Weekend of Celebrations

This was quite a weekend of celebrations. 

I attended a memorial service celebrating the life of a friend's father filled with beautiful speeches from friends and family members.

I celebrated the fact that I can still sit around a table of food, stare at a dog, and talk about anything and everything with some friends that I have known for a long, long time.

I celebrated the return of summer by taking a nice long walk around Lake of the Isles with a friend that I do not see enough of.

I went to the State Fair to celebrate the best (and possibly, the worst) of Minnesota.

And maybe most importantly, I spent Saturday night celebrating Peter and Rachel as they got hitched in the rain...with some assistance from my cookies...

Rachel looked beautiful.

My first "catering" gig!

My Favorites

New Year's Eve is not my "favorite" holiday. In fact, like many other people, I believe that it is over-rated and over-hyped and often leads to the celebrant being let down. Ben and I decided to forego a party this year and instead go out to eat at our favorite restaurant which, as it turns out, is also the place where we were married. 

As opposed to simply posting a mildly boring recount of a wonderful New Year's Eve (which it was), I decided to indulge you with a list of some of my favorite things (which also means that I have tricked you into looking at a few wedding photos):

Favorite Restaurant: Café Lurcat

Not only do they serve a wonderful meal, they can also put on a spectacular New Year's Eve and, if I may say so myself, a fantastic wedding.

Favorite Part of New Year's: The Gerber, The Kuller, The Gerbler

My husband surprised me at New Year's dinner with the three drinks that we created for our wedding.

Favorite Chocolate Cake: Turtle Cake from Cafe Latté

I am suspicious of any individual who lives in the Twin Cities but has never had a piece of Cafe Latté 's Turtle Cake. And, please, do not try to convince me that there is a better piece of chocolate cake on the planet. 

It just so happened to be our wedding cake! 

Favorite Photographer: Studio306

No words can describe their talent.

Favorite Piece of Art: Our Ketubah

The Ketubah from our wedding which now hangs beautifully in our apartment.

Favorite Photos: Self Portraits in Photo Booth

Here are four of the photos. There are 994 more that are equally great.