This is no ordinary chicken-and-rice dish. Sugar and Spice by Celeste
cooks up Piquillo pepper chicken with Spanish rice.

Foodie bloggers show off their January recipes and more. A sampling of recent posts from around the Birmingham area …

• BhamArchitect’s Blog: Mix, a new downtown bakery from restaurateur Chris Dupont
• Ingredients, Inc.: Orange ricotta pancakes
• The Messy Epicure: Pasta alla carbonara
• Plates and Places: Banana Oreo pudding
• Saving Money and Living Life: Baked turkey rolls
• Sugar and Spice by Celeste: Piquillo pepper chicken with Spanish rice
• Whistle Stop Cafe Cooking: Roasted Brussels sprouts

Also:

• East Lake church to screen food documentary “Dive!”
• Video: Jason Horn shows how to make his black-eyed peas
• How changes in school lunch program affect Birmingham-area children
• The 2011 Birmingham food preview

• MCers: What’s cooking your kitchen? Let us know in the comments, please.

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A great wedding doesn’t have to be a costly wedding. Planning ahead and
shopping around can yield a dream event with a reasonable budget.

You have the ring. You know the wedding you want. But wait till you see the budget and the bills.

Ouch.

Fortunately, two Birmingham experts have 10 tips on how to save money during the trip down the aisle.

Heather Brown at Saving Money and Living Life suggests:

• Book for any season other than the always in-demand summer. Plus any other day of the week than Saturday.
• For wedding registries, Bed Bath and Beyond is the best: no-hassle exchanges and returns, online registry for out-of-town friends and family and plenty of coupons.
• Caterers outside of Birmingham — for example, Alabaster and Jasper — were much cheaper. Heather gave extra guidance to ensure the food and table decor matched her wishes.
• Use a venue that allows outside alcohol, instead of in-house servers and alcohol. She brought in bottles from Costco and Trader Joe’s.
• For invitations, use online printing company VistaPrint. Some designs are not only beautiful but free, leaving only the shipping cost.

And Birmingham Bargain Mom Christie Dedman suggests:

• In hiring a wedding photographer, ask plenty of questions. A professional will know you’re being a careful shopper; an amateur might get miffed.
• Make a list of shots you want, and stick with it.
• Replace the groom’s cake with cupcakes, cake pops or even doughnuts. Or just have a skillful baker friend make one.
• After buying $380 worth of flowers at Davis Wholesale Florist in Lakeview, Christie made her own arrangements with the help of free instructional videos on YouTube.
• One alternative to a DJ: a mix CD, copies of which can double as wedding favors.

• MCers: Do you have savings tips to share for brides and grooms. List them in the comments, below.

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Leigh Bratina shares photos from her girls’ crafting weekend
on Tales from Bloggeritaville.

Bloggers reflect on Christmas crafts and decor. A sampling of recent posts from around the Birmingham area …

• Saving Money and Living Life: “I figured even I — who will openly admit that I’m not crafty, artistic or anything else in between — could maybe handle this.”
• Tales from Bloggeritaville: “I spent a girls’ weekend on the mountain in Mentone. It was our annual girls’ crafting weekend, a “hanging of the greens” if you will, where everything we create is harvested from the woods of Mentone on a nature hike.”
• Dad Creates: “You won’t find ornaments like this at Pier 1 or Pottery Barn, but decorations from there won’t remind your kid year after year of that special time you spent with them creating something … together.”
• Bhamarchitect: “Made by local artist Kathy Rose-Byington and available at Bare Hands Gallery, each meticulously created piece would bring a bit of bling to your windows this season.”
• Erin Shaw Street: “We inherited Birmingham’s best Santa from my friend Jennifer. For years, she threw a party at her house for her daughter and daughter’s friends, during which Santa would show up and surprise all the children.”

• MCers: How are you getting ready for the holidays? Let us know in the comments, please.

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