Sunday, June 27, 2010

Ice Cream Sundays

As the weather heats up, Dustin and I have started a new tradition....Ice Cream Sundays. For two weeks in a row, we've (ok I've) had a craving for ice cream, so we've hit up a local spot for a scoop.
Week one I opted for Lemon Chiffon, followed by a blue slushie. (what? don't you usually follow a dessert with a dessert drink?) Dustin got peanut butter...Dustin always gets peanut butter.


The evenings have been warm, and perfect for sitting outside, and enjoying our treats. It's times like these that we love living in Pittsburgh (or at least tolerate it, while dreaming of a location with a permanently temperate climate.)

Week two I skipped the slushie and just got a blue cone. Dustin got peanut butter...Dustin always gets peanut butter.


I love the weather, I love the ice cream, and I love my husband.
I think it's going to be a great summer.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Where the winds go sweeping down the plains...

As long as we're still living in the past (I've got a LOT of blogging to catch up on!) I should share some photos from a couple months back, when we traveled to Philly to see the Wissahickon Middle School Production of Oklahoma! (so prestigious!) I've already told you about the aftermath of the trip- but it was worth it to see Dustin's niece Elizabeth, in all her Broadway-bound glory. Check her out:



Ok, I'll give you a close up....


Such a star, right? (she gets it from her grandmom).


We had such a fun weekend watching Lizzie dance her heart out, plus we got some quality time with the Bowden (and Tambourino, and Doll) crew. Dustin's dad and step-mom only make the trek back to Philly a few times a year, (can you blame them? They live in paradise!) so it's a special treat to have the whole family together.


Dustin got to golf with his dad and his brothers, (which probably ranks in his top three favorite things ever), while I got to go garage sale-ing with the ladies. (I scored a Parcheesi board, for 50 cents!! Such a bargain for the Royal Game of India!) Our nephew, Jagger, almost lost a finger in a tragic Sedan-Door-Closing-Incident, but he was a trooper, and we all made it to the show with all our pieces. Even if some of those pieces are a little goofy at times:


Now, if you ask me why I like to go to Philly, I'll probably tell you it's because of the charming accents, or the delicious cheesesteaks...which both definitely rank high on my list of loves. But it obviously is about much more than that. We have so much fun whenever we go back- seeing family, catching up with friends, staying up too late together playing games, drinking wine and eating ice cream (best combo ever!). But as much as I love being with them, what I love even more, is seeing Dustin enjoy himself.

There is no competition for a top spot in Dustin's heart, because it is a solid tie between his dad and his brothers (don't worry....I'm in there. It's just a different kind of love.) Dus can be a man of few words about a lot of things, but there is no doubt that he loves his "guys" more than anything in the world. I love to sit back and watch them- as they joke, wrestle, brag, and love like only a group of boys can.








We don't get together as often as we would like, but when we do, it's the best. And at the very least we have a cheesy group photo to remember it by:

Monday, June 14, 2010

April Showers bring...June Babies!

You know what we haven't had in a while? A blogpost? no, smarty.....
A Bowdenisms Shout Out!

yesssssssssssssssssssss

And what better recipient than a brand new mom? Big Congratulations go out to our friend Liz (and Charles of course!) and her beautiful new baby girl. ( I swore for nine months it was a boy. Hope the baby doesn't hold that against me!)

But if there is one thing I love almost as much as babies, it's baby showers! (Ok, I really just love to plan parties, and eat delicious food. But what better reason to do both of those things, than the impending arrival of a little one?) A few months ago, we had shower for Liz, which Rachel and I used as a trial run of our events planning business. (not really....but we do joke about a lot, so don't be surprised if it actually happens someday. Megan can be our caterer!) It was a beautiful day, and the location was perfect: Liz and Charles are friends with the owners of Bistro To Go, a restaurant on the Northside (go. there. now. yum) so Nikki offered to host the shin-dig. We had delicious food, played some fun games, and celebrated with wonderful women. (and it must be said, that the event could not have happened without Hannah, our organizational goddess. She wrangles RSVP's like nobody's business.)

Check out the fruits of our labor. (ha! pregnancy joke!)


Details count!

Test tube favors, for a scientist mom.


After these cupcakes, Rachel could become known
as the Paula Deen of the North.


Pretty, Rustic.

No shame here. We all love a good buffet!

The ever-popular "guess how big momma is" game.

Not so sure about my guessing ability.

Don't worry, she only took a couple.

All the Young Life ladies.

They hold the future. Literally.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

A Welcomed Addition

If you know me (Dustin), I'm a bit of a tech nerd. A geek. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'm a solid 8. One of my favorite things to do is get fixated on a item and research prices until I'm blue in the face. So for 2+ years I've researched flat screened TVs. It was a two year obsession because of the extreme amount of money that they cost. I've been close a hundred times to pulling the trigger and either ordering a TV online or marching into Best Buy and picking up the model of my dreams. The great thing about TVs is that they are constantly evolving. There's always a never ending stream of fodder for my obsession.


A while back my wonderful and beautiful wife got a well deserved promotion. So she made a nice little card that basically told me to buy a new TV. It was a sweet gesture and I was elated. However, several months went by and still no TV. I had pre-buyer's guilt. I couldn't spend the money. The TV we had, a plain, old, non-flat screened, 27 in TV was in perfectly good condition. There was no NEED for a new TV. Here's what she looked like:



So... no TV.


So I won't leave you in suspense... we got a new TV. It's a FORTY-SIX INCH LCD TV! It's pretty amazing, and here's the best part... it was free.


You read that right... Free!


I truly believe that God blessed us with the TV. Work has a raffle every year fro charity. It made over $14,000 this year and the prizes are pretty sweet. Some examples are a trip to London, a TV, a lawn mower... you get the idea. There is no limit to the number of tickets you can buy, so some people go nuts. I work with a couple of people that dropped over $100. Courtney and I agreed to spend $20 which got us 30 tickets.


So how many tickets did we put in for the TV? Six. Courtney put in 3 and so did I, and God blessed us with a TV; and we are in turn donating our TV and armorie to "Blessing Man" who will in turn give out stuff to people in need. The TV is great and looks fabulous but the real blessing is living guilt free. We don't have to sit and feel like we're recklessly spending what we're so blessed to have.


And without any further delay... here's the new TV:

Notice that God has not blessed us with a new stand for the TV. I think He's done enough!

Writer's note: I apologize for this post being oboxious and probably not well written. Thanks for reading it anyway!