Wine Me

Posted on February 15, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Bay Area Basics Update: I managed to pull myself together today and get a jump-start on my packing. I can’t believe we are leaving Thursday. Now if only I could get Marcus to start his packing process…

 

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

 

Tomorrow I will be gathering the directions for our wine country outing on Friday. We are looking to hit up possibly 4 or 5 wineries in the St. Helena/Napa area. I figure I can pick up a bottle of one of our chosen stops on my way home from work to sip on while packing my suitcase (carry-on of course). Totally California dreamin’!

Here are a few of my fave Cali wines:

Napa Cellars Zinfandel, $17 at Ingersoll Wine & Spirits

Rombauer Cabernet Sauvignon, $35 at Hy-Vee

Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc, $27 at Gateway Market

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Bay Area Basics

Posted on February 14, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

My Sick Valentine Update: Being ill on such a lovey-dovey day really sucks. Anyone who knows me, knows I love LOVE, so being sick on Valentine’s Day is just not okay. Thankfully, I have such a loving and caring fiance who has convinced me that I should be on bed rest until we leave for San Francisco. Cute, but not realistic. I did, however, agree to treating tonight like a hotel stay in our own bedroom. Complete with “room service” for dinner and a movie in bed.

Tulips sent to me at work from my Valentine.

Coq au Vin served to me in bed by my favorite chef.

My furry Valentine.

As I’ve mentioned before, we are heading to San Francisco this weekend for my cousin’s wedding. We will be leaving on Thursday night, spending all day Friday in the wine country and then doing all the wedding festivities on Saturday. I have already started my packing list, and it is filled with the following items: layers, layers and more layers. The Bay Area weather can be tricky this time of year, so here’s a few items to pack:

Madewell, Striped Salute Scarf, $34.99

J.Crew, Jackie Cardigan, $62

Marmot, Women's PreCip Jacket, $99.99

Tory Burch, Reva Ballerina Flat, $195

Kate Spade, Cobble Hill Ellen, $225

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My Sick Valentine

Posted on February 13, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Shower Regularly Update: After our little trip to Kitchen Collage (yes, I managed to make it out of there with only the shower gift, and did you know they’ll deliver your gift to the couple?!), we headed on over to Bagni di Lucca in East Village to try out their new breakfast menu. I had heard via tweet that they were now going to be serving breakfast on Saturday mornings, so Marcus and I headed on over. He had the breakfast pizza and I indulged with the french toast. Both were nothing less than amazing.

Horrible phone pic - but good to the last bite!

We also celebrated another baptism this weekend. This time is was Marcus’ niece Sofia, and she couldn’t have possibly been cuter. We all headed over to T.Hill after the Mass for some great food and good company.

3/4 of the Costa/Branstad Gals

Although I was very busy this weekend, I have also been getting progressively sicker. BOOO! I’m still surprised I haven’t lost a lung yet from all the hacking I’ve been doing. My “to do” for tomorrow is the mend myself. That might include a trip to the doc at this rate. Not exactly the way I’d imagined spending my Valentine’s Day this year, but I have to get better before Thursday because we are heading out west to San Fran for the weekend. More on that tomorrow! I’m going to try to get some uninterrupted shut-eye (fingers crossed).

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Shower Regularly

Posted on February 11, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Malentine Update: Of course I’ve already gotten Marcus his Valentine’s gifts. Pretty sure I picked up two of the items last August. When I see something I think he might like, I just get it and put it away for later. You’ll have to wait until Monday to see what he got…

Tomorrow will be my usual wedding-filled Saturday. I will be continuing to get all paper and DIY aspects for the big day taken care of in advance. There is another part of getting married that I quite enjoy – getting to have bridal showers. I loved the process of registering for gifts, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t check my registry every day. I have an upcoming bridal shower for someone that I won’t be able to attend, so tomorrow I am setting out after pilates to purchase something for them off their registry.

I will be hitting up the local kitchen store, Kitchen Collage, in East Village to pick out a few things for them. This couple actually eloped to Vegas and got married last August, and are now having a reception here in Des Moines this June.

Kitchen Collage is a dangerous store for me because it is packed with uber cute essentials that anyone would want to have. I’m going to have to restrain myself from picking up a little shower gift for myself while I’m doing my shopping.

Kitchen Collage, 430 East Locust Street

A few of my Kitchen Collage favorites:

Pillivuyt, Cow Creamer, $26

Le Creuset, Halo Teakettle, $55

J K Adams, In Drawer Knife Holder, $42.99

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Malentine (Man+Valentine)

Posted on February 10, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

V is for Valentine Update: I forgot to mention one last V-day gift that I wouldn’t mind getting. I saw these gems at Wal-Mart Optical (who knew?) the other day – and they would be perfect for the honeymoon in Antigua this June. Actually, I think it might be a good idea to get these with my prescription.

Wal-Mart, Pomy Women's 401 Black/White Sunglasses, $26

Now that my list is available, I thought it might be nice to put out a Malentine list aka a list of things a man might want for Valentine’s Day. Now, if you were to ask my fiance Marcus what he wants for the big day, he’d probably rattle off some sort of fishing utensil or camouflage hunting gear. And that is part of the reason I love him. He always says what he wants and will actually use it too. His gifts from me usually don’t gather dust in the closet corner.

Here are a few man-gifts that aren’t dust collectors either:

Boden, Men's Leather Moccasins, $99

Target, Valetine-Themed Boxers, $3.50 each

Ralph Lauren, Create Your Own Polo, $79.50

Patagonia, Men's Torrentshell Jacket, $119

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V for Valentine

Posted on February 9, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Mr. & Mrs. Update: My mom (bless her heart!) found frames for me already. We must be on the same wavelength because she snatched these bad boys up at Wal-Mart the other day and they are exactly what I need. They are going to be perfect when I tie them to our chairs with yellow polka dot ribbon! CUTEST!

Just in case people forget who we are.

Just in case my readers (and Marcus, my fiance) have forgotten, Valentine’s Day is next week Monday. If you don’t want to be looking for a gift last minute, check out a few of the items I would suggest…for myself:

Waxing Poetic, Antique Brass Insignia Charms, $55 (can be found at Joseph's in Des Moines)

Kate Spade, Hopper Large Dot Mini Rose Bowl, $75

Sephora, Michael Kors Rollerball, $22

Waterford, Lismore Square Ring Holder, $75

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Mr. & Mrs.

Posted on February 8, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Oh Baby Girl Update: OMG – Olivia is just the cutest newborn I’ve ever seen. Such a little princess. I ended up finding a cute sorbet outfit at Baby Gap instead of the Dwell line at Target. She will look adorable in it! And check out the pictures of her nursery – adorable!

Loving all the pink - Olivia's going to be a girly girl!

I’ve been looking for awhile, but still haven’t found the perfect frames to be hung on the back of our chairs at the head table for our wedding. I have already created and printed the “BRIDE” and “GROOM” artwork, so tomorrow I’m going to continue the hunt. I’m looking for something black and ornate, but not too heavy as it’ll be attached by ribbon. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, here are some fabulous bride and groom chair decorations:

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Oh Baby Girl

Posted on February 7, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Le Tired Update: While I did get some much needed sleep last night, I was able to watch a little bit of the Super Bowl. I could have cared less who won, so the sole purpose for me watching was to check out the commercials. Here was my favorite:

Tomorrow, Marcus and I are taking dinner over to our friends who recently had a baby girl. Our post-birth go-to dinner is the Family Meal from Baratta’s. You get a huge pan of pasta, salad, and bread to feed at least 4-6 people all for just $19.99. Great deal! As first time parents, I know they’ll enjoy not having to worry about cooking. I still need to find something cute and girly for the new addition to their family.

I just love the DwellStudio for Target line – they have the cutest baby stuff. Think I might pick something up for little Miss Olivia on our way there:

Target, DwellStudio, Prices from $9.99 - $12.99

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Le Tired

Posted on February 6, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

The Big Night Update: Well, just like the name of the movie, last night’s dinner was A BIG NIGHT. Here are some pictures from the epic event:

The boys prepping the food.

The decor for the big night all set up, ready to go.

What an epic night!

Courses from start to finish - everything was DE-LISH!

After last night, I need to break. I’ll be back tomorrow after some much needed rest. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

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The Big Night

Posted on February 4, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

(Don’t) Put a Cork In It Update: So excited for our guests to receive their perfectly packaged favors!

Tonight I took over all of the tablescape materials to Terrace Hill in preparation for the big dinner tomorrow night. The boys are already setting this up to be quite extravagant! The entire dinner is based of a movie called ‘The Big Night’. I’ll have tons of pictures for the Sunday blog post, but until then here is a clip to wet your palette:

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