Engagement Photos

These were taken the day before our wedding in Golden along the main street, Clear Creek and the history park, and at the softball fields. Since we were married the next day the wedding pics kind of overshadowed these. ;) Mad props to Chrissy for all of it!

Most of my favorite poses and shots ended up being in the black and white. Hope you enjoy!

First Wedding Anniversary: Oregon Coast

J and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary this weekend at the Oregon coast, with the majority of our stay in Depoe Bay.

The trip included:
-An uneventful flight to Portland
-A beautiful drive to Cannon Beach where we walked the main street and ate lunch on the beach
-An adventurous drive to Depoe Bay which included stops at the Tillamook Cheese factory (surprisingly fun!)
-A fantastic B&B room with a hottub on the porch overlooking the bay - you could hear the buoy bells and the seagulls - and J rocked at spotting seals/sea lions!
-Also: our goal is to now own a Tempur-pedic mattress...so restful!
-Awesome: Fish n Chips at an Irish pub across the streets with drinks to match
-Walking the strip of shops in Depoe Bay and enjoying Italian sodas and clam chowder
-An exploration of the Fogarty Creek area and the beach the creek ran through
-An elegant dinner at Tidal Raves (J had five different types of  fish and seafood by the end of the day)
-Of course, there was breakfast every morning!
-Thanks to Google Maps, our trip back to Portland was more "fun" than was cared for, but we made it to our flight and the crew was a hoot. :)

Thanks to J for these pictures!

J on Cannon Beach with Haystack Rock in the background

J standing calmly on a ledge along HWY 101. It's quite a sheer drop...

I chose to sit :P

The bridge over part of Depot Bay and the small town in the background...the harbor is beyond

Depoe Bay

Fogarty Creek area. The beach there was really interesting...the sand was large and a creek ran right in to the ocean!

1year of marriage, 3.5 years of hanging out <3

  

Geeking it out (Harry Potter style) with...Butterbeer!

So, to recap: J's been injured. To cope with boredom, we decided to hold a Harry Potter-thon. A few days ago, I asked J what he thought butterbeer was like if we were to make it. We decided on a cream soda/rum combo but couldn't find any recipes that we really liked so we mixed up our own.
Tonight we watched the first installation of the Deathly Hallows and finally tried our brew. I have to say that I think it is exactly what butterbeer is like. It is refreshing but warming and oh-so tasty.
It would be the perfect drink to enjoy while having a conversation with your favorite Potter-verse character...if J.K. Rowling could have stopped killing them off. (Ahem, Remus.)

But I digress. :P

Ingredients (serves three):

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons butter
3 shots of rum
cream
cream soda
pumpkin pie spice


Mixin' It Up:

In a small sauce pan add brown sugar and water. Cook on medium heat until sugar dissolves and add butter until it has melted, stirring constantly.
In each pint glass add a shot of the rum, about four tablespoons of the brown sugar/butter mixture, fill with cream soda, and top off with a little cream and a pinch of pumpkin pie spice. Stir well and serve.

Now go study for Potions class.

8/20/2011: In which the Rockies Beat the Dodgers in the Bottom of the 13th

...after 5 hours and 7 minutes. But who's counting? Dexter Fowler hit a double to win the game.

As noted before in other posts, Dex is my favorite Rockie. He is so darn cute AND jumps over second basemen with a single bound. Check out those links. ;)

Salmon with Spinach and Citrus Dijon Dressing + Happy Early Anniversary

 J outdid himself on Friday night when he made another great Rachel Ray recipe. The recipe was "Seared Salmon Fillets with Citrus-Dijon Dressing" and included all of our favorite things. 

Ingredients

1/2 c silvered almonds

1 grapefruit

1 orange

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 6-ounce salmon fillets, skin removed

salt and black pepper

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1 lb spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Place the nuts in a dry small skillet.  Toast over medium-low heat until fragrant, 3-5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and reserve.

Zest the grapefruit and orange and place in a small bowl.  Juice the orange into the bowl and stir in the mustard.  Use a sharp knife to slice off any remaining peel and all the pith from the grapefruit and slice it.

Heat a skillet with 2 tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil, over medium-high heat.  Season the salmon with salt and pepper on both sides and add to the hot skillet.  Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until golden at the edges.

At the same time. heat a second skillet with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium to medium-high heat.  Add the red onion, and cook for 1-2 minutes just to soften. Add the spinach in large handfuls, cooking each addition just until wilted before adding another bunch to the pan.  When all the spinach is wilted, season with salt and pepper and stir in the citrus mustard, tossing the spinach to coat evenly.  Turn off the heat.

Layer some of the wilted greens and grapefruit slices onto each of 4 plates.  Serve the salmon alongside and sprinkle all with the toasted slivered almonds.

After our romantic and tasty dinner we had friends over to celebrate our anniversary a week early with cake and champagne. Our bottom (and largest) layer of our wedding cake was spice cake with cream cheese frosting. Unfortunately, we never had any at our wedding so we've been waiting a year for this gem. :P