Grape Expectations

Friday, December 30, 2011

what are you doing new year's eve?

this video has been on repeat the last 24 hours

and will no doubtingly continue all day tomorrow...

hope you all have a safe and happy new years eve!

happy 2012!

soon to come:

voting on 2012 themes

revised and new resolutions

and back dated adventure stories

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Saturday, December 10, 2011

warm woolen mittens

it finally reached below 30 this week

time to break out the mitten collection!

www.travelwisconsin.com

Saturday, November 26, 2011

i've already forgotten what 65/70 degree weather feels like, but i'm trying to do my best as i pack for a last minute trip to california! turns out the payroll department at work has been screwing me over and i just found out that i have 84 hours of PTO that i need to use by the end of december! six days in sanfran here i come! if i had more fashion sense, this is what i would wear to the airport next week, but it'll probably end up being jeans & a T... i promise there will be many pictures and hilariously inappropriate stories of my adventures to come!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

#mkewedding

oops! remember when i said i would try to blog once a week... turns out netflix is streaming all 6 seasons of the wonder years soooo... that's where the last 2 weeks have gone.

but back to the important things... #mkewedding! i think it would be rude to say i like some friends better than others, buuuuuuuuuuuut... when you fall in love with their families too, it's hard not to give a couple extra points to these two:

on to my shameless love affair with the marks/andreasens... i'm convinced beth and andy have a thousand friends. each. but there is something that makes me feel like i'm their only friend when even their parents know me by name. i think in the estimated 5 years i've known beth i've spent a collective 5 hours in the company of her father, but the minute he saw me he gave me the sweetest hug and said, "it's really good to see you again, emily." beth's mom was no different and insisted i make a pit-stop in omaha on the way to wherever i'm going next to visit and spend the night. she does not have to ask me twice, because turns out 3/5 of her children are still in omaha and i have a huge crush on all of them. her sisters are over the top marvelous and stunning, her brother and sister in law are absolute riots! and i tried really hard to jump in the back of their car on their way home. but no dice. next time.

i am equally infatuated with andy's family. his mom was a good sport while i tried whoring myself out to the rest of her single sons. she indulged my preoccupation with becoming a member of her family like it was a totally normal conversation to have. see, andy is the oldest of 6. he has a younger sister who is a total babe and 4 other charming brothers. of those four, three are of legal age (eh, but don't quote me on that, he's only a senior in high school). point being, i think i have pretty good odds ;) i'll keep you updated. and then there is andy's dad, mr. doug mark... whenever i'm around him i try really hard to keep a straight face and a level head, but inside it's one long sentence that sounds something like this, "omg i think you're so cool.i would totally move to rockford if we can be neighbors.i think everything you say is interesting.please send me a bunch of merchandise when you decide to run for mayor." haha yep, pretty much like that.

if i had sisters, this is what they would look like

and finally i have to tell you all about my new bff, maux (that's a fancy way of saying Mo) she's beth's bombshell cousin on the far left. after i sheepishly introduced myself i word-vomited all over about how awesome i think she is and how i read HER BLOG everyday... we drank, we danced, we judged other people's life choices and we planned my road trip down to austin. bliss.

Monday, October 10, 2011

engineering pick up lines

1 month blogging hiatus.... done.

sorry for the long break blogosphere, i took a time out to soak up the end of summer e.g. attending the last of the festivals at the lakefront, fish fry & a flick on the lawn of the art museum, jazz in the park, patio seating, skirt wearing and frozen custard eating!

i've also been busy hanging out with engineers in dive bars in riverwest. no, i'm not becoming a hipster, i've been listening to my brother play the blues with some old buddies from GE. he's pretty amazing, and one of those natural talents that can pick it up after years like he never put it down. maybe it's cause i thought he was the shit, but i never remember him being bad at any musical instrument he dabbled in. i'm sure my parents would disagree while they endured all the reed screeching, horn blowing practices.

also... i'm still trying to process this past weekend's nuptials between two of the greatest people i have even known. serious debriefing is going on over here about: people i haven't seen in 5 years, the trials of pre-adulthood, mind-blowing new friends and running the gamet of emotions in a 48 hour span. the phrase that best describes last weekend:"heart bursting" some things to look forward to in the next post...