Haa Hee Hachoo!

Just as I was getting ready to schedule my flu shot, I caught the bug. I'm assuming the little bugger got me at some point on the plane to/from SLC, in spite of me choking down glasses of the disgusting "Airborne". The doctors won't even let me come in for an appointment due to my "flu like symptoms" and the risk of infecting others, so they instructed me to stay at home and rest, drink fluids, and don't come back into work until my temp. is under 100 for 24 hours without meds. It spiked to 100.4 for the first time this morning and afternoon, but it was down to 99.8 tonight so I'm monitoring it and hoping I can be back in business by Thursday. I hate being a prisoner to my home, I even had to miss our wedding menu tasting tonight! :( So, I have been home from work for the past two days and will be again tomorrow looking a little something like this:

*Photo was e-mailed to me today compliments of a co-worker and his excellent skills with photoshop. I think they miss me in the office :)

On a better note, I had a great weekend. Got to see Zombieland (which was hilarious), visit the Trail of Terror (which was predictable, but fun none the less), and play with wedding flowers with my friend and florist Micki.

Now have a good week and I'll see YOU when I'm better.

Salt Lake City

I am in Salt Lake City on a business trip. I am in my hotel room with sandals on, because you never know what is in the carpet. I can describe most of what makes up this town with three "M"s: Mountains. Mexican restaurants. Motels. One motel even advertised their "Honeymoon Suite". Oh yeah, and I walked past a bridal boutique called "Later Day Brides". Don't see that every day. There seems to be a large Mexican population here. At first I wondered why Mexicans would migrate "so far north", but then I looked on a map and realized Utah is just east of Nevada. Duh. The temple is beautiful, but other than that Salt Lake looks like an "Old West" town in the middle of a beautiful mountain basin. There are a handful of modern buildings and nice restaurants, but other than that everything is pretty old & run down. But like I said, the scenery is to die for. Just gorgeous. Meh, check it off the list. At least it's warm here. Back to the tundra tomorrow...

Napa Valley, MN...!?

Interesting fact of the day: The Midwest is one of the fastest-growing areas for vineyards and grape crops in the nation in both land mass and production, and major wine-producing states such as California are already starting to feel the economic "pressure" from the rolling plains in the Midwest. Jared and I learned that tidbit of knowledge this past weekend on the 2nd Annual "Barefoot Bus to the Vineyards" sponsored by Twin Cities Friends of St. Judes. This AWESOME event loaded about 40 "young professionals" onto a bus from Minneapolis to three amazing vineyards on the MN Wine Trail (numbers 1 - 3 on the below map). When the event "hostess" cracked a bottle of champagne as the bus departed at 10am, I knew it was going to be a great day.

The day started at stop #1: Valley Vineyards in Prescott, Wisconsin. We were amazed as the bus pulled into a quaint, country neighborhood and led us to a beautiful home and vineyard on a hill. It turns out the owner got "the itch" three years prior and started making his own wines in his basement, and soon after his hobby turned into a full-blown vineyard. It was inspiring to talk to him as he has my dream job! We tasted his wines, toured his cellars, ate cheese and had great conversation with his neighbors who poured the wine for us. He recruited them in the very beginning stages to help him bottle, label, and eventually build his cellar. I hope I have neighbors like that someday.

Stop #2 brought us to Maiden Rock Winery & Cidery in Maiden Rock, WI. This is a GORGEOUS little town that is literally on a rock overlooking the river. I would highly reccommend passing through if you ever have a chance. This winery was adorned with hay bales, pumpkins, scarecrows, and anything else you would hope to see in the fall. It was very impressive to see a larger more festive location after visiting a small, newer vineyard. They lead us on a tour, showed us how they make their fruit wines & hard ciders, and finally lead us to the tasting room!

Stop #3: Vino in the Valley in Ellsworth, WI was last but definitely not least. Out of all three vineyards this was by far the most beautiful. The building was fantastic and the scenery was breathtaking. I couldn't believe I had lived only an hour from such a beautiful place for my entire life but I had never been there nor even heard of the place. The "outdoor" building was toasty in spite of the 40-degree weather (thanks to the wine and many heat lamps) and they lead us straight into a tasting which was followed by a yummy outdoor italian dinner. We then sat by the bonfire, played bean bags, and relaxed on a hayride.

The day wasn't cheap, but every penny we spent went toward helping the kids at St. Jude's Hospital. It was an amazing day, and we can't wait to go back next year!!

Engagement Pictures

About a month ago Jared & I had an outdoor engagement session with our wedding photographer - Alex del Toro from Imagen International. LOVE him. We already had engagement photos taken by Jared's aunt Peggy about a month after he proposed, but our new photographer insisted he do one with us as well so he could get to know how we photograph (plus - he did it for free. SCORE!)

So, on a lovely and HOT September Sunday afternoon we headed toward the lakes to meet Alex and take some lovey-dovey photos in front of the hordes of walkers/joggers/boaters/eaters. Jared was pretty embarassed at first..."You mean, I have to kiss HER, in front of ALL THESE PEOPLE!?"...but after Alex made fun of him and talked some football, he settled down. Here are a few of our favorites:

I can't wait to marry this man!!

Welcoming Fall

What a smack in the face. I love fall, but this year it hit HARD. The 2nd to last weekend in September the weather was still beautiful - low 80's, sunny, pleasant. And then our wonderful state remembered who she was and pulled the rug from under us. In less than a week it changed to mid-40s, windy and RAINY! I don't think it has stopped "drizzling" in an entire week. What's up with that? But, instead of complaining, I am going to embrace this lovely season with my entire being. While it is depressing to say "good bye" to summer, I do love fall, especially: Pumpkin spice coffee, changing leaves, leaving the window open at night and cuddling under the covers, sweatshirts, decorating the yard with pumpkins and scarecrows, apple orchards, scary movies, HALLOWEEN. But not so much: how it only last about a month in MN, and then Old Man Frost settles in for the next 5-6 months. To get into the spirit, Jared and I have already knocked out two horror movies (watch: The Blood Book - creepy movie!!), bought a bottle of Pumpkin Spice syrup for our morning coffee, and headed out with a group of our friends this weekend for Oktoberfest at Gasthofz in NE Minneapolis. We went to celebrate a few special birthdays, and had a BLAST! You can't lose with good friends, Steins of German beer, and a real live polka band. Here are some highlights: "Snuff Lady!!" The birthday girl on stage with the polka master! And speaking of Fall and pumpkins, tonight we got to visit our favorite little pumpkins who just turned 6 months old! Photo courtesy of their blog :) :