In the door and into the oven!

A wedding gift arrived today: the Williams-Sonoma Popover Pan!

For any reader who’s ever had popovers, you know that these eggy baked concoctions are pure heaven on earth. I did a little jig when I saw what was inside the box (which I’ll get to later), and immediately whipped up some popover batter.

THIS PAN IS AMAZING.

I’d made popovers tons of times before in muffin tins, but this pan lets you make them on a whole other level. They are super-easy to prepare, and they come out absolutely, magazine-quality perfect. This would really wow a group of houseguests or just be a fantastic weekend surprise!

Check out my popovers (the only two left since we pounced the minute they came out of the oven. These are the runts of the litter!):

My only gripe is a broader one about Williams-Sonoma: Everything arrives in massive boxes with tons of interior packaging and foam peanuts. I realize that they have to make sure things arrive in one piece, but the size of some of these boxes has been utterly ridiculous.

Here is a photo of all the packaging that came with this single, relatively small popover pan:

It looks absurd, right?!?

So get thee to a Williams-Sonoma store and buy thyself a popover pan… without the surplus packing!

Tag! You’re It!

I have been tagged by Jessica at Tying the Knot. Yay!

I am still relatively new to the world of blogging, but I think this is a good thing.
RULES:
1) you link back to the person who tagged you.
2) post these rules on your blog.
3) share six unimportant things about yourself.
4) tag six random people at the end of your entry.
5) let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blogs

OK, six random things about me….

1. I devour anything with caramel. I believe the best caramels in the world are the Celtic Sea Salt caramels from Bequet in Montana (see here).

2. I lost my first tooth in third grade (I was a very late bloomer!!).

3. We’re having cupcakes from Buttercup Bake Shop in NYC at our wedding. I like the yellow ones, so we’ll likely do a yellow and white color combination.

4. I am terrified of bats (see photo below- totally horrifying).

5. I am not terrified of spiders, which has made me the de facto spider hunter in our house. I’ve gotten really good at catching them and getting them outside ASAP.

6. I hopped onto the Ugg and Juicy Couture terry sweatsuit trends late, but I am clinging to both for dear life because they are so darned comfortable. Don’t judge me.

I tag:

Ocean State Bride

The Knot Interested

Snippet and Ink

The Preppy Wedding

That Bride

With this ring I obsess

Interesting NYT article on Jenna Bush’s wedding

Jenna Bush is getting married very soon, on May 10th to be precise. The New York Times published an interesting article discussing Jenna’s decision to have a “small” 200 guest wedding at her family’s ranch in TX over a sumptuous White House affair. See article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/fashion/20WEDDING.html?_r=1&ref=style&oref=slogin

Here’s the picture sketch of Jenna’s fourteen gradiated color bridesmaid dresses by Lela Rose:

This is the extremely high-end version of my own multi-colored bridesmaid wedding. Glad to see it’s in style this season!

A Giveaway Worth Doing

I arrived home today from class and there was a big cardboard box on our front porch! When I opened it, I realized it was the FREE 8″ nonstick frying pan from Calphalon that I got for simply registering for $600 of Calphalon products on our Williams-Sonoma registry! It’s gorgeous! Perfect for frying up a single egg or one grilled cheese.

Please note my red manicure that I got for my shower this past weekend…

All I had to do was print out our registry and fill out an address form, and a few weeks later the frying pan arrived.

I strongly recommend that anyone who registered for pots and pans from Calphalon (at W-S, and I think also at other stores) avail themselves of this deal. I found it on a link on the W-S registry manager. Totally worth it!

Favorite Flower: Ranunculus

Without a doubt, the ranunculus is my favorite flower for bouquets and wedding floral arrangements.

Sadly, it’s a spring flower, so much easier to find in a variety of colors right now than in August, when I’m to be married!

This month’s In Style Weddings has a feature on spring flowers (”Spring Into Action” on p. 274) that has absolutely amazing photos of a woodland wedding table setting done by NYC event designer Michelle Rago. These are her amazing ranunculus table arrangements. I love them!

Source: In Style Weddings, http://www.instyleweddings.com/weddings/cp/general/photos/0,,20181879_20181007_20421299,00.html

Style Inspiration: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Has anyone else caught this absolutely delightful movie? It’s out in theaters now, starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. The film is set on the eve of WWII in London, and has the best costumes!

I’m not sure how far you’d want to go, but it would be great to get some late 1930s-early 1940s glamour into a wedding dress/bridesmaid dresses! Here are a few ideas:

J. Crew Mimi T-Shirt Dress (back):

Claire Pettibone Cloisonne dress:

Hollywould Susanna D’Orsay peeptoe:

Even if it’s not your style, this movie is such fun. It would make a great bridesmaids outing or mother/daughter night out!

Give Green

No, I’m not talking money.

I mean attendant gifts, and I’m suggesting giving any one of these great potted indoor plants as a nice change from the pearl earring or pashmina route-more-traveled.

White Flower Farm Potted Fern - $21.95:

White Flower Farm potted Lavender plant - $42.00:

Smith & Hawken potted Orchid (love this pot!)- $59.00:

Williams-Sonoma potted mini Lemon and Key Lime trees - $69.00:

Crazy About Cameos

I’ve been considering wearing some sort of cameo jewelry with my wedding dress. Granted, cameos have something of an air of a grandma about them, but they also have an elegance that I think could be quite nice for a wedding so long as you didn’t overdo it on the rest of the jewelry.

Wedgwood blue cameo necklace or earrings could be a great “something blue.”

I snooped around for antique cameos on eBay, and here are some of the more promising results:

Favorite Ceremony Hymn

We don’t chat much about ceremony details on blogs, but I wanted to post the lyrics to what is my favorite ceremony hymn for a wedding.

Especially since our wedding is going to be in a church, but sort of multi-religious, I really like the message of this hymn. I suggested it for a friend’s wedding several years ago, with the stipulation that I might use it in my own whenever that was to happen… Now that it’s happening, I still think we might use it!

I find this hymn to be universal and not at all preachy. It’s just a big celebration list of everything that people appreciate about life!  And the tune is very simple and lovely.

For The Beauty of the Earth

Lyrics by Folliot S. Pierpoint (1864), Music by Conrad Kocher (183

For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies;
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the wonder of each hour,
Of the day and of the night;
Hill and vale and tree and flow’r,
Sun and moon, and stars of light;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of ear and eye,
For the heart and mind’s delight;
For the mystic harmony,
Linking sense to sound and sight;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

For the joy of human love,
Brother, sister, parent, child;
Friends on Earth and friends above,
For all gentle thoughts and mild;
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise.

Hi-Low Bridesmaid Dress… and the Low Wins!

This dress is currently available at the Gap for $69.50! Cotton/silk blend! Wouldn’t it make a great bridesmaid dress?

This one from David’s Bridal is quite similar (comes in blue too), but I don’t like it as much. And at $135, it’s twice as expensive!

Also compare this Priscilla of Boston dress, in black and white (it also comes in blue). Not sure how much it costs, but I’d imagine it’s the most expensive!