Weekend Goodness - Northwoods Edition

This weekend Dan, most of his siblings and their significant others, and his mom (plus a handful of dogs) went to their family cabin in Lac du Flambeau. As usual, the weekend there went by way too fast.

This is Festus. 

Nella LOVES the lake. She could swim all day (and did)! Maggie likes to swim a little and then hang out on the dock, like me :)

Bloody Mary's, Swimsuits, and Sun 

The most delicious fudge. 

"We have some lonely minnows- will you please take them fishing"

• Haha- a sign at a bait shop on the way to Flambeau

Dan hasn't been sleeping well lately. . .

Dan hasn't been sleeping well lately. . .


partly because of me. I've had a hard time falling asleep for the past few days, but only because I've gotten used to staying up late and now I need to go to bed earlier for summer school. That's not the problem though.


A few nights ago, in the middle of the night, Dan woke up to me kicking him. In the legs. Multiple times. According to him, I was huffing and puffing and thrashing around- like I was super uncomfortable. He rubbed my back until I calmed back down- in my sleep. Usually if I'm uncomfortable in my sleep, I wake up and know I'm being wiggly. Or if I'm having a weird dream I remember it. I woke up pretty much refreshed and had no idea that this happened until Dan told me that night.

The next night, I fell asleep a little easier, but still not as early as I would have liked. I woke Dan up in the middle of the night again. This time, Dan woke up to me leaning over him. He said my face was pretty close to his and I said, "Hey. Dan. Hey." Like I was trying to get his attention. He kind of woke up when I said that but really woke up with I slapped his cheek. Yep. I slapped his cheek. (It wasn't super hard, but it happened!). I apologized and rolled over- sound asleep. Again, I woke up pretty refreshed and had no idea that it happened until Dan told me later.



Then it was Dan's turn-

We were watching a movie a couple nights ago and Dan fell asleep on the couch. After the movie, I tried to wake him up to tell him to go to bed. I was speaking gently and trying to get him to wake up but he wouldn't move. So I talked louder. He still slept. I jiggled him a little bit and he still didn't budge. I told him to wake up- pretty loud- and jiggled him- pretty hard -and finally he said "Nora" in a grouchy voice. I told him he should go to bed and she said, "Nora. You don't need another government." What? "You don't need another government." and then he got up, walked to the bathroom, and started to get ready for bed. Once he was done brushing his teeth (obviously very sleepily) he walked back into the living room, picked up a box of thank you notes, and started bringing it into our bedroom. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "I'm just bringing in the one for us." Ok- I'll take that and put them away. Go to bed. (He finally did)


We'll see how tonight goes :)

Weekend Goodness

salmon. cream cheese. onion bagel. mmmm.

Chrysanthemum discovered windows- and loves them. Or at least she loves jumping up to them :) 

Dan made pancakes for brunch. 

I made the bloody mary- with lots of snack, of course. 

Dan and I went to Firkenfest with some friends.

I was the designated driver (because I despise beer), so I enjoyed a cupcake (or two). 

Firkenfest-ers: Dan, Nora, Keith, and Alex

Keith and I took a break on a playground- there was a lot of sunshine, walking, and beer happening. 

We spent Sunday afternoon/evening at a family friends' house for a "visit their daughter who is home from Taiwan party". Someone gave her a bottle of Patron. . . some of us had a shot of it. 

And now that it's getting late, I need to get ready for school tomorrow and go to bed!

Two Pinterest Ideas in One Summer Salad

I was searching through Pinterest to find dinner ideas- I didn't find anything I wanted to make tonight, but I did find a way to cut little tomatoes and a way to shuck corn that inspired my dinner!

This salad includes:
My new favorite type of lettuce- boston butter
romaine lettuce
tomatoes
avocado
feta cheese
sweet corn
bacon bits
dressing (lime juice from one lime, 1and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, a little salt and pepper)

So here is the tomato trick I found: 

Put tomatoes on some sort of flat surface- one with a small lip would work even better than the cutting board I used. 

Put something flat on top of the tomatoes. Press down slightly on the top so they don't roll around and slice through the middle of them with a sharp knife. 

Voila!
This is way fast and easier cutting each individual tomato. 

Trick #2: 

This one did not work for me but I'm pretty sure I did something wrong (or maybe someone on Pinterest is trying to trick a bunch of people!) I'll try it again next time I get some corn! 

So what is supposed to happen is you cut off the bottom of the corn, put the intact part in the microwave and cook it for a few minutes. The hold the top part the corn should slide out and leave the silks inside. It didn't work that way for me and I had to peel the silks off as usual. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough. . . 

Mmmmmm!!

Weekend Goodness

What a snuggly little baby! 

I promise there is actually some frozen yogurt in there :) 

I went out with some friends on Friday night- we ended up getting a free bottle of vodka! 

They are so happy to go anywhere in the car :) 

My new favorite treat. 

Dad's hurling game. 

It was such a nice weekend! 

Tomorrow I start summer school!

French Toast

I'm a huge fan of breakfast foods. I could (and sometimes do) eat them for every meal. 

Today I made french toast for dinner. 

I think my recipe is delicious. I start by not preheating the oven. Did you know cooking bacon in the oven makes it oh-so-crispy? It's my favorite way to cook bacon. So, I put the bacon on a piece of foil on a pan, fold up the 4 edges of the foil a little (it makes clean up easier), and put the pan into my non-preheated oven. Then I turn the oven on to 350. As the bacon starts to get perfectly crispy, I start my french toast. 

For 2-3 people: I mix 5 eggs and slightly less than 1/4 C. of milk or, if I have it, whipping cream. 

I add 1 or 2 tsp of vanilla, depending on how vanilla-y I want it to taste. 

I mix in a little less than a 1/4 C. of sugar. 

Then I slice up the french bread into 1 inch thick slices. I think I used 9 slices this time. 

Soak the slices in the mixture and flip occasionally so that the egg mixture soaks all the way through. 

As the slices soak, heat up pan to slightly cook the french toast. Cook the toast just enough to seal in the egg mixture- they should barely brown it on each side. Put these slightly cooked french toasts on a pan and put it in the oven to finish cooking. 

Usually when I make bacon and french toast this way, it ends up that the bacon and french toast are done at the same time -perfect! 

Here's how I topped my toast tonight :) 

Coconut whipped cream with crushed banana chips

Whipped cream with cherries

Butter, crumbled bacon, and maple syrup (my favorite)

Meet Chrysanthemum

Remember how my  mom found some kittens? Well she needed to find homes for them and said Dan and I could have one if we wanted. Dan has wanted a cat for a while, so we took this little baby home.

She was a little unsure about her new home for about, oh. . . 5 minutes. 

And then she saw all her cool new toys. 

Besides pouncing on toys, her new favorite thing to do is run as fast as she can in circles around/behind the couch. It's adorable. Watching kittens play is kind of therapeutic. 

Chrysanthemum got to meet Maggie and Nella today. The dogs reacted as expected: Maggie sniffed her and then wasn't interested anymore. She was more curious about why we were petting something other than her. Nella was super excited and acted like we got her a good treat. She kept sitting so nicely, like if she did a really good job we would give her the kitten. Once she realized that Chrysanthemum was a real animal, she just wanted to lick her and smell her again and again. 

Chrysanthemum was a little unsure about the whole thing. At one point, she felt a little brave and crawled out of Dan's lap.

 The braveness didn't last long. I took her back into the extra room (where she's going to live until she gets a little older) and had a play sesh before she decided to take a nap :) 

Weekend Goodness: Cincinnati Edition

Before I went to Cincinnati, my sisters and I got tattoos! This was way out of my comfort zone, but I'm glad I did it. 

Our tattoos say "dance hall dolls"- it's something my Gramma used to say to us- and we got them done in her handwriting. 

 Dan and I (and his mom) went to Cincinnati for the weekend to visit Dan's sister, her husband, and their adorable puppy. It was a fun weekend trip!

Can you find the puppy?
This is Oliver and he looks like a stuffed animal- he is just so cute!

 We got there mid afternoon on Friday. We played with Oliver, got dinner at a really good Mexican restaurant called Nada, and hung out on Friday night.



We had a busy day on Saturday:

We went to a really cool market that I wish was less than 6 hours away. 

We visited the second tallest building there and got to go way up to the top- the view was pretty cool. 

Hey Kentucky! 

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We went to a Brewers vs. Reds game! 

And before I knew it, it was Sunday and it was time to drive back to Milwaukee. The weekend went by SO fast!

Independence Day

Independence day is definitely one of my top favorite holidays. It includes almost all of the best components a holiday should be made of. 

1. Anticipation: 

In Menomonee Falls, if you want a spot for more than 4 people, you need to "camp out" the day before to stake your territory. I feel a little crazy when I do it each year, but it secretly is fun :) Some people actually camp out- they bring campers and park by their spot and stay their over night. My family lives near by, so we drive by and when it starts to get a tiny bit busy, we sit by our spot. This year, my mom started spot-saving at 2:30 (earliest ever), a family friend joined at 3:00, I came over around 3:30, and another family friend got their a little after 4:00. You need to stay by your spot until 7:00 pm. 

At 7:00 pm, this happens: 

People rush across the road to the median, so they can set up their spots. You can't put anything on the grass until 7:00 and then leave it over night. We always you a patriotic shark to mark our spot.




2. Family and friends:
My siblings come home, family friends get together, and I love it!

This is only part of the group.

My brother, Sean, and I. 

3. The America-Off

Our fourth of July group started a tradition of having a competition to see who could be "most American". That was the theme we followed last year, and it was a little to broad. This year, we picked a more specific theme (still under the category of most American): The Amendments. We dress up and then anyone who dresses up with us gets to vote for a winner. This year, my sister Molly won. She was the amendment that says no cruel and unusual punishments allowed. 

4. The Parade:

I love parades.  

Meagan and I are dreaming about when we can be part of the dancing grannies :) 

5. Fireworks:
I also love these.

 6. Treats:
My dad makes "Chicken with the 4th of July sauce" which is pretty much just grilled chicken with this garlicy-curry-mayonaise sauce and  red, white, and blue trifle. It's a tradition and they are both oh so delicious!

This picture is old- Dan and I went to Alaska for a summer a few years ago and of course I had to make trifle while we were there! 

I hope you had a good Independence day!