Day before the Schmidt-Kelley Wedding!!

Because the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner was done on Thursday to accommodate for Christy’s working friends, we had a pretty relaxing “day before the wedding”. After spending a few hours shopping for last minute wedding day things… i.e. Chad’s super cool black low top groomsmen Converse, we met up with Chad’s fam. for a family bbq at Aunt Denise and Uncle Bob’s house. It was a great time hanging out with everyone again.. getting re-acquainted with my “soon to be” family. I can’t wait to be a part of this crazy clan. They are the BEST!

Hey look! It's my future Sister in Law and Bride to Be, Christy!

Chad's "Mini Me".. his nephew Logan... They are IDENTICAL as babies.. :)

My future Uncle Bob and Boo tending the fire..

Mmmmmmmm......

Easily entertained with Nemo...

Awww...giving Angela hugs..

Kenzie girl having a ball with that cake..

Chad showing Ryan how to hold the cake RIGHT BEFORE he's supposed to shove it in Christy's face tomorrow.. ;) hehehehehehe... Don't practice too much love.. We're NEXT!!

Christy and Kenzie saying goodnight...

Next stop.. Orange County!

This long awaited "mini vacation/wedding weekend" had finally come and we were finally in California for Chad’s sister Christy’s wedding! Right from the get go, we had things to do and people to see. Our flight landed around 1pm and after a quick run thru the In and Out drive thru, we settled in for a yummy belly filling meal of burgers and fries. (Our diet stopped the minute we stepped on that plane.. ;)

Awww... SMOOOCHIES!! (taking a rest at Chad's mom's place)

Chad and I being silly with the kids toys while we waited to head to the rehearsal. :)

We are such goofballs! Just like the good old days..

Showing his stealth skills...

Taking in Laguna Beach right before the rehearsal started...

20 years later... LITERALLY!

It's funny how so much time can go by between events... and when you think back on them, it seems like you were just there.... at that same place, just the day before. The last time I saw Vikki Villarreal, now Vikki V. Rowe, was almost two years ago... and although that may seem like a lot to some, the last time I had seen her before that, was 1989!!! Now I'm no mathmetician, but that's damn near 20 years!! Talk about having a lot to catch up on! :) If it wasn't for modern technology, namely Myspace, Vikki and I would have left our pasts in the past forever, but sometime around the time that I first moved up to Dallas, Vikki found me. Not long after that, we planned for a VERY, VERY long awaited lunch date to catch up on the last 20 years. I had never felt so OLD in my life! It took us two years, one wedding, 1 one year anniversary of wedded bliss, and one engagement later to finally meet up again. lol.. This past Friday, on one of Chad's extremely unusual Friday's off, we went on a double date with Vikki and her husband Grant. It was a great time of catching up, pizza and Pete's Dueling Piano's... and we can't wait to hang out again! (This time at least hopefully before our WEDDING!) ;)

I SWEAR she looks EXACTLY the same! :)

Don't you love those weird "Hold and Pose" looks? lol..

Not a flattering face shot Yvette! Oh well! :)

Food Network Style.. :)

Before Chad came into my life, all I honestly watched was the Food Network. I didn't ever really put into practice what I saw, I hardly cooked at all... but I've always enjoyed watching people create and work with their hands. I've come to love and appreciate that Chad and I are very similar in the fact that we BOTH have strong creative spirits. Chad, in his own way, creates art with the food he prepares... having a keen attention to colors and composition in his plating techniques and with his ability to combine and delicately balance unique flavors. During Chad's last day off, he worked his magic on one of the most delicious home cooked meals he'd ever made.... and I enjoyed every minute, just watching him create. I would've lent a hand, except this time he was prepping a recipe for a Young Chef's competition he'd had entered in. Wish him luck.. the final round of this competition is on Monday, where he has to prepare his dish for several judges! :)

Chad and his SCCCRRRIIIMMPPSS...

A splash of color...

Working on our garlic/cheese bread..

Chad's creation of shrimp and clams in a serrano ham, tomato, onion, garlic and lemon reduction sauce...
Our BEAUTIFUL dinner awaits...

A day at the park... :)

During Omar & Christi's visit to Dallas with Miss Addison, Chad and I thought it best to take advantage of the beautiful day and take the family out to White Rock Lake. After a long stroll along the lake front, we ended up at a cute little park where Addie took her very first park swing ride. It took her awhile to the embrace the idea of being off the ground, while not being in the comfort of mommy and daddy's arms, but as you can see, our day at the park was a HUGE HIT! Giggles and fun and a beautiful sunny day... what could be better?!

She couldn't contain her GIGGLES!! :)

Addie with her Auntie Yvetties... :)

Miss Addie with Uncle Chad and Aunt Yvette :)

Dining out in Dallas-Battle of the Chefs

Chad, aka "Bossman" and Michael, aka "Butters" goofing off before the event. :)

Finding ART in every aspect of food...
Look, it's a FACE!! :) it's like picking out images from clouds in the sky. :)

"Selling" his table of goodies.. :)

Waiting and watching...

SMILE PRETTY!!

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Although every event is essentially the same for Chad and his "Help", aka ME, I enjoy and appreciate each and every single one. Each one has a different variety of people to meet, different tasty morsel to give away and different building to explore. This event was at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, near Love Field and although Chad and I had both been in Dallas for almost 2 and a half years, we'd both been unfamiliar with this particular Dallas attraction. After the usual set up was complete, we took a few minutes to wander the sea of old war time planes and cool missile replicas, then took some time to settle into our "spot" where Chad and Butters served up a familiar but still different "taco", (similar to his Camp John Marc creation). It was yet another success for the Oceanaire team, and if it really HAD been a "Battle of the Chefs", there is NO doubt that Chad would've walked away a winner... countless guests at the reception commented that his taco creation was the BEST of all the tasty treats on display from other restaurants. :) Good job baby!

Countdown to Wedding Day! :)

236 days and counting....

I can't believe how quickly our day is approaching. One day we were on our first date, the next day engaged and tomorrow we will be MARRIED! What a roller coaster! I'm glad we started planning and prepping early.... cause we are looking mighty fine with our plans... just got a couple things left to take care of and we are all SET! :) So far, here are the things that we've already made solid decisions on.

1. Church- done and secured!
2. Reception venue- done and secured!
3. Wedding dress- Picked out and has been purchased!! It's soooooo pretty!! :)
4. Colors/Theme- Got it!
5. Bridesmaids & their dresses- Picked, decided on and about to be ordered!
6. "Save the Dates" - Has been designed and finalized.. just need to be printed.
7. Wedding planner - has been hired and secured and has already begun to work for us! Yeah!
8. Invites - Color, paper and style of the invite has been selected, just need to format the wording!
9. Photographer- Was one of the first things we secured!
10. Videographer- Awesome people out of Lubbock... date has been secured!
11. Wedding Cake- Has been chosen and have secured our date.. :) YUMMY!!
12. Wedding Website - almost done... just need to add our registry information on it...

Other than all that... we've got a couple things left to do.. like deciding on the flower arrangements and Chad's tux stuff... and finish our registries... I can't wait for this day!!

I still can't believe I'm getting married!!!

Savor Dallas :)

I didn't think things could get crazier than last weeks event. We were inundated at the Chef's Showcase by throngs of people wanting a tasty bit of Chad's creations. It didn't stop... all night long...and by the end of the night, I literally was willing to chop off my feet the first chance I got. Little did I know there were events that made the Chef Showcase look like childs play. I had no idea what to expect when Chad said it got worse. I didn't have a clue.... but i soon found out what he was talking about. They came fast and furiously... from all sides. Four straight hours of a sea of people eating and drinking from nearly ONE HUNDRED restaurants and wine makers from around the area. Everything you could imagine and all you could drink. Luckily I found a friend. To my pleasant surprise one of Chad's cooks brought their very lovely and super friendly wife along. We hit it off immediately and soon left the boys to make our rounds tasting all the wonderful delicacies everyone had to offer. It ended up being a great, belly filling evening full of great food and new friends. :)

Life before chaos...

Are you in there Chad??..... CHAD???...

Working his charm....

Will work for FOOD!!

So seriously, who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity to work along side one of the BEST chefs in Dallas, handing out the most delectable yummy treats you’ve yet to see? On every occasion that Chad has ever invited me to an event or charitable function that he needed to attend, I’ve taken full advantage...and tagged along. :) This particular function was a rather touching one and I was delighted to help! In honor of the Camp John Marc organization, Chad was asked, along with 10 other restaurants around Dallas, to produce and hand out morsels from their respective restaurants. Set at the Ritz here in Dallas, the atmosphere was lively and cheerful with a live band playing in one corner, casino games in one room and rooms filled with awesome auction items for all to choose from. The food and wine flowed… and we ended the night with swollen feet, achy bodies but full and HAPPY bellies. It was awesome! Thanks for the invite Love, can’t wait for the next one!

My love, perfecting his plate of goodies. :)

Avocado puree that began the layers of Alaskan King crab and snow crab, followed by a creamed corn puree topped then with toasted almonds... all in the cutest taco/phyllo type shell you've ever seen!!

Two bites later, we found heaven...

One hour after we arrived at La Duni, we found ourselves on a drunken sugar high of bliss. After a long discussion with Dunia Borga herself about our vision for our cake, we committed ourselves to the most GLORIOUS wedding cake we could've hoped for. Imagine layers upon heavenly layers of THIS!!

Cuatro Leches Vanilla Mantecada Cake-

Layered mantecada vanilla sponge cake, soaked in cuatro leches sauce. Topped with carmelized swiss meringue and dotted with an arequipe caramel reduction. Served with extra tres leches sauce and arequipe caramel.

OH. MY. GOD!!!