happy 11th birthday deanie.

deanie turned 11 in april and i forgot to publish this post!

for her birthday party she decided to do black and white (for piano keys) and a little hot pink.

instead of a cake she wanted this lemon and orange zest olive oil cake i had recently made at a cooking class. i was a little sad that she didn’t want a dolled up cake but on the other hand am extremely grateful for the young lady she is growing up to be!

plus i really like this dessert!

the goodie bags were stamped with music notes and filled with a slap bracelet, some stickers, a small journal notebook and a few pieces of candy. we tied music note ribbon to each one.

her favorites….strawberry licorice (NOT cherry!), strawberries, fresh pepper slices and cheeseburgers.

deanie is so content and continuously happy. she can write a creative story or play like non other. her determination in her piano, tennis and school work are extremely admirable to say the least….. she is a tender sister to her little brothers and helps immensely around the house. her jokes are truly funny and she loves to go for walks in the woods. she is smart and kind and generous. best of all, she loves the Lord and she loves others.

the next morning we surprised her with the nook simple touch. the perfect gift for an avid reader.

to keep the surprises coming….that weekend, daddy drove the whole family to the train station to send the two of us off. deanie knew i was “sweeping her away” but had no idea where we were going or how we were getting there.

off to chicago we went for the weekend!! this was her first train ride.

and her first cab ride!

we stayed at the whitehall hotel. very quaint but nice. perfect for the two of us 🙂

the price is right and the location is great. caddy corner from the hancock building and water tower place.

we mostly stayed around the water tower place to shop.

and of course the american girl store. she was so sweet and wanted to make sure to buy a little something for each of her siblings with her own money. treasures for the boys were found at the candy store and a little treasure for dancy was purchased at american girl.

the original pancake house is a MUST go to place for breakfast in chicago! if you go at 8 you shouldn’t have to wait. if you sleep in and go at 9 you’ll have to wait. it is delish!

the tulips were in full bloom, unusually early, due to an early heat wave. perfect for us because they were beautiful!

we ate dinner at the cheesecake factory. she really wanted to go and i wanted to be the one to take her! it was delicious…the portions were so huge that we both laughed a good laugh when we were served. 🙂

it was a weekend we will both always remember with a lot of giggles and laughs and fun memories.

i’m looking forward to “sweeeping” dancy away when she turns 11!