Maui Christmas and Happy New Year!

We were lucky enough to be able to spend the holidays this year in Maui with some great friends and Eric's family. We absolutely LOVE it in Maui. We went to a amazing Christmas day service at Saint Theresa's in Kihei. If you ever get the opportunity to head to Maui, really try to get to a service there. The priest was so engaging and the band (Yes, band!) made it the best mass we've ever been to. And with a combined 33 years of Catholic schooling under our belts, we've seen our share of masses. New Year's was spent at Mulligan's (more of that to come) in Wailea. We had a blast and we all stayed up to see the fireworks over Grand Wailea.

We were blessed this year with just perfect weather. 80's and sunny every day is definitely something we could get used to. We spent plenty of days laying on the beach (Big Beach and Little Beach in Makena are some favorites), lounging by the pool (the just beautiful Fairmont Kea Lani- Thanks Aunt Pam!), snorkeling (check out Four Winds Maui), golfing (the boys got to play Kapalua's Plantation course!), and eating and drinking to our heart's content.

Food might be one of my favorite things ever and great food is even better. So when I experience great food, I want to tell the world. Maui has some great restaurants and, with everything so fresh, it is hard to narrow it down to a handful of top spots. That being said, here are some places in South Maui I would not only recommend, but will go back again and again:

Four Season's Ferraro's- Right in the middle of Wailea, we didn't dine for dinner, but had a few really great lunches there. A little overpriced, but portions big enough to split. Best Ahi Tuna sashimi I've ever had.
Mulligan's on the Blue- A little Irish pub on Wailea's Blue golf course. Since the time change is 5 hours from the east coast, Mulligan's opens up at 8 am on Sundays for the football games. And, yes, we were there at 8 am.
LuLu's- Pretty cool bar/restaurant in Kihei. The food was ok (except the "It's Baja, Dude" wrap-that was so good!) but the happy hour was killer. You can't beat $3.00 Mai Tai's.
Cafe @ La Plage- This spot in Kihei is a very casual panini place that we found just this year. Small, personal, and just delicious sandwiches.

We are back in the cold now, but here are some pictures from our tropical paradise :)

Oh Christmas Tree

We got our Christmas tree the day we got back from Ada and we love it! It is just the perfect tree. We decorated it on Sunday while we celebrated Thanksgiving Round 2. Our ornaments are a little lacking, but we accumulate a few more every year. We don't have a tree topper yet. We can't decide if we should go with an angel, a star, or something else. Any thoughts??

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are heading up to Ada, Minnesota to spend Thanksgiving with Eric's Mom's family. We are so excited to see all of them, since we haven't seen them since the wedding. Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. It always seemed to be the one holiday that everyone was together and then of course there is the FOOD! We are having a Thanksgiving dinner in Rochester on Sunday so I will get a chance to cook all of my favorites: Cranberry, apple, and sausage stuffing, candied pecan and pear salad, turkey (of course), mashed potatoes and gravy (my favorite!), and my mom's pumpkin bars!

Thanksgiving is such a great time to think about all we have to be thankful for. So here is my Top Five things I am thankful for this year:

1.) To have found and married the love of my life. There are no words to describe how blessed I feel. He is the single greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I am so lucky to have him.

2.) To have grown so close to my family. There is a week that goes by ( a day for that matter!) that I don't talk to them. My sisters (and my sister in law!) are the best that I could have asked for. I'm growing closer and closer to my brothers. My niece and nephews are little gifts from heaven. And I see more of my parents in me all the time.

3.) To have been welcomed into such a great, new family. I couldn't have asked for better in-laws. We are so lucky to have them close by (when they are in town!). One of my favorite stories is when Teri was over at the house when we first moved in and she cleaned all of the toilets in the house. Now THAT is a good mother in law :)

4.) To be in good health. We have had our little colds here and there, but we are so lucky to be healthy and living in a beautiful, warm home.

5.) To have the opportunities that we have and have had. The trips we've taken, the the friends we've made, and all the special memories we've made together. I recently read a book that said memories don't just happen, you have to actively make them. I can only hope for years of more memories being made :)

I hope you and your family and friends have a great Thanksgiving and remember what you are thankful for. It really makes the holiday that much better!

From Flip Flops to FREEZING!

Eric and I recently packed up our house in Phoenix and drove across the country. We are now officially settled in Rochester, Minnesota and it is quite the change! The main reason for our move was for Eric to start work as the controller for his dad's company, but we also wanted to be closer to family. We've been here for about 2 months now and are starting to get the hang of things. Eric grew up in this area but it is all new to me. We are having a blast taking in everything we can before it gets too cold to do anything that involves leaving the house! We've made it to a couple of Twin's games (including the tie breaker which was Awesome!), but have been staying down in Rochester for the most part to get everything ready for the winter. We've had snow already, turkeys galore, and are learning all of the challenges of living in a 100+ year old house. Here are a couple of pictures of our Minnesota life so far!

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Yeah Mon!

We are in Jamaica for the honeymoon and loving it so far. The humidity here is something else... wayyyy different than Phoenix. We wanted to say thanks to everyone that made our day what it was. We had such a good time and hope all of you did too. There are already a bunch of pictures going around and the photographer that night has some on his website at josefsamuel.com. Some of the posing is a little different for us midwesterners, but we think they turned out awesome. We miss you all and will see some of you when we get back to Phoenix, some of you when we head to Ohio to visit, and the rest of you when we head back to Rochester in August! Back to unlimited cocktails and sunshine! See you soon!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

The big day is just about here! We fly out of Phoenix today (Wednesday) and will be in town around 8 pm. We cannot wait to see you all there! The past year has flown by and hopefully everyone has a fun and safe time this weekend. See you soon!

Parties, Parties, Parties!

What better way to celebrate two people in love than with a party?? We recently spent a weekend in Youngstown for a bridal shower thrown by the bride's mother and sisters. We had so much fun seeing everyone and just loved the "Lucky in Love" theme. It definitely suited us :) In June we will head to Rochester for a couple's shower put on my Pam, the groom's aunt. We can't wait to spend some time in Minnesota for some golf and relaxation before the big day. Last, but certainly not least, the bachelor and bachelorette parties are this weekend in Las Vegas and Scottsdale, respectively. We like to think that our friends are helping us celebrate getting married rather than being single. We'll promise to behave :)

Less than 2 months to go! Invitations are out are we look forward to your RSVP in the mail!

Registering!

We spent Valentine's day this year by registering for the wedding! We went to Macy's and, after being completely overwhelmed, we finished up. You can check it out at macys.com or in store. You can search by either of our names too. Less than 5 months to go!

Engagement Pictures

We got our engagement pictures done on October 30th and they are back! Kelsie with Pinkerton Photography did such an amazing job. They turned out better than we could have ever expected. Here is the link to copy and paste to a slideshow she put to music for us. Enjoy!

http://pinkertonphoto.com/slideshows/deannas/

Wedding Details!

When & Where
July 4, 2009
South Bend, IN

The Ceremony
The ceremony will be held at 2 pm on Saturday at Little Flower Church. Little Flower is located at 54191 N Ironwood Rd (in between Martin's and the golf course) and is only 5 minutes from campus. To get there from the Marriott: Head North on US 31 (St Joseph's St). Turn right on E Colfax Ave. Turn left on N Hill St. Turn right at South Bend Ave. Turn Left at Ironwood Road.

The Reception
The dinner and party afterward will be at the Marriott ballroom in downtown South Bend. Not all of the details are sorted out yet, but the time is set for 6 pm- 11pm. We also will have a block of rooms set aside to be reserved there. The Marriott is located at 123 N Saint Joseph St. 80/90 is the main highway that has an exit right at colleges. To get to the Marriott from 80/90: Once you get off the toll road (exit 77), make a right. You will be on US 31. Saint Mary's College will be on your right and Notre Dame will be up on your left. (Make sure you look up in the distance and you will see the Dome!). Head down IN 933/ US 31 for about 2 miles. After you pass St Joe's Hospital, make a slight right onto Main St. You will then turn left on W Colfax Ave and then a right onto N Michigan St. Next, turn left onto E Washington St. and then a left onto N Saint Joseph St.

We have a block of rooms at the Marriott for anyone who would like to stay there. They are at a discounted rate, but you have to be sure to mention that you are with the Schorsten/Deutsch wedding. The phone number is 574-234-2000. Book them soon though so they don't sell out!

You can also book the rooms online by copying and pasting the link below into your internet browser. Rooms are available from Thursday night through Saturday night. If you are coming in on Thursday, just change the check in date to the 2nd. A limited number of rooms were blocked, but more can be easily added. So let us know if you are having trouble booking!

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sbnin?groupCode=schscha&app=resvlink&fromDate=7/3/09&toDate=7/5/09

More to come!!