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!

Thankful Thursday

Life has been pretty great around here, and with Spring finally showing it's face there is much to be thankful in my life, so I thought I'd revive my Thankful Thursdays (at least for this week...)

At this moment I am thankful for...

 

(1) Wedding Planning, and not being overwhelmed..yet. 6 months to go and things are coming together and I'm thankful that everything seems to be falling into place.

 

 (2) Friends that are full of joy and make me want to be more joyful. I am blessed to have many wonderful friends that show the joy of Christ to others on a daily basis. It's the Easter Season, we should all be more joyful.

Alright, so these are my brothers (not technically just friends) but this picture is so joyful. Love it!

(3) The quirky devotions of the Catholic faith. I went to a talk earlier this week entitled "Quirky but Beloved Prayer Practices". It was about the origin of some of the various devotions that are practiced (or used to be practiced) in the Catholic Church. It was fascinating and it was fun to here what others grew up doing in their families or communities. We talked about praying to St. Anthony to find lost things, burying St. Joseph when trying to sell a house, dressing the Infant of Prague and much more. The origins of all these practices, the stories of why certain saints became the patrons of the things they are is so interesting. Love it!

 

(4) Graduations. I have a good friend who just graduated with her nursing degree and my fiance is graduating on Saturday. I love to see people succeed and am so thankful for all those who follow their dreams.

Follow your dreams, even if it involves taking a picture with a giant mouse.

 

(5) Thunderstorms. We've had a lot of rain this week, which is great for the farmers. I love thunderstorms (as long as I'm not driving in them), I love to hear the rain coming down and see the lightning. It's a beautiful reminder of God's power.

 

(6) Letters. My mom writes all of us kids a letter every week. I love hearing about the news from back home, what her and dad are up to, what the neighbor did, etc. I'm so thankful for a mother who puts such a strong emphasis on staying in touch with those you love.

My mom and dad riding a jackalope at Wall Drug in South Dakota.         Blowing bubbles at my sister's wedding reception.

(7) Growing plants. I planted some spinach and salad mix seeds the beginning of the month and I love seeing their little green leaves peaking out of the soil. There was an unwanted squirrel who decided to dig around a bit the other day, but I suppose I should be thankful even for squirrels and that I live in a place that they can jump from tree to tree.

Alright, that's it for me. Enjoy the rest of your Thursday! What are you thankful for today?

Five Favorites (vol. 1)

It's been a while since I posted so I thought I'd join Hallie over at MoxieWife for her Five Favorites link up.

Here's my 5 favorite pics from some awesome adventures over the past couple of months.

(1)

 One of my best friends got married a couple of weeks ago. Even though this shot is blurry I love the look on their faces.

(2)

This is the crew I hung out with the weekend of the wedding. 4 different states, all awesome people.

(3)

 

Easter Sunday I was blessed to become Godmother for this beautiful little boy. This is the first time I met him, a week before he was baptized.

(4)

I love the water, I love the ocean and lakes and rivers and just being near it all. I got to visit this lovely friend out in South Carolina and so we of course spent lots of time walking along the beach. It's cold, yes, but we still walked for hours.

(5)

Also when I was in South Carolina we visited Charleston Tea Plantation. This picture shows some lovely Spanish moss and the tea plants in the background. Tea is awesome and tea grown in America is even better ;)

(Bonus)

Another dear dear friend (my maid of honor) is getting married in less than a month! We had a great shower with some beautiful friends, it's always fun to get together with these women!

Head on over to MoxieWife for more favorites!

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 :)

1st

So this weekend I had the privilege of celebrating the 1st Birthdays of 2 adorable little boys, an old roommate's little boy and my boyfriend's nephew. 

There was lots of cake, lots of gifts, lots of fun and lots of cuteness.

One of the little boys is the son of a close friend from college so it was wonderful seeing college friends that are so dear to my heart :)

I'm excited for Thanksgiving. I'm excited to spend sometime with family and friends and enjoy a bit of R&R.

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!

 

7 Quick Takes (vol. 9, because aparently last week I couldn't count)

Alright, so in the original 7 Quick Takes fashion, this post will be random, no theme this week. Just what's going on with me :)

~~ 1 ~~

I've been cooking, imagine that. I have actually been on a pizza kick lately.

You see, I have all this amazing fresh oregano that must be used in something equally amazing.

So of course, I had to make up some pizza sauce

I absolutely love this recipe. I cut back on the wine and throw in some sugar and it is pretty darn tasty.

~~ 2 ~~

See the fabulous ingredients above, fresh basil, bacon, balsamic vinegar...
well they all came together to make this fabulous pizza.

 

I got the recipe from over at White and Rice Couple.

I just used what I had on hand, so feta instead of blue cheese, sungold cherry tomatoes instead of the regular red, canola oil instead of olive oil (I can't believe I'm out of olive oil!). It was soooo good. The combination of flavors put this at the top of my list of favorite pizzas.

~~ 3 ~~

Last weekend I had the pleasure of getting together with some college friends. It was wonderful. I loved it. The babies were cute, the people were amazing, the food was fantastic, the conversation was excellent as always. Sadly, I failed in the picture taking department, so just the memories remain.

~~ 4 ~~

Last week (Sunday - Wednesday) I helped chaperone an awesome mission trip in our area, Love Begins Here. I went with a friend who is a local youth minister and her group of middle schoolers. It is always refreshing to see the eagerness of kids to learn more about their faith and the willingness to help others. It was a wonderful boost to my sometimes stagnant faith life.

~~ 5 ~~

 

 picture from here.
I'm not big on the actual logo and liked the above one much better.

The Olympics start tonight! I hope you are all going to watch and appreciate the hard work and amazing talents of the athletes from all over the world. I love it! A friend is having an opening ceremonies party so I will be there, watching it all :)

~~ 6 ~~

August starts next week. I am still trying to wrap my mind around that.

~~ 7 ~~

I have a packed weekend, all kinds of little fun stuff. A friend's birthday party, a concert in the park with the boyfriend, a visit to a friend in the lovely state of Illinois on Sunday and a day off of work on Monday. I am sure there will be much more thrown in throughout.

 

 Alright, that's all from me. Enjoy the weekend! 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Thankful Thursday, Wedding eddition

Today I am thankful for dear friends, new and old, beautiful weddings, calm brides (for the most part), adoring grooms, receptions full of people who dance, flights that were smooth and on time and a willing boyfriend who is always up for trying new things.

  I was Maid of Honor in a friend's wedding in Maryland over the weekend.

 Don't you love the server's face!

It was absolutely gorgeous, the bride, the weather, the wedding Mass, the Reception.

My cute boyfriend even enjoyed himself :)

It was so much fun and such a fabulous fun group of people. 

 

I am blessed to have added a few more friends to my life.

  

 A good time was had by all :)

Many of the pictures above are from one of the fabulous bridesmaids, thanks for sharing, Sam!