things to say::

It's been a while! I've had a little break from blogging and tweeting and instagram-ing. Didn't mean to--it's just the way it is. But I'd love to update you with the stuff going on in and around Apartment 66::

• Are you wondering where I got the recipe for the delicious looking cheesecake pictured above? I'll tell you: find the cheesecake here and the blueberry sauce here. Oh Martha, it's good! We made it last weekend and barely got through one slice each before realizing there was no way we were going to eat the entire cake. I gave half to my sister. It's rich, but it's so good.
• Big news, guys. I have a job! I told myself I'd never be a nanny ever again when I quit my nannying job last year (that job terrified me for many different reasons,) but...here I go again! Ryan was good to me after we lost the baby, and didn't rush me into finding a job. I took a good chunk of time off to be home and took care of myself for a while, until this job sort of fell into my lap. I'm thankful it did! Three days a week I hang out with a 7-week-old chunk. He's sweet as pie, and so are his parents. It feels good to be working again. And it will feel even better the next time I go shopping--no more carrying around bags full of guilt!
• Last week A Cup of Jo posted the song Ryan and I danced to at our wedding. It was just a little something that made me smile. It's such a sweet song, and means more to me every time I hear it. I was so looking forward to that moment with him on our wedding day, and when the moment finally came, something went wrong with the speakers and we could barely hear it! We danced anyway, but I was so disappointed. When we came home to our apartment after our honeymoon, Ryan turned it on and we danced to it again in our living room, surrounded by boxes of opened wedding gifts. It was better that way. :)
• Speaking of Ryan, we were walking through the grocery store recently when he said this gem, "You know, if I could have seen my future self a few years ago and known that I have a string cheese in my lunch every day, I think I'd be pretty pleased. I'd be like, 'You're doin' ok, man.'" From this day forward, I vow to never run out of his favorite string cheese.
• Speaking of Ryan again, last night I had a dream in which I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, only to find Ryan already in there, secretly applying my $1 set of false eyelashes. For the life of me, I can't explain why this happened.
• And lastly, we saw the Hunger Games over the weekend, and I cried twice. 

That's all folks!

sunday picnic

We packed a little picnic and rode our bikes down to the lake on Sunday.

Ryan made peanut butter and honey sandwiches, 

put them in baggies, and wrote our initials on them just like a mom would.

A little dachshund puppy named Keifer was there, and I loved him.

The weather was beautiful and sunny but the wind was chilly

so when we had had enough, we rode our bikes all the way back home.

And we each have that bruised feeling 

on that very specific spot 

on the underside of our buns 

to prove it.

birthday weekend:: dear lilah

It was my birthday on Friday! I had the best day. My mom, two of my three sisters, and Henry and Oliver came over for lunch, shopping and cupcakes. It was so much fun, but we missed my oldest sister Gretel and her loot in Nebraska. On Friday evening Gretel sent me the sweetest message from my 4 year old niece Lilah, which totally made my day/me cry. Below is her darling birthday greeting, followed by a little letter back to her: 


Happy Birthday, Auntie Mia!
I miss you and can't wait till we go out to have cupcakes together. I love you. What did you do on your birthday today? What did you get for your presents? Did you get new dishes or silverware for your kitchen? Why do you live in an apartment building?
Love,
Lilah.

. . . 

Dear Lilah,
Thank you for the birthday message! I loved it. You asked some pretty good questions! I hope I can answer all of them. On Friday Grandma, Auntie Liesl, Auntie Liz, and Henry and Oliver came to my apartment for lunch. We had pasta salad and potato chips. Then we walked to a cupcake shop and each had a cupcake. I got a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. We missed you the whole time!
When Uncle Ryan got home from work we got all dressed up and went to a little French restaurant. Uncle Ryan ordered bacon-wrapped meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and I ordered half a chicken! And I ate the whole thing! Then we ordered chocolate mousse for dessert and ate all of that too! It was GOOD.
I got some pretty cool presents, too. Grandma and the aunties gave me money for a new sewing machine. I can't wait to pick one out! Uncle Ryan gave me a soft grey bathrobe, and on Saturday we went to the store to buy brand new bikes. I didn't get any new silverware or dishes, but that's okay because I don't have any room left in my kitchen cupboards for new stuff.
The best part about my birthday was that we celebrated all weekend long! We went on lots of bike rides and had a picnic by the lake on Sunday. We also spotted some spring flowers coming up! Are flowers growing in Nebraska yet?
To answer your last question, we live in an apartment building because we don't need much room right now. Hopefully someday soon we can move to a big house and fill it up with lots of girl cousins for you to play with! Whaddya think about that?
I bet it's time for baths at your house right now. Give your brothers a big kiss for me okay? Your momma and daddy, too! And come visit me soon! We love you, Lilah Grace.
Love,
Auntie Mia

. . . 

PS::

This is my Lilah Grace.

The girl's a cream puff.

pps::

yes, I did wear my hair the same way all weekend long.

we're in the growing out phase.

don't worry about it.

the weekend

What a wonderful weekend! The sun came out, and the rest of Milwaukee (and their dogs) came out with it. We participated in as many outdoor activities as possible, including eating, strolling, tennis (Ryan,) baseball (also Ryan,) reading (me,) and more eating (also me.)

Oh yes, and did I mention that we ate a lot this weekend? Friday night, we went to Rudy's for Mexican. On Saturday, after much searching, we discovered a Girl Scout cookie stand. "I'll take some of those, and some of those, and two of those," I said brazenly, and Ryan didn't even stop me. I grabbed those cookies and hustled to the car without looking back. A number of thin mints were devoured before we had even left the parking lot. And Sunday. Oh, Sunday. Steak, and mashed potatoes and asparagus. A meal my father would be proud of.

We also did the wash, but I think we all know that the most important information in this post is FOOD.

happy tuesday

Spring sprang today.

Everything outside was warm and melty and dripping.

I took two long walks, bought myself some flowers, 

and made peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (oh yes I did.)

Now it's dark and Ryan and I are happy and stuffed

from a crockpot supper.

Happy Tuesday, indeed.

hibernating

This week was silly. Each day the weather became more and more miserable, and I became more and more lazy. Our heat stopped working somewhere along the way, and guys, it's really hard to be productive when all you want to do is lay on the couch under 7 blankets and watch The Bachelor.

The photo above is an example of what we did almost every night this week. (i.e., a whole lot of nothing, under a bunch of blankets.)

We had plans to babysit our nephews this evening so my sister and her husband could have a night out, but a winter storm has blown in and ruined everyone's plans. A night of movies and snuggles on the couch will just have to do. (I know. It's not that bad.) Though Ryan will probably be disappointed when he finds out he can't have macaroni and cheese and juice boxes for supper. Poor guy's gotta have a grown up meal.

In other news: Janine from A Handful of Peanuts asked me a while back to write a little something about love on her blog. So I did. If you want to read the story of how Ryan and I met, go here. I had so much fun writing it! Thanks for having me, Janine! 

Happy weekend, everyone! Think warm thoughts.