To Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama...

For our upcoming trip to Nassau, Bahamas the island forecast looks pretty sunny & warm:

I'm getting excited!! I just hope it's hot enough for us to go in the ocean and get a sweet Irish tan.

A Light Exists in Spring

A light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period.
When March is scarcely here

A color stands abroad
On solitary hills
That science cannot overtake,
But human naturefeels.

It waits upon the lawn;
It shows the furthest tree
Upon the furthest slope we know;
It almost speaks to me.

Then, as horizons step,
Or noons report away,
Without the formula of sound,
It passes, and we stay:

A quality of loss
Affecting our content,
As trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a sacrament.

~Emily Dickinson

Spring Salad

I saw this yummy recipe in a Daily Candy email and want to try it out!

Asparagus, Marcona Almond, and Feta Salad
(Serves four)

Ingredients
¼ c. white wine vinegar
¼ c. sugar
1 small red onion, peeled, halved, and sliced thin
20 asparagus spears, trimmed
2 tbsp. lemon juice (divided)
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ c. Marcona almonds, lightly toasted and chopped
1 head frisee lettuce, torn
¼ c. feta cheese, crumbled

1. In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar and sugar. Add the onion and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, mixing every 20 minutes. Drain the pickled onions and set aside.

2. Bring pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the asparagus until tender (3-5 minutes). Immediately plunge asparagus into an ice-water bath until fully chilled.

3. Place the asparagus in a bowl. Toss with 1 tbsp. lemon juice and 1 tbsp. olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

4. In another bowl, combine almonds, frisee, feta, and pickled onions. Toss with remaining lemon juice and olive oil.

5. To assemble, arrange 5 spears in the center of each plate. Divide the rest of the salad equally on top of the asparagus.

6. Serve. Savor. Stay tuned for spring.

My Wedding Checklist

This past weekend I went to Chicago for my little cousin's wedding and it got me thinking about what my own wedding would be like (not that it's happening anytime soon):

- Spring time wedding, ideally in May

- Either a destination wedding to a warm tropical island with the ceremony on the beach or at Brookside Gardens in my home state

- Surrounded by all my friends and family members

- Rose petals tossed down the aisle

- All of the bridesmaids in the same dress style and color

- Everyone blowing bubbles after the ceremony

- Beautiful fresh cut flowers (pink & white roses, peonies, stargazers, gerbera daisies) and tons of lit white pillar candles

- 3-tier wedding cake (white cake with strawberry filling and buttercream frosting) and decorated with purple & white orchids

- Twinkling white lights hung from the ceiling

- Really good food at the reception

- Big party atmosphere with lots of fun dancing and drinking (thanks to the open bar)

- Champagne toasts

- Embarrassing picture slideshow of the happy couple growing up

- Milk chocolate fountain with yummy fruit to dip

- Driving away into the sunset in an antique white Rolls-Royce or a cherry red convertible

More to be added later... :)

Tropical Vacation - Part I

I'm so excited because this past weekend I booked a trip with my boyfriend to Nassau, Bahamas!! We decided to go for 4 nights at the end of March, so a pretty last minute getaway. After a lot of research and obsessing we found a non-stop Delta flight for $269 each and then a good hotel deal for only $132 per night. It was a bit of a gamble because we booked on Hotwire.com so we didn't know exactly what hotel we would end up at. Luckily we are staying at a lovely beachfront property - Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino (which happened to be my preferred choice).

A picture of our resort's pool area:












I am definitely ready for some fun in the sun. Yay!

The psychics say...

Pisces (2/19-3/20)

Sometimes, it can be very helpful to live in an illusion - to keep yourself so distracted by daydreams and fanciful wishes that you don't have to deal with unpleasant thoughts. So if you are having troubling thoughts, it might be okay today to just pretend everything is just fine. Think good thoughts and if there are uncertain situations, just pretend that you know the outcome for certain - and the outcome is good. Fake it until you make it, because you will make it eventually. Have hope!

They must be able to read minds because this is spot on! :)

Ski Trip.... Mormon Style

Tomorrow morning I’m going skiing (alone) at Snowbird in Utah. Luckily Omniture is paying for my ski pass and providing bus transportation to/from the resort all day. So I would pretty much be a fool to pass up this opportunity.

Unfortunately I started to get a bit worried after hearing warnings from a couple of co-workers:

- You might get dizzy and black out from not drinking enough water
- It’s not like skiing back East on "mountains" covered with ice
- The powder will be waist deep
- This is not a beginner mountain (they have double black diamond runs)

I consider myself a Blue run girl (intermediate level) but I haven’t hit the slopes for a couple of years and I’m definitely not prepared for a top elevation of 11,000 feet. Here's a map of the 89+ runs:



Hopefully it’s a good time and I don’t end up breaking any of my lovely bones, causing an avalanche, or running into a tree. Wish me luck friends!