i was way excited to meet up with jod! it’s still makes me sad that we don’t work together anymore. tres triste.
we had such a great time, all these years, working together. and she had to go off and get her own store. humph!
so, we try our best to squeeze in time to meet up and catch up and laugh it up. our lunch date was at the little goat {holy busy place}. i snagged a parking spot and cruised inside to a 30 minute wait {oy}. jod was on her way, so i settled myself into a little corner nook outside the restaurant waiting for her {gotta take advantage of the beautiful weather!}.
she finally arrived and we were deep in our conversation when my phone alerted me that our table was ready. yes! i was hungry! we were seated and perused the menu. i had such a hard time deciding {so confused}! kimchi pancakes, biscuits and gravy, or grilled cheese?? yeah, no correlation what so ever but hey, a girl is preggers!
[my current obsession]
[kimchi pancakes]
a virgin bloody mary and kimchi pancakes on order, we dove back into our non-stop chatter. we talked about babies, work, life, and love, just a few of our favorite things!
[just bump it // my then 24 week state]
afterwards, we talked and walked to my car {how romantic!} but not until after we snapped a photo of me. jod insisted on a pic to show peeps my pregger state {such as her wonderful mom ann & former co-wokers i don’t get to see anymore}! we lingered a bit longer, sometimes we can just go on and on! finally we said our goodbyes and parted ways. it was so great to see her! until next time!
it’s very, very rare i get a saturday off. i typically have to request it off and it’s usually because i have something planned. well, lo and behold i had a saturday off without asking for it!!! no complaints from me!
the day started off with lunch with the sista, thuy. i cabbed it to gt fish & oyster to meet her for a breezy, sunny morning fare. we sat outside on this beautiful day, it was so lovely out. sunny, warm, and the perfect temperature!
she ordered a mimosa and i ordered a tasty lemonade. we perused the menu and quickly settled upon our choices. we were going to share some delicious country potatoes; thuy ordered the pancakes {apples and burton’s maplewood syrup} and i ordered the grilled cheese with tomato soup {sourdough bread and wisconsin cheddar cheese}!
[soooo good!]
after devouring our good eats, we traipsed our way downtown to go shopping. we spent the afternoon just lazily walking around and enjoying our time in each shop. we could literally shop for hours upon hours {no joke, we once spent 12 hours shopping one day…it was the holidays folks!}.
we walked up and down michigan ave., after spending 4 hours shopping dt, we were dunzo {temporarily}, well, done with our most favorite stores! we then headed on way home!
it was a fabulous saturday outing! what a great way to spend the afternoon.
say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake. genesis 12:13
i was shopping at the grocery store when i stumbled upon these cookies. i haven’t eaten them in a long time and just had to have them! i bought the box {amongst other healthy items, ahem}, drove home, and devoured quite a few. yup. so worth it. so yummy. the cookie literally crumbled.
[yum]
i was satisfied. and dunzo. it was so good in the moment but then i felt not so good…oops! my tummy hurt! hee.
sometimes ya just gotta succumb to the cravings! even when it’s a little bit exorbitant!
we recently went to vegas for our babymoon! normally we do not go to vegas in the middle of summer but that is what matt wanted! we prefer may or september, i mean it is still hot but not as hot as it is in july!
[waiting for our flight out of ord]
we headed to the airport, early, to fly out so we could have a full day of vegas when we arrived. we were met by my brother and his girlfriend, tashina, at the vegas airport. we traipsed our way to aloha, an eatery that was super yummy! a restaurant that definitely served way, way too much food! i ordered the kalua pig and cabbage, it was so good but i could barely consume the amount that was served! i pretty much ate a lot of rice and cabbage with a sprinkling of pork! that was all the ever shrinking tummy of mine could manage {these days, the tummy is feeling a bit more pressure}.
[my delicious meal at aloha!]
[my $6 lemonade at the eiffel tower restaurant]
afterwards, huy + tashina dropped us off at our hotel, vdara {love}. huy + tashina stayed at a cute hotel boutique called rumor, just down the road from our hotel! we checked in, settled in, and made our way to the pool {first things first!}. huy + tashina met us at the pool and then eventually matt + johann! they flew in later that afternoon and met us around 4:30ish. we all hung out for a bit at the pool and then headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.
our first night of excess was at the paris hotel. we ate at the eiffel tower. we had such a funny experience there. the ambiance, the dress code, & the service was interesting to say the least. the best thing about our meal was our jealousy over tashina + huy’s seafood tower of deliciousness!
[me and tashina before dinner!]
[huy + tashina’s awesome seafood tower]
[our ‘professional’ picture at the restaurant]
once we were done with dinner, we headed over to the cosmopolitan’s chandelier bar for a night cap. we pit stopped at the sugar factory, a 24hour candy store, on our way to the bar. apparently huy + tashina pit stopped at a few gambling spots on their way!
[some of the amaze chandeliers inside the bar]
[matt + johann]
[chillin’]
the next day, we rented out a cabana at the pool to spend our day relaxing and soaking up the sun. it’s always such a good time when we rent a cabana, the service is amaze, food at your fingertips, drinks constantly flowing, and the private pool! a lovely pool just for the cabana folks! who wouldn’t love it?!
[my 22 week baby bump!]
[relaxing at our private pool // nice look huy!]
[love the guy in the background!]
after a whole day of sunning and relaxing, we got ready and headed out to dinner with matt’s sister, liz, her husband, josh, and their daughter, stella. josh picked us up & we met liz & stella out by where they live, henderson-ville. we ate at a tapas restaurant out by them and after dinner, we headed back to their house for another night cap. well, the boys had scotch {glenlevit 18 years old} and cigars {out on the patio}, while i hung out on the couch with matt & his sister! it was a really, really nice evening. we totally enjoyed our time with them. they are such a fun bunch and so welcoming!
[scotch, cigars, + great friends]
[hanging out at liz + josh’s]
the next day, we duplicated our all day outing at the pool but we went out for lunch instead {we typically order lunch at the cabana}. we met liz at the todd english pub for a quick bite before we headed back to our cabana. it was wonderful to meet up with liz one last time before our vacation ended!
our evening meal was at the bacchanal buffet at caesars hotel. the interior was very cool and the food was delicious {although buffets aren’t the best deal for a preggo lady}! i especially loved the asian buffet & dessert buffet {so yummy}! we then met matt + johann’s friend, allen {in for a conference}, at the chandelier bar back at cosmo for our final night cap of the trip.
[bacchanal buffet]
[the beginning of the end]
the next day, we went to breakfast at the peppermill {the best and cheesiest joint in town!}. last year we started our trip at the peppermill and this year, we ended our trip at the restaurant! they have fake neon lights, a lounge area with a fire pit in the middle of it, and there’s photographer that walks around to take your picture as a souvenir! ha! love it. after breakfast, we walked the whole strip! we started at the encore and made our way all the way back to our hotel, in time to leave for the airport. we did all sorts of shopping along the way. it was a perfect way to end our vacation. we were able to experience all the cheesiness of the strip on our last day there. that’s a part of vegas you gotta soak in!
[the way to start your day, breakfast and a drink!]
[the fire pit in the lounge]
[the fake trees & ‘neon’ light interior]
[our cheesy souvenir // we love it!]
[my delicious virgin bloody mary // it was so good!!!!]
[the eclipsing of my feet]
[macarons from jean philippe // they were a bit crushed during the transport]
there you go, our babymoon! it was a fun, relaxing time with my hubby charming, the baby bump, and friends!
i was very excited for our first TOT session at st. clement! we had such a great time last year and i knew it was going to be even better this year! our first speaker of the series was timothy o’malley from notre dame. he was hilarious! his topic of the evening was ‘when life doesn’t go as planned: the hidden gift of disappointment’.
my disappointment of the evening was that hubby charming wasn’t able to participate with me this year! boo. i was sad but it is what it is!
i had such a good time reconnecting with friends and creating new ones! this was our biggest theology on tap ever!!! 329 attendees! wow!! the events prior never really exceeded 200! last year’s session drew in 275 folks and that was a record for us; it was awesome to see the crowd grow!
my duties this year was food and drinks. it was actually a lot of fun! we can’t believe we actually fed everyone! how crazy. we are so grateful for the local restaurants that donated all the food! we worked throughout the evening, bringing out the food, & cleaning up. we totally rocked it! our team was so fabulous!
the temperature was so ridiculous! it was over 100 degrees in front of the church!!! with over 300 peeps hanging out in close proximity, the temperature was bound to rise!
we celebrated grace’s birthday last weekend! oh my gosh, she turned 11!! my how time flies!
we started off the day with pedis! we all went to nail bar on southport and got our tootisies all purtied up! blue for grace and a pinky orange for moi! after our appointment, grace got to choose where we were going to go to eat. we went to frances, a plain burger for grace, a salad for me, and i can’t remember hc’s order…ha!
[getting her nails done! such a pro, chillin’ and reading her gossip mag]
[birthday lunch]
[our fun pedi’s]
[lunch time fun]
after lunch, we stopped by cycle smithy to check out bikes. hc lured grace to the shop by saying he needed some supplies but we were really shopping for her! it was her surprise birthday gift! she was super excited when we told her! after perusing the bike shop, we decided to go the village cycle. there we found her a trek bike! she really liked it, which worried us at first…ya know how kids can be…they never can decide!
we headed back home to drop me off {i had to go to my p’s house to prep for the party], and they took their bikes to the lake to go riding! it was great! they met up with us back at the cheesecake factory for grace’s birthday dinner with my family.
[grace’s new bike]
[kiddie cocktails]
[birthday time!]
[gifts from r + b]
[the confetti cake being sliced]
once we were done, we then headed back to my parent’s house for cake, ice cream, and presents. the kids had a great time playing together, while the adults hung out.
all in all, it was a wonderful time! we had a blast celebrating grace’s birthday and i’m sure she did as well!
this past sunday was holly + kevin’s baby shower! we celebrated at her mom’s house on this hot summer day.
it was a gender neutral shower because they are waiting to find out! wow, props to those who can wait! my type a personality could never do that!!!!
drinks, apps, food, and yummy desserts! i was really, really digging the homemade toffee fudge! hello! the little bite sized nuggets were amaze and perfect!
after some noshing and imbibing, we settled our tushies into the comfy couch for some unwrapped gifts! holly + kevin asked their guest to be green and not wrap any of their presents. that equals a super, duper fast gift opening session! before we knew it, they were done and they definitely got a lot of goodies!
[the goods]
[sock monkey theme!]
[missy and jane]
[me and holly! 9 and 5 month bumps!]
[sweet!]
[holly + kevin]
[the best gift! from jane, a handmade sock monkey quilt! it was a hit!]
happy day to the parents to be! we are so excited for the new addition!
we celebrated the soon to be addition to the haus family! it was a sunny, lovely day to have a shower!
it was a football/sports theme hosted at ditka’s. there were cute little decorations all around! the cake was phenomenal and absolutely delicious {commissioned by her sister sarah}!! after we lunched on delectable dishes, we were ready for the opening of baby gifts!
[the mommies to be! 8 month + 5 month bumps!]
[how adorbs is the cake?!]
[my purty wrapped gifts!]
[cake pops & centerpieces]
[the goods! and the cute onesie bunting]
[sarah + kt]
[me + kt]
[such delicious desserts!!!]
[part of my gift to kim]
[our favorite! it says brady with the number ’13 on the jersey to rep his birth year!]
[mikey helping out! kim’s holding a cute football bib!]
[kim + kt]
what a great way to spend a sunday! the shower was lovely, the gifts were so cute, and it was so good to see everyone and catch up on this wonderful occasion!
i had to work on the 4th, so we made it a fun day with grace on the 3rd instead!
we started the day with breakfast at the bongo room. we walked our way over to one of our favorite brunch places on this beautiful day. i was so hungry by the time we got there!!! argh! feed me! the wait was just a bit and before we knew it, we were seated and ready to enjoy some yummy goodness!
[waiting for a table]
[i love the window display next door!]
[handmade soaps]
[her drinking horse]
[my usual]
after breakfast, we traipsed our way back to our place but not without stopping at wicker park! it was quite a scene full of mommies and their kids! hc was the only dude there! after trying out every single playground feature available {well, mostly grace played!}, we continued on our way home.
[seesaw time]
of course, not without stopping by to say hello to rhoda! we love rhoda! the cutest, most cuddly dog.
[getting and giving some love to rhoda]
[the cute bug eyed bugger]
we hung out at home to relax before our evening activities. we watched movies, i crafted, hubby charming fell asleep, & grace begged us to go to the ‘breyer’ store, aka berwyn’s toys & trains store. so on another adventure we went!
when we got home, we made sack lunches for the homeless, dropped them off at st. clement and moseyed our way towards navy pier! our mission was to eat at bubba gump shrimp {how can you not when you are at navy pier?? you gotta go tourista all the way!}. we were excited to teach grace all the famous sayings from the movie. she was so intrigued! she had never seen it, and it got her so excited to watch the movie!
we walked the pier while we waited for our table. we shopped, explored, and were delighted by all the little kiosks throughout the walk way. we rounded our way back to the restaurant, once inside, everyone was so polite! i was very impressed by how friendly everyone was at the restaurant! it was very pleasant.
[her flashy watermelon drink]
[not so flashy]
we timed it out quite perfectly! we had a chance to explore navy pier, had a yummy meal at the restaurant, had a minute to buy grace a candy apple, and then the fireworks started! we ran outside and got a front row seat to some pretty fireworks!
[enjoying the fireworks]
[our view as we are leaving the pier, pretty and not so pretty traffic]
we had such a good day! it was a successful patriotic day!
a lovely day for a horse competition! a lovely day for a parade!
we started the day heading up north to watch grace at her horse competition {she was representing little hunters, a group she has been riding with for years}. it was such a beautiful day! the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect.
grace had already competed in a few events before we arrived there {um, we got there at 8:30 am!}, so we waited around for her next event to begin.
annnddd…we are so proud of gracie! in her big jump event, out of 27 people competing, she placed 2nd!!! way to go grace! she was beyond excited and so elated to share the news!
[grace and her beloved horse herbie]
[riding gear]
[daddy rocking the best team in baseball]
[competing!]
[focused]
we stayed for a couple hours at field and fences and then left to head to our next engagement.
we headed back to the city to watch the gay pride parade. for the past couple years, matt + johann have walked in the parade and we love going {in general, it’s so fun!} to support them!
we scored great parking not too far from the parade route and a front row seat at the parade on broadway! the whole parade, as usual, is so entertaining! i love how theatrical it is and how everyone is so liberated! it was especially special since the knockdown of doma! we saw a lot of signs supporting legalizing gay marriage in illinois!
after the parade, we met up with matt + johann at crew for an early dinner. i have to mention, we made a detour to go pick up hc’s 40th birthday present at father time {his dad’s ’67 omega seamaster watch was restored!!}. it was a gift from me and his parents! he was soooo happy!
oh, and it was so good to catch up with the two lovies at dinner! as usual, we had such a blast hanging out with them {nothing but laughs and giggles}!
[gay pride]
[me + hubby charming]
[american pride]
[balloons by tommy, so cool!]
[i saw this show at my bachelorette party! love them!]
[so excited to see them – vice versa!]
[woot! woot! go cubbies]
[a cool float]
[the cool couple]
[can i say the cooler couple 😉 and hc showing off his watch]
after dinner, we headed back to lincoln park, picked up cupcakes at molly’s {much to hc’s dismay}, and then headed to church!
all in all, it was a truly fantastic day! a lot squeezed into one but all so worth it!
