1.19.2013

Apricot Fold-Ups

My mother-in-law gave me this recipe after I raved over them at Christmas... You can use any kind of jam or preserves, I will eventually be experimenting with different flavors but the apricot ones were sooo good I stuck with the original :) 

Also, some sanding sugar may be yummy sprinkled on top of the glaze... Just an idea. More pictures to come once I get my old digital Casio up and running again (it needs a charge).

Jane's Apricot Fold-Ups
for dough:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
8 oz cream cheese, barely softened (just enough to cut into dough)
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp white vinegar
few drops (seriously!) almond extract

 filling: your choice of preserves (apricot) or spreadable fruit, at least 8 oz.
(I used St. Dalfour's Thick Apricot Spread, 10 oz.)

for glaze:
3/4 cups powdered sugar
approximately 1 Tbsp water



In a large bowl, combine flour and salt with a whisk. Cut in cream cheese and butter with a pastry blender until the dough resembles coarse meal. (*Note: I used a food processor; the pastry blender is the method my mother-in-law uses). Add milk, vinegar, & almond extract and mix until just combined, then turn out dough onto Silpat or floured surface. Work dough with hands until the dough holds together. Cut into four equal balls, then wrap individually in waxed paper. Chill for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 deg. F. When dough is chilled, take out one ball at a time and roll into a rectangle on a Silpat or floured surface. Cut into 1 1/2 - 2 inch squares (this is really just personal preference, the bigger the square the more filling each can hold). Drop a tiny amount (1-2 tsp, depending on the size of the squares) of your chosen filling in the center of each square, then pull the corners of the square together in the middle and lightly push down.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper for 15 minutes, or until tops of the fold-ups are golden brown. While waiting for them to bake, place parchment paper under cooling racks and prepare glaze. Once they're done, place fold-ups on cooling racks. Drizzle with glaze while they're still warm! Enjoy :)


We're Back!! (For real this time)

I can't believe it has been a year since my last post... I'm so sorry! After the wedding festivities, I started nursing school and have been going full-speed ever since. That's not to say that I haven't had SOME free time, but... Just wanted to let y'all know that, while I am already back in school for the spring, I need some sort of outlet for "non-school" activities. So I made updating the blog an unofficial New Year's resolution... I haven't broadcast this fact, as I've been trying to feel out what my schedule will be like during school. As of now, I have committed to posting at least once a month, if not more. And... *drumroll*... I have a recipe I will be uploading now! With the weather so cold, I have to bake in my spare time... My mother-in-law made some incredible treats over the holidays, so I will be trying out some recipes she gave me. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did/do/will!!

So, without further ado, we are transitioning our wedding blog into a Johnston family/baking/foodie blog. Thanks for stopping by!

3.08.2012

Hotel & Parking Info. for Greenville Reception

We realize that most of our guests have visited downtown Greenville before. But for those of you that haven't, it may seem a little daunting. Not so! Check out the info. we have put together for you here, and if you have any questions please don't hesitate to email or call me or Tony.


Hotels Nearby
There are a ton of places to stay in Greenville - many within walking distance to our reception venue - listed here are all the downtown hotels. (Unfortunately, because our event isn't being held at a hotel we couldn't get any discounts. But, to be sure, there are many places in Greenville that will suit everyone's budget!). For reference, Overlook Grill's address is 601 South Main Street, Greenville, SC 29601.


Hampton Inn & Suites: Greenville Downtown at RiverPlace is a beautiful hotel located on the Reedy River - it's the closest hotel to Overlook Grill. We've never stayed there, but have had the pleasure of eating at their restaurant, The Lazy Goat. YUM!


The next closest hotels include Courtyard Marriott Greenville Downtown and the Westin Poinsett Hotel. The Westin is more of a boutique hotel, so it's a bit pricier usually. One of our favorite downtown restaurants, The Nose Dive Gastropub, can be found right around the corner from their valet :)


Hyatt Regency Greenville is one of our favorite hotels to stay in when we've needed a place to crash downtown; however, though it is a couple blocks further down the road, Downtown Greenville's Holiday Inn Express was a pretty great place to stay too!


Downtown Parking
Below, we've mapped out the city parking garages closest to Overlook Grill... They're free on the weekends, so there are no worries there! Of course, you could always peruse Main Street and the other roads surrounding Falls Park for a spot... These are free on the weekends too, but some have time limits. Just keep an eye out for the signs; we want everyone to have a fun, stress-free evening with no parking tickets!

(The red marker is Overlook Grill's approximate location in Falls Park. Click to enlarge.)





Also, check out City of Greenville's Visitor's Guide... Depending on how long you're planning on being in town, there are all sorts of things to do and see!






Last, but not least, here is a link to an old post linking to our registries... All registries can be found by searching under either Tony's name or my maiden name, or the date of the RECEPTION (not our vow ceremony!): June 3, 2012 in Greenville, SC. Our Target Registry ID is 013399700525023

3.04.2012

Reception Invites Being Sent!

Just a heads-up on a few things, as we are mailing out reception invitations tomorrow and bridal shower invites have now been sent and received by many of you...


I realize that our registries (with Target, especially) are out-of-date and incomplete. I will be going to our local Target this Tuesday to bulk it up. Bear with us, please!


I will be updating the blog in a MAJOR way towards the end of the week, with travel info. (hotel recommendations, reception parking, etc.), and more details about the reception. Until then, if you have any questions that need to be answered just email me!


I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend, and we're getting super-excited as we draw nearer to our celebrations with you! We hope you are too :)


9.01.2011

Meet Zeus Johnston!

Those ears... !!
 This past Saturday, Tony and I adopted a sweet little Corgi/Australian Shepherd/?? mix from Greenville Humane Society. His name is Zeus, he's a few days over two months old, and he is absolutely adorable. While we've talked about our "dream dog" breeds before, and may want to adopt/buy Frenchies and Goldens somewhere down the road, we really hit the jackpot with this little guy - Zeus is such a good boy!!! And besides, we've always said we would rather adopt a shelter/rescue dog as long and (s)he was young enough for us to train ourselves. 

Zeus has warmed up to us quickly, and is a very fast learner. He's quickly learned to "crate up" at night, has only had a couple accidents inside, and will do his best to walk up and down steps with his cute, stubby legs! We had a bit of a scare on the first full day we had him home - I went to take him outside, and as Zeus was rolling in the grass I noticed that he had eaten away the medical glue keeping him from getting at the stitches over his neuter site. We had to take him to the Animal Emergency Clinic on Sunday morning, and Zeus got staples and an e-collar :(  He is not happy about the collar, but luckily he'll be able to take it off tomorrow after his staples are removed. 
Here, I am taking pity on him when he can't get to the treat (peanut butter) inside his Kong chew toy... We can't wait to get that collar off him!

More on Zeus is soon to come... I just wanted to introduce the new addition to our family! 
Welcome, Zeus :)

8.20.2011

We've Missed You!

My apologies for not blogging in... Wow, in months! We're really sorry, and hope you haven't missed us too much ;) But we have missed you!

Needless to say, Tony and I have been very busy as of late (what's new?!). Well, actually, there is some news y'all may not be aware of... As planned, Tony moved to Greenville in early July; his MBA classes are held at Clemson's Downtown Greenville campus (right across the suspension bridge from Overlook Grill!).  What was not planned was MY move to Greenville... In early August. I will explain.

After some undeniable enlightenment, and with building concerns for my well-being (and that of my future marriage!), I chose to withdraw from MUSC and am now pursuing the same goal of taking the utmost care of my patients... Just via different means. I have been so deeply impacted by my work in the Neuroscience TRU's I've had the good fortune of affiliating with while at MUSC, I've had a hard time trying to come to terms with being unable to run clinical trials in the future. So I'm coming back to Clemson to pursue that facet of medicine that means so much to me - and so much to patients with (presently) incurable diseases! So, that being said, here's my new career path: I hope to be accepted to CU's Accelerated 2nd Degree BSN (Bachelor's in Nursing) Program, starting next fall. In the meantime, I'll be doing some work with Greenville Hospital System (where I first forayed into clinical research), working, and taking a few prerequisites in the spring. (Who knew that my health education at MUSC wouldn't be enough to cover nutrition, psychology, etc? Oh well, I never did take Statistics... And Anatomy/Physiology is transferring credit at least!).

From there, I may get a Master's at Clemson and become a certified Nurse Practitioner, but the ultimate goal is to get an MSCR (Master of Science in Clinical Research). The great news is: CU's Nursing classes take place at their Greenville campus on Pleasantburg Dr. - less than 10 minutes from our apartment! (Oh yeah, if you hadn't figured it out already, I moved into Tony's apartment). If this is your first time hearing this news, I hope you don't take it personally that I hadn't already told you... It has truly been a whirlwind to get my ducks in a row in such a short span of time! (Without incurring more student loans).

Tony starts classes this coming Monday; I continue to get settled into the new place until I begin working soon. All the while, we're working on squaring away wedding details (travel arrangements for us & our photographers, save-the-dates, etc.). We hope to be sending our guests correspondence within the next couple weeks! So be on the lookout :)

We'll keep you posted on our academic endeavors (borrrring) and wedding details (woohoo!) as we figure things out!


A pic of our apartment complex in Greenville.

6.26.2011

Post-Elopement Reception is BOOKED!!!


Official Save-the-Date!  (click to enlarge)


This past week, while I have a small break from rotations, Tony and I took a day trip to Greenville, where we met with the lovely staff at Overlook Grill to discuss a possible reception using their facilities. This restaurant is where we had our first date - needless to say, it was magical! After a brief talk concerning the details (we'll not bore you with that!), it was decided - we're having a cocktail & heavy hors d'oeuvres reception with the Overlook Grill (located within Falls Park on the Reedy River)! It will be held on June 3, 2012... Just a few days after Tony and I return from our nuptials/honeymoon in Puerto Rico!


   


We also visited Skatell's Jewelers to get to work on a custom wedding band to fit my beautiful, unique engagement ring (I never get tired of showing it off - see below!). I had to leave my gorgeous ring with the jeweler, which made me a little sad... I keep freaking out when I realize it's not there! But I'll have it back in a few days :)

Stay tuned for more wedding details - including where to stay, park, etc. as our most special wedding guests!! Love to all,

Nicole