Pink Suitcase Chronicles #49: Older-saurus

Once again, we gathered in Michigan at the family cabin to
celebrate five --- five --- birthdays in one swoop: John, Jed,
Kari, Anne and Wes.  Because one in the group is crossing from
the twenty decade to the thirty decade and might be considered
to be a "dinosaur" the theme was obvious!

This year was different than other years when we celebrated at
the White Stag in Rhinelander, Wisconsin.  This time, the kids
wanted Lou Malnati's pizza from Chicago and wanted to have
the party right at the cabin with their grandparents.  Lucky for
me, we live in a town with a Lou's take-out and the pizzas were
frozen and ready to pack in our cooler.  The cakes were purchased
and personalized in Iron River and ready to go.

Ellie was the inspiration for our main activity of watercolor painting:
it was her idea to do this as a party activity!  Quite fun, actually.

The dinosaur heads/hats were found at Dollar Tree. The volcano
was made ahead of time at home with a tutorial found online that
suggested using plaster of paris.  None of that was found in the
basement household supplies but there was powdered grout and it
worked pretty well as a substitute.  I painted the volcano with
acrylic paint and sealed it with a glazing compound.  After the cake
was served, the volcano ingredients were mixed and then the
eruption took place, much to Ellie's delight.

Finally, it was time for gifts. Even Ellie got one...check out what
her MeMo made at the end of this post! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
YOU FIVE
AGELESS WONDERS!

 

Springtime in MN: Pink Suitcase Chronicles #48

Pink was happy to accompany us as we travelled north to Minnesota over the weekend! She basked out on the deck of Wes' parents apartment amidst the cheery red-checked ice cream chairs that we took on as a little project. We did leave her behind, though, as we celebrated at a Bavarian Restaurant the birthdays of two special 86 year olds...

...visited the American Swedish Institute (ASI) museum to see an exhibit of wood carvings (more on this in a future post), toured the grounds of the U of M Landscape Arboretum,

dined on burgers and fries at this grill,

and hosted a birthday party for a bunch of cool seniors.

Now we are once again home and filled with gratitude that

we have these dear people in our lives.

It's All GREEK for Her!

It's happened again

--- celebrating a birthday Sister Style ---

with the theme based upon the play that we went to in January:

MAMMA MIA.

Diann and I had so much fun dancing together at the end of that show that I knew I had to

bring this joy to her birthday theme for 2012.

And where to go but Greece? Umm, no.

The next best place was to go local to Greektown right in Chicago!

Though the day was rainy and gray, we had a blast.

Our first stop was to the Hellenic Museum on Halsted.

Provide the Nelson sisters with some costumes and we try them on for size

and take pictures! The museum has a 4th floor elevator that takes you out to a patio perfect for viewing the Sears Tower (now renamed but it'll always be the Sears Tower to Chicagoans) with a West Loop perspective that is new to us.

Then it was time to stroll down Halsted to pop into various Greek-related venues and stores.

The Artopolis Bakery was a hit - more on the treat purchased there later. We chose the restaurant Greek Isles as our lunch destination and it was perfect.

Following a delicious lunch, we headed back to the City Nest

for presents and merriment.

It was here that Diann found out that the Greektown exploration was due to the

Mamma Mia theme.

All 22 of the songs from the musical had related gifts.

For example the song "Take a Chance on Me" had a Mega Millions lottery ticket/receipt.

(Not a winner, I migh add.)

Of course, the song "Dancing Queen" had to have a boa and crown!

Remember the bakery treat mentioned earlier? It was a tulip chocolate mousse! YUMMY!

The Nelson sisters then danced away in the City Nest and hopefully the downstairs neighbors were away for the afternoon.

Happy Birthday, Sis! You ROCK!!!!

Spring Stylin'

Spring can't be far around the corner when this

Little Miss is readied with

a new haircut and perky pink flower!

Apron Art

Hearing that an art exhibit by Women's Journeys in Fiber presenting

"Aprons: Myth & Fantasy" meant only one thing:

I had to go!

Not only did I have to get there, but I had the treat of being taken by my adventurous friend, Marti.

We drove to Kenosha, Wisconsin yesterday to the

Anderson Arts Center right along the shoreline of

a very beautiful, frozen Lake Michigan coast.

The show included quilts by several talented quilters,

a 3D gallery of The Three (Dis)Graces: Poverty, Neglect & Indifference and works on display by Central High School (Kenosha) students all set inside a glorious older mansion formally inhabited by the Simmons (as in mattress) family and now turned into an art gallery.

Might I highly recommend this show currently on display through March 25, 2012? It's that good!

As much as we enjoyed the quilts, our favorites were the

30 aprons on display and the stories behind their creation by their makers. Whimsical, nostalgic, poignant, sad, clever, creative, innovative....the list goes on.

These women are true artists in my way of thinking.

Let the pictures speak for themselves:

I loved seeing an apron that Marie Antoinette might have worn shouldst she ever appear in a kitchen.

Seeing a rendition of a combined Julie & Julia apron tickled me due to my former

Copycat Challenge in which I sewed my way through a whole book of projects.

Reading about a Granddaughter's memories of summers spent with her Grandma

at a Wisconsin lake cabin and interpreted into an apron tugged at my heartstrings.

Seeing a woman's work who is an expert gardener (and seamstress) and lover of flowers translated into a gorgeous apron was a feast for the eyes of one who has had enough of winter, mild as it might be presently.

I just might have to think about making a "statement" apron myself one of these days!

(Thanks, dear Marti, for a wonderful day!!)

Drumroll, Please: 2012 Theme Recap

When the Nelson Sisters get together to celebrate a birthday - my turn this time - you know there's bound to be quite a bit of merriment, adventure and fun! This time, one of us ended up getting kissed by a random man in a restaurant (our waiter, in fact) and one of us ended up walking into the men's restroom by accident.

(I am not telling you any more than this regarding this.)

Above: a gift from Emily's mom pretty much captured the two of us as peas in two pods toting my Pink behind us which I had to publish with this post. Thank you, Laurie!!! But, I digress.

We took the train into Chicago and our first stop was to the movie theatre to see a 10:20 AM pre matinee of THE ARTIST.

That's the earliest we'd ever gone to a theatre and it was a surprise to see how many others had this early bird idea.

This movie is good!

Seeing as we do theme gifts, I was really wondering how the movie fit into the overall plan.

Then, Diann suggested I take this picture below as my next clue for the guessing the theme. Apparently we were going to the building behind the Wrigley Building for lunch. Because I don't want weird comments, I am not going to write down the name here, but will give you the clue that "The Donald" started it and it rhymes with "bump."

And read the next sign if you still haven't a clue: This restaurant was amazing! Not over-the-top-glitzy as you might expect, but contemporary and cozy on the 16th floor with a spectacular view from our by-the-window seats.

The food was delicious and beautifully presented.

Our waiter, Geoffrey, was most accommodating and even sang "Happy Birthday" to me in French.

My chocolate birthday confection was personalized!

After dining in the restaurant named "Sixteen" we headed back to her place to uncover that the theme title for 2012 was....

STORIES!

Diann had gone through Dad's old slides and included stories from my life growing up that I might not have known about. Stories about houses we lived in, trips we took, toys I had,

fashions I wore. Stories. Sweet stories, funny stories, tug-your-heartstrings kind of stories.

Including the picture of my first little suitcase - incidentally pink - with an elephant on it and which my father rescued from a Colorado mountain stream when I was a girl about 5 years old.

Plus the story of my Grandma Ethel's grocery store china with a pitcher found on EBay so that I have a daily reminder of that ancestor. Grandma baked the best orange-glazed rolls and took us to swim at an indoor pool nearby.

Perhaps you are wondering how the movie The Artist and the restaurant (Sixteen) fit into the theme?

Diann found pictures of me in the slide boxes from when I was 16 myself. Sitting at the beach with a green swimsuit on, sitting on a tree stump while taking a break from a mountain hike...these really brought up memories of the me from long ago.

She also recalled that, at an early age, I showed signs of being a budding artist with all the pictures I drew for her, and again on my college graduation day as I received my diploma with an Art Major to boot.

I received an album full of pictures and stories that will forever fill my heart with the person I was becoming the person I am some five decades later.

I am blessed beyond belief.

Thanks, sis, for being there my whole life through! You've been the best theme of all times!

What a Party!!!!!! (Pink Suitcase Chronicles #40)

When my sis and her husband were invited to a very BIG birthday party in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and he couldn't go I got to be her "stand in" date! And what an amazing party this turned out to be. We loaded up Pink (and her Blue) in the trunk and off we went. Due to privacy of the birthday individual, I won't mention his name, but here you can see his house (mansion) and the lovely party invitation. The theme of the party was

MUSIC IN THE AIR.

In usual "sister style" we had both brought nearly the same dresses (black) to wear to the party with shawl wraps the same color (cream) as well - luckily I had also packed another choice to wear so we didn't look like twins at the party...but here you can see our shoe choices we selected beforehand. Isn't it uncanny that we can shop separately and still come to choose clothes nearly identical? (However, you can still easily distinguish who's who based upon one who tans and one who doesn't.)

Here we are enjoying our specialty blue beverages that were very very delicious. And here with are with "Elton John" in his younger life. "Wolfgang" was in an especially happy mood. No REQUIEM feelings for him tonight, that's for sure!

As one who enjoys a barbershop quartet.

these four certainly sang harmoniously.

(It's the house in the background that is miniature-sized, not the singers.)

"Tina" and "Cher" were looking groovy.

"Lady Gaga" was outrageous as usual.

But enough talk about famous people...let's eat!

Tents and tables were set up all over the grounds of the mansion. Each area featured "picnic" food which far surpassed any picnic I've ever attended! Flowers in each area were spectacular.

The food - oh the food.

At dusk,we entered a specially-created concert pavilion for a night of music by Chicago music newcomers and legends. Ever hear of the MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET? They were the headline entertainers and they gave an a.m.a.z.i.n.g concert.

Can you feel the magic in the air?

Following the concert, the crowd sang "Happy Birthday " to our host. He's the one in white in the middle of this picture.

By now it is about 11:00 PM and we are escorted to the waterfront for fireworks

and desserts in this tent.

Again, a.m.a.z.i.n.g. And the first "pie bar" I've ever encountered.

See those horizontal lights in the background? They were boats in the lake enjoying the

fireworks from the other side - hello, Darilyn!

All too soon the party was over. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, to be sure. Now I know just a little bit what it would like to be royalty. Perfect for a night. However, the glass slipper still fits this working girl just as fine today when I am back in "real life."