i am ridiculously behind with my posts, so bear with me! i will probably have christmas posts in january at the rate i am going at! uh oh!

life has been so hectic, this holiday season has been so busy, exhausting, overwhelming, and tiring. honestly, i am beat. the last week or so has really kicked my butt. i can usually champion any task given to me, complete any ideas that pop into my head, and come out winning with extra energy. oy. not this season. christmas: 1 thu: 0 – tko!

anyhoo, over a month ago, i had made plans to meet up with my friend ande. ande and i go waaaayyyyy back to, hmmmmm, maybe 9-10 years ago. i was working on michigan avenue and ande was the store manager at the c.o. bigelow store in the watertower building.

my friend, matt, and i worked together at the time and we would constantly go shopping at ande’s store. we befriended ande and instantly hit it off. soon, we were visiting her on a weekly basis and eventually we would all go out to lunch, dinner, or attend any events that each other had going on. whether it would be a party, a birthday party, a comedy skit, or just a simple brunch get together, we would try our best to meet up every few months.

ande and i would always engage in conversations around kids…or lack thereof {at the time}. we always related to one another, hit it off on any quirky subject, or just reveled in life’s happenings. i love her weirdness and i say that with the highest compliment. she’s so kind, sweet, loving, smart, and just amazing. i always say this: surround yourself with wonderful positive people who enrich your life and ande definitely qualifies in all categories!

so, we met up one evening for dinner. matt and johann were able to join as well! i made reservations at summer house santa monica in lincoln park. it was a cool winter evening; johann was the first to arrive, then me, then ande, and then matt. i couldn’t wait to see her! the last time i saw ande was around august, i came in to visit her at her store in lincoln park.

unfortunately between august and now, ande was diagnosed with cancer. i was shocked and in complete disbelief. questions flew through my head. why? how? how could this happen to her? why do crazy things happen to good people? i was sad, upset, and shocked. i reached out to ande to give her my support and prayers. we texted back and forth for a bit and then we set up a time to meet up to catch up. i am so glad we were able to meet up when we did, right before ande started to feel even worse from her chemo treatments.

[me with this gorgeous lady]

[best bunch of peeps ever]

[summer house santa monica]

[celebrating my birthday early!]

we had such a great time. natch. we always do. our dinner was filled with lots of laughter, some tears, and sooooo many fabulous moments. ande filled us in on how she discovered her cancer and what treatments she was on and her cancer free party scheduled for april 30th!

i am so blessed to know this lady. she is a wonderful friend, a supportive person, and an incredible human being. i pray every day for her health and have faith this positive lady will be cancer free! love and laughter is the best medicine and ande gets a full dose of this every day from her friends and family.

xoxo