Favorite Memories of 2010- A Year of Moustaches

1. January- I love this picture.  Everyone keeps asking "what's the thing with the moustaches?" and I honestly have no answer other than how amusing it is (and you'll see it is a theme throughout the year).  I love that we started making snowflakes for me to hang at the front desk and ended up making paper moustaches to wear for the rest of the night.  A lot happened in January (including my birthday) but this is probably my favorite memory of the month.

2. February- For Valentine's Day for the first time probably ever, I had plans with some of my favorite girls in Winona.  We made heart shaped pizza with heart shaped cupcakes and dressed up cute just because we could.  It was a fun night and the best Valentine's Day I've had so far.

3. March- March is a month of friends' birthdays yet I only have a few pictures that captured the events of the month.  This is from Phil's golden 24th birthday, celebrated at Buca as a surprise party.  He had a Star Wars cake and the toppers had a button on their backs so their light sabers lit up.  I like that Phil is like a big kid.

4. April- In April, I got the opportunity to drive to Milwaukee with Janelle to see "Legally Blonde: The Musical".  I watched it on MTV a few years ago but was excited to see it live and it definitely did not disappoint!  It was a fun weekend of driving, shopping and spending time with Janelle's family.

5. May- The highlight of this month was graduation, of course!  It's still hard for me to believe that I have a college degree and Winona is no longer my home away from home (though deep down, it always will be).  I thought I was so ready to leave- boy was I wrong!  Graduation was a great thing but everything post-graduation has been a new kind of challenge for me.

6. June- June was my month of Heidi and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  First, Heidi, Erin and Rybecat came to spend the night at my house (and to visit Jazz).  Then for the summer solstice, I drove down to La Crosse to attend and bartend Heidi's parents' solstice party.  It was a blast and I hope I get the chance to go again next year (or have a party of my own!)

7. July- In July, Peter was home before moving to D.C. to his new Air Force base.  We finally went to the new Twins stadium for a game and had a great time!  That stadium is beautiful and it was nice to be outside like that one time we saw the Twins play the Royals in Kansas City (or like every time we go to a Saints game).  Peter went home on his and Nina's birthday when Liz, Nina and I went out for super fancy birthday dinner to treat Nina when she turned 19!

8. August- August was the time to buckle down and get stuff done for Allison & Phil's wedding.  I was BUSY working full time, volunteering at the WCCO booth at the State Fair, and wedding planning but we made it to the end of the month in time to party!  This is one of my favorite pictures from the bachelorette party (again with the moustaches).

9. September- I have so many favorite pictures from Allison & Phil's wedding but I think this one takes the cake.  I was so proud and excited for my best friend to get married (even after the stressful few months of wedding planning and preparing).  The day seemed to go off without a hitch and was a beautiful ceremony and gathering of friends and family to celebrate their marriage!

10. October- I think this picture expresses the sheer happiness we all felt when we went to HPOT WORLD in October.  We tried Butterbeer (and loved it), bought sweet treats at Honeydukes (where this picture was taken), participated in the Tri-Wizard dragon challenge, explored Hogwarts, rode on a Hippogriff, wandered the streets of Hogsmeade and enjoyed the nice Florida weather.  There is only one word to describe our trip- AWESOME.

11. November- For the first of many parties of Allison's birthday (she took a page out of my book this year and celebrated her birthday for a week), we went to Paint Your Plate, just us girls.  It was a great choice of venue for our artsy group of friends!  My favorite was watching Liz enjoying herself so much she was practically giddy.  "This mug needs 100% more lightning.  This mug needs 100% more fire."  She was thrilled and our painted pieces all turned out amazing!

12. December- December knocked an item off my bucket list- be in a parade (preferably the Holidazzle).  The Holidazzle is my favorite parade of all time as it is a family tradition, takes place in downtown Minneapolis, and is a festival of lights.  We got the chance to fill in for a few people who couldn't walk in the parade one night and I couldn't have been happier about it.  Sure, they aren't the most flattering costumes, but it was an experience to be had!

Starting tomorrow- A PICTURE A DAY FOR A YEAR!  My plan is to start posts at the beginning of each week and then adding as the days go on so there will only be 52 posts as opposed to 365 separate ones.  I'm excited about this thing I want to do before I turn 24!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Dream #3: Wedding Planner

I love weddings.  I planned my best friend Allison's wedding this fall and loved it.  It is very rewarding to see your ideas and hard work pay off in the end like it did in September.

I also love a little thing called an inspiration board.  Its a mixture of colors, pictures, and ideas that inspire you for a party or a wedding or a project.  I've had a lot of time on my hands lately so I'm making wedding inspiration boards.  (Click on any of the pictures below to view them full size- its worth it if you do).

This first one is specifically for my best friend Jaci's wedding in 2012.  I want to start planning before I leave for Colorado.

Then today at work, I was listening to the Avett Brothers CD and this song came on:


It inspired me to make a board for a January wedding (which somehow turned into a peacock type of theme but I still love it).

As I was searching for items for that wedding, I came across a sunflower invitation that inspired this next board.

I love this kind of thing.  It makes me happy and is a great stress reliever (not to mention its just pretty!)

Post Grad Book #4

I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
Finished: December 25, 2010
Page Count: 135
Why I read it:
I heard Nora had a new book out and I LOVE her movies ("When Harry Met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle" and "You've Got Mail" most notably) so I figured her book must be good.  I was right.

Publisher's Weekly review:
Reading these succinct, razor-sharp essays by veteran humorist (I Feel Bad About My Neck), novelist, and screenwriter-director Ephron is to be reminded that she cut her teeth as a New York Post writer in the 1960s, as she recounts in the most substantial selection here, "Journalism: A Love Story." Forthright, frequently wickedly backhanded, these essays cover the gamut of later-life observations (she is 69), from the dourly hilarious title essay about losing her memory, which asserts that her ubiquitous senior moment has now become the requisite Google moment, to several flimsy lists, such as "Twenty-five Things People Have a Shocking Capacity to Be Surprised by Over and Over Again," e.g., "Movies have no political effect whatsoever." Shorts such as the several "I Just Want to Say" pieces feature Ephron's trademark prickly contrariness and are stylistically digestible for the tabloids. Other essays delve into memories of fascinating people she knew, such as the Lillian Hellman of Pentimento, whom she adored until the older woman's egomania rubbed her the wrong way. Most winning, however, are her priceless reflections on her early life, such as growing up in Beverly Hills with her movie-people parents, and how being divorced shaped the bulk of her life, in "The D Word." There's an elegiac quality to many of these pieces, handled with wit and tenderness. 

What I thought:
I really enjoyed this book- a series of short stories and thoughts.  The first story was called "I Remember Nothing" and was the epitome of my mother, who also remembers nothing.  The stories ranged from a meat loaf being named after her at a friend's restaurant, her love of Teflon pans, a few recipes thrown in, memories of famous people, and my favorite- "Journalism: A Love Story" which really made me happy after 2 years in the Mass Comm program.  I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday to purchase her first book, "I Feel Bad About My Neck" which happened to be on the "Buy 2 get 1 free" table so look forward to 3 new book reviews in the near future (4, actually, since I bought Meghan McCain's book when I bought this one).  I love reading and what better time to do it than when it's so snowy outside?