Back and ready for action!

I'm officially hitched, back at home, and ready to jump back into the some blogging action. The weather was gorgeous, I got to see all my family again, and I just had such a wonderful time. But for now, I just wanted to share a photo from the day:

I got a lot of kitchen gadgets as wedding presents (thank you all so much!) so I have a ton of fancy new things to try, and I will be doing quite a few posts on them. I also have those Dark Elf Black Dragon photos that I promised, which will hopefully go up tomorrow.

A Little Wedding Break

I'm heading up to New Jersey today to stay with my parents until the wedding, since there's lots to do, and I can't do it all from VA. Actually, when this post goes up I will all ready be on the road. Well, that assumes I will have gotten the car packed without forgetting anything important.

Things have just been so crazy here lately. Hubby-to-be has been contemplating a job change, which also entails a huge relocation, all the while I've been trying to get the wedding together. Because of the sewing machine snafu, I wasn't able to get some posts together to go up while I am busy doing the whole wedding thing. Sorry about that.

I'll be back in a week, and I have some cool things in store for when I get home. Just a teaser:

Wedding Dress Blues

As I mentioned before, Hubby-to-be and I are tying the knot in just about a month. The big day is November 5th. So, not surprisingly, I have a thousand things to do. This week, one of those things was trying on my dress again. I wanted to make sure it still fit right, that it looked right, all that.

It has a corset-style back, and since Hubby-to-be isn't allowed to see it, I had to get creative to try it on while I was home alone. I laced the back up, tied a loose knot, slid it over my head, and then tightened the lacing up while it was one. It worked pretty well.

I thought the skirt looked kind of weird at the hips, like puffed out. But the train was spread out, so I took it off to bustle it up and see how the hips looked then. Then I discovered something surprising.

There. is. no. bustle.

But... but... the woman in the dress boutique bustled the sample dress for me in the shop. I saw it, and it was gorgeous. I did some looking into it on the internet, and it turns out I had to actually order the bustle on the dress, it's an upcharge. Uh, what? It has a 5 foot long train! I bought a dress from a respectable designer and the bustle doesn't come included with the dress?

After a little initial panicking, I realized I could just put in a French bustle without too much trouble. After a lot of pinning, trying on and taking off I finally got a two point bustle in place, and it looks really close to the one I saw on the sample dress. Best part, I can actually dance during the reception now! Woohoo!

Crisis averted, I now only have 999 things left to do.

Home Made Vanilla Extract

Fall has officially begun (according to the unseasonably cool weather I've had lately) and there is nothing so lovely as baking in the fall. Something that is critically important to a plethora of my favorite recipes is vanilla. I love cooking with vanilla beans, but they're not always right for baked goods.

For those fall favorites, you really need vanilla extract. Unfortunately, the fake stuff is, well, fake and the good stuff is frankly quite expensive. But I have a good solution for you- making your own! It's easy, inexpensive, and it tastes great (in your baked goods).

All you need is: vanilla beans, vodka, and a glass container. No joke. Well, those things and a good, sharp knife. I prefer to use amber glass bottles because I like the look, but you can use whatever glass bottle you like as long as it has a tight fitting cap.

What You'll Need:

3 vanilla beans
1 cup vodka (100 proof is ideal)
Glass container

The Process:

Slice your vanilla beans in half lengthwise. Put them into your bottle, cutting them in half if necessary to fit. Pour in your vodka and cap the bottle. Now put on your patient pants and wait. Give it a good shake once a week for about 2 months. Ideally, it should be stored in a dark place unless you used an amber glass bottle (sunlight is not good for it). After 2 months, it is ready to use and will last you for years if you top it off with a little more vodka after each use.

Vodka is typically used because it does not have a flavor that interferes with the flavor of the beans. However, you could use a rum if you want to have a little extra depth to your extract. I have a bottle of each, because vanilla rum extract (as I've dubbed it) doesn't work for all baked goods, but is really good in many cakes.