I also got distracted researching Regency era recipes, and wondering if I could try making a few or if I even wanted to. In my fantasy life, where I have free time, I would do an entire series of blogs about my attempts to recreate Regency cuisine a la Julie & Julia.

If you’re interested, The Jane Austen Cookbook was particularly interesting. The biscuit recipes sound delicious, the curry sounds interesting and the fricassee of turnips or celery ragout less so. Or you can find more Regency recipes here.

In real life, the menu planning for my own wedding is quite fun. My fiancé and I hate all the same foods, which is one of the things we bonded over early on. We knew we wanted very rustic, country cooking (there will be grills!). We’re planning for our September wedding now because a lot of the food will be grown on my grandmother’s organic farm, where the wedding and reception will take place. This way, we know what to plant and with the guest list done, we’ll have a good idea of how much to plant. I am very much looking forward to helping with the planting, weeding and harvesting because it makes the food taste even better.

As for the cake…oh, there will be cake! I had a paragraph about cake tasting (setting off outrageous cravings) but that, too, got cut. My fiancé and I did disagree about this. I want vanilla with butter cream frosting and he wants some traditional English cake that is mostly raisins (blech). So we are going to compromise—by having both!

©2010 Maya Rodale Blog. All Rights Reserved.

And then I started looking at bridal catalogues….joy! raptures! And I ripped out pages of the dresses I liked and found that they were all lacy.

Honestly, I empathize with Lady Richmond who is the nightmare mother of the bride in A Groom Of One’s Own (and she is NOT based on anyone I know.  In fact, I got the idea for her after dinner with a woman who was an outrageous name dropper. But I digress). In the novel, a very bossy Lady Richmond tells the Modiste that her daughter’s bridal gown should be “simple, but with numerous flounces and intricate beadwork. It should be the height of fashion, but also timeless.” It’s a bit conflicting, which is how I feel.

I have slightly more clarity after two days trying on dresses (more details to come!). I very much enjoyed big poofy dresses even though I’m not supposed to wear them as a petite girl–or maybe that’s why I want one!

Mine will also be white (well, maybe eggshell or cream or some other shade of white.), which was not the tradition in the Regency era. That didn’t begin until the Victorian age. The brides would have worn pale blue, white or silver—the grooms, too! Check out some pictures of 1820’s wedding dresses. That’ll have to do, as I won’t be posting a picture of mine before the ceremony

©2010 Maya Rodale Blog. All Rights Reserved.

So, in early January 2002 my folks drove me to my new dorm in Chinatown. Previously, I had been to midtown or Soho, which are the fancy parts. When we drove down Canal street (not so pretty) and when I saw McDonald’s ads in Chinese I thought that I had pulled a practical joke that went to far.

I didn’t have many friends at the time, so I took long walks around the city. I particularly remember walking up Crosby Street in a snowstorm. Block by block, I learned this town. I’ve lived in 5 different apartments in 5 different neighborhoods in 8 years.

For a while this year, I was really bored with this city. It seemed that I had been on every block, had a beer at every other bar, shopped in this shop and the one that was there before it. It seemed that way because it was true. There was no street I walked on that didn’t have a personal story.  It’s been wonderful so see how the city has changed, and what has remained the same (even though it makes me feel old).

I miss The Village Idiot and the original Balducci’s, but I’m so glad for the Whole Foods two blocks away. I’m excited for the renovation of Washington Square Park. I miss the massive B&N on 6^th Avenue that allowed dogs. I love that there are bars and restaurants that haven’t changed one bit, and I love discovering new places. Because even though I’ve been a lot of places, I still haven’t been everywhere and it’s probably impossible to do so in this town. According to Sex and The City, you have to live in New York City for 10 years before you can call yourself a New Yorker…so I reckon I’ll stick around for another 2 years!

©2010 Maya Rodale Blog. All Rights Reserved.

New York Times Bestseller Lauren Willig will join us again after a hilarious reading last year. Her latest: The Betrayal of the Blood Lily.

Sarah Lindsay will make her first salon appearance, reading from her debut novel, Promise Me Tonight.

Leslie Carroll, author of Notorious Royal Marriages, is our guest emcee.

And it isn’t a birthday party without cupcakes and a champagne toast! The party starts at 7:00 and I suspect this one might go late. Find the details here or here.

©2010 Maya Rodale Blog. All Rights Reserved.

A handsome duke. His beautiful soon-to-be duchess. A whirlwind courtship. It is this author’s privilege to report on the event all of London is talking about: the upcoming wedding of the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon to the only daughter of the Duke of Richmond. Every details of the “Wedding of the Year” will be reported in these pages as a London Weekly exclusive.

But I, Miss Sophie Harlow, must confess to a secret infatuation with this “double duke” that can only lead to trouble. It is impossible that this notoriously upstanding gentleman would ever jilt his bride for a scandalous female newspaper writer. And yet…the arrival of a foreign prince, the discovery of a shocking secret, and one passionate kiss could change everything. Will this perfect duke risk the scandal of the year to marry the woman his heart desires?

Will he?!?! I know, and I most certainly am not telling! But I will be telling all about the characters, the story, the research and the NEW series, and secrets about the books here on my blog. No spoilers, I promise! Stay tuned…

©2010 Maya Rodale Blog. All Rights Reserved.