I heart you!

This is my very favorite plant that is growing in our yard right now! Mom and I transplanted this little Bleeding Heart cutie last year...it was just the tiniest thing, thank goodness mom was with me or I may have picked it as a weed (I'm still working on my green thumb). It is loving it's new location. Just a little reminder from mother nature to spread the love...

A Crafty B*day!

Saturday afternoon was a lovely break from the many projects that Nicholas and I were working on this weekend (pictures to come!)...we met at Impress for Miss Jamie's birthday celebration! What could be a more perfect birthday event for the #1 crafting goddess than a private card making session with girlfriends?! Nothing!
Rothie and I showcasing our favorite cards of the day. We all walked away with 8 adorable cards to share...and the best part, we didn't have to do any of the cleaning up. Yay for birthdays and for Impress!

"Sodo Mojo, Gotta Love These Guys, 2 Outs So What, My oh My..."

And now apparently, "A New Day, A New Way"

Whatever you want to call them...it is officially Mariner baseball season! Went to our first game of the season last night (well, my first game...Michelle, Nick and AJ's second game) and enjoyed a beautiful night at Safeco field. See that sun on us! Your eyes are actually not playing tricks on you, promise.I decided to sport full on M's gear.

And my new favorite attraction at the ballpark...the photo section for "catching some almost home runs"...not sure how I've never seen this before, but it is FUN!

Happy Earth Day!

how wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.

- anne frank

So....let's get started!

When I grow up...

I want to be just like my mama and her girlfriends (better known to everyone who knows them as the Ya-Ya's)

I love that they gather to celebrate, support, love and lift each other up. Kind of like how me and my girls gather to celebrate, support, love and lift each other up.

What a blessing!

The Underwood Wedding

The gorgeous bride and groom last night at their wedding...such a fun night! The space that they picked for their wedding and reception was incredible...amazing light, high ceilings with exposed beams, white industrial feel to it....so very chic. We had a wonderful night celebrating these two with so many of our close friends. I just love weddings!

Harses, Harses, Harses, Harses...

Ring-a-ling-a-ling!

(you must know what movie that's from, right?!)

Friday night Nick, AJ, Angie and I went down to the opening night at the horse track, Emerald Downs to place our bets. I had some pretty detailed and researched strategies when it came to picking the winning horse: always pick the grey horse, or always pick the horse that you see take a poo right before the race (both of those tips from my Nanny- she loved those Dayton Day horse races!), or if the name is catchy and/or includes the name of someone you know.

Apparently this strategy doesn't always work out so well because here is the picture of our winnings:

That's right...a $1.50 in combined winnings, not exactly impressive. Still, fun night with our fun friends!

Favorite Easter treat...

Deviled Eggs!!! Oh how I love you! The are hands down my favorite Easter treat....and the ones they had at Icon Grill where Nicholas and I had brunch after church were just fantastic ( along with the mac and cheese, the Waldorf salad, the crab cake benedict...the, oh wow...I really ate a lot!) Despite the pouring down rain, it was a wonderful Easter.

Celebrating Hans!

Friday night we celebrated Hans with a "surprise" birthday gathering at Vessel. I say "surprise" because he actually knew about it, and the only surprise of the night was how terrible the customer service was there. Wow. Still a fun night though to all get together-

Even though this picture is blurry, it just makes me laugh. We were pretending to be still models. These are actual seats in the bar that look straight on to the street. Do people really sit there for real??My cute in-laws....love them all! I am a lucky gal.

In honor of my dad's birthday, Nicholas and I both got a piece of pecan pie. Being from the south, this was his absolute favorite...and is definitely one of mine as well!

In one of the stars I shall be living,

In one of them I shall be laughing,

And so it will be as if all the stars

were laughing when you look

at the sky at night...

and there is sweetness

in the laughter of all the stars....

and in the memory of those you love.

The Little Prince

Antoine de saint-Exupery

Today my sweet dad would have been 58 years old. Happy Birthday dad...I love you.

Let's start at the very beginning...

Saw this video on Julia Allison's blog and HAD to reblog it....this makes me so incredibly happy! Oh what I would give to be at that station!

"When you know the notes to sing...you can sing most anything!!"

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin -real life.

But there was always some obstacle in the way,
something to be gotten through first,
some unfinished business,
time still to be served,
a debt to be paid.

At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.
This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness.

Happiness is the way.

So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.
- Souza

Mr. Moo

Officially no longer has puppy breath. He has doggy breath now. For you non-dog people out there...yes, there is a difference.

Palm Sunday Concert

"No poet in the world is greater than Johann Sebastian Bach. No art but music could have given artistic shape to the Christian religion, for it alone could catch up and reflect the glance into the soul...There are chorales by Johann Sebastian Bach...which in the simple, literal sense of the word are the most Christ-like sounds ever heard since the divine voice died into silence upon the Cross."

-Houston Stewart Chamberlain

Our concert today of Bach's "St. John Passion" tells the story of the Passion (suffering) of Christ as it appears in the Gospel of John. It was intense, beautiful, heart-breaking and a perfect final concert of the season for me. Hopefully our chorales were as lovely as described in the above quote :) I know that for me, singing with this group is a huge honor and quite honestly a very spiritual experience...there is nothing better than when it all comes together for the performance.
I also kind of liked that apparently it is a tradition in Europe to start the week of Easter by listening to this monumental piece. We're so very European!

LOVED it!

Love, love, LOVED Wicked the musical! Nick and I had such fun going to dinner and the show with Teresa and Matt down in Portland. I unfortunately didn't get any pictures because it seemed we were dashing around from place to place, with no time to stop for pics.

I am truly in awe every time I see these productions....how on earth can these people have such incredible voices while they are bouncing around, dancing, jumping, running, etc. on stage? Such talent. The story line is really sweet, and being a girl who had the "Wizard of Oz" on my line up of about 4 movies that I would watch over and over as a child, it was fun to see the connections back to the original story. I of course teared up during the "Defying Gravity" number, and have had the song in my head since. That could be also due to the fact I keep playing it on repeat. Hee.

Tiffany day...

Oh happy day! I am fortunate enough to have been the recipient of this pretty little blue bag on a number of occassions from one of the insurance companies we represent at work. Today when they came to see us, this little cutie came with! Yippeee!

It was, however, a pen. A VERY LOVELY, SEXY and SOPHISTICATED pen mind you...but do I really need something so extravagant?? What could I write that would warrent needing a Tiffany pen? Seems too special to just use for my daily check balancing.

So is it bad if I return it for something different? It's a corporate account so I don't think they'd ever know...but I still feel guilty. Thoughts?

Message from my Husband

I received this email today at work:

Subject: Dinner Tonight

I'd like to start with the Oysters Rockefeller. Then I'll have the 16 oz. Peppercorn New York steak, medium rare. For sides, I would like the Gaucho Mac and Cheese and the Lobster Mashed Potatoes.

For dessert, the Chocolate Bourbon Cake and a double espresso.

After placing this order, pretend to be sick and have it all boxed up. I will let you have the sandwich I was going to have.

Nicholas

Keep in mind...this is not a dinner that Nicholas was invited to, this was a work dinner. It did however make me laugh out loud which I'm certain was the actual intent of the requests.

The dinner at El Gaucho was delicious though. Oh, and I did bring him left overs. I'm just really sweet like that.

Ready for the weekend...

and for Spring...

I'm not sure if it's the crazy weather we're having (yep...there was snow on April 1st), the fact that this week has been so busy (multiple rehearsals, work dinner...), or that I slammed my finger in the door on Tuesday, but it has just been one of those "eh" weeks. Do you know the ones I'm talking about?

According to my personal weather gal, Michelle, it is supposed to be nice weather this weekend.
Please, please say it's true.