Katie & Patrick's Wedding

Katie and Patrick's September 1st wedding, in New Castle, New Hampshire was so special, beautiful and memorable. We loved being part of their celebration weekend.

Andrew and Pat were college roommates, played soccer together and have been BFF's ever since. We met Katie, Pat's high school sweetheart, earlier this year, and fell in love with her too. They really are a perfect pair. You can feel the love when you're around them, and their happiness can't help but make you happy. 

The wedding venue, Wentworth by the Sea Hotel and Spa, was a gorgeous setting. The hotel has so much charm, overlooking the sea (did the name give it away?), and a beautiful country club.

The garden gazebo, perfect for their outdoor ceremony. 

The soon-to-be newlyweds on rehearsal day with niece Callie. 

Me and my love, 7+ years. 

The sun was beaming high in the sky on their big day. I love the look on a groom's face when we see's his bride approaching. I think it's my favorite moment.

Here comes the stunning bride!  

Katie's brother Tyler, performed the ceremony. I don't think there was a dry eye in the place - it was a very touching ceremony, with so much love from both the bride and groom's families. It was easy to see how close they are, and how happy both family's are to be joined together by Katie and Pat's marriage. Like it was always meant to be. 

Sealed with a kiss! 

The McKallagat's, such a sweet family. Pat's brother Dan won the award for greatest best man speech. 

Pat's sister Kate (one of now 3 Kate McKallagat's), sang "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri. It was a special moment in their ceremony. I just love Kate - she's the type of person you could become instant friends with. I wish we lived near all of them. 

The colors and flowers in this wedding were simply gorgeous! 

Adorable Sadie, always smiling and running around. 

What a handsome wedding party! Especially the guy all the way on the left. I wonder if he's taken :)

Look at these cutie pies! 

I got to hold Callie while some photos were taken. Just look at that face - and all that tulle! Can you stand it? 

I managed to get a couple photos with my handsome groom. I do love him in a suit and tie! 

Speaking of suits, these two make me laugh. Yes, they are standing awfully close to one another, but if you know Pat, you know how much he loves his friends, and a shot like this is not that unusual. Andrew was thrilled to be a groomsman in his wedding. Our joy was bittersweet, as we said goodbye to Pat as he moved back to Massachusetts to be with his new bride and to be near their families. Who can blame them? 

Pat was full of romantic gestures for his wedding. He had their names and wedding date embroidered into his custom suit [swoon]. So sweet! 

The happy couple made a grand entrance at the reception - it was time to celebrate!

We partied with our Canadian friends, John and Jen.

Scott and Becky.

Dusty from Jersey and Nate from Massachusetts.

These guys all went to college and played soccer together. A good group of guys, all "grown up" now (for the most part). Hard to believe how quickly the years fly by and life changes. 

A Roberts Wesleyan College reunion. It was so much fun catching up and spending time with this group for such a special occasion. Good times and great memories with some wonderful friends. 

Yep, they smashed cake in each others face. Katie and Pat, we were absolutely honored to be part of your wedding and we love you both so much! We love your families too. Thank you for including us and for being the awesome couple that you are. We can't wait to see you again! Please come visit. Soon. The guest room is ready.
 

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Road Trip

The road trips continued this summer as we traveled to Portsmouth, New Hampshire at the end of August, for Andrew's best friend's wedding. This was my first time spending a few days in New England and it was both beautiful and memorable.

We got our coffee and hit the road. Along our 6+ hour drive (which ended up being closer to 8 hours when we hit traffic), we planned to stop at another Man vs. Food destination, Mother's Cupboard, in Syracuse New York.

This teeny diner is literally a hole in the wall, on the side of the road. Somehow it looked bigger on TV. Mother's Cupboard's claim to fame is a 6 LB frittata. Yeah. We had to see it with our own eyes.

We sat at the counter, which was mere feet from the griddle, so we were able to watch the cook in action. That's a lot of eggs. And home fries. And pancakes. Andrew attempted the HALF frittata, which was still monstrous, but delicious. I don't know what I was thinking ordering a FOOT wide blueberry pancake, which was hanging off the plate. I barely made a dent. But it was a worthwhile attempt! 

After that low carb, low calorie lunch, we were back on the road, headed through Massachusetts and on to New Hampshire. We arrived the day before the wedding rehearsal so we would have time to check out the area and see downtown Portsmouth. 

What a charming city. Brick sidewalks, little shops, and lots of restaurants and cafes. We set out in search of a good place for a late dinner. Yes, we were actually hungry again after that massive lunch. Shocking, I know. We like food.

We settled on the River House, and dined overlooking the water. It was beautiful at night with lights along the shore. There were even luminaries being released into the sky at a nearby party. The food and atmosphere were excellent - I highly recommend their award winning clam chowder which was true to it's claim. 

After dinner we walked along the streets and shops, enjoying the change of scenery. We would definitely go back and recommended Portsmouth to my in-laws, who just visited there last week. Charming indeed! 

Herkimer Road Trip

When my Mom was here in August, we took a little road trip, just the two of us, to her home town. We had a blast together and made some fun memories. 

It had literally been years, maybe 8 at least, since I had been back to small town Herkimer, NY. Famous for it's "diamond" mines (quartz crystals). I have fond memories of visiting my Papa and our relatives there when I was growing up. 

Herkimer county is part of Utica-Rome, NY, north of the Mohawk river. The valley really is a beautiful area with rolling hills and dense trees. 

We drove by the house that my Mom grew up in. Many memories. So much has changed. I tried to imagine what it looked when my grandparents first moved in, in the 1940's. 

Here's an old photo of Papa and his two daughters, my Mom and my Aunt Marion. This is when there was a porch on the front of the house.

I just love this photo of my Nana and Papa. They look so young and happy. Such a different time. There used to be an ice cream shop across the street. I bet that was a treat!

Today, the building that used to be my great uncle's restaurant, the Top Hat, still stands across the street. I wish I could go back in time and see what it used to be like. My parents wedding reception was there and family dinners and parties.

The main reason for our visit was my Mom's 50th high school reunion. I still find it hard to believe it's been 50 years since my Mom graduated high school. We got to take a tour of Mohawk Central School and see all the changes that have taken place over the years.

It was fun for me to see where my Mom went to school, walk the halls that she walked as a teenager and meet some of her classmates. It was definitely a trip down memory lane for her and I enjoyed hearing stories and seeing the history of it all.

After the tour, we headed to Yetty's for none other than their pizza. We always used to get pizza from Yetty's when we came to visit. The secret is their crisp crust and the fact that they put the toppings UNDER the cheese (gotta have sausage and mushrooms). It's so delicious - I wish I had a slice right now!

Yetty's is right around the corner from the church where my parent's got married. I could almost picture my Mom getting out of the car in her wedding gown and walking down the aisle with my Dad, just like the photos in their wedding album.

The next day was the big class reunion at the American Legion in Mohawk. 

We got to visit with my Aunt Marion, Uncle Chuck and two of my cousins, Nicole and Danielle that weekend. Aunt Marion joined us at the reunion and they both got to catch up with classmates they hadn't seen in years.

They had a good turnout, with alumni traveling from across the U.S. Even some former faculty were there. It was special meeting everyone and hearing such kind things that people had to say about my Mom. It gave me a glimpse into her high school years and made me appreciate who she is even more and where she grew up.  

We made a visit to see my Great Aunt Fanny (who's almost 95 and doesn't look her age!), cousin Theresa, Robbie and Lisa. It was nice catching up with family that we don't get to see - and now we're connected on Facebook so we can keep in touch more. We also stopped to visit Uncle John and Aunt Carol. They still live in their house, taking care of it and taking care of each other.

Before our trip came to a close, we had to make one last stop in Utica, to Florentine Bakery for some pasticciotti pastries. You can't drive to Herkimer and not stop at Florentine. It's just the rules. 

My Mom and I had a lot of fun together, walking down memory lane and making new memories. I'm so thankful we could share this weekend together. 
 
 

Coconut Macaroons

When we were in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I had a delicious coconut macaroon from a little cafe. It got me in the mood for coconut and I wondered if I could make a similar cookie at home. I found a recipe at foodnetwork.com by Ina Garden (Barefoot Contessa). I was happily surprised that they were so easy to make and SO delicious. I probably ended up eating half of them. No joke. If you like coconut, give these a try! 

Ingredients:

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut 
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
2 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature 
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine the coconut, condensed milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whip the egg whites and salt on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until they make medium-firm peaks. Carefully fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.
Drop the batter onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper using either a 1 3/4-inch diameter ice cream scoop, or 2 teaspoons. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and serve. 

I ran out of parchment paper, so I baked the cookies directly on the tray - I would NOT recommend doing this. These cookies are quite sticky and I had to scrape them off the baking sheet. Next time, I'll definitely use parchment paper.

 

I took them out of the oven when they looked like this - golden edges and a little firm. The insides are soft chewy coconut. Such a sweet treat!