US meets UK

I even like almost free things. I don’t usually purchase magazines and when I do they’re often home design ones (RIP Domino), healthy living, or food related magazines. I love InStyle and Vogue, but try to resist the as often as I can. Whats the point of my rambling about magazines? Miss Ballet Flat at WeddingBee posted that Glamour Magazine is offering a year’s subscription for $1.50. 1 year = $1.50. So if you’re into Glamour Mag you can get a years worth for $1.50 from now till March 15th. Click this link to subscribe.

I do love me some shortcuts to a sexier bod!

Has anyone else really honed their product hunting skills after wedding planning began? Ever since Miss Powder Puff posted about rehearsal dresses I fell in love with this dress for my bridal crew.*

(available here)

It takes forever to ship, so I know I’m not the only one coveting this lovely number. Since then I’ve become an avid stalker of photos for this dress. So lucky me when I saw it posted on Snippet & Ink!

Would that be enough to satiate my hunger? Heck no! So I headed to the photographer’s blog (Jonathan Canlas) to view more photos of the dress. Since all my girls haven’t received them I’m desperate to get a feel of how they fit on non-models and what shoes people have been paring with them, how different bouquets look with the dress, etc. So I was ultra excited to see photos like this one, which shows that the dress doesn’t magically become tea length dress on shorter ladies (I hate that).

Or this one, showing how lovely white bouquets look with the deep purple dress.

Anyone else on the hunt to see your ideas in real life?

*I know I already said we picked the dresses…but then I couldn’t resist after I saw these!

**photos 2, 3, 4 all from Jonathan Canlas

So I feel pained to even say this, because I’d like to think that all Libraries are as nice as the ones back in the states, but I’ve learned this is simply not true. The local library is not exactly up to par, for example, I’ve been on a waiting list for Twilight. I didn’t want to spend the money to buy it (even though everyone is obsessed with it) so I held out for the wait list. The Library texted Nick (they can text but not stock more than one copy?!) but he forgot about it and I lost my place in line for the book. rats.

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So I was chatting with my wonderful cousin Rachel and she mentioned a Washington Post article about a free online book swap. So for those of you in the US head here to get started with your swapping. I, however, am still in the UK so I can’t participate. For a brief moment I thought I could when the article mentioned Vienna, I automatically assumed Vienna, Austria; the article meant Vienna, VA (duh, it’s the Washington Post). Not to be deterred Rachel then found Read it, Swap it - the UK version of PaperbackSwap. Success! So get swapping all you bibliophiles!

like these:

There are few things I enjoy more than fresh flowers, Nick knows this so he often surprises me or lets me pick out my own when we go to the grocery store. le swoon, I love him.

It was pretty tough for me to think about how to give you guys a tour of one of my favorite cities. Baltimore is full of interesting things to see and do!

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But thats what makes Baltimore one of my favorite cities!

Where to Stay

I suggest staying in Downtown/Inner Harbor or in Federal Hill, it’s hard to tell you which places to stay in, because I’ve never really stayed in a hotel in my hometown. Henderson’s Wharf Inn is the top rated hotel on TripAdvisor.com and it looks very nice, they were extremely helpful when I called about block hotel rooms. The Scarborough Bed and Breakfast is located in Federal Hill and has a great website with fantastic reviews. Like many places in Baltimore nice neighborhoods can also be near sketch neighborhoods. I wouldn’t let this discourage you though, as it really is a nice city and the parts you will see as a tourist won’t be featured on The Wire anytime soon. Here is a spreadsheet we made for our guests who are looking to rent houses.

What to Do

If you’re into baseball you should certainly check out a game at Camden Yards. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but if you’re a Red Sox (boo) or Yankees fan (hiss) you’ll be surrounded by your own kind when you come to a game. Baltimore is also home to Ravens, but I’m a Redskins fan so I’m little help on this one.

If you’re into art you should certainly check out the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) or The Walters for tons of art exhibits. They’re on the northern side of the city, so you’ll need to take public transportation, a cab, or your own car. I suggest having a nice picnic in Riverside park overlooking the Inner Harbor and heading down the hill to my favorite museum the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). The Maryland Science Center and The National Aquarium in Baltimore are also nearby AVAM. The Aquarium is one of my favorite date spots in the city, if you’re visiting in the summer Fridays after 5 is when prices take a dive. If you’re into history there are tons of fantastic spots in Baltimore – the most famous being Fort McHenry

Where to Eat

I’d also suggest trying to visit Baltimore during one of their fantastic restaurant weeks. Two years ago I seriously went to a restaurant at least once a day for a week to explore the different restaurants of the city. There is usually a week in the winter and week in the summer when the restaurants offer a a fixed course dinner for $30 of a fixed course lunch for $20. Some of the restaurants I’ve enjoyed dining in have been Bicycle, Black Olive, The Brass Elephant, Pazo, but there are tons I haven’t tried yet. For breakfast head to Spoons Cafe on cross street for local delicousness before you stroll around the Federal Hill streets to stop in the boutiques etc. You’ll also have to stop for a piece of pie at Dangerously Delicious because you guys already know how much I love this place.

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How to Par-tay

As far as Baltimore nightlife the city is a bit schizo, we don’t really have as many dance-y clubs as DC but I might only be saying that because I’m not really “in the know” in that department. A lot of the places to go out in Baltimore are still a bit collegiate. I love going for pizza and drinks over at Pub Dog (formerly Thirsty Dog) in Fed Hill and you can cozy up in the back by a fireplace. For a romantic night I suggest stopping for sunset drinks at one of the cities’ numerous wine bars or dropping by the 13th floor bar at Hotel Belvedere for a fantastic view before heading out to dinner.

My personal favorite bar in the city? The Brewer’s Art downstairs, hands down. In fact, I’m a pretty big fan of the Mt. Vernon neighborhood in general. The best festival voted a million years running is ArtScape – I hope you get to see it! I was *thisclose* to the Old 97′s the summer I first left town-the festival rocks my world every time. It’s also fun to swing by the Owl Bar because you’ll usually see a wedding party hanging out there since The Belvedere hosts tons of weddings. If you’re looking for a bar with peanuts on the floor head to the Midtown Yacht Club for more midtown fun. There aren’t many great places to stay in Midtown/Mt.Vernon, but you could easily spend a day visiting the museums, eating dinner at The Brass Elephant and enjoying the night life.

I hope you enjoy Charm City as much as I do!

ps. This post made me homesick!

was Nick’s 30th birthday!

I baked him a cake – my first cake from scratch which was surprisingly easy.  I usually roll with the Cake Mix Doctor in delicious fashion, but not this week. I always make buttercream icing, but Nick wanted Royal Icing, so for his birthday we sorta compromised because there was so much buttercream left over from the layers.

He loves marshmallows, reaaaaaally loves them.

and candy – lots of candy…

We went out just the two of us on Friday to see Slumdog Millionaire (which deserved ALL the oscars it received!) and tapas.  We went out with friends on Saturday, I had rum and cokes and only snagged this blurry photo of a chandelier – way to go self.

Happy Birthday Nick, I love you!

ps. Happy Birthday Beth! I love you too, but couldn’t ship a cake to Australia.  I could, but it would be gross.

and knowing is half the battle right? You have to register any Kitchenaid Cook for the Cure items at www.cookforthecure.com to generate a donation from Kitchenaid to breast cancer research. I was checking out the hand mixer and someone mentioned in the Amazon review (I’m addicted).  I also checked it out on Bed Bath and Beyond.  I always assumed the donations were automatic, but I suppose not.

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Please keep it in mind if you’ve received or purchased and Cook for the Cure products, the fight against breast cancer needs all the help it can get!

well..to me at least. Not so much to the rest of my family. You see, I was raised Catholic and my grandparents as well as some of my extended family are very much practicing Catholics. In the past several years I’ve really drifted away from the church and I don’t really know how to spiritually “classify” myself now. I’ve always dreamt of being married outside, as nothing would make me happier to marry Mr.D with sunshine on my shoulders surrounded by God’s creation.

The only problem with my lovely outdoor ceremony? It isn’t exactly valid in the eyes of the Catholic church. My grandparents are going to figure out it isn’t a Catholic ceremony because not only is it outside but we also have a female officiant. I thought about finding a Catholic priest to perform the ceremony outside, but it still wouldn’t be recognized in the Catholic church and it wouldn’t be considered Catholic by my extended family either.

My mother, sister and all of my aunts on my mother’s side have been married in the Catholic church. One of my aunts was divorced before I was born and remarried several years ago not in the Catholic church. She worked hard to have her first marriage annulled so that she could still remarry within the Catholic church. You can see the importance of being married in the Catholic church within my extended family.

Mr.D’s family is (not surprisingly) part of the Church of England and are still practicing. I’m not exactly sure what the rules are with the Church of England as to where you can get married, but I’m pretty sure it also needs to be in a church. To be completely honest, until I can say for sure I no longer want to be a part of the Catholic church I wouldn’t feel comfortable being married in another faith. Mr.D and I agreed we would prefer a non-denominational, but still spiritual, service. I’d love to be able to make everyone in my family happy, but at the end of the day the decision is mine and Mr.D’s alone.

How did you decide the religious/spiritual aspect of your ceremony?

I really do. I have too much time on my hands, one activity (if it can be called that) I’ve found to fill my time is researching items for our registry. Yes, yes, I know it’s self serving, consumerist and kinda lame but it’s raining, I’m bored and I can’t drive on the left side of the road. I have fears like, what if I register for the wrong food processor and it breaks after the warranty and is suddenly possessed then attacks the cat? Or equally bizarre things fueled by Amazon.com reviews.

Another plus (minus?) to an Amazon.com registry is that you can see what other couples in your area registered for, what couples with similar items registered for, the top registered items, etc. The lists go on and on and on. Do all these couples know something that I don’t know? Why is a Le Creuset dutch oven considered a holy grail? I thought the Kitchenaid was it!

Not to mention this Bed Bath and Beyond registry check list is HUGE, but it only leaves me with more questions! How can we possibly register for bathroom items or towels when we don’t even have a bathroom yet? Does anyone really want to buy us curtains? What pots do I need to have a decent kitchen? Do I really need an ice cream maker (I’m thinking no…).

In an effort to educate myself I turned to the most reliable of sources (wikipedia) to find out what exactly a dutch oven is and to find out if i need a slow cooker. As it turns out, most of the same things can be made in each – do I need a dutch oven AND a slow cooker? What on earth is a pressure cooker? I’m out of my depth here and my non-existent kitchen is becoming very confused.

What advice can you offer this kitchen novice to register for? Are you overwhelmed by these check lists (and feeling like they’re just trying to get you to register for stuff you don’t actually need)?