Heading home...

...to St. Anthony Main, Medyk, MPLS, our backyard, our families, to MN. I plan on enjoying this weekend to the max, maybe with some of this lovely looking refreshment? My mom just called to tell me she has fresh strawberries waiting for us; this might be just perfect.

{via}

It couldn't be a more perfect day to be coming home - it's my mom's birthday today! This is my all time favorite picture of her when she was younger. Beautiful, isn't she?

Mnohaya lita, Mama! Can't wait to see you...in just a few hours! 

Getting crafty.

Full disclosure - my sister's the one who's crafty, and that's definitely come through as she's planned this bridal shower! Want proof? These lovely tissue flowers are currently overtaking the top of the piano in my mom's living room:

I hope I'll be able to channel some of her skills in the next month, as she's off to New York for a few weeks for a dance workshop where she will be more occupied with chaînés tournes and combinations than with all my extreme bridezilla demands. While I'm super excited for her, I'm so going to miss our daily chat sessions! But those few weeks will FLY by, and then she'll be back, and we'll be back...and then we'll be getting down to crunch time.

I can't wait to see everyone this weekend. It's definitely going to be a bit of a whirlwind - there's lots to get done, including a dress fitting and a meeting with our wonderful photographer, and the shower, of course! I'm so, so grateful to everyone who has helped in the planning process and to those coming this Saturday! Andrew and I are so lucky to have you in our lives, and especially your continued love and support. That's what means the most! 

Five things.

{via}

-------1-------

Today I received an email from one of our registries informing me that there are only "8 weeks left until your big day!" I can't get over how fast the time has gone. It makes me crazy excited that our wedding will be here so soon, yet slightly anxious for all that's left to be done. I'm not stressed though, promise. 

-------2-------

Cheremosh's concert at the Cowles Center was fantastic. It was so strange to not be backstage among the chaos that inevitably drives everyone slightly crazy before show time. I was, of course, nervous as I waited for the curtain to come up for Pryvit, and found myself counting/tapping/thinking through the steps and combinations that I knew in my head more than once during the program.  This was actually the first dance concert I've ever watched in full from the audience in my life. Everyone did an incredible job, and I'm so proud of all the dancers. 

-------3-------

It's my mama's birthday this Thursday. I can't think of a better way to celebrate with her than to actually do just that in person - we'll be home in time for dinner, Ma!! 

-------4-------

Yesterday afternoon, Andrew and I went to the beach that's just a few blocks from our apartment. It was crowded, but felt absolutely perfect to be out in the sun. It made me want to take a vacation to someplace tropical and hot with fresh sea food and bright sunshine. For the time being, though, Atwater and Lake Michigan will just have to do. It's so nice to have it so close by! 

-------5-------

A big congratulations to Alex at Life. Law. Luck: happy wedding planning!! 

Car crash cookies.

No worries, everyone's ok. Everyone except our Avtochko...but he will be fine eventually.

Yesterday, as I was leaving work, I found pieces of my car on the road next to where it was parked. It took a second for me to realize that someone had hit it, but then I saw the note on my windshield (thankfully, there was a note on the windshield!). Apparently an employee of a construction company wasn't paying enough attention to his turns or had some spacial awareness issues. Anyway, long story short, the front of the car is currently strapped on with little plastic ties, the light is broken but will be taped up until it can get properly repaired, and there's quite the scratch that will need a serious paint job. Avtochko will just not look as pretty for a while.

It was a bit of a process to deal with last night (and this morning), but when I came home from work yesterday, I was so glad to have some cookie dough ready in the freezer...and a gin and tonic poured and waiting for me, thanks to my wonderful fiance. I had made the dough for a batch of these peanut butter cookies earlier in the week and thought ahead to not bake the entire amount just then, which made last night's dessert a quick and easy process. I have to admit they didn't turn out as well as they did earlier this week - my mind was elsewhere (and Hannibal was on - anyone else love to be scared by that show?!). But still, this just goes to show how great - and necessary - it is to have cookie dough on hand in the freezer.

Peanut Butter Cookies, adapted from Smitten Kitchen. 
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1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup peanut butter (we both like the chunky kind!) 

1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling 

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp vanilla extract 

 Chocolate chips, as many as you want! 

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside. 

In the large bowl of a mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter for several minutes until combined and fluffy. Add sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg, milk, and extract, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Slowly add the flour mixture and beat until dough comes together. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

Drop the dough by a tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; sprinkle with extra sugar. Make sure to leave plenty of space between each cookie, as the dough expands quite a bit. Use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern on the cookies. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look underdone, but they're not, they're just perfectly soft and chewy. Leave them on the baking sheet for about a minute, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. 

I've found that 8 cookies per sheet works well. This ensures you won't eat the entire batch (trust me, you may want to) and leaves plenty of dough to freeze for tomorrow's dessert, unexpected visitors, or emergency situations, as above.  

Good news.

Bring out the champagne!

{via}

We'll be home this evening, ready for a long weekend in the Cities. Our days are going to be filled with family, cuddling with the pup, wedding preparations, dancing (the concert's tomorrow!), and grilling in weather that's supposed to be nearly perfect. That, on its own, is plenty of reason to celebrate.

But there's also this, something I've wanted to write about for a while, but wanted to make sure everything was in place and settled before anything was mentioned. I'm superstitious that way - I'm that person that actually knocks on wood when I don't want to jinx anything. Last week, Andrew received the news that we've been waiting to hear for months. After two semesters of extremely dedicated and committed work, hundreds of pages of (great) writing, plenty of hoping, emailing, and yes, a bit of anxiety, he was awarded a teaching assistantship for next year. We cannot believe how fortunate we are; so few are given out, and there was a good chance that this was going to be just out of reach for him this fall...but sometimes, when you least expect it, life decides to prove that hard work, patience, and persistence pays off.

{blurry, but bubbly}

We celebrated together when we found out last week, but now, our trip home this weekend means so much more because we'll be able to celebrate this news with our families, who've been so supportive and encouraging throughout this whole process. Next fall, my fiance (he'll be my husband by then!!) will be teaching two classes in addition to continuing his PhD work. It's already on UWM's registration website, which I happen to think is pretty fantastic. I'm so, so proud of him, and can't wait to see what opportunities this presents for us!

Summer is off to an amazing start.

Taking over.

Our dining room table often doubles as a desk, an extended prep space for cooking, a cooling rack for freshly baked bread or cookies, and/or a mailbox. In February, it was covered with bar outlines and note cards; in March, pysanky took over. Today, our lovely wedding invites, enclosures, and envelopes are spread out across the table, getting ready to be sent out to our family and friends. I'm beyond excited, but can't believe we're actually to the point of sending out our invitations! 

I must say, they're much prettier than note cards about Evidence rules. 

Saturday Post No. 8

This has been quite the busy week, but we're ready for everything this summer is throwing at us. It's going to be a good one. 

Yesterday turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day and night, so we took advantage of it and went for a nice long walk to a part of the lake that's a bit north of us. That's one of the best things about living on a "Great Lake" - it's huge, and there are so many paths and trails to explore. It was perfect. 

We'll be home in a few days for Cheremosh's concert at the Cowles Center. This is going to be an incredible show, and even though I'm not with them week in and week out, I'm still so proud of how hard everyone's been working, from the instructors and dancers to the parents and volunteers behind the scenes. I can't wait to see this! And of course, we'll be spending as much time with family as we can, and throwing in some additional wedding planning in between concerts, parties, and grill outs. I'm predicting a whirlwind of a weekend. 

Much love to everyone at home and our friends who are elsewhere. It's actually quite amazing how many of our friends from Minnesota are now in all sorts of different places (as are we!), but I'm so excited for everyone to reunite together in August. Just a bit more than 2 months to go! 

This month.

June started off perfectly with a visit from my sister. We wandered around MKE, enjoyed wonderful meals together, and indulged in some much needed girl time, complete with frozen yogurt, face masks, wine, and Vicky Christina Barcelona (a favorite of hers). I loved every single minute. 

This month is shaping up to be a good one...two trips home and lots to celebrate! Here's hoping your June is filled with sunny days.