Last Weekend

This post is only one week late, but I had a great time last weekend! Since David was at the beach, I got to spend part of the weekend with Elizabeth! I went to a baby shower on Saturday afternoon for my old neighbor and then headed to the Johnson household. We talked, ate, slept... well kinda slept, (thanks again Peanut!), woke up, went to the coffee and the Milwaukie farmer's market, then I headed home to see David for a bit before he headed back to Ashland. I can't wait until this long distance thing is over- only one more month!

I liked these flowers as possibilities for the wedding- they were the perfect color

Eating and Drinking

So the "Be Married" has been discussed, as for the eating and drinking, not so much. My roommate and I planned to have a party Friday night, but then decided not to. Well, I bought too much party foods, so I made them anyways... for dinner. Luckily David was going to a bachelor party at the beach so I sent him away with the leftovers. We had a delightful dinner of chips and guacamole, fresh fruit with a yummy dip, and mango mojitos without the mint- well because me and David don't like mint, but you could easily put the mint back in. I don't follow recipes when I cook normally so here is my approximate, do-your-best-guess-at-what-feels-right-and-tastes-good-when-you-try-it kinda recipes:

Mango Mojito Minus Mint (look at that alliteration)
1 mango (puree it up with a little water and sugar if it isn't as sweet as you would have hoped for, that's what happened with ours) and set aside
In a cup, add 1/2 a lime cut into quarters and one sugar packet of sugar in the raw (I may or may not have stolen these from surrounding Starbucks- but only because I couldn't find them in the stores). Use the handle of a wooden spoon to muddle the limes and sugar, a great way to work off your frustrations from the day (If you want the mint, add it with the limes and sugar and muddle all together). Add 1/2 the mango puree, a shot or two of mango rum, ice, and top it off with club soda. Serve with a colorful straw and repeat so your other half gets a drink too. These were very tasty and just what I needed after teaching 1st grade for the week. I took a picture but am not artist and am not a good photographer, so they didn't turn out. And David was getting grumpy for making him wait to eat and drink so I could document our dinner. So I gave up, on with the guacamole!

Guacamole (quite a big batch):
six ripe avocados
1/4 cup fine diced red onion (they are purple not red)
1/2-1 jalapeno finely diced
1/4 cup minced cilantro, or more- I love cilantro
3 limes with the juice squeezed out of them- I made David do this because I was finding all the paper cuts I have acquired from teaching 1st grade.

Put everything in a big bowl and mash away- I used a pasty cutter, it works well to mash it up but leaving some texture and chucks of avocado- just the way I like it!



I didn't take a picture of the fruit dip, but it is just white and doesn't look special in anyway. But it is so easy and oh so good. Take two softened blocks of cream cheese and mix with a jar of marshmallow fluff: That's it! YUM We ate ours with pineapple, grapes, and strawberries. And I maybe had it for breakfast this morning, with the leftover mango from our drinks.

The Decision

I think we have made our decision! I obviously could not stop thinking about Deepwood Estates and compared all the other venues to it. So David called and we are written down for Sunday July 31st, 2011. Almost all the Saturdays were booked already and we were hoping to be as close to our anniversary as possible, which is August 1st- so we will be getting married one day before our seven year anniversary. Plus, it was 600 dollars cheaper to rent it on a Sunday! So be ready to party on Sunday night, get Monday off work, or just suffer through for one day :)

However, I am thinking a lot about the Settlemier house as well. You can see the pictures on the previous blog. This place is almost 1000 dollars cheaper than Deepwood Estates, but the ceremony and reception would take place in the same area- making an awkward transition. And we would be responsible for all taking down of chairs, tables, everything. And there is only street-parking, but it seemed to be plenty. hmmm suggestions and thoughts are appreciated- we have to Monday to sign our contract with Deepwood... yikes!

The Search

So, as we spent Saturday evening with our friends Wade and Elizabeth, Elizabeth showed me her blog and easily convinced me to start my own. Having a few friends with them, it is always fun to read what your loved ones are up to. I also thought this would be a great way to share my love of cooking, eating, new adventures in mine and David's life and the planning of our wedding.

So here it is, the search for a perfect wedding venue. This wedding is much anticipated as David and I have been dating close to six years! I have always looked for wedding venues and was excited to actually look at them in person, and with a ring on my finger. We started Saturday morning with a trip up to Cubanisamo Vineyards and it was a "no". It was much too small and didn't offer tables or chairs. Next we went to Deepwood Estates in Salem. I fell in love with this beautiful historic house and surrounding gardens. We walked around for a long time and decided it was a contender. Next we drove out to Canby to look at Postlewait's Country Wedding- basically it is a farm. It was very pretty but expensive; more than Deepwood and I couldn't help but compare. Next we drove out to Hillsboro to look at the McMenamin's Cornelius Pass Roadhouse. They have a beautiful wedding grove and old octagonal barn for the reception, but again it is kinda spendy. Well, if that wasn't enough, we continued our driving and search on Sunday after taking David's mom out for breakfast. We went to the Settlemier House in Woodburn which was a close second to Deepwood, due to the cheap price and pretty grounds. Then we drove out to the Wooden Shoe Farm (where the tulip festival is held). The garden here was gorgeous but expensive- and again wasn't quite as high as Deepwood. We were exhausted after the adventurous weekend. Our decision will be posted soon, if it all works out. Here are some pictures that we took from the big search.

Here is Deepwood Estate in Salem:

This is the garden area where we would hold the ceremony, that's me standing where we would actually be standing

This is the tennis court that will be covered with a huge white tent for the reception.

Here are some other pictures from the Settlemier house in Woodburn and the Wooden Shoe Farm. We were lucky to find a few tulips in bloom: