saturday is a special day

homemade brunch // nasher sculpture center // panda chair // flower chair
Saturday has always been my favorite day of the week, but Sunday has become a fierce competitor. Ever since I've started working, the weekends are reserved for play dates and exploring, but I usually have to work on Saturdays now at J.Crew. Today we still managed to have a fun morning and afternoon before I sold clothes from 5-10. 
Brunch is my absolute favorite meal and I always order eggs benedict if it's on the menu. Today we tried to make it and it was successful. Poached eggs have always been a culinary fear of mine, but I conquered them with the help of Preston making everything else. Here's the recipe for our mostly homemade eggs benedict:
Ingredients: -eggs -deli ham -avocado -english muffins -instant hollandaise sauce (oops)
1. Poach da eggies. This is tricky. First bring about 2 in of water to a boil in a pot. Crack eggs in separate bowls. Once the water is boiling, pour a little bit of vinegar (maybe a half a tablespoon?) and bring the water to a simmer. Carefully pour eggs into water and cover and cook on gentle heat for 4 mins. Using a slotted spoon remove from water and place on paper towels.
2. Cook ham. Not hard. Just put em on a pan. 2 slices per muffin is good. We just got the cheapest deli ham meat and it worked perfectly.
3. Slice avocados or whatever other vegetable you want. I've only ever had eggs benedict with avocado or asparagus. 
4. Make the hollandaise sauce. You can get instant packets in the same aisle as gravy. This is a major cheat, but it worked well and tasted good.
5. Toast the english muffins.
6. Assemble muffins. Muffin, then ham, then avocado, then egg, then hollandaise.
After brunch we walked to the Nasher Sculpture Center. It was a little disappointing, but admission was free so we went to check it out. One cool thing was a yoga class they had in the outdoor area of the sculpture center. Last Saturday we started going through the Dallas Museum of Art and after the sculpture center, we finished at DMA. 
The Neiman Marcus flagship store is right in downtown Dallas, a 4 minute walk from our apartment. It's always closed by the the time Preston is done with work so today we decided to venture inside. I experienced shortness of breath walking into the women's eveningwear and bridal boutiques because I've never been so close to so much Oscar, Chanel and Lanvin at the same time. After pretending to be glam at Neiman's, we went home, made burgers and swam and then I went to work. Now we are home celebrating BYU's win against TEXAS. Hehehe.

062113: reception

Following our sealing and luncheon I made everyone drive back to Lancaster to party. My mom chose this darling venue that I didn't see until 2 days before and I loved it. It's a bed and breakfast and it's on the prettiest piece of land. I wanted my venue to reflect Lancaster and my home, and it definitely did. Lots of cornfields on the drive and actual venue.

Here's my pretty wedding party. I loved the shots Alex took in the woods because it looks like a fairytale and so ethereal. Still not over how good my bridesmaids and Preston's groomsmen looked in their clothes. 

My mom was obsessed with having this couch and decorating this little patio area and I'm glad Alex incorporated it into some group shots. Here's our big happy Prestynna family.

Dolly strikes again. We didn't have a cake because neither of us really like cake or feeding each other cake, however the dessert table was one part of the reception I was very particular about. My only regret from my wedding day was not eating more of the desserts. But here they are immortalized in film. The drinks with table numbers was my mom's idea. So cute right?

Here's the dance floor and dessert tables. I love this picture.

Maren was my first friend when my family moved to Lancaster and has remained one of my best. I asked her to sing Ingrid Michaelson's version of "Can't Help Falling in Love" because if Preston and I didn't already have a song chosen, I would have picked that one for our first dance and Maren has the most incredible singing voice and I had always planned on her singing at my wedding anyway. She did a beautiful job. Thanks Mare-bear. Preston and I danced to Bright Eyes' "First Day of my Life." The lyrics are perfect and the song has always been special to us because when we were driving back from California it came on our playlist and I started crying listening to the lyrics because they encompassed my feelings perfectly.  My dad and I danced to Taylor Swift's "Never Grow Up" and Preston and his mom danced to Iron & Wine's "Upward Over the Mountain." 2indie4u.

This was my favorite part. I was a diva about desserts, my dress and our music. I drove my DJ crazy calling him every few weeks because I absolutely did not want him to play anything that wasn't specifically chosen by us. We have attended too many receptions and dance parties where the playlist is mediocre and everyone is kind of pity-dancing. I wanted to love every song and genuinely want to dance. We created two playlists for the cocktail and dinner hour and a 30ish minute mix for dancing. It was perfect and I had the best time. The dancing pictures are some of the very best from all of the amazing shots Alex took. I was thrilled with the way they turned out.

Here's our mix

I love love love the sparkler pics of any wedding. They always look so magical and the bride and groom look so happy. These turned out perfectly as well as our sendoff. 

Thank you to Alex Steele for sharing her incredible talent behind the camera. I am enamored with my photos. Thanks to our wedding party for putting up with us, flying so far and looking so damn good all day. Thanks to my parents for giving me the most perfect wedding. Thanks to everyone who attended any part of our day or sent support. We appreciated it so much and loved celebrating with you. And thanks to Preston for being mine for eternity. Oh and thanks for reading!!

062113: temple + luncheon

June 21, 2013, Washington, D.C. In the temple where I was sealed to my family and received my endowments, I married Preston Kutney and it was the happiest day. These are the pictures from that day taken by the lovely Alex Steele. I could not be happier with how these have turned out. Alex works magic behind the lens and I was so pleased with how she captured this day.

iPhone nation, my handsome groom and our lovely families. 

Being sealed to Preston for time and all eternity in one of the most beautiful places in the world surrounded by the people I loved the most was one of the greatest and surreal moments of my life. I will never be able to adequately express my emotions from that day but it was everything I dreamed about since I was a little girl and more. You guys, getting married is the very best.

These people are the loves of my life. All of Preston's groomsmen are so dear to my heart and I will forever be the 5th roommate of Windsor Arms Apt. 12. And then are my perfect bridesmaids. These girls have been my best friends for the most important times in my life and I love them with all my heart. Will never be able to express my appreciation to all of you guys for flying out and being a part of our day. Ok groomsmen from left to right: my brother Nic, Preston's brothers Jared and Terrance, Callan, Danny, Kev and Grady. Bridesmaids left right: Kaile, Jadyn, Kylie, my sister Alyanna, Blythe and Maren. Thanks for being the prettiest and agreeing to wear matching dresses. I was so thrilled with how they turned out. And a tender moment with my sweet.
Wait let's talk about baby Kylie snuggling Preston hahaha. I love this picture and Preston's expression. My wedding planner and angel mother. I got engaged over Christmas break and then went back to school so my mom was left in Pennsylvania to plan a wedding. I wasn't worried at all because she has impeccable taste. I didn't even see my reception venue until two days before, and I loved it. And then my tall baby sibs. Alyanna looked so radiant and Nic so handsome. Cuuuuties.
Following the sealing we had a luncheon at Mrs. K's (get it?) Tollhouse, which was 10 minutes from the temple. It was the sweetest little restaurant, built like a house and so quaint, well-decorated and served bomb steak. Above are the cutest little parents sporting their traditional Filipino wedding attire and everyone enjoying each other.

Giggles, sweet baby sister's toast and my daddy probably calling me his princess.

This was where I let everyone give toasts and I cried and laughed a lot. Everyone's toast was so heartfelt and meant so much to us. I was so happy we decided to do the luncheon thing and the toasts because your wedding day is 24 hours of chaos, and these were a few intimate hours of laughing and sharing with our loved ones.

In order to avoid the longest blog entry ever written, I'm taking a cue from Kylie and saving reception pictures for another post. I'm so excited to share this day with you, so thanks for reading and check back for more wedding bliss! 

brie-lliant

fedora alternative // chair // a dumpster pool // soda tab robe // gorgonzilla
This past Saturday was a lot of fun because it involved brunch and food trucks. Mostly this post is about the food trucks. We went to the Design District Market held in the Dallas Design District (surprise) which was 10 minutes from downtown. It was a bunch of little stands and kiosks with everything from vintage dresses to wall murals to retro furniture to juice cleanses. It was hot as hell as usual, and before we went to the market, we read about a potential dumpster converted into a swimming pool. I was a little bit concerned, but any excuse to cool down in the Texas heat, I will take. So we came prepared to swim, but the dumpster pool looked as trashy as it sounded and we decided against joining the other design patrons. 
For dinner, I got the best grilled cheese sandwich. This post is about that sandwich. I love food trucks they have some of the most delicious foods and SO MANY KINDS all in one square. So like tacos with chili fries with a sno-cone with a milkshake is totally plausible and all within arms length. The design district food trucks did not have as much variety, but I the Gorgonzilla grilled cheese truck caught my eye and won my heart. I'm obsessed with brie so I got the Brie-Zilla sandwich and now I must share the recipe because it was the most delicious grilled cheese of my life.
Brie-Zilla
Brie Basil Muenster cheese Pesto Caramelized onions Thick white bread
Not quite sure the exact amounts of each, but it's not that hard to determine how much cheese to put in a sandwich you know? I haven't made it yet but I'm excited to. 

steadied his rifle with his target in the center and became famous on that day in november

john f. kennedy memorial // allegedly shot // corner of houston and elm // grey 4 jfk

Last night Preston and I took a walk around our neighborhood to the John F. Kennedy memorial and assassination site. It was pretty surreal to stand at the exact pedestal where Jim Towner stood and took the famous video. We also stood on The Grassy Knoll, where there was a suspected second shooter. Also surreal. All I could think about was the amount of hysteria there would be if President Obama were to be assassinated today. I can't fathom. 

I thought the JFK Memorial was pretty neat-looking. It was designed by Philip Johnson, a big influence in modern architecture, I learned from Preston. Sometime when it's not Sunday, we'd like to go to the museum. I'm looking forward to the anniversary of JFK's death and what special events will take place right in our backyard.