When In Rome…

February 12, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres5 Comments

Why, Hello There!

We are safely back stateside dears! I know you could hear the birds begin to sing a little bit sweeter when our plane touched down on Saturday evening. 😉

What an AMAZING trip!! Craig and I are so blessed to be able to have enjoyed such an experience! You can see ALL of our pictures (well, the ones from our digital camera) here. But I’ll give you some highlights from our trip below:

Peering Into St. Peter's Square — Peering Into St. Peter’s Square

Our first day in Rome, we arrived early – as our driver from the airport moonlighted for the Italian version of NASCAR. We took back roads, crawling with traffic and mopeds at well over 90 miles per hour. We enjoyed a breakfast at a small cafe near the Vatican while we waited for our bed and breakfast to open at 10am, at which time we dropped off our luggage and took to the neighborhood for exploring while our room was made ready. The photo above was taken while peering through the huge columns surrounding St. Peter’s Square, looking in at the Basilica.

That evening, after a LONG NAP to catch up on our beauty rest, Craig and I enjoyed a DELICIOUS dinner at Renovatio La Sofitta Ristorante, which can provide ANYTHING on their extensive Italian menu in a gluten-free version!

Said Gluten-Free Pasta...Yum! — Said Gluten-Free Pasta…Yum!

We also enjoyed a night out at Saxophone Pub:

The view from our room at the B&B was spectacular at night:

Craig & I visited the AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL Vatican Museum.

I mean...That's a CEILING - and not even the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel! — I mean…That’s a CEILING – and not even the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel!

My highlight of the entire trip was our next stop: St. Peter’s Basilica. If this place didn’t make your jaw drop, well…perhaps, your soul needs a check-up. I could hardly bring myself to take any pictures. I was mesmerized.

Looking At The Altar In Saint Peter's Basilica — Looking At The Altar In Saint Peter’s Basilica

We were so blessed to have the opportunity to celebrate Mass there that evening. It was amazing. I can’t speak for my better half, but there were tears in my eyes the entire time. It was that beautiful.

We enjoyed a sushi dinner at Konnichi Wa:

Sushi In Rome: This is what happens when the Sushi Menu is in Japanese with descriptions in Italian. Actually these were DELICIOUS!

We toured the Galleria Borghese, which houses the original “David” by Bernini.

Galleria Borghese: Unfortunately, photos INSIDE are not allowed!

Until my decision to NOT wear a coat came back to bite me, we saw the ALMOST COMPLETELY OUTDOOR SITE of Castel San Angelo.

We toured Trastevere and must have walked 20 miles that day alone…It too was BEAUTIFUL!

We ate at a “fancy” ristorante called Il Viaggio (“The Journey”), and Craig thoroughly enjoyed his brandy!

My scotch wasn’t too shabby either!

We visited the Trevi Fountain and made our wishes!!!

In Trastevere, we saw St. Mary at Trastevere and prayed a very special prayer.

We also visited the Basilica of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of music, and my confirmation saint. It was a very special trip for me, thank you to the careful planning of my sweet husband. 🙂

If you’ve never read this amazing saint’s story, you should. And you can here.

Of course, Craig and I visited the Colosseum and the Ruins of Ancient Rome.

Absolutely breathtaking, and such an experience to be surrounded by so much culture and history. We enjoyed our busy time in Rome, and before we knew it, it was time to head back home. As our travels typically are, the trip home was an adventure, as well, and we made the 10 hour flight from Rome to Washington, D.C., and then raced through customs and the D.C. airport to make a flight back to Atlanta.

We made it!

We are now once again enjoying our little family, all home together: Craig, Pier, Daisy and Lucy – who is beginning to understand the importance of both sleeping through (most of) the night, and pottying outside. Yay! We are so blessed and so thankful for all of the many blessings we have. Please pray for continued blessings for our little family.

Tonight is C & I’s Movie & Popcorn Date Night for Mardi Gras, followed by Ash Wednesday tomorrow, and choir practice, and then Valentine’s Day – Our first as a married couple! I cannot WAIT to give C his gifts – which I had to hide (from MYSELF), so I wouldn’t break down and give them to him early. I’m horrible about that!

Happy Fat Tuesday to all of you! I hope you’ll all enjoy a big evening, before Lent begins tomorrow! Have you decided what to give up and/or add to your Christian walk?

Lots of Love,

Pier & Craig

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A Shower of Blessing

January 30, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres5 Comments

Good Evening All!

My, my, my! Craig and I are two exhausted puppies – mostly due to our OWN puppy, Little Lucy, but also because we have been busy as usual! This weekend we hosted a bridal shower for one of my best friends (and former Maid of Honor), Ashley, with my dear mother. While the girls were enjoying delicious treats and drinks, the boys enjoyed some much deserved man-time at the home of Josh & Julia – luckily Julia was able to spend some time with us girls!

I must say “Thank you!!!” to my mother for not only helping me host such a lovely shower, but also “Thank you!!” to my sweet husband for helping me clean our house and for keeping ~~Lucifer~~ Sweet Lucy entertained while I spent the evening before cooking!

It was such fun to host this shower for my longtime BFF! We are SO happy she has found true love! Craig and I wish her and JW all the happiness and blessings life has to offer!

On Sunday, Craig and I attended Mass at our new church and I think we both knew that our prayers had been answered when we left that morning. We found a new church home! I attend my first choir practice tomorrow evening, and we will be introduced at Mass on Sunday! We are so excited to have enjoyed SUCH a warm welcome from our parish family! Being involved with the Church has been something on our hearts for some time now, and at this parish, all we had to do was walk through the doors. Thank you, Jesus!

After Mass, we picked up Lucy from the pet sitter and returned home to enjoy a relaxing rest of the evening! I have to smile at the ‘picture’ in my head from Sunday night: Craig and I on the sofa, watching ‘Damages’. I have my head on his shoulder, while Lucy is in my lap and Miss Daisy is on his right hand side, snuggled up! Our whole little family in one spot. Perfect!

Well, with ROME right around the corner, I should probably begin to plan what we’re packing! We cannot WAIT to visit the Eternal City – but there is a TON to do first!!

Love Y’all!

Pier & Craig

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It Really Happened!!! There’s Proof!

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres7 Comments

Our wedding photos are completed and posted for your viewing pleasure! Take a peek at: Our Shutterfly Site

Beware: There are more than 2,000 photos, so you may want to grab some popcorn and a drink first!

Enjoy!

Love,
Pier & Craig

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Ready For Rome!

January 21, 2013 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Good Afternoon All!

I apologize it’s been so long since I’ve posted! It feels like forever since I’ve given all of you an update, but we have just been insanely busy – maybe even more-so than usual!

After my Memphis excursion, I finally was able to fly on a flight flown by my husband – who, may I say as a girl who has been flying frequently since the age of 3 – accomplished the best landing I have ever experienced in a plane! The first weekend of the month, I flew with Craig to Kileen/Ft. Hood, TX. Other than go out to dinner and browse around a strip mall, we didn’t do much of anything – which was actually WONDERFUL! Time together when we don’t have anything to do is SO RARE!!

First Class...Delicious! — First Class…Delicious!

Hard To Be So Close To Craig & Yet, Unable To Talk To Him!

The Flight Back To Atlanta - Beautiful View! How Can You NOT See God In This?!?! — The Flight Back To Atlanta – Beautiful View! How Can You NOT See God In This?!?!

Of Course We Didn't Take A Picture Until The Early Morning Flight Back When I Hadn't Fixed My Hair!! :-) — Of Course We Didn’t Take A Picture Until The Early Morning Flight Back When I Hadn’t Fixed My Hair!! 🙂

The next weekend we were FINALLY able to celebrate Christmas with our Lefebvre Family in Minnesota!

It was GREAT to be able to spend a good, long weekend with family, AND to be able to see some real winter weather! (Well, this Georgia Girl thought it was pretty wintry!) I also had the opportunity to “see” more of the U.S., since we traveled to MN via both Detroit, MI & St. Louis, MO! 🙂

Beany & Jenna Playing Reindeer Games (AKA Scrabble)

And as much as everyone LOVES to take a family photo, I think these turned out REALLY well!

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and we had to head back to reality …where there IS no 4th Christmas that is celebrated in January! 😦 Instead, you have to go to work! Boo!

But…you all know Craig & I, and we can never just leave well-enough alone. So… at my husband’s request, I got a ‘New ‘Do’:

AND…

We got a puppy dog!!!

Lucy Lefebvre is the newest member of our little family, and younger sister to Miss Daisy, our kitty cat – and longtime “Only Child”…It’s been an adjustment of sleepless nights, but we are SO excited to welcome our new little addition home! Even Miss Daisy has given her nod of approval!

Well, let me end this entry and grab another cup of coffee before I fall asleep at my desk! Craig & I have been getting up during the night at the cries of our little one and taking her for several midnight strolls throughout the wee hours of the morning! We are both walking zombies!!

Wish us luck! And come visit us and the newest little member of our family!

Lots Of Sleepy Love,

Pier & Craig

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Meet Me In…Memphis

December 31, 2012December 31, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres6 Comments

Good Morning Everyone!

My my my! 2012 is not coming to an end slowly, and the end of this eventful year has not become any less eventful! Part of that may have to do with my own flightiness…but nonetheless, beginning with Friday, it has been quite the journey to end the year!

Friday evening, in Dallas, Georgia, was a rainy and stormy and COLD one (for Georgia folk anyway – 34 degrees!! Brrr!)…Sweet Craig had left that morning for work, and I got home from work, and had my peanut butter for dinner, followed by a glass of wine, and decided to sit on our front porch with the iPad to enjoy the rain, and wait for my husband’s evening call before bed. This was around 8:45pm…and Craig did indeed call around 9pm…I grabbed my glass of wine and the iPad and went to go inside for the night…to find the door locked. Not wanting Craig to worry nor to embarrass myself, I asked my husband if I could call him right back, thinking maybe the neighbors had a spare key…So here I am in my pj’s and fuzzy socks, running next door in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain and cold weather…Long story short, there was no spare key…and I had to walk back to 116 Caitlin Court with my tail between my legs…I called Craig back and explained the situation…Now, I don’t know this for sure, but I am almost positive he rolled his eyes a little and sighed, “Oh my goodness, my silly wife…” but he didn’t let me hear it if he did. 🙂

He had me check a few windows that might be open…They weren’t…I called our sweet friend Julia, who lives semi-nearby, but she didn’t answer so I texted her. Finally, Craig broke down and called the locksmith. Meanwhile, Julia called back and sweetly asked if she could help. Knowing how reliable locksmiths are, and also that (by this time) it was 9:45/10pm and she has 3 small children at home and a husband who is also a pilot and away, I thanked her profusely for calling and offering to save me, but told her that the locksmith was already on the way. I called Craig back and sat down on the bench to wait the estimated 15 minutes for the locksmith to arrive to save the day…and (another long story short) during the 2 and a half more hours I waited outside with freezing wet feet and a HUGE spider climbing the wall next to me, I was reminded of the time in February when Craig and I went camping, in the snow…I was pretty much THAT cold. LUCKILY, around 12:30AM, the locksmith arrived to let me inside. It literally took him 2 seconds.

That little fiasco ALMOST foiled my plan for Saturday…

Poor Craig had to be up SUPER early the next morning to fly to Detroit, and he of course had waited up with me until I was safely inside the house before going to sleep. I felt horrible for him, but OH SO THANKFUL I have such an amazing husband – who saved me from the freezing cold and the scary spider even from hundreds of miles away! I was awoken the next morning by a text message from my husband letting me know he was safely in Detroit at the perfect time. 🙂 We had ‘planned’ that I would try and make it on a flight to Memphis, where Craig would be ending up for a long overnight…HOWEVER, the flights were full going to Memphis and back to Atlanta, as well…So we scratched that plan…and Craig knew how tired I was (we both were) from the night before…But all along I knew I wouldn’t let a full airplane stop me from seeing my husband on my day off! 🙂

Craig’s text came at 9:30am – just enough time for me to jump out of bed and quickly pack and get ready to be on my way by 10am! The drive from Dallas, GA to Memphis, TN is right around 6 hours, and Craig was scheduled to be at his hotel around 4pm. Of course, when I got in the car, Craig called me and I had to work hard to muffle all the driving sounds, since he thought I was sitting downstairs enjoying a ~~pot~~ cup of coffee with Miss Daisy…By the time I had passed safely through Birmingham, AL, Craig had told me the flight between his arrival in Memphis and right then had been canceled, and I felt I should probably let him in on my surprise:

Craig was SO excited! 🙂 I couldn’t wait to see him in just a few more hours…

Ha! I should have remembered that my husband is a PILOT who works for the AIRLINES and that anytime you PLAN anything, it never happens as you think it should! Right, Julia? 🙂

Craig’s first plane was delayed by maintenance, so I found a Target in Memphis and decided to go shopping for a bit…Craig texted to let me know they were on their way and I disappeared into the store for about an hour. After I got back out to the car, thinking it would be time to go and pick him up at the airport in about a half hour, I got another text from Craig…there was an issue AGAIN and they couldn’t take-off…AAHH! Very frustrating and so much for newlywed romance, huh? 🙂

So…I visited Best Buy since my phone was close to dying at this point and I didn’t have a car charger…(We do now!) Then, I found a movie theater, rather close to the airport – and not in a desirable part of Memphis… – and by this time, Craig reminded me of his flight number and said they had gotten a NEW airplane, and were about to take off.

Well, I looked down at the clock in my car. 6:30pm. And I walked up to the ticket counter at the movie theater, and saw that “This Is 40” began at 7:05pm. Perfect! By the time the movie ends, Craig will be here and I will have killed 2 hours! I bought my small popcorn and small Diet Coke (STAPLES for a movie, in my opinion), and went into the theater…to find the movie halfway over… What???

OH YEAH! Memphis is in the Central time zone…and the clock in my car is on the Eastern time zone. Duh.

So, I watched the end of “This Is 40″…and then, when the movie was over, I stretched my legs in the lobby and came back to watch the beginning of the movie. About halfway through, Craig FINALLY texted to say they had safely arrived in Memphis! So I left to head to the airport to pick him up! I’m not sure what happens in the MIDDLE of “This Is 40”, but I enjoyed the beginning and the end…even in reverse order.

I picked up my husband and it was WONDERFUL to be able to spend an evening with him in the middle of a 4-Day trip!! (Even though, after we ate dinner, we were both sleeping like babies within minutes!) I took Craig back to the airport at 7am, and began my drive BACK to Dallas. My mother asked me if it was worth 12 hours of driving to be able to spend even less than that with my husband, and it absolutely was! I would have driven, flown or swam any number of miles to be able to spend any amount of time with him at all.

And so, as I await his arrival back home this afternoon, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year! We are going to celebrate with champagne, black-eyed peas and collard greens, and Mass on January 1st. I cannot wait! I can honestly say that 2012 has been the absolute best year of my life, and according to a recent tweet by my husband, he feels the same:

I have the very best husband in the whole world, and am blown away each day by how God has truly blessed us in 2012!We can only imagine what He has in store for us in 2013! We thank all of you for making this year special, and wish you all the best in 2013!

Love Love!

xoxo,
Pier & Craig

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Christmas, Woodworking, and Fondue!!

December 29, 2012December 29, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Once more I find myself on the road again. Ironically I am writing from Wisconsin again, Madison this time, and again the Vikes are prepping for another game against the Packers! Pier and I had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends and hope that all of you did as well. Our first Christmas together was absolutely wonderful. We started Christmas day off with Mass at midnight and it was great to hear and sing the Christmas hymns with my wife by my side! Then in the morning we woke and enjoyed our time together and to share our gifts with each other. I could have not asked for any better gifts than what Pier gave me. She knows me so well that she found the perfect gift for me, a painted picture of several breeds of cattle on it! Now it may not sound exciting but anyone that knows me knows how I love anything to do with farming. I love it and we have the perfect spot for it in our living room! Anyone that knows Pier knows how she loves fashion and she had been ~~hinting~~ mentioning how she would like a comfortable flat and that she had researched the perfect ones! She knew I would key in on the research that she did and that I would probably remember exactly what she wants. Well she was right! I got her the pair that she had been looking at, a pair of FSNY flats. Now the only way I could remember the initials was to say Fox Sports News Yes because I had no clue what it stood for. Although after a little research I discovered that it stands for French Sole New York. Now mind you I was not up to the task of picking and buying a pair of shoes since there are so many variables… size, shape, color, texture, design, etc. So I had to be creative. I ended up printing out the FSNY logo and I picked a pair that I thought she would like and I printed them out on paper. I found a shoe box and I placed the label on the box and then placed the paper cut outs in the box and wrapped it up. Needless to say she loved it and I also picked out the exact pair that she ended up getting!

We also celebrated Christmas with our friends Josh and Julia. On Wednesday night we headed up to the Melting Pot and enjoyed a long fondue dinner! It was delicious. It was my first time to eat fondue and I must say Craig and Pier that it is a perfect dinner to have great food and great conversation. I look forward to another visit in the future!

Now comes the wood technical part…. 🙂

In the middle of all this I have found some time to work down in the shop on Pier’s wedding gift. I must say it is coming along quite well. This past week I got the wood dimensioned out to the correct thickness and out to a rough size. To do this I first laid out wood and I drew out the individual pieces on the boards so I would know where to cut each piece from. Then I used a jig to flatten the board in my planer.

I place the wood on the jig and slide the adjustable supports up to support the board and then slide it through the planer multiple times and it creates a flat top.

Then I can flip the board over and plane it to the correct thickness. Then I joint an edge with another created jig, to create a 90 degree angle to the top and bottom. That takes care of 3 sides (top bottom and side) and the 4th side will be finished in the next step when I run it through the table saw to rip the stock to a workable width. Those will eventually be glued up to create the top and bottom of the cabinet piece.

: Planed and flat on top

So now I have 3/4″ and 1 1/4″ thick square pieces of stock that are ready to be glued or cut into final dimensions.

This past week has been busy and it does not look like it will be slowing down in the near future with our plans of traveling to Rome, Italy in early February. We both are excited to travel and see all the sites Rome has to offer! Happy New Year to everyone!! Craig and Pier

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Blessings Through Raindrops

December 24, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to enjoy my morning coffee on our back deck, looking out into the distant hills and enjoying the crisp Georgia breeze. While I sipped my coffee, I prayed the same prayer Craig and I have been diligently praying for what seems like forever…and then glanced down to notice that what had once looked like tree-esque weeds, now were almost actual mini pine trees…Which reminded me that God provides. Always. Matthew 6:25-34 comes to mind and is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

And speaking of blessings in places you don’t expect, if you know THIS Newlywed Lefebvre, you know how much I despise dedicated exercise. I love to be outside hiking, playing ball, enjoying nature, swimming, but when it comes to saying, “Ok, time to exercise for 30 minutes,” typically, I would rather be told I would be denied food for a week. HOWEVER, Craig and I decided to start running together in the mornings during the week about a week ago and we have been pretty good about keeping it up, I’m even running on my own when he’s on the road. Why and how is this a blessing you might ask? Well, first, it’s more time we get to spend together. The extra hour in the mornings before I head off to the office have now become something we actually look forward to, and in ADDITION, we are doing something beneficial for ourselves! It also makes ME thankful for modern science…as we discovered one early morning last week, without my asthma inhaler and knee brace, running is…well…not a blessing! 😉

Craig called this morning to tell me he was heading out from Oklahoma City on the last leg of his trip right as I was using my inhaler and heading out the door for my run…he warned me about the rain…and about halfway into my run, it started POURING…and I was drenched! I considered picking up the pace and running straight back to the house, but then I looked up at the sky and I thought about those little pine trees in our backyard…and how God was providing for them everything they needed to grow and mature…and I thanked God for the rain and continued the final 15 minutes soaking wet! It helped to reiterate to me that GOD WILL PROVIDE for Craig and I, and we will keep praying and thanking Him for all we already have. We are so blessed.

“Blessings” by Laura Story

On a side note, we have been promising a picture of the dresser we refinished… This dresser is Stickley and when I found it a few years ago at the antique store it was stenciled in horrid varying shades of green and red and yellow…Hideous barely begins to describe it. People would see it in my old condo and comment on its ugliness! I assured them of its potential! If you have never heard of Stickley furniture, read about it here. The antique store where I found it didn’t know what it was either, and allowed me to take it off of their hands for a mere $200!!

After removing the horrible paint and sanding down the surface, we stained it a bluish grey and replaced all the knobs with clear glass ones:

What do you think? 🙂

Well, y’all, Happy Christmas Eve! I need to finish laundry so when my better half is home in a few hours we will have something to wear to this evening’s soirée, and finish getting ready myself! We wish you all the Merriest of Christmases! May God rain down His blessings on you all!

Much Love,

Pier & Craig

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A Little Bit Of This…

December 19, 2012December 19, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres5 Comments

My, my, my…only SIX more days until Christmas! Are all of you ready? Have you done all of your shopping? I’m happy (and relieved) to note that Craig and I are DONE! Now for me to wrap everything…

The past week has been a BUSY one, and I don’t know that things are going to slow down anytime soon! I went to a ‘Holiday Couples’ Shower’ for our dear friends Ashley & J.W. (sadly without my better half – Boo!!!!!!!), but I did get to enjoy a girls’ sing-along car ride to the shower and back with one of my faves, Julia! There’s nothing like singing at the top of your lungs to every song you know to pass the time on a long road trip!

Such a fun shower! And if you recognize the location, it’s because once again, it was hosted by another couple we absolutely adore: Lauren & Randall.

After the shower and our sing-a-long ride back to Northwestern Georgia, Julia and I met up with Craig and Julia’s hubs Josh & their children for dinner. 🙂 Always a great time with all of our special friends – Craig and I are so blessed to have such a great group of TRUE friends surrounding us!

On Monday, I FINALLY got my wedding bands back from the ~~slowest man on earth~~ jewelry designer! Our design turned out just BEAUTIFUL and I think the setting will be much stronger!

I am absolutely ECSTATIC to have my wedding bands displayed proudly on my finger once again! 🙂

Last night, C & I were up until 1:30am making a COMPLETELY FROM SCRATCH White Chocolate Candy Cane Cheesecake (completely gluten-free, as well!)…We even had to make the GRAHAM CRACKERS themselves for the crust, since we couldn’t find any sans gluten. Needless to say, even the cheesecake hater Craig thought it was delicious!

Tonight, we’ll be making Christmas cookies! 🙂 And when I detail that experience, you’ll have to remind me to show you a picture of the Peppermint Plate we made last night! So cute! (And yes, it’s the same thing you’ve seen all over Pinterest!)

Oh, and how could I have forgotten!?!?! Craig booked our hotel for our trip to Rome in February!! You’ll have to ask my sweet husband all about it! 🙂 We are SO excited about our upcoming vacation!!!

Y’all have a great evening! Maybe I can sneak in a short nap at the office before my long drive home?? 🙂

XOXO

Pier & Craig

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The Trouble With Wednesday

December 13, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Today is Wednesday, and for me, Wednesdays are pretty much the saddest day of the week. Yep, I dread Wednesday even more than Monday! The reason? Well, Craig’s trips for work are usually Wednesday through Saturday, and Wednesday is the morning I have to say goodbye to my husband for nearly four days a week, every week. It’s tough. Even more so than you may think. Or you may think it only gets easier as time goes on (as both Craig & I figured it would). But for us, it is harder to say goodbye every Wednesday. Even with phone calls, FaceTime, texting and emails, it is still no fun to bid my husband farewell for four days at a time.

So since today is Wednesday, you would be right in thinking it has been a tough one for me. But luckily, I had my listening ears on when God pointed me in the direction of my now husband… Look what I came home to this evening!

AND MY COFFEE FOR TOMORROW READY TO GO!

Thank you to my sweet and wonderful husband for such an amazing and unexpected surprise!
Thank you, God, for the husband you chose for me, who is beyond my wildest dreams!

Good night everyone! Keep my sweet Craig in your prayers as he travels this week!

Xoxo,
Pier

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Cooking Gluten-Free With The Newlywed Lefebvres

December 10, 2012December 10, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Happy Monday Everyone!

I’m not sure if everyone is aware of this or not, but one of our favorite activities is cooking together. We always have a really great time, and usually make every single recipe we attempt our own…Mostly because we have similar tastes in food, and because I can’t have gluten.

Did you know you can re-create almost anything you’d like in a gluten-free (and absolutely DELICIOUS) version? Here is our most recent endeavor:

Gluten-Free Italian Asiago Meatballs Over Angel Hair with Pier’s Pink Sauce

Begin by boiling a VERY WELL-SALTED pot of water. Once boiling, add entire box of gluten-free angel hair pasta. When the noodles have completed cooking, drain but DO NOT RINSE, and set aside.

Meatballs:

1 lb EACH of Italian Sausage & Ground Beef

1 Large Egg, beaten well

1 Heaping Tablespoon of White Rice Flour

To Taste:

Finely Shredded Asiago Cheese

Parsley

Oregano

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl very well with your hands. Make meatballs and set aside on plate. Add enough EVOO to a large skillet or sauce pan to cover the bottom. Heat on stove on HIGH. When oil is hot, add meatballs. Rotate until COMPLETELY done. This could take about 10 minutes. Constantly rotate until done. Remove from heat.

Pier’s Pink Sauce

1 Jar of Alfredo Sauce – nothing fancy, just plain is best.

1 Can Petite Diced Tomatoes

1/2 Cup Finely Shredded Fresh Asiago Cheese

Heat entire jar of plain alfredo sauce on the stove over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble. Add 1/2 cheese. When melted, add the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. When melted and well-combined, add entire can of DRAINED diced tomatoes. Stir well.

Return drained angel hair cooked noodles to the pot they were cooked in, and pour Pier’s Pink Sauce on top. Mix and combine well.

Serve generous helping on a plate and add as meatballs on top.

ENJOY!!!!

I wish we had taken a picture of the finished product…But seriously, by the time either of us thought about it, we were both halfway through our dinners! 🙂 So delicious and relatively easy! I urge all of you to try this! If you aren’t allergic or intolerant to gluten (or maybe you’re allergic to soy instead like my father), just replace the gluten-free white rice flour with regular AP flour and you’re good to go!

Stay tuned for our next gluten-free Newlywed Lefebvre Creation: Buttermilk Fried Chicken!!! Yum!

Love To All of You!

Pier & Craig