rebirth

i'm not sure i can fully express just how much i love going to the conservatory. perhaps it's the time of year or just a need to rejuvenate, but i love how being amongst beautiful, healthy, thriving plants really makes me feel alive. i went to the lincoln park conservatory the other day to spend time with myself, celebrate my birthday and to think about the year ahead. the walk through the neighborhood is equally enchanting. i love the variety and character of the old architecture...

miss alyssa goes to college!

on our way up to door county last weekend, we stopped in de pere, wisconsin to see my beautiful niece, alyssa, who just started her first year at st. norbert's college. it's hard to believe she's all grown up and a green bay packers cheerleader! she is an amazing person and i'm happy to see her so happy! click to see larger:

Grandma's Famous Nut Cake!

It is famous and it is good: my Grandma's nut cake, that is. I thought it would be fun to photograph my sweet Grandma while making her famous nut cake. It is one of her signature recipes and was given to her by her sister, Babe. So, on a lovely Fall afternoon, my Mom, Grandma and I all rolled up our sleeves and got messy. They were both shocked to hear I didn't have an electric mixer! This whole time I pictured my hearty, German Grandma to be stirring the batter by hand the way they used to in the "olden days"; guess I've got to get with the times! Anyway, it was a great way to spend an afternoon and an even better way to enjoy a cup of coffee...click to see larger.

fall: i love you!

i've decided that instead of being sad that summer has come and gone, i would embrace fall and i actually realized yesterday that i love fall! what have i been thinking all these years? it is crisp, warm, sunny and the beautiful blue sky is filled with puffy, white clouds. what's not to like? to make things even better, we went to the portage park farmer's market this afternoon and got some lovely mums and ornamental cabbage for the front porch, along with some delicious honey crisp apples. i am slowly harvesting the rest of my tomatoes and bringing them indoors to ripen; we'll see what happens!

gwen & cara : makeup

we had so much fun at nordstrom the morning of the wedding.
click to see larger images of these two beauties!

gwen getting ready

as if getting married and planning a wedding wasn't stressful enough, ms. gwen also designed and made her wedding dress. how amazing is she?!

the ceremony

this was such a sweet ceremony with lots of fun and touching moments. i was at the bar getting a cocktail as gwen was walking
down the aisle. now, that's a fun wedding! click to see larger.

friends, cake & dancing!

need i say more? click to view larger.

95 years young!

at long last, photos from my uncle andrew's 95th birthday. i decided to bake him a pie, since A. it's old school and B. i have a ton of rhubarb growing in my yard, so why not, right? we spent many hours together talking about his time in the war, looking through old photos and i even learned that he speaks Croatian. who knew? now i ask you, does this look like the face of a 95 year old man? he even mowed the lawn that day and used a serious power saw. you go!