Wedding Countdown Ticker

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Yummy in my Tummy

I feel as though I have been doing a lot of cooking for potlucks and such lately.  It is a great way to cut down costs for your own party and get others involved!  I love bringing something to a party, otherwise I feel empty handed.  Although a bottle of wine is always welcome, I love to make appetizers.

Recently, I made a goat cheese stuffed baguette:



Here is the basic recipe, but feel free to create your own stuffing.  I used roasted red peppers and carmelized onions.

Ingredients:
  • Baguette about 14-inch long
  • 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 4-8 oz fresh goat cheese
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1 jar roasted red peppers, finely chopped
  • ¼ cup finely chopped Kalamata olives
  • 2 oz finely chopped spicy salami
  • About 2 tbsp minced Italian parsley
  • About 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt to taste (very unlikely since there’re plenty of salty ingredients)
Preparation:
Slice off both ends of the baguette. Using a long thin knife and working from the both ends, hollow the baguette out leaving about ½-inch thick crust all around.
Using an electric mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump-free. Beat in the goat cheese and garlic. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Working again from the both ends, fill the baguette with the cheese mixture. Pack the filling tight. I used a slender shot glass for pressing the filling in. Wrap the stuffed baguette very well in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours and up to two days. Right before serving, slice the baguette into ½-inch thick slices and serve. For the most neat looking slices, treat it as a cheesecake – each time slice it with a hot dry knife.

Happy Munching!

xoxo,
Jza Jza

Friday, August 26, 2011

Aunt Jza Jza

Last night I recieved the wonderful news that I became an Aunt! Beautiful Peter James Shempp, III (James) was born in the middle of the night and weighed 7lbs 8 oz and was 20.25 inches long.  We recieved many text play by plays from my brother, PJ, and are so happy for them!


Mommy Katie after her epidural and before the big push! We are so proud of you!

Baby James, so sweet!
I can't wait to celebrate the holidays with this little nugget! Congratulations, Peter and Katie- we love you!

xoxo,
Jza Jza

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Shake, Rattle and Roll with it!

We had quite the eventful weekend/week.  My work happy hour was on Friday night for the Meetings Department at CEB.  We went to Lauriel Plaza for margaritas and guacamole.  Danny was able to join us for a Dos Equis or two and obviously blew away my co-workers with his looks and charm! 


Amy J and I.

Sunday, we went to the West Wing Tour of the White House, thanks to our friend, Danielle, who is currently working there.  Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside, but here we are next to the seal.





Thanks, Danielle for a great tour!

We were treated with a 5.8 earthquake on Tuesday.  I felt it from 23 stories up, pretty scary.  Danny was upset that he missed the whole thing in his car on the way to Subway.  Then they wouldn't even make him a sandwich :(  All is well, though.  We had a few picture frames break, but nothing major thankfully.  Our family and friends from New York City to Ohio felt it!  Thanks to everyone for your concerns. 

We are looking forward to a less shaky weekend, as my cousin, Chelsea, comes to visit tomorrow!  Althogh we may be in the midst of a hurricane!!! 
xoxo,
Jza Jza

Monday, August 15, 2011

Week of the Chesapeake!

In my five years of living in DC, I have not really spent any time on the Chesapeake.  This week, I went twice!  First to Cambridge, MD to the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort for a site visit.  I am helping plan our company's leadership retreat there next month.  The views were really great and I am very excited to be a part of this event. My second trip out was to Chesapeake Beach, MD for Melissa and Mike's wedding.  It was a really fun wedding with many of our friends from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

This part may be boring, but a few pictures from the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort:

Lobby Bar for the Global Leadership Retreat

They show movies on that screen!

Location for our second cocktail reception.

A few photos from Melissa and Mike's wedding at Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa.  It was a really delightful evening and the food was AWESOME!  Seriously, the Crab Imperial was so yummy!  We had so much fun with all of our friends and can't wait until the next one!

The rain stopped and the sun came out just in time for the ceremony!

They looked so beautiful!


Baby Gus and John

Le ha ha
So  handsome!

Danny and I xoxoxo

Bob and I

Scotty and Leah- Pretty in Pink!

The Bride, Melissa,  and I- she is so pretty!

Melissa and Amber, the MOH
Vicki and I - After I caught the bouquet!!! (oh and the best man photo bombed us)
BLS crew, something is funny!
The next morning, we recalled the many funny things and the great time we had last night.  We were starving as apparently a midnight trip to Pizza Hut went bust for the rest of my party.  We came across a cute little town called North Beach and went to this absolutely delightful bakery called Blondie's.












HOMEMADE POPTART!  AWESOME

Delicious Latte

Yum!  Ha Ha



Then we got poured on during the 30 second walk from the bakery to the car.
 It was a great weekend and I will definitely head out to the Chesapeake more often.  Great times with Scotty and Leah as always- I love them! Can't wait for our next getaway!

xoxo,
Jza Jza


Monday, August 8, 2011

Makris Dinner Party

Our good friends, Nick and Elizabeth, asked us over for a dinner party on Sunday night.  Elizabeth wanted to use her wedding china and I, of course, offered to set the table!  They have a beautiful home in Adams Morgan, within walking distance of our place, although they have been known to drive to our house :)  Just kidding, Elizabeth!

We had a lovely evening with 10 fun and interesting people!  We went with a "Casual Elegance" theme.  Just because we used china doesn't mean the table needs to be over the top.  We paired it will casual place mats rather than a table cloth added some easy flower arrangements to tone down the formal feel. 

 
Our super easy appetizer!

 Tomato-Basil Bites

Pour a small amount of balsalmic vinegar into the bottom of a bowl (1/4 inch high)

Take one container of Ciliegine Mozzarella (FRESH).
Wrap a fresh basil leaf around each ball of Mozzarella.
Push through a toothpick and add a cherry tomato.

Add each stick tomato side down in the bowl.



The Table

 
Table setting- what beautiful china!
I forget what these flowers were called, but I got two stems for $2 a piece.  I broke out one section for each place setting.  This added a bit of green to the white china and napkin.  It also helps tie in the casual place mat.

The place holders were simply skewers with lemon or lime and their name.

 I got the thicker skewers at Sur La Table for $2.  You can use the lemon or lime in your drink if you so choose!  Super easy and adds a fun, summer touch.


Simple flower arrangement.  Glass beads and two stems of lilies. 
 The glass beads in the vase perfectly matched the napkin holders, which were quite elegant.  This brought them together and casual-fied the napkin holders. 

Beers and appz on the back porch

Danny gets a kiss from Sasha- she is a licker!!!
Sasha!
Food, Friends, Wine- What else do you need??


Our host, Nick

Nick, Sass and Danny- They look like an Italian Flag!

Cheers!

The ladies- Elizabeth, our hostess, me and Lilli
Danny and I are very lucky to have two great friends like Nick and Elizabeth.  Whether it is hanging out at their bar, The Blaguard, having crazy nights on the town or a quiet dinner party, we always have a blast with those two!  Thanks for a great evening!

Also, check me out on Twitter (@jqevents) at http://twitter.com/#!/jqevents

xoxo,
Jza Jza