Entries Tagged as 'sue'

2nd Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party

December 15th, 2008 · 13 Comments

On Saturday I hosted a cookie and tree trimming party. It was nearly ruined because I stayed out so late the night before at the Roundarch holiday party and I felt so sick on Saturday morning. It didn’t help that I got a call at 8:30 a.m. from our developer saying that the tile contractor was outside my door. Surprise! OMG. So, no sleep and a hangover. Luckily, my mom and my aunt Sue got to my house early and helped me clean and make appetizers and get everything ready. Otherwise, I’d have been laying there moaning on the couch unshowered in the middle of my messy house when my guests arrived. I could barely eat a cracker that my mom forced me to eat. I was so mad at myself for being such an idiot the night before. Luckily around 1 p.m. or so when everyone arrived at the party I started feeling better. I was so afraid I wouldn’t be able to eat cookies at the cookie party, but it all worked out fine. I owe my mom and my aunt big time!

Anyway, on to the party – many of my friends and family came over and each brought a few dozen cookies. We laid all of the cookies out and sampled them over the course of a few hours.


Front: Amanda, Caroline, Jessica, Rachelle, Cory, Auntie Glenna, Auntie Laura
Back: Auntie Gail, Aunt Sue, Tessa, Kelly, Stephanie, Jill, Heather, Jen, Jessica
Not pictured: Mom, Kate


Dallas’ Family: Auntie Laura, Cousin Heather, Auntie Glenna, Cousin Cory, Cousin (sort of) Caroline, Auntie Gail


Cookies!


Jess & Kate

I also served a cheese plate and a mix of crackers, Lit’l Smokies (cooked in chili sauce and grape jelly – don’t knock it til you try it!), and tortilla wraps to counter-balance all the sweets. To drink we had hot apple cider (spiked or not) which I still make from Julene’s Chicagoist recipe.


Rachelle & Cory


Jen & Jill


Aunt Sue helping out the whole time (thanks!)

We passed time talking and eating. Tessa and Jess were playing around and so cute, they were sources of entertainment. Jess and Tessa had fun trimming the tree (I’ll have separate posts on that). I had “It’s a Wonderful Life” playing on the TV. Most people know that movie by heart, so I just played holiday music while the movie was muted. Last year I commented on how I only took a few photos of the cookies and didn’t take any photos of people. This year Stephanie was using my camera and really getting into it. I was helping to give her tips on basic photography like how to frame photos better and what to take photos of. She did a really good job and this year we have a ton of photos of the party. There will be several posts after this one.


Stephanie


Rachelle & Stephanie


More Cookies!

These are all the tasty treats we sampled:

  • Buckeyes (Jill)
  • Caramel Filled Chocolate Cookies (Amanda)
  • Cashew Toffee Bars (Rachelle)
  • Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (Heather)
  • Chocolate Covered Shortbread (Cory)
  • Cinnamon & Sugar Cookies (Auntie Glenna)
  • Coconut Joys (Mary/Mom)
  • Emma Cookies – cherries, chocolate chips, oatmeal (Jen)
  • Gingerbread Cookies (Rachelle)
  • Macadamia Cookies (Aunt Sue)
  • Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Aunt Sue)
  • Oatmeal Carmelita (Jess)
  • Peanut Butter Blossoms (Auntie Laura)
  • Peanut Butter Cookies (Auntie Gail)
  • Peanut Butter Cracker Dips (Mary/Mom)
  • Polish Cookies (Kelly)
  • Pumpkin Chip Cookies (Amanda)
  • Raspberry Cream Cheese Thumbprints (Amanda)
  • Rum Balls (Kelly)
  • Toffee Bars (Kate)
  • White Chocolate Covered Cranberries (Mary/Mom)
  • Wreath Cookies (Caroline)

The votes were really close last year so this year we did the voting a little differently. Instead of writing down the cookie you like best, everyone ranked their top 3 cookies. Steph and I tallied up the votes by giving a 1st place vote 5 points, a 2nd place vote 3 points and a 3rd place vote 1 point.


Jill carefully making her vote


Amanda helping Jess vote. Jess is pointing at her favorite cookie (the wreaths)


Some suspicious votes. Handwriting analysis is needed.


Vote tally

The results? In 3rd place were Jen’s Emma Cookies. In 2nd place was Jill’s Buckeyes. And the winner was Heather’s Chewy Chocolate Peppermint Cookies. For winning Heather got a holiday spatula and oven mitt as well as Marth Stewart’s cookie cookbook.


Tessa helping Heather open her gift


Heather, Tessa, Jessica


Heather’s gifts

I think my cookie party was a success. It seemed like everyone had a great time. I’m already looking forward to next year’s party!

- Photos from the 1st Annual Cookie and Tree Trimming Party

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Happy 30th Birthday, Richard

November 23rd, 2008 · 5 Comments


Dad, Richard, Rachelle, Mom


Mom, Rachelle


Mom, Dad, Rachelle, Mom


Charlotte loved Dallas’ watch


Jessica wrote “The Rachelle” then “Rachelle” then “Dallas”


Richard opening his gift: Just For Men


Brewers apron and oven mitt


Gift from my parents: Packers Jacket


Too big for Aunt Sue


Uncle Doug, Dad


Sisters: Wanda, Sue, Mary


Richard & Brian


Rachelle & Richard

Yesterday we went to Wisconsin to go to my little brother’s 30th birthday party. Not so little! There were lots of family and friends. Lots of kids, actually, running around everywhere. We ate tons of food and desserts and drank a lot of beer. For some reason he got a lot of beer as gifts. We brought him Fat Tire and Oberon, two beers he can’t get in Wisconsin. We also got him an Amazon gift certificate. I thought he’d get a lot of gag gifts, but there was just one: a box of Just For Men hair dye from our cousin Kelly. All the other gifts were really nice. After the party died down a bit, the people who were left all played Rock Band, which was a gift from my sister-in-law, Amanda. My brother’s best friend, Brian, bought this random bag of liquor that we were drinking shots of later on. .. or at least I was, Dallas was our DD. It should also be noted that my brother has been growing his beard out for the month of November. You can track it on Facebook if you are his friend.

Question for Photographers: Does anyone know why my flash is throwing such a harsh shadow? Is it something I need to adjust on my camera? Or something that can only be fixed by getting an external flash? I don’t remember it being so bad before, but now it is making be crazy.

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Celebrating Kristin’s Birthday

February 24th, 2008 · 1 Comment

Kristin
Kristin :: Frasca, Lakeview, Chicago

Singing Happy Birthday
Cousin, Jamie, and Sue Singing Happy Birthday :: Frasca, Lakeview, Chicago

Birthday Cake
Birthday Frosting Cake :: Frasca, Lakeview, Chicago

Jen
Jen :: Frasca, Lakeview, Chicago

Tim
Tim :: Frasca, Lakeview, Chicago

On Saturday night we went out to celebrate Kristin’s birthday. We started at Frasca Pizzeria and Wine Bar where we had many glasses of wine and beer while enjoying olives, different kinds bruchetta, and fancy pizzas. We also had cake that someone brought. The cake had these ginormous mounds of frosting on them that were supposed to be balloons, but that everyone referred to as “the gonads.” They made the frosting part of the cake the tallest. Aside from the dining areas, Frasca also has a really large bar area and we stayed there enjoying ports and other drinks until they closed.

Danny
Danny :: Cody’s, Lakeview, Chicago

Tim
Tim :: Cody’s, Lakeview, Chicago

Sue
Sue :: Cody’s, Lakeview, Chicago

After Frasca we went to Cody’s Public House, a really cool neighborhood bar. A lot of people played pool and darts. I’d never heard of the place before but I really liked it. It’s a lot bigger inside than it looks outside, it’s dog friendly (I saw two dogs inside), really casual, there are many dart boards, and I heard that in the summer there’s a really great garden area with cornhole and bocce ball.

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Tarara Winery Nature Walk

November 26th, 2006 · 1 Comment

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View From the Deck :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Tessa on the Deck :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Grape Vine :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Tessa and Kelly :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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My Shadow :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Rachelle and Kelly :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

After taking a tour of the Tarara Winery and then having a tasting, we went outside to explore the grounds a little. The Tarara Winery is located on 475 acres on the Potomac River (which reminds me, I want to get a print of this top photo on the banks of the Potomac). Only about 50 acres are used to grow grapes. Some of the rest of the land is used to grow fruit and they have a “pick your own” thing when different fruits are ripe. The rest of the land is used for ?? On the Tarara site it says there are 6 miles of trails. We found one and took a walk. It was in the 60s, sunny and a gorgeous day outside.

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Tarara Winery Tasting

November 26th, 2006 · 1 Comment

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Jazz Band :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Kelly, Tessa, Jeff :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Jeff, Kelly, Sue :: Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

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Tarara Winery, Leesburg, VA

After touring the wine cave at Tarara Winery, we went inside to have a tasting. For $5 each we got to taste 8 wines – Tarara’s Viognier, Charval, Cameo, Pinot Nior, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Wild River Red. My favorites were the Viognier (dry, white, light), Charval (sweeter and less dry than the Viognier), Cabernet Sauvignon (a spicy red wine), and the Wild River Red (a sweet dessert wine that is 6% blackberries). Because I usually really like a Pinot Noir, I was surprised that theirs was one of the wines I liked the least. I don’t think I even drank it all. I bought a bottle each of the Charval and the Wild River Red.

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