b and d

Daniel 25.0

2010-07-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some shots of Daniel's surprise birthday party. He looks ready to pounce on that chocolate cake. We had an amazing turn out of friends that amiably packed into our little apartment to wish Daniel Happy 25th Birthday. The menu : Double Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies, Caramel Popcorn, Maple Glazed Pecans, Devil's Food Cake, Roasted Banana Ice Cream, Balsamic Strawberry Sorbet and Port.

Brit 25.0 // March 27

2010-06-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

One year ago, we spent my birthday in Point Reyes National Park where Daniel surprised me with a camping trip and a ring. Remaining true to Daniel's nature, my birthday was not without surprises. Daniel cooked a delightful breakfast of blueberry scones, omelet, bacon, fruit and yogurt. At noon we enjoyed a picnic lunch in Union Square and some shopping.

For dinner Daniel took me to Dosa for Indian food. It was an incredibly thoughtful pick. Growing up, every year Mom would ask me what I wanted for my birthday dinner..... and every year it was curry and rice, a recipe that has been passed down through our family for years. By the time I was a teenager she no longer needed to ask. It's still a dish that gives me warm feeling all the way down to my toes. Nothing will ever have the power of Mom's curry.

After dinner, Daniel took me to the San Francisco Ballet to see Little Mermaid. It was a stunning interpretation and the theater was beautiful. I was so grateful for my husband, for my journey and for my lovely city. It was a magical birthday.

A NEW FAMILY MEMBER!!!!!

2010-05-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

Brit and I are so excited to announce a new addition to our family. We felt like the blog was the best way to announce to the masses our excitement over this unexpected change in our lives! ..................................................................................................................................

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That's right folks, while out and about yesterday we happened upon this Le Creuset #22 on consignment, and we knew we needed a new sibling for our children. Like a puppy in a kennel we could not just leave this cute little thing all alone in that shop. Join us in welcoming our new addition.

Momofuku days and picnics

2010-05-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

Poached egg over asparagus and miso butter "carbonara"

Lemongrass pork sausage lettuce wraps with pickled carrots and daikon and fish sauce vinagrette

The absolute BEST pulled pork...... Rub a 7lb pork shoulder with a mixture of 1 part sugar, 1 part kosher salt. Let sit covered in fridge overnight. Roast in 250 oven for 6 hours basting every hour. What you get is melt in your mouth heaven and lots of beautiful USEFUL rendered pork fat (awesome with potatoes, eggs, everything)!

We are now internet friendly.

2010-05-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

Now that we have internet, I no longer have an excuse for not posting! Oh happy day! We took the plunge and signed up with Comcast. No more cramming the laptop up against the kitchen window and rearranging furniture to block the fridge just so that I can check email!!!!

Check out our newest posts....

More Sunday Bread

Homemade Pizza

Valentine's Day 2010

Time for another post...

2010-04-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

So, I'm putting up meatballs. Like other people put up jam, I put up my meatballs. I make big cookie sheets of them and a huge pot of 'gravy'. Half of them make it into a big bag in the freezer and the rest don't make it through the week. We've been known to make spaghetti, meatball sliders, sandwiches or even just as they are. Yum.

So I've update our flickr site... which is HERE. You can see some of the moments we've captured from our adventures in the "Adventures with Brit and Dan" Set.......In January we went skiing in Tahoe with some friends, Jen and Arthur. More technically snowboarding. Daniel had to go to board school but he was a trooper and wore a smile, most of the time!

In February we drove to Napa for the weekend and went wine tasting and enjoyed some very wonderful food. It was a retreat from work and the city.... it was relaxing to get away.

In the beginning of March we flew out to meet Daniel's parents and Aunt and Uncle in the Bahamas. We all tucked cozily into Jan and Alan's boat. It was like camping on the sea by the beach. Rough I know....

then Brystal came to visit us later in March which was so wonderful. I missed her face off! We went exploring, shopping, eating and enjoying each others' company. She armed herself with fab clothing for her senior photo shoot (which turned out amazing, get a peek HERE).

Nothing like handmade pasta

2010-03-14T21:56:00.000-07:00

BOLOGNESE SAUCE (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

Serves 10
I actually halved this recipe and did a mixture of pork and beef. About half and half. So I did about 1 1/2# of each. But this is an amazing way to use your Christmas deer besides jerkey (all you guys in OK). The sauce can be made a couple days ahead, let cool an hour and then chilled.
5 tablespoons butter
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
3/4 cup chopped carrot
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 pounds antelope sausages or spicy Italian sausages, casings removed
3/4 pound ground venison or ground beef
3/4 pound bacon, chopped
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
3/4 cup tomato paste (about 7 1/2 ounces)
Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add next 4 ingredients. Sauté until vegetables are soft but not brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Add meat. Increase heat to high. Cook until meat is brown, breaking into small pieces with back of spoon, about 15 minutes.
Stir in milk, wine, and tomato paste. Reduce heat to low. Simmer until sauce is thick, flavors blend, and juices are reduced, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over HOMEMADE PAPPARDELLE pasta

More Sunday Bread

2010-03-01T17:49:00.000-08:00

I crave bread. I'll make you crave it too.....

Homemade pizza recipe

2010-02-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

Pizza Dough- Adapted from Baking Illustrated

This dough is best made in the food processor but it has to be at least an 11-cup capacity. If you use AP Flour instead of bread flour the crust will be fine but less crispy. If you want to make the dough in the morning and let it rise all day covered on the counter until doubled (about 8 hours) decrease the yeast to ½ tsp.

½ cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

1 envelope instant yeast

1 ¼ cups water, at room temp

2 Tbsp olive oil

4 cups (22 oz) bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 ½ tsp salt

Olive oil for oiling the bowl

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells (5 min). Add the room-temp water and oil and stir to combine.

Process the flour and salt in a large food processor, pulsing. Continue pulsing while pouring liquid ingredients (holding back a few tablespoons) through the feed tube. Dough should readily form a ball (if not add remaining liquid and pulse until it forms a ball). Process until dough is smooth and elastic, about 30 seconds longer.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead by hand for a few strokes to form a smooth round ball. Put the dough into a deep oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours. Press the dough to deflate it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 3 pieces. Form each piece into a smooth round ball and cover with a damp cloth. Let the dough relax at least 10 min but no more than 30 min. Preaheat the oven to 500* F with a pizza stone on the lowest rack. Shape the dough by pressing, stretching, or rolling. Put crust on a pizza stone liberally sprinkled with cornmeal. Prick with a fork to prevent bubbling. Bake on the pizza stone until golden 6-10 min.

Recipe for homemade 'mallows

2010-02-20T17:06:00.000-08:00

Here is the recipe for the marshmallows from my previous post! Be creative, use a sugared cookie cutter and cut out fun shapes and roll in colored sugar....

Vanilla bean marshmallows

Adapted from Thomas Keller

3 envelopes knox gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

2 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste (or extract or other extract like lemon or orange)

confectioners sugar for dredging

In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 min.

In a small sauce pan combine sugar, corn syrup and 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Turn mixer on to high speed and pour boiling syrup into mixture. Add the salt and beat 12 min. Mixture should be fluffy, glossy and stiff. Stir in vanilla (or other flavoring) until incorporated. Scrape into lined pan and spread evenly. Cover with oiled plastic wrap.

*Tip* Lightly oil spatula or scraper and use the oiled plastic wrap to cover and use hands to push and spread fluff evenly.

Let mixture sit for a few hours before cutting. Remove top layer of wrap and turn out onto a surface dusted with confectioners sugar. Remove remaining wrap and dust entire surface with sugar. Cut the slab into pieces (I usually get 36 cubes) with a serrated knife. It helps to dust the knife and/or clean it periodically. Dredge each mallow in sugar. Enjoy your mallow in a cup of hot chocolate, dipped in melted chocolate or just like it is.

I Heart You Day 2010

2010-02-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

so we decide to start a precedent for our Valentine's Day... one of us makes dinner and the other makes breakfast... and every year we switch. Sounds diplomatic right? So in honor of breakfast disasters, I was very successful in making what I called Cinnamon Roll Slump. Mom would have been so disappointed and I promptly requested her recipe for my next attempt. So add to that some bacon and prosciutto baked eggs and that's my slightly pathetic breakfast plate

Daniel hit one out of the park with gorgeous pork chops, baked apples and red onion, and a mango cucumber salad. He finished it off with a dark chocolate filled brioche and a port. It was our first bottle of port and I think Daniel fell in love all over again....

SUPER bowl!

2010-02-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Yeah yeah I know this was all the way back to the beginning of February.... but seriously I'm so behind! We've cooked some stuff I just can't leave off the blog, though (even if it is a few months ago!). So since we have the chronic Holiday Celebration Syndrome, we thought "why not make lots of food and have people over for this football game?" Jack (as always) and Alan, Julie and Avin obliged us. So here is our fare..... homemade pretzels with aged white cheddar and a pale ale mustard, pork sliders on challah rolls with pepperjack and aoili, oven roasted garlic fries, and a green apple cabbage slaw with pecans..... yummy.

Jack (family of 1) and the Mateos (Alan, Julie and Avin at about 1 month old)

Easy pulled pork for sliders (adapted from Momofuku)

You can multiply this recipe as needed. A 10-pound shoulder takes 3 times the seasoning but the same amount of time to cook!

3-pound piece of boneless pork shoulder

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

1. Put the shoulder into a roasting pan (we use our le creuset) that holds it snugly. Mix together the salt and sugar in a small bowl and rub the mix all over the meat; discard the excess. Cover the container with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least 6 hrs, no longer than 24.

2. Heat oven to 250 F

3 Discard any liquid in the pan. Put the shoulder in the oven and cook for 6 hours, basting ever hour with rendered fat. Take it out of the oven and let rest 30 min.

4. Shred the meat, pulling into strands using two forks, as you would pulled pork. If you need to hold the pork for a day or so, add some of the rendered fat from the pan to the shredded meat to keep it most and store it, tightly covered, in the fridge. Reheat it in a low oven (250 or 300F) before using.

We like to save the strained rendered fat to use like you would butter or oil.... adds flavor in sauces, to fries, even scrambled eggs.

Sunday bread

2010-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

We have taken to making bread every Sunday. In the past i have had a serious vendetta against bread-baking. Its in my blood to love bread. I grew up fighting for zwieback and stashing away butterhorns with my greedy fingers for later. I love this carbohydrate in all its glory. It is my weakness and my nemesis. Even when I've been the baker's assistant (mom's or grandma's) i always somehow managed to do something terrible. So I have decided to conquer bread with Daniel's help in a series of Sundays....

Our first foray was brioche (which we first made into rolls for Thanksgiving then later into a loaf for Christmas) a very rich velvety bread, heavy on the egg and heavy on the butter. The smell of this bread baking is ridiculous and one can't help but just gravitate towards the kitchen. The result is a dark and shiny crust and a soft golden interior. Perfect for eating and even better as french toast. But there is no shame in slicing it thinly, toasting it and making a fried egg sandwich out of it. The day after Christmas we had Ciabatta, some of which we made into little rolls for hamburgers and sandwiches and the rest into a big rustic loaf for slicing and freezing. The Ciabatta was a crusty bread with an airy center and perfect chew. It thumped like a drum when you knocked on it and toasted so beautifully straight out of the freezer.

Bread-baking has been a very relaxing Sunday activity and I look forward to the amazing thing that is yeast-and-flour-and-water, rising and baking. The smell is the warm velvety smell of home and family and comfort. There is no satisfaction like measuring, mixing, kneading and forming and pulling a hot loaf of bread out of the oven to cool and slice and eat throughout the week with soup, in a sandwich or sopping up a delicious sauce, knowing all the while that you made that bread with your own two hands. Stay tuned for more bread making chronicles to come.....Happy bread-making Sunday.

Homemade marshmallows

2010-02-02T08:12:00.000-08:00

Winter came with urge to cuddle up with a decadent toasty beverage and my shiny new hubby. This provided the perfect opportunity to make something so common, and too often taken for granted... marshmallows. Our winter beverages had to be worth of their fluffy square crowns of creamy vanilla sweetness. So Daniel set to work on mugs of rich hot chocolate and I made Thomas Keller’s Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows.
I couldn’t believe how simple and gratifying the recipe was. It was just a matter of heating sugar and water and adding gelatin and corn syrup and vanilla. The outcome was this fabulously fluffy 8 1/2 x 11" slab of pillowy sugar. It flopped out happily onto my cutting board. It added the perfect creamy sweetness to a cup of hot chocolate but the most amazing thing was the way the marshmallow roasted over the gas stove. It was the ultimate S’more. All I needed was a homemade graham cracker.…….

My favorite things

2010-01-13T16:07:00.000-08:00

For months we’ve been settling monochromatically in to our little city dwelling. Color is such a commitment and we seemed to be acquiring only grey or white or silver things with an occasional wood piece for warmth. First there were the stainless steel kitchen shelves, the blush white and slate towels, the dove grey sheets and white duvet, then the soft grey couch, the wood kitchen island, the paper white lacquered cabinet, and then finally a rug which was black, white and EUREKA! YELLOW! AND RED! And then snagged some fabulous linen napkins on sale from work and made deliciously Dijon pillows. And just like that we injected a little umph into our world. So to usher in the New Year I’m sharing with some of my favorite new things….. repurposed goods! a knitted pillow (which was a previously failed project), Williams-Sonoma napkin pillows over feather pillow forms I found at Good Will, a new cutting board top for our Saarinen-esque table base (originally $99 but I paid $15 off the sale table at work, then had to lug the 30 lb beast home on the bus) and our jars (which are left over from the wedding) full of dried bulk goods and homemade marshmallows…… enjoy!

Christmas with the Eppersons

2009-12-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

It’s such a fascinating thing, merging two people, two sets of traditions and two sets of expectations into a family. It was a strange but exciting holiday for us. We were unable to spend it with family because my job required I work through the holidays. So we had our own little Christmas. Both of our families feast on Christmas Eve; the Eppersons have shrimp and steak and the Karbers do three courses of fondue. Since I have a slight aversion to cheese we decided to do a version of Surf n Turf. Fresh Dungeness crab sautéed in butter served on top of pan seared steak with a Béarnaise sauce. We served our dinner with a pickled red onion salad and whole grain bread and finished it with profiteroles served with homemade vanilla pudding and rich chocolate sauce. We went to bed warm and well fed while visions of brioche danced in our heads. This could possibly have been a side effect of pulling a hot loaf out of the oven just before falling asleep (see below).

Christmas morning we roused ourselves and made breakfast. We made French Toast with slices of that yummy brioche bread (baked the night before) made rich with butter and egg. We served our homemade brioche pain perdu dusted with confectioners sugar and topped fresh mixed berry sauce. It was decadent and delicious.

The gift opening commenced with stocking gifts which were strangely revealing of our childhoods….. My gifts to Daniel numbered about five and were wrapped where Daniel gave me at least a dozen, half which were edible and none were wrapped. See what I mean about merging expectations? In the afternoon we went to Avatar toting bags of still warm and gooey caramel popcorn, Grandpa Karber’s recipe from my childhood. So we sat (a little to close to the front right) with 3D glasses and sticky paws in awe at the graphics.

It was a wonderful Christmas full of old traditions and new and wonderfully delicious.

Brioche

Adapted from Baking Illustrated

Brioche is amazingly rich and decadent. It makes a wonderfully sturdy loaf...perfect for slicing thin and toasting for panini, slicing thick for french toast, baking in a muffin tin for dinner rolls or even hamburger buns. Because of all the butter in the dough, it's best to do this in a stand mixer but chill the bowl before mixing. The recipe is also best prepared over 2 days so it can rise overnight in the fridge.

3 1/4- 3 3/4 cups (16 1/4 to 18 3/4 oz) AP flour

1 Tbsp instant yeast

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 large eggs plus 1 egg for the egg wash

1/2 cup ice water, plus 1 Tbsp water at room temp for egg wash

16 Tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces, softened but cool

Make a sling for the loaf by laying long wide strips of parchment paper across length and width of the loaf pan so paper overlaps edges. Set aside

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In the chilled bowl of a mixer, combine sugar salt, 3 eggs, and ice water. Add the flour mixture; using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a ball forms, about 3 min. Raise the speed to med-low and continue kneading, scraping down the sides occasionally, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 min longer (it will stick to the sides of the bowl). Add the butter, 1 piece at a time, waiting about 15 sec between additions. Continue to knead until a very soft ball of dough forms (about 15 min) adding the remaining flour 1 Tbsp at a time as needed. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 10 to 24 hours (Because of the high butter content, dough will rise only slightly)

Flatten the dough into an 8-inch square about 1 inch thick. Roll the dough into a log and place in the parchment-lined loaf pan. Loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise at room temp until doubled (should rise slightly above the rim), 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Adjust oven ract to the lower-mid position and heat to 450. Beat the remaining egg with 1 Tbsp water and brush loaf . Place the loaf pan in the oven and turn the temp down to 350. Bake the loaf until browned and an instant read thermometer reads 190 degrees, 50 to 60 minutes, rotating halfway through the baking time. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes then turn out and cool completely before slicing.

The First Thanksgiving Feast

2009-11-26T13:42:00.000-08:00

I was our first foray into married holiday feasts. It started off with bang. Literally, BANG was the sound the waffle maker made as it made contact with the floor. It was our first time to use it, and we failed to do any greasing of the iron before pouring the batter on….. which Daniel did at least three times. Each time he had to dig a desperately clingy waffle out of the iron with chopsticks. Thinking I would help by wiping it down with a paper towel, I caused the whole contraption to fly off the counter and land loudly on the floor, and now we have a waffle maker with a loose handle. Eventually we had breakfast, and it was delicious in spite of ourselves. Waffles with sauteed pink lady apples.

Lunch went smashingly well and without major incident. The turkey went in the oven before we even had success with waffles. It was a glorious, eleven pound bird rubbed liberally with Herbes de Provence and butter. We roasted the bird over a rack of vegetables and quince. We used the pan drippings with mushrooms to make rich and rustic gravy. Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon in a cast iron pan (a la Williams Sonoma see recipe below) made a nice accompaniment with a choice of two potatoes, Daniel’s incredibly fattening mashed potatoes with chives and my baked sweet potato with sea salt (Grandma Ratzlaff always roasted a couple in foil for hours so they were almost caramelized inside). And finally, Thanksgiving without homemade bread would be no Thanksgiving at all. So we had homemade parker house brioche rolls which are rich and buttery and wonderfully golden. We really love our brioche and you’ll see it make an appearance at Christmas. We didn't forget dessert. We did a cranberry studded pear apple crisp.

So our first holiday together and I would say our first big success. Thanks to the visit from my parents we had our feast on our beautiful china dinnerware, all gifts from family and friends. And to top it all off we had a wonderful ’08 Graham Beck Chenin Blanc.

Cast iron brussels sprouts with bacon

Adapted from Williams Sonoma

I love brussels sprouts. There is so much prejudice against them but cooked well, they are so incredibly delicious. They roast up nutty and rich. Add a little bacon and its like savory candy. These would be perfect with a little sauteed bread crumbs in oil with a little shallot.

6 oz bacon, diced

5 shallots, minced

4 lb. brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, trimmed and halved lengthwise

2 Tbs. chopped fresh thyme

salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425* F

In a cast iron pan (or ovenproof saute pan) over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp (5-8min). Add shallots and cook until soft (2 min). Increase heat to med-hi, add the sprouts, thyme, salt and pepper and stir well.

Transfer the pan to the oven and roast until fork tender about 25 minutes, stirring after 15 minutes. Serve immediately topped with sauteed breadcrumbs. Serves 6.

more photos to peruse

2009-11-05T13:43:00.001-08:00

Carl Zoch did an amazing job and we now have photos in hand....i'll be adding a little right here, and a little there so check back regularly...... enjoy!
-Brit

Maximizing Space is a Process

2009-10-20T12:33:00.000-07:00

Our small very blank slate

which got very full very fast

two strategies: move the fridge all the way out to extend the kitchen and put the pretty stuff on the wall

Just not enough room in the last post to show you how our kitchen has gone.......

Newly Wed and Nesting

2009-10-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago we celebrated our 3 week anniversary with a whole lot of nesting. We started it out with a trip across the Bay Bridge to Ikea. It’s the poor couple’s dream home store. Daniel moved into our current apartment just days before he left San Francisco for the wedding. It was only one door down the hall but things are in a sort of chaos anyway. So after a week of living with our entire kitchen on the floor and half of my belongings out of trunks, we dove head first into making our place a home.

We had previously decided on a plan of attack for the kitchen, one of the biggest challenges in the apartment. For the rest we made a list of problems that needed a solution and just took the time in Ikea browsing for that solution. I think we decided that the answer to almost everything was shelf shelf shelf shelf. Most of our thank you’s from the wedding to our amazing guests should have read “Thank you so much for your wonderful gift….we’re now going to buy shelves…..you have no idea how wonderfully livable you have made our lives!”.

So our kitchen looks a bit like ‘naked glory’ like a pair of inside out pants, with everything openly displayed on all the walls. We turned spices into art and things like flour sifters and whisks substitute knick knacks. Now it looks like a cook’s kitchen….

Yesterday we celebrated our one month anniversary! How long can the celebrating last….until all the gift cards run out? The weekend was again productive and enjoyable.

Saturday was bright and sunny but Sunday was chilly and dim. We made good use of the sunshine to go to the Meat Market (a little bit of a jaunt but worth the prices) near Alamo Square and the farmers market on Fillmore for a fresh veggies and a lunch comprised of an Indian wrap and a butternut squash Tamale. We made it home to catch the beginning of the OU vs Texas game but Daniel had to head in to work. So we headed downtown and he did some catching up while I did some firm searching. We spent the evening cooking and for those of you who think there is no way we’re going to use all that spectacular Williams Sonoma bakeware….you’re wrong. We’ve had some pretty mouthwatering meals and our kitchen is almost super-efficient.

Sunday we had church and Daniel had choir but afterwards we headed to Williams Sonoma for one of those complimentary cooking classes (aka cheap dates) which brought our total visits to somewhere around 4 for the week! We popped over to the Sunday market at the Civic Center (which I prefer) and then headed to Union street for a late lunch at Boudin. We did some perusing and shopping for a kitchen cart, which we feel is our final missing kitchen link since our biggest enemy right now is counter space. And after a little snooze we made an evening run to Bed Bath and Beyond. We had a stack of gift cards and an equally large stack of coupons and it was time to tackle the two story monster. So down every aisle we went deciding what we really needed, and what we really wanted and recording in our brains a few things we might come back for. We knew we had a lot of coupons but when it was all said and done we saved $105.20 and had a receipt 3 feet long! And we had money left!

So the newest news is I’m officially an Epperson, my social security card arrived and I’m waiting on my California driver’s license. Now I’m just waiting on a job. I’ve applied a number of places already and I’m so grateful that we are and always will be provided for. So in the meantime I’ll keep making apple pie and roast beef dinners. Maybe Daniel won’t kick me out just yet….

- Brit

Here is our new mailing address…..we always love mail!
Daniel & Brit Epperson
1700 Octavia Street, #306
San Francisco, CA 94109

soon to come.... a honeymoon update

Photoshoot

2009-08-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

We had our fast-like-lightning photoshoot with Nicole Davis last weekend after our church shower in Fairview. We had a blast hauling an old vintage chair over a barbed wire fence on Wade Ewbank's land West of Fairview. The weather and cows cooperated for the most part. Oh and Daniel did too...... check it out here

There’s a placed called….Costa Rica!

2009-07-03T15:29:00.000-07:00

Aruba, Jamacia ooo I wanna take you
Bermuda, Bahama come on pretty mama
Key Largo, Montego baby why don’t we go
Jamaica
Off the Florida Keys
There’s a placed called….Costa Rica!
That’s where we wanna go….for our Honeymoon!!!!

Well if you hadn’t guessed Brit and I will be taking a little jaunt to Costa Rica for our honeymoon. We are looking forward to some beautiful time in the mountains and on the beach. This will be our first travel adventure together and we are looking forward to learning so much about each other. We are anxious about experiencing some great culture and FOOD; anxious about taking time and getting away from everything to just experience each other. We have traveled a lot in the last year, but this will be the first time we will actually get to travel together and we could not be more excited.

If you have any suggestions on things to do or places to stay we would love to hear about it. We are always up for a new adventure and a new experience to have. You can send us emails at britanddan@gmail.com Thank you all for your love and support and we will be sure to share our pictures of the honeymoon when we get back.

The Registry

2009-07-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

Brit and I want to thank you so much for joining with us in the celebration of our commitment to each other. We also want to thank you for taking the time to peruse our registries; we completely understand how daunting a task it can be to look through all of this information. We have tried to categorize our registry to help simplify the process. For your convenience the list below contains links to their on-line store....

Williams-Sonoma
Bakeware and Specialty Kitchen Items

Crate and Barrel
Flatware, Homegoods, unique Dining, and Furniture

CB2

Glassware and Homegoods

Bed Bath & Beyond
EVERYTHING - haha also known as -
Linens, Kitchen Gadgets+ Appliances, China, Stemware, Organization, and Luggage

Kidd Drug & Gift
China Dinnerware and Kitchen Gadgets
Fairview, OK
580-227-4529

We also have included Gift certificates as part of our registry at several of the retailers, but we want to let you know exactly what these are going to be used towards so you know where your support is going. At Crate and Barrel and CB2 your Gift cards of support will go toward furniture and lighting items as these can be a very significant investment. At William-Sonoma and Bed Bath & Beyond we are including gift cards because we know that kitchen items can become very expensive, especially, when Brit and I have a large collection of everyday dinnerware, flatware, baking items, and kitchen utensils. Our registry at these retailers is thus composed of specialty kitchen items and fine dinnerware and service pieces.

Again we thank you so much for your support; our family and friends have always been a significant aspect in each of our lives and we appreciate each one of you and what you mean to us.

SAVE THE DATE

2009-04-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Get Engaged

2009-04-05T14:40:00.001-07:00

So here's our story, abbreviated of course, from Daniel with notes from Brit

The start-

Salsa dancing, come on lets be honest, a Latin dance style about seduction, passion, and hips and trust me Daniel can shake em….you are just asking for trouble. And despite our best efforts to deny it, looking back, even from that point we began something we couldn’t stop. And I thought I was safe from his charm, since I wasn't quite sure if Daniel was interested in the ladies. Friends destined to become permanent dance partners. It was our fourth year of university and we decided to have some fun this year to balance the craziness of architecture school. So we danced, and we loved it. It was the start of our friendship and the start of our relationship, one that was full of laughter.

The middle-

The fights….no no not us, but professionals. And by professionals he means UFC, like the kind with blood and testosterone. Seem a little odd? Oh trust me it is. After we both came back from a semester in Europe we starting hanging out again and picked up the friendship we had started the year before. The one thing we did the most was to go to the local sports bar and watching UFC fights on Saturday nights. (Isn’t she the most amazing woman, she likes watching two guys knock the tar out of each other, what more can a boy ask for!!!!) (I just thought, well we must let men be men. I'm not gonna change this guy so I learn to know him for who he is. If I like the real deal, then I'll stay and I'll never be disappointed) We also began cooking and having meals together; Morrocan stew with Argentinian Malbec, Crab tacos with homemade birthday cupcakes, fillet mignon topped with crab and perfectly suculent scallions....oh my mouth is watering...we like GOOD food a LOT!!!!

The end….rather the real beginning-

I moved to San Francisco and made things as difficult as possible, well not intentionally, but long distance is not fun. However, the distance did teach me something very important, I knew that I could not live without Brit (nor did I want to) and I was not willing to wait years to make that commitment to her. So on March 28, the day after her birthday, out on the cliffs of the Point Reyes National Seashore at sunset I asked Brit Karber to be my wife FOR KEEPS!!!! And I said....ITS ABOUT TIME!... no really I said YES!

This is the end of one chapter of our lives together, but more importantly it is the beginning to what is sure to be the most exciting and crazy adventure we have ever been on. There is no one I would rather have by my side the whole time. I mean come on, he's my favorite.