There were professional photographers taking fabulous pictures at Saturday's lovely co-ed bridal shower.  But who knows when/if I'll ever have those photos in my possession.  So, I'm sharing the few pictures that I took in the midst of the craziness of last minute details.

My sister-in-law Jen's sister Charissa is getting married in Indy next month, and lots of her friends around here had yet to meet her fiance, so I thought a co-ed shower was the perfect solution.  I offered to host and convinced Jen to host with me.  We make a good team!

I always love brunch.  Except for the fact that it means less time to get things ready.  But beyond that, it provides so much flexibility and fun and general lightheartedness.

We went with a rustic theme, and I got to use a bunch of mason jars for the first time.  Yah, I know, I'm a few years behind when it comes to trends.

Oh well.

The first food idea that really started the whole menu was this bad boy:

oh, YES, that IS chicken + waffles!

That branched into kind of a comfort food theme, adding in some favorites of the bride-to-be.

Our full spread consisted of both savory and sweet:

• mini quiche (rosemary + tomato and bacon + cheddar
• mini mac n cheese bites
• chicken + waffles
• fruit skewers
• yogurt parfaits
• mini muffins (banana nut and lemon poppy seed)
• monkey bread
• cranberry almond coffee cake
• finished with a variety of cupcakes

Bunting courtesy of Monkey and Lamb

"Savory"

"Sweet"

I love menus on display.

There's just something so pretty about yogurt parfaits and fresh fruit.

"You are the icing to my cupcake."

Yah, lots of love right there.

It started with bananas.

As a followup to yesterday's post about needing one ingredient and wondering if I'd end up with more...

As we were going to the store I decided it would just be easiest to get the one thing I needed (beer, oddly enough) and not shop for more things.  Toting a toddler around in snow and cold is a challenge, so I thought the less I have to carry with me the better.

So, beer:  We don't drink it, but I was needing it to bake beer bread for tonight. Someone had told me awhile ago that Kroger sells individual bottles.  Perfect!

Well, trying to find them was another story.  First employee I found was clueless.  The second said they have them in the summer.

Oh.  Ok.

So, I ended up with a six pack.

And on the way there, I saw bananas and thought, "Bananas are good to have.  I can get a bunch of bananas."

After the bananas, the floodgates opened up.

I decided I should get yogurt (on sale) for Catherine.  She loves yogurt, and lately she's always eating mine.

Grands biscuits were on sale, and I've had Monkey Bread on my mind.  Knowing we have a long weekend with Josh off work Monday I knew I'd be tempted to celebrate with brunch out.  Instead, I decided, I'd make a special brunch at home.

On the way to the dairy aisle, I found mini quiche.  On clearance.  "That'd be great to add to brunch for some protein."  I thought and added it to the cart.

Next I found cookie dough on clearance.  $1 for cookie dough, hello!!  "These will be great for when I need something sweet!"  I limited myself to two.

Next to it were coffee creamers on clearance.  Perfect!  I periodically take flavored creamers to the Moms Group/Bible Study I go to, and I noticed we were out last week.


"Oh, and milk is on sale.  I should probably get Catherine more milk."

"Oh, and this big bag of frozen french fries is only a dollar?!  Awesome!  They'll be great for when I'm craving fast food."

. . .

Everything except the beer and bananas were on sale or clearance.  I spent $24.40 and never even thought about eggnog.

P.S.  The beer bread turned out well.

Birthday hangovers are great. All the good things from yesterday just flow into today.

This morning I got to sleep in, then dance and sing along with U93's 90's show while getting ready.

I'm wearing my new birthday jeans, enjoying some Michael Buble, and smiling.

I'll soon be heading out to brunch with my future mother-in-law.

It's a good day. Another good day. Thank you, God.

• I'm wearing my favorite long comfy sweater that's practically a robe.
• I'm also wearing blue jeans!
  
• I get to see old roomie Alicia for lunch today.
• I'm getting things done.
• I get to see Josh tonight!
• Dinner at John & Heather's tonight!
• Good news about a work event in May that equals less money we have to spend, YES!
• Good music that I get to listen to today.
• Encouraging friends
• Tomorrow's my birthday, and I get lunch with Mom at one of my favorite special occasion restaurants!
• Upcoming brunch with Janice
• Making plans for the wedding weekend!
• The heater under my desk keeping me warm. :)
• Knowing "this too shall pass."
  

It wasn't that long ago when I went into a panic because we only had 103 people registered for this weekend's house tour. Suddenly I've tripled the registration, and I am overwhelmed with reservations coming in at the last minute.

All morning I was on the phone & email assisting people non-stop. I would return a call and then hang up, and there would be 2 new messages waiting for me. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb at 12:30 and never turned it off.

Tomorrow I will go back and have a million more messages to take care of.

I took a late lunch (something I've been doing a lot lately) because I was swamped. I met with a reporter for the Tribune. I ran errands for my boss. I worked late - til 6:15 and then went straight from work to church for a Home Management class I'm taking. A class that covers a lot of information and requires you to do homework. I can't handle homework. Not now.

Tomorrow evening is my one free night, so I will get caught up at home and hopefully get to do some relaxing. Oh wait, I have a bunch of homework to do. I can't relax.

Wednesday is a new book club; I need to read assignments for that in advance, along with FPU class readings.

Thursday Jay and Ginny and little baby Cole will be in town from Wisconsin, so I'll be spending time with them then.

Friday evening is Josh's high school reunion party part one.

Saturday is brunch at Jen & Andy's, then Debbie & John's wedding in Elkhart, then high school reunion part two in Niles.

Sunday I leave about 8:30 AM to work the tour and will be there all day. I'll go straight from there to our FPU class.

And then at 8:30 pm Sunday, I will crash. I just hope I can make it til then! I'm scared.

A couple few weeks ago Josh planned a surprise date for me. I returned the favor yesterday.

We did brunch at the wonderful, locally owned (!) Uptown Kitchen - soooo good AND fun! I would definitely recommend it if you haven't been! The owner came around & visited with us for a couple minutes. It was very neat.


Then we went over to Jumpin' Juice & Java, enjoyed visiting with some friends, hanging out, sipping fruit smoothies, reading the paper - oh, and a private concert from Jars of Clay!




From there, we headed to downtown South Bend to catch an afternoon game of Silver Hawks baseball! Even though we lost, it was still fun watching the crazy antics of Swoop and company.


We went home to watch a couple episodes of Arrested Development and let our tummies get hungry! Then we promptly filled them up with great food at Papa Vino's!



It was a wonderful day with my wonderful boyfriend!

Friday I...

• was back in the office.
• went to my first Fridays by the Fountain this season and got disappointed & sunburned.
• got a poorly made chicken salad sandwich from Chocolate Cafe. Good thing it tasted great and was on special saving me 2 1/2 bucks!
• hurried home after work and got dressed up 80's style.
  
• met my honey and went to my friend's 80's themed birthday party - FUN!
• hurried up to New Buffalo, MI (my first time there!).
• enjoyed a graduation celebration dinner with my honey and his family at Skip's.
• partook in a buffet of wonderful food, many of which I had to ask my boyfriend what they were.
• then went to the beach as the sun was setting where he and I enjoyed walking along the sand.
  
  

Saturday I...

• got up early (5:30).
• watched the sun rise over Notre Dame.
  
• met my boyfriend's family in Niles, MI.
  
• traveled to Kalamazoo, MI (my first time there also!) and watched my honey walk across stage to get his Master's degree!
• explored Schoolcraft, MI with honey and his brother.
• brunched at MarJo's.
• headed back to Niles.
• checked out Niles' Art Fest where I was offered free popcorn and declined, treated myself to a cherry shake and regretted it later, contemplated getting a henna tattoo, chatted with an ice and sand sculptor and then decided that was enough.
• stopped at a cute gift shop.
• sadly turned down an invite to get together with friends.
  
• had an awesome nap at home.
• met the girls for Girls Night at Carrabba's.
• caught up on everybody's lives and enjoyed pink lemonade sorbet at Coldstone.
  
  

Sunday I...

• woke up early mad that I had to go to work.
• realized it was Sunday and I didn't have to go to work!
• lounged around and then decided to go to first service.
• took pages of notes as I listened to Sam's amazing sermon.
• got work done at home.
• went to Panera with honey.
• had fun wandering around stores with honey.
• did more work at home.
• relaxed with a movie.
• contemplated baking - and still contemplating.

See pictures below. Enjoy!

80's party...

sunset at the beach
so proud of my honey
ahhh, good ol' mar-jo's; anything with "breakfast all day" is a winner for me!
i was soooo excited!
amazing omelet!huge blueberry pancakes

sampler with "silver-dollar" pancakes
such cuteness in town!
the sculptor on the left came from columbus, ohio for the event
happy girls

This week has been crazy busy. I'm still trying to keep everything straight in my head. What a challenge! At least I am down to just Friday now.

Tomorrow - catching up on office work, hopefully catching the military vehicle parade in town (hoping for no rain!), lunch, afternoon meeting, then briefly speaking to a gathering - I need to figure out what I'm going to say!

Then I'm off to a wedding rehearsal & rehearsal dinner with Josh.

Saturday - morning wedding & reception. Then in the evening... Josh & I are going to this gala event in my favorite town. It's hors d'oeuvres, dinner, red carpet, and a showing of Casablanca in their newly restored 1920's theatre. I'm so excited!! Now, I just need to figure out what I'm going to wear!

Sunday is church and Father's Day, so I think we're talking about a late brunch. I do love brunch!

There's also a good chance I'll have to be working more over the weekend. (Boo!)

Monday is a dentist appointment, and then Tuesday - Thursday is our kids architecture camp! It's gonna be another crazy busy week!

What a fun, full weekend!

Last night after work I met up with my honey and did a little window shopping in my fave town - Nappanee, IN. Then we headed to Warsaw to meet up with my college roomies Becky & Sarah for dinner. It was bittersweet as this was Becky's last trip to the area for quite awhile and it was announced that Sarah is moving back to Montana within the next week or two. Very sad the more I think about it.

But we made sure to enjoy last night and make more memories together again. Wonderful Josh put up with our stories and our antics and was willing to play photographer for us. We had dinner at our fave Haci, toured campus, and then had Ritter's frozen custard before calling it a night.

Today I got up early for Book Club/Bible Study. It was a nice time gathering and discussing with other women and getting to know eachother better.

Then my new roomie and I went to brunch at Tradewinds! Yes, roomie. It wasn't that long ago that I was sulking about being lonely at home. And suddenly this opportunity came up. I am excited to have a new roomie. And we had a nice time enjoying brunch and chatting. This afternoon I have been trying to tackle all of my stuff that is in her new room and her new closet so she actually has room for her things! I'm trying to stay energized to also do laundry, change bedding, and bake pumpkin bread. We'll see how long it lasts.

Tomorrow will be church, and Josh will join my family for a Mother's Day lunch and afternoon of hanging out and perhaps going on a local Home Tour.

I'm already dreading Monday morning and even tomorrow night, as I have to be at work by 6 AM. How's that for starting my week? Ugh. Coffee will be a necessity.

Here are some pics from last night in Warsaw:

dinner @ Haci...

we love our burt's bees & we love to coordinate outfits...

in front of our dorm...

having fun in the campus post office...

i'm pretty good at making that face...

i love these girls...

Yesterday was a good, long day. Pampered Chef party and brunch up in St. Joe with Josh and his mom, hanging out looking at baby photos of my babe, and then getting ready for a wedding.

Dear Tess & Laythen tied the knot, and it was a beautiful ceremony and a fun reception. I worked as a photographer to capture every guest on camera (ok, there were a few rascally ones who got away, but what can I do?) then rush out to get the pictures printed and then hurry over to the reception to place all the photos in an album for guests to then sign next to their photo. Phew! It was a bit stressful for me, so I was glad when the work part was over and I could enjoy the rest of the time.

Being with friends, being with my honey, enjoying lovely wedding cake, dancing, reminiscing... It was a great evening and a joy to witness them starting their new life together.

I came home exhausted but wanting to get the wedding pictures online so my friend Kate could see them since she wasn't able to make it to the wedding from Florida.

While I was online I checked my email and was stunned to receive word about a family acquaintance tragically and suddenly passing away. He was a friend of my dad's and relatively young - about 40.

Arthur Oduma was from Kenya, and he met my dad when he was getting his MBA at Notre Dame. My dad does a good job at reaching out to those who don't have family in the area, so Arthur had been over to the house a few times and was even a part of our Christmas a few years ago. They kept in touch, and Dad was always proud to learn of Arthur's latest accomplishments. Maybe you could say it was kind of a mentor type relationship, as my dad helped Arthur during his time at Notre Dame and even beyond.

He periodically got in touch with my dad, and then Dad would share the latest updates with us. The latest we had heard from Arthur was that he had moved to Boston to start his own company. He was ambitious and dedicated and hard-working.

Then something happened, and nobody knows what. Calls and emails to him went unanswered and unreturned. Suddenly neighbors report a strange smell and not seeing him for weeks. He had been gone for some time. And no one knew. All his family was still in Kenya. He had only met a few people in the Boston area, none close enough to know something was wrong. And now his body sits in Boston, waiting for money to be raised so he can be transported back to Kenya for burial.

It amazes me how quickly it can happen. I couldn't believe he's gone. I never thought that was the end of the updates of what Arthur Oduma is doing now. You never know when your path will suddenly cease to cross with somebody else's.

The death of actress Natasha Richardson has hit me hard too. One day she's skiing. She's happy. Oops, she fell. She's fine. An hour later - headache. And then... gone.

I just don't often think about how quickly someone can be gone. I rarely say goodbye to a friend and think that this may be the last time I see them.

What would I do differently if I did think about that reality?

I think I'd try to show more mercy, more kindness, and I'd try to share Jesus' love more.

I know Arthur did get to see that love. Through my dad and through our family.

I just don't want to have any regrets.

You can read more about this man here and here.

Today:

• Snoozing my alarm
• Working out
• Amazed at the guy next to me running full speed on the treadmill while singing U2 (outloud)
• Home to shower & dress
• Vietnamese lunch with friends
• Shopping with Mom - UP Mall, Hobby Lobby
• Car accident
• Dinner & hanging out at my parents'
• Making preparations for Monday's surgery (the closer it gets, the more real it becomes, and the more scared I am)

Tomorrow:

• Brunch with a friend
• Church
• Work at home (Christmas cards, laundry, pickup, finding a place for all my Christmas gifts, etc.)
• Dinner/Hanukkah celebration at friends'
• Packing for a few days of being at Mom & Dad's
  
• Might try to squeeze in a quick trip to Target somewhere in there too

Weekends are great. Especially when they are book-ended by 3 and 4 days off from work, ha! I'm not going to want to go back EVER!!!

My long time friends Mark and Jenny live just two hours away from me, right by Lansing, Michigan. Being so close, I am able to see them relatively often, and I am grateful for that.

Every time I go there I know I am in for a wonderful time, no matter what we do or don't do. It is a guaranteed good time, usually like my own little retreat.

Here's how the latest visit went:

Before I was even out of my car, 5 year old Noah was on the doorstep greeting me. He loves his Aunt Jennifer, and I was stunned to hear little 2 1/2 year old Ava now saying my name - "Dennifer"!

We visited and played and laughed, and then the adults headed out while the kids stayed home with a sitter. We met up with some friends for a great Italian dinner at this amazing local place called Cugino's or something like that. The atmosphere and food were both great! I had the Hawaiian Calzone, mmm!

We then went over to Mark and Jenny's church for a fabulous and hilarious improv comedy show! Jenny had organized the event and brought in a phenomical group called 321 Improv. I laughed so hard my stomach was hurting in under an hour. After the show, there was a wonderful dessert buffet set up for all to enjoy as we mingled with another.

Jenny stayed behind to schmooze with the improv team, as Mark and I went off on an adventure. We had a coupon for $20 towards anything at Kohl's. But it had to be used by the end of business that day! We ended up with these requirements for our game:

• $20
• 10 minutes
• get something we could all enjoy

Wow, this was tough. It was stressful and difficult, but, of course, still fun. We ended up needing a little over 20 minutes. Come on - I was wearing heeled boots. If I would have known in advance, I'd have brought my running shoes. We finally decided on 2 games. They had great sale prices, and we were able to get the game Trouble and a To-Go Disney version of Scene-It.

I know they will all enjoy those for a long time and will remember the fun adventure everytime they play with them.

Mark, Jenny, and I had a lot of good conversation Saturday night as we sat in front of the fireplace until about 1 AM.

Sunday I woke up and could hear the kids. I always love waking up to their voices. We all got ready for church and got to see Mark sing with the choir and Noah sing with the kids choir. Precious! After church we went to brunch (mmm!) at Sophia's, a place I've wanted to visit for awhile. The kids were crazy as we waited for our food. The food was great. I did a little shopping with Jenny, and then back at home, we all worked on a Gingerbread House (my first time)!

Next was nap time for pretty much everyone. Mark may have stayed awake playing Wii. I was snuggled up on the loveseat by the fireplace with a blanket and a cat keeping me warm. It was so peaceful. When I woke up the kids were already around, and they were happy to see me awake.

After a bit more chatting, I had to head home.

25 hours in Lansing. Always a great time!