Our Weekend // Welcome, Fall

After a two week hiatus, I’M BACK! The end of September was a little rough for us. Work was crazy busy, Ellie and Dan were both sick, and I feel like I’ve been getting even less sleep than usual lately. After a long day at work, chasing E around all evening, and then fighting to get her to bed at night, I was lacking the motivation and creativity to plan and execute new blog posts. Now that I’ve kicked that “meh” feeling, I’ve found a new burst of energy going into the Fall and the soon-to-be-here holiday season. I’ve got a lot of fun posts planned for October, so hopefully I’ll be popping up over here more often.

This weekend, we did all sorts of traditional Fall things. On Saturday morning, we headed to a local apple orchard to pick apples with our friends, Kelsey and Mike, and their daughter, Avery. It was about 55 degrees, but it was cloudy and windy, so it felt much cooler. Because of the chilly weather, our trip was relatively short, and the girls didn’t really get the chance to run around and play as we had hoped. Maybe we’ll just have to try again another weekend, if it gets a bit warmer again.

On Saturday afternoon, I baked pumpkin zucchini chocolate chip bread following this AH-MAZ-ING recipe. {As a side note, if you haven’t heard of Ambitious Kitchen, you have to check it out. We’ve loved all of the recipes that we’ve tried, and she has a ton of suggestions on substituting healthy ingredients. Almost everything is kid-friendly, too.}

While the bread was baking, I spent a little time updating our decor for Fall. I don’t get super in to holiday decorations {except for Christmas, of course}, but I do like to make a few small changes with each season.

pumpkin cheesecake candle // copper terrarium // faux deer bust

For lunch on Sunday, we went to Empty Bowls Milwaukee, an event that raises money for nonprofit organizations that fight to alleviate hunger in the Milwaukee area. In exchange for a $20 donation, you get to select a handmade ceramic bowl {all of which have been donated by local artists and various other organizations}, which you then get to fill up with two servings of soup. There were over twenty Milwaukee-area restaurants there offering up some pretty tasty options. It was a fun event for a great local cause.

And, of course, on Sunday afternoon we watched the Packers game. We spent the afternoon over at my in-laws’, eating spaghetti and apple crisp. It was the perfect way to end the weekend – especially since the Packers won.

Our Weekend // Sonja & Dan’s Bachelor(ette) Festivities

We spent the long holiday weekend celebrating Sonja & Dan, some of our dearest friends. They are getting married this fall, at a beautiful winery on Halloween. Instead of having traditional separate Bachelor and Bachelorette parties, they decided to have one big weekend celebration together. Sonja & Dan, their bridal parties & significant others, and their parents all headed up to Castle Rock Lake, in central Wisconsin, where we rented a huge cabin on the lake.

{As a side note, Dan & I left Ellie overnight for the first time! I spent one night away from her earlier in the summer, but she was with Dan that time. She stayed with her Mema & Grandpa all three nights, and she did great. We got some much needed adult time, slept in, and didn’t have to worry about entertaining a little person all weekend. After three days though, we missed her so much and were ready to have her back 🙂 }.

On Saturday afternoon, the women had a little bridal shower for Sonja, while the men spent the afternoon out on the lake, fishing and swimming. At the shower we made flower crowns, sipped cocktails, and learned how to be good wives {a joke, of course}.

On Saturday evening, we went for late ride on the pontoon, and went swimming in the middle of the lake after dark. It was a little scary, but oh so fun. And the sky was beautiful at sunset!

On Sunday, we all loaded on to the pontoon and spent the day out on the lake. We fished, swam, and did some cliff jumping. The weather was perfect.

Sunday evening, we got out the jet ski, and a few people tried out the flyboard and hoverboard. If you haven’t seen these before, give them a google search. They are so cool! I didn’t get the chance to try it, but from what I heard from those who did, the flyboard wasn’t too difficult. Even Dan was able to get out of the water on it {see photo below}.

Sonja has been one of my best friends for over fifteen years, and throughout that time I’ve become really close to her family. I also just adore Dan, and his family and friends are wonderful too. It was so much fun to be able to spend three uninterrupted days surrounded by good people in such a beautiful place. I absolutely cannot wait for the wedding!

Our Weekend // Fourth of July

This holiday weekend was packed with love, friends, family, good food, tasty drinks, and plenty of sunshine. It was the perfect way to spend our Fourth of July, and I wish we could do it all over again this weekend!

Sadly for me, Friday started out with a half-day in the office. We then headed up to Poynette, Wis. for a friend’s wedding. It was held at a beautiful barn out in the country. We got there pretty early {over-estimating our travel time in anticipation of holiday weekend traffic}, so the three of us explored the grounds for a while before the ceremony. Ellie stayed through the ceremony and cocktail hour {although as you can see from the pictures below, she and Dan watched from afar to avoid a meltdown}. Dan’s parents then picked her up, so that we could enjoy some nice adult time, just the two of us. We had a wonderful time, and even made some new friends! I also tried my first tom collins… Seriously, delicious! How have I never had one of these before? It is definitely going to be my go-to drink for the rest of the summer.              

Dan’s parents live in Lake Delton, which is only about 30 minutes away from the wedding site, so we stayed there for the rest of the weekend. We spent Saturday and Sunday at the pool. On Saturday, the community held a Fourth of July Luau, complete with a bunch of grilled goodies and games for the kids. Ellie has really started enjoying the pool, which is so much fun for everyone. She loved playing with Mema & Grandpa, splashing, floating, jumping into the pool, and going down the slide in the children’s area {while Mama enjoyed soaking up some sun and sipping on bloodies}. She also is such a little doll in her swimsuit and sun hats!

On Saturday evening, we grilled out and played yard games. Unfortunately, Ellie did not get to watch the fireworks this year. I was concerned about how she would handle the noises, plus, she is still not sleeping great, so I didn’t want to mess with her schedule. While Ellie was snuggled up in bed, the rest of us enjoyed some drinks on the deck and watched the nearby fireworks through the trees.

      

We aways have such a relaxing and fun time when we visit Lake Delton. It seems to embody the quintessential “summertime” – sun, pool, golf, grill, yard games, beer, and summer cocktails. We usually head up there a few times each summer, and we are actually planning to head back in couple weeks for a weekend with a few of our close friends. Until then, it’s back to the daily grind and monotony of the work week {at least for me; Dan and E are busy enjoying summer break}.

Our Weekend // Hello, June.

June has always been a busy month for us, and with Ellie’s birthday being added to the mix this year, things have gotten a little crazy. All three of us have birthdays in June, as do both of our moms, my niece, my brother-in-law, and one of our good friends. Then there’s Dan’s parents’ anniversary and Father’s Day, plus preparations for summer bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, and vacations. On top of all that, we have all the excitement that comes with the end of the school year – meaning Dan’s off of work and Ellie’s out of daycare {more to come on this later}.

All the planning, activities, and transitions that come with June make for some pretty stacked weekends, and this past one was no exception. On Friday night, Dan had eighth grade graduation with his students, so Ellie and I were on our own. I love picking her up from daycare, because I rarely get to and she is always in such a great mood {which is a stark contrast from my usual morning drop-off}. After a quick dinner, we got right to baking cupcakes for Dan’s birthday. His favorites are the easy, boxed funfetti ones, and I have made them for his birthday every year since we started dating.

We started Saturday with family brunch and coffee. In the afternoon, E and I headed to Hobby Lobby to pick up a few things for her birthday party and ended up spending quite a while moseying around. We spent the rest of the day hanging at home.

On a side note: this girl has recently become OBSESSED with her books. She’ll bring one to me, open a page, hand it over, and by the time I’m done reading one page, she’s off to find another. Repeat. Repeat. REPEAT. & you get the picture. She also loves pointing at the pictures, especially when they’re of babies or doggies, and “reading” to herself.

After we put E to bed on Saturday night, I made Dan a special birthday dinner {spicy baked ziti}, we had a few drinks, and snuggled in for some good conversation.

Sunday was Dan’s actual birthday. During the day, E and I went to a baby shower for Dan’s cousin, along with Dan’s mom and sister. After the shower, we came back to our place for a few drinks on the porch and then headed out to dinner with Dan’s family. We tried a new pizza place in the neighborhood, called Riverwest Pizza. The food was great! But, they didn’t have a highchair for Ellie, so we had to constantly pass her around and take turns holding her. By the time we got home from dinner, we were all exhausted. Dan and E passed out almost immediately, while I wrapped up the night with some work.

Next weekend should be a bit more chill, followed by two insanely busy weekends {my birthday/father’s day/E’s birthday and then E’s party}. After that, it will already be July and summer will be in full swing. Seriously, where does the time go?