jambalaya, crawfish pie and fillet gumbo

Yesterday the most amazing thing happened. I was at work thinking about how nice it would be to have boudin for lunch. Being that I am in the "South", I do not have access to this yummy dish. But wait!! I was curious to see if there was a store here in Charleston that possibly sold Louisiana products. I Googled "boudin in Charleston?" and wah la! I found a store that is only 5 minutes from my apartment called Cherie's Specialty Meats and Fine Coffee.They sell everything that I've been craving! They have Savorie's Roux, Tony's, Zapp's chips, Boudin, crawfish tails, Cajun Power, Community Coffee....and a whole bunch of other stuff that I can't remember. On my way home from work I stopped at this fantastic little store and bought Zapp's, boudin, and some roux. =)

Now that I had my very own jar of roux I had to figure out what I wanted to make. Gumbo was the first thing that came to mind, but after talking to my aunt and realizing that would take hours I settled on Jambalaya. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but wow! The Jambalaya came out awesome! Keith loved it and said that he could eat it everyday! =) I am very happy to have found Cherie's and cannot wait to make my next Cajun dish. Who would have thought that being domesticated would be so much fun?

i'm an auntie!

Last night at around 11:50pm Lauren gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! His name is Joseph and he weighs 6 lbs. 7 ounces and is 20 inches long. Lauren was in labor for 14 hours and I am so proud of her for staying strong! I will be meeting my new nephew Labor Day weekend and I am so stinking excited!!!

Welcome to the world baby Joseph!

wedding update

• Due to difficulties with the date we wanted and accommodations at Southern Oaks Plantation, our wedding will be held at the beautiful Fleur de Lis Event Center in Mandeville, Louisiana.
• Our wedding website is up and running! Please visit www.lindseyandkeith.com. It is password protected so please just email me and I'll give it to you. Don't forget to sign our guest book! =)
• We have chosen our cake, the invitations, the photographer, the venue....we are nearly finished with all of the planning! Of course the details of travel arrangements are left to be discussed, but the only thing left to truly reserve are the flowers and bridesmaids dresses. Wooo hooo!
  
• I have decided on which dress I will be wearing on my big day! It is so gorgeous and I can't wait for all of you to see it!
  
• This really isn't a wedding update, but Keith and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary on September 21st!! How exciiiiiting!
  
• We are pretty sure we know where we are going for our honeymoon, but it is not set in stone yet. We'd like to go to a resort in upstate New York that has an indoor water park! That way we'll be able to going skiing one day and then water sliding the next. We'll also be close enough to Cooperstown, NY to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame!
  

summer's end

The end of summer is approaching quickly and I am so torn. In one way I am very excited because I’ll be starting my junior year of college. On the other hand I am terribly sad because once school starts there will be no more lazy weekends, no more spending hours reading random books and bridal magazines, and definitely no more addictions to reality shows. (Megan Wants a Millionaire, Kortney and Khloe Take Miami…I know, pathetic.) The older I get, the faster time flies. Especially since moving to South Carolina and being with Keith, time just goes by in an instant. I’ve been living here for over 8 months, been dating my bay for almost a year, and have been engaged for over 3 months…and all of these things feel like they happened just last night. No matter how often time races by, I will never get use to it.

“A life without love is like a year without summer” has got to be my favorite quote for this swift season. Although southern summers tend to be suffocating with the heat, I still adore the freedom I gain through summer break. I adore the adventurous spirit that comes over me and the longing I have to just lie in the grass (or on a hammock) with Keith and take in the moment. To me, there is something so magical about the unlimited possibilities summer gives to us and I am grateful that I did not waste mine. *sigh*

August 24th marks the first day of school and the first day of my new major. (Education!!!!) I am welcoming it with opens arms and with the hopes of an amazing semester. =o)

So, au revoir summer. You were fun this year. Until we meet again…

**Summer Pictures**

a birthday film

On July 26th my incredible fiancé turned 24 years old. I had no idea what I was going to get him, but I knew that buying him a present would not be good enough. I wanted to do something more for the man that would soon be my husband. After brainstorming quite a bit, I decided to make him a birthday film. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this since all I've ever edited is weddings, but surprisingly the film turned out great. For a little over a week I ran around town and filmed birthday wishes/songs from his family and friends. I had the most amazing time being sneaky, getting to know his loved ones more, and editing this special birthday surprise. Keith was so happy when he realized what I had made for him, and the look on his face after watching the film was completely priceless. =o)

Click here to watch Keith's Birthday Film

a tiny little change

Keith and I have been engaged for almost three months now and when it comes to planning the wedding, we are moving at a snail’s pace. It’s not like we haven’t visited venue sites, tasted cakes, or picked out invitations. We have. We just haven’t actually booked anything yet. It’s not like we don’t want to, we would just rather watch all the seasons of Grey’s Anatomy instead. =) In addition to the non wedding planning, I recently found out that two of my dear friends (and bridesmaids!!!) would not be able to make it to Charleston for my big day. Things were not looking good, but things are about to change.

The title of this blog is “a tiny little change”, but I think I may have been a bit modest. The change involves my theme, colors, flowers, food, venue, and location. I would say that we are starting from scratch, but since we technically have nothing done we are not backtracking. The change is this:

We are getting married in New Orleans, Louisiana at Southern Oaks Plantation!

I know this seems sudden, but we have decided that having our wedding in Louisiana would be the best option. After we’re married we plan on having a reception in Charleston for all of our friends and family who will not be able to attend the wedding. I am truly so excited about this! I have filmed so many weddings at Southern Oaks and have always thought if I were to get married in Louisiana that it would definitely be at this beautiful, amazing, antebellum plantation!

Since making this decision we have scaled down our to-do list by a ton. Southern Oaks is not just gorgeous, but they are extremely helpful. They will be taking care of the food, drinks, decorations, floral arrangements, centerpieces, the D.J., and much more! We literally only have a handful of things left to reserve! Woop Woop! I am so thankful that I will be marrying my incredible fiancé at a place that is so enchanted. And who knows…I may even show up to the ceremony in this: