Lunch dates, play dates, and more.

So do you ever feel like you need a vacation followed by.... a vacation? After a much needed break from our regular schedule, I now feel a bit discombobulated after a turbo-speedy, spring break week of visiting friends, running errands, cleaning, organizing and planning. I definitely could use another week to re-group....ugh.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed all that spring break offered this year. With no real plans to go anywhere, I decided to take advantage of the amenities close to home. Monday kicked off with a visit to meet baby Grant Vander Velde, what a blessing that was! He is absolutely precious! Caleb also got his Ms. Jenna and Gavin fix, so he was happy. That day allowed for some further spring cleaning and gathering of items for the Church rummage sale. It all started with some shoe and sandal re-organization....purses and tops ensued. In the end, it felt good to purge, and finally get rid of those shirts I haven't worn since the summer of '07. All of that said; I need bigger boxes.

Tuesday started off right with a much needed hair appointment. With the helping hands of Jaci, a beloved friend of ours, I was able to steal away to get pampered. "Something fresh," I told Ana, the wonder woman of hair, and an hour later I was feeling lighter and ready to conquer the world...but not before a trip down to State St. for lunch and a frozen yogurt at the Red Mango with said Jaci. It was later that afternoon, while Caleb took a much needed nap, I did conquer the huge mess in my office/craft room. I cleaned and then scrap-booked until my hearts' content. There is something about a fresh outlook and a new start that gets me motivated, inspired....maybe it was the new do, or the birds chirping, or maybe the deep desire to check yet another thing off my list; regardless, I was satisfied and proud.

Wednesday I had dessert with my fabulous friend Nicole, which entailed lots of inevitably excellent conversation AND Oreo pie! I can't say enough about my need for "girl time...," and chocolate; but I won't get into that. The simple pleasures of connecting with another human never ceases to amaze me....Yes Dad, you are right, I am definitely an extrovert, I certainly get lots of my energy from spending quality time with great people. Thank God for the gift of the gab.

Thursday brought yet another pleasant afternoon of more great conversation with a dear, old friend from middle school. Renee and I re-connected about a year ago thought this fabulous social network called Facebook, maybe you have heard of it ;) and ever since we've been getting together every 3rd month or so to catch up and just talk, It's so good for my heart to see her and to bask in the joys of a historical friendship. That afternoon also included a lunch complete with divine Peruvian food at the Inka Heritage; and a nice long walk.

Friday was super spectacular! Our weekly playgroup, PB&J met here at the Britto home for a couple of hours. The house was filled with 15 kiddo's and 8 momma's; it was awesome! We celebrated the current, newest member of the group, baby Grant, and the soon-to-be newest member, li'l Ms. Lapacek, with delicious pink and blue cake balls! FYI, get used to me talking about this playgroup. Simply said, our lives would not be the same without it!

Right about here I would love to include a section about the importance of friendship, due to space and time, I will save it for another time.....stay tuned;)


This is a pic of my ultra boring, yet friendly, bright, yellow wall in the family room. I am in desperate need of design ideas to complete the look. We have since incorporated some fun color to compliment the sentimental painting my wonderful sis-in-law created for us; hence the yellow. I just don't know what to do to bring it all together. To refresh your memory, this is the pic of our beautiful Christmas gift from Alejandra, my incredibly talented sis-in-law. Definitely check out her artwork, it'll knock your socks off! Seriously, please give me your thoughts and bright ideas for this special wall in our home.


To sign off this week I will leave you with a quote I recently read by Charlotte Davis Kasl , "A life-long blessing for children is to fill them with warm memories of times together. Happy memories become treasures in the heart to pull out on the tough days of adulthood."

-Thanks Mom and Dad! Love you.

Have a great week everyone! God Bless.