Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all the dad's out there!  Aaron and I had a full day of celebrating fathers starting with  the Demars side - his dad, Mike!  The original plan was to meet the family in Albany at Cafe Madison for a fathers day breakfast but the wait was too long so plans changed to meet at Cafe 217 around 10:45.  None of us had been here before, and overall the food was pretty tasty!  We all shared stories, laughed, and stuffed our faces!  We got Mike a new golf shirt - I'm pretty sure he'll get good use out of it!  After breakfast we all walked together to all of our cars but before we said our goodbyes for the day we stopped and took a family photo!

Then it was onto the Sisk celebration.  We picked up Muhka and headed down to my parents house.  The beginning of our Fathers Day celebrations consisted of all of us pitching in to help out with yard work - Woohoo fun!  After we all helped out a bit we went inside to hang out and have some drinks.  Dad opened his presents which from the kids consisted of new golf gear - new shirts, golf balls, and a new glove!  Mom got him a bunch of beach/vacation gear that the two retired love birds can use for many years to come!  Mom made ribs, a pasta salad, and fruit salad for dinner, yummy and messy haha and then finished off dinner with cheesecake and coffee!  We took a photo family photo also to end the day!

We said our "goodbyes" to my family, but they were not really goodbyes because next week we all leave for our first family vacation in about 6 years to Rhode Island, so we will be seeing A LOT of each other very soon for a week.  Once we got home we settled down to enjoy the rest of our Sunday before the work week starts again.  We had one last family photo to take for this fathers day...

I hope every father was spoiled and got to share their day with their loved ones like we did!

Mac n' Cheese

Last night we had Mike and Jeanine over for dinner.  We decided to make them our awesome mac n cheese dish - Aaron prepared most of it.  It's Baked White Cheddar Mac n Cheese with Kale and Bacon.  And boyyyyy is it delicious.  I found the recipe awhile back on pinterest and made it for Aaron and every since we've been hooked.  For those who know me, you're probably like "whaaat - you eat kale?!" and yes, smothered in ooey gooey cheese, you bet I eat kale!  All in All it takes about 45 to prep and cook the meal.

1 lb. pasta

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 of a purple onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup flour

3 cups of milk

8 ounces sharp white cheddar, grated

1 ounce parmesan, finely grated

dash nutmeg

dash cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 ounces of bacon, cooked and cut (we used turkey bacon)

3 1/2 ounces fresh kale, chopped

1/2 cup crushed croutons or breadcrumbs

• Cook pasta one to two minutes less than package instructions.  Drain and set aside
• Cook bacon until crispy, drain and cool, then cut into small pieces
• In a pot, melt the butter.  Saute the onion and garlic until soft and golden.  Whisk in the flour and cook over medium heat until golden.  Slowly whisk in the milk while cooking over meadium heat
• Stir in the sharp cheddar and parmesan cheese, whisking until melted and creamy.  Add the nutmeg, cayenne, black pepper, and salt.  Bring to a slow simmer, then stir in the pasta, bacon and kale.
• Transfer the pasta mixture to a 3 1/2 quart oven safe casserole dish or cast iron pan.  Sprinkle the top with the crushed croutons or breadcrumbs. 
• Bake at 375 degrees F on the center rack in the oven for 10-20 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbly, serve immediately

The dish was delicious and cheesy.  The kale and bacon are the perfect adds to the mac n' cheese, and it's a good way to get your greens in!  Try it out and let me know what you think!

She Found the Gown!

Today was a very special day.  I was lucky enough to share in my best friend's special day of finding her wedding gown, and I was honored.  She had done some research online trying to find styles that she liked so when we arrived for her appointment we were able to show the consultant some ideas for gowns she'd like to try on.  We went to David's Bridal and her mother, Leta, met us there also.  Our appointment was for 11:00 and we walked in the door at 11 on the dot and we're ready to help Jeanine find her gown...

I think she tried on a total of 7 dresses and right away she was able to narrow the search down to 3 top contenders...

1. A white strapless lace gown with ribbon detail.  It had a semi sweetheart neck line, a trumpet style skirt to it,  and the lace detail was beautiful and unique, it was all leaves.  This dress was one of the dresses she found online and wanted to try on.
2. A white strapless flow-y gown with underlying lace detail.  It had a sweetheart banded criss-cross neck line, free failing skirt, and an underlying lace detail of flowers covered by a sheer top.
3. An ivory chiffon wedding gown with ruffle detail and lace.  It had thin straps, both the front and back were v-necks, and the back of the dress had ruffled trim from the straps that ran all the way down the train of the dress.

It was a hard decision because she looked absolutely stunning in all of the dresses, but especially in the 3 she narrowed it down too.  After a few try-ons it was narrowed down to the white strapless flow-y gown and the ivory chiffon gown.  She put the ivory chiffon gown back on and held the iPad with a picture of her wearing the white strapless flow-y gown and in  blink of an eye the decision was unanimous.  The ivory chiffon wedding gown with ruffle detail and lace was hands down THE perfect dress for Jeanine.  To top the already perfect dress off, the consultant added a champagne colored belt with small champagne and white flowers on it and a little bit of beading.  It made the whole gown come together perfectly.

After very little hesitation, the consultant handed Jeanine a bell, told her to make a wish and ring the bell signifying that SHE FOUND THE GOWN! She closed her eyes and made her wish and then rang the bell and the store cheered.  She took her gown off and changed back into her clothes and came out all smiles.

The paper work was filled out and the dress paid for - it's official hers!  It should arrive in the store in about 3 months, then it's alterations, the last fitting, and then WEDDING TIME!  All and all we were only at David's Bridal for just over an hour and she looks stunning in her dress.  

Below... enjoy the image showing the stunning ruffled detail of her dress.

xoxo Beansie so happy I got to share this experience with you!