It is bright and sunny outside! So open your doors and windows, put on your pink fringe pants, and find your favorite peanut butter bucket hat! It is time to celebrate another season.
Why I dream of Paris.
Real pizza… thin crust, cooked until it is crunchy, plenty of bold tomato sauce, and three perfect black olives.
There are no words for this hot chocolate. Except maybe heaven, just because God came up with heaven and I think he approves of hyperbole.
This was also taken at Café Angelina, and this represented maybe 10% of the desserts available.
This olive bar was set up, in open air, at a street marché. There were also crusty breads, artisan cheeses, and butchered meat available.
And this. This right here was the most delicious sandwich I have ever eaten in my entire life. It was called a “steak haché”, and it was essentially two hamburger patties cut in half inside a baguette with Emmental swiss, herbs, and maybe magic. I literally still dream about this sandwich.
Oh Paris… tu me manques.
I will just admit it: I was completely delinquent on Photo Find Friday. So, now it is Monday, and I give you this. A photo taken from the top of Mt. Adams, looking down into Cincinnati on what was unquestionably the most beautiful day this year. The husband and I filled our weekend with everything that we love: crepes for breakfast at Webster Street Market, a hike through Cox Arboretum, and something new… an afternoon in historic Mt. Adams, complete with lunch and a craft brew from the Rookwood Bar and Restaurant.
Another sunny day in Californ-i-a.
Most years, I cannot wait for the cooler months. I associate summer with humidity and allergies, and that wall of heat that hits you when you walk out the door.
Well, summer. I take it all back.
I would give anything for some sun right about now. I try and make it habit not to complain about the seasons, because frankly, they are going to happen anyway… but once in a while, I just get so desperate to feel the sun on my face and the grass under my feet.
Today is one of those days. In honor of summer, here are some childhood photos from the state of 70 degrees and sunny every day: California.
This seemed like an appropriate option for a Friday. Why, you ask? Because here is a little known Nicole fact:
I do the majority of my grocery shopping on Fridays at about midnight.
The grocery store becomes a near magical land on Fridays. There might be some scary people hanging around outside, but the shelves are always stocked, and the floors are so clean!
I have always loved grocery shopping. This particular photo is me playing a game with my mother, Marjorie, that we called “Marjie Mom’s.”
Marjie Mom’s was the name of the grocery store I shopped in, and my mom was the cashier. I would gather things throughout the house, bring them to my mom, and she would check me out.
Once my husband and I had been dating for a while, my mother-in-law Becky even let me do her grocery shopping for her. I guess it was like playing house.
And now? I find so much solace in grocery shopping. I clip my coupons, I scour the circulars for sales, and I always make sure I get the best price. Shopping becomes a game, and I relish the time I get to be alone…
Just a girl in some sweatpants, wandering through the aisles, with a coffee, some coupons, and a grocery cart. Not as fun as Marjie Mom’s, but pretty close.
Photo find Friday.
It was a snow day during our junior year of high school when my friend Morgan and I really solidified our best friendship. All of our friends had congregated at Morgan’s house for the day to “play in the snow.” Not quite sure how much playing we actually did, but the point was that we were all together.
I had only worn jeans, and they were completely soaked. So Morgan offered to help me find some sweatpants in her (always messy) bedroom. Of course, there were none. Next best option? Pajama pants. Under my jeans.
You have probably never actually tried to pull jeans over pajama pants, but let me tell you, it is difficult. I managed to get the jeans on and buttoned, but the pajama pants themselves had migrated up around my knees. At this point we had pretty much collapsed into giggling.
Here I am, tugging at the pajama pants to no avail, laughing so hard I am now crying, when Morgan looks up at me with her trademark devilish grin and asks,
“How good of friends are we?”
This is a question we still ask today. The answer? Good enough friends for her to reach up my jean legs and pull down the pajama pants.
Morgan and I were best friends by our junior year, but I never could have imagined being so close into our adulthood. Snow days and formal dances gave way to college graduations and even weddings.
Which brings us to this photo. More than 5 years after our snow day-pajama pants-plight… and Morgan is still helping me get situated from the ground up, with the same devilish grin.
Thanks for fixing my pants, and my garter. Thanks for making my life infinitely more fun, and for your unconditional friendship. I adore you, Morgan Liz!
Photo credit: Fullam Photography
I am going to regret this.
As I was looking through our old photos, I just could not pass these gems up.
When we talk about our future potential children, Chuck and I laugh recalling what we looked like as kids. Sure, there were probably cute moments. But when you combine the paleness, and the freckles, and the asthma, and the allergies… it really is just a winning combination.
Regardless, here goes. Bring on the laughter as I give you this week’s edition of photo find Friday.
Photo Find Friday.
Nothing says class like faux wood paneling! According to my mother, this rocking horse was a gift from my grandparents. Regardless of what may be happening in this photo, I am told that actually rocking on the rocking horse was not my preference. Apparently I preferred hoarded items inside the storage compartment, and I was caught standing on the plastic horse on numerous occasions… Sounds about right.
I think it might be time to admit that Chuck may have been the cuter child. Fun fact: I collected Garfield items as a child. The comic books, stuffed animals; I even had a Garfield phone in my room. I may have been a little obsessed.
Photo Find Friday.
Because it is such a gloomy day, I thought I might start a new Friday feature this week… so here goes photo find Friday.
This is me at about 7 years old, and as you can see, I have always taken my reading time very seriously. We were camping at the La Jolla Indian Reservation in California, and I was clearly quite engrossed in my Peanuts comic strip book. Please note the pink puppy pillow and matching pink sleeping bag. I should probably admit that I still use a fuzzy pink blanket while reading. I think it is also worth mentioning that I was already rocking the monokini in the first grade.
And because one grumpy kid photo is never enough, here is my husband Chuck at about the same age. My mother-in-law is quite the photographer, so I can only assume this face was the result of long minutes spent posing for the camera.
“Turn your head. Chin down. Smile!”
