Ahh...

Sometimes I think I post too many pictures of the cabin but it's just so amazing sometimes I can't resist.

This is truly my heaven on earth. As I drive north, every stress and worry and anxiety peels away and I arrived stripped down from the craziness of city life and ready to sit. Just sit. And enjoy.

With a view like this, can you blame me?

Serpent Lake, MN
6/24/11

Peonies

This year, my sad little spindly peony plant bloomed with two, perfect white flowers and I was SO excited. Then, on a Sunday afternoon I stood in my kitchen and looked in the backyard where the neighbor kids' friends were standing by my peony plant, pulling the petals off one by one. Luckily over the weekend in Buffalo there were enough peony blossoms to fill the void in my heart. Mmm. So beautiful. Maybe next year my flowers will last a little longer...

Bubbles

Looking through some old pictures from when I was growing up {to find the Father's Day photos}, I came across one that clearly shows where Dean got his affinity for bubbles. If he keeps up these similarities to his auntie, he'll be a pretty fantastic little boy, if I do say so myself.

My Daddy

 My dad is amazing. 

Not only did he never miss a dance recital, he even went to 15 years worth of dress rehearsals. He's still the one I call in the middle of the night when I hear a scary noise and no matter what time it is he always offers to come over. Whenever I stop by my parents house, there are treats waiting for me in the fridge...fresh raspberries, handsqueezed orange juice, marinated olives. Growing up, he designated Saturdays as our special days and would take me out in his collector car to run errands and visit his favorite haunts. After business trips he always came back with trinkets for us kids, even if it was just the plastic room key from his hotel or a set of wings from the airplane, and he called every night to tell us he loves us.

If everyone could have a dad like mine, I'm fairly positive our prisons would be less crowded, wars would all but disappear, and the world would be a better place.

How to order ice-cream

How to order ice-cream: If you're as classy as me you just say, "I'll take the stuff with Jameson in it." If you aren't as classy as me, you'll ask for the "Irish Moxie" ice-cream which is coffee based with a dash of Jameson. Yum.

Izzy's Ice Cream {which is a mile from my house} has been featured on the Food Network and with good reason. It's delicious and has a super cool feature where you can see in real time the inventory of ice-creams in the cooler. You can even sign up to receive an email when they restock your favorite flavor! Did I mention, yum?


Note: Please excuse my dazed expression and messy hair. I was in sweatpants, half asleep on my couch when I was told by a friend we were walking to Izzy's for a treat RIGHT NOW. I pulled it together but just barely.

 

Pretty little ditty

On a rainy day like this, sometimes you just have to sit by the window, look out for a while and listen to a pretty little ditty. So here you go...a window and a song.

{Photo: Fire Station 19, Minneapolis, MN}

{Song: via Lettie Bumpkins}

Thumbs up for rock and roll!!!

So I might be the last one to see this video (as is usually the case with things like this but Miss E has promised to forward me everything she views from now until forever-ish so that should fix the problem) but that doesn't make it any less awesome so enjoy it and THUMBS UP FOR ROCK AND ROLL!

Back to normal

I'm alive! On Tuesday night I got The Food Poisoning from a place called Oak City,* which I am officially renaming Restaurant from H-e-doublehockeysticks. Luckily, I have a kitten who loves me so much she was willing to spend all of Wednesday following me back and forth from the couch to the bathroom floor and a boss who now text messages so I didn't actually have to pause from my misery to call in sick to work.

There was a Sex in the City marathon on TV and I managed to take morning & afternoon naps which pulled me through and now I'm back to eating real, whole, solid food again. Yipee! I missed it. Desperately. For that entire 24 hours.

Moral of the story?

I could never have an eating disorder. I love food and hate getting sick farrrrrrrr too much. Oh and don't eat at Oak Ci---I MEAN...Restaurant from H-e-doublehockeysticks.

*Yes, I am fully aware that proper grammar does not dictate the italicizing of restaurant names. I did it anyway. It felt right at the time.