It's my birthday week, bitches! My birthday falls on a Saturday this year but I celebrate as much as possible (or at least use it to my advantage). This week look for lots of old pictures, stories and random factoids.
This past weekend was very laid back. Friday night we went to dinner at Cafe del Mondo. Since the last time I wrote about it, this restaurant is now open for dinner Thursday through Saturday. It's BYOB, and the menu is small, but it changes weekly.
Our appetizer was Kahlua shrimp, Aaron had short ribs with chorizo bread pudding and roasted brussels sprouts, I had salmon saltimbocca with mushroom risotto, and we brought a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. We also each had a salad, not pictured.
Saturday was a lazy-ass day. We went out for breakfast and ran a couple errands, but returned home by noon to alternately nap and watch football. The end.
Sunday we sang at church and then had a rehearsal for a concert this Friday. Maybe you'll recognize a name on this flyer. If not, I highlighted it. ;)
We finished off the evening at our neighbors' house, playing Apples to Apples and listening to tornado sirens. Fortunately, we weren't in any danger, but I'm sending positive thoughts to all those affected by the storms in the Midwest.
Yesterday morning we woke up to snow on the ground. I refrained from taking pictures of it because a) it was gone by afternoon and b) it's too early for snow in my opinion AND c) 783 of my friends on Facebook posted plenty of pictures.
I ordered an OtterBox phone case and it arrived today. I should have waited until later to put it on the phone because I think I need a drink after all that. Even better, I think there's a little something on the inside of the screen cover but I'm going to try and deal with it for the time being. But at least I know that if I drop my phone in the toilet it will be okay (not that I've ever done such a thing but you know, just in case).
I've mentioned my love for Sting before, and I recently heard that he and Paul Simon are touring together in 2014. As of now, they won't be in Columbus, or even within a few hours' drive, but I somehow must get to a show. I might have to travel to do so; maybe I should start a fundraising campaign? (KIDDING.)
And now to switch gears a bit...
Last week Helene wrote about an article in her alma mater's college newspaper in which the author responded to an increase of sexual assaults on campus by suggesting that the victims share the blame with the perpetrators. Helene's post is here; the original article is here. I was furious when reading this and considered writing about it on the blog but I wasn't coming up with anything that I felt was original.
But then Katie from The Style Dunce wrote An Open Letter to Female Rape Apologists and it says all I want to say and more. I urge you to read it, but this paragraph sums it up perfectly:
I don't think there is anything wrong with being cautious. We enter into every situation in our lives with our gained knowledge of how the world works. I don't see a problem with a mother telling her college-aged daughter, "Be careful at the party, hun. Don't drink too much and go with some friends." But there is a world of difference between "be careful" and "be careful or you asked for it."
Yes, be smart. But it's still no guarantee of your safety. And it's damn sure not your fault. The only blame is the asshole rapist. Period.
In case you missed the news, today I'm flying to Philadelphia for a weekend with my real-life friend Stephanie (from Life According to Steph, and she has a giveaway going on right now). I haven't seen her in 3 years and that was at her wedding so I'm really excited to have some time to spend together. AND on Saturday we get to hang out with Marla from Luck Fupus (she also has a giveaway now) and her sister Brie from A Breezy Life! I can't wait to meet them!
I've been thinking all week about how to pack. It's sweater and boots weather, which I love, but packing can be annoying. I'm not opposed to checking my bag but I'd rather not for this trip. I should also mention that packing is not one of my strong suits. I started with the boots and built my wardrobe around those:
I have some lightweight sweaters that shouldn't take up too much space and I'll pack one pair of jeans and one pair of pants. Of course I'll need biscuits and pleasures because there's bound to be some time spent watching movies like Bridget Jones' Diary, Legally Blonde, Dirty Dancing ... Biscuits take up some space so I probably won't pack those, even though they are super cute:
I'll take fuzzy socks instead.
Hairdryer. This gets tricky. Yes, my hair is naturally curly but you'd never know that when it's wet. I need to use a hairdryer with a diffuser attachment to get the curls to come out. Now, I can probably make it the weekend without washing my hair but given that there will be four bloggers all together... there will be pictures and they will be posted and yes I know I'm vain. And while Steph might have a hairdryer, I don't know if the diffuser will fit on it so I might have to make room for my own.
I definitely don't want to take a big bulky coat so I'm taking a faux leather jacket. I have a comfy yet presentable travel outfit, my iPad, magazines and a bathing suit for hot tubbing at Marla's.
I managed to pack everything with room to spare, which makes me think I forgot something. Or it just means I can shop!
I miraculously managed to get to Philly on time Friday. In keeping with the "always real" part of my tag line up there, I have to confess that my procrastination led to nearly missing my flight. In fact, when I got to the airport I was told I was too late and they put me on standby for a later flight. I was dreading the phone call to Steph. Fortunately, my original flight was late in boarding and I was able to get on there at the last minute. Lesson learned. (Maybe.)
Steph met me at the airport and we took the train to the city and had a late, leisurely lunch at Parc Restaurant at Rittenhouse Square. We shared a decadent mushroom tart and a bottle of wine, Steph had a warm shrimp salad and I had the smoked salmon tartine.
Then we walked all over the place (sadly for me, the Wanamaker organ at Macy's is all covered up by the ginormous Christmas tree, which is up too early for our taste) and had a drink before riding the train back to Steph's house.
I have a wonky eye going on, but otherwise love this pic.
We stayed in Friday night, sipping on wine and watching TV. MFD (Steph's husband, in case you didn't know) brought us cheesesteaks for dinner.
Saturday we lounged around with the dogs (Gus, Geege and Maisel) and Steph's mom and her friend Michelle stopped by.
Meanwhile, back in Columbus, this was Aaron's Saturday morning:
I missed my kitties, but loved hanging with the dogs.
Eventually we got ourselves cleaned up and dressed and went to New Jersey to Marla's house, and her sister Brie came over, too. I love when I meet internet friends for the first time but it doesn't feel like the first time. Marla's husband Steve was such a trooper, bringing us wine, taking pictures and then driving us to dinner.
Clockwise from top left: Steph, Brie, me, Marla; Marla's kick-ass dining room chandelier; Marla and me with Steph in the mirror; Marla knew my obsession with cocktail napkins and she had some great ones.
Marla doing her Miley Cyrus impression with the calamari.
Someone at the restaurant hid a bottle of Suave hairspray in the restroom.
Sunday morning we were up way early and Steph took me to the airport (don't worry, I got there in plenty of time). I arrived in Columbus at 11 am and drove straight to church for a rehearsal, took a late nap and caught up with neighbors.
My brother sent me this picture from the Veterans Day Parade. Our nephew James is in ROTC in high school. We're so proud of him!
James is second from right
Happy Veterans Day and thank you to all veterans for your service above and beyond!
Don't ask me where that title came from. I have no idea.
This isn't a weekend recap post, although we did have a lovely laid-back weekend celebrating Aaron's birthday. Check out this card I gave him:
On the inside: "2 out of 3 cats recommend doing absolutely nothing on your birthday"
Just in case you haven't seen pictures of our cats, here they are. If I thought I could have successfully drawn black markings on that white cat I would have.
Aaron put this up on the screened porch:
And I got my business cards!
Note to self: need new scanner
Finally, I have to share this. I don't talk about religion much; that's just not how I roll. But it's no secret that Aaron and I sing in a church choir. In yesterday's bulletin insert, this drawing by our friend Kat's daughter was featured:
"God is love, God is sharing and God's spirit is like a candle."
I don't know about you, but that's certainly the God I believe in.
That title really only means something to two people but read on anyway.
Tomorrow is Aaron's birthday. Yesterday was not only Halloween, but it was also Mike R's birthday (he's one of Aaron's best friends and you've read about him on the blog, most recently here). They call November 1st "Tween Day" and they make a point to call each other on that day.
The year they turned 40 we were all together to celebrate:
Obligatory cute baby picture of Aaron:
A few favorite pics from the last few years:
The one I dubbed my favorite picture of us (from 2001):
And one from just the other night:
Happy Birthday, Aaron. I love you more than anything.
Happy Halloween! Apparently Columbus is bracing for serious storms tonight which might cause problems for Trick-or-Treat. In our neighborhood we have ONE child and he's still young enough that his parents have convinced him that instead of going from house to house getting candy, he goes from house to house and gives out candy. That surely can't last much longer!
Last year's costume; this year he'll be a firefighter.
Last night was Yahtzee night at Theresa's house. She had some fantastic food, including chicken & dumplings and a pumpkin bread pudding that I may have to make ... someday. I didn't even see the cocktail napkins until I was leaving but y'all know I love a good cocktail napkin and this was perfect.
A couple months ago when Jeannie hosted, she had these, which I forgot to put on the blog but it's also a keeper:
Speaking of fat pants, I saw this the other day and could definitely relate:
I normally don't repost things with random capitalization or
other grammatical issues, but this is an exception.
Yesterday a bunch of bloggers participated in a link up called "Someday I Will ..." One of my responses to that is someday I will not be such a huge procrastinator. Hahahahaha! But I did actually make a step in the right direction of that goal:
Sign of the apocalypse? I already have my Christmas cards!
And finally, if you'd like a chance to win some PayPal cash in preparation for the holidays (or just for whatever the hell you want), check out Helene's blog, where I'm participating in a giveaway!
