Delicious

I really don't think there is a simpler or better flavor combination than brownies and lemonade.

+ 2.5 kids

The wedding trip to Alabama came full circle. Matt proposed! Would you call that a meta-wedding experience where, as a bridesmaid, you get engaged at a wedding? Perhaps.

There I was, reluctantly standing with all the other girls to catch the bouquet per Matt's goading: "You're NOT married, you SHOULD be up there!" "But I'm not SINGLE!" "Just. Go."

We were all shouldering for position when Bride Kelly turns around, looks at us to judge aim, turns back around and throws! It headed right for me.

And I ducked.

The girl next to met caught it, which I thought appropriate, as she's Kelly's brother's girlfriend. I congratulate her. Kelly turns around expectantly and mouths at me"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shrug. She stomps over to me, yanks the bouquet out of the poor girl's hands and puts it in mine. And then here's how I remember what happened next:

All the girls around me clear to reveal Matt down on one knee with an open box in his hand. I see him ask "Will you marry me?" I clamp my hands to my mouth to stop any shrieking that might occur and nod vigorously. He slides the ring on my finger, the band says our names and begins to play "Beyond the Sea." I might be crying, I can't remember. Everyone is taking pictures and clapping. I am stunned.

See, I knew this was coming, I just didn't know when or how. I helped choose the style of ring (Vintage Art Deco) and color of diamond (yellow!). I even knew when it was delivered by UPS to the apartment. I did NOT ransack the place to find it even though, oh man, I knew it was gonna be beautiful and I really wanted to see it. I would harass Matt daily. He had a poker face about it and when I asked for hints, he merely said, "One word: plastics." I was mystified. Plastics? Is it going to be in the bottom of a plastic cup if we go to a baseball game? Jumbo tron? Ikea? Will it be cleverly disguised as the umlaut in the name of piece of furniture?

Matt has had some serious concerns about measuring up to the degree of surprise all of our other friends received when their now fiances asked. One thing you should know about Matt, that kid is a master planner. He is responsible for booking all plane tickets and hotel reservations when we travel. He wrote to our congressman when we went to D.C. so we could get a semi-private guided tour of the Library of Congress (everyone can do this!). He called me back after we arranged out first date to ask my birth date (with year) and time of birth (with time zone and location) in order to check out our astrological compatibility. We're a match!

So I honestly don't know why I expected anything less orchestrated. He has had this plan formed since January. My parents knew. Kelly of course knew and was so very, very gracious in sharing her wedding with me. The band knew. All the other bridesmaids knew. Julia knew. This whole thing is sort of a private joke between us, because by July, I will have been in 3 weddings in the last 10 months. So Matt figured what better place to ask than at a wedding. Good one, Hebert.

So we are planning our wedding now. It's gonna be a great party. On New Year's Eve. In the not too distant future.

However, apparently, one thing we should start planning for is babies. Because that is everyone's question after "when are you getting married?" Societal assumptions aside, the wedding is a year and a half away!

We're going to try our luck with a dog first.

Cherubim

I know I'm not alone, here but seriously? What is it about baby cheeks that suddenly makes me want to slurp them into my mouth? It is like an uncontrollable urge that I have to distract myself from continually whenever there is a chubby little baby around.

I think my friend Roya said it perfectly, "They're like little desserts!"

Exactly.

Kiss me like you mean it

So I have always had this preconceived notion about quirky personality traits or mannerisms... "signature moves" if you will. Mostly that they are either developed over time as a default of who you are or they sort of sneak in based on your environment and that sort of validates the slight shift especially if it something sort of antithetical to who you seem to be...

There are qualities or mannerisms that I wish I had as defaults and whenever I meet someone who pulls it off I am instantly jealous. But I feel sort of false adopting these "facets" because it seems like you can't just start doing something like that in the middle of already being somewhere. Sort of like sitting down halfway through an episode of CSI, you spend the rest of the time trying to figure what hell happened that someone would need to shoot a gun into an apple to figure it out. Maybe it's just me.

These include:

cheek kissing at goodbyes*
wearing red lipstick everyday
using heartwarming pet names for friends and managing to not have it sound fake or forced

I often look at moving to a new place as an opportunity to incorporate something new into my personality so it will seem that I just arrived that way. But so far, none of these have stuck... I was telling someone the other day how I wished I had been wearing red lipstick daily for like the last few years and how can I just start doing that?! She, of course, thought my logic was ridiculous and said, "You just do!"

We're travelling to Alabama this weekend for big southern wedding and it's going to be great. I'm a bridesmaid which means mimosas all day for the next 3 days. Alabama, expect to have red lip prints all over your cheeks, cutie!

*No seriously! I met this one girl for all of an hour and she totally kissed everyone (including me) on the cheek when she left and I was completely charmed. I'm also a sucker for hand kissing.

Easter Celebration

So yesterday was Easter and it totally snuck up on us. I never even had a Cadbury egg or a Peep in preparation! I guess I could go hit up Target and load myself down on Easter candy seconds... Walgreens is pretty good for Easter candy too and I walk past one everyday on the way to work though I think the Cadbury eggs might melt during my walk. Gross, Phoenix.

Anyway, we celebrated by going to our church, the movie theater. We saw The Bank Job and I felt a little better about Jason Statham's career. I really like him and I don't care that he plays the same guy in every movie. Transporter 1 and 2? Please. Snatch, yes! Italian Job? (Yes, I know it was a remake.) So-so, though that part where Seth Green is doing the voice over for the conversation between Jason Statham's character and some girl he's conning is particularly hilarious. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, also good. Cranked? Meh. The Bank Job- pretty good. I think I'm really digging this trend of movies that are based on actual events that happened in the 70s. Though it did seem a little like Sexy Beast what with the drilling and the stealing and cockney. I could watch heist movies all day, really. And Saffron Burroughs face.

Then we came home and made dinner. (Good job, cell phone camera.) We've been getting our nerd on a whole lot lately and the DVR is full of PBS shows. It's sort of sick. But Best Recipes in The World, Everyday Food and The History Detectives are a lethal combination that render Matt and I slaves to the television... PBS is our Kryptonite. There. I've said it.

But, Everyday Recipes was a surprising find on PBS and a fun substitute for the Martha Stewart Living show of old that I loved watching every Sunday in high school. With my mom. Does anyone remember her Christmas special where she made that ginger bread house with Miss Piggy? Classic!

Her magazine lately, while visually pleasing is sort of elementary and repetitive to me (I have to say it's gotten a lot better since she was released from prison.) I've tried recipes from her magazine and they always end up sort of off in some way. BUT! This Everyday Food is like a slam dunk every time. It's great because the show is 5 recipes that are meant to be done over the course of one week and you could watch the show, write a grocery list and be set for dinner for 5 days. Refreshingly realistic.

Last night I made a version of Everyday Food's Stuffed Chicken and Sauteed Broccoli Rabe

So here's my version, adapted from theirs:

Ingredients:

For chicken + stuffing
2 or 4 (depending on how many of you there are) chicken breasts with skin
1/2 cup basil finely chopped
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, finely choppped
2 cloves garlic chopped (I used one chubby shallot instead)
1 tsp orange zest
salt and pepper
1 wedge of Fontina (I used Gouda because Trader Joe's did not have Fontina but I would recommend a harder cheese than Gouda if Fontina's not your bag) cut into quarters lengthwise

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Use a really sharp knife to cut a pocket in the chicken for the stuffing + cheese. I would say go close to the bone (if you have bone in) or a good lower middle if it's boneless and make it about 3-4 inches deep and about 1-2 inches wide, depending on your stuffing likes
3. Mix up the chopped basil, tomatoes, shallot or garlic, lemon zest, add some salt and pepper
   
4. They suggest putting the stuffing in first, then putting in a wedge of cheese like an edible cork. All my cheese oozed out which could be due to a few things: using a softer cheese than advised or not "sewing" it shut with a toothpick. I think the next time I make this I might either put the cheese in first or on top of the bed of stuffing.
   
5. They suggest using a toothpick to close the pockets, I just sort of tucked the skin in the pocket like an envelope. Arrange the chicken skin side up and rub with olive oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 30 to 35 minutes. Let chicken rest 5 minutes; remove toothpicks before serving (if you used them) or you can leave them in like a meat version of that cake with the little plastic baby in it but this time everyone's a winner!
   

Broccoli Rabe with Yellow Peppers

Ok, so I totally used a bag of mixed chard from Trader Joe's. I find it exceptionally hard to find broccoli rabe, it eludes me every time. I think maybe it doesn't exist. But if you can find it- follow these directions (they suggest boiling the rabe because it's kind of bitter and this releases some of the bitterness):

1. Cut broccoli rabe into 11/2 -inch lengths; set aside. Pour enough water into a 12-inch skillet to reach a depth of 3/4 inch. Bring to a boil; season with salt. Add broccoli rabe, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
2. Dry skillet; add oil and heat over medium-high. Add bell peppers; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli rabe; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

If you use chard or another hearty green (you could even substitute sauteed spinach or roast some asparagus instead) you can just throw it in some olive oil and sautee it. I found that chard takes a little longer because it is so dense but it has a great flavor and is super good for you (in your face, spinach!)

I used yellow and orange peppers which was colorful amongst the green and purples of the chard. Also, since chard takes a bit, I cooked both the peppers and the chard together and left it a little tender. I used a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper. About 8-10 minutes altogether.

Matt said that it was a very "earthy tasting meal." I prefer to think of it as Spring Equinox-y.

A Good Night

Last night I

had 3 drinks but only paid for 2
learned how to roll a cigarette
met Dick Van Dyke's grandson to whom I as introduced after he danced for the entirety of the song "Supercalifragilisticexpealidocious" as played for him by the DJ.

PSA

In case you were wondering what the perfect music for walking to work might be, I have the answer for you:

Beck's entire Midnite Vultures album. It's really hard to suppress the overwhelming desire to dance the whole way there. But I triumphed.