Vida

This past week my grandma passed away.  We will all miss her smiles and way to bring order to a room and I thought I would share a few memories of her. Grandma was always taking care of us.  She had a tradition to make birthday cakes for everyone in the family, including her kids and grandkids.  She made my birthday cake every year up until a couple years ago.  She would make whatever you requested, but I was in love with Angel Food so that was always my choice.  As you can imagine, as the family grew, so did Grandma's baking schedule.  Even when we went off to college she would pack up the cake in popcorn and mail our cakes to us.  (I enjoyed the popcorn too, even though she said not to eat it because it was stale...she also had high standards.)  And, oh man, when she would send her random, no occasion goody boxes while I was at college I would hide them and try to make the treats last as long as possible, always returning containers (often oat...

Mike & I are engaged!  We're pretty excited over here and trying to plan an August wedding. He proposed at The Robey hotel rooftop and it was perfect.  He wanted a public proposal, I did not.  Somehow we both got what we wanted! Note:  Mike decided it would be fun to put out our arms, which I followed his instructions.  He then decided it looked silly and did not pass along that decision to me... ;) P.S. Photo credit to my sister! Just for fun, here are some "fun facts" about Mike: He did improv at several Chicago places and graduated from iO's program.  One of the reasons we're often going to comedy shows with his friends in them. He loves chocolate.  Like a lot.  To the point where if there's a sweet without chocolate he doesn't see the point.  This is only really a challenge with birthday cakes because my sister does  not  like chocolate. He's a night owl. He doesn't like yellow cheese.  He will pick aroun...

Somehow watching my nephew and niece grow up makes me feel old.  How in the world is my nephew FIVE?  And five just seems so significant. We headed to Lincoln, Nebraska to celebrate this little guy and had so much fun! We hit up a pumpkin patch, the children's museum, his birthday party and a morning of fun outside.  Take a look at pictures below if you'd like. first stop...jeff's work  we knew Callie was coming down the slide because she'd yell "weeeeeeeeeee" every time  the peddles were a  bit  far away for Charlie & Callie so Karen & I got some exercise  Charlie wasn't into the photo so he was supposed to jump out from behind me and scare my parents Charlie stuck his hand in...maybe twice and didn't love it ;) HOW DO THEY LOOK SO GROWN UP! Greta always makes the cake the  piñata  Charlie got tired of the mustache pictures when he really wanted to play with h...

We're back from family vacay 2016 and it was wonderful!  Yes, I started work very early today and I am playing catch-up, but I didn't check any email once last week.  Totally worth it. We spent a lot of time at the beach and pool, made a trip to mini golf and a local brewery .  And mostly, we just hung out. jumping pics were a fail this year P.S. I beat Mike by one stroke at mini-golf which is only actually satisfying because he is so competitive. 

Not to brag, but I've killed it the last two years with Father's Day cards.  To be fair, I almost always put a lot of thought behind cards.  Cards are important! Last year my card said Happy Fathers Day and had a pile of books.  My dad really likes to read, even if it's often audiobooks while he drives.  (Yes, he was into them before they were popular.)  But that's not even the best part!  The books in the pile all had subjects on their binds and they were all interests of my dad's:  Baseball, Politics, etc.   Killed it. This year I took a picture route and I think this will go over just as well! P.S. I used  Pinhole Press . 

Last summer, Karen & I started craving more 1-on-1 sister time.  We started trying to set one evening aside once a week to get together.  As time evolved and we became committed, we started calling them Sister Dates.  (Note: Mike may have technically come up with the name.)  Usually the date consists of grabbing dinner somewhere together (usually somewhere new every week).  And I love it. We take turns choosing the restaurant every week.  I usually pick super last minute (hours before) and Karen usually picks days in advance, sometimes a full week.  This is typical of our personalities.  Karen will sigh the night before and ask, "Have you decided where we're going tomorrow?" We've gone all over the city.  I think the only place we've gone more than once for a Sister Date is Brendan's (our favorite dive bar that's always willing to turn on the Cardinals game).   We've had Mexican: Bullhead Cantina, El Jardin, Su Casa Burge...

When you spend Thanksgiving weekend with two kids who constantly keep you guessing (one minute you're an aunt, the next you're a dragon) and some awesome family time.  What's not to love? Nothing.  Absolutely nothing. It was wonderful. From bike riding to 5k ing to carriage riding we definitely hit a variety of events. We took a carriage ride through Tilles Park in St. Louis Thanksgiving Eve to see their Christmas lights, which are always amazing.  This year was no exception. We baked sugar cookies and decorated them. Charlie with his sugar cookie coated in green icing:  I'm going to bury this M&M. This meant putting the M&M on top of the existing icing and putting on an additional coat of icing.  Because why not.  It's the holidays. Did you know they sell shaped sugar cookies at the grocery store now?  They tasted pretty delicious.  Just sayin'. We had "Charlie's Special Show":  Frosty the Snowman.  (And ...

Today's my dad's birthday!  Happy birthday, Dado! To the guy who always seems to have a way to calm me down when I'm upset.  He always seems to be on the receiving end of calls when I have reached my end and he talks me through it.  He saves me newspaper articles.  I can say I am a definite fan of the newspaper and it's probably because of him.  He talks me through my Cardinals questions and could probably talk about baseball for days if he's with someone who can keep him going.  He seems to find something to talk to everyone about.  Oh you're from _____.  Have you heard of ______?  Things I never even knew about him. Happy birthday, Dado.  You're the best! Don't bother us...we're learning. ;)

Last weekend we were able to take a trip to Savannah, Georgia to celebrate my nephew, Charlie's, 4th birthday.  Which first of all, can we talk about how crazy it is that he's already four?  Can we also talk about how adorably excited he was? Saturday morning as we got ready to leave for his kid party at a bounce house, he danced around the kitchen singing happy birthday to himself.  I took a complete break from my phone this weekend so no video exists, but I will sure remember it! The weekend was so much fun and too fast. Today is his birthday and I'm sending him lots of fun!   And I leave you with this..."Let's make bad faces!" said Charlie.