Toadfrogs and Elephants

It has snowed all day and supposed to continue through the night. This snow is gorgeous – light and fluffy. We all took a long walk tonight and had fun playing.

(Goggles added to Madison by Wade – red eye on dogs is really, really bad)

I recently posted about my DC friend, Maren, who now lives in Milwaukee. She and her husband welcomed a sweet baby girl, Elise Marie, on Wade’s Birthday (but I only now got the news). I can’t wait to visit!

Wade wanted to celebrate his birthday with a steak dinner and chose “The Capital Grille“. I made a reservation and when asked if this was a special occasion quickly filled them in. We arrived to find a birthday card and confetti on the table. Wade and I had the best calamari ever for an appetizer and then steak dinners. We were actually somewhat disappointed by the steaks. Wade had read wonderful reviews, but they didn’t compare to Bones or Chops in Atlanta. Wade did receive a free piece of chocolate cake with a candle, and a birthday picture. It was still a wonderful evening out.

It’s fun to start the new year with a birthday. Wade worked all day, but we celebrated with presents when he got home. I cooked dinner and even tried my hand at making an Angel Food cake.

Happy Birthday German!

Wade and I tried a new church this morning and then looked at a few houses. We had a lot of hope for the house below, but the inside was pretty bad. The house has lots of character and tons of original features, but oh my it would cost a lot to make it the kind of house we would want. See more details here. We are going to mark this one off the list.

I was having dinner with Melissa and Chris in Nashville. We got up from dinner and were walking to the door when I saw a familiar face waiting to be seated. Janaka was standing in the front of the restaurant! I haven’t seen Janaka since I was at Tech. We chatted for a few minutes. She is in Nashville trying to make a break into music. If we had taken a few minutes longer eating I wouldn’t even have known she was in the same restaurant.

Wade and I went a long time without seeing any great houses. Then we found three this weekend! Below are the ones we saw today.

This one is a little small at two bedrooms, but we love the house and it is only a block from downtown Cedarburg. Click here for more details.

This is the last house we saw. The neighborhood is “emerging” but the house is wonderful. Click here for more details.

Wade and I had a lazy morning of running errands. Then we went house hunting and actually found one we liked. It’s in Oconomowoc – try to say that fast – which is about 30 minutes from Wade’s work. The house is old and has lots of charm. You can see Lac La Belle (the lake) from the front porch. There are pictures below and for more detials click here.

We finished up about dinner time and met one of my old friends, Maren, and her husband for dinner. Last I heard, Maren and Michael were living in Chicago. Little did I know they had bought a house in Brookfield (the suburb Wade works) and are due to have a baby in a week or two. We had a great dinner and lots of fun catching up. I can’t wait till the baby is born. Then I plan to annoy Maren with my company all the time. I can’t seem to find any pictures of Maren and I together, but this is from our time in DC.