Every year since I've met Mr. X I have celebrated Easter twice. Greek Easter is a big day and my mother-in-law spends weeks preparing. Today we sat down to enjoy it all and it was delicious. Homemade Greek food is one of my favorite things. I sometimes think I was Greek in a previous life.
Happy Easter. Or as my family says Christos Anesti.
I cherish old black and white photos of my family because there are so few of them. This photo was posted by my aunt on Facebook last week. The woman on the left is my grandma and the man on the right is my grandpa - my father's parents. I love this photo. I love it because I don't ever remember seeing a photo of them from way back. I love that my grandma looks so stylish. I love my grandpa's smile. I have great memories of both of them and miss them now that they are gone. Seeing this photo makes me want to document some of the moments I remember spending with them. Trips I took with my dad to Florida to visit my grandma...playing cards with my grandpa and his brother and sister. Love the inspiration that comes from seeing a simple black and white photo.
It's the final stretch for my brother's Kickstarter project...
THE SKY SCRATCHER!
Check it out here and help him reach his goal.
Every little bit helps and is truly appreciated!
Last week and over the weekend we had a visit from these two lovely Oregonians. My brother Mike and his girlfriend Amy. It's been awhile since they've both been here together so we made a bunch of plans and headed out like tourists.
First stop...Six Flags Great America. Figured there's no better way to start off October than with Fright Fest. It was super fun but a little painful the next day. Roller coasters will beat you up.
Then off to Milwaukee for some brewery tours. Definitely check out the Historic Pabst Brewery if you are in the area. The people and place were amazing!
Thanks to my brother who recognized Tim Minchin on the street and scored some free tickets to his show Sunday night at the Pabst Theatre. It was hilarious. Before the show we hit up Safe House just across the street which was pretty cool.
Then the Miller tour. Booo. Mr. X is a Bud man so this was quite painful for him. I'm not going to lie, it was painful for us all.
And a final stop at Lakefront Brewery which was fantastic. Great tour, great beer. We also went to Sprecher's and the tour was good, but the beer wasn't. Stick with the root beer.
Of course we had to hit up Chicago. First time seeing the Marilyn Monroe statue.
Then the good ol' bean.
And finally, the best meal of my life...the pizza pot pie from Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company. It's heaven. Followed by a show at The Second City. It doesn't get much better.
Last October we went to Cedarburg for the day and we took some beautiful photos that I knew I wanted to put in a minibook eventually. The book is 4x6 and I used mostly paper from the Portrait Collection from Crate Paper which I am in love with.
I printed the word strips off my computer using a typewriter font. It is such an easy way to add journaling to a book. The photos are glued back to back and the patterned paper is double sided which makes it perfect for using in between the photo pages. I did some machine stitching down the side of the paper which is a little hard to see in the photos. I didn't use a lot of extra stuff because I wanted the book to be mostly about the photos.
1. Last night we went to see my little brother Mitch play baseball. Watching Little League is pure entertainment. We loved it. How can you not love this...
2. I'm having an affair with Pinterest. Have you seen it? It's not that I want to "pin" everything, it's that I want to look at what everyone else is pinning ALL THE TIME. Great place for finding inspiration on pretty much anything.
Saturday Mr. X and I went to see my dad's cousins horse race at Arlington Park. It was such a fun day. We sat in the Million Room overlooking the track, we got to go in the paddock to see his horse Cool Bullet get ready, we bet money, we lost money and we had a great time!
I received the sweetest email today from my cousin Mindi who I haven't spoken to in years (she lives in Florida, I live in Illinois). Anyways, as life has gotten in the way, we have lost touch. Luckily she is one of those people that once we start talking again it's like no time has been lost and we can pick back up where we left off. Don't you love relationships like that?
This photo was probably taken over 15 years ago in Florida. That's me on the left, my Aunt Joanne, cousin Julie and cousin Mindi. I love this picture.
Happy Friday!
Well, technically not until the 28th but the party was on Sunday. My little brother and sister are going to be 6. 6!!! Where did the time go? And where did my brain go because I went to a birthday party without a camera. AND my phone. I had to use Mr. X's phone to take these pictures. Good grief. Not only do I feel old, I can't even remember to bring a camera.
Today we took a road trip up north to Cedarburg, Wisconsin with Mr. X's family. We browsed a few antique stores, ate lunch and enjoyed each other's company. We are experiencing indian summer right now and it is just beautiful here. Looking at the pictures I guess it was a very colorful day. I love that. I love this time of year and I love days like today.
