Author Archives: Sarah Dingman

About Sarah Dingman

Sarah grew up in rural Kansas, dreaming of one day realizing her creative talent as a clown mail woman. Wait, what was that I said? Oh yes, what big dreams she had. Entertain the world one piece of mail and a beep of the nose at a time. This still holds true, but in a much different way. Sarah is still using her talents but has decided they would be better used popping out some creative writing for this cool blog as well as developing her love of photography. Some of her work is featured also on this said blog! She (along with her BF, Mark) hopes you enjoy these snippets of their unique story!

Ashley’s Disney Pre-Wedding Celebration!

Another of my Disney Bride friends, Ashley, has generously offered her Disney-themed shower for me to share! Ashley’s shower, which she hosted with her now husband, Brian, was a combination shower/wedding celebration as they had many friends and family who weren’t able to attend their Florida Disney wedding and wanted to be included in some of the fun!

To set the stage for this event, Mickey-wearing avatars in Ashley’s and Brian’s likeness posed as the subject for adorable invitations.

Guests were brought to a local country club where they were greeted with colorful Disney nuances; some subtle and some familiar and welcoming!

Ashley created fastpasses for guest seating. Fastpasses very much like what Ashley used are now extinct in the Disney parks but until recently these were paper passes that would cut wait times for rides. These were cleverly designed to correspond with the table names, which she created from vintage Disney ride posters!

Ashley’s and Brian’s table was also adorned with a large Toy Story Midway Mania-themed Vinylmation; one of their favorite Disney attractions!

To top off a lovely lunch buffet, guests enjoyed handmade cake pops and cupcakes (created by Brian’s mom) with cute Donald and Daisy Duck toppers!

In lieu of favors, Ashley’s mom ordered Make A Wish bracelets for all guests, as this is a very special foundation to the bride and groom. Included with the bracelets was a message indicating that a donation was made to the Make A Wish Foundation so that the magic of Disney could be shared with another family.

 

Before leaving, guests contributed to the thumbprint tree guest “book” that is now displayed in the Bride and Groom’s living room where they can be reminded of the great day they had with so many of their favorite people that were there to show their support for the beautiful couple that day!

Saint Patrick’s Disney Side!

With Saint Patrick’s Day right around the corner, and my need to create new things, I began scouring my brain for some way to incorporate our Disney side with some festive yumminess! I thought back to our fun late night dinner at Raglan Road in Downtown Disney and its strong Irish roots during our first trip to Disney World together. Raglan Road is known for its famous Ger’s Bread and Butter Pudding which I decided I was going to tackle! I’ve included my adapted recipe below for you to try at home!

The beginnings of the delicious, slurp by the spoonful, vanilla cream anglaise!

Remember that whole bread and BUTTER thing? Yeah…here’s the sugar/butter spread in the making.

Thick sliced Texas Toast bread which I kept the crusts on for extra texture and caramelized crunchy edges!

Sugar butter “sandwich” triangles are the yummy base for this deadly dessert.

Cut your triangles to best fit whatever shaped pan you choose. I also soaked the raisins in warm water and imitation rum flavoring just for fun!

Finished bubbly goodness! Caramel sauce cooling in the background.

Caramel sauce and rich vanilla cream anglaise take this dessert over the edge into fancyland awesome.

Finished product. Moment of silence please………yum. Every. Part. Is. Perfect.

For dinner I prepared a simple fresh pesto over green pasta! Even though we’re Irish, doing the whole traditional Irish cuisine didn’t feel right so we went this route. I threw in some veggies and some smoked turkey sausage and served with a big green salad for good measure!

The beginnings of the yummy pesto sauce! So simple: basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese blended in a food processor.

So fresh, so delicious, so green.

Green spaghetti!

A lovely dinner full of green! Don’t kiss me, I’m Irish but I smell like garlic.

What are you having for Saint Patrick’s Day dinner? Share your recipes below! And try my version of Ger’s Bread and Butter Pudding for dessert and let me know how you like it!

Ger’s Bread and Butter Pudding (adapted from All Ears’ recipe from Raglan Road)

Vanilla Cream Anglaise:

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream

Method of Preparation: 
1. Heat up the cream and the vanilla on the stove until it almost starts to boil. Meanwhile combine the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk well.
2. When the cream reaches the almost boiling point, turn off and remove the pot from the burner. Temper the yolks, by ladling a small amount (about 1/4 cup) of cream to the bowl and mixing well. Then add the yolk sugar mixure to the cream, whisk well so that it does not curdle. Place over low heat for 2 minutes whisking until it starts to thicken. Strain and allow to cool at room temperature. (Post edit: I didn’t strain and the world didn’t end and the sauce was delicious. Sometimes I don’t follow the rules. There, I said it.)

The “Bread and Butter” part:

Ingredients:
1/2 loaf Texas toast (about six slices)
1/2 pound butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Crème anglaise (see below) for dipping
1/2 cup raisins soaked in water (and a dribble of imitation rum flavoring, optional)

Method of Preparation: 
1. Combine the sugar and butter, spread evenly on the bread slices to make sandwiches, stack together and cut off the crust. (post edit: again, I’m a rule breaker. I left on the crust and I’m glad I did! I also used the remainder of the butter mixture to butter the outsides of the bread too.)
2. Cut the “sandwiches” in ½ on an angle (from corner to corner)
3. Butter the inside of 8 oven proof cups or preferred baking dish (I used a 9×9 square pan). One by one dip the “sandwiches” in the anglaise and place in the baking dish, layer the bread and a sprinkling of soaked raisins as you go until done. (post edit: there was only one layer for me since I put them all in the square pan so I just put the raisins on top. Also pour more anglaise on top! Just enough to cover the bottom of the pan and fill in the holes-trust me on this.)
4. Bake covered at 375 degrees for 35 minutes until it rises a bit. Remove the cover and bake an extra 10 minutes until slightly brown. (post edit: this was the exact perfect amount of time.)
5. Carefully remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature with anglaise and caramel sauce (see below).

Caramel Sauce:

Ingredients: 
1 stick butter, chilled
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

Method of Preparation: 
Combine the sugar and butter in pot and cook over a medium heat. Whisk well to combine. When sugar is melted and it starts to boil, turn off the stove, remove from heat, and whisk in the cream to combine. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Disney Bride Kristin’s Bridal Shower!

I am thrilled to feature one of my Disney Bride friends’ bridal shower! Kristin’s shower was so fun with subtle Disney nuances mixed with some of her favorite things!

Photo credit: By The Robinsons

Kristin headed to lunch at her favorite cozy Italian restaurant, Stefano’s Trattoria in Orlando one unsuspecting day where she was completely surprised to see 30 of her friends and family! She was the guest of honor for her surprise bridal shower!

Kristin’s mom and Maid of Honor had fluffed up the already beautiful restaurant to make it extra special and fit for a Princess. On the tables, they placed at each place setting cake in Mason jars and a Mickey glass filled with candy and specialty lip balms on a paddle from Epcot’s Canada pavilion (by “specialty” I mean “flavors” like Beaver Butt, Moose Spit, and Bear Breath!)!

For lunch, guests were given the option of eggplant parmesan, chicken marsala, or tortellini with port wine, espresso, cappuccinos, and sodas.

Kristin with Stefano himself!

A Disney themed game entertained guests between munches and sips where they matched Disney love songs with their respective movies!

Kristin’s Disney wedding is quickly approaching where she will marry her Fiancé, Geoff. Very much looking forward to seeing their wedding come to life!

Photo credit: By the Robinsons

An Oscar Night Dinner!

 

In preparing for watching the Academy Awards tonight I decided to give a little nod and use the Oscars as inspiration for our dinner! I found a healthy version of Oscar Burgers which I improvised slightly and ended our meal with a quick version of “Red Carpet” Cupcakes!

Lemon zest, minced garlic, diced red pepper for burgers.

Pork burger patties.

Chopped fresh dill, lemon, and plain greek yogurt.

Delicious sauce base.

Steaming burgers!

Roasted asparagus.

Finished Oscar Burger! Topped with roasted asparagus and crab meat.

Served with baked shoestring sweet potato fries.

I made the second part of dinner just as fabulous looking but a little easier on myself by using pre-prepared items! Betty Crocker usually gets it right anyway right? I trust her. I was super happy to find the absolutely perfect Oscar-worthy gold sparkly accessories for these Red Carpet gems!

Red velvet cake mix, whipped cream cheese frosting, glitter gold sparkles, and gold cups.

It’s a lovely shade of red!

Beautiful cupcakes.

Starring roles.

And the award goes to…

Cookie Recipe – Deceptively Delicious

Now that we’re officially newlyweds, I have been working on punching up our health factor by adding more veggies! Also, preparing many meals ahead of time has helped to avoid that last minute rush to feed ourselves, giving up, and ordering pizza. So Sunday has, by default, become my cooking/baking day! I think I’ll start to share a few of our favorite new recipes here so you can follow along.

Today I wanted to make cookies, but something I could feel good about. I got out my new favorite cookbook, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld (yes, she’s Jerry Seinfeld’s wife) and found this great looking recipe for Oatmeal Cookies! I had almost all the ingredients and it looked easy enough. I changed a few things to make it even easier as well as more whole foods-focused. I hope you enjoy these as much as Mark and I do!

Oatmeal Cookies (adapted from Deceptively Delicious recipe)

1 cup wheat flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup finely shredded zucchini
1 large egg white
1/2 cup dried cranberries (can substitute mini chocolate chips)
1/2 cup nuts of choice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or coat with cooking spray.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add dried cranberries and nuts if using, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter with wooden spoon until just combined – do not over mix (do not use an electric mixer!). Add banana, zucchini, and egg white; stir quickly until combined. Add flour mixture, stir until combined.

Drop the dough by tablespoonful onto prepared baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch in between. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 4 to 5 minutes, just until they are firm enough to handle, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy with a frosty glass of almond milk!

We’re Marrrrrried!

We’ve passed our 3rd month of marriage, which means we’ve made it longer than some Hollywood marriages! After all the craziness of our Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding, everything leading up to it, the trip and entertaining in Disney World afterward, and the holidays right after that, we are finally in a much needed lull and totally fine with that! I thought I would share a few photos to tide over my long hiatus and fill in all the gaps along the way! Enjoy!

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Married on November 8, 2013 during a 10:00 AM ceremony at Disney’s Sea Breeze Point on the Boardwalk!

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

We were so happy so many of our family were able to travel to Florida to be with us for our special day.

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Our overall theme was Vintage Atlantic City from a Child’s Point of View (i.e. bright colors, fun patterns-stripes, dots, and swirls, candy, childhood books, and popcorn!).

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

We had a brunch reception at the fabulous Atlantic Dance Hall!

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography

Photo credit: Jason Angelini Photography