Tomorrow's To Dos

Wrapped in love

Posted on October 9, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

You’re the apple of my pie update: The Pie Party was a huge success. Lots of pie and fun were had and it was great to get together with friends and celebrate the season.

I highly recommend the Tamale Pie that I put together for the shin dig. It was a hit! The cornbread topping was what I thought made the whole thing. (Note: I doubled what the recipe called for.) So yummy, but it’s a recipe that serves a lot, so plan on taking it to your next family gathering.

The decor.

The Tamale Pie.

The pies. Well, some of them anyway. YUM!

And after all that pie and partying, did I rest today? Negative. I headed over to my sister’s house this morning for a walk with the Bean followed by some serious yard work. I may have a hard time getting out of bed tomorrow morning from all the squatting and bending, but it was a darn good workout! I foresee some Advil in my future…

Yard work is hard work!

I am headed to a bachelorette party this weekend and would like to get the future bride a little something special. Now, I’m not a big “bachelorette party” type of person, so I like to keep my gifts on the tasteful side. And I can think of nothing more practical, yet sexy, then a great robe.

These rank high on my list:

Josie, Dragon Wrap, $68

Anthropologie, May Flowers robe, $99.95 on sale

Target, Gilligan & O'Malley Animal Print robe, $19.99

Posted in Friends, Parties, Recipes | 1 Comment

You’re the apple of my pie

Posted on October 7, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Pick a pie update: Sorry for the lack of posts this week, but it kind of slipped away from me. I woke up this morning and realized it was Friday and the Pie Party I am co-hosting is tomorrow! I dropped off all of my fall decor the other night, so I’ll be winging it in the morning. Although I am pretty sure I can do anything with the amount of stuff I have in that bin.

Last night I made The Pioneer Woman’s Scrumptious Apple Pie again to take along, and tonight I whipped up some Pumpkin Whoopie Pies to add to the mix as well. In the morning I will be attempting to pull together a Tamale Pie (I’ve never made it before) from Williams-Sonoma before I head over to decorate. I also plan on finding time to make cream cheese frosting and a batch of Crockpot Cheesy Potatoes. Should be a whirlwind!

Earlier today I joined in a Start Somewhere Wa1k that were taking place all across Iowa as part of our new healthiest state initiative. It was so nice to get out of the office and enjoy the wonderful (yet windy) weather we are having for October. I mean, where’s the snow?! KIDDING!

Start Somewhere Walk...and I started at DMU!

Well, you all know what I’ll be doing tomorrow. Cooking, baking, decorating, prepping and pretty much just running around with my head cut off. And I’ll be loving every minute of it I’m sure!

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Pick a pie

Posted on October 2, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Our Bean is ONE update: First birthday down and many more to go. We had such a great time at the bash – look at all those little girls!

So much pink. So much fun.

Sid was afraid of the big cupcake, so she got one her own size.

Look at all these ladies!

And our day didn’t stop there. After the party we headed home to freshen up and get ready for our friends’ wedding that evening. What a great ceremony and reception for such an adorable couple. Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Holman!

Chris & Samantha Holman

And if the weekend wasn’t full enough we decided to head out Sunday morning for a little family outing to Howell’s Pumpkin Patch in Cumming. It was a beautiful day and I loved spending time with all of my nieces!

I could think of nothing better to do on a fall Sunday!

With tomorrow comes another hectic week. I am co-hosting a pie party this upcoming weekend and I have a lot to do in order to get ready for it. I’ll keep you updated on that!

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Our Bean is ONE

Posted on October 1, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Stupid internet – should have posted last night…

Bean’s birthday eve update: Everything is up and ready to go for the Bean’s big day. It all looks great. Now all we need to do is fast-forward 12 hours and it’ll be party time!

Little Bean's cupcake themed party.

A small sidenote: I decided to venture out of the office today over lunch and popped into Von Maur (I know, twice in one week – it’s a sickness). While browsing I came across this!

It's the most wonderful time of the year.

So tomorrow is the big day. I cannot wait to see what she does to that cupcake smash cake. Should be priceless! I’ll be sure you take and share all photos in the next post. And I can’t forget about the Holman/Kenyon wedding that we will be attending in the evening. Such a jam-packed day filled with a lot of memories I’m sure!

So much has changed in a year...

Posted in Birthdays, Decor, Holidays | Leave a comment

Bean’s birthday eve

Posted on September 29, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Dress up your cuts update: Nothing big to report here – the flu shot went off without a hitch, and the band-aid is BOR-ING! Although the nurse did say she would draw a heart on it if I wanted her to jazz it up a bit.

As a sweet gesture (probably because he was actually buying wine when he wasn’t supposed to be) my husband picked up and cooked one of my favorite things for dinner tonight – gnocchi. Not only did he recreate one of my favorite dishes, but he used the massive zucchini we got from my sister’s garden to serve it in.

gnocchi in zucchini ala chef Marcus

Who else is soooo excited that tomorrow is Friday?! I am ready for the weekend, even though it’s already packed with things to do. Birthdays, a wedding and pumpkin picking to name a few. Tomorrow night I am heading over to birthday headquarters to make sure all of my decor is finished and ready to go for the Bean’s big day. For now, sleep.

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Dress up your cuts

Posted on September 28, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

My lovely lady pumps update: After schlepping around to three different Targets in search of the perfect nude pump that I knew existed, I realized I may have missed my chance at this particular pair in the stores.

Target, Mossimo Pearce Pumps - Camel Patent, $29.99 (still available online)

Feeling deFEETed (yep, I did) I decided to just run across the street to my favorite department store, Von Maur, to see if they had anything that would work in their fabulous sale shoe room. Feast your eyes on these beauties that just so happened to be on mega sale and in MY SIZE! SCORE!

Von Maur, BCBGeneration nude python pumps, Originally $89 on sale for $22!

Tomorrow I am getting my flu shot for the season. I hope they have cartoon figure band-aids. Or possibly these gems designed by Cynthia Rowley. Now you can dress up your nicks and cuts -how fabulous!

cynthia-rowley-fashionable-band-aids copy

Cynthia Rowley fashionable band-aids, $5

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My lovely lady pumps

Posted on September 27, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

How have you Bean update: I still can’t believe our little Bean is going to be one year old on Saturday. Since the day she came into this world our lives have never been the same. I’m such a proud aunt and am so lucky that I get to spend as much time with her as I want because she lives a few blocks away. What is even better, is that her upcoming party gives me another reason to plan and create an event and its decor. Since the wedding let up, I’ve been getting that “itch” again. Enter the Bean’s cupcake themed first birthday party extravaganza!

Cupcakes for my little Bean. Check out that smash cake!

She's getting so big!

Not only do we have the Bean’s big first birthday on Saturday, but we also have a wedding to attend that evening. With everything else going on around here lately I have decided to just go with a simple black dress from my closet. Now I must decide what to pair with it…

Lately, I’ve really been loving the lady-like look of nude pumps. Mostly because they seem to be everywhere. Even the Duchess of Cambridge favors them.

So on tomorrow’s list – find some fabulous (possibly patent) nude pumps for not only the wedding this weekend, but to add to my closest as a staple that will last for as long as I can wear heels.

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How have you Bean?

Posted on September 25, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Mums, tomato soup and steins update:

Dear Fall,

Have I told you lately, that I love you?

Warmest regards,
Nicole

This weekend was mostly spent enjoying the season’s finest…

Downtown farmers' market with mom and the Bean.

Barefoot Contessa's cream of tomato soup plus a little spiced cider.

Oktoberfest Des Moines - celebrating our German heritage with some beer and polka dancing.

Sunday morning walk at Gray's Lake followed by a cafe au lait at the new Tartine.

The plan for tomorrow is to put the finishing touches on the bean’s first birthday party supplies. I used the invites I designed as a starting point for all the decor. Who doesn’t love cupcakes?!

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Mums, tomato soup and steins

Posted on September 23, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

Little Lex update: Just had to share the pictures from Alexis’ first birthday that took place earlier this week. I love all of my little nieces – too cute!

Love my nieces!

This week flew by, mostly because things were pretty busy at work. I don’t talk that much about work, not because I don’t like it, but because work is work and this blog is more about the personal side of me. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with and if you are interested in it, you can check out the other blog that I work on – Dose of DMU.

This weekend is the inauguration of Des Moines University’s new president, Dr. Angela Franklin, so we were all a buzz with that. Actually, tonight in conjunction with all of the inaugural events, was the Run DMU 5k. A few of my co-workers decided to participate and show some “school spirit”. The route wound us through the hills and beautiful homes south of Grand. Ok, so maybe we didn’t run all of it, but man, those were some seriously steep hills!

Run DMU, well, more like "speed walk and sometimes jog" DMU.

Since today is the autumnal equinox, I plan on spending my weekend doing all sorts of fall activities. On tomorrow’s to do list: Downtown Farmer’s Market, cooking fresh tomato soup with gourmet grilled cheeses for the family and then head down to Oktoberfest and celebrate with my fellow Germans.

Welcome to fall

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Little Lex

Posted on September 19, 2011 by tomorrowstodos

BFF is here update: Stupid internet – so annoying. This was supposed to be posted last night, but what can you do.

What another great family filled weekend. Beaverdale Fall Fest followed by a fabulous Sunday morning, a soccer game in the rain and a few new recipes.