Grilled Cheese

There's nothing like grilled cheese. Especially when its the processed cheese and the bread is smothered in butter. Some people like to add bacon, or a tomato but I like it plain. And gooey. With a dab of ketchup. Sometimes you have those days where by the time you get home, you just don't feel like cooking. Tonight is one of those days. And for this occasion, my grilled cheese sandwich will be my perfect meal. Mmmmmm deeleecious!

On the wedding front, we met with our minister Glenn last night. He is a friend through my good friend Susie and luckily he agreed to married us. It means so much more when you know the person marrying you. He is very laid back and doesn't add any pressure at all. And its his first wedding too so it will be special for both of us. He said he was nervous but I know he will do a great job. He's so laid back, even if he is nervous on the big day, I know no one will be able to tell. And if he makes a mistake during the ceremony, it will make it just that much more memorable. We had a good time at dinner last night and I'm looking forward to seeing him in his "minister form" on my wedding day. (Still weird to say!)

Beef and Veg Pie

There's nothing on tv and I have no wedding/house items to do tonight so what's a girl to do but experiment in the kitchen! I decided to turn the last half of my frozen puff pastry into a meat and vegetable pie. I started by browning my onions and sweet potato cubes. Took those out when they were cooked and then added ground beef with garlic, thyme, paprika and salt and pepper. Then added shredded rapini. Mixed it all up and then threw it into a pie dish (one of my new ones,) and then topped it with my rolled out pastry.

Everything seemed to be going well until I decided my pastry wasn't browning and decided to turn on the broiler. I set the timer to 5 minutes and apparently it was 4 minutes too long because as you can see, the top is a little bit toasty. Hopefully the inside isn't a reflection of the outside.

Drip... drip...drip

Today I had the whole day to myself. Since Gerwyn's mom is going on a pilgrammage for 2 weeks, he wanted to spend some time with her this weekend so I had the entire day alone. First I went to visit Grams and chatted with my aunts and uncles about my wedding. (Two sets dropped by while I was there so it was convenient to be able to discuss details with them.) Last night I got started on putting together my invites (thanks to Sally,) and was able to start handing them out to family. When I told my Grams that I was getting married (finally,) she was so happy. She asked me many questions about Gerwyn (she doesn't remember meeting him,) and then told me how beautiful I was because I was getting married. I said "so when I wasn't getting married I wasn't beautiful?" and she replied "yes". Then she asked when the wedding was and to my surprise when I told her it was in a month, she said "why so long?". When I asked her when she thought I should get married, she said "next week". At least one person wasn't surprised by my timeline.

After I got back I took a little nap and then decided to do some cooking. I made a chicken stew and pear tart. For the stew, I carmelized onions, garlic and kale and then removed it to brown some chicken drumsticks that I had dredged in flour. Then I took the meat out, poured stock and a can of plum tomatoes into the pot to scrape up the browned bits and added some italian seasoning and dried chilies. Then I threw the veggies and chicken back into the pot and put it in the oven for an hour until the meat was soft enough to fall off the bone.

For the tart, I thawed a square of frozen puff pastry and then rolled it out into a rectangle. I peeled and sliced pears and mixed them with brown sugar, cinnamon, honey and nutmeg. I tried to nicely arrange the pears back on the pastry and then baked it for about half an hour.

So far everything seems to have turned out except for my pot of rice which I accidentally burned on the stove. 2 out of 3 ain't bad though, right?

Oh yes, as for the title of my post, I'm getting over a cold and my nose has been dripping all night. I blow and blow and blow but 5 minutes later its dripping again.

Tea for four

Today I met my friends Saadia, Kim and Trish at Langdon Hall in Cambridge for some spa time and tea. Its so rare that the four of us are able to get together since we all live so far away but when we do manage to see each other, its like no time has passed and we're back in university. I know these ladies read my blog regularly, and will be looking for my post on today's activities, so girls, this is for you. I made the "bad" photo the smallest, ok? Maybe you'll finally get your acts together and start your own blog. Just because you have 3 kids, doesn't mean you don't have time to blog!! Hop to it!

A Quick Peek

A few weekends ago, Sally and I went to try on some wedding dresses. Here's are a few (of the dozen) I tried on. Each of them had a flaw and so none of them ended up making the cut. (What you don't see are the million clips stuck on the back since almost all of the dresses were too big.)

Weekend Fun

This weekend Gerwyn and I had a couple of get togethers to attend, first a "Games Night" at Sarita and Tom's and then a house warming the next night at his friend Ed and Aleyda's new place. It was nice to see everyone again since being engaged and of course everyone was shocked to find out our wedding was next month. Its interesting to see people's reactions, they always assume its 2010 and then wonder what the rush is all about. Why wait a year when you can squeeze it all into a month I say. Plus, I get the added benefit of avoiding eternal damnation from my mom for living in sin. Who could say no to that?

Both nights we ended up staying out quite late and I didn't even notice! Friday night we got hooked on Taboo (and won!) so we didn't notice when the clock said 2:30 am (yikes!). The next night again we managed to stay out til midnight. I guess time flies when you're in good company.

As for the wedding update, I officially have my venue booked, my dress bought and invitations underway (courtesy of Sally). All in all, I think a pretty good start. Now I just have to start packing...

A rush of blood to the head...

Every Monday night, Mel and I go to our weekly "Gentle Hatha" yoga class. Unlike regular yoga, this one is a bit slower and really focusses on stretching. During my short lived running days, I found that yoga helped tremendously with sore muscles. Most of the stretches target muscles you didn't even know were sore. There is only one thing I don't like about yoga. The downward dog. This is a very popular pose and after many stretches, you often end up in downward dog. Every single time I do it, I find all the blood just rushes to my forehead and my head feels like its going to explode. Sometimes (like today) I even end up with a headache after. I try to get it over with as quickly as possible or else just tilt my head up so that the blood doesn't go right to it, but then the teacher will walk by and I'm nervous I'll get in "trouble" for not doing it correctly. So I have no choice but to fill my little brain with all the blood from my entire body. No wonder it hurts after.

Maybe next week I'll just sit down when the downward dog makes an appearance in our class.

WND makes a comeback!

Tonight I am preparing for a long awaited Wednesday Night Dinner. We've all been busy since Spring and so we held off on our usual WND's until what was supposed to be the fall. With our continuing busy schedules (and new babies!), fall has been passing us by and especially now with my move, it looked like WNDinners would be a thing of the past.

So this week, in honour of Thanksgiving, I decided to throw possibly my last WND at my place tomorrow. On the menu, a not so big looking turkey (it looked big in the store!), mashed potatoes, butternut squash, roasted brussel sprouts and green beans, crab and mushroom stuffing and garlic bread. Its sure to be another big pig out fest. Hopefull everyone isn't turkey'd out already.

I've made a few dishes tonight and now I'm resting. I forgot how much work these dinners can be but its worth every bit of effort to spend some quality time with great friends over good food. Plus, I'm definitely enjoying the distraction from the usual wedding/house stuff that has engulfed my life and every waking thought lately. Can't wait for tomorrow night!

A chocoholics dream...

This is the gift and Mae and Glenn gave us for our engagement. I was shocked to even receive any gifts for our engagement actually but this one seemed to get the most attention. It was as if Gerwyn's dream came true. Its difficult to see but that vase is about 2.5 feet tall and FILLED with full size chocolate bars.... Toblerone, Ferrero Rocher, Mr. Big, all of our favourites. Everytime I look at it, I can't help but smile. Its like a party in a vase.

I've been trying my hardest not to go postal on that thing but I have a feeling tonight's the night we will get very well aquainted.

Here's a toast to great friends...

Thursday night my good friend (and now bridesmaid,) Saadia and her husband Raju held an Engagement Party at their place in honour of my new status. Our entire Wednesday Night Dinner crew plus a few others (including my friend Mae and her husband Glenn who came all the way from Markham on a weeknight!) joined in on the celebration and the food preparation. Everyone pitched in and made fabulous contributions. From Sally's favourite Chinese, Susie's salads, Mel's mmmmarvelous cupcakes (and caramel crunch cake) and of course Saadia's everything else. I am so honoured and blessed to have such wonderful friends. I've always known how great they were (afterall, we've been friends for so long!) but its times like these when I'm reminded how lucky we are to have such thoughtful and caring friends who always seem to go the extra mile to make us feel special.

I'm starting to realize why people love to have big weddings, nothing beats being surrounded by the people that love you. Well everybody, we love you back!

We are so happy to be able to celebrate this milestone with each and every one of you. Thanks for being such amazing friends.

Being alone

Tonight is a very rare night where I have nothing to do. Actually I have plenty to do. But tonight I decided to take a break. In selling the condo, buying a house and planning a wedding, I thought I was being a great multi-tasker, getting everything done in one shot. Now I realize why these are called "big milestones". They involve a lot of work. I never have a shortage of things to think about or decisions to make or things to research. These last couple of weeks, it was a bit exciting but now I'm ready to think about something else for a change. Its like playing with a new toy. Eventually you get tired of it and you want something else.

So tonight, I'm taking a break, enjoying my solitude and my condo... alone. My instinct is to find something to do, call a friend or run an errand but I have to fight it because I know these evenings will be very rare in the weeks to come and even rarer when I move and am married.

I remember when I first moved into my own place. I thought I would be so lonely, and even scared to be by myself. In the 5 years of being here, I've realized that I love being alone. Its become something I need to do, every so often, just to maintain my sanity. Who knows when my next opportunity will be to do "nothing", so for tonight... there'll be dirty dishes in the sink, laundry in the hamper and just me, myself and I.

Lee vs. Kim

Here are pics of my brother's family and my cousin Mark's family. Notice anything similar between the two? Cute babies? Check. Happy Ladies? Check. Now what is wrong with these husbands? Is this what happens during fatherhood?

Surprise Engagement Party!

This weekend Gerwyn and I thought we were going home to celebrate Korean Thanksgiving (Chu-seok) but instead we were surprised with a family engagement party! We were totally surprised as it really was the last thing that I would have expected at that time but that made the surprise all the better. Carol had brought balloons, made all kinds of deeleecious desserts and even made lovely party favours for everyone to take home in a personalized bag with our engagement photo. All of her special touches didn't go unnoticed.

Meredith arranged for us to play "toilet paper bride" but since it was co-ed, the girls decided to make G a bride too. We paraded our disposable outfits for all of my aunts and uncles and then the winner was determined by their applause (even of course!) We ended the evening by opening our extravagant gift, the new Kitchen Aid anniversary edition stand mixer. Gerwyn had been eyeing this appliance as soon as Carol introduced it us to weeks ago so we were both so thrilled to receive it.

We were both so touched and felt so special to have such a great family. I know I'm guilty of taking them for granted, its times like these when I realize how lucky I am to have a family who goes to such efforts to celebrate this big milestone in my life and welcome Gerwyn into the family. Special thanks to Carol for all of her hard work and to family who couldn't be there but still managed to contribute to the evening in spirit, Mad, Cat and Sooky.