An Ode to Cupcakes

How is it that I don't really like cake but I can't get enough of these cupcakes?!?!

I lived in the D.C. area for years and never once went to Georgetown Cupcake, now the star of its own TLC show, DC Cupcakes. Now that I've moved out to the Seattle area, Groom 3000 and I can't get enough of these local cupcake boutiques! They're everywhere! 

So far, we've been to New York Cupcakes where we picked up a six-pack of day-old cupcakes (by far cheaper than buying them fresh and just as good!) The packs came prepackaged so we got a variety of yummy (and pretty!) cupcakes. 

We found Pinkabella by accident. While strolling through an outdoor mall, I saw a lady walking with a pack of cupcakes. I had to go find those cupcakes. The searching around the mall paid off--we found Pinkabella and enjoyed two of their super cute and super delicious treats--with milk, of course. The shop itself is a pink wonderland--like you'd imagine your grandma's kitchen to be, if your grandma made hundreds of cupcakes every day. 

A beautiful Pinkabella tower of deliciousness. 

Source: http://www.pinkabellacupcakes.com/?page_id=4

My favorite cupcake joint so far has got to be Trophy Cupcakes. Amid the Luis Vuitton and Gucci couture shops, there's this little cupcake place I wish I could call home. I had a salted caramel chocolate cupcake from this place (with some milk! Oh, 2% makes a cupcake go down soooo smoothly!) and I can't wait to go back. 

All this talk of cupcakes makes me really wish we'd looked into cupcakes as opposed to your standard wedding cake. I hear cupcakes are all the rage, but it all makes so much sense! You order the number you need, you can have as much variety as you want, and they're perfectly portioned! Did you know there's a standard size piece of cake? How do you cut the cake so precisely? Do you use a ruler? Gah! 

Before we moved, we met with Groom's stepsister's pastry chef colleague who baked us a mini yellow cake with chocolate icing in the cooking school kitchen. It made Groom3K so happy to have almost a whole cake to himself! Not only did we get a great deal on our cake (she only charges PER PERSON..not per size of the cake), we also got the flexibility to design our own cake. Chef drew up three sketches--a taller and narrower 3-tiered cake, a standard 3-tiered cake, and a tall 4-tiered cake. The dramatic shape of the 4-tiered version made it an obvious choice.  

Still, I can't help but dream of towers of cupcakes...

Source: www.pinkcakebox.com

Drooooooool. 

P.S. Countdown to the great dress hunt: 6 days!

Bride3000 is back in business, baby!

It's been SO long since I've last posted and let me tell you, moving across the country is no simple task! That's right, we made our move to Seattle in late July and after a month of adjusting, unpacking, and settling in, I think we're finally at a point where we can take a deep breath and relax!

We completed so much of our wedding planning over the summer on purpose so we didn't have to worry about it once we moved. Good thing--moving is a lot of work! So let's refresh--I'm Bride3000--I'm planning my Summer 2011 wedding in Maryland from my new home in Seattle, and Groom3000 and I just graduated from college in May. It's been a wild summer but I'll do my best to catch you up in upcoming posts. But before I do that, I gotta share that I'm shopping for my wedding gown IN TWO WEEKS!!! Mom and Dad 3000 are coming to visit and then it's one hardcore dress shopping day. Yea, that's right--we have one day to try on, pick out, and buy. Am I crazy???

I've made my appointments at three local bridal shops and pray that one of them has "it." You know, "IT." The one that will make me bawl my eyes out. Now, Randy on "Say Yes to the Dress" says "it" doesn't always happen--but I know myself. When I find the dress, I'll just know. It happened when Groom3000 and I found my engagement ring--I tried on other rings but my mind kept coming back to one.

I can't imagine what I'll look like in a wedding gown. I tried on two--not because I wanted to, but because we were in David's Bridal looking at bridesmaids dresses and mom "made me"--and I just didn't know what to feel except "SO. MUCH. FABRIC."

But now that the real Dress Day is coming, I'm getting more and more excited to begin (and finish) the search. I have a budget--no more than $1000. It's crazy how much you can spend on a dress you'll wear once for only a few hours! Unbelievable!

Luckily, there are designers out there who understand. And the dresses are beautiful! I think I'd love a lace dress, and I've found a couple I can't wait to try on.

There's this one from Casa Blanca Bridal (style 2004 from the Fall 2010 collection):

And these from Allure Bridals:

Style 8751:

Style 8764:

Style 8770:

(On a side note: I WISH my hair looked this good when it was down.)

Anyone else looking for dresses? Am I crazy to try this in one day!?!?

A Cake Confession

I don't like cake.

There, I said it.

I honestly don't know why. I have a HUGE sweet tooth, but sometimes the sponginess of the cake and dense icing is too much for my mouth. I'd take pie or cookies over cake ANY day.

Regardless, we're having a traditional wedding cake at our wedding. Groom3000 LOVES cake, so how could we not?

We had our first tasting today (of two) at a local bakery. Going in, we had a few ideas: square, off-set tiers, not a ton of decoration, and within $400. And we want chocolate icing. Yes, the traditional wedding cake is white. But for these chocoholics, a chocolate iced cake is a MUST! Besides, it's different, and we like that, too.

Mmmm, chocolate...drool.

Photo courtesy of www.annsbakery.ied 

So, today's tasting went...quick? We only sampled two flavors (chocolate and yellow) and two icings (Italian buttercream and regular buttercream). Although I wish we'd tasted some of the more specialized flavors (strawberry, lemon, butternut, etc.) the yellow and chocolate cakes were REALLY good! Moist and yummy--and I don't really like cake, remember? I preferred the Italian buttercream: less sweet so I could probably eat more of it :)

So the cake was good! But, the prices were a little surprising. A square cake costs much more than a circular cake. (Apparently, corners are costly!) In order to be in our budget, we'd have to go with a circular-tiered cake. I don't care either way, but Groom3K seemed a little sad about it ("Square cakes are more geometrically pleasing to the eyes"--I just love my math nerd). BUT, unlike most bakeries, we can pick from any cake flavor or filling for the same price. A definite plus since most bakeries charge more for special flavors.

We'll have another tasting in July with a pastry chef friend of Groom's sister. I look forward to comparing the pricing (and taste!)

Speaking of taste, we're having our reception menu tasting on Wednesday--steak, chicken, shrimp--now that's more like it! More to come!

Pack, pack, pack---ackkk!

It seems like forever since I moved home from college, but still all I've been doing is pack. Unpack. Repack. Box. Bag. This post is not about the wedding (non-wedding related a.k.a. NWR) because packing has become so time consuming.

We're moving in a month and a half to Seattle but already the movers are coming to look at all our stuff. As of right now, my stuff is kinda all over my house. Momma3000 is just a little stressed about it to say the least. 

With my parents looking to move as well, I'm not only having to go through my typical belongings, but all my childhood possessions. Going through this stuff proves difficult when you're as sentimental as I am. For example: I went through all my old Barbies and found my favorite one--Wet n' Wild Christie. She had THE best hair (I've always been jealous of those with luscious locks), but one day, while dressing her, her head popped off. Yikes! 

A real Wet n' Wild Christie on eBay--too cool! I almost thought about buying a replacement!

What did I decide to do with my broken doll? I kept the head with her still-beautiful hair, of course! What am I going to do with it? I dunno. I just couldn't part with it!

This is probably how I've come to accumulate so much stuff in my short life. Groom3000 and I encounter a similar problem when going through our childhood things: we know we want to save some of the more precious possessions to share with our future children, but how do you decide what is precious enough to keep? Groom couldn't stand the thought of giving away his marble collection (do kids today even know how to play marbles). I feel guilty about giving some things away. But let's be serious: when we finally do have children, I know we're going to want to buy a whole slew of new stuff! I mean, have you seen the cool toys around today? A traditional Barbie just might not cut it.  

Although going through all my childhood stuff is not so fun, the good thing about our moving and my parents moving at the same time is they want to get rid of a lot of their furniture! You don't need that way-too-1980s-style couch that was hardly ever sat on because it was in the "formal" living room? A new brown slipcover and wow, we have a brand new couch! Groom's mom is looking for an excuse to upgrade her bedroom set and PRESTO! We're lucky our parents are so generous and we don't have to buy a ton of furniture once we get out West since I'll probably need to invest in a solid pair of rainboots (or a couple pairs).

You can't even tell this couch is 20+ years old!

On top of packing, we're in full wedding-planning mode. After vacation, we have a cake tasting, a meeting with our DJ, our reception menu tasting (surprise!), AND the movers are coming to survey our stuff. Gah!

Anyone else have a hard time letting go when going through their childhood possessions? What got to stay and what (unfortunately) had to go?

The Twelve Weeks That Were

This summer, Groom3000 and I are having a blast. We've been kayaking, picnicking, outlet shopping, wine festival-ing, porch swing swinging, ice cream-ing, movie-ing (ugh, Prince of Persia was sooooo not worth it), and of course our favorite, eating. On top of all that, we're packing for our late July move to Seattle! And soon, we'll be beaching! Pretty busy for a "lazy" summer of unemployment, eh?

We also attended a wedding--my first!

I can't help but pack our schedules with trips and activities. That's because this is our first summer together! We spent 12 weeks of last summer apart when Groom interned at a large tech company in Seattle and I worked at a weekly newspaper in Maryland. Although those weeks were tough on me emotionally, they were what truly solidified our relationship into something Groom3000 and I knew could last. 

We'd only been together seven months when Groom3K left for Seattle. We'd become inseparable in the months prior and I'd never been in a real long distance relationship. Honestly, I was nervous, but I trusted my Groom and I started counting down the weeks until I visited him "out West" in August. 

So, how did we do it? 

• Most importantly, we stayed busy. Groom3K and I both worked hard at our internships. I had my family, friends and on-campus RA job to take up my spare time, and Groom had his new roommate and techie friends. 
• We took advantage of technology. How did people stay in long distance relationships back in the day without video chat and e-mail??? Every morning, one of us would usually wake up with an e-mail from the other. Every evening after Groom got home from work, we would chat using video Gchat for 2-3 hours. EVERY day. What the hell did we talk about? I don't know, but for me, this was the key to staying strong. 
• I wrote old-fashioned love letters. I don't know what it is about blank note cards, but I love them! Every Sunday night for 12 weeks, I wrote Groom a card, sometimes silly and something mushy. Every Monday I popped it in the mail and like clockwork, he received it on Thursday after work. He still has them all :)
• We formed our own mini book club. Groom3000 and I both expressed interest in catching up on some reading over the summer, so I thought hey, if we read the same books, at least we'll have something to talk about. Groom and I read very different books (I'm more of a bestseller girl, while Groom is a big Stephen King fan.) He chose the first, then I the second, and so on. Although I'm a faster reader than my Groom (he used to hate to admit that), we always enjoyed the conversation that arose from our reading. 
• We had something to look forward to!  The first week in August, I flew out to Seattle to reunite with Groom3K. Before my trip, we talked about it constantly, and I researched and researched (as is my way) for restaurants and things to do.The escalator up to where Groom was supposed to meet me in the Seattle airport seemed to be the longest I'd ever ridden! Our reunion in the airport was like something from a movie. You know when the dramatic music starts, the man and woman run to each other, and everything around them goes blurry? Yea, it was like that.

Last summer seems like so long ago, but I'll always remember it as the summer I realized I wanted to spend my life with the man on my computer screen.  

**Coming soon: More on packing, and we have a cake tasting in a few weeks!**

The Ceremony: Somebody's Gotta Do It

Wedding officiants. You can't have a wedding ceremony without one. Yes, they sign the paperwork and organize a 20-30 minute ceremony. But honestly...that's it. So WHY do they have to be so costly?

We're on a tight budget, so I definitely did my research. I e-mailed numerous officiants. $400. $500. One reverend even said he "asks for a $700 donation." $700? You've got to be kidding. At this point I'm thinking: Can we just have my little brother, some family member, ordained online?

Luckily, my future mother-in-law, upon hearing our frustrations, found a local officiant with good reviews and offered to pay for his services as a gift! Thank you very much!

A little about our ceremony: Groom 3000 and I are not particularly religious, so we're not getting married in a church. Our ceremony will be in the evening on an outdoor patio at the same venue as our reception. Very convenient for our guests! The ceremony site looks out over the entire golf course with the Catoctin Mountains rising in the horizon. It looks beautiful at sunset!

Groom3K and I did not know much about what we wanted in our ceremony, only that we want it to be about 30 minutes (it's an important moment and deserves substance) and we want to write our own vows. Other than that, no clue.

In comes Pastor Bill.

Pastor Bill's been doing this for a while and will offer us documents with examples of readings and unity ceremonies, tips on how to write your own vows, and sample ceremony timelines. AWESOME. I can't wait to see them! A few interesting snippets from our conversation:

1) He asked if any of our family members were particularly religious. My grammy is a fairly devote Catholic and was kinda shocked to hear I would not marry in a Catholic church. Pastor Bill suggested we include a sample from the Bible in our readings. He called it "throwing grandma a bone." I think this could be a great homage to my Catholic upbringing.

2) Because of our outdoor ceremony location, Pastor Bill advises us to not opt for a unity candle ceremony. For those unfamiliar, a unity candle ceremony involves the mother of the bride and groom lighting a candle each, and the bride and groom lighting their own candle from those flames and joining them in another bigger candle--unifying the flames and the families. Groom3000 is very interested in having this ceremony as a part of our wedding (both his and my parents did this) and was disappointed when Pastor Bill said it probably won't work (a blown out candle is not a positive symbol at a wedding). Momma3000 had a great idea--use hurricane glasses to protect the flames!
Photo Source: www.mydreamwedding.ca


3) Something that caught me off guard: Pastor Bill does not write the majority of his ceremony speech until the day before the wedding! "I'm a procrastinator," he said. At first, this freaked me out. Um, a little unprepared, no? His explanation: he likes to include any last minute details that may come up at the wedding rehearsal, and, he has to "get in the zone." As a writer, I know ALL about getting in the zone--waiting for days until the inspiration fairy finally finds you.

So cross "Find an officiant" off the list. WOOT! I think I like the idea of exploring cake options next. I'm not a huge fan of cake, but Groom3000 could be the president of the fan club.

One Milestone Down, More to Come!

We did it! After four years of countless hours spent in lectures, study sessions, and exams (and lots of fun things, too!), Groom 3000 and I finally graduated from college! Because our ceremonies were almost at the same time, we were unable to attend each other's graduations (boo). Groom3000 spoke at his graduation--luckily my future BiL is also a tech whiz and recorded the whole thing. Now that it's over, I still can't believe that I'm entering the next stage of my life: the real world of adulthood (dun dun dun). It's scary, uncertain, and exciting and I am (I hope) ready to get started. 

Despite the awkward regalia, we finally did it!

Now that school is done, it's back to wedding planning before our big move out West in two months! In the coming weeks, we plan to (hopefully): meet with and select an officiant, taste some (yummy!) wedding cakes, explore our reception decor options (why are flowers SO expensive???), and make a decision on the bridesmaid dresses. All of that on top of packing for Seattle, searching for a job, going through all my possessions at my home (ugh, where did I get all this stuff?), going to the beach for some vacay, and trying to enjoy a summer off. That means more blogging in my (and your) future. So much to do and so little time! Ackkkk!