a shout from the rooftop

Last weekend, my parents hosted an engagement party for Blake and me. It sure was a fabulous way to kick off the events that will happen between now and the wedding. The turnout was great, just family and close friends. The setting was an evening to night spent on a rooftop on Cherry Street (or 15th Street). The night was filled with great (homemade) appetizers, desserts and drinks. I couldn't have asked for anything better. So hats off to you mom and dad and thank you for a wonderful party. You were superb hosts. Let's do this more often! Oh and I'd like to give a special thanks to Ashley, Luke, Morgan, Evan and Brooke for coming out of town to join us for this special and fun evening.

 





There are more pictures, but I can't add them all here...that's just overwhelming! Point being...we had a FABULOUS time! And you can check out the Tulsa World engagement announcement (it landed in the paper Sunday after the party--July10, 2011)!

loving love

Being a newly engaged lady, I have thought about many wedding details - cake, venue, guest list, dinner, drinks, dancing, "i do", something borrowed, old, new and blue. But what happens after the wedding and dreamy honeymoon? Who will do the dishes? Who is going to take on the mountains of laundry? What about the dust bunnies that aggressively reproduce on the baseboards? Is he/she clean? Does he/she notice when something is out of place? Then I started to think about other engaged friends and newlyweds. Have they thought about their fiance or spouse and their habits qualities they bring to the relationship table?

Below are random questions I came up with to test your knowledge on the little things about your significant other. In the end, it's the little things...right? Have fun with it. If you're feeling a little competitive you and your other can fill these out and compare answers to see who gets the most right about each other!

1. How does your other feel about eating in bed?
_____Great! He/She would do it every meal if they could.
_____Only for a "just because" romantic breakfast
_____Too messy to even contemplate
2. What nicknames has your other gone by, from childhood on?
________________________________________________
3. Which of your relatives does your other like the best?
_____Mom
_____Dad
_____Sibling: which one?_____________________________
_____Grandparent: which one?_________________________
_____Aunt/Uncle: which one?__________________________
4. Do they have a favorite color? If so, what is it?
________________________________________________
5. How does your other get dressed?
_____top to bottom (bra, undershirt, etc)
_____bottom to top (undies/boxers, socks, pants, etc)
6. What artist is playing in your other's car?
________________________________________________
7. Is there an athlete, movie/tv star or someone else famous your other would like to meet? Who?
________________________________________________
8. How many children does your other want? Any names yet?
________________________________________________
9.You bake your other a dessert for their birthday. What is it?
_____Cookies
_____Brownies
_____Cake
_____Pie
_____Other
10. Where was your first kiss? Who initiated it?
________________________________________________
11. What is your other's shoe size?
________________________________________________
12. What was your other's first job?
________________________________________________
13. In what city was your other born?
________________________________________________
14. How does your other take their eggs?
_____Over-hard
_____Over-medium
_____Sunny side up
_____Scrambled
_____Omlet
_____Egg white only
_____Other (is there another way?)

Love is the greatest refreshment in life. -Picasso

My best friend, Ashley, married the love of her life, Luke, on October 2, 2010. Many people know their love story, but for those who don't, here is my point of view.

Ashley and Luke met because we all lived in the same apartment complex. It was pretty much love at first sight. Jordan and I used to sit on the balcony just to see what he was up too when he pulled in the parking lot or we caught him leaving the apartment. We like to think we were Ashley's personal spies and looking out with her best interest in mind. Okay. I take all that back. We were just being creepers!

 Luke and Ashley loved each other and it showed with abundance. They had planned a trip to Colorado to visit Luke's brother and sister-in-law. There, in the Garden of the Gods, he proposed! See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13Wbf8FGOY4

Close to 7 months later, they were walking down the aisle. Time flew by. The wedding was beautiful! I don't know that I can write about it. It was an experience that can't be explained or justified with words on this blog. Utterly perfect! But, I did include some pictures from the fabulous Saturday night affair. 

After the rehearsal dinner, we went back to Ashley's parent's house to have a last Ashley Stone slumber party. And what would a slumber party be without a trip to Wal-Mart? Not much beauty sleep, but a fun last night with Ashley Stone. The next morning was the bridal brunch. It was delicious. I brought my "infamous" sausage rolls--find receipe here: http://lindsayepps.blogspot.com/2010/10/infamous-sausage-rolls.html. After brunch, we kind of separated to get ready and reconvened at Ashley's to ride to the church together. We got ready, took pictures and they got married and we took more pictures. Forgive my lack of pictures, this is where the photographer's job came in.

After the wedding, we danced the night away at Five Oaks Lodge. Everything was esquisite and divine. To top it all off, Ashley and Luke escaped the wedding frenzy by HELICOPTER! Perfect ending to a perfect night. They spent the next week in the Dominican Republic.

 

 

...and they lived happily ever after!

More photos should be up soon at www.armasphotography.com/emert

"infamous" sausage rolls

Ever since I can remember, my mom has made these delicious sausage rolls. These rolls are almost indescribable. They are flaky and crisy, but also creamy and savory. These little bites were a hit at every breakfast related event. I, myself, have only attempted to make these a couple of times. The latest time was for Ashley's bridal breakfast on the day of her wedding. I can't decide if this was a good idea or not, because I love the delicious breakfast item, but stuffing my face when I'm supposed to fit into a non-elastic dress might not have been so smart. What's done is done. And the dress still fit, oh by the way.

I thought I would share the "infamous" sausage roll receipe with ya'll! So here it goes...
1 pound sausage rolls
1 brick (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 packages crescent rolls

Crumble and brown the sausage in a frying pan. Drain grease and place in mixing bowl.

Unwrap cream cheese and drop in mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly until well combined.

Now for the "scary" part. Unwind the crescent roll wrapper until it pops violently (or so I think)! Roll out the crescent rolls and keep in their rectangular form. Pinch the perferation line together and pat down flat. Turn over and pinch the same line and pat down again. This will prevent the roll from separating in the middle.

Next, scoop out some of the sausage and cheese mixture on to the roll. Smooth flat across the rectangle and roll up. Store on a plate, in a tupperware, or some other kind of coverable dish and place in the refrigerator overnight. 

Now for the next steps, I am photo-less. I brought these to Ashley's house for her bridal breakfast and they were cooked and consumed so quickly, pictures were simply impossible. Take the cold rolls and cut into slices. I usually cut into slices about an inch thick. Place slices on a cookie sheet and place in 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Keep your eye on these little bites, they are delicate and can burn quickly, especially on the bottom. Let cool for about 5 minutes and enjoy!

One Woman and One Man

I never thought the weekend would come. I last posted about a couples shower Brooke, Amber and I hosted for our best friend, Ashley and her fiance Luke. This particular weekend was full of wedding activities for the big day...October 2, 2010.

I took a vacation day on Friday to spend time with the bridal party. We started the day off with a manicure and pedicure. The entire wedding party wasn't in attendance and it still took us about 3 hours to get all fixed up.

Cindy, Brooke and Ashley

Van making Ashley perfect for her special day!

After our beauty fix, we decided to eat lunch at Nibbles, a local cafe with delectible food. For the afternoon, we split up to get last minute errands run. We gathered at the church for rehearsal at 6:00 p.m. Ashley was calm and organized. Rehearsal lasted about an hour and it was off to Spaghetti Warehouse for dinner.

(While downtown one day, I had mentioned to Blake how we should go there to eat because it was very delicious and I hadn't been there since I was in middle school. So I was estatic when I received the rehearsal dinner inviation.)

Dinner was wonderful. I filled my belly with garlic butter, bread, salad, chicken, and a bite or two of Blake's 15-layer lasanga. It was just like I remembered. Great Italian food! Dinner and dessert was consumed, bridal party and groomsman gifts were handed out after. All the groomsmen and ushers received Magellan shirts in an array of colors. All the bridesmaids received these gorgeous boxes and inside them was a pair of earrings we were to wear to the ceremony. All the house party ladies received different necklaces.

Later that evening, we gathered at Ashley's parents house to spend the night with Ashley Stone one last time. We had to make a trip to Wal-Mart to help with some last minute honeymoon packing items - shampoo and conditioner, kleenex, etc. We stayed up until about 2 a.m., but we quickly realized we needed our beauty sleep. First appointment on Saturday was bridal brunch at 9 a.m. Lights out!

The Hunt is Over!

Back in February, my best friend, Ashley Stone, got engaged to the man of her dreams, Luke Emert! He took her to Colorado and proposed after an early morning hike in The Garden of the Gods. I remember hearing the news and shedding a couple tears of joy. Immediately, I started firing questions-“did he ask your parents?”, “how did he do it?”, “can you send a picture of your ring?”, “do you have photos of the engagement?, “have you set a date?”…more tears of pure joy! It was about 2 weeks later and we finally got together for Blake’s birthday (aka St. Patrick’s Day). I planned a dinner at In The Raw on the Hill. Blake and I pulled up just on time along with Ashley and Luke. I was ecstatic to she her in person for the first time since her engagement. That night, she asked me to be her bridesmaid! I started crying again. I’m guessing the emotions of a bride transferred to one of her bridesmaid. I’m a sucker, I guess. (Note: Regarding Ashley’s engagement/wedding, I have only cried two more times since the above mentioned times!)

Immediately, I start thinking of “what does a bridesmaid do besides stand next to her on her special day?” Other bridesmaids and I start talking about a shower for Ashley! Somehow we landed on throwing her a Wedding Storm, otherwise known as a Couples Shower. I started to call around for a reasonably priced venue (yes, the hosting bridesmaids have jobs, but we are still young and on a “college budget”). We couldn’t find anything to fit our party budget. We landed on a house. My house. Backyard.

Rewind: when I bought my house, the yard and garden areas were filled with silk flowers and a shabby looking detached garage. Let the backyard makeover begin. A garage before, during and after (I also got a new garage door, but didn’t take a picture):

Much work was done to the landscaping as well, including many beds weeded, new flowers planted, deck power washed and lawn manicured to perfection. The work wasn’t done just to look good for Ashley and Luke’s shower, but it did give me a deadline to complete the housework I had wanted to do since I bought the house in October 2009. So in a sense, thank you to Ashley and Luke for getting engaged and to Brooke and Amber letting me throw a party at my house. Another special thanks to Lucia, Tim and Blake for helping with the makeover.

The party was scheduled for August 28th from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The other two bridesmaids throwing and helping with this shindig were Brooke Lunsford and Amber Webster. They had thrown a shower recently for another friend and even though they were out of town, they were the best help. Communication happened mostly over e-mail and the end result was fantastic! I really couldn’t have done this without Brooke and Amber. You two are truly amazing and so very helpful. I think we done good! Because I was busy hosting, I don’t have as many pictures as I would like, but what I do have is shared below (for those of you who couldn’t make it. I know you regret it)!

The party was filled with family, friends, food, drinks, and games involving personal questions and Ashley’s feeling 5 men’s legs and guessing which was Luke. Oh and by the way…she guessed wrong! I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our best friends engagement, wedding and life with the man she loves! Cheers to Ashley and Luke. I couldn’t be happier for you two and I now look forward to October 2, 2010!

 

Oh and the night before the shower, we visited the Caravan for a night of two-steppin’ and pool.