Days of summer

I was driving today and saw this. Not only did it make me smile, but it also reminded me that summer is not too far off.  Warmer, longer days are ahead.  As are blue skies, cookouts, fireflies, and dogs who like to ride in trucks.  It all screams "summer!" to me, just like when I pulled up behind this truck this morning. 

 

Sometimes it's the funniest things that speak of changing seasons to me.

Weekend

 Spenser looks scared but he wasn't, I swear!  The food was delicious at Fair Grounds Coffee House.  And pretty healthy too!  It even tasted healthy (you know, where you don't feel like you just ate everything in sight that maybe you shouldn't have?  That rarely happens for me and a breakfast out. I'm looking at you, Ihop. ;) ) They try to use as many locally grown, organic ingredients as possible. 

 

We'd recommend it!

After breakfast today, we stumbled upon a bike race downtown and spent a good portion of the morning watching it.  Even when we were done watching it, it was hard to avoid; it took up most of the main streets.  Always inspiring to see cyclists.  Also, saw these pretty flowers while walking about. 

Pit stop at this funky sculpture on our walk home.  It has maze-like engravings covering it and is shaped similarily to a brain.  Therefore, it has garnered the nickname "The Brain".  And that's the reason I'm goofily knocking on my head in the first picture.  I'm not just being dorky, even though I am.  

Signs of spring/summer!! Blossoms!^^

 

Hope your weekend was happy!

twinkle lights

The other day, one strand of my twinkle lights burned out and I realized it was probably time to take them down.  This wouldn't be a big deal if not for the accompanying truth that I'm going to be out of here soon.  That means not only can I take down my twinkle lights, but I can go ahead and pack up the rest of my things too.  (Which I did start the other day for anyone who's wondering.)

For good.  Pack up for good.

I graduate in two weeks.  The end is really here and instead of having a feeling of finality, I am left in disbelief.  Maybe subconsciously it's in there somewhere, but to me it just feels like the end of any other year.  (I have to walk across a stage in a gown soon? what?)

I suppose the ironic part is that this is what I've worked so hard for.  It's finally within reach.

But for now, I'm going to push all of that to the side and enjoy the magical glow of the lights for one last evening.

xo

Birthday Extras

After dinner on the 16th, Spenser and I went to the Front Street Brewery for a celebratory drink.  Since it was the middle of the week, we basically had the place to ourselves aside from one other group table.  Our waiter reminded me of a young Ray Romano. haha!  He was very amiable and lighthearted.  When I handed him my ID he kept staring and staring until finally he said, "Happy birthday?"  After I laughed and thanked him, he told me I could have a free half pint for my birthday. yay!  Spenser had their Raging River and I had the Old Davenport Gold and for the free half pint we tried the Bucktown Stout.

A few days later Becca came to visit.  Originally I was going to have a group of friends come (including Becca), but schedules didn't work out so I called it off.  Becca surprised me by calling and saying that she was coming anyway regardless of any cancellations.  She said she had made plans to come and she was not going back on 'em.  Go Becca, the girl takes action! :)

 

She came and stayed overnight.  She, Adele and I went out to dinner and stayed up talking that night before grabbing breakfast the next morning.  We went to our very favorite Ihop.  And are you ready for this?  It was Becca's first time eating at Ihop.  Adele and I were appalled and happy all at once, since we love Ihop (probably a little too much).

 

Then we went shopping...uh oh.  Though we were actually supposed to be shopping for Becca's niece, I thought it was the perfect occasion to buy a Lion King shirt.  Call it a birthday present for myself? ;)

Lastly, my parents came to town to take me out to dinner.  Not only were they coming to celebrate my birthday, but we were also scouting out a place to go for my graduation.  In lieu of having a party, we are just going to go for a family/friend dinner somewhere after the graduation ceremony.  And I think we know where that somewhere is now. Yay!

 

Thank you to everyone who came, visited, and celebrated with me.

Here we go, 21!

Celebrating my birthday

We celebrated my birthday a few days ago, on the 16th.  Spenser and I spent the day walking, eating, and eating some more.  Oh yeah, and lots of smiling, there was that too. ;)  We started out at Lagomarcino's, an old-fashioned, locally owned confectionary and soda fountain.  Such a cool place, a step back in time with amazing sweet treats.

That was my sundae!! Eeeee!  I ordered the Quad City Special.  It was my birthday, go big or go home.  Can you tell what it's supposed to look like?

 After ice cream, we took a walk through The Village.  It was Spenser's first time there. 
I had always promised to take him, since it is one of the "neater" (is neater even a word?) places in the area.

 ^^Valentino the Chihuahua

Spenser came late on the fifteenth, so that we could start celebrating my birthday right at midnight.  He always brings the fun!  I had classes the sixteenth, but he waited patiently and we made the most of the time in between classes.  We went to Lagomarcino's and had the most marvelous ice cream sundaes.  If ever you're looking for delicious confections/desserts, it is the place to go. So good.  Spenser ordered the Italian Sundae due to my recommendation (it was the first sundae I ever ate there and still my favorite!)  and I ordered the Quad City Special, which was a mountain of ice cream and cookies and everything else they could fit in.  The sundae was supposed to look like a riverboat, to live up to it's namesake of the Quad Cities which are directly on the Mississippi river.  They even put a paddlewheel on the back made of cookies.  Cute! 

 

After ice cream, we toured The Village.  We stopped in a bunch of small shops, tried on silly hats, and marveled at parasols (does anyone actually use them?)  In one of the shops, 3 Gypsies Designs, I was looking at jewelry when Spenser said, "Look down."  I almost tripped.  There, running silently around my feet was a tiny white dog.  I wouldn't have even noticed him.  He was a friendly Chihuahua whose name we found out was Valentino.  How great is that, a Chihuahua named Valentino?  I found it quite charming.  He received lots of pets and holds from us.

 

I had an evening class that night, but afterwards we kept the party going by having dinner at Ihop with our friends Katie and Adele.  Then, since it was my 21st we went to the Front Street Brewery to have a fancy beer.  Good birthday and a good day.  Thanks for celebrating with me, Spens.

twenty-one

it's my birthday!

I turn twenty one years old today.

 

 

 

p.s. I feel that there is definitely a connotation to turning 21, so I thought I might just state I was not day drinking, that's just my lamp post pose.  (The almost closed eyes probably didn't help any either. ;) haha.)

Posing with Herky

This past weekend we went on a walk and took a few goofy photos with Herky, the University of Iowa mascot.  A mirrored, statue version of him no less.  One time I met the real live mascot and he kissed my hand. Fun story. 

I was kind of nervous.

Life Lately

Right now, I'm in Iowa City for the weekend.  Spenser and I went out to dinner and had some wild, delicious pizza.  It had a white sauce and apples and pecans and all sorts of things.  And yes, it was good!  The restaurant had a jukebox too.^^  Double score.

Earlier in the day, I toured a Montessori school.  If you are not familiar with Montessori, it is a method of teaching developed by Dr. Maria Montessori that emphasizes exploration and hands-on learning.  At one time, my mom was the directress of a Montessori school, but that was a long time before me, so this was my first experience seeing a whole school dedicated to the Montessori method.

In other news, I recently, finally celebrated Christmas with Adele. (gasp!)  Yes, I'm well aware it's April.  I'm not proud.  But she loved her gift and we celebrated at our very favorite Ihop, and that's what matters most.

I've been exploring and experimenting more with my telescopic lens.  Above is the results of my efforts.  As you can see the trees are still pretty bear...I can't wait til everything starts blossoming again. :)

My aunt got married!

My aunt Helen got married in a small ceremony this weekend.  She looked beautiful in her wedding dress and the small touches of cream and purple completed her wedding day look.  Both her and the groom have been married before and have adult children.  Thus, this is the second time around for them, but they couldn't be happier.  It has made me happy to see her so happy.  Plus, they seem to bring out the best in each other. :) 

 

It was a d.i.y. wedding with my aunt, the bride, doing most of her own work.  She put together the bouquets, crafted the table decorations, and even created a floral arch by hand.  It was simple and beautiful.  Therefore, it was neat to know that she had a hand in making everything so beautiful.

 

I am happy that I was able to come and be witness to their blissful day.

I wish them the best. xo. 

It's friday and a fun weekend is ahead!

Happy Friday!

I probably say that every Friday, but weekends are always greeted with happiness, right?

This weekend I'll be attending a wedding.  I haven't been to a wedding in quite some time.  I love weddings, though!  More people need to get married...so I can go and dance and buy them gifts and fun stuff!

 

P.S.  This tulip picture was super pretty before blogger sucked the quality out of it.  :/  Still don't know what's going on with it.

Snapshots from Geneva

Here are just a few pictures from a short trip to Geneva last Friday.  1) Those are tiramisu pancakes!  Yes, you read that right.  They came with a dollop of marscarpone cheese and drizzled in chocolate.  I need to try to make these at home sometime. 2)   "Dick Loves Sharon 7-20-10" was carved in the sidewalk outside of the restaurant we ate breakfast at.  I'm a sucker for little remnants of love like that. 3)  Sunlight hits a historic building downtown.  4) The prettiest alley.  5) First signs of warmer times to come-the flowers are in full bloom! 6)  It's no secret I love colorful chandeliers. ;)

Bridal Shower

This Saturday was my aunt's bridal shower/bachelorette party.  She is getting remarried next week, so to celebrate, her daughter and future daughter-in-laws threw her a shower.  The invitation instructed to dig out and wear an old bridesmaid dress for the occasion.  As much as it was a great idea, there was a slight problem for this family...my mom has long gotten rid of her old bridesmaids dresses and I haven't been a bridesmaid yet.  So no dress for us on either accounts.  :(  My mom and I were discussing options (borrowing, thrifting, etc.) and one of the ideas that came up was, "What if we get matching dresses?!"  How cute and funny would that be?  Now, how?  We went thrifting for matching dresses and as we went through the stores, we noticed that many of them have old prom/homecoming dresses.  We thought maybe we could find a matching pair of prom/homecoming dresses and pass them off as bridesmaids dresses.  Then, we did one better.

My mom found a dress that matched an old homecoming dress of mine!  They were different colors as you can see, but still oh-so-fun!  I wore the gray/purple dress I wore senior year to homecoming.  I was excited to have another occasion to wear it to.  (Because, seriously how many times do you get to wear those types of dresses?)  I was also excited we matched.  Everyone got a kick out of it.

 

My aunt's bridal shower and bachelorette party were a lot of fun.  I'd love to share more photos, but it was mainly family that were there and I don't want to expose them per se.  All in all I think everyone had a fun time.  Plus, this was the first bachelorette party I'd ever been to, so... there's that? :)