Graduation Ceremony

After celebrating late into the night on Thursday night, we woke up early to head to J's graduation.  My mom, dad and grandparents picked me up around 6:20 to head to campus, find parking and secure a spot for graduation itself.  Because my grandpa is in a wheelchair, we were able to park at the law school and take a golf cart over to the main ceremony which was on the other side of campus.

We got fairly good seats and we were even able to reserve some for J's mom Brenda, Jimmy and Jenny.  The main commencement ceremony was held in a large grassy quad just outside Brookings Hall, the oldest and possibly most iconic part of Washington University's campus.  New this year, the university lined the quad with flags from all of the students' home countries.  This provided some great entertainment as we all tried to associate the flags with their countries.

Image by Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

The best part was that our seats were very close to where J and the rest of the class were lining up to process into the ceremony.  J carried one of the three banners for the law school class and represented his class during the commencement ceremony by coming on stage and receiving his hood from the faculty rather than his classmates.  This made him easy to spot in the crowd and I got some great pictures.   When I walked over to where they were lining up, I called J's name and snapped a quick photo.  I felt full of pride and love when I saw J turn to his friend, smile and say "That's my wife."  Yes I am and there is no other title I would rather have!

The school banners via Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

Commencement speaker Elie Wiesel via Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

J on stage representing the law school class

Following the main commencement (which at 2.5 hours from start to finish ran a bit long for my taste), the law school had a separate ceremony where each graduate got to walk across the stage and receive their diploma.  Because J was a marshal in the commencement activities, we had reserved seats near the front.  However with all of the people trying to leave the quad at the same time, we barely arrived in time to watch them process in (my dad and grandpa actually missed the beginning because of the large crowds)!  The law school ceremony was much shorter and more exciting as we watched J and our friends graduate and receive their diplomas.

J after receiving his diploma

Stopping for my dad to take a picture

J and I posing with his diploma--written entirely in Latin!

The law school then arranged for a reception for all graduates in the law school building with three floors of food available (the food was the same for each floor) and lots of available classrooms for the graduates to celebrate with their family and friends.  This was a great way to talk to everyone before they went their separate ways with their families for the day!

The law school crew via Melissa Marte-Nordsieck

After leaving the law school, everyone headed back to their hotel rooms for a nap and J, my dad and I headed home.  J and my dad don't really take naps so they volunteered to go to Cosco to buy steaks, potatoes, salad, bread, wine and beer for dinner that night.  They returned with a grill for us as a graduation/belated house warming gift and we could not be more excited to grill out all summer long.  We capped off the night with some great New York strip steaks and lots of love and laughter!

During the ceremony, we tried to brainstorm some ideas of things we needed to bring for future graduations.  I thought I would share them here so you can benefit from the lessons we've learned over the years--this is our third graduation in four years and we have two more on the horizon!

Here they are:

• Wear a fabulous hat--hats shouldn't just be reserved for royal weddings and the Kentucky Derby!
• Bring an umbrella, just in case
• Bring sunscreen
• Bring bottles of water
• Make sure you eat breakfast or bring a portable one
• Bring magazines or crossword puzzle to work on
• Seat cushions are a must.  You will be sitting for long periods of time in uncomfortable chairs--your backside will thank you :)
• Wear wedges or flats--getting stilettos stuck in grass over and over is no fun!
• Bring your camera and make sure your batteries are fully charged!

What would make your "must bring" list for graduation?  Like us, do you have some graduations in your future?  Let's hear it!

Graduation Open House: Recap

I can't believe J's graduation weekend is already behind us!  It was such a fun and busy weekend full of family and friends and one that we won't soon forget.  Before we get into the details of Friday's graduation and the rest of our weekend events, I have photos and details from our graduation open house on Thursday.

My mom arrived at 1 pm on Wednesday and after a delicious sushi lunch here, we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the dinner the next day.  Soon J's mom Brenda and her friend Jenny arrived, as did J's dad, step mom and sister Cheyenne.  We spent a few hours catching up and enjoying some cocktails before Brenda, Jenny, my mom, J and I walked to Dewey's for a late dinner.  Their specialty pizza that night was Taco pizza complete with hot sauce, shredded lettuce and crushed tortilla chips--needless to say, it was delicious!  We also used our sleeper sofa for the first time as all three girls (Brenda, Jenny, my mom) spent the night. 

The next morning J had a graduation training so we got up early and headed to Trader Joe's to pick up a few more things for the party in the form of chips, salsa, mini pitas, hummus, assorted veggies, and some pretty sunflowers for the table.  When we got home we put away the food and began prepping for the party that night.  Our schedule for the rest of the day would be hectic (lunch with everyone at Snarf's, pedicures, another graduation training for J, Academic Excellence reception) so we tried to get as much done as possible ahead of time.  This included cutting up/washing all veggies, cutting the rolls in half (for the BBQ sandwiches), cutting our lemon twists for the mixed drinks, and getting out all of our serving ware for the evening.

Showing off our pedicures--my foot is the one in the silver sandal

We also washed any dishes that were dusty or new and using post-its, labeled each of them with what dish we would be using them for.  This is a tip I learned from my mom and she learned from my aunties Les and Rita who are great party planners and it really makes a dinner party run smoothly!  No running around trying to find serving platters while your food burns or gets cold and it is very useful if you have guests who volunteer to help get food on the table!  Unfortunately, my camera battery died during this preparation so I don't have any pictures of this part of the planning process.  Bad blogger bad.  All this preparation was definitely necessary because while the open house was originally scheduled for 7:00 pm, most if not all of our guests arrived around 5:30 after the Academic Excellence reception ended early!

J and I at the Academic Excellence reception

To keep things simple, I bought mostly prepared ingredients (frozen toasted ravioli, Trader Joe's pizza dough and Gooey Butter Cake to name a few) and we let the crock pot help us cook the pork roast all day long so it was fall off the bone tender.  A few of the items listed in this post did not end up making our final menu like frozen custard and penne with vodka sauce because we had plenty of food without them and with only one oven trying to cook toasted ravioli, pizza and penne would have been too difficult.

The spread--minus pizza and BBQ sandwiches which were still cooking at the time this photo was taken!

I did make little cards describing the dishes we served with a little fun fact or explanation of why we chose the dish.  I created the cards on Microsoft Word and used J's school colors for the borders.  These added a bit of whimsy to the table and we all learned something that night, almost without even realizing it! 

Here are some photos of a few of them:

Because this is a lengthy post with little party planning tips buried beneath lots of text, I thought I would summarize them for you using bullet points.  Plus, what would one of my recap posts be without bullet points?

• Wash all serving ware and lay them out wherever you will be serving the food--buffet, table, kitchen counters
• Label each piece of serving ware with post-its with the names of what will be served in each of them for easy set-up
• Prep vegetables and anything else that can be done in advance early in the day so you are not scrambling the hour or so before your guests arrive
• Be flexible--if all of the elements you have planned for your meal don't work out (for example there was no way we could bake all of the menu items at once with our small oven) don't be afraid to scratch one of them
• Don't be afraid of pre-made ingredients--they will save you time, in some cases money, and your sanity so that you are able to relax and enjoy your party!
• Say yes to help--if your mom or best friend wants to bring a dish or offers to help you with the dishes before they leave, let them!
• Buy fresh flowers, either cut or potted--fresh flowers can make a big impact for very little money (our sunflowers were only 3.99 at Trader Joe's).  If you use potted flowers, you can send them home with the guest of honor!
• Light candles, especially one or two in the bathroom, for ambiance
• HAVE FUN!

Do you agree with my list?  Any tips you would add?  What's your party planning secret?!  Spill it!

Graduation Open House: Menu and Updated To Do List

Image via weheartit

As I mentioned in this post, we are having our family and friends over to celebrate J's graduation from law school this Thursday night.  With family beginning to arrive tomorrow afternoon, we are in full planning mode.  For example, I spent part of my lunch break today scrubbing out our microwave and refrigerator and left our stove plates soaking in the sink to also be scrubbed down later this afternoon, thereby allowing me to cross off a few more things off my to do list before guests arrive and before we go out to dinner to celebrate this lovely's birthday.

Clean out kitchen pantry
Clean out and wipe down the refrigerator
Clean microwave inside and out
Clean stove
Clean and pare down closets--two in the hallway and one in the office/guest room
Reupholster our dining room chairs with fabric I've had since January!
Reorganize bookshelves and dining room hutch
Clean all surfaces including baseboards: spot cleaning of apartment needed week of graduation
Wash slipcover on couch
Replace slipcover on couch
Clean out car
Plan menu
Set up bar
Shop for menu and bar--my dear friend Ashlee has said she will help with this!

As you can see, I've also decided on a menu and a theme for said menu, one I'd like to share with you here.  The theme is a taste of St. Louis, featuring foods (and drinks) that either originated here or that St. Louis made famous.  Here is what we will be serving:

Toasted Ravioli
St. Louis Style BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Penne with Vodka Sauce, inspired by St. Louis' Italian neighborhood, The Hill
St. Louis Style Pizza--we will be leaving off provel cheese because I find it unappetizing!  For those of you who have been lucky enough never to try the stuff, it is a processed cheese made out of a combination of Swiss, Velveeta and provolone cheeses.
Gooey Butter Cake, a St. Louis classic
Frozen Custard from Whistle Stop in Ferguson, not solely a St. Louis frozen treat but it is popular here!
Anheuser Busch beverages, a St. Louis staple

I might not get everything (like upholstering the chairs and reorganizing our shelves) before my mom arrives tomorrow but considering everything we've had going on, I think we did pretty good!  And who knows, maybe my mom will want to tackle a reupholstering project with me tomorrow afternoon :)

What hometown favorite would you serve at a party like this?  If it were my hometown's menu, I'd make sure there was some In-n-Out and California rolls on it!

Last Final Ever

Today marks J's last final ever.  After 20 years of formal education, he is finally finished!  All that stands between him and his diploma is graduation itself which is two weeks from today.

We are celebrating today by getting Mexican food (and drinks for the grads--I have to go back to work) in a little bit.

Congratulations J!  You have worked very hard to get to where you are today, including the many hours you spent away from me and our family--hours when I know you would have much rather been with us--to get to where you are today.  You should be very proud of yourself and your accomplishment--I know I am.  I love you and can't wait for this next chapter in our lives to start!

Have a great weekend everyone!