New Apartment & Open House

Chez Grogg

I sit at our dining table listening to the Decemberists while John chops fruit for sangria.  We're having an open-house/house warming party on Saturday to celebrate our move to Santa Monica.  We have left the extreme heat of the valley for the mild beach breezes and a two bedroom apartment with hardwood floors and an exposed brick fireplace.  We've invited friends to come see the new place, and, tonight, we went door to door to the other units in our building to invite our new neighbors as well.  I am excited about the potential new friends who live (literally) all around us.

Our first year of marriage has treated us well and kept us busy.  I've been working for Pepperdine since last November.  I started as a temp in the undergraduate admissions office and then got a full time job in January as the Administrative Coordinator in the Alumni Services Office.  I recently accepted a position at the University Church of Christ and will begin as the Office Minister on the 13th of this month.  John is still working at Jakks.  I had my fingers crossed for a puppy by now, but the new apartment doesn't allow pets, so I've settled for a few potted herbs on the balcony.

When we've gotten fully settled in the new apartment, I'll post a few more pictures.

~Kala

Wedding Pictures!

The day has finally arrived!  Wedding pictures are here and free to view!  The password is "cliff".  There's a different password for the Getting Ready album; please email me if you want to see those as well.

If you want to order prints directly from our photographer, you can email her at leah@visphotography.com the image number, size, and quantity, and she'll print and send them to you.  Each print is retouched and professionally printed on the highest quality paper.  11x14 and larger are printed on thick matboards.  Prices are as follows:

• 8 wallets $15
• 4x6 $10
• 5x7 $15
• 8x10 $25
• 11x14 $100
• 16x20 $175
• 20x24 $225

I'm fairly certain she only accepts personal checks.

We will be receiving a DVD of all the images, so I will probably be able to get digital copies to anyone who wants them.  I'll also put up an album of our favorites on the website, but I'll do another update when that happens. : )

Get Excited, Guys

Pictures are almost here.  Leah is posting preview pictures to her blog.  They're pretty amazing, if I may say so myself.

While You're Waiting for Pictures...

...And believe me, we all are.  : )

To tide you over, I thought I'd share the recipe for the sangria we had at the wedding.  It's fairly simple to make, especially when you're making only one or two batches.  The Grogg family and the groomsmen will attest to the fact that making 30ish batches is slightly more difficult.

Gran Gala Grogg Sangria

• 1 750ml bottle of red wine (We used Martin Códax Ergo Tempranillo Rioja, but you can pick your own.  We recommend you use a Spanish wine with distinct fruit flavors.)
• 1/3 c. Gran Gala liqueur
• 1/3 c. granulated sugar
• 1 lime
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 orange
• 1 apple
• 1 pear
• 1 peach
• about 1/3 liter of Sprite
• strawberries

1. Slice the citrus fruit leaving on the rind but remove as many seeds as possible and put into a half-gallon juice pitcher
2. Cube the apple, pear, and peach & add to pitcher
3. Add sugar, Gran Gala, and red wine
4. Stir until sugar is dissolved and the fruit is slightly muddled
5. Refrigerate over night
6. When ready to serve, add about 1/3 liter of Sprite.  This makes the sangria a lighter, more refreshing drink.
7. Pour over ice and garnish with sliced strawberries

It also keeps pretty well if you don't finish it all in one night.  The batch we have in the fridge right now doesn't have Sprite in it, we just add it to the glass as we drink it, about two parts sangria to one part Sprite.

We're Married!

Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers throughout the wedding process and as we begin our life together.  We are enjoying a week away from our normal world visiting Cayucos, CA.

We will post pictures of the wedding weekend and the honeymoon as soon as we get them!