85 to 21

We're back from the honeymoon! We went from a sunshiny 85 degrees in Bora Bora to a freezing cold 21 degrees in DC. We weren't really prepared when we got off the plane. But we're home and the trip was fantastic. Pics and updates coming this weekend.

Gobble Gobble

We spent Thanksgiving in Richmond, and woke up Thursday morning to a crash. Dominic opened the refrigerator door and a dish of stuffing came tumbling out.

Perfect formation still, but covered in tiny shards of glass. Into the trash it went. Thankfully the turkey had already been stuffed.

John wrestled to get the giblets out of the frozen turkey

I tried my hand in the kitchen

Brittany got sassy with the stupid dinner rolls that burn year after year. No different this year.

Some family shots

Finally time to eat

So much to be thankful for! That was our last Thanksgiving in Richmond as everyone prepares to make the big move back to the Cuse. Or Chicago. Depending on the family member.

Cheers!

Earlier this month we had friends over to celebrate...life? friendship? love? happiness? All of the above! We wanted to bring everyone together to raise a glass and say Cheers! John Buss put together a great menu and spent over 24 hours preparing. I goofed around in my craftroom to help decorate. Pics below, but no evidence that we actually had people over. I set my camera down when the first guests arrived and didn't pick it back up the entire night! I still can't believe it, but you'll have to take my word for it that the apartment was bustling with joy.

Meatball slidders coming together.

He made the sauce

and the rolls too.

Cheeeeeeeeeese

My appetizer contribution!

Taste-testing the buckeyes

Preparing the bar

It was really great to see everyone and spend a relaxing evening together.

Soft Pretzel Sunday

A few weekends ago John Buss had a hankerin' for soft pretzels and dug up this recipe by Food Network's Alton Brown. They are DELICIOUS. And perfect for Sunday football days. He has made them the last few Sundays and they were a huge hit when we had people over a couple of weekends ago. They are really easy to make and an awesome snack food.

The first batch he made in the shape of old fashioned pretzels, but since then he has just done pretzels sticks - easier for dipping.

A quick boil.

Brushed with butter and salt.

Served golden brown with mustard.

Yum.

Swagbucks + Groupon + Coupons = Love

If you aren't already using Swagbucks you need to be! I first posted about the online search tool back when I got my wedding shoes for free using Amazon giftcards I earned by accumulating Swagbucks. I am all about discounts and this is such a simple way to earn money towards Amazon.com purchases. I have been doing a lot of Christmas shopping there and the $5 giftcards are a huge help!

This week Swagbucks just launched two new ways to earn - Daily Deals and Coupons.

Have you ever purchased a Groupon? It is one of several Daily Deal sites where you can score great deals on restaurants, shopping, etc. If you click through the Swagbucks Daily Deals section to make your purchase at one of these sites you will also be rewarded Swagbucks! I just purchased the American Apparel Groupon ($25 for a $50 purchase) and was instantly awarded 280 Swagbucks. I love American Apparel Leggings, but they are $26. With the Groupon I'll be able to get two for the price of one. Sweet.

The Coupon section of Swagbucks allows you to print grocery and other assorted coupons. I used one tonight on fish sticks! Every coupon that you print and use will earn you 10 Swagbucks. Everyone knows how much I love coupons, so to be further rewarded for using them is awesome!

So what are you waiting for? Head to Swagbucks and sign up! You can read through my original post to see how I maximize my earnings. I promise you'll be able to put those $5 Amazon giftcards to good use!

Holiday Cards

For the past few years I have spent hours in the craft room making our holiday cards. This year we are going to do things a little differently. We are going to utilize one of our wedding pictures and have our cards printed through Shutterfly! They are offering a great promotion for bloggers right now where you can earn 50 FREE holiday cards. If you have a blog click here to learn more. I am so excited about this deal! Shutterfly has an awesome collection of card designs to choose from. And if you have kiddos they have a ton of fun designs!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Ho Ho Ho

Mod Snowflakes

We love receiving photo holiday cards in the mail. We are looking forward to filling up the front of our fridge with pics! Be on the lookout for ours to see which wedding picture and Shutterfly design we decide on.

My vintage brooch bouquet

I love everything about this bouquet. I love the time my mom and I spent together shopping for brooches. I love that my mom and my sister spent more time together shopping for brooches. I love that John Buss turned the brooches into the bouquet. I love how he perfected it. I love that I have a brooch from each of my grandmothers. I love that when I walked down the aisle I had my friend's grandmother's rosary wrapped around the stem. I love how it is a forever keepsake to remind me of our wedding day. Love love love.

To see more pics click here.

Eat Wonky!

Food trucks seem to be all the rage in most major cities recently - including DC - and I am taking full advantage! In addition to the flashy commercialized food trucks that use social media to promote themselves and their locations, I am lucky (???) enough to work in an area of the city that is currently under heavy construction. That means that there are plenty of old school food trucks waiting around for the construction workers to break. Well, construction workers and me. I love that you can get a huge portion of a home cooked meal for next to nothing. It sure beats a $9 sandwich from a chain shop.
I follow all of the new trucks on Twitter - they tweet out their locations so you can find them throughout the city. Last week John Buss and I were struggling with dinner plans and it just so happened that the Eat Wonky truck was a couple of blocks from our place.

The menus are typically short and sweet - you can imagine there isn't much room to work in those trucks.

I walked away with a grilled cheese, wonky fries, a whoopie pie, and the ultimate wonky dog: hot dog topped with french fries, poutine, and squeaky cheese.

Everything was delicious!

Happy Birthday Meg!

Meghan's birthday was this past Monday so a bunch of us met up to celebrate!

A Night in Philly

We spent the Monday night following our wedding in Philly. A little getaway to settle down from all of the craziness and enjoy some time together before going back to work.

The drive from Syracuse to Philly was filled with beautiful fall colors.

After we checked in to the hotel we took a walk around the city...

...and grabbed some yummy sandwiches at the indoor market.

Later that night we cozied up to the hotel bar for our favorite cocktail...

...before heading to a late dinner at Branzino's - an adorable BYOB italian restaurant.

by far the best calamari we have ever had.

we headed back to the hotel...

...and got back just as a thunderstorm was rolling in.

a perfect night away as Mr. & Mrs!

The Weekend

Our first weekend home as a married couple (!!!) and it was exactly how we wanted it to be. Lots of down time, catching up on chores, delicious food & drink, and enjoying each other's company. Perfect. On Saturday John Buss made roasted pork with balsamic onions on garlic bread with a side of cheesy mashers. Not a colorful dish but boy was it good. This guy can cook!

Mr. John Buss & Mrs. Lisa Rossi

Thanks to Dena for the awesome pictures and collages. She rocks. More to come.

The final countdown

We're in the homestretch! This past month has been a whirlwind of crafts, planning, dress fittings, seating charts, and everything else wedding related! JB is already home in the Cuse and I head up tomorrow. We are out of control excited for Saturday! My colleagues threw me a surprise shower today. So sweet. And look at the adorable cake they had made.

Bachelorette Weekend

Simply put, I am spoiled rotten. I have the best maid of honor, the most amazing sisters, and gosh darn fantastic friends. 12 of them came together Labor Day weekend to rock it out for my bachelorette party in Rehoboth Beach. We had an awesome beach house with the perfect front porch, more rum punch than any of us could handle, awesome homemade food, fashion shows, makeup sessions, great playlists, beach time, fun prizes, laughs, and growing friendships all around. It was so great for me to see friends from all parts of my life come together and have an amazing time.

Sisters

Imaginary friends

604 Representing

Friends since before birth (as Carrie dubbed us)

I can't thank everyone enough for making this such a perfect weekend. I wish we could all come together more often. Looking forward to more celebrating at the wedding in just a few weeks!