Catching Up

I've been reminded that I haven't posted in quite a while, so here are a few things we've been up to to get you up to speed:

1. The Friday before Valentine's day Josh took me out to dinner at the Dakota downtown Minneapolis. We had a delicious gourmet dinner paired with wine and delectable desserts, not forgetting to mention the live jazz group featuring Connie Evingston!

2. Saturday, Josh and I babysat the cutest little boy for some friends who were going out for Valentine's Day and spending the night at a hotel. I was surprised with how well the little boy did without his parents there in the morning for the first time (he's 20 mos.). After he went to bed, Josh and I made a delicious steak dinner (generously prepared by the family) and watched Mama Mia! I didn't sleep very well that night as it was my first time babysitting a little one overnight. I kept waking up to check on him. Thankfully the parents had a camera monitor so I didn't have to get out of bed each time!

3. My best friend from college Shaghayegh invited me and some of her other friends and family over this last Friday night for a Persian dinner. It was the best home cooking I've had in a long time. Dinner was followed by tea and cheesecake with homemade whipped cream! I of course stayed pretty late, and by the time I left there were 5 inches of new snow on the ground! I drove Josh's car that day to work (the tires are completely bald), so I had a rough time getting home. I was so relieved to make it home in one piece without spending any time in a ditch.

4. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon at Kari's baby shower. We played all the typical games...guess the melted candy bar in a diaper, guess the baby food flavor, etc. I won (tied) the baby food game. All that time being a teacher in an infant room paid off! Kari was given a lot of nice things, and I think she really liked the booties I made for her baby (sorry I forgot to take a picture). We're all excited to find out if it's going to be a baby boy or girl! Kari's due towards the beginning of April.

5. Today I'm going to go work at the quilt shop and do some long-arming. It has been awhile, so I hope everything runs smoothly!

Ciao!

Women's Saturday Fellowship

I had a blast hosting our women's fellowship group a couple of weekends ago! I love to be the hostess with the mostess any time (dinner party anyone?), but it was especially nice to have a group of wonderful ladies over to share our lives, thoughts, Christian love... and breakfast! I hope I can spend more time with all of these sisters because I know I can learn a lot from them. I hope God will take this group to new heights and depths. This fellowship is something I've yearned for and know I need.

Congratulations Eric & Abby Sahnow!

Introducing the happy couple, Eric and Abby Sahnow! Eric and I got to know each other and became great friends in Architecture school. He's a wonderful guy and couldn't have proposed to a more amazing and beautiful girl. I loved Eric and Abby's wedding because it was so obvious how incredibly happy they were to become husband and wife, and you could tell the wedding was very meaningful and personal. I hope and pray they have a very blessed future!
Shaghayegh and I are also great friends from the good 'ole days at CALA. Shaghayegh, Eric, and I made a fun trio. We would study together, grab coffee together, and when possible spent time together outside of the University. Shaghayegh barely made it back from a long stay in Israel for Eric and Abby's wedding, but I'm so glad she did! It wouldn't have been the same without her!

Happy New Year!

Shane, Eli, and Ryan joined Josh and me at the Landmark Center in Saint Paul for New Years Eve this year. We decided we wanted to do something different and go to a big party. There were around 1200 people there! Vic Volare and his band filled the atrium with 40s & 50s music, and by 9pm the floor was packed with swing dancing! Not only was the music great for dancing, they also gave a short swing lesson and had dance performances by the Swing Cats.
Here we are for the toast just before the balloons dropped from the ceiling!
After sleeping in, we finally made brunch around 1pm. It was so nice to have a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and oj. Afterward we went for a nice long ski at Cleary Lake park in Prior Lake. It was such a beautiful day...30 degrees!

I made the guys make a stop on the way home at the Quilter's Haven. They were having a big sale on fabric, and I needed almost 7 yards for my next dress project. Stay tuned...

We went home to a hot pot of homemade chili and cornbread for dinner. My friend Corynn joined us for the grub and an intense game of Ticket to Ride.
So far I don't have any New Year's resolutions. I never seem to think of them other than during the first week of the year. Maybe I should make a resolution to finish all the sewing projects I currently have in progress!

New Dress

I finished this dress on NYE by 5:30pm. Just in time! It ended up fitting pretty well compared to some of the other dresses I've made. The only thing I had to alter after wearing it was the strap length. Here it is on the new dress form Josh's grandma bought me for Christmas!