Easter Weekend Recap

Ever since I was little I have loved Easter. It’s the perfect excuse to wear pastels, spend time with those you love and eat delicious things. With my family currently spread out across the country (and world) this year was a little different, but special nonetheless. The boyfriend and I spent the weekend here in Chicago taking in the beautiful spring weather and playing host to our friend’s French bulldog Stanley.

On Saturday we scored some amazing tickets to the Cubs game and got a bit burned from sitting in the sun all afternoon. Then on Sunday we joined my aunt and cousins at my dear friend Peter’s house in Wicker Park and had one of the most incredible meals I’ve ever tasted. An amazing chef and entertainer, Peter is one of the best cooks I have ever met and we felt so lucky to be invited. I contributed to the feast by making a tray of my Grandfather’s famous Deviled Eggs and baking my mother’s famous chocolate cake, which I topped with festive Easter egg candies and toasted coconut (recipe below).

Even though I missed my family it felt as if we were creating some traditions of our own this weekend here in Chicago. Hope your weekends were just as wonderful!  

(clockwise: Peter's Standard Poodle, Big Daddy; me and Peter; Mr. Stanley; tray of deviled eggs; at the ballpark; a festive Easter cake; me and Jered)

Bessie's Chocolate Cake

2 c. sugar
1 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. buttermilk
1 c. boiling water
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs and vanilla. Blend well. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture alternating with the buttermilk.  Add boiling water and beat well for two minutes.

Pour into greased and floured pans.  Bake at 350  until toothpick comes out clean (about 20 minutes or so depending on the pans used).   You can make this a 2 layer with 9" pans, a 3 layer with 8" pans or a 9x13" sheet cake. 

Chocolate Icing

1 c. butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbl cocoa
5-5 Tbl whole milk

Cream together butter and vanilla.  Sift together sugar, salt and cocoa. Gradually beat into creamed mixture. Add milk, 1 Tbl. at a time until icing is a creamy consistency.

Home is where your heart (and favorite Vietnamese restaurant) is...

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This weekend The Boyfriend and I are off to my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri to spend some much-anticipated time with family and friends and to catch a Radiohead show this evening.

I remember that in high school, the time between me and graduation, and getting out of my hometown and onto college living couldn’t pass quickly enough. It’s so funny how your perspective changes. Now I find myself looking so forward to visits home – I don’t think I know any place that is more comforting or relaxing than my parents’ house.

Now a tourist in my home city, on visits I like to take advantage of some of the places and activities I took for granted when I lived there full time. Dinner at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, brunch with my parents and shopping with my sister are all on the agenda. And I’m looking really forward to it.  

Here’s to a great weekend wherever you’ll be!

Weekend Recap... Picture Perfect

I had such a great weekend in Michigan visiting and catching up with my extended family. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again—sometimes it just feels good to get away from the city… Especially when your destination involves lots of clean white snow and some peace and quiet.

But as nice as it was to get away I did enjoy returning home last night to a boyfriend who missed me and our place that is all our own.

Homemade meatloaf, a bottle of wine and 'Hanna' on Netflix was a great way to end the long weekend and ease back into the week…

Hope your weekends were fab!

The Art of Planning...

When the weather is cold and the days are short I find myself turning to my trusty planner to see what the coming weeks and months have in store. It’s a way I have come to find calm even when stress starts to seem overwhelming. 

It’s a habit that I think I learned from my father. His collection of calendars date back to his college days.

Of course, through him I have learned that the habit is not only for looking forward, it is helpful for looking back and reflecting as well.

Thanks to his collection, my Dad is able to look up even the smallest milestones, accomplishments and occurrences - a day one of us came home sick from school, an important conversation had about the future, the day I learned to drive stick, a weekend visit home when the family was all together.

As I start a new year - and thus a new planner (seen above, a recent Christmas gift from my mother) - I see that I have so many exciting things on the horizon.

Here are just a few that I am so looking forward to…

A visit to Michigan to see my grandparents, only a train ride away...

Incorporating yoga back into my weekends

An upcoming weekend brunch with a friend I have not seen in way too long

An upcoming (and to-be-revealed soon) vacation- Passport required!

Valentine's Day... It will be here before we know it

Holiday Recap...

Woah... It's crazy what some time at home over the holidays can do to a blog posting schedule. Between an incredible trip to St. Louis, time spent relaxing with my family, baking, napping and celebrating Christmas (and an early birthday celebration for me) any blog posts I had in mind just went right out the window. 

What a wonderful Christmas it was. Finally back in Chicago to ring in 2012, I'm getting a chance to catch my breath, reflect over the amazing past week and a half, get back to blogging and prepare myself for reality to set in again... but not until January 3rd. And with a birthday to celebrate on January 4th I keep telling myself it won't be so bad. 

Hope your holidays were swell. Here are a few shots from mine...  

xo 

Holiday Sugar Cookies

Julia showing off her stylish Christmas sweater

Hannah and her homemade, edible wreath 

Me & Bella on Christmas Eve

My mother's famous Red Velvet Cake (which I helped make!) 

My sister Hannah and her boyfriend Thatcher

Julia & me by the Christmas tree

A pre-birthday celebration for me with my family

The boyfriend and me

Milo helping to unwrap presents

Julia and my Daddy 

A holiday sister reunion 

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap...

Every year it’s hard leaving my family after Thanksgiving break. But this year was especially difficult. We had the loveliest long cozy weekend together—I felt so thankful the entire time I was home.

In a weekend recap of sorts I thought I’d reflect on some my favorite moments of the break—some pictured and some not. I’m already looking forward to Christmas when I’ll be home again with my family! Three weeks to go!

Family Turkey Day run

Snuggling

Monet at the St. Louis Art Museum

An incredible Thanksgiving feast
Singing ‘The Hills are Alive’ at the dinner table
Eating the best banana cream pie in the world—courtesy of my mother

Catching up with old friends

Having Jered celebrate Thanksgiving for the first time with my family

Sharing what we all are most Thankful for

Spending time with relatives from California and Chicago

The techno bubble dance party at the Turkey Day game tailgate

Sister Reunion

In the past few days I’ve been getting letters, Facebook messages and texts from my sisters reminding me that in just about two weeks we will all be together again at our parents’ house in St. Louis for Thanksgiving break.

As I’ve mentioned before—we all live in different states right now, so getting to spend time together is cherished and much looked forward to. My sisters are my best friends and we have come to call these special occasions “sister reunions,” because that’s exactly what they are.

We haven’t all been together since early September so I’m really looking forward to this one. It will be filled with lots of catching up, eating, movie watching and laughing.  

It’s hard to believe that the snapshots below are from Thanksgiving one year ago. Where does the time go?

A Sunday in Brooklyn

On Sunday I spent the afternoon in Brooklyn with my sister. I just happened to be in New York again for work and my travel coincided with a trip she was making to visit friends from college. 

Neither of us had never been to Brooklyn, so we spent the afternoon wandering around in the perfect New York fall weather and exploring. We had a cozy lunch, stopped by the Brooklyn farmer's market, shopped and enjoyed each other's company all afternoon.

The time we spent made me feel so excited about being reunited with all my sisters in just a few short weeks for Thanksgiving. We all don't get to see each other enough.

I hope it's not always like this.

Grandpa's Chair

My grandfather used to sit in this deep, pale blue leather chair that was in my grandparent’s family room. It was his chair. He sat in it after work to read the paper and have a scotch and watch Wheel of Fortune. And sometimes if we were lucky we could sit on his lap in the chair.

We called it Grandpa’s chair and had this mystique about it.

My aunt has it now. It’s in their finished basement on an oriental rug. My cousins read books and play video games in it. But even though it has changed locations, it will always be my grandfather’s special chair.

Jered and I are on the hunt for a special chair of our own. I want something with character, a chair that adds a special touch to our room.

I think any of the below would do the trick.

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Random Wednesday Wish List

I wish…

This was my closet:

My family all lived in the same place

Puppies didn’t come with all that responsibility

I knew how to take really, really amazing photographs

I was packing to spend the weekend here

I could cook like Julia Child

I could control my sweet tooth

Every day was a weekend

images via Pinterest

Happy Wednesday!

xo

Holiday To-Dos

My mom sent me a text message over the weekend asking for my Christmas wish list. I can hardly believe that this year is almost over already. It seems unbelievable. But I can't say that I'm disappointed. 

Not that 2011 was a bad year- it was amazing actually- but I look forward to the holiday season all year long. It's my favorite time. 

My mom's text message got me thinking not only about the things on my Christmas wish list, but about everything that I want to do between now and New Year's Eve. 

And the list is long, so I better get started. As it turns out we bought a pumpkin this past weekend that we're going to carve this week. 

Here are a few of the other things I'm going to do before the year is over... 

Carve a pretty pumpkin

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Eat lots of Halloween Candy

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Discover and perfect my own signature Thanksgiving recipe

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Make my Christmas wish list... and buy for everyone on mine

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Find the perfect holiday party dress

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Host a cookie baking party

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Find the perfect Christmas tree

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What's on your holiday to-do list?