Wedding recap: Dress

I once wrote this post about finding a dress. Stephanie did a wonderful job with my dress. It was modest, beautiful, and unique.

Originally, I wanted a tea-length gown; tea-length is playful and beautiful. I'm tall, so tea-length is very flattering on my height. BUT, as the gown was coming together, and I put it on in its full-length version, I just couldn't tell Steph to cut it off.

My favorite part of the dress would have to be the cuffs. They add so much to an otherwise simple dress.

Okay, enough with the words and on with the pictures.

Bridals. Hate the hair, love the dress. A-line, full, fits almost perfectly.

See what a difference the hair makes?! the bottom is finished in this shot, and you can see my winter boots peeking out. they were so warm.

the cuff!

buttons all the way down the back. I really wanted these, but the really ended up being a hassle--coming undone the whole day!

a good shot of the bodice. and sarah and gaelin, two of my besties.

wedding recap: photographer

Well, I guess it's high time that I begin a wedding recap. I went through my old blog to check out the planning, and I'll hit each topic in the order in which they originally appeared. I'll also throw in some stuff that didn't make it to the blog the first time, and some extras. I hope you enjoy!

One of the first things I chose was my wedding photographer. Wedding photography is really important to me because it's one of the few things from the day that lasts. My parents didn't hire a photographer, and I'm sad that there are such few images of them from their special day, and I didn't want to make the same mistake!

I researched a ton of photographers, and I picked Duston Todd. I was very very very pleased with the photographs! (he's not much of a businessman, but I'd do it again for the beautiful pictures he took). Duston was funny, easy to work with, and knowledgable. I'm especially grateful for his suggestion to wear warm shoes for the pictures immediately after the marriage--my feet would have been very frozen had I just worn my wedding shoes, and you can barely tell!

I'll now leave you with a few photos--a couple from each session we had (engagement, bridals, wedding), and his work will be featured again and again as I recap the events.

Enjoy!

what's up

• We moved! hooray! the place is still in a shambles, but it's a good space, and I'm excited to put it together!
• We took a train trip to Albuquerque to visit Alexander's parents and his sister, who lives in Las Cruces with her little family.
• On that trip, we got to meet our new little niece, Devoney!

Baby Devoney

Alexander and Baby Devoney

Stephanie, Sabey, and Devoney

• I'm back at work now
• Alexander is having fun unpacking and cleaning and stuff before he starts school next Monday.
• I'm starting a TAship at East High School--I'll be working with the Science Academy class there. I'm excited to try my hand at something new!

the exciting, the mundane, etc.

the exciting:

• we're moving to murray! we found a cute place close to trax. it's light, and the paint, carpet, and cabinets are new.
• i'm headed to Vegas with my friend Megan next weekend!
• and the next weekend, we're going to Las Cruces, NM to visit my sister-in-law and our new baby niece!

the mundane:

• UTA, almost every day.
• work, work, and more work. cloning for me, excel for alexander
• still cooking. made some amazing chocolate chip cookies. far from mundane. i'll blog about them someday.

in the life...

• Headed to Zion National Park for a Lucas family reunion. I'm excited to see the in-laws and spend time in nature. Stargazing? yes. Hiking? yes. Homemade cinnamon rolls? definitely.
• Work is progressing. Hopefully it starts progressing faster.
• We're still teaching Gospel Principles. It's a very fun and rewarding calling.
• ...other exciting things? Netflix. definitely worth $8.99 per month.

That's about it.

until next time,

Kate

(p.s. wedding pictures should be to me soon. i promise i'll post my favorites.)

Williamsburg Trip

I went to Williamsburg, Virginia during April to visit some dear friends. It was really awesome to visit Jamestown Island and Colonial Williamsburg. I can't wait to go back and spend more time there!

The Old Chickahominy House: delicious, southern comfort food. I had chicken and dumplings with a biscut and some Virginia (salty) ham. I also had a piece of pie. yummy and affordable.

Jenn's favorite spot: the glass blowers. I could watch them for hours! Jenn was very generous and bought me a gorgeous vase.

The James river, on a blustery day. Not much different than what the founders of Jamestown would have seen.

Another view of the James River; beautiful.

Detail from a bed in the Governor's mansion at Colonial Williamsburg

Another detail from the Governor's Mansion.

Pond behind the Governor's Mansion. Quiet and lovely.

One of my favorite spots in Colonial Williamsburg: the paper maker. I love paper, so this was heaven!

More details.

Old desk. old glasses. old everything. so cool.

So, you can see that Williamsburg and Jamestown were both so beautiful. I wish I had taken more pictures of the people I was with. They really made the experience wonderful!

what's happened this week

Currently in the life of Kate and Alexander:

• We're home from San Francisco. Pictures will be up sometime (soon?). It was a very fun trip with lots of good food and sights.
• My bestie Lauren, who attends medical school at Johns Hopkins, visited. We did some shopping, ate at Kneaders and a gelato place, and stayed up late-ish talking.
• Our next vacation is to Zion National Park for a Lucas family reunion. We roll out one week from tomorrow. Hopefully, we'll get to hike the subway!
• Our garden is growing; can't wait for fresh tomatoes!

WOW! i can't believe it's been more than a month since i've blogged.

now what.

truly, not much has changed.

Alexander and I have been married for three months now.

it's been quite the learning experience.

and it's been an amazing one.

i'm so excited for the journey to come.

so, besides our three-monthiversary, i'll give you a little update (since mostly what we do is ride the bus to and from school, go to school, eat, and sleep)

• I'm in the last quarter of my first year of grad school. I'm working in a breast cancer biology lab. I realllly like it here. It's different--out of my science comfort zone, but innovative and relevant.
• Alexander is applying for internships. He's interested in rail engineering, so we hope he can get a spot working on the frontrunner south project
• I finally get a spring break!!!!! hurrah! I'm going to Williamsburg, VA for 5 days to visit some close friends who are on sabbatical there.
• In April, I'll choose a thesis lab. Please don't ask me which lab I'm going to pick--I just don't know.

i think those are all the updates i have for you now.

in case you wondered what we're doing for our three-monthiversary, we're going here and making this. and packing for my trip to va. my flight leaves at 7:05 am.

also. if you don't know why i properly capitalize in my updates and not the rest of this entry, you're not alone; i'm not sure why this is the case either. suggestions are welcome.

Valentine's Day Menu

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Dijon Mustard Sauce via abcnews.com

2 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 T olive oil

2 T chopped shallot (this is about 1/2 of a shallot)

1 c. dry white wine (i just used cooking wine)

1 T dijon mustard

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. parsley

season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.

heat oil in pan on med-high.

add chicken breasts and brown, 4 mins on each side.

increase heat and add shallots and wine.

cook 4 more minutes, rotating so that chicken cooks through.

remove chicken and set aside--cover with tin foil to keep warm.

whisk in dijon mustard and cream. bring to boil.

reduce heat and let simmer, about 2 mins.

add parsley.

serve over chicken. i served with mashed potatoes. yummmmy.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies via allrecepies.com

combine:

1 c. white sugar

1 c. butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

1 egg yolk

beat until creamed/mixed.

mix in:

2 1/4 cups flour

chill in ziploc bag overnight, or 8 hours.

preheat oven to 375 F

roll out to about 1/8 inch thickness, using powdered sugar instead of flour (using flour makes the dough tough).

use lightly sugared or greased cookie cutters to cut shapes.

place on non-stick or parchment paper covered cookie sheet.

bake for 7-10 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.

This is what we had for Valentine's day. It was delicious, and fairly easy!

trinkets I probably shouldn't crave

part 1:

darling gold ring from sundance

via ruffling feathers

Dinner of the week

so, now that I'm a housewife (and student), I decided I should start to post some of my fast, delicious recipes. So, I'll start with one of my favorites:

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Sautee in olive oil:

1 medium onion, chopped

1 lb (2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

until chicken is no longer pink on outside.

Add:

2 cans (14.5 oz each) Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed

1 can chicken broth

2 cans (4 oz each) diced green chilies

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne (ground red) pepper

stir and bring to a boil.

reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins.

remove from heat and add:

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1 c. sour cream

and TADA! delicious, creamy, white chicken chili for when it's cold outside (or not).

so, we're married now.

We got married! wahoooo!

I'm working on photos

and I'll talk a little bit about a couple of projects I did for the wedding

professional photos can be found here.

Duston Todd was amazing.

We like our new apartment, but it is very....

beige.

oh well. I'm going to ask the landlord if i can paint the trim white.

and maybe the ceilings.

that would make a HUGE difference.

pics of the apartment sometime.

hopefully.