Wedding Planning – The Venue

Once we knew the direction or feel for the wedding, we needed to find a venue that matched the formalness of the wedding my daughter wanted. Not an easy task. Venues in Knoxville tend to be geared towards outside weddings or more casual weddings. 

The importance of the backdrop cannot be stressed enough for any wedding. The venue is like an important guest at the wedding. The church we are members of was very formal. We also found an old beautiful train station from the late 1800’s that would be perfect. Gold gilded crown molding, 30 foot ceilings, stained glass, and intricately tiled floors. Perfection itself!!! This venue made decorating for the reception a piece of cake. 

This picture is from another wedding.....

As I blogged previously, the school system decided to transform this beautiful piece of architecture into a magnet high school. 

So five months until the wedding date, we had to scramble for a new venue. Now I would love to say we found the perfect back-up venue but we didn’t. You cannot cry over spilt milk. 

We learned how to transform a pretty space into one that would provide the grandeur we were looking for all along. Rented candelabras, table cloths, gold charges and the right floral centerpieces help lift the space up to the formalness we needed. 

Most brides have to transform their spaces to make it fit their wedding. Renting the right pieces is a good way to achieve this goal. In addition, the rental companies will let you to set up tables at their establishments to preview how it would look. 

Next up the wedding to do lists we made and kept, weekly and monthly

Drying Herbs

My herb garden is seriously in need of pruning. I mean, the herbs are everywhere. With the garden flourishing and I cannot possibly use all the herbs… and neither can all my neighbors. But I have a plan… one that will benefit my friends and family, hint, hint, for the holiday season.

So to capture some of the summer flavor in the middle of winter, I am going to take bunches of oregano

Dill

Rosemary

Thyme

And Sage. 

Other herbs will be gathered and dried with a dehydrator…a later blog post.

To harvest herbs:

1.    Cut healthy branches
2.   Remove any dry or diseased leaves.
3.   Rinse with water and pat dry.
4.   Remove lower leaves from branches
5.   Bundle several stems together with string
6.   Place bundles in a cool dry place, about two weeks.
7.  Check to see if the herbs crumble easily.

Once dry, I crumble them into four oz. canning jars and label. To store, I found a nice cool place for them. 

Voila, herbs harvested and little hostess gifts ready for the holiday. In addition, dried herbs should only last one year, so you should clean out your pantry from any old herbs.

Prepping the Pantry

We are 18 months away from a total kitchen remodel and one of my sore spots in my current kitchen is the pantry, or lack of pantry. July is the month that my pantry gets a total overhaul. 

First, I will be canning my garden harvest and local veggies and fruits in the next month. All the canning jars need a good washing and I need to make room for all the bounty. Three cases of jam, a case of tomatoes and tomato sauce, ½ of case of peaches, several jars of pepper hash, some pickles and whatever else I might decide to put up will need to find room on the shelves. 

Second, we are one month away from school starting back up and I need to get the pantry ready for some serious baking in the fall. I love baking as the weather cools and I need to stock up on flour, sugar, etc. 

Space in my pantry is precious so every inch counts. My pantry is a closet and not very pretty... you wouldn't like it either. So I love to look at pictures of pretty pantries. Here are a few via PinInterest, follow me if you want!!!

I would love to have enough space to put drawers and appliances.

 

Love the glass jars and labels

 

Here is the before and after, don't you love the wallpaper in the back of this one?

Oh, what dreamy baskets and organizations. 

Are you happy with your pantry or do you hate yours as much as I hate mine?

Pork Lettuce Wraps

We love lettuce wraps and they are nice and low calorie. And this recipe is delicious… I love the marinade and could not get enough of it.

To fix the marinade, in a Ziploc bag, add garlic, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, vegetable oil and salt and pepper. I used thin sliced pork chops and placed the chops in the bag and coated thoroughly. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

 

To make the sauce, whisk the lime juice, fish sauce, granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Stir in the carrot, chile sauce and garlic.

I was going to grill the chops but it started to rain and had to broil them. Either way, remove the pork from the marinade and grill, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes, then cut into strips. 

Assemble the lettuce wraps and serve with the carrot sauce. I added an egg roll and what a delicious dinner.  

Ingredients

For the Pork:

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds thin boneless pork chops

For the Sauce and Fixings:

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated carrot
• 1 teaspoon Asian chile sauce, such as sambal oelek
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated

Menu Week Ending July 31st

Well, I had remodeling office plans, gardening plans and cleaning out the potting shed plans but with my cartoon-like spill on Friday. I am playing it by ear. My ankle feels better but ummm…. My shoulder is really hurting. So we are going to see what the doctor says on Monday. 

If I get the a-okay…I will be painting some furniture, cleaning out some weeds and re-arranging the potting shed. One of my tasks to complete this week was a trip to Ikea but again, we will have to play it by ear. 

I also have some kind neighbors to thank for removing a tree on Saturday. My favorite gift to give is home-baked goods. Lemon Meringue pie is at the top of my list for those boys. 

Last but not least, thank you for all your kind words on Facebook and this blog. I am going to thank each of you individually.

Monday

 Cheese Grits

Green Salad

Biscuits

Tuesday

Chicken Lime Tacos

Refried Beans with Monterray Jack Cheese

Queso Dip and Chips

Wednesday

Dried Peach Stuffed Pork Loin

Baked Potatoes

Sauteed Zuchini

Thursday

Shrimp Po Boys

Red Cabbage Cole Slaw

Friday

Steak Spinach Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing

  

Saturday

 

Tomato Corn Pizza

Cesar Salad

Sunday

Bridal Shower

I am linking to Yvonne’s Menu party. She is amazing and has awesome food!!!

We bring you this interruption!!!

 Sprained but not broken!!! I had a little setback yesterday, I fell and sprained my ankle. 

 I will be back up and running tomorrow. But for today, I need to rest and put my ankle up.