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25 Years of Animal Crossing

On this date in 2001, Animal Crossing was first released in Japan. It didn’t come to the US until the following year, and I have been there since the beginning. I have played every game (I think New Leaf is probably my all-time favorite, but I love them all!), created communities with all my favorite neighbors (Roald, obviously), worked for Tom Nook for what seemed like an eternity, and supported the local businesses (especially the museum and Brewster’s coffee shop) in every neighborhood I have been a part of. I have fond memories of characters we haven’t seen in the current game (Gracie Grace, I’m looking at you!), of furniture series that no longer exist (maybe someday they’ll bring back the Jingle line), and of game mechanics that have fallen by the wayside (I loved the Nook store evolution from “Nook’s Cranny” to “Nook ‘n’ Go” to “Nookway” to the obviously upscale “Nookington’s,” and would love to have to work to make that happen again!). Animal Crossing has been a huge part of my entire adult life, and I love that I’ve had the opportunity to share it with my children through the years. I’m hopeful that there will be an announcement of new game sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, I love the way Nintendo acknowledged this anniversary with a special leaf statue, which I am proudly displaying outside my home:

Did I mention my bestie Roald? He kindly sat down on the swing between our houses with me today for a bit!

There are still a few Lego Animal Crossing sets I haven’t been able to add to my collection…today, I picked up the least expensive one, which is also special because Goldie is one of the original, friendly characters who I remember meeting very early in my Animal Crossing experience:

It’s kind of hard for me to believe that Animal Crossing has been around for a quarter of a century through five mainline games (and a few adjacent games as well)…I hope it continues to bring joy to people around the world, and I can’t wait to see where the next game will go, and when that will be!

The Tail End of Tulip Time in Forest Park

Early spring really got away from me this year…last week, I realized I hadn’t been to Forest Park to see the tulips on Art Hill, and I was worried that I wouldn’t get to see them at all. They’re definitely past their prime, but at least there were some blooms left to admire!

Mani Monday

This week’s mani is inspired by the sunset, with swirls of Holo Taco “Coral Chaser,” “Sparkling Water,” “Peach Tea,” and “Lavender Syrup” topped with “Shooting Star Taco.”

Patterns in Nature: The Art of HYBYCOZO

On Friday, a new art installation opened at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and I am super excited about it!

Patterns in Nature: The Art of HYBYCOZO, explores the connection between art, science, and nature. The large, geometric sculptures by artists Serge Beaulieu and Yelena Filipchuk have beautiful, unique designs that let sunlight filter through during the day to create shadows, and are lit from within at night for a completely different experience. Ironically, it was cloudy on opening day, so I simply enjoyed the sculptures on their own without the light and shadow interplay, and they were lovely! I especially like how some of the pieces are colorful, and others are reflective, but they all have unique shapes and patterns!

I will definitely be going back on a sunny day to enjoy this project, but what I’m really looking forward to is seeing them lit up at night!

Town-Topic Hamburgers

I’m always on the lookout for vintage roadsigns when we travel, and this one for Town-Topic Hamburgers in Kansas City did not disappoint…I just wish I could have seen it lit up at night!

Holy Week and Easter

Lent went by especially quickly this year, and Holy Week was no exception…it was a complete blur!

On Palm Sunday, Ladybug turned my palm into a cross as she always does:

On Monday, we baked hot cross buns:

Tuesday, Chickadee and I visited the Tulip Trail at Eckert’s with the hope of cutting our own tulips for our Easter table…that didn’t work out, but it was still a beautiful experience!

On Wednesday, I made one of our favorite Lenten dinners, fish tacos:

Thursday found us at church for the first service the Holy Triduum:

Before Church on Friday we made this year’s Paschal Candle, and Bunny and I did some pre-Easter baking:

On Holy Saturday I prepped some salads and our mini donut tray for the year…I found a record 18 different kinds!

The Great Vigil of Easter is still my favorite church service of the entire year (even when we have to start indoors because rain made the church garden too mucky)!

After church, we stoped at Wendy’s for fries and a Frosty for everyone:

Easter morning was a bit chilly, but clear and beautiful!

The church looked glorious, as always:

And we got a nice family photo after the service thanks to our field worker from the seminary:

Easter is the one day a year we have a big, fancy breakfast…I even put a little extra effort into setting the table, using some pretty plates I found at Aldi a few years ago that are just the perfect color palette for the day:

We had a pretty traditional meal…biscuits with a choice of sausage gravy or Pflaumenmus (plum butter), scrambled eggs, sausage patties, brie (also good with the plum butter!), fruit salad, pomegranate and orange juices, and did I mention mini donuts?

We had a fun afternoon watching the first two Big, Fat, Greek Wedding movies, and then it was time to reset the table for dinner:

We went Italian for Easter dinner, featuring Peposo (beef cooked with garlic and peppercorns in red wine), lemon-parmesan risotto, braised radicchio with a balsamic glaze, breaded baked artichokes, antipasto salad, and Colomba di Pasqua (a sweet Italian Easter bread) with more Pflaumenmus.

And for dessert, panna cotta with a blueberry-lemon sauce and fresh berries:

This was a great, although busy, Holy Week and Easter! Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

Holy Saturday

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Genesis 2:2-3

What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam’s son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: “My Lord be with you all.” And Christ in reply says to Adam: “And with your spirit.” And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.” “I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise.” “I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person.” (quoted in For All the Saints, vol. III, p. 1037)

Good Friday–The Reproaches

“For behold, by the wood of Your cross joy has come into all the world.”

“Thus says the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. For I have raised you up out of the prison house of sin and death, and you have delivered up your Redeemer to be scourged. For I have redeemed you from the house of bondage, and you have nailed your Savior to the cross. O My people.

Thus says the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. For I have conquered all your foes, and you have given Me over and delivered Me to those who persecute Me. For I have fed you with My Word and refreshed you with living water, and you have given Me gall and vinegar to drink. O My people.

Thus say the Lord: What have I done to you, O My people, and wherein have I offended you? Answer Me. What more could have been done for My vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? My people, is this how you thank your God? O My people.” Lutheran Service Book

On the Tulip Trail

It’s tulip time in Belleville!

Eckert’s is offering a fun new spring event this year…the Tulip Trail!

Tulips are my favorite spring flower, and I have always wanted to experience rows upon rows of them like you see in photos of Holland, so of course I had to make time to follow the Tulip Trail. It did not disappoint…there are 300,000 tulips in every type and color you can dream of, in neat, orderly rows just like I imagined!

It’s amazing just how many different kinds of tulips there are, from ones with spiky petals to the traditional rounded variety, and some with ruffled edges, too. I also really liked the stripey ones!

There are lots of fun photo spots throughout the trail…I especially liked the bicycle!

The main attraction, though (other than the flowers themselves, of course!), is a windmill made in the Eckert’s workshop:

There is something fun and beautiful to see everywhere you look!

This is such a unique experience…I don’t think there’s anything like it anywhere else in the St. Louis area. It was super busy, so it’s obviously something people are interested in, and I really hope it becomes an annual event. The only disappointment we had while we were there was that they weren’t offering the cut your own tulip experience at that time, and we were really hoping to choose some for our Easter table. I would love to have the chance to go back in the future and create my own bouquet!

Tulip time never lasts long enough, but they’ll be around for a while yet, and if you have the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it!