unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : professional bobby pins

Before my friend Linda offered to do my hair and makeup for my wedding I was fully prepared to do my own in order save some money. She is an awesome stylist and if you're in the Irvine, CA area I fully recommend her. Even though I live in IL now I only let Linda cut my hair so I always pencil her in when I'm home visiting CA.

Cut to Linda and me doing a pre-wedding consultation last year and she had to do some twists and braids with my mid-length hair. She used some bobby pins that were freakishly strong. Come to find out that they were professional grade bobby pins that kick those Goody bobby pins you buy at Target in the face! They are actually crazy strong and don't warp after one use. I had always thought that bobby pins just did that - warp and lose their hold like it was their fatal flaw. No sir, not with the professional grade bobby pins. I saved all the pins after the wedding and have used them for a full year and they're still going strong.

If you need to do your own hair and are in need of some pins I suggest going the extra mile and buying the pro stuff. There are several brands out there but here's one that is on Amazon - Marianna Supreme Bobby Pins, 1lb box for $8.99. Better yet, visit your local professional beauty supply store and test them out in person before you buy. They seem to usually come in a box versus on a piece of cardboard.

pappy's smokehouse

So our weekend consisted of a road trip down to Springfield, MO but our friends suggested that we stop by St. Louis on the way for some BBQ at Pappy's Smokehouse. We ordered a half slab of ribs with slaw and fried corn on the cob as well as beef brisket and pulled pork with fried corn on the cob and sweet potato fries. Yes, it was just the two of us and, yes, we ate every last bite. I say with full confidence and complete passion that this is THE best BBQ that Mark and I have ever eaten in our entire lives. We reminisce about this day by saying to each other, "Remember that one time we had Pappy's?" This is pork so good that you don't need sauce. We arrived when the place opened on a Thursday and by the time we got our food (maybe 5 min) there was a line to the back of the restaurant. By the time we finished our food and left there was a line wrapping outside the restaurant. Our original plan was to stop by for lunch on our way home but things didn't work out as planned and we were so disappointed that we decided not to talk about it on the way home.

If you ever find yourself near St. Louis, MO you MUST go to Pappy's Smokehouse!

road trip!

It's my first time seeing the St. Louis arch and it was pretty impressive. I think the size of it doesn't translate very well in this picture that I took while we were driving but I cannot even imagine how it was built. More adventures to come!

unsolicited wedding advice wednesdays : wedding attire

Weddings have changed a lot in recent years. They are no longer the predictable and strictly formal occasion with traditional restrictions or boundaries. Weddings nowadays have so many different styles and formality levels which is wonderful but can also be confusing for guests. A common question for family and friends to ask is, "What's the dress code?" The wedding stationery, wedding time (evening versus daytime), and location (beach versus church) may give some clue as to whether the wedding will be formal, casual, or somewhere in between but these are hardly concrete indications of the dress code. Probably one of the most embarrassing feelings as a guest is to arrive the day of the wedding and suddenly realize that you are either horribly under or over dressed. 

One way to help your guests plan and feel at ease is to just flat out state what the dress code is on the invite or your wedding website.

• Formal (black tie/white tie) - usually this requires a specific kind of suit and tie or tux for men and an evening gown for women. 
• Semi-Formal - probably the closest thing that most people can relate to is prom. Suits and ties for men and gowns or cocktail dresses for women.
• Informal - could mean something like a nice polo shirt with kakis for men and cocktail dresses for women. Probably something you'd wear on a nicer date.
• Casual - could mean nice t-shirt and jeans for men and an everyday kind of dress for women.
• Costume - specifies if there is a theme or a "look" to the wedding and for the wedding guests (i.e. "vintage" look, 1960's/Madmen look, nautical look, etc).

It should go without saying that guests should dress respectfully and cleanly regardless of casualness. Categories help but as you can tell there are often some overlaps so it's helpful to be as specific as possible so guests will have a better idea of what "Informal Dress Code" might mean to you. In addition to written communication of the dress code, verbal communication is also important. Older guests and family will probably ask the couple's parents for guidance so explaining thoroughly to both sets of parents would be wise. Otherwise they might communicate incorrect information like a bad game of "Operator."

moonrise kingdom!

via www.http://focusfeatures.com/moonrise_kingdom

Finally! Moonrise Kingdom will we opening (in select theaters) this Friday! Unfortunately, for me the closest theater that is showing it is an hour+ away. But maybe you'll be luckier than me (especially if you live in CA, sheesh). Find a theater near you, here. You can listen to an interview with the director, Wes Anderson, interviewed by Terry Gross from Fresh Air on NPR, here.

deconstructed banana cream pie

I have been a fan of banana cream pie for a long time. It's yummy and usually pretty cheap to purchase. But I've noticed that oddly enough I have a hard time finding a good/convenient pie place here in IL. I would have thought the midwest would be crawling with pie places but they don't even have Marie Callenders or Polly Pies here. Boo. Something similar to banana cream pie would be banana pudding. Good banana pudding will have real pieces of banana mixed in and pieces of graham cracker or Nilla wafers too. Sidebar: have you tried the banana pudding milk shake at Chick-fil-a yet?  If you haven't then you need to get in your car right now and get one. But I digress ... so my love for things banana has led me to today when I thought I'd create my own take on the banana cream pie but deconstructed.

So I put crushed graham cracker on the bottom of an individual trifle bowl and then added frozen banana slices then topped that with whipped topping and garnished with more crushed graham cracker pieces. It's not a pie and it's not banana pudding but it's something in between and yet totally different, you follow? All the same components but deconstructed and put back together. Mark really liked the finished product and it was a very refreshing treat on a hot IL day like today. Frozen banana pieces are still very chewable so don't worry about it breaking your teeth.

Deconstructed Banana Cream Pie, serves 6
3 large bananas, sliced and frozen
6 whole graham cracker sheets (or about 8 Nilla wafers)
whipped topping recipe from Cook's Country (follow link or see below)

1. Slice bananas and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for several hours or overnight. About half a banana will be for one serving. 2. To make a single serving start by crushing half a graham cracker sheet or 4 Nilla wafers and place in the bottom of your individual serving vessel. Next, layer with about 8-11 slices of frozen banana depending on how thick your slices are. Then top with whipped topping using a spoon or pipe in a plastic bag with or without a pastry tip, roughly about 1/4 cup. Lastly, garnish the whipped topping with the remaining half sheet of graham cracker or 4 Nilla wafers. Repeat to finish the other 5 servings.

Whipped Topping (from Cook's Country)
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened
3 Tb sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

With electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.

weekend snapshot

This weekend has been the first full weekend that Mark and I have had together in almost a year. Finally his work schedule is back to a normal Mon-Fri pace. This Saturday he planned for us to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo and have lunch in the city together. It was a wonderful day with my sweet hubby. Here's a snapshot of the downtown skyline from in the car as we left the zoo.