From Our Kitchen: Pudding Pops!

Have you ever tried making frozen yogurt by throwing a container of it in the freezer and hoping it would magically turn into a yummy creamy dessert? Or maybe attempt making pudding pops by expertly pouring regular pudding into popsicle makers and thinking they would be just as good as the ones Bill Cosby used to promote when we were little? Well if you have, you know that it just doesn't work that way! Jay and I have yet to find a homemade frozen yogurt recipe that we like (you might as well make a full-fat ice cream if you're going homemade as far as we're concerned), but I found this easy & delicious recipe for pudding pops a couple weeks ago and gave it a shot. Have I told you it's delicious? And low fat/calorie? 

The first time, I made them with chocolate pudding and no Oreo cookies (remember the low fat/calorie part?) and was very pleased. This time, I chose banana (Jay's favorite so far)!

Variations: I used Sugar-Free pudding and fat-free Cool Whip. The recipe calls for the big box (3.9oz) of pudding, but I had a regular sized box, so reduced the milk and Cool Whip by 1/2. 

And voila! Delicious, 70-ish calorie treats you can enjoy all summer long! 

Airport Lust?

Our friend Jeff took this photo and I just had to post it. It's the wallpaper on our laptop and when I look at it, it reminds me of what I love about the airport. Don't you just feel like you are there? Smell the jet fuel in the air, and feel the breeze as the rain rolls in...maybe a sprinkle here and there your shoulder. The tower there in the distance overlooking the Metroliners that have had a hard day's work. Ahhhhh, I just love it! Oh, and for those that don't know, this is one of the planes that Jay flies for work. All by himself (no co-pilot). What a man I have!!

P.S. Please check out Jeff's new website. He is starting a photography business and would be glad to take your next portraits for you and your family!

Date Night: Dinner & a Movie

Last night, Jay and I decided to have a laid back date night. We went to see a matinee of "The Hangover" to start and then finished it off with margaritas, dinner, and dessert at Z Tejas. It was so nice to have some time for just us as we have been very busy these last few weeks and have a busy summer ahead! 

Love you baby!

Weekend Update: Saturday & Sunday - Wedding & Goodbye

Saturday morning came fast. We got up early (7am) in order to be showered & hair dried before the hair people came. They were scheduled to arrive at 9:00. While Tricia & Stacy were showering, I headed out to find some breakfast. The sun was just starting to come up and the air was crisp. Downtown Annapolis is so cute with lots of little shops along it's narrow Main Street. People were out for their morning run, walking the dog, and sitting on outdoor patios sipping on coffee and reading the newspaper. I was in heaven with this little bit of quiet "Amie Alone Time".

The girls called when they were ready, and by then I had found a really cute locally-owned bookstore with a coffee shop as the perfect place to grab a bite. I headed back up Main Street to meet them and by this time the sky was much bluer (is that a word?). What a beautiful day for a wedding!
After breakfast, we took a nice stroll along the harbor together. Just the 3 of us. Again, more special time with my sisters! I was thrilled and couldn't be luckier to have them.
Then we headed back to the hotel to get started on our hair. The moms were set to arrive at 9 as well. This is where the day got a little crazy. The hair people didn't show up until after 10! We were making calls like crazy trying to find them and finally....luckily...they showed up. The owner who was due to have her baby that day (not pictured) had to come since the one that was going to come alone (but came late - photo below) didn't have enough time anymore. Luckily it didn't phase the beautiful bride a bit...

...then makeup arrived and she got even more beautified...

...then the flowers were delivered...

...and the champagne was corked. Stacy was a bit surprised in this pic as she wasn't expecting the "POP!".

And the bride was ready! You think she was excited?

She had a photo-shoot before the limo arrived. Her photographer was wonderful. Very helpful and made us all feel relaxed. We even walked down Main Street all gussied up for some pics along the water! People were honking their horns, yelling "Congratulations!" out the window, etc. What fun!
Then the limo arrived and we were off to the church.

I don't have any pictures from the ceremony because I was up on the altar, but I will do another post for those of you who don't have access to all of her wedding photos online. It was a beautiful ceremony!

The reception was at a local country club. Everyone had such a great time! Here are some pics from the night:

Left to right: Jacques, Dad, Stacy, Uncle David, Jay, Mom, Me

Mom and Jay. Can you tell they love each other?! I love this pic!

Sean's dad sang a Lullaby song that was so touching while Tricia & Dad and Sean & Celeste danced. I bawled like a baby.

I had to get this picture of the boys and am so glad I did! Us girls know how to pick our men!

The cousin shot! Left to right: Janet, Stacy, Robert, Melinda, Me, Tricia, Sean, Mindy, Laura and Christina. Sean and Tricia did one with Sean's side too.

Laura, Melinda, and Mimere

At the hotel bar afterwards. We were going to all go to the bars, but everyone ended up just staying at the hotel. Left to right: Mindy, Mom, Me, Melinda, Janet & Stacy. Can you tell we're all related?

And what is a big party without a late night pizza delivery?

Sunday morning with the girls. We are all a little tired as you can tell.

Stacy had a 10-hour drive ahead of her and I had a 12-hour trip across the U.S. Lucky Tricia had some adrenaline that morning as you can see - I think it's because she and her new husband left on a flight to Ireland for their honeymoon that night! They have been off radar since then, but we can't wait to hear about their travels!

Weekend Update: Friday/Rehearsal

Friday came fast. Even faster for others who woke up at normal times. I slept until about 11:15. I blame it on the jet lag. Oh and the bucket of booze that we might have shared at the bachelorette the night before could have contributed too.

We started Friday off with manis and pedis at a local salon. Unfortunately we were off to a later than planned start due to Tricia's underestimated distance to pick up Sean's groom's cake from the bakery (it was 40 miles!!). That started a domino effect for the day - about 1/2 hour off but nonetheless we all had a great time and a memorable day.

I don't have pictures from the salon because my camera was charging. I swear that's the only time I let it out of my sight all weekend. I was attached as you can tell from my abundant photo collection! Once again, I digress...

We arrived about 1/2 hour late to the rehearsal, and after a brief scolding from the church wedding coordinator, we got on with our duties. Tricia and Sean wore beautiful "matching" pastel outfits for the occasion. How cute!

Jay was lucky enough to walk with Stacy. Notice her "ladylike" hand placement on his arm. In the church lobby afterwards, she didn't hesitate to teach me how to appropriately place my hand on a mans arm rather than grab. Thanks Jay for teaching us the correct technique. What would we do without you?Leaving the church, there was some serious thunder and huge, dark clouds overhead. For all of you out there that know me you know how excited I was!! I was giddy at the chance of a storm, and boy did we get one. The sky literally opened up and just dumped rain for 15 minutes or so on the way to the rehearsal dinner. No drops - just a straight-on deluge!! This pic was taken as it started to subside. I had asked Tricia to please, for the love of God, pull over as the visibility was nearly non-existent and I wanted to make sure my sweet little sister made it to the wedding alive the next day.Dinner was at the Ram's Head Tavern in downtown Annapolis. The food was amazing and abundant. I specifically enjoyed the Shephards Pie. With lima beans (yum) and probably mushrooms (ew, but what I didn't see, I didn't mind!).

Here is a picture of the soon-to-be newlyweds:

And the almost-married-for-10-months newlyweds:

Tricia put together some amazing gifts for her bridal party! I think I might do a post on my other blog later this week with the contents because it was just so cute. The book I'm holding "The Giving Tree" was her card (she wrote in it). Each bridesmaid got a different book. I think it was so thoughtful and very memorable! I love my sister!!

Sean gave his attendants these really nice beer steins from Colonial Williamsburg. Jay's was engraved with his monogram and had an old John Adams coin (silver dollar maybe?) embedded in the bottom. He and the other groomsmen used them for the rest of the weekend and I'm sure Jay will use his all the time at home as well.

Over the past several months, I have been working on a Wedding Cookbook for Tricia & Sean. My matron-of-honor Julie made one for Jay and I and we love it. I had everyone that was invited to the wedding submit their favorite recipe(s), and then put it all together in a binder that I scrapbooked. I was so happy to finally give it to them (it was a secret, so I had to be sneaky about it the whole time) and I hope they enjoy it as much as Jay and I enjoy ours!

Upon returning to the hotel, it was so nice to see people that started arriving for the big day. In this picture are my Aunt Valerie (left) and longtime (like, forever) family friend Cindi. Everyone was so happy to be together for this special occasion!!

We really enjoyed meeting Sean's family! This is a picture of his sister Amy (pregnant & due in September!), niece Anna (about 3), Sean, and niece Lucy (just over 1). The girls are so cute and were so well-behaved. I look forward to crossing paths again sometime because I really enjoyed meeting all of them!

I love my sisters and mom so much! We didn't get nearly enough time together, but I'm so grateful for what we did get.

After a semi-late night in the hotel bar, us girls headed to the "honeymoon suite" at a different, historic hotel in downtown Annapolis for bonding time. We did this the night before my wedding and it is so special. Tricia got a great night's sleep while Stacy and I...well, lets just say, we were happy that Tricia was well rested for her wedding day!

Next up: The big day! Stay tuned!

Weekend Update: Thursday/Bachelorette

I realized after uploading 340 pictures that there is no way I can do a single Weekend Update post. So guess what?! You are getting a post for each day we were back east. That way I won't skimp on photos and you'll get the whole story.

Jay and I started the weekend early Thursday on a 7am direct flight to Baltimore. Have I told you how much I love Southwest Airlines? They are so great about my peanut allergy...but that's another story. Anyway - we arrived in Baltimore around 2:45 and after picking up the rental car, made it to the hotel by 4ish. Good thing, because the plan was to meet all the girls in the hotel lobby by 5 for the bachelorette party! There were a total of 9 of us attending a girls only dinner beforehand. Here are the Crosby girls packed into the back of the van on the way downtown:
Stacy, Tricia, me and Mom before heading over to the restaurant:
We went to the Power Plant district in Baltimore which is right across the street from the harbor. There are lots of bars and restaurants in that area which was another good thing because the restaurant we were planning on going to had closed down! We went to the tavern under the "Beer" sign in the pic below instead:
Here are all the girls after dinner. From left to right: Alana (Tricia's sister-in-law), Maria (bridesmaid), Tricia (bride, of course!), Me, Mom, Kerry (matron of honor), Celeste (Tricia's mother-in-law), Amy (Tricia's sister-in-law), and Stacy (sister).
After the moms, pregnant sister-in-law and Stacy headed back to the hotel to relax, the rest of us headed to Howl at the Moon. If you haven't been before, it's a chain of dueling piano bars. It's a great time and a very interactive experience! They had a "Word of the Day" white board that incrementally goes up in price to change the message. The first message of the night featured the bride-to-be:
Tricia was asked to get up on the stage for a little dance while the guys played some song that I can't seem to remember.
Jager Bombers (Jagermeister and Red Bull) have become a tradition on nights out with Tricia.
Jay, Kevin (Kerry's husband), and Steve (Maria's boyfriend) snuck out of the bachelor party (about a mile away - quick limo ride) to say hello to their top ladies. I was so happy to see him!
Here is a group shot of all the girls near the end of the night (+ some random guy who apparently wanted to be photographed).
It was such a great time and a wonderful way to start a special weekend with my sister as well as get to know her friends and future in-laws better!


Sorry I don't have pictures of the bachelor party to share but I wasn't invited and you know boys with cameras. I think they didn't want any...ahem...evidence? Regardless, I hear they had a great time. They went to an Orioles game and then out to the bars. In a limo. That's about all the info I have for ya!

Weekend Update: Teaser Pics

It was a crazy weekend and we're just getting back into "normal" life. I'll be putting together a full blog post soon (hopefully tonight), but for now, here are some teaser pics of our fabulous weekend celebrating Tricia and Sean's nuptials.