Dear Friends Make the Drive Worth It!

Last Monday I drove a treacherous drive through some of the winter road conditions I have ever experienced to central Iowa for a client presentation. Just missing a 25+ car accident involving multiple fatalities, I would have rather been just about anywhere than on I-35S that day! But...once I safely made it to my friend Kayla's warm, cozy home in Huxley, IA, I was very glad I had to make the trip! Kayla and I and her two girls (Reese and Rylee) had a short, but great visit. Of course, we stayed up too late and ate too much, but it was all worth it! Can't wait to have Kayla and family up for a visit once the weather warms up this spring!

Great Meal with Great Friends!

Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner with Lorenzo and Glynne Bassi and Glynne's mom visiting from VT. Glynne went all out making a tasty meal of short-ribs, potatoes and beans with a lovely lemon tart for dessert! I think Paul may be sending me over to have cooking lessons from Glynne! ;-) We had a great time catching up and really enjoyed seeing how much Grayson has grown. After Grayson had to go to bed, Bea was the real highlight of the night, staying up past her bedtime to play with us. She was full of spunk and smiles and is a real super cutie!!

OM.......Yum!

On Friday night Paul and I tried out a great new restaurant (on the edge of downtown Minneapolis and the Warehouse district) with our friends Leslie and David. We thought OM was great and sharing the experience with good friends made it even more fun! If you check out the restaurant, I highly recommend the various kinds of Naan and the Kashmir Margarita...proves a margarita goes with just about any cuisine, plus this one had a ginger twist complimenting the Indian spices of the meal!!

Pajama Party Fun!!

Weekend before last, after hemming and hawing for weeks, I got a ticket for a unique, girls only fundraiser benefiting the Junior League of Minneapolis. A handful of us met up at the Westin Galleria and had a good time eating yummy appetizers, trying the specialty "Pink Slipper" cocktails and doing a bit of retail therapy. I was pretty good, but did pick up a couple cute things at the Stella and Dot jewelry booth!! If we are involved again next year would be a great girls night out for a big group of friends. This post represents my personal opinions and is not an official statement of the Junior League of Minneapolis.

Designing Duo in the Family

Taking a break from teaching middle schoolers math, my sister has been pursuing an interior design degree the past couple of years and recently put her newly discovered talents to work on a new bathroom in their home. It used to literally be a basement dungeon and now it is a bright, sleek, clean space!! Katie did all of the tile work herself after using her new computer design skills to map all of it out! The quality of the tile work looked great! Now, I would be remiss if I didn't also mention her husband George's "can fix anything" handyman skills which were essential for installing the new electrical and plumbing! I think I may have to buy them plane tickets and a bribe of some sort (maybe free babysitting???) to come visit and assist whenever we finally find a new home as I'm sure there will be renovation projects needed! ;-)

JLM Impact Day at World Vision!

With all of the sadness and mourning surrounding the recent Haiti earthquake, it is a reminder to us all how important it is to give back whether it be with our time, our money or preferrably both! Last weekend, I had an opportunity, through one of the Junior League's January Impact Days, to learn about an organization in SE Minneapolis (only 10 min. from my house) called World Vision (www.worldvision.org). In just a couple of hours 30 of us Leaguers were able to help in a meaningful way by providing hands on assistance sorting donated supplies, stocking shelves and breaking down boxes to make room for new donations. We were also given the opportunity to view a short, powerful video showing the amazing impact this organization has had all accross our great world! It was so fun to bond with girlfriends while giving back! One of the organization's founders asked Glynne Bassi (pictured in the dumpster above) and I to help with a slogan for World Vision to promote volunteerism in a different way. In contrast to the large groups of volunteers that World Vision routinely attracts, like the JLM, World Vision also hopes to attract pairs/smaller groups that would come in for a an hour or two to volunteer; the concept being that girlfriends or couples could gather to socialize and volunteer at the same time, an alternative to meeting at Caribou for coffee or going out to lunch. We suggested "Catching Up While Giving Back." With a possible tag line, "It only takes an hour..." Their initial reaction was very positive, so we'll see if our slogan pops up anywhere! I know I would definitely consider volunteering at World Vision again! The comments included above are my personal opinions and not an official statement of the Junior League of Minneapolis ;-)

Aunt Becky and Uncle Paul are very excited about the arrival of Baby "Peanut" Robb anticipated on or about July 4, 2010!

We had some excitement on Christmas morning when my younger sister, Katie, and her husband George, announced they are expecting their first child this summer! They have decided to affectionately call the baby Peanut until born, hence baby's first gift pictured above!!

Only 10 Days to Go 'til Sun and Fun!!!!

So, I know I've already blogged about our upcoming vacation once and we haven't even left yet, but I just cannot express how EXCITED we are!!! I still have a couple of work trips and we both have lots of work to wrap up until our departure, so we must hunker down and concentrate, but its getting harder and harder!!!! I know it will all be worth it to know we've wrapped things up once we get there as we will then be able to let our minds relax for 2 weeks before returning the real world (and, alas... the cold).

My mind is already churning on what to bring while still packing light enough to carry on and have room for souveniers! Although...I told Paul you don't need much room for Tahitian Black Pearls [ha ha ha, he was not as amused as I was by that comment ;-) ] I stole a moment this morning to consider what to bring and was psyched to find the cutest Kate Spade voile sundress at 70% off this morning online! I tried this on and liked it during our San Fran trip last fall, but now am so glad I did not pay full price!! The bargain makes the purchase that much sweeter, and I think it will be perfect for the hot tropical weather and so light to pack! I can't wait to shuck winter duds and frolic in the blue waters...

Meet Miss Bella Brown...

Over Christmas we finally got to meet Miss Bella, the latest addition to my side of the family. She is a cutie and a very, very happy little girl!! Miss Bella lives in Sedalia, MO and she brought her mom and day (my cousin Emily and husband Chris) with her to visit my mom's house on the day after Christmas! We had a lot of fun playing with Bella and are glad to have a baby back in the family as it makes the holidays so much more fun and festive!! Emily is expecting her second baby in August 2010.

Holiday Cheer with Dear Friends!

As we are mid-way through January 2010 I still find myself catching up from 2009... I was so happy Paul and I had an opportunity to get together with two of my dearest friends, Swati and Mariam, and their terrific husbands Claudio and Tyler, while we were in MO for Christmas! It is so hard to believe we have now been friends for 25 years (since 7th grade)!!! (How did we get this old so fast???) We had such a great time as we always do when we have a chance to get together. Swati had the fab idea of doing a once a year weekend get together with the six of us, plus our friend Holly and her husband John! We are tenatively shooting for April at Swati and Claudio's home outside Philly. We were also so excited to meet the newest addition to the Waller/Gupta household, sweet little Sonya!

The Countdown Begins....!!!!!!

I can hardly contain my excitement...10 years ago I first learned of magical Bora Bora in French Polynesia when friends went there on their honeymoon! Their pictures are still etched in my brain! Now, in just 21 days, we will be on our way to paradise!!! After not getting any big vacations planned for 2009, we have been dying to go on another international adventure--especially with the brutal weather of late! We had planned to go to Australia in 2009 and so the logical choice would have been to continue with that plan, but then we threw New Zealand in the discussion mix...and then finally, after much discussion, decided that as much as we really, really want to see Australia and New Zealand, what we need right now is to GET AWAY FROM IT ALL!!!! Relax!!! Chill!!! Do nothing unless we want to! So...I tossed Tahiti in just to mix things up and tonight finally got flights booked...I hope to get hotels booked tomorrow--we will likely be splitting time between Bora Bora and Moorea after arriving in Tahiti--unless something else catches our eye and distracts from the decision making. Most importantly of all, I hope we will return with enough money left to pay the mortgage!! ;-)

There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays

After a horrific time getting both Paul and I to Kansas City to meet up for the last 2 hour drive to Columbia, we finally made it in just in time for our traditional greasy cheeseburgers and chips with my family at Columbia's finest--Booches Pool Hall--on the night of the 23rd. It is simply the best and has been a mainstay in my hometown's downtown shopping/dining district for many years!!! We started this family tradition after Paul and his groomsman discovered Booches during our wedding weekend (if truth be told I think they were in their stuffing their faces and having beers until about 10 minutes before the ceremony), and now that it is thankfully smoke free it has become a family tradition each Christmas!!

Columbia was wet, snowy and cold these year compared to the last few Christmas visits which were very warm, but seeing as how it is like -10 outside right now, I feel sort of silly even mentioning that the 25 degree weather we had was COLD!

A Chinese Christmas with the Browns!

While you may be more familiar with Chinese New Year celebrations, this year Paul and I hosted the Brown family at our house for an early Chinese Christmas celebration on December 20th! Paul cooked up a tasty Chinese feast for 8 of us and I took charge of the table decor, shopping and gift wrapping for Spenser and Abbie--the things I do best, of course!! ;-) It was an American Girl Christmas for Abbie this year and I can't wait to see Abbie's doll, Kit, dressed up in all her new winter wear and snow accessories. Spenser will certainly have some fun lego creations for us to come over as view as well!!

Breakfast with Santa

Before Christmas we took Spenser and Abbie to the Wayzata Country Club for a Junior League Breakfast with Santa event! It was a fun morning of lots good food and pics with Santa. Catching up with the Bassi family and seeing sweet Bea and Grayson spiffed up in their holiday wear was a highlight. We always enjoy spending time with Spenser and Abbie and were happy to see several other good friends and their cute kiddos before the Christmas Holiday as well!!