The next morning Alex and I got up early to take part in an Alzheimer's {Association} Walk. It was a great excuse to get up early and get a three mile walk in, as well as a way to support my friend Amy who helps plan the association's walks. So far in our lives our families have been blessed as far as this disease goes, but other families have not been as fortunate. The money raised from events like this help fund research and programs that can help.
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| Alex's company CE Power Solutions was one of the event sponsors |
After our invigorating walk we headed back to my parents' house for the afternoon. We met our friend's Rob and Tricia in Mt. Lookout Square at The Wurst Bar for dinner. It was their first evening away from their new baby and they did amazing, I was impressed {even if you guys don't feel like it is, you do a great job at making it look easy!}. Everything on the menu features sausage of some kind. Yumm.
As always, our dinner went too fast and then it was time for the next thing on our agenda, the Darius Rucker Concert. We drove the rest of the way downtown to the Horseshoe Casino. It was packed and there were so many flashing lights my brain almost overloaded. We had bought our concert tickets three or four months in advance so we had been looking forward to it for a while. It was a good concert, although a little bit short! We were standing outside the entire time so I didn't mind the length too much.
The next day we went to church with my parents and had a little lunch before heading back home. We had a busy week and then it was time to travel again, this time to Cleveland. We were able to get there a little bit early and considering we had driven quite a bit over the last few weeks the trip went pretty fast. As soon as we arrived we enjoyed a "Friday Night Round Table" as has become the tradition in the Janesz household. Usually when Alex and I, or one of the siblings, is coming in for the weekend everyone gathers around the dining room table on Friday night with a beer and we just talk and reminisce for hours. I love that spending time together is a priority for them. It's so special and I am honored to be part of it.
The next morning Pat took us to his new house to show us around and tell us about his plans for renovating. The place has great potential and I am very much looking forward to seeing what he does with the place. Later that afternoon we got ourselves all prettied up and drove to the Elyria Country Club to see Alex's friend Billy get married. There were a lot of people he knew from his high school years there and it was fun to meet them. It was an amazing wedding ceremony with lots of love and laughter and an entertaining reception as well. As beautiful as it was, and they have all been this year, I was a little glad that it was our last! All that dancing and traveling will wear on anyone after a while {the tally was up to eight}.
After our typical Sunday of mass, brunch and football it was time to head home again. The next weekend we had "off" and we were able to relax and just spend some time together. Alex has been traveling quite a bit for work and is busy during the week with school so it was nice to have some quality time together. We went apple picking and bought some fresh apple cider, pumpkins and pumpkin nut fudge. It was the perfect weather for it and the apples we brought home were gigantic!
The next week brought more traveling for Alex, which unfortunately fell on our three year anniversary. We celebrated the night before with a cookie cake and the same wine we had on our honeymoon in Costa Rica {part of Alex's birthday gift to me}. It's fun to celebrate big sometimes, but I love the low key celebrations and instead having impromptu moments amidst our everyday routine. A little spontaneity makes life feel special. While I feel really proud of our three year anniversary both of our parents have numbers that follow a three. At the beginning of September my parents celebrated 35 years and at the end of the month Alex's parents celebrated 31 years. Something to aim for, wow!
This past weekend we hosted Alex's parents and his brother Pat at our house. I loved planning the menu and coming up with ideas for their visit. If you've read our blog before you know these are some of my favorite things to do! While most of your guests are just happy to see you, I also like to try to make them feel as comfortable as possible while they're away from home. This is the tactic I use to ensure that they come back again and again ; )
Friday night when they arrived we had our "round table" around the kitchen island. After a good night's sleep we all convened for breakfast and then Alex, Ed and Pat went out to golf. Linda and I did a little pilates and then went to a tea shop I've been wanting to check out. We might have also had a little fun shopping for accessories too!
After we all had lunch back at the house we sat out on the patio and relaxed for the afternoon. We had a celebratory dinner out at The Village Idiot {one of our favorite places for beer and food} and then we watched the Ohio State game with a little homemade apple pie and homemade Jeni's ice cream. This morning we went to church and had a delicious brunch before they had to hit the road. It's been raining most of the day since then and it's quite fitting because now the house is so quiet and it's a little depressing. Well, maybe some more pie and ice cream will cheer me up!
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| At The Village Idiot |
1. Think about your weekend menu. Make sure you have everything you need and prep anything that you can in advance so you can spend more time with your guests. {Check out this weekend's menu in the next posting}. I also like to take into consideration what we will be doing. For example, I knew we were going out to dinner on Saturday evening so I planned a light lunch.
2. If you're planning on cooking make sure each meal is made up of a few different items so people have something to eat even if they dislike your main entree or have a food restriction you were unaware of. Buffets are a great option because it allows people the opportunity to pick and choose without feeling rude turning you down on certain items.
3. If you're planning on going out to eat make reservations if you can. Be conscious of picking somewhere that fits the entire group, instead of just picking a place you've been dying to check out that only caters to a very specific clientele.
4. Make sure water and drinks are always easily accessible and that you have snacks out {I like apples and bananas}. Your guests don't want to go through your cabinets and may feel uncomfortable asking. I always like to make sure coffee and tea are ready to go first thing in the morning so everyone can help themselves whenever they get up.
5. Provide fresh towels and extra blankets in visible spaces in each room. If you have to set someone up on an air mattress make sure to layer a couple blankets under the sheets to make it a little more comfortable. I also like to provide extra pillows and leave the air pump accessible for them as well.
6. It's always smart to have extras in the bathrooms as well. Extra toilet paper and maybe a few items in the drawers in case somebody forgets something vital. We have a couple soaps and shampoos in the shower and a whole jar in the guest room as well. In the bathroom drawer we have extra toothpaste, a toothbrush, bobby pins, feminine products, a hair dryer etc.
7. If somebody asks you if they can help, let them! Your guests don't want to feel useless or guilty that you're doing all the work. Keep it simple, like asking them to open the wine, or cut up veggies for a salad etc.
8. You don't have to go crazy planning everything, but it's nice to have a few activity options already thought out so you can all enjoy the weekend without messy logistics. I like to have a variety of activities written down so we can pick in the moment, but still avoid those awkward moments of sitting around saying, "what should we do?", "well what are the options?"
9. Even if you don't have time to do a thorough cleaning of the house, at least make sure it's tidy and smells decent! No one is going to notice if your floor isn't spotless {only you will}. I love to spread out candles and flowers to make the house feel cozy. I also like to turn on the lamps in each room instead of using the overhead lights.
10. Don't get so caught up in the details that you don't enjoy your guests! Make sure they know you appreciate them making the trip!
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