The Hillary Trip

My little sister is all grown up! At least it feels that way now. She just rented her very first apartment and it is adorable! She found a little studio above a deli in the downtown area where she lives and oh my goodness. It's just so cute. Not only is the apartment great but the area is too! There's a great deli and bakery right beneath her, a coffee house a 2 minute walk away, tons of little boutiques, and a quaint little park within walking distance. 

A little background: me and my sister are extremely close. Like we have out own sister language kinda close. So, consequently, when she moved 7 hours away last year it was a big adjustment. We went from seeing each other practically everyday to 4 times a year. Boo.  

Thus, the long awaited Hillary Trip. I was beyond excited to not only see my sweet seester, gorge on all the good food, watch Sherlock together ( which I still haven't finished so shhhh 😉), but to see what she had done with her new place. When me and my husband moved into our house I consulted her on pretty much every decorating decision and with good reason. She has a wonderful eye for decorating and is able to do so on a limited budget. I knew she would do the same in her new home and she did! 

We started for WI on Friday. I drove there with my dad and it was so nice having some quality daddy/daughter time to catch up. When we arrived she was standing in front of her place waiting to welcome us. She took us up right away to 147 1/2 {platform 9 3/4 anyone?}, up the poky stair case, and into her little home. 

Once we unloaded all out luggage we headed  downstairs to grab lunch at the Deli, which was fantastic. 

Afterwards we decided to explore the city and ended up at a cozy little coffee house and stayed long enough to finish our 3 cafe au laits. From there we circled around to the bakery by her apartment and ordered strawberry rhubarb bars, turtle brownies, and bread pudding to go.

 

We took out goodies back upstairs and relaxed for awhile before me and Hillary decided to hit up a couple of stores and pay a visit to my mom. Pier 1 was our first stop and I was able to buy her the house warming gift I had planned on and found it on clearance to boot! It was a little hanging pot rack, perfect for her kitchen. After we saw my mom and my baby sister Bliss, we ran to the store to grab snacks and did some good ole' fashion boy watching ;) When we got home we decided to make a couple Pinterest recipes for dinner. We made million dollar spaghetti and dole whips, both of which were delicious. 

We ended the night by watching the firrst episode of Sherlock. Getting ready for bed was quite a feat. The daybed, trundle, and cot made for a very cozy sleeping arrangement but that was part of the fun. 

The next day my sister had to work and my dad went around doing dad things. He bought her an adorable little bistro set for her kitchen and put it together then went to work on her car. 

I took that time to spend time with my mom and little sister. We had a lovely afternoon just relaxing and enjoying each other's company. That evening we drove to my aunts house to meet her newly adopted daughter from Haiti! I was so thrilled to meet Anaika. We have been praying for this little gis arrival for three years and it was such a blessing to finally meet her. She is a precious, happy, playful 6 year old who spreads joy wherever she goes. How appropriate that her middle name is Joy :) 

One of my moms nicknames for me is Gita. She called me that one time over dinner and it stuck. Anika loved it and giggled every time she said it. Since then she keeps asking when Gita is coming over and I can't wait to see her again! In the mean time I decide to send her a sticker book and mail her different stickers each month. I loved having a sticker book (and loved putting it together probably more than I should have) and I hope she will too! 

That evening me and Hill stayed up into the wee hours just talking and laughing while dad snored on his cot. The next day me, Hill, and dad went to a really interesting little cafe calls the Cafe de Art. The building was so pretty and the food was fantastic. I got the Mediterranean breakfast sandwich, dad got the European, and my sister got the home-made yogurt with granola. All the meals came with a lovely salad topped with oranges and pepper rubbed apples and huge cups of coffee. 

The whole time we were there my dad kept asking "is that a hipster?" He find the whole culture fascinating but is very confused as to what makes a person a hipster. We had fun filling him in ;)  Later that day my dad went back to car/ apartment maintenance (what a sweet dad!) and I went with my mom and sister. We did a Target run and some shoe shopping and that evening everyone met up for dinner at Panera. 

The next morning my dad went shopping and me and Hill slept in and had a late breakfast of waffles as we sat at her new breakfast nook by the window. 

 (The Broughton girls first thing in the morning. She would be so upset 😂😱)

We eventually got ready, cleaned up the place, and added a few finishing touches. We hung a few pictures together, and she drew a pretty flower border above the sink ( the landlord actually thought to use chalkboard paint which we thought was very Pinteresty for a 40 year old man).

 We were able to take her to work and said our goodbyes there. I had a wonderful trip and can't wait to see her again this summer! Until then we'll just have to continue communication through our preferred method...memes ;)