So I come from many fun food-loving ladies. A long line of them actually. And I’m not just talking about the line for the buffet (pause for laughter).
Anyway once a summer we all get together. How many of us were there? Let’s put it in math terms. my mom + 7 sisters + 2 great aunts (no.. greatest) + 3 nieces + (3 bags of sterzings/chip hoarding by those opening the bags)….. Carry the 2, approximate the number of dudes that came around (easy.. I’m referring to the ones we’re related to) = roughly 15 people. Not too shabby.
In was was undoubtedly our healthiest year ever, the weekend kicked off with a salad bar.
Steak and blue cheese salad:
BLT Salad
Asian shrimp salad
It was glorious. That afternoon included a rowdy zumba class. I would recommend this if you ever want to have your mom intrusively ask where you learned to move your hips like that, despite the fact you are a grown up and learned these things like, a hundred spring breaks ago. We all tried our best to keep up and sweated a BOAT LOAD. It felt nice after being stuck in a car for 5 hours that morning. Plus I’ve got some great aunts with some serious moves.
That evening Teresa, my saint of an Aunt, had a banquet held in her honor. It was a lovely ceremony, everyone was dressed up, no one caught a napkin on fire accidentally at their table. In case you were asking. It wasn’t me anyway. Okay it was me. Don’t worry I put it out NOT with my wine glass. Eh? Eh? who has a master’s degree? This girl.
The next morning we drove up to Madison which I can only describe as the most charming little big city I’ve ever visited. Oodles and oodles of charm. Fistfuls. Boat loads. Insert additional miscellaneous units of measure. My Aunt Trish’s mother in law Joan hosted us for a lovely lunch (book club) featuring the local fare. Cheese. Obviously. Also there were these pasties (not that kind, I know, my mind went there too), which apparently are Welch for hot pocket. The crust was amazingly deliciously flaky and the insides were pretty yummy too. Apparently the miners used to take them to eat for lunch, and they would stay warm and could be eaten with one hand. That’s my kind of meal.
Also this included these yummy saffron raisin rolls.
Later on there was a specific family treat…………. YUM
The next morning, bright and early, we visited Monona Terrace to be in the studio audience for NPR’s Saturday morning live trivia show. Guess what? Mom got up there and won it. Hooray for our new board game and pink flamingos prize.
Before we left we enjoyed a fabulous meal on a restaurant on the square across from the capital. Part of the slow food movement, this place rocked. Every plate was amazing and you’d better bet that we shared.
Here is Anne’s country fried steak putting my school cafeteria’s to shame. What, it’s the only other place I’ve had it.
Lox and Bagel, predictably awesome.
Eggs Benedict- one with steak and one with vegetables. Those rosemary potatoes are the stuff dreams are made of.
Alisa got this dessert parading as breakfast. Orange zesty and buttermilky. Yum.
On the way out of Madison we stopped at Dodgeville and Mineral Point. We lived in Wisconsin while I was born and within a few months of my arrival moved to Missouri where I have more or less retained residence ever since. I have been so wanting to go back, especially when MSN declared MP one of the most charming places in the country. IN THE COUNTRY. Exciting, no? I pretty much told everyone I met on the street. About me being born there that is, they already knew about the town.
So here I am in front of the hospital where I was born. Pay no mind to the fact they probably tore it down and rebuilt it five years ago. That’s the entrance! The Main One! (yes the most photographic shot to be had with me in it too).
Look it’s the entrance to the town! It’s where Wisconsin Began! It’s where Lauren began! It’s where those pants began to get really dirty.
This is mom outside of the tiny apartment where we lived when we first moved to town. She would climb her pregnant self up those narrow stairs.
This is the house where we lived when they took me home from the hospital. Don’t worry, I’m sure the people that lived there were only mostly creeped out by us.
And finally on the way home the sister and I had a rowdy time in Iowa City with our Bar Manager cousin who you should never go drink for drink with ever. ever. Unless you want to ruin your pretty white J crew pants.
Best sister’s weekend yet!
