Thanksgiving 2018

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are grateful that Emily and Matt hosted Thanksgiving this year!  Emily is an excellent cook, and made the entire feast:  turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, glazed brussel sprouts, crescent rolls, charcuterie platter, and pumpkin cheesecake bars!  All I had to bring was an apple pie. 

This retro picture (c.1980) is my wonderful father-in-law, Don Hudson. Don't you love those '70s touches in the background? Orange coffee pot, green can opener, copper canisters? Don has been gone over 30 years, but his good looks live on in my husband.

We had fun recreating the old photo above.  Different time, different kitchen, but you can tell it's not 1980 anymore!  Insider note - after staging the photo, I stepped in and carved the turkey! We had lots of fun with food, babies, and football, of course!

More catch-up - Emily and Matt's baby shower, Ella's Tulip Garden quilt

We hosted a baby shower for our daughter, Emily, and her husband, Matt back in January.  We had fun decorating the house with some special family mementos, and fun shower decorations like the flag bunting. 

The quilt on the wall was made by my grandmother for my parents' wedding in 1944.  I thought the colors suited the baby shower theme.  The high chair in the background was used by me, my mom, and my grandmother!

Cutest cake ever!  Not only cute, but delish! White cake with lemon filling, and buttercream icing. (from Kirsten's Danish Bakery)

These are antique baby clothes I have. The beige one in the center was my mom's, so that dress is 100 years old! The picture in the foreground shows my mom wearing the dress. 

My lovely daughters!  Emily, Hannah, and Genevieve.  My heart is so full!

Mom and daughter.

Ella's Tulips - I had lots of fun making this.  

It looks so cute in their nursery!

Beautifully machine quilted by Sue Pawlowski.  

Baby Ella!  Born February 12, 2018. 

Ella and granddad sharing stories.  I have a feeling they will be great friends. :)

Hannah and Danny's Engagement Party!

We hosted a small engagement party for Hannah and Danny last night, and it was just so much fun! They are a perfect match, they have so much fun together, and their love just shines through, doesn't it?

Just before we cut the amazing cake, which I had made especially for Danny and his love of golf. Cake created at Kirsten's Danish Bakery in Burr Ridge, IL. 

It was delicious, too!  Yellow cake with chocolate mousse filling, and buttercream icing. Yummy!

Our special guests were my brother and sister-in-law, Chuck and Jean, from Burke, VA, who just happened to be travelling through town the same weekend as the party!

Scott and I with Hannah.  Love her new dress! 

Group shot (and my finger, too, I guess - oops!), featuring Hannah's friend, Katie, our daughter, Genevieve, her bf Dave, Emily's husband, Matt, and our daughter, Emily. It seems that Dave and Matt became best friends last night after sitting together!

Nice smiles from Emily and Matt!  You can see  everyone having a good time, which I love.  We decorated with sunflowers, Hannah's favorite.

My wonderful husband, Scott - the party happened to be on our 39th wedding anniversary!

The guests of honor! Their wedding in May of 2018 will be here before you know it!

Couple more finishes for 2017

"Oh My Stars" for a special baby-to-be! My daughter's sister-in-law, Erica, expecting their first, a little boy, has planned an adorable aviation themed nursery, with navy, gray, white, and gold scheme.  I had lots of fun with this!  Did NOT turn out as planned, but better!

After searching locally, I found this cute border fabric on etsy, and the quilt was planned around it.  Simple blue stars (mimicking propellers?), set off by smaller stars, centered with compass points. 

Love this little touch of yellow, and the two different gray/white prints in the background. Quilted flawlessly by Sue Pawlowski.

Soft and snuggly for the little boy! 

Fun at Erica's baby shower!  L-R, daughter Genevieve (due in December), daughter Emily (due in February), Erica, me, and daughter Hannah (getting married in May. Needless to say, I have lots of quilts to make!!!

"Eleanor's 4-Patch" for a dear friend of the family's second born, little Eleanor.  I was unsure of her color scheme, so I used some soft baby quilt fabrics from my stash, with splashes of lime green, my favorite, and a wide white border. Simple quilting finished this quilt in a hurry!

Gratuitous puppy shot! Our dog, Buddy, loves to pose. 

Quilt on my antique baby rocker, which held me, my mom, and my grandma!

Cute baby Eleanor, with her equally cute mom, Cara.  Irrestible!

Mother's Day and Blogger Woes

Wow I have no idea why my banner looks so strange all of a sudden.  If anyone could enlighten me on this, I would be so grateful! Now read on as I gush about my lovely family. :)

Happy Mother's Day! Darling daughters:  Genevieve, Hannah, and Emily, and happy Mom (me)! It has been MANY years since we were all together on Mother's Day.  Oh happy day!

All gathered around the table - my preference over brunch in a restaurant at $40 each! My daughters can all cook, too!  Scott, Hannah, her fiance Danny (they just secured their wedding venue for next year!), Genevieve's boyfriend, Dave.

Scott and Hannah.  

Danny, Dave, Genevieve, Matt, and Emily.  It's a special Mother's Day for all of us because Matt and Emily just moved back to our area (Illinois) from Texas! 

There was a theme to this year's gifts:  the pool! I have a goal of going to the pool weekly this summer.  Tote bag and cool shades...

...nice big towel, plastic zippered pouch for essentials, shades again...

...coverup (maxi dress), bling-y sandals...

...best gift of all, a lovely dinner at home surrounded by my loved ones.

Now if someone could help me figure out the changes they have made to blogger! I used to know how to use it, really I did!  But now I can't figure out how to make my banner look awesome like everyone else's....plus it takes me forever to make each post, probably why I don't post very often.  Oh well, I know it's not a big deal, but sometimes it's the little things that can be the most frustrating!

I hope that all of you had a lovely Mother's Day! 

Coming home!

Three years ago, Emily and Matt took off for Austin, Texas.  They have had a new opportunity come up for Matt, and they are moving back to the Chicago area, as of today!
The trip to Texas was the two of them, plus Emily's dog, Cohen.  They have since bought a house (on the market soon), got married, and got another dog for Matt, Vinny the boxer. I hope that the looooong drive today and tomorrow goes well for them!

Emily and Matt at a recent event in Austin. Love those two!

Nice photo of Cohen (beagle mix). I've missed him!

Vinny!

Birthday Fun!

Well I made it another year, and had a great birthday! New Year's Day is my birthday.  It's a great day to celebrate, and I also do some reflection, that's for sure.  Thinking back over the past year, and thinking ahead - thinking about what I want to accomplish in 2017. 

The girls made my birthday dinner, but I didn't want people slaving in the kitchen all day, so I said a store-bought cake was fine.  And trust me, this was MORE than fine!  It was "thanks for the extra five pounds" fine.  Yum!

We also had a nice girls' brunch the day before - first brunch, then mani-pedi's! Lovely daughters Emily and Genevieve.  It's always extra special when Emily is in town from Texas. :) 

Third lovely daughter Hannah and myself. 

More birthday fun! My awesome sister-in-law, Jean, sent me a CASE of Sofia sparkling wine!!! It comes in little cans, COMPLETE WITH A LITTLE STRAW!  It makes the perfect little pick-me-up after a long day of work and teaching.  Jean knows what I like!

This is random, but had to take a picture at Target.  These throw pillows are EXACT COPIES of some pillows we got as wedding gifts in 1978! Except ours were large, FLOOR pillows!  Super groovy, very '70's.


One more thing - I recommend you check out my cousin's new blog:
THE GOOD LIFE IN WISCONSIN - adventures of a city girl gone country. You can find it here.   Julie is on a new adventure, living with her dad and her son, on the family farm.  Julie is a poet, and an adventurer, and her charming style comes through her prose.