cup) casserole dishes, 8 (5 1/2- x 3 1/2- x 2-inch) mini-loaf pans, 3 (8-inch or 9-inch) square baking dishes, or 1 (4-quart or 15- x 10-inch) casserole dish.
5. Stir together crushed crackers and fried onions. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder. Sprinkle casserole evenly with cracker mixture.
6. Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 more minutes or until bubbly.

Friday morning, I had a bit of a baking extravaganza, whipping up some blondies and these pumpkin cookies with maple penuche frosting. Oh good Lord. These are outrageous. My friend Monika shared the recipe with me. She hunted it down after wanting to recreate these pumpkin cookies from a bakery in Eugene. She gave me one of those cookies after my last marathon, so I knew they were a WOW kind of cookie. Here's a link to the recipe. I followed it to a T. I did, however, get sugar free true maple syrup (if that's such a thing?) from Whole Foods.

Oh, and on Friday night, Allison came over, and I made breakfast for dinner. Mimosas, pumpkin waffles, hashbrowns, and the egg casserole below. (Like how I started with the mimosas?!) I guess you could say I'm on a casserole kick. Jenny made this breakfast casserole for the brunch she planned in Austin last weekend. It's SO stinkin' simple. Just press one tube of crescent rolls (yes, I bought this at TJ's, too!) into a casserole dish. Sprinkle whatever kind of meat tickles your fancy across the dough. Jenny used diced ham. I did a combo of diced turkey and turkey bacon. Next, sprinkle about a 1.5-ish cups of cheese (whatever's handy...I had a pinch of the Mexican blend left and lots of mozzarella, so I used both). [Then, thanks to a Southwestern tip from Jenny, I sprinkled a can of diced green chiles on top of the meat and cheese.] Finally, whisk together 5 eggs and about 1/2 cup milk, and pour over the entire casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until set. Mmm. I still have leftovers! It's just as good reheated the next morning! 

I'll write more about non-food-related happenings in the days to come. The condo is really coming together. Finally. It's such a work-in-progress...this whole merging lives business. But! I really recommend downsizing. It feels good to get rid of "stuff" you just don't need! 

'Add this to the list'

That's what Taylor tells me when I cook something he's fond of. So fond of that he gobbles up several servings and then returns for even more.

I didn't know this chili was going to be such a hit, but I guess it went toward the fence (if not out of the park?) or something as I heard three cheers out of him.

Maybe you should try it, too? I served it with a salad and cornbread. Additional rave reviews for the cornbread. Gotta give my credit to my main man TJ. Why mess with perfection?

Black Bean-Salsa Chili 

• Ingredients
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided (*I did not divide)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 pound ground turkey (*Because I'm lazy, I used the whole pound)
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion 
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (*I used one whole pepper...never measure these things)
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (*Same as above)
• 3 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices, chopped (*I used about six slices of TJ's turkey bacon) 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 1/2 cups mild salsa (*Dumped in the whole jar)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth (*Used the salsa jar as my measuring stick on this)
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Preparation

1. 1. Combine 1 1/2 cups beans, 2/3 cup water, and sugar in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine bean puree and remaining beans in a bowl.
2. 2. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove turkey from pan.
3. 3. Add onion, bell peppers, and bacon to pan; cook 5 minutes or until bacon and onion are lightly browned. Return turkey to pan. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and crushed red pepper to pan; stir well to coat. Stir in bean mixture, salsa, tomato paste, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. 4. Combine sour cream, cilantro, and juice in a small bowl. Serve chili with sour cream mixture.

Freeze frame on fall

Autumn bliss...