Fruit Basket Centerpiece

I'm finally starting to clean out and toss out (I mean recycle) all the wedding ideas I'd been stashing. I have a couple years' worth of Martha Stewart Good Things pages ripped from her magazines. I planned dozens of weddings in my head and fought hard for a few elements to be included in what eventually became our wedding. Sadly, some of my favorites did not make the final cut. But, fortunately for a wedding blogger, I now have a file of those favorites to pass on to you, dear readers.

Wouldn't these fruit basket centerpieces be adorable at a fall harvest wedding? Imagine them filled with bright red and green apples and pears. My thoughts were that guests could snack on the fruit before and after dinner. (I was told by more than one person that that was a silly idea. Whole fruit is too messy to eat while wearing nice clothes. Really? Everyone dove into the fresh strawberries on the brie plate without hesitation, and I would think juicy red strawberries are much messier than apples.)

A basket of fruit can be used in any season. Just check the farmers' markets for what's fresh and local. In late fall or winter you could also fill them with small gourds or pine cones. Baskets can be collected on sale at craft stores or stores like Cost Plus World Market, or at summer flea markets. Cheap, rustic table decor.

(Image from Martha Stewart's Weddings.)

Al Roker + Martha Stewart + You

Some of you who read my regular blog, Where in the World Am I?, probably know of my love-hate relationship with the Today Show. I can't help but be sucked in to their latest Today Show Throws a Wedding feature. This year they've joined up with Martha Stewart. I wish I had a Martha Stewart wedding! I might even be willing to go on tv for it! (But Mike would never have gone for that.)

I've been a sucker for their previous weddings on tv. I look at the gowns and flowers and vote online. I watch the big day broadcast, foolishly teary-eyed. I can't help it.

I'm already married, but some of you aren't, so you can sign up online to be one of Martha Stewart's perfect brides: Would you like to get married on Today?

You don't have to go anywhere near Martha Stewart to take advantage of some of the goods. If you're feeling adventurous, join Al Roker (because, really, who better to cover wedding dresses?) to Grab a free wedding dress. Las Vegas was this morning. For the rest of the week, check out Al in Miami, Chicago, and New York.

And let us know if you go for it! We'd love to catch a glimpse of a reader, or see her entire wedding, on tv!

(Pic from MSNBC.com)

DIY -- Martha's Chocolate Truffles

About a year ago I tried making the Chocolate-Champagne Truffles in Sparkling Sugar in the Winter 2006 Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. I'd never made truffles before, but I'd melted chocolate and openned bottles of champagne, so I figured putting the two together would easy. Maybe the trouble comes from not boiling the milk properly? Or maybe I didn't have the right proportions of ingredients. But several hours later all I had to show for myself was a bowl full of gloopy champagne-flavored chocolate and an open bottle of champagne. I didn't have a stopper for the bottle so I had little choice but to drink it or waste it.

I drank one glass, then fell asleep. The next morning I woke up and the chocolate still hadn't become thick enough to roll into truffles. Martha, what went wrong? Is it because you are a dictator with an army of assistants making vats and vats of champagne-chocolate goop before the truffles finally emerge? Is it because you are perfectionist, measuring every ingredient down to the last grain of sugar, and I'm more likely to eyeball it? Is it because I don't know how to boil milk? (Seriously, what do you do with the skin? Throw it out or just mix it into the chocolate with the rest of the milk? So far I've gone with mixing it in...)

Today I revisited truffles. A different recipe this time, but the same basic principles: boil milk, melt chocolate, mix in flavoring (grapefruit juice), chill, shape into balls, dust with cocoa powder. Currently my bowl is chilling in the fridge. For 1 to 4 hours. I know it needs to reach a certain thickness in order to form into balls, but is it possible to over chill it? What if I forget and leave it in for 5 hours? I guess I'll find out. I just realized that it's 6 pm now, so I could conceivably be rolling truffles at 10 pm tonight. (Or we'll find out what happens when the chocolate chills overnight.)

The moral of the story, kids, is even if you're a good, or even great, cook, if you want to try a new recipe for a big event like a shower, rehearsal dinner, wedding reception, etc., give yourself plenty of time to practice it. I really don't think homemade truffles will be on my menu.

Edited to add: Sunday morning, and the chocolate still isn't thick enough to handle. Grr.

DIY Wedding

Some of us are crafty. Sewing, knitting, paper-folding, hot gluing--there are lots of crafty hobbies you can incorporate into your wedding to make the event more personal. Doing some things yourself can save money. It also takes time, though, and as the wedding approaches you will find less time to spend with your hot glue gun, so choose your DIY wedding projects carefully. For instance, I love baking, but would never attempt to make my wedding cake. I’ll be making favors and centerpieces that can be assembled in advance and kept in the closet until show time.

The emergence of crafting mega-stores like Jo-Ann’s and Michael’s have made it easy for anyone to do something themselves, from invitation kits that you print at home to candles and silk flowers for centerpieces, to the fabric and patterns needed for sewing your own dress. (I sew, but I’m not attempting to make my own dress, either.) Those store also have some incredible sales, so if you think you'll be needing some supplies from them, sign up for their mailing lists so you buy and stockpile things as they go on sale. Most towns have boutiques for specialty fabrics and paper if you want something that won't be found just anywhere. And of course, almost anything you need can be bought on the internet somewhere. (My newest internet love is Save on Crafts.)

Personally, I love Martha Stewart’s magazines, especially the Good Things sections. (I could plan 100 weddings with Martha’s ideas!) But some of those projects are hard! Or include high-end materials that just can’t be found by the average person. Or require a staff of helper-bees to do most of the work. So I give them a try and do the best I can. I have more inspired-by Martha projects than actual Martha projects.

As we go along with this blog, I’ll chronicle my crafting experiences. The mister has asked that I not reveal too much about our own wedding until after it happens, but I have plenty of other crafting stories to share.