next up.

now that my sister's wedding is done, the attention and hysteria has shifted to me and jared. even at becca's wedding, about every other person made a note that, 'youuuuuuu're next!!'

our engagement party invites went out earlier this week and so, i am sure there will be lots of unexpected nagging and prodding -- it's already started over what cake-topper, serving set, type of candles, color of dresses, types of flowers, number of guests and anything else you can think of.

overall, i am pretty psyched. jared is even getting really excited. we met with our caterer last night to go over the menu and it's going to be awesome. we are even going to have a french fry table!!! a freaking french fry table with different dipping sauces.

since we are having the wedding at a non-traditional place we get to do all the planning. and though i opted to not have a planner -- luckily our caterer handles all the coordination on the day of-- the details can be fun but also time and $ consuming. being a frugal and creative person, i plan on diy-ing a lot of the wedding. luckily i have a mother, a sister and a mother-in-law-to-be who are all crafty.

here are some ideas on my diy projects:

• sweets/candy bar. this one is pretty straight forward. we are going to get some cool retro-esque candy, i will bake some choc chip cookies and then i thought we could also get some mini-cupcakes to serve along with those. i found two really cool old glass jars that will give it a candy store sort of feel. if you have any you can lend us, that would be great!

• diy flower bouquets and boutinieers. this seems pretty easy. i just watched a video on the process which really took a lot of the mystery out of it. this is something i think the bridal party could do together the day before. having five girls in the bridal party can definitely add up with all the bouquets, corsages and boutineers. i have to scope out the flower market and then decide whether i should go that route or one of the many online bulk sites. again, reccommendations are totally welcome.

• favors. not sure what these will be, but i have a whole bunch of ideas bookmarked. this will be a fun project for the family to help me with.

so i am excited.... we have 309 days of fun planning and projects left. for now, we are looking forward to the engagement party at my dad's house in a few weeks!!

btw, we did pick some colors. since i really wanted jared to be a part of this we ended up going to look at invitation colors for inspiration. he really liked the silver and navy combo, as did i. we ended up picking those colors. i was inspired by this martha stewart pallette (see pic to the right).

i've already picked up some ribbon in that cool mossy aqua color. and my dress will not be blue, but i am sure there will be something blue involved. i also think that creamy white and peachy pink flowers will really compliment this combo. that means that the ladies will get to wear either a dark gray or navy.

going to the chapel.

This weekend, i watched my little sis walk down the isle and then say
I do. This was promptly followed by the best night of her life. I've
never seen her have so much fun!! And that made me very happy.

Congratulations Becca and Frank!!
xoxo

local lovin.

one of the great things about our new apt is that we live within walking distance of downtown and get to keep things really local. about two blocks from our place is the montclair farmers market. i was inspired to get some veggies for a light and and minimal cooking dinner. i picked up some cherry tomatoes, a big eggplant (for a buck!) and then some romarsi pesto, which is made by a local woman whom i yoga with. i've had it before and it's super yummy. here's my recipe(or just directions) for whipping up some dinner with those goodies plus some rice pasta.

easy pesto veggie pasta:

• cut egglant int 3/4" cubes;

• cobmine a container of cherry tomatoes and the eggplant and drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper;

• here's the part that makes it really easy: put all the eggplant and tomatoes on the george forman grill;

• cook until the tomotoes get golden and shriveled;

• bring a pot of water to a boil and add about 16oz. of rice or quinoa noodles (i used trader joes rice spirals bc we were out of my fave quinoa ones);

• once done, add all the veggies and noodles, then add about half a container of the pesto and serve! salt and pepper to taste.
  

super easy, super yummy. i think that jared could even make it (think). its good hot or cold as left overs. i tried to take pics but on saturday, my iphone needed a break, that is i forgot to charge it the night before and it died.

all this local lovin made me really want to make my own pesto and really grow some herbs. so we trekked over to home depot for a little window box to start our own recession garden for herbs at least. hopefully in the coming weeks we can start composting. for now we have basil, tarragon, oregano and mint growing on our windowsill. the pic above is me at the home depot, which according to my married friends, i will learn to loathe. for now, i get a little bit excited when i go there, even though i only have use for about 5% of what they offer.

growing up, my father and mother planted fairly elaborate gardens from which we got most of our veggies and even pickled and canned things to eat throughout the year. i have always wanted to continue with that. there's something to be said about really getting what you can from what you have. we grew our own veggies, and even raised some chickens at some point for eggs. my parents taught me a lot about being frugal and getting the most out of things. thinking back, as i was growing up, i never was for want. and it was great bonding time to go into the garden with my dad and see what had sprouted up each day. i might not be able to grow much on my little apt porch, but at least it's something. and something is really what you make it to be. thanks mom and dad for the life lessons. xoxo.

only on NY: livestock

i ran out for chinese food at lunch and was quite startled to see this
little guy hanging out by the soy sauce.

to whit -- twit?

why not.

i now twitter, though i am not sure what that means exactly.

follow me @nixiemarie.

wedding bells.

Congratulations Jamie and Steve!!!

this past friday was an exciting trek into the city via the ferry and a cab to experience the nyc city hall in all it's glory -- then
back to the chart house for an amazing meal.