birthday girl

my sister.


today, is her birthday.


and if you would have asked me last year, i would have said it was impossible, but this year, i can honestly say i love her even more than i did in years past.


i always knew i was lucky to have her, but she really just keeps getting better and better.


i would list a million things that are cool about her. but i think this picture says it all...she is good and pure, just as her sweet and tender face leads one to believe.


i can always count on her to pick up where i lack, she is positive when i am negative, sensible when i overreact, funny when i am morose, and excited when i am tentative.


and today, i will celebrate her all day long, and will find it hard to believe that the blond, freckled little girl who used to annoy me is now one of the greatest parts of my life. and tonite as she blows out her candles, she will wish for something secret but i will make my own wish: to one day become the sister she is to me.



P.S. sorry for the all the sappy-ness sister - I can't help it sometimes!

P.P.S. thanks for being my blog's biggest fan.

christmas cheer is here

we cozied up in the car.

hung a sparkly ornament from the mirror.

tuned into the holiday music station.

stopped at starbucks for cocoa.

and drove through ritzy neighborhoods, to look at all the shiny lights.

much to ryan's dismay and poor ears, i yelped, quite loudly, when i saw the canopy of twinkle lights that continued for a block. it was just so full of magic.

our last stop was to see this mighty tree, glowing in all it's glory.

my heart was silently singing, "o tannenbaum".

fearful that my ears would freeze and shrivel up, we headed back to the car where our cocoa awaited and duty called. our own little tree at home stood naked, quietly waiting for the night when ryan and i would disagree about lighting techniques, reach a compromise and then plug it in to see the room suddenly become awash in a golden glow. at that very moment, i will whisper...."ooooohhh", as i do every year. these christmas trees get me every time.

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last night, i smiled remembering this night.

and today i smile, remembering this night, and the memory of starting this little journal one year ago.

golden goose

last night, i came home to a specific mister of mine in the kitchen with oven gloves on both hands. let's be real: my mister and i have a lovely division of labor worked out and he is a very capable man, but cooking usually falls on my side of the chore list.

mister had roasted a beautiful chicken and made garlic mashed potatoes. He proudly opened the oven and said in his irish brogue, "a golden goose for my golden lady." I beamed.

we ate in between smiles. and i felt warm inside.

we bundled up and began a loooooong walk and he held my mittened hand the whole time. we admired and critiqued christmas light jobs and stopped at rite aid for candy. i got andes chocolate mints. i adore those little rectangle mints that you find tucked in with your check at a restaurant, i always wish i had ten more just like it. but then when you have a whole box at your disposal, somehow they lose their lustre. isn't that funny?

we trekked home and hopped right in the car to find our christmas tree. i love a big tree, but for some reason, this year, i wanted a little tree for our little house. so after much deliberation, we found our little 2010 tree. a humble little four foot noble fir. and i couldn't love it anymore.

tonight, we will decorate that tree. and all will feel right with the world.

sister slumber soiree

one my favorite things in the world must be a slumber party, and of course sister slumber parties rank pretty high.

we did a lot of snuggling, some bickering and A LOT of laughing, mostly because emily is a riot and also because we watched the hangover. i had a sore throat for two days afterwards. from laughing.

we decided to make breakfast for dinner after we discovered that the chicken i had taken from the freezer and had planned to roast was still half frozen - typical. luckily, it all worked out because rachel makes some mean eggs, melt in your mouth bacon and this night, she also made hash browns from scratch! yummmmm...

after a random late night run to mcdonalds for cokes, a katy perry dance party in the car and an attempt to watch elf we finally walked our sleepy sister bodies to bed...

the next morning we lazied around, but we didn't feel too badly because it was sunday after all. we piled on one bed, played nintendo ds, read magazines, and emily beat my fruit ninja top score on my iphone. stinker.

then we made breakfast. again. what silly girls we are! this time we had french toast and fruit...and a little bubbly.

after some more lounging, we soon got to work making a dish we could take home and enjoy all week. this lasagna recipe is special and amanda gave me the recipe at my bridal shower. i had yet to attempt it until today because....well, in short, it seemed tough and i needed rachel, who i equate to be my own personal pioneer woman. while rachel interpreted the four page recipe, emily kept us laughing. hysterically.

we chopped and stirred. and my favorite part was showing the girls the magic of shredding cheese in the cuisinart. its like magic.

we took brief breaks to "dance it out".

and soon it was time to begin stacking all that goodness...

three lasagnas for three sisters.

speak no evil, hear no evil, see no evil.

and just when i thought the day couldn't get any better, my mister came home and we ate by candlelight and ryan had seconds. which is always my cue that i made something pretty alright.

and then he did the dishes, while i put my feet up and talked incessantly from the table. awesome.

sometimes it's all about...

...breakfast for dinner.

glo{w}

my grandma grew up with twelve siblings, two boys and ten girls. they grew up and had their own children. but they stayed as close as could be and in their later years, the sisters, including my grandma, always traveled in a pack, traipsing between birthday parties and lunch dates. i remember when "the aunts" would arrive at our birthday parties. they would get out of the car and walk up the walkway together, all in a row, purses dangling, just waiting to kiss your cheek and give you a trinket. "the aunts" included ellie, connie, pat, and gloria, or as we all called her, aunt glo.

aunt glo was beautiful. she had the biggest, rosiest cheeks and bluest eyes. she was sassy and would sometimes tell a naughty joke and then wink. her eyes always seemed to sparkle like magic and the i realized that she just laughed so hard and so often tears would form her eyes. when i was growing up she always sent me a birthday card with a crisp five dollar bill. i used to wonder how she remembered all those birthdays, surely there were over fifty of us little ones.

she died in early november. the last time i saw her was at my bridal shower in april. she had given me four, perfectly crocheted dish towels. her cheeks were rosy that day. and when she hugged me goodbye she pinched my bum and giggled. i treasure those dish cloths even more than i did the day she gave them to me.


so the rodrigo clan gathered at my grandma's house last week to remember the life and times of our aunt glo.

everyone brought food and dessert to share. there were many of our family's favorite dutch treats, including speculaas and boterkoek.

there were so many aunts, uncles, cousins, many of whom we had not seen in years. one member of the third american rodrigo generation (my generation) even had welcomed a new baby, beginning a whole new generation. the baby was a girl, of course :)

as i drove home, my heart felt heavy for my grandma. she had lost one her closest sisters. again. i was reminded of how short it all is. again.


i reminded myself that aunt glo had lived, loved and had left her mark and when this view came into my sights i was comforted...



it was undeniable: the sky was glowing. and part of it always will. for her.

giving thanks

we were greeted with a lovely rosemary, pear spritzer...festive!

we shot skeet. because that is just what we do on thanksgiving. at casa de awesome.

we strolled the grounds, accompanied by two very american labradors. and i got a leaf stuck on my boot.

i admired my mama's decorations and perfectly simple and elegant table scape.

i marvelled at the rocha's ability to whip up a roux on a camp stove. in the driveway. for their delicious brussel sprout gratin.


we ate...

and ate. it was one of the best meals of my adult life. this is not a lie, nor an exaggeration.

everyone contributed to our feast...turkey and stuffing by grandma, second turkey, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and desserts by mama and daddy, homemade rolls by rachel (best ever!), queens beans by tante heidi and tia (one of my favorite dishes of all time), and salad and brussel sprout gratin by the rocha's.

as we do at every thanksgiving, we also had the punch. my grandma has always made it and it is still one of my favorites. ginger ale and grape juice...it is heavenly.

we embarked on a long, chilly walk and then posed for a family picture.

and a silly one too.

we hugged one another, grateful for another year of bounty, dessert and fantastic wine. and then we had a dance party in the kitchen.

the day ended with coffee, homemade pies (as in pumpkin pies from SCRATCH, courtesy of my mother and uncle joe) and a rousing game of catch phrase.

how wonderful it is to spend a day immersed in laughter, incredible food and some of my favorite people in the world, all while realizing that our greatest gift is love - of all forms.

i am thankful. for it all.

it's the little things...

during thanksgiving week, i am always thinking about the things i am most grateful for in my life, like my mister, our family and friends. i also think about other things like health, paychecks, shelter, air conditioning and transportation.

but today, i thought i would give a shout out to the little things, the things not necessary to survival or the pursuit of happiness, but which still add tremendous joy to my little life.

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1. hair products. i simply hate the feeling and look of my hair without them.

2. white, fluffy towels. is there a better way to end a hot shower?

3. jillian michaels. i love to hate her but am thankful for the workout she can give right in the comfort of my very own living room.

4. the jam my grandmother makes for our entire family every year. every type of fruit and combination you can imagine. my favorite is strawberry rhubarb.

5. toothpaste. i actually think this is a necessity for me. i am flat-out addicted to teeth brushing.

6. my go-to blanket. made by my Dinha for my eighteenth birthday and treasured ever since.

7. flowers delieverd by my mister on a random saturday morning, just because.

8. two dollar sparkly, holiday treats found at target.

9. shoes and the ability to make my legs move.

10. avocados. because everything is better, and richer with a chunk or two of this magical fruit...burritos, salads, sandwiches...etc.

birthday girl

today is this lovely maid's birthday.

my cousin, Amanda.

top ten reasons to love her:

* she is a fascinating and brilliant mother. one of the best i have seen.

* she will never forget to send a thank you note or a note "just because".

* her house is always impeccable and organized. at least, every time i have seen it.

* she is such a gracious hostess, like a true southern belle. seriously, you should stay the night at her house sometime, it's like resort living.

* she has a voice like a lullaby, which i think she got from her mother, soft, soothing and empathetic. but she can yell like the sailor too.

* she is as tough as nails. one strong woman she is.

* she baked banana bread on the morning of my wedding and convinced me that i needed wedding day perfume to always remind me of that day. and then she bought me some.

* she used to play make-believe with me when we were tiny, even though she is four years older than me.

* she has always given me really good advice about boys.

*she knows me really well its almost creepy.

* she is the older sister i never had.

i love you dee. a lot. and i hope your birthday is perfect, even though you are stuck painting. which i know you don't like.

would it help if i baked you a cake?

game night

saturday was a rainy night! so we agreed to hunker down with pizza, beer, apples to apples and the wedicks!


such a lively combination...

i was nervous at first to introduce a game no one had played before. what if they hate it but feel obliged to play and be good guests?


luckily, the wedick's are very good at reading directions (something us kelly's are pretty deficient in) and we played for almost two hours! the boys beat the girls real bad. landra and i thought they were cheating at first, but then just agreed they were on the same weird wave length.

we laughed so hard at one point i was afraid i would scare everyone away with my "real" laugh. hint: its not pretty.

then we watched home alone. one of my favorite movies of all time.

i am thinking game night is a monthly must do...

hair envy

erika created this little gem and posted it on facebook last week.


and i can't stop staring at it.

suprisingly, my obsession has nothing to do with the pale skinned vampire clutching my waist, but has everything to do with those long, luscious locks i am sportin'.



how do i get hair like that?



anyone?

date night.

last night was date night. and we headed to espanol, which confuses me because it is an italian restaurant. anyway, this place has been around since 1923 and you know i love all things retro.


we have come here before and sometimes i pretend that we are sitting next to mobsters who are discussing grisly murders and illicit business deals in a cryptic, accented tongue. sometimes i even see tony and carmella soprano.


but last night, i only saw ryan.

but i also saw the huge plate of raviolis and authentic pesto that was placed in front of me and the never ending bread supply. heaven, i tell you.

after our meal, we headed to the grocery store, which is not really a chore but more like date night, part two. we had cheese and milk on our list but ryan snuck some little debbies in the cart and expressed his happiness that nutella has made its way to the states. not really. he hates that stuff.

homeward we headed and we went out for a nice, long walk. we agreed that the air was still, the sky was clear and what a great night it would be for a telescope. ryan picked me an apple from a tree and i eagerly bit into it only to discover it was unripe orange. as i pried the bitter rind from my teeth i asked ryan to see how far he could throw that pre-mature orange. he did. and it was far.

once home, we curled up on the couch and watched some stupid movie about the end of the world. but i couldn't pay attention; wrapped in my favorite blanket, with my head on ryan's shoulder and the smell of citrus still in my nose, all i could do was take one moment to remark on how cozy i felt, how i loved pesto and cuddling almost equally and how much i hated unripe citrus before i slipped off into dreamland...

tardy weekend report

i spend saturday watching playing with these little darlings...we watched sponge bob, which i cannot stand, colored for hours, walked and played at the park.

sunday was spent in the kitchen, preparing a cold day classic: pot roast.

i chopped, seasoned and browned in between a couple frantic texts to my sister for advice about potatoes. bless her.

i think the rosemary is the star of this dish and i love a meal that feels "old world" or very english...which this one did to me. And what is not to love about a one-pot meal.

katie came for dinner. she brought wine, lilies, a hand-me-down iphone for me and even cuddled my disturbed cat - now that is a good friend.

katie is one those glorious types of friends that stretches my brain, exercises the debater in me and encourages me to think. i love that. we talked about lofty goals, our thoughts on big issues like religion and psychology and then small things like being pisces, disney, cruises, running and our disappointment with target's fall collection. and then she went home.

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after i watched her drive away, i settled in and watched four episodes of in treatment. have you seen that show? i am completely intrigued by it. there is something i will always love about "crazy" and the process of figuring out how another person is wired. i am also very fond of gabriel bryne ever since i watched him steal Jo's heart in little women. he always looks so weathered and pained, like his life story is composed of one tragdy after another. maybe it is. but his eyes remain so soft and kind.

that, and i am just a sucker for an irish accent.