friends.

Last night, these ladies and I went out and had a splendid time.  That was to be expected.  What wasn't expected was the overwhelming feeling of gratitude that we experienced.  My friends and I have often joked that we are a dysfunctional family.  We have grown up together, we have the same memories of random experiences, we roll our eyes at each other, we have parents and families that treat each of us like their own even if we aren't theirs, and lastly we have an unseen connection that binds us inexplicably.

Becca, Laura, and I were sitting, giving each other a hard time-preying on each other's weaknesses-and I said, "Isn't it great that we know everything terrible about each other and yet we still completely love each other and can laugh about it?"  Laura replied promptly, "Of course!  We're stuck together forever, for better or for worse.  This is it."  Becca agreed.  I agreed too.  A few more words were spoken about how well we know each other and how we're glued together for life.

Even though it is now the next day, I still am reeling in gratitude for my friends.  What a beautiful thing it is to know someone's greatest attributes, but also their greatest faults and to still love them unconditionally.  I think we'd all like to believe we do that, but it's not as easy as it sounds.  It's easy to be around for the fun times, but a friendship is nothing if it can't weather the not-so-fun parts of life.  These girls have stood by me numerous times and I'd like to say I've stood by them as well.  They are friends that have transcended environment and event.  It's easy to have high school friends, college friends, work friends, etc.  But how many of those remain through the years and life changes?  Usually you have your high school friends in high school, college friends in college, work friends at the job, etc.  Part of that is because it's easy to find camaraderie in belonging to an institution, sharing activities, and being in close proximity.  But the friends that can last through different phases of one's life, they are a treasure.  I would even go so far to say they are the "really true" friends.  I love these girls wholeheartedly and as time goes by, I realize just how much it means to have them as true friends in this world.   

a crazy birthday and a little guy...

We celebrated Adele's 21st birthday on the 21st!  (Her real birthday is the 16th.)  Becca was nice enough to have all of us over to her porch.  Since Dan left for his internship there aren't any other guys home yet, so it was just the ladies.   We had dinner and then got together to visit at Becca's.  Not only was she nice enough to have us over, she made pretty hanging paper decorations.  You know, the ones you can always find on pinterest.  She always makes things look great, she's a pretty awesome hostess.  The night was a fun one, with Adele indulging in her 21st and enjoying every moment. That is, if you couldn't tell by the picture...  ;)

 

Yesterday, I babysat for a fairly new family of mine.  I've only babysat for them one other time, but I already really like the family.  I babysit for a group of grandkids when the family's adult children come home, so it's whole gang of kids, chaos, and outdoor sports.  The grandparents (the ones who actually hire me) have the most impressive collection of Leica cameras.  The grandmother had a strong interest in photography and still does, so those pictured^^ are not just collectibles, they were her cameras at one time before digital.  Her interest in photography, specifically lifestyle photography, is still very evident in their house.  She has a beautiful photo wall that has all sorts of film photos from when their children were young.  Their den is littered with albums and photo books of various years and events from birthdays to vacations, etc.  And lastly, photos are everywhere!  I mean it.  She even tapes them to kitchen cabinets.  It's kind of a funny thing because they have this nice house, with well-made furniture, fancy décor, everything in it's place and well taken care of, and then there are these little tacked up photos in random places.  I love it and to me, it is a testament to her strong sense of family in the way that she preserves and displays memories.

 

Also, how adorable is their youngest?? :)

pancakes for a cause

Today is National Pancake Day at Ihop!

Ihop is giving all customers free pancakes! 

 

They simply ask that you make a donation to

the Children's Miracle Network while you're there.

 

Pancakes at the breakfast expert, Ihop?!

For free?!

For a good cause?!

Um, yes, if you haven't yet you need to go get some tonight.

a small celebration.

Last night I finally finished my graduate school applications/resume/personal statement/talking-yourself-up-so-they-want-you-but-not-bragging-like-a-jerk.  Phew!  To celebrate Spenser and I went out for sushi, which was perfect.

It was kind of a bummer spending these last two weeks slaving over all this grad school business.  My plans of skiing, little day trips, and spending time with friends didn't happen, they were pushed to the side.  In fact, even last night our other friends were welcome to come get sushi with us, but now that I'm free for a night, they've all gone back to school already.  So I kind of missed out on that time.  BUT, BUT you know what? I'm done.  I put a lot of work in and I'm done now.  And that's nice.

Thank you, Spenser, for celebrating with me last night.  Goodness knows, (and so do you) I needed to get out.  I had a great night!

P.S. the sushi was delicious and just looking at these pictures makes me want to go back already.

Baking Cookies

Adele and I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning last night baking!  We baked cut-out cookies in traditional christmas shapes: trees, reindeer, candy canes, angels, etc.  I decided to take a knife and hand cut a special one for Adele...a grinch!  She seems to identify with him around the holidays.  (However, I'm not quite sure I believe this completely because would the grinch bake and frost cut-out cookies? ;) ) 

 

Side note: Adele's recipe for the perfect cut-out cookies is originally from a 1940s lifestyle magazine.  How cool is that? 

 

We also made nutter butter balls. yum!  Plus, they were ridiculously easy to make, which surprised me.  But I'm not complaining!  You basically just crush a package of nutter butters, combine with cream cheese to make into balls, and then melt chocolate to cover them.

^^Rudolph!!  And here's a few phone pictures:

 

 

dinner

Yesterday evening, my dad surprised me by calling me up to say

he was on his way to take me out to dinner! 

We indulged our Italian heritage by eating delicious bowls of pasta.

mmmm!

 

thanks, dad!

Pumpkins!

Yesterday I saw...wait for it...the first pumpkins of the season!

ooooh yeah!

it is really fall!

soon the leaves will start falling and

it

will

be

perfect.

as of late

a box of beautiful colors

first hot cocoa of the season

caramel delight pie

owls are starting to appear (yay!)

what may be the last summer blossoms

wise words, I wish the sign showed better...it reads:

 

There are some questions

that can't be answered by google.