July

Like any true American, we celebrated American independence by eating a lot of food. On July 3rd we had the menu tasting for our wedding which was another fun part of wedding planning. We spent the 4th with a few friends at a newly discovered beer garden whose back patio, enclosed by ivy covered walls, is like an oasis in the city. We ate too much, drank too much, and toasted to America.

July included yet another live show as we went to see one of our favorite singers, Jason Isbell, in Brooklyn and we took in a Mets game over at CitiField.

I also did plenty of cooking in July including a good old steak and veggies and my bison tacos. Say what you want about me, but never let it be said that I don’t make a bad ass taco because I assure you I do!

August
August was another stand out month. It started with Chris’s favorite part of the wedding planning process, the cake tasting! We got to try 5 different flavors which were all delicious.

We saw Hamilton a second time, shortly after it moved to Broadway. It was just as miraculous and we left asking when we could see it a 3rd time. We caught even more music in Brooklyn, this time seeing the legendary Willie Nelson who I am a huge fan of.

There were two exceptional things that happened in August though. The first is that we had our engagement photos taken. I was not looking forward to this as I hate having my picture taken, but it ended up being a great experience. Our photographer is amazing and she and Chris just kept me laughing the whole time. Here is one of my favorites from the shoot.

The second standout of the month was when one of my closest friends, Hans, came to visit from Copenhagen with his girlfriend. It was so good to have him here and it meant so much for me to have him meet Chris and for me to meet his girlfriend, Sanne. We took them to the beer garden mentioned above, to Mel’s for burgers, and to another Mets game. It was such a fun visit!

We also went to DC to visit good friends and their adorable baby, and, of course, I cooked some more. We love Ellie Krieger’s fish taco recipe and I always make lamb kofta during zucchini season.

September
Well this was an awesome month as the wedding related activities were in full swing.

One of the best things we did this month was attend the wedding of my friends Kurt and Justin in Connecticut. I’ve known Kurt for the better part of a decade and it was so amazing to see him marry such a wonderful man. It was also a great opportunity to hang out with some other good friends who attended the wedding.

In September my friends Mary, Brian, and I had our second annual “Crabs with Friends” night at The Mermaid Inn.

But the true highlight of September was celebrating my bachelorette party and shower! Since I have so many out of town friends who were going to travel in, my only request was that it be held on the same weekend and that my bachelorette party be a slumber party. That may seem boring to some people, but I’m not really the go out and get wild type so it was perfect for me. With that in mind on a Saturday in September my amazing bridesmaids arrived.

Jody, my Maid of Honor, came in from Rhode Island; Sarah, Chris’s sister (and my friend) came in from Pennsylvania; and Mary just came across the park from the Upper East Side. I was kicked out of my apartment (ok they had Chris take me to a wine bar) while they decorated. I came back to an awesome decked out apartment. I only wish I’d taken more pictures!

The girls told me to get dolled up and they took me to meet everyone else at Nice Matin for a wonderful dinner. In addition to my bridesmaids I had other friends travel in from DC and Boston which I was so touched by.

After dinner we headed back to my place where most everyone would be sleeping. We changed in to pajamas and my bridesmaids had fuzzy slippers for everyone! Jody planned a Real Housewives theme which was hysterical and so much fun. Even my friends who loathe reality TV had a blast because it was so funny and irreverent.

The next day we headed to my parents house in New Jersey for me shower. The weather was gorgeous so we got to spend most of time outside in the backyard which was exactly what I’d hoped for. My mom had it catered by a company called Morsels and Mixology and the food was ah-may-zing. I swear people were gushing about the food for weeks afterwards. If you live in NY, NJ, or CT, I highly recommend them.

The following weekend was Chris’s bachelor party and he also had friends come in from out of town. I went to my parents house for the night and returned to our apartment the next day to nurse my very hungover fiance. Needless to say, he definitely enjoyed his bachelor party!

October
Ok so most people go in to full on crazy diet mode a month before there wedding and some people go to charity pizza events a month before their wedding. Guess which kinds of people we are?

In early October Chris and I, along with some friends attended a charity event called Slice Out Hunger. Slice Out Hunger, “support[s] hunger relief initiatives by fundraising through the American pizza industry,” and once a year that hold a massive pizza eating event. About 50 pizzerias, including some of the cities top rated, bring loads of pies and sell slices for $1. You get 10 tickets for $10 and an empty pizza box. You walk around the room filling your box with whichever $10 slices you want and then you sit on the floor and eat pizza. It was so fun! Chris and I, as well as our friends Paul and Janet, don’t need much of an excuse to eat pizza so the fact that this was a charity event made it all the better.

We were also extremely busy with final wedding details and cheering on the Mets in the World Series. Sadly, they didn’t win, but they surprised everyone by even getting to the World Series so I’m very hopeful for next season. Let’s Go Mets!

Of course this meant that we ate a lot of meals at home and that I got to use so many of the amazing things I received for my shower, like our new dishes, our awesome New Jersey shaped cheese board, and my Vitamix which made Ellie Kreiger’s butternut squash soup, one of our favorite fall/winter dinners, even creamier and more delicious.

The best part of this whole wedding thing was marrying the love of my life. The second best thing was having everyone I love under one roof. The third best part was all the awesome new kitchen stuff I got 😉

These were an amazing few months and it was fun to look back. Stay tuned