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

Homemade Muffins

BananaKale

BananaFlaxseed

BananaWheat

BirthdayBust

My birthday had it's good points ...days after the actual day.
On my birthday, Mr.U's mom had a seizure.
He found her on the floor in the dining room disoriented&groggy.
Scared, he called 9-1-1 and I pulled up as the ambulance pulled off.
So, we spent my birthday evening in the emergency room
(mostly I stood outside and people watched)
then had a quick bite around 10pm.
The next weekend, though, we finally celebrated with cake&presents.
Thankfully, his mom is ok,
but the lesions on her brain have increased in both number&size,
so she's unable to drive and doing 10 rounds of radiation.
Hopefully it will help - her health obviously trumps my birthday.

raspberry lemon cake

Presents from my mr. - so thoughtful

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.

Grange Hall

My mom planned a fundraiser bus trip to Chicago this past weekend, so Juli&Rinda&Abby&Mom&Joe all hopped on the bus and headed to the Windy City. Our first stop was to meet my brother, Dustin, and his newest lady, Caitlin, at a restaurant in the Westloop called Grange Hall known for it's local eats (Michigan local, actually) and homemade goodies. It was quite a hike from our stop on Michigan Avenue to the restaurant, but well worth it. The neighborhood was adorable and the building was very quaint with a great old barn door and an inviting outdoor sitting area. The inside was fun with fresh flowers on all the tables and eclectic farm-themed decorations on the walls. And, of course, the entire menu looked delicious. Joe got the most amazing looking item, though: A Reuben burger with a corned-beef-patty&pumpernickel-toast topped with egg&sauerkraut and thousand island dressing. The service was perceptive&impeccable, the portions perfectly-size, and even the restrooms were petite&pretty. I would definitely love to go back.

Fresh Flowers

Reuben Burger

Front Entrance&Patio

Line of Seasonings&Sauces

Booze Bar

Comment Card

Zoo Date

After brunch, Elise&Erica joined me at the Detroit Zoo.

Bunnyville was going on for Easter Weekend,

so we made a food donation and joined the herd of children at the zoo.

Luckily, most of the little ones were entertained by the Bunny-themed festivities,

so we were able to enjoy the animals with a bit more peace.

First we walked through the butterfly & bird gardens in a beautiful domed building.

There must have been something in the air, cause all the animals were sleeping

and - oh my goodness - it was so adorable.

The grizzly bear was passed out on his back with his paw over his face.

The lions were spooning and the tiger had found a nice spot in the shade.

The animals that were up&about were so wonderful, too.

I forget how much they take my breath away until I find myself at a zoo again.

The zebra hung back away from the fence, but the stripes were still incredible.

The giraffe awkwardly tucked his back legs and plopped down on the ground for grass.

And the big-bodied rhinos wandered side-by-side through their area.

My knees were hurting me, so I didn't walk through the kangaroo exhibit,

but from the back side of the fence I could see the girls walking past the sleepy lil animals.

Before leaving, we got snacks - a pretzel for Elise, dip-n-dots for Erica, & cheese popcorn for me.

Then we started our journey back through Royal Oak to the car

stopping first for the skirt, shoes, & ring I'd bought and the clock Erica had found.

Misc Spring

i found a bag of bath & bodyworks while cleaning

got my "save the date" for shannon&derek's fall wedding

Joe&I hit up la feast for my favorite lentil soup

Joe's mom discovered leggings over the winter & dresses so cute these days

joe, linds, & i slammed some beers with this view before a red wings game

I turned around 2x on I-75 to get a picture of this "dyke" house

this flower bloomed in my front yard just in time for easter

Mom's 50th Surprise

My mom turned 50 this past week and my sister-in-law helped me plan a Surprise Party for her.
We found a nice restaurant called Salt & Pepper Pub in Holland, MI with a private room for 30 people
and Chelsea created some adorable decorations for the quiet dinner celebration
including mason jars lined with patterned paper filled with dowels holding old pictures
and a framed piece of chicken wire displaying more photos.
She also put together a cute banner and a chalkboard with stats from 50 years ago.
My main contribution was the cake, which I ordered from Holland Cakery right next door to S&P.
Since I knew cake would be my mom's favorite part, it had to be incredible and it definitely was.
.Almond Cake with Raspberry Filling and Butter Cream Frosting.
Though she didn't want a party at all, I think she was genuinely surprised and happy with the event
and I'm pretty sure my sister-in-law had a lot of fun creating things while off on maternity leave.

Just Because

I wasn't having the best of days and suddenly a delivery man appeared at my office door

with flowers from Joe and a card reading: "Just Because."

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!

Valentine's Dinner

Joe came over and made me homemade mexican for Valentine's Day.

Then we watched About Time (which was amazing) and had frosted brownies with ice cream for dessert.

He also got me a book, a board game, and some chocolates.

What a wonderful evening.

slaving away in the kitchen

gigantic plate of nachos

Frosted Brownie with ice cream

Sushi with Ricky

I had a dinner date with Erica last night at Meme Sushi in West Bloomfield.
As always, it was delicious.
Then we had a sleepover - her&me&fiona watching Full House and spending time with her wonderful parents.

BFF Reminders

I enjoyed a mini butterfinger bar and used mint colored paperclips today.

They both reminded me of Elise, which made me smile.

Dinner & a Movie

I think it's incredible to remain connected with people I've known for so long. These girls & I have been friends since high school. The one in the middle I've known since we were toddlers. We may not see each other too often, but we keep in touch and try to see each other when we're able, so over Christmas Break we got together for dinner and a movie. Dinner was at the Grill House and we were joined by quite a few members of the old crew - Tyler, Sana, Georgia, Peg, and all of their significant others. For the movie the crew got a bit smaller as we headed to M89 to see American Hustle. No matter what we do - extravagant plans or super simple - it's so nice to know that there are simply people I have kept and who have kept me for all these years.

Elton

Elton john at joe Louis arena

Sadly, my companions were either drunk or silent (as per usual) but I still loved the show. I probably most enjoyed chatting with Bunni's dad over his excitement for me to see Elton just like he had in the 70's. He may not have been the most active performer, but he belted out those classics & brought me right back to my youth and the memories of my dad singing Your Song to me on long road trips. The stage was sweet - the lights at the back changed constantly and sometimes turned into different images and we were lucky to be on the side where Elton's piano was, so our view was great considering the cheap ticket price.
Elton, you enchanted me.

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.

My Hostess BFF

 BFF had been wanting to plan a pool party all summer.

So yesterday we finally had one.

The little hostess had all her drinks&snacks prepared

including the most delicious chocolate&peanut butter brownies.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so well...

it was a little chilly&cloudy&windy

but we all jumped in and floated around in the pool

trying to convince ourselves that it was warmer than it was.

The times when the sunshine peaked through

it felt perfectly fine and the company was worth it either way.

.her boyfriend - my boyfriend - our friend - her parents.

A wonderful summer memory made.

Blarney Stones

These were the most wonderful things I've ever eaten from Detroit Beer Company.

Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut Dusted with Rye&Caraway Bread Crumbs

Deep Fried with Thousand Island Dipping Sauce

The Buscuit

Jacob&I enjoyed breakfast at The Biscuit in Holland this past weekend. It was a cute, little restaurant in an area I'd never been to before. The menu was mostly local and very vegan/vegetarian friendly. Ironically, I didn't get a biscuit - I'm not a biscuit girl - but my meal was delicious and (as always) the company was excellent.

GrillHouse&Peg

Peg&I had a dinner date on the patio at the Grill House.

I love it out there - the furniture is so bright&eclectic

and the view is so sprawling of the countryside I grew up in.

We each enjoyed salad&beer in our covered gliding table

while watching the sunset and listening to live music and catching up.

Definitely an excellent late summer night with an amazing old friend in a beautiful place.