Oh, this week....

It's only Wednesday and this week has been ca-ca-ca-razy!

Monday was the worst and Tuesday wasn't much better at work... 

Same old story, loads to do and no time to do it...

By the end of each day I was burnt out and cranky... 

Fortunately, I have the sweetest friends around... on Monday these girls came over and helped cheer me up... We ate mint M&Ms (current obsession), watched Gilmore Girls and laughed until we cried.

Last night Freddo and I had two of our favorite people over for dinner. Then we all hopped in our car, grabbed some peps ho cho (peppermint hot chocolate) and went on a true Christmas adventure to see twinkle lights and the Home Alone house! How neat is that??

For such horrible days, the past two nights were an amazing trade off. Sometimes a girl just needs her friends... and this girl, has the best.

Hugs and Mint M&Ms, 

Hans

**Don't forget! The Shop is open and all items are ready to ship same day! You can still get presents in time for Christmas!**

The Weekend in Review.

This weekend was so busy I need about 2 days straight of napping to recover.

Alot happened... a LOT.

And all I really remember is that there were Santas everywhere...

Crazy right?

Ho ho ho,

Saint Nick.

Recipe: Eggnog (sort of)...



photo cred and recipe


There is something about eggnog that makes my heart all warm and happy.
Seeing it in a frosty cup with a splidge of nutmeg sprinkled on top...
*sigh*
Takes me immediately back to Grandma June's kitchen
 -full of piping hot ginger molasses cookies and Christmas carols in the background.
*sigh*
I love me some Christmas magic.

For a while now, I've been thinking I'll try my hand at a little homemade eggnog.

And this past weekend, after perusing pinterest for the perfect recipe...
I convinced the Hubs to help me whip up a batch of fresh nog.

The pictures were enticing and the recipe seemed simple enough.

Sadly, the "simple" recipe turned out to be a little more difficult than the Hub's and my's cooking capability.

I followed the directions to a "T"... or at least a "Q" or "R"...
I couldn't help it though... I was distracted by Hubs cute wiggly bum as he was trying to mix all the ingredients together... 
apparently it helps if your entire body is moving while you mix.

And somehow, in the midst of all of the yuletide magic I overcooked my nog.

Sadly, over cooked nog ends up having a very similar consistency to cottage cheese.

Oooh!
Scrumptious. 
No, not really.

my nog.

After a "hail Mary" consisting of overnight refrigeration and lots of straining,
I ended up with one single cup of nog to be shared between the Hubs and I.

Fortunately, Si-Fri (sister-friend) was over to taste test as well
and is now convinced we should do it again and can make it better! Hip hip hooray!

Si-fri... sampling

I'm so lucky to have a husband who prefers his nog with lumps and a Si-Fri who has a degree in yummy goodness! Life is good. Lumpy nog or not!

Wishing you a few less lumps,

Hansie.

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for our extra fun cookie exchange! E-mail us at ettagraceshop@gmail.com to register!

What to do when Italy isn't romantic enough...

The Love Story of Freddo and Hansie Bear

Part 2- The Proposal.

Freddo and I had been dating for about a year when we were invited (along with about 8 other really good friends) to attend a wedding in the English countryside.

Of course we couldn't pass the chance up... So we all agreed that we'd use this little wedding as an excuse to take the trip of a lifetime.

My two roommates at the time, Si- Fri and Elz-a-Bells, and I packed up our backpacks and spent a week in Paris and Florence before heading to Rome to meet up with a few of Freddo's really close guy friends.

some of the crew

Freddo, at the time, had been working on his post-doctorate in another state and told me that he wouldn't be able to get off of work in time for Rome, but that he would meet me in England for the wedding.

So, the girls and I hung out with the guys visiting every major landmark in Rome and eating our way through every gelato shop.
It was lovely...

Me, Si-Fri & Elz-a-Bells at our fav gelato place! Yum!

On our second day in Rome everyone decided that it would be fun to get a bit dressed up and head out to see the Trevi Fountain...

I had been talking non-stop about how beautiful the fountain was and couldn't wait to show everyone...

**The first time I'd every traveled abroad, I had the opportunity to visit Rome and the Trevi Fountain...

From the minute I saw it, I was in love... to me, the Trevi Fountain encapsulated all the romance the Europe had promised... I loved how tradition promised that if you threw two coins over you shoulder, one would ensure that your return to the fountain and the other would ensure that a wish came true. Of course, like and good romantic... I tossed my two coins in hoping for the best...**

It was so wonderful to find myself in front of the Trevi Fountain years later with some of my closest friends... but I was desperately missing Freddo. 

Ugh... to be in such a romantic place withOUT the boy that you loved... lame.

Of course my sweet friends promised lots of gelato and did their best to distract me while we watched other couples "canoodle" in front of the water...

My friend Jason trying to distract me from Freddo behind him!

At one point my friends asked me to read the little blurp that was written about the history of the Trevi from our travel book... I was slightly obsessed with reading from the travel book, so of course I jumped at it... And, while I read from the book my friends began to walk around the edge of the fountain to lead us to a less crowded spot... When, all of a sudden, 4 beautifully perfect red roses were placed on the pages I was reading!

Hooray!

I looked up, and there before me was my Freddo!

Immediately he got down on one knee and proposed... all while my friends stood back ans snapped photos...

Guys- I was freaking out! I have never shaken so much in my life! It was seriously one of the sweetest most precious moments of my life!

So happy!

After the proposal, we all went out to a nice dinner to celebrate!

And after dinner, Freddo and I went off on our own and found ourselves at a quiet little cafe near the Colosseum where we listened to Frank Sinatra and sipped cappuccinos... 

It was magical... and it was perfect.

Sigh.

And that lovelies, is how I got engaged... stay tuned tomorrow for our wedding!

Amore sempre,
Hannah

5 and 5: Hannah's Five Reasons To Stay and To Go.

There are a lot of things that made this week tougher than most... and a lot that made it wonderful...
It's funny how a silly little thing like this blog can help me gather my perspective.

 This week and last week, the week before and probably next week the Hubs and I have been sifting through one of the biggest decisions we've had to make so far as a married couple. 

The decision of whether or not we should leave Chicago and move to a new state for a potential job...

We've been praying a ton about it... and while I haven't felt any unrest over the whole situation... 
I have allowed myself to worry a bit... which is actually kind of lame silly. 
Because, really... either way, we've got two great options.

To stay??? Or to go??? That is the question...
So instead of our typical Friday "5 for 5" post... you're going to get "5 and 5"...
5 good things about staying... and 5 good things about going....

5 good Reasons To Stay In Chicago:

1. We're close to family (the Hubs)

2. We're close to "Frien-amily" (especially, Si-Fri and Elz-a-Bells)...

3. Shopping.... museums... restaurants... theater... music...
4. Our church is here....
5. Loads and loads of memories are here, stuffed in every nook and cranny.

5 good Reasons To Go:

1. The Hubs and I will have our first opportunity to live an adventure just the two of us.
2. Life in this new little town will be much more quiet than our big city... and will give us a chance to sloooooow down.
3. HUGE promotions professionally for both the Hubs and I.
4. We get to add one more state to the list of places we've lived.
5. We would most definitely be challenged and stretched... which would push us to grow.


Ahhhh... to stay or to go? That is really the question!

I'll definitely keep you all posted in the upcoming week(s)....

xoxo- Hansie.

all photos found here 

Weeknight Movies in the Park.

Last night I watched the musical, West Side Story in a park near my house...

Surrounded by friends...

Yummy goodness...

Grass between my toes...

It was a sweet night...
full of lots of laughter & "shaky face" photos...

Sigh... I love me some summer.

What fun things are you doing this summer?

xo- Han

Arkansas or bust!

Dear,

My weekend just ended... 

The Hubs and I... plus a group of our closest friends... headed down to Arkansas for the weekend for this character's wedding...

We took a round about way to get to Arkansas... flying from Chicago to Kansas City and road tripping the rest of the way... saved us a few bucks and we had a blast!

Our traveling companions were Kirtrude and Si-Fri...

With nothing but the open road in front of us... we made sure to include all the necessary ingredients for a perf road trip.

Sleeping in the back... 

Parties in the front...

"Tajo" Bell stops... um... y-uh-mmmmmm!

It was def fabbity fab dah-link!

Only down side... Freddo got his first speeding ticket ever! Boo!

Sigh... summers were made for road trips!

xo- Hans

The Weekend in Review...

Dear,

This weekend was stuffed to the brim with lovely goodness!

"Build your own" pizza night with cute friends from out of town and a new baby!

Joann runs with my girls

Mexican food... yum!

Church... so good!

Sewing, sewing and more sewing... ;)

But the highlight... was date night with the Hubs... 

Some fabulous friends of ours gave us a groupon for two free hours of kayaking... 

It was lovely!

After kayaking, Hubs and I picked up a baguette and fancy cheese...

With dinner in hand we headed to the park to watch a movie

Chicago does a fantastic job of showing free movies during the summer in parks throughout the city!

We saw the Karate kid and held hands... 

It was the perfect night! 

How was your weekend lovelies??

xo- Hansy

{Sweet}cakes first real gig...

Dear Rachey Pooh-

Yesterday Si Fri and I headed out to the suburbs to cater her little company's first real event!

You know Si Fri... she's got mad skillz in the kitchen... 

The event was a bridal shower and everything was ordered in a miniature version...

She made chocolate fudge cake pops (side note* I normally hate cake pops with a passion... but hers were to. die. for.)

Miniature carrot cakes, topped with praline toffee brittle... 

and mini lemon bundt cakes soaked in a light lemon glaze with fresh blueberries on top... 

As Rachel Zoe would say... it was "Ba-naaaaah-nuuuuhs!" (Lately, I've been for realz obsessed with Rachel Zoe Project... I lurv her! Except... she's kind of weird and it makes me nervous because I kind of feel like I might be a little Zoe-esque at times... thoughts??)

We had so much fun! We both wore our Anthro aprons... and worked the room... 

You would be proud too... I carefully applied each and every little blue polka dot to the individual cake pops... with tweezers... be. impressed.

Luff yoooose- Hansy

PS. We tots stopped for Dairy Dream ice cream on the way home... Ah heaven!

PPS. Remember the giveaway?? It's still going on... enter.

Cinco de Ocho... the Weekend in Review....

This weekend was busy with a lot of things... 

Date night with the Hubs, sewing... sewing... and more sewing for EttaGrace, 

church, phone chat with my beautiful Mama, and...

dun dun dun...

"Cinco de Ocho"!!!!

"Cinco de Ocho" started exactly five years ago (this year we actually celebrated "Cinco Cinco de Ocho"!)

What started as a simple Cinco de Mayo party, quickly turned into an off-beat annual tradition....

Exactly five years ago my girlfriends and I decided to throw a party for Cinco de Mayo... Unfortunatley, none of our friends were available on the 5th... turns out everyone was free on the 8th instead... So we sent out the invite encouraging all to attend our 1st annual Cinco de Ocho" party...

 

Only until half the invites had been sent out did we realize that we should have been inviting everyone to an Ocho de Mayo party.... Fortunately for us, none of the people we invited actually spoke spanish... The "glitch" in our translation ended up being a hit and "Cinco de Ocho" stuck!

So every year... on May 8th, we celebrate "Cinco de Ocho" instead of Cinco de Mayo
(let's be honest... that holiday is so over done... he he he....)
Where we serve the traditional "Cinco de Ocho" cupcake cake (thanks Carley), Elz-a-Bell's sangria, Si-Fri's perfect nacho cheese... and of course a pinata c/o Moi!

It was a good weekend friends... jam packed with "Cinco de Ocho" goodness and some Mama celebration!

How was your weekend friend?

Adore Mucho- Hans

PS... Stay tuned for the giveaway winner and another giveaway... what!?!?!?

Si-Fri & {sweet}cakes = best. idea. ever.

So... I've got this Si-Fri (sister friend)... You remember her right???

Anyway... Si-Fri just happens to be an Uh-mazing pastry chef!

(I know... I pick the best friends... Don't I?!?!? Ridiculously good looking... and bakes sweets regularly!?!? Sheesh!)

Si Fri made all of the desserts for our wedding... yu-uuuuum!
People were raving for days... weeks... months... years even!

And now... lucky for you... 

Si Fri is officially opening up her very own dessert catering company!!

Hooray!

{sweet}cakes.

Have an upcoming shower, birthday, wedding, or party in the Chicagoland area?? Need ridiculously, amazing, life-changing (and affordable) sweets? Si-Fri's your girl!
Leave a comment and we'll hook you up!

The Weekend in Review... or how I didn't pack for China.

This weekend included date nights... Not packing for my upcoming trip to China... carrot cake remembering Si-Fri's Papa.... not packing some more....running outside with the Hubs (Twice!! Be impressed...)... not packing some more... homework... not packing... and Date night with Elz-a-Bells...

Ugh... 2 more days until we leave for China... and I still need to pack. Ba-less. my. heart.

But... it was a lovely weekend!

How was yours?

Luff-
Hannah