Welcome Home Taylor

Sister Sleepover

This past Saturday night, David was out of town so I had myself a little sister sleepover at the apartment. My sisters Amanda, Madie, and Riley came over and we had ourselves a little party. We started the night out with delicious dinner (that Amanda only liked a little and Riley didn't like at all, but I sure did!), then we watched the Roger & Hammerstein's Cinderella, while muching on s'mores dip (I'll post the recipe later this week). The following morning I made cinnamon pancakes with cream cheese frosting and took a long walk around my neighborhood. It was so much fun and just what I needed!

Sammy also enjoyed the party!

Riley had never seen this version of Cinderella, and she loved dancing to the ballroom scene. It was adorable.

Even after a long night of rest, Madie was still a little sleepy the next day. ;)

Cinnamon pancakes! My favorite. Just add a teaspoon of cinnamon to this basic recipe.

Did you do anything fun this weekend?

Five Years

Yesterday David and I celebrated our five year anniversary. We've never really celebrated an anniversary before because it just seemed a little silly (they're dating anniversaries, not wedding anniversaries), but we figured that five years is pretty awesome and that we wanted to do something special together. I told David that he had to plan our day together on his own, so he chose for us to go bike riding in Ann Arbor, get some delicious lunch, and catch the movie Boyhood playing in downton Ann Arbor. By the time we were done with lunch though, we were getting a little sleepy and decided to skip the movie and go eat ice cream instead before heading home to watch Before Sunrise (which is the same director, so we figured it was like we didn't skip it at all).

I love love love bike riding, so I was really happy that David chose that. Actually, he gave me two options to choose from which were bike riding and canoeing. When I was really young though, I was in a canoeing mishap that has pretty much scarred me for life and I'm still getting over it. The funny thing is, that mishap was pretty minor, but I'm just an anxious mess and I'm still a little nervous when I go canoeing. Next time though! Biking was so much fun because it was absolutely gorgeous outside. I think we ended up biking about three miles or so, which isn't very long when you're biking at all.

After we were done with biking, we were both pretty hungry so we headed to this French restaurant downtown that my sister suggested called Cafe Felix. David ordered a club sandwich with an egg on it and I got myself a fried egg, bacon, and cheese sandwhich with a giant side of delicious fries. That sandwhich sounds really lame, but it was sooo delicious and perfectly seasoned! I woud love to go there one day for a fancy dinner!

After lunch, we had plans to head over to Royal Oak to catch a different screening of our movie (our original plan was to go to the theater in Ann Arbor, but David wanted to stop at Michigan's largest pro-discing shop, so we would have missed the time for that showing). By the time we got there though, we were both a little sleepy and so we just decided to go get a quick ice cream bite and head back home. We went to our favorite ice cream shop in Rochester called Oberweiss and then went home for naps before watching our movie that night.

Also, on a last note, let's just talk about how LUCKY I am that I get to stare at this face for the rest of my life! He is dang handsome, is he not? Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Did you do anything fun? xoxo

 

A Picnic in the Park

The other day, David and I packed up a picnic of roasted tomatoes, marinated mozzerella balls, bruschetini, and blood orange San Pelegrinos. It was absolutely perfect outside, so we spread out our sheet under a shaded tree and snacked away. For dessert we brought Brussels (their Pepperidge Farm cookies and they're delicious!). I brought a candle, but there was too much of a breeze for it to even stay lit. If you're going out on a picnic, remember some plates, silverware, and napkins because they definitely come in handy!

xoxo

happy valentine's day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! This is how I celebrated last year. Unfornately, I didn't have any time to make cards for all my loved ones, but I do have some candy to pass out! I love using Valentine's day as a day to show others how much you love them. As I mentioned before, David and I don't celebrate with one another because we use every day to celebrate our love together (I know, that's even more gross and ooey gooey than celebrating Valentine's Day). How do you guys celebrate VD? I'd love to know!

xoxo

Christmas

These are some of my favorite pictures from Christmas celebrations. The Sunday before we celebrated with my mom's side of the family. On Christmas Eve we headed over to my dad's for a quiet (NOT!) dinner, sibling gift trading, and a Christmas story reading by my dad. On the day of, we headed over to my dad's bright and early to open gifts with our younger sisters and my dad and step-mom. Afterward, I headed home to get ready, then David, my sister (she was pretty bored) and I headed out to see David's family for a few hours. We ended the night at my mom's house and the next day joined up with my dad's entire family (it's a big family!). All-in-all, it was a blast. I wish I could have spent more time with each person, but that's usually how the holidays go. I think I'm kind of glad they're over though and I can finally relax into our new place and enjoy things before classes start back up.

How was your Christmas?

xoxo

a new member to the clan

Yesterday we picked up a new member for our family. It was an early Christmas gift for my mama (and Newton). He doesn't have a name just yet, but we're thinking of Kepler, to keep with the famous scientist theme of our dog names (Newton). He fits right in so far, hopping on the couch and rolling over on his back to get belly rubs and cuddles. I even laid right on top of him, which is what I do to Newton, and he was definitely a-okay with that! I love him so much already!

xoxo

mom & daughter road trip

Last week my mom, Amanda, and I headed up to Traverse City to hang out with my grandmas, aunt, and cousins. I was invited to cook for them for a whole weekend and ohmygosh did I have fun! It was a blast to talk the whole time, getting to know my family more than I did before, and making food galore! It was beautiful weather and company and I couldn't have asked for a nicer getaway. I'll share the recipes I made soon (think: whole-wheat Greek yogurt pancakes, tomato & mozzerella panzenella, pumpkin waffles, and more!), in the meantime, here are some snapshots of the weekend.

xoxo

p.s. Almost all of these pictures were taken by my sister, Amanda. Which thank God for her cause otherwise I'd only have pictures of food (not that it's entirely a bad thing).

we went to the zoo

So, David and I took the kids I babysit to the zoo the other day. We didn't really pay attention to any of the animals though and mostly just admired these cute little ones that were with us. It was a blast! Neither of us can get over how awesome these two are and, yea, maybe it did give us baby fever because how can you not when you have such adorable, well-behaved, and sweet-hearted kids around you. Luca and Mia are such goofy little ones and I loved trying to snap photos of them (Luca kept trying to hide behind his sister and/or the wagon). I can't even talk about anything else except how much I love those two! I mean, c'mon, THOSE CHEEKS! haha.

xoxo

a glimpse of my birthday

This past Friday was my birthday and boy was it a good one!! I spent the day with David doing fun little things, like going shopping, eating ice cream for lunch, and walking around town after the rain had passed. After spending the day talking over dreams and years passed and years to come with him, we had to leave la-la land and pick up my younger sister from a soccer game. They then convinced me to go get ice cream again after dinner (and by convinced, I mean asked me once), but before we went we had to pick up my sister's things from her house. So off we went to my dad's home (which, by the way, both my dad and step-mom were out of town). As soon as we pulled up, I ran to the door because the rain had started up once again. Once my feet were in the door, I heard screams and yelps of, "SURPRISE!" Low and behold, Amanda and David had been scheming for weeks to throw me the one thing I have always wanted: a surprise birthday party! I was thrilled beyond words and I think my screetches of shock were more than enough to prove it. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me for the night, which was a real bummer, but I definitely have the memories to prove it.

All in all, it was a wonderful birthday. The one thing I love is being around my friends and family and that's exactly what I was given. After two days of parties with friends, I spent all of Saturday -- exhausted, yes -- with my parents, David's parents, and my grandparents. It was an awesome weekend and I know I won't ever forget all that love that was surrounding me the whole time.

xoxo

painting a bird house

Last weekend on a rainy day while I was watching Riley, we decided to paint a bird house. She had painted one at my home quite some time ago and since then has been determined to paint another with me. While she was painting I realized how much older she's gotten. I know it sounds crazy, but one day you're thinking, "oh my little sister is two-years-old," and in a blink of an eye you say, "my sister is turning five in July." Uhm, what!? Five?? She can't be yet! And yet there I was, admiring how skilled she's become at holding a paintbrush and how precise she is with the colors (although it may not look it!) Oh, and those feet! I remember when they were the size of my pinky! Oh, she's just getting too big too quickly. But no matter how big she is and how sore my arms are from carrying her, she will always be my little baby sister who says the most outrageous things you can imagine.

xoxo