vermont bride

Short and sweet today (because I desperately need to go back to bed and it's only 11 am)….One thing I forgot to mention about my trip to Vermont last weekend is that I found out that one of my bridal pictures has been published in magazines for almost a year now (and I had no idea)! 


Whenever Alex and I visit the Stowehof, we have the pleasure of catching up with our wedding planner, given we are staying at her place of work. It's such a nice treat to be able to run into her so often, because she was there with us during one of the most meaningful times in our life and was just amazing to work with. Anyway, she did not mention that I had been appearing in a few Vermont bridal magazines when I saw her over the summer, but this time she met us for drinks and plopped down a pile of magazines for me. It was pretty exciting to see, especially since I was sitting there in maternity pants and actually enjoyed the fact that I have a few more curves today than I did on my wedding when I was emaciated from months of unending stress. Not to mention it was such a nice surprise given Alex and I were there celebrating our anniversary (a little belated).


Here's the ad:

our wedding album a little bit late

I am not pleased with Blogger at the moment! I haven't been able to access my blog or post all day (until now) and now that I'm here I've noticed that yesterday's post has vanished! Not happy! How does a posting just disappear? Ahhh! I'm really hoping Blogger has gotten its act together and somehow makes that entry reappear.



Well, yesterday's post was a list of creative projects I'm working on at the moment, one of them being editing my wedding photos. I opted to buy digital copies of all of them and edit them myself (rather than paying for it). Mind you, our wedding was 7 months ago (October 16th in Stowe, Vermont)! I never would have thought in a millions year that I, of all people, would procrastinate on purchasing/sharing my wedding album! Never. I have my reasons…..but I won't get into those.


Here are some of my favorite shots……all taken by the fabulous Lauren Stagnetti:

autumn spice cupcakes

This is for all of you who were lucky enough to taste the scrumptious cupcakes at my wedding last month. They were INSANELY delicious! And much to everyone's surprise they were also gluten-free, soy-free and corn-free. I accosted our wedding coordinator after one bite of those tasty treats and requested that she immediately box up a bunch and deliver them to the honeymoon suite for me to enjoy later on. By the time I took my last bite of those cupcakes I was determined to replicate the recipe once I got home. And not only have I stumbled upon a pretty much spot-on version of them, I think I may have made them even better with the addition of a maple buttercream frosting (using the leftovers of the Vermont pure maple syrup we gave our wedding guests as part of the welcome bags we put in their hotel rooms).

I made them gluten-free at home, just like at the wedding, so I cannot speak for the deliciousness of the regular flour version. I'd wager they are just as delicious so feel free to substitute. In addition to substituting gluten-free flour for the regular flour, I also used raw cane sugar and low-fat buttermilk instead of regular sugar and full fat buttermilk. Also, I did not use the chopped nuts or cocoa powder for garnish (as indicated in the recipe).

You can find the recipe that I adapted from the Food Network's Paula Deen here: Spice Cake. This is for a Spice Cake, instead of cupcakes, but it works all the same. Simply ignore the directions regarding layering.

The best part of my version of the cupcakes was the frosting I added. Here is my recipe:

Maple Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter
3 cup confectioners sugar
6 tablespoon real, pure maple syrup

Thoroughly cream butter and sugar, adding maple syrup until light and spreadable.

I used my KitchenAid for both the cupcakes, and frosting....perfection. Enjoy!

alex's vows

Photography by Natalie Schlegel

Yesterday I shared the wedding vows I wrote for Alex. Today I will share what he wrote for me....

Alexa, I first saw you (as an adult) when I came to pick you up in a blizzard. I got lost on the way, but then your neon orange jacket suddenly shown out, walking down the white road to meet me. Your green eyes spoke of kindness and your smile immediately calmed me and allowed me to tell you all the difficult things that so often go unspoken between two people. As we had dinner, it was as if going out with a familiar friend, with whom conversation was as effortless as air. When you attacked me with kisses in the car afterwards, I got the sense that the feeling was mutual. Since then life has been easy.

For you have eased in me what was angry, have brightened the parts of me that were sad. As a perfectionist, I never saw the accomplishments I had attained, I never saw any sort of progress. I only saw that which I did not have. But your constant expressions of love, your constant reminders of how far I have come, and of everything that I am worth, have eased me to the point that I could die today and still feel truly content and accomplished, no matter what. For as long as you hold my hand and calm me with your gentle words, I will always find the satisfaction in any trouble.

I promise that I will always try to provide you with the same sense of comfort. I will hug you when you need reassurance, kiss you when you need love, remind you of your talents when you are insecure, and calm you when you are agitated. No matter what tragedy life may throw at us in the years ahead, I will remain by your side, with faith as blind as the snow I found you in, and love: warm and hot and forever.

we're married!

Well, we did it! Alex and I became husband and wife this past Saturday in beautiful Stowe, Vermont. It was more magical, significant and fun than either of us could have imagined.

One thing we heard repeatedly was that our vows were incredibly touching. Since we are both writers we naturally felt compelled to pen the words ourselves....I suppose it was more like we wouldn't have had it any other way. We also co-wrote our entire ceremony so we were excited to share that (and our vows) with our friends and family (second to that was showing off all my handmade decorations and personal touches--look for future blogs about that).

So given the rave reviews we received about our ceremony, I thought what better way to continue to share the magic than to post our vows. I will post mine today and will post Alex's tomorrow. Enjoy the love!

Photography by Natalie Schlegel

Alex, on our first date I looked across the table at you and immediately thought “I love this man and time will uncover all the reasons for this instant and pure emotion.” After that I came to know you and love you so quickly because I had finally found someone with the same intense level of openness, passion, introspection, honesty, romantic inclination and zeal for life that I have. As you drove me home from our second date you told me that you had always longed to have someone know all your stories, to hear the whole truth of Alex and to understand your experience without words. Today I stand here feeling honored to be that person.

In loving you I have opened myself in a way I never thought possible. You have witnessed more than anyone else all the ways that I shine and all the ways that I struggle, and through it all you have been an unwavering voice of acceptance and support. You have taught me what unconditional love is and have provided me with the safety and comfort I need to better myself every day. In return I have been able to love you as intensely, openly and authentically as you deserve. Thank you for knowing exactly how to love me.

I promise to spend my life returning all the beautiful gifts you give me daily. I will forever nurture our friendship so that we may always be blessed with the laughter, adventures, passionate conversation and deep sense of connection that both of us thrive on. I will give you my acceptance and support so that you may always have a safe place to share yourself and feel the comfort of a hand that always holds yours. I will offer you the free flowing affection, praise, gentleness and indulgence that you offer me so you may always know how truly beautiful, unique and loveable you are. Most importantly I will spend the rest of my days filling your life with the uncontrollable and passionate love that never stops pouring from my heart to yours. I will love you forever.

good friends

To somewhat continue my last post about the power of women, I have to say the power of their bonds to one another is intense. I was inspired to write this entry after reading my beautiful friend Hannah's blog about our weekend in NYC celebrating my upcoming nuptials. It was the absolute perfect way to celebrate both the new commitment I share with my soon-to-be husband and the bonds (my girls) that have carried me through the years until I met him.

At any rate, I've been feeling so incredibly lucky and appreciative (more so than usual that is) ever since last weekend. I was overpowered by the love and support, and amazing personalities I'm blessed to have in my life. From my amazing sister-in-law who drove down Friday to help with anything and everything needed to prepare for the parties, stayed up gossiping with me in bed deep into the night and who is always there with an understanding and gentle heart; to my generous friend Natalie who flew to the east coast all the way from San Francisco and baked cupcakes, decorated my apartment in flowers, helped with all the errands and acted as my stylist and hair dresser, not to mention her constant support via email; to my great friend Emily who has been there with me all the way, helping me find the perfect wedding dress, listening to me laugh, cry, vent or jump up and down with excitement throughout my engagement, and making sure my bachelorette party had just the right amount of raunchiness; to my dear childhood friend Hannah who has truly watched my life evolve, knows the struggles I've endured and conquered in order to get to this amazing place I stand today, whose friendship has stood the test of time beautifully healing itself after periods of difficulty....and who left her babies overnight for the first time to celebrate with me (wow!).

I felt like I had to write this down, to acknowledge these women (and I'm leaving out several more I could write about! love you all too!) and remind myself of how lucky I am. I would venture to say the bachelorette party was not your standard bachelorette party. Sure, there were raunchy penis straws and silly feather laden accessories for me to wear in public, but as my friend Hannah put it, it was really a women's retreat. It was so nourishing, intense and FUN to watch my friends get to know each other on a deep level so quickly and to also deepen my bonds with each of them in a way only women could understand. The candor and openness of this group was so unusually high.....and the topics discussed were so outrageous and quite honestly pretty steamy at times.

After this weekend I felt a solid foundation underneath me from this wonderful support system, and am looking forward to my future with my fiance Alex even more. It's amazing how a little break from reality, some perspective and a marathon venting/supporting/dish session with your girlfriends can reset things. I love you all and thank you!!