Wedding Weekend!

So far things are going pretty well. I have been feeling this overwhelming sense of stress this week though to finalize everything for the wedding. I know some of it cannot be finalized yet, but it is just stressful. The biggest stress now is invitations. Arnold is doing a great job though!! He designed the most perfect monogram. Here it is :

This is going to be used on all of our designed stuff. Save the dates, invitations, as well as any printed materials at the wedding and the ceremony!!

Also, this weekend Maddie and Carly are coming from Hays to try on Bridesmaid dresses :) Francie is gonna come too, so we are gonna have a fun day out in KC. My goal is to find shoes, so hopefully I will be able to post some cute new pics next week. The bridesmaid dresses I am getting are posted below. Not in purple though, they will be in pewter grey.

Our wedding site also launched this past week, www.alexandjacque.com. check it out!!

I think that is all for now. I will post mucho details from this weekend, don't worry.

Peace, love and curls,

Jacque

Ginsburg Joins Twitter!

Well Gins is finally a member of the twitterverse! She has her very own twitter, so follow her: @ginsburg_puggle.

I know I haven't been too good about updating lately, so I have come up with a new plan. I think I am going to start updating more with wedding planning and ideas. This way, I can keep stuff I find that I really like online without cluttering my desktop and friends and family have easier access to it as well.

So for my first wedding related post, I am posting something I only dream about doing! I am not creative enough and still love the idea of paper invites and save the dates. But check out this save the date. So cute!

http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/2010/01/stop-motion-save-date-video.html

Short and sweet, but I have to go for the night. I promise more to come :)

Peace, love and curls.

Jacque

NEW YEARS RESOLUTON

Well, obviously this blog has been lacking for about a month now. But I promise this to my loyal readers, if there are still any left, this blog is all uphill from here. On of my two new year resolutions is to update this blog more frequently. At least twice a week.

My other goal, is going vegetarian! Yes I am going to be a vegetarian for at least a year, and depending on how it went, maybe make it a permanent lifestyle change. I am really excited about it! I have just finished my first day and already made some yummy things and got some yummy groceries :)

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season! Mine was pretty great. We spent some time with my family in Wichita and some time in Hays with Alex's family. It was a blast. To ring in the New Year we went to see Sellout. I posted a video of them a bit ago, they are going to be the band at our wedding.

The year has started with a bang too! Whew, Al and I are already so busy. Al has started is Bar review and studying for the Kansas bar exam, which is the last weekend in February. I am starting my new job at The Oread Inn, a new hotel in Lawrence. Along with all this wedding planning is in full force and very exciting :)

Al found this video as an ode to 2009, I hope you enjoy it, it is very funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKYe1KiwywE

Also, below is a photo of Al, myself and Ginsburg on Christmas eve. All in all, a SUCCESSFUL 2009 holiday season.

Until next time, which WILL BE SOONER.

Peace, love and curls.

Jacque

Still Full from Thanksgiving

So it has been forever since I updated this. My New Year's Resolution (and hopefully starting before the new year) is to update this blog more often. It has just taken so long to get used to it, plus I want to write something that will actually be worth reading! I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was great. Mine was fantastic, and think I am still full from it :)

Thursday Alex and I ate with his family in Topeka and his Grandma's retirement home. It was nice to see his family and then see my family that night. We went to Wichita for dinner. The spread was quite amazing. My mom always seems to outdo herself and I live it. She made two desserts I was very impressed with. They are below, along with recipes if you are as intrigued as I was!

1. Sopapilla Cheesecake (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

• Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.
  3. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares
  
  
  
  

INGREDIENTS

2. Ritz Cracker (Surprise) Pie (from Cakespy.com)

Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie
36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups crumbs) --we used the mini cheese-filled sandwich crackers
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated peel of one lemon
2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate. Place

cracker crumbs in prepared crust; set aside.

2. Heat water, sugar and cream of tartar to a boil in saucepan
over high heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and peel;
cool.

3. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with margarine or butter;
sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie.
Trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake at 425 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp
and golden. Cool completely.

Saturday Alex and I went to a wedding for his good friend from undergrad and it was fun to hang out with a lot of his friends we never get to see anymore. Sunday morning my mom made homemade doughnuts which she has never made before. I guess my grandma used to make them Keota, IA, where my mom grew up and her recipe was pretty famous. Needless to say, I came back to Lawrence with all this food that is going to do damage to my waistline.

Alex's birthday is Friday and he is turning the big 25. This is also his last week of law school classes ever, so it is a big week, with tons to celebrate! Oh, and Ginsy got a friend :) My roommate got a half beagle/half daschund mix, 7months old and so cute. I think that is all for now.

Until next time,

Peace, love and curls.

Jacque

Too Much Fun for Rafa

Where does time go? I mean really, where does it go?? November is already half-way over, and I feel like it just started! That being said, I do not mind. I am VERY VERY excited for Thanksgiving.

The past week was fairly normal. However, I did travel home to see my sister in the musical Footloose. Alex came with me and he got to experience Wichita Collegiate Dinner Theatre at it's finest. Over Thanksgiving break he will get to experience the alumni basketball game, good times as WCS. The musical was cute, but going back makes me feel so old now. I am not sure if i like it. The feeling is odd, but not really bad...

Saturday I went to the KU football game. Obviously that was a disappointment, but basketball season is here in full swing, and our team is AWESOME. I get so excited watching them, so I am ready to get in the basketball spirit and out of the football spirit.

Maddie and Carly were in town (Alex's sisters and two of my very good friends), so it was great to see them. We took Maddie to Dempsey's Pub to get a fabulous burger and she really enjoyed it. The burgers are great.

Check out the menu and go there to experience them! http://www.theburgerstand.com/That night I went to the Barrel House Piano Bar. It was my first experience there and let me tell you, it was crazy. As soon as I walk in I see my roommate Lacey, on stage with her monkney (stuffed that is), Rafa. Rafa occasionally makes an appearance with us, and that night he did because his birthday was yesterday. The pianists loved us because we were having so much fun, so it was a blast! Sad for Rafa though, he lost an arm. Now we are on a mission to get him a new one. Lacey wanted to see if they found it at the Barrel House so when she got home she proceeded to call, inform them she brought a "prop" out, and asked if they had found the arm. It was great.

Today was the first snow and I got my hair cut, so very eventful for one day. I got my straight across bangs back, so I am very excited. Oh yeah, and I think I found the wedding dress I am going to get. I would post a link, but I don't want Alex to see it :)

Check out pictures from the week below!

Rafa in the tip jar!

Rafa on the piano with the player!

Me and my sister Heidi in her 80's prom dress for Footloose.

Gins, striking a pose!

That is all for now. Just counting down the days until Thanksgiving.

Until next time,

Peace, love and curls.

Jacque

Thanksgiving Countdown!

Based on the title of this post I am almost sure you can image what I am thinking: only a little over two weeks until Thanksgiving!!! I could not be more excited :) It has been far too long since I have had quality time with my family, or any decent food. I will me excited to take a break from my ramen and rice diet I have been on as of late as an attempt to save money and lose weight.

I think Alex and I have finalized our plans for the holiday, which is always nice for a planner like me. The plan is to visit his mom in Topeka early in the day of Thanksgiving, and head to Wichita for the rest of the break. There we will be able to hang out with my family, and attend the wedding of his good friend Jenna, who is getting married in Wichita Saturday the 28th. I am anxiously awaiting the relaxation, food and quality time with people I love.

On another note, I think I have finally gotten used to the time change. Last week I was in bed usually by or shortly after ten, and up early as well. I have never had such a hard time getting used to standard time as I did this year, having a full time job. Obviously the time change doesn't really affect Ginsburg because she sleeps like 20 hours a day :) In fact, look below; as I write this post she is sleeping on my lap.

Ginsburg, sleeping on my lap while I play on the Internet.

Per usual, the week went by very quickly. After a long day at work on Friday I was able to start the weekend right by catching up with my two very good friends and Alex's roommate, Matt and Nathan downtown at Bourgeois Pig. It was my first time there, but it was quite delightful, and it was a gorgeous day. Here is the link for the information on lawrence.com for those interested in more about the establishment.

http://www.lawrence.com/places/the_bourgeois_pig/

Alex took the MPRE Saturday and quickly went off to a bachelor party so I didn't get to see him that much. But I watched the game, was sad when KU lost, but was quickly able to make the day good by hanging out with some friends on my front porch, since it was so nice outside. Pictures posted below.

Annie, Steven and I showing off our fan cans.

Lacey playing in the leaves with Ginsburg

Ginsburg matches the leaves, here she is completely buried.

The start of the process to bury Ginsburg.

Sunday was lazy, with the highlights being chinese buffet and seeing Carly because she was in town. Oh yeah, and Dexter. I am looking forward to this week. I have already started doing a lot more wedding planning.

What A Week

Wow, I really need to get better at posting! Sorry, friends. I just lose track of time during the week and before I know it, it is already Monday again.

Needless to say, this past week was very very eventful. Friday and Saturday were filled with Halloween celebration, and some sub-par Jayhawk football. Friday night, we all went dancing at The Replay Lounge, currently my favorite establishment in Lawrence. We went as an Asian group, with myself being soy sauce, my friend Steven as take-out and Alex as General Tso's chicken. The costumes were a big hit :)

Because in my friends we have this rule were you cannot wear the same costume 2 nights in a row, we came up with something last minute for Saturday. As of late we have been obsessed with The Beatles Rockband, so we went as The Beatles from the cover of the Help! album. Our costumes were very good, and we ended up getting some compliments. In fact, we went to see Sellout, a very fun cover band at the Jasshaus, and after describing my costume I was pulled on stage to help sing "Hey Mickey!"

Actually, I have included a promotional video for Sellout in this post so you can get a feel for what they are like. They are from Lawrence and are a blast to see. Alex and I went on our first date to a Sellout concert and have continued to go to their shows ever since. In fact, we are seriously considering booking them for our wedding reception. We really like the idea of a live band, and they play music from the 70's, 80's and 90's, so everyone loves to dance. Let me know what you think.

Sunday we went to go see Where the Wild Things Are, and I absolutely loved it. It was so cute and the costumes were fantastic! I would highly recommend it. Unfortunately on Sunday I noticed Ginsy was acting strange, so I made her a vet appointment for today. Poor doggy, she has a urinary tract infection and an ear infection. I was able to get her some medication and hopefully she will feel better soon. Eventful week and weekend.

Sellout!

Matt as Dr. Tobias Funke from Arrested Development.

The Bealtes, Help! album cover

Asian Trio

Ginsy being so cute!! My baby.

I am really looking forward to all of the wedding planning I am about to embark on. Alex and I finalized our chapel reservation last week so now our date is TOTALLY official, July 17, 2010. My friend Jenny, who just got married in August gave me a long list of bride blogs, that I am totally excited to start reading.

Here is the promotional video for Sellout. It is basically still shots, but let me know what you think :)