I am feeling all kinds of productive

I'm enjoying the glow of a sense of accomplishment. Is that feeling of pat-myself-on-the-back deserved? Well, I don't know, I suppose it depends on how the word "productive" is defined. But I finished a lot of stuff I needed to finish today - and that's good enough for me!

First and most importantly, I finished the endless crochet bind-off on my latest shawl project - the Haruni Shawl, pattern by Emily Ross. There's something highly satisfying about clipping off the yarn tail at the end of a knitting project (or, if feeling too lazy to locate the nearest pair of scissors, snapping it off), even while you realize that the "real" finishing still lies ahead. I will be weaving in ends (all two of 'em, unlike the dozen or so I had after binding-off my last cardigan project), washing/soaking thoroughly, and then blocking, maybe even tonight. Admittedly, I'm particularly fond of none of these activities, but they're a necessary evil to turn my crumpled piece of bunched-up knitting into a thing of lacy beauty.



Secondly, I finished labeling and stamping my save-the-date postcards - and the task only took 45 minutes or so! (Granted, we're not sending those to my parents' many guests, by agreement...) I enjoyed every second of it, because I really, really like our dear, wonderful save-the-dates.

Thirdly, I signed the room-blocking-off hotel agreement that landed in my email this morning, so now we have rooms blocked off at two hotels; we're still waiting on the third.

Fourthly, I filled out the census form that my dad asked me to complete several days ago.

And finally, I acquired a couple of spring- and summer-appropriate wardrobe items, on sale no less.

Little things, all of 'em, but I'm quite pleased with what I've accomplished today. Then again, I still have about a dozen emails waiting to be answered or written...

Love/miss

I grumble a lot about the many small stresses - and some large ones - of wedding planning, but I'm actually quite loving the process. I'm a control freak (and rather proud of it), I like to be organized, and I like to plan things (I spent too much of my college years planning large-scale events and not enough of 'em actually studying), so this is quite a lot of fun for me. I just also have fun grumbling ;o)

One of the things I miss, though - talking to G about anything other than wedding planning. Like he said last weekend, he's relieved we're taking only 6 months to plan this thing, rather than a year (or longer!). We don't think we could take a full year of all wedding, all the time!

*edited to add:* Not that we talk about nothing but the wedding. We still talk about work, and life, and all that other nonsense. It's just that between G's work schedule and mine, we end up having to cram so many decisions and detail-planning into the limited time we spend together that it feels like wedding-talk is all the talk we do. And even when we turn to other topics, one or the other of us remembers another wedding-related thing that we have to discuss and/or resolve.

Also ridiculously excited about...

...stamps. Rubber stamps. Wedding rubber stamps that look kind of like this, only with our names, initials, and addresses.

I purchased a whole set of wedding stamps - invitation return address, monogram, and newlywed return address - from SugarLetter on etsy. Etsy has been a great resource, to say the least. Not only have I purchased these stamps and a save-the-date postcard design, but I also have gotten a lot of ideas from the countless hours I throw away browsing etsy shop. At least I get something out of those wasted hours??

There is clearly a lot left on the to-do list, but for now, I'd like to think we're doing pretty well. Or at least keeping our heads above water in this whole wedding-planning process. So I'm feeling pretty good right now and hope to keep that feeling for a while. Until I realize I have a dozen other tasks that need doing right away, that is!

Never have I been so excited about postcards

They're here, they're here! My postcards are here!

G and I decided that, in addition to the save-the-date postcards, we would save on postage by having RSVP postcards. (Side note: We will not be using an acronym for the save-the-dates, because who really wants to send out STDs to their loved ones? Eww.)

We "hired" a graphic designer, the wonderful RockPaperPixel on etsy, to design our save-the-dates; this turned out to be a marvelous decision, because G and I aren't the most creative, graphic-y, or design-y of people, and Laura created such a beautiful image for us. We love her design so much that we're already planning to ask her to design the requisite first-Christmas-as-a-married-couple photo card.

The backside of the save-the-date card and the RSVP card were much simpler propositions, and so I managed to use the nifty templates from the postcard-printing website to type up those. After much dithering about fonts and rounded corners and postcard sizes and such, we finally placed our order, and a few days later, voila! A delivery courtesy of the UPS man :o)

 

So now, G and I have a hot date planned for Wednesday - labeling and stamping these babies so we can pop 'em in the mail at the end of the week. Not to mention our even hotter date this Saturday - visiting our registry store(s) and trying not to suffer a breakdown in the middle of the bedding section before dashing out into the parking lot, scanning gun still in hand.

(Thank you, K & D, for making us feel oh-so-normal for being stressed about registering for gifts. Thank you for sharing your story about actually running out of the store with the scanning gun and having to walk back inside to return it. 'Twas quite naive of me to think that picking out my own presents - I mean our own presents - would be the fun part!)

Food experiment #6: Parmesan risotto & sauteed spiced shrimp

G and I needed a simple, relatively easy, relatively quick meal for a Saturday night. I decided to make risotto, because I knew we had some arborio rice left over from G's champagne risotto the previous weekend, and because Gregg adores risotto - and because I'm no longer intimidated by risotto-cooking.

I knew we also had some salad mix left, so all we needed was a quick, easy protein. And I decided shrimp would do the trick nicely. We first went to the local Harris Teeter, but the fish counter didn't have any shrimp that had been pre-deveined and pre-peeled, so we headed to Whole Foods. Whole Foods may be pricey, but they've not let me down yet when it comes to fresh meats and fishies, all nicely prepared and ready to go.

For the risotto, I followed the same recipe as the previous weekend - for Giada's champagne risotto - substituting a nice crisp, zippy French white (I can't for the life of me recall the specifics) for the champagne and the chianti salami for the prosciutto (again).

For the shrimp, well, I winged it. I checked out the contents of G's spice cabinet - he's got a healthy spice cabinet! I ended up combining the shrimp with massive quantities of smoked paprika, cayenne, Cajun spice seasoning mix, and chipotle red pepper flakes, along with the juice of about half a (huge) lemon and a little olive oil. I sauteed the shrimp mixture, including all of the marinade juices, in G's trusty All-Clad pan in a bit of olive oil for about 3-4 minutes, removed and set aside the shrimp, and stirred in a couple of tablespoons of butter to make a quick pan sauce.

The meal was simple, and it was a hit. I think G and I will be playing around with shrimp recipes quite often...

G's birthday dinner: Champagne risotto & lemon-artichoke chicken

G has been pining and pining for risotto - Giada's champagne risotto, to be precise. So, in honor of his birthday (I won't say which age we were celebrating) and in lieu of dining out, I decided to make him happy at last and make the darn dish. Since I'm a firm believer that a balanced meal includes some kind of carb, some kind of protein, and some kind of veggie/greens, I decided to pair the risotto with one of my personal favorites - chicken breast cutlets in lemon-butter sauce with artichokes and capers (lemon-artichoke chicken, for short) - and a simple green salad with a lemon-dijon-walnut oil vinaigrette.

I made only one change to the risotto recipe: I substituted slices of artisanal chianti salami (from the dangerously convenient Marvelous Market directly across the street from the building) for the prosciutto. The salami was a satisfying sub for the prosciutto; once crisped in the oven, the salami slices became flavorful little crisps of meaty goodness, subtle but still substantial. I suspect the prosciutto, once crisped in the oven, would have lost some of its character.

As for the lemon-artichoke chicken, it's a dish I came up with after tweaking and combining elements of different recipes.

Chicken Breast Cutlets in Lemon-Butter Sauce with Artichokes and Capers
6 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 pounds chicken breast tenderloins, thinly sliced (Purdue brand has them already thinly sliced)
4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken broth (Whole Foods brand is great and comes in small mini-boxes)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 (12oz) jar quartered, marinated artichoke hearts, with liquid
1/4 cup capers
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)


Instructions:

1. Combine flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on both sides and no longer pink on the inside; set aside.
3. Add the chicken broth and lemon juice to the pan. Bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the caramelized bits. Add the artichoke hearts and capers, return to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half.
4. Whisk the butter into sauce until melted. Place the reserved cooked chicken back into pan and simmer in the sauce for a few minutes to reheat. Serve on a platter sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.