A Change Will Do You Good

After 6 months of marriage, the time has finally come to retire this "Sarah in the City" blog and start a real family blog. We will no longer be posting to this address, so if you'd like to keep up with us and our crazy life please update your links, readers and whatever else you use to http://www.thismeanswarnick.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for taking an interest and we'll see you at our new address! :)

The Michigan Story

My sister Shelly just had a baby, she was living in the middle of nowhere and I hadn't seen her in about 5 months, so we decided to start looking for plane tickets. Shelly lives pretty far out, so to fly into Flint airport and then drive 3 hours to her house ended up being cheaper than flying into one of the tiny airports closer to her. We prayed and prayed that the weather would stay nice so we could make it and luckily it did.

The surprise was everything we could have possibly hoped for (see video in previous post) and yes, Beckett did calm down after a little while. Poor kid. Matt and I had so much fun playing with Beckett and Hailey, holding baby Audrey, and playing games, watching movies and just chatting it up with Shelly and James. They showed us the area they live in and we even got to see where James works (nicest dental office I've ever been in). There was a small town night light holiday parade that cracked us up and Hailey had her 4th birthday while we were there. Here are some pictures from our quick surprise trip.

This is how we rolled from town to town.  Poor Hailey only had us to talk to the whole way but we learned a new guess what I'm thinking game (kind of like 20 questions in reverse).  I think Hailey thought we were pretty good at it as long as what we were thinking of was a princess. :)

Making some chicken pot pies while Hailey was at school.

They were watching a very interesting show (Timmy Time I think). I'm not sure if Beckett did this on purpose but I looked over and couldn't help but laugh.

Getting ready for the holiday night light parade to start.  It was freezing outside so we opened the back of the van and watched from there.  I don't think it even fazed the kids as they shouted Merry Christmas and Hi at the people going by.  Beckett provided the funniest moment of the whole trip when he shouted out "Hi . . . It's me . . . Beckett!"

This is the birthday cake that Shelly made for Hailey.  She is obsessed with the movie Tangled, so to say it was a hit is a serious understatement.  Hailey loved the cake and the table cloth and the plates and the napkins and pretty much everything about her party.  Beckett on the other hand was having a bit of a hard time which is why the picture above is so darn funny.  He could come out and be a part of the party if he followed a few rules, one of them being putting on his happy face.  As soon as he started to frown Shelly said, "Beckett, show me your happy face", and he immediately went from a frown to this.  That kid seriously cracks me up.

When it came time to leave we were all super sad.  Matt and I drove back to the Flint airport and just kept talking about how much fun we had and how much we loved seeing everyone.  Once at the Flint airport we sat and waited and waited and waited as our plane became more and more delayed.  (was it a sign?  sadly no.) When we and almost everyone on our flight realized we weren't going to make our connections anymore the airline put us all in taxi's headed for Detroit (1 1/2 hours away).  We ate a little something at the Chili's there and were home by 12:00am. 

I realize looking over the post that there are no pictures of Shelly and James. I'll do better next time with that. What you say, next time? Oh yes, there will be a next time. I just love having a sister who lives close enough that it doesn't brake the bank to fly and see her. $89.00 one way baby! A spring or fall trip may be in order.  Keep your fingers crossed Shelly.

Michigan Surprise

Last weekend we did this:

Cheboygan Surprise from Sarah on Vimeo.

Surprise! We flew to Michigan and then drove for 3 hours to surprise my sister and her family.  She moved to the middle of nowhere about 5 months ago (really, its clear out there) and just recently had her 3rd baby.  I think she was happy to see us, don't you. :)

Stay tuned for more . . .

We call him Miguel

The Saturday after Thanksgiving Matt and I ventured out to a little tree farm/lot in Brookline in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Having never been Christmas tree shopping I was especially excited and a little overwhelmed by all the different choices but after only a few minutes Matt spotted him.  He was green, full, dropped very few needles and smelled just like a Christmas tree should.  He was perfect.  So, we strapped him to the top of the car and headed for home. We call him Miguel.

After getting him home and setting him up in water the rest of the night was spent decorating, listening to Christmas tunes, watching Christmas type movies and wrapping Christmas presents.  I've even begun a big project that, fingers crossed, will be done while it's still useful.  I'm making our tree skirt (sorry, no pictures yet). 

 

Most of my holiday decorations come from my mother. These wooden blocks were something that we had in our house all while I was growing up. I have fond memories of being given the assignment to place them on our fire place. I honestly can't remember a Christmas when we didn't have them. It's so nice to have a little piece of home here in Boston during the holidays.

Do you have your decorations up yet? How about a Christmas tree?

A Sue Heck Birthday

My birthday was a few weeks ago and was seriously one of the best.  Matty woke up early to make me breakfast (the best french toast ever) and then we rushed around the house in a panic to get to work on time.  The office had donuts to celebrate my big day and Charlie our doorman brought me one of the potted flowers from the hall (they were changing them out anyway).  Matt then picked me up from work and we headed to my favorite place, Olecito, to pick up some much needed Mexican food.

As soon as I got in the car I noticed that Matt had a newly shaved face. I kept saying things about how I was amazed that he didn't even have a 5 o'clock shadow or anything but he just shrugged it off as if it were no big deal.  When we walked in the door I was greeted by a ceiling full of streamers, a spotless house, a freshly made birthday cake and Matt fessed up to shaving just before he came to get me.  He had rushed around the house like he was in a panic to get to work that morning and then as soon as I left he shut the door and began doing laundry, cleaning, running errands and decorating for my birthday. I had no idea he had stayed home because I still got a few emails from him throughout the day and he was careful with what he said about the "work" he was doing.

My gifts from Matt were neatly wrapped on my bed and included some really great stuff.  I have a serious love of popcorn (we have it at least 2 times a week), so Matty got me some fancy popcorn to try out.  They are three different kinds of popcorn grown in different places and all have a different size, texture, and flavor to them. My favorite so far is the "White Diamond" popcorn. I love it. :)

Matt also got me tickets to see the Boston Ballet perform the Nutcracker on opening night. It was the day after Thanksgiving and we could hardly wait we were so excited (hence the Sue Heck faces). We both loved the show and especially loved the little mice and black sheep dancing around on the stage.  The kids were too cute and I couldn't help but want to scoop them up and take them home with me.

Thank you everyone for the best birthday a girl could ask for. It was so fun to hear from you all and to receive fun packages and cards in the mail. I truly felt loved and really appreciated everything you did and do for me constantly.

(By the way if you don't know who Sue Heck is you're totally missing out. Watch The Middle tonight on ABC and get ready to laugh your head off. It's one of Matt and my favorite shows.)

Giving Thanks in 2010

Thanksgiving has never been my favorite holiday.  I love the food and the giving thanks part of it but it always seemed like a lot of work for such a short amount of time to me.  There was the preparing of the food the night before and all thanksgiving day and a huge amount of clean up after your meal which I hated.  This year I was content to just have rolls and potatoes and call it good but my sweet husband wouldn't let me do it.

We decided to go all out and I'm so glad we did. You see I've developed this love for cooking and baking lately, so this was super fun for me. 

 

Matt cooked (okay re-heated) a huge turkey for the first time, made us some awesome mashed potatoes and gravy and carved the Turkey like a pro.  He even successfully located and saved the wish bone for us. (I was a little grossed out by this I'm not gonna lie) He won that little game and happily made his wish.

I on the other hand made a pumpkin pie, butter horn rolls, my Dad's sweet potatoes and even a pecan pie to later be share with friends. We spent the rest of our evening watching a little football and going through the black Friday adds.  It was such a nice, relaxing day.  One I was thankful for for sure.  

P.s. Yes we did go shopping on Black Friday but no we will not be showing you any pictures from that day. Okay, maybe I'll show you one picture but it's not of us or your presents. We caught this lady falling asleep in the Target food court and couldn't resist the shot.  Too funny. :)

The Arrival of Inspirations

(Volume I)

A few weeks ago Matt received a very special package in the mail.  He's been working so hard for the past little while on a freelance project and was finally able to see the fruits of his labor. The book is a "collection of Christian sermons meant for everyday living."  We couldn't be happier to see this project finish up and to see how great it all turned out.  

Matt designed the entire book, from the cover, layout, and inside pages, all the way down to the font that was used.  It turned out exactly the way he wanted it to and his clients were very happy with the finished product.  I don't think I've ever seen Matt more excited then when he was flipping through this book and admiring his beautiful work.  I am so proud of him and love when I can open up a book and see his name jumping off the page. (True confession: I sometimes like to open the ATK cookbooks in Costco just to see it) He truly is a talented man. 

As an observer of the design process I honestly can say that so much more work goes into making books than I ever imagined. Matt has the patience, detailed eye and artistic ability to really pull it all together and make it work.  I'm so proud of my amazing husband and his hard work. Congrats Matty on a job very well done. I love you.

Falling in Love

(part II)

The whole reason for our trip was to see my best friend Jana get married to her sweetheart James.  The ceremony was held in the court house in Minneapolis and was absolutely beautiful.  They had a hot chocolate bar (with all the fixings), a dinner and a slide show that we thoroughly enjoyed.

I have to say, I think Jana was the most beautiful bride.  I had a really hard time not bawling like a baby when she came walking down the stairs. James looked really good as well but we couldn't get a good shot of him from where we were sitting. Sorry.    

The next day we had plans to meet up with Jana and James at a great place called Hell's Kitchen.  We pulled up a little early so I decided to snap a few pictures of the sign. All of a sudden I heard someone yell, "Sarah!"  It was Jana and James.  I was unknowingly taking pictures of them as well. Oops!

The restaurant had all kinds of amazing decorations. My favorite by far was the chandelier made out of knives.  It kind of took me by surprise when I first saw it, but it was awesome. The whole mood of the place was just cool. There's no other word for it. You felt like a Rock Star just walking in there.

While the food was excellent, the company was even better.  Jana and James are my absolute favorite. They really are perfect for one another and I'm so glad Matt and I got to celebrate their big day with them.  We look forward to many, many, many more visits and brunches like the one we had that day. :) 

Stay tuned for our last few hours in Minnesota coming up next . . .