We Love Our Cat

 Clearly, we are obsessed with our kitty Magellan. I volunteer as a cat foster for the NY Animal Shelter, and have really enjoyed fostering kittens in the past. Last July, the shelter called me, desperately asking me to come in and take some new borns home with me until they were old enough to be adopted.

The scary fact is, kittens don't do so well in shelters. They're just too tiny and susceptible to kennel cough, fleas, and other nasty respiratory problems from the older and sick cats. Not only that, but new borns need round the clock care and handling to get them to a safe kitten age to be adopted.

Fosters will step in and take these cuddly creatures home and help socialize them, making them perfect pets to be adopted by a new family. I love it, because I get to take home lots of teeny tiny kittens and play with them all the time and then help make sure they get good homes after.

When the shelter called me in July, I really didn't think I would have the time to dedicate to young kittens, but they sounded dire on the phone so I went. It was dreadful. In the Spring and Summer months, the shelters are literally overrun with litters of kittens and puppies.

There was not a single empty cage left in the entire shelter. Kittens were piled 3 or more to a cage, with new boxes of kittens arriving waiting for a cage to open up. They had pretty much just finished putting down all the older cats, all the sick cats, and there wasn't even an ugly kitten in site. They really didn't want to start putting down the cute kittens, but there was just no space at all.

Their guilt trip definitely worked as they took me on a tour of the shelter to show me all the cute kittens stuffed in cages, soon being sent to their untimely deaths. Every meow sounded like a plea for their lives and I just couldn't bare the thought of an entire family of kittens being wiped out.

Whimsical New Jersey Bridal Shower

I didn't think anything could top my bridal shower in Atlanta, but my mom and aunt Ellie really outdid themselves on Saturday for my second bridal shower. This one was a "couple" shower for both Mat and I. We kept the guest list small and had a really lovely day. I've posted a few photos that Semi took below.

The weather was better than imaginable and the setting was straight out of Alice in Wonderland. All my bridesmaids were in attendance and it was great for us all to spend the day together in the countryside. Mat and my cousins went golfing for the first few hours, while the ladies stayed at the house to munch on hors d'ouevres. 

Our friend Dave showed up later and cracked us all up with his somewhat inappropriate stories, and after their golf game ended, the other men joined us too. We ate slow cooked short ribs with pasta that Ellie had spent all day on, and had crepes for dessert courtesy of Masha and Semi. Then we opened presents and had some delicious cake.  Gorgeous day filled with lots of laughter and even white tailed deer hopped by and spread some magic. Dreamy. 

Food Tasting

I wish we had taken some photos at our food tasting, but honestly, we were way too busy filling ourselves up with exactly 25 full dishes. Masha, Sarah, Jon, my mom, Mat and I went to Capitale to pick our first course, two main courses, and two dessert dishes. We had to choose from 5 first courses, 5 main courses, and 5 desserts. 

Our wedding coordinator Larry noticed we were finishing our plates and urged us to just take two bites per plate because we had lots more dishes to sample. In addition, we had to narrow it down to one red and one white wine from 8 different bottles. Larry was quite shocked and impressed I think to find that by the end, we had indeed finished all our plates. 

Plus, we pretty much made our final picks unanimously and now I'm really excited to eat at the wedding. YUM! We got something for everyone, the meat eaters, the vegetarians, the seafood lovers, and yes, even our vegan friends coming. I really wish we had taken some photos. It was one of the best days.

First Dress Fitting

Today I had my first dress fitting. My mom and aunt came with me to Kleinfelds. The dress looked stunning on the hangar. On me, not so much. It's really huge, but it was expected. That's why it's my "first" dress fitting. Two more to go. Tomorrow Mat and I have our food tasting at Capitale. We're really excited for this! Jon, Masha, and Sarah are coming with us, and my mom too. Yay!

New Jersey Shower

Since Mat and I live in New York and none of our friends here were able to make it to our Atlanta shower, my mom and my Aunt Ellie are hosting me a second bridal shower on September 25 at my aunt's home in New Jersey. I'm so excited because her home is gorgeous and we're having a French cooking theme. 

My roomate/bridesmaid Masha is helping build the menu and my bridesmaid Sarah helped design the gorgeous invites that were illustrated by Ailbhe from Pretty As A Picture. Mat is inviting some of his friends too and we're going to make it more of a couple's shower. Mat and the boys will do something outdoorsy, while us ladies take some cooking lessons indoors and enjoy a crepe dessert bar. Yum.

Here's a glimpse at the invites that I just put in the post today. I'm really loving these vintage stamps. I'll post photos of the shower invites in a couple days.