7 Quick Takes (vol. 20)

A quick catch-up, since summer awesomeness has happened around here. Here's a compact list from my little corner of the world.

~~ 1 ~~

It's been wedding central for me. His great pic is from a reception of one of my best friends. It was such a great weekend, spent some time with my parents, had awesome fresh veggies and enjoyed country life for a weekend.

~~ 2 ~~

 Got to see all these awesome college friends at another friend's wedding. We even got to celebrate and engagement :) So blessed to know these awesome people!

~~ 3 ~~

 

I made it to a baseball game the other week. I helped chaperone some of our kids from church and it was a great evening. I think I like the smaller scale games (we watched the Madison Mallards, which apparently are a "collegiate summer baseball team") verses major league games...although those are pretty darn fun too.

~~ 4 ~~

 So I got this pineapple corer/slicer for my birthday (it was on my wedding registry :) and I love love love it! seriously! So easy and fresh pineapple is sooooo much better than the canned stuff. If you like pineapple you should definitely consider getting one, or talking someone into getting it for you ;)

~~ 5 ~~

I've been reading and listening to audio books, which means sometimes I'm not getting a lot accomplished at home. I love books you can't put down! Anyways, I finished listening to 

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose

picture from here

 This was so fascinating! This was a great compilation of Lewis and Clark's writings, letters from and to them and just a great over all biography of Meriwether Lewis.

Currently I'm listening to The sweetness at the bottom of the pie by Alan Bradley.

 picture from here

 I'm still not sure what I think of this one, but I'm only about 1/4 of the way through, so we'll see.

I just finished reading Halos by Kristen Heitzmann

 Image from Here

I love Kristen's books. There's always a love story, always a little faith (but not over the top unbelievable stuff) and always a good plot that pulls you along. Definitely not anything deep, but good inbetween books when you don't want to really think too much. This one I didn't like quite as much, the guy was a jerk in the beginning and there were some disturbing parts, so yeah, wouldn't buy it, but it was good.

~~ 6 ~~

I've been going to Concerts on the Square every Wednesday since they started this summer(which has been 2 so far) and absolutely love them! Random fact: apparently there are over 20,000 people that come every week! Crazy awesome! Last night it was "American Fanfare" themed, so they played patriotic pieces like Stars and Stripes Forever, 1812 Overture, Fanfare for the Common Man and did a great Armed Forces Salute (which recognized each branch individually). On top of those they played great pieces like All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, and Trouble from Music Man.

~~ 7 ~~

I'm excited for the long weekend, and I'm excited because I'm going to attempt to make these:

Image from Here

So we'll see how they turn out. Hopefully they're awesome!

hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

Thankful Thursday

  Since it is Thursday, and since there is always much to be thankful for, here is my list of the moment.

(1) Answered Prayers. 

 I (along with many others) have been praying for my fiance to find a job, so that I'll know where we'll be settling after we get married, but more so that he can put the degree he just earned to use doing something he enjoys. Well he was offered a job last week and he'll start the beginning of June. So praise God for answered prayers.

(2) Forever Friends.

 

 I was at a bachelorette party over the weekend for one of my best friends. It was like a reunion of college friends and I loved it! I'm so thankful that no matter the distance, I will always have these ladies in my life.

(3) The Farmers' Market. 

I finally got a chance to hit up Madison's awesome farmers' market last Saturday and I got all kinds of goodies. I'm thankful for all those who put in the work to grow the fruits and veggies and seedlings so that the rest of us without a big yard can enjoy them.

 

(4) Family. 

 

I had the chance to celebrate my younger brother's birthday last week as well as have dinner with my older brother. I'm so thankful that we all live close enough to get together. My parents are coming up tomorrow, so even more family awesomeness. All of Jeremiah's siblings were able to come celebrate his graduation and I insisted on a photo. Family is important. I'm thankful that was ingrained in us growing up, and I'm thankful that it holds true for the family I'll be joining in a few months.

(5) Beautiful Weather. 

Spring was extremely short and Summer seems to have appeared here. I'm loving being able to go bike riding or hiking for a few hours after work and still be home before it's dark.So thankful for health, beautiful weather and longer days.

 

(6) Pictures.

 I've been trying to do a little catching up on my scrapbooking, along with getting pictures printed. I'm so thankful for all the memories represented in each shot and all the people who make them up.

(This picture is of the first bible study I was in in Madison. Awesome group. 2 are now in the seminary and 2 have left the state.)

 

(7) Happy Hours.

Yesterday some of my coworkers and some of the ladies that used to work at our office all got together for some drinks, appetizers and catch-up conversation. I'm thankful for good people to catch-up with, patio seating and great food and drinks.

There's the short list of what I'm thankful for this Thursday. Enjoy it friends! There is much to be thankful for!

Summer List

So one of the blogs I follow (I can't remember which one, sadly) posted a Summer to do List, which sounded too good to pass up. The summer always seems to fly by and there always seems to be something "summery" I missed, so I thought I'd put together a quick list of some of the great summer-stuff that I hope to do over the next few months.

Make It Count! My Summer To Do List.

1. Blow bubbles
2. Go kayaking/canoeing
3. Have a picnic
4. Make & eat popsicles
5. Go hiking
6. Find a new summer salad recipe I love
7. Go to at least 3 town festivals
8. Go to a county fair
9. Bike ride as often as I can
10. Go for long walks, just enjoying the season
11. Go to a baseball game
12. Share an ice cream cone with my guy
13. Make root-beer floats
14. Watch an outdoor play
15. Go to the farmer's market as often as I can
16. Go to concerts on the square
17. Make salsa
18. Make ice cream
19. Go camping
20. Stop to smell the flowers

So there's my list to start with, I'll try to post some awesome pictures when I check things off. If you made a summer list, what would it include?

Month Catch-Up

Here's what I have been up to for the past month, lots of fun stuff. Hope your summer is super awesome and you are making time to do the fun stuff that makes you smile.

My lovely sister (who is a sister with the School Sisters of Christ the King) had her home visit the end of June, so it was lovely seeing her and having some good old fashioned family time.

Including a picnic by the Mississippi and a triathlon (badminton, horse shoes and croquet)

 I got to spend an awesome afternoon with my adorable Godson and his family.

Threw a summer party that was a blast. Lots of great food, drinks, awesome people, fun games and all around good times. (Minus, of course, the mosquitoes!)

Celebrated Jeremiah's niece's 1st Birthday.

 

recipe & picture from here

Made these for our my dad's side's family get together.

My little brother moved to Wisconsin earlier this month. That makes three of us :) I'll take it!

I've been loving concerts on the square (there was this insanely good harmonica player the last time I went), if there is any free music concerts offered in the summer in your part of the country I highly recommend you attend. 

Alright, that's it for me for now. I'm off to enjoy some more summer fun :)

7 Quick Takes (Vol. 15)

It's summer! I am supper excited :) Excited for longer days, warm weather, plants on the patio, flowers blooming, fresh fruits and veggies. I love it! Alright on to a quick list of my recent crazy life.

 

 ~~ 1 ~~

We had a siblings day a couple weeks ago because my younger brother was up for a wedding so we had some awesome hangout time and went to the great Wollersheim Winery (which I love). We're quite the stair-steps in the above picture.

This is what happens when Kevin chooses the pose. I can say that I think we entertained the lovely lady that took our picture, we were quite the group ;)

~~ 2 ~~

Did you know that they call Rockford, IL the Home of the Sock Monkey? Yeah, me neither. But it's true, I was there.

 

~~ 3 ~~

Over Memorial Day Weekend (I'm telling you, this is a hardcore catch-up post) my parents were up and we spent Saturday hanging out with my Dad's family and visiting the graves of my grandparents, great-grandparents and even great-great grandparents. The rain held off and it was a beautiful day.

We said a rosary at each of the cemeteries. It was a nice day of reminiscing about the past.

~~ 4 ~~

Last weekend I spent in the Wisconsin Dells with my boyfriend. It was a wonderful mini-vacation. The above picture was taken on the Original Wisconsin Ducks. I had never been and loved it. Wisconsin is such a gorgeous state. The tour was of course filled with all kinds of corny jokes that you had to laugh at, it's a very family friendly little tour.

~~ 5 ~~

 These Kangaroos were in the "nursery" the grown ones were outside in a larger area.

While in the Dells we also went to The Timbavati Wildlife Park. It was neat to see the variety of animals they had, but I didn't like the lack of space the animals had. They are doing a lot of remodeling,  so it may be better in a year or two.

 Can you tell he's an animal person?

~~ 6 ~~

 I was given a bunch of rhubarb and have enjoyed finding awesome stuff to do with it. I found this recipe that where you cook down the rhubarb and add some sugar and water to make a concentrate for drinks (bottle on the right). Add it to some sparkling water and you have a rhubarb Italian soda. The jar on the left is the cooked chunks of rhubarb that you can eat over ice cream or whatever.

~~ 7 ~~

I am in love with this sandwich! I made 1 big sandwich (using a hamburger bun) and cut the sauce recipe in half and it was awesome. It's a super quick and easy meal.

I hope you all had a wonderful week month, enjoy the weekend! 

For more Quick Takes, head on over to Conversion Diary.

What a Weekend!

It's September, it's beautiful, fall is almost here :) I had a lovely weekend with friends.

I attended the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Festival, I figured I had to do it, and since I was actually in the state this year for Labor Day weekend I figured this was the perfect year. They have a different theme each year and this year's was Pirates of the Cowwabean.

It was a bit intense.

Look at the dedication!

It was also a lot of fun

Saturday I had the pleasure of attending a friend's beautiful wedding.

 

It was a wonderful day with college friends. Everyone had a fabulous time!

 

Sunday I was off to the Taste of Madison. Amazing! The capital square was filled with people and such a great combination of food.

Here's my friend with some chocolate covered bacon on a stick :)

The rest of the weekend was spent at my friend's house on the lake, complete with kyaking and pontoon boating, guitar sing-alongs and games. Then it was over for dinner with the boyfriend. All in all it was a pretty fabulous weekend! 

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and are having a wonderful week thus far!

 

What I've Been Up To (Summer Vol. 2)

Alright, since it's the end of August and I've been slacking on the whole actually posting regularly I thought I'd do another quick run through of my life, for all you interested folks and share some of the fun stuff I've been up to...

What I've been reading.

 My Life with the Saints by James Martin, S.J.

My friend Katie did a great review over at Look to Him and Be Radiant, Check it out! (oh and that's where the picture is from)

What I've been baking/concocting.

Super Chewy, Really Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

Picture from Here

butterscotch chips + chocolate chips + peanut butter chips = AMAZING! 

(cleaned out my stock of chips :)

Foolproof Cinnamon Buns (with no yeast!)

 Picture from Here

My go to Summer cupcakes (Lemony Goodness!)

Picture from Here. 

 I've made them before and had to do it again :)

And, a whole lot of these recipes, including Salsa, Blueberry Lemon Tea Bread and Crispy Coconut Chicken

What I've been making.

Remember This picnic blanket that I was going to make? Well everything is cut out, but that's as far as I've gotten, so maybe I'll finish that in September...hopefully!

I've actually been making a lot of greeting cards. Yeah, I used to it all the time but got out of the habit, picking up a card is so much quicker, but not nearly as fun and personal. Some of my current inspirations have come from Busted Button.

I Love her work, especially the four seasons. Head over and check it out! (Picture from bustedbutton.com)

What I'm listening to (Music).

Pontoon by Little Big Town, love it!

 Sound of Music Record

Fiddler on the Roof Record

What I'm listening to (books)

 

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

Picture From Here

So far so good. I just started it, so we shall see...

The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Picture from Here

This one I felt like everyone my age/within 10 years of my age, had read/was doing. I actually found it extremely helpful and I love that it is very Christian based.

What I've been doing to enjoy the Season of Summer.

Camping

I went with this cute boy over the weekend, and despite the rain it was a lot of fun.

Canoeing

Lots of Birthday Celebrations (Lots of good times at the Nitty Gritty)

Quality time with family and friends

So that's me. Hope all of you are fabulous and enjoying the end of August, end of Summer, and return to reality.

What I've Been Up To

What I've been reading.

Tea With Jane Austin by Kim WIlson

Picture From Here

Unplan.ned by Abby Johnson

Picture From Here

Still reading Style, S.ex and Substance edited by Hallie Lord

Picture From Here

What I've been baking/concocting.

No Bake Coconut Cookies

 Picture From The 36th Avenue

 Throw these in the freezer and enjoy on these hot summer days.

 Summertime Bliss

My own summertime mojitoish drink (adapted from this simple recipe):

• 1/2 orange, cut into 3 wedges
• 1/2 lime or lemon, cut into 3 wedges
• about 1/4 cup blueberries
• about 1/4 cup strawberries
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 or 2 sprigs fresh mint
• 2 1/2 ounces Malib.u (or flavored ru.m of choice)
•  ice

Put the oranges, lime or lemon, blueberries and strawberries, sugar and mint in a shaker and "muddle" (or smash up) the leaves, citrus and berries by pressing them with a pestle or a wooden spoon until juicy and fragrant. Add the Malib.u and ice. Cover with a cocktail shaker and shake vigorously, or stir, until combined and chilled, about 30 seconds. (In general, by the time the shaker mists up the drink is ready.) Enjoy.

What I've been making.

This picnic blanket

Picture and Tutorial from Centsational Girl

I'm kind of excited for it to be finished, not excited to be cutting, ironing and pinning. The bottom is a table cloth so it's waterproof and has ties so it can be rolled up and secured :)

What I'm listening to (Music).

Punching Bag by Josh Turner (more specifically this song)

Take a Back Road by Rodney Atkins

There are so many great songs on this CD, here's one of my favs.

Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars (love them!)

What I'm listening to (books).

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

My favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia series so far.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me [And Other Concerns] by Mindy Kaling

Hilarious, loved it!

Picture From Here

What I've been doing to enjoy the Season of Summer.

Biking

Finding new parks to frequent

Concerts on the Square

Farmer's Markets

Long Walks

Ice Cream

Sitting on my little patio block of cement with a glass of ice tea and a good book

Visiting friends and family/Road Trips

Alright, that's the "DL" on me (are people even saying DL anymore?). I hope you are all enjoying a fun kind of busy summer!