weekend

Literally.

The snow really threw off my week — a mix of white beauty and cold, mind-numbing days. I think sometimes life forces things at you...and you have to hold these things for a while before you know what to do with them {saipua}. Precisely.

Friday night necessities

Saturday, lunch at Beks. The pita and artichoke cheese dip. A MUST.

Beks’s kangaroo burger. Yes, kangaroo.

Family bowling with the soccer team. Then a movie, 21 and over {similar to The Hangover but with college students, and not as funny but all right}. We had the theater to ourselves. It was awesome.

It was mom’s night on campus. Beau said, “Stay,” and sometimes you just have to go with the flow — hang out. party. dance until 3 a.m. late night. early morning.

She is love.

{love}

I’ll be honest. I love cupcakes because they’re tiny, cute and tasty. But I’m not a big cake eater or fan of heavy frosting. When I finally had this tiramisu cupcake from The Velvet Cupcake, I was surprised … this was heaven. The topping is a light, creamy tiramisu — so yummy. I’m definitely going back.

{kept} this one’s a keeper.

A few … I love. {family, beach, London, cupcake, pup, latte, foodie, Matty Nay, Rob, guitar, travel} {Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved} mayphotoaday instagram @groovininthesun

Day 18. Drink

A nice glass of wine during a celebratory dinner. Oh, I spy an alien in  my drink.

It’s hard to believe that my baby girl is 20! We celebrated with an evening out at CC’s City Broiler {thank you, Jack and Val}.

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved} febphotoaday instagram @groovininthesun 

Happy Birthday, baby! Loves.

Day tripper

She was a day.... tripper, Sunday driver…

When my good friend, Samae, invited me to day trip to Kansas City, I jumped. It was a much needed respite and source for creative inspiration, not to mention delectable food.

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

Newspaper dress.

Before perusing through the shops at The Plaza, we loaded up on delicious pasta and cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory — Godiva Chocolate and Red Velvet Cheesecake.

I ♥Paper Source. Can you picture this in your dorm room or office? :)

I flipped over this Flipper at Paper Source. Fly swatter? Spatula! So many uses. 

Beautiful white dress at hemline, where Beau found a perfect grey cocktail dress on sale.

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved} 

I ♥Anthropologie.

I’m coveting Tocca Eau De Parfum. Colette: a lush mix of bergamot, citrus, juniper and pink peppercorn mingle with florals, musks and woods. It should be aptly named Renette.

Initial goodies from Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware. ♥♥

I ♥Restoration Hardware. This tractor seat barstool caught my eye. Novelty over comfort.

Thanks Sam for the super fun day!

The Girl with the Latin Tattoo

Like a fly on the wall, I had the privilege of joining Beau and Jenna at watching Lauren get her first tattoo. The evening began at 8 p.m. at Iron Tiger Tattoo. Lauren had methodically picked her artist by previously viewing all their artwork online. Gabe had nice work but Omar was a pet's name and Lars was the name of someone she knew… :) Lars was it.

Tattoo girl and javelina, a.k.a. skunk pig. 
Unfortunately, Lars was booked until 11 p.m. 
Since one should never get a tattoo on an empty stomach, we made trips to El Rancho, Kaldi’s and Cold Stone Creamery to pass the time. It was 10:30 p.m. by the time we rounded back to banter with the men in black.

Did you know that babies have 300 bones? Babies HAVE bones. There’s a COAST off Minnesota by that lake. If you get a piercing on your ***, your *** may reject it and then you end up with a split ***. That one is true.
It was closer to midnight by the time the shop was cleared out and Lars was ready for Lauren. Lauren was a bit shaky but she endured it like a pro.

{Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved}

Learn from yesterday
Live for today
Hope for tomorrow 

Thanks girls for “the longest night ever!” {Jenna}

Go West...

Whatever comes from the heart
carries the heat and color of its birthplace.
— Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. 

Be amazing, baby. Loves.

College bound

Ren Reiske © All Rights Reserved

Some emotions don't make a lot of noise. It's hard to hear pride. Caring is real faint — like a heartbeat. And pure love — why, some days it's so quiet, you don't even know it's there ...

—E.B.

In a few days, my firstborn will leave home to go to college. I’m not sure how I will feel — so many friends have forewarned me that it will be hard not to cry or feel melancholy. I feel prepared, or so I think. I know Matt will cry — Beau is, after all, daddy’s little girl and always will be. But she and I — even if she doesn't realize it, I know — have a connection that runs deep. She has my stubbornness and independent streak, which often times have lead us to tumultuous fights. We went through that difficult phase when I realized I had to let go of my young girl, so she could take those first brave steps on her own and learn from them. She continues and I know in my heart, she will be fine. She is after all, a lot like me.

Je ne regrette rien

August 7, 2010
Je ne regrette rien. I regret nothing. Lately this has been drumming through my head and keeping me focused on what lies ahead. Life is not perfect and we all make mistakes, which we learn from. You can never stop learning and that's what makes life priceless.
Beau and I went to Living Canvas and marked these very words. Last of my trifecta.

Tommy, our tattoo artist at Living Canvas.

Ren Reiske © 2010 All Rights Reserved.

Prom

With the unpredictable weather in tornado country, we felt blessed when the sun came out for prom day. Our day began with an early college registration, rushed tour, then to the Clip Joint for hairstyling, and preparation for the evening. Shelter Gardens was the hot spot for many seniors, dressed in beautiful gowns and impeccable tuxedos. 

Photos: Matt and Ren Reiske © May 2010