c. jane create

life lately · the usual

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 01:42:00 +0000

Life has been happening as usual... busy and nothing out of the ordinary.

I'm actually thrilled at the arrival of fall this year. I'm all about the chill in the air, putting on thick socks and curling up with a hot cup of coffee. Now winter, I'd be happy if that stayed away forever.

Is it just me, or has this year flown by?! I honestly can't believe that it's almost October. It will be next year before we know it!

The house is still in progress... maybe I'll actually get new pictures up before we've lived here for two years! The big stuff is done, but there is still really nothing on the walls. We made a list of projects that we ~~want~~ are going to get done before Thanksgiving this year. We are hosting again (yay!) and want to have some visible projects completed. It's hard to do since so many of our weekends booked up... we're always going to lean towards the fun activities when they arise! But we're getting close.

Not much else is going on... Steven & I did take a vacation, and I'm working on that post! Lots of pictures to sort through and stories to write.

I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of autumn as much as I am. :)

xoxo, christa

lollapalooza · packing for the practical

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 14:03:00 +0000

{lollapalooza 2013 · the view from our hotel room}

Lollapalooza 2014 is a week away. One week! How did that happen?! This summer has seriously flown by.

Last year was my first trip to Lollapalooza in Chicago. I wasn't at all sure what to expect, so in preparation I googled to see what people recommended you pack and wear. And, in my opinion, some of what these people were listing was ridiculous... The most bizarre items included a tiny silver studded fanny pack, a giant wide brimmed straw hat, self-tanner, and a fancy dress.

{three days of singing, dancing, jumping & sweating}

Now, I'm not really a fancy dresser to begin with, but since you're literally walking, standing, dancing, jumping and sweating outside for 12 hours I didn't think my favorite sundress was the best option.

I dressed in jean shorts & tank tops. Sure, some of the girls looked super cute in their fancy outfits. I felt it made more sense to be practical since the objective of Lolla is to see as many awesome bands as you can. Back to back to back to back concerts. It's not a fashion show.

I did make the mistake of thinking that I could wear hard-bottomed sandals the whole weekend. Hahahaha - so funny! I ended up running out to the closest shoe store on the morning of day two to pick up some tennis shoes. Steven tried to warn me, but I'm a sandals girl. I thought I would be fine. I picked up another pair of tennis shoes this year. I'm taking both.

{hello apparel sunglasses tank & comfy, practical shoes}

So I'm dressed, comfortably, now what do I need to take into the festival with me? Last year I pulled out my college backpack and went through the weekend in my head, thinking about what I might need or want.

In my backpack I carried daily, & will carry this year:
· phone
· battery powered phone charger (everyone used this at some point during the weekend)
· walkie-talkie (our group had a few spread out between us, cell reception is poor)
· the schedule & map
· small wallet for hotel room key, ID card & cash (buried at the bottom)
· hand sanitizer
· kleenex
· chapstick with SPF
· sunscreen (in a tube, aerosol cans are prohibited)
· advil/tylenol
· reusable water bottle (they have filling stations)
· a couple bandanas (to wipe sweat or sit on while waiting for a show)
· extra hair ties & bobby pins
· poncho/garbage bag
· long-sleeved tee (if it gets chilly in the evening, takes up less room than a sweatshirt)
· extra ziplock bags in a variety of sizes (to store items if it rains)

{glow sticks & bracelets are optional}

I shower at night, so when I get up each morning I just have to freshen up, get dressed & apply sunscreen. Then I grab my bag and head to the park!

This year I bought a large cross-body bag to use instead of my backpack, for a couple reasons. The backpack itself weighs like five pounds without anything in it, my back got sweaty, I wished I could have switched between my shoulders. So I'll have the same items in my new bag.

We got cash at our bank ahead of time to avoid long ATM lines or extra fees. This year, you can load your wristband with a credit or debit card ahead of time and use that to pay for everything. I'm still going to go the cash route this year.

If you're looking for more on what to pack, this article is actually pretty good for a first-timer. I used it last year to help pack my bag. And this Lolla FAQ page has a list of items that the festival allows and prohibits.

So, my festival bag is packed and ready to go, just need to get my clothes packed up and into the Lolla mindset!

xoxo, christa

sweet & salty · peanut butter pretzel bites

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 13:33:00 +0000

Sweet and salty... just saying those words makes my mouth water! Salted caramel is my favorite, but I'll take any sweet and salty combo! Especially when it's a no-bake dessert during the summer, no one wants to heat up their oven when it's 100° outside.

I know I've mentioned before - food days are mega popular at my office. And they typically have to have a theme. I had two students begging me to schedule a food day, so last week we had a sweet & salty food day. I made a crockpot full of teriyaki chicken and a batch of these peanut butter pretzel bars.

The chicken went fast, and everyone kept returning to the peanut butter pretzel bites throughout the afternoon. Food days are so dangerous. But we'll keep having them anyway!

peanut butter pretzel bars
8 tablespoons of softened butter
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 cups pretzel crumbs

chocolate peanut butter topping
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter chips

In a big bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and pretzel crumbs. I turned my pretzels into crumbs with my blender, but a food processor or gallon baggie and rolling pin would also work.

Line a 9x9 inch pan with wax paper, it makes it so much easier to pull the bars out for cutting, then pour in the peanut butter - pretzel mixture. Press it all down into a flat layer and stick it in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

In a microwave safe glass measuring cup, pour in the chocolate and peanut butter chips. Microwave in increments of 30 seconds, stirring in between, until the chips are melted. Pour the chocolate over the bars and then sprinkle with pretzel pieces (I picked out the biggest one from my blender before I dumped the crumbs). Stick them back in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.

Mine were in the refrigerator overnight, then I pulled up on the wax paper and set them onto my cutting board to cut them into bite-sized pieces. I put them into a container with wax paper between the layers and kept them in the fridge when they weren't being consumed. There are still a couple in my fridge at home - we've been sneaking them throughout the evenings.

What is your favorite sweet and salty combo? I think I need to make something with salted caramel next!

xoxo, christa

married · one year

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Wed, 16 Jul 2014 16:32:00 +0000

{one year anniversary · st. louis, mo}

We've been married a whole year!

I guess technically a year and 18 days since this post is a little overdue... But it's been a wonderful year. It seemed fitting that we were in St. Louis over our anniversary weekend - we went there after our wedding last year! We had a great time with our friends, but we snuck out on our anniversary to have breakfast alone.

{I finally got the crepes I have been craving for months!}

I love my bearded guy. He's pretty awesome. I'm constantly thinking about him and still get flutters when a mid-day text comes in.

I'm not sure we've learned anything new about each other over the past year - it has been eight years total - but we've learned how to be homeowners together. It's not always fun or glamorous. And I think you can say the same thing about marriage!

I always laugh when people ask me how married life is - for us it's exactly the same as it was before! And I think that's a very good thing.

I still attribute our strong relationship to our communication and independence {both as a couple and individually}.

Some people stare in amazement when Steven tells them that I 'let him' do his own thing. We do lots of things together, but we don't control each other's lives, so why shouldn't we each be allowed to do what we want to do? We have freedom, but usually choose to do things together. We enjoy each other's company. But we don't get hurt feelings if we opt to do things without the other.

Relationships are a lot of give and take. You just have to balance the two.

xoxo, christa

roasted corn & kale salad

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 13:23:00 +0000

Kale. It's like the in-thing right now, apparently. Corn. Well, I can't get enough of it during the summer.

The first time I ever had kale was when I made a modified version of this kale & quinoa salad. I bought 'green kale' and we decided it tastes a lot like raw broccoli, which was a good thing in our book. We chowed down that salad and I knew we'd have to work more kale into our diets.

Steven grilled some corn and we ended up with some leftover ears. We could have just eaten it as is, but I thought it would taste great with the kale. A little sweetness with the earthiness.

It was really good. Really light, yet filling. Perfect for a summer meal. And it's super easy to throw together, too.

roasted corn & kale salad
2 ears of roasted or grilled corn, kernels cut off
1 bunch of kale, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup of sliced almonds
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1 lemon, juiced

Put all the veggies and almonds in a bowl, toss together. Drizzle the lemon juice over the salad and toss again. Top with feta crumbles and enjoy!

A few notes: I recommend adding the feta to each individual bowl in case you have leftovers, the feta can get a little soggy if you mix it all in.

I just used lemon juice to dress this salad, but you could easily use your favorite vinaigrette instead.

What are your favorite summer recipes? I tend to go for things off the grill, or meals that don't require any heat!

xoxo, christa

new house numbers · DIY

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 19 Jun 2014 12:19:00 +0000

So, let's talk house numbers. Probably the most important part of your house, if you want anyone to find you that is.

Our house came with numbers, prominently displayed and easy to see. Right under a light fixture so you can even see them well at night. So when we order food at 9pm, the delivery driver can easily find us. Priorities, right?

But they were less than attractive. Brassy-gold numbers on a white-ish, beige-ish plastic frame. The numbers were off-center, the screws were all rusty.

So I started looking at different options at the hardware stores. I really liked the metal ones that you had to special order with your house number and street name. But as you can imagine, with the phrase 'special order' those babies were much pricier than I was going for.

Then I thought I would just take the numbers off the existing frame thing, spray paint that with a fresh coat of something other than sun-faded beige, and add new numbers. Yeah, no. Those shiny brass numbers were there to stay for all of eternity.

Plan C. DIY that B.

I bought a plank of wood that was the height I needed and had the Lowe's man cut it down to the width I needed. I bought the pretty numbers that matched the finish of the light fixtures and front door hardware, used the template to drill holes into the wood, painted the wood white, screwed the numbers in, screwed the wood into the existing holes in the brick. Wah-lah!

{before & after}

Our new house numbers are so much cleaner and go better with our style. Not to mention, they thankfully didn't cost an arm and a leg.

xoxo, christa

ps: I definitely photoshopped our house numbers for safety.

around here · an update

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 14:53:00 +0000

Life is ticking along and I'm thoroughly enjoying summertime, even the rainy days. We're spending time outside when we can, doing lots of grilling, eating lots of fresh fruit and veggies.

A few days each week, Steven & I have been going to a trail close to our house after work. He runs and I walk or bike. I'm still going to gym a couple days, too, but it's really nice to go together. And I love that we still have hours of daylight left when we get home.

It's hard to believe, but we've been in the house for over a year now. It's wonderful. I still love it. We've only hung exactly five things on a total of three walls, so it's on my summer to-do list to buy frames, print some photos and get lots more things hung. I also have some crafty projects I've had on my list for ages... I miss being crafty!

Our front flower bed is finally done! We have a little more work to do in the front yard, but the flower bed is done and mulched. I've also got another container garden going. Tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, parsley and basil. Posts in progress...

Steven & I are working on planning out the rest of our summer. We know we're going to Chicago in August for Lollapalooza, but we'd like to get to St. Louis a couple times and maybe take a mini-honeymoon since we never took one. And I want to visit more places in Columbia, or near by, that we've not been to yet.

xoxo, christa

italian burgers

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 22 May 2014 00:53:00 +0000

I made these burgers back in the fall and am finally getting around to posting about them! I was inspired by a yummy italian sandwich I had on a ciabatta roll. I thought it would make a fun and yummy burger. I think I was right.

We are huge fans of mozzarella cheese. And pesto. And sun-dried tomatoes. And just burgers in general. I'm sure we'll be grilling up some of these soon!

italian burgers
1 pound ground beef
italian seasoning
fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
sun-dried tomatoes
basil pesto
ciabatta roll, warmed

To season my ground beef prior to grilling, I used about a tablespoon of italian seasoning and a couple tablespoons of the pesto. I formed them into patties that would fit onto the ciabatta rolls I picked up at the store. They were a little smaller than your traditional burger buns.

I grilled the burgers to the temperature we like while the rolls warmed in the oven. I cut the rolls in half and spread a good amount of pesto on each side. Then I layered the burger, tomatoes and mozzarella.

The mozzarella was warm and gooey, the pesto worked itself into the nooks of the ciabatta, and the sun-dried tomatoes offered a little bit of sweetness. Quite tasty!

These would probably be pretty good with avocado pesto in place of the basil pesto... maybe we'll have to try that next!

xoxo, christa

our dinner deal

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 12:18:00 +0000

{kale & quinoa salad}

This begins a long narrative about my kitchen counters and table. It does end with a point. But you've been warned.

A couple months ago, I was in the kitchen one weekend afternoon prepping food for future dinners. One of our cats, Elliott, ran into the kitchen, jumped right up on the counter behind me and started across our warm stovetop. I didn't even have enough time to turn around and stop him before he jumped back and ran out of the room. I checked him out, and luckily he was fine.

So first, yes. Yes, the cats jump up onto the counters and sometimes walk across the stove. It's not ideal. I always wipe them down with a cleaner before I prep or cook anything. I've tried to keep them off, but it's not worth me stopping what I'm doing or getting up every 2 seconds to get them down. They're cats and they are going to jump on things. They like to be up high. They are cats. So I'd rather just have to clean the counter tops and stove before I start working in there.

{homemade pizzas, at the dinner table!}

The night after the almost-burned paws incident, Steven and I were in the kitchen fixing dinner. Elliott was on the kitchen table and I remarked that I was sorry that he hurt himself, but I was glad he didn't want to be on the counter tops. Steven said that he shouldn't even be on the table. And I responded by saying something like "Who cares if he's on the table, we don't use it anyway. Only if people come over for a meal." You'll typically find us at the coffee table eating and watching TV simultaneously.

When dinner was ready, I suggested we eat at the table. Steven agreed. We ate and actually had a real conversation that wasn't about the dumb show on the television!

{grits with collard greens & roasted tomatoes, crab cakes & chipotle aioli,

cheesy quinoa cakes & roasted green beans, chicken parmesan}

We cleaned up the kitchen and were heading back to the living room when Steven said "How about this. How about any night you cook dinner, or I cook dinner, and it's not take-out or delivery, we eat at the table. No phones, no computers."

I was very happily shocked. "Deal."

I had thought about suggesting the very same thing for a while, but figured Steven would object. I was glad he made the suggestion. :) We've been at it for over three months and are still going strong. It has also encouraged me to keep up with meal planning and cooking meals at home because I enjoy the time so much.

We're both enjoying our dinner time. I hope we keep it up forever.

xoxo, christa

flower bed · starting from scratch

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 19:47:00 +0000

{the front bed as of saturday - April 12, 2014 - we've owned the house for one year!}

When we moved into our house, the flower bed along the front of house was ugly and in bad shape. And the pest inspection alerted us that the mulch layer was too high, making it easier for termites and other nasty bugs to get inside.

{the front bed on the day we bought the house - April 12, 2013}

So besides the fact that the trees and bushes were all dying, except one little guy, we had to remove several inches of mulch and dirt anyway. And we don't really care for the look of red mulch (did you know a lot mulch is dyed?!). By the time we finished cleaning everything out, it was time for the wedding and we were deep into summer - much too hot to plant new bushes or shrubs.

{the front bed as of March 2014}

So this is how it sat from June 2013 until late March this year. We were basically starting from scratch. We added that ugly black downspout last summer to divert the rainwater that comes pouring out of that spout. It washed the mulch (when it was there) away and then a giant puddle formed.

We still needed to remove a couple inches of dirt, because it was still too high and most of what's there is a rocky clump of hard clay soil. And I've heard that plants like soil that will, ya know, actually drain.

So we started our work this spring by fixing the downspout. We spent part of a day digging a trench and burying the downspout that used to pour right into the flower bed. So now it's buried and won't cause a issue once we plant the new shrubs/bushes and lay down the mulch. There is a temporary drain cap pictured, we purchased a pop-up drain that will soon replace it.

{trench dug | downspout extender buried | temporary drain cap extending into the yard}

So then it was on to prepping the bed. We rented a tiller from Home Depot (the least expensive option in our area) and loosened up the top layer of clay soil so we could remove a bunch of it. We needed to lower the dirt level so once we add the mulch, it's not sitting up on the bricks again.

Then we dug a small trench along the grass line to put in the metal edging. Eventually we'd like to add a row of bricks or stones, but this was step one.

{metal edging installed}

On to the plants. I spent a decent amount of time researching plants. I checked to find out our zone (we're a 6) so I could identify plants that would grow well in our yard. The state botanical garden website was an awesome resource, as was a local nursery.

{the front bed, before clean up. you can see the foundation!}

I knew that I wanted a row of boxwood in front of the windows. They are an evergreen so we'll always have a little bit of color up there. We liked the idea of putting something tall in front of the brick, like one of the previous owners had done. So I looked at variations of boxwood that grew tall and thin. I found japanese sky pencil holly and we bought four in two different heights to flank the windows. They grow to about eight feet tall, one foot wide.

The boxwoods and mulch will come next. We may not get any flowers in the ground this year, but I'll just be glad to have something other than dirt to look at! And I'm sure our neighbors will too.

xoxo, christa

chicken bacon ranch & bbq chicken bacon flatbread sandwiches

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 16:07:00 +0000

There is bacon involved, so don't tell me I have to convince you to try these! If you prep the ingredients ahead, they are great sandwiches to make when you need a quick meal.

Steven & I love the chicken bacon ranch combo and I was jonesing for bbq chicken. So I made one of each and we each had half. :)

I poached two chicken breasts cubed them, and split them into two bowls. Then I mixed it with the ranch and bbq sauce and stuck them in the fridge until I was ready for them. You could even do this with leftover baked chicken.

I recently started making bacon in the oven - what a time {and splatter!} saver! I stick mine in the oven at 400* and let them cook until our preferred doneness. I usually flip the slices over once or twice.

I layered the ingredients onto the flatbreads and stuck them in the oven to heat through and allow the cheese to melt. So we have cheddar cheese and chicken on one side, bacon and cheddar cheese on the other. I usually add a little more dressing/sauce before putting them in. I also like to add a dash of italian seasoning to the chicken bacon ranch sandwich.

After the cheese is melted, I close up the sandwiches and let them go for another few minutes. Then I pull them out, slice them up and we get this deliciousness...

{chicken bacon ranch flatbread sandwich}

{bbq chicken bacon flatbread sandwich}

chicken bacon ranch or bbq chicken bacon flatbread sandwiches
ingredients:
cooked chicken breasts, cubed
cheddar cheese slices
cooked bacon slices
ranch dressing of your choice
bbq sauce of your choice
flatbreads {we use flatouts}

There is no real recipe for this - it kind of depends on how many sandwiches you want and how big they will be. I cooked two breasts, but didn't use all of them for our two sandwiches - and they were pretty stuffed! You can use as much or as little sauce as you want. I used two slices of bacon and three slices of cheese per sandwich.

Super delicious and super easy. In fact, I think this is what we're having for dinner tonight. :)

xoxo, christa

do clams smile? · an update

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 16:52:00 +0000

{my new ampersand from make29}

I'm still very much alive. Happy as a clam, actually! {By the way, how do we know that clams are happy? It's not like they smile, right?}

I just don't feel like I have anything profound to say lately. Life is chugging along, but I can't really write about what is hovering over my mind lately. So writing about every day life is a little challenging. Let me tell you what I can though:

Marriage is going quite well. I'm pleased to report that our relationship hasn't changed much at all, except that now we call each other husband & wife. And that's exactly the way I think it should be. :)

{the first snow we experienced while living in our house. much too much followed}

The house is good! I am waiting until we have some brighter days to take updated photos of the interior. We got our fence installed in November, we will be staining it this spring. We are currently doing some garden planning for the outdoors. {I am planning a post for that!}

I'm also getting ready to tackle some spring cleaning and reorganization. After living in the house for almost a year, I have a better idea of what should go where. I'm also ready to do some more purging. Lack of closet space has influenced that!

I've been meal planning on a regular basis now. Trying new recipes is keeping things interesting. I will work on some more recipe posts once I have tried the new recipes more than once or twice. And when the sun comes back into my life - I need that for good pictures! Food posts are what I find most enjoyable right now.

{ice skating in st. louis with our besties}

We've taken a handful of trips to St. Louis already this year. Our good friends live there and we're really enjoying getting to know the area better, and eating at restaurants that offer more than pizza or a cheeseburger. The Columbia restaurant scene could use a little big-city influence!

I am NOT pregnant, so no need to speculate about that! :) I'm healthy, Steven is healthy.

The cats are pretty much the same. We took them out to explore the fenced yard for the first time a couple weeks ago. They loved it! Baby Rusty chipped one of his fangs, which I may have slightly over-reacted to. It just made me so sad! Toby is good, but still goes through cycles of over-eating. It's hard to feed three cats differently, but I try to distract him after I think he's had enough. Elliott is actually becoming a little more friendly. Older age must have imparted some wisdom. Ha!

Life in general is pretty much same ol', same ol'. Go to work, cook and clean, hang out with friends, go on dates with Steven, do nothing at home, etc.

So there is a little update for ya. If anyone is still reading, that is! Hopefully I'll be back with some new posts soon. :)

xoxo, christa

life lately · cold

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 12:40:00 +0000

I've come here frequently in the past few weeks, trying to type out anything that will flow from my brain to my finger tips. But there isn't anything flowing right now. I keep willing myself to 'just write about anything!' and then... nothing. I'm going to chalk it up to winter sads. It's been so brutally cold. I really thrive on sunny skies.

I will say that we've had a pretty busy January, especially considering it's only the 22nd! Getting the house cleared of all holiday decorations, cleaning the house in general, lots of time with friends, going to the gym, searching for a new dryer...

The gym we belong to has four locations and I've always gone to the one closest to my office. One Saturday morning Steven took me to the location closer to our house. I'm always a little apprehensive when I walk into a new gym, so it was good to go with him since he's been before and knew where everything was. Then, since I had MLK day off, I went to an ab lab class, did a mile on the treadmill and a couple miles on the bike. My abs were hurting!

I'll be honest and say that we still have a handful of christmas decorations out. And the one's I've pulled down are piled in our guest room waiting for me to organize and store them. Most things can go up in the attic, but I don't want to put anything up there that can get ruined if they melt or freeze. Maybe I'll do that this weekend...

Steven and I have had a couple of date nights this month. We spend almost all evenings and weekends together, but somehow putting the title on it makes it seem more special! One night we went to see Nebraska at a small, locally-owned theater. Before the movie we went across the street to a new-ish 'european foods' place. They have the most delicious Belgian waffles and scrumptious bretzel sandwiches.

We've also doing all sorts of stuff with our friends lately. In fact, last week we were out till about midnight three week-nights in a row. That is unheard of for me. But I can sleep with I'm dead. Or when I take that nap after work the next day. ;)

Our dryer stopped working almost three months ago. We're limping by while debating on what to do next. I've drug our wet laundry all around town, using my sister's dryer and most recently the laundromat dryer. I finally called a repair service to come diagnose it a couple weeks ago. And it's dead. Well, I mean technically it can be repaired for about $200. But we paid a quarter of that for the used (but in good condition) dryer five years ago. So we're now deciding if we want to buy a used dryer to get us by for a while longer so we can save more money for a new washer/dryer set, or if we want to buy a new, but less expensive set now.

So life is moving along. We're getting back into meal planning this week, so hopefully I'll have some new recipes to share soon!

I hope you guys are surviving winter - we're doing our best here in Missouri!

xoxo, christa

soup sunday · cheesy ham & potato soup

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 23:35:00 +0000

Oh, winter. You're powerful, and you've made that perfectly clear today. We've gotten almost six inches of snow, it feels like -13 degrees out there and there are 25 mph gusts of wind. Tomorrow, the high is 0. Nasty.

I'm so glad that our new house is right off of a P1 (first priority, plowed first) road. And all the roads between home and work are P1. I haven't been nearly as stressed out when driving in the snow, I know I'll be able to get home!

In preparation for today's storm, we did our grocery shopping yesterday morning. Steven and I were both craving some bone-warming soup and this cheesy ham and potato soup fit the bill perfectly!

It's super easy. I added a few extra steps because of our preferences, but I'm sure they were worth it! We each had a big bowl and a grilled cheese with fontina... oh so yummy.

cheesy ham & potato soup
4 cups diced potatoes
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground pepper, or to taste

5 tablespoons butter

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese
adapted from this recipe

In a stock pot, melt two tablespoons of butter and saute the onions and celery until translucent and tender. Add in two cups of stock and bring to a boil for a few minutes (I do this to cook down the onion and celery further - I like them super soft in soups).

Add in the last two and a half cups of stock and the ham. Bring to a boil and then add the salt, pepper and potatoes. Return to a boil and immediately drop the heat to medium, letting the potatoes cook for 15-20 minutes.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about one minute. Slowly stir in heavy cream to prevent lumps from forming, doing the same with the stock until it's well combined. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until it started to thicken, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add in the cheese. Whisk until completely combined and set aside.

After the potatoes are fork tender, stir the cheesy roux into the stockpot until combined. Bring to a boil, cover and take off the heat. Allow the soup to sit for a few minutes before serving. Now is the perfect time to make those grilled cheeses for dipping.

Delicious. I had a big bowl for lunch today and I might just grab another for dinner too... It's cheesy, but not heavy. The potatoes are cooked just perfectly and the salty ham is wonderful. Yum.

I hope everyone is staying cozy and warm at home. This soup has certainly helped us. :)

xoxo, christa

savoring 2013 {a review}

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 30 Dec 2013 21:52:00 +0000

At the beginning of the year I announced that my word, or theme, for the year was to savor every minute. I think I did a pretty good job.

2013 was a busy year. We started the home-buying process, worked on planning a wedding, bought a house, cleaned a house, painted a house, moved in to a house, finished planning a wedding, had a wedding, recovered from a wedding, went on vacation, worked on house projects, enjoyed time with friends, worked on house projects, hosted thanksgiving, traveled for christmas... and still did normal life things like go to work, grocery shop, household chores and do things with friends.

This is all to say that I have really savored my year. Instead of taking the time to blog about every little thing I was savoring, I used that time to DO more. Or sometimes do less. I actively thought about whether or not I was enjoying myself in the moment. Sounds silly to actually say that, but I have a tendency to get caught up in the 'what's next' thoughts sometimes.

I was very content just living life this year. I really enjoy this space, my teeny-tiny little corner of the internet. There were times that I wished I had written more posts, but the actual happenings of life were more of a priority. Instagram helped me document the year - that place has almost become mini-blog for so many users.

I'm not yet sure what 2014 holds for me. After having such a strategic plan for 2013 it feels a little odd to not know what is coming up next. But I'm going to embrace that and work on letting go and try to be a little more spontaneous.

I don't yet have a specific word or theme for 2014... I'm still thinking about it. It might end up just being "let go" or "relax."

I hope everyone enjoyed the end of 2013 and that your new year starts off wonderfully.

xoxo, christa

red velvet cookies

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 14:00:00 +0000

It's not the holidays without cookies. Am I right?! Frosted sugar cookies, peppermint chip cookies, cranberry chocolate chunk cookies, mint meltaway cookies or even these red velvet cookies.

And not just a red velvet cookie - but red velvet cookies three ways. With white chocolate chips, bite-sized, or frosted with cream cheese icing. You can't go wrong with any variation!

The white chocolate chip variety are great to have in the cookie jar. Stick one in the microwave for five seconds and the chips will be gooey and delicious.

The bite-sized cookies are great for parties or gatherings. You want to be able to try one of everything! You can add chips or frosting to these little guys, too!

The frosted version are good if you're going to eat them pretty quick, that way you don't have to worry about storing a bunch of iced cookies.

Around the holidays I tend to go for the semi-homemade recipes - it's a busy season! So when I decided I had to have a red velvet cookie, I grabbed a sugar cookie mix pouch from the pantry and got started.

red velvet cookies
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, softened
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 tablespoon red food coloring
1 egg
optional: white chocolate chips and/or cream cheese frosting
adapted from this recipie

Pre-heat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine the cookie mix, cocoa, butter, sour cream, food coloring and egg until soft dough forms. I found that either an electric mixer or your good 'ol hands work the best for this. Add the white chocolate chips, if you desire.

Using a 1-inch diameter ice cream scoop (also known as a 'cookie drop'), portion out the cookie dough. I used one scoop for the smaller cookies, and 2 scoops for the larger cookies.

You can scoop right onto the sheet, or roll the dough into balls and place on your ungreased cookie sheet (I pressed the larger cookies down a bit with my hand to keep them from getting too tall). They should be about 2 inches apart.

Bake small cookies for 8 to 9 minutes and large cookies 9 to 10 minutes. *Remember that you don't want to bake small cookies and large cookies together, they will have different baking times.

Let the cookies rest for about 2 minutes, then transfer them to wire cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before icing.

You could even add some sprinkles...

There, now they are extra festive. :)

These cookies are quite tasty. They are a little cake-y, a little cookie, perfectly soft and chewy in the middle. If you're planning to make these to share - you might want to double up. :) My friends scarfed these down in record time! Enjoy!!

If you're looking for more cookies ideas, or have some you'd like to share, check out Poofy Cheeks Second Annual Christmas Cookie Exchange! You can link up below.

xoxo, christa

thankful

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 20:57:00 +0000

Our first married Thanksgiving is in the books! And we were crazy enough to host! ;)

Steven has to work the day after Thanksgiving which makes traveling to our families difficult, so we decided to invite both our families to come to us. We also had a couple friends, bringing us to a total of nine people. It was really nice to have everyone in our home.

To tide us over until dinner was ready, I made my spinach artichoke dip and my Dad kindly put together the cheese tray and tomato & mozzarella platter. I also made a yummy cranberry champagne cocktail for everyone to enjoy.

And I should really say that my parents co-hosted with us, they did so much work! My Dad brined and smoked the turkey in the smoker that they drove up from Texas, my mom helped me prepare all the sides... We really couldn't have done it without them.

We pulled two tables together and draped them with un-ironed tablecloths, lit some candles gathered around to enjoy our feast.

{cheers-ing with beer, cranberry mimosas & turkey gravy}

Our menu included: smoked turkey, butternut squash ravioli {for our vegetarian}, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, baked beans, corn, Brussels sprouts, stuffing, gravy, broccoli salad, deviled eggs and rolls. For dessert we had pumpkin pie, cherry pie, pecan pie, apple pie and snickers apple salad.

We stuffed ourselves full of dinner at 4, so the dessert spread wasn't pulled out till 8:30. :)

On Saturday morning my Mom & Dad pulled out the leftovers and made the most amazing breakfast for all of us. Stuffing and sweet potato waffles layered with mashed potatoes, turkey soaked gravy, a poached egg - all drizzled with syrup. It might have been better than actual thanksgiving dinner!

You may have seen on instagram that we were having a fence installed. We had picked out a company a month or so prior and thought we would wait until spring to have it put in. But then our friends said they were thinking about bringing their dog to town instead of having him boarded in St. Louis, so we bumped up our installation dates and they finished it just in the nick of time.

Some of our other friends, who live in town, brought their dogs over to run around and play. They had a blast chasing each other and running free. We're excited to be able to have our friends bring their dogs over more often now.

And this is what Rusty was doing while the dogs were outside playing. :) Toby and Elliott were quite interested in the dogs, sitting right by the back door checking them out. Rusty was hiding the whole time, he'd pop out every once and a while, but he was not getting near the door!

Before Thanksgiving my Dad installed a new sink and faucet for us in our kitchen. Our old one was an ugly black plastic thing that I could not get looking clean, and the faucet didn't output water at a real rate - took me like 10 minutes to fill a pot of water! This sink is so much better and it was really great to have it in before preparing and cleaning up a meal for nine! Thanks again, Dad. :)

I had every intention of pulling out my real camera and taking photos throughout the day... and then, well, I got busy mashing potatoes and mixing drinks and I forgot all about it. I don't even have pictures of anyone's faces! I'll do better next time...

I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving!

xoxo, christa

our wedding · groom's perspective

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 03:04:00 +0000

Guess what?! I finally convinced my awesome writer of a husband to contribute a post to the blog! Here is his wonderful perspective of our wedding day. Mine to follow. xoxo

The Wife asked me a little while back to write this post, and it didn't have to be ready for a few weeks. I, of course, said "hey, no problem!" Then, suddenly, "a few weeks" are here. And I maybe, sort of, kind of forgot. Oops. Anyways, this is my perspective of the wedding day.

Leading up to that day, people kept asking me if I was nervous. And I wasn't. In my mind, all I wanted was for everything to go as according-to-plan as possible, and for people to have a great time. I knew The Wife had a vision in mind, and ultimately I wanted things to go exactly how she wanted, and I wanted people to remember it more as a party than a wedding.

The night before, we held our wedding rehearsal dinner at our favorite spot in town - Shakespeare's. My father graciously hosted it at the new South location in the big party room, and we had all of our out-of-town guests there. Free pizza, free drinks, I think everyone had a great time. I had to make/was kind of forced to make a couple of speeches, which isn't my forte, but no one died so I think it was okay. Ultimately, I loved having people get to experience not only the food, but the atmosphere, of a place that has had such a huge impact on our lives.

That night, The Wife and I spent a few hours talking online. It was a nice way to wind down the night and calm each other down for the following day. In the morning, I met The Wife at the hotel because she forgot, like, a ton of stuff she meant to bring to the hotel. I guess you're not supposed to see the bride before the wedding, but we decided to take a risk. (Spoiler alert: it worked out ok!)

After dropping off stuff at the hotel, I stopped at the grocery store to get a gift bag and card for The Wife's wedding day gifts (the idea of wedding day gifts is the most absurd thing on this planet to me, by the way) (also I forgot to buy a card even though it was on my list. Oops). While I was checking out, the person in front of me in line was buying sushi. From a grocery store. At 8:30 in the morning. I lost a lot of faith in humanity that morning based on that, however, on the drive home I saw a woman pulled over to the side of the road helping a turtle cross the street, so it kind of canceled itself out.

From there, I invited my side of the wedding party and a few out-of-town friends to Stadium Grill, a local bar/restaurant that's attached to the hotel we were staying at and getting ready at, for lunch and a few drinks. We spent a few hours there, had a few beers, and ultimately had a nice time just relaxing before the wedding.

We made our way up to the room and proceeded to hang around for a little while, because we're guys and getting ready takes approximately 15 minutes at worst for us. We had a couple more drinks, sat around and talked and relaxed for a bit. Eventually, my best man JJ went to the girls' room to give my gift and get mine from The Wife. His response upon returning was: "woah...it's way more tense in there than it is here." Sounds right.

Unfortunately for me, when JJ returned with the gifts, that's when it all started to hit me. The Wife gave me an absolutely amazing gift and wrote the sweetest note (remember when I said I forgot the card? son of a...). At that point, we started getting dressed. Michelle, the wife of one of my best men (mans? mens?) Lee, and the rest of our wedding party/friends came into the room and she commented on how much I was pacing. Whoops. Eventually, the clothing was getting finalized, and every single one of us forgot how to tie a tie. It was almost as if we all simultaneously had a stroke. Thankfully/unthankfully, The Wife's dad was there and helped us out (thankfully - because we looked phenomenal, unthankfully - because is there anything more demeaning than having your almost-father-in-law tie your tie on your wedding day?).

Regardless, we all migrated to the quad of the University of Missouri for the First Look. Mizzou, as you all know, is an incredibly special place for The Wife and I, and there is no other place I could imagine having my first wedding day pictures taken. The First Look was something I'll never forget. I {MAY} have gotten yelled at by The Wife for looking at The Wife and immediately turning away as for her not to see me start crying, but that could be just be a rumor. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet, folks.

Pictures carried on. We had our wedding party, some of our closest friends that weren't in the wedding party and would’ve been if I had more guy friends, and our families with us. The weather, surprisingly for late-June in Missouri, was perfect. Our two photographers and three videographers were incredible, and as someone who hates to have their picture taken, I enjoyed those two hours. My beautiful almost-Wife even got several compliments from random people walking around the quad while our pictures were being taken.

By the time pictures were over though, I was ready to get going and get it over with. After a longer drive than we expected, we got to the venue and The Wife had a few minutes to prep while I met with the officiant, DJ and our day-of wedding organizer, Christy to finalize any last-second nightmares that may have come up, while also getting strapped with numerous microphones.

Finally, it was time to get married. The ceremony music - the one thing I wanted to be in control of - went off without a hitch. JJ - the Best Man - walked my beautiful Mother-in-Law down the aisle to start things off and did everything he could to make sure she didn't cry (hey, at least he tried). The officiant and myself followed, as did the rest of the wedding party, and finally it was time for my amazing bride to walk down the aisle. Even though I saw her at the First Look, I couldn't help but follow her every step as she approached the front of the amphitheater.

The ceremony was short and sweet, just how we wanted it. A little intro, a couple of readings from a few members of The Wife's fantastic family, the vows, the kiss and let's dance. We were married, danced each other out of the venue and awaited all of the people that came to see us in the receiving line. I was honestly blown away by how many people showed up to see us get married, and couldn't have been more humbled by it.

From there, the typical wedding stuff occurred. The entrance, dinner (an incredible meal, even though I didn't eat much of it), cake cutting, bouquet/garter toss, all went by without a hitch. After that, it was time for the First Dance. I was fortunate enough to get the wife to agree to dance to an acoustic version of "Stand Inside Your Love" by the Smashing Pumpkins. It is my favorite song of all-time by my all-time favorite band, and since the first time I heard it back in 2000, I knew it was going to be my First Dance song. The song played, The Wife and I danced and sang to each other and everything about the moment was perfect. It's as I always imagined it.

After we danced, it was time for my father-in-law to show how much better at dancing he is than me. I absolutely loved watching my wife and her father dance together. You could see how much they love each other, and that moment in and of itself made me even more honored that he allowed me to marry his daughter.

After that, some more songs played and finally more people started dancing and having an awesome time. People here and there started saying their goodbyes, including our photographers, when suddenly they said "hey we want to take some pictures out on the dock (there was a pond at our venue)." Us, being dumb, were like "yeah sure that makes sense in the pitch black of night."

We stood out there for awhile, doing whatever pose our photographers wanted us to do, before ultimately they told us to turn around and face the water. Suddenly, fireworks started shooting off from the other side of the pond. At first, The Wife and I were like, "ohh, this is cool!" Then, a couple of moments in, we both at the same time realized "ohh...this is for us." Us not realizing the fireworks show was for us is one of my favorite parts of that day, but the show itself will stand out in my mind for the rest of my entire life. An incredible gift on top of all of the incredible things The Wife's parents had already done for us.

Once things settled down, our good friend Erik (you may know him as Gritz & Gravy), took over as DJ. We always wanted our wedding to be a fun, enjoyable time for everyone who came, but as it got later in the evening, we wanted it to be get weird and dancey (because sometimes we get weird and dancey). Little did we know, tons of people wanted to stick around and do exactly that. Everyone had an absolute blast while Erik was working, and little did we know that even after The Wife and I left around midnight or so, the party would continue much, much longer after we were gone. That is exactly what we wanted.

At the end of the day, everything went way better than expected. The venue was decorated beautifully, thanks to the vision of The Wife. Everything went off without a hitch, and everyone seemed to have a good time, and that's really all I wanted. I know the day was supposed to be about me and The Wife (mostly The Wife), but I just wanted it to be a fun day for all the people we were inviting. It was all that and more, and I can't even begin to thank everyone involved with the day - our friends, family, photographers, videographers, DJs, officiant, caterers, venue hosts, everyone - for making it a day I will absolutely not forget for the rest of my life. We love you all.

our wedding · the details & links

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 16:20:00 +0000

Our rings. The best man kept the rings in this pouch in his jacket.

The gifts Steven & I exchanged on our wedding day. I gave him hand-stamped collar stays and a custom illustration of one of our engagement pictures. He gave me a necklace with my new monogram. :)

My bouquet. Totally gorgeous. I had the stems wrapped with a piece of fabric that was cut off my dress, and then with a piece of lace from my Mom's wedding dress. I'm doing something fun with the lace - I'll be sure to post about it when it's done.

The bridesmaids bouquets were all white flowers with greenery and wrapped with grey ribbon to match the boys suits and my sash.

The boutonnieres were wrapped with twine to match elements. Steven's was pink and all the other boutonnieres and the corsages were white. So Steven and I were the only ones with pink flowers.

Our guest book & program table. I bought this table a while ago and decided at the last minute to spray paint it blue and use it for the guest book. I did two different things for the guest book. One was the square sheets of paper people signed that were added to our engagement photo book, the other was the manilla tags. I asked everyone to write their well-wishes or words of advice on the tags. It was a lot of fun reading through those.

Our altar. My Dad made the flower boxes using old fence boards from our house. They looked awesome. And I made the fabric backdrop, with a little assembly help from my Mom and bridesmaid Jessica. I dyed a few bedsheets different shades of teal, my Mom helped me cut them all up, and Jessica helped me glue them to the PVC pipe. It was meant to hang up a little higher, but the pieces I bought broke, so the venue owner rigged up something else. It still had the effect I wanted. :)

The gift table. I searched for several months until I found the bird cage I had envisioned in my head. I can't wait to use it as decor in the house now.

Our favors. I made the labels for the jars, Steven and I stuck them all on and tied the twine around the lids. Then we stacked the jam jars in some old soda crates. It's strawberry-pineapple and tastes oh-so-yummy.

Escort cards. I designed and cut the cards. My Dad helped me by attaching the twine to the old door, then I used tiny clothes pins to hang them from the twine. It turned out exactly as I envisioned.

Our cake. I love the way the icing turned out - I did not want fondant because no one likes it. And they did a great job with the buttercream. I made the mini-garland to match the real garland hanging from the ceiling in the venue. And the peg people & cats are the best. We have them displayed in the house now. Wouldn't it be fun to get another set made after we have a kid or two? Little peg collection. :)

I knew people would be posting pictures during the wedding, and I wanted to make sure we got to see them! A lot of people used our hashtag and it was great looking through the photos in the following days.

The paper straws - everyone loved the paper straws! We also had blue striped ones. We have some left over, and every time I use one I'm reminded of our awesome day.

The cafe lights and bunting. I think I about killed my Dad, Steven and two of the groomsmen with this project! It was the biggest part of my vision, and I think it really set the mood for the reception.

I made all the bunting with help from my sister, my friend Lauren, my Mom and Dad. It took a lot of work, but it was totally worth it. We ended up leaving the cafe lights behind because there was a wedding the following day, and we made the owner of the venue take down some other lighting elements to hang ours up. Totally worth the investment though.

The table set-up. I bought the burlap in long rolls and cut them to fit the table and trimed the ends to match the ends of the bunting. An inverted triangle, I guess? I potted little succulents in mini-terracotta pots to go along with the blue glass ball jars and milk glass vases that the florist arranged. And we scattered a couple tea lights on each table.

The napkins. Oh, the napkins. I had been searching high and low for the napkins with teal/turqouise/blue/green stripe for months. Months! I finally saw some in a picture on a blog I read {don't remember which one now, sorry!} and I commented asking where they got them. The blog owner didn't respond, but a super nice commenter provided a link to some. They are barber towels!

I designed the menus to match our other print items, and I love them.

The table numbers. Again, a vision I had in my head and my parents made them come to life. They had the stands fabricated at a local metal shop, my Dad cut the wood and stained it, and they used stick-on house numbers. Super duper love them.

All of the vendors are listed below, with links to the exact product when possible. None of these are affiliate links, I just wanna help another bride out! If you have any questions, please leave a comment or send me an email and I'll do my best to help!

Vendors:
Photographers: Briana & Phil Gray, Shades of Gray Photography
Videographers: Evan Bush, Adam Falk & Erik Shute
Ceremony & Reception Location: Alpine Park & Gardens in Columbia, MO
Wedding Gown: Watters Too
Bride's Earrings: The Fab Wedding on Etsy
Bride's Shoes: ASOS, no longer available
Bridesmaid Dresses: Carol Hannah NY
Bridesmaids Earrings: Ike & Co. on Etsy
Girls Hair: Green Meadows Hair Co.
Nails: Varsity Nails
Hotel: Hampton Inn & Suites at the University of Missouri
Flower Girl Dresses: Lori, Mother of the Bride
Groom's Suit: Men's Warehouse
Groom & Groomsmen's Ties: The Tie Bar
Wedding Bands: Buchroeder's Jewelers
Stationery Design: Christa of c. jane create
Stationary Printing: Greener Printer
Floral Design: Natalie at Allen's Florist
Table Numbers: Jim, Father of the Bride
Burlap Runners: Save-on-Crafts
Blue Striped Napkins: Salon Supply Store
Officiant: Paul Lehmann
Music Selection: Steven, Groom
DJ: Bill Ladwig of Music Express DJs
Catering: Laura Estes of The Farmer's Daughter
Cake & Pies: Rock Bridge HyVee
Cake Toppers: Once Upon a Peg on Etsy
Paper Straws: Poofy Cheeks
Transportation: White Knight Limo
Day-of-Coordinator: Christy Herrmann

Gifts:
Monogram necklace: McLaughlin Creations on Etsy
Hand-stamped collar stays: Bead Soul on Etsy
Custom illustration: HsqrdCreative on Etsy

Thanks for reading / looking at all of my wedding posts. Only a few more to come, but I promise the super long, photo-heavy ones are complete. :) Our wedding was a labor of love, we couldn't have done it with out help, but it was exactly as we imagined.

xoxo, christa

our wedding · bridal party & family portraits

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 02:28:00 +0000

This was right after our first look. Our wedding party joined us on the quad at the University of Missouri. It was kind of magical thinking that these people were here for us. To support us. Then I thought about how there were a hundred more people about to celebrate with us. That feeling of love is just wonderful.

{catching some rays}

{cool guys}

{lovely ladies}

{I adore these little girls. Who aren't as little as when I first met them four years ago!}

{pretty much the best family ever.}

{I love my Momma.}

{Steven's Dad & sister Lauren}

Love these. So appreciate the personalities of these guys & gals. The best.

{Steven's sister, Grandparents {all the way from Wisconsin!}, & his Mom}

{my Mom's side}

Such strength is this group. Lots of smarts, too. Love each and every one of them. Some of the best cousins I could ask for!

{my Dad's side}

{minus one cousin who couldn't make it, but sent an awesome video wishing us well. {hi Julie!} And one new baby, who was still in the oven in this photo but has since made his grand appearance into the world. {welcome, Wyatt!}}

We all went a giant family vacation together in 2006 and didn't kill each other. International travel can either bond people or drive them crazy. Also some of the best cousins I could ask for!

{my Texas family}

Oh, I love them so. All of our families were transplanted from all over the country and we happened to land on the same block. The best block in the county. So happy they all made the journey.

Now these, these are our people. Our Mizzou family. College friends forever. We're now spread out as far as California, Seattle, Florida... and as close as St. Louis and right here in Columbia. The greatest friends we could have asked for.

{All photos by Shades of Gray Photography}

{I will post links to all vendors & purchased items on my next 'our wedding' post}

xoxo, christa

our wedding · bride & groom portraits

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 16:20:00 +0000

Our first look!

Steven rode with the bridal party to the University of Missouri quad for photos before the ceremony, and my Mom took me separately. Our photographers got Steven in place and then I walked up behind him. His reaction was totally him. He turned back around and took a few steps away before turning back around and walking to me, tears in his eyes. {click any photo to make it larger} I think Steven was a little mad at me for not crying, but I had too many nerves! Trust me when I say, I cry every time I look at any of the photos. :)

I totally ignored the fact that there were at least four cameras pointed at us and was absorbed in the moment of seeing my almost-husband all spiffed up for our wedding.

A picture of Steven with a genuine smile!! Probably my favorite picture of him ever.

During those photos above, someone who works for the Mizzou Alumni Association snapped a picture of us and posted it on Instagram! We wouldn't have seen it if one of our videographer's friends didn't recognize him. So fun!

Love these photos of us on the steps of Jesse Hall on the Mizzou campus. The middle photo of us holding hands is one of my favorites. I always loop my pinky finger between his pointer and middle finger. :)

And the bottom photo showcases our awesome shoes and Steven's fun socks. :)

Always on my tip-toes to get a kiss.

I promise I wasn't bored! My legs were getting tired so I squatted down for a break while we waited for some family members to snap a few photos before we headed on to the venue. This will probably sound crazy, but I like how well you can see my eye color in the top photo. I'm really like my hazel eyes, but everyone always thinks they are brown because the gold and green doesn't always show well. So there is some proof of my hazel eyes! ;)

We flash the American Sign Language sign for 'I love you' a lot. I do it with my parents and sister as well. Not sure exactly how it started, probably in high school when I was practicing my signs. {did you know I took ASL for 2 years in high school and 3 semesters in college?}

One more awesome on campus photo before we hopped in the limo and headed for our ceremony! We look like little ants on that giant quad.

One photo I requested from my photographers was a picture of me taking a picture of our hands with my phone. That is real life, me with my phone taking tons of pictures. I posted two pictures on Instagram during our wedding day, one while we were in the limo and one while I was eating. I didn't miss out on anything, but I'm glad I posted those in the moment.

Goofballs! I love these two pictures. If you were a fly on our living room wall you'd catch many silly faces and sarcastic jokes or remarks being exchanged.

We had to get the adorable 'flower girls holding a huge frame' photo! That frame usually hangs in our bedroom, so it was fun to incorporate it in our wedding day. The lighting was awesome during our after ceremony photos.

Ah, the swing. The only people who knew we took these photos were the photographers and videographers. It was nice to sneak off for five minutes before the reception started and have this fun moment. And I love swinging on swings, even as an adult. I was grinning from ear to ear.

Walking back toward the pavilion to get the reception started! Our photographers captured about five or six photos of Steven kissing my hand that day. Which is a good representation of real life - he does that a lot. :)

{All photos by Shades of Gray Photography}

{I will post links to all vendors & purchased items on my last 'our wedding' post}

xoxo, christa

our wedding · the reception

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Tue, 08 Oct 2013 22:19:00 +0000

Woo! Time to party! I think we were both looking forward to this part of the day for two reasons: the posed pictures were over, and it was time to celebrate!

We played nice and opted not to shove cake in each other's face. That cake was good - we wanted to actually taste it! :)

I absolutely loved sitting at our head table, next to my new husband, looking out at all our friends and family. The pavilion was decorated exactly as I had imagined and seeing everyone enjoying the space and their meal after we spend a year and half planning everything, that was magical.

Our Maid of Honor & Best Man gave the best toasts. I know my sister was nervous, but she did a great job. And I was quite interested to hear what JJ would have to say, he's known us since before we were a couple. He knocked it out of the park, of course.

My Dad's toast was awesome. I was glad our friends could hear a little bit about our relationship from his perspective, and his anecdotes about our father-daughter relationship were special.

I truly enjoyed our first dance. In some ways I wish it felt like a long three minutes, in others I wanted it to keep going. We spent most of the time singing to each other and talking about how awesome the day was.

The father-daughter dance. I was quite looking forward to having my Dad twirl me around. :) We hadn't danced in a while and I was totally out of practice, but that will just make it more memorable.

My sister thought I tossed the bouquet at her on purpose. Truth is I just have really bad aim when throwing backwards. She forgave me.

Steven didn't want to do a garter toss. I made him. :)

The dancing started, and everyone jumped in.

Our photographers were getting ready to leave and they came and told us my Mom wanted to get some silhouette pictures by the pond. We thought it was a little weird, but we followed them out to the deck that overlooked the koi pond.

We're standing together, the photographer is snapping pictures and then a firework goes off.

We look at each other and are like "huh, a firework." And then as the fifth or sixth one shot into the sky we realized that was why we were on the deck overlooking the pond. My parents had surprised us with a firework show.

As we're standing there watching the amazing fireworks, our first song {When The Stars Go Blue by Ryan Adams} came on. We could barely hear it, but we danced to it anyway. :)

Back inside the dancing continued late into the night. Steven and I had the limo driver waiting quite a while for us, and then I heard our friends stayed and partied until after one in the morning! I'd call that a successful wedding. :)

Reception Music:

Bridal Party Entrance: The Next Episode (Instrumental) by Dr. Dre

First Dance: Stand Inside Your Love by The Smashing Pumpkins

Father-Daughter Dance: Unforgettable by Nat King Cole

First Group Dance: L.O.V. by Fitz and the Tantrums

{All photos by Shades of Gray Photography}

{I will post links to all vendors & purchased items on my last 'our wedding' post}

xoxo, christa

our wedding · the ceremony

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 12:19:00 +0000

After our first look, bridal party & family photos {those posts coming up later!}, we all hopped in the limo and headed toward the ceremony and reception venue. We ate a couple snacks {I was finally hungry!} and enjoyed the 20 minute break with our best friends.

When we arrived we hid out for a few minutes to let people finish getting seated, then we went to get lined up.

I was ready to go! Definitely nervous about being in front of so many people, but very excited to have reached that point in the day.

The best man, our best friend JJ, walked my Mom to her seat. She told JJ to tell her jokes during the walk to make her smile. Seems he did a good job. :)

Walking down the isle, I just kept repeating my Mom and Dad's advice in my head... just look at Steven and focus on him and don't worry about anyone else. I am completely in love with how Steven is leaning forward in that picture above to see me walk down the isle. Focusing on him kept me calm.

Our venue is out in the country, set in the woods. The only place like it in Columbia, and it's totally gorgeous. It has a few quirks that I was worried about while planning, but I honestly didn't notice them at all during the day of the wedding.

Reading each other our personally written vows was absolutely my favorite part. We even made a very similar 'joke' about Steven's sports obsession which was awesome.

{exchanging rings}

Our kiss! I was thinking we should have practiced, but that wouldn't have mattered at all. It was truly a kiss in the moment, exactly as it should be. :)

{Yay! We're married!}

{dancing our way down the isle}

{we did it! husband & wife}

{celebrating with cheers and hugs}

{our receiving line}

And to wrap up the ceremony, the wedding party took a round of shots. Perfect way to start the party.

Ceremony Music:

Processional: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by The Smashing Pumpkins

Bride's Entrance: A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

Recessional: San Francisco by The Mowgli's

{All photos by Shades of Gray Photography}

{I will post links to all vendors & purchased items on my last 'our wedding' post}

xoxo, christa

our wedding · getting ready

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 19:17:00 +0000

{one of our awesome videographers, Adam, filming Steven}

Here they are. Finally. I've sifted through a thousand photos {literally a thousand} and picked a handful of favorites to share here. I have a much larger batch of favorites, too, but I tried to pick the ones that would tell our story simply and beautifully.

{wedding day accessories...flowers and personalized tote bags}

Our wedding day itself became a little hectic for me once our photographers arrived and we started getting ready. I spent the whole morning relaxing and keeping myself calm, and getting ready was just a little more crazy that I had hoped. But it all worked out and the rest of the day went off without a hitch. Except that in the end, we were hitched...

This locket was a gift from my Dad, from my Grandma Jane. It belonged to her mother. Our wedding date was my Grandmothers birthday, which is exactly why we picked it. She passed away when I was six and my Dad had been holding on to that locket for me ever since, waiting for the right moment. So just before we started getting ready he pulled me aside to give it to me. {tears were shed}

The handmade 'friendship' bracelet in my other hand says "Bulls," as in the Chicago Bulls. I made it for my Dad probably 20 years ago and he has carried it with him on every business trip since. It was my something borrowed.

My Aunt Cathy popped in the room to get the corsages for the readers and she wanted to see the locket. Which got me crying again. I'm pretty sure the bottom was photo was taken when I was saying "I just wish she could have been here."

I heard that the vibe in the boys room was much different than ours... much more fun and relaxed. But they just had to show up and get changed! The girls had already been the the nail salon and the hair salon and we still had to do our make-up and accessorize.

You'll notice later that my Dad did not wear a coral tie. He wore a teal tie. None of the boys, my sweet, sweet boys, were tying their ties correctly. My Dad took over and tied all each of them for the boys. Perfect knots on every single one. :)

My hair piece came with my dress, meant to be pinned onto the waistband. It was much more giant and I cut off several petals to size it down. Much more of a statement than I would usually make, but it was my wedding day so why not.

My amazing Mom made both of the flower girl's dresses. The coral fabric was from the bridesmaid dress maker, I ordered extra yardage so they matched perfectly.

Getting changed into my dress was probably the most interesting moment for me... I had three cameras pointed at me! But I managed to do it without flashing anyone. :)

Right before we were heading out to the limo, my sister gave me a gift she had made for me. It's a hankie that has my new monogram and the date Steven and I started dating, the date we got engaged, and our wedding date. My mom also gave me a hankie with my monogram, hers and my grandmothers monograms with all of our birth dates.

And my Mom had a few hankies for me to choose from to carry that day. I picked a simple white one that belonged to her Mom. It was my something old.

The boys got ready quickly and were able to take a minute to have a drink together. And then they needed help pinning their flowers on. Bridesmaids to the rescue!

These are my Grandma's {mom's mom} wedding rings. We pinned them into the bottom of my wedding dress pocket. I also pinned the bulls bracelet there so it stayed put.

One last silly moment with my sister before we took off for the evening. It was so much fun, it was just my Mom, sister and photographer in the room. I took two minutes to forget about the stress of getting ready and remember to have fun.

{All photos by Shades of Gray Photography}

{I will post links to all vendors & purchased items on my last 'our wedding' post}

xoxo, christa

teriyaki chicken pizza

noreply@blogger.com (christa) — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 15:16:00 +0000

On week two of our new homemade pizza tradition {we can call it a tradition now that we've successfully completed 4 weeks in a row}, Steven wanted to make a buffalo chicken pizza so I decided to make a BBQ chicken pizza since I'd be cooking the chicken anyway.

A couple hours before the dough was to be ready, I boiled two large chicken breasts and threw them into my stand mixer to shred, while hot - worked like a charm! While reaching for the BBQ sauce I spotted our teriyaki marinade. We love teriyaki, it had to be amazing on a pizza. And it was.

I divvied up the warm shredded chicken into some bowls, and mixed one with the marinade. The warm chicken completely soaked up the marinade. I just set it aside until we were ready to build our pizzas.

teriyaki chicken pizza
homemade pizza crust
italian blend shredded cheese
teriyaki marinade {used as the pizza sauce}
marinated chicken
green bell pepper slices
red onion slices

Pre-heat your oven to 425*. Layer the crust, sauce/marinade, cheese, chicken, peppers, onions, cheese. Another drizzle of marinade if you're feeling saucy. Pop it in the oven for ~15 minutes. Easy peasy. Use the same method for BBQ chicken pizza.

If your marinade seems on the thin side, I would put some in a pan over low to medium heat and reduce it to thicken it up before using it as a sauce.

It was amazing. The chicken was nice and moist and the teriyaki flavor was perfect. My sister was over for dinner that night and the pizza received double thumbs up from all three of us. So six thumbs, in case you were counting. :) We will be making this one again!

We want to try to find a way to include avocado on a pizza next. We must use our current food obsession in every way possible. Has to be done.

What are your favorite pizza toppings??

xoxo, christa