SURPRISE!!

YEAH!! I did it! I pulled off my first every surprise party. And let me tell you it was great! Both of my parents turned 60 this year so I had the idea to throw them a surprise party back in the summer. Dads bday was in September and Moms bday was this past Friday. I have always wanted to throw a surprise party so I figured this would be perfect.

Once I knew I wanted to do this the next question was where to have it. So I thought of one of our favorite restaurants at home, San Nicola, and figured it would be perfect. (Mike and I had our rehearsal dinner there). So getting mom & dad to the restaurant was easy. We said we were taking them out for their bdays at San Nicola. So naturally neither of them had a problem with it. The hard part was convincing them to go to a late dinner (8:45pm). The resturant only lets you have private parties on Fridays and at 530 or 830. So we went with the later time to allow everyone time to get there. I got all of moms friends names from her tennis partner (thank you Nancy!) and all of the boat people names & addresses from our good friend Barb. With their help I was able to compile a great guest list. I aslo had a couple neighbor friends coming. Along with the guest list our dearest family friends drove down from CT. I would say they are more like family than friends, The Buckleys. So they called mom & dad and told them they wanted to visit. Mom thought it was perfect so we could all be together and Judys bday was on Saturday so a perfect excuse to celebrate 2 great birthdays.

Venue- check, guest list-check, next stop invitations. I had some invitations made and sent them out..... and then everyone said yes! I couldn't believe it...although I should bc my parents are great people so who wouldn't want to come. But anyway everything was falling into place. Now it was just a waiting game until the special day arrived.

I can not tell you all the anxiety that I had. I couldn't sleep the week of the party I was so excited and nervous at the same time. The night before I hardly got a wink of sleep. I was so worried of everything that could go wrong and I did not want the surprise to be ruined. Mike assured me everything was out of my hands and it would be a great party no matter what.

So Friday afternoon Mike and I head to West Chester. The Buckleys were at our house already so they were able to keep my parents occupied. But as suspected mom & dad called on our way wanting to know when we would be home so we could head to dinner. When we got home we were all able to stall a bit saying we had to change our outfits. I took a little extra time getting ready.

And now we are off to the restaurant. I was able to text someone on the way to let them know we were coming. I was sooooo excited. So we walk in and have mom & dad go first. We had a back room in the restaurant so the guests we able to "hide" in the corner. As soon as mom walked around the corner the gig was up SURPRISE!!!!!!!! Oh Boy what a surprise it was. Mom instantly started crying (as suspected) and she turned and hit my dad. She thought he had done this.....but of course he had no idea either!! Oh man I was so happy everything went off without a hitch. The BEST surprise EVER. Neither of my parents had any idea!! It was just a wonderful evening. I couldn't have asked for a better night. So we drank, ate, and talked the night away with great friends.

Of course here are some pics. I have a ton of everyone that was at the party but these are just family pics....

All of us walking in after the surprise. Mom is still crying.

Mike & Mr. B with a drink. Both happy we pulled off the surprise

Mike & I thanking everyone for coming and talking about my sister and wishing she was there with us.

Mom (crying again) toasting to my sister

Dad trying to be funny

After, after, dinner drinks at home with great friends

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM & DAD. Love you

3 Happys

Happy Halloween, Happy Friday, and Happy Birthday. What a great weekend ahead. Candy, Costumes and Cakes how can you go wrong??

Happy Halloween- I have never been a huge fan of dressing up for Halloween but I do enjoy all the festivities that come along with the day. I like to see all the awesome costumes and of course eat all the candy. Speaking of candy....what is your favorite? Mine is 3musketeer bar. I remember trading candy with my friends after we got back from trick o treating. I was never a huge fan of PB cups so I had some trading leverage when it came to candy bc the PB cups were usually a favorite.

Happy Friday- TGIF!!! This week seemed to drag on for some reason so I am happy that it is finally Friday.

Happy Birthday Mom- Today my mommy turns 60! I can't believe it...more so that it means that I will be 30 soon. Yikes! But I am happy to be heading home this weekend to celebrate with mom. We are all going out to a nice dinner tonight and then will spend some time together this weekend. Wishing Adriana could be here but I know she will be with us in spirit.


I hope everyone has a great Halloween and a fun weekend. Till next week.

Best Friends Forever!

So my bestest friend and her family came to visit us this past weekend. It was a long overdue visit and we had a blast. For those of you who don't know Dani, or Danielle to the rest of the world, met when we lived next door to each other at the young age of 4. We became instant best buds until I moved away to Texas....but I came back to NY 18 months later and we were able to pick up where we left off. Until we both moved away, Dani to Indiana and I moved to Pennsylvania. We stayed friends through letters (I know crazy actual letters) and our annual summer visits. We would each visit each other for a week over the summers. We have grown and shared so many memories together. It is hard to believe that we are both married and Dani is expecting #2 already!! I am so grateful to have her in my life. We don't get to see each other often but when we do its like nothing has changed. We are able to pick up where we left off.

This past weekend was no different. Dani & company arrived Friday evening. So we all had a nice dinner and talked the night away. The next day Andy wanted to head into town to see the White House and all the other fun monuments in DC. So we all got ready, put on our walking shoes and headed out. We left no monument behind and we were out and about for 5 hours. I was beat at the end but no complaining here since I was not the one who was 6 months pregos.

Needless to say we all had a great day and it was PERFECT weather here in DC. Not too hot and perfect for walking around. Liam was such a trooper. He sat in his stroller and enjoyed the sights with us. We stopped a few times to have a snack and let Liam stretch his legs and of course enjoy the day. When we got home we ordered take out and the boys headed down to the man cave and Dani and I got to spend some girl time together.

This weekend really made me appreciate the special people in my life. It is so nice to have a great friend that has been there for you through all your big moments in life. We have so many memories and I can't wait to make many more. I miss her tons already and I know Mike and I will head to Indy to meet the new addition early next year. So here's to best friends and the special bonds you have in your life. Love you Dani!!

And as always here are some pics from our weekend.

The Tschidas at the White House

Our version of "modern family". It was funny that the boys were pushing Liam and Mike had our picnic lunch on his shoulder.

The boys running with Liam

Dani and I with the wonderful state that brought us together

Mike & I relaxing

The Besties

The cutie

And of course this post would not be complete without some old school pictures. Sorry Dani.

Recipes Galore!

Are you the type of person who reads magazines and then rips out any recipe that looks decent? Well I am guilty as charged! I just can't help myself. I am so inspired when I see a good recipe that I just know one day I will make it, right? Well wrong. I have found that I have gotten a bit out of hand with my collection. But what can I say when I get bored at work I turn to recipes. So now I have quite the stash. However, now that it is getting a little cooler and boat season is over, Mike and I have been home on the weekends. So I have made a promise to myself to try at least one recipe a week. (This includes baking as well). I am trying to put together a binder of all my amazing recipes (anal yes I know but I can't help myself). So if the recipe is not an instant hit it goes to the trash.

This past weekend I made 2 new items. Pumpkin Pie Bars and Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meatballs. Lets start with the bars. They were ok but not as good as I had hoped for. I found them on one of my favorite food blogs so I thought they would be a hit. I just didn't like the way the crust cooked. The crust had rolled oats in it and I just didn't like the way it came out. I haven't heard many complaints from Mike, and Ashley liked them as well, but I think they were both being nice. I may give them another shot but that would be breaking my instant love rule.

So on to the squash and meatballs. I have never cooked with spaghetti squash before but this recipe caught my eye for some reason. I saw it in my martha stewart magazine (click here for recipe) and it was one of those I ripped out with no intension of actually making. So I saw this as a challenge. (Even Ashley said after ready the recipe she would not have made it). So this meal was super healthy and as Martha says "an alternative to refined carbs" hence the spaghetti squash.

Mike made the meatballs for me.....we all know my adversity to raw meat...and then I cooked those for a bit while the squash was in the oven (cut sides down)

After the squash was finished I was supposed to scrap the flesh into nice strands using a fork. I did not believe my meal would look like the picture but little did I know after scrapingI was able to create perfect little strands of "spaghetti". Hence the name spaghetti squash. I know super cheesy that I am excited about this but it was cool.

Then I cooked the mushrooms and sauce and added spinach at the very end and voalla a nice healthy meal.

So I will carry on with my cooking and try to keep you posted....I must admit that most of my recipes are desserts so this could get ugly. And by ugly I mean me gaining a million pounds eating all my creations. Happy Eating

Pumpkins

This morning Mike and I went to get pumpkins at a local nursery. They had TONS so it was hard to pick the perfect one. Mike found a nice 40 pounder and I found some I liked as well. It was a perfect fall morning that we started off with pumpkin lattes and pumpkin loaf from Starbucks. I know some of you are thinking pumpkin overkill but I got to get it all in before its gone. Unfortunately they do not allow dogs so Louie had to stay at home but we got him to sit with the pumpkins when we got home. We will be carving my pumpkin later with the neighbors. I won't be as creative as mikes PSU pumpkins. I am thinking the standard triangle facial features. We shall see.

So now off to finish a few more chores before football Sunday. I will be trying a new recipe tonight so hopefully it goes well. I will take some pics to share. Hope you all have a great Sunday.

Nalls resident animals. I love Mr. Kitty sunbathing

How cute is Louie!! He was so patient while I took a bunch of pictures.

I wanted this one but it would have broke the bank!!

Going to School

I signed up for a photography class and I can't wait to be a student again. I bought a new camera this winter and I am still lost when it comes to using all the features it has. The pictures I have taken are pretty amazing, especially viewing them on my 27" mac monitor. I love photography and so I am excited to learn what my camera can do and hopefully find my "style" of photography. I would love to quit my job and take pictures all day....maybe some day. A girl can dream right. So until then I will learn everything I can to become the most amazing picture taker ever! haha. Maybe one day I will have another horse of my own to take pictures of....ok sorry I was still dreaming.

Ok time for school. I will keep you updated on my studies.

Happy October!

Can you believe it is October 1st!! Where has this year gone? I swear just yesterday it was Easter. I am embracing the fall and can't wait to wear my PSU hoodie this weekend. We have a tailgate planned for Saturday at our house so it will be a fun day. The weather looks perfect ' Mostly Sunny with a high of 69' Great tailgate weather. I can't wait for the leaves to start changing as well. Fall is so beautiful. Wouldn't it be nice to wake up to this everyday and sip your warm drink in your slippers and sweats.

And of course tribute to the Nittany Lion. PSU campus is so pretty in the fall, I miss it.

Have a wonderful fall filled weekend!