Cake, Cake and more Cake!

This week was pretty hectic with trying to fit in time to work out and spend time with friends as well as spend as much time with my Daddy (who was in town for work) as possible and also not to forget Casey! Monday, Jennifer and I had the day off and feeling jealous, Casey took the day off as well. Jennifer and I have been going to the YMCA to do fitness classes and well, I'm pretty much obsessed. I really love the Y and I've found that group fitness classes are a perfect fit for my competitive nature.

Now on to why the title of this post is "Cake, Cake, and more Cake!"....

Tuesday was lovely Jennifer's 27th birthday. That day we went out to eat at the new little Mexican place right across from our neighborhood and boy was it yummy! After a few margaritas and embarrassing Jennifer with a birthday song and sombrero at the restaurant, we went home to have cake. If you have never had an ice cream cake from HEB you are MISSING OUT! They have the absolute best ice cream birthday cakes have I have ever had. I think by now I have eaten at least half of it all by myself. You just can't leave me alone with ice cream cake in the house. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of Jennifer and the cake (because again, I was too excited about the cake!) but I did take this at the restaurant:

Ole!!
Now... on to more cake.

Yesterday Casey and I drove up to Austin for a couple of cake tastings. First to Michelle's Patisserie. We tried plain wedding cake, italian cream cake, cookies and cream cake, and finally Tiramisu. O. M. G. As a cake connoisseur this is hard for me to say, but hands down this was the BEST cake I have ever tasted. It was moist, it was crumbly, it was delicious. Perfect texture, flavor, everything.

After Michelle's, we took a detour over to our new favorite Austin restaurant.. the Oasis. The food is delicious, but what we go there for is the amazing view. The Oasis sits on top of a bluff overlooking Lake Travis and is absolutely gorgeous. We are looking into having our rehearsal dinner there if the price isn't too high. Here are a few pictures of Casey and I at the Oasis.





After leaving the Oasis we drove to Pflugerville where we met with Brittany of Cr8tive Confections. Brittany does her tastings a little different than other bakers in that she give you 6" taster cakes as opposed to small slices of each flavor. We chose 4 different flavors and had her incorporate them into 2 cakes. Her chocolate fudge cake with cookies and cream filling was amazing! Here are our two cute little taster cakes.


After talking it over and thinking about the overall flavor of the two cakes, we have decided to go with Michelle's italian cream cake and white cake (alternating) for the wedding cake tiers and a tiramisu grooms cake. Both bakers we tasted with were SO nice and had such great ideas, but it came down to flavor with us and we just couldn't get the Tiramisu cake out of our head. It was very refreshing to meet both of them and see their passion for their artwork. For those of you coming to the wedding - I can't WAIT for you to try the tiramisu cake!!

Lunch and Dinner

Being on a low-carb diet, it can sometimes be difficult to come up with creative meals. I was feeling creative for lunch yesterday so I made chicken salad over baby spinach leaves. Here is my recipe for chicken salad (today, it varies depending on my mood) and here is a picture of lunch! I don't measure out portions because I just add things as I like them.

Shredded chicken from leftover chicken thighs I made in the crock pot
Mayo - the real stuff - no low fat here (low fat or fat free actually has more carbs)
Slivered almonds
Diced baby gherkins (dill pickles)
1 - sliced up boiled egg
a few diced up pickled jalapenos (jalapenos in the jar)
kosher salt (it makes anything taste 10 times better)
fresh ground black pepper

I mixed this up and put it over a bed of baby spinach leaves and then sliced up some avocado to put on top. My room mate Jennifer also loved this!


For dinner I decided to try out a meal that my friend Sarah Beth posted on her blog. It was REALLY good and pretty low carb as well. Here is our version of Pesto Chicken with sweet potato fries and roasted asparagus. YUM!

The glass of red wine is of course optional, but I love a good glass of red with dinner. Wine makes everything feel more formal!

Nothing to blog about...

I have really been having the urge to blog lately, but when I think about it I feel like I don't really have anything interesting to share with everyone. A lot of my friends and fellow bloggers are doing amazing things right now (Alyson has started an awesome fashion/sewing blog, SB is blogging about her new cooking endeavors, other friends are blogging about pregnancy or kids) and I feel like the things that I am doing really aren't that interesting. Having said that- I will now blog about all of the uninteresting but "important-to-me" things I am doing right now - ha!

1. I found a wedding dress! Actually I found three and it was a super hard decision to make, but I finally made my decision and this past Thursday, my mother ordered my "dream dress" for me. Email or facebook if you want to see pics because I obviously can't put them on here for fear that Case might see.
2. I found bridesmaids dresses! They are from Jcrew and are freaking adorable. I have never shopped at Jcrew, but I found these in the magazine Southern Weddings and fell in love. Here is the picture from the magazine that inspired me to choose them.
They will be grey (like in the picture) and Casey and his groomsmen will be wearing grey suits with black ties also inspired from a photo in Southern Weddings:
I know the grey sounds very dreary and not very summer like, but our accent colors and flowers are so bright and cheery I thought having a basic, elegant color for bridesmaids would be perfect and also something that the girls will WANT to wear again!

3. We secured our photographer! I have been stalking Lauren Clark for about 4 years now and I am obsessed with her style of photography. If you are in need of a wedding/engagement photographer - I definitely recommend her. I know several people who have used her and absolutely love her.

4. My friend from high school, college, ZTA, and also a fellow CFISD teacher Jennifer moved in with us this month and Casey and I are loving having a room mate! Jennifer's fiance got transferred to San Antonio in December, so Jennifer had a tough decision to make- quit her 3rd grade teaching job mid December, or stay with us through January to finish up the 9 weeks. She obviously chose the latter and we are so excited to get to spend some time with her before she officially moves to SA. Yesterday she and I had a girls day where we went to Boot Camp at the Y at 7am, then came home and made breakfast, then got our nails done, then went to David's Bridal, then went to get a spray tan, then went shopping and FINALLY got home around 6. That's almost 12 hours of running errands, but we had a lot of fun hanging out. Unfortunately I wasn't thinking and took ZERO pictures while we were out. Probably a good thing since we had no makeup on and looked like spray tanned thugs in our loose clothes (couldnt mess up the spray tan!). Casey and I will be sad to see her go at the end of the month, but it was definitely fun having a room mate one last time.

5. My wonderfully talented next door neighbor, Krissy Alexander took our first round of engagement photos. You can catch a sneak peek on her website and on my facebook wall! We are so excited to see the whole collection. I will post some as soon as we get them!

6. I am back on Atkins and have already lost 3 lbs. As hard as it is to adhere to eating so few carbs or sugar, I have enjoyed feeling the way this diet makes me feel. I am also working out several times a week now and am SO sore from boot camp today. Seriously, more sore than I have ever been in my entire life. Today Jennifer and I are going to the Y to work out and then a yoga class at 4. I am so glad we are off tomorrow!!

7. I have stuck to most of my New Year's Resolutions, but one that I am really trying to stick to is cooking more and cooking more advanced meals. Lately I have made the following: pizza frittata (amazing), slow cooker mexican chili soup (also amazing), seasoned chicken thighs in the slow cooker (not that amazing, but still good), garlic chicken with sauteed spinach (my new signature dish- no recipe!), and tonight Jennifer and I are going to try to make SB's pesto chicken, asparagus, and sweet potato fries - yum! We can't wait!

Today is lazy Sunday and laundry day. Hopefully I will remember to take more pictures this week! That is my goal - someone please keep me honest!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Whoa baby is it ever cold in Houston Texas! I would have to say this is the coldest I have been since I was in Minot, North Dakota last March. Today it felt like it was 12 degrees here in balmy Houston and I was not a fan. Not only does my poor husband-to-be work outside all day, but I too had to brave the cold for bus duty- no bueno! Well the week is over and boy has it been a busy one! Here are some updates:

Monday: My dad moved in for the week- he just go a new job and is doing some traning down in Houston. It was really nice to have him around for an extended period of time!

Tuesday: Drove to Dallas with Jessica to try on my "dream dress" and what do ya know - it was AMAZING on!! I am 99.9% sure it is THE dress, but am still going dress shopping this weekend to make sure that there isn't anything out there that is more cost effective. Jess and I had a great time hanging out during the drive and we went to Pluckers (a wing restaurant) for lunch and it was SO good. Wish we had one of those in Houston! As we were sitting down to eat I was talking to my waiter about my friends Sarah DeLong and Andi Pope that work in Pluckers' corporate office in Austin and low and behold - Andi was standing right behind him! She's now the GM of that branch and loves it! She looked great and it was great catching up. The bad thing- she gave us a free fried twinkie sundae for dessert and my diet went out the window for that day. It was totally worth it though - fried twinkies are amazing!!

Tuesday evening my friend Jennifer Mawer moved in with us for the month! Jennifer and I went to high school together, college together, and were in the same sorority. Now we work at the same school district- we just can't get rid of each other! :) Jennifer will be living with Casey and I for the month of January because her fiance Carl got transferred to San Antonio for a job in December and she had to finish up part of her contract at Cy-Fair. I am thankful for the time we are getting to spend together! NOTE: I made Roasted Rosemary Chicken for dinner with roasted red bell peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli as a side. It was super yummy!

Wednesday: Back to school, Back to school! My first day back after being off for two and a half weeks went great and the kids were incredibly good all day long! I don't know what happened but I think someone stole my rowdy, mischievous class and replaced them with little angels!

Thursday: This is when the cold came and Casey and I (mainly Casey) had to do all kinds of the things around the house to get it ready for the freeze. Covering our brand new trees, wrapping the pipes - who knew having a house was so much work! For dinner: Baked Cheesy Pork Chops- amazing and super easy!

Friday: Here we are. It's super cold and Casey and I are about to snuggle up on the couch to wait for Leigh Anne to get here. Tomorrow she and I (along with Casey's mom and some friends) are going for my final dress shopping trip! Yay! Sunday we will be going to the George R. Brown for the BRIDAL EXTRAVAGANZA!!! Can't wait!!!

Hello 2010!

Well, we survived NYE 2009 and on to the New Year! Last night we went to Amanda and Mike Vesely's house for an intimate gathering of close friends. It was really great to ring in the new year with good friends and good food. We had a fire going outside in the fire bowl and we made smores and did fireworks. Good times! Today Casey and I have been putting up Christmas decorations and cleaning the house. It's so nice to have a clean house to start the year off with. So speaking of the New Year... here are some of my resolutions:

1. Be a better house keeper - I am a very organized person but not very tidy. I need to work on this.

2. Cook more. And not just easy recipes either.. I mean really learn how to cook without measuring.

3. Take more pictures and blog more. I used to take pictures CONSTANTLY and I'm not sure what happened, but I miss having those memories recorded. Must take more pictures this year!

4. Be more positive. I am by nature a very cynical, sarcastic person and this can sometimes put people off. I need to have a more positive, literal mindset.

5. And of course... Get into better shape. Not just for the wedding.. for me and for Casey. As long as Casey has known me I have not been as athletic as I used to be in high school and I want that to change. I had a dream last night about doing something that I used to loooooooove doing and that's inline skating. I need to work on getting into better shape and just being more active all around. Instead of having girls nights where we just sit around and watch bad reality television, maybe I will see if we can do fun workout classes or boot camps? Or at least go biking, skating, or walking together. Anything to get my butt off the couch!

I have a good feeling about 2010, and not just because this is the year I will become Mrs. Sarah Page (<--- have never typed/written this before- WEIRD!). I think the Lord has a lot in store for me, my family, and my friends and I can't wait to see what that is. I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve and has a wonderful, blessed 2010. Here are some pictures from last night:

My NYE outfit:

Goodbye 2009!

Well hello there! I have been a total slacker and have neglected my blogging all month! New Year's Resolution #1- blog more!

Here is a run down of the month of December:

Week 1: Casey turned 28.
Week 2: Decorated for Christmas... sort of.
Week 3: Last week of school in 2009. Kids had a BLAST at our class Holiday party and I had a blast seeing how excited they got. Here is a video of the kiddos opening their gifts from me!




Week 4: Spent the day baking delicious Ginger Bread cookies with my friend Amanda's daughter Autumn and helped her make gifts for her family (Gingerbread cookies in a decorated back with the recipe!). Enjoyed days off, then headed to Longview on Christmas eve. Spent Christmas Eve with my mom and stepdad in Gilmer. Ate way too much, got way too many wonderful gifts. Got up on Christmas day and went to Daddy's in Longview. Spent the morning opening gifts (WAY too many) then went to Aunt Patti and Uncle Clayton's for Christmas Lunch/Dinner. After Christmas Lunch/Dinner headed out to Meme and Papaw's house to visit with them. Had a great time catching up and enjoyed listening to Daddy and Papaw play guitar and bass together. Went out with some high school friends on that Saturday night and had a blast!





Week 5: Spent the first half of the week with my family relaxing and shopping. Got adorable outfits for engagement pictures. Watched Up and Julie & Julia- obsessed with both. New Year's Resolution #2: COOK MORE!!! (and not easy boring stuff either- push my limits!)

Which brings us toooooooooooooooo: NEW YEAR'S EVE!!! I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by. Seriously though - This year I have been to Los Angeles, North Dakota (and every state in between), had 4 jobs, became a teacher, absolutely LOVE being a teacher, got engaged to the love of my life and my best friend ever, and am now planning a wedding. Can you believe that all happened in ONE year? I cannot...

Okay so that was 2009... what will 2010 bring?

Yummy Soup!

Today my handsome hubby-to-be turned 28! We are getting so old! This morning we slept in until 10 and then did house work before Casey went to his weekly meeting with Pastor (he's learning Biblical Greek!). While Casey was gone I decided to clean out the refrigerator and pantry and found the acorn squash that we had bought for Thanksgiving but ended up not cooking so I decided to look for a recipe to use it up. I found a recipe on Allrecipes (one of my favorite sites!) for Acorn squash soup and spent the next 2 hours cooking it. It was not in vain because that was some of the best soup I have ever had! The flavor was so unique and had so many dimensions. If you're looking for a yummy way to use acorn squash here is the recipe:

ACORN SQUASH SOUP

Ingredients

• 1 small onion
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
• dash cayenne pepper
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
• 3 cups mashed cooked acorn squash
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, saute the onion and celery in butter. Stir in flour, bouillon, dill, curry and cayenne until blended. Gradually add broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the squash, salt and pepper; heat through.
2. In a blender, process the soup in batches until smooth. Pour into bowls; garnish with bacon.

The only thing I changed is the evaporated milk. I didn't have any so I just used about a 1/2 a cup of heavy cream and it turned out so creamy and decadent. Yum!

After the soup making, I cleaned up around the house and we went over to Casey's parents house for his birthday celebration. We had baked ziti - his favorite - and ice cream cake (his other favorite) and hung out with his family and watched football. Overall this has been a pretty nice weekend- and we're 90% done with Christmas shopping- yay!! Now if we could just get that darn tree decorated.....