Married One Month

I know, I know… I haven’t updated in over a month. Can you blame me? It was a whirlwind leading up to the wedding and a big sigh of relief once the wedding was over. Then heading off to Hawaii for our honeymoon and back a week later, straight into work mode.

I’ll share with you all some highlights from the wedding and honeymoon.

Wedding Highlights:

• Morning of: I arrived at the venue with my hair stylist at around 9:15 a.m. the day of the wedding and started preparing everything. I was smart enough to pack a majority of the decorations into a suitcase, allowing for easy transport and unloading. Between 9:30 and 10 a.m. my mom, aunt, cousin’s girlfriend, and my bridesmaids arrived at the venue. I had started getting things ready and my girls – one by one – started with their hair. My makeup artist from Fresh Face Makeup, based out of San Francisco, arrived at around 10:30 and started the makeup process. While all the girls were getting their hair or makeup done, my mom, aunt and I were setting up place cards, signs, straws, the selfie photo booth, and everything else.
• Afternoon of: My wedding photographer, Vinh Nguyen, showed up with his fantastic team at around 2:30 p.m., as did the great cinematographers from Major Diamond Productions. They filmed me getting my hair and makeup done, and part of the putting-on-the-dress process. I started in the women’s locker room (where we were all getting ready prior to the wedding) and ended finishing getting ready in the ballroom, where our reception would be held. Here are some photos by Vinh Nguyen Photography to show the process: 
  
• First Look/Ceremony: I was so nervous leading up to the first look. I barely ate anything or drank any water… But once I saw Max, I was instantly relaxed. During our first look, we participated in a Ketubah (Jewish marriage agreement) signing prior to taking photos before the ceremony. Once we were together for photos, etc, I was fine. It wasn’t until right before the ceremony did I really have a panic attack. I thought the song I would walk down the aisle to wouldn’t play – but that was solved. Then I got golf carted to the location where we hid before the ceremony and as people were walking, I broke down, wishing my dad were there to walk me down the aisle. He has been gone for almost eight years and it’s still tough. Leading up to the wedding I didn’t think much about it because I was so consumed in what I was preparing. A couple of weeks before the wedding, I felt my dad’s presence more than I ever had, knowing he was looking down on his daughter on her big day. My mom and my uncle walked me down the aisle.
• Reception: This was a BLAST! After the ceremony, there was cocktail hour and then Max and I were taken away for sunset hour photos… But then we went back and heard beautiful speeches that made us cry, danced till we couldn’t anymore, and mingled with all our wonderful guests. I don’t have reception photos, but I’ll update this post when I get those in.
• Selfie Booth:  i thought this would be a hit or miss kind of thing. Max and I decided we didn’t want to pay upwards of $1,000 for a photo booth, so I came up with the idea of a selfie booth! I’m obsessed with taking selfies – ask anyone – and I figured this would capture my personality a lot. We ordered props galore from Amazon and it turned out everyone had a blast with it. I uploaded the photos to Facebook asking people to tag themselves. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad I came up with that idea.

Honeymoon highlights:

• Oahu, Hawaii: This was AMAZING. I hadn’t been to Hawaii since high school graduation eight years ago, so it was a blast to head to a beautiful place with my husband for our week-long honeymoon. Mimi Towle of Hawaii Islander planned every excursion and made all our dinner reservations. We were truly spoiled during our honeymoon.
• U.S.S Missouri, Aviation Museum, Pearl Harbor, U.S.S Bowfin Submarine: This was a fun day trip. Plus, our tour guide looked like Walter White/Heisenberg. All you Breaking Bad fans know what I’m talking about. We spent the whole day touring historic Waikiki. From touring the U.S.S. Missouri (which played an integral part during WWII), to checking out cool planes at the aviation museum and then finally heading to Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Arizona to pay respects to those who lost their lives, and finally ending at the U.S.S. Bowfin to tour this very claustrophobic submarine. I honestly don’t know how people can live on a submarine. Walking through all the passageways, I was so afraid the thing was gonna break off the pier and take us under! Luckily, that did not happen. That was a lot of fun. One of our favorite things we did on the honeymoon.

Heisenberg?

• SKY Waikiki: This is all I have to say. DO NOT MISS THIS PLACE. A hip, cool, nightclub/lounge with great food, live music and more, you don’t want to skip out on this place if you’re ever in Waikiki. Attire is dressy-casual and be sure to make a reservation.
• Morimoto Waikiki: Nothing beats Chef Morimoto’s restaurant. You may remember him from Iron Chef and Iron Chef America on the Food Network. Luckily for us, we got to experience his cuisine first hand. I ventured out and tried some sushi, granted it was just kappa maki, but truly enjoyed my chicken ramen. Bonus: We saw Samuel L. Jackson while we were leaving the restaurant!
• Royal Hawaiian Aha Aina Luau: Per the recommendation of Mimi from Hawaii Islander, she told us the luau at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki had the best luau during the week. We booked the luau, which is only held on Mondays (take note), and had a blast. From great live performances to delicious food, free drinks and a kukui nut lei, it was a great evening spent with cool people. We met another honeymooning couple who sat across from us.
• Outrigger Reef Beach Resort: While Hawaii Islander planned our excursions and dinner reservations, we found a great deal for flight and hotel on hotels.com for the Outrigger Reef. Great pool. right on the beach, Shorebird and Ocean House restaurants past the lobby, and great pool-side restaurant. We wanted to relax a lot during our honeymoon and spent a majority of the time on the beach and by the pool. Also, they have Holokai Catamaran snorkeling right next door to our hotel. We did that and saw some great big sea turtles and fish.

Our wedding and honeymoon were fantastic. We are still getting messages and comments about how much fun people had at the wedding and Max and I really want to go back to Hawaii sometime soon. While this post is long, I hope you enjoyed my highlights.

xoxo,

Leigh

Urban Remedy Signature Cleanse: The Night Before

Today has been a whirlwind of many things. Not only was it my first official day at Marin Magazine as the new Digital Content Editor, but after my first day, I drove on down to Central San Rafael to pick up my three-day Signature Juice Cleanse from Urban Remedy.

What does this juice cleanse consist of? Well, I have to drink 6 drinks per day every two hours. I’m not allowed to consume any processed foods. If I get hungry, I’m only allowed to eat raw vegetables, as well as raw almonds. Oh, I forgot to mention that I CANNOT have coffee… I frankly don’t know what I’m going to do without coffee for three days. I must have one cup per day. We’ll see how I’ll do. I can have green tea with stevia, and drink tons and tons of water with lemon.

Over the next three days, I’ll be documenting the process here on Much Ado About All Things. I’m such a foodie, so I’m hoping I can last the full three days. Just as long as Max (the boyfriend) doesn’t consume goodies in front of my face, I think I’ll be okay.

– Stay Tuned –

Crock Pot Recipe #2: Balsamic Chicken

Last year during the Superbowl, or shortly after, I posted my crock pot recipe for turkey chili. I figured I’d start posting some of my favorite crock pot recipes that I’ve tried and love here for you guys to try it, too. That being said, tonight’s dinner was balsamic chicken with Israeli couscous. This particular crock pot dish is one of my go-to dinners for the week. You cook 4-6 boneless chicken breasts in this recipe and it lasts you at least two days.

The recipe is from the website Skinny Ms, and this recipe is delicious. I follow the recipe almost exactly, but tend to add more balsamic vinegar and a little extra thyme. Here’s the recipe from Skinny Ms:

Ingredients:

• 4-6 boneless skinless chicken breast. I recommend the Eat Right chicken breast from Safeway. It doesn’t have as much fat on it.
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) or you can use the 28 oz can
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil. I use extra virgin.
• 1 teaspoon dried basil, oregano, rosemary; 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• Cook time: 4 hrs

Steps:

1. Pour the 1 tablespoon of olive oil on the bottom of your crock pot.
2. Salt and pepper each chicken breast and then place into the crock pot. I tend to put salt and pepper on the bottom of the crock pot and flip the chicken breasts over after one side is salt and peppered.
3. Place the sliced onion on top of the chicken breast. Make sure the onion slices are spread across every piece of chicken breast.
4. Put in the 1 teaspoon of dried basil, oregano, rosemary, and the 1/2 teaspoon of thyme on top of the onions.
5. Place the 4 cloves of garlic on top of the dried herbs.
6. Pour the 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar over the chicken, herbs, onions, and garlic. Add some extra balsamic vinegar if you like the taste. (I tend to.)
7. Top with the 2 cans diced tomatoes.
8. Cook on high for 4 hours. I always recommend to cook this as long as you can, because the chicken will be even more tender.

Many side dishes work well with this crock pot recipe. Max (my boyfriend) likes this dish with Israeli couscous. It goes well over angel hair pasta, brown rice, and even by itself with a side salad of your liking.

Here’s the final result. We had it over Israeli couscous tonight:

The nice thing about this particular crock pot dish, is that it will last you two nights (if you’re just two people) and it even tastes better the next day! That’s just my opinion, though.

Give this recipe a try, and post a photo of your dish!

Valentine’s Day Date Ideas

Valentine’s Day: a day where eating heart-shaped candies is acceptable, where Hallmark makes a ton of money on cards, and a day to celebrate your love. If you have been with your significant other for a short period of time, your first Valentine’s Day together will be something special and magical, filled with gifts and lots of love. For those of us, like myself, who have been with our significant others for more than a year now know that you have to add a lil’ somethin’ somethin’ to keep that “First Valentine’s Day” magic there.

I have compiled my Top Five Valentine’s Day Date Ideas that I have found to be successful. Girls, send the link to your boyfriend, or if I have any men reading out there, keep this hush-hush so your girlfriend can be surprised!

1. Scavenger Hunts: This one takes a lot of work, but is incredibly fun and can easily be within an affordable price range. It doesn’t have to be long…five maybe ten cards with things to find or things to do. Start off on a neutral meeting ground and open the first card up. It’s Valentine’s Day, so remember to have fun with your scavenger hunt cards. If you’re planning do this in public, be sure to keep it PG as to not get arrested or offend any bystanders. However, if it’s one of those “at home” scavenger hunts, but as not PG as you’d like.

2. Dinner and a Movie: It’s a little more on the pricey side depending where you go for dinner. Movies now cost about $12 a person, not including beverages and popcorn, but if you go to dinner first, you won’t need to spend money on the concessions. A nice dinner followed by a rom-com (romantic comedy) or whatever genre of movie the two of you enjoy will lead to a wonderful evening.

3. Dessert Date: Yes, I know. It sounds kind of silly, but let me tell you, there is nothing wrong with sugar, chocolate, and anything that tastes sweet and delicious. There’s a great place in Marin County called The Melting Pot and they serve chocolate fondue. Can’t go wrong with something like that, right? You can spend time with your loved one either baking the desserts yourselves or purchasing them and having a frenzy with some cheap wine and a great flick at home. Either way, it’s enjoyable.

4. Mini golf (or bowling if you prefer): This is a fun and fairly reasonably priced way to have some fun and act like kids. I mean, really, you can go mini golfing or bowling any time you’d like during the year, however, make this just the two of you and it’ll be especially romantic. Tip for gals: It always works when you try and “miss” the shot… Your boyfriend will do the cute thing of going up behind you and helping you make par on that particular hole. Works every time ;).

5. Homemade Meal & Gifts: It’s simple, sweet, and to the point. Homemade gifts are easy to come by, especially if you are a member of Pinterest… So many ideas to choose from. Looking for a good, healthy and hearty Valentine’s Day meal to cook for your loved on? Allrecipes has a wide selection of recipes to choose from. Just type in what you want to make your lover into the search bar, and hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes will come your way. For me, at least, homemade gifts and a great meal mean more than any material item out there. I’m sure a lot of you feel the same, so take advantage of this Hallmark holiday to do something like that.

I hope this has given you some insight and ideas for what to do on Valentine’s Day. If you have anything else you can suggest, just leave a comment below!

Til we meet again…

Oh Crock Pot… How I Love Thee…

Alright, so, yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday! Woohoo! First thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Super Bowl is what food am I going to serve to my lovely guests? Now that I have honed my kitchen skills even further, I am more confident when it comes to coming up with my own recipes, especially if it involves my crock pot.

I mean, how can you go wrong when putting all your ingredients, whether partially cooked or not, in a pot, set the time, and then hours later, your dish is done? YOU CAN’T!

So, feeling in the cooking mood, I decided to utilize my crock pot and make some turkey chili for the big day.

Leigh’s Turkey Chili

Ingredients:

• Ground lean Jennie-O turkey
• 2 small cans of tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of black beans (if you like)
• 1/2 green or red onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6 celery stalks, chopped
• Salt
• Pepper
• Chili Powder
• 2 bay leaves

Steps:

1. In a medium or large non-stick skillet, cook your already defrosted Jennie-O ground turkey.
2. Once your ground turkey is cooked, pour into the crock pot.
3. Add tomato sauce and paste, beans, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, chili powder and mix around until the meat is covered in the sauce.
4. Be sure to add seasoning to taste. Include spicy ingredients, such as jalapenos, if desirable.
5. Place the 2 bay leaves on top of the mixture.
6. Set crock pot to cook for 4 hours and hit ‘start’.
7. 30 minutes before chili is ready, remove bay leaves and add chopped celery.

Voila! Turkey chili.

You didn’t think I’d stop there, did you? Good. Because I also made the easiest bean dip recipe in the world.

Bean Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Rosarita refried beans
• 1 jar of salsa (spice and heat of your liking)
• 1 bag of Mexican shredded cheese

Steps:

1. Open the jar of salsa and pour contents out into a medium or large microwave-approved bowl. 
2. Open the can of Rosarita refried beans and pour contents over the salsa.
3. Place bowl in microwave and heat for 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove bowl from microwave and place two generous handfuls of the Mexican shredded cheese and place back into microwave and heat again for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove bowl and stir contents. Add a little more cheese on top for an accent.

Easy-peasey-lemon-squeezy. That’s a pretty easy bean dip recipe, if I do say so myself.

Alright, so give it a shot! If you don’t own a crock pot, they are fairly inexpensive. Target has a wide selection and for a reasonable price.

Have fun in your kitchen!