My Best Frand’s Wedding
As expected, Rachel’s wedding weekend was incredible. With perfect weather, fabulous company and unequivocal love, I was so happy to celebrate their special day in style.
We danced and drank into the night, and a surprise delivery of 100 McDonald’s hamburgers revitalized us all for a few more hours 
The happy couple continues their vacation to Antigua while the rest of us return to reality.
Despite some bruises, broken bones (really!) and bloodshot eyes, we’re all thrilled for Rachel and Clint to become man and wife. Cheers!
How can you be mad with a view like that?
Guest book — wishing as many happy years as there are fish in the sea!
Clint makes his walk down the aisle … like a sorority spirit run 
Dad greets Rachel, and we’re all crying by now.
Snuck a quick pic of the newlyweds making a getaway.
Blue velvet cake for the couple.
Stealing twinsie away for a few photos.
Pure bliss.
At our three-woman bachelorette party … on her wedding night. Perfect!
Friday Fiver
Short and sweet, here are the top five reasons I’m totally in love with today:
- I’ve enjoyed Friday the 13th since I was a kid, and it’s always been a day of joy — like good friends getting married on Friday, April 13. No superstitions here!
- My company’s summer celebration is today, which means a half day of work and a whole day of nonsense. Bring on the Cuban food, cigars and moustache contest
- It’s the end of a particularly grueling week. Both my professional and personal lives have been overrun by commitments, deadlines and chaos. Cheers to finally allowing myself to relax.
- Girl Talk’s “Friday Night.” On loop. All day.
- This picture, found by Rachel, and keeping me in stitches:
Work it, Grandma!
Happy Friday, friends. Hope you’re all sipping drinks poolside and soaking up the summer sun!
What I imagine an LSD trip would feel like
A Dinner for Impatient People
If you’re like me, you hear “A watched pot never boils” and would like to slam your head against a wall. Patience may be a virtue, but it certainly isn’t mine.
As such, I don’t particularly enjoy making dinner and standing over a boiling pot of water. Give me a cupcake recipe and the 18–22 minutes to spend doing other stuff while they bake, and I’m a happy girl. But, I digress.
Normally, I’m happy to “whip up” crackers and cheese for a quick and easy dinner. Classy, I know. Classier: the plate I use.
I’m going to be such a great housewife.
But for nights when I need a real meal — and still need to save money and time — this recipe from salted chocolate is perfect. It’s my easy dinner go-to, and it was exactly what I needed to start my week off right.
Full disclosure: This wasn’t tonight’s meal — I ate too quickly to capture it!
Mozzarella Caprese Pasta
Recipe created by salted chocolate
INGREDIENTS
- 1 (8-10) oz. jar of mini mozzarella balls
- 1 container of grape (or cherry) tomatoes
- A few leaves of basil
- Extra virgin olive oil (enough to cover the dish, but don’t soak it)
- 1 box thin spaghetti
- Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
- Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, julienne chop the basil. Once pasta is cooked to al dente, drain. Add the olive oil to your liking, plus the tomatoes, mini mozzarella balls and the basil. Don’t mix together.
- Then, dish into bowls – ensure each plate has a good amount of tomatoes and mozzarella. For each bowl, add salt and pepper to taste. The cheese will start to melt over the top of the pasta and seep down.
NOTES
- My local store doesn’t carry mini mozzarella balls, so I use a block of skim mozzarella and cut it into chunks. Let’s be real here — cheese is cheese!
- Add 5-minute garlic toast (I love Pepperidge Farm’s Garlic Texas Toast) and a glass of red wine for a complete meal.
What’s your favorite dinner to create in minutes? This impatient lady would love more recipes!
WO: Weekly Obsessions
I survived our cruise (barely) and am officially back to reality, as deadlines pile up and my car’s constant issues create a bigger dent in my bank account. So, here’s what I’m using to keep the hump-day ho-hums away.
saltedchocolate: I have to give some blog love and a big birthday shout-out to my dear frand, Rachel. She’s off for the rest of the week to have fun in the sun, while the rest of us schmucks are stuck at the office. Enjoy every minute of it, Soul Sister. You deserve it!
My Nieces: Brother and his fiancée are the proud parents of two adorable little girls, Bailey and Chloe. I’ll be watching them this weekend, and I know they’re excited for a fun-filled adventure with Aunt Amanda. At just 3 and 1, respectively, they’re the cutest kids I know. [End crazy talk.]
Spotify: I’m late getting on board with this music software, because I’m always hesitant to try the latest tech trend. But, after I left my iPod at home during a weekend workday, a co-worker enlightened me to this free service and I haven’t looked back. My fave feature is using the Inbox to share songs. Stellar.
“Bridesmaids” on DVD: If you haven’t seen this movie yet, go ahead … I’ll wait here. While I love a good comedy, Kristen Wiig and crew take laughs to another level in what’s been dubbed the female version of “The Hangover.” The special features and deleted scenes are worth the spend alone. Seriously, watch it now.
True story: “Hold On” just came on in my Spotify … it’s destiny, due to my love of “Bridesmaids.” Here’s to getting through another week of crazy!
