Tessa's Bridal and Bachelorette Hoedown

In August, one of my best friends, Tessa,

who just so happens to also be a fellow nurse,

is getting married to the man of her dreams, Andy.

I have the absolute honor of being apart

of their special day and I couldn't be more excited!

Last weekend the other bridesmaids and I

threw Tessa an all-in-one Bridal Shower

and Bachelorette Party, hosted by her sister Thea,

the maid of honor.

Despite the fact that we basically planned everything by e-mail

the party couldn't have gone smoother! 

As you can tell, the party had a "cowgirl" theme,

due to Tessa's unwavering obsession with.... cows!

To sum up the night:

Perfect theme, delicious food, and great friends = SO MUCH FUN!

Tessa, the Bride-to-be, and the host, Thea, the maid-of-honor
Can you tell they are sisters?

our delicious array of food! 

the best part of the whole night: our blow up cows

mmmm Dairy Queen cake!

the happily engaged couple, Tessa and Andy
(yes, Andy briefly made an appearance at the party!)

Mother and Daughters

Tessa's dog, Taz. Clearly enjoying the party... 

the bachelorette party crew

Congratulations Tessa! 

I can't wait for your big day!!!

Only two and a half more weeks!!

xoxo, Natalie

5th Annual Camping Trip: Mirror Lake State Park

5 years ago, as sophomores in college,

my friends and I began what is now known 

as our annual camping trip. 

It started as something fun to do one summer, 

and has grown into not only a college reunion,

but something that has brought our old and new friends 

together for a weekend of outdoors debauchery. 

We host a yard games, dubbed Beer Olympics, 

tournament, which this year was named the

"2011 Lord Littlebrook Lost Lake Semi-Pro Beer Olympic

Celebrity Annual Qualifier (sort of) Invitational" 

Did I mention we dress in the most ridiculously Hick-stuff we can find?

We camped at Mirror Lake State Park

which is located in Wisconsin Dells, about 3.5hrs from the Cities.

We had so much fun, but I think we'll be 

looking into other campsites next year.

Congrats to Kelsey Burns and Dexter Enge for taking home the trophy!

the 2011 Crew
(from front left: Katie, Kelsey, Natalie, Faye, Bri, Tracy
from back left: Jake, Alex, Brad, Pete, Casey, Cullen, Dexter, Dan, Justin)

the Beautiful Tracy Pruitt

our beloved campsite

Jake brought sparklers, and the fun ensued... 

group shot around the campfire... getting iced.

my beautiful bff, Katie

the beautiful Faye McCormick

Alex wins the "Most Dedicated" award...
flew in all the way from NYC

the Winning team, Kelsey and Dexter
team name: stranger danger

again, with the most ridiculously hick stuff we can find
i.e. Brad's fake sleeve of tattoos!

intense game of bags

the great outdoors

Jake and Katie

the beautiful Kelsey Burns

campfire shot again, getting iced by Jake

I swear to you I took over 200 photos from this past weekend,

check out my facebook page for the rest!

successful weekend. 

end of story.

Happy 4th of July!

While all of you are enjoying the essence of 

America's birthday...with sun, boats, cabins, lakes,

BBQ and an all out good time....

I'll be at work.

I love my job and being with my patients, but it's days like today

that I despise working somewhere that's open 24/7.

Rain, shine, day, night, holidays, you name it. We're there.

But on a positive note, in honor of this wonderful holiday,

I decided I would treat my co-workers 

(because they desperately need it!)

to a recipe I found in one of my Cooking Light Magazines!

(thanks Katie and Amy!!)

This also gave me a chance to dabble in Food Photography!

Fresh Cherry Cheesecake Bars

all of my ingredients, and pictured final product!

chopping up the fresh cherries

sauteing the cherries with sugar 

the crust (proud of that golden brown!)

after adding the cream cheese mixture and sauteed cherries on the crust, pre-baking

fresh out of the oven

FINAL PRODUCT! 

They actually turned out pretty good!

Only thing  I would have changed is to have doubled

 the cream cheese mixture and cherries.

The bars were a little too thin, but oh well. 

And because I won't get to watch fireworks tonight,

and try out my new camera on them...

Here are a few from one of my favorite summers, 2009.

Have a SAFE and HAPPY 4th of July!!