Author: Ali Carras

This past weekend was the C-tron’s bday so we had a birthday breakfast bash with berries and buds. It is tradition to do three things on his bday: 1.) Eat strawberry shortcake (the longest standing tradition on this day)…so we had it for breakfast! 2.) Have the g-flan over. This will mark at least the third+ year where the g-flan has helped celebrate. 3.) C-tron gets a new cast iron kitchen tool. This is the second year of this semi-tradition. C-tron was the lucky recipient of a pile of tater tots with a candle on top (aka a tot cake) to help christen his new cast iron mini pans. Unfortunately, I failed to take photos during the birthday breakfast bash so I tried to recreate the scene just for memory sake:

And I got a stylin’ photo of the man on his day with his special hat thing on:

Why go to a restaurant when you can sit on the comfort of your own couch (or dining table if you are cool like that) and eat this:

Heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, garlic rubbed crostini, crispy prosciutto and nectarines. All topped off with our very favorite fleur de sel from the south of France, a little olive oil and  a bottle of homemade balsamic reduction at the ready. I just drooled on my keyboard.

A before and after story.

Once upon a time (i.e. about three weeks ago) a girl named Ali and a boy named C-tron were out on a sunny mountainside in Colorado. This sunny mountain spot was where they planned to have their wedding ceremony…

At this spot on that sunny day Ali and C-tron wrote their vows and pondered what their futures might hold together…

Then Ali and C-tron got married at that sunny spot but it wasn’t so sunny anymore. It was snowy…

Shortly after they got married, Ali and C-tron drove back to California and along the way they found a tree full of shoes…

And once they arrived home in California they went back to work right away because that is what two young people have to do if they live in California. But, luckily for Ali and C-tron their work took them to St. Lucia, Miami and West Virginia which means Ali and C-tron got to eat a lot of really good (and not so good for you) food…

Unfortunately for Ali all of the good and not so good for you food changed her a bit. She was very happy and she was married but now she was very happy and married and fat…

Moral of the story: Getting married makes you happy.

Last weekend, May 15th, 2011 at about 10:00m-ish amongst the mud, rain and snow C-tron and Ali done did get hitched.

(not photos from the actual day)

A semi brief rundown on how things went down:

A week and a half before the wedding: Dress #15 (from an Australian designer and purchased from a gal in Canada) arrives. Makes the final cut. Phew. Estimated weather for Sunday, May 15, 2011 = 77 degrees and sun. Ali worries that it might be too hot/bright out.

The Friday before Matrimonious Maximus: Beautiful sunny day. Ali gets a slight sun burn on her chest. Breakfast with family and all venture to the varying ceremony sites to check out where we want to have the whole thing go down (i.e. outside if sun. shelter if rain. boring conference room if snow). Great beer and pizza with friends/family at Avery brewery.

Saturday before Matrimonious Maximus: Rain. Forecast for Sunday changes by the minute. Mom picks up umbrellas, rubber boots, blankets and thermoses to have just in case. Bbq dinner up the wazoo. So much good food.

Sunday, day of Matrimonious Maximus: Rain. Ali’s alarm doesn’t go off. Thank goodness for wake up call from hotel. No time for Ali to shower (ha). Hair/makeup gal comes to the rescue. Wonderful wonderful and super positive photographers arrive. Ali’s sister is a saint and gets all things ready that Ali can’t do. Even with the rain Ali and C-tron decide to hold ceremony outside. Ali and C-tron take photos. Ali and C-tron get a bit wet/soggy. Ali and C-tron go to ceremony spot. It starts snowing! Ali loves snow, especially in mid-May (seriously!). Ali is elated and although freezing she doesn’t feel the cold. Ali’s mom is wearing 80’s moon boots with her nice clothes. Ali’s dad has his green Austrian hat on. Ali makes her way up the muddy trail with family while a banjo man under a tree plays “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain.” Ali see’s her brother in his white linen suit and white top hat with white snow on the mountains behind him. Ali reaches Cooper. Ali can’t stop smiling. All of a sudden 5 guys appear (one is wearing shorts!) and they start singing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Ali hadn’t really planned to do this but she “Rick Rolled” her guests. Ceremony begins. Ali’s  big brother is hilarious while also super “Reverend-y.” Ali’s little brother reads a children’s book about love and dinosaurs. Ali’s nieces, sister and C-trons’s sister sing a blessing and circle around Ali and C-tron. Ali and C-tron exchange vows and rings. Ali and C-tron kiss. Ali and C-tron are married. Ali and C-tron’s friends and family are frozen solid on the mountains in Colorado. (sorry guys). Ali and C-tron’s friends and family warm up in the Banjo Billy Bus. Ali and C-tron and friends and family go to The Kitchen for food, drink and the warmth of a fire. Ali and Cooper couldn’t be happier.

Monday, day after Matrimonious Maximus: C-tron’s step dad/brother break the news that they found mountain lion tracks in the mud on the trail where Ali and C-tron got married on the morning of the wedding. Thank goodness Ali and Ctron and their guests didn’t become kitty snacks!

Ali and C-tron are so grateful and feel very very very loved.

I’ll post more on this later but all I have to say is finding a dress for your wedding is gosh darn painful and brought out a side of me I never thought existed. BUT! On the day of my friend Rachel’s birthday I had two very important life moments. 1.) C and I got our marriage license and 2.) “My dress” (dress thing actually, I wouldn’t really call it a “dress”) arrived in the mail (I’m a mail order bride) and it is perfect. Only a week and a half away…kind of cutting it close!?!?!?! Yes. Phew is all I have to say. Ok, bring on the nuptials.

Phew! We did it! As of yesterday, April 28, 2011 Cdawg and I made the 10 year mark in our courtship.

(yes, my face is really that white and Cooper’s isn’t really that dark but in comparison to mine he looks like another ethnicity).

To celebrate we 1.) Are getting married (in two weeks!) and 2.) Dined at Chez Panisse with a reservation at 9:15pm. Eat a four course dinner at 9:15pm you say? Yes, we ate late and we seriously enjoyed every moment of it. PLUS, since we finished at midnight it was easy for me to stay awake in time for the Royal Wedding! There is something to say for watching “historical” events happen live that just gets me…makes it real. We watched the tsunami in Japan as it happened live and I think the emotional impact was so much stronger as it happened. Anyhow, my favorite parts of the Royal Wedding were 1.) The anticipation of seeing “the dress” and having that first peek as Kate stepped into the car, 2.) The trees! The shots from down the aisle were unlike anything I could have imagined in such an old church 3.) Chatting with an old friend via facebook as it all happened. That was fun. Ok, anyway here is what we ate at Chez Panisse:

Bagna cauda with cardoons, asparagus, carrots, turnips, and radishes
Tomales Bay clams with spring onions, peas, spinach, and toasted breadcrumbs
Becker Lane Ranch pork confit with fava and flageolet beans, celery heart,
caper salsa verde, and mâche
Tangerine sherbet Pavlova with strawberries

AND, they sat us at the same table where we sat in 2007. I asked if they keep record or something but nope, it was all coincidental.

Anyhow, I’m really thankful to have a Cdawg and can’t wait for the next 100 years we promised to live together (we shook on it at dinner last night so there is no backing out now).

***Disclaimer! I wrote a lot. Sorry.

One of my favorite parts about this matrimonious thing (besides marrying Cdawg, having so many really amazing people coming together to help celebrate, looking forward to eating the really good food and changing my name to Beckass {totally kidding on that last one}): is THE RING! Who would have thunk it? Not me, since I don’t really wear much jewelry.

While visiting Washington in February the task was to start the ring selection process. I told the Cman long ago that I didn’t need a $293857923875923875 engagement ring. Actually, I didn’t want one at all. I’d rather save the money for something else. So, instead of doing the traditional two ring deal we hunted for something else to adorn our fingers. I realized quickly how painful this process was…especially since there are so many large and in charge big honkers out there that just are not me and I had no idea what I even wanted. We’d go to a jeweler and I’d look for something simple and understated which beyond just a basic band was virtually impossible to find. Luckily, C-dawgs mom was SO kind to offer her grandma’s engagement ring…a beautiful but simple rose gold ring with a missing stone in the center with one small diamond and one small pearl on either side. For some reason this ring just spoke to me and I fell in love. Plus, it was full of good “juju” since Cdawg’s great grandma had been married some 40 54(!!!) years. We took the 100-year-old ring to a family owned jeweler to see what we could do with it and it was somewhat suggested that I not consider working with it because it was so worn. They suggested melting it down and making something new out of it. I just didn’t have the heart to do that. So I gave up (a little) on the heirloom.

On our way back to Cali we drove through some outlet stores in Oregon (no sales tax! woot woot!) and I found a different ring that I kind of liked for $199. Ha! I found my potential wedding ring at an outlet store! I’m too embarrassed to say the name of the store…you’ll laugh at me. Yes, I kind of felt like a cheap date but the ring was really me and simple and tiiiiiiiiny (like only 1 mm wide!). The guy even said, “Boy, you sure don’t want people to know you are married!” (side note, I have long white fingers so something big and shiny just wouldn’t work…small and simple felt better). So I bought my wedding ring at an outlet store. Whatever.

Then my wild mind got going again and I thought…maybe I should just try working with the heirloom ring at a local family owned jeweler and see what they say. We took it to Oaks Jewelers in Berkeley….first we met the founder of the store, a man who started the store in 1948. Yes, 1948! (and I fell in love with him by the way). He directed us to his son (who is now the owner) and after showing him the ring he didn’t question for a second the ability or desire to keep the 100 year old treasure alive. He worked with us without pressuring in any way to get the ring just the way we wanted it and each time we went in they’d remember who we were. They were beyond awesome. And although a family heirloom is priceless I would have to say their prices were so reasonable (ok, so maybe a little more than outlet prices, but still). Cooper also found just the right ring for him there too…a euro cut (i.e. not so domed but not square) yellow gold band. I bought his ring, he bought mine. That is romance.

Anyhow, SHAZAO! this is what the end result looks like:

I kick myself for not having a “before” photo but really the ring is exactly as it had been except they polished it, added new little diamonds in place of the one little diamond and one little pearl and in the center is a yellow sapphire. Yes, diamonds are a girl’s best friend but I wanted color/character not just another diamond! And we thought it would look a little less like an engagement ring if I didn’t go all out diamond action. I love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it love it and just can’t wait to wear it for as long as it will keep living. THANK YOU to my future ma-in-law for giving me such an incredible gift! Makes my heart and warm and cozy inside. I truly am so grateful.

Oh, and just to clarify I’m not wearing it until the “deed is done” and I returned the outlet mall ring to the outlet mall.

First time at In-N-Out for two little girls:

Eyes full of hunger and genuine enthusiasm for the best burgers in the world. The next night when we asked the question “Where should we go to eat tonight?” I heard one little girl yell from the bathroom “In-N-Out!” Atta girl.

This post looks very “Spring-y” which was not my intention at all (and actually the pastel colors make me a little nauseous) but it just so happens that there are a lot of spring time things coming at me that I’m really thankful for.

I’m thankful for my neighbor who just had to jet off to Italy and before leaving she gave us a dozen eggs from her food stylist’s chickens (our neighbor is an amazing food photographer). These eggs are so so so so so so beautiful…some are narrow and tall, some are fat and short, they are all different hues like browns and greens and blues and some have little speckles! And they taste so good! Not only did she have to give us a dozen eggs but she gave us hoards of cheeses, crackers, fruits and beautiful lemons. Thank you to my neighbor.

Thank you to my neighbor’s friend who was visiting the area and before leaving she gave us some of the best smelling flowers. I now declare that if you want to make me really really happy just send over some gardenias.

And then, I’m thankful for this little fan that I found at a garage sale for $5.00 while on a girlie weekend with my gal pals. Not only does it look cool and is it all old and rusty and industrial but it works! Just don’t stick your finger in there…the metal blades will chop your little limb right off.

And, I’m thankful for having the gumption to pick up my camera again. I feel like it has been ages since I’ve used it and I realllllly need to get back in the creative spirit again/see things in a different perspective. Its all about the little details that make this big wide world kind of interesting. As a matter of fact…I’m kind of inspired to start a new project…

A little delayed and just crappy iphone photos…but here is our attempt at giving Oslo a mohawk. Because he has such curly hair it is hard to get the hawk to stand up straight…so really it is a flophawk.