Murder Mystery Party-Happy Birthday Julie!!!

As many of you probably already know, I love games,competitions and Winning! ....So I was more than excited when I received an invitation to Julie's Birthday celebration and it was a Murder Mystery party.  
We had been assigned our characters, found the most fabulous costume to come to the party in, and were ready to play our characters.  Once we all arrived to the party we began to mingle around in our characters. The first round we were given an envelope and inside was a card with clues necessary to play our characters. During the investigation round it was very important to ask the right questions to the right characters and listen carefully to each clue in order to solve the mystery. The clue cards gave us certain ways to act toward each other and what we could reveal or not reveal in conversation. It was a very fun night, Only 3 of us guessed the correct murderer... Bameril Lacrosse-Chris.

The Abby Manor Masquerade Ball

 Dolly Dee-Julie, Yuna Verz-Raha, Mag Niffie-Erin, Jackie T. Pressen-Chantel, Pepper Keegrip-Danielle, Blondie Fawn-Jackie, Roxie Rich-Kristine, Cha-Cha Merengue-Katie, Pawnie McQueen-Tiffany, Jamie Bond-Cecile

Sherlock Tracy-Shane, Bameril Lacrosse-Chris, Cheque Penne- C.J., Bryan Seafoam-Devin, Mike Robes-Robby, Bill Shananagan-Dom, Luke Fude-Clint, Tele N. Eve-John

Mingling with the other characters of the evening.

 And then the murder happened, sorry Sherlock Tracy but no one liked you anyways....

Cha -Cha Merengue showing the group how to Cha-Cha 

 Thanks to the hosts of the evening. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!

Perfect Bliss for a week

Devin and I planned a week away from the freezing state of Minnesota February 11th-18th 2012. When we left the temp. was 10 degrees. Of coarse there were difficulties at the airport as usual for the Faschingbauer family. Our plane was delayed 3 different times due to technical difficulties with the plane, we pulled out and pulled back into the airport 3 times and never did take off. After 3 hours waiting in the airport and $200.00 vouchers we finally took off heading to the beautiful Carlsbad, CA.

When we arrived in our amazing condo looking out over the ocean, we were greeted with a wonderful gift basket full of delicious fruits and snacks for the week from my wonderful Aunt Debbie. The bed also had this cute little kissing bird/towel made up. What a great way to start the vacation.

Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort on the San Diego Coast

 We started out our first day in California-Sunday at the cute little cafe near our condo THE DAILY NEWS. The breakfast was phenomenal, we had more than enough to fill us up.

We spent the day driving up the coast to La Jolla and Coronado. We stopped at a couple of the small towns along the way to check out the shopping and beautiful views. In La Jolla we took a cave tour along the ocean.

           Walking on the boardwalk along the ocean in La Jolla

We had dinner this evening at Fresco's, a quaint Italian restaurant in Carlsbad.

 We were so surprised to get a knock at the door and these beautiful flowers show up. Thank you Aunt Debbie for a Valentines Day surprise.

 We spent the morning on Valentines Day walking through Carlsbad Village, looking in all the little shops and art galleries.

 Devin surprised me with a wine tasting tour up the coast for the day. We took the Carlsbad coaster with a group of fifteen others to all the little wineries along the coast up to San Diego.

 The first winery was a cozy little place about a block away from our condo Witch Creek Winery.

 Our Last stop was in Old Town San Diego, a Mexican themed atmosphere. This was our tour guide along the way, she was so knowledgeable and taught us so much about wine

More pictures to Come from our trip as I am still working on downloading the 800 pictures from our trip :)

Sing loud. Dance often. Rock out with a serious air guitar

Our Trip to San Diego continued to bring so much fun, happiness and laughter.

My Aunt Debbie brought Devin and I to this amazing little spot along the coast called Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens.

It was one of the most serene places I had ever been to. A spot without the loudness of the world, so quiet, we could only hear the birds singing, and the waves of the ocean hitting the shores of Encinitas.

And of course we had to join in on the meditation....

Love you Aunt Debbie. Thank you so much for bringing us to this beautiful place. We had a great time spending the day with you, so many laughs!

Lunch at The Union

On Thursday we rented some beach cruisers and biked up the coast to the Oceanside Pier.

As we walked toward the end of the pier we stopped to watch a group of very talented surfers. If the water wasn't so cold I might have wanted to try to surf myself :)

Oceanside California... Just beautiful!

Some friends we met along the way.  Brown Charlie was the famous pelican (or infamous to the local fisherman) and a bit of a diva. I chased him around the pier for a good ten minuets before he finally gave in and posed for this photo. This unwanted surprise caught by a local fisherman instead of halibut on his hook this stingray was finishing his tasty bait. And finally, looks like this crab's passengers need to find a more reliable transportation.

After begging all week, Devin finally talked me into jumping into the ocean with him. Keep in mind the temp outside was 55 degrees and the water temp maybe 40 degrees.

Thursday evening- Mini Golfing at Boomers with Devin's uncle Jim.

We were able to spend time with Kelly and John in San Diego

 Family Love.

We had lunch at a great restaurant in Carlsbad near our condo- Catch. It was so nice to catch up with my cousins and Aunts.

Devin being the only guy did a pretty good job keeping up with all the conversations about clothes, makeup and hair.

Our last evening in California. The sunset was beautiful, soaking in every last moment of this wonderful trip.

Live in the moment.  The past is gone; the future undetermined.

Happy 28th Birthday Katie Kahl

To celebrate Katie's Birthday this year, Katie and Dom put together an evening of Wine and Beer tasting at their condo downtown Minneapolis. What an amazing time! We had little appetizers to pair with each of the different wines.

 The Food was so delightful: Caprese Bites paired with Pinot Grigio, Shrimp cocktail paired with Sauvignon Blanc, Prosciutto wrapped melon paired with Riesling and Soft Brie paired with Red Blends.

My favorite wine of the evening: Cupcake, Red Velvet red wine.

And then the dessert for the evening: Puppy Chow/peanut butter balls, Chocolate dipped rice crispies and chocolate chip cookie slivers... Absolutley Delicious! Thanks Alexis

I Love Lucy! Katie and Dom's puppy Lucy has grown up so much since last time we saw her, She is full of energy and just as adorable as ever.

Lucy had all the Energy in the world when we all arrived to the party but then pooped out by the end of the night

The handsome men of the evening...

Catching up with wonderful friends

Lots of Laughs

The happiest memories are those spent with great friends...

The best group of friends a girl could ask for:

Thank you Katie and Dom for having us all over
Happy Birthday Katie!! I hope your day is filled with tons of Love and Happiness

"The better part of one's life consists of his friendships."
- Abraham Lincoln,