From the monthly archives:

February 2011

Wedding Social……….Say What?

by Destini on February 21, 2011

Being a Manitoban we have Wedding Socials…now I am sure anyone who isn’t from Manitoba is like what is that? What it is, is an event or giant party that the engaged couple throws at usually a local community centre hall, has a hired DJ, sells cheap alcohol and has a silent auction. We sell tickets, which are usually $10 and any money we make from the night helps toward the wedding. I am not sure what the history or why it’s only people from Manitoba that to do this. But we do!

These are usually held about 6months before the wedding. That’s not saying that they won’t be held before or later then that. That just seems to be average.

Now planning a Wedding Social is a lot of work. And honestly is just another stress before the wedding. (As if we needed anymore) But being a good Manitoban we will be having one. Our date is set for April 16th. And its coming fast! I am currently in the stage of organizing all the silent auction prizes. Back in the day we would find lots of local business that would donate. Now however, it requires the generous donations of friends and family. We also may purchase some extra add-ons to the prizes ourselves.

Being the graphic designer I am. I designed our tickets and will also create a banner for the social. My fiancé and myself are large nerds and I wanted to bring that into our wedding somehow. I decided the social would be the place as its less formal and it’s okay if our relatives don’t understand it.

Check out my fun 8-bit ticket design. The banner will have the same theme. I think I will even add font on each side that will say “Player 1 press start, Player 2 press start”.

Yeah I am super nerdy!!!

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Pizza is a gift from the Heavens!

by Destini on February 20, 2011

In my household, pizza is a best friend. It is our friend that is there for us when we are sad, when we are happy and it brings us together with other friends. Yes I know I am talking about food. But that’s just what pizza is for us!

Our love for pizza can also be a problem. The problem is it’s too easy to get caught up in the greasy fatty goodness.  And also the convenience of dialing up and having it delivered to our door. As you all know, I am trying to live a healthy lifestyle. So without ditching our best friend I have had to start making it all from scratch at home. And lucky for us, I love to cook!

This past Friday I did it up! 

Whole Wheat Dough

Ingredients:

 ½ teaspoon sugar
1 package dry yeast
½ cup warm water
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons EVOO
½ teaspoon salt
Cooking Spray

Process:

1.    Dissolve the sugar and yeast in warm water in a bowl, let stand for 5min
2.    Add flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture. Stir until it forms into a dough. You may need to add a little bit more flour if mixture sticks to your fingers.
3.    Knead for 5 min

4.    Spray large bowl with cooking spray, place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
5.    Place the bowl in a warm place for 60min. (I usually put it in the oven that I had preheated at 200c for 1 min and turned it off.)
6.    Punch dough and form into a ball, let sit for another 30min.
7.    Place some flour on counter top to prevent the dough from sticking and roll it out into whatever shape you have for a pan.

We love garlic, so I take some EVVO and garlic powder, mix it up and spread it all over the crust before I put the sauce and toppings on it…soo good!

Sauce:

I used a recipe from Allrecipes.com. The only thing I did is add ½ tablespoon of basil and used fresh minced garlic. We love LOVE garlic.

Toppings:

Now for the part my fiancé loves helping out with, the toppings! Today we had roasted red pepper and asparagus. (I cut them up, tossed some EVOO on them and baked at 400F for 15min, tossed them a few times so they didn’t stick). We also had red onion, black olives, tomatoes and prosciutto. I then sprinkled some low fat mozzarella cheese with basil sprinkled on top.

Bake your pizza on a pizza stone or a pan at 350F for 35-40min. Or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!!

Nom Nom Nom!!

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SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome)

February 17, 2011

I apologize for my lack of blog posts. I had planned to talk about a night I had with my girlfriend on Saturday, however due to a tragic loss to a friend of mine, I haven’t had the energy to think about anything else. Today I had to watch two amazing parents say goodbye to their young baby boy. We hear about SIDS on TV and in the news. But it’s not something you could ever think could happen to you or someone close to you. No parent should ever have to say goodbye to their child.  Today with the current medical advancements we have we are still unable to […]

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Quick Chickpea Salad

February 12, 2011

The other day I needed to make a quick easy lunch. I had a can of chickpeas, so I thought I would work with that. My fiancé isn’t a huge fan of chickpeas but I was determined to make them Mr. S approved! This can be a cold salad or used in a wrap. I am on a low carb diet, so I decided not to have mine in a wrap as the chickpeas will have some carbs already in them. Mr. S however enjoyed his in a whole wheat wrap. Ingredients: 1 can of chickpeas1 plum tomato½ cup of chopped spinach¼ cup chopped zucchini1tbsp of chopped fresh parsley½ tsp […]

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Engagement Photos!

February 9, 2011

After we were engaged I wanted to first book my venue for the reception and then find a photographer. Now designing birth announcements, family photo/holiday cards I have had a good introduction into local photographers.  I always really enjoyed working with client’s photos from one photographer. And always joked that she would be “my” wedding photographer. Note to any couples out there looking for wedding photographers, if you feel the photographer isn’t really “into” doing your wedding, then say no, walk away and don’t look back. They may look good on the internet, but if something doesn’t feel right when you meet them, Scrap em! Trust me, best advice ever. I […]

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Super Bowl Insanity

February 8, 2011

This past Sunday was of course the Super Bowl. Now in my house this is HUGE! Even more so since my fiancés favorite team is the Green Bay Packers! As tradition would dictate I would be making Chili and other snack foods for a bunch of football fans. Normally I would be making a very healthy dish of chili if this was a normal day. But I spoiled my fiancé and made some that wasn’t so much. However healthy substitutes can be easily made! 1lb Extra Lean Ground Beef 1lb Hot Italian Sausage 4 (15oz) cans chili beans, drained 2 (28oz) cans diced tomatoes with juice 1 (6oz) can of […]

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