Keepsake

I think this invitation set is brilliant. Michelle Rago worked closely with Grapevine Invitations to create an invitation suite that takes into account the rich history of the Nantucket area while keeping the set personalized by including the bride's love of books and the bride's fathers fascination with whales. The Nantucket area once had a major whaling industry and the journals whalers used to keep on their voyages served as inspiration. I think my favorite aspect of this set is the gorgeous linen covered book. What a wonderful keepsake!

Beautiful linen covered book that holds the invitation set.

Bows and Garlands

If you have deep pockets, good taste and happen to be in London then head on over to Bentley & Skinner on London's famous Bond Street. They have the most amazing antique jewelry collection... period. One could spend hours searching through their extensive collection and for those that live on the other side of the ocean you can search to your hearts content through their online search engine. A girl can dream right? Here are some gorgeous antique Edwardian diamond earrings. Which one's your favorite?

I smell like.... what???

So I chose my perfume, or my perfume has chosen me. I dragged Jack to Neiman Marcus (he has the good fortune of working two blocks off Michigan Avenue) and he was a good sport. As much as he huffs about going shopping with me, he knows he has good taste and he likes proving himself right. He didn't disappoint. We sniffed our way through 10 or so scents but we both kept going back to the Creed fragrances.

I wanted a perfume that was long lasting, subtle yet sensual, and suitable for an evening out on the town. I had a feeling I was probably going to veer towards the spicier scents vs the florals; and we did. I was tutored on how to wear perfume; it is important not to rub your wrists together after spraying perfume; it reduces, or bruises, the top layer of the perfume (I always thought it enhanced it). And a perfume smells different from person to person as we all have our individual body heat and inherent odor that personalizes the scents we wear.

My nose kept veering back to a lovely oriental scent called Tubereuse Indiana by Creed. A combination of tuberose, ambergrise, and amber with a welcoming hint of vanilla it is a non cloying, warm, sensual and elegant scent. It's also incredibly long-lived; the longer I wear it the sweeter and well-tempered it smells. The Creed specialist did something I've never seen before; she blended both the Tubereuse and Jack's scent of choice Green Irish Tweed. She wanted to determine if our scents matched and surprisingly they did. Both have hints of ambergris and musk and they are a match made in heaven. I was sold.

Given Jack's allergies we were advised to test the scents out, see if Jack had any adverse reactions to what we tried on, and come back the next day. I came home and looked up ambergrise and tuberose for fun. Holy cow batman do I have wacky olfactory appetites! Did you know ambergrise is a biliary secretion of the intestines of a sperm whale?!? Yes, sperm whale. Oh and it gets better. The lovely and expensive tuberose flower is known for its "honeylike and fatty sultry like notes... with similar notes like the scent of a woman's vulva or sweat". Apparently I have a suppressed liking for the smell of whales and vulva's; I wonder why the Creed specialist didn't divulge these little tidbits.. hmmm? No matter; vulva's and sperm whales it is and I smell beaaauuttifulll!!!

Scent of a Woman

Most peoples memories are strongly attached to certain smells or melodies; both good and bad. This is nothing new; scientists have found the exact location in the brain responsible for connecting certain events or sensations from the present to a distant memory of the past. To get technical it's called the CA3 region of the brain. Which is why a certain scent like perfume or a childhood melody will instantly connect you to a vivid memory from the past. When I smell a fresh new can of tennis balls I think of all the times my brother kicked my ass on the tennis courts when we were kids (both a good and bad memory!). Or the smell of baby powder instantly conjures memories of helping my mom bathe and dress my cute, wiggly green-eyed infant sister (I'm 7 years older).

There is perhaps no other scent in the world like my Mom's. She has the most comforting, lovely and ladylike scent in the whole wide world. Chanel No. 5 and Nina Ricci's L'Air du Temps are her perfumes of choice. And she wears the perfume vs the perfume wearing her. It's not cloying but just right. When I smell Chanel No. 5 I think of all the times I would watch her get ready for a night out with my Dad. Or when I had a bad day she would hold me close and her scent would instantly soothe me. When I turned 16 my mom gave me my own bottle of Chanel No. 5 and it just didn't feel right. I laugh thinking about it now; but I have strongly associated that scent with my Mom. And for a 16 year old it was way to strong; it's a scent for a woman not a pubescent pimply young girl. I think my mom was anxious for me to grow out of my awkward stage and all I can say is we both had a meeting of minds on that score!

So with that in mind I can't help but think that having a wedding day perfume is anything but a silly notion; the memories both Jack and I will have of our wedding day will be tied to the scents and melodies of the day. I really like the perfume I've been using for the past 5 years or so but I'm thinking I need something a little bit more sophisticated. Case in point; here's the website description of my perfume of choice "Petite Cherie" by Annick Goutal: "A fruity-floral fragrance in which vanilla, peach, musk rose and freshly cut grass recall purity and boldness. Like a naive and determined woman-child who both stirs the senses and moves the heart". Enough said.

I have to tread carefully though. Jack has an attachment to Petite Cherie which he helped me pick out. It throws him off in a bad way if I wear anything else. Which I totally understand; if my mom wore anything else but Chanel No. 5 I would also be thrown for a loop. Strange as it may sound I'm asking Jack to help me pick out a perfume for our special day that he will hopefully like. I'll continue to wear Petite Cherie day to day (if I didn't I would be totally remiss) and wear my something new for evening. Who knows, if we are lucky to have kids perhaps one day they will be attached to my scent as I am to my Mom's:)

Are any of you contemplating a wedding day perfume? If so what scent will you use or did use?

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Biedermeier Styled Wedding

I was at the bookstore looking at all the current bridal magazines when I came across an Elegant Bride's piece on a "Biedermeier" styled wedding. Jack could see my eyes pop out of my head and I could hear him thinking "Here we go again...". I think Elegant Bride did a spectacular job re-creating the elegance and feel of the Biedermeier period. But mostly I was tickled pink because I've been obsessed with Biedermeier furniture for years now. After I wiped the slobber off my face and bought the magazine I started going through my huge Biedermeier file at home filled with magazine clippings, historical details and listings of my favorite stores. Yet again, I was re-inspired. Here are some drool worthy pics:

I never thought pink fondant would look this good. And I don't even like fondant. It's the ribbon like ornamentation that makes me weak in the knees. It reminds me of the bows and swags on my lace veil. Also- take a look at those french macaroons!!!!

The blonde veneer commode also makes me weak in the knees. I love the combination of fruits and flowers as a decorative element. The soft pinks pairs surprisingly well with the dark plums and reds of the fruit. The above reminds me of Dutch still-life.

Sweets Overload

Help! My teeth are about to fall out of my head! I'm looking at a list of desserts we would love to serve at the wedding for our dessert table and I want to serve them all. But I can't. It would be a sweets overload. So I need to pare down my list and I'm having trouble deciding what to axe. Keep in mind that we do plan on serving a wedding cake and the wedding will be small. But everything just looks so good!!!! I'm thinking we either do the café au lait or eggnog and if we did the beignet station that would probably be the only accompaniment to the cake. So I'm enlisting your opinions- what are your favorites?

Croquembouche
Passed Pate a Choux Pastry filled with Grande Marnier Crème, Chocolate Mousse and Lemon Curd drizzled in Caramelized Sugar
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Bûche de Noël
Small almond dacquoise with a delicate almond blanc-mange, surrounded by a toasted almond mousse
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Assorted Chocolate Truffles
Hand rolled dark and milk chocolate truffles
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Macaroons

An assortment of raspberry, chocolate, pistachio and passion fruit French Macaroons
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Beignet Station & Café au Lait
Traditional Pate a Choux Pastry dusted with powdered sugar served with Chicory Café au Lait
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Entremets
An Assortment of Entremets (petite individual sized mousse cakes)
1. Chocolate and Pear
A buttery pecan cake with layers of Madagascan chocolate mousse, poached Anjou pears and a delicate Poire William chiboust.
2. Bananas Foster
Vanilla sponge cake with sautéed bananas and a rum crème brulee encased in a velvety vanilla mousse.
3. Brown Butter Apple Tart
A delicate pate sable crust filled with a brown butter infused fragipan, topped with roasted Fuji apples.
4. Bluet
An ethereal balance of lavender mousse with a jewel of fresh blueberry gelée.
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Gingersnaps & Eggnog
Brandied Eggnog served with a petite Black Pepper Gingersnap
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Agent Provocateur Sale!

It's that time of the year! Agent Provocateur annual sale is up and running and they are offering up to 50% off! I'm a huge fan of Agent Provocateur but unfortunately they don't have a store here in Chicago so I usually wait to take advantage of the sale with free shipping every summer. I snapped up two sets in a blink of an eye and I can't wait to receive my black and pink box! They offer a wide range of lingerie; from sweet to sexy; classy to tastefully risque that appeals to a wide audience. Unfortunately their Classic Collection is not on sale but it's totally worth checking out. I bought the Love Collection for my wedding day and the Fify and Francoise Collections would make a lovely addition to a lingerie trousseau. For something a little risque you can order a sheer playsuit or an ouvert if you dare:)

Réveillon: A Creole Christmas Feast

I would have to say the most fun we have had with our wedding planning has been centered around food. We are driven by the need to provide a gastronomic feast that will tantalize the palate of our guests. I previously talked about how we were going to try to incorporate Colombian appetizers into our menu but it looks like that will be a little tough to do. Which in the end works out to our advantage. We had to look no further than our wedding location for inspiration. Our inspiration is the wonderful New Orleans Christmas tradition called "Réveillon", a dinner ritual inherited from European immigrants that is celebrated across the city.

During the 19th century, French Catholic immigrants brought over the réveillon tradition to New Orleans; a dinner/breakfast celebrated in the wee hours of Christmas morning. Catholics would fast during Christmas Eve and would then break their fast after attending midnight mass. The réveillon, meaning "awakening" in French, would follow and this celebratory dinner symbolizes the awakening or revelation of the birth of Jesus. Restaurants across the city would stay open into the early morning serving the réveillon to hungry Catholics. The dinners are usually very elaborate and "heavy" to ease the hunger pains from the fast. Courses would include gumbos, tasty shrimp remoulade, sweetbreads, rich turtle or oyster soups, souffles, and a delectable assortment of desserts that include the rich Bûche de Noël, meringues, and a selection of tasty pastries. Eggnog, coffee, champagne and brandy were served aplenty. Tables would be elaborately set with fancy sugar sculptures, candles, towering Croquembouche's or baskets of crystallized fruits. The picture above is a réveillon scene from Brennan's Restaurant and as you can see it truly is a sight to behold.

One doesn't have to be Catholic to take part in this feast. The réveillon tradition has expanded in the 21st century and is now celebrated ever night of the holiday season, albeit with earlier hours. Restaurants like Brennan's or Commander's Palace will offer special menus that celebrate this tradition in high style. We hope we can offer our own "réveillon" feast by serving many similar items, especially the desserts! Are any of you getting married during the Christmas season and if so what culinary traditions do you hope to include?

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