Tag Ferragosto

30 Days Hath September

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And since we’re already 3 days in, that means that our wedding is 4 weeks from today (meaning Wednesday!)!  It’s getting to be crunch time, and the to-do list keeps growing, but it’s all good and exciting stuff!

So much to be happy about – August fairly flew by and was filled with awesomeness!  For example –

  • A course at the U of M brought me to the Cities for a few days and Chris was on vacation so he tagged along!  He enjoyed daytime adventures on foot in St. Paul and Minneapolis and we both enjoyed nights out in the Minneapple!  We ate Mexican at Masa on Nicollet, yummy bar food on a rooftop off 1st Ave and desserts down below at Hell’s Kitchen;  we drank cider and beer at Sociable Cider Werks with Marissa and her guy, and walked through the sculpture garden at the Walker Art Center!  The highlight of the trip was seeing Paul McCartney at Target Field – amazing!  What a beautiful and fun night – and what an incredible entertainer!
  • Many date nights with wedding planning as a topic of conversation.  We’ve been to Cowboy Jack’s a few times, the Tap House and the Doggery (Chris discovered the Shallow End), and we saw “Boyhood” and “The November Man” in the theatre.  We took a trip to IKEA and the Mall of America for wedding paraphernalia, and have shopped for furniture!  Always on the go!
  • Ferragosto!  It was an abbreviated version this year, but no less fun!  We had wet campfires, hot hazy humid weather, no mosquitos, and many trips to the Hoy’s Resort for BYOB!  No shortage of good food, good drinks, good talks, good belly laughs, and good relaxation!  We watched a few movies and even danced and sang on the deck, while planning wedding reception songs! There will be photos – eventually!

Every day off in September is precious and filled with planning!  So many details – but it is all so good!  Looking forward to take-off on 9/29 and everything that week brings!

Yay, September!

Spoon and Cherry at the Sculpture garden MPLS.

Spoon and Cherry at the Sculpture garden MPLS.

Fond Ferragosto Memories

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Wherever you are, have a Buon Ferragosto!

Wherever you are, have a Buon Ferragosto!

And a Buon Ferragosto it was! 

Ferragosto 2013 was highly anticipated (almost the best part of a vacation, right?) and truly was a time of great fellowship and relaxation!

I was there for 10 nights and 11 days – how luxurious is that?

The weather was perfect day after day after day… and night after night after night…

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I think I was there alone for 90 minutes on the first day and 2 hours on the last day – how social is that?  

There was time with kiddos…

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And time with adults – family and friends…

Consequently, not many books were read, but oh the conversations!

Around the fire, at the end of the dock, in the French Lake Tavern, on the long walks; over coffee or wine or martinis!

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It was truly a beautiful vacation with wonderful friends.  It’s on the calendar for next year, folks, so plan accordingly!

For more information about Ferragosto, you can click here to read about the first ever (2010), the third (2012), and food memories from 2012 here.

If you’re reading this on your mobile device or in an email, you may need to click through to the site to get the full effect!
There are many photos included in slide shows – vibrant and fun!

Will you join me next year?  

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What’s Making Me Happy 8.31.13

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Secret Society of Happy People

Secret Society of Happy People

Since it’s the last day of “Happiness Happens Month,” August 2013, I wanted to get one more Happiness post in!  It’s been a light blogging month, because so much fun has been going on!  Many of the items listed below are worthy of their own posts, and I will work on that in September.  So for now, here’s what’s making me happy – abbreviated August edition!

  • The most recent happiness:  I went to Caribou to get my last caffeine infusion at 9:45 pm last night and the manager wouldn’t let me pay.  Pay it Forward, I say!
  • And the Section of Social Work is strongly promoting that!  I’m on the social committee (of course) and we organized a Random Acts of Kindness/ Pay it Forward event starting last week, so that’s exciting!
  • The Minnesota State Fair – three times this week!  How crazy is that?  I’ll blog more later about the awesome fun, delicious fried goodness and hot hot sweaty days.  I’ve never gone 3 times in a year before.
  • Ferragosto!  Also deserves at least one blog post because it was the BEST ever!  (Until next year, right?)  The weather was perfect, the food and drink were delicious, and friends came and went with perfection.  It was hard to leave but the feeling continues!  Storing that sunshine in my cells!
  • I am going to do another “book tour” blog/review!  When I saw the question:  “Did you like “Loving Frank” and “The Paris Wife“?” I bit!  (Click to read my blogs about those books)  “Freud’s Mistress” coming soon to this blog!  Details to follow in another blog post!
  • Marissa is moved in to Minneapolis!  She is living life large, of course, and I can only hope that when school begins she can fit in time for studying!

And now I must dash to work… life is great!  What August memories are making you happy??

 

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What’s Making Me Happy 8.8.13

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cropped-happiness-quotes-facebook-cover-18.jpgIt is the 14th annual Happiness Happens day today, sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People!  Thought I’d do a quick “what’s making me happy” list to commemorate.

  • The Timehop app makes me so happy.  I know I’ve mentioned it before (haven’t I?) but it’s an app that shows my social media posts from the last 1-5 years, as well as one thing in history from this day.  Today it showed me my blog posts from the past few August 8ths (about school libraries and domain names), my Facebook posts and pictures (regarding gardens), and my twitter feed.  Reminded me that Xanadu came out 33 years ago today and that it’s been one year since I purchased my own domain name.  All good stuff.
  • My new glasses are making me happy – even though I feel like everyone freaks out a little when they see them!  It’s pretty funny.  They are a statement and so comfortable.  It was such a good buying experience.  I also am so happy to have my rose-colored Coach sunglasses turned into prescription sunglasses!  Since I stopped wearing my contacts, I didn’t get to wear them as much, so now I’m happy to be able to wear them – and to stop squinting while driving!
Yay! I can wear my rose-colored glasses all the time now!

Yay! I can wear my rose-colored glasses all the time now!

  • It made me happy to dream a little about winning the lottery last night – I actually made a list of what I would do if I won some money.  It clarified the travels I would love to do and how “stuff” isn’t as important as adventures. 🙂
  • The music video of Mumford and Sons is quite a hoot – many smiles from that!  http://youtu.be/rId6PKlDXeU  Click to watch it yourself!  Find the surprise!
  • I was asked to participate in another Book Blogger Book Tour!  I will be receiving a book and review it during their book tour!  September 17 is the date I will be reviewing Freud’s Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman.  This book tour is sponsored by TLC – the website where I won a box of books from!  Love books!
  • Still on a high from the Superbowl of Books held the last week of July… so much fun.  Maybe instead of twice yearly, we will have to do it quarterly!
  • Anticipating great fun at Ferragosto this year!  I truly think it will be the best ever – and I haven’t even heard from some of you!  🙂  My kitchen is a mess with bags of food packed and ready, my suitcase is out with the important stuff in it (swimsuits and towels!), and I have many Ferragosto-type beverages packed and ready to go!
  • Having every weekend in August off is so exciting!  Last weekend I had a great day long road-trip with this guy I’ve been hanging out with (woot!  maybe more about that later???).  Lots of fun stops, including the Marine Art Museum in Winona, Lakeview Drive-in, the Great River Road (?) in Wisconsin, a winery, River City Days in Red Wing, and dinner with Beth and Doug in Lake City.  The day ended at Whistle Binkies on the Lake, sitting around the firepit with whiskey and bread pudding.  Ah.  It was a good day.  And then to the lake on Sunday with Marissa and Jenny to see the Rochester Grimsrud’s.  A perfect summer weekend off and a preview of my upcoming Ferragosto time!
  • I heard through the grapevine (my mom’s Facebook page) that Marissa is going to be able to move in early, so that last weekend in August that I don’t work I will be able to help her move in and get settled!  Very excited that it can happen, as I work overnights that first weekend in September/Labor Day weekend, so I will be tired and zombie-ish.
  • Speaking of working overnights, that’s what I’m doing now.  Well, I mean last night and tonight and tomorrow night.  But I slept pretty good today – almost 7 hours – and I survived night one without much trouble.  That makes me happy. 🙂
  • Watching Jimmy Fallon daily on my computer makes me happy.  Last night I started looking at plane fares for NYC in October!  So much to plan, which is almost the best part of a vacation – and hopefully Jimmy Fallon will be part of that trip!  Woohoo!!!  Troy – we’ve gotta talk!  🙂

Well, that’s all for now.  Must get out of bed, get some food, and get ready for night 2!  But tell me — what’s been making you happy lately?  How are you celebrating Happiness Happens HappyThon today?

Secret Society of Happy People

Secret Society of Happy People

 

 

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What’s Making Me Happy, July Edition!

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Apartment Hunting!

  • We make apartment hunting fun!  
  • Stops for coffee (Dunn Bros)
  • Stops for mid-afternoon sustenance (Salut Bar)
  • Rooftop dining with Deadra (Louie’s Ristorante)
  • Looking forward to more Minneapolis adventures!
Dunn Bros Coffee
Not a tall girl!
Salut!
Treats… we live the good life…
Rooftop dining ALWAYS in the summer

Co-workers!

  • Book talks at Binkies
  • Happy hours after supervision
  • Celebrations of LICSW after work
  • Strolling along the river in Red Wing
Ice cream anytime!
On the River Walk
At the Scenic Overlook
Co-worker fun!

Summer fun and celebrations!

  • Rolling River Music Festival in Red Wing (late June)
  • Fourth of July
  • Rooftop meals
  • Binkies on the Lake
  • Thursdays on First
  • Bonfires
  • RASA’s “Leaving Iowa”
  • Using my kitchen to create deliciousness
  • FAIR FOOD!  One funnel cake per year
  • Walks on beautiful days
  • Planning Ferragosto Fun
Orange Monkey Bread – oh my !
Lamb and couscous – oh my!
Lamb deliciousness!
Funnel Cake from the Fair!
Silver Lake walks!
Relaxing at the Ponderosa!
Thursdays on First with Mo!
Looking down on Thursdays on First
Bonfires
and beverages!

Movies! Books! Music!

  • The Heat
  • Playing for Keeps
  • 21 Jump Street
  • The Promise of Provence
  • 11/22/63
  • The Night Circus for book club
  • Stories I Only Tell My Friends: Rob Lowe
  • Emails filled with songs for each day of the week
  • My favorite song of the week: Thursday (Here’s Why I Did Not Go To Work Today) http://youtu.be/ciz_C3xiuN0
  • Cancelled cable = Netflix fests
  • Planning a party for fellow book lovers

What is making you happy this July??

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44 Things – Quarter 4

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Yes, Quarter 4.  In a few months I will be having another birthday!  I have been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time for self-reflection, so I haven’t completed this thought yet.  Let’s see what comes of it for now…August 2011 088

44 Things: Q4 – Things to DO or LOOK FORWARD TO! (July, August, September)

  1. Fourth of July!  Always a great time with family – relaxing time at the end of the dock, fireworks, great food and photo ops!
  2. Plan a Book Fest!  First annual?  Bi-annual? Bookish food and treats?  Crafts?  Oh my!  It’s coming right up, but it’s in the planning stages!  
  3. Ferragosto!  I can’t wait for my made up mid-August celebration!  More details to follow!
  4. New York City! Looking forward to planning my annual trip to NYC!  It will make turning a year older more palatable!
  5. Books! Read and listen as much as possible!
  6. Cosmo Girls! Start planning for 2013-2014!
  7. State Fair? Go if I can!
  8. Help Marissa move and get settled!
  9. Ferragosto Ferragosto Ferragosto!  I have a feeling it’ll be the best ever!
  10. Sit down and … play piano or write poems or letters or play accordion… take time.
  11. What do you think I should add to my list?

There were items from past lists that didn’t get done (closets didn’t get cleaned, strangers didn’t get conversations… ) but I am not one to beat myself up over undone lists.  Most of the fun for me is imagining the possibilities and it is just bonus if they happen.  Probably I should add “start thinking about being 45!”  What will that mean?  What fun things will happen?

“Summertime
And the living is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high

Oh, your daddy’s rich
And your mama’s good lookin’
So hush little baby now
don’t you cry

One of these mornin’s
You’re gonna rise up singin’
Then you’ll spread your wings
And take to the sky

But til that mornin’
Ain’t nothin’ can harm you
With your daddy
And your mammy
standin’ by.”
–  George Gershwin and Dubose Heyward, Porgy and Bess  

Ferragosto Food Memories

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Delicious Italian Moscato for Drinks on the Dock!

Ferragosto 2012 is a beautiful memory!  It was hard to leave on Friday, as the sky was blue, that sun was warm and the air was cool… perfect for basking!  So bask I did… and when I got home I was exhausted!  All that sunshine wears a person out!

I mostly took pictures of the deliciousness that we all prepared… from the first bottle of bubbly (pictured above, which will definitely be purchased again! So delicious!), to …

Chunks of chicken with pesto pasta salad – oh my! Grilled peaches and homemade lemon sorbet not pictured (we ate them too fast to photograph!).

Antipasto platter for supper

Build-your-own-breakfast – always add chocolate (in the form of zucchini bread!)

 

Eggs in pepper shells – delicious!

 

Creamy cheesy and cucumber sandwiches on the softest pumpernickel!

Margaritas with beautiful garnishes!

More bubbly before the day ends…

I know I took pictures of people, too, but the food and drink were so delicious that we had to capture every bit!

But the most priceless thing about Ferragosto is the quiet time and the laugh out loud  moments, the serious talks and the silliness.  It was great to have people there all week – it just meant that I didn’t get as much reading done as I did last year when I was there alone!

Life is good.

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Ready for Ferragosto!

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Close to what I’ll be doing!

From my first Ferragosto invitation:

What is Ferragosto, you ask?  Ferragosto is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15.  Originally, it was related to a celebration of the middle of the summer and the end of hard labor in the fields.  In later times, the Roman Catholics adopted this date as the Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Before the Catholics, however, this holiday was celebrated in the Roman Empire to honor the gods – in particular Diana – and the cycle of fertility and ripening.  And that’s where it gets its name – “Feriae Augusti” = Festival of Augustus. 

In present days, Ferragosto is mainly a short holiday when Italians take brief vacations.  The holiday often coincides with the Perseid meteor showers which must be viewed in the pre-dawn hours.  

I am not Italian, going to Italy, or wanting to celebrate my fertility and ripeness!  But I do want to have a “holiday” time with friends and family! 

Monday night I am heading out for my 3rd annual Ferragosto vacation.  My suitcase is filled with sweats and swimming suits.  One decent outfit in case I want to be seen in public.  And cute pajamas.

Groceries include Italian wine and moscato, cheeses and crackers, fruit and cookies and bread.  Italian grapefruit soda and salami.  Others will bring tomatoes, peppers and salad.  We’ll see if we get around to grilling chicken or if it will just be tomatoes and zucchini and peaches on the grill.  🙂

Also packing magazines, books, and movies (Italian and non-Italian chick-flicks); the iPad is loaded with Italian music and my favorite Italian movie. The sunscreen and nail polish will be tossed in for discretionary use.

Looking forward to being at the end of the dock, hanging with beautiful friends and family, and being lazy on the water.  Good talks, good food and drinks, good times…

Come and join!

Maybe you’ll want to join me next year – put it on your calendars!  August 14-19, 2013!  I already put in for vacation!

Wherever you are, have a Buon Ferragosto!

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Happiness is… my own domain name?

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According to the Secret Society of Happy People today is the 13th Annual Happiness Happens Day.  August is Happiness Happens Month.  Or something.  But I’m all about Happiness, so I’ll buy in to anything that may make others think about happiness and what makes them happy and how to make others happy.  🙂

So for today, here’s what’s making me happy:

  • My own domain name.  Yes, I dropped the .wordpress.com and am now simply walkietalkiebookclub.com.  For $18 per year, why not?  Makes me feel legitimate or something.  I’ll check with my email subscribers to see if they still receive the email, but otherwise you’ll have to bookmark the very first website that I ever owned!
  • I got 7 hours of sleep today!  I worked overnight and was sooooooo tired this morning. I almost dozed off TWICE at work.  I fell asleep shortly after 7 and woke up at 10 and was worried… but next thing I knew it was after 2!  Yay! Bring on night two!
  • Planning and preparing for Ferragosto!  I’ll blog more about Ferragosto later this week…
  • Planning things, in general, makes me happy.  Right now I’m planning events for Cosmo Girls and my townhome community, another trip to NYC for my birthday, concerts (Jeremy Messersmith and Glen Hansard in September and Bruce Springsteen in November!), a Door County B&B stay with my fellow trivia contest winner in October, and maybe a spring adventure!  I seriously have a piece of paper by my computer with my upcoming days off listed and possible events to check into.  (I want to get to 4Daughters Winery!)

    He doesn’t look so happy!

  • The UPS brought my latest purchases from B&N yesterday, including a frame with the quote by Victor Borga, ” Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” I can’t wait to put a fun picture in there! Other purchases included the When Harry Met Sally DVD (where did mine go???) and the book “Wild” by Cheryl Strayed for Marissa (I’m sure I’ll read it sometime, too!).

Well, that’s a snippet.  I’m sure I’ll think of more.  I love the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast and they end every show with “What’s Making You Happy this Week.”  I’ll try to do more of that!  SO much to be happy about…

What’s making you happy this week?

Off to get ready for work!

 

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40 Things (3)

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Elizabeth tells her father that Darcy was resp...

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Playing along with Boof’s 40 Day Book Challenge for her 40th birthday, day 3 –

3) A book with a favourite character

I’m sure that there are others but last summer I read the book “Love Walked In” by Marisa de los Santos and I remember vividly that I wanted to be friends with Cornelia.  She was spunky and fun and kind and quirky and I wanted the best things for her.  There are a lot of other favorite characters, too.  Elizabeth Bennet (AND Mr. Darcy) in “Pride & Prejudice,” Lizbeth Salander in “The Girl…” books, Harry Potter, Oskar Schell in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” and I could go on and on.  But these are a few favorites.

Looking back on my list of 40 Things, my #3 was to “Learn some Italian.”  Not a very good goal – not specific or measurable – but again it’s more about the big picture than the minute steps.  I listened to a bunch of Italian podcasts and downloaded some vocabulary lists and that’s as far as it got.  I’d love to go to Italy someday and think that would be incentive to actually get the words to stick in my head.  I think my Italian Ferragosto holiday at the lake each August will also help inspire me to learn more Italian and get to Italy some day.

Off to read!