Still Cooking.

So, I could start this post off by apologizing profusely for my absence. I'm the worst blogger, sorry I never update, blah blah blah.

Or I could just skip all that and get into it.

Here's some stuff that's happened since last time:

1. David and I are getting married. I KNOW, RIGHT? We're deep in the forest of wedding-planning with approximately 4 months to go until the happy day. I am artsing and crafting all over the place. I am weeping over caterers. I am keeping a running list of songs to play at the reception. And I am loving the hell out of my fiancé. Planning a wedding is one of the most enormous, exhausting, exhilerating things I have ever done.

2. David is in graduate school for his MBA (Masters of Business Administration).

3. I am still working for the state if Minnesota (39 hours per week, y'all) and still loathing every moment of it.

4. I've cooked some pretty damn amazing things in the last year.

5. But maybe not quite as awesome as what David made me for dinner tonight. This was his first Saturday off since January and he probably won't have another one until the wedding (September 1, 2012!) We really took advantage of every moment.

We slept in until 8:00am (for people who normally get up around 5:00am, this was heavenly) and went grocery shopping first thing to get it out of the way. It was supposed to start raining later in the day, but the morning--although cloudy and crisp--was clear. We headed to the park to play catch for an hour.

Afterward, we came home and watched some TEDtalks on food systems and agriculture (we are food people. Um, clearly) while drinking beer and working on wedding arts and crafts.

Yes! (A quick aside; bear with me).

In the interest of saving money while simultaneously indulging my inner craft-whore, I decided to make all of the decorations for our wedding reception!

I'm making paper flowers out of book pages (David and I are also book people) and using paint chips swiped from hardware stores to make garlands. Here's a sneak peak:

ANYWAY. Around 3:30pm we packed up the art supplies and spent the next four hours making dinner. Actually, David spent the next four hours making dinner, and I kept him company and documented things on Instagram. Here's how our evening went, start to finish:

Lamb shank stewed with caramelized onions, prunes, and garlic, topped with mint and served with an Israeli couscous with quinoa, parsley, shallots, and toasted pine nuts. ***

Recipes adapted (rather loosely) from: 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/pine-nut-and-preserved-lemon-couscous-recipe/index.html

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/12/fall-apart-lamb-with-prunes-recipe.html

Am I the luckiest, or what?

***We didn't realize this until after the fact, but this is basically the Lamb Stew with Dried Plums that Katniss is so obsessed with in THE HUNGER GAMES. She is correct; it's freaking amazing.

belated blogging: where the hell did the last two weeks go?!

Blogging is hard. Apparently, you actually have to be self-disciplined and make a commitment to consistency. No one thought to mention that when I started talking awhile back about starting a blog to document this transition. Thanks, guys.

SO MUCH IS GOING ON. It's crazy.

I can't believe it's already midway through September! David and I leave for Minnesota in 13 days. THIRTEEN DAYS. I'm really beginning to feel the enormity of what we're doing. This decision certainly was not made lightly, but in the initial stages it definitely took on a dream-like quality. As we made our plans we talked about our freedoms and fears and spent a lot of time being cozy and confiding in one another. In a way I felt as though we were in our own private bubble, and that all of the changes were happening within and between us. Now I find that as we're hurtling closer toward our departure date everything has become external. We check things off our To Do lists and suddenly our private hopes and dreams for the future are becoming grounded in reality in a way that is both exhilarating and terrifying. I can honestly say I never imagined myself moving to Minnesota. But I can also say--just as honestly--that there's no where else I'd rather go. I always have been and always will be every bit an emotional romantic, and this is no exception: I want to be where David is and nowhere else.

I haven't just spent these past two weeks in deep existential lovey-dovey thought, however! Initially I had plans to write separate blog posts about all of the things I'm about to mention. I even drafted a few paragraphs and saved them along the way! But time is truly quicker than I am. I thought it better to give you the rundown than to surrender myself to the undertow! So, as Inigo Montoya would say:

Let me s'plain. No. There is too much. Let me sum up.

David and I were back in Massachusetts over Labor Day weekend because my wonderful friends Dan and Niccie got MARRIED. Tied the knot. Got hitched. I was so, so happy to be there. Congratulations to you both, and thank you so much for letting me share the day with you!

That trip also served as an opportunity to say goodbye to some of my extended family members. Chances are I won't be back in Boston for any significant length of time until next summer, which feels a little bit strange.

David and I have both given our notice at work, which was a huge weight hanging over us. I feel so relieved now that it's over with! I'm essentially in charge of finding my own replacement so I've been combing through resumes and fielding phone calls for most of the last week. I have this week to really wrap things up as far as projects I'm working on, and then a week to train whomever Pamela decides to hire as my replacement.

I bought my last ever monthly metrocard (and then lost it and had to replace it, but whatever) which was an unexpectedly poignant moment for me.

I've been making the rounds, saying goodbye to friends, getting things done. This Saturday David and I are having our Goodbye Party at the Beer Garden in Astoria! If you're in the city I insist that you stop by.

I also got my hair cut. Now, here's the thing. When we first, first made the decision to move to the midwest, David asked me what I would most miss and regret leaving behind--family and friends being the obvious answer and therefore excluded. "My hair dresser," I replied instantly. I didn't even wait a beat. I've been getting my haircut by Melissa at Devachan for the last three years, and I am not at all exaggerating when I say that this salon changed my life. I'm so upset about the fact that she won't be able to cut my hair regularly anymore that I actually can't think about it. Luckily there is apparently a former Devachan stylist who now works in Chicago, which is a totally reasonable 8 hours away from Minneapolis. So it looks like I'll be getting most of my future haircuts in Chi-town. But whenever I can swing it, Melissa, I'm running right back to you! I'm bound to visit NYC every now and again!

We still have a lot of packing to do, and tonight, I think, we're going to map out our drive from the East Coast to the Mid West! (Midwest? One word or two? These are the things I need to learn, along with being able to identify the Great Lakes and accepting the fact that the Twin Cities are urban as opposed to suburban. I've got my work cut out for me!)