Cousins Night!

A few times a year all of us Wallgren cousins and spouses/significant others get together just for fun. Most of us are living in Chicago right now which makes things easier. We were all so close growing up that it felt more like having lots of brothers and sisters rather than cousins. It's so great that we continue to be close and become even better friends as we get older. Family is such a wonderful gift.

But we weren't complete without Eric, Chad, Anne and Pete! Next time for sure.

Lots of laughs...the girls sat at the table for dinner.

And the guys hung out together in the living room. Don't worry, we came back together after dinner.

Speaking of parties, here are a few of my ideas for making them cheaper...

Use things that you already have around the house to add decoration...like these soda bottles turned into vases.

Look for an international supermarket in your area and check it out. In my experience you can find super cheap produce at these markets (I got tons of lemons and limes for about $2).

Plus you can always find unexpected, yummy and beautiful treats at international markets...like these sweet and spicy dried mangoes from an Indian supermarket close to me.

Or these candy coated fennel seeds (I mostly bought them because of the colors but they were also yummy).


And lastly, Dan the Man...

On the same day as the cousins dinner I met this guy at our church rummage sale. I thought he was some random guy until I found out that we had something in common...we grew up in the same house! And actually his father grew up in the same house as well. His grandparents bought the house in 1919...whoa, almost 100 years ago! And since I just love connecting the present with it's history I asked Dan if I could take a picture with him (a little awkward at the time but totally worth it). Incidentally, this picture was quite the conversation starter at dinner (Kevin).