Culinary Fridays

Ryan and I have discovered a love for lounging and eating this summer. Both go well with a beautiful summer evening. Along with the eating, comes the cooking, or...preparing. And a lot of our Friday nights this summer have included a quick trip to the store for something to eat and then to EP Liquor for a bottle (or two) of wine. You can't buy alcohol in supermarkets in Minnesota-just mixers and low %volume alcohol drinks, we grew accustomed to just picking wine up along with our grocery store visits in Nebraska. So now that you think we're completely winos...I'll continue with my blog post.

On this particular evening we picked up some Havarti cheese and these fancy flat bread crackers.

Paired with our cheese and crackers was this bottle of Firestone Sauvignon Blanc. Firestone holds a special place in our hearts (cheesy much?) because it was the first vineyard we had ever experienced together when I visited Ryan the summer he interned in California.

After our appetizer of cheese/crackers and wine...we made a hearty bruschetta for dinner.

But we ate it too fast to get a picture of it. Sorry.

We broke out a bottle of red and relaxed the night away!

Even Lola was relaxed.
(p.s. the blankets on the couch are a nice touch aren't they? They do their job by keeping little black Lola hairs off!)

Its been so nice to hang out and drink wine on our porch this summer. In less than 4 months this deck will be entirely covered with snow. :) Crazy!

Lola Goes to Work

Back at the beginning of the summer, Colle+McVoy hosted a "Take Your Dog to Work" day. I definitely couldn't pass this up! Come on, a whole day to bring your dog to work, and show off her cuteness?- Yes Please!

So Lola decided to come with me to work- I gave her the option after telling her that she was going to have to help me proof some documents and look through a few spreadsheets. She obliged.

Here she is getting ready for her big day- briefcase and all.

Just got to the office- time to get to work!

.... or not.

After some playtime, she got down to business.

And then took a little siesta after all of that work!

She made time for a brainstorming session with a fellow co-worker.

And then it was lunch on the rooftop before heading out for the day.

Ahhhh Summer

Summer isn't my favorite season. There I said it.

Actually, fall is my favorite, hands down. When I think of fall I get all tingly warm inside. Sweaters, football games, leaves falling, pumpkins, pumpkin bars, turkey, Thanksgiving, etc. I love everything fall.

In the ranks of my favorite seasons, Summer usually falls last. It's Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer for me. However- I must say this summer has been one of my all-time favorites. Maybe its because we've really taken advantage of outdoor activities, or maybe its because there haven't been too many days of 100 degree heat (sorry Texas). Or maybe its just because my outlook on the season itself has changed. Whatever it is, Spring better watch its back- summer's rising up in the ranks! :)

Here's a list of my favorite things this summer:

This Guy- he's always up for an activity no matter how hot it is.


Firepit- we invested in a small firepit from Lowe's at the beginning of the summer, and let's just say it's definitely gotten good use!


S'mores/Margaritas- an unlikely combination, but something we've indulged in this summer.


Nature- we've taken notice of all of our lovely nature friends in our backyard this summer. Like this cardinal (bad picture) along with squirrels and rabbits.


Buffalo Wild Wings Tuesday Wing Nights- While there are no pictures of the actual wings (we probably ate them too fast) Ryan and I enjoyed a few summer Tuesday night dinners at BWW. He just loves when I take random pictures of him. :)


So there you have it. Some of my favorite things about this summer! Not to mention we also closed on our Minnesota house and sold our Nebraska house- those also top the list. :)

Lola is the New Michael Phelps

I don't mean to brag....but we've got the world's best swimmer on our hands.

Sorry Michael Phelps.

In all reality, Lola is the best swimmer! I was hesitant to let her swim at first (yeah yeah "new puppy mom" jitters), so Ryan surprised me one day when he told me that he and Lola went for a walk and she dove right into the water on her own!

I still have a hard time believing that Ryan didn't convince her by throwing a stick or something equally fun into the water. But the fact that she is drawn to the water and swimming, made me feel a little more comfortable. So, I told him that the next time its nice, I'd go with them to see this for myself.

Little did I know that our little lady was the example of agility in the water. Ryan would throw a stick into the lake, and .2 seconds later Lola was diving in after it. She would get to the stick and paddle back to us as fast as her little legs could go. I was impressed. However, at one point I think she got disoriented and got pretty far out there, swimming towards the fountain in the middle of the lake. She turned back after many shouts of "treat" and "come on Lola!". She always runs after us when we run...so Ryan and I were running back and forth on the little path as quickly as we could. People probably thought we were nuts. I guess she was just testing her limits...preparation for teenagers someday?

After seeing her swim, I feel more comfortable with her near the water. She has been swimming off of the shore of the lake now dozens of times. However- off of a dock is a different story- blog post to come. :)

Shake it, Shake Shake Shake, Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture!

Here is the moment she was swimming a bit too far. Maybe I should've put down my camera earlier?

Back on land :)

In A Blink

I’m BAAAAAACK! Aren’t you excited? I’ve actually found time in my busy schedule this week to sit and write a blog post- something I’ve been craving, and hoping to be able to do since the 4^th of July weekend- which was over a month ago now. How does time slip by like that? How do I get so engrossed in my daily life and all of the to dos that I forget to do something that I absolutely love?

My work has been busy lately- that’s pretty evident by the lack of love I’ve been able to give to the blog. And at the end of a 10-hour day I’m ready to peace out. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love what I do and where I work, but do you know what my absolute favorite part of my day is?

When I roll down Knollwood Dr., cruise to a slow speed to open up the mailbox and head up the driveway to the garage. As I press the button on my garage door opener, I already know what’s going on inside my home. Ryan is hanging out in the living room or just finishing up dinner and telling our little Lola that “mom’s home.” When I push open the door, the cutest and furriest little black dog is waiting there for me. Usually her tail is wagging a mile a minute, she’s on the verge of jumping up to greet me, when she realizes that she’s been taught not to and stays seated on the cool tile.

I drop my things on the granite island and am greeted with more puppy kisses than I can hope for. I get a big hug from Ryan, and I sit down at the table to eat dinner and finally decompress from my rigorous schedule.

I’m home.

I tend to tie my memories to music, and this morning after a particularly grueling work-week and working the weekend, I heard this song---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvuxFdM3S58

In case you’re unable to open the link here are the lyrics:

Teach me to number my days, and count every moment

Before it slips away. Take in all the colors, before they fade to gray.

I don’t want to miss, even just a second, more of this.

It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash, it happens in the time it took to look back.

I try to hold on tight, but there’s no stopping time, what is it I’ve done with my life?

It happens in a blink.

It happens in a blink.

When it’s all said and done, no one remembers, how far we have run.

The only thing that matters, is how we have loved.

I don’t want to miss, even just a second, more of this.

It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash, it happens in the time it took to look back.

I try to hold on tight, but there’s no stopping time, what is it I’ve done with my life?

It happens in a blink. It happens in a blink. It happens in a blink. It happens in a blink.

Slow Down. Slow Down. Before today becomes our yesterday.

It happens in a blink, it happens in a flash, it happens in the time it took to look back.

I try to hold on tight, but there’s no stopping time, what is it I’ve done with my life?

In that moment, my entire body un-tensed, a smile appeared on my face, and I remembered what’s important. The deadlines, the schedules, the proposals and such will all fade in time. But the time I spend with my husband watching our favorite show, the phone calls to my sister and my mom, the fun cards sent to friends, the way I treat people and the way I choose to live my life matter the most. And the fact that every day I wake up I get to see the love of my life and the cutest puppy in the world are pretty great perks.