Nom Nom Nom

It is less than 3 months until the wedding and we just had our food & cake tasting!  While I already knew we would enjoy every delicious bite, I was not prepared for the barrage of intricate decisions that we would face.  Did you know there's more to a tasting than just what the food tastes like?  We had to consider food placement, whether or not there's enough "color" on the plate, whether the progression from hors d'oeuvres to appetizer to salad to entree to dessert made "sense."  Lucky for us, Marc and I LOVE to eat, and like everything else in this wedding, nothing was haphazardly chosen. 

We were also lucky to have my lovely FMIL Judy, wedding coordinator, Ruth Wang of Behind the Scene, and our amazing Langham Huntington Special Events Manager, Chelsea Rowe tasting beside us and helping us make some of the final menu selections.  Not only that, after each "course" - salad, entree, dessert, pastries, the Langham chefs in charge of creating each item came out to greet us, answer our questions, and give us recommendations as to what we could do to create our dream menu!  It was a really nice touch on behalf of the Langham and really made our experience even more special.

Here are just a few of the tasty selections we got to try:

 

Grilled lamb porterhouse with balsamic lentil and Humboldt goat cheese - It was www.bomb.com!

Herb crusted sea bass with artichoke ravioli and roasted artichoke, veal jus.  Delicious!

Pear Cheesecake with poached pear, caramel sauce.

In the end we were happy, satiated, and stuffed!  In fact, I'm so glad that restaurant was almost empty because you could probably hear us laughing and having fun from the hallway! 

I better find some time to eat at the wedding—there is no way I want to miss all this glorious food!

I'm back!

As it turns out my blogging duties went into hibernation for the remainder of winter, but with the passing of the first day of spring, it looks like I’ve risen from my slumber and the Constance Comment is BACK!  Although a hiatus was not my intention, the last several weeks have been ridiculously busy with starting a new jobby job, wedding planning, family and social events, extreme dieting, sprinkle in a short bout of Hunger Games obsession and finishing the entire trilogy in a little under ten days, and I just have not been left with much time for anything else! 

But just so that we’re all up to speed, here’s a brief recap of the last several weeks:

Although it was no surprise, the 15th Annual Super Bowl Party was another great success! 

Cocktails at the Cosmopolitan.

Hummer limo ride to Downtown LV.

The Hostess with the Mostess.

What else do people watch the Super Bowl on?

Winners of the Super Dollar.

Shortly after the party, I started a new jobby job at a firm in Irvine that does the same kind of work from my prior firm.  It's keeping me busy!



 Lauren and I caught Ryan Adams at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.  He was nothing short of amazing.

Ryan Adams at WDCH.

Also, our two favorite Kugelman boys are now officially off the market.  We had the pleasure of celebrating Lars and Margaux's and Alex and Lauren's engagement during in the same month.  Marc and I are so happy for these love birds, and I'm particularly excited because it means I can vicariously live through another bride's wedding planning journey. 

Unfortunately, we also had to say good-bye to Alex and Lauren as they embarked on their new lives in DC together.  Alex is doing his second clerkship for a judge there, but Marc and I are excited to visit them soon!

Finally, all things wedding-related (dieting, planning, dieting, planning) have kept the remainder of my time very busy!  I'm in the process of designing our wedding invitations (time consuming due to my Adobe Illustrator illiteracy) right now, but just writing about them makes me giddy with excitement!  I'm so looking forward to sharing them with you.

As for the diet, I'm down 12 pounds. Woop Woop! It's hardly noticeable, but it makes me happy to see a difference on the scale.  Tomorrow is my very first dress fitting so we'll see how much more I'll have to lose then!

I'm sure I'm forgetting lots of events from the last few weeks, but for now, I must indulge in my inner-nerd and rush off to catch the Hunger Games. 

Resolution 5.1: Whole-Wheat Pasta with Kale and Fontina

Last week, my dear friend Neda came over for dinner.  I told her it would be nothing fancy, but hoped that it would at least be tasty.  After googling for some recipes that I could make with what I already had on hand at the house, I found this recipe for a whole wheat pasta with kale and fontina. And let me just say that it was DELICIOUS (and so easy to make!)

 

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon (2 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch kale (1 pound), thick stems trimmed, leaves coursely chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 cups reduced-sodium canned chicken broth
• 1 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fontina cheese

Directions

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat, turning occasionally, until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons rendered fat.
2. Cook garlic in same skillet over medium heat until golden, stirring frequently, 2 minutes. Add half the kale; cook, tossing until just wilted, 2 minutes. Add remaining kale, and season with salt and pepper; cook, tossing, until all kale has wilted, 2 minutes. Add broth; cover. Simmer until kale is tender, 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot. Add kale and fontina; toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add reserved cooking water as desired. Divide pasta among plates; top with reserved bacon.

I did make a couple substitutions - I used a lot more than one bunch of kale for the same amount of pasta because it shrinks so much when cooked.  I also used turkey bacon.  However, turkey bacon doesn't render the amount of fat that regular bacon so I had to add a little bit of olive oil so that I could saute the garlic.  I also had to play around with the heat on this one - sauteing garlic on medium fire is usually too hot and will likely burn.  Finally, I probably used half the amount of chicken broth and fontina suggested in the recipe and it all worked out!

I made extra with the idea that I could pack the leftovers for lunch the next day, but it was so good that Neda and I pretty much finished the entire thing! But then again, bacon makes everything delicious! It was quick and easy, and nutritious with all the kale.  I'll definitely make this one again!

I Dream of Palm Springs Bachelorette Weekend Wardrobe

Me:  Should I go to Paso Robles, Vegas, or Palm Springs for my bachelorette party?
Neda:  Well, I feel like you'll get better pictures in Palm Springs.

And just as I was planning and deciding when/where my bachelorette party should be, I discover an editorial in Vogue Australia's February 2012 issue that took place in Palm Springs!  Although Australia is over 7,000 miles away from California, the two share warm, sunny weather, which is probably why both their residents are often so uber-chill, and exude a permanent vacation-like vibe.  The colors were a bit too muted for me, the editorial inspired me and got me thinking and planning what I'll wear for all my bachelorette party activities!

 

I have always loved resort wear - cool, breezy, maxi dresses in a vibrant print, turbans, bright colors, sheer fabrics, chunky gold jewelry, big sunglasses, and sparkly wedges, etc.  In fact, I aspire to live a lifestyle where my wardrobe consists only of resort wear!  But for now I can only thinking about my bachelorette party steez.  I'm thinking something more like this:

Tangerine Tango!

Even just looking at these pictures during this cold (well maybe not lately) winter reminds that soon enough, we'll be soaking up the rays, sipping cocktails and looking just as fabulous.

Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New!

Before you roll your eyes about New Year's resolutions and write them off as stupid and something-I’m-not-gonna-stick-to-anyway-so-why-bother, just take a moment and ask yourself if it’s really such a bad thing to have goals for yourself?  I think New Year’s Resolutions can be wonderful.  I love the tradition of reflecting on the past year, identifying the changes that I want to see and resolving to follow through with those changes.  For me, writing my resolutions helps me define what kind of person I want to be, what I want to manifest in the new year, and how I'll live up to my potential.

So in 2012, I resolve to:

1.    Run a half marathon - I’ve always wanted to do one, and training for it should keep me healthy and active! 

2.    Volunteer at least 3 events - Everyday, I am grateful to be healthy, have so many supportive friends and family, and a job that I love. 2011 was a very hard year for a lot of people, and it's important to take time from our busy lives to help others.


3.    Read 12 books from 12 different genres - Being an attorney involves so much reading that I rarely want to read outside of the office.  I thought I would aim to read 1 book a month from 12 different genres which should help me rediscover my love of reading and hopefully expand my literary knowledge!

4.    Take a class or workshop on something I haven’t done before (today, I'm thinking millinery!)- Time waits for noone and you’re never too young or old to learn a new skill.

5.    Make a new recipe every month - I want to improve my culinary skills and there are still so many things I haven’t tried yet.  Hopefully this will not only give me the chance to be bold and try new recipes, but also give me the chance to invite friends over to share in my adventure.

One year is out and another quickly fills in. I welcome you 2012 with open arms!