Throwback Thursday: Crumbs Bakery

It's kind of sad to think that cupcakes from Crumbs can now be considered a subject for "Throwback Thursday" since they somewhat recently closed all their shops due to bankruptcy! What?! Why now?! Howard surprised me one day when he brought home two cupcakes in celebration of our 2nd anniversary. I was really in the mood for chocolate, so he was a great best friend in that he went to the bakery after work to deliver it to my tummy! 

This is the Blackout. Well, maybe I should say that this was the Blackout. Surprisingly, the descriptions are still available on the website as is the pop-up to sign up for email updates. This one is described as follows: Chocolate cake filled with fudge mixed with vanilla custard, topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting and chocolate crumbs drizzled with chocolate.

It wasn't my favorite one out of the four we've been able to try. I think the one I liked the most was the Devil's Food because it didn't have a custard filling but still was heavy on the chocolate! We probably also aren't great judges of what makes a good cupcake since we split the second one on another day, so it spent some time in the fridge yet we still enjoyed it. But realistically, we are very easily pleased, and being able to get a fancy cupcake like this was a tiny bit like having a taste of Disney World here at home. We shared a chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Starring Rolls during one of our trips with my parents, so in my mind, I associate big treats like this with the most magical place on earth. It probably also reminds me of WDW because of how much Emma enjoys the cupcakes there too!

Throwback Thursday: Biking in the Poconos

My grandparents used to have a house in the Poconos where all the family would go on mini-vacations. I remember getting really excited once we found out that we were going there. It was extra fun when we were there with our cousins because that meant walking just a short distance down the road to the lake where we could skip rocks in the water, pretend to push the huge unmovable boulders, jump from rock to rock outside of the house, compete with a small plastic foosball table, and ride our bikes. There was one bedroom that had bunk beds, and that was the only time my older brother and I were exposed to them, so it was such a treat! We'd also go downstairs to the basement that was pretty much empty except for a dart board. Thinking about all the things we did then makes me wonder if many kids in this current generation would be satisfied spending a weekend like that since we didn't have electronics and couldn't really watch anything on the TV that didn't even get good reception. 

My older brother and I enjoyed riding our bikes all the time back at home, but we could only ride on the sidewalk. At the Poconos house, we could ride on the road because there were very few cars that traveled that area. Even so, we'd stick to the side of the road and call out to each other, "Car!" and stop until it passed. There was one occasion where I was trying to turn my bike around after a car had passed, but instead of moving it in the right direction, I actually started rolling into this ditch of like, wheat or weeds! I just kept laughing and laughing even though I had no clue how I was going to get out of that situation since I continued going farther and farther down! I distinctly remember what it felt like when I was stuck in that spot, but what makes it even more hilarious now is the fact that we have it preserved forever because my dad was recording a video! Haha, why he didn't come over and help me is beyond me! 

A much more pleasant bike riding memory would be all the times I sat on the little kiddie seat on the back of the big bike. Above is a picture of my grandpa and me enjoying one of those rides. When we sat in that seat, that meant we were actually able to go our journeys farther away from the house since an adult was riding. I'm glad that I have so many memories at the house but especially with my grandpa!

Throwback Thursday: Wedding Dress Shopping

You know how people have guilty pleasure TV shows? Well, I have to admit that one of my guilty pleasures is Say Yes to the Dress! The funny thing is that I think more than half of the brides on the show are completely ridiculous with their $10,000 budgets and wanting bling and "wow factor" and blah blah blah. There are, of course, the brides who have been through trials and are finally getting to celebrate a wonderful occasion. I love hearing those stories. However, regardless of the type of bride, I still enjoy watching the show when I am struck with the mood to have a Netflix marathon. Every time I watch an episode though, I am reminded of my own wedding dress and how I ended up choosing it and purchasing it!

In the same way that I had limited criteria for my flowers (not heavy to carry and no baby's breath), I also only had a few requirements for my wedding dress. I wanted it to be chiffon so that it would be flowy as I liked the Greek goddess look, and it needed to be light and easy to manage so that I could sit and stand without issues and go to the bathroom by myself! I had read what in my mind would be considered HORROR stories of brides needing their maid of honor or bridal party to hold up their dress while they went to the bathroom. One of my college friends even said she didn't go to the bathroom for 14 hours straight because of her elaborate dress. There was no way that that was going to be me.

My requirements were pretty minimal mainly because I was very particular about the things I didn't like, so it was very easily narrowed down. I didn't like satin because in my mind it looked like lingerie, and I also didn't necessarily like buttons down the back or the the corset look (though I clearly understand why that would make fitting into a dress a LOT easier). But I knew that when I finally went to try on dresses, I had to keep my mind open and try on things I might not have thought to try on.

I did some casual dress browsing with my mom at Group USA when we just happened to be at Jersey Gardens. Nothing really came out of that except that my mom finally knew why dresses cost so much because she thought I'd be able to pick up a $99 dress from the David's Bridal sales. It was good to hear because the dress I actually really liked (other than the low neckline that I was hoping could be adjusted) was this Maggie Sottero dress for about $950 or so. Doesn't it totally look like something I would wear considering it's a v-neck with tightness in the waist?

David's Bridal was really where I decided to look next. Howard and I got engaged in July 2010, and I was browsing in August 2010! But I had no intention to purchase, but I figured it would be fun at this point in time to just search. When my mom, Howard, Matt and I had plans to go eat barbecue at Big Ed's in NJ, I called David's Bridal to see if I could just walk in and search the sale racks. They suggested I make an appointment so I could be taken care of although it did make me nervous at that point! Though many brides enjoy the idea of having someone help them choose and try on gowns, I'm just not that kind of shopper. I liked setting my own pace, trying things on my own, and asking only my mom if I needed another opinion. But I guess I didn't have much of a choice!

Our lunch wasn't as tasty to me because I was just feeling anxious. If you know me, you know I do not like new experiences! I'm the kind of person who likes to be prepared for everything that's going to happen, so not having had time to read reviews or anything like that meant I couldn't relax. But I did the best I could to enjoy lunch!

I'm pretty sure I ended up bringing home most of my lunch, but that's not anything strange. I do that all the time even when I'm not going wedding dress browsing afterwards, haha.

After lunch, we hit a farm or something where my mom was searching for some plants. From what I remember, that was the real reason why we were actually in NJ, and everything else just happened since we were in the area. Howard and I took this picture when we were surrounded by all the trees and the nursery.

It was time to finally head to David's Bridal! I wasn't expecting much because I know some people just don't like the place, but I didn't have high hopes about finding my dress. I just needed a taste of what it was all about. I had looked through their dresses online a few times and favorited a bunch. I printed out the sheet and handed it to the consultant I was assigned. We went to the aisle with my size so she could pull the dresses I requested. While we were going through them, I pointed out others that intrigued me, and she snagged those too. She even pulled one off a mannequin for me as we were walking to the dressing room because it caught my eye.

The actual trying on of the dresses went smoothly too. I purposely wore boy shorts that day so that I wouldn't have to worry about being seen by anyone since boy shorts cover more skin than what some girls wear at the beach! The consultant was excellent though and literally just handed the dresses to me through the curtain opening and helped me zip up or tied the back only if I needed the help and asked her for it. I'm not sure if that's what was normal for the David's Bridal attendants or if she could tell I wasn't all for being exposed if I didn't have to be. I mean, I've been to countless doctors' appointments and had two surgeries before, so I'm not really someone who's nervous about stuff like that, but I definitely feel there's a difference between a doctor and an employee of a wedding salon even if both have been in the business for ages! 

The first dress I tried on was the chiffon dress I saw online that didn't really look that great in the picture on the website. Later on when read the reviews, I saw that a lot of people wrote that it didn't look special in the picture but was completely different on. This was pretty much exactly what I wanted except for the fact that it didn't have straps. Well, I'm definitely not spoiling anything by saying that this was the dress I ended up purchasing at $450 (haha, it's currently $300 right now after YEARS of being available!)! But of course, I had to try on more dresses.

My mom took these pictures and said the back was very pretty. I didn't really even get to see just how detailed it was until I had the dress at home! It gave it something extra so that it wasn't too plain in the back. I actually thought I wanted a dress without a train too, but my mom and the consultant said that it would look nice during the ceremony if I had a train and that it would end up being bustled for the reception (that's a whole different story for another day!). So at the end of the appointment, I did end up buying this dress in petite to possibly save money with alterations. It still ended up needing hemming anyway when I got my actual dress, so I really should have bought the regular size.

I do have to say that even though my mom and I did love this dress, I didn't have any emotional breakdown or strong attachment to this gown when I had it on. There was no crystallizing moment that confirmed this was my dress. I guess I'm not the type of person to have that kind of epiphany in the first place.

The other dresses I tried on were just nothing compared to the first one. As you can see, the dress I ended up buying was the only one where I didn't feel as if I needed to put a Photobucket sticker to cover any areas I just don't feel like showcasing on my blog, haha. Personally, I also feel that some of them had a cheaper look to them including the satin one below that looked like a comforter. That definitely stuck in my head after an episode of "Say Yes" where the sister of the bride kept saying, "It looks like a down comforter."

Other dresses just weren't as flattering either. I wasn't a fan of the sweetheart neckline, and if the tightest part of the dress wasn't accentuating my waist, I looked extra short and dumpy.

But like I said earlier, I knew I needed to keep an open mind. That's why I even put on a dress that had this kind of back. After losing weight before the wedding and worrying that my dress wouldn't be tight enough around me (I did not want to be the kind of bride who kept tugging her dress up throughout the whole day), I definitely understood why people go for this corset back. If you gain weight or lose weight, the tying would be adjusted that day without any issues!

I feel that I may have tried on more dresses than what I have pictured, but at the same time, I think this really may have been it! From what I recall, there was another dress or two that I chose that I knew wouldn't work after trying the others on. I joked with my mom that some of the dresses would require a trusty ol' black tank top that I like to place under a lot of my sweaters and tops! In fact, I wear them so often, that they eventually rip and I have to buy new ones! I guess I should be happy that Forever 21 sells them so cheaply so I can just replenish my collection with new ones, haha.

The other dresses were definitely unsuccessful, and so I put on the original dress in the petite size and just knew it was the dress. The consultant said that with David's Bridal, they don't know just how long they will have a dress available. It could have been a sales pitch, but I wasn't willing to risk it. I would have been upset had I lost out on the opportunity. Plus, there was a $50 sale from the original $500 price, so that meant I kept to my "no more than $500" plan! I did obsessively check the website thereafter until our wedding day, and the price NEVER dropped lower than what I paid.

It was definitely unexpected that my casual browsing would result in my purchasing my wedding gown! Though I had to wait almost two years before I could actually wear it, I'm glad it worked out the way it did. It was just my mom and me discussing what worked and didn't work. Even though I initially thought I'd show Howard the dresses I tried on since I didn't feel as if I was seriously shopping, the consultant and my mom suggested that I not, so he and my younger brother sat outside on one of the couches throughout the entire appointment!

And no, I technically didn't need help going to the bathroom, haha. It was so easy to slip on and off that my cousins Danielle and Nikki just unzipped the back so I could step out of it and then step back in after I was done! That in itself definitely confirmed that this dress was the one!

Throwback Thursday: Hashbrown Cake

I spent the day at my parents' house today because I had to go get a minor issue on our car fixed. Someone in our apartment building accidentally scratched the side when backing out, so my dad and I drove to the garage at 9 in the morning. Long story short, the car wasn't fixed today, but it wasn't a waste of a day because I also had plans to clean up the stuff that I didn't take with me when I got married and moved out. It was a lot of hard work because the bulk of the day was spent moving furniture and organizing things that weren't even mine! It's a good thing I actually LOVE organizing! And, of course, I got to spend the day with my parents but mainly my mom who was in the rooms with me organizing as well. 

My arms and legs are beyond achy at this point from moving a bookcase a few times along with a dresser and desk. They have that "I carried too much weight" feeling inside them, but I know after a night of rest, I should be okay. Considering the exhaustion, I'm going to write a quite "Throwback Thursday" post for tonight.

Back in 2004, a bunch of us at church were talking about how cake is not always really exciting, but if the cake were made out of something like hashbrowns, there'd be smiles on our faces! My friend Teresa (I call her "Tough" because she, my cousin Danielle, and I used to be "Rough, Tough, and Dough") decided to actually surprise us one day with hashbrown cakes! They were for our birthdays (belated and early), and Danielle and I were extremely excited about it! Teresa even popped candles in those delicious McD's patties of goodness.

Since then, I have grown to really like cake as long as it has some sort of chocolate in it (ex. vanilla cake with chocolate frosting or chocolate cake or chocolate mousse), but there's something extra special about the one that my friend made for me. I will always remember the deliciousness fondly!

And no, we didn't eat all of those hashbrowns in one sitting!

Throwback Thursday: "Driving" to Florida in Florida

I don't think I've ever officially done a "Throwback Thursday" post on any social media outlet, but considering today is my cousin Christina's birthday, I thought it would be appropriate to post this picture! Happy birthday, Gina!

My older brother Jonathan, me, my cousin Brian, and my cousin Gina

This was obviously taken MANY years ago in the early 90's when my family and my Uncle Danny and his family went to Florida together. When in Orlando, there are definitely going to be trips to the Disney World parks, but when you're with cousins, there's even a lot of fun to be had at our home away from home for the week! I actually have very vivid memories of this moment at my parents' timeshare and not just because it was captured on camera. We were pretending to be in a vehicle, so that's why you see my brother with his hands up because he was driving. I had my arms up because I was supposedly relaxing during the ride. You can also see that behind Gina, we packed the trunk of our vehicle because those are our little pillows and Jon's blanket and my blue and yellow duffel bag. Looking at this photo really makes me long for the less complicated days of our childhood.