Wayne, Bentley, and Paisley!

Yesterday I went to the Jimmy Wayne, Dierks Bentley and Brad Paisley concert in Baltimore! It was a blast! I went with Annie, Deanna, and Andi. We started off the evening going out to dinner right near Andi's awesome apartment. The restaurant looked over the harbor from Canton. It was such a nice day that we started off dinner outside before the sunset.

After dinner Annie drove us back to her apartment right near the 1st Mariner Arena. We walked to the concert from there and found our seats. I got my camera out and took the first picture an d immediately after I received the battery exhausted notification! outrageous! So I stole Annie's camera so the below pictures are from her! Thanks Annie!

Annie and Me

Deanna and Andi.

Annie and Andi

An attempt to get a picture of us all! lol.

The people behind us got tired of the flashes and offer to take one for us!
A successful group shot!!

It was an awesome concert and so great to hang out with some of the girls from home!

Engagement Photos are posted

This is going to be a short post, just to let you know that our engagement pictures are up!

Feel free to take a look:
http://www.heatherzphotography.com/blog/

Terrapins in the Rain.

For the second year in a row Homecoming for Maryland was a raining day. However the rain did not deter us from the tail gating! My dad is quite a crafty man and with 3 tents, 4 heaters and some tarps we had the most cozy tail gate around! Several people came over to see us and were impressed by the coziness of our tents.

Setting up!

I got to see some of my old roommates Doody (its her last name) and Kris. Shyvonne made an appearance as did some of the Delta Gammas. Kelvin came to say hi and to convince me to stick around after the football activities!

Me and Doody!!



Kel is so very disappointed in Shyvonne!

After the tailgate Kris, Kel and I went back to Sigma Nu for some more partying. There I saw more friends and it felt like we were in college again. Oh and I do miss college!

Brotherly Love!

We made our way to Cornerstone, which was packed with people. There I saw more DGs and a couple of other friends.

At C-Stone

All in all homecoming was a success! I had a blast and hung out with some of the best people in the world. I don't even care that Maryland didn't win. After all I had more important things to do then football, tailgating and reminiscing!

It's good to be a Turtle!

Sunday Engagement

Sunday was a day all about JJ and me! I must say that it is really nice to have one of those days every once in awhile!

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We started off the day with an engagement photo session with Heather, our wedding photographer. We met her in College Park at the University of Maryland. We decided to do our pictures there because not only is it my alma mater, but it is where we met. We spent almost every weekend together there after we met.

We really lucked out with the weather. I thought it was going to be cold and I was prepared to suffer for the sake of the pictures, but we lucked out! The sun was out and there was only a little bit of crisp in the air. Walking around in jeans and a short sleeve shirt was just fine.

We took pictures with Testudo on the Mall, and around some of the buildings. We got some pictures in the "downtown" area of CP. We also got a few shapshots in front of the anchor at Delta Gamma, and yes, I wore the anchor dress!

We don't have the proofs yet, but check out our photographer's blog! Once they are up I will add photos.

http://www.heatherzphotography.com/blog/

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Picture courtesy of Ashley Estill Photography.

After the photos we headed straight for Annapolis where my Dear Aunt Penny threw us an engagement party! It was tacky Hawaiian themed (a classy luau just wouldn't be as fun!) and I was flaunting a grass skirt and my very own pair of sea shells.

My Dear Aunt Penny!

Picture courtesy of Ashley Estill Photography.

The food was great! All tropical, including the most delicious cole slaw I've ever had! Now I must retract a statement I made at the party. My Aunt did not buy the slaw from Costco! She made it! So everyone, please excuse my error! The recipe is below:

Peanut Ginger Cole Slaw

This simple recipe for an Asian flavored cole slaw includes red and green cabbage, grated carrots, green onions, cilantro, peanuts, wine vinegar, and sesame oil. Cole Slaw Ingredients

· 2 Tablespoons of light corn syrup

· 2 Tablespoons of sesame oil

· 1 cup of mayonnaise

· 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar

Dressing Ingredients

· 1 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced

· 1/2 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced

· 2 tablespoon of crystalized ginger, chopped

· 3 carrots, peeled and grated

· 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

· 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

· 1 cup roasted and salted peanuts

Instructions:
Beat the dressing ingredients together with a wire wisk. Stir the dressing mixture into the cole slaw vegetables and mix well.

We had a really good cake too! Which we all enjoyed after JJ got a comical beating from my Aunt!

Enjoying the cake!

Picture courtesy of Ashley Estill Photography.

It was really nice to have all of my family and friends together to celebrate our engagement. Many of the people I had not seen since I first moved from Maryland, so it was a real treat.

The boys had cigars!!!

Rob and JJ

Big PopPop

The Ginger Fam!
Picture courtesy of Ashley Estill Photography.

The girls!
Picture courtesy of Ashley Estill Photography.

Me and Garth

I have another confession to make! There was a mystery gift and I'm not sure who to thank! So this is to you, who ever you are!


Dear Clever Wine Gifter,

Thank you so much for attending for our engagement party (you were no doubt there since you delivered the gift).

We are so glad that you could share with us during this special time. The Monogamy wine gave us a giggle! It will be much enjoyed in Hawaii. And we look forward to hosting you, when you visit!

Love,
Emma & JJ

I want to again thank everyone who could come to the party. I'm so glad to have some many wonderful people in my life! I love you all dearly and I will miss you. Some good news though... you know you always have a place to stay in HAWAII!

Battle of the Cusine

This past weekend the final cratering decision was made! It was very hard to choose between the last two contenders.

The first tasting was on Friday and was attended by my Mom, JJ and me. We sat out on a patio overlooking a marina. We started with shrimp cocktail, mini crab cakes, scallops wrapped in bacon and spinach & cheese tarts. It was all so good! I'm very excited about the crab cakes.... I mean what would a Maryland wedding be without one?


The next course was a delicious Tuscan spiral cut chicken and beef tenderloin. The presentation was lovely and the flavor was even better!




Then we sampled dishes that will be available in the pasta station. Oh and the grilled vegetables!




All in all everything from Ken's Creative Kitchen was delicious, beautifully presented and we really liked our event manager. Jamie is extremely helpful and is quick to make suggestions if needed or asked for.


We also sampled our last cake vendor Friday night. We had red velvet cake and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Also, vanilla and chocolate cake with butter cream icing.

All this food talk is making me hungry!!!

Monday was the last tasting at Tapenade in Edgewater. Two bridesmaids, JJ and I had the best breakfast we've had in a long time.

We started with a hot spinach and artichoke dip with fresh french bread! That was followed by shrimp cocktail, mini crab cake and scallops wrapped in prosciutto. Oh and the pecan encrusted chicken bites. After the hors d'oeuvres we had a sample of the spring salad and Caesar salad.



Next we had a sample of the pasta station. This included several sauces and toppings. All scrumptious!




Finally we had beef with horseradish or wild mushroom sauce and grilled vegetables.

Pictures courtesy of the Klines!

All in all everything was delicious and I don't think a single guest will go hungry at our wedding. JJ and I really enjoyed this experience. Its nice to have someone interested in getting you exactly what you want! JJ enjoyed it so much he is talking it up to ever person he talks to. I think it I told him this was apart of wedding planning he would have proposed long ago! haha!

Turtles Eat Tigers for Breakfast

Turtle Power (2nd and 3rd generation Terps!)

My Dad and I always joke that it is hard to be a Maryland fan. And we thought this past Saturday would be just that. To our surprise, (and to the Clemson fans) Maryland won! It wasn't without some nerve racking moments, but that is what Fridge likes to do. We have had a struggle thus far into the season, losing to teams like Middle Tennessee. I really don't get it. We have the talent, but they just can't seem to get it together as a team.


As a fan of Biggest Loser and fascination with other major weight loss stories, I'm truly happy that Fridge has lost over 100 pounds. However, I'm a little concerned about my boys. It is pretty obvious that there is a lack in coaching, especially with the offense line. Oh and how aggravating it is to sit on the side line and know exactly what will happen next. We don't have the offense line that can make holes in the opposing defense, so stop running it up the middle! Oh and 3rd and long, why don't we throw it now that the pressure is on!

I am by no means a football expert, but if I can call the plays, there is something wrong. We need a little creativity out there! Ok sorry for the blurb, but I had to get it out.

The team thanks the most loyal fans, the students

Although, what would football be without tailgating? Just a game, and not an experience! So the tailgating was awesome and usually the better part of the experience! We had breakfast sandwiches, bagels, pumpkin breads, etc. And most importantly we had Mimosas! Which would be more enjoyable if I didn't get harassed by that strange woman who is so concerned that I might be underage.

Praying to the Football Gods

So in the end it was a pretty good time. We got to tailgate, the weather was beautiful, and Maryland WON!