Ever wonder?

How a fried egg would turn out on your panini press?

Yeah, me either.

I met Ree!!!

Chances are if you've talked to me on the side you know I love Ree and her blog, The Pioneer Woman. I've wanted to meet her for quite some time, but timing has just never worked out for when she's in town.

Earlier today I saw her tweet about being in Naperville, which isn't far from Johnny's work, which isn't too far from our house. So I met him at work and we drove out to the bookstore.

I was really nervous, so I texted Mara and Sophia to get rid of some giddy anxiety and tweeted with a bunch of you to pass the time.

I grew up a piano playing, ballet dancing, straight A kind of a gal, so I haven't led the most exciting life.

My celebrity spottings thus far have included handing Van Cliburn a bouquet of roses at a concert and asking him to blow my mom a kiss (which he did).

I also was in the same building as Joey McIntyre once. (He was Fiyero one of the three times I've seen Wicked.)

I know she's not a movie star (yet), but I kind of think of Ree in celebrity-like status. I've loved her books and her blog and seeing her on TV. I was going to have to walk up to her and talk! Eep!

Anyways- there I was, wearing my holey yoga pants, and the line finally dwindled down. There were 103 tickets and we were #98, so it had really dwindled down.

Ree sang Ethel Merman for the girls in line ahead of us, much to my delight. Then we approached her and I gushed bout loving her blog, and her, and Johnny and I talked about her little son that we find adorable, and then poof! it was over and I survived! She is so down to earth and sweet that I forgot my irrational fears of turning bright red, puking, or bursting into tears, embarrassing myself.



We were starved, so after we headed to a little Italian place just up the street, Rosebud. It was the first time either of us had eaten there, but J's friend highly recommended it.

I started with fried calamari. Hands down the best I've ever had! Delicious!

Then I had fetticine alfredo. (I went with a low-fat, low-cal dish since I have to fit into a wedding dress eventually.)

Johnny had some vodka penne dish. He almost always chooses vodka sauce dishes when we eat Italian. He loves them. And he ate this entire plate to prove it.

Then he had a creme brulee for dessert (I snuck a few spoonfuls of it). I ordered some cannolis to go, which I'll eat tomorrow in my PJs while catching up with 16 & Pregnant online since I watched every Glee episode in existence and now have to wait for new ones.

Sorry the restaurant photos are dim. I just have a point and shoot. Which brings me to a survey:

Royal Wedding Talk

Yes, I was one of those who stayed up all night to watch the Royal Wedding and I had a fantastic time!

I set up a little makeshift viewing area in the spare room/my office so I wouldn't disturb J. I used my monitor to stream it live on Hulu, lounging on the bed/couch while munching banana bread and tweeting.

(Ignore all the messy boxes and clutter, remember I'm in the middle of packing!)

Highlights:

-Seeing everybody's excitement on Twitter and around the world. It was such an "It's a Small World" moment to know billions were watching the same as me.

-Kate's dress was absolutely stunning. I loved the classic direction she went in with the lace, the neckline, her veil, and that tiara.

-The princes actually looking like I imagine princes SHOULD look. Sashes, medals, gloves, and all.

-Prince Harry sneaking a peek at Kate for William. Easily my favorite moment of the whole affair.


-The little flower girl covering her ears from the roar as William and Kate kissed on the balcony. I imagine my little face would look much the same at that moment, too.


Criticisms:

-Barbara Walters yapping constantly about inappropriate stuff: Diana's death NON-STOP, funerals, suicide, Harry being better looking than William, William's baldness INCESSANTLY, etc. I found it very disrespectful and tacky, personally. Most of it was gossipy and petty, rather than informative and interesting. She's a news anchor, not a high school cheerleader. Dial it back, Babs.

-Why can't William turn around SOONER to see his bride? He didn't get to see her until she was beside him? I feel like he should have gotten to see a full walking-down-the-aisle-towards-him moment for at least a few feet at the end.

Did you watch? What were your highlights/criticisms?

These are my confessions...

I haven't been cooking much lately.

My dad bought me this bottle of wine as a joke, but I think it's perfect.

Here's the back. So true, right?

Poe is so funny, he loves jumping on the bar stools and sitting up to the counter like he's going to be served. If you give him a fry this is his reaction every time! We love watching it and usually do it over and over, letting Corky reap the rewards!



All of you Glee tweeters, posters, and Facebookers finally piqued my curiosity and I started watching the first season on Netflix streaming.

Let's just say I was up until 6 am this morning watching while J happily snored next to me.

My favorites thus far (I'm only on episode 7 or 8 so don't ruin anything for me) has been I Could Have Danced All Night and Defying Gravity. Both were already personal favorites of mine, so it was cool to see them on the show because they aren't exactly BillBoard Top 100 chart toppers.

Also, is it normal to have fluctuating crushes between Finn, Mr. Shuester, and Puck?

I think Finn looks SO much like a knock off Stephen Colletti:


And Puck looks like he could be Shane West's brother:

Amiright!?! I know my hot boys.

This is what happens...

... when you accidentally turn the burner to LOW instead of OFF and don't notice for about an hour.

Pan Can Fundraiser

Mara of What's for Dinner? was one of the very first blogs I started reading two and a half years ago when I joined this awesome community. I found out that she lives near me, so we've met in real life a few times. She also recently took Johnny's and my engagement photos. Mara is as sweet as they come and I'm so glad that of all the food bloggers I follow, she's one of the few that happens to live near enough me to make that bond from "online" friend to "real life" friend.

As many of you know, Mara lost her dad in January to pancreatic cancer. This is now a cause near and dear to her heart. Next Saturday, April 30th Mara will be walking a 5K in her father's memory.

Her fundraising goal is $1,000 to benefit Pancreatic Cancer Research.

Today, Friday, April 22st from 8am - 9pm Mara has organized an online flea market fundraiser.

(Click the button above to be taken directly to her blog.)

Rumor has it that many friends and bloggers have donated a whole slew of items (some tasty!) to be bid on. Mara will update the blog a few times throughout the day to reflect the highest bids emailed to her.

Mara is such a great person and important member of our community. I really hope you go shop, bid on something, and/or donate to support her and this terrific cause!

Also, please spread the word throughout the day. Blog the link to Mara's flea market. Post it on Facebook for your family and friends. Tweet about it to your followers. Help get the word out!

Tea Towel Winner!

Hi everybody! Thank you so much for going and showing Mara some support for her PanCan 5k walk and fundraiser!

The PanCan fundraiser flea market will be Friday, April 22nd. It will be live from about 8am - 9pm. All bids will start at $10 and Mara will update the prices a few times throughout the day as she receives emails from bidders. I've heard that some really great bloggers have donated an array of tasty treats and amazing items! So make sure you stop by her blog tomorrow to peruse and shop!

The winner of the tea towels was jhitomi! I'll send you an email to get your address so I can mail these out to you!

Thank you again, and don't forget to stop by the flea market tomorrow!