Oh hello there lilac bush, and brother and dad! What a lovely day in Minneapolis for the men to discuss yard work in front of the lilac.
Minnesota makes my heart sing.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Just Lilacs
Hello again my old friends!
Oh hello there lilac bush, and brother and dad! What a lovely day in Minneapolis for the men to discuss yard work in front of the lilac.
Minnesota makes my heart sing.
Oh hello there lilac bush, and brother and dad! What a lovely day in Minneapolis for the men to discuss yard work in front of the lilac.
Minnesota makes my heart sing.
The butter bell
Meet the perfect butter dish. The French butter dish, or butter bell!
Gorgeous, white, simple, a perfect size...
And here is the best part! You pull the lid out and the butter lives inside that little bowl! The bottom is filled with water, which forms a seal around the butter keeping in fresh, and soft. All you have to do is change the water every now and then, and you've got gorgeous, fresh, soft butter on your kitchen table every day!
This butter bell inspires me to want a bread maker to make bread worthy of such buttery perfection.
I like this link for its informational video on the butter bell. Apparently they have been around since the middle ages!
Gorgeous, white, simple, a perfect size...
And here is the best part! You pull the lid out and the butter lives inside that little bowl! The bottom is filled with water, which forms a seal around the butter keeping in fresh, and soft. All you have to do is change the water every now and then, and you've got gorgeous, fresh, soft butter on your kitchen table every day!
This butter bell inspires me to want a bread maker to make bread worthy of such buttery perfection.
I like this link for its informational video on the butter bell. Apparently they have been around since the middle ages!
Crafting in Minnesota
Vacation brings out the crafter in me. This project started with a dilemma. Sister Lisa needed a wedding card! I'd picked one up at the airport to give along with the Vera Bradley jewelry case and matching cosmetics bag that I'd picked up as a gift for the bride...
I love Vera's stuff. Quilted. Great patterns. Really great, in my opinion for travel supplies. And reasonably priced, since they are good quality. Anyway, back to crafting....
So I volunteered my airport card to Lisa, and decided to set about making a card of my own, as beautiful sun porches with lilacs are just asking for a big papery project to happen on them! So we sat down to craft... having my wonderful seven year old niece with me made crafting even better!
I love Vera's stuff. Quilted. Great patterns. Really great, in my opinion for travel supplies. And reasonably priced, since they are good quality. Anyway, back to crafting....
So I volunteered my airport card to Lisa, and decided to set about making a card of my own, as beautiful sun porches with lilacs are just asking for a big papery project to happen on them! So we sat down to craft... having my wonderful seven year old niece with me made crafting even better!
The gift bag. Simple and tasteful, with handmade paper ribbons
Miss Morgan added this wonderful detail. Its an S and a P for Sarah and Phil, bride and groom.
A handwritten note on the inside. Morgan picked the beautiful brown papers. I sewed the beige paper into the card by hand.
A sweet wedding quote for the young couple, courtesy of Martin Luther.
The back: first note that beautiful paper Morgan picked out! And at the bottom, our signature.
A Minnesota Wedding
Back from a lovely Memorial Day weekend! I flew to Minneapolis to attend my lovely niece's wedding. The wedding was, hands down, the most beautiful wedding I've ever attended, so if you're ever in the Minnesota area, call my brother and sister, Steve and Patty, at Festivities. Seriously, my relatives are so sweet, and ridiculously good at throwing gorgeous parties. (Its nice having party planners in the family... can't wait to give Steve the call when I need to start planning my own...) Also... apparently Steve's got the in with Martha Stewart's MN area cake decorator. So I consumed Martha approved cake while staring at award winning floral design. Can you say, VIP, don't ya know? Here are a fraction of my pictures of the big day:
So pretty....
More pretty...
This room was immaculately detailed... The Martha Stewart cake was designed with a pattern that matched the table cloths. And those little blue puffs on the backs of the brown satin chair covers, were blue begonias that complimented all the bouquets and table floral arrangements. I'll have to do a whole new post just on the invitations, cards, and other paper bits.
I. Love. Attention. To. Detail!!!
After dinner and some dancing we were invited back outside to find the reception space transformed into a cozy outdoor nook with comfy seating, great music, a s'mores fire pit, and chefs preparing crepes and bananas foster in the pavillion. What a treat!
Cute relatives
So pretty....
More pretty...
This room was immaculately detailed... The Martha Stewart cake was designed with a pattern that matched the table cloths. And those little blue puffs on the backs of the brown satin chair covers, were blue begonias that complimented all the bouquets and table floral arrangements. I'll have to do a whole new post just on the invitations, cards, and other paper bits.
I. Love. Attention. To. Detail!!!
After dinner and some dancing we were invited back outside to find the reception space transformed into a cozy outdoor nook with comfy seating, great music, a s'mores fire pit, and chefs preparing crepes and bananas foster in the pavillion. What a treat!
That's all I'm posting on here. Don't want to exploit my gorgeous niece and my talented family of designers any further! Check out their website to see some of their other work!
I love a good wedding.
I love a good wedding.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A Bicycle Built for... Free!
So Chicago is a very cycling friendly city. And I have, in my Chicago days, owned two bikes. One was stolen off my my back porch within an hour of my "locking?" it there.
The other was a heavy white steel number from another era with a basket on the front, no gears, pedal breaks, and it made me look like that nasty lady in the beginning of The Wizard of Oz who becomes the wicked witch in Oz-land. I'd sing the song as I road... da dun da da da dun da. da dun da da da dun da....
Anyway, I've never been a functional biker, and wish I was. And look at this beautiful bike by Madsen! I love it!
Its so cute and kind of hilarious, and I may not have two beautiful children to tuck in it right now (where are their helmets, by the way?) but I do have a lot of groceries and other such errands to run! I love this! And the best part is, Madsen is giving two away in July! Check it out below!
Anyway, I've never been a functional biker, and wish I was. And look at this beautiful bike by Madsen! I love it!
Its so cute and kind of hilarious, and I may not have two beautiful children to tuck in it right now (where are their helmets, by the way?) but I do have a lot of groceries and other such errands to run! I love this! And the best part is, Madsen is giving two away in July! Check it out below!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Catch up!
Ah! Life has really been moving at a pace that I'd forgotten about recently. I think after a few months of hiatus, I've hopped back on the life trolley, and its chug-a-lugging along whether I like it or not. So my apologies for my lack of posts!
In the past two weeks...
I've had a series of lovely meals, both home made and out for dinner. I MUST recommend Orso's on Wells in Oldtown. Its the cutest little Italian restaurant on the corner that looks like something out of another era. Their website aptly described the experience: Romance abounds in our classic old world ambiance. I loved all the glittery chandeliers and dark wooden walls. A lovely old man played the piano in the corner in a royal blue suit jacket, that is, when Tony Bennett wasn't crooning on the radio. It was the sort of place Tony Soprano would find agreeable for meetings with his crew. I love that old time, other era, mobster romance sort of vibe. I'd eagerly jump into an era where men wore sport coats and smoked cigars, and took me out to Orso's for veal cutlets.
I'm also seriously enjoying the spring weather in Chicago. Even the rain is worthwhile, because the day after, everything smells like magic outside! And the trees are so green and alive and beautiful! On one my more magical afternoons, Sarah and I took a marvelous walk home after mass in Lincoln Park, all the way back to the city (approx 4.6 miles, thank you very much, we googled mapped it)! It was so incredible, it felt like a dream! Oz Park was glorious and filled with babies and puppies. And then, we stumbled across this incredible vision, on a city block! What a glorious surprise!
And then there were jobs. Nannying has been on going. I've finally caught up on my picture posts for Dramagirls. Also, I'll be hearing back from two jobs in the next week, which has certainly been keeping me mentally busy. I presented and taught a sample lesson plan to a group of second graders last week for the UNO Charter School Network, and hopefully I'll be training next week to run the Family Fun Festival at Millennium Park.
And can I just say, those second graders were the sweetest, most well behaved, most eager to learn little sweethearts I have ever encountered! We read Caps For Sale, which I'm a fan of because everyone should take a brief break to act like a monkey sometimes.
All in all, I'm feeling really good, and I might have to celebrate by finishing season six of Little House on the Prairie and eating some leftover pasta primavera.
In the past two weeks...
I've had a series of lovely meals, both home made and out for dinner. I MUST recommend Orso's on Wells in Oldtown. Its the cutest little Italian restaurant on the corner that looks like something out of another era. Their website aptly described the experience: Romance abounds in our classic old world ambiance. I loved all the glittery chandeliers and dark wooden walls. A lovely old man played the piano in the corner in a royal blue suit jacket, that is, when Tony Bennett wasn't crooning on the radio. It was the sort of place Tony Soprano would find agreeable for meetings with his crew. I love that old time, other era, mobster romance sort of vibe. I'd eagerly jump into an era where men wore sport coats and smoked cigars, and took me out to Orso's for veal cutlets.
I'm also seriously enjoying the spring weather in Chicago. Even the rain is worthwhile, because the day after, everything smells like magic outside! And the trees are so green and alive and beautiful! On one my more magical afternoons, Sarah and I took a marvelous walk home after mass in Lincoln Park, all the way back to the city (approx 4.6 miles, thank you very much, we googled mapped it)! It was so incredible, it felt like a dream! Oz Park was glorious and filled with babies and puppies. And then, we stumbled across this incredible vision, on a city block! What a glorious surprise!
And then there were jobs. Nannying has been on going. I've finally caught up on my picture posts for Dramagirls. Also, I'll be hearing back from two jobs in the next week, which has certainly been keeping me mentally busy. I presented and taught a sample lesson plan to a group of second graders last week for the UNO Charter School Network, and hopefully I'll be training next week to run the Family Fun Festival at Millennium Park.
And can I just say, those second graders were the sweetest, most well behaved, most eager to learn little sweethearts I have ever encountered! We read Caps For Sale, which I'm a fan of because everyone should take a brief break to act like a monkey sometimes.
All in all, I'm feeling really good, and I might have to celebrate by finishing season six of Little House on the Prairie and eating some leftover pasta primavera.
Friday, May 1, 2009
When I was little...
...I wanted to be a paleontologist.
In My Book About Me, I had it circled... (this one isn't mine, but you can see Paleontologist on the left hand page next to the little guy scratching his head)
Because I always loved dinosaurs...
And I still do...
This is my first love, Dino.
This little fella is part of a trio from my old apartment. My roommates got matching stegosaurus and triceratops wind up toys. (They were stocking stuffers for each of us, but mostly an excuse for me to bring more dinosaurs into my home.)
This little blue guy can be exchanged for a free beer sometime at the Red Line Tap, but I like him more than I think I'd like that beer. I've had it for months now.
And this is the newest addition to the family. He's adorable. I'm naming him Bruno. So cute.
My inner child sneaks out sometimes and gets really excited by the little things, like a new dinosaur friend.
In My Book About Me, I had it circled... (this one isn't mine, but you can see Paleontologist on the left hand page next to the little guy scratching his head)
Because I always loved dinosaurs...
And I still do...
This is my first love, Dino.
This little fella is part of a trio from my old apartment. My roommates got matching stegosaurus and triceratops wind up toys. (They were stocking stuffers for each of us, but mostly an excuse for me to bring more dinosaurs into my home.)
This little blue guy can be exchanged for a free beer sometime at the Red Line Tap, but I like him more than I think I'd like that beer. I've had it for months now.
And this is the newest addition to the family. He's adorable. I'm naming him Bruno. So cute.
My inner child sneaks out sometimes and gets really excited by the little things, like a new dinosaur friend.
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