What I'm Reading Now

I'm off to Florida this weekend to visit my Mimi for her 94th birthday. I just downloaded Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan to read on the trip. She's the author of last years very popular Commencement. Looking forward to diving into this.

What're you reading this summer??



Maine from Amazon

Wedding Roundup

I have another beautiful Nantucket wedding to share! My cousin got married in June and they had some of the most fabulous little details for their big day. So inspiring! Enjoy!

Darling Flower Girls (They're mine too!)

Perfect 

Amazing Sperry Tent

Sailboat Table Numbers 

Spectacular 

Bud Stand!

<3

Sailboat Escort Cards

Oar 'Guest Book'! 

Me and My Boys!

Makes you want to throw a wedding right??

Pardon the Absence...

Sorry my blogging has been less than stellar these days. There are so many fun things going on around Fairfield County and I've been remiss in filling you in on them!! But today starts the one month count down to the wedding and my head is a little spinny. I've been polished and buffed, whitened and highlighted, tanned and taught to dance. I feel like a contestant on a bad reality show - 30 days to the best you! And that doesn't even include all the wedding planning. I'm so excited for our wedding week to be here and I'm trying to soak in all these little moments along the way. So I'm going to do my best to share things along the way, perhaps without my usual loquacious comments, and I'll try to give you a few wedding tidbits as well. Thanks for sticking by me!

Shake Shack is now open in Westport - no need to venture into NYC. Enjoy a fabulous burger right here in your home state!

http://www.westport-news.com/news/article/Westport-burger-fans-show-appetite-for-Shake-Shack-1472977.php

Yum! These are not on the wedding plan but come September, BRING IT ON! : ) 

Key Lime Pie

What says summer more than a delicious key lime pie? Pretty much nothing! It's my all time favorite desert so I'm always on the hunt for the best of the best. I thought I'd share this recipe from my future mother-in-law. Why not whip one up this weekend??

Preheat oven to 350.

Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups of Ginger Snap Cookie crumbs (about 1/2 bagful blended in the blender till crumbly)

1/2 cup flaked coconut

3 Tbls. sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

In a large bowl, mix all of the above ingredients. Pack mixture into a 9” pie pan, pressing firmly to the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

Bake in a 350 oven for 8 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes.

Filling:

In a medium sized bowl, mix

one 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

1/3 cup Key Lime juice

Pour into cooled pie shell.

Bake in oven for 15 minutes.  Let cool, then chill in refrigerator for several hours before serving. 

Optional Meringue:

Beat the 4 egg whites, in a large bowl with

1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar

Slowly add 1/2 cup sugar

Continue beating, at high speed on your mixer, till stiff peaks are formed.

Spoon meringue over the filling, spreading it gently to the edges of the crust.

Bake as instructed above. 

Greenwich Sidewalk Sales

Greenwich Sidewalk Sales kick off today! Don't miss these great deals from tons of participating stores and restaurants. See the full list here on Greenwich Chamber of Commerce website. I'll be stopping by Hoaglands, Lilly, Calypso, Tory Burch, Kate Spade, Togs and Splurge. Not sure how I'm going to fit that into my hour lunch break!? Happy shopping! 

Summer Wines

As someone whose favorite drink is Cavit on ice I definitely don't claim to be any type of wine aficionado! But I love to find fun summer wines with great labels to bring as hostess gifts. I drive my fiancee crazy since I purchase them, put them on the wine rack, and then won't let him drink them. But I just love their beautiful labels, I don't want to waste them! Here are a few of my favorites...and they're actually pretty good!

Sea Glass Sauvignon Blanc  - $12.99

Beach House White - $10.99

Riff Pinot Grigio - $13.99

Why not pick up a great wine bag as well - the perfect combination with these beachy labels! 

Sea Bags Wine Bag - $29

Bella Wine Bag - $5.95

You'll be a hit at your next summer BBQ!

Tarry Lodge Westport is Now Open!

In case you missed the facebook update, Tarry Lodge Westport opened today

http://www.ctbites.com/home/2011/7/18/mario-batalis-tarry-lodge-opens-in-westport-july-19th.html

Can't wait to try their newest location!

Are We in Maine?

Who doesn't love spending an easy summer night enjoying some great seafood and wine on the water? Well in this area it's hard to do without breaking the bank, but fear not, you don't have to travel all the way to Maine to enjoy a delicious lobster dinner. Rowayton Seafood offers their wonderful market fare dockside outside The Restaurant. Enjoy everything from shrimp cocktail, daily oysters and fried clams to steamed mussels, fresh lobsters, fish and chips or lobster rolls. Your non-fish lovers can even enjoy a sirloin burger or chicken fingers. Be sure to BYOB and be prepared to wait, there's only two small tables. But it's so worth it! Open 9am-7pm, 7 days a week.

Rowayton Seafood Market
203.838.7473
www.rowaytonseafood.com

Last summer we went for a late afternoon paddle board from Downunder and then straight to Rowayton Seafood in our bathing suits. A perfect night!

Wedding Countdown

We're headed back to the Cape Saturday for our last weekend of wedding planning and I can't wait to finalize all the little details. Our invitations have been mailed, response cards are rolling in, we have our favorite local band booked, a beautiful florist, darling wedding planner, and amazing custom stationary that I can't wait to post all about! But I've promised myself that I won't share any wedding detail until after the big day - and then watch out, it's going to be a wedding heavy few weeks! However we did get our engagement photos back recently and I figured I could share a few of those since we love our wonderful photographer so much. (How lucky are we that we adore every one of our vendors!) If you're ever planning a wedding or family portraits on the Cape she's the best and so easy to work with. Here are a few favorites...

Amy Dykens
capecodphotography.com
508.896.5625

P.S. I finally put my wedding binder together last night before all our meetings and it was SO MUCH FUN!  : )

Summertime Chicken

Now that summer's getting into full swing we're on the lookout for new grill recipes. I found this one in an old recipe notebook and can't believe I've never tried it before, it sounds delish! I definitely plan on testing it out soon.

Grilled Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken

4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 large basil leaves
1/4 lb fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
4 thin slices prosciutto
1 tbs olive oil

Cut through each piece of chicken to make a 'book'. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, layer inside with basil leaves and fresh mozzarella, close chicken and wrap with slice of prosciutto. Brush with olive oil. On medium heat, grill chicken breasts covered until they are well marked, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken every few minutes for 10-12 minutes or until done (165 degrees). You can also substitute goat cheese and spinach for a different twist!

Chic Event in Darien

One of my favorite bloggers has opened a great new store in Darien. Named after her fabulous blog, Shorely Chic is hosting a grand opening celebration tomorrow night from 6-9pm! I'll definitely be there and look forward to finally meeting Liz. If you're in town stop by for a cocktail and shop some of the great items below. If you can't make it be sure to visit her blog at shorelychic.blogspot.com and you can also follow her great facebook page here! 

Liz in her new store!

I heart these sea horses!!!

AND these frames! What a great gift!

Shorely Chic exclusive stationary

So cute!

And she has the most adorable dog I've ever seen!
(Shorely Chic shares her space with Megan Dey Photography)

See you tomorrow night!

Rowayton River Ramble

A great event for the whole family! Be sure to pick up one of their adorable t-shirts available at the Farmer's Market today or the River Ramble tomorrow. 

BLT Pasta Salad

We picked up a great recipe this weekend from our snack bar and my mom came right home to make it for a BBQ that night. It's a real crowd pleaser and fairly easy to make.

Ingredients
1 box pasta (bowtie or penne)
1 package campari tomatoes
1 package bacon (1 lb)
1 head romaine lettuce
3/4 cup mayonaise (more if desired)
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out bacon strips. Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp. Boil water and cook pasta according to directions. Dice tomatoes into small pieces (quarters or smaller) and remove seeds. Chop lettuce into small strips. Remove bacon from the oven, crumble, return to pan and continue crisping another 10 minutes. Allow pasta and bacon to cool to room temperature.

Combine pasta, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon and mayo. Season with salt and pepper to taste. To make as an entree salad add grilled chicken or grilled shrimp. To serve as an appetizer omit pasta and fill filo pastry cups with BLT mixture.

Yum!

Some other highlights from the holiday weekend! 

4th of July BBQ

Five Mile River

Tomato & Mozz

Patriotic Prosciutto & Melon

Sunset in Oyster Bay

Dinner aboard Merlin

Best.Fireworks.Ever

It was an all around great weekend. I got to accomplish everything on my list and so much more. Now off to Nantucket for my bachelorette! These three day weeks are the best! 

RCA Summer Music Festival

This year there are some great acts coming to Bayley Beach for the Rowayton Civic Association's Summer Music Festival. No beach sticker? No problem - non Rowayton residents can get in for $20 per car. Be sure to bring your beach chairs, a picnic, cocktails and arrive early for the best seats. Need food in a hurry - stop by Rowayton Pizza, they always have large cheese pizzas available without calling ahead.

Sunday July 10th, 5:30pm
The Samples
PJ Pacifico (opening)

Sunday July 17th, 5:30pm
Mystic Bowie (reggae)

Sunday July 24th, 5:30
Pat McGee Band
The Well (opening)

For more information and a list of all acts visit http://www.rowaytonct.com/summermusic2011.html

OG Finally Has Farmer's Market

Summer Pop-Up

A new pop-up shop is opening in Darien today. A unique concept, its basically a three week sample sale but with current designer merchandise. Below are some of the highlighted items they will be carrying. And all FFC411 readers receive 10% off their purchase! But hurry, this shop's only here until July 24th.

Current Elliot Khakis - as seen on GP 

Marc by Marc Jacobs Cat Eye Sunglasses

Soludos Espadrilles - a favorite of Kate Bosworth

I'll definitely be getting a pair of these - so cute!