Pasta Salad

From Rachel Shreffler

2 pkgs tortellini (I used rotini)
1 (8oz) can artichoke hearts, chopped (not marinated)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 c. feta cheese
1/2 c. black olives
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Dressing:
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
(I used 3/4 c. of a balsamic/oil salad dressing instead of getting the above 2 ingredients individually)
3 cloves garlic
1 Tbls basil
1 tsp dill (didn't use)

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.
________________________________________________

I'm not a fan of pasta salad, so I probably won't be making this very often. I made it for a bridal shower and everyone liked it. Thought I would pass it along to all of you! :) Its a fancier version of a normal pasta salad. Good for special occassions.

Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw

from Cooking Light

3 cups cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw mix
2 Tbls chopped cilantro (we will cut this out next time b/c neither, Ken and I, didn't like it)
3 Tbls canola mayonnaise
2 Tbls fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped habanero or serrano peppers (I used 2 serrano's)
Cooking spray
4 Catfish fillets
4 tsp Jerk Seasoning

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.

2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish evenly with jerk seasoning. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; serve fish with slaw.

Serving: 1 fillet of catfish and 1/2 cup of slaw
Calories: 256
Fat 12.6g
Figer 1.5g

_____________________________________________

We really liked this a lot!!!! Ken loves catfish and loves spicy food, so I think this has been one of his favorite dishes. Neither of us liked all the cilantro that the recipe calls for, so I will definitely cut way back on it...or cut it out all together. We'll be making this again!

Let's Talk Wedding: Cream-Traditional vs. Purple-Trendy

Trendy vs Traditional!!!!

I wanted both!!!! :)

So, I figured out a way to do both!

When we took pictures downtown, I decided to use the trendy accessories: purple shoes, purple earrings, and a purple bouquet. I really liked adding pops of color, but wasn't sure how it would actually look in the pictures. I had seen it in quite a few magazines, but didn't want it to look weird. So instead of wearing it all day, I just pulled in the purple for the trendy photo-journalistic photographs. However, I still wanted traditional too! I wanted to completely adorn myself with white on my wedding day. You will read later about the flowers and decorations, and how I was adamant with not wanting ANY white decorations. (You will also see that my mom talked me into have a little white on stage though). I wanted the only thing white to be the bride! :) So, for the ceremony, I wore my dress and veil with white shoes, white (clear) diamond-looking jewelry, and a white bouquet.I absolutely loved how it all turned out! I am so thankful that I was able to do both the trend of 2009 and maintain a traditional feel as well! I got the best of both worlds!

Let's Talk Wedding: Shoes

Of course I just had to have THE perfect shoes (at least perfect for me) for our wedding!!!! I was torn between going with the trend or sticking to traditional. Here were the ideas that I really liked: At a trip to David's Bridal for the little girls' dresses, Michelle, my mom and I saw these beautiful "Chinese Laundry" cream heels! I thought they were perfect!!! So I immediately went online and bought them! They came in and I walked around in them and prepped them for the big day. As time went by, I still kept going back to the trend of wearing a fantastic colored heel with matching jewelry. I couldn't keep my mind off it. So my hunt for purple heels was on! I finally found the perfect pair and bought them as well! I hadn't TRULY made up my mind as to which pair I was going to wear, but I had them both and could decide later.

While at an OSU Cowboys football game, I came across some FABULOUS cowboy boots!!!! They were amazing!!! Orange and black!!! My favorite colors! :) I bought them with some birthday money and knew I would wear them at the reception! Ken would LOVE it!!!!

The battle of the Cream-Traditional vs the Purple-Trendy was still going on. I had to make a decision. Once I had decided to take the majority of our pictures downtown before the wedding, I thought I could wear the purple for our "trendy" photo-journalistic pictures, and then I could switch the the cream heels for the "traditional" formal photos at the church and for the wedding. It was perfect! And, yes, I wore three different pairs of shoes on my wedding day! Make fun all you want, but shoes are my thing and I wore them proudly!!! Besides...it was my day and I only get to do it once!!! :)

Lets Talk Wedding: "Save The Date"

My "Save the Date" mailouts were an area that I knew I could make. I had found the idea a long time ago in a wedding magazine and just loved it. There are so many new ways of doing "Save the Date"s and I looked at everything, but I still came back to my original plan.

Michelle was sweet enought to spend SO much time figuring out the template on her computer and making sure the colors were right and on and on!!!! She was GREAT! I couldn't have done these without her!

I started out by purchasing postcard size cards at Staples. We printed on both sides. The first side had our wedding date on it in dark purlple. The second side had our names, a verse, and stickers that were to be put in the guests' calendars to remind them. That was my favorite part!!! We did three stickers per "Save the Date" that way multiple calendars could have one. Each card had a purple, orange and burgandy sticker to show the wedding colors. On the sticker, we had our names, the wedding date and the wedding city. I just loved the idea of pealing a sticker off and sticking it in my calendar (and I did). I did a postcard size, but still put them in envelopes so the stickers wouldn't fall off.

Here is the final product:

Renovations, Part 2

The major construction of our second floor is finally finished. Ken and I are doing the rest! We did have some help from our very talented friend Rocky, who came out here and textured the walls. Here are pictures of the finished construction and the texturing.

Bedroom:

Bathroom:Hallway:

Closet:Now we are mudding, taping and getting ready to PAINT!!!! Since we have crazy weather, I'm thinking some of that painting might get finished this weekend. After the painting, we are going to put the inside of the closet together so we can get my clothes off the floor. Then Ken will start flooring. Can't wait to see the final product!!!! And I really can't wait to "move in"!!! :) Stay tuned!

Good Morning Spring

This is what we woke up to today...the official first day of Spring. I would rather have sun! :) Gotta Love Oklahoma!