Happily Ever After - The Force is With Them

My cousin J and I are very similar. So of course I was in love with some of the elements they decided to include in their wedding. 

Their table assignments were rides at Disneyland. My cousin knows me so well and put my family and I at the Star Tours table. Hell ya!

 She had everyone sign this plate instead of a guestbook, very cute and clever.

 There were the wooden spoons we burned for them. We may or may not have a little side business ;)

 The view from their location was gorgeous! The weather was yucky all morning long but cleared up just in time for the ceremony to start.

 Bumblebee Sister and "The Boyfriend"

 Bumblebee Parents

 Just waiting for the party to start.

 There he is! The groom. He looked so ready to get married.

 The ring bearer, my cousin's son, did a fantastic job!

 Here she comes!

 This is part of my gorgeous family.

 Godfather, Bumblebee Sis, and me

 Dad and his girls

 Uncle and nieces. 

 Wooo hooo Star Wars Table!

 Cousin J and I at Disneyland of course :)

 This lady cracks me up!

 Lightsabers?! Best.wedding.ever!

 Cousins!! YAY!

 The money dance...worth every penny!

I had so much fun at this wedding with my loud crazy family. I have been so busy, I've had little time for certain people and that makes me sad. Especially when I have so much fun when I am with them. I can't wait for the next family gathering...

Come to the Darkside...We have Cookies

My cousin's wedding was coming up and I wanted to do something extra special for him. It was actually a special wedding for myself. This was the first wedding in almost 10 weddings over the course of 1 year that I didn't have a role in. I wasn't bring desserts, I wasn't the maid of honor, I wasn't a bridesmaid. I was hell bent on enjoying myself fully at this wedding. 

My cousin and I were really close as kids. His dad brought him to all the UCLA football games with my family and so we played together a lot. We also had a love for similar movies. Our parents took us to the first weekend of Back to the Future, let us watch Star Wars, and Indiana Jones. We would reenact our favorite scenes and have a good laugh. 

I got these last Christmas from my sister and I had yet to bust them out, so perfect! I went to Williams and Sonoma to buy the Bride and Groom their own set and then set out to work to make a batch for them. 

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, coco powder, espresso powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (Forgot to snap a picture of this part.) Beat in egg and vanilla till well combined. In three additions, add your flour mixture at low speed. Work in food coloring (black) with your hands till desired shade. (That part was a huge pain in the ass. Maybe it was just because it was black versus red or pink). 

Roll out dough on a lightly flour/coco dusted surface. Cut out cookies and freeze for 5 minutes. Bake for 8 minutes. Allow cookies to cool before removing.

My hubby surprised me with preordering the new Star Wars Blu Ray! Had to get some pictures of that.

Vinylmation Yoda wanted to get in on this too.

Darth Vader Chocolate Cookies

Adapted from Bake at 350 & Amandeleine

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dutch-process cocoa (natural is OK, too)
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• black gel food colouring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour,cocoa, espresso powder and salt; set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until light an fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
4. In 3 additions, add the flour mixture at low speed. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
5. Work in food colouring with your hands to desired darkness. Depending on your cocoa you may need more or less. Refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
6. Roll the dough on a lightly floured and cocoa-ed surface. (mix the flour and cocoa together and use it like you would with straight flour to roll out cookies)
7. Cut the cookies with Darth Vader cutter.
8. Freeze cut cookies five minutes.
9. Bake 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

I Love Me Some Dodger Dogs!

It was that time of year again! Time for Dodger Baseball. While it's been more and more difficult for us to get out to as many games as we would like, we do make it a priority to get to one particular game each year.  And that is for Bark at the Park night! 

We got there extra early this time around so that we could walk on the field with the kids, aka pooches. 

 Self portrait, awkward while carrying two dogs who want nothing else but to be put down to get at some smells.

 Nice gentleman offered to take our picture for us. Tucker totally didn't trust him. Check out that stink-eye he's giving him.

 Tucker started feeling better once he was on the ground...

 Tess looks upon the huge grass field. 

 In front of the dug out but lets all take a moment to look at that face on her...she looks FREAKED out. Don't know why. 

 The boys.

 The girls, although Tess isn't paying attention. 

 This was the night where there was the big fire on the top deck. We bailed early because so many people were panicking which caused all the dogs to get spooked and unsettled. But still we had a great time and the pooches got to have a night out on the town. They came home that night and slept for almost two days straight. Way worth the price of buying them each their own ticket.

 But still we had a great time and the pooches got to have a night out on the town. They came home that night and slept for almost two days straight. Well worth the price of buying them each their own ticket.

My, Don't You Look Dapper...

One day, while perusing the internet, I came across some pictures of  a recent gathering at Disneyland. A handful of people went to the Disneyland park in full vintage wear and posed for pictures. I was awestruck. I quickly added the group to Facebook and awaited for the next meet where I too could join the festivities. 

Dapper Day - An Evening Affair

09.09.2011

It was so much fun. There was probably 150, maybe even 200 people dressed dapper for the evening. We started by meeting at the carousel at 8pm and riding it all at once. It was really a sight. People were stopping and taking pictures and even asked Mr. Bumblebee and I if they could take their picture with us. After that the group broke up a bit to go ride rides. But we were to meet at Trader Sam's (a really cool looking bar at the Disneyland Hotel) at 11pm for drinks and socialization.

I can't wait for the next Dapper Day at Disneyland, maybe I'll see some of you there!

http://www.facebook.com/DapperDay?ref=ts