a little hometown + alma mater pride

Wisconsin Badgers Wool Blanket 

So I was just browsing Tailgate today to see what's new and I came across this Badger blanket that looked like something the Faribault Woolen Mills would make.  So I clicked on the blanket to check it out even closer and sure enough! My hometown of Faribault MN is stamped right on the blanket! Way to go! Growing up, we always had a bunch of woolen mills blankets around the house and still today; we have a few we received for our wedding and my graduation in our apartment. They are such great blankets. The Faribault Woolen Mills has been featured nationally in Martha Stewart and West Elm and every time I see it, I'm pretty excited. 

(hence the need to blog about it.) 

Can I also mention that UW - Madison was rated as one of the top 25 universities in the world!?!  I'd like to point this out because Notre Dame (the school that all my siblings went to - they don't even read my blog but I still need to point this fact out) was NOT on the top 25 list.  But just to make sure you don't feel left out of everything.  Tailgate does feature 2 different Woolen Mills blankets for you.

ND Tartan Blanket

ND Wool Blanket

madison, wi

When we were back in Wisconsin for Easter, we had an extra day that didn't involve seeing family, so we took advantage and drove to Madison.  I know I've been out of school for 10 years (yikes!) but holy hell that town has changed! And I mean, changed with a capital CH.  Every which way you turned your head, there was a new building towering over you.  The good news is that Wendt Library where a lot of our shenanigans occurred is the same old place.  Soil Science hasn't changed a bit and Ag Hall is still presiding over the Ag area of campus. Babcock Hall ice cream is still going strong and the popcorn smell in the Rathskellar is still there.  OK, so it hasn't changed as much as I originally thought, just a few buildings here and there but I think that a college student today might just might have the same type of college experience that we did ten years ago.  phew.  That's a relief.

I've got a thing for John Muir.  It's OK, Mike knows.  You see, John Muir was a student at Madison, he was environmentally conscious and a genius in the contraption-making department.  This was his study / alarm clock contraption that he made for himself.  He had a set time allotted to study each subject and when that time was over, the book would pull down and place back into a storage box and another text book would pop up.  Seriously. I love it! This contraption is on display in the Wisconsin State Historical Society which is right smack dab in the middle of campus at the end of State Street.  Mike and I spent a lot of time studying there too.  They have since purchased new chairs. (Just in case you were wondering...)

The Terrace.  Where beer and music and summer days melt together.  Ahh the memories.

Boats...but I bet you could have figured that one out. 

Abe.  See his foot (the one on your right - his left) that's the lucky one you are supposed to rub. 

The Tower is part of Social Science building that Mike spent a lot of time at. So of course, we had to go past.  We didn't walk all the way to Soil Science.  It was chilly and windy.  We are pansies. 

beat Ohio State

Mike and I have been singing this song for the last week straight. And now my gift to you is to get it stuck in your head too.  But it's ok though, because it's really really cool. Plus, check out that sequin jacket that the band director has! s-w-e-e-t.

GO BADGERS !

Fall

It's Fall!

Yippee, yahoo!

This is my most favorite season!

[photo credit]

Now, could someone PLEASE tell the weather gods to remove the triple digit temperatures from Northern California! Puh - lease, this girl has got to store her shorts already! Now, I know what you are thinking, AnnE, Hello! You live in NORTHERN California, everyone knows that it's always chilly. Haven't you ever heard that quote from Mark Twain?  "The coldest winter was a summer in San Francisco"?!?! Let me tell you, Mr. Twain, if you would had just gone over the Bay Bridge and through that Caldecott Tunnel, it's hot as Hades in the East Bay. 

Pardon my rants on the micro climates.

Now where was I?  Oh yes, Fall.  Tis the season for pumpkin spice lattes, football and chicken tortilla soup.  Throw in our wedding anniversary and you've got three glorious months! 

 [photo credit]

Go Badgers! This picture just makes me want to Jump Around!

any day in madison = a great day

Like every other time that we go back to visit Mike's family, we make sure to spend a day in Madison walking around State Street and campus. I may be...(ok, I'm seriously bias, right now i'm wearing a UW t-shirt AND sweatshirt) but Wisconsin's campus seriously can't be beat, especially on a nice summer day. We started off by getting Noodles to go (wisconsin mac n' cheese) and some waters and walked down State Street to Library Mall. The day was absolutely beautiful and there were people every where, along with a great band playing while we ate. There were many college tours going on and if I were a high school kid trying to pick a school, walking around on a summer day with people all over the place, music playing, etc. I would be sold. College search. Over. (thinking back...yes, that's exactly when I made my college visit to Wisconsin.)

After eating, we made the trek up Bascom Hill and down the other side to check out the Botanicals Gardens, the Soil Science building (my home away from home in college), as well as a new super sweet Biochemistry building. After all our years of living on campus, Mike never had a tour of the Babcock Hall Dairy store, so of course, we made a stop there to check out how the ice cream is made and a cone of cookies and cream for Mike and mint chocolate chip for me. Such a great mid-afternoon treat. And then as we walked down the lakeshore path back to the Union, we saw so many young faces, those sweet little freshman...and then i realized they could in fact be 12 years younger (you know the young ones that have really late summer birthdays)than me. How did THAT happen? So anyways...enough about me being 29...here's the pictures of fabulous day in Madison.

[an ice cream maker hard at work]

[bill's mice helped build the Biochem building, god bless Bill's mice...and Carl W. Bruch]


[old meets new....the reflection of an old Ag. building on the new Biochem building]

[entry way to the observatory, I walked many a bitter cold walk past

here on my way to Soil Science]

[Bascom Hall]