March 2014 - Chris and Karla's Wedding

My cousin Chris married Karla at the Wabasha Street Caves in St. Paul on March 7th, 2014.  My grandpa walked Karla down the aisle.  The wedding had a 1920's/casino theme and if you were so inclined, you could dress up for the era, which most people seemed to do.  Dinner was catered by Cossetta's and you could go on tours of the caves, which M and I had done once before.  Wedding favors on the tables were bags of old-time candy from that era, including wax lips and mustaches.

We all danced and had fun and the music selection was awesome. It was one of the best weddings I've ever been to.  Congratulations Chris and Karla!

It's fake- Oh the lips?  They're real.

Last Weekend

Last Saturday, M and I went to a wedding for one of his friends.  It was in the Washington County Library/YMCA/Central Park building in Woodbury.  The wedding was on the lower level and above was the normal hustle and bustle of the library people coming and going.  It was...different.  We didn't participate in the reception at Carmine's afterwards.  Congratulations to Bob and Jennifer.  The rest of the day was reserved for football.  In case you missed it, the 49ers beat the Packers. :)

I got up Sunday and went shopping with my mom.  I'm surprised how late things open on Sunday.  Most things seem to open at 10, 11 or even noon!  We started at Kohl's and bought up tons of clearance stuff.  We both did pretty well there.  Next stop was Rosedale Mall and Sephora.  I had to cash in my perfume  voucher and pick up my complimentary birthday gift.

Then on to JC Penney.  We had $15 reward certificates that M and I both received for our birthday but he gave it to my mom so we bought some jewelry, each only spending $2-5 out of pocket.  I bought a marcasite necklace and crystal earrings.

Next stop was Kirkland's, where my mom got a bunch for a little thanks to a gift card., then lunch, Home Goods and finally Marshall's.  I bought a tray at Home Goods.  It's my favorite color orange and I love it.  I'm not sure what I'll use it for but I'll find a use soon.  

I got home with enough time to catch most of the NE/Houston game (boring) and then watch a bit of the Golden Globes before tuning into Downton Abbey and then off to bed to start another work week.

Two Occasions

Last Saturday M and I were in a wedding for our friend's Greg and Anna.  I have some pictures of the wedding but I'm waiting to get some of the other pictures and I'll share them at a later date.  After the wedding, we went to the cemetery to see M's sister Cherrie.  Saturday, August 6th marked the 3rd anniversary of her death.  On our way out of the cemetery, we saw the cutest deer! 

Congratulations Greg and Anna!  

We miss you Cherrie!

Bridal Shower

On Saturday afternoon, I went to a bridal shower for my friend Brenna.  Of course I wanted to go to the shower because Brenna is a good friend of mine but I also wanted to go because the shower was going to be held at her matron of honor's parent's house in Bearpath in Eden Prairie.  If you don't know what Bearpath is, it's a housing development that is in a gated community with some properties on a private golf course.  Just to get into Bearpath, I had to stop at the gatehouse and tell the guard I was there for a bridal shower at a specific address and then he asked my name and saw I was on the list and then I was able to proceed into the community.  Fancy!  The whole community was definitely private with walls and trees blocking the outside.  I guess I was expecting to see crazy-huge mansions but from what I saw, there wasn't anything like that.  The houses were definitely nice but they were all so close together to each other and all sort of looked the same.  I looked up some houses in Bearpath and they range anywhere from $500,000 to $3 million+.  I do know that there have been multiple MN Vikings that have lived in there though. There is one awesome house I did find while researching.  You HAVE to check it out and look at all 62 pictures of the interior and 25 pictures of the exterior. They even have a basketball court in their house.  http://www.flashprofiles.com/6/18286-Nicklaus/index.htm

Anyways, on to the shower.  We started with a light lunch and then started with the games.  I'm not a big fan of any bridal or baby shower games but these were fun.  One of the games we played was called Celebrity Husband.  Before we came to the shower, we emailed Brenna's sister a picture of ourselves as well as who our celebrity husband would be.  At the shower was a board full of all the guys we picked and Brenna had to match our pictures to the guys we chose.  I think there were around 15 or so people there and she did get a few correct right away.  It wasn't until the very last couple was she able to correctly place my hubby.  Who'd I pick?  Sexiest Man Alive, Ryan Reynolds. No for real, he was sexiest man alive in People. Each one of us picked a different guy and there was only one duplicate for all us girls...yes, Ryan Reynolds.  He was also Brenna's sister's choice too.

The games: 

Brenna then opened her presents and she received a lot of really nice things, most which came from Bed, Bath and Beyond and it was quite obvious as they gift wrap for you so everything looked the same.  

A very emotional gift--A something borrowed/something old gift that was her grandmother's and her mom's

We then ate cake from Buttercream, which was ultra delicious.  It was a chocolate mousse cake and so rich.  Well, take a look for yourself.  Thanks to Brenna's sister Amber for the majority of these pictures. 

Brenna and her sisters Emily and Amber

Brenna and her Matron of Honor, Julianna

Crazy eyes Dana, Brenna and our friend Nicole  

   

Beth and Sean's Wedding

On Friday, M and I went to the reception of our friends' Beth and Sean.  Sean has been a friend of M's cousin Johnny for over 20 years but we met both Beth and Sean on the Cherry Ride two years ago.  Sean is a huge part of the ride each year as he helps with the flow of traffic and safety for all our bikes.  They've also come to the Cherrie Jones Tailgate Party we have each year and bring fabulous food and drink.

They got married earlier in the day on Friday and we went to their reception at a local bar in St. Paul later that evening.  Despite getting married on April Fool's Day, it was no joke.  Sean proposed to Beth two years ago on April Fool's Day (wouldn't you wonder if he was joking?  Not a funny joke for a girl!) so it was important to them to get married on that day.  They are such a nice, caring couple and they deserve nothing but the best.  It was a busy night for them so we didn't have a chance to take a picture with both of them together. Congratulations Beth and Sean!

Ummm....backwards "N" and ampersand?  At least they got the names right.  A few days before, they put "Stan & Beth" in error! 

Harley Davidson Barbies