Cook's Corner: Thanksgiving Feast

I know, I know, it's already mid-December and I'm only just sharing my Thanksgiving with you now. Is there a 12 days of Thanksgiving? No? Bummer. Well, maybe you can pick up some of these recipes for Christmas. The two dinners are pretty similar (at least, in my family), so there's that at least.

So I bring you Cook's Corner as opposed to Baker's Corner. And this is a special Thanksgiving edition! 

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

I found this while looking on Sunset magazine's website for recipes. I saw the secret ingredient - Earl Grey tea - and knew it must be made. I love the brightness of cranberries, and the punch it gives to your meal. The best part, though, is putting git on a turkey sandwich. We were originally going to skip this one and buy cranberry sauce to save time, but Josh gave the saddest face, so we ended up making it. Glad we did!

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Rustic Herb Skillet Stuffing 

[aka Dressing - my parents call stuffing dressing. I'm not sure how I ended up calling it stuffing. Weird] Now here's something about me. I don't like stuffing. But, this stuffing made me change my mind. No joke, it was that good. I picked it because it was mostly made on the stove top, and I knew I wouldn't have much time with the oven given the turkey and all. The other reason was the parmesan. I am a sucker for parm - Josh and I put it on practically everything. Oh, and we used a tasty potato bread from a local bakery, Marcina. So give this one a whirl, you won't be disappointed.  

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Mashed Potatoes

This is more of a method than a recipe. I used the video to make these lovely mashed potatoes. They turned out perfect - smooth, creamy, and oh-so-good. I watched the video and then wrote the recipe out, printed it, and then deleted it (sorry). Watch the video though, it'll be great. You could be doing it all wrong!

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Roasted Veggies

I wanted to make both sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. Alas there was not enough time. So I cooked both in one! So clever. This was a classic roasted veggie dish, and they were a great side to the meal. I added some brown sugar for the last few minutes of roasting to add some sweetness. 

And I didn't make my own rolls. I wanted to, but there wasn't enough time. Just pop them in the oven and they taste homemade. Guess there is always next year! 

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Turkey Breast

The main event: the turkey! Although in my opinion, it should be dessert. Wink wink. For one, I totally need to take the time to brine the bird. Just do it. I use this brine from Allrecipes. Then I used this recipe for the bird itself. I only did a beast - we just don't need the whole bird. This was just enough for the four of us, and it even made leftovers (and we used the carcass for soup - eh carcass, that sounds gross, but the soup is good).

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Pumpkin Pie

Now, this is what I'm talking about - dessert! This is the main event, no doubt. I made the pumpkin pie the way I like it - with a gingersnap crush. This pie was perfection. I think it helped that I made my own pumpkin puree. I found that this is actually pretty easy. You know what made this even better, the spiced whipped cream. And Nada & Don bought us a special whipped cream dispenser. I reminded me of my Starbucks days. I know there are fun creations with this ahead. 

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The Table

The flowers were a gift from my father-in-law. Isn't he sweet. Without them, the table would have been lacking. This was the wonderful table upon which we ate all the food above. If you go to so much trouble to make the food, let's dress the table up too. The table wants to be part of the party.

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The Cooks

Nada and I were the cooks of the feast. I was the chef, and Nada my sous chef. We were great together. 

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2 Year Anniversary

Josh and I have been together two years now. No. Wait. That doesn't seem quite right. Make that 10 years. Yes, that feels more like it. Have I confused you, yet? No, I'm not saying the past two years feels like ten years. Rather, Josh and I have been together for 10 years this fall, and as of today, we've been married for two years. That's my long winded way of telling you we're celebrating our two year anniversary together.

It's been a great two, I mean ten, I mean two years. 

Holy cow, looks at us back then...here's a photo of us now and then.

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Heather & Josh, Circa 2003

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Heather & Josh, September 2013

And because it's our anniversary, I can't help post a wedding collage. All day today I was playing the game, "two years ago today, we were...." Awwww, such good memories. And no joke, our wedding day was the best day of my life (to this point).

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Check out more... 

• 1 Year Anniversary
• H+J Wedding Day
• Wedding 411
• Wedding Beautification
• Wedding Preparations
• After Wedding Party

{Sorry, when I transferred to my new blog (software update), so of my past blog posts lost there "look" and got a bit wonky. But remember, it's all about the content.}

Annual Celebration of ME

Tuesday was the annual celebration of ME - also known as my birthday. I can't believe it's already June this year - where is the time going? Ugh! So now I officially can't say I'm borderline 30; I'm now truly in my 30's. Sigh. Oh well, let's go 31!  

Some people try to hide from their birthdays, but I'm completely opposite. I fully embrace my birthday. I raise my arms up, and say "It's my birthday - yay!" There is nothing you can do about getting older, so you might as well take the day that's all about you. Heck, take the whole week and make it about you. (I swear, I'm not conceited). 

I would like to say I have a list of things to share with you on my 31 years of wisdom. But, eh, that takes too long. Instead, read Joy the Baker's list. I think it about covers it. (Note: I don't actually know Joy the Baker. However, I feel we have a connection with my middle name being Joy, and we both like to bake). 

Okay, back to my birthday celebration. Sadly, it fell on a Tuesday which means it was a work day. I would be silly to take the day off. What would I do, just hang around the house while Josh and friends work? Nah. So off to work I went.  

My work gift was that my laptop decided to poop out on me (meaning it didn't want to turn on; basically died). So while I waited for the IT guy, I got myself a birthday latte. Once I got a loaner laptop, it was basically a normal work day. Except for the fact that I got a card with all my co-workers notes, and better yet, beautiful flowers from my in-laws (they're the best in-laws a girl could ask for). I mean, look at the flowers....gorgeous! And they smell just as good. 

Birthday Girl & Dessert

Work Birthday Surprises

The real celebration came after work. Josh came out to Capitol Hill (where my office is), and we headed to a birthday celebration dinner at Poppy.  This was our first time at this restaurant, but it got rave reviews. I was a bit dubious since I didn't know all of the foods and flavors, but I decided to be daring. 

We sat out in the herb garden patio - yes, it was sunny. I brought the sun for my birthday this year. Woot woot! Anyway, back to the restaurant. It serves Pacific Northwest food in a “thali” style - a platter with a bunch of small dishes.  I got the braised chicken with leeks, caraway and morels. Josh got the alaskan octopus, merguez sausage and  fava beans. And each came with a bunch of small sides - just check out the menu. Oh, and we got an extra dish (just the dish, not the whole thali), yarmuth goat cheese ravioli because I couldn't decide. Oh my gosh, this stuff is delicious.

Oh wait, back track, we began with a starter, which I think might have been my favorite: eggplant fries with sea salt & honey. I know what you're thinking, "oh, eh, eggplant." But let me tell you, when eggplant is done right, it's soooo good. And these were excellent with the honey and salt. Ahhhh, I want them NOW.

But dessert might have been the best. Too. much. good. food. Dessert was a sage custard with goat cheese ice cream, port cherries, and cookie crumbles. I even ate the flower (on the waiter's recommendation), and that was surprisingly good, too! 

Don't forget the cocktails. Those were good as well. I won't go on about those since I imagine you're tried of my describing my food (and I bet getting jealous). 

Birthday Dinner at Poppy

And that was my birthday day. I'm sure we'll do some more fun things this weekend! After all, it's my birthday week...

Goodbye Home

I say this way too often, but it's true: time flies. At the end of each month, I'm always surprised that we're headed into the next month. I act as though I'm totally taken by surprise..."Whoa, it's May...wait, what? No way!" I really ought to get over it and accept the time moves fast. And I've noticed things change with time. Speaking of which, my family just had a big change. My parents moved from my childhood home. 

​This is where I lived since I was eight years old. Or at least, I think I was about eight. When you're young, you don't really file away what age you were when things happened. Actually, I still have a hard time remembering what age I was in certain events of my life. Is that weird? I feel like my parents always remember..."well we moved to San Diego when we were X years old." Guess I have a age memory deficiency. But I digress...the important part was that I've lived in this house a very long time. ​

See...Look...Isn't it a great home?​

​My Childhood Home

The good news is, I got to say goodbye. So...remember when I wrote about the MS Walk a few weeks ago? That was when I was home for the weekend (shush, I know, it's taken me this long to write this post). Before I left that weekend, I went into each room and said "goodbye room." (yes, nerdy, I did it though...for reals)

​A look inside my childhood home

I think the move was harder on my parents than it was for me. They lived there much longer. I left for college, and have moved every few years. But, they remained there. What was nice, though, was that whenever I returned, it was always the same home sweet home. 

My parents didn't move far. In fact, only about a mile away. The big move was over this past weekend, and they are starting to settle into their new home. If you're lucky, when I go visit the new place, I'll write you another post and share some photos.

And to end on a cheesy note...home is where the heart is. Goodbye childhood home! ​

Oh wait, one last thing (thinking of childhood)...look at all those My Little Ponies we found while packing! Dang! Okay, that's a wrap...

​Look at all those My Little Ponies!

Josh's New Job

Before you read, start the theme music...Celebration.

The title of this post is pretty indicative of what I'm about to say...Josh is employed! Woo hoo! We are both so very happy. I think this is a great, new start for him. It's with a company called Logic 20/20 -- it's Seattle-based, and a smaller company. He'll be a Senior Consultant. Yes, he'll be doing consulting again, but on a more techincal level. We think this will be a much better fit for him, and hopefully a better work/life balance.

Of course, when it rains it pours because he got to decide between two offers. It's always nice to be wanted. It was a tough decision though. He will start the Tuesday after Labor Day (9/4), so he has a week to decompress (and find more work clothes). 

Thanks to everyone for being a support throughout this process. Now, it's time to celebrate (play that theme song one more time).

Ch-Ch-Changes

Got David Bowie in your head now? 

Josh and I have been experiencing some changes. Yesterday we both had our last day of work. It was totally coincidental; definitely didn't plan it this way. I think it's pretty lucky though. We have a week off together with no work to stress us out. How nice is that?

We both finished around 1:30pm yesterday, after 2 weeks of "got to get this done" mentality. We didn't want to leave our companies off in a bad place, so we've been working hard. Now, that the work is done, we can relax. 

I get a week off before I begin my new job. I'm transitioning from a working at home position to being in an office again. I was starting to get lonely working from home, and felt like I really need to get outside and be more social. So I took up a job very similar to what I did at Acxom - both in what the company does and what I'll do. In case you can't remember, I worked at Acxiom as an Account Manager. Now, I'm going to Responsys as a Program Manager, Customer Success. The titles sound different but my responsiblities will be very similar. I think this will be a good transition to getting me going in the Seattle business world. 

Josh, on the other hand, will begin his job search next week. His work-life balance was totally off, so we just felt he needed to leave and take quality time to find out a position he'll enjoy and have more balance.

What are we doing now?

1. First & foremost, Josh got a burrito. This was immediately after. Careful, he'll bite if you try to go near the burrito.

2. We watched trash TV (Millionaire Matchmaker) for a bit. Wow, watching TV during the workday afternoon sounds so rebellious. 

3. Went to Friday Happy Hour with friends. 

4. Got Haircuts (on Saturday).

 

5. Baked Cookies.

Ahh, look what you can do when you have free time on your hands! 

Twenty 12

Before we go all crazy about 2012, let's remember 2011. It was a fabulous year. I had so many awesome things happen. To name a few: 2 bridal showers, a bachelorette trip/party, snowshoeing, visits to SoCal & Chicago, people visiting me, a Hawaii honeymoon...oh yea, and got married. Not to mention, I continued to bake and drink coffee (even though I left the SBux position) ((hence those pics in my collage).

Now off we go into 2012. This year I'm a Brown. My first year as a Brown; should be interesting. Will it be easier to tell people my last name? Will I be the first to be called or in line? Only time will tell.

You know, everyone talks about resolutions in January. Honestly, I think they are a bit overdone. I mean, how often do people finish, or even remember, their resolutions? Oh sure, I make a few myself, but they tend to be pretty broad - be healthy, go outdoors, bake more often. I think I can manage. I usually do these things anyways.

I read a blog called Joy the Baker. She has some good stuff. She says some funny stuff too. For instance, her blog about resolutions (last year, still applies tho). I really like her approach on mini-seasonally resolutions (here). Now that's more like it.

Okay, enough on resolutions. How about NYE (that's New Years Eve), you say?

That was fun. Chill, but fun. We had our friends Aaron & Liddy over. I made some mojitos, we got some Vietnamese take-out, and we played Bananagrams (<-- it's like speed Scrabble). Fun times. Sorry, no pics, we were too busy chatting and playing. Imagine a small living room, a small coffee table, and four people sitting around the table. That's what NYE was like.

Here's to a great 2012!

Hike, Swim, Fly

While we did have many relaxing days (usually involving the beach), we also had some adventure days on our honeymoon. Two days in particular stand out in particular as full of adventure.

Adventure #1: Napali Coast Hike

Think up. Think down. Now think up again. Now imagine hiking that...got it in your mind? Well, that's what it is like hiking the Napali coast. Josh and I definitely underestimated the hike. It was beautiful and tragic all at the same time.

We started off on our side of the island, the West Shore. We drove that morning all the way around the island (there is 1 major road on Kauai and it's like a horseshoe from West to North) to the North Shore--it's about 1.5 hour drive. Given this, we didn't get to Ke'e Beach, where the hike begins, until around 11:30am. We thought, sure we can hike this now, no problem. It's only like 2 miles or something. Totally doable. Off we go, forgetting about lunch in the trunk and brining loads of water...(this is foreshadowing).

We get going on the hike, and there are a lot of rocks and it starts going up-up-up. "Oh, this has to end and even out eventually" we say to each other. And it's not leveling out. Nope. Just more rocks and more hill. After we get to the first view point, I honest-to-goodness think we're about half way. Some other hiker says to another couple, "you're almost there - hehe." Then I think to myself, "is he being sarcastic? Or is it true? It certainly feels like we've hiked a lot." I turned to Josh to confirm. Totally wrong; we'd only gone 0.5 miles. Sigh. And we'd practically drank 3/4th of our tiny water bottle.

In the swealtering sun, we continue on. We see some absoluately gorgeous sites. We see ants (ahh, ants with sandles...not cool. Not cool at all.), a hippie on a rock selling stuff, and other red-faced hikers on the return hike.

After forever, we get to the end. It's glorious - crashing waves, a nice breeze under trees, and just a lovely view. We sit and rest but not for long because we know if we relax too much we won't want to go. Back to the hiking. We hike, and hike, and hike. We have to cross over a steam by rock hopping. Josh slips and ends up with wet feet. Now he has wet feet and hiking a million hours.

Finally, we reach the 0.5 mile left to go marker (yes, the very same spot where I thought we were halfway done). We are parched and tired. Out of nowhere, these Canadians appears and see our red, tired faces. And they offer us...wait for it...water!! With just a few sips we are revived. We hike the rest of the way back with the heroic Canadians.

And that, my friends, is the Napali Coast hike. Beautiful, but deadly. My advice: Get there early, get lunch, don't wear sandles (unless you're cool with ants), and bring lots of water.


 

Adventure #2: Kauai Outfitter Safari

The actual name of our safari was Kipu Zipline Safari. Go head, click the link and read all about it. Just be sure to read on for my rendition.

Being the crazy people we are, we did this second adventure day the day after the Napali Coast hike. My calfs hurt, but besides that we were raring to go! We arrive at the place where we'll take off with our kayaks, and there is Mary Chandler, an SCU alumni friend. Umm, random (but cool). Anyway, we get our 2 minute kayak tutorial and off we go.

Now kayaking with two people should be one of those marriage counsel camp activities. You must work together and communication. Likely Josh and I were pros since we just got married. HA! Fooled you. We were actually not that bad, but far from being pros. After two miles of paddling, and hearing the guide tell us about some local Kauai folklore, we arrive at the site of Indiana Jones rope swing scene. Cool. Then we paddle on to the end of the kayak portion of the day. Now, on to mini-hike and rope swinging into a pond. A very crisp, refreshing pond (aka cold). I wasn't going to do it, but I feel for peer-pressure. Glad I did though; fun stuff. One time is enough though.

After a hay truck ride and some lunch, it was ziplining time. This got me all excited and yet incredibly nervous. Yes, I am a human strapped to ropes and plan to zip across a very high valley. Sounds crazy. Anyhoo, it was crazy...crazy awesome. We zipped twice. The first time I tried to hold myself up for like 5 seconds and then realized I could relax. But zip zip zip. It was like flying. Definitely would do this again. Give me more!!!! (No, I'm not an adrenline junky).

The trip ended with another mini-hike, another pond but this time with a zipline to jump with (I didn't do this; Josh did and did a belly flop - ouch). Then we got on a motor boat and got back to the docks. And that is truly an adventure filled day!



 

Beach Bummin' It

This is the first of hopefully a couple of posts I'll write about the honeymoon. This one is about our beach days. Yes, big surprise, we went to the beach in Hawaii.

We had three days that we spend relaxing on the beach. Ahh, the beach...

Beach Day #1: Poipu State Beach

For our first day in Kauai, we headed to the beach. Being that we were staying on the West Shore in Waimea, we decided to go to the South Shore for our beach day. The West Shore has some nice beaches, but the water is more wild and not really recommended to into the water. We were both ready to plunge in, so we headed south. Poipu is one of the most popular beaches in the South Shore. Luckily for us, our trip wasn't in prime season, so it wasn't too bad. In fact, we snagged a spot to lay that had semi-shade from a palm tree. Although we got some shade, we apparently didn't get enough. Our first day and we returned home with sunburns. We did have our sunscreen on, but when the bottle said waterproof we didn't realize it needed to be re-applied in intervals after water. Whoopies! I guess we should have followed the advise of the guy we talked to in the water, "You better be careful you two. I don't think I was that white when I was born!"

The highlight was seeing the sea turtle. Two sea turtles decided to come in to shore to get some grub. They practically were coming ashore. I touched one of their shells - slimy! I grabbed my underwater camera and got a few shots. Go Turtles!



Beach Day #2: Sheraton Beach at Poipu

We enjoyed our first beach time in Poipu so much that we returned. To try something new, we headed to the beach front by the Sheraton. It was a bit windy, but again we enjoyed our time. We didn't see any turtles, but we did get some good reading in and some splashes. By the end we were hungry and it was getting windy, so we headed out and strolled the rest of our day in Koloa.



Beach Day #3: Mauna Lana Hotel Beach

Our last beach day was also our last day on the honeymoon. A final hurrah at the beach. Josh said this beach is known as one of the best beaches on the big island. I could definitely agree with that statement. The water was uber calm and you could just waddle into the water without much of a splash. We also found ourselves pleasantly relaxed under some shade (easier to read my iPad Kindle app in the shade). We looked out at the blue sky and soaked in our last rays of the trip. A sweet ending to a wonderful honeymoon.

9 Days in Paradise

The moment you've all been waiting for...hearing about the honeymoon!

Before I delve into details and tell fun stories, I thought I'd give an overview of our fabulous nine days in Paradise (aka Kauai and Kona)...

Thursday, 10/6
•The trip begins with our flight to Kauai
•Land and first things first, get a JoJo's shaved ice
•Spend the afternoon driving through beautiful Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific)

Friday, 10/7
•Our first full day...a beach day! We head to Poipu Beach and see a sea turtle!
•Get some relief from the sun and go to the shops, visit the Kilohana Plantation, and taste some rummy rum rum at Kōloa Rum Company
•Get some traditional Hawaiian grub at Bobbies and stroll Hanapepe's Friday Art Walk

Saturday, 10/8
•Drive and tour the North shore day
•We liked Hapapepe so much yesterday, that we grab breakfast there at Little Fish Coffee
•As we drive to the North shore, we make a few stops -- Wailua falls, Kilauea Lighthous, and Opaeka'a Falls
•Get to the end of the road (literally, the road ends) and then spend some quality time in our favorite town, Hanalei
•Enjoy a very romantic dinner at Postcards before heading back to the West Shore

Sunday, 10/9
•Get our morning caffeine at Kauai Coffee Plantation
•Spend another day at the beach at the Sheraton Poipu Beach.
•Shop around in Koloa, get another shaved ice, and then chill at our little plantation cottage

Monday, 10/10
•We liked Little Fish Coffee so much that we go back for more
•As a wedding gift, we were gifted a day at the Grand Hyatt. We get a room for the day and access to all the hotel's facilities...including the pools. Did I mention there was a water slide?
•Another romantic dinner at Roy's. The restaurant was cute and put a special message to us inside the menu...awww.

Tuesday, 10/11
•A big adventure day as we head back to the North shore to hike the Hanakapi'ai Trail. This tril starts at the base of Ke'e Beach and runs along Napali Coast. The hardest 2 miles. Ever. More to come in another post.

Wednesday, 10/12
•Josh's 30th Birthday!!
•Adventure day #2 with Kauai Outfitters Kipu Zipline Safari
•Kayak 2 miles, hike to pond rope swing, hay truck ride, lunch, zip line, swimming hole, hike, motor boat back

Thursday, 10/13
•Say goodbye to Kauai and Aloha to Kona
•Ahh! See a the Kiluaha volcano! No eruptions though, just steam vents, museums, & lava tunnels
•Drive across Kona on an awesome scenic road. Bonus rainbow included.
•Drinks at sunset at our hotel, Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel

Friday, 10/14
•Kimo Coffee for some true Kona coffee beans (we're coffee snobs now, so we have to act it).
•Walk around Hilton hotel (uhh, awesome hotel - basically a little town)
•Sadly our last beach day, but at Kona's premiere beach at the Mauna Lana Hotel
•Our last dinner at Tommy Bahama Restaurant

Saturday, 10/15
•Waive good by to Hawaii and head back to rainy Seattle



Honeymoon in Hawaii from Heather Brown (O'Neill) on Vimeo.

Little snippets from our honeymoon in Kauai and Kona.

October 2011

Wedding After Party

Since practically 98% of our guests were from out of town, and the wedding being on a Thursday, most people decided to stay in Seattle for the weekend. This means: after party!

Both Browns and O'Neills stayed around as well as some of our good friends. Josh and I alternated back and forth between the families. It's like the movie 28 Dresses when the gal is running back and forth between weddings. At least, that's how I pictured it.

Here are the highlights:

Friday:

• Our first breakfast as a married couple was celebrated with friends and family in the Sheraton restaurant, The Grill.


• Shopping and lunch with Caroline


• Dinner in downtown Queen Anne at Portage with the O'Neill crew


• Chillin' at the Hilltop Pub with O'Neill clan and some of Erin's friends (they live in Seattle)

Saturday:

• Mega lunch at Tutta Bella with the Brown family and some of our Bay Area friends. Good pizza too.


• Hangin' with Manuel, Alley, and Jimmy for a bit. We took them to the always popular Kerry Park.


• Mexican fiesta with the Brown family again to bid them all farewell.

Sunday:

• Coffee with Don and Nada before they go to the airport. Then breakfast with the O'Neills.


• Ballard Farmer's Market. Just a wee bit of  time with Richardsons and Chris & Beth.


• Dinner in downtown with the last of the guests: mom, dad, and German Chris.

Monday:

• Only mom and dad are still around. We head out to Edmonds for the afternoon.


• Visit the Rick Steve's store and hometown. My dad is in awe.


• Dinner at the Pink Door for some grub and hoop girl.

Tuesday and Wednesday:

• Prepare for the honeymoon!

H+J Wedding Day

When you're a little girl, you dream about your wedding day. Over the years the exact vision may change a bit -- the colors, the dress, etc. My wedding would have surprised my younger self with how wonderful it was. I always dreamed about how it would look, but not about the emotions. I felt complete and utter happiness. Nothing could have wiped the smile off my face! Our wedding was a dream come true for me -- I could not have asked for (or even imagined) a better wedding. And better yet, practically nothing that went wrong (except for one broken votive before the ceremony)!

As for me the bride, I feel like I handled the pre-wedding chaos and the nervous excitement beforehand smoothly and calmly. No bridezilla or nervous mess bride here! I even had two outsiders (hairdresser and co-worker) say how calm I seemed. Go me! I think it was my myriad of checklists (and awesome vendors that handled my crazy & frequent questions).

As you know from my earlier post, the first half of my weren't day was beautification--hair and make-up. The wedding really starts with the departure from the hotel to Sodo Park. And that's where I'll start...

My dad was the chauffeur for us girls (Lindsay, Erin, Caroline, mom, and me). We got a little behind schedule since some stupid dudes decided to unload their golf clubs in the exit of the hotel car exit. Gargh. Don't they know we have a wedding to get to?!

We made up for lost time and arrived at 2:30pm, just in time to start the pictures. Kristen Honeycutt, my wonderful and sweet photographer, began the photos with my "getting ready." Okay, so I was already ready, just needed to get the dress on. So on went the dress, snapped a few shots, and then off we went to bride and bridesmaid photos. Photo taking is a lot of...stand here, put your dress this way, hold your head up, smile. I think we got some cute pics!

 

Sometime during the girl pics, the guys arrived. There was a mini commotion about keeping me out of side (which we managed without a problem). But I wasn't out of site for long because it was "first look" time. Side note: Yes, we opted to do pictures before the ceremony...I highly recommend it.

The first look. This has to be one of my favorite moments of the day. Kristen took Josh inside while I remained outside. Josh was given strict instructions not to peek. I walked up the ramp towards the doors, but Kristen halted us. She thought there might be "wandering eyes" so she opene the door a crack, and gave Josh a scolding, " keep your eyes on the wall, Josh." (Josh will most likely tell you that he heard noise in the adjacent room & snuggle how could you not look at the source of where noise comes).

I arrived inside the door, and Josh's back is to me. He laughs at the torture and Kristen snaps a few shots of me slowly walking up and then tapping his shoulder. He turns and his face lightens up and jaw drop, and quickly exclaims how gorgeous I look (aww shucks...I know, wink wink)! We share a few kisses and words and then back to photo time.

We get the bridal party and immediate family shots and then some time to relax before the ceremony. We head up to the Bridal Loft and enjoy some time to sit and hydrate (don't want to faint at the ceremony). I started to get nervous about the ceremony - like tripping, forgetting to do or say something, kissing Josh in front of 94 people. Josh calmed me down though (like he always does).

 

Time for the ceremony comes quickly and the party is herded to the side of the building. Laura Gram, my day- of coordinator, was perfect at keeping us in order and prepped. The Browns, groomsmen, & bridesmaids all head down the aisle to Peter Gabriel's Book of Love. Then comes my time with my mom and dad. I had little bit of a tough time with my dress and the stairs, but we made it to the front of the aisle. At this point, my dad stops and says to wait for my music. I listen, and say, this is the music! So down we walk to Tom G Marriott Bridal March.

The ceremony is short, sweet, and lovingly delivered by my Uncle Chuck. We have three reading - Micah 6:8, Colossians 3:12-17, & Mark 10:6-9 - read by our close friends Heather Richardson and Jonita Davenport. The message from Uncle Chuck is nicely tried with our "how we met story" and conversations, and God. Then comes the pledge and vows. Now, let me say here, I frankly think I proclaimed my vows louder (for the record). We kissed (which to my relief went just fine). And at was that; we were wed! We rocked down the aisle to Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

To make it official, we went upstairs to the loft and signed the license. Ta da! Husband and wife! Laura brought us both a few appetizers and our drinks. Yes, I say "our drinks" because they were so named - The J-dub (Makers Mark and ginger ale) and The Joyus (spiced apple martini). After a few bites and sips, we were whisked away for more photo time.

After photos, we mingled a bit with friends & family. Then we hide away and re-entered as Mr. And Mrs. Josh and Heather Brown.

Dinner is served. After our introduction, dinner was ready. We chowed down on some delectable foods. For starters, we had a salad with roasted beets and greens. Next came the family style entrees and sides. My favorite was the roasted pork loin, but the salmon was a hit too. Accompanying these were kale rice pilaf and cider-roasted veggies. Nom Nom Nom.

What? Clinking glasses? So many kisses! Ethan Zerth was the real initiator of the clinking.

   

With full bellies, the toasts began. Kevin gave a heart-warming toast starting with Josh and his friendship in the sandbox and ending with sage advise on marriage. Lindsay, in her professor style no less, researched Josh and I (mainly from my blog), and gave a sweet message on us as a couple. My dad also toasted us as a couple and welcomed & thanked everyone for coming. And Josh wrapped it up with a big thanks for the years and coming years of support.

Pie time! We headed over to the pie table for our pie cutting (x-nay on the usual cake thing). The song Sugar Pie Honey Bunch started playing as Josh and I grabbed the knife and cut the pumpkin pie (it seemed the easiest flavor to cut). No smashing the pie into faces, but instead cute feeding of pie to each other. People then got to chow down of five pie flavors: pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust, banana cream, apple crumble, chocolate pecan, and chocolate tart from the wonderful Shoofly Pie Co.

 

To keep the party rolling, we headed straight over to the dance floor. After a few dance classes, Josh and I were hoping to impress the crowd with our fox trot to Ingrid Michaelson's The Way I Am. I think we did pretty well just that dang dress getting in the way! Our awesome dance we followed with the father-daughter dance to John Denver's Sunshine on my Shoulders, and the mother-son dance to Rob Orbison's Dream Baby. During this, Nada really got the party started by pulling people out onto the dance floor.

 

And it was party like a rockstar from there. DJ Sean Wheatley kept the floor jumping all night. Josh and I boogied all night with interspersed with chatting with friends and family.

The party went until 11:30/Midnight. Josh and I took the last town car back to the Sheraton with our little "Just Married" flag waiving in the wind.



P.S. Pictures keep coming in, so be sure to check out my Flickr album every now and again for any update. Right now, I'm in Kauai on our honeymoon so it won't be updated for at least 7 days though.

P.P.S Oh and don't think this is the end of my wedding blog posts. No sir ye. There is still much more to share.

Share me. 

Wedding 411

Before my post about the big day, let's go over who was in the wedding party and some of the other fun details (plus decor)!

What? Heather + Josh Wedding

When? September 29th, 2011

Who? The Bridal Party

• The Bride: Heather Joy O'Neill


• The Groom: Joshua Wesley Brown


• Mother & Father of the Bride: John & Jan O'Neill


• Mother & Father of the Groom: Don & Nada Brown


• Maid of Honor: Lindsay O'Neill


• Bridesmaid: Caroline Buck


• Bridesmaid: Erin Zerth


• Jr. Bridesmaid: Daylen Brown


• Best Man: Kevin Foley


• Groomsmen: Manual Torres


• Groomsmen: Jeffery Herbage


• Usher: James Dallosta


• Reader: Heather Richardson


• Reader: Jonita Davenport


• Officiant: Chuck Merkner

Where? Venue: Sodo Park, Seattle, WA

Why? This is easy...we fell in love.

Want Details? Here you go:

Our Theme: Fall Seattle Wedding -- a bit of vintage, a bit of rustic, a bit of class

Color Palette: It's Fall Y'All = Lime Green, Chartreuse, Chocolate Brown, Latte, Cranberry & Mustard

Guest Book: We did something slightly different; we had Seattle postcards that people could sign with a message or advice. Then people could toss them into the little, vintage suitcase to "send them" to us.



Gift Table: We had another vintage piece, a bird cage, for people to place cards.



Pie Table: I got a Pepsi crate from Pottery Barn, a few baskets, a Crate and Barrel pie/cake pedestal, made a PIE banner, a cute little pie sign from Etsy, little blue birds (from Grandma Ruth), etc etc.



Escort/Favor Table: Aren't we smart...making the favors dual purpose! We got the caramels from JonBoy, a local company that visits the farmers markets (mainly the Ballard one we love so much), and put them in small paper bags, then tied it in a bow with twine alongside a little red mail tag that had the guest's name and table number.



Something Borrowed, Blue, Old and New: All on my ear. Yes, all of these things on my ears. I started with my the earrings my mom wore for her wedding (pearls), then I added the dangling crystals. I borrowed my mom's little blue sapphire earrings for my second earrings.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know what else is blue, old, and borrowed? The Bible and bookmark that Nada leant me. The Bible was Josh's grandmother's Bible. And the bookmark was handmade by Nada.

Wedding Beautification

Before one gets married, one must feel like a princess and get beautified. That's what my wedding day morning entailed. But before that, we had to get our mourning nourishment to ensure we were properly  energize for the big day. My mom, Lindsay, Caroline, and I headed to Fonte for some breakfast and coffee (goood coffee).



Then we rendezvoused in the lobby with Erin, Nada, Daylen, Katja, and Erica, the hair and make-up artist )and her assistant). All of us headed to my suite (for that night) to get our beautification on.

We started at 10:45am, and with the two girls, we were all finished by 2pm. When someone wasn't getting hair or make-up done, they'd be taking photos, chit-chatting, or looking out from the room at the lovely view and absolutely gorgeous day.

Just going to repeat that...gorgeous day. It was absolutely perfect outside - clear skies, great temperature, and rainbows & unicorns signing (okay, that last piece was an exaggeration, but not too far off!). Seriously though, we really lucked out on the weather. The rest of the week after the wedding was gray and rainy for the most part.

Here's our beauty shots:

Rehearsal, Cocktails, and Dinner

Wednesday was the beginning of the fun. Actually, I take that back, Tuesday was the start when my friend and bridesmaid Caroline arrived from Germany. Shortly after came my parents and some other cross Atlantic travelers. The guests had begun to arrive!

Wednesday morning I woke up at my apartment full of vim and vigor. We started with a light breakfast at Macrina with Caroline and then the organizing began. Josh headed out to help his parents deliver welcome bags, find sandwiches, etc. Caroline and I packed my car full of decorations and wedding essentials - e.g. my wooden Pepsi crate, wicker baskets, the favor/escort baggies, banners, signs, oh my!

With the car packed, Caroline and I headed out in search of the Comfort Suites (actually the Quality Inn we later realized) to deliver a few welcome bags. After giving Caroline a nice tour of lower Queen Anne and unsuccessful search for the hotel, we changed course and headed to our destination, the Sheraton downtown.

The Sheraton downtown was the main hotel block for the wedding with only a few staying elsewhere. As a side note, they treated us very well. They even stored our leftover pie from the wedding in their refrigerators for us. How nice!

Caroline and I quickly unpacked at the hotel and then raced off for the .... rehearsal. Yes, I know rehearsal are generally held right before dinner later in the. Unfortunately for us, the venue had another event going that evening so we had to do it at 1pm instead. No sweat though. The rest of the bridal party arrived at 11am that morning and everyone made it to the rehearsal with no problems. Even lunch sandwiches made it (hence my reference to Josh helping his parents earlier in the AM).

The rehearsal was as you except a rehearsal to go. We practiced where we should stand, what we should say, the order of how we'd walk down the aisle. Yada yada. I, however, blushed quite a bit (darn that Irish blood!) when we were supposed to do our practice "Kiss the Bride" kiss. I thought our practice in the earlier weeks would have paid off more. Nope. I gave him the smallest little peck of a kiss. Then everyone was booing my kiss and I had to try again. How embarrassing (but good practice for the kiss during the actual ceremony was perfect - or at least I think it was). Thank goodness for practice!



After the rehearsal come girl time. Nails! We had a little nail party at Julep, which was just a few blocks from the hotel. Lara, my friend and former co-worker at Acxiom, joined my mom, Caroline, Lindsay, Katja (yes, another German) and I to get some fab nails. The six of us sat in our little orange chairs and chit-chatted as our hands and feet we beautified.

I got the special treatment, Shellac and french tips, on my fingers. Caroline and I had the same color toes (twins again - twins since HS <-- not everyone is going to understand that comment; it's an inside joke).



With some quick touches up back at the hotel, we were off to PARTY! It was cocktail hour first and then dinner. The cocktail party was hosted by the dear Brown friends, Vince and Jonita Davenport. They live in a lovely building downtown Seattle (minutes from the hotel). From their balcony you can see the Space Needle, Elliott Bay, and just the awesomeness that is downtown Seattle.

Vince and Jonita made all sorts of yummy appetizers and cocktails - sushi, meatballs, mini hotdog things, vodka tonic, etc. Some people (for instance, my sister) were a little surprise that Vince and Jonita love us so much that they keep a wall of pictures of just Josh and me. Okay, we'll it was just for the party, but the guests got to see our cute little faces from pictures our parents brought from home.



Next up: Dinner! Some of us taxied it and some of us walked down to Pike Place Market to Steelhead Diner the rehearsal dinner venue. Steelhead Diner holds some nice memories for us. It's the restaurant where we went with Caroline and Gerald a few years when the four of us were vacationing together (back in '09). It's where I took my mom when we drove up from Eugene to go apartment hunting (in '10). Now, it's the place that we had our rehearsal dinner (in '11). And it did not disappoint. The food was delicious, the service the great, and the company couldn't be beat.

The Menu:

• Brutus Salad (like a Cesear only different) - yes, I got the Cesear Brutus joke only after Lindsay told me


• Family Style Entrees: Spice Rubbed Draper Valley Chicken and Lemon Crusted Halibut (uh, yum)


• Sides:  Pan Roasted Green Beans with Marcona Almonds, Preserved Lemon & Chili Flake


• Dessert:  Theo Chocolate Pecan Pie, Flourless Chocolate Cake, and Utopia Frozen Yogurt (how could this be an event for Heather w/o the froyo!?)


• Heather's Cocktail of Choice: The Dragonfly (oh yea baby)

There were a few toasts. From Don's toast, I learned that Don and Nada put a photo of their "family" in the incubator when Josh was prematurely born, which wasn't their family but of their dog. No wonder Josh loves dogs! Actually, it was a lovely toast full of humor, love, and sentiment. Nada said a beautiful blessing. Josh thanked everyone for coming...which reminds of a fun fact: only 4 guests (6 if you include Josh and me) actually live in Seattle. Everyone else had to travel. And I said a quick thanks too (since I tried to walk back across the room too soon after toasts and got stuck with everyone staring at me).



During the rehearsal dinner, the bridesmaids and grooms men also got their gifts. I got my girls handmade by a local designer from Etsy, Sadie Belle Jewelry. I told Stacey, the designer, what I wanted and she made it happen. They turned out lovely. Lindsay was shocked (see photo). Okay, that's a joke. The guys were gifted the ties for their suits the next day - a paisley cranberry color to match the bridesmaids dresses.

  

Some other awesome things about the rehearsal dinner: the place settings. The Browns, who hosted the rehearsal dinner (shout out: THANKS Don & Nada), gave everyone a Theo chocolate bar with a sticker that had a picture of Josh and me (from our engagement photo shoot). And our name cards had the monogram stamp (The H+J one that I mentioned in my Preparations post). All the details made it the perfect night.

Cheers! (Below = Us laughing during Don's toast)

Wedding Preparations

As you probably know, I'm a married woman now. I had a wonderful and memorable wedding and I will be writing about the day soon, but I want to present the entire event in chronological order from the early preparations to the final farewells. That means, we must start at the beginning! And that would be the "before the wedding" preparations.

Let's talk about the last 12 months (on a general level - I don't want to bore you). All my free time was consumed with wedding preparations. I tell you, weddings are like a second job. There is always something to do, and it grew increasing busy as the wedding date approached.

You may remember my earlier post about my mom coming to visit, my Last O'Neill Days. That weekend was entirely dedicated to wedding preparations. I picked up the caramels from JonBoy and my mom and I spent many hours stuffing tiny paper bags with the caramels and a little note. Then tying it with a tag and twine. They turned out really cute though, don't you think? Here's the final product at the wedding reception. These bad boys doubled as favors and escort cards - crazy clever.



Every day I was doing something...creating checklists, checking off checklists, contacting vendors, getting ideas from blogs, coordinating schedules, emailing, creating & finding last minute decorations, etc etc. Whew! Definitely a second job. Perhaps this is why you didn't see very many blog posts from me.

However, I wasn't the only person working hard on preparations before the wedding. Nada, my now mother-in-law, was busy making the ceremony programs and the welcome bags. She did a fantastic job. The welcome bags were handed to guests as they checked into the hotel. Inside there was a personalized water bottle that said: Love | Heather + Josh | September 29, 2011. Also there were personalized H+J M&Ms. Not to mention, Washington grown apples, granola bars, a Don Brown photo postcard, a map of Seattle, and more goodies. Too freaking cute.



And the programs, they were adorable. Nada bought a monogram seal with H+J and used it in many things for the wedding, including the program. Inside was a nice message about each bridal party member and a few notes on the ceremony itself. Very well made - practically professional.

In the end, the hard work paid off....we were extremely satisfied with the results - a beautiful, organized & smooth, happy wedding day.

Next up: Pre-Wedding Day...

Heather, Now that you're getting Married...

Hey Heather, Now that you're getting married, what are you going to doing next?

I'm going to Disneyland!

Remember that wonderful line? No? Let me spark your memory. I just remember my sister and I used to always joke with this line. But this time I really did go to Disneyland (okay, land not world. But we all know Disneyland is better).

Yes, that's right, I went to Disneyland for my bachelorette. I have to say, it was quite an awesome idea. Where else better to celebrate than the happiest place on Earth? It's a no brainer.

My bachelorette crew: Heather (me, of course!), Lindsay, Heather R. Melissa, Alley, and Tori.



The fun started on Friday evening after we all had made our way down to LA area (I actually went down Thursday evening and worked from Lindsay's apt on Friday). Lindsay and I drove to LAX to pick up the gang. LAX was a zoo, but we managed to get to Heather Richardson's house without an issue. We started our weekend with chit chat and mojitos!

Saturday was the BIG day - Disneyland. We had a leisurely morning and then we were off to party hard. We bought our tickets (ouch) and headed inside. First things first, I got a special hat. It was a hard choice between the felt mouse ears or the handband. The felt I could have embroidered "Bride-to-be" or something cheesy, but the handband was cutier. I went with cuter.



Once our mouse gear was on our heads (we also got special "celebration" buttons to wear), we were off to Indy. Indy? Indiana Jones (Tori knows him as Indy; apparently they are on a first name basis). I guess I should go back to driving school because I gave these girls a ride for their money. I tell you it's hard to drive in the dark and across a fake bridge near snakes and rolling boulder. (Only those that have been on the ride will understand those last sentences).



Next we hit up a few more rides: Pirates, Captain EO 3D (oh yea baby; it's back), Big Thunder, Haunted House, Space Mountain...all the big rides. And then there was Splash Mountain. Now, I've gotten wet before, but never have I come out thinking I jumped into the river. Alley and I were the two front loggers and got utterly wet. In fact, so wet that we deemed it appropriate to purchase new dresses! And, for me, a sweater as well.



You would think after all that, we would be tired out. Oh no. We replenished our energy with a fabulous meal at Catal in Downtown Disney and then we were back at the D-land.



This time we tried out the much improved Star Tours, saw some elephants on the Jungle Cruise, and some more pirates on Peter Pan. In between we saw glimpses of fireworks. And that, my friends, is a full day at Disneyland. Go Girls!

Day two was a bit more low key. Then again, anything is low key compared to the awesomeness that is Disneyland. We did brunch at Coast in Santa Monica on the beauiful beach. With coffee in hand, I was a happy girl. Or was I happier sitting on the beach in the sun (replenishing my Vitamin D)? Tough decision. Either way, it was a lovely morning.



We ended the fabulous weekend crusing cute shops on Main Street in downtown Santa Monica. Sadly, all things must come to an end, and we all parted our ways. Melissa, Tori, and Alley back to the bay area. Lindsay to South Pasa. Heather to Bel Air. Me to Seattle.

What a freakin' awesome weekend!

Bridal Shower, Part Deux

Last weekend was my second bridal shower, my Encinitas bridal shower. It was hosted and run by Pat Richardson and Sue Hartley, my second and third moms. It was also the 'coming together of the families' shower. This was big time shower - this wasn't a drizzle or misty shower, but a downpour of friends and family.

Let's start with the stats:

• Roughly 25 guests


• 1 Bride


• 1 MOB + 1 MOG


• 1 Bridesmaid + 1 Jr Bridesmaid


• 1 FOB (acting as butler) alongside Host's Husband


• 1 Reader


• Location: Encinitas, CA

It was a lovely meeting of the families. There was a game to start everyone mingling and intermixing - a people hunt. We had to find someone that matched the something on the list. For instance, Who watches "Say Yes to the Dress," or who married their high school sweetheart. This broke and ice and soon everyone was laughing and have a great time.

(Isn't it funny...we're wearing name tags!)

Then we moved onto phase two: food. We all enjoyed some delicious chicken salad, Panera bread, and some fresh brewed ice tea. For the sweet tooth, delicious carrot cake cupcakes. And to keep the conversations rolling during lunch, we were given some wedding trivia. Did you know that Queen Victoria started the tradition of wearing a white wedding dress?

With full tummies and happy people, we all migrated to the living room to do a little bit of gift opening. And my little, I really mean the exact opposite, LOTS of gift unwrapping. I did try to make in enjoyable for everyone with my awesome facial expressions as captured in some photos.

I also got a lovely rehearsal bow bouquet from all the ribbons and bows on the gifts. Actually, Laurie Galloway made it as I tore through all the presents. I learned only towards the end that the number of bow rips equals the number of kids you'll have. Luckily I'm a pro gift opener and didn't have much trouble. BUT I wouldn't have minded ripping 1 or 2 bows...

Then we all mingled a bit more and then the party was over. And what a lovely party it was; down to every detail, even the flowers. Thanks Pat & Sue!!

Beans and Dreams

Coffee Beans and Birthday Dreams. That was last weekend. Yes, I'm writing about last weekend this weekend. I'm bit behind. Deal with it.

Last week marked my last year in my 20s. Sigh. After about the age 26, I started to forget how old I was. Funny thing is, I still feel like I'm 18. Now I truly understand what my parents meant when they taked about not feeling X age (X for my parent's privacy). I think I still qualify as young. Although if you asked my 11 year old self if upper 20s was young, I'd probably disagree. College people seemed old to me at that time. It's all prespective.

For my birthday, Seattle has the Seattle weather - gray and rain. Apparently it'll get nice here after the 4th of July. If only I had a July birthday. No tears though. One can still have fun without the sun (I've learned this living here). Josh and I spent a fair portion of Saturday at the Northwest Coffee Festival.

There were coffee pot of all shapes and sizes on display. Check this out:

 

I will not be using these at home. Look at all the nobs and spouts on the left one. Craziness I tell you, craziness. It was fun to watch the experts at work though. We watched a presentation and they guy was weighing his coffee to ensure the right amount of water. Craziness.

We did taste a few different coffees. Victorola made me a cute little cappuccino. We tried macchiatos and espressos. Personally, I still like the sugar and milk in my coffee. However, you really can taste the difference in beans when you make coffee the right way.

 

Here's a Flickr site that has some cool photos.

I also celebrated my birthday with gifts and some good food. We went to dinner at Mistral. And I of course got myself some froyo.

Here's the cute stationary Josh got me. It's from Minted. It's postcard style and the back is uber cute too. Perhaps you might receive a piece of mail from me.

 

And that's a wrap (birthday gift pun intended).

Hello Again

This is the much-anticipated post. I know you've been on the edge of your computer seat ever since I built up the suspense in my Later Partner post. You can now relax, I'm releasing the big news. Some of you may already know, but I'm going back. Back to...wait for it...Acxiom.

It's time to suit up and head back to work folks. Man, I've been waiting to use the suit up song for some time now. No, no, I don't actually have to wear a suit. In fact, I could wear my comfies (that's what I call my PJs, yoga-style pants, etc). Wrong again, I can't wear comfies to the Acxiom office, but since I'll be working from home I could. Yes, I'll be home-based here in Seattle. I probably won't wear comfies because all the studies on working from home say you should actually wear normal clothes, but it is possible.

I'll be heading down to Foster City (the Bay Area) Tuesday (tomorrow) through Friday this week for my first week. I'll be training, doing HR paperwork, and all that type of new hiring type stuff. Then I'm back to Seattle and setting up my home office. Next weekend is a big IKEA trip so we can turn this place into a productive-efficiency-awesome environment.

So, it's hello again Acxiom. Hello again friends at the office. Hello again Bay Area (every once in a while). Hello again sitting at a computer and not at an espresso machine. Hello again weekends. Hello again routine schedule. But not Hello Again, the movie. That was bad. Josh says I should be embarrassed to even have watched the movie. I was young, and didn't know any better okay.

Or as I like to say...(note - A is for Acxiom)....

Hello Again Uncle A



Picture of me at a Career Fair January 2008.