I digress...

So, you hear about brides who suddenly need to get a bigger-size wedding dress due to the impending arrival of a certain new family member. Well, we're not getting that sort of bundle of joy. However, Adam and I did recently find our family situation a little small for our liking. You'd think that our combined personalities plus 2 overly-social (read: needy) cats would be enough for one household. But...no. You see, I have spent my life with a big shaggy friend nearby at all times. In fact, I don't remember a time growing up when I didn't have a drooling walking buddy.

At this time in life most people my age are starting to feel the peer pressure to settle down and get married. Not me. Well, yes, I am getting married, but I'm still on the front-end of the trend among people I know. My real weakness? Puppies. Various friends at law school are made so much happier by their furry friend, my friend Katie tells me that it's the best stress-buster she could come up with, and then....my brother got an adorable golden retriever last summer. With all this happening around me, I had no chance to resist.

That's right, folks, Adam and I are getting a dog!!! Due to allergy issues as well as this being Adam's first attempt at canine ownership, I decided on finding a breeder for a goldendoodle. Half adorable, sweet, loyal golden retriever; half allergy-free, intelligent poodle. After much research (and simultaneous avoidance of law school homework - excellent), I found the Red Cedar Farms GoldenDoodle breeder in Hutchinson, Minnesota. They happen to have had a litter of puppies born this month (April) of dark golden colored doodles. So, I contacted Dede at Red Cedar Farms and chatted with her. This resulted in my future ownership of this precious little creature:

I mean, how cute is he? We've decided to name him Gatsby. The name has a little Minnesota to it (F. Scott Fitzgerald lived here), it's based on a great book, and it's a damn cute name! Plus it ends in a vowel, which is supposed to be easier for a dog to learn.

We will be receiving this little bundle of joy May 8, just in time to distract me during my summer of bar-studying-horror. But what to do in the meantime?? We have bought all sorts of interesting books on raising a good puppy. I won't bore you with the titles, but it's actually really fun and interesting.

Although I won't need a newly sized wedding dress (well, who knows after my gelato-binge from last night), I will need to purchase some sort of adorable puppy-sized bow tie for our little bundle of fluff come wedding time. :)

Love,

Em

CAKE

Cake tasting...success! Now, I don't want to give away too many details about this fabulous cake we'll be having on the wedding day, but it is seriously the thing I am currently most excited about! Our cake baker is Gateaux, Inc. She's a small wedding cake baker in Plymouth, MN. Her cakes are works of art. (seriously, check her out: http://www.gateaux-inc.com/). She only bakes two wedding cakes per week and they're truly a labor of love. Also, she's currently featured on a wedding cake show on the WE network. Yeah, she's kind of a big deal. :)

We knew from the beginning that Adam and I are not your typical classic cake couple. As beautiful and delicious as those four tier, white, lacy creations look, we knew we wanted something more artsy. The food is probably the most important aspect of the wedding for Adam and also Mother of the Bride, so the cake had to be a big deal. But most importantly? The thing has to actually taste good!

Enter Robin from Gateaux. As soon as I walked in the door, I was in love with this woman. Not only is she fabulously creative, but she gets just as giddy when she's excited as I do. Five minutes into the meeting we were both actually bopping in our seats with excitement. See, her favorite cakes are those ones she gets to go a little nuts with. This woman and I were like soul sisters. She gets me. We wanted a cake that goes with our theme (lakes of Minnesota) without being overly literal or kitchy. She designed the most wonderful piece of art. It has color, asymmetry, shape, and is just going to be beautiful. I won't give any more details away because I'm hoping to wow all you guests with this labor of love...But it's so hard to keep this exciting thing a secret!

Now, to the cake tasting: Gateaux does this perfectly. One Friday afternoon, you waltz into the bakery and pick up a giant box. In that box are seven cake flavors that you get to take home to try. Adam and I decided to make a party of it. We invited my parents, his parents, Lauren, and Joe to get together, eat dinner (a super light dinner mind you), and try flavor after flavor. While I won't tell you the winners, I will say that we could not go wrong. By the end, everyone was practically fighting over the last pieces of cake. So delicious! So, ladies and gentlemen, rest easy: under that work of art you'll be seeing on Aug. 13 will be a whole lot of tasty!

Hope you all don't mind the hasty, scattered post. I think it reflects my excitement about this delicious dessert!

Love,

Em