A Visit with Geri and Baby Brody!

I am so excited that I made it out to Plymouth this Sunday to visit my friend Geri Datus-Ward and to meet her new pride and joy, baby Brody. What a cutie he is!! He was so sweet and slept almost the entire hour I held him. It was especially cute when he would fight to keep his eyes open to see what's going on. A sure sign he'll be a social butterfly like his mom! (well, maybe more masculine than a butterfly, but you get the picture) ;-) Brody is simply precious! I can't wait to see how he changes and grows.

Welcome Annaleigh Janes!

Congratulations to our friends Julian and Dawn Janes on the arrival of darling baby Annaleigh (pictured at 4 weeks)! Annaleigh joins big brothers Alex and Kyle.

Best of the Best Bash!

On Monday night we headed down to the Guthrie to the annual Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine Best of the Best Party. This is our third year to attend and it was a great event. We enjoyed it much more than last year at the Walker. We both sampled way too much food and drink and had a great time hanging out with our good friends Julian and Dawn Janes who were surprisingly ENERGETIC considering they have a 4 week old baby girl at home along with their 2 boys!! Stay tuned for debut pics of baby Annaleigh coming very soon!

No Reservation??? @(*&!*@$%

Well, what can I say, I screwed up...

Several weeks ago Paul and I decided it would be very fun to plan a mini Valentine's "getaway" to stay at the W Hotel at the Foshay in downtown Minneapolis. I embarked on the simple (so it seemed at the time) task of making a reservation online and finding a restaurant for dinner!

When V-Day arrived we dropped Ace off at Grandma and Grandpa Brown's and headed downtown...so excited!

But...when we arrived to check-in we learned that my reservation attempt apparently had not gone through... *#*%@) ...after desperately searching online for a confirmation number and my online banking/credit card accounts for some sort of a charge that had hit my account, I finally accepted the fact that the W Hotel email that I had received (and ignored, never opening it) was not a confirmation number at all, but just a reminder of upcoming W specials...

To the credit of the W Staff, they graciously brought us complimentary wine while we assessed whether to go home for the "down time" between our check-in and our dinner reservation or to wait it out--we opted for wine and food in the Library Bar which made for better good people watching and a bit of "decompression time."

Alas, we had a great dinner at Bar Abilene (perhaps a bit casual for Valentine's Day, but tasty and the only place we could find a reservation with only two weeks notice) Our yummy dessert, pictured above, may have been the thing that saved the day! ;-) Overall, it was nice to spend quality time together even if at Casa Brown rather than at a hip & swank hotel.

The moral of this story is that Paul will be making our Valentine's Day reservations next year!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

To all of our friends and family near and far, Happy Valentine's Day! - Becky and Paul
(Pictured, Paul and I celebrating Valentine's Day last year Cabo Style - February 14, 2008)

Dreaming of Cabo...

Ok, I have to admit, I am feeling a bit "wintered-out" today, I am ready for WARM WEATHER!!! As if its not depressing enough that warm weather is likely at least three months away, it just dawned on me that last year on this day Paul and I were enjoying the beautiful ocean views and strong rays from the Mexican sun in Cabo San Lucas! Note to self: remember this and plan a fun, warm weather escape again next February!

Welcome Broderick Malcomb Ward!!

Congratulations to Geri Datus-Ward and Jason Ward on the arrival of their adorable bundle of joy, Brody!! Can't wait to meet you soon, Brody!

Celebrating a Successful Work Year

2008 was an insane work year that truly pushed me to my limits, but right now with the state of the economy I am particularly thankful to have had a very successful 2008 and grateful that I work for a company that (at least so far), continues to fare well despite the economic challenges all around. I attended the Kansas City annual party at the end of January and then Paul and I went to the Minneapolis annual party this past weekend! It was fun to have a chance to get dressed up and socialize with some coworkers that I literally had not seen all last year because of my travel schedule.

November Dinner Club...In January...

Well, life had gotten so busy for our dinner club during the last part of 2008 we found ourselves in late January finally getting around to the November 2008 menu. The theme, "Minnesota and her Friends," comprised of comfort foods like cheese fondue, beef brisket and deep dish apple pie, was actually quite timely given the cold temperatures. There was just one glitch, yours truly somehow got our "assignment" wrong and we, along with the Wild's (who for the record were the ones who were supposed to bring the fondue, showed up with Wisconsin Beer Cheese Fondue, leaving the group with no side items (beans and risotto/rice). It is a good thing the cheese fondue was very tasty and that the Backstrom's made plenty of beef brisket (which made all of the carnivorous husbands quite happy). But for the apple pie crust, you would have thought we'd all made a New Year's Resolution to follow the Atkin's "No Carb" diet.

Check Please!

A week ago Friday I attended my first "Check Please" girl's night out dinner event at Boca Chica in St. Paul. Orchestrated by my friend, Anna Lee Wahls, Check Please is a fantastic way to try out new restaurants and meet new women, typically friends / coworkers of friends that one might not ever meet otherwise. Kudos to Anna Lee for organizing the event and picking a great spot!! Boca Chica was awesome; best traditional Mexican food I've had in a long time. Also, I met some great women and am looking forward to the next Check Please event!

High Tea at Brit's - Downtown Minneapolis

Many people may think of Brit's in Downtown Minneapolis as a good place for a beer and lawn bowling on a sunny summer day, but this past weekend I discovered Brit's is a fabulous place to enjoy tea and yummy light faire. I especially loved the homemade blueberry scones, mini chocolate desserts, and cheeses!! Credit for my discovery goes to Megan Foley, a committee member on the Junior League Transfer Committee that I chair this year, along with Amanda Reierson and Charlotte Lozier two of this year's transfer members who planned the event (I think it was an even better location than last year's tea at the St. Paul Hotel)! We had a super turnout of 17 women; what a unique, fun way to spend a crisp January afternoon! I think High Tea at Brit's would be a fabulous place to take friends or family visiting the Twin Cities!

Shopping, Good Conversation and a Great Margarita, What More Can A Girl Ask For...

Two weeks ago my annual work division strategy meeting and annual celebration took me to Kansas City for a few days. In between work functions I was excited to have time to squeeze in a bit of quick shopping on the Plaza where I did my share to boost the ailing economy at Hall's; I scooped up some screamin' designer bargains!! Even more fun was catching up with dear law school friends Karen and Robynn over a tasty lunch at an old KC favorite, Houston's! I also was so excited to see my friend Katy Scott for a long-overdue non-stop chat session. Finally, Rebecca Wood and I had a great time catching up over dinner and margaritas at Baja 600 on the Plaza!! A very fun weekend!!

Bender / Brown Family Gathering - 1/17/2009

Ok, so its February and I'm already behind on blog updates! We braved the frigid January temperatures for a spicy Mexican fiesta with Paul's parents, Karl, Heather, Spenser and Abbie, and Cousins Betty, Jack and Jack's girls, Christy and Reagan. While it was a good time, I think actually going to Mexico would have been even better!