Fall

I just love this season. On Saturday night I went to a birthday party for my friends Sarah and Brandon. They're married and have the same birthday! How cool! She requested the Pioneer Woman's pound cake. Google it. It's really good. But we warned, it takes about 2 hours to bake. I'm not a huge cake person, so after I spent all afternoon baking it, I wasn't in the mood to eat it. I did have a slice for breakfast the next day before church and it tasted pretty good. Try it.


This is my new favorite fall picture. I just love all these colorful leaves!

Crazy picture Tuesday

I'm afraid I might be the worst blogger ever. I'm going to try and be better, but life has been so busy lately! I was going through a few pictures and do you ever find things that just make you laugh. It's a well known fact that I can't cut an onion without goggles. My poor roommates over the years have to deal with a utensil drawer filled with the typical garlic press, measuring cups, spatulas and then these little necessary blue goggles in the mix. It's quite a sight, but I highly suggest this method of onion prep.

On that note, this picture was taken in our dear Park Ave apartment and today my old roommate Katie moved from NYC back to her hometown. Even though I'm no longer there, it's a bit sad to think I can't fly up and meet Mirabelle & Katiebug at Sarabeths for a long, cozy brunch, which was one of our favorite roomie traditions. I love traditions, especially with those you live with and I'm so thankful for wonderful roommates. I've had so many and I love them all.

Me & Mar

oh how i love her!

Dinner parties

Ok, so us Manor girls are quite thankful. See, we have these three guy friends who have been so gracious in helping us maintain our yard. I mean, they've willingly and cheerfully cleaned the shrubs, weeded, pruned and removed the hideous dog house that was rotting in the backyard. Oh and they also planted 5 rose bushes for us! This picture was taken a couple months ago, so we've enjoyed a couple budding roses since then!


We are most appreciative, so the least we could do was to make them dinner. Last night Cait made a yummy lasagna, salad and bread. I did the appies and dessert. I used a Giada recipe where you toast salami slices in the oven and then dip in a sour cream/basil sauce. Yum! I also made a mousse for dessert, and if you follow me on Twitter, you'll know it was almost a disaster. It was some kind of ganache after I made it, but after mixing with a little whole milk, it turned out ok. I made homemade whipped cream and put it all in cocktail glasses, topped with cocoa powder, which all but 3 of us choked on. Oops :).

So the guys came over and we sat at the table talking for hours. After hosting lots of big group parties, I've realized that I absolutly love a small dinner party where everyone sits at the table and it's a bit more intimate and you're not terribly overwhelmed with dishes afterwards at midnight. So this is my new, fall/winter thing. Oh and I am so thankful for good friends!

Girls weekend

Oh, girls weekend in Atlanta was so fun! We spent most of the weekend talking and laughing, playing with Toby, shopping and enjoying being together.

We took Toby to the greenway for a 3 mile walk.


Went to Virginia Highlands to a yummy restaurant. When the waitress came by to get our drinks, Al & Gin ordered their margaritas first, and then I said, "I'll have the Margot." The waitress looked at me funny and then we all started laughing. I corrected myself and said, "I'll have the mango".
It was so great to see Michelle, the newlywed!


Good times!

The next day we went to downtown Duluth and had brunch.

Yay for girls weekends! Thanks for being such a wonderful hostess, Al!!

Love this...

ok, not sure why it's not widescreen (blog help!), but go here to see the original.

Weekend Update

It was another great weekend!

My sisters and I did the Race for the Cure in Greensboro with my mom. We all ran/walked and crossed the finish line together. Wow, what a special moment! We're especially thankful that this year my mom is cancer-free!


We had a baby shower for my high school friend, Laura on Saturday. She's due next month with baby Brendan! We showered her and the baby with lots of love, and onesies. Who knew a kid needed so many onesies!

This is Laura and her adorable niece, Geneva.

Alden came to the shower. He's getting so big!

Me & Aldi. Not the grocery store.

And I'll throw in this cute picture of Mar. :)