Paradise and Peanut Butter Pie...

Once upon a time in a far, faraway land... a LoVeLy little family took my love and me to a place very near to what I imagine PaRaDiSe might be...

This MaGeStiC place was overflowing with food fit for a KiNg...

PooLs stretching for miles and miles...

BaLlrOoMs made for being swept off your feet...

...Palms and SuNshIne as far as the eye could see...

...SoOtHiNg melodies...

...and the most MaGniFiceNt desserts on planet earth.

As I sit here staring out my window at the BleAk Chicago sky, this place seems like a DiStaNt dream to me now. I thought about how I might somehow transport myself back to this time and place and escape the reality of WiNteR for awhile.

My first thought was... ChOcoLaTe PeAnUt BuTteR pie...a life changing experience given to me by my sister at the aforementioned place of paradise...

But where could I go to attempt to recreate this moment in time that seems so far out of my grasp? To whom could I turn but to none other than the PiOnEeR WoMaN...I was pleased as punch to find a recipe for this ChOcoLaTe PeAnUt BuTtEr pie on her site...In fact it's chilling in my FrIdGiDaiRe at this very moment!

...And I'm happy to say that in the time it took me to relive my West Palm Beach BrEaKeRs experience via blogging, I'm ready to relive it once again with this DeLicIouS treat...

Afterall, one can always dream...

On Blogging and Getting Over Myself...

Since I've started BlOgGiNg, things in life that at one time might have HoRriFieD or EmBaRRaSseD me have morphed into opportunities to LaUgH HyStEriCalLy, not take myself so SeRiouSly, and be GraTefuL to those in my life who make it far more InTeResTinG than I could ever manage on my own.

Allow me to explain by sharing a somewhat recent incident that occurred at our cousin David and Heather's wedding. It think it IlluStrAteS my point BeAutIfuLly...

The location was GoRgEOuS...

The BrIdE was RaDiAnT...

The company was DeLigHtFuL...

And to top it all off, I had my HaNdsOmE HusBaNd at my side and a NeW dress I had been saving for the PeRfeCt occasion...

The night was nearly MaGiCaL as we LaDiEs enjoyed TwIliGht in the garden...

Then suddenly, the UnThInKaBle happened, and my state of SeReNiTy quickly turned into this...

ReD, that's right, I said ReD wine SpLaTteReD all over my brand new dress! In great confusion, I turned to see my extremely apologetic brother BeN and his nearly EmPtY wine glass sitting on the table.

Now you see... at one time in my life, this incident would have HaD the potential to RuIn my entire evening, BuT this time, instead of being EmBaRrAsSeD and HoRriFiEd, I found myself enjoying the moment and taking advantage of this opportunity fully realizing its BloGgInG potential...See what I mean...

All I could do was LaUgH as my SwEeT sister tidied me up!

Having recently blogged about said sister, she did this dirty job with JoY realizing that doing so would most DeFiNitEly give her another appearance on yet another Blog Post... Thank you for your HuMbLe service dear sister...

In the end, it turns out a bit of SoDa WaTeR and SaLt does WoNdeRs on ReD WiNe dress disasters. I danced the night away without a care in the world...

And thanks to my place in the BloGoSpheRe, I can sincerely say words that at one time in my life would have been UnImaGinAbLe:

ThAnK YoU Ben for spilling red wine on my FaVoRitE, NeVeR BeFoRe WorN DrEsS.

I dedicate this post to you and consider myself forever InDeBteD to you for giving me a MeMoRaBle story to share instead of the standard slideshow of pictures I would have come up with on my own.

Celebratin' a Sister

SiStEr Katie, ToDaY is your Birthday, and to honor you on this GloRioUs day of your birth (not too many years ago), I would like to tell the WorLd how superfabulous, beautirific, and awesomazing you are my dear sister.....just in case they don't already know!

So without further ado, here's a ToP TeN for you!

1. About four years ago, I not only married a terrific man, I gained an AmAziNg sister. Even though you already have two of the BeSt sisters around, you opened your arms to invite yet another. Thank you for always including me as a SiSteR. Being your sister is a beautiful GiFt to me.

*See what I mean?! You're so thoughtful to reach your arm over to assure me that I'm a sista'.

*Exhibit B: Sister dresses.

2. Speaking of GiFtS...I used to dread shopping for them until I got to shop for YoU! Seriously, you're one of the only people I can shop for without having doubts about my purchase...most likely it's just because you just look so darn CuTe in EvErYthInG! At any rate, you bring great JoY to my Christmas shopping experiences, and I LoVe you for it!

*Marines tee, Mayan Princess Earrings, and Beauty in Brown

3. We have a mutual ObsEssIoN/AdOrAtioN for each other. I love being StaLkeD by you, and I love StaLkInG you. On more than one occasion I've opened my facebook to find 30 something notifications...I always smile because before I even click to see who it is, I know it must be YoU. It is such a relief to me that I can comment on ToNs of your pictures and not feel like a WeIrdO because you do the same to me! Thanks for letting me StaLk you...thanks for being my StaLkeR!

4. I AdMirE you for many things, but on the top of my list is definitely ThiS...

You LoVe and AdOrE your family. You take such good care of your HuSbAnD and DaUgHtEr. Your DeDiCaTioN, ReSpEcT, and PrIoRiTiZaTioN of your FaMilY is BeAuTiFuL.

5. QuEeNs for LiFe...need I say more? I look forward to our upcoming KHS CoMeBacK.

Here we are before we even imagined we'd be sisters...you're a returning Queen, and I'm a sophomore who thinks you're really cool...and I need a scanner because taking pictures of pictures = blurry! BUT my point is...next time we'll be ridin' in the same car!! :) AND you will be QuEeN Katie Anne Bailey Londono, and I will be QuEeN Katie Ann Eades Bailey! It's an honor to share a NaMe and a CrOwN with you!

6. Even before your brother was my love, YoU were preparing him for me. For example checking his PoStUrE and WaRdRoBe. I give a great deal of credit to you, his beloved sister, for the way he takes care of me. Thank you for being a LoVinG sister to DaN. It benefits me more than I'm sure I realize...

Here's a BeFoRe shot of Daniel looking a bit IntErEstInG...

and AfTeR...He looks much CoOleR with the addition of his stylin' scarf from none other than his dear sister...

And here you go again loving your BrOtHeR and thereby loving me...

...and finally, you help me keep him in line with a DiRtY LoOk from time to time...

8. You are ThOuGhTfuL and SwEeT. I remember getting birthday calls and cards from you even before I was married to Dan...now that's thoughtful. I will never forget coming to Barstow to be your assistant for a week. There was a refrigerator full of CoKe and ingredients to make my favorite dessert in the world...CheEsEcaKe. Thank you for taking the time and interest to get to know my little quirks and blessing me with your thoughtfulness.

9. You are SiLLy, FuNnY, and FuN! I think pictures will do this one more justice than my words:

10. And finally...with all of these things in mind and MaNy, MaNy more, I honor you on your birthday because even if you weren't my SiSteR, I would most definitely want to be your FriEnD.

Thank you Katie for being WoNdErFuL, LoVeLy, InCreDibLe YoU. You are truly a BleSsiNg to me, and I wish you the HapPiEsT of BiRtHdaYs and many more to come.

Love your sister and friend,

Katie