Communion Celebrations!

After celebrating Joseph's First Holy Communion and party this past weekend, I started to think about Olivia's Communion almost exactly three years ago. Wow, time flies! Since they received the sacrament in the same church and celebrated at the same venue, even though the name is different now, it was a perfect time to reminisce. And, in pulling up pictures from Liva's special day, I remembered how the only picture I have of her without a painted face is the one in church before she processed to her seat. Always first in line because of our last name, it was the perfect opportunity for a photo. And, I of course, captured photos with each communicant on their special day.

May 2010 and May 2007

The little cutie with his glasses on....trust me, he doesn't wear them often. They are even non-existent when he's playing baseball, which is probably not the best idea.

My loves - Joseph III and Olivia

Me and my Liva at the Trump National Country Club - May 2010

Finally, this cake is a signature item in my family. It even goes back to my teenage years...I was just reviewing some photos and saw pictures of the same cake.

Anyway, we love it...well, I honestly prefer the dark chocolate kind instead of white chocolate, but it aligns perfectly with the white communion theme!

The Big FIVE!

It feels like just yesterday our little red head was born, yet time definitely flew and it's been a whole FIVE years ago today! And, in the spirit of the littlest boy in the Abate family becoming a whole hand, we had to celebrate. After he opened gifts (actually our gift was opened after cake), we ate our favorite Sunday meal - pasta. Today's Italian feast was filled with several options including ravioli, gnocchi and cavatelli along with meatballs and salad at a table filled with immediate and extended family (missing of the few of the key players, Liv and Di, though)!

A few days before Cam's birthday celebration, I went shopping trying to think of what he would like in addition to purchasing some cute summer clothes. In the end, I filled a two gallon blue sand bucket with swim trunks, two outfits, matching flip flops, sunblock and more, complete with a boogie board sporting the same design as his new trunks!

Cameron LOVED his How To Train Your Dragon decorated chocolate and vanilla cake so much it was difficult for him to share until he learned he was taking some yummy cake home. He even sang to himself, which was undeniably adorable!

Here's some shots of the intimate festivities:

Yummy Dragon Cake and Aunt Lexy and Joe's birthday gift!

The birthday boy and his big boy cousin, Joseph! (apparently I couldn't crop Christian out of the photo while he was eating!)

Years past...I couldn't resist!

Some of my fave pics of the little guy!

Celebrating his 2nd birthday in 2007!

Blowing Out Candles!

Opening Gifts...while Joseph and Liva watch!

And on this occasion, Cameron absolutely enjoyed his ice cream....so cute!

Spring Has Sprung

Spring has sprung and I was extremely excited to choose a new background design as a result. Although this time of year is somewhat rough for me because of my horrible allergies, I am trying to bear through it with the best of them. With that being said, I'm looking forward to much warmer weather, which means more pedicures, flip flops and sandals. The latter I have already been sporting in full effect, except to work of course.

I want to take this time to wish everyone a HAPPY SPRING...hopefully, in the coming months, I will have more springy pics to post...especially some of Joseph playing baseball. He's moved up from t-ball, which is extremely exciting and I CANNOT wait to catch one of his games. More to come....

And, I use it a lot

Let me first start by saying that throughout school, you’re taught to not begin sentences with conjunctions. It’s during this time when you also learn how to diagram sentences and construct creative paragraphs, essays, etc. But, as you proceed into the writing world, you are given some freedom of expression – well, somewhat. So, when I begin a sentence in one of my articles with the word “and,” it’s technically fine. But one of more recent pieces my mother read (Having Seconds - South Philly Review - March 11, 2010), made her stop and ask why I decided to write incorrectly. Well, she actually said, “I just wanted to ask you a question, are you supposed to start a sentence with “and?” And, I realized exactly what she was asking since it wasn’t the first time I've encountered this interrogation.

Whenever I have Joe read over one of my pieces before sending it along, he always points out the sentences beginning with that little conjunction. It’s definitely a pet peeve of his, he just doesn’t like nor approve of its use at the start of any sentence – and it goes against all grammatical usage he and my mother have ever learned.

After being the brunt of their questions, I decided to research a little bit (basically, I googled it) to find out who was correct or if the whole topic was simply a matter of taste.

Apparently, it’s not standard practice to use “and” at the beginning of a sentence, but that doesn’t mean it’s incorrect. But, you should – as with any conjunction in the beginning of a sentence – follow it with a comma (although I didn’t follow that rule in the above mentioned article). It’s also a good idea to use it as an effect or to accentuate an aspect of the content. And, trust me, many writers have also used "and" in the same way. I even noticed it while reading Elizabeth Gilbert's most recent venture, Committed. So, I'll finish by saying it's a matter of taste whether you prefer to use conjunctions at the beginning of sentences or be more grammatically rigid and not.

Friends and Family

Catching up with friends and family is one of my favorite past times....of which I've been doing a lot this week! It started with my many activities this past weekend and then continued as the week began. Lunch with Eva and Mike at the Famous 4th Street Deli on Tuesday was yum, yum! And Mike, I agree, those sandwiches are NOT small....instead huge. They are def. good for two meals and I haven't even eaten the second half yet.

Then I met Maria at Il Fiore in Collingswood for some dinner and catch up conversation. I must say, it was my first time, and it was stupendous. The pasta and salmon was delish. I would def. recommend this place to anyone. And for a Tuesday night, they were crazy busy, which lacked some attentiveness, but still good.

And my dinner dates ended tonight at Scannicchio's at Broad and Porter with Jenn and John. I guess when Eva, John and I first had dinner there several years ago, it must have made a significant impact. Those two always suggest this place whenever we head to dinner - together or separately - which I think speaks volumes about it's tastiness.

Let's see what next week brings! All of these places receive high recommedations from me...so go ahead, eat up! Mangia, mangia!

Bridal Bonanza

Now that it came and went, I can blog about it…Eva’s Surprise Bridal Shower!

I was uber excited several months ago when Eva asked me to be her maid-of-honor in her wedding this upcoming June. Woohoo! I’ll first start by writing how she asked. We were at the Penrose Diner, where we often meet for breakfast especially near holidays and birthdays to exchange gifts and sometimes just to catch up. I think she was giving me my birthday present – a little belated – and we were celebrating Easter, but maybe my memory should be refreshed. Nonetheless, my final present was an album of pictures from when we first met – ten years ago while pledging ATA at La Salle – spanning until now. A letter was attached to the album detailing our relationship and ending with, “Will you be my maid of honor?”

Oh so sweet! And as September approached, I started the planning process with her five other bridesmaids - each from a special part of her life (college, high school, the school she teaches at, her sis-in-law and fiance's sister). After choosing a month – March, of course – we were set on a timeline. Invitations were finalized in February after two drafts I designed – so much fun! The bridesmaids agreed Adirondack chairs with flops and drinks were perfect for Eva and Mike, especially for how much time they spend at Eva’s parent’s beach house not only during the summer, but throughout the year! Beach with the colors of the chairs – hot pink and lime green – became the shower’s theme! A variation of the image with part of the poem was printed on the cake with “Showers of Happiness” penned alongside. Some beachy things created were the sun, fish and flip-flop cookies I made and sand, made with pudding, cool whip and crushed vanilla wafers topped with bright candy shells and sand dollars. Katie made sand and shell centerpieces with green and blue tealight candles. Flip flop luggage tags were given out as favors and bridal shower bingo was played with some great little prizes for the winners!

I had fun hand making Eva’s Bridal Shower Sign so it was personal and matched our colors! We framed a copy of her invitation and placed it alongside an umbrella, one of her engagement pictures and a plate signed by all of her bridesmaids – we even signed Erica’s name since she couldn’t be there. Mrs. Tierney provided some personal touches by pulling some beach items from their house in OC! Eva’s chair was covered in sheer pink fabric, green and pink lanterns hung from the ceiling, and balloons spiced up the hall – all matching our theme colors! I must apologize for the list reiteration above, but it's late and I couldn't think of another way right now.

I should also mention that our food was tropical themed as well featuring some tasty treats such as tropical fruit salad, jerk chicken kebobs, cranberry wild rice and more!

Everything turned out lovely the day of and I must say even the weather cooperated! But, the EXTRA-SPECIAL gift Eva received was the best part – the reason why I saved it for last! The birth of her first nephew - born a few weeks early at 4:30 a.m. on the morning of her shower – was the icing on the cake! Mom and fellow bridesmaid, Erica, which is why she wasn’t at the shower, and baby Peyton are doing wonderful according to today's reports!

Check out a few images of the fun surprise events and gift opening below! Whew...now onto the bachelorette party...

The final touches of a true Bridal Shower - all of the bows have to be compiled into a hat! Eva just loved it! Congrats and I'm just thankful we pulled off the surprise with all that was going on Friday and Saturday!

Scrapbooking Memories!

A handful of years ago, I was an avid scrapbooker....but then somehow time passed and I could never find any time to pick it up again. Recently, I've been scrapbooking and thought of the last book I completed - "Senior Year at La Salle." I finished it the first year I was out of college and wanted to commemorate my final memories there or at least a snippet of them. Here's a peak at just a few of the pages...whew...the memories came flowing back!

"If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun!" This quote is so true. Granted I'm not for obeying ALL the rules, but am a HUGE fan of having FUN! Many of these photos were taken at A15, B7's (our townhouse) home away from home.

Three out of four of my roomies make cameos in these pics...Sheena, Gina and Erin...I can almost guarantee it was a beer pong night!

Senior Week (to the right) was one of the best weeks we had...it def. commemorated the year and so many wonderful additional memories were made.  

Frederick's

In high school, my friends and I began an annual Christmas dinner tradition - one we still adhere to each holiday season (organized by GiGi). Although we don't go to Frederick's anymore, the annual email still holds the title in memory of our first year. In the picture above, I ordered what my friends liked to call "the ocean," thus the huge crab legs I'm trying to get through.

Joseph Mark

Another love of mine are my nieces and nephews. In my senior year book, I made a page for both Joseph (pictured above) and Olivia. Born in September 2002, Joseph was a little over a year old in these photos and oh so cute. He loved playing with mulch out back and those big eyes are still the best! This little boy, who is also one of my godchildren, still makes me smile everytime I see him (which is quite often)! =)

AW...The Phillies and Citizens Bank Park

This was the first year the new ballpark opened in Philadelphia for our beloved home team. As part of our Senior Week extravaganza, we attended a Phillies game! Since then, I've been back probably a couple hundred of times especially as a partial season ticket holder! Spring, summer and part of fall lead me down to South Broad Street to catch a glimpse of our Fightin' Phils and my fave players!

Strolling down memory lane made my night!

After writing this blog and getting back into scrapbooking, I realized I have a lot to catch up on and am kind of sad that I didn't keep up with it more. But so is life!