Monday Musings

1. This weekend I took the weekend off of social media and loved it. It was so refreshing and made me utilize my phone for the purpose of a phone - phone calls & texts. No facebook or instagram checking for this girl.  A few weeks ago I actually removed the facebook app from my phone all together and made me realize how wonderful it was. I love social media; but it is also such a time suck and it's so easy to compare your life to others and feel like you don't measure up.

2. Lins & I attended the Imagine Dragon's concert a week ago in St. Paul. It was pretty amazing & fantastic.

Trader Joe flowers are always a yes

3. Fresh flowers from Trader Joe's haves been my jam lately. Apparently purple is also my spring color of choice.

A rare coffee + St. Paul on a gorgeous spring afternoon

4. In full transparency my love addiction for lattes, mochas and 'fancy coffee' has gotten a little out of control in the last year. Gone are the days were I would enjoy a latte here and there with a friend at Caribou. In the last year the addiction increased and it was becoming a 3-4 time a week occurrence. After much thought my roomie and I decided that drastic action was needed on our part and we decided to take a 6 week coffee shop fast. We did add a few 'rules' in to our fast but for the most part no grabbing coffee before work or just for the much need 'pick me up' only grabbing coffee if it facilitated community and friendship.  It's now been a month and I have started to like regular brewed coffee pot coffee (with flavored creamer of course) and have forced myself to be more creative with coffee and teas.

The rare mocha and lattes are more of a treat now instead of a necessity. I'm hoping once the fast is over I will be able to practice better self control where Starbucks, Caribou and Dunn Bros are concerned.

5. My beloved North Dakota State Bison were in the NCAA basketball tournament this past weekend. They lost right before the Sweet 16 but it was certainly exciting to see them on national television playing ball. With that said my bracket is not a complete bust quite yet and my final four are still in the game.

A Red Barn Wedding

This past weekend I was able to stand up next to one of my best friends as she married her best friend. The wedding took place in Minnetrista, MN at Gale Woods Farm. The ceremony took place over looking Whaletail Lake a mere two hundred feet away from the barn were the reception was taking place.  The day ended up being a bit cooler than everyone anticipated but made for gorgeous pictures with cloud cover but as the ceremony began the sun came out right in time. 

The cakes were delicious the grooms cake was a spice cake with honey & cream cheese frosting topped with marzipan apples. The other cake was a vanilla buttercream with raspberries I have it on good authority that the spice cake was the best. 

The details were amazing and put together so well. Cute paper straws for hibiscus tea before the ceremony, fresh farmers market flower in mason jars, and escort cards were written on leaves pinned to apples. 

Since the day was on the chilly side there were flannel shirts available by the fire for guests who were chilly. A cute 'I do' and 'We Did' sign helped point guests in the right direction.

As good as the food was and as perfect as the details were the best part of the day was spending it with those I love and dancing the night away. 

Laughing Falls & Sebastian Joe's

Yesterday I meet a dear friend in St. Paul for her last wedding dress fitting. It was wonderful and amazing being with her as she tried on her dress for one of the last times before her wedding day in September. After the fitting we headed to Minnehaha falls to grab a snack and walk around the falls. 

At the top of the falls in Minnehaha park there is Sea Salt Eatery that serves among other things Sebastian Joe's ice cream. We each got a scoop of Spamoni Ice Cream. This spamoni ice cream was almost a 'Minnesota' version if you would, it was delectable and amazing. The spamoni was almond, lemon, orange ice cream with apricots & slivered almonds -- and delectable and tasted a little bit like what I imagine heaven tasting like. 

Also a Sebastian Joe's trip (or eating their ice cream -- if you want to be technical) was on my summer bucket list!

An evening spent with a dear friend walking around Minnehaha Falls while eating amazing ice cream makes that a pretty perfect Monday in this girls book. 

Happy Independence Day!

Holidays always seem to revolve around food + family - am I right? While both of those are important I don't want to forget the real reason behind this holiday. I am so blessed to live in a nation that values & promotes freedom & independence and am thankful to the people who in the past & currently fight for the freedom daily.

I'm spending this fourth of July with family & preparing for my grandparents' 60th anniversary celebration. This morning I whipped up these tasty shortcake/patriotic 4th of July kabobs - who doesn't love food on a stick & a holiday inspired treat. 

So thankful & blessed to be an American & live in the land of the free. 

Prescription for a Friday

I am so happy to see this week come to a close & welcome the weekend! The week was not bad by any means just very very long. I have a few fun weekend plans but also plenty of room for spontaneity and relaxation! 

Today's prescription for success included: 

- pretty pink bangles: dress for success right?!

- A free Starbucks: free + coffee. Need I saw more? 

- Capri Seaside Citrus lotion: Brings the island to the office! 

Happy Weekending! 

{Day One} Niagara Falls

The Falls in all of their glory with Canada in the distance. 

Our first adventure in New York was visiting Niagara Falls. I have always wanted to visit the falls and I am so happy to say I have. I am an outdoor girl, give me mountains, rivers, waterfalls, forests and fresh air any day. But for the record I still enjoy the city, I just choose nature 95% of the time. I was beyond excited to view Niagara Falls and one of the wonders of the world 

{Maid of the Mist}

One of our first stops was the boat ride on Maid of the Mist. Maid of the Mist takes you out into the Niagara Basin and past the American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and the Horseshoe Falls. When you go on Maid of the Mist they give you these great {read: ugly + usless} ponchos to wear. It was so windy that day that the ponchos seemed to just want to fly off or 'collect' air that made for humorous pictures! One of the funny things about the one-size fits all ponchos is they seemed to cover Amanda, Justin & I pretty well but Tyler (our tall friend) - it barely went to the bottom of his shorts. 

The gang sporting our trendy blue ponchos. 

A beautiful view of Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist - it's simply breathtaking. Just look at the color of the water, a beautiful aquamarine - more beautiful that I can even describe.

{Cave of the Winds}

A view from Maid of the Mist of Cave of the Winds. 

Cave of the winds was my absolute favorite activity at Niagara. Each spring a team of builders build the stairs and deck right next to the falls and in front of the Bridal Veil Falls. As we were walking to Cave of the Winds to get our ponchos we kept seeing everyone in these attractive sandals - little did we know we would get our very own commemorative sandals and yellow ponchos to remember our time at Niagara. 

The area around cave of the winds & the 'hurricane deck' is absolutely gorgeous with water gushing all over, mossy rocks and the thundering sound of the falls just feet away to experience a tiny taste of the hurricane deck checkout the little video I made via the vine app.

 

Standing in a waterfall is a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

{Goat Island}

After our wet adventures near the falls we walked around Goat Island and enjoyed the scenes. We ate a late lunch over looking the upper falls and then headed toward the aquarium (because we had time + a free pass). I loved all of the colorful flowers I found all over New York, especially since I had just left a dreary rainy Minnesota where spring was still three weeks out. 

The upper falls. 

Scenes from a Weekend

As usually is the case, I need another weekend to recover from my weekend. 

With that being said I had a wonderful weekend. Saturday I attended an all day outdoor Christian music festival called Joyful Noise. There were great headliners of Big Daddy Weave, Jeremy Camp, Tenth Avenue North and Third Day - it was amazing. 

The weather was pretty overcast but I still managed to get sunburned in the process - but it was worth it. Some day I will learn + remember to bring sunscreen. 

Sunday was a busy day again with church + teaching and a wedding meeting at Dunn Bros {for a wedding I am coordinating at church}.

The garden is finally blooming and I am loving the pops of color especially with dreary rainy days that we have had so often. I am looking forward to my vegetable garden growing and producing harvest. 

What are you looking forward to these days?

{Insta-Friday} 5.3.13

Hello Friday - nice to see you. I swear yesterday was just Monday but I'm not complaining and I will embrace Friday. This week was seemed so long but yet flew right on by and part of the week was summery & warm and then suddenly turned to December again - so confusing. 

At the beginning of the week it was gorgeous with sunshine + summer temps galore. The rest of the week, that was another story but we won't talk about that. The sight of the city (Minneapolis or St. Paul) it gets me each time - I never tire of the sight. 

Monday I meet a friend for boot shopping + a girls evening. We had dinner + wine at Cafe Latte and then grabbed a slice of dessert and headed to Shelby's apartment. The evening was the best, her apartment looks out on St. Paul and overlooks the river. 

St. Paul & Raspberry Creme Cake - I will take that combination any day. 

In order to brighten my mood towards the end of the week I changed my tablescape to something bright & cheery since it was overcast and chilly outside. The banana bread also helped my mood, it's always nice to have the oven on and bake when it's chilly outside.  

Cheers to Friday + the weekend! My weekend is full of spring cleaning, car shopping (maybe) and hopefully time spent outdoors. 

I'm Becca_OneGirl on instagram if you want to follow along.

Happy Weekending to you!

I'm linking up with Jeannett at Life Rearranged 

A Change of Pace

Oh my long time and no blog.

After two more snow storms that left it looking more like December than April spring has finally come to Minnesota. Now that I am able to experience the 60s & 70 temps again I am actually thankful for the last few snowfalls we had this year.

The weather was gorgeous this weekend. I wore flip-flops, capris, tank tops and sunglasses, sat on patios and soaked in the goodness. I loved airing out the house and having the windows & screen doors open all weekend.

Life is beautiful friends, no doubt about it.

So overjoyed that springtime is here. 

How did you spend your weekend? 

{Weekend Edition} The Easter One

It's April 1st and I am so excited for a new month and a fresh start! There is something so exciting about looking at the calendar and seeing the 1st. It is also April Fools Day! I personally am a fan of pranks and have been known to pull several in my younger years -- the best prank ever pulled on me was in my senior year of college my SUV was saran wrapped. It was definitely a sight to see. Are you a pranker or tend to stay away from all of that funny business?

My weekend started a little earlier this week - but no complaints here! I took a half day in Friday and went out to lunch with a friend and then we proceeded to go and get mani & pedis!

Amanda Sue & I went to Good Earth And celebrated Amanda's birthday with a slice of their famous carrot cake - delish! Later before church we met up with our friend Lynnae before heading to our churches' Good Friday service.

{Pedi // Lynnae + I}

{Amanda, me + Lynnae}

Saturday was a wonderful relaxing day as I met up with an old co-worker for coffee + laughs (many of them!). Sunday was a wonderful day - a bit dreary and over cast in the great state of Minnesota but still a celebration with Christ defeating the grave!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a great Easter! I am determined to enjoy Monday & embrace April! 

{Weekend Edition} Baby Shower + a Cut

This weekend I attended an adorable book themed children's party for my friend Chandelle at 

Mommy in the Making. The theme was so cute from the invitations we received, the food choices and the centerpieces on the table. I wish I would have gotten a few more pictures (especially of the cute mama) but alas I only have a few snapshots. I can't wait to meet little Christian in a few months! 

.... And because all I do is take selfies and coffee pictures ....

Saturday also brought a bit of spring cleaning to my locks. It always amazes me how the stylist can take something a hair dryer and a round brush and style my hair just like that! Let me tell you it's not how it works once I go home. I end up with the round brush tangled in said hair and frustrated beyond belief -- hypothetically of course. 

Coffee while I waited to go to the shower, Starbucks new Hazelnut Macchiato hmmm :) 

skiing, cookies + snow.

Ever since last winter I have wanted to go cross country skiing. In college I tried cross country skiing and remember enjoying it and had wanted to try again. 

After I finally figured out how to put on my skis (seriously it's been a while) I had a lot of fun. Since it had been a few years I headed to the beginners trail - or so I thought. After looping the trails a few times on my way home I realized I did not pick the beginners trail - such a me thing to do, I never could read maps. Let me tell you friends - cross country skiing is not like riding a bike! After skiing on Saturday and shoveling Sunday I am so sore - but the good sore. 

I'm a Minnesota girl through & through.

This weekend I also whipped up some Vanilla Bean Valentine cookies. The cookies are ok, but in true confession I think I like the cookie part more than the dove chocolate part. I don't think I like chocolate + vanilla together (I know what's wrong with me?!). 

Rosy cheeks from shoveling and snowy streets from Minnesota's snow storm. I was happy to make it home safe and sounds Sunday morning and passing several cars in the ditch. The rest of Sunday I was happy to stay at home only going outside to shovel and check on the progress of snow :)