This weekend Luke and I went to Ohio for my bridal shower. It was so nice to spend time with our family and friends, and we got a TON of great presents off our registry (I’ll never get sick of opening presents!).

One present in particular was used to create this week’s Sunday night supper- a food processor! I’ve been dying for a food processor since so many great recipes require one- pesto, salsas and even homemade granola bars.

I was craving Black Bean Burgers for some reason. I really love the spicy flavor, unique texture and filling qualities of these vegetarian burgers. I also wanted to test out my new processor, which is needed for this recipe.

Basically you just mash up a 16 oz. can of black beans so most of the beans are “mushy.” Then I threw 1/2 a green pepper, 3 peeled garlic cloves and 1/2 and onion into the food processor until they’re finely chopped.

In a separate bowl I mixed one egg, 1 tablespoon each of chili powder, cumin and hot sauce. Then I added 3/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs to thicken it a bit.

I strained the beans and onion/garlic/pepper mix to get rid of the extra water before mixing everything (beans, onion mix, and egg/breadcrumb mix) together.

While my grill pan heated up to medium/high heat, I formed patties out of the mixture. It was a bit sticky/soft, so don’t be alarmed if you can’t make perfect patties. Once I threw them on the grill that held together fairly well.

We topped ours with whole-grain flat bread buns, onion, cheese, mustard and ketchup.

For a side, I whipped together a Mexican salad with iceberg lettuce, Mexican cheese, tomatoes, canned corn and jalapeno peppers.

I also used my processor a second time to make homemade chipotle dressing. This dressing is really easy and delicious with a ton of chipotle kick. I like to make a batch of it and keep it around all week for salads.

 All it takes is 1/2 a packet of Ranch dressing mix, 1 1/2 cups light sour cream, pureed chipotle peppers (this is where you need the food processor),  juice from one lime and 1 tablespoon cumin. Just mix, refrigerate for a 1/2 hour and enjoy!

This meal was a great way to mix in some vegetarian eating into our diet. The burgers were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with lots of onion, garlic and spicy flavor. The chipotle dressing also had a nice kick to off-set the cold iceberg lettuce.

I definitely recommend you guys try this recipe out! If anything, it would be a nice offering at a barbecue this summer.

Warning! If you’re not comfortable reading about my skivvy’s, then you may want to visit another day. :)

Tonight is my first dress fitting. I am so excited to see my gown again and also a bit nervous. I hope I still love it!

Leading up to this fitting, I’ve been running around town trying to find the perfect undergarments to wear with my dress. Unlike many gowns, my dress does not have much structure, boning or bodice built in, so I had to find something else to “suck me in.”

When anticipating what would be the hardest wardrobe piece to find for my wedding, I never would have thought about undergarments. But you would not believe how difficult it is to find the right ones! I needed something to shape my middle area and provide a “cinch” at the waist.

First I ordered some Yummie Tummie shape wear per a recommendation from a friend. She said they were great under clothes because they didn’t leave lines.

When it arrived, I was less than thrilled. It basically just laid on top of my stomach without make me look any smaller. Maybe I needed a smaller size?

I decided that the only way to get a good fit was to try some on in the store. I trekked down to Michigan Ave. on a Saturday and hit up Macy’s, Nordstrom AND Bloomingdales, all with no luck. I was surprised and frustrated that none of them had anything suitable for bridal undergarments!

As I was walking out of Bloomingdales feeling desperate, I spotted a small boutique called Intimacy-Bra Fit Stylists. A sign said they specialized in “helping women of all sizes find a fit that makes them look and feel sleeker, slimmer, and sexier,” which sounded promising.

As soon as I told them I was looking for undergarments to wear with my wedding dress, all the sales ladies directed me to a wall of bustiers, girdles and what looked like chastity belts. They then pulled out what is probably the least-sexy piece of underwear I have EVER seen!

Seriously, this thing looks like a lace cage or something! Lol. I tried it on while trying not to laughing to myself about how ugly it was. This thing requires some MAJOR pulling, tugging and adjusting before it fits.

Just as I was feeling thoroughly embarrassed to have three sales ladies yanking some granny undies onto me, I looked in the mirror and saw how TINY it made my waist look. It has boning within it that nips at the waist and smooths all over. And for all the pulling, it was pretty comfortable once in place.

So yes, I am not embarrassed to admit that I walked out of the store with this monster of an undergarment- the Rago High Waist Long Leg Shaper. It may be ugly underneath my dress, but my body is going to look bangin!

What undergarments do you guys swear by? Spanx? Hanky Panky? Victoria’s Secret?

This weekend Luke and I attended our Pre-Cana retreat on the south side of Chicago. Pre-Cana is the day long preparation class all couples who get married in the Catholic church are required to attend.

I wasn’t particularly looking forward to spending my Saturday in a room from 9:00 – 4:00, but it ended up being a pretty enlightening day. The purpose of the retreat was to prepare Luke and I not just for our wedding, but also the life-long marriage that comes after it.

It’s easy to get caught up thinking about the wedding portion without spending much time preparing for the marriage. During the day we talked about everything including: how we define the word commitment, how many kids we want to have, how we’ll manage our finances and how our faith will play a role in our lives.

My favorite part of the day was when we were asked to write each other a love letter describing our feelings about our upcoming wedding. It was nice to have a moment to document my thoughts and also to read Luke’s in return.

The letter was to start with the line “the biggest emotion I have about our upcoming marriage is…” I won’t go into detail, but some of the words used in our letters include: excitement, hope and anticipation.

I’m planning to keep those letters locked away safely, so on our anniversaries Luke and I can pull them out and re-live the emotions we’re feeling leading up to our wedding.

I wonder if we’ll have the same feelings years from now or if we’ll laugh at how naive we were! Either way, it will be a sweet memory to relive.

This morning one of my blogger friends passed me a link to a post she had written about watching her wedding video years later with her children. She talked about the lessons she’s learned through her years of marriage and what she wished someone had said to her one her own wedding day.

One line that struck a chord with me was “The most loving thing you’ll ever be able to do is to put each other first.”  

Well said, right? I think this is super important for Luke and I remember, because someday when we have kids, careers and 100 other things taking up our time we might forget to put each other as number one.

My parents have always lived this rule in their marriage, putting their relationship above all else…even us, their kids. They’d try hard not to take sides during disagreements with us, come to decisions mutually behind closed doors so we couldn’t tag the “nice parent,” and back each other up at all times.

Some people might balk at the idea of putting their spouse BEFORE their children, but I think the best thing parents can do for their kids is to love each other first. It provides a sense of security and a foundation for how to have a lasting commitment that so many kids miss out on.

As our wedding day draws nearer, I’m going to try to live this lesson. I’m going to do my best to not let the opinions of others or the stress of planning come before the reason for this day…Luke and I’s love and commitment to each other.  

Do you guys agree that your spouse should come first? How do you ensure you live that lesson in your life?

Thanks Amy @ResourcefulMom for reminding me of this important life lesson!