A True Madisonian
05 Jan 2010 3 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: people to see, places to be, things to do, travel
I was taking a look at the newest edition of Madison Magazine. One of the feature articles informed the readers of 62 activities they think every Madisonian should attend this year. Activities included checking out the Museum of Contemporary Art, take Meiko to one of the many great dog parks, shop on State Street, tour the Capital building, go to a concert at the Barrymore or Majestic, and many more cultural events around the city. Among these activities was a checklist “You’re not an official Madisonian until you:”
“Enjoy an ice cream or beer at the Memorial Union Terrace.
- I’ve had both-It’s one of my most favorite places to be in Madison enjoying beer and ice cream overlooking Lake Mendota with friends.
Me and Rob at the terrace
Scream your lungs out rooting for the badgers at a college sporting event.
- Ada took me to a Badgers football game last year against Penn State.
looks like we had fun tailgating, too
Stroll down State Street.
- My favorite shop on this street is called Pop Deluxe!
Take in the sights and sounds of quintessential Madison festivals: Willy Street Fair, etc.
- Rob, Meiko, and I went our first year in Madison to the Willy Street Fair.
Experience Madison’s lakes-on the water by boat or skis, around the water on foot or bike, or out on the ice in winter.
Lake Mendota
Make a lap around the Capitol Square during the Dane County Farmers Market.
- I LOVE the farmers market-pretty flowers, homemade baked goods, and fresh veggies/fruits.
mmmm freshly made that morning!
fresh cut flowers!
Catch a show at the Overture Center for the Arts.
- I’ve caught shows at the Majestic, the Orpheum, and at the University—don’t they count?!
Andrew Bird Concert
Watch fireworks set to music at Rhythm and Booms.
- I watched this my first 4th of July in Madison—I was two weeks old to Madison.
At least thumb through David Mollenhoff’s Madison: The Formative Years.
Cheer for the Mallards at the family friendliest of baseball games.
- Robbie and I went with a great group of friends last year-for FREE- I just flashed a smile and got us tickets.
Pack a picnic and listen to Madison’s favorite outdoor music session: The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra’s Concerts on the Square.
- This is always so much fun, packing wine and snacks while sitting with the rest of Madison on the lawn of the Capitol square listening to really talented musicians.
concert with Ada and Meiko
Develop an opinion on Frank Lloyd Wright and his Prairie Architectural Style.
- I have opinions.
Realize that having so much fun stuff to do makes Madison great- even if you can’t get to it all!”
- Madison is a great place to live!
I’ve completed quite a few on that list. I want to give a great big “THANK YOU” to Ada for opening my eyes to many of the great activities that she has showed me! I guess I need to embrace I’m a true Madisonian, well at least for another 2.5/3 years until Robbie is done with his PhD and we get to explore another wonderful city!
A Vaily Good Time!
30 Dec 2009 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: awesomeness, Christmas, friends, holidays, Life, love, meiko, people to see, places to be, sister, snow, sports, things to do, travel
After spending 34 hours in the car and a whole week on vacation with Robbie I can officially say I’m not sick of him! Good thing since I decided to marry him!! I was sad on Monday morning when I realized I didn’t get to spend the whole day with him and had to return to work.
Rob and Me skiing
Robbie and I skied a few days at Vail. Only about 28% of the Mountain was open due to lack of the fluffy white stuff, which seems like it’s not that much but we didn’t even ski all of the 28%; it’s that big! One of the afternoons Mac was able to meet up with us and take a few runs, It was easy to spot which way she went in her green jacket and red snow pants!
Mac and Me at the top of the Gondola
MacKenzie works at a really fancy/expensive seafood restaurant called Montauk where we visited her at the bar and had really yummy lobster macaroni and martinis. The wait staff was really confused when they saw me sitting there and then saw Mac bopping around. Some of them caught on that we were twins….I heard a “there is a girl that looks JUST like Mac at the bar!” a few times.
Me and Mac and Montauk
Karrisa and Rob at Montauk
The hockey team Mac and Karrisa play for had a friends and family night since everyone’s family was in town for the holidays so Rob was able to play with everyone and I sat in the stands with Meiko. I believe Rob was the only one WITHOUT full pads, he had some under his Redwings shirt but I bet he would’ve like to have had butt pads, too! Here’s Rob trying to score a goal on Mac…
Rob in Red, Mac in Yellow--blocking the goal
Meiko's watching the game
Four of our meals we ate at Moe’s in Lionshead at Vail. They have amazing pulled pork sandwiches, banana pudding, and macaroni! For only $9 you get the sandwich, your choice of 2 sides, and a drink—for anyone that’s been to Vail, that’s a STEAL! Everything is overpriced in Vail, so overpriced the gas stations don’t even put the prices up on their displays. I guess that’s the price you pay for living in paradise.
us at Moe's!
Going on vacation with Meiko was a real treat! It was so nice to come back from skiing and be tackled by her kisses and love. She was such a good traveler, sleeping 16.75 of the 17 hours there, and 17 of the 17 hours back! I think Meiko had a great vacation too; she was spoiled with love and got a few special presents from her GrandPawents; A snuggie and some very durable squeaky toys!
meiko in her snuggie
Robbie got some really great shoes, and I got the best present ever….spending time with Rob, Mac Karrisa, and Meiko. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ll get made fun of because it’s really not that funny… I had a VAILY good time –get it? Vaily instead of very… I know, I know.
sorry for the poor quality photos, I neeeeeeeeed more than just my iphone camera.
On The Road Again.
18 Dec 2009 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: Christmas, Dog, holidays, Life, people to see, places to be, sister, things to do, travel
We’re all set for our 17 hour road trip to Vail; we’ve got a full tank of gas, best friend (meiko) in tow, and a car full of smiles Here’s to a safe drive and good music to be played.
As my father always said while making sure we had everything we needed for our trip, “ski’s, boots, poles, gloves” I think we have everything needed to make this a great trip!
See you soon MacKenzie and Karrisa!
–update–we’ve made it through Iowa, now it’s robs turn to drive :)
Don’t fly away!
17 Dec 2009 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: crafts, Creative, engagement, love, places to be, save the date, wedding
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve sent out our save the dates so almost everyone should have received their copy.
We talked about doing the ever so popular save the date magnets. We were then quickly reminded that not everyone has a magnetic fridge…my parents being among that short list. So we decided to go the postcard route.
I thought about using vistaprint.com for the printing. When you sign up for their emails, they’ll send you at least an email a day, but in those emails you’ll find free products offered ALL THE TIME. The printing would’ve been free after I had clicked on the email but I would’ve had to pay the $7 shipping charge, not so bad, eh? However; we decided not to wait for the order and take the files I created to Officemax…all by myself in Illustrator, I might add. Not the easiest program to use, so, go me. Officemax had the postcards printed and cut within 30 minutes of walking through the door. The whole reason behind not waiting was so that we could get them in the mail sooner rather than later (trying to avoid heavy holiday mail traffic!) By going this route, I had created the files, had them printed and addressed/stamped all within 24 hours. I think it was worth the extra couple dollars not having to wait. Plus I was able to have my Grandmother and Mom help their opinions and addressing! Here’s the finished product!
save the date front (rob is flying away)
One thing I wasn’t going to compromise on was having rounded corners, I think postcards look 10times better with rounded corners. The back says, “don’t let this day fly away!” (Get it? Because Robbie’s flying away?)
save the date back
What do you think?!
Smile!
13 Dec 2008 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: family, friends, places to be, reasons to be happy
On Thursday, my family and Robbie are headed out west, to Colorado. Our agenda? Ski, sleep, eat, relax, and enjoy the holiday season with friends and family. I’m sure a little Guitar Hero will be played, too. All of which make me one happy girl! I hear the snow is happy we’re coming, it’s got a smile on.
happy snow
Niner-Niner
03 Nov 2008 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: awesomeness, places to be, things to do, travel
Friday, Halloween night, I was not out on the streets of Madison dressed in a costume, I did not pass out candy, I did however go to bed at 9:30 in anticipation of my 7am departure to East Lansing in the private jet.
The plane picked me up right outside the door, walked right on, and off we went. I was the co-pilot, headset and all. Let me tell you, it was such a fantastic experience. It’s a totally different feeling than when in a commercial flight. In efforts of not sounding lame, I felt like all of the worlds problems and issues were below me and I didn’t have a worry at all. I learned some new jargon and ate up the experience in it’s entirety.
Posted are some photos of my new spoiled lifestyle as previously mentioned in this post!
Walking right up!
Niner-Niner
It was a 12 hour trip from pick up to drop off. Michigan State won with 25 seconds to go. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Saturday than with friends from across the country, a win for MSU, and a private jet to get me there!
Ready, Set, Jet!
31 Oct 2008 2 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: awesomeness, places to be, things to do
I don’t want to brag, but, tomorrow morning I’ll be taking a private jet to the Michigan State/Wisconsin football game! I’m only a little extremely excited.
The photo below depicts my new future as a jet-setter.
can't you tell it's me?
I’m not clever enough to have come up with that photo on my own, you can see more here!
A Concert on the Square
31 Jul 2008 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: people to see, places to be, things to do
There is no way to be bored in Madison during the summer. It’s as if the winters are so horrible Madisonites take every opportunity to cram something in during the warmer weather.
Imagine this all around the square...that's a lot of people!
Every Wednesday The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra performs a two segment concert on the Capitol Square. It’s really an enjoyable time. The square fills up fast starting at 4pm, concert starts at 7pm, with blankets and lawn chairs covering the grass. Picnic baskets are filled with cheese/crackers, wine, and fruits are often spotted atop the blankets. I’ve even seen small roll up tables that sit no more than a foot off the ground. As you probably guessed, I go with Ada, Meiko, and my bug spray. The rules are pretty simple, the chairs can’t be more than 6 inches off the ground and try not to talk…It’s basically just an excuse to get everyone that lives in Madison downtown to be social so I suppose the only rule that is followed is the chair rule.
