pies pies pies

this morning in the shower i started thinking about pies. i admit, at first i wasn't nearly as into them as a wedding cake replacement as my boyfriend is, but the idea is growing on me. we were arguing last night over whether or not an avocado is a stone fruit or a nut/seed, and i won (stone fruit! yeah!), and that got me thinking about avocado pie. i was introduced to avocado pie in texas by good friends, and while it sounds strange, i loved the creamy tartness of it; the way the avocado, lime and sweetened condensed milk came together. although to be fair, i'd eat anything with avocado in it.

we've been talking through the numbers, and to feed our guests pie we'll need about 20 pies. oddly enough, that number doesn't intimidate me at all. D is great at making pie crust, and i tried his mom's home-canned sour cherry pie this thanksgiving and realized i have a canning wonder in the family, so i think we'll be fine. most of the actual work can be done in advance, and the pies thrown together and baked the day or so before the wedding. since we both love love love cooking, giving our reception dinner over to caterers is probably the best and worst thing we can do. best because really, i do want to focus on getting married and enjoying our day. worst because we'll both be thinking about things we would do differently, and dealing with the food will probably bring out the bridezilla in me. doing the pies ourselves is like a happy medium; we get to actually feed our guest something that we made, and enjoy our own wedding.

here is a list of pies so far that i'm thinking would be good to have;

1. avocado. it's weird, it's lime green, and it's delicious.
2. peach.
3. sour cherry.
4. apple, for people who like that sort of thing.
5. pear. with maybe some cardamom.
6. pecan. you have to have a nut pie!
7. berry.
8. coconut creme. i love coconut, even if D is convinced i'm in the minority.
9. lemon meringue. or key lime. something citrus-y.
10. ooh, you could do a citrus and cream cheese tart. i bet that would also be good, and more like a rustic pie.
11. rhubarb strawberry.
12. grape. i'd never even heard of a grape pie until this holiday season, but they are actually really good.
13. some sort of chocolate pie for the chocolate lovers.
14. do they make tomato pies? because i also really love tomatoes.
15. sweet potato.
16. pumpkin.

of course, we'll have to have multiples of some (apple and cherry, i think), and some might not be big hits. the more i think of it, the more i love the idea of a long table covered in pies and people wandering through, picking out either something new or an old favorite, sharing bites, and going home thinking pie at a wedding isn't a half-bad idea.

fruity

the other day the boychild was looking very well put together; his pants matched his shirt, i'm fairly sure his hair had been brushed in the past 24 hours, and he was in a good mood. i told him, "man, you look handsome today." he gave me a squinty look (which is pretty much what he does 75% of the time), and said, "you're just saying that because i look like dad today. like dad with hair."

he was kind of correct, but he looked handsome regardless.

parent teacher conferences;

or one reason it's awesome being a pseudo-parent

the past few weeks i've gotten to go to both kid's parent-teacher conferences. now, we all know i think the kids are smart and funny and interesting people, (and they draw great photos, they tell the best jokes, and you should see them whip up a bowl of ramen!) but going to those conferences was great because their teachers all feel the same way. i got to bask in the accolades without actually having to earn them! i know it's ridiculous, and that D did all the hard work and heavy lifting, but i can't help but feel kind of proud when someone says, "i really enjoy having him/her in class," "as you can see, their grades are excellent" or my favorite, "whatever you're doing, keep it up!" maybe next year i'll feel like i put more time into actual parenting, instead of being mainly a sideline player and cheerleader, but then again, maybe not. the kids are fine, they were doing well before i ever entered the scene, and as far as school goes, both kids appear to enjoy it and do a wonderful job making sure their stuff gets done. whatever D's doing, he should totally keep it up (and i'll still do whatever it is i'm doing, and try to be a less-than-evil stepmother). don't think that means i won't attend the conferences, though; free cookies and coffee and a chance to hear how amazing my future step-kids are is a good time.

slowly but surely!

not a lot of actual wedding planning has been going on around these parts. we're still settling on the date, because while i LOVE the idea of an october wedding, realistically speaking we might want to move it up to september for weather reasons. i also forget how dark it gets in october; while i love it, it does also make me want to hide out in the house and i think that's kind of counter-intuitive to planning and executing a wedding. september it is, now to hammer down the exact day.

things i am thinking of in regards to wedding:

• these boots. when i was in high school and reading sassy magazine, i imagined that some day i would walk down the aisle in a tall pair of white docs. the other day on a lark i was looking them up on zappos and had a HOT DAMN moment. i showed them to D and he agreed they were fetching.
  
• magnetic save the date cards. i like the idea of having something that you can stick on your fridge, and how even if people don't come to the wedding, it's like they got a favor in the mail. at the same time i keep thinking save the date cards might be one expense i could cut out easily.
• etsy! i look at rings, i look at veils, i look at all sorts of wedding stuff there. some of it is to get ideas for things i could make, some of it is looking at things i couldn't even in a million years make (honestly, tulle and netting and i are not friends!), and some of it is just funny.

other than that, i'm just gearing up for my first holiday with the kids, hoping i can make it fun and interesting, wondering what kind of stuff we'll get up to and whether or not it's too late to start some new traditions. i've already started my shopping, and i've been making lists like crazy and assembling stocking stuffer items. it's fun to be an adult in charge of stuff like that in a lot of ways.

i should really post more here about things i've seen in regards to wedding stuff; if anything i think next year at this time it will crack me up.

la conner flats

every now and then D refers to me as his "fiancé" it cracks me up. it also makes me blush. i don't know why, exactly; i know we're getting married, i'm excited about it, but hearing that word makes me feel silly and slightly retarded. at the same time, "boyfriend" just doesn't cut it anymore. i propose we come up with something else that is less french, easier to type, and less giggle-inducing to say out loud.

about two weeks ago we checked out the la conner flats as a possible wedding site. sure, i know the lady who works there (who is awesome), so i might be biased, but it was honestly a lovely place. we had a good walk around, saw some goats, checked out the garden and produce, and both agreed we'd go back nearer to october, to see what it looks like then. the nice thing about having all this time to prep is we can check out sites way in advance, and then actually see them in season. i did a little internet investigation as well, and found that the past five years have seen amazing weather in the skagit valley around october. mostly sunny and warm, with only one year seeing much rain.

i've also been reading offbeat bride a LOT. the posts over there are seriously inspiring. doing this wedding ourselves, making it what we want, and doing things a little differently seems a lot less daunting now that i've seen so many other couples do it. the site is really just a wealth of information, and it makes me feel so much better about how we want to do this. the past few weeks i've struggled with my sister making what i think are undue demands; feeling guilty that i'm not giving her what she wants, but feeling angry that she would put me in that position to start with. checking out offbeat bride stories one thing pops up over and over; brides saying they're glad they did it their way, and that it was hard to stand up for what they wanted sometimes, but in the end their weddings were about them and their partners and the families they were creating. that's all i want, a great big party and celebration of my commitment to D, the new family we're making, and to share it with the people i love most. essentially, that's what the day should be all about, and i just have to hope that eventually everyone else figures that out and stops getting hung up on the details.

btw, we're getting hitched

went camping with the fam last weekend, and one night while we were all sitting around the fire talking, D brought up the wedding in the most casual way ever. the way he said it, i thought he'd already talked to his folks about it and was just mentioning it again in passing. no one really said anything, which was fine; i mean when i told my mom she didn't exactly "react." come to find out, D hadn't mentioned to his family at all, and they were a bit stunned. they weren't sure if he had told them before, because he was so blase about it, they thought maybe they were already supposed to know. hee hee... the next morning his mom comes over to our campsite and says, "so was that the big announcement?" and D says, sure it was, and she says, "well it went over like a lead balloon, i'm sorry!" we all had a good laugh, and then there were hugs all around and lots of "congratulations!" and "when is it?" they were all excited and happy and we had a great time that morning drinking coffee and going over ideas. i'm glad his folks are pleased, and his brother and sister-in-law were happy and smiley about it too. *whew.*

it's not like i thought they'd be upset or against it, but you really never know. D's never been married before, and we are a bit older and a bit unconventional, so i wondered if they'd be all for us being married but not all about a wedding. at first, that was my mom's reaction. that's not to say she wasn't happy for us and stuff, but we were just coming off my pop's death, and to be honest, we're not a family of "weddings." i always thought i'd run off to vegas or the courthouse, and i think she was as surprised as i was when i said that we were going to have a wedding with a reception and everything.

now all the parents know our plans, and luckily one of D's brothers just got married and his mom knows a lot about the local vendors and sites, so we can bug her all we want about caterers and such. speaking of, does anyone have an awesome caterer they want to recommend? i'm all ears.

late to this party

but come on, this is pretty much the greatest wedding party entrance EVER. it made me a little teary-eyed, to be honest. it was just so fun and joyful and everyone seemed to be having an awesome time. i bet their reception was stellar.