Tea Party

This month my favorite person turned 50. My sisters and I took the day off and surprised my mom with a day out on the town. We started with tea at the Grand America and had the most wonderful afternoon. 

Love you Mom so glad you're mine.

Fourth Of July

 The fourth of July is up there when it comes to favorite holidays. Bar B Que, perfect weather, fireworks and my favorite people. I'm not sure it gets better. 

 My family picnicked at the eaglewood golf course with KFC (ha! 'merica) and watched a beautiful fireworks show. 

The next day we prepared the most delicious 4th of July spread! Mini pies, BBQ Coke ribs, grilled chicken corn, and a whole lot more. 

For the pies we made a chocolate cream, apple spice, peach crumble and strawberry. They were so fun to make and so, so cute. 

It was all crazy delicious! 

Of course as the sun went down we played with fireworks. 

(Maybe the 4th of July brings out the pyromaniac in me.) 

 

 Mom, sisters and sparklers

(sparklers have to be the best part of the holiday) 

It was a happy day. I am thankful for this country, and for our freedoms, and for the people that strive to preserve them. 

(These authentic reactions brought to you by our first aerial firework, haha classic)

The Kite Flying Picnic

A couple Sundays ago my cute family went on a kite flying picnic. We packed lunches (sandwiches on homemade focaccia...recipe to come!) and busted out two new kites. We found the perfect shady spot in the park and spent the afternoon enjoying each other. 

Even though the wind was less than impressive we got our kites up for a minute, mostly by running laps around the open field. 

It was an awesome afternoon spent with the people I love most. 

 

Weekend trip to California

 We returned home from our trip to California this afternoon. It was such a fun weekend spent with my family. We spent most of our time in Newport Beach exploring the sites and eating tasty food. We had breakfast one morning on the beach - it was wonderful. The beignets were my favorite!

 

 Later that day we rented beach cruisers and a big 4 man bike cart. It was mostly hilarious and only slightly dangerous. We had so much fun riding the boardwalk.

 

 

 

 We found the most adorable candy shop where we loaded up on salt water taffy, and gorged ourselves on random flavors (maple bacon taffy!?) of the chewy stuff for the remainder of the trip.

My cute mom and step dad Todd smiling on the beach.

We wandered around a cute seaside town,  and wished we never had to leave such a charming place.

 

 Spending a long weekend in California was just what the doctor ordered.
We're back to real life now - with a big week ahead of us, moving into a new apartment and participating in a cooking competition at school are two of the notable events coming up.
Really though I'd rather just go back to California.

My Mom

Today is my moms birthday. The mom who refers to me as min, short for mindells. The mom who can french braid so tight it makes your eyes go squinty. That same mom who always knows the right thing to say and still likes to hold my hand when we go to the movies. The one that raised me and dealt with me through high school and other tumultuous times and miraculously still loves me. My favorite shopping companion. My favorite cooking companion. She's my mom. I am thankful for the woman that she is. I am thankful for her goodness and her example. I am thankful for her sugar cookies. Thanks for being mine, mom.

Happy birthday.

I love you.

 

 

Photo from earlier this year in DC with momma