oh what a saturday

 

  

 

I shipped out to Mankato early this morning for shopping. I intended to check out the clearance sales at Kohl's and TJ Maxx. I shopped Kohl's pretty well...found a skirt for nine bucks with a 20% discount. Great deals on some Vera Wang stuff that I love. Got a great Jones New York leopard t-shirt at TJ Maxx for $3.00. Good grief it was a hoot.

After shopping, I headed to Eagle Lake to celebrate Elliot's first birthday with his mama and his other grandma and grandpa. He seemed to be unphased by the continued hoopla but we had a nice time.

 

Elliot's getting the idea of unwrapping packages but he still likes the paper almost as much as what's inside.

  

 Elliot for bath toys and books. He's examining the Elmo bath toy here. He loves Elmo. And his mama.

  

 He can't believe we kept cupcakes from him for the first year of his life. He certainly knows how to get every crumb of pleasure out of a cupcake!

 

This is Elliot with his blow-up clown. He loved toting it around the house...and it's almost as big as he is! Happy birthday, baby boy!

Signs of spring: a kid riding a bicycle in Eagle Lake, streets were dry and water was running, neighbors were outside and NOT shoveling snow, ice houses were going down the road to their summer homes, icicles were melting. The sun felt so good today even though it was cold. I poured a glass of wine and basked in the sun coming through the front window when we got home. We can't wait for patio days.

Regis and I had a mid-afternoon dinner at Mazatlan in Mankato. It's absolutely the best food ever and so reasonably priced. You feel like you should give them more money than they ask for...it's that good. I had a seafood plate with scallops, shrimp, and tilapia on caramelized onions and peppers. It was delicious...made me want to lick the plate.

I might go to yoga tomorrow and then I want to take a nap in the sun. I can't get enough sun lately. We're going to watch the hockey game and relax in the afternoon. Weekends are just not long enough.

I'm making Guinness stew tomorrow and black and tan brownies...recipes out of a current magazine but I can't remember which one. Probably Cooking Light.

I bought some socks today that go up to my knees and have shamrocks up the sides. I love holidays. Tomorrow, I'm going to put away the Christmas tree and the Valentine lights. Can I hang Guinness bottle lights on a Christmas tree? I think this year I'll celebrate the rites of spring...

Busy month of March: safe driving for old people on the 6th, party at Michelle's on the 6th, Italian party on the 13th, St. Patrick's Day on the 17th, Tiffany's birthday on the 18th, Rites of Spring on the 20th, New Primitives at Patrick's on the 20th. I don't have time to work, you know.