August 29th, 2010

Two years ago today this man got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. I cannot believe that that day was two years ago already! Time sure does fly when you're having fun. So much has changed since that day (including my last name), it has been quite the adventure. Andrew and I have learned so much about ourselves and each other in these last two years. I feel so blessed to have my best friend as my life partner. I can't wait to see where God takes us and what he has in store for our future. I love you Drew!

Sebastian Joe's

The other day Andrew and I were able to have a double date with some newly married friends (Cody and Sarah) at one of the ice cream places on my list, Sebastian Joe's. I had already been to Sebastian Joe's, but it's not official until I document it and compare it within the same time frame as the other places. (The night Andrew proposed to me, almost two years ago now, after I had excitedly said yes, he told me the night was not over because we needed to get dessert still. When we pulled up to Sebastian Joe's to park, I saw a big group of our friends and family sitting outside awaiting our arrival. He planned a surprise engagement party for me where we could get ICE CREAM! Love that!)

Anyways, even though the weather wasn't exactly hot the other day, I can always go for ice cream. We met Cody and Sarah at the Sebastian Joe's location in Linden Hills instead of the one on Nicollet Ave so there weren't quite as many flavors to choose from, but the experience was just as good! Sebastian Joe's has been offering homemade ice cream for almost three decades. The one on Nicollet Avenue offers at least 22 different flavors where the one in Linden Hills has 12 flavors to choose from. The flavors can change hourly depending on how popular they are and how fast they go. Sebastian Joe's is known for it's uniquely named ice cream flavors, so samples are welcomed if you're not quite sure what the flavor is. Some of their popular flavors include Raspberry Chocolate Chip, Oreo, Pavarotti (a combination of banana, caramel and chocolate chips), and the aptly named Nicollet Avenue Pot Hole (chocolate ice cream blended with fudge, truffles, heath bars, and sea salt). Among their many flavors of homemade ice creams and sorbets, they home-make their waffle cones as well. You can't go wrong trying one of their dipped cones in flavors like coconut, almond, Butterfinger, Heath Bar, chocolate, and one of their most popular: chocolate with sprinkles. Some other tasty treats they offer include: ice cream sandwiches, Oreo and Turtle ice cream pies, and Brr Bars (Oreo ice cream dipped in Swiss chocolate).

I tried their Oreo ice cream in a sugar cone - one of their best selling flavors. Sarah tried the Coconut Cream Pie flavor, and Cody got a pint of the Raspberry Chocolate Chip - another best seller. Andrew decided to just have water for the night. He didn't feel like having an ice cream cone in sweatshirt weather. I thought my choice of the Oreo ice cream was fantastic! It really hit the spot. I have never had Oreo ice cream as good as what Sebastian Joe's has to offer. Sarah loved her Coconut Cream Pie cone, and Cody thought the Raspberry Chocolate Chip was good as well. He almost ate the whole pint… Sarah helped him with the last few bites. Once we were done enjoying our yummy treats, we continued conversation while playing a friendly competitive game of cards. Cody and Sarah taught us a game called three up, three down. It was really fun! Sarah and I could not beat the boys though! We'll have to have a re-match very soon! Thanks for sharing a wonderful evening with us guys!

My Oreo ice cream cone

Me and Sarah enjoying our cones

Playing three up, three down

So far I'd have to say that Sebastian Joe's is in first place over Conny's Creamy Cone (read about that here) and HomeTown Creamery (read about that here) in their ice cream and in their relaxing atmosphere. I'd definitely recommend Sebastian Joe's to anyone who has not yet tried it!

1. Adele's Frozen Custard in Excelsior

2. Conny's Creamy Cone in St. Paul

3. Edina Creamery in Edina

4. Grand Ole Creamery in St. Paul

5. HomeTown Creamery in North St. Paul

6. Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul

7. Pumphouse Creamery in Minneapolis

8. Sebastian Joe's in Minneapolis

9. Crema Cafe in Minneapolis

A Road Trip to Illinois

This past weekend we had the privilege to road trip down to Peoria, Illinois to see some good friends and celebrate the marriage of Tyler and Breanna! On Friday morning at 5:45am, I packed up the last of my cold medicines (my cold was still lingering a bit) and our friend TJ picked Andrew and me up outside our apartment building. We were on the road by 6am sharp. After taking a minor wrong turn and ending up in White Bear going West instead of going East, we were on our way headed in the right direction. I was able to sleep a lot on the way there which was nice to catch up on my sleep after not sleeping much from having my cold. The trip was about an eight hour journey, but it felt like it breezed by. Before I knew it we were pulling into Normal, Illinois where we would stay with our good friend Noah (who moved there after graduating college) and a handful of other friends who had made the eight hour journey.

A few hours after arriving we were on the road again to Peoria, Illinois for the Hetland wedding. The wedding was held at Kickapoo Winery, and it was one of the most beautiful locations I've seen for a wedding. The ceremony was held in an open air barn and they could not have been blessed with any better weather. It was sunny, yet it wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze blowing through the barn. The vineyard was just to the left of the barn so you could look out and see all the vines. It was gorgeous. What a perfect place to exchange vows and proclaim your love for each other.

My handsome date

Ladies, meet TJ.

A beautiful sunset… One of my favorite things!

We failed at getting the Sunset in the background

The dinner and dance were held inside the Kickapoo Winery building. They had a perfect sized ballroom for dinner and dancing. After a fabulous dinner and a yummy cupcake dessert, we danced the night away and entertained ourselves with the photo booth (Yes, there was a photo booth! And yes, I took multiple pictures… again!). The DJ for the dance was fantastic playing just the right music at the right time with a lot of upbeat tunes, but still a few slow songs thrown in there. By the time we made it back to Noah's that night we were all exhausted.

My handsome date and I trying out the photo booth props

Noah and Andrew

Noah, Andrew, TJ

I found a dead chicken

Me and Sarah with Andrew creeping in the background.

Me, Sarah, and Gaby

Me, Sarah, Bobbo, and Gaby

Andrew acting like a clown

Bre and Tyler decided to have a photo booth at their wedding instead of a guest book. The idea was for everyone to take a photo or two (or four in my case) to document in a fun way that you were at the wedding. 

Andrew and Me

Photo courtesy of The Guest Booth

Sarah, me and Gaby

Our message to the bride 

Photo courtesy of The Guest Booth

Back Row L-R: Andrew, TJ, Cody, Gaby, Bobbo, Noah

Front Row L-R: Me, Wade, Sarah, 

Bottom Two: Schuey and Kent

Photo courtesy of The Guest Booth

Boys in Back: Schuey, Tyler, Wade, Noah

Girls: Me and Sarah

Photo courtesy of The Guest Booth

Back Row L-R: Wade, Cody, Andrew, Bobbo, Cody, Schuey

Front Row L-R: TJ and Noah

Photo courtesy of The Guest Booth

The next day we slept in a bit before packing everything up to head home.  On our way home we stopped in Peoria, Illinois (where Bre, the bride, grew up) and enjoyed some yummy food, pool volleyball, bags, and gigantic blow-up bouncy castle. What a fantastic way to end the road trip. I wished we could have stayed one more night and just hung out with everyone, but we were thankful we were even able to go. On the way home I basically read the entire way. I had brought a really good book and got completely sucked in. It helped the eight hour drive home go by fast! We saw an interesting car on the way home too…

Bre and Tyler thank you so much for allowing us to share your special day with you! You two have a beautiful story that I can't wait to see play out year after year! We're praying for many blessings on your new marriage. May you always keep Christ the center. 

This was our ninth wedding this summer… three more to go!

Photo Booth Fun

My husband and I recently attended a wedding that had a photo booth for guests to use while waiting for dinner and the dance at the reception. I had never been to a wedding before that provided a photo booth and I thought it was fantastic. The photo booth had an assortment of different props that we could use to make the photos more fun. I could not get enough of it! Luckily Andrew was willing to tag along in my fun. I think we used it five or six different times that night! Here are some fun shots from the evening:

Definitely a fun thing to have at a wedding! I've been kind of absent in my posting lately. I'm getting over what the doctors called a "glorified cold". I got it from the cute little boy I nanny. Little did I know this was a killer cold. I was sick for two weeks and it's still lingering a bit. After 3 1/2 boxes of kleenexes, a week sleeping trying to sleep on the couch (because I had to prop myself up), a lot of coughing, and a visit to the doctor where they made me wear a mask, I'm thankful that I'm now feeling better and I was able to go to our friends' wedding in Illinois (more to come on that later). 

All the kleenexes I used in just an hour… no fun.

A very attractive look sitting in a waiting room full of people. They look at you like you have a terrible disease.

I hope you all have been enjoying your last couple weeks of summer!

Conny's Creamy Cone

I can officially cross Conny's Creamy Cone off my list of ice cream places to visit this summer.  (I have a list of ice cream places I want to visit. I wrote about that here.) I was able to visit there the other day with Andrew, a good friend, Laura and her baby, Audrey. We had gone to the Como Zoo and realized it was a lot hotter than we thought that day. Conny's Creamy Cone happens to be located right by Como Zoo so why not get some ice cream? I tried a snickers flurry with a touch of hot fudge and it was pretty dang good. A flurry is basically like a blizzard from DQ. I thought the flurry was way better than a DQ blizzard, but it wasn't my favorite ice cream place I've ever been to. 

Conny's Creamy Cone is located in St. Paul and is named the "sweetest place in the neighborhood." It stands out on the corner of a St. Paul neighborhood with a big cone on the roof, and their soft serve ice cream stands out with more than 24 flavors. Conny's Creamy Cone owner Conny McCullough blends more than 24 flavors with her creamy soft serve (including cotton candy, peanut butter and key lime) right in the little 1950's shack. The shop gets a lot of neighborhood support but people come from all over and plan their calendars around when this corner shop opens. Not only do they have soft serve, but they have hot dogs, burgers, and other meals, and we can't forget the great cheese curds. The top sellers for the soft serve ice cream are pistachio, black cherry, and tutti fruity.

The cute little shack on the corner.

My snickers flurry

Audrey and Andrew

Here's a better shot of the big cone on top of the little shack.

So here's my list with Conny's Creamy Cone crossed off. Between the two I've officially tried on this list, so far HomeTown Creamery is in the lead. Have any of you gotten a chance to try any on the list?

1. Adele's Frozen Custard in Excelsior

2. Conny's Creamy Cone in St. Paul

3. Edina Creamery in Edina

4. Grand Ole Creamery in St. Paul

5. HomeTown Creamery in North St. Paul

6. Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul

7. Pumphouse Creamery in Minneapolis

8. Sebastian Joe's in Minneapolis

9. Crema Cafe in Minneapolis

A Fairytale Wedding

I had the privilege of being in one of my best friend's wedding this past weekend and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have been to. Not only was Mark and Amanda's love radiating for all to witness, but the location of the reception was in Hills, MN, in Amanda's parent's pole barn they just built. It was breathtakingly beautiful! When I was first told that the reception would be held on the Tilstra farm I expected more of a barn, hay bale, cowboy type theme. This wedding had a completely different feel.  Amanda had us wearing black dresses, red shoes, red accessories, we carried red roses, and the decor made me feel like I was in a fairy tale the way the many lights draped the pole barn along the walls and ceiling. The night even ended with fireworks. It was a beautiful day to celebrate Mark and Amanda.

Since the wedding was in Hills, MN (4 hours away from Minneapolis) I ventured down on Friday and stayed at the Tilstra farm until Sunday. I was able to help decorate the church, see the tri-state marker, climb some hay bales, spend some much needed time with dear friends, celebrate a beautiful love and new marriage, hug windmills, four wheel, and enjoy the open country. On the way home on Sunday, Mike, Becky, and I stopped at Minnesota's largest candy store. It was so overwhelming! There was every kind of candy you can think of plus a huge selection of soda in a glass bottle. It was a fantastic weekend! Here are some photos of my adventures:

Beautiful sunset down a country road.

Here is the tri-state marker. It marks where the state lines for Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota all meet. So, technically I was in three states at once! This is my friend Nina in the picture with me. She was another one of Amanda's bridesmaids.

This photo is tradition. Every time I visit the tri-state marker, I hug it and take a picture.

Kelsey, Becky, and me being a trio around the tri-state marker.

Beautiful sunset on the way to the farm that night.

Loved the flowers with the red shoes and how they popped on the black dresses.

The beautiful bride hanging out before the walk down the aisle. 

Amanda with all of her bridesmaids.

At the reception Becky and I climbed the hay bales.

As if we weren't high enough already, Becky made me get on her shoulders… nothing like conquering my fear of heights.

On top of the hay bale stack.

The view was so beautiful!

The sunset on top of the hay bale stack.

Another lovely country sunset the night of the wedding. I love that you can see all the barn silhouettes.

The fireworks at the end of night that were lit off to send off Mark and Amanda. I could not get a good picture - they were so much more beautiful and bigger in person.

The beautiful country view on my four wheeler ride.

I seriously love windmills. This is my favorite shot I got.

Just a small taste of the huge candy selection.

The store had a licorice section.

Just one of many soda walls

The building was bright yellow and very hard to miss.

It was a ginormous building!

I wish I would have gotten more shots of the wedding/reception because it was so beautiful, but I was having too much fun shaking it on the dance floor. Mark and Amanda, the love you guys have for each other is beautiful. I pray that you two will never loose that and that you will carry it with you many years into marriage. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lovely day!