The Big Fake Wedding- Raleigh!

214 MARTIN STREET, RALEIGH, NC 27601 

NOVEMBER 12, 2015 - CEREMONY AT 7PM.

The Big Fake Wedding is a bridal show alternative complete with an emotional ceremony, a tasty dinner and a dance-party reception. "Wedding guests" are brides-and-grooms-to-be who get to truly experience the wedding vendors in action.

If you have read I Choose Love, then you know how much it bothered me that I did not have a wedding of my own. So when my beautiful friend Tiffany and her oh so hilarious husband Joe, started sharing posts on Facebook about the countdown to their "Big Fake Wedding Day," my interest was piqued. 

Joe and Tiffany- The Big Fake Wedding

Now admittedly, because they are such a fun couple (look how cute they are), I thought what kind of hoax is this? They're already married! But as I continued to follow their posts, I figured out that the word fake really did mean fake. Duh, Tamara!  Then I began to think how neat is that, a fake wedding or (for Joe and Tiffany a vow renewal), is such a fabulous idea.  So naturally being me, I needed to know all about this event, like why didn't I think about this first, and then is The Big Fake Wedding  coming to North Carolina? Because if they come here, I am so going to be there! I began to investigate, and here's what I found out.

First off, The Big Fake Wedding (formerly known as The NotWedding founded in 2008) [is] a killer alternative to a bridal show. The Big Fake Wedding create[s] an experiential opportunity for wedding vendors to showcase their products and services to shopping brides and grooms just as they would at a real wedding. Now, seven years later in 2015, The Big Fake Wedding is still the most uniquely curated and most far-reaching bridal show alternative in the nation, attracting over 6,000 attendees and 1,000 vendors annually across 31 events in 25 cities.

So guess what?  They are coming to North Carolina--Raleigh to be exact!  And guess who gets to be apart of this lovely production... that's right, me!  I am super excited about being a part of The Big Fake Wedding Raleigh. I am not sure exactly what I'll be doing, but I do know that I will be there-- up close and personal. I have invited some soon-to-be brides near and dear to me to attend the event, but now I'm inviting you!  This is going to be a once in a lifetime experience for anyone who is getting married, who knows someone who is getting married, or who helps people prepare to get married. None of you want to miss out on being a part of the experience that the Today Show has raved about. Now, don't wait, get your tickets now, and use my code below to get $10 off.  If you are in North Carolina then you really need to add this event to your Must List. It's definitely on mine! 

   

slow-cooker cubed steak

I know that many of you, myself included, are used to preparing your cubed steak on top of the stove. Coating the steak with flour, frying it in the skillet, and then making gravy from the remnants.  While, I don't mind preparing it in this way, I have found that it never comes out as tender as I'd like it to (Enter my slow cooker).  So I decided to slow cook it just to see what the result would be, and this how I did it. 

The video says 6 hours, but because I had only 1.25 lbs of meat, I cooked it on low for about 5 hours.

The Recipe

1 pack of Cubed steak

1 1/2 cups of All-purpose flour (to batter the meat)

1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 packet of Au Jus Gravy 

1/2 sliced onion 

2 cans of water (use the soup can)

Steps

Season the meat with the Morton Nature's Season, coat the meat with flour, and then place the meat in a skillet with about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (I use Canola Oil). Brown the meat (not completely cooking the meat) along with the sliced onion. After the cubed steak has been browned, place it, the onions, and all the dregs from the frying pan into the slow cooker.  

 

Then in a bowl, mix the Au Jus packet, the Cream of Mushroom Soup, and 2 cans of water.  Whip it with a whisk until it is smooth save the bits of mushrooms. 

Put Cubed Steak and Mushroom Soup/ Au Jus mix in Slow Cooker.

Slow cook for 4-6 hours depending on the amount of Cubed Steak you have. The more meat you have extend the cooking time.  Your house will smell so amazing!

Serve over rice with green beans or cabbage, and enjoy!  

Happy Slow Cooking!

"13 nights of Halloween"

I don't know how or when this happened, but Halloween is Tamia's favorite holiday.  She loves the songs, the decorations, the costumes, and oh yeah, the candy; she loves it all. And here we are 13 days away from Halloween, and we are still without a costume. We have had some ideas, but little miss Mia keeps changing her mind. One day she wants to be a Zombie, and then the very next day she wants to be Joy from Inside Out. She literally goes from one extreme to the next. But at least until we figure it out, we can spend some family time preparing for the Spooktacular day, and ABC Family's 13 Nights of Halloween is going to help us get ready.  I am so excited to watch some of the best movies and Halloween classics with Tamia, and that's the glory of being a parent: experiencing again all of your favorites with your children. I can't wait to see Matilda with her. Maybe then she'll want to be a little witch.  With any luck, one of the movies will finally help her figure out what she wants to be. I sure hope so!

The Spooky Lineup is Below via

I have bolded the ones we will be watching!

Monday Oct. 19

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 1:30 p.m. ET | 12:30 p.m. CT
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 5 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 9 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. CT
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Tuesday Oct. 20

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 4 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 6 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. CT
Stitchers 9 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. CT (All new Halloween special)
Casper 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Wednesday Oct. 21

Casper 5 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. CT
The Addams Family 7 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. CT
Addams Family Values 9 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. CT
I Know What You Did Last Summer 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Thursday Oct. 22

The Addams Family 4 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. CT
Addams Family Values 6 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. CT
The Hunger Games 8 p.m. ET | 7 p.m. CT
I Still Know What You Did Last Summer 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Friday Oct. 23

The Hunger Games 5:30 p.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. CT
Sleepy Hollow 8:30 p.m. ET | 7:30 p.m. CT (ABC Family premiere)
Matilda 12 a.m. ET |11 p.m. CT

Saturday Oct. 24th

Matilda 7 a.m. ET | 6 a.m. CT
ParaNorman 9 a.m. ET | 8 a.m. CT
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 11 a.m. ET | 10 a.m. CT
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 1 p.m. ET | 12 p.m. CT
Casper 2:30 p.m. ET | 1:30 p.m. CT
The Addams Family 4:30 p.m. ET | 3:30 p.m. CT
Addams Family Values 6:30 p.m. ET | 5:30 p.m. CT
Disney/Pixar's Monsters University 8:30 p.m. ET | 7:30 p.m. CT

Disney/Pixar's Toy Story OF TERROR! 11 p.m. ET |10 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 11:30 p.m. ET | 10:30 p.m. CT

Sunday Oct. 25

ParaNorman 7 a.m. ET | 6 a.m. CT
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride 9 a.m. ET | 8 a.m. CT
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 11 a.m. ET | 10 a.m. CT
Casper 12:30 p.m. ET | 11:30 a.m. CT
The Addams Family 2:30 p.m. ET | 1:30 p.m. CT
Addams Family Values 4:30 p.m. ET | 3:30 p.m. CT
Disney/Pixar's Toy Story OF TERROR! 6:30 p.m. ET | 5:30 p.m. CT
Disney/Pixar's Monsters University 7 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 9:45 p.m. ET | 8:45 p.m. CT

Monday Oct. 26

Sleepy Hollow 5:30 p.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. CT
Disney/Pixar's Toy Story OF TERROR! 9 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. CT
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 9:30 p.m. ET | 8:30 p.m. CT
Tim Burton's Frankenweenie 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. ET | 10 p.m. CT

Tuesday Oct. 27

Tim Burton's Frankenweenie 4 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. CT
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 6 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. CT
Disney/Pixar's Toy Story OF TERROR! 7:30 p.m. ET | 6:30 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 9 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. CT
ParaNorman 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Wednesday Oct. 28

ParaNorman 4 p.m. ET | 3 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 6 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. CT
Dark Shadows 8:15 p.m. ET | 7:15 CT
Casper 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Thursday Oct. 29

Casper 5 p.m. ET | 4 p.m. CT
The Addams Family 7 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. CT
Addams Family Values 9 p.m. ET | 8 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Friday Oct. 30

The Addams Family 2:30 p.m. ET | 1:30 p.m. CT
Addams Family Values 4:30 p.m. ET | 3:30 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 6:30 p.m. ET | 5:30 p.m. CT
Poltergeist 8:30 p.m. ET | 7:30 p.m. CT
Poltergeist II: The Other Side 12 a.m. ET | 11 p.m. CT

Saturday Oct. 31

Batman 7 a.m. ET | 6 a.m. CT
Batman Returns 10 a.m. ET | 9 a.m. CT
Poltergeist 12:30 p.m. ET | 11:30 a.m. CT
Sleepy Hollow 3 p.m. ET | 2 p.m. | 1 p.m. CT
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas 5:30 p.m. ET | 4:30 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 7 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. CT
Hocus Pocus 9:15 p.m. ET | 8:15 p.m. CT
Sleepy Hollow 11:30 p.m. ET | 10:30 p.m. CT

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of ABC Family and this station.

beautiful minds

I love to inspire others and be inspired in return. 

Thank you all for your support. It's been 10 months for me on the blog, and I hope you have been pleased enough to keep visiting and reading because there's one thing for sure, I definitely plan to keep writing!

octobers are for pirates

When I read this poem, I immediately thought of my beloved Alma Mater East Carolina University, and even though Raider Nation has made it a part of their battle cry, I say a pirate is a pirate, and I am a Pirate of ECU, HEY!

Pillage away, Pirates! ARRGH!

By Steve Sabol