Baby's FlatDerek

Baby's mom planned an excellent activity for her Bachelorette Bash.

She copied an idea from the local elementary schools and made a "FlatDerek"

(a foam cutout with the groom's face)

and we had to take FlatDerek around town using out party bus.

We had a book to guide us toward destinations

and we had to take a picture with FlatDerek at every destination

then the book was filled in with the pictures we took.

We definitely had a couple speedbumps...

like when we tried to to get a picture with a cat

and the cat hated us

or when the bus driver hit a pole and we had to get a new bus.

But - all in all - it was a wonderful time!

Engagement Party

#BFF's Engagement Party was this past weekend.

To no ones surprise, the entire party was adorable

...from decorations to food...

everything was well-thought-out and perfect.

A blue&white theme with lots of sunflower accents.

And, of course, everyone had a blast singing karaoke,

playing yard games, and jumping into the pool in the dark.

If this is an accurate preview of the wedding that is to come

it certainly will not disappoint.

the bar and the obvious ring decorations

cupcakes, decorations, and "he popped the question" popcorn

chalk board signs and big fun letters

51K IPA

Mr.U&I discovered an IPA in the beer cooler of the only grocery store in my summer town. Brewed in Marquette, MI, we obviously had to try it. And, boy-oh-boy, was it ever delicious. It made for an excellent sipper while we enjoyed an afternoon of beach-laying and jet-ski-watching. I thought it was really neat that the proceeds of the sale went to preserve recreational trails, too. Very fitting.

9th Annual Golf Outing

The 9th Annual Golf Outing for Mr.U's dad was this past weekend.

A bunch of people came into town for the event

and all the guys who golfed brought their girlfriends to hang out.

We had mimosa's while the boys played then picked them up for the banquet.

After a day of drinking on the course, they were pretty silly.

Overall, it was a great weekend in memory of a great man.

SundayFunday

Skyline View from Our Seats

Scenes from Within the Park

Drinking Games with Friends

Birks, Couches, and CrossFire

We finally had the perfect opportunity for a SundayFunday yesterday with a home Tigers game, beautiful weather, and Monday off for the holiday, so Scott&Linds and Joe&I met downtown at Rub Pub before heading over to the game. Since the Tigers were playing horribly, though, we left in the 5th and headed home for backyard bbq&drinking. After a couple rounds of Power Hour and the assembly of a small charcoal grill, we made the afternoon into a complete success.

Dinner&Drinks at Caesars

Once we crossed the bridge into Canada

we parked at Caesars Windsor

then found Legends Sports Bar for dinner&drinks.

The 3 girls got 3 different delicious drinks to try.

CincoDeMayo Weekend

Mexican fiesta at the office

peanut butter froyo w/ cookie dough for dessert

blue margaritas in mexican town

Sam chasing down dori while fiona watches

pre-drink power-hour before a night out

drink before cancer fundraiser at a local bar

Chicago Shots

a nice afternoon walk around wrigleyville with joe, dustin, and mom

rest room sign in boys town

IPAs at Timothy o'tooles while watching the red wings

Brunch @ Toast

I've always been a breakfast eater, so when I moved to the Detroit area I had to find a new favorite breakfast spot. Erica introduced me to a place called Toast in Birmingham, MI. She raved that I'd love the decor and insisted that I try it. So we met for brunch one Saturday and I fell in love. Now, it's my favorite place to go when I'm cravin' a good breakfast, which obviously meant I suggested Elise&Erica meet me there for brunch on Saturday before our Zoo date. We sat down and all said the word "mimosa," so we ordered Mimosas for the Table - a bottle of champagne and carafe of orange juice just for the 3 of us. Goodness was it delicious. The perfect addition to our brunch items. Our server seemed to think we were a pretty entertaining table also - probably even more so after we'd each downed 3 mimosas. We sat&talked giggling&gossiping for about an hour before heading out for the day.

And I successfully turned another Bestie into a Toast Lover.

mug on the table next to us that I had to take a picture of

Last Wings Game

It was the Red Wings last regular season home game and Scott wanted to get a bunch of people together to attend, so he bought tickets for Joe&I, himself&Linds, his parents, his cousin&boyfriend, and another college friend and we all headed down last night after work. Linds met Joe&I at the MGM Parking Structure where the 3 of us had a few beers before walking toward Joe Louis. We stopped at Cobo Joe's for a tequila shot before heading through the Cobo center (with a quick stop in the men's bathroom - yep, all 3 of us) and onto the arena for a tour of the press box compliments of Joe's fellow track coach. Linds&I got to put on the official Fox Sports Detroit headphones and stand in the DJ booth. We got to talk to the guy who does play reviews and even listened to him call Toronto to check in. It was honestly very cool and really neat to see before the Red Wings officially move to the new arena and Joe Louis is no more. The game wasn't as good as the pre-game considering we lost, but the beer was good and the company even better and the walk through Detroit was excellent.

St. Patty's in Chicago

Linds, Scott, Syd, Joe, & me took the train to Chicago for the St. Patrick's Day weekend&celebration. I found an excellent deal on groupon for the Essex Inn across from Millennium Park on Michigan Ave with an indoor pool&sauna in a fun neighborhood with bars&restaurants. The first night, though, we crashed at friends' houses - Joe&I at Jeff&Katie's and Syd&Linds&Scott at Rachel's. After getting off the train downtown, we walked up the river to take in it's full dyed-green-beauty before heading north to our respective crash-pads where we pre-gamed before a night out in Wrigleyville. I only have flashes of memories of packed streets and long lines and we mostly opted to stay in at Jeff&Katie's because the sea of green-clad people was too much for our drunken mindsets, but it was a still a wonderful&typical evening. Sunday we all recovered (which included a breakfast at Pick Me Up, of course), checked into the hotel, and got dinner&drinks at a bar around the corner while watching the RedWings&Blackhawks game. On the actual holiday - St. Patrick's Day - we hung out in the pool&sauna in the morning, got brunch at the Kerryman then went to Streeter's Tavern for games&beer before landing at Timothy O'Tooles for the main portion of our day of celebration. Unfortunately, Scott was hurting on Tuesday, but Linds&Syd&I squeezed in breakfast, we all completed our packing, and eventually we made it to the train for our ride back to Metro Detroit. Another year of wild&excellent Irish-style celebrating with wonderful people in a perfect location.

USA vs. Russia Breakfast

Joe was really excited for the United States vs. Russia Olympic hockey game,

so he wanted to invite people over for breakfast to watch it.

(though no one showed up until very late and the basement-dwellers only emerged to eat&leave.)

We made a Breakfast Burrito Bar & had Beermosas.

And the U.S. won in an incredible shoot-out!

UP Quirks

Syd&Sam wanted to head back to the UP for a trip to see Hunter's band play their first gig. So we headed up after work on a Thursday - loaded up Sam's car with our pups&bags and headed north. I was hammered and missed most of the show ...I was there just not coherent. Woops. It was a good&random trip with cards&FridayNightLights and mac-n-cheese&fireball and an early morning hunt for a lost sister who's clothes lead me up the stairs to the place I figured I'd find her.
Wild nights in my summer town ...in the winter.

"ish" is an acceptable time to post

the "pickle barrel" is a local monument

santa look-a-like has a bottle of wine to himself

Misc Fall

Fire place & candle in the master

Tryna strip that dark outa my hair

knee high boots & leggings for cold weather

knocking one football out of the tree with another football

trying some local beers with joe

flowers from my mr. before a long weekend

pretty mug i eyed for weeks before purchasing

gel manicure and a glass of wine

...if only it was that easy.

BirthdayTinis

I planned BFF's Birthday celebration in Dearborn this year

- dinner at Pizzapapalis then drink sat Moose's Martini Pub.

Of all the martini's on the menu,

none of them fit my BFF's taste for the perfect birthday drink,

so I asked the bartender to create one.

Her concoction was beautiful with whippedcream&sprinkles and BFF loved it,

which was wonderful.

Wild Things

Empty storefront in Royal oak

Season tickets

pen that only gets my hopes up

beer for buddy bachelor party

Jones Fun

Mr.U&I drove into Chicago for a night full off:

The Jones Family, My Brother, & Comedy.

We got a late start leaving the office

so we drove through Wrigleyville just as the game ended

and found a prime parking spot in front of J&K's house.

After some pre-drinking, snacking, & porch-sitting

we headed downtown for a CD Release Party at Timothy O'Tooles.

BartenderBrother had reserved us some seats at the bar,

which was exactly where I wanted to sit

since he's moved a million miles away now

and seeing him at his bar is the best I'll get for a while.

We laughed&munched&drank before heading back to Wrigley

and woke up for bagels & JuneBug play Saturday morning.

It was a nice, quick trip filled with wonderfulness.



BFF Sunday

waiting&working at Starbucks for Elise to get outa work

skipbo&beer in bed with my bff