Peppermint Meltaways
White Chocolate Dipped Cranberry Cookies
P.S. We were outside a total of 12 minutes. And then suddenly we all realized that "hey, it's 3 degrees out here and I'm cold!!!"
And in Lady's mouth would be my mitten which she wrestled off of my hand. It was either the mitten or the camera. I decided to let the mitten go.
This is the bird feeder that my dad made! It's kind of like the Caesar's Palace of bird feeders. There's even a wave pool in the summer (kidding..haha...but Dad, you might want to think about it.)
Given how often I fly to Wisconsin, often during the winter months, I have had amazing luck avoiding disrupted travel due to winter weather.
That is, I HAD that luck. My trip back to D.C. after Thanksgiving left me stuck on a runway in Milwaukee after the airport closed so that the runways could plow the runways.
And then Friday happened. I was ready. set. go. ready to go home for Christmas. My flight from Regan Airport was scheduled to leave at 11 a.m. I knew that Milwaukee was getting a winter storm so I checked the status of the flight before heading out the door around 8:30 am. and the Midwest Airlines website stated that the flight was on time. I stepped inside the waiting taxi cab (okay, normally I Metro to the airport but it was pouring rain and I really did not feel like schlepping my luggage in a deluge during rush hour) and sat back to enjoy the ride. Except we got stuck in a traffic jam, and me being me started freaking out that I would miss my flight…this would be funny later in the day.
When I stepped inside Terminal A, the line at the Midwest counter was my first sign that this was going to be a VERY long day. Prior to this, the longest line that I have ever seen at this counter was 3 people long and I am not joking. This time, it was roughly 40 people people long. So I joined the line to check my bag and while I waited, I checked the status of my flight on my Blackberry and found that the flight was now delayed until 4 p.m. Immediately, I was deciding what to do: Go back home? Check my bag and go to Pentagon City Mall?
By the time I got to the counter (the line moved really fast), the agent told me that the 7 a.m. flight had not left yet (it was now about 10 a.m.) and would be leaving around noon and got me a seat on that plane and I could still catch my original connecting flight to Green Bay. I knew that this seemed way too easy.
Well noon turned into 12:10 which turned into 1:05 which turned into 1:35 which turned into 2:10 which turned into 2:35 which turned into 3:05. We learned that Milwaukee was not going to reopen the airport until 4ish. To everyone’s credit, the Midwest staff kept us updated and was pleasant to deal with and passengers were remaining calm and positive. (But that could be due in large part to the fact that half the passengers migrated to the bar in the terminal and were feeling no pain.)
I rebooked my connecting flight to a flight that would leave Milwaukee at 4:45 and get me into Green Bay at 5:30ish.
Oh, funny story. One guy was sitting on a stool at the little café in the middle of the terminal. He was jabbering away on his Blackberry when he somehow he just toppled over. But the amazing part is that during the entire tumble, he NEVER broke the conversation. He kept right on talking. I bet he can walk and chew gum at the same time too. (oh, random observation unrelated to the topic of this blog…how on Earth do people walk and read at the same time?!?!)
At 3:05 we FINALLY boarded the plane and sat and sat and sat. Around 4 p.m., the pilot announced that the plane had a mechanical issue. At this point, we all looked out the window to see the other Midwest plane headed to Milwaukee—the delayed one that I was originally on—LEAVING ahead of us. Most of us on the plane had been rescheduled from that plane to this broken plane. But at that point, all you could really do was giggle.
FINALLY, we left foggy and rainy D.C. at around 4:15. Honestly, I kept waiting for the flight to be delayed due to D.C. weather. And also, the lady sitting next to me smelled funny. Anyone who knows me even just a little know that I have a very low tolerance for weird smells and annoying sounds. If only she had taken out a pair of fingernail clippers (which, by the way, someone did while I was sitting in the airport waiting for my flight…seriously, people, clip. your. nails. at. home.), I would have lost it.
If there was one moment when I thought the passengers might riot, it was one when the flight attendant announced that because our flight was originally a morning flight (4 p.m.—it’s the new morning. ), there would be no complimentary signature chocolate chip cookies. You can take away our time, you can take away our connecting flights…but don’t you DARE take away our chocolate chip cookies.
We rolled into a very very very snowy Milwaukee around 6 p.m. My connecting flight had, naturally, been the only flight of the day so far that left on time so I totally missed it and was rebooked on the 10:10 flight getting me into Green Bay at 10:51….15 hours after I left my tiny palace in the sky back in D.C.
It was around 7 p.m. that I started to get cranky. I had packed airplane snacks suitable for my original itinerary. I did NOT pack snacks for the whole day. So I had to settle for airport food…for which Milwaukee’s airport is sorely lacking in quality choices. But I was super pumped that the new Alterra Coffee place has opened. The Starbucks that used to be there was crappy and always way understaffed! So my happy pill came in the form of a giant Rice Krispie treat from Alterra (and this is as close as I will get to food blogging).
At 10 p.m., the gate agent announced that the flight would be delayed 20 minutes and wouldn't leave until 10:30 p.m. At that point of my travels, 20 minutes was like child's play. And we boarded promptly at 10:30 p.m. and the plane headed to the de-icing station and then the pilot announced, "Folks, they've closed the airport. We're going to be sitting here for a while." "A while" turned into an hour.
By the time I stepped into the Green Bay airport, it was midnight. By the time we pulled into the driveway of home, it was 1 a.m. I promptly collapsed into bed and slept until 10:30. I also had an airport hangover all day. UGH!
Kudos to my mom and dad for being so flexible with their airport pick-up times. I called my mom after every flight change. After phone call number 12, she stopped answering with a “Hello” and instead just said “What now?” And I was so grateful to have my Blackberry with me. The Midwest website was updated faster than Midwest was updating its gate agents so it was super helpful to have access to the info.
Ha! And to think, I was worried when I was stuck in traffic in the cab, I was afraid I would be late. HAHA!
Although it seems like it was not that long ago that I was sprinting though Filene’s Basement helping her search for a dress, my friend Katie’s wedding is just a few short weeks away! And I was delighted to be able to host her bridal shower on Saturday evening at my tiny palace in the sky!
And for those of you who have heard/read about my living space, you are probably thinking, “Um, Rebecca, you live in a 450 square feet condo. How on earth did you host an event?” And the answer, it took a little planning-,my green planning binder was pretty much attached to my side for about six week--and a little creativity but I think I made it work in a rather fabulous manner! Actually, the whole process made me completely interested in the concept of entertaining in small spaces.
After consulting with Katie, I decided to go with an evening shower centered upon wine and desserts. Or as I took to calling it, “A Sweet Celebration.”
I thought I would share with all of you my favorite parts of the shower so I am going to do several posts on the shower that you can link to using the links below.
Invitation
Décor
Drinks
Menu
The Castle Cake
Games
Favors
Gifts
Entertaining in Small Spaces
Ever since I took Graphic Arts (aka yearbook class) in high school (and probably even before the class), I have loved designing cards/signs/etc. So doing the invite was soooo much fun for me.
Katie and Ed’s wedding color are black and white with red accents so I went with a red and white color scheme with black accents.
My Google Image search led to me a to the cutest bride graphic ever. And I added a cupcake to her bouquet to go with dessert theme. I tried to incorporate the bride graphic and the little red flowers into various parts of the shower as much as I could.
I also found a great free font that I think is inspired by the Bewitched television show.
P.S. All of the info on the invite in the picture above is completely made up.
