This whole "getting married" thing

It has taken over my life. Which isn't bad! It has just meant that I haven't really had the time (or energy or ability to keep my eyes open past 7:30 pm like a grandma) to post more frequently on the blog.

However! Things are slowing down and are pretty much confirmed with wedding stuff, so Future Husband and I are starting to have more free time. For about 3 days. And then we'll be off to Texas for the wedding (and more trying to keep our eyes open past 7:30 pm).

Last weekend I had the opportunity to break in my muffin pan. A family friend of Future Husband graciously gave it to us (read: me) as a wedding shower gift (along with her cookbook and a brownie pan - all commercial baking quality) and I'd been itching to try it out since then. I'd even solicited recipes from the foodies on Twitter and got some great recipes - applesauce muffins from former coworker and fellow Mizzou grad Addie Broyles (an awesome Austin food blogger!), cheesecake in muffin form and cherry tomato cornbread muffins from Mango & Tomato.....the list goes on. And Future Husband found a few recipes he wanted to try too.

And while those recipes are first on my list of stuff to make after the wedding, when I saw this recipe I had to try it immediately. And I knew my fellow snackers last weekend would love love love these...

(Photo from Instructables)

Yum. Car bomb cupcakes. Need I say more? Guinness cupcake + Jameson ganache (trust me, it's good) + Bailey's frosting = very sweet but AMAZING. They disappeared. Quickly.

That may or may not have happened because everyone was slightly, um, inebriated. But still. They disappeared nonetheless. (Note: They are not for kids. Really. Some of the alcohol doesn't cook off.)

They're not too difficult to make - just have a lot of steps. Instructables (where I got the recipe) takes you step by step for each component. Each part of the recipe was easy and I ended up breaking it up throughout the evening...made the cupcakes before dinner, let them cool. Made the ganache and frosting while Future Husband was cleaning up after dinner. Actually put the cupcakes together the next day.

My next task in the kitchen is MUCH more daunting than just breaking in my muffin tin. We just got this:

(Photo: Le Creuset)

Be still my beating heart. Future Husband and I are so excited about this we can hardly sit still. We talked about what to make in it at 6:10 this morning. So. Amazing. Definitely displaying it prominently in the kitchen. It's so beautiful! How could you not?

But I think we've decided that the first recipe should be boeuf bourguignon. After watching Julie & Julia, I'm apprehensive (but don't really plan on falling asleep on the couch while it cooks, so I should be fine). But it seems like the perfect way to welcome Le Creuset to our home! Plus...yum.

So now I just need to find a good, tried-and-true recipe.

Catching up on the last few weeks...

So I have been a horribly delinquent blogger. I haven't really felt like it recently - but until about a week ago, I didn't really feel like doing much of anything! Work has been dreary, it's been cold and winter has been taking its toll.

But thankfully, spring is here! And everything is right with the world. Well, work is still dreary. But at least it's sunny and warm outside!

Wedding plans are humming along. There are still a few things left to do - specifically, centerpieces and table decor. I've picked it all out and sent my flower preferences, but I haven't seen a mock-up yet. It's making my little type A brain go slightly crazy. Other than that, Future Husband and I have been trying to pick out our first dance song. Do we go classic with something like Sinatra, Bennett or Armstrong? Or do we go a little more recent and do something like James Taylor? OR do we go cheeky and funny like the Backstreet Boys? In reality...I know we won't do the Backstreet Boys. But part of me is really tempted to do that.

I got a great email from Andrea Drexelius, the woman behind French Basketeer. I've posted before about her amazing bags - they're handmade in Morocco or Madagascar and are GORGEOUS. I had originally ordered this beautiful mango Cap Ferrat bag (that will be perfect for the honeymoon), but turns out it's out of stock until June or so.

So Andrea graciously offered to swap it out for any of the other bags she carries. But I just had to have the same style bag, so I'm getting it in fuschia instead.

Love love love love it. It'll be perfect for summer! If anyone needs a summer bag, I highly recommend Andrea's bags!

In other news, our new pillows are here! Elizabeth (Lilybethgoodies) on Etsy had some beautiful green damask pillows for sale but I had wanted them in a lumbar shape instead of regular 18x18. She was wonderful and customized the pillows for us and got them to us really quick. And they are beautiful! Now if only Pottery Barn had the 12x24 pillows in stock in Clarendon... Here's Elizabeth's shop on Etsy.

(Photo by Elizabeth)

In kitchen news, we've been baking and cooking up a storm. Among the things that have come out of the kitchen:

1. Pot roast. YUM. Mix a little cream of mushroom soup and some red wine (the more the better) plus a couple other ingredients and you've got yourself a DELICIOUS roast. And great leftovers.

2. Red wine marinated flank steak. Red wine + steak = always a good combination.

3. Donna Hay's sticky black pepper pork (and sticky black pepper chicken - basically the same recipe on chicken). Super easy and all ingredients are easily found in your pantry. 

4. Donna Hay's pork with horseradish cream sauce. Really delicious summery sauce that you could use for anything...Future Husband used leftover sauce on his roast beef sandwich with some Nancy's Camembert. 

5. Muddy dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate glaze and raspberry coulis. Soooooo wonderful. I spread a layer of the coulis in between two layers of cake. But instead of making two full layers, I just took my trusty Chef Tony (thanks Dad!) bread knife and sliced the cake horizontally. Very proud of myself! That's the first time I'd done that. And I'm just getting started. With the help of Bakerella, Noshings, TastyKitchen and a few new kitchen tools (like muffin tins, cookie sheets, spatulas, and maybe a new bowl for the mixer), this is the summer of baking!

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring!

xo,

Carrie