We stopped by the grocery store on the way home last night, and I washed up our new gadget while Jerry prepped ingredients for our first PC (pressure cooker) meal – risotto. Yummy. It was super easy – basically just tossing things into a pot with a little liquid, sealing the lid, and letting it work its magic. We blended 2 recipes – one detailed, one not so much – and were a bit creative with what veggies we had on hand. In only 7 minutes time, dinner was ready. In the end, our risotto was a little closer to soup consistency, so we learned about liquid portions, but for a first try, it was delicious! We both had seconds, and even that short time later, it was already thickening up into something even yummier. WIN!

While we dined, we watched Julie & Julia – great movie! Perfect sidekick to our own kitchen adventure, and a very good story to get lost in, too. This was kind of like Julia Child 101 for me – I knew the name, but my knowledge pretty much ended there. Now, I am amazed and touched! Such a unique persona. I even have a favorite new YouTube clip, hehe. So, if you haven’t seen the movie, you should. And if you’ve never used a PC, you should consider it. Apparently you can make anything from chicken to cheesecake in it, and I am sure I will be documenting more of our attempts as we go.

Bon Appetit!

P.S. I have so many more wonderful pictures to share since moments spent with a hand-whipped latte or a good cup of coffee at home seem to make the best photo-ops, but I’ll just share a couple for now.

]]> http://autumnjerry.net/2009/06/29/aeropress-love/feed/ 0 http://autumnjerry.net/2009/06/19/anniversary-trip-part-2/ http://autumnjerry.net/2009/06/19/anniversary-trip-part-2/#comments Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:32:16 +0000 Autumn http://autumnjerry.net/?p=885 We got up early and braved the rain to grab some coffee & do some shopping in Savannah before making our way to our second destination, the lovely city of Charleston. The weather was far from perfect, but in truth it didn’t slow us down much at all. With Starbucks in hand (piping hot Awake tea for me, dark roast brew with raw sugar for J), we hit the road and made our way to South Carolina.

Once there, the weather improved & the clouds magically parted – a good sign for fun to come, and an even better beginning to day 2 of our trip! After checking in at our hotel, we ventured to downtown Charleston to check out Fleet Landing for lunch, as recommended by our hotel concierge. Excellent recommendation – we LOVED our meal! Very cool location, too. The restuarant was situated right on the harbor, and was converted from an old Navy building into a very cute eatery after sitting dormant for 30+ years. Try the flounder sandwich if you go! Trust us.

After eating, we wondered around downtown taking photos, window shopping, browsing through the huge open air market, enjoying a small treat from Ben & Jerry’s (ok, that last part was all me), and relaxing in a swing on the pier that overlooked the water. After a short break back at the hotel, with ample admiration of the views from the glass-walled restuarant on the top floor, we made our way back downtown for dinner – another amazing meal, this time a seafood feast at world-famous Hyman’s Seafood. We were impressed by the recommendations of my friend Christy, of Southern Living’s high ratings, and of the multiple awards emblazoned all over the front of the restuarant, and we can now join in the hype – they earned it! So, so yummy…awesome atmosphere, great food, and great menu selections with daily specials. Are you hungry yet? After dinner, we had drinks before relaxing in the room, watching goofy stuff on TV, and chatting until we fell asleep after a day of adventures.

The next day we spent more time taking in the view from the tippy-top of our hotel – especially the marina & the panoramic expanse of the Ashley River – before gathering our bags and getting back on the road. On our way out of town we stopped in at a local coffee shop called Alchemy, and I am so glad we did! Not only was the coffee excellent – mexican mocha for me, dark roast for J – but they also had so many tasty-looking homemade treats to choose from! Homemade oatmeal cream pies, granola bars, muffins, you name it. We settled for everything bagels, and took our time at a table by the window in the cute little coffeeshop. Our drive home was a safe one, but a very long one due to more rainy weather and a detour due to damage on the interstate. However, we came home with heads full of happy memories and hearts that continue to beat together after 3 great years of marriage.

XO

1. Skinny Cow ice cream cones! So delicious, and so not full of fat! Balance, at last. Yay!

2. Ulta – the ultimate beauty store! I was just there yesterday, and am already daydreaming of going back to browse aisle after aisle after aisle of fabulous beauty products.

3. Lie To Me - my favorite new show on TV! It’s good…you should watch it!

oh, and I guess there’s a #4, too…weekends. Just like this one. <3

-Start planning early! We had a year and one-half long engagement, which allowed me to plan one big thing each month and enjoy the process, rather than feel stressed or overwhelmed by it. This method helped a lot, especially since I was in nursing school at the time!

-Invest in a good photographer & videographer, but remember that ensuring your personalities mesh well is just about as important as the quality of the vendor’s work, because they are going to be in close proximity to you at all times on your big day. Our videographer was good at what he did, but he was annoying and far more concerned with flaunting his level of expertise than with paying attention to our wishes for the video.

-Shop prom racks at any & all department stores or formal wear stores in the spring for potential bridal or bridesmaid gowns – many times, no one will ever know the difference! Trust me, because I did it and people oohed & ahhed just as loudly over my unique dress that cost a small fraction of one from a chain like David’s Bridal!

-Shop ETSY and eBay for wedding accessories! These are great resources for wedding favors, hair accessories, bridal party gifts, etc. My favorite eBay vendor was Butterfly*Enchantress Designs – I found perfect handmade seashell hair pins for my summertime outdoor wedding, and they will make custom orders as well. http://stores.ebay.com/Butterfly-Enchantress-Designs and http://www.etsy.com/

-I highly recommend Good to Go for catering needs – the food was amazing, professional servers, great presentation of food, and the best prices by far! (1019 Riverside Drive in Macon, 743-4663)

-Eat your own reception food! I’ll never forgive myself for having no clue just how tasty those crab cakes were that we hand-picked for our perfect menu.

-Indulge in a scheduled after-party – there is no shame in stretching out your big day into multiple festivities, and those aunties and old family friends of your parents do not need to know just how cute you sound when you slur your words, profess your love for your new hubby, and sing along to the music after lots of champagne & Irish car bombs!

See? Wasn’t that fun?!

Even the crowd was great – full of energy & camaraderie. We jumped to our feet the second the stage lights came on, and did not sit down for one second until we were seatbelted into our cars heading home. Yes, it was that good! And yes, my crush on the frontman has only multipled…he’s beautiful, he plays the bongos & piano in addition to singing, and he dances!

The venue ruled, my brother had an awesome time & is now even more hooked on live music than he already was, and traffic wasn’t bad in all. No complaints – a perfect night with a perfect soundtrack!

See my photos & videos on Flickr.

Now, go vote in the 2008 Foodies!

I cannot possibly thank everyone enough for making my birthday wonderful. We really stretched it out – celebrating with an early (unbeatable! amazing!) gift from hubby on Sunday, family the day before, and friends the day of. I received countless calls, texts, cards, emails, and messages – I feel so loved! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now, aside from birthdays and smiles and astronomy appreciation, I do have to share about my recent/prolonged experience with Beach Camera. I must say, beware. They do have great products and reasonable prices, but those attractive offerings are no good when you can’t purchase them easily. This was our second time using them, first last summer when we bought our sweet LG high-def fancy TV, and this week when I found a good deal on a new camera. However, they use some sort of system in billing to test the credit account by filing a small transaction, calling it an “authorization”. This did not pass the fraud filter of either VISA or my bank, so the transaction was denied. I failed to remember until that moment that the same thing happened last time, with our TV. So I contacted billing and the representative was very hurried and careless – skipping any introduction or formalities to launch straight into the “order number?” prompt, so I do not know her name. Lucky me, I’m 2 for 2 with her in my calls…anyhow, I explained what my bank said and she cut me off, saying “do you have another card?”. I didn’t care for her approach, but I tried AMEX next, which is typically fail proof -  it worked with the TV purchase in the past, and I wished I’d used it from the start. However, it seems this associate never filed the second transaction since I received no confirmation via email, there was no record on my order history, and I received a duplicate email the next day stating that I needed to contact my bank and the billing department. Amateurs! I vowed then & there that I will not be doing business with this company again. But, the story has a happy ending: I canceled my order with Beach Camera first thing today, and placed an order with Amazon – I am getting my spiffy little pocket Canon afterall – with free shipping and for $10 cheaper, even better! Moral of the story – go with a company you can trust. The end.